His heart swelled, knowing he was saving lives, even if it was just with a little sprig. “I have more at home, I can get you enough to plant some of your own. It can be pretty hard to come by.” Readjusting his legs, he untangled them from under him and stuck them out in front of him, leaning back on his arms. “I’d choose anything over allowing innocents to suffer and die,” Tom agreed, nodding his head.
“I’m not one to share about myself, but I feel it’s needed in this instance,” he started, his eyes darting away from Cara’s as he nervously bit the inside of his cheek. “The reason I didn’t run or call the police is ‘cause, well. I was afraid of what might happen to me. I didn’t know what you were capable of, and, well, the last time I tried getting the upper hand, it put me in the hospital,” he explained, leaving out details like who, why, and when. “Let’s just say I’ve learned my lesson.” He was still traumatized by the events of his childhood, and he didn’t often speak of it. There was a metallic taste in his mouth as he had drawn blood. He clenched his jaw as he looked back at Cara. “I learned to not fight back.”
“As soon as you leave, I have to disappear,” Cara quietly replied. “This location has been compromised, and it’s not safe for me to stick around – not for me, and not for you or Lilah for that matter. Besides… Don’t really have anywhere to plant it. I’ll have to see if I can find a another hunter that supplies it.” A beat passed before she nodded back, “Me, too.”
As Cara listened to what Tom said about learning his lesson previously, about learning not to fight back… She was devastated. Tears sprang up into her eyes, and she dropped her head down against the sleeping bag, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Tom. I shouldn’t have put you in this position, I just didn’t know what to do, I…” She trailed off, taking a second before continuing, “…If it was just about me, about my life,… It wouldn’t matter, you know? I don’t matter. But… I need to be there for people like Lilah, I need to stop as many demons and other supernatural creatures as I can until… Until I finally can’t. But I really am sorry. And for the record…” She very slowly and very tentatively reached out to touch his hand, “…You should never stop fighting.”
Tom nodded at her statement, understanding that she had a process for things, and that was okay. “Gotcha, yeah. That makes sense.” As he saw tears come to her eyes, his hand moved to cover hers, and he hoped that it was a welcome touch on her end. “Hey. It’s okay. You did what you needed to do. You saved Lilah, and you needed to save yourself. I forgive you for what you did, and frankly, I’m glad you did what you did. ‘Cause without you, I think our world would be a much worse off place,” his words caught in his own throat as his emotions came to the surface.
“I won’t stop fighting, but I’ve learned to choose my battles,” Tom stated, pulling his hand back into his lap. “For what it’s worth, you matter a whole hell of a lot. You matter so, so, so much, Cara. I’m sure you’ve been through hell with all the supernatural creatures that you’ve encountered, but you need to know that you matter.”
Cisco backup 