Despite the fact that she was very aware of his hand on her arm, she regained her focus and her argument, stating, "Aaron, losing Drew was one thing. But, if I lose Jack, too, I don't know how I'm ever going to get through that. I can't imagine having only a stranger and Elliott to help me." She spat his name out as if it were a swear word, hoping he could see just how adamantly she did not want this particular Guardian to come along.

"I understand," Aaron replied, his hand sliding ...