"He kept you away, I bet," she said, sounding hurt and pained. "Damned ego of his. You aren't like him though, are you?"

Even though she knew he had been. Derek had been a lot like Peter back then. She needed him to be with her, not against her. Family again.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she said, leaning down to kiss his brow. "I just... It hurt so much, Derek. All that time alone and then thinking you would leave again. I can't live with that," she said, binding him as deeply as she could with her words.