If Airlie didn't know what came next, Alistair was no help, because he was pretty damn clueless himself. All he knew was that she was here with him now for the first time in months that had seemed like small eternities. And the feelings were every bit as strong as he remembered, regardless of anything that may have changed. "I don't... I don't know all the answers, darling," he explained, shaking his head just a little. "I just... I know that I need you. I know that you're a part of me that can't be replaced." There was no real explanation to a soul bond. It was just something that was, and for some people they knew it as soon as they saw it, and for others they didn't know it until they'd lost it. For him, it was somewhere in between, or maybe it was that he'd lost it because he recognized it. Either way, she was here now, and he was still having a hard time believing it was even real.

"Are you... are you even really here? I feel like I must be dreaming or something, because I never thought I'd see you again." His hand still cupped her cheek and his control over the feeling that he was going to cry was lessening, though he was still holding the tears of blood in check for the moment. "I can't... I can't believe you're even here." There were a million and one things he wanted to do right now, starting with taking her home to his place and feeding from her and making love to her, and then just holding her close to him, but that really wasn't the best possibility at the moment. For now, it was first necessary to establish just exactly where they stood.