There's a rush of relief as things warm around them, as Wash relents and joins the effort in earnest. North squeezes Maine's hands right back to steady him, ignores the intense pressure of the man's grip, and he tries his best to follow whatever Maine is feeling.

"She's fine," is the first thing he reassures, and he gives off a sense of finality with the statement. Carolina is fine. The Carolina he knows in this city is years past a simple fall from a cliff. She's fine. She lived, and she grew stronger. She's fine.