Niles closed his eyes, just focusing on the contact. As if he could just will Gabe to understand the nuances of this. It wasn't the same. He doubted he could ever actually love Amanda. Or anyone. Even what he and Gabe had, it was certainly a bond, but it wasn't love. That was something he just wasn't capable of. But couldn't he just have more than one person who understood? She didn't have to have been there to know his pain. He saw that in her eyes when he'd told her. All she needed was the story, and it was as though the monster didn't exist anymore. Just like all of those old world stories. The monster only killed because it wasn't given a choice. All it needed was a gentle touch to remember that it too had once been human...

His thumb rubbed at Gabe's cheek, his other hand wrapping around his waist to pull him closer. He'd never let go of his friend, he knew that. They'd always have something because there wasn't anyone else left who had been there. But they could have more, couldn't they? Other people who'd survived the war with scars well beyond the physical.

Gabe needed to know. It wasn't his place to tell Amanda's story, but Gabe needed it. "She may not have been there, but someone else...someone did the same thing to her."