"Sarah, that's not true at all," Sookie says, trying to keep her voice soft and tactful, although it's hard not to reach out for both of them, shake them up a bit, let them know how much they're missing out on just by hesitating at all. Then again, she reminds herself, she has to admit that she's never been quite in either of their shoes. She's never had a limited number of days tacked on her forehead, so few that they feel impossibly close, life cutting further and further off. She's never known herself to be descended from monsters as evil as those Cal's described.

Still, she thinks that her opinion must have some merit. They're missing out on too much, and she needs to do her best to turn that around.

"He's... been through a lot, and I think, I think part of him will always feel responsible for it. Not just guilty, but like he's gotta watch himself so closely so that nothing bad happens again. If anyone understands how that feels, I get the idea that you would," she explains. "But both of you are just being a whole lot more stubborn than you have to be. Love happens. You can't let that slip by. It's too precious."