"I need my number two back," Carolina says. "I need him sharp and committed and a good soldier." Not scattered and distracted like Wash has been since York showed up. He's all that she has left. The one certain point in her life right now.

"It's not like that," she adds, her thumb brushing against the port at the back of Wash's neck. She can feel him tense beneath the touch. "Can you really say I'm not me anymore. That Wash isn't himself?"