[ It’s not easy for Barnaby to confide in others, even when they’ve shared a similar experience. Even that isn’t entirely true – he knows that what happened to Sheena was far worse than anything that he’d had to go through on that ship. The fact that she had been able to forgive him, however, spoke highly of his character – and he thought that, perhaps, he’d finally be able to start forgiving himself.
And somehow, he found himself able to give her a small smile in turn, barely there though it was. It was a start. ]
[Sheena's the same way--keeping things bottled up and hidden away so people won't worry about her; although that's not why she's forgiven Barnaby. She truly feels that he had done the right thing in order to keep with his principle of protecting others. Now he just has to forgive himself.
She isn't totally unscathed by what had happened, but she feels that Barnaby has suffered worse than she has--by doing the very thing he had never done before. Not once, but twice...
And to the same person.
She can only imagine how hard that must be for him, but her worries are abated slightly at the appearance of that smile. It's small, almost hidden by the angle of his head, but it's honest, and it's there, and it gives her the feeling that his healing has truly begun.
And once more, the ninja envelops him in an embrace, hopefully giving that healing the boost it needs.]
[ Forgiving himself is always a slow process. Barnaby has been through this process many times before, both for issues more and less severe than this one. One would think that he would have learned by now how important it was to forgive himself and to be able to move past the issues that have arisen as a result, but apparently he wasn’t quite at that stage yet.
This did help, however, and he was grateful for it. Even if he wasn’t particularly good at expressing such sentiments, it still meant a lot to Barnaby even if he didn’t know how to say as much. It didn’t matter. The way that he leaned into her again and let her hold him would hopefully say it for him all the same. ]
[Sheena knows how tough forgiving anyone can be--yourself being the hardest because that's the one person you can never avoid. And whose eyes know the truth better than anyone else's. Once you can get past those eyes, however, the road to forgiveness becomes easier.
And it's even easier when there's someone there to help you along--something Sheena had learned by experience and wanted to pass along to Barnaby. So, when she feels him lean into her again, she responds to his display if gratitude by tightening her hold and resuming her rocking.
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And somehow, he found himself able to give her a small smile in turn, barely there though it was. It was a start. ]
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She isn't totally unscathed by what had happened, but she feels that Barnaby has suffered worse than she has--by doing the very thing he had never done before. Not once, but twice...
And to the same person.
She can only imagine how hard that must be for him, but her worries are abated slightly at the appearance of that smile. It's small, almost hidden by the angle of his head, but it's honest, and it's there, and it gives her the feeling that his healing has truly begun.
And once more, the ninja envelops him in an embrace, hopefully giving that healing the boost it needs.]
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This did help, however, and he was grateful for it. Even if he wasn’t particularly good at expressing such sentiments, it still meant a lot to Barnaby even if he didn’t know how to say as much. It didn’t matter. The way that he leaned into her again and let her hold him would hopefully say it for him all the same. ]
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And it's even easier when there's someone there to help you along--something Sheena had learned by experience and wanted to pass along to Barnaby. So, when she feels him lean into her again, she responds to his display if gratitude by tightening her hold and resuming her rocking.
He was very welcome.]