[Her eyes look down to his hand. She wants to take hold of it and reassure him that there wasn't anyone else here that she'd want to be close to. But she knew from experience that when Frank grew up, adults didn't want someone with a face as young as hers to say they cared for them.

She knew that Daryl's question required an answer, one that wasn't something sassy or dismissing his feelings. As difficult as it was for her to comprehend her emotions and feelings, she knew it was equally difficult for him to show what he was feeling.

Silently, her hand reached over to take hold of his. They stood quietly together for a couple of moments, long enough for her to figure out what to say.]

Why?

[Echoing his question was the easiest first word to say in order to break the silence between them.]

Because you don't see me as defective. For the first time ever, someone sees my potential.

[Which sounded odd, she knew. But her secret had been let out of the bag and he knew what she had been before arriving here. She wasn't that girl any longer, and he was her anchor to her rapidly developing human identity.]

It doesn't matter if you are or aren't the best man. You make me human.

[And that was what mattered so much to her.]