Though she had absolutely no reason to be, Joanie was panicking. She knew that Dracula was dangerous. Christ, why didn't Aiden just kill him already? She was ready to vault into some form of action - likely a post to Aiden that was nothing but capslock - when Sam dismissed her unfounded fears. Settling just slightly, she bit down on her lower lip as he cupped her face in his hands. "Okay, but-"
Okay. Now she had a reason to panic.
Eyes wide, she stared at him soundlessly for a few long moments. It was rare when Joanie was rendered completely speechless, making this a real Kodak moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she were trying to suck words from the air that would magically fit this situation.
How did you even respond to that? They had only been dating for a month, though time seemed to take longer in Bellum. And really, what did Joanie know about love? She barely said "I love you" to her parents, let alone anybody not related to her. It was a slippery word, one she thought was much abused. People loved movies and TV shows, food and books. But did they love each other?
"Uh..." Her mind was a blank. A white board with nothing written on it. She knew that she needed to say something, but she wasn't sure what. Her gaze fell on her right hand as it rested on his shoulder, surveying the skin that was still ripped and scabby. His justification brought her back to Russia, to the first thing she thought when she realized that she might die: "I never told the people I care about what I feel."
"I care about you, Sam." It wasn't love. She wasn't sure what "love" really constituted, but this was the truth. "And...it's really good that you...you know...were able to say that." She sucked in a slow breath. "When I- when I thought I was going to die, I thought about how I never did that. So..." She had nothing else. The hard part was over, but the sting of ripping off the band-aid still remained. "Now we know. There's no regrets."