His response was met with a very stern 'look' from his wife, the kind that confirmed undoubtedly that he was right. She saw right through him.
The struggle with the belt buckle would have been mildly amusing, under any other circumstance even meriting a distasteful joke or two. Cathy didn't have the energy in her tonight. It relaxed her to see him lay back, the gesture indicating in itself that he wasn't going anywhere, even more so when he reached out to touch her. She listened to every word, her expression changing without brightening.
"I trust you," she told him honestly, the weight of the words more apparent than it had ever been before. "I'm worried about you, more than that. It must be...really...impossible, seeing her again after all this time. Especially after what happened."
The truth was, Cathy hadn't been there to see the Apocalypse, didn't know what exactly had gone down apart from the condensed versions given to her. The firm-induced nightmares ensured that she memorized the scene of his death, but when it came to what happened between Lindsey and Eve, she was largely in the dark. She did know, however, that they were separated by death rather than choice. It wasn't exactly comparable to her own divorce, and by that chain of logic, Lindsey was more than entitled to an emotional reaction to the reconnection with the woman for whom he had once cared.
"And I wanted to make sure you knew that..." That what? Was there any way to phrase what she wanted to say without pointing fingers at the ex-girlfriend for bringing the insecurities to rise in the first place? Doing so would seem petty, and she didn't want that. Then again, the conversation did deserve mention, didn't it? It was important. "No matter where you go, what you do, who you work for? I'm gonna be there with you. Come rain or come shine." The barest hint of a smile appeared, flickering and fading quickly. The conflict was written on her face again as she tried to determine what came next, fumbling over her words when she continued. Cathy was nervous in a way she hadn't been in a very long time with him-- afraid of saying the wrong thing. She decided to just spit it out, as best she could.
"Eve's not the first person to imply that I tried--try-- to...change you, bind you in some way. That's the very last thing I want." Catching herself clenching her shoulders nearly to her ears, she eased back to lay beside him, face still turned in his direction as her hands folded over her middle. A breath was slowly taken in, the conscious effort made to unlock her muscles. "At the risk of surpassing my quota for the day, I love you. So much. That's all I need."