38 stepped in and hugged her tightly. He didn't know what else to do. He spoke softly into her ear. "Let's just take this one step at a time. Who knows what it might blossom into? What do you say Tess?" He slowly, very slowly loosened his grip on her. Just in case she wanted him to let go. It was all he could think of on short notice. She was literally all he had to care about. What can you do when everything goes to chaos, even for a moment? All you can do is take it one step at a time.