It becomes quickly clear to Ned that River can handle herself even better than he had expected, but he sees the burn where Charlie touched her and he doesn't want her to be hurt any more. All that fear over what might happen to him hasn't gone away with the appearance of the cavalry - it's just shifted a few degrees to the left and become fear over what might happen to her.
So his heart leaps with gladness when Meyer interposes himself between the two fighters and brings things to a halt.
Ned gains a new appreciation for the man's bravery; he's always favored diplomacy, himself, and it's a mark in Meyer's favor that he doesn't just throw in his lot with Charlie. That he goes to such great lengths to right the situation and make sure everyone gets away unharmed, not just the man that he knows. And he's right. He's right about their captors, right that this is what they want.
Charlie doesn't seem inclined to listen to logic (that really is a terrible lot of smoke coming from him), but Meyer is capably holding him back. And River - River is at Ned's side, reaching for him, and he grips her hand like it's a life-line. When she calls him family, says she'd kill for him, he feels his throat go tight with a confused mix of happiness and disbelief and confusion and fear, still; for her, and the harm that might come to her for thinking of him as family.
He wants to run, now, not to keep talking. The rational part of his brain understands that coming to a lasting truce now will mean no pursuit, no search, no repeats of this nightmare, but the rest of him is screaming that the two of them need to get out now. He forces himself to stay still - as still as he can while he's still shaking like a leaf - and wait for Charlie's reply. He holds River's hand a little tighter; he does trust her.
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So his heart leaps with gladness when Meyer interposes himself between the two fighters and brings things to a halt.
Ned gains a new appreciation for the man's bravery; he's always favored diplomacy, himself, and it's a mark in Meyer's favor that he doesn't just throw in his lot with Charlie. That he goes to such great lengths to right the situation and make sure everyone gets away unharmed, not just the man that he knows. And he's right. He's right about their captors, right that this is what they want.
Charlie doesn't seem inclined to listen to logic (that really is a terrible lot of smoke coming from him), but Meyer is capably holding him back. And River - River is at Ned's side, reaching for him, and he grips her hand like it's a life-line. When she calls him family, says she'd kill for him, he feels his throat go tight with a confused mix of happiness and disbelief and confusion and fear, still; for her, and the harm that might come to her for thinking of him as family.
He wants to run, now, not to keep talking. The rational part of his brain understands that coming to a lasting truce now will mean no pursuit, no search, no repeats of this nightmare, but the rest of him is screaming that the two of them need to get out now. He forces himself to stay still - as still as he can while he's still shaking like a leaf - and wait for Charlie's reply. He holds River's hand a little tighter; he does trust her.