Hopefully next mission doesn't involve us going through psychological warfare. [famous last words, one might say. though she still wasn't entirely sure what else she would be good at. what help she could give during any mission. though everybody had been telling her she was good with people, talking with them; but she wasn't sure how that mattered any. if she even was. none of these missions needed skills like that.] But we're here for each other afterward, right? [Maria was happy to be there for him.]

Funny. [she does say it with a chuckle so hey, she did appreciate it. Maria could laugh at a dad joke.] There's a few reasons. You know one, we're from the same universe. The second is because I'm close to the other person from our universe. If something needs to be done then he knows she's more likely to hear me out than him. [though she won't tell him why Heather is so important. best not to spill it all even if she hardly thinks someone like Vander would have any use for Heather. and he was a father. unlikely he'd want to hurt a teenage girl like Heather.] Third reason? That's a secret. [and she had no plans to tell Vander that Vincent considered Maria a religious miracle that showed the glory of his religion's god.]

Permanently dead or just dead once? Would be awkward if I die here and I come back with our friendship axed out. [easier to joke than to tell him how much that did mean to her.] I'd have to start all over. First date and all.