[His smile vanishes at that outburst and her choice of words. Mass murderer? What an ugly term.

He'd like to explain to her the key difference between victims of murder and casualties of war, but something tells him she's in no mood to listen. So he leaves that particular statement unanswered.]

Oh, I think she could survive a few days without me. Though, of course, I would prefer to avoid such an eventuality. But that is not to say that I'll be deterred. I can't stay away from him forever.

[It's a simple fact, and he sees no reason to deny it.]