Watching her start to retreat, Steve decided to change tack. He pulled his hand back, then held both of them up, palms out, showing that he was stopping. "Okay. Okay." He settled back on his heels, a little further away from her; she obviously didn't want to be touched right now - and yeah, that hurt, but he knew how she was about physical contact; this was just the opposite end of the spectrum of what he'd seen so far.

"If you don't want me to touch you, I won't," he said soothingly, lilting his words to put emphasis on 'you,' letting her know that at any time, if she changed her mind, he would be there in a heartbeat. "But please... just stay here, okay. Let me..." help, he wanted to say, but he didn't know if he even could, or more importantly, if she'd let him. It was always hit or miss with Rogue, whether she'd accept help, or insist she could handle something on her own. Finally, he settled on repeating, "Just, let me. Be here, for you. Please."