But, like so many things in life, when you come to the spot where you’re supposed to do the rituals, you do them. - James S. A. Corey

We'll get him," Alex said. "We'll always get him back.
Sure we will. Until the time we don't," she said. "It's like this for everyone. There's always going to be a last time, eventually.

The universe is always stranger than you think.
It didn’t matter how broad her imagination was, how cynical, how joyous and open, how well researched or wild minded. The universe was always stranger. Every dream, every imagining, however lavish and improbable, inevitably fell short of the truth.

Sometimes you don't get redeemed," she said, and here voice made it clear she'd thought about the question. Tired and strong at the same time. "Not every stain comes out. Sometimes you do something bad enough that you carry the consequences for the rest of your life and take the regrets to the grave. That's your happy ending.