Billy smiles back at that, a little sheepish. "You wouldn't be the first person I know to say something like that. I guess it's...kind of a thing, sometimes." Kids learning to fight, kids learning to do triage, kids learning to do things that shouldn't be expected of them but not being able to resist doing them anyway once they learn what the world is like. He hadn't been one of them for a while, but now he sort of knew that was just because he'd been lying to himself.

"You're right, though. It is really nice to help. There's a pretty decent selection of books on first aid and triage in the schoolhouse, and some other stuff, too--maybe we could start a study group or something. I bet Doctor Crusher would be willing to help out, too."