Give him credit where it was due, with the insistence on putting his leg up, Nida does immediately stretch it out to put on the table. Granted he rolls his ryes before he does it, but he does obey. Excuse me for being more concerned about other people than e is about his ankle. It was his mistake and he should be expected to live with the pain of it. Consider it an object lesson in self-care. Take care of yourself instead of hurting yourself and you won’t get harassed by everyone and their uncle. Are there any uncles here? Does it matter?

“Have you come to any conclusions about yourself? With all this thinking? And no small amount of mothering it sounds like? Not that I can argue that the specific list of people you gave doesn’t need mothering. Especially Tommy.”

That was a tease, and all of it meant to distract from the question of how Nida is. That doesn’t matter. That never matters.

“You might consider moving your runs later in the day, might help with sleep. Dr. Crusher also knows some herbal stuff, might have something to help you sleep. I used to skip some to Seifer and Rinoa.”

He keeps his soft smile, ignoring the question turned back on him. It isn’t something he really wants to talk about. People just worry about him and it makes no sense. Especially when their pains are more immediate and important than his.