He works hard not to flinch. Manages little more than a twitch at the corner of his mouth, nervous muscle jumping. A kid to get back to for how long? Not long enough, if the look of him is anything to go by. This close, it's easy enough to impose blood and sweat and battle dirt and find not a lot out of place.

Once upon a time there was nothing in the family room for him but relief and outpourings of awkwardly received gratitude. How long has it been since he delivered good news?

"I know." That shouldn't come as a surprise. He saw everything, of course he saw her. (He just doesn't need to elaborate on where.) "Not yet."

The question goes briefly unanswered. He won't get away with it forever, he knows, but he needs to leave some space between blows.