Chambers had been visited during the evening by a surgeon that told him they wanted to take him into surgery in the next few days to help remove some of the shrapnel that was cutting in to his spine. It sounded like they were hoping to return feeling and function to his lower extremities, but the doc was careful to avoid sounding particularly hopeful. Jason didn't know if it was worth getting excited over or not, but he was excited to talk to Celeste about it the next time he saw her. The following morning he'd been awake for a few hours already when she stopped by his room.

"Darling, please," he smiled when he heard her request, "I would take a few minutes with my favorite nurse on my best and worst days."

A noticeably small smile was her only response as she crossed the threshold and arranged the extra coffee she had brought so he could sip it through a straw. Her demeanor was more forced than usual, and the bruising around her neck added to his assessment.

"Rough shift...?" he started, but continued before she had to figure out how to explain what she'd been through for the past 12 hours, "For what it's worth, I learned a long time ago that one of the best ways to deal with someone trying to slip their arm around your throat is to turn your chin towards the crook of their elbow and tuck it so that it gets in the way. It works 90% of the time."