I'm acting like a good assistant, I hope. One that knows him well enough by now to make his work and his schedule easier when I can.

[ 'family'. if things were different, maybe. if jole wasn't a nobody prole lieutenant that works for aral. if there weren't several decades between their ages. if he wasn't a mere handful of years older than he and cordelia's son.

even so.. even so, it's so dangerously close to the truth that he can practically hear his heart hammering in his ears. ]