Yeah, well, you never tried to fuck Locus. [Oddly enough, that's the crux of that particular matter. Dangerous people are always worse when you want to get in their pants.]

[And then Tucker asks him that. The problem with tipping his emotional hand is that it's hard to keep it from overflowing, and this is something he hasn't talked to anyone about in depth - not Chief, not Dr. Ryk'rr, nobody - and this is Tucker, and he trusts Tucker, and he's safe to talk to, and-]

[And he explodes.]

Yes! Tucker, I've been here for months knowing that I was going into battle the second I got home and I can't do anything about it here! All I can do is hope everyone pulls through it and that I don't show up too late! I spent my last year in Freelancer collecting the dead bodies of my friends, because that's what Recovery was for - I don't want to do that again!

[He takes a breath, lets it out, takes another. Back in control. Come on. Just because he can talk with Tucker doesn't mean he can dump everything on him. He needs to be steady. He needs to be better than this. Breathe. Just fucking breathe.]

...I need to know.

[Tell him if they live, Tucker. Give him something steady to stand on and he can shore himself up again. He'll be fine. Just. Tell him.]