"Mary Jane," I sigh, looking at her plaintively with wide eyes, "we've both just gone through absolute hell. And... Yeah, it hurts. I hurt, 'cause of that -- admittedly abridged -- list of injuries you just spouted off like a regular med student, right after you gave me an estimated departure from this place of never."

I swallow again, stalling for time as I try to stop my head from spinning long enough to get out the rest of what I want to say before I pass out again.

"Honestly," I continue after a second, quieter than before, "the only thing that could possibly make this worse is having to get used to this. I just... Please. My mental state's about as messed up as the rest of me, MJ, and unlike a few broken bones, that's something I don't need an army of bored doctors to fix. Just you."