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Jordan nodded, but didn't say anything further about the subject. It was over, and the two had remained friends; anyway, judging by the look on Melvin's face, he didn't want to put too much thought into it. It occurred to Jordan to wonder what Melvin's general opinion on sex was. The guy was really fastidious; maybe he found the messiness unappealing.

"I appreciate the offer," he said. "I think that's probably a conversation best had in private, though. She'd probably be more inclined to be truthful if she's only talking to someone involved with the issue."

"Nightmares," he said. "Flashbacks, sometimes. I haven't had a panic attack that overwhelmed me badly enough to stop me from functioning, but I'm not sure that won't happen. Feeling isolated - making myself a hermit isn't exactly a logical response to that," he added with a sigh. "But I think I've been acting much less rationally than I thought I was for some time. That's my problems, anyway; besides that, I've been concerned about Jerry as well." A treat was trying to scale his leg; he bent to pick it up, carrying it in one arm as they walked and petting its ears absentmindedly.

"Not something I like to talk about, for obvious reasons," Jordan said. "I spent about a week and a half in a cell, hallucinating my worst fears and insecurities." The back of his neck itched, and he firmly suppressed the urge to scratch the narrow scar where the bug had been removed.

The concept of a common room for relaxation gave him the faint seed of an idea. "You may have a point," he said thoughtfully, and put the idea away to examine in more depth later.

He nodded. "He's gotten a little better. He and Sasha were together before the Lair, but something happened to her there. She came back changed and didn't want anything to do with him. He - didn't handle that well. At all. It seems like he's finally starting to try to move on, though."

"I try not to think about it too much either," Jordan admitted. "Repression's not the healthiest coping mechanism, but there's some things you just can't think about too long and stay sane, either." There was the briefest flicker of a haunted look in his eyes.

"He was part of my team during trials, and he's a good friend of mine. Things have been kind of strained between us for a while, though. That's partly his troubles with Sasha, partly my having trouble dealing with my crap, and partly lingering awkwardness from previous events." He half-smiled. "I'm hoping we get more of a chance to hang out without having various problems make it awkward and uncomfortable."

"Very efficient," Jordan said, amused. "If you're looking for company on a mission, I wouldn't mind, either. Or just in general."

The treat clinging to his shirt chirped, and he glanced down at it. "How are these guys doing on the tank timer?"

Jordan nodded, doing a quick mental estimate and picking up his pace slightly. "Should get back right on time, then," he said. "And that sounds good."

He was quiet for a few more moments. Then he added, "Thanks for letting me ramble on at you. A sympathetic ear is really helpful."

"Likewise. Well, other than the labs part, I'm more likely to be on the training field," Jordan nodded. As they approached the lab building, he carefully detached the treat from his shirt and put it back on the ground, handing the leashes back to Melvin. "Headed for getting better. Figuring out I'm being an idiot is the first step to stopping," he laughed ruefully.