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Jordan had checked Robert's room, but he wasn't there nearly as often recently; he checked the Infirmary second, because that was the most likely place he was going to find Robert. He got a deeply suspicious look from Sunny for asking, but he got the information, if grudgingly.

He leaned in the door of the room where Robert was currently working. "Hey, bro, how's it hanging? I've got clearance to kidnap you for a patrol," he announced, grinning widely.

Jordan winced when the instruments tumbled to the floor, but even the mess and waste of work couldn't kill the smile at seeing Robert so thrilled to be given an excuse to get out of the infirmary. He oofed but didn't struggle as Robert swept him up, and thumped the big man on the back, laughing a little when he could get his breath back. "I'll take that as a yes then," he called after Robert as Robert whisked off to change.

He spent the five minutes quickly gathering up the dropped instruments and piling them on a tray. Someone was probably going to get in trouble for that, and it was more likely to be Robert than him, so if he could minimize it, he would. He grabbed a piece of paper from a dormant printer and scribbled a quick note to let whoever discovered the haphazard pile know that the instruments had been on the floor; weapon-assisted healing and immune boost was excellent, but risking contamination from non-sterile instruments was still dumb.

By the time Robert got back, he was leaning against the wall in the hall again, his grin of anticipation back in full force. "Ready to go get some daylight and maybe some hitting things in?" he asked.

"I hear you, man. I hate hospital smell. Even aside the whole bedpan thing." Jordan waited until Robert had gotten himself signed out, then led the way out of the infirmary. The smell of hospitals was associated with nothing positive in his life, and he was always quietly relieved to get out of the infirmary area. "Let's go grab our patrol gear. Unless you need a quick break before we get going." He gave Robert a concerned once-over. His friend looked tired, but there was something alive in his expression that reassured Jordan.

He laughed. "I told her I was worried about your mental health and suggested that you'd be able to work with renewed energy and effectiveness if you spent some time on another task to give your mind a rest. And hey, I had a patrol on which I needed backup from a Life division member, unless she had someone in mind who was doing a less vital task. She thinks I'm up to something, but that's nothing new. I think she mostly let me grab you because she wanted me to go away. I'm just fine with taking advantage of that."

I miss her too, Jordan didn't say -- he didn't have the air and he didn't want to upset either of them any more than necessary -- but he returned the hug, nodding. He understood.

Once Robert let go, he hauled a grin back onto his face. "Titan patrol," he said. "Hitting giant monsters repeatedly until they explode. We get jetpacks," he added coaxingly, just in case this deal needed any sweetening.

"Right? For all the crap we put up with, some of the perks are amazing," Jordan laughed.

"Got it. Don't want to need extra sleep aids," he answered, mostly seriously, though his eyes glinted with poorly hidden amusement. "Let's go pick up our gear. We might not even find one, who knows. It could be a totally boring and uneventful patrol. Except, you know, for our innate awesomeness, that's never boring." He clapped Robert on the shoulder. Unlike his friend, he wasn't reluctant about the idea of fighting titans; this was a chance to have a serious fight without any moral grey areas, a simple exercise in blunt-object problem solving and a chance to get the adrenaline going and feel useful. Being able to rescue Robert from painfully boring and repetitive tasks to keep him company was an excellent extra bonus.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Jordan answered. "I probably ought to remember it myself." He gave Robert a faintly inquisitive sidewise look, but didn't press the matter; if Robert had something he wanted to talk about, he'd get around to it when he was ready.

Once they'd picked up their gear and gotten strapped into it, Jordan led the way out towards the dunes; they'd be doing a long circuit, and he set a pace that was neither slow nor fast. "Man, I didn't know how much I missed the sunlight," he said conversationally.

Jordan had checked and rechecked his straps and buckles, and he was sure they were well secured. Confidence or no confidence, he was as aware as anyone of the importance of having your gear well taken care of and at hand. Carelessness with your equipment could kill you just as dead as an attacking monster, and more embarrassingly.

"Farming, huh?" he mused as they walked. "I could use a chance to get my hands into the dirt some. Where do you sign up for that?" Ferros stirred grumpily, objecting to the idea of getting dirt all over his ring; Jordan soothed him with a promise that he'd be well washed afterwards. Robert got another concerned glance at his comment about how dark life was.

"I don't mind fighting these things," Jordan said. "Sunlight, yeah, and a chance to get a good fight in without having to worry about whether you're doing the right thing. It's pretty clear-cut."