The hand on his shirt stopped any retreat and it was with a hesitant type of easing back into what he wanted, what he needed. What he had needed since the third day of high stress. Who cared if he was catching feelings along the way. He was catching feelings all over the place, none of which he knew how to handle like a sane human being.

"'Course I wasn't. Any awkwardness and you woulda spotted it. Started questioning, fell down a hole.. I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want you to know until I'd had some.. time to process. It's okay to trust Doc. Wasn't his fault - I just.." Just invaded Malcolm's privacy, even if it was rooted in concern.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."