She pushed her hair behind her ear, looking at little relieved at being off the hot seat.

"I was a little concerned about how much older you are than he is," she confessed. "But maybe the perspective is good for him."

She stepped past him to pour a cup of tea, so Raylan would be closer to Malcolm when he came back into the room.

"In the end, I just want him to be happy. I know the things I've wanted for him haven't always been..."

She heard the bathroom door open and stopped, taking a studious sip of her tea as Malcolm noted Raylan and smiled at him, slipping past him with a hand lingering at his hip a moment before reaching up to get a mug and pour a coffee from the french press.

"And what brings you by this morning, Mother?" he asked, taking a sip. "I don't suppose you've come to tell me you changed your mind and we're going to tell them the truth," he guessed dryly.

"Absolutely not," she said firmly. "The nurses said you left late last night. I didn't realize you had... company." She looked at Malcolm. "Your father was the same this morning. Don't feel obliged to hang around there all day."