"Most people think it's the best thing that could happen to you, I think."

"Well, maybe I'm just weird, or maybe it only sounds great if you grew up on Pern."

Shrug. "I don't dwell on anything enough to have any idea."

Nod nod. "Next one?"

"As you like."

There aren't any sea changes left, but there's more improvement to be had. Just connecting things that should have joined up in the first place can't really solve the thing where he keeps thinking he should get in touch with Reith, and that still hurts any time his attention isn't taken up with anything else, but at least he has more of himself with which to cope with it.

Once she's got all the safety pins in place -

"I think I can maybe find the - reflex you have where you keep trying to communicate with him, and make that not happen?"

Whyyy did she mention it, now he's thinking about it.

That's a stupid thought. Obviously that was a useful thing to say.

It doesn't feel like he should solve this problem. It's - insane, to think this is a real possibility that he should really prepare for, but suppose Reith actually didn't die and just traveled to the future, shouldn't Verlan still be available? (This thought, of course, prompts him to search desperately for Reith's mind. Again. Of course.) On the other hand, maybe that's not what she's suggesting anyway.

"I don't know if I should. What exactly would you change?"

"So whenever you do that I see this over here, reaching in this direction -" Observe this incomprehensible brainpasta. "But I think I might be able to see where the prompt to do the reaching comes from, and pinch it closed so it takes at least a lot more provocation to do it, I'm not sure it would be wise to completely fuse it shut."

"Would that... be a normal habit? Something I could do more or less often if I put in the effort for a while?"

"I think so but I've never done this before."

"You've done well enough so far. I trust you."

"Okay, when you're ready?"

"Go on."

Piiiiiinch gently?

"How's that?"

Well, fun fact about specifically prompting him to think about it...

There are specific thought processes that have been consistently interrupted by this problem or by his attempts to avoid it. The real measure of success will be if he can think the things he hasn't thought in over a decade.

He doesn't know how anymore.

But, well, he gets as far as noticing that.

"I think that's as good as it's going to get. It's... not in the way." Or maybe it is but it isn't the thing making it completely impossible to - what is the thing that's so impossible, anyway? - though now that he thinks of it again, well.

"Okay. There are plausibly more things I could do here but I don't see anything super obvious. Do you want me to stick everything on how it is now?"

"That sounds good. I really never expected to be this... comfortable, ever again." And if it's not enough... all the more reason to make sure he's told her how much difference she did make.

"Oh good, I'm glad I didn't wreck anything and made some improvements! I'll get underway on shoring that up..." Stick stick stick.

...She looks happy.

He doesn't quite know what that makes him feel anymore. Someone is happy and proud and that feels real, not like a particularly dull ballad that he happens to be perceiving with his eyes instead of his ears. He wants to laugh about that, or cry, or - something - but none of those reactions would be helpful, and something about it hurts terribly, and.

And she looks happy and if nothing else, that, at least, is one thing he's glad to have lived to see.

She does go back to looking serious and professional while she's working on it. Stick stick stick. Stick stick stick stick stick. Double check 'em all. Triple check one she has a random anxiety about even though it's literally fine and the triple check confirms this. "Done."

"Good. Thank you. Thank you."

"You're welcome! Is there anything else I should take a look at in case it's clear what to do once it has my attention?"

She looks happy again!

He shrugs. "I wouldn't know, I don't even know how to know anything about myself. You can look at anything that interests you, particularly if you'll show me."

"Sure, though I can't imagine it's very informative..." Here is what his mind looks like from this series of "angles". It is much patched but now mostly holds together as a unitary thing!

It's very Someone Is Communicating With Him. It's very Not Being Alone In The World. That's a lot like being informative, in that it is good, and being informative would also be good.

He thinks maybe this is the kind of circumstance in which you're supposed to kiss someone and declare your love for them, but he doesn't know how to kiss, or how to love, and he does realize he would probably feel this way about almost anyone and she just happens to be the one in the room. It's going to be so embarrassing if he has to speak with Headwoman Manora.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"