Grievously Bodily Harm
There is a reason people use deflection.
It works.
It has been a long day. Seeing Terry again, after all these years…
He knows now why they're called ghosts from the past. Because Terry was a part of his life that he thought was dead. Over. Finished.
And then this.
And so it has been a long day. He's not sure what he feels right now. And he is looking forward to going home and, for once, leaving this all behind.
But it is not to be.
When he walks into the room and sees Foster and Reynolds and Loker and Torres, he knows why they are there. And for a split-second, he wants nothing more than to just turn back around. Escape. Because he can't face this now, on top of everything.
But he's Dr. Lightman. He has to be fine. He's always fine.
And so he deflects.
It is almost too easy. He feels a twinge of disquiet at how easily they accept his words, but he shoves it aside. It's too late for those regrets.
Then he walks out, leaving a stunned room behind him.
Once he reaches the hallway, his pace unconsciously increases, driven by the need to be alone, to be somewhere he can let down his walls without anyone seeing.
He doesn't make it.
Because Foster knows him too well.
She follows him. She makes it personal. Makes it something he cannot deflect. Trapped, backed into a corner, he lashes out.
…So anyone who wants to compete for my loyalty with Terry Marsh…not really in a fair fight.
And sees it hit home.
It is a deflection of another kind.
But at what cost?
Lightman is very good at pushing people away.