Dream followed Jewel to a more secluded part of the Doodlesphere, underneath a tree. He rose a bit of a brow at the option, his mind flashing back to more peaceful times with his brother a moment… but then again, those weren't as peaceful as he thought. He couldn't stop everything… he didn't even realize what had been going on most of the time, his brother never talked about it… not in great detail.
"Dream?"
He snapped from his thoughts as he looked down at this human, a purple shirt under a black blazer… the similarities weren't lost on him.
"Sorry, my mind started wandering there a little," he weakly chuckled.
"Heh, it's fine. Mine does that too," she chuckled, and he couldn't help but smile a little. He sat down with her under the tree, but not directly next to her.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked.
"Well, just kind of not fair everyone else got a chance to get to know me one-on-one, and you get pulled in and everyone just kind of lumps you in with the group. I mean, hell, Blueberry got his chance right before all this went down and you got pulled in again." She chuckled a little and smiled a bit at him. "Thanks, for everything you've done. If it wasn't for you and Blue, I'd still be in a coma probably."
"It was really no trouble," Dream smiled. "I like helping people. And really, your magic did all the work. It was just like…"
"You were the power source."
"Uh, yeah…" Dream tilted his head. "So… how much do you know about me and my brother? Because that kind of determines how direct my questions can be."
"Heh, Error's told me quite a bit about how Nightmare feeds, and I assume it's the same for you. You guys are twins, right? Just literally the opposite sides of a coin."
"Yeah, I suppose we are, in a sense. We weren't really… born. Just…"
"Put into existence as you are." When Dream blinked, she chuckled. "It's generally how it goes for a lot of primal beings."
"Primal…?"
"Yeah. I mean… each of you has a role to play. You and Nightmare guide and guard your respective set of emotions, the other wouldn't know what they were without you. It's the same with Ink and Error. Ink's not a creator, but he has their power, helps inspire and build. Error has the destructive tendencies. Without the other, the world would be either too empty or too crowded. They both are just a little… overzealous sometimes with their methods."
Dream listened before he couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow, Ink was right, you do sound like a guardian."
"Ugh," she groaned. "Really, please… He needs to stop saying that," she muttered.
"But it's true, isn't it? Ink told me how you reset UnderSwap to save it from Error."
"God, he really needs to stop spreading that around," she muttered. "With my luck, he'd say it as a threat to stop Nightmare and bam, Nightmare knows something else about me I don't want him to."
Dream's smile faded for a moment as he realized the implications. Nightmare would want that kind of power for himself… after he sucked a world dry he could use it to reset the world and start again… He wouldn't be holding back as much because he could just reset everything.
"That wouldn't be ideal," Dream agreed. "I'll talk to him, maybe he'll listen to me."
"Please, he's got a few bad habits he needs to break regarding me."
"Like what?"
"Well, for starters, he's adamant that I'm a creator, which I'm not. I'm no different from him and Error… the only thing is… well, I'm human instead of a Sans… It's weird, I know but if ya think about it, only humans can really reset, determination and all… not that I think I have enough determination to override Frisk or Chara, or whoever else has that power in the multiverse."
"They do have a lot for such small children," Dream sweated as he chuckled nervously. "But…" he paused before looking to her. "What… did you mean about Nightmare knowing?"
"Can't… you feel it?"
"Feel… what? I can feel your positivity, and it's pretty strong," he grinned at her.
Jewel hesitated a moment, before taking a breath. "Okay, so…" she extended her hand to him, though kind of looking away. "I really shouldn't do this… I barely know you. But I… well… I need to know. But I… don't want to hurt you either, okay? So the second you feel anything wrong, just say something and I'll stop."
Dream stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was saying. "What… do you mean?"
She sighed a little, pulling her hand back. She shouldn't be surprised he was hesitating. "Blueberry told me how you reacted when you used your magic on me. And Error told me he explained to you that my powers are amplified when that happens. I've also noticed you're not… actively feeding off of me like Nightmare was before, or trying to during this last encounter."
"I don't like doing that," Dream explained, defending himself quickly. "I only do it if I have to. I don't like taking people's happiness away."
"Ironic, isn't it?" she lulled, "That for Nightmare to increase his power, he's actually helping people, taking their negativity away and calming them down, whereas you would have to take their happiness, love, all of that, and bring them back down to earth."
Dream sighed. "Yeah… I've thought about it a lot more than I like to admit… I don't even think my brother realizes what he's doing. But he purposely spreads misery to feed off of it."
"While I hear you spread happiness to just help people. You two balance out."
"It goes right back to that for you, doesn't it? Balance," Dream realized. His eyes searched over her for a moment. "You want to see if I can sense what Nightmare does, don't you?"
"Well… Blue said your positivity arrows were the only thing that could harm Nightmare… so I have to assume Negativity harms you too. So while you both aren't able to really feel it, per se, like you do your own, you both are affected by the opposite and can tell when it's there… yet it seems like… if you and Nightmare were both in the same room, you'd hurt each other more than I'd hurt either of you… and you'd both be able to feed off of me at the same time."
"That… shouldn't be possible," Dream thought about it. "While its true emotions are complex things… it's very rare for someone to have such two drastic emotions at once to both of us to feed off of. Normally when someone's emotions are that mixed we can't, we'd have to wait for the person to go to one side or the other."
Jewel sighed a little, scratching the side of her face a little. "So… I'll be explaining that to the whole group… as to the why…" she admitted. "I… really, really don't want to, but… I think I… need to explain more than I have to everyone."
Dream supposed he could wait a little while to get those answers. She seemed to not want to talk about it so he wouldn't force her to repeat herself. But something else she said did trigger another memory. "But… Blueberry said your barrier stunned my brother," he remembered. "Can you tell me how you did that? I haven't been able to paralyze his magic before! Even with my positivity, it just weakens him to make him want to leave."
"Oh, that… Uh… Well… I'd show you but… my soul…" she sweated.
"Oh, right. I'm supposed to be healing you! I'm sorry!" he apologized and moved to get a little closer. "Um… normally to heal a soul I'd need to access it…"
Jewel sweated a little. "Yeah, uh… can we… try what you did before? It won't be as potent since I'm not in my state, but… my magic was spilling out before. If you supply the positivity to fuel, I might be able to do it on my own…"
"Might?"
"I've… never had soul damage before, honestly."
"How have you gone this long without your soul being damaged? You use magic."
"And before I met Error, I've only really fought other humans who can't. So I've been physically damaged. I'm human, remember? Physical damage doesn't transfer to the soul. It's one of the reasons ours can survive death, even if humans can't see them."
"I see… I forgot about that."
"Well, you're not really into collecting them like the others. I know Ink's at least seen them, I'm not sure about Blue… I doubt Stretch would let him."
"That sounds about right," Dream smiled a little before taking a breath. "Okay, I'm willing to try, but if it doesn't… I don't know what I can do with your soul inaccessible."
Jewel looked uneasy. "Don't… worry about that right now. Let's just… focus on trying, eh?"
"Okay, um…" Dream looked a little uncomfortable. "So I… have to get as close to your soul as possible…"
"Dude, you touched my chest before right?"
Dream blushed in gold. "N-not-!"
Jewel laughed a little. "Oh god, Dream. It's okay!" She grinned at him before offering her hand. "C'mere you, it's not that bad. You don't have to get that close to my core to power me up. Trust me, Blue was doing it just fine through conversation before. You're just more potent."
Dream's blush faded and his expression turned to one of confusion. "Wait, Blue was… what?"
"C'mon, we can talk and heal."
Dream was completely lost but he took her hand. If he didn't have to be close… he activated his aura with his healing magic. Once again, he felt it swirl around them both, but at least it wasn't as intense. Still, it was overwhelming, feeling that much positivity. He actively flinched, feeling like he was going to make a mistake.
"Dream, hey," he heard, before he felt a hand on his cheek.
He opened his eyes to find a pair of pale bluish-white ones staring back at him. He couldn't help but stare into them, the feeling of purity around them was just… breathtaking. He moved closer, unable to help himself. He felt drawn…
"Hey, easy there, bucko," Jewel chuckled. "Weren't you the one just worried about personal space?"
"Oh!" he snapped out of it a little, avoiding her gaze so he could stay in control.
Jewel chuckled a little. "How old are you? You act like you haven't seen a lot in your time."
Dream blushed a little more. "I… well…" He sighed. "I mean… I've been around for over six-hundred years… but most of that I was trapped in stone, unaware of anything… I've… only really been awake for about a hundred years. I know more than most, but I'll admit this magic is something I'm not used to… I've never met anyone like me before."
Jewel tilted her head a little, before chuckling a bit. "Oh boy. Let me guess, Nightmare's been running around unhindered for most of those years, huh?"
"Yeah… so he's had a lot more time to learn. He's patient and cunning… I try but I always feel like I'm a step behind him. I thought I had the advantage when I formed the Star Sanses with Blueberry and Ink… but then we had a falling out… more Ink and me than Blueberry, and then…"
"Nightmare got the idea to get his own group together," Jewel realized.
"Yeah. It's so hard to keep up…"
Jewel was silent for a while. "I… get that. I'm not quite the same, Dream, but I understand. I… well, I'll spare details right now because everyone's going to ask, but… I get it."
Dream felt her hand on his skull, gently stroking it. It felt so foreign, yet… he liked it. He glanced up and their eyes locked again. Gold and silver… "Jewel… I… what is… this?" he asked, trying to stay in control, and not get pulled in.
Jewel chuckled a little. "My magic? I told you I'm not exactly like you. But given what you are, I can't say I'm not surprised you're drawn in. Most people pure of heart are when this comes out… they just… want to bask in it. I'm sure you get the same, with your aura."
He was barely able to focus, but she gave him something of a grounding point. Her aura… it was like his. People flocked to it because it made them happy… But… she wasn't acting like them. "But you're… not…"
"I'm an empath, Dream," she smiled. "I'm kind of immune to people trying to manipulate my feelings with magic, good or bad. I mean, if I really want to, I can let myself, it'd probably speed this up, but I think that might overwhelm you. You're already kind of… lost right now. I can't turn my aura down, it's reflecting yours."
It was so strong because of him? She wasn't even doing anything? Dream stared up at her and took a breath, toning down his magic, feeling hers follow suit. It was becoming more bearable.
"So… all this time… I keep getting overwhelmed by my own power?"
Jewel chuckled a little at him. "Didn't realize how much you had, did you?"
Dream chuckled nervously, embarrassed. "I suppose not…"
Jewel smiled and gently put her other arm around him, while he still held her hand to try and heal her. "You know, if you ever want to talk, I'm a pretty good ear. I can't guarantee I'll be able to help any, but I'm willing to listen. Just because you're the representation of positive feelings, I know you have to have a few negative ones of your own. After all, sometimes you need to be sad to renew happiness."
Dream let out a soft gasp as she spoke, looking up at her. It was true, he could still get sad, angry… nothing lasted too long, but the only true negative emotion he couldn't feel was hatred. That was beyond him, and he was glad for it. That left such a mark on his brother's soul… but if he could feel those… could his brother feel everything… except…
Jewel noticed his face fall, his aura fading more with it. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Just… a horrible thought. The only emotion I can't feel is hatred… my brother is my opposite… so does that mean he can't… has he… all this time..?"
"So, you think the opposite of hatred is love?"
Dream looked up at her. "Well… isn't it?"
Jewel chuckled. "No, it's not. You can love to hate things. Love can be just as dark as it is light. I'm pretty sure your brother loves what he does on some level, just as you love to do what you do. And I doubt even a being of pure negativity is impossible of falling in love. Though, I'll be honest it'll probably be a very toxic relationship. But… you can't hate, which means he probably won't find joy in anything. That's the true opposite. He'll never be happy, no matter what he does. He might feel a temporary sense of pleasure or pride, something akin to it, just like you can distrust someone, you can dislike something to the point of avoiding it. But, honestly, I won't know unless I grab his soul again and give it a good read."
Dream then paled, staring at her wide-eyed. "You grabbed his soul?"
"Well, touched. I could've gone further but I didn't really need to."
Dream was just utterly taken aback. "H-How? His magic! It-it would have…" Dream let her go, grabbing her arms. Her left was slightly off-colored from the rest of her. He pulled up the sleeve, revealing some still healing burns. But they were mild.
Jewel knew. She focused on healing the hand first, the rest didn't matter, especially with her arms being covered. She felt his hand touch her arm and he focused on healing what was left on her arm.
"I… How did… I'm so…"
"There's a lot to go into…" She said as she leaned in, pulling him closer as she hugged him against her.
"Why…" he then asked, looking up at her. "Why did you… go after his soul of all things? Were you trying to kill him? Blueberry said the plan you had was to teleport them away, not..!" Tears were in his eyes. Despite everything, that was still his brother!
"I needed to get his code."
"His… what for?"
"To protect Blue. I did it to Dust too, if it makes you feel better. I wouldn't have risked that kind of thing otherwise… but I think it also put a healthy amount of fear into them so I suppose that works out in our favor for the short term… just means he's going to be more careful and calculating from here on out."
"But… how does that protect Blue?"
"Because I banned them from his world."
Dream blinked, staring up at her for a long moment. "You… what? You can do that?"
"Heh, I honestly never tried," Jewel sweated. "I should probably go back to UnderSwap eventually and double-check the code… Might have Sans or Stretch work with me on it, I'm honestly not the greatest… but the whole point was so I could copy their identification code and basically put it in a block to prevent Nightmare from going back. He can't send Dust either… not that I know how he travels… but he can't go himself now."
Dream stared at her. "Do you still have it? Can we do that for all the Aus?"
"No, I didn't memorize it. Besides… he's still a primal force. Negating him entirely will upset the balance."
Dream stared at her for a moment. "But… he'll…" He then realized what exactly she was saying. "You're right," he sighed a little but then he looked at her. "What else happened? Any other injuries? And is this helping your soul at all?"
"Yes, it is," Jewel smiled softly at him. "Though I'll admit, the burns were kind of low priority since they were covered. Dust stabbed me in the back, I focused on that and getting functionality back in my hand. I had a few other minor burns from Nightmare struggling against me but those were just first degree little things. Clothes held up pretty well, actually."
"So… it's just your soul now? You promise that's it? You're not hiding anything else?"
"Oh, I'm hiding a lot. But no, not hiding any injuries. My soul is all that's left."
Dream nodded then took his hand and put it on her sternum underneath her clavicle. "Then I'm going to do what I can."
Jewel watched him focus, his eyes getting intense and she couldn't help but feel amused. "Heh… you really wanna be near my soul?"
"It's the most effective way."
"And it doesn't… hurt or anything?"
"Why would it hurt?" Dream rose a brow.
Jewel hesitated a moment. "Same reason Nightmare got stunned when he hit my barrier."
"I can't feel any negativity in you, Jewel, remember?"
Jewel was still silent about it for a while yet. That would be something that haunted her until she got a definite answer. "How's your magic? Do you need to feed?"
"I really hate that term," Dream sweated. "I don't… eat it. I absorb it… and I mean… I know it's how I get my energy but it sounds so…"
"Yeah, kind of vampiric I suppose," Jewel chuckled. "How about charge? Sound better?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "And, I'm all right for now. This is more intense than I thought it would be."
"Well… you know you can take mine, right?"
"But you need yours. And didn't you get in serious trouble when Nightmare charged off of you?"
"Nightmare fed off me, plain and simple. He's a glutton, and just… took everything, which reflected that much and more back at me. With you… well, so long as you take it steady, I don't have to worry about the same kind of thing happening. There's a lot of differences, but the main one is that if you only take a little, then I'll just reflect back what you have. Nightmare was trying to take it all, doubling, tripling in seconds."
Dream thought about it, but he slowly started to charge himself with her aura. It was all around and he was going to need the power to fix her soul. Even just that little bit, he felt her aura get that much stronger. His eyes grew wide. "Wow… I can see why my brother would have an interest in you… This… I have to really focus to not take more as your power increases…"
"Yeah… easy to fall into that trap," she muttered a little.
Dream looked back up at her. Her eyes were still that brilliant silver color, the bluish-white. "So… can I ask?"
"Ask what?"
"What… this all is, exactly? This aura you have… why I'm the only one taking anything if you're like me… you don't take what I put toward you."
"Well, I mean, I do. Just not in the same way you do," she explained.
"Can you explain it, please? You said Blueberry helped you too. I know he's a great source of positivity, but… conversation was enough for you?"
Jewel chuckled a little. "I suppose this one I can explain twice. See… while you and your brother have to take the emotions from people… that's not how my powers work. I'm not a guardian of any kind. My powers are… well… complicated," she sweated. "But, the short of it is, your emotions won't charge me. My own emotions are the source of my power."
"You're… own? So how is this..?"
"A good empath can prevent others from manipulating their feelings through the power alone. It's something that's hard to master. I'll explain in more detail with the others, they won't know anything about this either. But basically, I'm not affected by other's emotions like a new empath would be. They can easily be overwhelmed by someone else's emotions, feeling them as their own. I've gotten past that part, but I can still allow myself to feel what others do. With you, all I have to do is… well, open myself to you. Your emotions, I can allow myself to feel them as my own. So all this positivity you have, it will feel like it's my own, even if it's not. It's not like you can change my mood or manipulate me with it," she teased him a little, "But, for the sake of recharging or healing, it's like your aura would affect other people. Like, right now… I feel… well, calm. I'm a bit happy but… that's because I'm back with my friends, and trying to make a new one. I'm sorry if this makes no sense…"
Dream started to think about what she had said. "So… my aura on its own… won't make you happy like it does others… but to quickly charge up… you allow it to flow into your soul to sort of pretend it works?" he rose a brow.
"Something like that," she chuckled a little. "It's… like this, Dream. Your aura is strong and it's great if you're trying to pull people out of a bad spot. But for me, it just… won't work. I know how that kind of magic works, and I made myself resistant to it a long time ago, because once upon a time, I was affected and I hated it. I… sort of regret closing myself off like that, but it is what it is. But my soul still responds the same…"
"You… closed yourself off?" Dream questioned.
Jewel sighed a little. "Part of storytime, okay?" she said with a small smile.
"Okay…" Dream relented. There was so much he wanted to ask, but apparently, everyone was going to get that information… "But… Blueberry… just talking with you made you… happy?" he questioned.
"Yeah," she chuckled. "I'm not… immune, ya know. I'm still human. Blueberry is contagious," she smiled. "When he smiles, you just want to smile with him. He's so pure and it's just…" Her smile slowly fell and she sighed. "And I broke him…"
"You didn't break him. He's just been worried about you!"
"No, I…" she sighed a little. "I scared him. He saw what I did to Nightmare, to Dust. He saw… probably felt… he's more in tune with emotions than people give him credit for. He might even be an empath… which is strange, I don't think Classic Papyrus is… Might be one of those variables in how he developed. Given that he's a Sans with the lack of… well, everything, stats-wise."
Dream never thought about that. Blueberry was always very in-tune with what he needed. "How would you even know?"
"Just by watching how he reacts. There's a few tests, but nothing concrete. After everything, we can talk about it. I think he needs a little extra care too now… maybe he'll feel better after I explain everything…"
"I think we all will," Dream admitted.
"Heh, or freak out more," Jewel sweated.
"You seem to think we'll treat you differently once we know how your magic works."
"It's not just… how it works, it's… well, everything that goes with it. There's a lot buried and sometimes it's better left there."
"And you think we want you to drag it back up?"
"Everyone else does. Blue's been the gentlest about it, just asking about my brother, which is a fair enough question but… Ink and Sans… they keep pulling for me to explain why I think a certain way, wanting to know why I don't want… instead of just accepting it. Even Error's wanting to know and… well… everything's connected, even if I want to pretend it's not… Heh… Error wants to talk about anomalies… I shouldn't even be alive…"
"Jewel…" Dream started to get worried. He had heard about her… instability from Ink…
"No, it's not," she chuckled softly. "No, I literally shouldn't be alive. The chances of my whole scenario happening are so minuscule, it's… well… Oh god, I'm going to have to go over that, aren't I?" she paled a little, putting a hand over her mouth. "Blue's not going to be able… damn…" she muttered a bit.
"What about Blue?"
She then looked over at him, those blue-white eyes staring into his golden ones. He always felt like he was going to get lost in those and he didn't understand why…
"What about you?" she then asked. "It's… some dark shit, Dream. Are you going to be okay listening?"
Dream chuckled softly. "Your concern is welcome and honestly, refreshing. I have been… through more trauma than I appear to have, given my positive nature. Hearing about someone's suffering is never easy, especially when I cannot do anything about it. But I can handle a lot more than most give me credit for. Though I do share your concern for Blueberry…"
"Yeah… but he won't agree to sit out, we both know it… I suppose a disclaimer at the beginning will have to do."
Dream nodded in agreement before he turned to look down at his hand still on the upper part of her chest. "So… how is it? How much more do you think?"
Jewel looked down at his hand, gently putting her own over his. "It's getting there. Still cracked but it's healing nicely. Just a bit of a slow process, huh?" she chuckled.
"I suppose it would be," he smiled. "But… I do enjoy this… talking with you, and this… feeling… I don't know what this aura is but I… I just feel drawn to you. Is this why the others bond with you so quickly?"
"I hope not," Jewel sweated. "But I suppose it would. I don't use my magic around them much. I try not to use it at all."
"Why?" Dream questioned. "It's part of who you are. We all use magic in some form."
"Yeah, I suppose… it's just… different for me."
"More of what you're going to explain, I assume," Dream sighed.
"Yeah…" she sweated. "Sorry."
"It's quite all right, I understand. However… I don't know what you intended to do. This talk hasn't been… much of one. Most of the deeper questions I have you're holding back on so you don't have to explain it twice."
"I know, and I'm sorry," she said softly. "I really… really hate talking about this…" she muttered.
Dream couldn't help but chuckle. "It's quite all right. I just…" he looked a little guilty, "I just don't feel like… I should be a part of this. We're not… close, not like the others. I do like you, Jewel. You're friendly and nice… I just don't feel like I… deserve to know something so personal as you were to share with your friends, especially when it bothers you to do so."
"I know this is kind of a rushed meeting. Nothing really… to connect, but…" she reached over and gently patted his skull. He looked up at her again, for once, seeing past her eyes as she smiled warmly at him. "I like you, Dream. You're sweet and you care about everyone. It's hard to see you as anything but a friend. Besides," her hand moved from his skull to over his chest. "It's nice to meet someone who gets it, ya know? Maybe not exactly but it's…"
Dream could feel his soul humming as her hand moved over it in his chest. At her wounds, he felt the positivity surge from her and into him. His soul swelled. For a moment, he felt like he was a child again. With his brother, under that tree. The happy memories he shared with him, the time they spent loving each other before he started to succumb… To have someone like that again… someone who understood what he was, his role… Blueberry and Ink, they were good friends but they just… the type of magic he had, it was rare. And it seemed this person before him had the same magic, if not a similar one.
"Jewel… I would be honored to be your friend," he said, tears starting to line his eyes. He didn't know why. He was just… so happy… and it wasn't like her aura did what his did… even if it was… he wouldn't be affected by it, would he?
"Hey now, no need for tears," Jewel smiled at him as she gently wiped the tears away from his eyes. "I'm definitely not worth crying over."
"That's not true."
Dream and Jewel blinked and turned, seeing Blueberry standing there, tears lining his bright blue eyes.
"Blue? How long have you been there?" Jewel asked softly.
"I just… I was worried about how long it was taking… E-Error's not back yet but I…"
"Oh, Blue…"
When she stretched out her hand toward him, that was all it took for Blueberry to rush over to her. His gloved hand took hers, and he felt surprised when she pulled him down and into her lap. Dream was still healing her and he put his hand on her chest with him, trying to will whatever he had to her.
"Blue, it's okay."
"This wouldn't have-!" His head was quickly flicked, stopping him from continuing.
"No. This is no one's fault except Nightmare's. He attacked, his choice, stuff happens. I should have thought things through more, I forgot a crucial detail, but I've also never had damage like this done to me before. It didn't register fully until afterward. Still, despite my lack of preparedness, this is no one's fault except Nightmare's, okay?"
He felt her arms wrap around him, feeling something… strange. Between Dream's aura and hers… well, obviously he couldn't help but feel better, happy, but…
"What's… this?" Blue asked, his eyes filled to the brim in the shape of stars as Jewel's aura seemed to become more visible, a white glow around her, much like Dream's golden one, except white magical particles were flying upward.
"Part of my magic, Blue," Jewel smiled. "It's… well, it's like Dream's, I suppose," she told them both. "His aura makes people feel happy, while mine… well… grants special protection to people."
"Like what?" Blueberry asked, his eyes practically sparkling.
Jewel chuckled a little. "Well, how about we allow the others to learn with you, hm? In the meantime," she turned to Dream, "You don't mind the extra company, do you?"
Dream chuckled. "Not at all. I think we were about done anyway. Now, how about we focus on finishing up your healing."