[Not the term he should have used. He means on her part, of course, but those confessions - the little scars that mar the tan on his arms, other places she hasn't seen - he can't pretend this couldn't be something else to him. If he lost the detachment, the clinical reliance he's shown here so far. If they lost the clinic, even. Give this another name and setting and he wouldn't have qualms about setting needles to her skin.
But he maintains the distance of business, the manner of work.]
Hold still. Just the clamp.
[He was right, there isn't much to work with. It pulls her throat taut.]
too early;
[Not the term he should have used. He means on her part, of course, but those confessions - the little scars that mar the tan on his arms, other places she hasn't seen - he can't pretend this couldn't be something else to him. If he lost the detachment, the clinical reliance he's shown here so far. If they lost the clinic, even. Give this another name and setting and he wouldn't have qualms about setting needles to her skin.
But he maintains the distance of business, the manner of work.]
Hold still. Just the clamp.
[He was right, there isn't much to work with. It pulls her throat taut.]