"I'm brilliant! No one's tried to knick anything today, so I consider it a success." Even as he spoke, though, he peered around Katie, raising his tone slightly so that a school-aged boy eying a jar of candies suspiciously would realize he was still being watched. Turning his attention back to Katie, Fred returned the question with the same sort-of obvious lightly-but-seriously tone she had imposed on him seconds earlier. "How have you been lately?" They hadn't seen much of each other lately, but he was still all-too-aware of the troubles Katie had been having over the past while.