Ben sat carefully when Esras directed him over to the examination table, concentrating on keeping his breathing even. He closed his eyes briefly and curled his lip in a grimace, but otherwise he gave little outward indication of being in any more pain than he'd been before his encounter with Madison.
He looked up when he sensed Esras's return and took the tablets and water from him, nodding at Esras's warning about their strength. He'd have to risk it. He could always tell Delora he'd been busy with a patient if he fell asleep in front of her - after all, it'd be true. He lifted both tablets to his mouth and swallowed them down with a mouthful of water.
"The bullet was definitely for me, not her," he told Esras. "But it was his way of getting her to break cover. Either way... I just wanted you to know that I wasn't lying."
He looked up more sharply at Esras when the tone of his voice seemed to change. He hadn't heard him sounding quite so... harsh... in some time. "Even if what he said was true," he replied, "she was a child. He had no right to do what he did to her. Nobody did - not at that age." He didn't mention Sweet Thing's name, but then he didn't have to. "Whatever she did out of choice is in the past. It's hardly like she was waiting for me to come along, and I don't lose sleep worrying about what happened in the past. It's what happens now and in the future, they're all that matter. And," he acknowledged Esras's words with a small grin, "the fact that she loves me."
He'd slipped his shirt off while he was speaking. It wasn't so difficult a task since he'd been wearing buttoned shirts following his injury. They were simply easier to deal with. So he held his arms out and let Esras bind his ribs, saying very little while he did. He grunted once or twice with pain but it wasn't as bad as it might have been and at least he'd be in a better condition to see Delora once it was done. He nodded when Esras asked if he was better. "Much, thanks." Then he reached for his shirt again and carefully shrugged it on both of his arms and up around his shoulders.
"I should go and check on her," he decided. "We should... you'll need to do her obs." Somehow, insisting on having her all to himself seemed more than a little selfish. After all, she was Esras's sister and, in spite of their rocky beginnings, Ben liked Esras.