"Busy is an understatement," David told Leah with a small smile. "I think for awhile there I knew this place better than the layout of my room." There was other stuff he did too, stuff that kept him completely busy to the point that at times, it felt like he was a chicken with his head cut off, but, "That's what happens when you're the only vet in a place like this, I guess."
People didn't realize often enough how good of a man his brother was. David smiled sadly. "He was," he said simply. "Braver than anyone else I know." David supposed that was why he'd died so soon, his bravery. The question he was going to ask was one he'd only ask people he trusted, and he was even nervous now. "Do you believe in any kind of afterlife? Not, like... Heaven or Hell or whatever people say, but, something? That people go somewhere after they die?" he asked.
When "nothing bad will happen" permeated his ears, David went quiet for a moment and thought of how he, Elliot and Allie had told Rae the same thing. And now, two of the three were gone. He sincerely hoped things went better for Leah. "He seems like a paternal type. He'll be a good dad, I'm sure." He and Elliot had been alike in a lot of ways.
O'Brien still being out of commission had David's mind much on the same plane that Leah's was. Not that he didn't think O'Brien was a capable security chief, but the man they had in the job had something of a reputation for rousing rabble, and they truly didn't need that around here at the state they were currently in. "Has there been thought to appointing someone else?" he asked her. "No disrespect meant to O'Brien or what's his name, but... it sounds like there needs to be someone entirely new in there." He wondered who the likeliest candidate was, and secretly hoped it was someone other than Leah's brother or his criminal friend.
When Marigold smiled and waved, David mimicked the gesture and crouched down to shake Marigold's hand just like he always did. "Hey, Miss Mari. Long time no see, hm?"
Bringing her to see a creature that she was scared of was a tentative subject, and David wanted to be careful with how he broached it. "So, you like cuddly animals, right, Mari?" he asked her genuinely, softly. He hoped that was easing enough into it not to startle her.