"You've done enough, I can handle it," she said, bolstered into a little stubborn bravado by his oddly kind grip on her shoulder (her muscles were so tense that his grip hurt, and she felt the strength of his hand for minutes after he'd released her.) She set her jaw and rearranged Telos in her arms, trying to think if there was anything left in the car but coming up entirely blank. She had Telos, what else mattered?
If she cluttered up Ares' car with baby things, it mattered. "I'll come down and check," she said, thinking that then she could see for herself that Marcie wasn't still down there, ignoring all warnings, ready to hurl more painfully true barbs toward her...