It was high-handed, but Maria didn't know how do it any other way. She was concerned, and so of course she was doing everything she could think of, and damn if he wanted it or not, it was good for him.
Even if it irritated him. "You can be useful in two days when your back stops aching," she said, and tried for briskness rather than grimness.
But she brooded as she dumped a pile of rice onto her plate. "I've taken shrapnel," she finally admitted. "I've blown out my eardrums. I've been shot and stabbed. I know the only way to heal is to actually rest and not just keep pushing a pen across paper."