There had been a time, even a year ago at the ranch, when John would have chaffed over the necessity of being out of training. He'd needed to badly to prove he could do both, be a geek and a fighter. But, somewhere, he'd lost that need. Oh, he still felt like he had to prove himself. And he wasn't sure what his place would be, or if he even still had a place in his world. But he also had a lot more real confidence in himself and his abilities these days. So, when he saw Vance through the window, he wasn't plagued by the need to keep working just to prove he was dedicated or as good as Dom and Sheldon.
"Are you okay, Sir?" In two plus years, he'd never called the man anything but 'Sir' and, yet, the director was probably the person he felt closest to after Brian and Derek. Sitting beside the older man, John watched him with concern. "I haven't seen you like this since that first month after I got here. Can I do anything?"