Ernest sighed with a sort of relief when the other woman finally made her exit, and fortunately the attention they'd attracted in that moment seemed to dissipate again, judging eyes following Gellhorn from the room and seemingly forgetting the other two involved.
"Oh my God-" he breathed, holding onto her in return- he had been going to ask her if she was okay, but given the way she just adjusted her outfit and told him she needed a drink seemed to answer it for him. She was tougher than even he'd given her credit for.
He held onto her arm as they headed back to the bar, and two more strong cocktails were mixed for them. He gave her a wide grin, and reached out to fix her ruffled hair with his fingers. "You're fucking amazing, you know that, right?" he told her, then gently dabbed at her slightly bloody lip with his thumb before leaning forward to very softly kiss her swollen lip better.