He hugged her close, once again stroking her back as he set his tea aside. He loved to hold her, though he could wish the reason did not exist. His eyes narrowed as he thought of that reason, but he cast it away. Lily was who and what needed his attention now.
"When I was a boy, I was in the ballet, and my mother loved the color orange, so all my tights were orange. And I danced until I was 15 and I managed to hurt my Achilles tendon. Bloody painful, but it's not every day you thank God for injuring you, so that you can get out of dancing in an orange leotard."