[For Lee]

[not_the_chav]

There was a school of thought that said that all of life's trials were simply lessons to be learned. A sort of cosmic equalizer, opportunities disguised as difficulties. It was a nice thought, and Martha might have agreed with it had she not been beaten over the head with one particular lesson so many times. Of course, there was always the

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[just_a_cag]

Lee hadn't been avoiding Martha either, but when Dee showed up in the clinic that day, and not long afterward, had ended up living with him, he'd found himself distracted. But more than anything else, he'd spent the week trying to figure out what the frak it all meant.

He hadn't quite figured that out yet when Martha ran into him in the compound hallway, and before he could open his mouth to speak, she'd said the words 'I met your wife'.

Sometimes it was easy to forget how small the island was.

Lee blinked twice, surprised. "...you did?" He knew that he'd have to tell her about Dee, but somehow, he thought there'd be more build-up to it than that.

[not_the_chav]

"Yeah," Martha confirmed, the pleasant nod that accompanied it a little too crisp, too formal. Realising that she was still touching Lee, she jerked her hand away from his arm and took half a step back. "She was ill, but she seemed nice. Is she feeling any better?"

It felt as if she were standing outside of herself, watching the interaction with all the morbid fascination one might direct to a train wreck. She rather wanted to smack herself for being so bloody inane.

[just_a_cag]

"Yeah, she's uh...she's fine," Lee replied, a little surprised by Martha's reaction. He furrowed his eyebrows. "She was treated before she ended up here, thank the gods."

He looked down at his arm, at where Martha had touched him, and then back up again. He wasn't sure if this, or living with Dee was more awkward right now.

"...I didn't know I was married, Martha." He said.

[not_the_chav]

Martha hesitated a long, tense moment, and then closed her eyes with a slow sigh and a press of her fingers against the bridge of her nose. There was really no point to the facade, and she wasn't entirely certain why she'd put one up to begin with.

"It's okay, Lee," she answered as she opened her eyes again. "I wasn't trying to suggest anything. I'm not upset. I'm... happy for you. Really." And she was, on some fundamental level, even if it was difficult to acknowledge.