Tseng strangled an annoyed sigh. "Are you resigning, then? I won't hold it against you, but I would like to know who I can count on." He paused for a minute, considering how to answer her next question. "Your time as a Turk has been somewhat different from the others. Because of my position, I cannot afford to get too close to all of you. And...I was under the impression that what you wanted from me is a relationship I cannot give you."

He sighed softly. If she was angry enough to be that blunt...well, something here had gone way too long. "They are, but that doesn't change the fact that I am repsonsible for the three of you. And - my relationship with you has always been different, Elena. Reno and Rude have been Turks almost as long as I have, before I was even Veld's second. You, I hired and trained myself. It is...difficult for me, to look past that initial dynamic."

He looked at her, not bothering to hide the uncertainty on his face. "I know. And - I'm sorry. I'm...not very good with friendships." He tried to think of the best way to hand this. "As insensitive of me as it sounds - how can I make things up to you?"

He returned the small smile. "Well, let me know. I think I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands in the next few weeks to deal with things." The last was said with a wry note in his voice and a gesture at his injured leg. "And...I'm not actually upset at Reno. I understand why he did what he did."

He sighed, the noise frustrated. "Elena, I'm sorry, but my head still hurts - you're going to have to be a little clearer."

He waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. As you said, its been a difficult few days, and things were not the same as they are now."

"Probably three weeks before I can put my full weight on it. It was a good shot on Reno's part - right into the joint. The doctors were rather unhappy about me checking myself out so soon after getting it pieced back together. I imagine Reno isn't much better off."

"That's good - hopefully he won't be too annoyed when he wakes up. And we'll both be fine - we're Turks, after all. Though it's a bit of an inconvenience."

"I think I'm fine for the moment, although if you could ask Aeris to bring some food up in a bit, that would be appreciated. Just no dairy - I think we still have some fruit left..."

Tseng gave her a small smile. "Thank you."