John winces slightly, as his eye is exposed to what light there may be in the surrounding area, and he does his best to open it and look at her. His eye is half-swollen shut, surrounded by a rainbow of colored bruising. The eye itself, as he opens it, is a lurid red, and seems to have been watering more or less constantly for some time now.

"He did," he replies, steeling himself for whatever other examination there may be to follow. He imagines it may be uncomfortable, to say the least. "He did not seem to care for the news I had to share with him, of what had passed between us in his absence. Ironic, as I had hoped to spare us all from any difficult or painful secrets between us."

His lips twist in a somewhat self-deprecatory smile. "While painful, it is no longer a secret, at least?"