"I am.well enough..." she murmured as she steadied herself. She wasn't lying, but he did look worn out by all of this. She lay the little gown on top og her frock.

His frown deepened, until it hurt his face and he eased it. "Are you sure?" He stepped into the room and reached down to guide her into a chair. "Please, sit down, let me take your pulse."

Her pulse was rapid. She said, "I haven't slept for a few nights. I am just tired.: Lines of exhaustion etched in her face. "Things are happening so fast and I've been overwhelmed."

He took her wrist and felt her pulse. When she spoke, that only added to his worry. "I wish you would have told me sooner," he said, letting go of her wrist. "This isn't the time to put on a bright face and soldier on. You have the health of two people to consider now."

"Honestly speaking, I haven't felt or acted bright... I do see an end to this bad dream... just hard to relax when I grew used to toiling somehow throughout the day, it helped to wash dishes and cook because it gave me purpose and now... now I go back to my station in life, I am suddenly rich again with money I did not earn... I know I made many mistakes, so now I must find a way to earn that money or I fear I will feel guilty of greed." She took a shuddering breath. She wasn't crying at least.

She then took a deep amd calming breath, she'd learned to start coping. "I want to do good, I don't want to squander this second chance, I... I want to live after simply just existing."

"Nobody could ever accuse you of greed, Pippa," he said, remembering with some embarrassment how, unbeknownst to him, she had used her own wages to feed him. His pride would never recover.

He sat down in the chair he had occupied earlier. "Great transitions are always daunting." Then after a brief pause he added: "When I was about your age, I finished school and was ready to go to university. My school was a cold and cruel place and I had been miserable for years. Still, when it came time to leave, I felt overwhelmed and almost wished I had another year to go. I was frightened by the prospect of a big city and a new environment, with new ways of doing things. And I was certain I wasn't smart enough to pass my classes, or mature enough to take care of myself. Well, and the course was not of my choosing, admittedly, and I felt I would never be happy studying medicine.

"But then when I got there -, well, I won't say there were no challenges, but I found I was equal to them. And a few weeks in I was surprised to find to I was really happy; happier than I had been able to imagine back in school. I... I'm rambling," he stopped himself. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... change is part of growing up, of growing into the person we're meant to be, and it's scary. But you are better and more capable than you give yourself credit for. And who knows what happiness might be waiting just around the corner, once you take that leap?"