Oh — no, thank you. I would, but I've got work in the morning, and they don't like junior doctors even slightly off their game. [ Her faint surprise is momentary. While listening, she forgot the liquor was even there. It's a little gratifying to hear some of her own thoughts put in someone else's words, and she inclines her head in a nod, smile broadening. ]

I understand what you mean, though. There is a certain serenity in someone who is willing to make themselves fully part of humanity, with all the emotional and even sentimental hills one has to climb to get there. I wish more people believed that intellectual detachment doesn't make anyone superior; it's a futile attempt at being separate.

And it's probably asking for fate to knock them over. Hubris.