It was with a pang of regret that she watched him grow serious; if anyone had earned a break from the trouble at home, it was him. Still, wishing something to be didn't make it so, and the two of them were nothing if not pragmatic.

The news would only get worse, though, and since there was no way to sugarcoat it, she just came out and said it. "He's been assigned to my apartment."

With a casualness she didn't exactly feel, she came towards him and picked up the glass of milk, if nothing else, to give herself something to do with her hands.