[Lance's confidence and self-esteem come and go, often rapidly, and they make a big difference in how he feels when dealing with other people. When he's sure of himself he can easily disregard others' less-than-great ideas and loose morals, but when he's having a bad day he begins to second-guess himself. It's not really in terms of thinking he's wrong, exactly, but more a strange feeling that maybe the way he sees and understands things aren't actually how they are.

But he's also aware that's one of those holdover issues from his difficult childhood that shows itself now and again, and not only is Nate right but the response is significantly reassuring. It means a lot that not only does Nate believe in him, but is willing to help.

So he nods, quiet a few moments not because he's upset, but because he feels like his voice might do something embarrassing if he tries to talk right away. But he feels a lot better, much calmer now and more like he can handle dealing with everyone for round two.]

I will. Thank you.

[And he means both parts of that, taking a deep breath and straightening up a little.]

I'm going to see if the repair team is organizing itself, or if they need some direction. I also want to talk to Nick and Michael about what happened; are you planning to stick around, or did you want to escape while you can?

[He definitely gets if Nate wants to do the latter.]