Kathy tried not to flinch at that tone, but yeah, too many memories of hearing it. At her was bad. Because of her was worse.

"I...I think so, yes," Kathy said softly. "Because you're in pain and we don't know why. And if we don't know why, we can't mitigate it."

She was guessing that this wasn't really a fixable thing.

"I know that when you're hurt, your want to curl up and keep anyone from knowing that you're vulnerable," she said. "But sometimes what you need is to talk about it, get it out, and let the people who love you take care of you."