Scott made a point of meeting Sandy's eyes, even if he couldn't see it. It tended to make conversation better, and it was a base level of respect that was simply not-optional for him in any situation that wasn't far more dire than sitting around a hotel room and waiting for sunset.

"Most of the school sees me as their teacher, their field commander, or both. Even those few who have been around since I was a kid were led by me from the start." It demanded he be separated from them a bit, and that was something he was more than used to, but until recently he'd had Jean to counterbalance that. " And no one knows what the hell to do with me now."

Another reason they were here, now, he thought.