An answer in the dark

"Yeah," You say.

"Good," Lance says, opening the door and stepping inside.

Walking into the room, he sits down in the room's one chair, "I'm guessing you hears most of that?"

"Not most, just the loud parts," You admit, "Most of it was too soft to understand."

Lance nods, seeming to appreciate your honesty, "My daughter wants you to stay," He begins, "And I'm not as sure its a good idea." He has no hostility in his voice, "But my daughter brought up a good point. She said that I've always told her to look out for others when she can, to give people a hand up when they need it."

He seems to fidget, trying to find the right words, "I'm so proud of her. She's a better person than I'll ever be." A brief pause, "When everything hit the fan, I took care of family first, but she still wants to reach out to help a complete stranger, even if it could cost us the resources we need to survive."

Taking a deep breath, he continues, "If you want to move on, that's fine. We'll make sure you have everything you can carry when you leave here. But if you want to stay, you need to show me that you're useful, that you can pull your own weight."

"Rei wants to start a garden, and she's been collecting seeds when she finds them." Lance lets out a sigh, "There's an old greenhouse outside that she's going to start planting tomorrow." His gaze locks on yours, "If you want to stay with us, you're going to make a supply run with me tomorrow."

He reaches out, patting your thigh through the blankets in a fatherly gesture, "Think about what you want to do, we can start working out the details tomorrow."