Rita tenses when he places his hand over hers. The last thing she expected was to be thanked for those things now, after all that arguing. Her face reddens and after a moment of confused staring, she jerks her hands away.

"I-it was the obvious thing to do. Both of those things," she mutters, awkwardly. Without looking at him, she adds, quickly enough that it could almost be missed, "I'm glad you're back."

She is, even though she's absolutely furious about his opinions on Ignatius. For the past week, she's been compiling notes, researching the fae... and finding herself reminded again and again that the one person who'd be most enthusiastic about the task, who'd eagerly read every word of hers and contribute plenty of his own thoughts, wasn't there.