She can feel the tension seeping out of his muscles slowly, bit by bit. Like there's a part of him that had still been waiting to thaw out. How long has he been holding himself together like this, through stubborn minded determination? Years, she suspects. James - her James - was always her safe place to land, and she'd been the same for him. This one had been alone for quite some time.

A little smile quirks at the corner of her lips when he speaks again. Even though she knows he's speaking metaphorically, she shifts her arm so she can graze her nails lightly, slowly up and down the line of his spine. Not really scratching his back so much as reaffirming that she doesn't disagree with the thought. After a few moments, her hand comes to rest in the middle of his back, just below his shoulder blades, and she does actually lightly scratch his back there. Right in the spot it would be impossible to reach on his own.

"Well then, if this is all the universe wanted me to do while I was here, I'm going to consider this a trip well spent."