Joan thought for a moment, trying to come up with an answer, but she didn't have one. Not one that would be sufficient. She'd had colleagues once and friends. Boyfriends. But lately-- she could understand.

She wanted those relationships, but this way it was safe. Meeting people and making acquaintances as a sober companion. It kept distance while feigning closeness. A superficial closeness. And Holmes refused to play by those rules leaving her to contemplate too heavily the lack of relationships she had now after cutting ties.

"They don't think about how it might go wrong, they just hope it will go right." she says at last, shrugging. "You've let people into your life before... not everyone is as discriminating. Maybe they should be a little, but to be overly so is just as bad."

Joan gave a half shrug, "You might miss out on something-- something worth hoping for."

There was her best answer. A mantra she hadn't even taken to heart lately, but being around him...it made her think. Made her wonder.