"Excuse you, it's a good goddamn face!" Come on, laugh a little, man. Sometimes you just have to or you'd curl up in a fucking fetal position and cry.

"Alright..." He straightens up after the boards back in place, holding up his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry. Truth is, I'd be shitting my goddamn pants right now if I let myself, but it's not gonna help. It won't change whatever happens to us next and believe me, I get it. You don't forget watching somebody die. You never do." Not from cancer, not from your own fucking hands. Best you can do is not think about it.

"But I'm being real goddamn serious about this. I don't know what rules apply here. You ever see me taking my last breath, from this or anything else, you beat my fucking head in the first chance you get. I wouldn't trust just anybody with that, but-- hey, we're friends, right?"

He gives him a look as he holds the torch back out for him to take. "And I'd say we're sharing a real special bond right now."