"Uh," he says, doing his damndest to mimic her tone (though not too successfully), "it's probably been weeks, but frak if I..."

Know, is how he intends to end that -- to say time has gone lopsided on him is a massive understatement -- but before he even reaches the end of that sentence, he's trailing off, his heart not into the sarcasm.

Clumsily, Gaeta lifts a hand to press it to his mouth. More hoarsely: "How long since the attacks?"