By 'I'm fine,' Rae had only meant that she wasn't in any direct and immediate danger, that the coughing fit was past and wouldn't cause any lingering complications. Not to insinuate that the situation as a whole was anything other than thoroughly messed up.

She suspects he knows this, on some level. Even just turning back to face forward and sit normally is a trial, requiring gentle and carefully balanced coordination between what limbs she hasn't yet injured.

"You could hand me that water," she suggests.