He shifts a little closer. "Easy," he says, a little softer. "I strongly dislike anyone giving me a runaround, and I do not tolerate avoidance and deflection in my patients, but I'm not going to rip your defenses away on first meeting. Suffice to say: yes, I can see that you are in pain. You don't have to dance around it like it doesn't exist. You don't have to lay it bare to me, either."