Though Jamie had, during monsoon season, started to think about possibly relocating to a less isolated location, he was, in that moment, absolutely grateful for his home's distance from the rest of the island. Following his less than ideal conversation with Theresa a few hours prior, he'd needed the time to decompress, his heart rate spiking whenever he afforded the incident more than a passing thought -- and given what they'd talked about, it was pretty much all he could think about. While she'd had a point, saying that her love life was none of his business, it had been the only real argument she'd had in her favor, and he was filled with the sort of righteous indignation that had fueled so many of his efforts back in the real world, where Sergent Brad Colbert mercifully didn't exist.

By the time the house -- and Layla, he noted -- was in view, he was only marginally more calm than he'd been, his steps heavy against the packed dirt. Richards ran out to greet him, but he didn't pay the dog any mind, walking by him without so much as leaning down to pat his head.

"You will not believe the day I've just had."