It takes every ounce of Natalia's considerable will not to snatch James from Steve's arms the very instant he begins to slur. The urge does not disperse with time.

"I see the aftermath took some time to contain," she snaps, trying very hard to regret that in the moment that follows. Natalia is a woman given easily to anger, and it's only the control built up over an extended lifetime that presents her as anything but. She takes a breath, watches Steve's miserable gaze pass by her, and takes another. That James has damn near drunk his skin yellow is not reason to discount the horrors that came before.

"Come in," she says, moving to support James' other side. "Both of you. Please." Guiding one of James' sluggish feet over the threshold, she notes, "He's been through something like this before."