He tries not to flinch at that--not because she's offended him in some way or anything, it's just that for a minute, he'd almost forgotten the reason they're both even awake right now. He clears his throat, rubbing at his eyes like he can rub his worry from his mind and manages to nod because if he's silent any longer, she'll know for sure something's off and he doesn't want her to think that. At least, not any more than she already does. "Beats the alternative. Although, Chuck definitely beat the odds so I guess it's possible I could have, too."

"To be fair," he counters, "I've had about 15 more years worth of chances to be stupid. And I know plenty of people who would attest to the fact that they think I am, genius thing aside. You make choices, you deal with the consequences, you learn from it. That's how it is and hell, that's a bare bones simplification of how science works, too. Besides, you may not have saved the world but you definitely saved me. From, y'know, bleeding on the floor. More than once."