Ford brightened at the question. He'd assumed when Tycho made the quip about needing to change clothes before dinner that it was a way of subtly drawing some boundaries around his evening, so he hadn't expected to be welcome to stay. He certainly wouldn't have begrudged Tycho if he needed an evening to collect himself after such an outrageous ordeal as what he'd just been through.

"If you want me to," he replied. "I'm technically still on call the rest of the day, but — well, you saw what a grand lion tamer I turned out to be. I'm sure I'm the Department's last resort by now."

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