"I went to California because that was where Oliver was, no great conspiracy, okay!" He said, throwing his arms out wide. "And I'm sorry you weren't there for when Ellie was born, but hold on- yeah, neither was I. I'm sorry you weren't there for every impulsive, brash thing I've ever done, I will try to plan those better to call you first."

He heard a down opening into the hallway, and footsteps. It was probably Sarah, if he was honest, but knowing that didn't seem to stop him from plowing on.

"There haven't exactly been a lot of important things going on, for the record. And I'm fucking sorry that I didn't want to write home every day I was in Iran telling you how I almost died, or I watched as someone else died. I figured neither of you really needed to hear that, and I didn't really have fuck all else to talk about."