The word 'mate' made all of this sound even more revolting. He would respect her choice, but oh no, he wouldn't participate in this. (Nor would he inflict a Tobias-Alice type of situation on any of his friends). The options he thought about were work she could do in her situation. But he kept his thoughts to himself and just nodded. "Alright then, I'll bear it in mind. Now go lie down, Pippa. You do look tired."

And he suddenly felt exhausted as well.