"And how," Priestly said with feeling, knowing that Dinah would get the true meaning even while the doctor just thought hew as really into chocolate. He put his hands down on the bed, all set to just hop up -- then thought better of it and eased himself to his feet. "Oh hey, it feels just as weird as it looks."

The doctor smirked. "So I hear," he said, holding a sheet of paper out. "Here's some instructions for cleaning it up when you get home. The skin'll be really sensitive for a couple days, so don't scrub at it. Gentle is the name of the game."

Priestly saluted and took the paper. "Anything else I should know?"

"I imagine plenty of people have told you not to jump in front of cars," the doctor said. "So I'll just go with pointing out that the Metronome's got an open mic night coming up again in a week or so." He smiled. "My husband'll be disappointed if he doesn't get to see you perform, this time."