The bonk caught him completely off-guard, not something he expected in general or from her. More startled than anything, he leaned back long enough for her words to get out.

"Hey," he said, a little weakly, "talk behind the lines is different than action on a battlefield, isn't it? I learned my lesson about that long ago, when I couldn't do what needed to be done on my own. Pride's not what's the most important thing."