Linya is working on a massive flowchart-like diagram of a planned software project for Dr. Cheung. It's laid out in every color and in three dimensions with sprawl of its little writing that takes up most of her office and keeps fading out at the edges and in her shadow when she moves around, but reappears when she turns or approaches.
"Are you planning to spend your non-hospitalized convalescence at Vorkosigan Surleau again? Being, if at all possible, hand-fed?"
"I don't strictly speaking need to be hand-fed, at least not as much as I did when I couldn't move my arms. But if the opportunity presents itself..."
"I suspect the sternum replacement would make it more comfortable not to move your arms unnecessarily."
"You're right about that. But it's not as bad on that score as having my actual arm bones replaced."
"You could probably convince me to feed you some of the time anyway."
"I don't suppose this incident will convince you to schedule the rest of your bones sooner rather than later."
"I am not feeling very positively about bone replacement surgery right now," he says. "Even considering the alternative. The surgery is fresher in my mind, and I don't have the satisfaction of having watched Bel Thorne stun everyone responsible. Besides, there aren't that many left."
"Well, it's up to you, but I thought I'd ask. The scheduled version of the surgery skips much quicker to the part where I come and sing to you without the days in transit having received approximately field medicine."
"Mm, no, sadly I must disagree," he says. "The best part is getting out of the fucking hospital afterward."
"I don't know if I'd categorize that as a part in quite the same way, but I'll concede the point."
"Good." He closes his eyes. "Sorry to ruin your fun, but I think I'd like to sleep now. It's hard work lying here flat on my back all damn day."
She gives him a kiss and leaves him be.
He does like it when Linya sings to him, though.
And then he will get out of the hospital, and go to Vorkosigan Surleau, and wish to be hand-fed some fraction of the time. It's a large fraction to start with, but he is determined to regain full upper-body function as quickly as possible.
When Miles is mostly better, Linya makes plans with Ekaterin to go to an arts festival, at which may be found many arts. Linya plans to get as much of her Winterfair shopping as possible done there, since everyone she knows already has a pen and it is not traditional to compose people songs for Winterfair.
She finds a series of landscape paintings of mingled Earth and Barrayaran vegetation that she falls passionately in love with, and spends a long time staring longingly at before she finally decides she can't afford one and moves on.
Ekaterin receives it at Winterfair.