Mark's not quite used to this kind of thing. Mr. Milchick was willing to smile, but it came out at the most unsettling of times. And Ms. Cobel, of course, rarely did. He pauses for a moment before taking Dr. Darling's outstretched hand and shaking it.

"Mark S.," he replies, though of course Dr. Darling already knows that. "I've been in MDR for two years."