[He does feel bad about putting her in this spot, but it's an honest relief to hear that she wants to stick by him through it. She doesn't have to-- they'd never formalized any of this in the first place and here Joel was bringing unfamiliar baggage to her doorstep.

Back in their world, asking people to go out on a limb for you to this extent could get you justifiably killed. They were partners, and that was different, but it was still a huge responsibility to pass on, to ask someone to watch more than one back.]

Yeah, I know. You can take your time. She's an understanding kid, considering how we got along at first. [He clears the back of his throat.] 'appreciate it, Tess. I hope you know.