That seems to draw Ratchet up short for a second, his eyes widening--and then he's laughing, the sound raw and edged but genuine, stumbling a little in the snow before he manages to right himself again.

"I don't think I've been called a fun anything since I was in medical school," he says hoarsely. "Figures it'd take being kidnapped by random strangers and force-marched through the snow to improve my sunny disposition."