Falling quiet, Sydney frowned just a bit. His voice was rough, less like the roughness of sleep finally catching up with him and more like -- like something she hadn't personally experienced at this point in her life. Like something she never wanted to experience again.
"I'm real. This is real." This was real and he was who he was, she was who she was. No mind tricks and no bullshit. "And I'm not going to hurt you, David." She replied quietly, reassuringly. But how reassuring was a ghost?
His hair was longer, like the memories she had seen before, and just as messy. It had been more of a pain than her own hair when they had switched, floppy and with a mind of its own. The urge to push through it was there again, to sooth it away from his face.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." This time, because of gloves and situation, Sydney allowed herself to do it. She moved slowly, not wanting to startle him, likely unable to do anything but.