[Lazarus and Nathan are painfully similar in a lot of uncomfortable regards, and this is one of them. They both have a tendency to miss the forest for the trees, and fail utterly at seeing when they have to let up on their neglect and abuse of themselves while being able to see what others are doing all too clearly. Lazarus very much sees the corpse staring back at him when he looks into the mirror, but solutions are not as obvious. It means changing, after all, and change is no guarantee of success. It's too much to worry about when he's barely holding on and making ends meet as it is. Since his illness after the cataclysm, he's been more afraid that ever of upsetting that delicate balance.]

I recognize them all at a glance if I've seen them before, so this is significant.

[He looks like he's trying to think of where to go next with it, and whether or not he can bounce ideas off of someone who's on his level intellectually. And then Nathan hits him with a gentle bombshell that he can't just gloss over and move past.]

Sometimes there isn't another way. Unless you're implying that you think this is beyond me, Nathan?

[He keeps his tone neutral, questioning without being accusing.]