[Kirk takes back his photo and carefully puts it away. A corner of his lip twitches when Vander flatters him. He’s sure he would’ve been flustered by him back then. Not that he was much smoother now]

Yes. Around the last year of my education, I started getting sick. My diagnosis was terminal lymphoma. Blood cancer. I was dying. At the time, I was already studying vampire bats and how their venom could treat blood conditions. Suddenly, my research had a new sense of urgency.