thank the gandy dancers for a path well worn

No.

At first he fell dumbstruck, silent and taut as Caiaphas' final drawl echoed round his skull and her shadowed form began to drift from sight. He hadn't heard her right - he couldn't have. But the thought was fleeting. His spine still bristled from her jarring gaze, a stare unrelenting, a blatant challenge, a smile that set itself in stark contrast to the words she'd spoke, and with a lurch the youth flashed to his feet.

On swift paws he bounded toward her, heart and mind relentless as her resolve to leave him on a thread. "Why not? He is not yours to keep." His voice came sharp, forceful, and he stood his ground, unwilling to let the woman slip away without giving him passage to the child he sought.