Ash didn't know what he could do to help Ruby and it was slowly gnawing away at him. She was being worn down both by her sudden role as mother and by not knowing how to deal with Flora's ongoing grief.
He wanted to support her but couldn't really do anything beyond offering words of encouragement. He had told himself from the moment she agreed to let him stay by her side that he couldn't do anything to mess that up so he was forced to tread carefully.
If he had things his way, he would be touching her every second they were both awake to be positive she was still here with him. But that would probably put her off so he resisted the urge.
That didn't mean Ash didn't sneak in friendly little touches as much as he possibly could, such as purposely reaching for the dice at the same time. It was underhanded but he would take what he could get.
