Better Sorry Than Safe
Mick drove in silence through the streets of LA stealing a quick glance every now and again at the sleeping red head beside him. He had known she was exhausted, he'd seen it in her face, so he wasn't the least bit surprised when she'd fallen asleep before they had even left Rodeo Drive. She'd been sleeping so heavily that had he not been able to hear her heart beat and steady breathing he'd have thought she was…
Mick shook his head clearing the thought from his mind. That wasn't going to happen he assured himself. There were dangers everywhere, but as long as he was alive er undead, she'd be safe. He would keep her safe.
She would be safe from anything or anyone who was capable of hurting her, including Coach Creassup and the company he was keeping. Beth might not believe she needed protecting from the coach, but Mick was sure of it. So sure of it in fact, that his plans after seeing Beth to her apartment were dropping by Brandon Creassup's home for some surveillance. Then maybe later he'd stop by Josef's and apologize to Alana for the way he'd behaved at lunch.
He turned into the parking garage below Beth's building and parked his car in an empty space near the elevator and stairway to the apartments. He turned off the car and pulled the keys from the ignition. Mick looked over at Beth who had begun to stir.
Beth lifted her head from where it was resting against the passenger seat and looked over at Mick.
"Hey, you're awake." Mick said with a smile. "I was beginning to think that tiramisu somehow induced coma." he told her with a laugh.
Beth sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She managed a small chuckle. "I guess I really haven't been getting enough sleep." she yawned. "Thank you for driving me home." she reached down by her feet and grabbed her purse and a shopping bag that was on the floor of the car.
"No problem." Mick told her as he got out of the car and made his way to the passenger side of the vehicle.
Beth sat up a little too fast the feeling of dizziness she had earlier returning. She leaned back in the car seat set her bag down beside her and brought a hand to her head. Nausea rolled through her stomach She took a few deep breaths determined not to throw up in Mick's car.
Mick noticed Beth's heartbeat had quickened and her breathing had changed as he opened the door for her. She was pale again like she had been at the restaurant. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Beth closed her eyes and nodded her head. "I'm fine Mick." she told him flatly as she tried to keep her lunch down.
"Why don't you just take a minute and sit? Lemme help you with your things." he insisted reaching behind Beth's seat for the large dress box Martin had given him earlier. Despite what she told him, he knew she was not fine. She was run down and sick.
Beth opened her eyes, sat up and slipped her purse over her shoulder. She looked up at Mick. "Thanks Mick, but I can take it from here." she stated rising from the car.
Mick held out his hand to help her exit the vehicle. She looked to him like a newborn fawn walking on its legs for the first time.
Beth grasped his hand tightly as she got to her feet. "Thanks." she told him reaching for the box he held.
"Beth. Please let me help you. I'll carry your bags and walk you up to your apartment. You're not in any condition to carry them up yourself." It was clear she needed to get upstairs and go to bed as soon as possible.
Beth shot Mick a dangerous look and got ready to snap at him but instead found herself agreeing with him when she swayed on her heels towards him.
"Forget carrying your bags. I'm carrying you!" Mick insisted setting the box back in the car. He closed the car door and held Beth against him with both arms.
Beth grasped Mick's upper arms for balance and buried her head against his shoulder. She groaned softly, his leather coat muffling the sound.
Mick brought a gentle hand to the back of Beth's head stroking her hair softly. "Let's get you upstairs and in bed. I'll come back for your things." He took an unnecessary breath inhaling her sweet scent wishing that she didn't have to be sick for them to be this close.
Beth lifted her head from Mick's shoulder and looked up at him with big doe eyes. She nodded slowly and took a step back so he could lift her in his arms. Before he had the chance to scoop her up Beth found herself making a mad dash for the elevators, throwing down her purse, lowering herself to the ground and leaning over a large potted plant where she emptied out the contents of her stomach.
Mick was at her side in an instant, he stooped to the ground behind her and lifted an unsure hand to Beth's back not really knowing if it would comfort and soothe her. He watched as she retched into the planter wishing there was something he could do to make her feel better.
A few moments later Beth rose to her knees breathing heavily. Feeling Mick behind her she leaned back against him. She cleared her throat and began feeling around on the ground for her purse. "Mick, do you see my purse anywhere?" she managed her throat raw.
Mick grabbed Beth's purse where it lay beside him. "Yeah, it's right here. What do you need? I can get whatever you need." he reached inside Beth's bag. He had always made it a rule not to go in a woman's purse but these were circumstances in which that rule did not apply.
"Tissue." Beth replied taking a deep breath. "There should be a travel pack of Kleenex in the bottom of my purse." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
Mick retrieved the tissue and handed it to her. "Here." he told her softly.
Beth took the tissue and wiped her mouth. She then balled the tissue in her fist. She turned to Mick. "Thanks."
"Are you alright Beth? Maybe we should get you to a doctor." Mick suggested.
Beth shook her head. "I'm fine Mick. I'm just tired and I think I overdid it with the tiramisu. Nothing a little bit of the pink stuff and some sleep won't fix." she insisted swallowing hard.
"Are you sure you're alright Beth? You don't look alright." Mick questioned eyeing her carefully. She was very pale, and sweat had broken out across her brow.
"I'm fine, this is just what it looks like after a human throws up. I cannot believe I just threw up in a plant." she said with embarrassment.
Mick grabbed her purse putting it on his shoulder, slipped his arms under Beth, and held her close to his body as he rose from the ground. "I'm sure you're not the only one to ever throw up in that planter." Mick assured her with a laugh. He walked with her in his arms to the elevator, pushed the call button and waited for the doors to open. "And it's not the first time I've ever seen you throw up Beth." he reminded her. "Perris Beach ring any bells?"
Beth groaned. "There are still some things about that night that are a little bit hazy. All I remember is me and a bunch of my friends on the beach late at night and a hole lot of Peppermint Schnapps."
"Some things are better forgotten." Mick told her as the elevator doors opened. They stepped inside and Mick pressed the button for Beth's floor. "Ah, to be young and foolish." he told her with a sigh.
"What kind of trouble did you get into when you were young and foolish?" Beth asked with a grin. She was starting to feel better.
Mick chuckled. "The kind of trouble that involved girls."
"Oh so you were a ladies man." Beth replied hoarsely. "It all makes sense now."
Mick feigned a scoff. "It's the girl that always gets the guy in trouble." he defended.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
"Sometimes it's the guy that gets the girl into trouble." she reminded him with a laugh.
Mick smiled and laughed as he carried Beth out of the elevator and down the hall towards her apartment. In his case, it was definitely the girl. They turned down the hallway where Beth's apartment was located and stopped just short of her wide open apartment door.
Open door. This was not good.
Beth's eyes widened in shock and horror when she realized her door was open. "Mick, the door's open. I know I didn't leave the door open…" Great, and she had just started to feel less wobbly.
Mick gently set her on her feet, handed Beth her purse and brought a finger to his lips. "Stay here and call the police." he instructed.
Beth nodded and reached inside her purse for her phone. In all the years she had lived in LA she had never been robbed. She watched as Mick entered her apartment. "Be careful." she reminded him as she dialed 911 and brought the phone to her ear.
Mick stepped over the threshold of Beth's apartment his vamp senses focused. He walked inside and scanned the apartment for signs of the perpetrator. Hearing no heartbeats present besides Beth's out in the hall he began walking through the mess that was now Beth's home. Her possessions were everywhere; books, CDs and DVDs littered the floor of her living room. Her TV and combination DVD\VCR were missing. Her couch and chair were tipped over on their sides and her coffee table had been smashed. That was just the living room. Mick took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of the responsible party. He suppressed a growl when he realized who or what had broken into her apartment. It was the vampire Mick had smelled at the restaurant earlier; the newly turned vampire that he'd smelled on Brandon Creassup. He closed his eyes and flashed back to what had happened in Beth's apartment earlier. The vampire, whose face he couldn't see, tore through Beth's apartment. He took jewelry, electronics, and several other expensive things. But this was no ordinary robbery. Mick could feel the anger in the vampire's actions. This was a warning, a warning to Beth.
Beth who was still out in the hallway peeked in the door. "The police are on their way. Is the person..?"
"They're gone. You can come in, just watch your step. It's a mess in here."
Beth stepped into her apartment her hand instantly covering her mouth in shock. "Oh no! Oh my gosh!" she shrieked muffled by her hand. "My apartment!" she cried.
Mick walked over to where she was standing. He hated seeing her upset. "I'm so sorry Beth."
"My stuff!" She made her way to the living room. "They took my TV and my DVD player and my stereo…" she stood in the middle of the room close to tears. She looked at the chair in the kitchen hoping to see her laptop where she'd left it earlier. "My computer."
"It'll be okay Beth." Mick assured her placing his hand on her shoulder. It was going to be okay, she was safe that was all that mattered, things could be replaced.
Beth suddenly pulled away from Mick and ran to her bedroom which didn't look any better than the rest of her apartment. She raced over to her dresser, its contents littered her bedroom floor. She quickly found that her jewelry box she kept on top of the dresser was empty. All of her jewelry was gone. Josh's grandmother's precious family stone, her mother's broach, the sapphire earrings Aunt Liz gave her for her 16th birthday, her class ring… all the physical evidence of those memories stolen.
She brought a hand to her head and turned around surveying the rest of the damage. Her closet was in complete disarray. Shoe boxes full of pictures had been emptied onto the hardwood floor. She lowered herself to the floor and reached for a fallen picture. It was a photograph of her at age 13 and her mother sitting on the steps of the cabin in Big Bear, ice cream cones in their hands. She remembered that Christmas. It was so warm that they had decided to make ice cream cones and sit on the front steps. How she missed her mother. A single tear escaped her eye and made a path down her cheek. She set the picture back down.
Mick entered her bedroom. He could smell her tears. "The cops just got here." he informed Beth, his eyes scanning the room. He took a deep breath when he saw her empty jewelry box. He didn't even have to ask, he knew what was missing.
Beth rose from the floor wiped at her eyes and walked towards him. "They took everything Mick. Josh's ring, my mother's broach… everything." she sniffled.
Mick wrapped his arms around her. "It's gonna be okay Beth. It'll be alright." he soothed. "Let's go talk to the police." Not that they'd really be of any help this time. He thought to himself.
Beth looked up at him like a scared child. She nodded. "Okay." she told him softly.
After the police had left with plenty of information for their reports, and a weak promise to find the person who'd broken into Beth's place, Mick helped her put her apartment back together. They righted furniture and put books, CDs and movies back on their shelves. He helped her clean up the bathroom and the kitchen, which nothing was taken from, but was full of broken glass. He had just finished sweeping up the last broken dish when he heard Beth crying in her bedroom. Mick set down the dust pan and broom and made his way to Beth's room. He found her sitting on the bed, head in hands, tears running down her cheeks.
"How are you feeling?" Mick asked from the doorway of her bedroom.
She sniffled and looked up when she heard Mick enter the room. "I'm okay, but I'm not so sure I believe the cops theory that it was just an ordinary everyday crime."
Mick sat down beside her. He sighed. "It's not the first time the police have been wrong."
"I mean it could be anybody Mick. Someone I did a story on, someone I helped put in jail…" she hesitated and then brightened. "Wait a sec you can…" she motioned with her hands. "to the apartment and find out who did it. Right? Use your vamp senses?"
Mick nodded. "Yes, I already know who it was Beth. I knew the minute I walked in here."
She looked at him eyes wide. "You know? Well let's go find them so I can get my stuff back. Why didn't you tell me or the police?"
"I can't tell the police Beth." Mick answered tersely. "It was a vampire. The same vampire I smelled earlier at the restaurant. This was a warning Beth."
Beth scoffed. "Mick! You promised to drop the vampire smell at the restaurant talk." she reminded him.
"You asked. I told." he replied. Technically he had promised not to mention anything about the coach hanging around Beth, not the vampire smell on the coach. "The person who robbed you is not human and they are not happy. And not human and not happy is a very bad combination."
"Oh great. I guess next you're going to tell me I'm not safe here and to pack a bag and go stay at a hotel until you can take care of the person responsible. Today is turning out to be one of the worst days of my life. And to think it started out so well." she muttered sarcastically falling back onto the bed.
"You heard what the police said Beth. They said that while the person wasn't here now and statistically they don't return to the scene of the crime, they could come back. And how useful are the police going to be against a vampire?"
"If it is a vampire like you say, and that's a very big if, you're right the police are useless. But what am I supposed to do Mick? Live in fear? Run away? I have a job to do. Am I really any safer at a hotel? If this vampire really wanted to he could get to me anywhere."
Mick thought about what Beth said. She couldn't stay at her apartment since this vampire knew where she lived. He could follow her anywhere and even though Mick could keep an eye on her if she stayed at a hotel, he couldn't be sure she'd be completely safe during the hours he rested in his freezer. There was only one solution and Beth probably wasn't going to like it.
"You're right. Pack a bag Beth. You're staying at my place." he told her matter-of-factly.
"What?" Beth replied. "No." she answered sitting up on the bed.
"No? Why not? It's the perfect solution." Mick insisted. Why did she have to be as stubborn as he was?
"Because I'm still mad at you!" Beth replied. "I haven't forgotten what happened earlier at the restaurant."
"Alright I'm sorry!" he pleaded. "I'm sorry I crashed your date. I'm sorry that I was so jealous of the stupid guy that I couldn't see straight!" he told her forcefully. "Now will you pack a bag so we can go?"
Beth rose from the bed silently. She shot Mick a look over her shoulder.
"You can stay at my place until I can deal with this vampire. Then when we know it's safe you can come back here. It won't be forever." he explained.
"What about work and my car?" she asked as she moved to the closet and pulled out a large overnight bag.
"You can still go to work. Take whatever you need with you. Clothes, whatever girly things you might need. If you're feeling up to it, you can drive your car to my place. I'll follow you just in case you get sick and have to pull over and throw up in a bush."
Beth brought the bag over to the bed and walked over to her dresser. "I don't think I'll be throwing up again anytime soon. I feel much better than I did earlier. I still need sleep though." She began pulling clothes from the dresser drawers. She turned and looked at Mick. "Uh Mick, there's one flaw in your perfect solution."
Mick rose from the bed and took the clothes she was holding from her. "And that would be? I can go grocery shopping so there's actual food in the house, I have so many channels on my television you'd never get bored, wireless internet access, laundry in the building, I have a clean fully functioning bathroom…"
"I'm not so sure this is a good idea. Where am I going to sleep Mick? You don't even have a bedroom, let alone a bed." she informed him.
She had a point. It wasn't as though he had the need for a bed. Even when he was human, he'd slept on the couch. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep but after spending so many years sleeping in a freezer, he couldn't complain.
"I've been meaning to get a bed, you know for house guests. There are a few rooms upstairs. One of them is off of the bathroom, adjacent to he freezer room, it's empty right now. I usually use it for storage, but I can turn it into a guest room." he lied. He never had plans to use any of the rooms for anything other than storage and he didn't have any house guests to entertain.
"I can sleep on the couch Mick, it's not a big deal. You don't have to go to all that trouble."
"It's no trouble. I can probably order something today and have it delivered tomorrow if you can stand one night on the couch."
"Right now I would sleep on the floor without protest." she told him gathering the last of her clothes. "I just need to grab a few things from the bathroom and then we can go. Can you please grab my blue and white duffel? I saw it in the kitchen earlier." she asked disappearing in the bathroom.
"Yeah sure." Mick said as he walked out of Beth's bedroom. He made his way to the kitchen where her duffel bag lay on the floor beside the island. Mick lifted the bag from the floor and inhaled deeply scenting it for vampire. It appeared that the robber had not disturbed Beth's bag. "Got your duffel." Mick shouted from his place in the kitchen.
Beth appeared a few minutes later, purse, and overnight bag in hand. "Great. Thanks." she told him as she attempted to take the blue and white bag from his hand.
Mick shook his head and held his hand out for the bag she was carrying. "We tried this before remember? Lemme take the bags."
Beth sighed and handed him her overnight bag. "Fine, I've got the keys to that stupid blue Barbie car. You're going to follow me right?"
"Unless you want to wait and get the car later?" Mick asked. He wasn't sure he wanted her to drive seeing as she'd gotten so sick earlier and she was completely exhausted.
"It's not like you live very far Mick. I'll be fine. If I have to go get the car later that means even less sleep. I have work tomorrow." she reminded him.
"Alright." he conceded. "I'll be right behind you."
Beth nodded grabbed her keys from her purse and headed to the broken door. The landlord would be repairing it this time.
Mick and Beth exited the building, rode the elevator together down to the parking garage and got into their respective vehicles. They both started their cars and pulled out of the lot, Beth exiting to the street first Mick following behind just as he said he would.
They made it to Mick's apartment complex without any problems, parked their cars and headed into the building, Mick carrying Beth's things. Beth again had tried to take her bags from him but he insisted that he carry them and Beth, she was just too tired to argue.
Mick unlocked the door to his apartment hesitating when he remembered what it had looked like earlier. Hopefully the cleaning crew Josef sent over had taken care of the mess. He swung the door open and peered inside. Everything, with the exception of things that were broken beyond repair was back in its place. He smiled.
"Ladies first." he motioned for Beth to enter.
Beth walked into the apartment and looked around. It was cleaner than normal. And what was that she smelled in the air, bleach and lemon? She inhaled the scent as he walked over to the couch.
Mick followed Beth closing the door behind them. He set down her bags making a mental note to retrieve the rest of her packages including the large dress box from his car later.
Beth plopped down on the couch lay back and looked around. Several things were missing from Mick's apartment. All the statues he had on the shelf behind the couch, the lamps and glass sculptures, the coffee table. "Were you robbed too?" Beth asked playfully as she settled herself on the cushions.
Mick chuckled. So she noticed some things were missing. How was he going to explain this one. "I'm doing some redecorating." he answered carefully.
"Oh." Beth sighed. "I like it. It's less cluttered this way. Were you doing some cleaning too? It smells like clean in here."
"Yeah, it was just some spring cleaning. Got rid of some stuff, cleaned up the stuff I didn't get rid of." Mick tried.
Beth closed her eyes and curled up on the sofa. "What'd you do with the stuff you got rid of?" she asked yawning.
"Oh, I gave it to Josef." Mick answered quickly.
"Oh." Beth stated. "I'm sure he appreciated that."
"Yeah. Lemme grab you a blanket." Mick said when he noticed how comfortable Beth was becoming.
" 'kay" she replied softly.
Mick ran up the stairs to his bathroom and grabbed a blanket and a pillow from his linen closet. He returned to the living room to find Beth almost asleep. He brought the blanket over to the couch unfolded it and put it over her. He set the pillow down by her head in case she wanted to use it. "Sleep well Beth." he whispered leaning towards her.
"Mhmm I will." she murmured. "Night Mick… Thanks."
"You're welcome Beth."
"Mick..?" Beth asked her eyes closed and her face peaceful with almost sleep.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"You're a horrible liar. Josef would never want anything from your apartment."
Mick chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. I'll tell you the real story later."
"Sure." she replied sleepily.
"Sweet dreams Beth." he bent to kiss her forehead softly.
A delicate snore was Beth's only reply.
Mick smiled and laughed to himself. She looked so peaceful even when she was snoring. He walked over to his office which had been reorganized thanks to Josef's cleaning crew. He sat down at his desk and turned on his computer. He shut off the speakers so the sound wouldn't disturb the sleeping red head on the couch. He had some things to do. First order of business, he had to get a bed.
It'd been a long time since Mick had owned a bed. And like everything else in the world, mattresses had evolved. Mick found a local furniture store that was moderately priced and ordered a bed to be delivered tomorrow at 3 PM.
Next order of business was to call Josef, and apologize to Alana. Mick closed the door to his office and lifted the phone from the receiver on his desk. He hit speed dial 3 and listened as the phone rang.
Josef answered the phone after a few rings. "Kostan." he stated grouchily.
"Josef." Mick replied.
"Mick, Alana won't shut up about lunch. I had to send her to go look at flowers for the party on Saturday. She was driving me out of my mind! She kept muttering something about bein' cheesed off about some shady eejit ?" Josef asked sounding very confused.
"I don't speak Alana Josef, sorry. But I think she's talking about Beth's date with coach hangs-with-new-vampires." Mick answered.
"Oh, so she's in the company of a male freshie? They say once you go vampire you never go back." Josef said with a chuckle.
"It's not funny Josef. Beth is in danger. This guy she told me she was having lunch with, ended up being a client of mine and Beth's coworker. He coaches football at the school where she's working undercover, and he smelled of new vampire. He treated her so poorly during lunch, I wanted to rip out his ribcage and wear it as a hat! I ended up taking her back to her apartment because she got sick, she's really run down. The new vampire broke into Beth's place, stole a bunch of her stuff and made a huge mess. She's staying with me until I can track down the vamp and deal with him."
"You and blondie are shacking up?" Josef replied sounding surprised.
"No, we're not shacking up. She's sleeping on the couch. I sleep in a freezer." he reminded his friend.
"She's on the couch? I hate to even sit on that thing. How can you make our sweet, beautiful, delicate Beth sleep on that sofa of yours?"
"I just ordered a bed for one of the extra rooms upstairs. Our Beth will only be sleeping on the couch temporarily." Mick explained emphasizing the word 'our' and chuckling slightly. Since when did Josef have any claim to Beth?
"Wow this is serious. You bought her a bed Mick? Marry the girl. She can't be sleeping in your bed without a wedding ring on her finger." Josef insisted happily.
"Funny, I know for a fact that you don't subscribe to that school of dating and relationships. How many women have you had in your bed before marriage Josef?" Mick challenged.
"I don't have time for that long of a conversation right now Mick. I do have a business to run."
Mick could hear the devilish grin in his voice. "Thanks for the advice buddy. I'm working on it. Right now I'm just happy to have Beth not angry with me and sleeping in my apartment."
"She's not angry with you today? Damn! I just lost some money." he muttered. "The girls and I have a pool going." Josef explained.
"You're betting on mine and Beth's relationship? Josef you need a hobby."
"I have plenty of hobbies. Golf, book club, me and the girls watch that television show on Wednesdays and Thursdays where one of 20 dancers get picked to be Americas Favorite Dancer. Alana introduced me to Twitter, which is addictive and Netflix. You can watch whole films on your computer." Josef informed him.
"Speaking of Alana, I sort of need to speak with her. Would you tell her to call me when she gets in later?" Mick asked.
"Sure." Josef replied. "Then maybe she can drive you batty for awhile. She's acting stranger than usual today. Must be that time of the month."
"Yeah, now that you mention it she was behaving more peculiar today than usual. She told me she'd never, in her one hundred twenty four years, met someone like Brandon. He's the coach Beth had lunch with. One hundred twenty four years Josef ? You don't actually believe she's a witch do you?"
"Nah, she's not a witch. There's no such thing. It's just a harmless fascination. Like I told you before, she's never given me any reason not to trust her. She's never taken any money from me. She's the best, most efficient secretary I've ever had, she matches me wit for wit…"
"Sounds like someone's hot for secretary." Mick interrupted.
"Alana?" Josef asked with a heavy laugh. "She's just like one of my girls. We're friends."
"Joseph who are you kidding? You're pretty intimate with your friends." Mick helpfully pointed out.
"Not Alana." Josef assured his best friend. "I've never fed from her."
"You're not attracted to her?" Mick questioned the elder vampire.
"Of course I'm attracted to her! She's beautiful! I'd have to be a fool not to be attracted to her. It's just different with Alana. I… I can't explain it." Josef tried.
"I know why its different Josef. You don't have to tell me." Mick chuckled. "I know the feeling."
"You know less than you think." Josef replied flatly. "Now tell me about this newly turned vampire who broke into Beth's apartment?" he insisted changing the subject.
"I was going to do some surveillance of the good coaches house earlier after I dropped Beth off but she's here and I can't leave her alone, not when I know there's a newly turned angry vampire keeping a close eye on her."
"I'd be happy to come human-sit Blondie for you." Josef offered. "It could be fun. She's entertaining."
"She's sleeping Josef and she's a grown woman for Pete sakes, she doesn't need to be babysat. I just need someone here in case our vampire friend decides to show up. I have to get some food for her too while I'm out."
"Sounds like human-sitting to me. You have to watch it make sure it doesn't get hurt, feed it. I draw the line at diapers." Josef answered sarcastically. "I've changed my mind."
"I'll tell Alana that you like her." Mick threatened smugly. "You think she's driving you crazy now."
"I'll be over in twenty minutes." Josef muttered something under his breath.
"Thanks buddy, I owe you one." Mick said with a laugh.
"Yeah, you do. More than one." Josef reminded him before ending the call.
Mick heard the dial tone and couldn't help but laugh. He knew Josef was keeping track of all the favors he owed him, but it was worth being in Josef's debt to make sure Beth, who was still asleep on the couch, was safe.