Blaise slept at Thea's house.  She slept for a day and a half, physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from her trip to New Salem.  When she awoke in the middle of the afternoon, 36-hours after landing in Las Vegas, she looked at her surroundings, confused as to where she was.  Then, she remembered the flight, she remembered the car ride... she remembered Nick.  Darkness clouded her vision as she fought against the depression that suddenly overwhelmed her.  She heard the soft click of the door to her room being opened and she blinked furiously, trying to recover from the jolt of memory.

            "Blaise?" Thea's voice called softly from the doorway before she stuck her head in through the door.  When her blond head popped through the opening, she smiled and said, "You're up, sleepyhead."

            Nodding stiffly, Blaise looked at her curiously.  "Sleepyhead?  What time is it?"

            Thea shook her head and laughed softly, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of the bed.  "It's three in the afternoon," Blaise's eyes went wide, "Friday."

            "Friday?" Blaise croaked.  "You're telling me that I slept for... a day and a half?"

            Thea nodded, "You were exhausted.  It's okay, I made sure things were all taken care of at your place.  Are you hungry or anything?"

            Feeling out her body experimentally, an odd aura about her mind after having slept for so long, she found that yes, she was hungry, but she was also very stiff from being still.  "Yes, food would be a good thing," she winced as she sat up and turned to place her feet on the floor.  "Was anyone looking for me?" she asked before she could stop herself.

            "No, Blaise," Thea told her sadly.  "I got in touch with some Circle Twilight girls in the area, just to see if anything had happened and to tell them if they saw him, to send him here..."

            Blaise interrupted her, "Why?  Thea, if he comes here... if he's with me, it'll just ruin the things he has.  When I was in his mind, oh Thea, he pretends to be all moody but he's really happy in New Salem.  He has friends there and he even works in a bike shop with his cousin..."

            Thea hushed her by raising a finger to her lips.  "Blaise, if he is your soulmate, then he wouldn't stop looking for you until he found you.  Don't you see that?  Now that he knows you, he won't be happy unless you're together.  And the same goes for you.  Speaking of which, you look like death warmed over.  Let's get you fed and cleaned up, okay? Come on," Thea stood and offered Blaise a hand to get out of the bed with her stiff muscles.

            She just nodded numbly and followed Thea to the kitchen, sitting at the table and making herself a sandwich from the things Thea retrieved from the refrigerator; mechanically placing lunchmeat on a slice of bread and topping it with another piece of bread with mustard on it.  Thea set a mug of herbal tea in front of her and Blaise could smell the muscle relaxing ingredients and snatched it up, sipping at it carefully.  She felt the effects almost immediately, the herbs relaxing the muscles in her legs and back, making it easier for her to sit up straight.

            "Thanks, Thea for... everything."  She stood and walked off toward the bathroom to wash away the remaining stiffness in her body.  Borrowing some clothes from Thea's closet, she emerged in khaki pants and a hunter green sweater, so unlike her normal attire, and returned to sitting with Thea in the kitchen.

            Thea looked at her cousin, masking the pity in her eyes, knowing Blaise wouldn't want pity.  "He'll come, Blaise.  I know he will."

            "Yeah," Blaise replied, sighing heavily.