Thanks for waiting. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. We've got a lot happening and this chapter pulls from the game with my own little flair to it. Enjoy!
Layla treads carefully over the next few days leading to the weekend, hanging with Morty. He seems more receptive to her, letting her hold his arm and opening up bit by bit with her doing the same. There's no pressure and it feels as though they've been friends their whole lives.
He's as introverted as he looks, though, often needing recharge times after being around her. Something she's not used to with Eusine always barging in, however, Jasmine often needs the same kind of alone time as well. Layla's happy to give whatever space he needs as work overflows with electric type pokemon and no end in sight.
"Hey, Layla?" one of the girls helping the front calls to her.
"Yeah?" she responds, not looking up from testing the voltage in a Pikachu with another helper.
The patients from the day she came in are recovering well, slow, but well. Their levels aren't where they should be and that only adds to the stress. With old patients still here, they're filling up with new patients and fast. Soon they'll have to declare an emergency.
Doing that would close centers with the lowest trainer occupation and bring that staff here. It would halt the gym challenge which hasn't happened in decades and would cause a huge media dumpster fire. Everyone's on edge with the thought of the challenge being held off and the economic impact that would have for their region.
In the present, Layla writes down the pokemon's voltage level and faces the girl with a kind smile.
"Um," she giggles. "Morty is here for you."
The name registers and Layla feels the heat rush to her face as a wave of giggles and whispers rush around the room. She doesn't dare look up at the eyes locked on her as she nods her understanding.
One of them steps forward, a knowing smile on her face as she offers to take Layla's spot. "O-oh okay."
Face hot, she ducks out of the exam room and rushes to the front, away from the giddy girls behind her. Suddenly her scrubs feel too tight and her hair feels as though it's standing on end from being around the electric types for too long. Before exiting the main door between the exam rooms and the front lobby. Layla quickly fixes her appearance before stepping out with a smile.
There in jeans and a sweater, stands Morty holding a to-go cup and brown bag. His hair is sideswept, no headband today, and he looks more relaxed than she's ever seen him. Her heart warms and she smiles despite the eyes on them and the wave of whispers overtaking the small crowd gathered in the lobby.
"Morning," she smiles at him. "What's up?"
He raises a brow, his own smile coming to his face. "Hey, it's four in the afternoon."
She blinks, then balks at him. "I didn't take my lunch."
"Well, then it's a good thing," he trails off, showcasing the bag and cup with a gentle shake. "I brought you food."
She relaxes her shoulders, her smile coming back. "Thank you so much... But, what made you do this?"
"Eusine said you hadn't messaged him all day either, so I figured you forgot to eat," he shrugs. He gestures to an empty table. "Come on."
Another rush of blood floods her cheeks at the invitation and more giggles from around them. She forces it to the back of her mind and nods, her steps sway a bit at the onslaught of hunger as her body realizes how long it's been since breakfast. She forces it back as she slides across from him at the table, her stomach practically roaring with hunger at the delicious smell.
In the bag, she finds spicy garlic noodles with some chicken from a nearby place she's been dying to try. Her stomach growls again, the aroma swirling into her nose, she pulls the container from the bag without ceremony.
"You're a Godsend," she breathes, digging in without a care.
He laughs, leanings on his hand to look at her. "You have to take care of yourself."
"I know," she covers her mouthful behind her hand. "One of the girls offered to cover for me, then we got more patients and I forgot."
"At least the storms have stopped," he grimaces. "Still though, there's been no news about the cause."
It's true.
Lance has released several statements all saying they're doing their best to rule out Team Rocket. With no luck, Layla's convinced it is as these storms came out of nowhere and electric types do not react, on this scale, to thunderstorms.
"It definitely sucks," she agrees after a bit of eating."
"Sorry, I don't want to bring you down," he leans back. "Are you enjoying the work at least?"
"Yes," she nods. "There's so much to learn..."
They talk for a few minutes more, Layla welcoming the warmth from the tea he brought, while Morty describes his day. Their time together feels familiar and normal. And it feels good to listen to him speak of his day, the battles he had at the paperwork to go along with it.
His passion for his job is clear in the way he speaks about the trainer's he faces. Nothing negative, always the fact that they have so much more to learn and he gets to help them along the way. Layla hasn't seen a purple so bright and gentle at the same time.
Eventually, though, she has to head back to work, as does Morty for another battle. They clean up the table and, for everyone to see, they hug. She squeezes him tight, not really wanting to let go, and there's a short hush in the crowd.
"Thanks again," she smiles. "I'll see you later? Or talk to you later?"
"Yes," he grins. "I'll text you."
He leaves after that, Layla's heart pumping and face flushed, into a crowd of trainers wanting a picture or advice. The love trainers have for him, and vice versa, is palpable at every interaction. He really loves the challenge that comes with the job, testing the trainer's skills while honing his own. On one hand, he wants trainers to win, on the other, too many losses aren't good for him.
It's all about rematches.
It's a careful balance, the thrill hitting him each day he gets up to meet a challenge.
Layla returns to the exam room to find Joy on the phone, beckoning her over with a wave of her hand. Worried she's in trouble, Layla does so, standing beside her as she continues listening. She was gone for half an hour, it could have been shorter, but someone could have gotten her..
"Sure thing, Jasmine," Joy says.
Her words catch Layla's attention. "What's happened?"
"No worries," Joy tells her. "She has requested your services actually."
"My what?" she starts.
"Amphy is sick," she explains.
Layla's heart sinks a little at the news. "Oh, I see."
She's Jasmine's favorite pokemon that isn't on her roster for her Gym Leader team. The electric type works at the lighthouse as the beacon to draw in ships in the waves south of the city. Considering Amphy works long hours in the tower, it's not surprising to learn that she's sick.
However, this further proves there's a shift in direction with patients more and more towards Olivine. They're on the brink of activating their emergency protocol and Layla cringes at the thought of stuffing herself with all the electric types in Olivine. She worries about what this surge of patients may mean.
"Is it alright for me to leave?" she frowns.
"Of course, Olivine has their hands full and we can manage here for a bit."
So it's settled.
Layla packs a bag of supplies from the center, nearly as big as a suitcase, that she can toss over her shoulder. She marches, stopping in the lobby to let Morty know what's happening and Jasmine that she's on her way over. Aves seems eager to take flight and beat the impending storm on the horizon. It feels like there's a buzz in the air and she struggles to breathe easily.
Something's wrong.
This feeling sticks with her during the whole flight, worrying Aves, creating a tingling feeling in her stomach. The flying type struggles to remain on course, often glancing back at his trainer to ensure she's fine.
"Sorry, bud," she calls into the wind, patting his feathered back. "Let's get there quick."
Pokemon, owned or not, are amazing at feeling what a human wants or feels. It's no surprise he started getting flustered at Layla's anxiety.
She can't help it though.
The lighthouse comes into view, forcing Layla to focus on the task at hand. This far in the city she's unaware if the sickness taking wild pokemon down can reach this far. It's a relieving thought and a good sign for Amphy, if she's sick with something else, it would take a few days to recover instead of indefinitely like most of the other electric types in the center.
"Oh, Layla!" Jasmine rushes over, worry thick in her light eyes. "Thank you so much."
Layla hugs her, happy to see another familiar face again. "Of course. How is she?"
"Worse than this morning," she replies with a sigh, turning to lead Layla up the steps to the Lighthouse.
She maintains a professional facade as Jasmine guides her to an elevator past the front desk. The Olivine lighthouse is a popular attraction for many reasons; it looks great in photos, is currently one of the only usable ones on the mainland and it's a battle zone. The several floors between the ground and top, houses trainers hoping for a new opponent to face.
Nothing intense, just one on ones and there's a rule with sizes allowed in.
On the ride up, Jasmine informs Layla of the Pokémon's full condition and history. Fever, gasping, fatigue and lack of appetite, not what she usually gets infected with each year during the height of the season, but something worse.
In the couple years Layla's known Jasmine, Amphy's been sick at least three times. With the same symptoms as now, which isn't uncommon for some pokemon with weaker immune systems.
"There she is," Jasmine says, guiding Layla to the electric type settled on a blanket.
The lantern room is spacious and a bit hot in temperature, enough for Layla to feel uncomfortable as she kneels beside the pokemon. All around them are machines, their lights blinking away or meters showing steady numbers, that the keeper's use for work. Behind the blanket sits a pedestal where Amphy's tail would shine. When she's sick, it changes to the traditional lantern and lense set up, though it's not as efficient.
"Hi, Amphy," Layla greets, unzipping the bag to get her stethoscope out. "Remember me?"
She trills back, a sticky sound in her throat that makes her pant harder.
"I'm sorry, hun," she grimaces, pressing the scope to her chest and back. It sounds just as expected and she pulls away. "I'll be quick."
Rubber gloves on, Layla performs a quick exam on the electric type. Through the material she can feel how warm she is and the effort required to breathe. Of all the times she's been sick, it's never been this bad, at least not when Layla has had a chance to examine her. The static build up is not as much as it should be either.
Maybe, whatever's happening is reaching this far.
Layla gets to work administering fluids and other meds to reduce pain and fever. With no oxygen chamber, or tank, available, she calls in a request for albuterol Joy. Without taking a test, Layla isn't permitted to use certain medicines without a Nurse present to help, or oversee, her.
"Okay," Layla whispers as Amphy falls asleep.
Her breathing is still an issue but with the discomfort gone, she's able to relax more. Jasmine looks tired and stressed as Layla cleans up her things. Lightning flashes in the distance and Layla's stomach churns remembering her foreboding thought from earlier.
"The meds will help tonight," she plains, slipping her phone away. "Joy will be in later with the albuterol and to double check my work. She's going to need special medicine though."
Outside feels muggy, the change from the dry, slightly cool first floor to outside is substantial. Layla wipes some sweat from her forehead as Jasmine flags a cab to her gym. The wind has picked up a bit, slapping muggy, salty air into Layla's face as they file into the cab.
Thankfully, the lightning stays distant as they head back, she may have time to get to Ecruteak after all.
"She's been sick like this a few times a long time ago," Jasmine breaks the silence, staring out the window. "The meds are in Cianwood."
"All the way out there?" she frowns. "Why?"
"The pharmacy there is the only place that makes it in the whole region."
"Are you going to go?"
She sighs. "I can't. I have so much to do here. I know you can't, but I'll have to find someone."
They make it to the gym, the cab coming to a stop in time for them to see Jasmine's desk assistant talking with two young trainers. Jasmine helps Layla out of the car as the talking gets louder. As they approach, Layla recognizes Lyra, but not the boy next to her.
"Lyra?" she frowns.
The brunette turns at her name and then beams at Layla. "Layla! Hi!"
"You're the gym leader," the other boy turns to Jasmine, his red irises blazing. "I demand a battle."
"I'm sorry, Jasmine. I've tried explaining to him why you're not battling right now," the assistant huffs. "He won't listen."
Jasmine frowns at the boy and Layla pulls Lyra to the side as she approaches the kid. "Excuse me, but I am the gym leader here and if I'm not taking battles then tough luck. You will not treat my staff like that or I will strike you from the challenger list following a report to Lance."
The boy's eyes widen and he takes a step back. He looks sort of familiar to Layla with an angular face, thick brows and shoulder length blood red hair. She can see he's affected by Jasmine's anger, his eyes darting away from her and his shoulders hunching over.
"Thank you," Jasmine relaxes, looking over at Lyra. "Layla, you know her?"
Layla nods. "I met her in Ecruteak a while ago."
"By chance," Jasmine considers the young girl. "Were you just in Cianwood City? I heard Chuck had a battle with a tough trainer, was that you?"
Lyra flushes under the compliment. "Y-yes. That was me."
"Can you do me a favor?" Jasmine smiles at her. "Can you go back and get a special medicine for my Ampharos?"
She seems taken aback by the request but eventually nods with a smile. "Of course."
"Why can't either of you go?" the boy stomps over, crossing his arms.
"Because," Layla cuts in before Jasmine can lose her temper. "I'm dealing with a pokemon possibly fallen victim to Team Rocket and Jasmine has to help keep the center running while they're bombarded too."
"Team Rocket?" he glares at Layla. "Are they doing this?"
"We're not sure," she replies. "But it wouldn't surprise me."
He considers it before nodding to himself. "Okay." He turns to Jasmine with a slight bow. "I look forward to our battle when this mess is over."
With that, he scurries off, leaving Lyra to sigh and apologize for him. "That's Silver, he's my... rival? Friend? I don't know."
"Boys," Jasmine snickers. Then she turns to her assistant. "Please go get my card so Lyra can pay for the meds."
"I just have to go to the pharmacy, right?"
Jasmine faces her with a smile. "Yes. They will know what Amphy needs and make it for you. Unfortunately, it will take a day for them to make it so you'll be stuck there for a bit."
"That's no issue," Lyra shrugs. "I can always train some more."
While they go over details, Layla jumps at her phone starting to ring, she glances down to see Morty's name across it. A smile forms as she answers only to hear the sound of pounding rain and thunder.
"Hello?"
"Layla! Can you hear me?" his voice crackles through the noise.
"Yeah, what's up?" she plugs one ear. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am. But there's an emergency."
"I'm in Olivine, it'd be faster to call Joy."
"I know you're in Olivine, but please," his voice comes through clearer as the sounds muffled and it's just his panting breaths. "I will only trust you with this. Don't tell anyone that you're coming here. Meet me in the Bellchime Trail, Nox will show you where we are."
Layla frowns and glances at her phone to ensure she's still talking with Morty. She decides to trust him. "Okay, I'll be there soon."
"Hurry, the storm is getting worse."
She promises to leave immediately, hanging up and switching her phone for Aves' pokeball. Jasmine and Lyra separate after making their plan, the younger brunette waving goodbye to Layla. Jasmine looks concerned when the flying type caws loudly in anticipation.
"What's going on?" she questions as Layla hops on.
"I don't know. Morty said there was an emergency."
"This day just keeps getting longer, huh?" Jasmine raises a brow. "Be careful!"
"Will do!"
Aves takes off, bags in his talons and eyes forward. This time, Layla forces her emotions to remain neutral so she can get to the trail without delay due to the storm. The wind blasts past her, the rain drops slicing at her skin life knives as Ecruteak comes into view. It's dark and soon the drops turn into blobs of water as it begins to pour.
She directs her pokemon to the trail, descending much faster than normal and returning him before his wings get too wet for flight. As Morty said, Nox appears from the ground, an umbrella popped open, and waves for her to follow. He holds the umbrella for her as they jog through the mud for what seems like forever. The sheet of rain creates an endless path before and behind them.
Finally, they reach an opening, the spot where she saw a temple and that's what Nox approaches. Layla follows, rushing up the steps and through the door only to stop at the sight of Morty kneeling over a large, four legged pokemon.
"T-that's..."
"Raikou," Morty nods, turning around to greet her. His own hair is wet, his wispy ends dripping water on his shoulders as he pries at a collar on the pokemon. "Close the door, Nox. Layla, I can't get this off."
She shakes out of her reverie and nods, setting her bag down to sit beside Morty and survey the damage.
Immediately, she suspects this pokemon is the reason for all their troubles with storms and electric types. There are gashes on his neck from the collar digging into its skin, its temperature through the roof and she notices an increase in pressure in the air around them.
The pokemon opens its eyes, red flashing dangerously as it moves to snap at her, but Morty's faster. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her back, both of them stumbling backwards as Raikou hisses, struggling to stand. Heart in her throat at the flash of his long teeth within inches of her body.
She holds onto Morty's arms locked around her, their breaths in sync as she gathers her courage to soothe the Legendary pokemon. "It's okay, we're here to help."
It snarls at her, the sound of thunder threatening to crash and rattle their bones. Nox tries to intervene, but she holds up her hand, looking to Morty to release her. He does so, scooting back on his knees to hover over her as she lowers her head and spreads her arms out so the pokemon can see her hands.
"Look, no weapons," she says out loud. She wills her emotions to project out to it, hoping it'll understand her intentions. "You're hurt. Let me help you."
The pokemon regards them with heaving breaths, his claws having left marks on the ground and his eyes never leaving them. Eventually, he collapses back on the floor, too weak to continue to fight. Layla holds her hand out so Morty doesn't move in too fast. Most pokemon, she's willing to say even Legendaries, don't always give in so quick.
True to her assumption, she gets close enough and the pokemon sits up, its paw pressing her down on the floor beneath him. Morty moves to fight, but Layla tosses up her hands, her eyes wide with tears on the edge.
"Wait!" she gasps, forcing the images of Houndoom away. "I'm not going to hurt you!"
Fangs just inches away from her, the pokemon leans down to sniff her, his eyes on hers. Layla's heart threatens to pop out of her chest as she lets him do so, his breath fanning over her. Finally, it realizes she's not a threat and backs off, once again collapsing on its side.
This time, its eyes are closed.
"Are you okay?" Morty whispers, leaning over her.
She accepts his help to sit up, her eyes spilling some tears and her breath shaky. He gives her a handkerchief from his pocket and puts a soothing hand on her back. "Ye-yeah. It just... wow, he's strong."
"You don't have to do this, I'm sorry," he sighs. "It's much too dangerous. I'm stupid for calling you here."
"No, you're not," she shakes her head, taking her hair out of its bun to fix it. "This is exactly my job, Morty. Working with wild pokemon isn't easy, but it's no reason to give up."
He sees the conviction in her face and nods. "How can I help?"
She smiles at him. "We need to get that collar off."
So, they set to work.
Nox keeps watch nearby, poised in case the pokemon changes his mind and tries to attack them. Layla cannot administer anesthetic to the pokemon, nor good quality pain meds without Joy, so they opt to work quick and efficiently. The collar is clearly damaged, some metal plates have broken off, exposing some wires along the inside.
She runs her fingers along the sides and underneath the metal collar, trying to understand if it's connected to his skin or free of it. Her fingers meet underneath and she can feel the sticky warmth of wounded skin. Some blood wets her fingers as she pulls back and she grimaces.
This dug in deep.
It takes some delicate work for her and Morty to take it apart, working in the exposed portion, pulling out the broken debris. They pull out the wires and other parts before Layla calls out Pocha. A well placed Metal Claw and it cracks apart, the metal clanking to the ground.
"Okay," Layla wipes her hands on a towel from the med kit. "Now the real work begins. I'm going to need help cleaning these wounds and putting antibiotic ointment on them."
Morty nods, switching to sit behind Raikou's head, the pokémon's massive body will be a struggle to work with. When they saw the trio in the Burned Tower, the distance made it difficult to understand their size. Now that Raikou is splayed before them, he must stand well over Layla's head. The realization hits her harder, knowing she was in striking range of the pokemon not too long ago, and she has to steady herself and focus at hand.
With the pounding rain to fill the silence, Layla instructs Morty in picking up and turning the pokémon's neck to give her better access. The flesh wounds are ovular and shallow. Scraping wounds from the pokemon trying to wrench it off without proper disengagement. In the middle of each wound, she can see some pinprick points.
If she had to guess, something was injected into its bloodstream, possibly to incapacitate it and control it...
"Should I take a blood sample?" she asks Morty, wiping her hands of thick ointment. She bites her lip, looking at him, unsure if it would put the pokemon at risk for some reason.
"Hmm," he considers it. "I think you should and we can have the G-men look at it and then destroy it after."
She gazes at the pokemon, eyes closed and breathing evened out as it gave up the struggle of staying awake. Its chest rises and falls in a soothing rhythm, bringing a sense of calm to the situation. This is the perfect time to get blood, so if she's going to do it...
"Okay."
She gets out some fluid bags and glances back at Raikou, the sizes are completely inaccurate and she's not going to poke it too many times. Considering she doesn't even know its weight, and its hydration level is okay, it wouldn't hurt to not do it. She ditches the idea and draws a vial of blood from the leg, nearly leaping out of her skin when the pokemon shifts under her weight pressing its leg down.
"There we go," she holds up the vial to the light. "I'll label it."
Everything gets put away except for metacam, without his weight she can't get a perfect dose, but considering it's just a low grade pain reliever she's not going to panic. Would this even make a difference? Who knows, better to try and help him than not and leave him in pain.
She injects it in his front leg and tosses the syringe into the sharps container in the bag. "That's it, then."
"Wow," he breathes, sitting back from behind the Pokémon's head. His fingers run along its fur, his purple eyes gleaming in the dim lights of the shrine. "Is this what work is like for you?"
"On smaller pokemon, most are better behaved," she smiles. "Other than that, yeah."
Lightning flashes outside and the power goes out then, cutting off the rest of their conversation. The wind howls against the building, the rain not even daring to let up even though Raikou is out cold. The pokemon may have caused it, but nature won't stop until it commands it to stop.
"There should be some supplies out here," Morty speaks up. "The sages keep some stuff here in case someone gets trapped during a prayer. I'll be right back, Nox, stay here with Layla."
She hears his footsteps shuffle off, his body illuminated in flashes from the storm outside, and checks Raikou's breathing once more. It beats a steady rhythm, its lungs clear, and she feels good. More than that. She feels fantastic at helping out a legendary pokemon. She can only say she did what she could, if it's the best work? That's up for debate and she welcomes it.
This is the kind of experience she's been craving since she started on the path to becoming a nurse.
Feeling light in her heart, Layla pushes the bag aside and lets her hair loose once more. She wrings out the water held by her hair, shivering at the droplets running down her spine in the process. The darkness of the shrine is ominous with the random bursts of light.
The last time they walked by this, Morty told Layla it was where the people of Ecruteak would come to worship Ho-oh before the attack on the Tower. It's size has been halved since then, what was once a massive shrine to the deity, has become nothing but a dusty little shrine. Now only a select few can come to worship, pray or meditate.
It doesn't take long for Morty to return, bearing a lantern and a dark bag on his shoulder. He drops the bag to reveal some blankets, a towel, and some food. Relief floods Layla at the sight of it all, welcoming the odd smelling, but dry towel with open arms.
"I don't want to leave it alone tonight," Morty sorts out the supplies. He pulls out a small pillow and Layla snags it to lay Raikou's head on. "If you want to head back though, I understand."
She scoffs. "In this rain? I doubt I would make it back. Besides, I want to be here to see him leave in the morning. If he's ready for that."
"I think he will be," Morty glances at the pokemon, still deep in slumber. "I don't have to remind you, pokemon have an amazing healing factor already. I assume Legendaries are impeccable."
"True, it'd be good to see it in action."
He smiles back at her, taking back the towel to dry his hair off with, their clothes aren't soaked, mainly their shoulders and the bottoms of their pants. Nothing to make them sick if left alone.
While the storm rages on, Morty passes her some snacks, and they scoot back against one of the walls. Facing the entire front room and Raikou as he slumbers. Layla feels sore, tired and hungry as she sits back against the wall beside him. The last time she ate was with him earlier and now...
"It's 10!" she balks, showing him her phone.
"We were working hard," he grins.
"I'm exhausted," she yawns, finishing the last of her bar. "How did you even know it was out here?"
"I was out here for a walk as the storm was coming and lightning flashed around here. I came to check it out to make sure there wasn't a fire when I came across him on the steps of the shrine." He adjusts to lay a pillow for her next to him and pulls a blanket to cover the two of them. "I'm a bit of a night owl, so I'll stay up for a bit longer if you want to sleep?"
She nods, putting her hair up again and scooting to lay down. "Okay, but just warning you; I'm a big spoon."
He chokes at that, his face turning beat red at her implications. "I-I mea-mean if you're cold...?"
"You're so adorable when you're flustered," she chuckles, wrapping herself up in her part of the blanket. She puts her back to his legs, lightly bumping him, before closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep on the hard floor. "Wake me up if something happens to him... Good night."
"Night."
Morty tries not to be obvious in watching and waiting for her to be asleep to relax. His heart pounds at the feel of her back touching his leg and he hates how foolish it feels to have her close. The little joke about the big spoon caught him off guard, but... what if she meant it?
He shakes the thought away, turning to Raikou and admiring the pokemon in the light of the lantern. For years, he wasn't sure where the trio was, Eusine had done the most extensive research for them besides himself. It all led to a place open to the sky. The pokemon were revived in the ashes of the Burned Tower and left to roam the world.
When did they come back?
It's an interesting question he hopes he and Eusine will be able to find the answer to. For now, he'll just bask in its presence, hoping for a quick recovery so that Team Rocket doesn't come back looking for it.
Despite the truth about him being a night owl, the adrenaline of the situation wears off and he finds himself yawning bigger and bigger as time goes on. When it's clear the storm will continue and Raikou is deep in slumber, he decides to retire. Nox stands guard at the front, sitting on the steps with Morty's other pokemon to keep him company.
He bids them good night and sinks to the floor beside Layla, a flush deepening on his face. Despite the sweat and rain water, she smells nice, hints of coconut with something more fruity too. Her breathing has evened with her body now facing him as he settles in.
True to her words, Layla seems to sense him next to her and pulls him in with a breathless sigh. He freezes, holding his breath as he falls to the side, back to her and she wraps one arm over his middle. Her head presses against his back while her legs come up to press against his.
Despite the awkwardness of it, Morty finds it... comfortable. She's warm and her touch is gentle, if he pushed away, he's sure she'd turn over on her other side. Instead, he gets comfortable against her, trying to calm his pounding heart as she sighs into his sweater. The fan of warmth from her breath sends shivers down his spine and eases him right into a deep sleep.