Holy heck, guys. Sorry for the (extremely) slow update, but life kicked me in the teeth recently. I still haven't found all my broken teeth. (Metaphor, friends, metaphor) I'll do everything in my power to update weekly, though. Thanks for staying with me, if you're still there.

As the night drifted in and it got later and later, Shaun couldn't help but notice that Desmond lingered around him more and more. He could tell by the way she acted that it was subconscious. The later it got, the more time she spent in his indirect company. When it got towards midnight, Rebecca stood and left for bed. In a few minutes, Desmond sat in Rebecca's unoccupied chair, a mere five feet from Shaun. She doodled absently on a notepad, her eyes focused on something far away. He glanced at her continuously from the corner of his eye. He was acutely aware of his new assignment, and the unfocused look in Desmond's eyes was concerning.

At around two in the morning, Lucy stood from her computers, yawning and stretching. "I'm going to bed, guys. Don't stay up too late." She left the sanctuary, massaging her lower back. Shaun watched her go, then looked at Desmond. She was looking after Lucy, her strangely-colored golden-shade-of-brown eyes clear and focused. She had pulled her long dark hair back into a ponytail sometime earlier.

Shaun looked back to his computers, fingers flying sporadically over the keys. He was tired, and he wanted to go to bed, but he refused to let himself leave Desmond out here by herself. He had until very recently been unaware of her nightmares. How that was possible, he still didn't know. Surely he couldn't sleep through her screams every night? The idea that it was possible made him shudder inside. What if the Templars had found them in the night? If the girls had screamed for help, would he have even heard? He was the only male around, and call him old fashioned, but he saw himself in the protector role. Lucy could undoubtedly handle herself, and so could Rebecca, and Desmond probably could, but he wasn't going to let them get in a position that required them to prove it.

A soft cough to his right pulled his attention to Desmond. She sat cross-legged in the chair - how was that possible? - with the pad of paper in her lap and the pen loosely in her hand. Her chin rested on her chest, and it took Shaun a minute to realize that she was asleep. She had fallen asleep in that uncomfortable chair, probably waiting for Shaun to go to bed. Part of him felt guilty.

Desmond let out a soft whine and the fingers on her right hand tightened briefly. Shaun saw what was coming and he quickly rose and went to her side.

"Hey, Desmond," he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking gently. "Oi. Come on, now. Wake up." Desmond's head rose slightly and Shaun saw her eyes half-open sleepily. "Come on. You can't sleep in that chair. Go to bed, Desmond."

Desmond looked at him in confusion for a second. "Des…?" Suddenly she jerked upright in her chair and looked frantically about the room. Shaun stumbled back a step, and her eyes - now tinged electric blue from her Eagle Vision - zeroed in on him. Suddenly her face softened from its predatory look and she sighed.

"Ugh," she said, rubbing her eyes. When they opened again, they were their usual chocolate-overlaid-with-honey-and-gold-streaks-like-that's-bloody-possible color. "I'm not usually that tired."

"You've had enough for one day. Come on, let's go to bed." Desmond stared at him with an impossible expression before she nodded and stood stiffly. Shaun escorted her to her room and then went to his. He undressed and put in his lounging pants and crawled into bed. He planned to stay up a while and listen for Desmond, but he was out in a few minutes.

…

…

When Shaun woke up, he glanced at his alarm clock blearily. 3:46 a.m.. He rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but something kept nudging his conscious. He groggily tried to grasp it before he suddenly bolted upright in bed.

Desmond.

Shaun rose from his bed and hurried to get a shirt on. He went to Desmond's room. He stood outside her door, listening. Nothing. He turned the doorknob - not locked, thankfully - and peered inside.

Desmond's bed was almost directly across the room from the doorway, the headboard against the far wall. The blankets were a mess, tangles and rumpled and thrown halfway off the bed. The sheets were bunched and creased. Desmond was gone.

Shaun cursed under his breath and hurried down the hall, his heart hammering. Where was she? Where could she have gone? Shaun entered the sanctuary, finding it empty. He searched the kitchen room. It, too, was empty. Panic started to fill Shaun's chest. He climbed the stairs and entered Mario Auditore's study. There was to trace of Desmond. He left the study and searched all over the villa for the next God knows how long. She was nowhere. Panic and dread and worry and guilt flooded Shaun so hard he had to catch his breath. He was just looking after a twenty-six-year-old girl, for the love of all that is holy! She was just one girl. Where had she gone?

Shaun ran in a desperate search for the girl towards the rest of Monteriggioni. He went immediately to the business district - anywhere else and she would have been spotted already. He searched around stores and family-owned businesses. One explanation was blaring in his head huge red letters: ABSTERGO HAS HER. It was a silent alarm that had his heart hammering and racing in his chest while his stomach disappeared. He passed by a row of warehouses - and he heard it. A soft whining-whimper of a terrified girl. He ran between the rows of warehouses, listening again, afraid to call out in case it was Abstergo that had her. He heard it again, and followed the strangled noise to a warehouse in the center, clearly abandoned. He opened one of the bay doors silently, and saw no one. The whining-whimpering continued. Shaun opened the door more and ran inside, looking for Desmond. He couldn't see her. Another whimper brought his attention to the ceiling. There, on one of the thin metal rafters thirty feet up, perched Desmond, her face pale even in the darkness. She was on her belly, clinging desperately to the rafter, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She was In her pajamas.

"Desmond," called Shaun, looking up with concern. Desmond jumped so hard at his voice that she nearly slipped from the rafter. Terror flashed through Shaun and Desmond screamed for a brief second before she tightened her grip even further.

"Desmond, how did you get up there?" Shaun asked. Desmond shook her head, long hair waving.

"I… I don't remember. You walked me to my room, I went to bed. I don't remember falling asleep… but then I was someone else… and then I woke up here!"

"Why don't you climb down? You climbed up."

Desmond shook her head again. "No, I didn't." Shaun understood her meaning. Her body had climbed up there, but her mind had had nothing to do with it. Someone else, an ancestor, had brought her up there.

"Can't you find your own way down?" Desmond said something too low for Shaun to hear. "What?"

"I'm afraid of heights, okay? I'm ter-ri-fied of heights." She pronounced each syllable in terrified individually and prominently. Understanding hit Shaun like a bus. How was she supposed to get down? Shaun looked around her.

"Desmond? Try to stand up, will you?" Desmond opened her eyes to look at Shaun with disbelief.

"Are you crazy?" she demanded. Shaun tried to keep his cool.

"Desmond, your muscles have a thing called muscle memory. They will remember how to do the things your ancestors could do. Your body knows how to keep your balance. Now try, please." Shaun stood, staring at Desmond, willing her to move. She gave him a long, impossible stare. Then she slowly and gingerly raised herself to her knees, then even more slowly to her feet. Even though she stooped to lower her center of gravity, Shaun was entranced at the smooth motion of her muscles. Even from thirty feet below, he could watch her body move in fluid motions. Desmond looked down to him.

"Now what?" She asked, clearly afraid. Shaun shrugged.

"Use your Eagle Vision, I'd assume. Find a way down." Desmond nodded, and she turned to look around, her Eagle Vision surely highlighting a way down. Shaun knew when she found it, because she slowly moved towards another rafter. Shaun watched her with growing interest. Her motions were graceful when she leaped, smooth and controlled as she kept her balance, and fluid and strong and she found a way to climb down the wall. When her feet touched the ground, Desmond sank to her knees and collapsed to the floor. Fear struck at Shaun and he ran to her. He dropped to his knees next to her.

"Are you okay?" Shaun asked, searching for any visible signs of damage. Desmond nodded.

"I'm okay," she said, body and voice shaking hard. She put her arm over eyes in what Shaun knew was an attempt to disguise her weakness. Shaun pretended he didn't notice.

"We'll stay here until you're ready to go." Shaun put his hand on her forehead before he realized what he was doing. When his mind caught up with his actions, he stiffened and looked down at Desmond. She didn't seem to disagree, and it wasn't like he could take it back now, anyway. So he sat there, his hand on her forehead in an awkwardly friendly gesture of comfort. When Desmond stopped trembling, Shaun let her lay a few moments longer to gather her composure. Eventually, she removed her arms from her eyes. Shaun followed suit. Desmond sat up experimentally, and then rose to her feet. Shaun did the same and started for the door. Desmond followed closely behind.

"Come on, it's this way," Shaun said when Desmond started to drift away. She glanced around before recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

Shaun nodded and pulled her closer to him by her wrist. She was now arms length away. They started off again toward the villa, the night time cool and silent. Nothing was said, but Desmond slowly drifted closer and closer to Shaun. By the time they reached the doorway to the sanctuary, their arms were almost touching.

Shaun didn't mind.

They entered the hallway and for the second time Shaun walked Desmond to her room. She opened the door, and Shaun awkwardly stood in the doorway before making up his mind.

"Would you like some company? You know, in case you sleep walk again?" It was far from his usual smooth way of talking, but Desmond didn't seem to notice - that or she didn't care. She instead smiled at him.

"I would, actually. We're in our pajamas anyway." She climbed into her bed, leaving Shaun to close the door and crawl in after her. He laid as far on the other side of the bed as possible. Desmond didn't seem to mind, but to Shaun it all felt bloody awkward. But he soon heard soft feminine snores from the other side of the bed, and that was good enough. She needed some sleep. Shaun did too, and he was out only minutes after Desmond.