A/N Alice is hungry. And she wants YOU! JK, JK. She wants a sirloin for the purposes of this chapter, a desert night will not be freezing cold, but incredibly hot. :D Romance is in this chapter, just a warning. (I suggest reading that part while listening to Aiyaa Four Thousand Years the original version. :3 )
"Yea. I'm hungry too, so let's go eat." he said, and began his descent down the stairs.
"So, where are we gonna' eat?" Alice asked.
"Hmm...wanna see if a different town has a restaurant open?" Brandon asked, opening the Mustang's doors.
"Sure." Alice said, climbing into the mustang. Brandon quickly drove to a nearby town, and drove relatively slowly through its streets, looking along the storefronts.
"Try to look for a steak house." Brandon said to Alice.
"OK." Alice said. After a few minutes of driving, Alice pointed one out. "What about that one?"
Brandon looked it over, and it looked relatively nice and modern.
"That looks good." Brandon said, pulling into the parking lot. "You can't have steaks raw, so order them rare or medium." Brandon instructed, getting out of the car.
"I wasn't gonna' eat it raw." Alice said, following Brandon into the resturant.
Brandon approached the waiter, who was standing behind a desk.
"Can I help you?" the man asked, watching the two.
"Yes, my friend and I would like a table for two." Brandon said. The waiter looked down at the book that was lying on the table in front of him.
"There is a ten minute wait. Is that ok?" The waiter asked, looking back up.
"Yes, that is fine." Brandon said, taking the pager that the waiter handed him. The two then walked back outside and got into the Mustang. Brandon turned on the cars battery, and then turned the radio to the classic rock channel.
"Can't believe we have to wait..." Alice grumbled.
"It's a steak house. It's most likely full." Brandon said, seeing the large number of cars in the parking lot.
"...I just hope it's not very loud." Alice grumbled, already beginning to dislike the resturant.
"It shouldn't be. There may be low conversations, but there won't be a lot of people screaming." Brandon said, humming along with the radio.
"Good. 'Cause I'll be damned if I have to teach with my ears bleeding." Alice replied.
Brandon just chuckled. The beeper soon beeped, and the two left the car. They walked back inside, and Brandon laid the beeper down on the waiter's table.
"Follow me." the waiter said, grabbing two menus and walked the two to a corner table. The table had one candle, two glass cups, and the place settings already in place.
"Thank you." Brandon said as he sat down, and the waiter walked away.
"How nice." Alice said, looking around the resturant.
"Indeed." Brandon said, looking around. The restaurant had marble floors, with wood walls and a high wooden ceiling. The eating area was relatively small, approximately 25x25', and there was a bar at the opposite corner. The waiter soon returned, holding a jug of ice water.
"Thank you." Brandon said as the waiter filled his glass. Alice also thanked the waiter when he filled her glass with water. Brandon ok a sip of his drink and rested it back down. He then looked at the menu. He browsed it quickly, finding his preferred meal in the seafood section. "I know what I want." he thought aloud, putting down the menu.
"Same." Alice said, not even bothering to look at the menu.
"How?" Brandon asked, confused as to how she knew what to get without looking at the menu.
Alice sighed. "This is a Steak House, right? So naturally it'd have steak." she paused. "No, i'm not gonna eat it raw."
"You do know there are many types of steak, right?" he asked. "There are New York Strips, Fillets, Sirloins, Shells, the list goes on and on."
"I'll get a sirloin, then." Alice said.
"I'll just get a sirloin steak. Medium-rare." Alice said, handing her nenu to the waiter.
"As you wish, ma'am." the waiter said, and walked away. Brandon took another sip of his water before talking again.
"I said I would teach our students first-aid, but I'm not sure how much." Brandon said. Alice looked at him confused. Brandon noticed her confused look, and began to explain. "I know a lot about medical treatments and such, but the first-aid course i took went through everything from CPR to stitching close an open wound. I don't know what qualifies as 'regular' first-aid." he explained.
"Oh." Alice said.
"Have you ever taken a first-aid course?" Brandon asked, hoping she could provide some insight for his dilemma.
"No. I've only been human for a few months." the weapon explained. "I haven't had time to learn first aid."
"Crap." he said lowly, and pulled up his phone. He opened his Internet app and began typing into the search engine. He then tapped on the first link that came up. "Basic first-aid. CPR, blood flow reduction, bandage application, and the heimlich maneuver. That's not that much." Brandon said, reading off the list.
"Well, that seems easy." Alice said.
"Yea. I learned more advanced stuff too." he said, putting his phone away.
"I even know this." Alice chuckled.
"Really? How far does your medical knowledge expand?" Brandon asked, now interested.
"Well, I don't know much about modern medicine... Just basic first aid and some herbal remedies my dad taught me." Alice said nervously.
"Oh. What techniques do you know?" he asked, still interested.
"CPR, bandage application, and you already saw my version of blood flow reduction." Alice said, referencing to the breathing technique.
"Heh, I guess I'm the medic then." he joked, grinning.
"I agree." she said. The waiter then returned with their food. They both thanked him as the he laid the dishes in front of them and then walked away.
"Alice, remember. We are in public, so you have to use your knife and fork." Brandon said, cutting a peice of his fish.
"I know that already." Alice said, cutting into her steak. "I'm not stupid!" Then added quietly, "Me and Kidd used to go out to eat in my universe all the time, since we're both horrible cooks." she swallowed and cut off another peice of steak. "Liz got so pissed off at Kidd one day, she and Patty moved out. So they can't exactly cook for us, either."
"Really? What'd Kidd do that was so bad?" Brandon asked quietly, biting a price of his fish and swallowing it.
"Dunno. That was while he was still turning into a Kishin; before I joined the academy." Alice replied.
"Huh. Wait, Liz and Patty don't have a home. Where did they go?" he asked, remembering the twin's past.
"They robbed Kidd and got an apartment near Maka's apartment." she chuckled.
"Why am I not surprised?" Brandon said, taking another bite of his fish. "Do you want to try a piece?" he asked, cutting a piece and offering it to her.
"Nah. Don't like fish, never have, probably never will."
"Suit yourself." he said, putting the piece in his mouth and chewing it. Alice cut another peice off of her steak and ate it. "I just thought of an idea." Brandon said, eating another piece.
"What is it?"
"Since you really like raw meat, how about I make you a dish of spaghetti, except the spaghetti is ground beef." he said.
"Sure." Alice said excitedly.
"And for a sauce, how about a steak sauce?" he asked, running a list of possible sauces through his mind and choosing the best one.
"Um, OK." Alice said, wondering how it would taste.
"Remind me to pick up the meat after class." he said, eating another bite of his steak.
"OK!" Alice said. He quickly finished the rest of his fish and checked his phone.
"We have 15 minutes to get back." he said, putting his phone away.
"OK, lets pay and hurry back." Alice said. The waiter quickly walked over with the bill and laid it on their table.
"That was convenient." Brandon said opening the bill. It was $100. He took one of the five hundred dollar bills Lord Death paid him and put it in the bill. "Let's go." he said, standing up.
"OK, but shouldn't we leave a tip?" the ex-Kishin asked, standing.
"I only have hundreds." Brandon said, checking his wallet.
Alice laid a $20 bill on the table. "OK, now lets leave." They left and got into the Mustang. Brandon started the engine, and began driving.
"What are your impressions of the students so far?" he asked.
"The students? I'll need to know the meisters a bit more before I can have an opinion on them, but their weapons are bright, have potential and I know they'll become great deathscythes." Alice smiled, but it faded into a look of worry. "I'm a bit concerned about Cameron, though. I hope I didn't hurt him too much."
"I looked him over when I was taking him to the nurse. He has a few scratches, a medium-sized gash on his cheek that may require stitches, and a concussion." Brandon said, remembering back to the earlier events.
Alice gaped at him. "A concussion?! How bad is it?! Please tell me it's not that bad!"
"He'll be fine. He just needs some rest." Brandon said. 'I hope he doesn't have any brain damage.' Brandon thought to himself.
"I hope I didn't give him brain damage..." Alice muttered.
"What?" Brandon asked, struggling to hear her.
"I said I hope I didn't give the poor guy brain damage."
"Most likely not." Brandon lied.
"Ya' sure? I hit him pretty damn hard..."
"Eh, you've hit me harder and I still speaks the English good." Brandon joked, manually screwing up his wording.
"..." Alice stared at him like he was stupid.
"Your sense of humor seems to be lacking." Brandon commented, noticing her stare.
"...Just drive."
"Fine." he said, and they quickly drove back to the academy. "We're here." he said, pulling in front of the academy. They got out of the Mustang to find that the students were already there. "Hello class." Brandon said as the two teachers approached the group. "I'll take it that you are all ready?"
"OK, Alice!" Fred called. "Where is Cam?"
"Uh..."
"He's in the infirmary." Brandon said plainly.
Fred sent a sharp glare at Alice, but it faded in a second. "So, ya' gonna' teach us first aid or what?"
"Yea. I will teach you basic stuff, starting with a cut. The first thing to do, is to stop the bleeding. If it isn't going to be fatal, just apply some pressure to the afflicted , you apply the bandage, which is usually gauze." he explained, using his hands to demonstate what to do on his left arm.
"I think they need a live demonstration." Alice said, cutting Brandon's arm with makeshift claws. He grimaced in pain, but recovered his posture quickly.
"Alright, who remembers what to do?" he asked, still grimacing a little from the pain.
Samara raised her hand. "Apply pressure to stop the bleeding then apply a bandage."
"Good." Brandon said, grabbing his right forearm which Alice cut. "Alice, to get a roll of gauze tape from Nygus." Brandon instructed, turning his head to talk to his weapon. Alice did as she was told and retrieved a roll of gauze tape from Nygus, coming back quickly. "Thank you." he said, grabbing the roll. "An important thing to remember is to wrap it tightly, so that the wound receives constant pressure." he said while wrapping the gauze tightly around his arm.
"But not too tight." Alice said.
"Yes. If you tie it too tight, you risk cutting the circulation off to that body part, which could result in amputation." Brandon said, putting the gauze in his pocket.
Fred raised his hand. "What does amputation mean?" Alice face-palmed.
"You have to cut off an appendage." Brandon explained, fighting the urge to face-palm.
"Ew." Fred replied.
"If you think that is bad, imagine having to do the operation yourself." Brandon said. Alice chuckled. "Next, we have the heimlich maneuver. Who knows what that is used for?" he asked, looking around at the group.
"Isn't it used to help someone when they're choking?" Stephane asked shyly, raising her hand.
"Yes." Brandon responded. "To demonstrate the heimlich maneuver, I'm going to need a volunteer." he said, turning his head to look at Alice.
"I'm not doing it." Alice said before a cruel smile slipped unto her face. "Alex, would you like to volunteer?"
"No." the boy mumble, putting his hoodie up.
"That' too bad~!" Alice said in a sickly sweet voice. "'CAUSE YOU'RE DOIN' IT ANYWAY!"
"Alice, I'm not gonna force the boy to do it if he doesn't want to." Brandon said calmly.
"I will."
"You don't even know how to do the procedure properly! If you do it wrong, you can break the poor boy's ribs!" Brandon replied back.
"Who said I was?! I could break his ribs!" Alice replied in mock horror. "YOU will!"
Let it be known that she's making him do this because of how it looks when done properly.
Also take note that she is a yaoi fangirl.
"Fine, fine." he said, admitting defeat, knowing he wouldn't win. "Alex, please come here." Brandon asked. The boy, who was scared shitless by Alice, quickly complied. "To do the heimlich maneuver, first you put your right palm in your left one, and hold your hands together." he started, doing the described step. "Then, you put your arms over their shoulders, and rest your closed hands right beneath their sternum." he explained, using Alex as an example. "Then, you apply pressure up and backwards, and repeate this until the obstruction is freed." he said, doing a few light compressions on Alex, as not to hurt him. "You can go back now, Alex." Brandon whispered to the boy, taking his arms off of him.
"Good doggy, Brandon!" Alice praised fakely.
"I hate you." he whispered at her. "Does anyone have any questions?" he asked the group.
No one raised their hand, just laughed at the fact Alice called him a 'doggy'- except Alex, who stayed quiet. "You know ya' love me, Brandon~! Don't deny it." Alice whispered to her meister.
"Maybe, but I hate it when you embarrass me." he whispered back. "Ok then. Finally, we have CPR." he said.
"...Why is it called CPR anyway?" Alice asked.
"It stands for CardioPulmonary Resusitation." he said, emphizing the letter as each letter as the word it stood for was said.
"Oh." Alice replied simply.
"You have no idea what that means, do you?" Brandon asked monotonously.
"Nope."
"Cardiopulmonary means concerning the lungs and heart, while resuscitation means revival." he explained.
"Oh..." Alice replied.
"Do we have any volunteers?" Brandon asked. He saw Alice begin to grin, but stopped her. "Beside Alex?"
Alice pouted. "OK, fine..."
"Lay down, please." he said, gesturing towards the floor. Alice sighed and, reluctantly, lied down. "The first thing to do is you make sure that the victim has truely stopped breathing, and their pulse has stopped. To do this, you put your head along their chest level, and watch the chest going up and down." he said, lying his head level with her chest. He then rightened himself back up to his knees. "If you see that the victim has actually stopped breathing, you put one of your hands on their sternum, and then your other hand on top of that. You then push down until your hands went don two and a half inches." Brandon said, lightly demonstrating the steps on Alice's chest. "You do ten compressions, and then you put your mouth on theirs and blow. I will not demonstrate this for obvious reasons, but I think you get the idea. While blowing, remember to keep their nostrils held close. You repeat these steps three times before you check their breathing again. You repeat these steps until the victim has started breathing on their own, or trained medical persional come." he said, standing up.
Alice also stood up. "Ich bin mug even perversen..." she grumbled.
"What?" Brandon whispered. "Does anyone have any questions?" he asked the group.
"Google it." she whispered back. No one raised their hands.
Brandon quickly checked his phone. "It seems that we are out of time. Meet back here tomorrow at 9:00" he said, and began his descent down the stairs. Alice also left, leaving the five kids in the courtyard. Brandon quickly climbed into the Mustang and pulled up his phone. He opened the translator app and began typing. "Ich bin mug even perversen...I'm surrounded by perverts. Wow." Brandon said. Alice said nothing. "Real mature, Alice." Brandon said as he started the car. Alice chuckled at that. "How was what i did perverted?" he asked.
"You had your hands on my chest, need I say more?" she replied blankly.
"It could have been worse." he replied.
"Hm?"
"I could have actually demonstrated mouth to mouth." he said.
"..." Alice simply looked away, blushing slightly.
"And you call me the perv." he joked, seeing her blush.
"At least I don't get nosebleeds 24/7." Alice retorted.
"I do not get them that much!" he shot back.
"Don't deny it, Brandon." Alice replied coolly.
"I only do it when you dress in your 'pajamas'." he admitted.
"I win~!" Alice chimed.
"Yes, but you act pervertedly at the randomist times." Brandon replied.
"True." Alice replied, grinning pervertedly.
"There you go again with your random pervertedness!" Brandon exclaimed, seeing her grin. The ex-Kishin simply laughed. "Jeez, your becoming as perverted as me!" he joked. Alice stared at him blankly. "Ok, that might be an exaggeration." he admitted.
"A huge exaggeration." Alice replied.
"Still, you're pretty perverted." he said.
"You may be right about that." she said with a hint of denial in her voice.
"Don't deny it." he said.
"I'll deny it if I want to." The sword said, sticking her tongue out.
"Fine. But the thing that matters is that it is true." he replied.
"I know it's true."
"Alright, just making sure." he said, grinning. Alice chuckled. "Were home." he said, pulling in front of their 'home'.
"Obviously." Alice stated.
"We should eat dinner." he said, getting out of the car.
"OK." Alice said. Brandon walked inside and began rummaging through the supply bag.
"Here." he said, throwing her a raw steak, and took out a protein bar for himself. Alice ate the steak then quickly took a shower and changed into her pajamas. Brandon ate his protein bar, showered after she got out, and got a nosebleed once he stepped out of the shower.
Alice face-palmed. "Mein Gott..."
"Would you mind getting real pajamas so I don't die of blood loss?" he asked, attempting to stop his nosebleed.
"No thanks." Alice said nonchalantly.
"Why not?" he asked, wiping his hand on his pajama leg.
"It gets too hot at night." she replied with mock innocence.
"I think you have a different motive." Brandon said.
"Explain." she demanded.
"I think you do it just to screw with me." he said, crossing his arms.
"Well..." Alice started. "It IS funny to see your reactions..."
"You already know what my reaction is!" he said.
"And it never gets old!" Alice said. "But seriously, it gets hot at night. REALLY hot."
"Are you hinting at something else?" he asked, a perverted grin growing on his face.
"W-What?" Alice asked, a huge blush covering her face.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." he said.
"...I don't believe you are." Alice replied, still a bit tense.
"Jeez, you of all people should know I joke about that sort of stuff." he said, sitting down on the futon. Alice sat on the bed, still a bit fearful that Brandon might try something. "I'm gonna play some Xbox, then you can." he said while walking over to the generator and turning it on.
"OK." Alice replied. After turning the generator on, he walked back to the futon and sat down. He then began playing 'Saints Row The Third', and was blowing up everything he saw. "Do Americans always play such violent games?" The German weapon asked.
"Yea." The meister answered plainly. "Why, are German videogames different?"
"They're not." Alice grinned. "I was just asking."
"You know American videogames though, so why are you asking?" Brandon asked.
"To kill time." she replied.
"I'll stop if you want to play." he said, pausing his game and offering the controller to her.
"Huh? Nah, that's OK. Play as long as you like." Alice smiled.
"Ok." he said, and continued playing. He played for an hour before giving Alice the controller.
Alice put in Assassin's Creed and began to play, but got bored after 45 minutes. "You wanna' play again?" she offered.
"Nah, I'm good." he said, turning down the offer.
"OK." Alice said, turning off the Xbox.
"What should we do for our lesson tomorrow?" Brandon thought aloud.
"First, Battle Strategy and techniques. Then after lunch break, a sparring match to see if they were paying attention." Alice suggested.
"Sounds like a good plan." Brandon said, thinking about it.
"I am full of good ideas!" Alice cheered. "What time is it?"
Brandon checked his phone. "It's 8:00" he said, putting his phone away.
"I'm not even tired. Stupid fucking insomnia." Alice groaned.
"What to do..." Brandon said, thinking out loud.
Alice layed face-down on the bed, waiting for either something to do or sleep. "Oh God, it's so freakin' hot in this city..." she groaned, her voice being muffled by the bed.
"I should go pick up a fan." he said, thinking about ways to cool down.
"You do that. I'm not going outside in this clothing." Alice replied.
"I wonder why." Brandon said sarcastically, and started the truck up, and drove to the home appliance store. There, he got a large fa,n a small wooden table, and two chairs and put the objects in the bed of the truck. He then quickly drove home and unloaded all of the objects into the house. He quickly plugged the fan into the generator, pointed it towards Alice, and turned it on.
Alice sighed, letting the cool air wash over her. "Finally..."
"Your welcome." Brandon said while unloading the table and chairs from the truck's bed.
"I hate the heat. So much." The German stated.
"And you don't like the cold either. There's just no pleasing you, is there?" Brandon asked, setting up the table next to the futon.
"I do like cold weather, I just don't like below-freezing weather, like in Russia." Alice explained. "Being a Wendigo-er, ex-wendigo, I'm very sensitive to temperature."
"Wow, that really sucks. Especially since your a student, and we have to go to many climates with extreme temperatures." he said, pushing the chairs into place by the table.
"It does suck." Alice pouted.
"I'm surprised about something." Brandn said, remembering the night they defeated Samantha.
"Surprised about what?" Alice asked.
"I haven't seen you smoke since that night in New York. Usually, when someone smokes, they develop an addiction almost immediately due to the nicotine." he said, sitting down on the futon.
"That's because I've been too lazy to unpack them." she replied.
"So, you still feel the urge to smoke?" he asked.
"A little..." the weapon replied sheepishly.
"You probably could've pulled the act off without smoking." he said, now feeling bad that he allowed her to smoke.
Alice smiled fakely. "It's OK. Don't feel bad."
"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let you smoke." he said, becoming angry with himself.
"It was my choice. Don't blame yourself." she reassured.
"Still, I should have talked you out of it." he said, lowering his head in shame.
"Dude, really. It's OK." Alice said, beginning to worry.
"Ok, but if I see one of those things in your mouth, I will rip it out." he threatened, his tone becoming menacing.
"I'll just give 'em to Stein." Alice joked.
"That's a good idea." Brandon said, his tone going from menacing to insightful. He then realized his sudden change. "Wow, I'm a bit bipolar too, aren't I?" he asked, chuckling.
"Maybe."
"Eh, like I said earlier. Everyone's a bit bipolar in their teen years." he said, lying down on the futon. Alice chuckled, smiling cutely. Brandon shifted uncomfortably, since he had to rest his head on the metal bar.
"Hey Alice, could you throw me a pillow?" he asked, putting one of his hands under his head.
"Sure." Alice replied, throwing a pillow at Brandon. The pillow then hit him in the face.
"Thanks." he said, the words becoming a little muffled since he had to talk through the pillow.
"You're welcome~!" Alice chimed.
"Ah, much better." he said with a sigh, resting his head on the pillow which now covered the futon's arm rest.
"So bored..." Alice grumbled, still not tired.
"Your still not tired?" he asked, leaning up to look at her.
"Unfortunately, no." she sighed.
"Hmm...what do you want to do?" he asked, looking at his weapon.
"I have no idea." she replied blankly.
"Do you want to go for a drive?" Brandon suggested, thinking of random activities.
"I guess. I just hope you're not gonna' stay up all night because of me." Alice replied.
"Eh, I won't mind." he said, getting off of the futon and grabbed the Mustang's keys.
Alice jumped off of the bed and walked outside to the Mustang, waiting for her meister. Brandon opened the door and climbed into the driver's seat, where he turned on the engine. His weapon climbed into the passengers seat. They then began driving. Brandon kept the speed at around 20mph, as to keep the engine noise to a minimum. "Ya' know, Death City looks really peaceful at night." he said, watching the buildings as he drove by.
"I wish my world was this peaceful..." Alice said, a tone of nostalgia in her voice.
"Eh, eternal peacefulness leads to eternal boredom." Brandon said, watching another building go by.
"Yeah, but at least there aren't Kishins everywhere." Alice replied. "In my world, no-one is safe..."
"That sucks. I wish I could help your world somehow." he said, taking a slow turn.
"Even if you tried, it wouldn't do any good. Lord Death's soul acted like a sheild around Death City, keeping most weak Kishins out. When he died, the sheild disappeared." Alice explained.
"Can't Kidd reactivate the shield using his own soul?" Brandon asked.
"Yes, but I know he won't. He doesn't care about the humans there. He thinks he better than the rest of us." she replied.
"Then he might as well not even be a reaper." Brandon said.
"No, he is. He's just corrupted and he hurts people." Alice replied. 'Or gets me to...' she thought.
"So, he kills his father, than blatantly disrespects him. He is truely the biggest douchebag I have ever heard of." he said.
"Yeah. He's kinda' mean." The German agreed.
"The city is truely beautiful at night, though." Brandon said, watching the academy in the distance.
"Yeah, it is..."
He then removed one of his hands from the steering wheel and rested the arm on the glovebox. 'Why do I feel this way?' he thought, feeling a fluttery feeling in his chest. Alice looked out the window, feeling the same way. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her look away.
"Hm? Nothing."
"Oh, ok." he said, looking back out of the window.
"Why?"
"No reason." he said. "Hey Alice, I have a question." he said, fidgeting a little.
She looked at her meister. "What's wrong?"
"What would you do if I kissed you?" he asked, blushing as he talked.
The German blushed beet-red. "W-Well, I-I dunno..."
"We might as well see what would happen." he said, putting the car in parked and leaned in for a kiss.
"OK." she replied, closing her eyes. He embraced her, his lips touching hers. Time seemed to stop for him, and a feeling of pure bliss washed over him. They continued the embrace for about five seconds, before Brandon backed off.
"I really like you, Alice." he said, looking his weapon in the eyes.
She smiled and hugged him. "I like you, too."
"It just makes me sad that we will have to part ways when this is all over." he said, accepting the embrace.
"Yeah... I'll always remember you, though." she replied, hugging him tighter.
"I will, too." he said. Alice smiled, even though she knew Brandon couldn't see her face at the moment. Brandon backed out of the embrace, and started the engine again. "Are you feeling tired?" he asked.
"Yeah." she yawned.
"Alright, I'll drive home." he said, and began driving back to their house.
"Thank you." the weapon said sleepily.
He quickly drove home, and pulled into the garage. "Alice, we're home." he said, shaking her since she fell asleep. Alice opened her eyes drowsily and smiled, getting out of the car. Brandon turned off the car and followed, lying down on the futon. Alice layed on the bed, going to sleep with a blissful smile on her face. Brandon quickly followed, wearing a small grin upon his face as sleep washed over him.