Close Encounters 17
Castle cast his wife an amused look as he came inside the bedroom. There were two Secret Service agents and Rachel McCord with him, and evidently, Kate hadn't been expecting guests.
She was lying on the floor with her feet hooked over the mattress, reading the laptop kinda sideways. He had no idea how she was accomplishing it. He knew she was deep in the scanned files they'd taken from the Congo station, reading through them once more for clues. It was a collection of chunks of information - handwritten notes, official CIA memos, intraoffice letters, declarations of intent, blood test results. He never could get anything coherent, but she was always trying to piece together the details of the regimen.
"Kate," he had to call, gaining her attention. McCord laughed a little and Kate shut the laptop, her eyes glancing to him.
Kate shifted slowly, slid her feet off the bed, and then she lifted her arms, wriggling her fingers at him in silent command. Castle leaned over and helped her up, and when she was leaning close and getting her balance, he heard her soft question at his ear.
"Cover or real?"
"Stick to the story," he confirmed.
She stepped away from him and greeted McCord first. "Rachel. Please tell me you're here to say I'm no longer under arrest?"
"Sorry, Detective Beckett. Still under arrest. But at least you're home." Rachel stepped in and gripped Kate's elbows, a lean in that he supposed was a substitute for a hug. Castle could see her whisper something in Kate's ear, and his wife relaxed.
"So what do you all need from me?"
"A statement about the abduction and then the car accident."
Kate nodded and Castle turned to slide the laptop under the bed along with the notes Kate had been making.
"What was that about?" McCord asked, gesturing to the floor.
"Ribs hurt. Can't find a comfortable position," Kate answered easily. "After the day I've had, kinda desperate to just - you know - relax."
But Kate shot him a quick look and he nodded; he'd gotten everything hidden. In between checking the Congo files for references to Maine or the merc team from Tunisia, she had been doing some research on Maine's last known. Castle had gotten them into the CIA's secure network and they were going back through video surveillance footage from the federal building. He hoped to track Maine's movements - when he had showed up, where he'd been, whom he might have called. Technically Beckett shouldn't have access to that kind of thing, but they were building a profile to use against Maine when they questioned him.
Because they would be questioning him. And since Castle's unborn kid hadn't developed ears yet, he was all for making him... talk.
"Kate, you want to do this in the bedroom or back in the living room? Whatever is most comfortable for you."
"Nothing is really comfortable," Kate said. They'd agreed to use her injuries to pressure the various agencies and the media as well, play up her suffering for the cause, the undercover police officer hurt in the line of duty. "But the living room is fine. Rick, when did you say the doctor was coming?"
"We have an hour," Castle answered.
"Has this been approved?" one of the agents frowned.
McCord rolled her eyes. "This is Agent Spade. He's in charge of our side of the Maine investigation. Agent Spade, this is Detective Beckett and her husband, Rick Rodgers."
He shook hands with the agent. Spade's chiseled looks, his impeccable suit, made Castle think he was politically-minded, upwardly mobile. He wasn't sure that was good for Kate's case or not.
And Castle was a civilian now, right? He didn't have to play nice. "Spade?" he said. "My wife has been kicked in the ribs, shot at, taken into custody, and then kidnapped while in the FBI's care - I don't give a fuck if the doctor is or isn't on the list. She's getting treated. It's not like I can take her somewhere."
Agent Spade didn't step back physically, but he definitely had the flinch in his eyes.
Castle let go of his hand and took Kate's elbow. "Need help?" he murmured.
He knew it irritated her for him to ask, to keep offering, but it was part of the plan to play up the injuries. So Kate nodded and let him lead her towards the living room, going ahead of the agents, ignoring the calculating look that Spade was giving them. He settled Kate on the couch and propped her up against the pillow; she squeezed his wrist and lifted an eyebrow that clearly meant he should back off.
He wasn't interested in backing off.
"You have an hour," he said to the agents. "And then her doctor is here."
Castle went back to the bedroom and closed the door, pulled out the laptop from under the bed. He knew he wasn't supposed to be in the room for her statement, no matter that they'd already concocted what they could to leave Castle's role obscured, but he wasn't interested in Spade. What he really wanted to do was feel the bones in Maine's nose crush under the impact of Castle's fist, and preparing for that moment instead would have to do for now.
When he opened up the laptop, he grinned. Beckett was a genius at the interrogation room, and she'd already outlined their plan of attack on the computer. No wonder she'd gone back to looking at the Congo files.
Now Castle needed to work his connections to get Maine back into CIA custody - and preferably straight into Mason's hands. No one else.
He wasn't about to leave this investigation in the hands of guys like Spade.
Beckett was grateful when Spade, McCord, and the third agent - Waite - left her before their hour was up. It had been mostly Kate giving her statement about the kidnapping, pressing formal charges against Maine, and allowing Spade a chance to see for himself what she was like.
Or that's what Kate figured, since Spade mostly sat back and observed. She didn't think they'd have too much to worry about with him, but she had kept everything neutral and made certain that her answers fell in line with their cover story - down to the very last detail. Esposito, who was on guard duty and who was a long-time co-worker, had been given the role of hero in the story of the accident; he had been the one to drive Maine's SUV off the road and free her. She had even admitted to the GPS tracker from her 'lawyer.'
Kate figured Castle hadn't been interested in hearing her praise Espo for his own role, and that still amused her, but Castle hadn't come back into the living room. That probably had reassured Spade as well when it came to their story.
McCord gave her a wink as they left, the trio heading down the hallway to catch the elevator. Kate felt an actual smile in response, and she barely even flinched when Esposito gave her an apologetic look and closed the door on her, audibly locking it.
She slumped, feeling absolutely every single bruise along her ribs and across her pelvis, like the bones themselves were filled with hairline cracks spiderwebbing into the marrow. Kate leaned her shoulder against the wall and closed her eyes, keeping her breaths shallow and her movements minimal, trying to regain some of the adrenaline high she'd been on for the last few hours.
Kidnapped, kicked, nearly shot, only to be arrested, kidnapped again, and then rescued by her husband. And before all that - pregnant.
Pregnant.
The door chimed and she startled so hard that her breath caught at the pain; she had to hold still to keep from making it worse and meanwhile, Castle came out of the master bedroom.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Be that way in a second," she admitted, touching her fingertips to her side. Castle passed her to open the door and he nodded to Esposito who was escorting a smartly-dressed woman. The doctor.
"I'm Dr. Dennison - Mary Dennison. Carrie's told me so much about you two."
Kate glanced to Rick but he only smiled and shook the woman's hand, gestured her towards the couch. The doctor was about ten years older than them - well, older than Rick - and she had the same self-possession that Carrie had as well. Her slacks were tailored to her nearly six-foot frame, her blouse a pale pink with a kind of neck scarf attached - something regal and sophisticated about her.
Not exactly the hippie, new-age doctor that Carrie had told them to expect; in fact, Dr. Dennison looked like she had a lucrative practice. Dark-haired, green-eyed, so tall she looked like a volleyball player, Dr. Dennison made her way easily for the couch.
"Thanks for coming," Rick said. He reached back for Kate, lowering his voice, aiming his next words at her. "Need help?"
She eyed the distance between herself and the couch, but she shook her head. She could do this; it was only a few steps. "I got it."
He left her there, a testament to how much he truly had changed over the years. He knew she didn't exactly have it, that she was hurting and struggling, but now he was able to let her suffer through if that was what she wanted.
She did. Why, she still didn't exactly understand, only that suffering was life and if she was slogged through, then maybe she deserved the life she'd been given - because at least this way she was working for it. Thanks to Dr King for that much insight.
Kate managed to make it to the couch, slowly and in pain, but she did it. Castle kept an eye on her as he answered Dr. Dennison's questions, and Kate knew she'd be compromising for him in the near future - giving him something to make up for this, for how he'd given her this moment to assert herself.
She was kind of looking forward to it.
"Kate," Dr. Dennison said warmly. "How do you feel?"
Kate gave the woman a droll look. "Like I've been kicked in the ribs a couple times."
Dr. Dennison only smiled back, like she dealt with kicked-in ribs all the time. "Apart from that, of course. Internally, how does this feel for you - are you strong, hesitant, making it, not sure - what? Just, close your eyes and search it out within yourself."
What? No. Not-uh. Kate Beckett didn't do close your eyes and search it out.
"I feel fine," she quickly, shooting Castle a look. "I'm fine. I mean, I hurt, of course, but it's not - it's separate."
"Separate," Dr Dennison said, reaching out and squeezing Kate's hand. "Very good. I like that answer. The bruised ribs are separate from the pregnancy. That sounds excellent."
Rick gave her an equally hesitant look but he shrugged. Just got with it. If Carrie had recommended her and they were friends and she wasn't CIA... Kate was willing to suffer through this as well.
"All right, Kate. I've got everything here to exam you - just a preliminary thing - once we've talked a little more. I've also brought two weeks' worth of pre-natal vitamins since you can't exactly go out and get those at the moment."
Kate felt some small measure of relief and nodded to the woman. "House arrest is slightly limiting," she murmured, giving the woman a nod.
Dr. Dennison chuckled and squeezed Kate's hand before releasing it. "A sense of humor is important. I'm sure Carrie told you stories about me - and they're all true. I employ a holistic approach to obstetrics, which means that I'm going to care for your whole being, body and mind and spirit. Everything is interlocking, Kate, Rick, and while you guys are in a fairly stressful situation, I think I can help you keep your baby healthy."
Why did that sound so damn amazing? Kate couldn't help sinking back against the couch cushions with a relief that flooded through her, even though her ribs sharpened at the pressure. Didn't even matter, because here was a woman who was going to help her keep it.
Castle was looking at her in askance.
"Sounds good," Kate said into his silence. "What do we do first?"
"I'll get a medical history from your both, do my exam, and we'll talk about the course of our next nine months together. Okay? I'll give you some breathing exercises, some centering practices to help keep your blood pressure and heart rate steady, and ways to keep yourself feeling strong, make the baby strong too."
It sounded so ridiculous, but Kate couldn't help wanting it to be just that easy. Keep everyone strong with some damn breathing exercises - let it be that simple.
Dr. Dennison stood and held out both hands to Kate. "Come on. We'll do this in the bedroom."
Kate took the woman's hands and let the woman help her up, seeing the astonished confusion cross Castle's face. She reached out on her way to the bedroom, combed her fingers through his hair, tugged a little.
He huffed but he didn't stop her.
She had never been the kind of woman who leaned on other people, but in this case, she was so very grateful to them all for it: Esposito, Mason, Mitchell, McCord, Ryan, Carrie, her father, her husband, and now this doctor as well.
They formed a ring around her; they were going to help her keep the little wolf alive.
Sasha pricked her ears, warning Castle, and then Dr. Dennison came out of the bedroom alone and softly shut the door. Castle stood to meet her, glancing past her shoulder, his feet already starting to take him forward.
"She fell asleep." Dr Dennison stopped him with a wink.
Castle hesitated and glanced to the bedroom doctor. "Oh. That's good."
"I gave her some relaxation techniques - should help with the pain too. I'm also going to write a prescription for a muscle relaxer that can be taken, though Kate said she didn't want it. Just in case she changes her mind."
Maybe he'd change her mind; she needed sleep and he knew she'd been waking every few hours because of the pain. "Thanks," he added, taking the paper from her. "And for coming out here."
"I'm excited to be on this journey with you," Dr. Dennison said. "Don't hesitate to call if you have questions. I'll see you both in a week."
He nodded and showed her to the front door where Esposito was already waiting; Castle saw Reynolds in the hallway, which meant Mason was out working on getting custody of their prisoner. He waited while Reynolds escorted the woman to the elevator and then he handed Espo the prescription.
"Can you get this filled for us? And maybe some potato cakes at that Jewish deli Kate loves. It's on-"
"Yeah, I know the one. Ryan took me once."
"Where is Ryan?"
"Working with Mason," Espo answered. "They're talking with the Director and trying to arrange custody of that bastard."
Maine, he meant. Castle nodded and watched the elevator open and allow the doctor inside, and then Reynolds was trotting back to them for an impromptu meeting in the hallway.
"You weren't watching Dr Dennison examine Kate, were you?" he asked them.
Esposito flushed red at his ears and snarled something in Spanish that Castle couldn't quite catch; he took that to mean hell, no. Reynolds shook his head.
"No, there's no bedroom or bathroom cameras. The feed from the windows and doorway are all live, plus the fish-eye in the living room. That's all."
"Thanks, guys. Where are we on the official inquest into the shooting?"
"Bracken you mean," Espo said darkly. "IAB is being slow to make their ruling, but probably next week we'll know. Captain Gates has been texting me updates."
"Oh, good. You think she's reliable?"
"Definitely." Espo's confidence was rock solid and it made Castle confident as well.
"All right, and what about the FBI agents that were in here?"
"I planted a bug on Spade," Reynolds said coolly. "He hasn't discovered it yet. Listened to him take a dump right before a big meeting."
"Thanks, Ren," Castle said wryly, shaking his head. "What was the meeting about?"
"You don't want to know how his bathroom break went?"
"Spare me," Espo muttered.
"The meeting, Ren."
"Yeah, Spade was giving a debrief to his boss, McCord was in the room as a liaison, so it's all up and up. Sounds like Spade seems to believe Beckett, so we have that going for us. He mentioned two points though - and you should hear something from Mason soon, but-"
"What?" Castle said impatiently. He didn't like being stuck on the other side of an operation, some civilian accountant.
"Spade pointed out that Beckett was taken but Malone was shot, and then Maine grabbed Beckett alive a second time - so he figures there's some ulterior motive no one has guessed at."
"Well, we know what that is," Esposito said with a snort. "It's this dude's asshole of a father."
"Black," Castle sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "Right. So Agent Spade is going to be poking around into why Beckett was snatched and not outright killed."
"His second point has to do with that. Elaborate set-up to have Maine planted at the FBI - the cover story, the ID, all those strings that got pulled, the favors, burned bridges. Spade thinks Beckett knows something she isn't supposed to, has information that someone wants back or just wants to silence her."
"About Bracken maybe?" Castle asked. "Huh, that could work in our favor."
"So I had this idea," Reynolds went on, "that we could have McCord subpoena Beckett for the grand jury testimony."
"We weren't going to do that," Castle said, his hackles rising at the thought of exposing his wife.
"No, I know," Reynolds said calmly. His face was still bruised from the beating he'd received at Black's hands, but he wasn't nearly as twitchy and irritable as Castle.
Rick took a breath to fight back the urge to dismiss the man's suggestion. "Okay," Castle said slowly. "Tell me why."
"If she's called to testify then that just seals the deal for Spade. He gets everything tied up - but not too neatly - and his curiosity is satisfied. He closes the case assuming Beckett had evidence against Bracken that the man wanted, and that Maine was taking it upon himself to make sure that info didn't see the light of day. There are still questions, but most investigators feel those are par for the course."
"Okay, all right. That might work." He rubbed his chin as he mulled that over, turned his head to Espo. "What about the leak?"
"We don't know yet. It doesn't have to be a leak in the CIA-"
"Someone fed Black information about the case against Bracken and that was eyes-only stuff."
"Yes, but the Secret Service was part of the Task Force, Castle. There are a lot more people on this than you might think. We're going through contact points, seeing where everyone is connected, but it takes time."
"Bring me a secure laptop, then," he said finally. "Kate is using mine. We'll do our share of the work. I'm anxious to know who - and plug the leak."
Reynolds didn't look happy, but Esposito knew him - knew Kate as well - and he'd get them the equipment they needed to help with the inside investigation. Because even a civilian accountant could do an internal audit.
Internal audit. Huh, actually.
"Guys, get the auditors on this. Top priority access, but they might be able to detect patterns in spending and requisitions that we haven't seen. It takes money to fund Black's off-book movements, and that's got to come from somewhere."
"Yo, Castle, channeling your inner accountant?" Espo snarked.
"Maybe in another life," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Get on that and we'll see what shakes free."
Kate was tugged softly up by the sounds of typing on a keyboard, fingers moving quickly over the keys, inventing stories and visions with ease. She floated on the soft, rounded edge of her sleep, listening to Rick Castle pull words out of the air. The light was dim and her body was warm and the bed like a gentle hand and her dream wrapped around her.
The pause in typing was startling in its unfamiliarity, the sound of silence at her back rather than the continuous lull of writing.
No, no, she thought. That wasn't right. She opened her eyes to the dark bedroom that wasn't her own, the touches of brown and black that spoke of a male influence, the padded headboard in its geometric design, the bedside alarm clock she'd never even touched before.
This wasn't her life; she wasn't the wife of a writer - writer? no, his cover ID was an accountant. An accountant; she had to remember, keep it straight. Her life depended on-
Oh, not her life. This life. The baby that they had to keep secret, so secret she'd tucked away the truth of it into some fantasy side of her mind and now she was dreaming strange worlds with writers and poets and a curious boy who looked like her.
She turned slowly from her side to her back and Rick was watching her.
"You feeling okay?" he murmured.
"Things hurt but... I'm okay," she said. It was mostly true. Her ribs ached from lying in one spot too long, but she had learned to survive the pain, to breathe past it.
"Dr Dennison wrote a prescription for muscle relaxers. I got it filled; it's on the bedside table with some water."
She didn't even turn her head to look; instead, she curled up against his thigh and hip, laid her head on his leg even though it hurt. "Was that your not-subtle way of telling me to take a muscle relaxer?"
"Yes. Did it work?"
"No, baby. It didn't."
"But I can see you're hurting, Kate. The moment you woke, your whole body went stiff."
"I was having a strange dream. About us."
"Oh? What about?"
"It's already gone," she sighed. "But I guess you were working on the computer and it got incorporated into the dream. You were writing me a story. A detective story."
Castle snorted. "Why would I do that? We live that."
"I know," she shrugged, but that hurt too and she wouldn't be able to lie here like this for long. "Never mind. I might take a pill later. Just to keep you from completely losing it."
"I'm not losing it."
She traced her fingers at his knee. "Not yet, you aren't."
"I won't lose it."
"It's okay to break down a little, sweetheart."
"I'm not breaking down," he growled. "We get through this first. Then I'll break down. And be prepared for bubble boy status."
"Bubble boy?" she laughed, choking on it when it pulled her ribs too hard.
"Yeah, that huge ball of bubble wrap that insulated that kid, kept him germ-free. I don't know when - twenty years ago?"
"No, I know," she laughed. "Boy in the plastic bubble. That movie was thirty years ago, Rick. I think it's just sad that all of your pop culture references are so terribly outdated."
"You're supposed to be educating me," he grumbled. "How is that my fault?"
"Can't do much educating in a sterile environment, wrapped in plastic bubble wrap."
"I guess the panic room will have to do," he muttered. He dropped his hand on her head and combed through her hair. "I'll finish the one I started upstairs. In the baby's room. Yeah? And we can christen it."
She smiled into his thigh and saw Sasha sticking her head onto the mattress in inquiry. "Come on up, puppy. It's okay."
Sasha jumped up and circled the bed, stepping over their legs until she settled in the curve of Kate's body, her nose up against Kate's stomach.
"Does she know?" Rick said, dragging a hand down through her fur. "She can't possibly know, can she?"
"Dogs have a better sense of smell than humans," Kate answered. "Maybe she smells the hormones or something. I just took a pre-natal vitamin that Mary gave me."
"Mary? Oh, Dr Dennison. First name basis, huh?"
"She's... like that," Kate answered. "Can't help it. I like her."
"Good, then she stays."
"What are you working on?" she said, shifting to draw a knee up and give Sasha a pillow for her head. The dog turned and gave her a baleful look, slinked down to the foot of the bed where she could be unmolested.
"Doing an internal audit of our systems," Castle answered. He held out a hand to her as she started to move, helping her sit upright against his shoulder. "Got a second laptop so that you can keep going with the Congo files. Maybe you can figure out who's been leaking information to Black's network by cross-referencing it with those files. Figure it can't hurt - might be in there. A name. Meanwhile, I keep doing this, hope the idiot spent money somewhere."
"You know they might not even know they're doing it," she warned him. "It might be an honest act of-"
"Treason," he cut in bluntly. "Giving secrets to outside agencies is treason."
"You gave me your secrets," she murmured, raising an eyebrow.
"You're different."
She only watched him, but he didn't back down, didn't seem to see the hypocrisy.
"All right," she sighed. "What can I do to help?"
"Take a muscle relaxer and sleep right here next to me."
"No. Rick."
He sighed back and reached over the side of the bed, drew up her laptop for her. "Fine. I knew you wouldn't."
She grinned and leaned in to kiss him, got a sharp taste of his tongue before she pulled back. "You know me too well. And I love you for it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Help me find this guy and maybe I won't feel like the worst husband ever for aiding and abetting you."
Castle took it as long as he could, but after Kate squirmed again and made that caught-breath noise that twisted his guts, he finally couldn't do it any longer.
"Will you just take the pill?" he exploded, slamming the lid shut on the laptop.
She stared at him.
"Come on. I know it's killing you. Why won't you take it? She said it's fine - even for the - for the wolf," he said, dropping his voice now and remembering the walls had ears. Even if they were their own. "Kate, please, just take the pill."
Slowly, so that he barely even noticed, she pressed her fingers to her stomach. "I don't - think it's a good idea."
"It's safe. I googled it - no adverse side effects. No one has reported-"
"No," she said. "Castle. I... I've already done a mostly crappy job of keeping the wolf safe. I can suffer through some pain."
Castle shoved the laptop out of his way and wrapped both arms around Kate, dragged her into him. "You did just fine, Kate. You did - more than - you're alive. You're alive and this will take care of itself, this will be fine. You did such a good job, sweetheart."
She touched her fingers to his, laced them together, and she brought his palm against her stomach. It was electric. He hadn't known it could be like this; it eclipsed the world.
Eclipsed all but her.
He untangled their fingers and gripped the back of her neck, leaning into close. "Please, Kate. You need sleep."
"You need sleep too," she said tightly.
"Then we all sleep. Wolf needs sleep as well," he murmured. "Right? Maybe if we all get some sleep, it won't feel like everything's falling down around us."
"Okay," she said finally. "Okay. Half a pill."
Half? "All right," he said. "Half."
"And you actually get some sleep, Castle. You hear me? Muscle relaxers make me so tired that I'll fall asleep and I won't have any way of making you, but you have to."
"I'm still pretty super-" he started.
She pinched his arm for that and grabbed his hand back, squeezing. "Not so super that you're not a little on edge, a little too ramped. You need to sleep, get everything back in perspective."
"Fine. You take half a pill, we both sleep right here. I'll set an alarm."
Castle reached past her and grabbed the prescription bottle, shook one out in his palm. He took it between his fingers and snapped it in half, handed it over to her.
"Am I supposed to be impressed by your display of manly strength?"
"Sweetheart, admit it. You stay impressed."
She smiled at him in return, slowly, as if to say apology accepted, and then she took the pill.
She wasn't all the way under, and she could feel him at her neck, breathing, but the pain had loosened its hold on her bones. She slept on her bad hip and the faint pressure kept her barely awake, kept her skimming the surface, anxiety curling under her skin.
She realized she had curled her legs up in her sleep to protect her jungle parasite.
Castle was at her spine, forehead against her neck, his body curved to meet hers, and his fingertips stroked just above the waistband of her leggings.
"You should sleep," she mumbled, her words more slurred than she'd expected. It was hard to care though, hard to move past the weight that touched her chest and sank her down.
"Can't with you thinking so loud," he muttered.
She didn't like how the muscle relaxer made her feel, how it dragged everything into the mud and made grief her passenger.
No, no, that wasn't her passenger. The little wolf was riding with her; there was no room for grief.
Her breath caught and released and Castle nudged closer; she reached back for him, fumbling until she managed to find his stroking fingers, and she clumsily pulled his arm around her waist, pressed his palm to her stomach, right there, right there, keeping it safe.
His fingers splayed and she sighed, releasing into a drugged, hazy nothing.
"You better sleep," she thought she said. But she couldn't be sure.
He didn't sleep. He tried, he got close, but at least he could drift like this, knowing she was sleeping and recovering, that the pill would keep her muscles from tensing and making it worse. He got very close, actually, found himself in a strange dissociation where all he could feel was the heat of her skin under his palm and almost - almost - below that - their child.
The wolf like sand in an oyster, a tiny thing worrying at him but eventually a pearl, precious.
He couldn't fully stand down from high alert when so much was on the line. Black was doing something out there and Kate was accused of outright murdering Senator Bracken and now there was this to guard and hide and keep secret, unknown-
But not at Kate's expense. He couldn't - that wasn't an option. It wasn't one or the other.
And even as those thoughts circled and tightened within him, the warmth of his wife worked in him for good, soothing and penetrating every cracked part of him until even the rigid emergency state of his being was brought to rest.
Like a breath being released, he sank into the mattress, into her body, his eyes falling shut.
Outside it had begun to rain.
The water trickling over the roof and pattering against the windows left him further drowsed, until the cove and shelter of sleep hid him at last.
It'd only been a day. One day. They had time to work this out.