When Audrey had dreamed of a house with a washer and a dryer, she hadn't pictured using them like this.

From where she was sitting, she could hear the lid click shut, followed by the sound of the water rushing in. She shifted uncomfortably, and the couch crinkled beneath her. The den would be a lot cozier, but the living room was where the furniture was covered in plastic, so it seemed like a safer option. Hugging her arms around herself, she wished that the ground would open up and swallow her before Seymour could come and find her again.

She was usually much more on top of all this, but so much had happened recently that she'd completely lost track of what time of the month it was. They'd only been married a little over a week, and it was absolutely mortifying to have to wake her new husband up because she'd gotten blood everywhere.

Alright, 'everywhere' was probably an exaggeration. The couple of stains on the sheets and her nightgown hadn't been anywhere near as bad as the horrific scene her embarrassed imagination told her it was. But she wasn't in the mood to be especially forgiving of herself at the moment. It was hard to forget the way she'd turned on the lamp and Seymour's face had blanched, and for a few seconds she had been sure he was about to either faint or throw up.

Before she could even start to figure out how she was supposed to face him ever again, he'd gotten the washing machine going, it wasn't long until he came into the room. He was holding her stuffed cocker spaniel clutched in his hands, and after sitting down next to her, he held it out towards her and said, "I grabbed this off the bed. Thought you might like to have it."

She nodded. It might not be able to fix everything, but there were few problems where holding her favorite toy couldn't at least manage to help. Seymour stared off into the corner, and Audrey took a few moments to look him over. She didn't think he was angry with her, or at least she really hoped he wasn't, though he was certainly shaken. She knew that he'd been having some horrible dreams involving blood, and though it wasn't quite as bad as when he'd first woken up, he was still looking pale and clammy.

"You really didn't have to be the one to clean it. I know it bothers you."

"I-I'm okay now." He clasped his hands tightly over his knees, trying hard to will them to stop shaking already. "I was more scared when I thought something happened."

"What do you mean?"

Seymour shrugged, struggling to come up with the right words. "I thought you were hurt, or… I wasn't sure what to think."

Thinking back over everything he'd told her about his life, it occurred to her that after growing up in a home for boys, then being raised by a bachelor, and never being in a relationship before her, this might be something that had come as a surprise to him. She felt even worse, realizing that she probably should have thought to mention it before she scared him half to death in the middle of the night.

"Seymour… did Mista' Mushnik ever tell to you about any of this?"

"He, um… he sort of mentioned it, once." Seymour's leg bounced at a rapid pace, and he gripped his knees tighter. "I'm sorry. I shoulda' known what was happening, I just… I heard about it a long time ago, and I was groggy, and I saw blood, and… "

And all he could think about was that night in the alley. Her white dress, the one she'd been so excited to wear. Shrill laughter echoing after them. Ripped lace. Teeth marks. Audrey going limp in his arms. Little red dots, growing into splotches…

Oh gosh, he didn't feel good.

Seymour squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on something else before the feeling that the room was starting to spin could get worse. It had been the worst moment of his life when Audrey collapsed to the pavement, and he thought for sure that he'd lost her and it would be all his fault. But it only lasted a second, and then she started to get up again. They'd both made it through the night, they'd left Skid Row together, and they'd gotten married. She'd turned out fine then, and she was fine tonight.

Well, alive at least, though maybe not quite fine. She was staring down at her lap, her face burning red as she hugged her arms around herself. She looked miserable, and he knew that seeing him react in horror must have been the last thing she needed. So that was why he was going to get a hold of himself, even if he'd been jolted out of sleep by exactly the kind of sight that had been haunting his nightmares. He was going to stay calm and try very hard not to have thoughts that made him dizzy, because otherwise Audrey would have to look after him, and that just didn't seem fair. She was the one who should be getting taken care of.

Except, now that he thought about it, he didn't really know what he was supposed to do.

"So, um… do you need anything? Should I head to the store?"

Chewing on her lower lip, Audrey glanced over at the clock sitting above their fireplace. "It's late…"

"The convenience store'll be open."

Audrey still hesitated. She didn't really want to rely on paper towels all night, but at the same time, the idea that he wanted to go out scared her a little. If anything like this had happened with most of her past boyfriends, they almost certainly would have left and never come back. And that was when they weren't suffering through some recent memories that had left them with a pretty strong fear of the sight of blood.

While she sat avoiding his gaze, Seymour noticed the way Audrey was clutching her sides, and how her movements looked careful and measured, like when she used to get back from a date and was trying not to let on that she was in pain. Tentatively, he reached out to touch her arm just below the shoulder, then let his hand stay there when she looked comforted by the gesture instead of flinching away.

"It hurts, doesn't it? It hurts when this happens?"

Apparently, she was just not doing a good job at hiding things that night. It seemed like there was something about Seymour that made her forget feeling like she had to. But she didn't want to trouble him more than she already had, and she tried to assure him, "It's normal for it to hurt sometimes. I'll be alright."

"Is there something I can do?"

Audrey took a deep breath and looked up, and the expression of concern in his eyes helped to settle some of her worries. This was Seymour. He wasn't Orin, who had always liked the idea that she was bleeding and in pain to a degree she found rather unsettling. And he wasn't any of her other boyfriends, who would get disgusted and leave her over something like this.

Though with just how comforting it felt to have him sitting there with her, she started to dread the idea of spending the time he was gone sitting on a cold, empty couch by herself.

"It… it would help if you went to the store." She said. "But could I ask a favor before you go?"

"Of course, anything."

"Do you think maybe… could I borrow a sweater?"

It wasn't what he expected her to ask, but Seymour nodded, eager to do anything he could to help.

Once he was back in the bedroom and started looking through a drawer, he found himself wondering if getting cold was another thing that happened during this time. Or it could just be that the nightgown she was wearing wasn't as warm as the one currently running through the washer. He decided he could ask later, but right then, he just wanted to focus on being useful.

Since most of his belongings had been buried under their old shop, all of his clothes except the suit he'd gotten married in were something new he'd picked up after they moved. After looking over the pile of sweaters, he decided on a blue-gray one in an argyle pattern. Audrey had helped him pick out most of them, but this one was his favorite because she said that it went with his eyes and made him look smart.

"Is this one alright?"

As soon as he'd brought the sweater over, Audrey smiled and began pulling it on. It was very soft, and she could almost imagine it was the same as being curled up with him. With both her stuffed dog and the comfort of his sweater to rely on, she was sure she could manage to avoid getting worried until he came back again.

Seymour returned after a slightly longer time than expected, carrying the box Audrey had described, a bottle of painkillers, a bouquet of white roses (he figured they'd both had enough of red for one night), and the largest package of chocolates he could find in the store. Audrey had only requested the first two, but he was pretty sure he remembered Mr. Mushnik saying something about it being a good idea to bring chocolates for this sort of thing, and flowers always made her happy.

He had worried a bit about whether or not he should add extra time to the drive by stopping at their new shop, but it seemed like it proved to be a good idea when Audrey paused to hug him and call him sweet before taking the box she needed and heading to the bathroom.

He decided he should find something to do besides sit and wait for her, so he went into the kitchen to fill a vase with water for the roses. And now that he was in the kitchen, he started thinking that Audrey always found warm drinks soothing, so it would be nice to make something for her. Maybe he could heat up some milk, since she'd likely be wanting to get back to bed soon. Or hot cocoa could be better. That would be warm milk and chocolate, so two benefits.

They didn't have a lot of dishes yet, but he managed to find a saucepan and two mugs, which was all he needed for the moment. While he worked, he could faintly hear their television set switch on in the den. They had found that an episode or two of Audrey's favorite sitcoms was a good way to get their mind off of anything that was keeping them up during the night, and Seymour did his best to finish quickly so he could join her.

Seeing Audrey nestled against his side with a cozy sweater and a warm mug in her hands, Seymour didn't think she had ever looked quite so peaceful before. He promised himself that next time, he'd know what to expect, and he'd make sure they got to this point a lot sooner. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get to a point where blood was easy to think about, but as long as he knew she wasn't in danger, he could handle some red splotches now that they were together in their somewhere green.