honest_johns | (no subject)

Lilly's drowsing a little in the chair, but not sleeping very deeply. The knock is more than loud enough to wake her. She stretches, lays Meg's hand down, and goes to open the door.

"Hey, 'lain."

"Hey."

He leans a shoulder against the doorframe.

"Came to see how you were doing."

Lilly shrugs, one-shouldered.

"I'm okay."

Aside from the crying and the guilt and the not-sleeping and the not-eating and the spending the night with her BFF's dead body, of course.

He nods. He's not about to argue this.

She's probably about as okay as she could be, anyway. Which isn't saying much.

"Still more to be done?"

Lilly glances back at Meg's body, now dressed in her tutu and toe shoes.

"... not really, no. I can't do much more for the wake till later."

Alain nods a little, and holds out a hand, silently.

Lilly takes his hand, steps close enough to rest her head against his chest.

It feels more than a little comforting to be touching a live (for Milliways) person right now, especially when it's Alain.

His heart's beating, and his chest rises and falls with each breath, and he's warm to the touch.

It's close enough.

His other arm comes up around her.

Lilly slides her arms around his waist.

"'m glad you're here, 'lain."

A brief, sad smile.

He bends his head to drop a kiss on her hair.

After a few minutes,

"Um."

Lilly shrugs again.

"A little."

She'd dozed off a few times in the armchair, out of exhaustion, but she hadn't really slept.

It's an honest question.

Also something of a suggestion.

"Guess I should, huh?"

She doesn't sound particularly enthused about the idea or its possible success, though.

This means 'yes, because you'd be falling over if I wasn't holding you up right now.'

Lilly looks back at Meg. She's dressed, and she's beautiful, and there's nothing more Lilly can do for her.

She pulls away from Alain long enough to step out of the room and lock it behind her. As soon as the key's back in her pocket, she's leaning against him again.

"Hallway's probably a bad place for a nap, right?"

he agrees.

Like his room. Which is where he's heading. Moving slowly, to allow for the fact that Lilly is still slumped against him.

They get their eventually, Alain opening the door for Lilly, who promptly takes the few steps to the bed and collapses on it. She manages to kick off her shoes before curling up in the center of the bed, but that's about it.

Alain closes the door. Pulls off his boots, and hangs up his gunbelts. Closes the curtain.

Then he joins her, slipping his arms around her to pull her close.

Lilly nestles into his arms, her eyes drifting closed.

"Still have things to do," she murmurs. "Don't let me sleep too long."

If she were thinking more clearly, she'd know Alain's not going to listen to that. Of course, odds aren't good that she'll need him to.

He strokes her hair, light and rhythmic.

Wake's in the evening. That still leaves most of the day.

"'Kay," Lilly whispers, her breathing slowing as Alain strokes her hair.

It only takes her a minute or two to fall asleep in his arms.

Unlike her, he slept last night, and the night before.

But lightly, and with dreams of his own -- dead friends, translucent and voiceless, and autumn leaves falling from spring-green trees, and voices calling just out of reach. Lilly is boneless in his arms, and the bed is comfortable.

He doesn't sleep, not fully, but it's not long before he slips into a light doze.

Lilly's exhaustion carries her into deep sleep, and for an hour or so she barely moves or stirs. Her mind is restless, though, and eventually she begins to dream.

Meg's pirouetting gaily along the edge of the cliff, dancing atop a barricade that still smokes from a crash. Lilly's watching her, frozen in place till Meg spins around to see her.

"Bonjour, Lilly," she calls happily. "Catch me if you can!"

With that, the ballerina takes a flying leap off the edge and disappears from view.

Lilly cries out in her sleep.

Alain's awake, instantly.

She needs sleep, still, but --

Arms cradling her, and one hand smoothing back her hair.

The dream shifts suddenly and Lilly's suddenly down by the side of the cove, staring into the water. Meg's submerged under it, eyes closed, blood spreading slowly through the water from her shattered skull.

Her eyes open, stare directly into Lilly's.

"Why didn't you catch me?"

Lilly's face twists, a little, even as she sleeps.

"'m sorry..."

he whispers.

A crooned litany of soothing nonsense, an inch from her ear.

Lilly's eyes blink open, her face tense as the dream slides away.

"'lain?"

Lilly turns, nestles closer to him.

"m sorry i woke you. bad... bad dream."

Lilly breathes out, slowly. She's still so tired, but every time she closes her eyes Meg's staring reproachfully at her under a mask of blood.

Oh well. There's always coffee.

Alain's eyes slowly close, but he's awake.

He's stroking her hair again.

His heart beats under her ear, slow and steady.

Lilly closes her eyes, tries to focus on the reassuring sound of Alain's heartbeat and the soothing feeling of his hand on her hair.

It works, a little. The tension from the nightmare is slowly dissipating, but she's not any closer to sleep.

He's patient.

Lilly's not. She lies still for as long as she can, but it's still not very long before she sighs and gives up.

"I don't think I'm getting back to sleep."

A soft sigh.

Later, maybe.