I know. I know, Alice. I'm scared, too. I'm just hiding it a little better. ['Even if we're not scared of the same things right now,' her mind adds helpfully.] It'll be okay... I promise. Everything will work out, and this will pass. Everything will be back to normal soon.

[She's lying through her teeth. This will keep happening, month after month. They will never be truly safe. Things will come up, they'll have to be dealt with, and until they are this will happen again. But if she kept telling herself it would be okay, maybe she'd start to believe it eventually.

In any event, she can feel herself starting to slow down, and she smiles a little more.]

I'll keep you safe tonight, Alice. Try to calm down... and try to get some sleep, okay? We've got a long day in front of us tomorrow.

[Unless Alice objects, Rikka's going to slide over and finally get around to that sleep thing. But she'll keep her arms wrapped around Alice like a pillow, trying to take at least a little comfort that, whatever else happens, it's still her at some base level. No matter how hard the world tried to break them apart... they were still themselves. Nothing could break their bond.

Right?]