I was still tired, and I kept my head on the chair’s arm, clutching the blanket that someone- I suspected Tattletale- had draped over me.

Sounds like something she’d do.

I could see her in the bed in the other corner of the room, lying beside Aisha.  When I’d dozed off, it had been Brian and his sister sitting on the bed.

I wonder if they were in any condition to talk things over.

The blanket’s presence unsettled me, and I couldn’t put my finger on why.

…

Hmm. Is it not cold enough for Tattletale to have decided to put it on you, or something like that?

Also I wonder if the blanket on Taylor may have been at Brian’s request.

It was thoughtful, nice, and the fact that I didn’t know who’d done it or that I’d been unconscious and helpless when they’d done it, it shook me from the twilight of near-sleep.

Oh… oh boy. She’s not feeling safe when things are done to her without her permission, and now that’s tainting this nice gesture.

Which meant I was now wide awake when I desperately wanted to get back to sleep, to stop thinking for just a few minutes.

I’m still certain she’s going to wind up blaming herself for what happened to Brian over the last few chapters. Maybe we’re about to see some of that.

The second I started worrying about things, my shot at a good rest would be gone.  Worrying about things like Dinah, and Cherish’s hints that Coil wasn’t on the up and up about our deal.

Worrying really runs in the family, doesn’t it.

Also, seriously, Taylor, why did you think he was? It’s been a sucker’s deal from day one.

…Tattletale. Tattletale’s the one who made Taylor talk to Coil about Dinah in the first place. She also helped try to defend Coil against Cherish’s claims, along with Trickster.

She’s been trying to keep things together and keep people from turning on Coil. Why? Is she just working in what she believes are the group’s best interests, thinking everything would fall apart without Coil (which isn’t entirely untrue), or does she have personal reasons to keep everyone working with him?

Worries about what that could mean in the long run.  The newest were my anxieties over Grue.

Naturally. That’s normal when a friend is in… whatever this state Grue is in is. De-energized?

I slept, but it was less like parking a car and more like running one into a ditch.

That, right there, is a fantastic analogy.

I’d fallen asleep not by any choice on my part, but because I’d ceased to function.  Over the past few days, I’d hit my limits of endurance, only to push past them over and over.

Yeah, at some point you’ve got to give in and get some actual rest.

We’d made our escape without incident.

I assumed as much, to such an extent that I didn’t explicitly mention it. I mentioned that they’d need to fetch Regent and Bitch (and tell Genesis to dissolve), but I didn’t think there’d be any problems with that. Last chapter was clearly the climax of the Arc. Sticking another bit of conflict in before the dénouement would be unusual and potentially bad writing.

When we’d gotten Brian settled, I’d planned on staying awake and keeping an eye on him, only to drop off to sleep within a minute of sitting down.  I’d tried to push my limits once more and I’d discovered them.

Hey, at least it happened while you were safe. Or at least out of immediate danger.

When I woke up again, it was dusk.  I was curled up in a chair with my head on the armrest.  My eyes were sore and itchy, and I wasn’t sure why.

Hmm. Something to do with what little Bonesaw did to your head, perhaps? (Even if it’s just because of the blood that got in the eyes, that counts too.)

It could also just be the natural result of how little sleep you’ve been getting recently.

We’d settled at Brian’s headquarters, because it was close, and there had been the unspoken agreement that it would be better for him to be somewhere he’d be comfortable.

Makes sense.