Much Needed Rest

A Rest

The room was still, still in a way that the man had never seen before, no matter how many years he had been there. Was this how everyone else would see the world? How wonderfully simple! It was all very odd, being without the constant state of over-stimulation that he had long since accepted for his life. By all logic, from what his researches and understandings had lead him to believe, he should not have been able to experience the world any differently, though just because he was alive now it did not mean that he had not died for long enough to pass his gift on.

But without all the distraction, the things he had once been the only one to permanently see, the years of sleep deprivation had crept up on him all at once. The discussion from the other room was getting harder and harder to focus on, and that certainly was saying something given that he had gotten used to straining his ears to hear over the permanent din.
They were discussing wedding plans, that he knew for certain, all the while trying to fill the gaps in the memory of Charlie Cane, who, while successfully returned to the world of the living, the twain had not been as strong alone as he might have been with his partner and so the poor policeman's memory was fuzzier than his own was. Admittedly, the fact Charlie had been dead longer than Jackaby had been did have an effect on this too. At that particular moment, they were discussing the nuances of bridesmaids and the state of being alive that was necessary for it. Of course, Abigail was stubborn, insisting she absolutely needed Jenny to take the role of a bridesmaid, after all they had been through and would continue to go through, Jenny was likewise stubborn and was insisting that she would not be allowed to and thought that Ms. Lee should be the only bridesmaid if Abigail continued to refuse to invite anyone she had known before she arrived in New Fiddleham. Ms. Lee, who was delighted to be involved, was trying to play the role of negotiator for the other women, though evidently it wasn't working nearly as well as she might have hoped it would. Poor Charlie was left bewildered, not completely sure of why it was so important but wanting things to go smoothly so occasionally offered advice.

Whatever it was they were discussing had faded into a comfortable background hum. He had never considered himself the marrying sort and so had not taken the time to familiarise himself with the topic, and so had informed the others that he would be of little help in the discussions. It was a rare thing, him admitting that he did not know something, but dying then returning to life was more that enough to change a person. It was nice that they were in love, and it was nice that he was there to see it, but at that moment he had far more important things to concern himself with.

He could barely keep his eyes open. His eyelids were taking a life of their own, busying themselves with the task of closing his eyes, and each time he tried to blink them back open again he was giving it less and less effort. The world would simply have to wait to see the blue of his eyes again, a rare sight given that the grey fog had only just faded from them after more years than he dared to count.
It was not all that difficult for him to curl up properly, his legs already curled up beneath him as he sat. Very briefly he pondered fetching his coat from where he had tossed it onto the coat rack, where it very much inaccurately hung, but that involved movement and he was far too tired for all that unnecessary moving about. It was more than warm enough in the room, and he was nodding off and so, with a clumsy movement, he curled up in the big armchair he was perched in, his hat-and-sundries-bag clutched to his chest, the comfort provided making it all too easy for him to nod off entirely.
A little smile played in the corners of his mouth as he slipped away into the much welcomed arms of sleep.

With a cheery hum, Abigail rose from her seat, brushing her skirts down in a distracted sort of manner that she was sure her mother would have had a thing or two to say about - it was her mother that had given her the habit of fixing her clothes before doing things, and every now and again she still found herself falling back onto the habit - excusing herself for a moment. She had intended to fetch a book, the discussion of weddings and things seeming to get a little too much for Charlie. Given all that had happened, she was more than happy to wait for however long she might need to, just happy to have him back. Why, if he had not been the first to mention engagements and marriage, she would not have mentioned it at all, but she could not help but agree that it was a grand way to celebrate the new path their lives had taken so there was at least a little joy to be found amidst the sorrow and death.

The book was quite forgotten, however, when she entered the room she hoped to find it only to find the mad-yet-perfectly-sane detective curled up on one of the big, mix-matched chairs in the room like a cat, quite clearly asleep. She had worked with the man for quite a while, and yet she could not recall a time she had actually ever seen him asleep, no matter what might have come before. Oh! And the sheer peace that radiated off him! Though she was still learning to navigate the world that the man before her had seemed to walk with ease, she could tell that as he snoozed he was genuinely at peace within himself.

Waving her fellows over with one hand, the other raised to her lips to tell them it was absolutely vital that they were as quiet as could be, she absolutely needed the others to see what she was seeing. She didn't want to disturb the man, she understood how important it was that he finally got to sleep for once, but it was such an unexpected sight she needed to share it, lest nobody believe that it had happened.

"I've never before seen him like this." mused Jenny, her voice having a strange echo to it that Abigail had not been able to hear until now. Out of all of them, the ghost had known the strange man longest and so her comment had held a more recognisable weight to it.

"He needs this." Ms. Lee noted, her recently improved nursing knowledge giving her more credence with this observation, as well as something knew that she was quite proud of as it meant she was able to be of more help in dire situations, even if she did get a little queasy at the sight of blood.

Before any more comments on the slumbering figure could be made, the man in question shuffled just a little in his sleep, sending his well-intentioned observers scurrying back to the table they had previously claimed.
It was better that Jackaby was just left to sleep in peace anyway, he deserved it.