Layton Drownout 2020

Leave a Light On For Me

Summary: Claire gets home from work and finds that her darling just couldn't wait for her any longer.

Claire breathed out an exhausted sigh of relief as she locked the door behind her.

"I'm home!" she called over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I took so long!"

She removed her bag and unbuttoned her jacket as she walked through their house and into the kitchen.

"We had some important tests to run on the machine," she explained, and she deposited her jacket and bag on the table. "I would have come back sooner, but Dimitri was driving me around the bend with all of his constant checking and double checking and making sure all the wires were in order and..."

She trailed off.

It had only just hit her that the entire house was silent. Aside from the whirr of the fridge and the occasional car driving past outside, there was no sound whatsoever.

No indication at all that another person was in the building.

"Hershel?" she called. "Are you here?"

She walked back into the hallway and looked around. His black coat was still hung on its hook beside the front door, so he most likely hadn't gone out while she was absent, but if that was the case, where was he?

"Hershel?" she called again.

She climbed the stairs, looking around, but couldn't find any sign of him anywhere in the hallway.

He wasn't in the bathroom.

Nor was he napping on their bed.

His shoes were still neatly positioned beside the wardrobe. Another indication that he hadn't gone out. She kicked hers off and set them next to his before proceeding back out into the hallway and down the stairs.

He'd promised her that he'd wait for her to come home. He wouldn't just wander off somewhere before she arrived, and he wasn't the type to hide away and jump out to scare her.

Just in case, she checked the airing cupboard under the stairs.

Nope, he wasn't in there.

Still confused, Claire walked into their living room.

And then she wondered why on earth she hadn't thought to check there earlier.

Because there he was. Stretched out on the sofa, one hand under his head and another on his belly, not moving at all save for a heavy sigh through his nose. His cute little red hat was haphazardly laid over one of his eyes, obviously knocked off from how he'd laid down.

Silly man, Claire thought. He'd only gone and fallen asleep while waiting for her.

No, that wasn't fair. Of course he would've fallen asleep sooner or later. After a delay of over two hours waiting for her to come back, she honestly would have been surprised if he didn't get tired of that waiting and go to bed.

But it seemed like he'd tried to wait for her anyway.

And tiredness had gotten the better of him.

Claire couldn't be surprised. He'd been working so hard lately, what with his fears that he may not get the job at Gressenheller like he'd wanted. With how much he'd been working himself up...

She took his hat off his face. Yep, he was well and truly zonked out. She smiled as she gently stroked his wonderfully soft hair away from his closed eyes.