It was another hour or so before Shannon began to stir. His mind and body had been put through a lot, both good and bad, and needed the time to come back down to normalcy. When first he woke, he stretched out his legs, grimaced at the soreness running through them, then tried pushing up on his hands to see if it was the same. Surveys said yes, but at least it was a good sort of soreness. It took a moment for his mind to cast back and figure out what had caused it. Eli, claiming him as his own. Himself, giving it all to Eli in pure devotion. Matheus, barging in like a fool and ruining everything before all that to shatter what had been a tenuous state of mind.

Shannon placed a hand to his forehead as if to will away the remaining murkiness, then cast his attention further outward to get a better idea of the room. Wiggling his toes, he noticed a weight that spoke of Lacey... then the smell that spoke of a bathed Lacey and, well, that was confusing. There was a weight next to him, as well, and Shannon reached out tentatively to see whether Eli was asleep or awake.