Holding her in both his arms with one hand linked to hers, Benjiro continues to rock her as his eyes half close with only occasional glances away from Sadie herself with his cheek left gingerly resting on her head. He listens to every sound through those minutes, and as the rhythm of her breath starts to even, the motion of rocking lessens in speed and depth. Once Sadie relaxes and stills, he mirrors it by sitting stationary with his arms remaining secure to support her.

The sound of her voice, once more without disruption, soothes the aching in the core of his chest. He lifts his head, only to place a soft kiss to the top before he answers in a quiet voice, “Of course…” Giving her hand a gentle yet extended squeeze, he gives her a warning of his intention, “I won’t go anywhere, but I’m going to move us backwards on the couch, okay?”

Time allowed for her to respond, he’ll push through his legs as he holds her a little tighter to lift and scoot directly back to where he can lean into the support of the couch while allowing her to remain curled up and tangled in his embrace. Once repositioned, he loosens his untethered arm and begins to smooth his flat, broad hand up and down the curve of her back with a soft, slow exhale of his own.

Feeling more confident Sadie has reclaimed some of her security, he looks up to the residents of the flat to make eye contact with both Walter and Russell. He gives a soft nod of his head to them to signal silently they can enter.

She’s going to be okay.