Crow laid on his back with his eyes closed, breathing slowly as he worked to catch his breath. He hadn’t meant to wear himself out when he had slept with Penelope, but he couldn’t keep from losing himself in his passion for her. At the time, his affections for her made him lose sight of why he had brought her out of the camp in the first place. A faint smile crossed his lips, and he shook his head, [i]She really does make me lose my mind.[/i] He just hoped that when his lightheadedness passed, he would be more alert again.

Feeling her wrap an arm around him and murmur his name, his smile broadened, and he opened his eyes again to meet her gaze. “I love you too, Penelope,” he returned, rolling onto his side to hold her close. For a short while, he remained next to her without making any moves to get up. He wanted to enjoy the rest of their time together before they went back to the camp, but he also wanted to give her time to grow tired again. It probably wouldn’t take long, he guessed, since he was already quite dazed and exhausted, himself.

After some time had passed, Crow pulled away from her to sit up. The motion helped clear away some of his lingering weariness, and he felt a little more awake. “As much as I would love to stay out here with you longer, we should head back,” he said, turning to look down at her with an amused smirk. “You’ve got an abandoned guard shift to get back to.”

Studying her face, he fell silent for a moment and then frowned concernedly. “Speaking of which,” he went on in a more serious tone. “Are you sure you don’t want me to cover for you tonight? You look like you could fall asleep at any second.” He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, offering her a reassuring look. “I’d be happy to cover for you, love. Really. I’m feeling quite awake right now, so I don’t mind taking care of that at all.”