The night before, Rabastan had watched Meda sleep with a sort of gratefulness that only a father could understand. Occasionally a thought of moving her somewhere more comfortable had occurred to him, because he knew surely she had to have a room in this castle where there was an actual bed for her to use, but he resisted because she was sleeping so well and because every time he so much as shifted his weight a fraction of an inch away from her she would cling to him and make the saddest sorts of noises in her sleep. Apparently, his daughter had missed...Merlin knew he had missed her.

Sleep came gradually for him, first in him leaning his head against the couch, then in putting a hand on Meda's forearm so that she would have tangible proof that he was there and hopefully sleep a bit better, and finally his eyelids slid shut and sleep claimed him.

Once he was finally sleeping, Rabastan slept hard. Days of worrying about his children had weighed heavily on him, and now that he was assured that they were safe, his body was determined to catch up on the rest all at once. He slept through the sunlight that was streaming into the room, he slept through the sounds of Meda waking up...he even slept through her intense gaze. Of course, his daughter was nothing if not persistent...and Rabastan had no fears of her wandering off again any time soon.