"Less strangled is good," Cassie replied, and she was close enough that she could sort of shift her balance some to nudge her shoulder into his lightly. She hadn't missed his tone, knew it meant he was feeling better, too.
"I'm always down to help," she added with a shrug, like it wasn't that big of a deal. It really wasn't, because it made her feel like she was doing something useful for him and that wasn't always a given in their relationship, however it was being defined. "It is kinda late though. You mind if I stay?" It was asked casually enough that it didn't have to be for any reason other than because it was late and she didn't want to walk home. She was mercurial enough that it wasn't outside the realm of possibility, and that way it wouldn't matter if he said she couldn't. It'd be asked and answered under a pretext that didn't have to mean anything.