The conversation had woken him up more than he'd been when Elise was trying to get him to sleep in her bed, but even agitated by the thought of Elise getting entangled with his family, Jesse was so tired that he could feel his eyelids droop. It was warm inside the apartment. Lily had woken up. Jesse forced a half smile and he was amused by Elise and Lily, but he didn't really understand why Elise was so against Shanna right now. He wondered what had happened at that lunch, but Jesse was too tired to think about it then.
He admitted that he didn't know what to do in a moment of vulnerability heightened by sleep deprivation. Jesse wasn't thinking clearly and his emotions had boiled over. He was telling Elise, but he didn't really expect her to give an answer. He definitely didn't expect the question.
The air between them was quiet while Jesse looked at her and Lily, but he did know the answer. “The same thing I always want to do,” Jesse said. “Escape to somewhere safe.” And free, but that was a part of safety.
Once he was next to her on the couch, Jesse leaned his head against the cushion and looked at her. His smile was pained and bittersweet. “If you ever decide you want to move to Australia or somewhere, you can let me know okay?”
He did know he needed to sleep, but Jesse didn't want to. “Are you sure you're okay with it?” Jesse needed blood too, but he wouldn't worry about that until he had to. When Elise murmured her thanks for bringing Lily, Jesse nodded and his eyes closed. “You're a good mom,” he said.