A faint vibrating rang out once, at forty minutes past midnight.

Then another.

And another.

Another half ring, then the vibrating stopped and was replaced by a groggy and croaky,

"Hello...?"

"Hey Rachel." Malory sighed, clearly not in the best mood either.

Rachel sat up, clicked on her bedside lamp, and picked up her watch.

"Mal, it's last midnight. What could you POSSIBLY need?" The therapist groaned, finger-combing her messy hair back.

"I'm leaving. I'm going up to Montana for a day or two, or longer. I don't know. Up to a week. But I'm not taking my medications. Mark me as absent." Malory said very matter-of-factly, a large thud audible in the background.

"What, now? Malory, no, just wait till morning. I need to file paperwork and I may have to go with you. Just wait, alright?" When Rachel ran her hand through her hair this time it was in stress.

"It is morning. And no, I can't wait, I need to be there within a week- the sooner the better. Believe me, I don't want to go either." The packing woman grumbled.

"Malory Penn. You sit your paranoid little rear end down and listen to me. Wait till I can get there in the morning. You don't have to leave immediately!" Rachel snapped, not in the mood for her patient's rashness at this hour.

Malory huffed and sighed dramatically and loudly into her phone.

"Fine. But would you hurry? I'm already packed. It really seems most reasonable for me to just go now. The next flight leaves in an hour and I'm already sh-"

Rachel hung up mid-word and slammed her phone down, and rubbed her exasperated face as she collected her thoughts. Those thoughts mainly being profanities directed at the insomniac.

"Another patient, sweetheart?" Rachel's husband rasped, turning around to squint at her.

"Malory. I swear, she's going to be the death of me." The woman sighed, turning off the lamp and laying back down next to the rather bulky, dark-skinned man.

He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead lazily.

"You've lasted this long. You can last much longer. Go back to sleep."

He said softly, pulling her to him and closing his eyes as he rested his chin on top of her head.

But she was already asleep.