Shadow smiled softly... despite the weight of her miscalculation and carlessness, and the distaste of a death in their bed, Thorn was still looking out for her, it had been like that from the moment she had discovered the dark secracy that laced Shadows involvement with Tim... if it hadn't been for Thorn's compassion then... well... things could have turned out so differently.<br/><br/>She was unable to resist her lips curling into a sly smile, the playful gleam in her partner's eyes and the dispassionate humour of her comment gave her a flicker of a sense of normality as at last the fingers of guilt released their grip about her.  It was a struggle as they wrestled with the stiffening body down the stairs and towards the secret entryway... she watched as Thorn tried to work the kink from her back, as she did so Shadow smirked at her comment...<br/><br/>"Yes... it would be good to find a man who wasn't a dead weight..." her eyes flicked to the corpse swathed in the sheet and a darkly humoured grin fleetingly played on her lips.  With the glistening sheen of perspiration laced across her forehead, she struggled with Thorn to get him to the top of the flight of stairs... and on the count of three she released her grip and they watched as he bounced down the steps towards his final destination, Shadow wore a dry smile as she watched his final journey, knowing that the noise would certainly have alerted their other 'guest'.  Her eyes returned to Thorn's, all regret in her expression now lifted as they sealed the way behind them.<br/><br/>As Shadow moved back towards the main stairs, her face contorted in a giggle, her foot caught against a bag that lay propped against the table leg.  A momentary flicker ran through her expression as she bought her gaze to meet what she had just clipped with her foot.  It was a bag... rectangular and black, she reached down for it and felt the solid weight within... she smirked as she put it on top of the table... It was Stine's laptop.<br/><br/>"Guess he doesn't have any use for it anymore..." Shadow smiled softly...as she followed in Thorn's wake up towards the bedroom...