"He's not dead," she said quietly. "He's just-- gone home."

Nina works his trousers lower but leaves his shorts where they are. She pauses to get his boots off, then the trousers. "Probably for the best," she said as she worked the pajama bottoms onto one leg, then the other. "I'd hate to have to cut off blood flow to your cock or something when I'm trying to help you heal."

Before she got up, she dug through the pockets of his clothes until she found a cigarette case and a box of matches. Nina carefully got to her feet so she could help Thomas over to the chair. She left the cigarettes and matches in his lap as she opened the window.