"Irish! Wake up! Hey wake up!"

Something cold slapped my face, causing me to jolt awake. I blinked rapidly, struggling to focus. When my vision finally cleared, I realized that someone was poking me repeatedly in the ribs with a stick. I sat up quickly, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I snapped angrily.

My gaze fell upon Romano standing near the door of our bedroom.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you." He apologies, holding up the stick defensively.

"Just put that down." I mumbled sleepily, falling back into bed.

He glanced at me uncertainly. He knew that it would hurt me if he hurt me, so he...