Q: talk to her . but do n't take everything she says to heart , please . promise me . '' when claire did n't respond he leant over . '' promise me ? '' claire nodded . the clapping died away and claire turned to see if sky was ready to leave . her niece was curled up in her chair , _ ... Fill the blank.
A: blank is asleep

Q: she felt it was her duty to keep us informed of what was going on around us , as if we were all so oblivious we would n't find out otherwise . but then i realized something . she was probably right . the only reason i knew what was going on was because i went to sleep with the television on . i could n't tolerate silence . or , better yet , i could n't tolerate the places my mind went in the _ ... Fill the blank.
A: blank is silence

Q: '' hello , benjamin . '' he always called him benjamin . '' it 's james here -- james meredith . i thought i should ring you to tell you how desperately sorry i was to hear about toni 's death . '' '' oh ! bad news travels fast . but that 's kind of you , _ ... Fill the blank.
A:
blank is james