diff --git a/internal/cmd/done.go b/internal/cmd/done.go
index 8d0c7694..e029a88e 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/done.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/done.go
@@ -608,11 +608,21 @@ func updateAgentStateOnDone(cwd, townRoot, exitType, _ string) { // issueID unus
 			// has attached_molecule pointing to the wisp. Without this fix, gt done
 			// only closed the hooked bead, leaving the wisp orphaned.
 			// Order matters: wisp closes -> unblocks base bead -> base bead closes.
+			//
+			// BUG FIX (gt-zbnr): Close child wisps BEFORE closing the molecule itself.
+			// Deacon patrol molecules have child step wisps that were being orphaned
+			// when the patrol completed. Now we cascade-close all descendants first.
 			attachment := beads.ParseAttachmentFields(hookedBead)
 			if attachment != nil && attachment.AttachedMolecule != "" {
-				if err := bd.Close(attachment.AttachedMolecule); err != nil {
+				moleculeID := attachment.AttachedMolecule
+				// Cascade-close all child wisps before closing the molecule
+				childrenClosed := closeDescendants(bd, moleculeID)
+				if childrenClosed > 0 {
+					fmt.Printf("  Closed %d child step issues\n", childrenClosed)
+				}
+				if err := bd.Close(moleculeID); err != nil {
 					// Non-fatal: warn but continue
-					fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: couldn't close attached molecule %s: %v\n", attachment.AttachedMolecule, err)
+					fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: couldn't close attached molecule %s: %v\n", moleculeID, err)
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -645,7 +655,7 @@ func updateAgentStateOnDone(cwd, townRoot, exitType, _ string) { // issueID unus
 		if _, err := bd.Run("agent", "state", agentBeadID, "awaiting-gate"); err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: couldn't set agent %s to awaiting-gate: %v\n", agentBeadID, err)
 		}
-	// ExitCompleted and ExitDeferred don't set state - observable from tmux
+		// ExitCompleted and ExitDeferred don't set state - observable from tmux
 	}
 
 	// ZFC #10: Self-report cleanup status
diff --git a/internal/cmd/molecule_step.go b/internal/cmd/molecule_step.go
index f7408bd3..13b38cef 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/molecule_step.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/molecule_step.go
@@ -53,13 +53,13 @@ func init() {
 
 // StepDoneResult is the result of a step done operation.
 type StepDoneResult struct {
-	StepID       string `json:"step_id"`
-	MoleculeID   string `json:"molecule_id"`
-	StepClosed   bool   `json:"step_closed"`
-	NextStepID   string `json:"next_step_id,omitempty"`
+	StepID        string `json:"step_id"`
+	MoleculeID    string `json:"molecule_id"`
+	StepClosed    bool   `json:"step_closed"`
+	NextStepID    string `json:"next_step_id,omitempty"`
 	NextStepTitle string `json:"next_step_title,omitempty"`
-	Complete     bool   `json:"complete"`
-	Action       string `json:"action"` // "continue", "done", "no_more_ready"
+	Complete      bool   `json:"complete"`
+	Action        string `json:"action"` // "continue", "done", "no_more_ready"
 }
 
 func runMoleculeStepDone(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -162,9 +162,10 @@ func runMoleculeStepDone(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 // extractMoleculeIDFromStep extracts the molecule ID from a step ID.
 // Step IDs have format: mol-id.N where N is the step number.
 // Examples:
-//   gt-abc.1 -> gt-abc
-//   gt-xyz.3 -> gt-xyz
-//   bd-mol-abc.2 -> bd-mol-abc
+//
+//	gt-abc.1 -> gt-abc
+//	gt-xyz.3 -> gt-xyz
+//	bd-mol-abc.2 -> bd-mol-abc
 func extractMoleculeIDFromStep(stepID string) string {
 	// Find the last dot
 	lastDot := strings.LastIndex(stepID, ".")
@@ -363,14 +364,26 @@ func handleMoleculeComplete(cwd, townRoot, moleculeID string, dryRun bool) error
 	}
 
 	if dryRun {
+		fmt.Printf("[dry-run] Would close child steps of %s\n", moleculeID)
 		fmt.Printf("[dry-run] Would unpin work for %s\n", agentID)
 		fmt.Printf("[dry-run] Would send POLECAT_DONE to witness\n")
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	// Unpin the molecule bead (set status to open, will be closed by gt done or manually)
+	// BUG FIX (gt-zbnr): Close child steps before unpinning/completing.
+	// Deacon patrol molecules have child step wisps that were being orphaned
+	// when the patrol completed. Now we cascade-close all descendants first.
 	workDir, err := findLocalBeadsDir()
 	if err == nil {
+		b := beads.New(workDir)
+		childrenClosed := closeDescendants(b, moleculeID)
+		if childrenClosed > 0 {
+			fmt.Printf("%s Closed %d child step issues\n", style.Bold.Render("✓"), childrenClosed)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Unpin the molecule bead (set status to open, will be closed by gt done or manually)
+	if workDir, err := findLocalBeadsDir(); err == nil {
 		b := beads.New(workDir)
 		pinnedBeads, err := b.List(beads.ListOptions{
 			Status:   beads.StatusPinned,