diff --git a/modules/m_fetch.cc b/modules/m_fetch.cc
index 0aa187cf2..941078352 100644
--- a/modules/m_fetch.cc
+++ b/modules/m_fetch.cc
@@ -1033,7 +1033,7 @@ bool
 ircd::m::fetch::timedout(const request &request,
                          const time_t &now)
 {
-	assert(request.started && request.finished == 0 && request.last != 0);
+	assert(request.started && request.finished >= 0 && request.last != 0);
 	return request.last + seconds(timeout).count() < now;
 }