diff --git a/crates/weaver-index/migrations/clickhouse/001_raw_records.sql b/crates/weaver-index/migrations/clickhouse/001_raw_records.sql
index 8ebda27..8dfda30 100644
--- a/crates/weaver-index/migrations/clickhouse/001_raw_records.sql
+++ b/crates/weaver-index/migrations/clickhouse/001_raw_records.sql
@@ -50,5 +50,5 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS raw_records (
     )
 )
 ENGINE = ReplacingMergeTree(indexed_at)
-ORDER BY (collection, did, rkey, event_time)
+ORDER BY (collection, did, rkey, event_time, indexed_at)
 SETTINGS deduplicate_merge_projection_mode = 'drop';
diff --git a/crates/weaver-index/src/clickhouse/client.rs b/crates/weaver-index/src/clickhouse/client.rs
index 85a1192..5a3655a 100644
--- a/crates/weaver-index/src/clickhouse/client.rs
+++ b/crates/weaver-index/src/clickhouse/client.rs
@@ -107,14 +107,15 @@ impl Client {
         rkey: &str,
     ) -> Result<Option<RecordRow>, IndexError> {
         // FINAL ensures ReplacingMergeTree deduplication is applied
+        // Order by event_time first (firehose data wins), then indexed_at as tiebreaker
+        // Include deletes so we can return not-found for deleted records
         let query = r#"
-            SELECT cid, record
+            SELECT cid, record, operation
             FROM raw_records FINAL
             WHERE did = ?
               AND collection = ?
               AND rkey = ?
-              AND operation != 'delete'
-            ORDER BY event_time DESC
+            ORDER BY event_time DESC, indexed_at DESC
             LIMIT 1
         "#;
 
@@ -283,6 +284,7 @@ impl TableSize {
 pub struct RecordRow {
     pub cid: String,
     pub record: String, // JSON string
+    pub operation: String,
 }
 
 /// Record with rkey from raw_records (for listRecords)
diff --git a/crates/weaver-index/src/endpoints/repo.rs b/crates/weaver-index/src/endpoints/repo.rs
index 1c7d00c..0b7ff9c 100644
--- a/crates/weaver-index/src/endpoints/repo.rs
+++ b/crates/weaver-index/src/endpoints/repo.rs
@@ -96,6 +96,11 @@ pub async fn get_record(
         })?;
 
     if let Some(row) = cached {
+        // Check if record was deleted
+        if row.operation == "delete" {
+            return Err(XrpcErrorResponse::not_found("Record not found"));
+        }
+
         // Cache hit - return from ClickHouse
         let value: Data<'_> = serde_json::from_str(&row.record).map_err(|e| {
             tracing::error!("Failed to parse record JSON: {}", e);
@@ -103,7 +108,7 @@ pub async fn get_record(
         })?;
 
         let uri_str = format!("at://{}/{}/{}", did, collection, rkey);
-        let uri = AtUri::new_owned(uri_str).map_err(|e| {
+        let uri = AtUri::new_owned(uri_str.clone()).map_err(|e| {
             tracing::error!("Failed to construct AT URI: {}", e);
             XrpcErrorResponse::internal_error("Failed to construct URI")
         })?;
@@ -113,6 +118,50 @@ pub async fn get_record(
             XrpcErrorResponse::internal_error("Invalid CID stored")
         })?;
 
+        // Stale-while-revalidate: check freshness in background
+        let cached_cid = row.cid.clone();
+        let clickhouse = state.clickhouse.clone();
+        let resolver = state.resolver.clone();
+        let did_str = did.as_str().to_string();
+        let collection_str = collection.to_string();
+        let rkey_str = rkey.to_string();
+
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let uri = match AtUri::new_owned(uri_str) {
+                Ok(u) => u,
+                Err(_) => return,
+            };
+
+            let upstream = match resolver.fetch_record_slingshot(&uri).await {
+                Ok(r) => r,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::debug!("Background revalidation fetch failed: {}", e);
+                    return;
+                }
+            };
+
+            // Check if CID changed
+            let upstream_cid = upstream
+                .cid
+                .as_ref()
+                .map(|c| c.as_str())
+                .unwrap_or_default();
+
+            if upstream_cid != cached_cid && !upstream_cid.is_empty() {
+                let record_json = serde_json::to_string(&upstream.value).unwrap_or_default();
+                if !record_json.is_empty() {
+                    if let Err(e) = clickhouse
+                        .insert_record(&did_str, &collection_str, &rkey_str, upstream_cid, &record_json)
+                        .await
+                    {
+                        tracing::warn!("Failed to update stale cache entry: {}", e);
+                    } else {
+                        tracing::debug!("Updated stale cache entry for {}", uri);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
         return Ok(Json(
             GetRecordOutput {
                 cid: Some(cid),