"House calls aside."

"Just a visit between friends." He winked and stood up. "I really do wish I could help more, but you're going to have to find another way. Be careful, whatever you end up doing."

"You're not warning me away from all this?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Should I be?"

"No," I mused. "But everyone else is. They say it's dangerous."

"It is dangerous. But these are dangerous times, and honestly? You're the only one that I think has the means or desire to get us out of this mess. Good luck, Georgina. And don't leave the house without checking your hair." He vanished.

"Fucking angels."

I realized then that I was starving for real food, not sugar-filled sweets. My kitchen was sparse as usual, so I decided to risk the world and go pick up something. I was tired and certainly incapable of running a marathon, but Mei's healing really had gone a long way. I could manage the one block walk to a nearby take-out Chinese restaurant. I placed the order, and by the time I was out of my robe and out the door, the food was ready. I stopped at a convenience store as well to pick up some pop, and the whole endeavor only ended up taking about thirty minutes. From the look on Aubrey's face, you would have thought I'd been gone a whole day, but then, she just wanted my orange chicken.

I changed back to my robe and relaxed with the food, pondering how to spend my day. As I'd told Dante, I didn't want to go traipsing about town, but I wanted some leads on the medallion. Erik was probably my best bet at this point, and I hoped he'd be able to ID my symbols from phone descriptions. Before I could do that, I heard a knock at my door. I expected it to be Hugh making a house call, but to my astonishment, it was Seth.

"Hey," I said, stepping aside so that he could come in.

"Hey," he returned.

I stuffed my hands into the ratty robe's pockets, wishing I hadn't been so hasty to change back to casual mode. My hair was undoubtedly a lost cause, so there was no point stressing over that. "How's it going?"

"Okay." He met my eyes frankly, something he hadn't done in a while. It sent a tingle down my back. "I was just nearby and wanted to…well, that is…" He sighed. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday…."

Yesterday. The kiss. Something that only a demon attack could have dwarfed.

I shook my head, trying not to recall how I'd felt that kiss all the way to my toes. "You have nothing to apologize for. I think…I think I was as much to blame. Besides, it was nothing."

"Nothing?" he asked, looking both surprised and hurt.

"I mean, not nothing ," I amended hastily. "But we were both kind of worked up, and things got crazy, and well, like I said…nothing to apologize for."

"Okay…I'm glad you're not upset. I don't want there to be anything…well, anything bad between us."

I thought about all the fights and arguments. "Well, I'm not sure we've reached that state. I mean, come on, do you think things will ever be normal and friendly between us?"

"Yes," he said bluntly. "No matter what has or hasn't happened romantically, I still feel like…like there's something between us…like, a connection, I mean. I feel like we're always destined to be important in each other's lives."

You are my life , I thought and promptly looked away, as though he might have heard me. "Do you regret it?" I asked before I realized I had.

"Regret?"

"Ending things."

I looked back at him, fearing his answer, no matter what it was. "I regret…well, I don't regret saving you from future hurt. I do regret the hurt I've caused you…if I'd known you'd react and spiral the way you have…"

"You can't take that into consideration," I said hastily. "That's not your fault." I was surprised to be saying that, but it was true. My bad behavior these last months had been my doing.

"I can't help it. I'll always worry about you. Like I said, I feel like no matter what, we're always going to be connected…like there's something bigger than us at work. As it is…"

"What?"

"Never mind."

I stepped forward, never taking my eyes off him. "Tell me."

"As it is…" He shrugged. "Life is easier not dating you. But sometimes…it feels incomplete. Like there's a piece of me missing."

"And that's easier?"

"Think of it as winning the lottery and having people waiting on all your needs, but it's at the cost of, I don't know, getting your leg amputated."

"Wow. You should be a writer with that imagery."

He smiled. "Yeah, yeah. But you know what I mean."

Except, I was missing a part of my life and things were harder, not easier. "You at least have Maddie."

"You have Dante."

"Dante's not Maddie, believe me."

"Fair enough. She's great…I care about her…love her…I don't know. It's all just different."

Silence fell, but it was comfortable. "Good lord. I can't believe we're discussing this rationally."

"See? Not so hard to be friends."

I had my doubts about that. "I guess."

"Don't worry. We'll keep trying. Before long, we'll be on a bowling league or something." He spoke his words lightly, but there was a catch that belied the truth of his words. Being friends wasn't easy for Seth either. He still cared about me and was suffering just as much as me with this separation. Seeing that made something in me soften.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll make this work."

I reached out to hug him, and he automatically returned it. I felt warm and safe and right in his embrace-until he casually squeezed my back. I cried out, jerking away at the pain that shot through me. We sprang apart, and he looked at me in alarm. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"It's…complicated." My standard answer to uncomfortable questions.

"Georgina!"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He strode toward me, reached a hand out, then pulled back. Intensity filled his face. "Are you hurt?"

I tried to keep out of his reach. "Look, I got in a fight last night, and I'm sporting some, uh, residual effects. It's mostly gone, though, so there's nothing to worry about."

"You? Got in a fight? With who?"

"Whom. And it was with Nanette. I told you, it's nothing."

"Who's Nanette?"

"She's…a demon."

He gave me a level look. "A demon. A full-fledged demon."

"Something like that."

"Let me see your back."

"Seth-"

"Georgina! Let me see your back."

There was anger in his words, not at me, but at the thought of someone hurting me. It reminded me a little of Dante's reaction, except that Dante always had a bit of anger in him. It was normal. To see it woken up in Seth…to see him so passionate and fierce…

Slowly, slowly, I turned around and undid the front of my robe, letting it slip halfway down my back. I heard Seth gasp at what he saw, and then a few moments later, he stepped forward and pushed my hair off my back so that he could get a better view. I shivered when his fingers touched my skin.

"Georgina…this is horrible…"

"It was worse before." I spoke flippantly, hoping to deflect his worry and realizing I'd only increased it now.

"Worse?"

I tugged the robe up and turned back around. "Mei healed it. I'm fine."

"Yeah, it seems that way."

"Look, it's nothing you have to worry about."

"Not worry about?" His eyes were filled with incredulity. "Even when you're…normal…a demon could still kill you, right?"

"Yeah."

Seth put his hand to his forehead and sighed. "This is what it's like, isn't it?"

"What?"

"What you went through with me. Living with the fear that I could die. Having it tear you apart."

I didn't answer right away. "You don't have to worry about me. This'll work out."

"Did this…did Nanette do this because of your investigating?"

I nodded, then crooked him a wry smile. "Still like how brave I am?"