//Please be aware that this chapter may contain self harm triggers. Please take care of yourselves and if anything disturbs you in this chapter talk to someone. Letha is a complex character and everything in this happens for a reason.//

As it happened, they were now only 30 minutes from town. It was the longest 30 minutes of Letha's life. She sat in the back seat, Mickey beside her but not touching her, and stared at the headrest in front of her for the whole trip. She didn't dare look away, instead studying the woven pattern with determination. Every thread she counted was an extra second for Hadrian to live. She hoped.

Min had returned Mickey's phone to him, and he spent most of the journey trying to get a hold of Azrael. He called his phone several times, but they all cut straight through to messagebank. He tried Gabe and Zach, even Cass, but all to no avail. Right as they were pulling into town, his mobile let out a shrill jingle and he snatched it up.

"Hello?! Mickey?" He hadn't even looked at the caller ID and Azrael's voice was music to his ears.

"Az, we don't have time to talk. Letha and I aren't in danger, but Hadrian is. You need to meet us at the high school as soon as angelically possible and help us find him."

His urgency sparked something in Letha who turned to glare at him. "Not the bloody high school, Sherlock," she spat, "Our house. Not even Wrath kills somebody in a public place." She leaned forward between the seats, pointing across Min to give Brad directions. "Turn left here."

Mickey was relieved to see her acting normally. "Did you hear that?" he asked into the phone, making sure Az remembered where Letha lived before hanging up.

The car rolled to a stop outside Letha's house and before Brad had a chance to think about cutting the engine, Letha was off and running. Mickey leapt out of the car, chasing after her with as much intent to protect her as to save Hadrian. Fumbling with the front door, Letha threw it wide and was confronted with the most intimidating silence of her life. No cries of pain, no pleas for leniency, no desperate apologies. Total, utter, silence. She felt nauseated.

She took a few staggered steps forward, Mickey shadowing her tightly, and stumbled into the kitchen. The empty kitchen. Heart beating frantically in her chest, Letha spun in a tight circle, looking in the dining room, the lounge room, everywhere. Nothing. Without a sound she dashed for the stairs, staggering desperately up the first few. She caught her balance halfway up, propelling herself with the railing, and crashing into her brother's door. Throwing it open, her hand flew to her mouth.

Mickey clattered up behind her and stopped still as he looked past her. Hadrian's prone form was laid out on the bed, his skin a sad contrast against his flaming hair. Closing his eyes tight, the boy at the door prayed he was mistaken, that the bruises forming around the teenagers neck weren't there and that his chest still twitched with every breath.

What he didn't see, what Letha's attention was fixed on, was the carbon copy of her brother standing beside the bed. When she had arrived, he's been looking down at his real form mournfully but now he just stared emptily at her.

"Letha," he said on an exhale, his jaw clenching tightly. He faded alarmingly, coming back into focus just as suddenly. "I can't hold on much longer. I just wanted... goodbye."

The tears Letha's body had been contemplating evaporated, and she let out a low growl. "Don't you dare do this to me, Hadrian."

Mickey's heart broke a little bit and he caught her by the shoulder. "Letha, I'm so sorry but ... he's gone."

She threw him a fierce look over her shoulder. "You don't..." She hissed, "just let go of me!"

Shaking him off, she took a deliberate step towards the ethereal version of her brother and pointed an angry finger at him. "You will not leave me!"

"It's so cold..." he whined softly, his consistency shivering violently.

"Letha come away," Hadrian called softly, taking her arm again and dragging her from the room.

The day had Letha off balance and she was in the doorway before she knew what was going on. She tried to rip herself away again, but he pulled her closer and put himself between her and her brother. Behind him, Hadrian wavered again and Letha's desperation peaked.

"Let me past, you lump! He needs me!" she shrieked, pummeling his chest.

He held firm. "He's gone Letha, you need to..."

"He's not! He's not!" Her fists turned from hitting his chest to clutching at eh fabric of his shirt. "Trust me..." she pleaded, eyes flicking to his. "Just listen, please."

He froze.

"Please..." Letha still suddenly, meeting his eyes with a desperate look. She didn't blink. "Mickey, please."

It may have been the look she gave him, the unexpected use of her manners or the way his name sounded coming out of her mouth for the first time - regardless, Mickey released her immediately and stepped aside. For less than a second she held the eye contact, long enough for him to see a spark ignite and to feel like and entire lifetime had passed, and then she was passed him and standing beside her brothers bed. She didn't look at him though, instead standing as if to address the bedside table.

"Hadrian Antitheus," she growled, her hands clenching at her sides, "You do not get to give up. Get your spiritual arse back here right now!"

He only dimmed a bit more.

"I just want rest, Letha. It's been so long..."

Mickey heard him that time. And his jaw dropped.

"And it's gonna be much longer if you pull this shit right now. I will haunt you for the rest of you afterlife. I will not let you sleep. I will not let you pass on. I won't let you have a single minute alone until the day I die and then I'll still be by your side for every second of every day. So get back in your body. NOW!" She was puffing by the time she finished, cheeks flushed red with exertion.

Hadrian didn't move. He was still, wittingly so, for a long time. All he did was look down at his body and gradually fade away.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Mickey remembered to breathe. "What's happening Letha?"

Her eyes darted away from her brother for only a heartbeat. "I can talk to the dead. Hadrian can come back from the dead."

"Then why isn't he back?" He asked, gesturing to the still body.

"Because he won't fight for it!" This she screamed at Hadrian's spirit, kicking out at him and stabbing her toe on the bed.

She swore. Hadrian winced.

And with that, calm certainty washed over her. The desperate energy faded from her limbs and she took another step closer. "Hadrian look at me." She instructed gently, waiting until he was fully focussed on her to speak again. "If you do this - if you give up and leave - I will kill myself."

It shouldn't be possible for a ghost of an alabaster-skinned individual to pale, but her brother did.

Mickey let out a noise. "Don't say that Letha."

"I'm not just saying it - I'm promising it. You know me, Hadrian. You know I'll do it." She strode purposefully across the room, reefing the top draw of his desk open and snatching a pocket knife out. Flicking the blade open, she turned to face the two boys. 

They both looked aghast. Her brother's eyes were fixed on the knife, growing more transparent by the second, whereas it was Letha's face that held Mickey's attention. He didn't doubt for a moment that she was fighting for both their lives right then. 

"Hadrian," she said calmly, waiting until he looked at her. "Make your choice. Don't fade away - decide! We live or we die."

Tears welled in his eyes and his lip quivered as his mouth opened but no words came out. He nodded abruptly, squeezing his eyes shut and fading entirely out of view. The silence terrified Mickey, and he followed Letha's gaze to the boy's chest, watching out of the corner of his eye as the pocket knife made its way incrementally closer to her wrist. 

In one sudden ragged breath, life returned to Hadrian's body. He coughed and spluttered a few times, curling onto his side and shivering uncontrollably as he fought for breath. His eyes, half closed with exhaustion made brief contact with Letha's, long enough to see her replicate his deliberate nod, before they closed altogether. 

"Aren't you going to help him?" 

Mickey startled and threw a glance over his shoulder to see Min, Brad and Chloe crowded in the doorway. Min was gesturing to Hadrian, as if imploring Letha to make a move to comfort her brother - a boy who had seemingly just come back from the dead. Mickey caught his old friend's eye and tossed his head towards Hadrian, slowly approaching Letha himself as the other woman went to help. 

Reaching out gingerly, he plucked the blade out of her tight grasp, setting it quietly on the bench and positioning himself between the siblings. Taking his life in his hands, he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and draw her into a tight hug. Immediately she stiffened, trying to push away from him.

"Give me twenty seconds," he whispered in her ear, trying to keep his tone emotionless. "you almost lost your brother and I almost lost you. Twenty seconds of weakness is allowed after that."

"You don't even know me," she returned hoarsely, palms still pressing against his chest as she tried to extricate herself. 

"And I nearly lost my opportunity to fix that."

She stopped still, his soft words travelling down her spine and dimming the outside world until it was just her and her emotions. And him. Somehow. She never quite relaxed but she set her head against his chest and let him hold her.