Hera awoke groggily, still deeply intertwined with Theo. 

The thudding in her chest increased as she recalled the previous day and tried to piece together why she was now in Theo's shirt and pantless. She turned to look at Theo accusingly when she noticed he was strangely still. His skin was pale, and his breathing was slightly laboured. Panic stirred in her chest as she sat up, and he remained painfully frozen. 

"Theo?" she whispered gently, shaking his shoulder, but there was nothing. No rich grumbling voice or flickering eyelids. 

It was like he was dead. 

"What's happening?" She cried. "Theo!" Hera shook him harder this time, and panic sunk in deep. The house shuddered, and she felt bile rise in her throat as her control lapsed. She quickly took some deep, grounding breaths before giving his body a once-over. 

His skin was hot to the touch and clammy, despite his level of undress. She had never seen him look so vulnerable, and she was frightened. Maybe this was how his body responds from overexertion of his Evolution, she thought hopefully. She remembered how she could end up unconscious for days after her outbursts, but to see Theo like this was awful. She heard a quiet caressing statement from Juno, who was equally confused and afraid.

No, that's not it.

Hera ran her hands along his arms, legs, and torso and found nothing unusual. No bleeds or obvious broken bones. She was shaking as she searched the underside of his body and stopped when she felt wetness from his neck. She pulled his fingers into the light and saw red with yellow and brown pus clumps. Horrified, she turned him over and saw dozens of red and blue streaks stretching out from his Mod wound. 

"Holy shit." She breathed. "Is this sepsis? Fuck!'' 

The bile rose further, burning her throat, and she released her stomach contents next to the mattress. All this time they were fighting, none of them realized Theo's blood was being poisoned from a Mod that Hera put in him. She was the one who closed the wound. What if she was now going to be the blame for his death too. Another person she cared about, loved, dying because of her actions. 

"No, no, no, no." She jumped up, ran to the dirty shower, and turned on the tap. The water came out brown, and she panicked. She gave up on the shower but snatched up the cracked soap bars and ran outside with a bowl to collect fresh snow. Her fingers ached from the cold as she scrubbed her hands clean and ran back over to Theo's body. He was no longer lifeless but instead shivering in front of the fireplace. Hera stoked the flames and added more wood before turning her attention to his wound. 

You need to take it out. Juno seemed confident, which eased some of Hera's fears. 

"Will it be enough?"

Perhaps his body is rejecting the Mod.

"Does that happen? I thought these things were foolproof."

You didn't exactly perform hygienic surgery when you shoved it into his head. Juno's tone was mildly irritating to Hera, but she was not in the mood to bicker. 

"So what do I do? Should I just destroy it?"

What if you need it later against Azrail? Theo is resistant to mind control now that he's far away from us, but what if he finds us again?

Hera was torn. She could easily dissolve his Mod and send him some energy to heal faster, but Juno was right. If they ever faced Azrail again, it would be helpful to have Theo protected. 

"I'll take it out then." She decided. 

 She turned his body, so he lay flat and turned his head to the side. She kneeled next to him and gently touched around the incision. She prayed her hands wouldn't spread any germs into his wound, increasing his infection as she tugged on either side of his neck. She heard a groan escape Theo and any hopes he wouldn't feel any pain while unconscious was dashed. 

"I'm sorry." 

She used her ability to pull his skin apart as he screamed in agony. She had to sit on his back to hold him down as he struggled beneath her. The Mod was sitting in clear view, and she gently sent out her energy to draw it out. Juno's interest was piqued, and they assisted, sensing the familiarity of the Mod. 

It was a shield, Mod, after all. 

It disentangled from Theo and landed lightly in her palm, much to her relief. The inside of the wound looked relatively clean, and she used her ability to coax out any foreign bodies that might later cause Theo grief. When she was satisfied, she carefully rejoined his skin together perfectly. 

Last time she had just jammed skin together to stop the bleeding, which got them into this mess, but this time she took her time. Each weaving, mending, and binding she made was perfectly aligned, and when she was done, his skin was unblemished besides the few small streaks still around the wound. She honed her energy on them and forced them to disintegrate, and she sat back proud. She did it. She finally figured out how to heal through destruction. 

Nice work. She heard Juno say, a smile in their voice. The struggling beneath her had stopped, and some colour had returned to Theo's body, his fever broken. She had been too focused on helping him; she didn't realize she was straddling his bareback in nothing but underwear and his long t-shirt. 

She slid off, swallowing deeply, and turned him onto his back. Now she could see his glorious front. She had to avert her eyes from his chiselled torso before she became caught up in his beauty and pulled the sheet up to his chin. Her clothes were now dry, and she changed into them, returning Theo's shirt, which she left folded next to him for when he awoke.

Hera realized she was starving and left Theo to rest as she cooked up some canned mush over the fire. She turned her back to Theo, so she didn't see his eyes pull open and stare at her in awe and relief. She didn't see how thankful he was to see her alive and looking so cute wrapped up in that stained, oversize fleece. She only realized he was awake when his fingers gingerly trailed down her back. 

She gasped and spun, nearly spilling all the pot contents on the floor before placing it down to hug Theo tightly. She held on for a beat before pulling back, blushing. 

"Sorry, I... I'm glad you're okay." 

His brows furrowed slightly. "You're glad I'm okay? You nearly died in that lake. How could you run straight onto a frozen lake?" He had a slight smile on his lips.

She bit her lip before replying. "I didn't see it, alright. I was too busy trying to get away from you." Hera muttered the last bit, turning away to hide her traitorous smile. She was so relieved he was okay, and he had no idea the ordeal she had just been through trying to save him.

"Amateur." He replied, a grin now on his face as he grabbed her shoulder to turn her to him.

"I'm still mad at you." She started, and his face fell. Guilt flooded her senses as she realized the miscommunication. "You nearly died this morning. I think you had blood poisoning or something. From the Mod." His face showed apparent confusion but relief that she wasn't referring to the fight.

"I took it out," She pulled it from her pocket to show him. "I thought we might need it later." He nodded, still lost about the morning's events.

"I guess we're even then?" He asked, eyebrows raised. She nodded in response and turned to finish cooking breakfast, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She had no idea why she felt so awkward around him now. They weren't exactly innocent and had seen plenty of each other but him sitting there shirtless staring into her eyes with such raw emotions made her heart race. 

She didn't know where they stood anymore, and she was still mad at him. 

Slightly. 

She cursed her fickle self. She should be furious about how he treated her, but she knew how powerful grief could be. 

So instead of dwelling, she got them both a spoon and shared their meal on the dusty, moth-eaten mattress in comfortable silence.