Warm water. Wet skin. I slowly opened my eyes in a fragrant bubble bath. My head was carefully placed on a bath pillow. Alejandro was carefully washing my body. I could see to my left an assortment of cotton balls and make-up cleansers. From the looks of it he had already washed my face.

"You've been asleep for a while, now. The boys weren't too rough on you, were they?" Alejandro's voice was soft, with a feminine ring to it.

"Are you a woman?" I asked.

"Oh dear. I always manage to mess up everything."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," said this new side of Alejandro. "I tend to come around and bring a feminine touch. The ones we work for don't really have any use for me. So, for the most part, I tend to remain hidden, but every once in a while, I come and think of something they would not think of or might forget. I picked a bubble scent for you. I hope you like it."

"I do," I said. I did. It smelled like lavender and moonlight. "Thank you."

"Oh, you are most welcome." Alejandro looked at me carefully. "You know, you are the only one that has ever seen me and didn't feel the need to freak out a bit. All the others weren't so agreeable."

"Others?" That thought stung a bit.

"Jani, what's wrong?"

"How many?"

Alejandro's feminine side softened even more.

"Not very many, though he has had lovers in the past. Nobody has ever stuck around, though. You see, those who fell for Romeo found the others too harsh. Those for Carlos found the others to be boring. The one you call master, everyone was afraid of him. Nobody has ever developed feelings for Hugo before, and vice versa. They all found him to be cold and unfeeling, and for the most part, he was. You are the first and only one he has ever loved. But for him to be able to fuse with what the rest of us call the sadistic bastard, even for only a moment, it was a miracle!"

"I'm the only one?"

"Yes."

For Hugo anyway. I still was not satisfied.

"How many for Romeo and Carlos?"

Alejandro continued to bathe me, but answered my question sincerely.

"Romeo was the first of us to fall. We were a young and tender age back then. He was not the type to love without giving his heart. When it wasn't returned, it hurt him deeply, but the people we work for don't give a damn about feelings or broken hearts. So that's when Carlos appeared."

"Why did Carlos have to fulfill the needs of so many?"

"We were never given a choice."

I began to cry. I thought of my dreams, and all of the things we never talked about, but silently acknowledged. All the hurt he had to go through, but managed to protect me from.

"Oh, don't cry." Alejandro took my hand. "Besides, you are here now. All of that is over now."

I looked at this feminine form. She still looked like Alejandro, but she had a softer disposition.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"My name is Ellied," she said. She squeezed my hand. "Nobody has ever asked me that before."

"Why not?"

"I don't believe that many people are as observant as you. Most of them just accuse Alejandro of being gay or secretly wanting to be a woman." Ellied giggled. "Can you imagine accusing any of them something like that?"

I giggled with her. "No, not at all."

"You know," said Ellied. "This is the longest conversation I can remember having with anyone."

"Why?" I asked.

"Oh I don't know. I guess everyone forgets that all souls have a little feminine and masculine combined." Ellied sighed. "You are the only one that has accepted this many of us. The fact that I am here so soon...."

"What is it, Ellied?"

"I'm the one who shows up when they are feeling the need to nurture. I am such a rarity. Hugo's logic is the most dominant of all, and second to that is the lustful bastard."

"Really? I would have guessed it was Lobo."

"Lobo only shows up to military personnel. You are the only person he has seen on the outside. You are very much loved, so loved that Hugo was able to conquer the devil in us when we've never been able to do that before."

"I imagine that the devil comes in when not even Lobo doesn't want to do what they want him to do."

"Oh yes! They ask him to do terrible things! It's why we were split apart. There is no room for me in what they have to do, but Hugo wants me back. To soften things up a bit. He is more concerned about being too harsh with you, than making himself vulnerable."

Ellied looked at me tenderly. "Alejandro has asked to retire. No more missions, no more movies, no more fame and glory. All he wants is to live a quiet life with you."

"Really?" I said. I was so happy. I hugged her close to me.

"Oh, we thought you would like this. I am honored to disappear for a girl like you."

"What?" I pulled back and looked at her. "What do you mean disappear?"

Ellied gave me a bittersweet smile.

"You said it yourself. You want all of him."

"Yes, I do. I do! And that includes you!"

"I am not a very dominant part of Alejandro. When I am absorbed, I will continue to be seen least of all."

Ellied picked up some bubbles.

"But I'll be in there somewhere, offering you a little extra girly stuff in your life." She blew the bubbles at me.

I held onto her hand. She squeezed back. I didn't want to have to say goodbye so soon.

"Give me one day."

"For what?"

"Just to spend time with me. We will talk girl things, maybe watch some chick flicks, and we will pig out on junk food and gossip all day."

"You really want to spend time with me?" Ellied looked genuinely surprised.

"Yes." I put my palm gently on her cheek. "I do."

Ellied smiled. "Well, what would you like to do?"

"What do you think I should do with my hair?" I asked, running a finger through my strands. "Do you think I should get it bobbed?"

With that one little question, it set off a chain command. Lobo, Hugo, Romeo, Carlos, my sadistic Master, all of them spouted off "No!" "No." "No." "No!" "NO!" And then Ellied joined in. "No. Not in a million years. It cascades down your body in sexy waves, giving you an air of mystery."

"Okay," I said. "Long it is."

Eventually, I talked Ellied into joining the bath with me. We gave each other a bath, washed each other's hair, in a tender non-sexual kind of way. We cracked open a bottle of wine. It did make me a little drowsy. Ellied helped me out of the bath. She was a bit more chatty than Hugo. Hugo was my listener. Ellied didn't mind stating her opinion at all, even if it didn't have a purpose. I very much enjoyed this side of Alejandro. I hoped that Ellied wouldn't completely disappear.

We both shared a love for chocolate. We both had a fondness for the same flavors of ice-cream. I couldn't believe her knowledge of the latest chick flicks. She introduced me to things that I didn't even know. I found that I really enjoyed her company.

All too soon, I began to feel sleepy. Ellied covered me up in a thick blanket, snuggling with me.

"So what happens now?" I asked.

"What happens now, is you get some rest, and when you wake up, Alejandro will be closer than ever to being whole again."

"I don't want to say goodbye."

"I'll be buried in there somewhere." Ellied snuggled to me closer. "Good night." She kissed me on the nose, and we went to sleep, forehead to forehead.

The following morning, I woke up to see Alejandro watching television. He was still my Hugo, but when he turned to me, his eyes had a lighter, more sensual kind of knowledge, and when he smiled....OH, there was my Ellied! It looked like a masculine type of smile, but I could still see her.

"Good morning," he said. He still sounded like my Hugo, but his voice had a softer tone. He did not have that cold monotone anymore, but his voice was still very much a masculine one.

I smiled a big grin. "You smile just like Ellied."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It's a very good thing. Wait...Is that a chick flick I hear?"

Hugo then got a very stern expression on his face. "If anyone finds out about this-"

"We will tell them that it is all for me."

He smiled his Ellied smile. "Good. Care to join me?"

"No," I said. "Quiero que me cojas."

He growled at me. We never bothered watching the movie....