I keep seeing Alastor in my dreams like a dark omen; every time he comes along, we talk for hours about everything he has missed since he disappeared off the face of Hell. Even in my dreams, he is a good listener, making it much harder to hate him for leaving me behind. His polite smile never wavered, and his manners never failed him once. Something is trying to tell me we will meet again, probably much sooner than I imagined.

I slowly open my eyes; I think that was the first time I slept through the entire night in months. I lay in bed for a little bit longer and trace over the gauze and my wound from yesterday. So it was all real? I will be hurt from healing sinners now; I never knew that it was possible to have this ability. I wonder why this is all happening now. Why not fifty years ago? Why not ten years ago? I slowly sit up, feeling empty as I look around my bed for Meko; she usually sleeps beside me, and Frazzle, usually at the foot of my bed. I notice something that is not generally in my room: a sleeping sinner in a chair beside my bed. Passed out with his cheek resting on his palm that he had propped up against his knee, Meko sprawled out belly up in his lap, snoozing away.
His golden hair doesn't even have a piece out of place; imagine how nice it would be to be flawless, even when sleeping in a very uncomfortable position. His clothes don't even look dishevelled; they have my blood in various places. I slowly creep out of bed and go to the bathroom, where I look at myself for the first time since Anthony was here. To put it bluntly, I looked like shit; dried blood was caked down my neck, and my hair looked like a rat's nest that underwent an unfortunate renovation. I open the palm of my hand and watch the beautiful purple flame that has never failed me before. I start the shower and soak my body as I carefully clean around my wounds and avoid getting any irritations into them.
When I get out of the shower, a fresh pair of clothes is placed on the counter with new gauze and ointment to help reduce inflammation and scarring; probably Soran had it sent up here. I get dressed and leave the bathroom to see Helia sitting on my bed, staring at me disdainfully, with Meko happily rubbing up against his side.
"Who pissed in your cornflakes?" I ask him as I make my way over to my mirror and pick up my hairbrush. I wince a little because the weight pulls on my wrist, and Helia takes it out of my hand. I turn to look at him as he crosses his arms and gives me a weird look.
"You have never been injured before, have you? When you are hurt, relying on others to help you heal is normal. If you had broken a leg, would you have still gotten out of bed by yourself and showered on your own?"
"You are actually being ridiculous right now! I didn't break any limbs, and I can manage just fine! I have always managed just fine on my own. Besides, it didn't hurt that much; it was just a little bit of discomfort," I tell him, gently crossing my arms. I can feel my cheeks heating up with frustration.
"Would you just let me brush your damn hair, woman? Soran said you probably shouldn't pick up much for the first few days because of how deep the gashes in your wrist are. He asked me to keep an eye on you because you are probably going to do something impulsive and tear all the stitches he worked hard on giving you! Now sit down and let me help you," his assertiveness left me speechless as I sat down at my mirror, and he got off the bed. Meko came prancing over to me and sat in my lap since she no longer had access to Helia's lap; what a traitor. He went into my bathroom, got the hair dryer from the counter, and brought it over to us.
I observe him in the mirror, and he messes with the settings, dries my hair on low heat, and starts at the roots. Maybe this is how he does his own hair? I don't know many men who know how to operate a hair dryer properly. He slowly combs through my roots and detangles my hair so gently that I can't feel the brush snag on a tangle once. I watch his every move, the way his face blanks when he stops to think about something. His eyes paid my hair all his attention; he was taking this matter extremely seriously. His red eyes glanced up at me once in a while. I got pleasant shivers every time he made skin contact; just the slightest brush of my neck made my stomach flip. I am not used to this unusual sensation. After twenty minutes, he had my hair up in two space buns; maybe this man is gay.
"Was that so hard? Soran said he cleared up your schedule so we could review my medical case today if you are feeling well enough to do the examination. I have brought my entire medical history; I will hold it out for you to read, but you are not allowed to pick it up," he pulls out a black piece of paper as I stare at him in utter disbelief.
"Is this some big joke to you? A blank piece of paper doesn't help me with anything at all!" I can feel my blood pressure rising; it is much too early for it to be this high already. I haven't even heard about what Nurse Toppan has done yet.
"Look, my family is poor. This is the first time I have actually gotten a doctor to sit down and look at this mark with me. I didn't say anything about it before because I didn't want you to know I could pay for anything. You might have turned me down, and I couldn't afford to gamble that. I'm still hoping that you are willing to look past all the money and help me figure out what this is!" he lifts his shirt off and jabs himself in the stomach.
"This isn't America? Medical care has always been free in my hospitals. I have no idea what you are going on about," I sit there confused; has Soran been charging for medical care behind my back? There is no way. I watch the financial situation very closely, and all of the money needed to run the hospital comes from sponsors and some powerful sins that I have helped along the way. Helia sits there like his mind is going to explode as he tries to process what I just told him. Is it really so ironic for Hell to have free health care? I think his soul leaves his body for a brief moment.
"How did you get this mark anyway? What were you doing?" I run my hand over the affected area again, I should probably freeze off a sample and send it to the lab.
"I pissed off some dude named Adam; when he punched my stomach, this mark appeared. It never went away, and sometimes it is really painful, like a burning pain in my side. My little sisters and mother are starting to get really worried about it and want me to get it checked out immediately. I was trying to figure out how to get your attention when you literally fell out of the sky.
I knew I wouldn't have another chance to talk to the best doctor in Hell, and I went for it. It was fortunate that you were interested in this weird curse mark as well," he laughs to himself as the horror builds up in the pit of my stomach. Helia could tell that something was wrong; my face was never a good one for poker.
"Is that bad or like really bad? Cause your face is telling me that it is really, really bad," his smile turns grim as Meko jumps back into his lap for comfort.
"Helia, look," I clear my throat and take another good look at the mark overtaking his body; there is no denying his diagnosis. "You have an angel's curse mark. More specifically, you have been marked for death by Adam himself. This mark it's actually slowly eating away at your soul. I didn't recognize it at first because this one has taken such a weird pattern. Helia, you are slowly dying," I rip off the bandaid. I have seen a few select sinners come in with curse marks, none this advanced. Those sinners are no longer in Hell with us; sinners usually die within a few weeks of getting the mark. I am not sure how long Helia has had this mark, but he can't have long.
"So, are you saying there is no way to get rid of this mark? I should just go dig my own grave. I'll make sure to make it nice and cozy for when the time comes, I suppose? How can I tell my little sisters this," I can feel the heartbreak in his voice as he places his head into the palm of his hands; he isn't even angry at this point, just defeated.
"Can we still be friends up until I die?" he asks me, muffled by his hands as my own heart starts to sting. At that moment, I don't know what overcame me, but I lit my hand up with my purple hue and went to place it on his mark. If I take it off of him, maybe I can find a cure, and he can go home to his family. I was about to make contact with the root of the disease when a strong hand clenched my wrist, causing me to yelp in pain over the torn stitches in my wrist. I look up at Helia, and I'm surprised to see him giving me a murderous glare.
"Don't you ever try that again! What are you crazy?" he scolds me like a scorned child as I sit there confused. Why wouldn't he want the mark off of him? I just informed him that it would kill him. He sighs deeply, carefully lets go of my wrist, and heads back over to the bathroom to get the med kit again. "I was the dumbass who got himself in this situation. Never would I ever let someone else pay for my actions. If you ever try to touch me with that flame again, I will tie you to a chair!" he announces as I try to hold in my laughter; that is a very bold statement to say to a lady. I can't stop myself from laughing at his statement; I know this is supposed to be a serious matter, but the way he said it has me unable to control myself.
"Hey! That came out weird, but you know what I mean! Now, please promise me that you will not try to do that again; I'm serious!" his tone softens as I nod slowly. He sits back down in front of me, picks up my wrist, and cleans up the area as he starts to restitch my arm.
"I didn't know that you could do that," I trail off as I watch him work the needle like he has done it a hundred times before.
"I watched Soran do it last night," he keeps working; he doesn't make any mistakes at all and does just as well as Soran would do, which is interesting.
"Tell you what, there has got to be a way to heal an angelic curse mark. I will look into it and find a way to cure you. It will take some time, but if you are willing to put up with the tests and prodding, I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't lose your soul," I break the silence as he pauses what he is doing. Before I can say anything else, Helia is engulfing me in a hug where we stay for quite a while. I could feel the hot tears from his eyes on the nape of my shoulder, but I didn't say a word as he silently wept. He finishes up my medical care with puffy eyes and takes his leave, thanking me for looking into his case. When I was left alone with my own thoughts, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. Surprisingly, it was Blitz calling; I hadn't heard from him in quite some time.
"Hey Blitz, did something happen? Is Loona alright?" I ask, a bit concerned; the last time he called me up was when a mission went wrong, and they all needed medical care, even Loona.
"We are doing fine here. But since I do owe you one from last time-"
"Blitz, you and your little team have been in my office at least a dozen times-"
"As I was saying, since I owe you a tiny little favour, you should know that I got a request that was interesting indeed. Some dick-sucking, ass, fucker whore has it out for your head, and I thought you should know before they come for you. You need to be careful, Vesper, they were offering quite a big reward. And for the love of god, can you please get me higher on the list for Loona's hellbies shot-" I hang up the phone. As I have told Blitz many times before, I don't have much control over that. What an interesting turn of events; why does someone want me dead?

Dear Charlie,
Please take this lesson to heart, don't piss off Adam. He may be a massive dick, but there are only a few people who can take on an angel of his standing. I did end up asking Helia what he did to earn Adam's wrath, and apparently, penis size and why his wives left him were involved. Please do not remind Adam of these facts; he will probably curse you, and I will have to figure out a way to fix it. I think you would like Helia. I know I will talk to you soon.

Love, Vera

(I promise we are entering the pilot episode soon, I promise you, dear reader)