I listened in to the argument that Charlie and Vaggie were having for a brief moment and decided to back away as their conversation took a more severe turn. When I got back to the street level, I witnessed the rest of the hotel staff amid a gang war, and there were some interesting tactics, to say the least. Angel was trying to seduce some guys with various not-safe-for-work gestures that included but were not limited to sucking and grinding motions while Husk was attempting to beat up the same guys. Since he is a former Overlord, he does an efficient job of dispelling them quickly. Pentious is reduced to tears. I don't think he has developed any actual fighting abilities that don't rely on weapons, and his egg boys and Niffty went on a murder spree like usual. I know Charlie wants to get all of these sinners redeemed, but there ain't no way in Hell Niffty is seeing any pearly gates of any kind. If she manages to get any of these fucks up there, they can send a postcard for her to look at. The things I have seen Niffty do shall always remain unspoken but never forgotten; never fuck with Niffty.

I get Meko to assist Angel and the others because I really don't feel like dragging any of them back to the hospital; I have plans with Helia. This man has straight-up avoided me for a solid week. Every time I head over to their apartment, he is never home. The girls are always overjoyed to see me and have grown extremely fond of Fio. Fio is an attention whore if I have ever met one; he basks in the attention of the small children as if it feeds his very soul. Meko is also fond of the girls having a new plaything and target. Peace is restored.

Soran greets me as I return to the hospital later that day with an annoyed look on his face.

"Respectfully, Milady, I think you have been spending too much time at that ratty hotel! You have fallen quite behind on clinic duties and haven't seen any patients in weeks! Charts are falling behind, not to mention Nurse Toppan has been running rampant and sleeping with some of the doctors! I caught her snorting all kinds of stuff with the Angel of Death nurses! There have been so many sexual affairs in this hospital that we might have to rebrand as a sex club!" Soran snaps his clipboard in half, and I can see a visible vein popping out of his head.

"Are you telling me that you can't handle your job when Vesper is away?" Helia walks up the sidewalk, and I can see the visible anger brewing in Soran as he turns his rage toward the blonde.

"Don't walk up to me like you know shit about anything! You're just some freeloader make-a-wish heathen who managed to get the attention of Milady through pure coincidence. You tugged hard on her need to save pathetic sinners and got lucky when she took a liking to you. I am informing my boss of the situation in the hospital and strongly recommending that she refocus her efforts on what she has built up over decades and try to enlighten her about the lost causes at that hotel. Things have changed for the worse ever since you showed up here, you mutt," Soran let lose his frustration as I take a deep breath in and restrain myself from snapping at him. I am to blame for the extra work that he has had to put up with.

"She just got an extermination notice from Heaven! Do you think she might be letting loose and living a little because of that? She is having fun for the first time in who knows how long. She has been responsible for the hospitals and clinics for a long time and has selflessly put herself first to heal others for as long as anyone can remember! Rosie said sometimes she was in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed for days! She has put her body through extreme torture to alleviate the pain of others! Vesper has done more than enough for everyone else; we are going for dinner. You have never seen her weak because, for years, she has hidden the injuries she has taken on from others! Her paperwork and others can wait for one more night or for the rest of Hell for all I care!" Helia grabs me by the wrist and starts dragging me down the block before Soran can speak another word.

"I will hire another assistant for the hospital," I manage to say to him as we round a corner; I struggle to keep up with the quickened pace and almost stumble. Helia takes notice of my plight and slows his angry journey down to a slow walk.

"Sorry, he just pisses me off sometimes. I was out of line; I will apologize to him tomorrow. I booked us a reservation at Ozzie's cause I know you like to go there for dinner," I come to a dead stop as he halts.

"What has been going on with you lately? You have been avoiding me, and now you are yelling at Soran for something that is actually my fault," I stop myself as I try to think harder. "You have been getting worse, haven't you? Show me your mark," I demand as he looks away from me. He takes a few steps back when I attempt to lift his shirt.

"You can't touch me anymore."

"Bullshit, let me see your mark, Helia," I add more urgency to my voice as I take another step toward him; I can feel my heartbeat starting to pick up and my throat drying up.

"You care way too freaking much about everyone else. I know you, Vera. I know one of these days, if I'm not careful, you will take the mark right off my body because, in your little head, you think you are dying soon. News flash, it ain't happening ever! This isn't your sickness to bare! The weight of everyone else's ailments should never have fallen on you. You are following Charlie around like a lost puppy so you can protect her every minute of the day. Take one look at the mirror, Vera!-

You haven't slept well in months to the point where it's affected your powers; one of these days, you will just transform in front of everyone. Rosie said you used to clean off your plate like a Dyson V15 every time she would bring something over for you, but lately, you have barely touched your food. You don't hum anymore when doing random house chores or cooking, and I haven't heard you complain about Nurse Toppan in satan knows how long. You have started to bite your nails again, which I only saw you do once. It was the day after Angel got hurt. The light is fading from your eyes, and you have been spiralling slowly. Everyone has noticed. The hospital staff talked about how he hadn't been around; Soran even asked me why he had given up on work completely," his long-winded rant pauses.

"And your healing. You can't heal anyone anymore like this. Something is broken inside, and you keep beating yourself up. I have looked for the missing piece that damaged you, but I can't solve the beautiful, complicated mess that is you. I don't know how to help you. You spent sleepless months trying to figure out anything to help me, and I couldn't even find the first clue on how I could save you—hours spent on research and study. I need you to stop caring about me and everyone else," Helia stops to catch his breath this time. His pale cheeks coated in pink tint. "You can't disappear. I won't allow it."

I take another step; this time, he doesn't back away from me. I observe the dark bags under his eyes. Is this what he has been doing for the last little while? Trying to figure out whatever is going on with me and my abilities? I slowly unbutton his shirt as he doesn't resist me this time. I move the fabric aside to reveal that the black veins that were originally only around his right stomach have now crept their way up to his chest, an ugly stain on his porcelain skin—a reminder of both of our not-so-bright futures.

"Why didn't you tell me the medicine wasn't working anymore, Helia? This is serious," I trace my hand over the black lines as he gently grabs my hand.

"I didn't tell you because everything else was happening with you. Adam had just threatened to wipe out the hospitals, and then Rosie asked me if I knew something about you that I shouldn't have known. There was too much going on at once, and I didn't want to add to all the noise," Helia said lightly. I took a deep breath in and gently slammed my forehead into his chest.

"You care way too much about others as well, you dumbass. I think we both need to start being more selfish," he wraps his arms around me, and I feel hot tears soak into my white coat as Helia silently cries on my shoulder. I don't say anything to him as my own stubborn emotions take over. We talked late into the night about everything going on, and for the first time since we met, Helia stayed in my bed overnight as we confirmed our feelings for one another. It was just our two souls intertwining in my bedsheets as he kept me up most of the night; it was not like I would sleep well anyway. Everything felt fine for the first time in a long time, and I would have stayed there forever if that option had been possible.

The following day, Charlie was hosting a show-and-tell at the hotel, and I thought bringing the girls along for the event would be a great idea. The four girls were ecstatic over the idea of telling everyone about their favourite things in Hell; the younger two had their prized toys with them, and the older two had keepsakes from Helia, a pocket watch and a necklace. On the walk over to the hotel, they were all eagerly rehearsing what they wanted to say to Fio and Meko, and they both made unwilling participants. Fio was just happy the girls were around. We arrive at the front doors. I open the door, and the first thing I see is Angel getting his holes rammed into in HD on the livening room television.

My jaw drops in horror as I rush over to cover the eyes of the girls; they got a good ten seconds of porno as I escorted them all out of the door. Helia was almost pissing his pants laughing as I slammed the door closed and turned to look at the rest of the hotel staff.

"Angel, what the fuck? In front of the kids?" I lose my mind as Charlie runs over with an apologetic look.

"Charlie said it was show and tell day. I was showing you all my best film, and I'm telling you that it scored me a win over that bitch, Tiffany Titfucker," he explains calmly.

"Charlie, why, just why?" I ask my younger sister as she puts up her finger to say something, but nothing comes to her mind.

"He was excited to show and tell, even though it was a bullshit interrogation scene," Husk mumbles miserably; this comment sends Angel off the edge as they start arguing. I slip away from the chaos and join the girls back outside, praying that they have not been traumatized by this entire ordeal.

"Maybe show-and-tell with the girls wasn't the best idea. How about we go for lunch instead?" Helia suggests, and I agree, that the girls start running ahead of us with the pets in tow. And maybe you and I can continue where we left off early this morning," Helia plants a quick kiss on my forehead. As I feel all the blood rush to my face in an instant, I cover my mouth in embarrassment.

Lunch was going well when my phone started ringing; it was Anthony. He doesn't usually call me to say hello, so I pick up with a slight panic welling up in my chest. I get up from the table to take the call.

"Anthony? Is everything alright?" I ask as his panicked tone replies.

"No, Doc, I genuinely need your help. Charlie came to the studio to try and get me time off work, and she really pissed Val off, and he gave me a black eye. He told me to get you over here as quickly as I could, or my eye wouldn't be the only thing black. I'm scared he is going to hurt Charlie," I feel rage well up in my chest as the grip on my phone tightens, and my horns start to poke out. I compose myself in front of the girls, who have now noticed I have gotten up from lunch.

"I will be there in ten; try to get ice on the bruise as soon as you can, please. And I swear to god, if he lays one finger on Charlie, I will beat him to death with a fucking lightbulb. I will shove it so far up his ass that he will be a new moth nightlamp that will light up the sewer tunnels for the Teenage mutant ninja turtles," I hiss into the phone and hang up before Anthony can say another word.

"There's been an emergency; I need to go now. Fio, Meko," I light a tiny spark on my palm, letting them know we must move now. Helia gives a slight nod as the girls wave their sad goodbyes. Once we were out of view of the restaurant, I summoned Frazzle, and he took us over to the sex dungeon known as Angel's workplace; I think he could also tell it was urgent. Frazzle made the ten-minute flight in less than four. I thank him profusely as he drops me off at Angel's balcony. I actually broke the door off the hinges because I opened it with such force. I gently place it on the ground as Anthony looks at me, shocked. Fio and Meko were playing with the broken door as I rushed in.
"I don't think I have seen you this pissed off, Doc," Anthony tightens his bathrobe.
"Where is Charlie?" I urgently wonder as I get closer to him and gently inspect the area where he was hit; his poor eye is puffy and almost swollen shut because it was such an aggressive impact.
"I got her to leave. Val wants to start shooting as soon as it's gone. I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't have the balls to tell him that you can't heal anymore. I just get scared of him," Anthony starts to tear up as I sit him down on the bed.
"It's fine; I will do my best to remove the pain," I light up my hand in purple for the first time in quite a while. I could feel my hand slightly hesitate when I went to place it over Anthony's eye. It doesn't matter; if I don't do this now, Valentino will keep beating the stuffing out of him. I place my palm over his eye, and I feel my eye start to puff up; however, it doesn't t hurt nearly as bad as I thought a black eye would. The purple glow fades from the room as I look over his injury to see it successfully cleared up.
"Doc, your eye. It's not black? Does it hurt? Are you okay?" Anthony rushes over to his makeup stand and brings me a mirror. I look at my purple orbs staring back at me; the area was a tad bit puffy but not close to the damage that was done.
"It stings a little, but why didn't it transfer like last time?" I carefully stroked the affected area, and it blackened a tiny bit.
"Thank you for saving my ass once again. I really would be dead without you caring for me so much," Anthony pulls me in for an awkward hug as I pat him on the back reassuringly.
"I am bringing a giant bug zapper next time. Or maybe we could drown him in the bathtub. Or maybe I could pay Niffty to exterminate his ass. Actually, she would probably do it for free. No, no, I got the best idea to exterminate that fuck. We could build a giant lamp outside, and hopefully, he flies into it and dies-"
"As much as I love your creative ideas to kill Val, I must return to set. I owe you big time. Thanks, Vesper." Anthony heads out the door with a sad look as I sit on his bed. I should have taken a few more seconds before considering sitting on any of Angel's work furniture. I wish I could send Meko for a snack, but that would cause more problems than creating solutions. The wind blows through the open balcony door, sending a chill up my spine; something big is happening soon. The winds always know.

Dear Charlie,
Why did you walk into a sex dungeon by yourself? And why on earth was Vaggie not with you? Are you trying to be next on the roster??? I know for a fact Valentino put his slimy shit-ass eyes all over you. Some bugs must be crushed, but you are too kind to hurt a soul, which worries me greatly. You all worry me; I know Helia is getting worse. We are all running out of options and time. Something weird is going on with my powers again. Would it be so hard for things to make sense? The wind is different today; something big is about to happen. I love you, but please use common sense when considering entering sex dungeons alone. I am begging you.

Love, Vera