Kade remains perched on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, deep in thought.

When I stand, he suddenly jolts up, looking terrified, "What is it?" I ask.

"Don't go, don't leave me," he says, pleading in his eyes.

"I'm going to the closet, I need to dress."

"I've hurt you, haven't I?"

"Have you done something to hurt me?"

"I honestly can't remember."

Sitting next to him, I push him back onto the bed and lie next to him, "Let's talk about what you do remember. Your first beer, do you recall buying and drinking that?" I ask.

He turns on his back, takes my hand and holds it over his chest. I feel the gentle undulations of his strongly beating heart, "I hated the taste. But it made me feel kinda fuzzy. Before I knew it the glass was empty; that's when she came, and smiled at me." He pauses, looks at me, then back at the ceiling.

"What did you think when you saw her? Answer me honestly Kade, I can take it," I say.

"I thought she was real hot. When she started flirting with me, I was flattered. She bought me another beer and sat with me." When he suddenly pauses, I know he's withholding something.

"Tell me more Kade, she sat with you, what did you talk about?"

His voice drops, "She talked dirty, sex talk." He almost whispers, "She was kinda turning me on."

"Kind of?"

"OK, she was turning me on, I got a pocket rocket."

When I try to sit up, Kade tightens his grip on me, "No, Tan, stay with me," he says.

"I'm not going anywhere, just let me get up, I need to pace, I'm thinking too, you know?" I say, removing his hand and getting up from the bed.

He curls into a fetal position, "Are you thinking of leaving me?"

"Kade, quit this insecure whining, it's not helping. Sure, hearing this hurts, but let's keep going; I can handle it if it means we find the truth. OK, we've established that you were aroused, did she notice?"

"Yes. She was rubbing my knee and making her way up my leg. But, I definitely remember laughing and stopping her before she got to my, to my, you know?"

I laugh, and it breaks the tension a little, "Your big boy."

He laughs, "Thanks."

Pulling on a long t-shirt, I hide my hurt and try to remain positive, "So, we've established that you got an erection, this is progress. What did she do when you removed her hand?"

He unfurls and turns onto his stomach, propped up on his elbows, "She got pissed with me...then she bought me another beer...and another...I remember things getting real blurry."

"Carry on Kade, keep thinking. You say blurry, you mean your sight?"

"Yes. She was talking to me and I could see three of her, literally spinning around the room...and she bought me another beer." He turns over and sits up. "I tried to stand up, but couldn't get off the bar stool."

He stands up and paces round the bed, "She came back, she had a hood up and she was pulling me...when I got off the bar stool, I fell, like my legs literally weren't working...I was looking at my cell phone...for texts from you...I recall chaos going on around me: raised voices, pushing, running...and all the time I was trying to get to my feet, but couldn't, so I crawled, dragging myself across the floor."

He stops, "Then next thing I woke up in a stinking bathroom cubicle." He looks over at me, "That's all I remember, Tan." He puts his hand on his chest, "Hand on heart.

Staring out the window, rationale thoughts race through my head and I speak them out loud, "You've never had alcohol in your life. I counted four pints of beer when you were talking, that's enough to floor a regular drinker. How could you have knocked out a guy and had sex with a girl, when you couldn't even stand on your own two feet," I say, turning to look at Kade.

He's sitting cross-legged on the bed, beaming, "They're trying their damndest to split us, drive a wedge between us, it's personal, isn't it?" He asks.

I nod, "They know how much my carrying another man's child would hurt you, and how much you having a child with another girl would hurt me. Hurting us is running parallel with their Imp campaign."

Sitting on the bed, I say, "We're getting real good at figuring out their tactics, but they scored a little victory today."

"What was that?"

"That was the first time we didn't have our post lovemaking shower, together," I say.

Kade looks surprised, "You're so right. I was about to join you, but made the mistake of switching on the TV," he says.

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the bathroom, "We're righting that wrong, right now!" He says.

......

Afterwards we dress, casually in jeans and t-shirts, "Are you ok?" Asks Kade, with a wary worry, still in his voice.

"Yes, why'd you ask?"

"You were real quiet in the shower, but I could hear your mind whirring."

"That's right, something niggling my mind, something that's bothering me after our talk earlier."

He's immediately defensive; "You don't still think I had sex with that girl, do you?"

"Not at all." I sit on the bed, "I realized that we both have memory blanks at around the same time, for the same time." He joins me on the bed, "You're so right. Like I calculate twelve hours that I can't account for," he says.

I cut in, "And I have no recollection of the journey to Chicago, which would have taken an average of twelve hours," I say.

I feel my face darken and Kade responds to it, "What you thinking?"

"I fear they've done something to us. Twelve hours, they're not going to waste such valuable time, are they?"

"Kade stands up, his hands roam over his body, and across his chest, as if he's searching for something, "No, they're not gonna waste that time, especially when they have us out for the count," he says.

The worry on his face both saddens and angers me, "Maybe Drew can shed some light on our fears, tomorrow. Right now, let's not worry about what we don't know," I say, reassuringly.

Kade's face softens and smiles, Let's go somewhere awesome for dinner," he suggests.

......

As we're about to leave, my cell rings, it's Kelly.

I speak with her while Kade brushes his teeth.

......

"I heard you say to Kelly, 'that sounds weird' what sounds weird?" Asks Kade, checking his hair in the closet mirror.

I chuckle, Troy and Kelly are on the way back to The Hospital, to play with your Doll."

"That's beyond weird. Still, it's good they got one. She say anything else?" He asks.

"All's calm. Marko's still sedated. Kelvin seems happy enough with his dead Imp, she says he's treating it like a regular soft toy."

Kade pulls at the crotch of his jeans, "These are a little tight, not much room for my crown jewels. Did she mention Drew?"

I smirk, "She says he's settling in real good and has really bonded well with Tony."

"Great." He looks at me and reaches out his hand, "Come my sweetheart, our carriage awaits," he smiles.

......

We're alerted by the clicking of a suite door opening as we wait by the elevator. Two figures emerge from the room, dressed in long black hooded robes. They glide towards us and we instinctively step back.

I yelp as I brush against something behind me; spinning round I see another black clad figure, the face a ghostly white, "Sorry to alarm you miss," he says, with a yellow toothed grin.

The elevator opens, and there's another black robed figure inside, "After you two," says white face, gesturing his hand into the lift.

To my horror, Kade goes to walk in. I grab him, yanking him back forcefully, "You must be joking, Kade!" I shout, as the figures enter the elevator and the door closes on them.

Kade laughs, "Chill, it's Halloween, I guess they're corporate dudes having a company party. Hotels like this always host stuff like this," he says, far too dismissively for my liking.

"Hey, weren't you the guy who gave us a lecture on complacency?" I say.

"Sure, we've always got to be careful, but we gotta live as well, learn to trust our gut instinct. Those guys didn't give me the danger digs," he says, taking me by the hand.

"But, I guess you're right, I don't wanna get in an elevator if we can avoid em," he says, guiding me toward the stair well.

......

The reception area is buzzing with black robed figures, vampires, zombies and other ghoulies, "I told you, it's a party," says Kade, pulling me through the crowding celebrants.

"They still give me the creeps, you never know what real life psycho might be lurking," I say, happy to be out on the street.

......

It's a relatively mild night for the time of the year. My mind is thinking of something noodly, spicy and soupy, when a guys voice, aimed at Kade, distracts me from my foodie fantasies, "Are you cruising me, geyser?"

"Cruising you, what's that mean?" Asks Kade, of a tall guy, who is looking at him with an aggressive eye.

"Checking me out, you've been staring at me and I don't appreciate it, I'm not gay," he says.

Kade laughs, "Nor am I. You know, I was thinking how much that Topknot doesn't suit you."

The guy tenses and when I see his hand make a fist, I stand in front of Kade, "Excuse my husband, I'm sure you'll agree, he's not best placed to be giving fashion advice."

The guy relaxes a little, "You need to tell him to be careful who he pisses off." He looks at Kade, "You've just had a lucky escape, geyser," he says, walking away with a macho swagger.

......

"Jeez Kade, you gotta be careful, you can't go insulting every guy with a Topknot, he was ready to floor you. And not every guy with a Topknot will be on their side, I'm hoping the majority of them aren't," I say, relieved that I avoided a situation.

"I guess I can't help it," he says, stopping and leaning against the wall. "I feel kinda funny," he says, rubbing his stomach.

"What kind of funny?"

"Like, nauseous, it's come on real sudden."

When he leans his head back against the wall, I note tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, "Shall we go back to the suite?" I ask.

He smiles, "No, let's go eat. Maybe that's the problem, I need to eat something," he says, walking away from the wall.

......

We make our way toward Wagamama's, a Japanese noodle restaurant not too far from our hotel, and away from the hollering Halloween revelers.

Kade halts and looks around, angry, "Did that dude touch me?" He asks, looking at a passing guy. I look back, "I didn't see him do anything," I say.

We continue until we reach a traffic light and stop with the crowd - "WHOAH!" Jolts Kade, jumping into the road and spinning around, searching the crowds with a suspicious face, "Someone touched my ass and crotch, which one of you perverts groped me?" He hollers.

People look away and continue across the road, ignoring Kade's accusations.

Aware something's happening, I have to get him back to the hotel, fast.

I grab Kade and guide him back onto the sidewalk; he's ok, just real pissed more than anything else.

"Seriously Tan, some douche touched me up, like a real full on grope," he says.

I know nobody touched him.

"Let's go back to the hotel, we can order room service," I suggest.

"No, I wanna get noodles." He says, taking my hand and shaking his head, "What do you know, I got gay groped on a London street."

"JEEZ!" Kade grabs his chest and doubles up, "What the hell, who punched me?" He gasps.

I squat to his level, "Nobody punched you, Kade."

His face is contorted with pain, "Jeez Tan, my chest is hurting!"

When he tries to stand up he screams and grasps his chest again, stumbling against the wall: gasping, panting, fighting for breath.

"Kade, tell me what you're feeling?" I ask, cupping his writhing face in my hands.

He can barely speak, but he manages a few words, "Like-a heart-attack!"

My ears pick up the sound of a distant siren.

A well-intentioned lady taps my shoulder, "I phoned an ambulance, it's on the way. Try and keep calm, he's young, if it's a cardiac arrest his chances of survival are good," she says.

The siren sound intensifies.

With the woman's help I get Kade in the recovery position on the sidewalk. A crowd has gathered and when I look up - I see her.

The Lady flashes me a knowing smile. She has two Imps straddling both her hips. She steps over Kade dismissively, and walks into the crowd, laughing gleefully.

But she doesn't bother me - the Ambulance that's arrived, does.

With Kade still writhing in pain, I call Kelly.

She answers swiftly, her sunny voice launches straight into: Hi Tan, this Doll is so wrong. We've completed part one of the transition, by pushing the plastic breasts into the male nipples. And now we're about to flick off the penis with this little plastic scalpel that comes with it, it's like totally sick..."

"NO, KELLY.

NO. DON'T DO THAT.

PUT THE DOLL DOWN NOW AND GET HERE - I NEED YOU AND TROY - PLEASE HURRY!" I scream, at the top of my voice.

......

My voice is breathy as I whisper into Kade's ear, "I think this has something to do with the Doll. Kelly and Troy are on their way," I reassure him.

......

"Everybody move aside, now!" Says a male paramedic as two others pump up an ambulance gurney on the sidewalk.

"He's ok, he doesn't need to go in the ambulance, the lady shouldn't have called you guys," I say, trying to hide my panic.

The paramedic ignores me and the lady who made the call pulls me away, "He has to go, they'll take care of him in the ambulance," she says, tightening her grip on my shoulder...