Lethal Affection

by BlackCat393

Norrin Radd is dying. His silver skin is deteriorating. When he finds nothing left for him on his home world, a young woman who is also dying, takes him in on Earth. Her dead exfiancé said that love could overcome anything. Can they prove him right?

Lethal Affection

Sophie Mason sat uncomfortably in the doctor's office. At 19 years old, almost twenty, she was for the most part carefree and adventurous. She felt fine, but strange things had been happening to her lately. It started out a year ago with simple shaking and trembling. Then she began to cough uncontrollably. After that, she fainted when there was no obvious reason. Finally, she began to experience seizures; but when the doctors scanned her, there wasn't evidence of any kind that they had ever happened.

The previous day, her high school sweetheart had proposed to her, but she had fallen into another invisible seizure; although not before saying yes. She sighed. She had been so happy, but her cursed "disease" just had to ruin the moment. Thomas, her fiancé, had rushed her to the hospital, and again, there was no sign of her seizure. He had left that morning, his squad needed him; something about a "Silver Surfer". She always had hated the Army, and surfers. She combed her fingers through her long black hair as a doctor cam into her room.

"Ms. Mason?" he asked politely. She didn't want to be polite.

"What?" she snapped. The man flinched. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He really hadn't done anything wrong and she didn't think she'd ever seen him before.

"We're transferring you to the Baxter Building for further research on your condition," he said coolly. Sophie, however, was anything but calm.

"Further research? I'm not a freak! I'm not your test subject either!" she yelled. The doctor didn't say anything; he only rushed forward and held her in her chair. Then he pushed a button on his coat. A few seconds later, three more men ran in. Two took over for the one holding her down as he radioed something in. The third reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe, quickly filling it with a liquid completely unknown to her. Then as she struggled to free herself, he jammed it into her arm. Slowly, everything in her line of vision went blurry, and eventually, black.

Sophie opened her eyes. The room was huge. There were all sorts of machinery and flashing multi-colored lights. Windows covered a whole wall, offering a spectacular view of the city. Then she noticed that she was strapped to a vertical table in the middle of it all.

"Hey! Is anybody here?" she asked angrily. A guard by the door paused and looked at her.

"I see you're awake," he said. She frowned.

"What's your problem? Get me out of here!" she shouted. He smirked and shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm under strict orders not to let you go," he said. Then a phone rang in the other room. He looked at her suspiciously, but went to answer it. A few minutes later, he came back in with the phone in his hand. He held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked. A solemn voice answered on the other end and explained the tragedy that had occurred. Tears began to fall down Sophie's cheeks. Somehow, she would make the Silver Surfer pay. Thomas was dead.

A year later, Sophie made her way through the busy streets of New York to the Baxter Building. It hadn't been so bad after a while. Reed Richards, the man in charge of the research, was very nice. She didn't feel comfortable at first with him being one of the Fantastic Four, but he soon won her friendship. It amused her that he never told any of his teammates, not even his wife, Sue, about her.

As she walked down the hallway, she thought about her illness like she did everyday. Reed always grimaced when she asked him about it. He didn't really like to talk about, so she always brought her music player and book to occupy herself while he tested things and hooked her up to various other things. She stood in the elevator, waiting for it to climb the many levels of the building.

When the door opened, she stepped out and walked down the hall expecting to find Reed working on some new project. He was looking at something on his computer; however, she was surprised to find another person in the room with him. A tall, muscular man was sitting across the room; waiting silently and patiently. But the thing that activated her anger was his silver skin and the silver surfboard hovering near his chair.

"Reed!" she screamed through clenched teeth. Mr. Fantastic looked up at her in surprise.

"Sophie!" he exclaimed as he rushed up to her. She was trembling. "Sophie, you need to sit down."

"Reed, what is he doing here?" she hissed, her trembling escalating to shaking.

"Sophie, forget about him. You need to sit down," Reed said, beginning to worry when she refused to budge and her shaking began to get worse.

"No! Get him out of here!" she spat. Tears were beginning to collect in her eyes and fall down her cheeks. Reed walked in front of her to block her view of his platinum guest.

"Sophie, he isn't going to hurt you. Now sit down!" he commanded. She continued to shudder and her eyes started to close. Reed noticed and put out his arms to steady her.

"He…killed…him," she whispered. Then she collapsed into his arms, unconscious.

Norrin Radd, otherwise known as the Silver Surfer, watched the spectacle in front of him. A young woman, very pretty, had walked in. She seemed comfortable coming in, until she saw him. Her pale skin had flushed in anger and her grey eyes had widened in surprise. Then she had yelled at Reed, angrily asking why he was here. The scientist had gotten up worriedly as she began to quiver. He told her to sit down, but she had stared furiously past him. Then she had fainted.

"Who is she?" he asked calmly. Reed looked up at him as he attempted to pull the woman from the floor. Eventually, he got her up into his arms after detaching her bag from her hands.

"Her name is Sophie Mason. She's a…um…friend of mine," he answered as he laid her on an examining table. Norrin watched her for a few minutes while Reed went back to his computer.

"Does she have a grudge against me?" he asked. Reed turned away from the computer screen with a defeated look on his face.

"Do you remember when the Army caught you up in the forest?" he asked. Norrin nodded.

"When you blew up the tanks, you killed her fiancé," Reed explained simply. The surfer nodded somberly as his gaze drifted back to the woman on the table.

"Do you know why I have been feeling so ill?" he asked. Reed frowned.

"All of the cosmic energies you've been exposed to have caused the silver coating on your skin to begin to deteriorate. I wish I didn't have to say this, but you're going to die soon," he said as his eyes drifted to Sophie. "She's going to die soon too; I just don't have the heart to tell her." Norrin looked at her too, the news of his soon to end life unaffecting him.

"What is wrong with her?" he asked. Reed opened another file on his computer which Norrin assumed had all of the information he had collected from her.

"I have absolutely no idea. All I can figure out is that every time she has one of her invisible seizures, what ever she has gets worse," Reed explained. Norrin cocked his head, turning away from Sophie.

"Invisible seizures?" he repeated. Reed sighed.

"After she has them, when I scan her, there's nothing sign that it ever happened," he said. Norrin nodded and stood.

"I will be going now. Thank you for your help," he said as his surfboard started to follow him. Reed nodded as he watched him walk over and open one of the many windows. Norrin stepped onto the board flew out. Then he nodded in thanks to Reed as he shut the window and took off.

Sophie opened her eyes and looked around. Reed was still at his computer, and he had obviously put her where she was on the spare examination table. When she looked closer, she was relieved to find that the Silver Surfer was nowhere to be seen.

"Is he gone?" she asked. Reed looked up at her.

"Yeah," he said. She pushed herself off the table and walked over to him. They were close friends, so when she stood behind him with her arms around his neck and her chin on the top of his head, he didn't really mind.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. He sighed as her long black hair fell into his face.

"None of your business," he said.

"Yes it is. My name's on all of these files," she said, pointing at the screen for good measure. He didn't say anything. She pushed away from him and turned the chair so that he was facing her.

"Reed, you have no right to hide this from me. And for a year nonetheless! You have to tell me what's wrong with me," she demanded.

"Sophie," he pleaded. Her grey-blue eyes narrowed. He momentarily looked away from her.

"Sophie, I don't know what's wrong with you. All I know is that you're dying and the seizures only speed up the process," he said. She froze and her mouth opened as if to say something, although nothing came out.

"Reed, do you mind if I skip today's session and just go home?" she asked. He nodded in understanding.

As Sophie walked back to her apartment, she was still in shock. She was so shocked that she walked out into the middle of the street, completely oblivious to everything happening around her. That meant that she didn't see the huge bus coming straight for her; or hear the horn when it honked at her. But at the last moment, so quickly that she almost dropped her bag, she was suddenly scooped up and sailing through the air.

She screamed and clung for what life she had left to her rescuer. When she looked to see who it was her jaw dropped slightly; but then her nose screwed up in disgust. Her savior was none other than the Silver Surfer. She didn't like it, but she continued to cling desperately to him. He in turn held her close to his body to prevent her from falling. When he slowed down, he asked for her address and she reluctantly replied. Then they sped off again.

"Thanks," she grumbled when they arrived and he gently lowered her to the ground.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt anyone." It barely took her a second to realize what he was talking about.

"Yeah, well, you did," she said as she walked up to the door.

"I think I know something that might...'make your day'," he said, using an idiom that he wasn't all that familiar with. She turned around, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Really? And just what would that be?" she asked impatiently.

"I'm dying," he said simply. Something flashed through her eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared and he wasn't exactly sure that it had ever been there in the first place.

"That makes two of us," she said. The surfer cocked his head.

"Reed finally told you?" he asked. She stared at him in disbelief.

"He told you? He told YOU? When? Oh, I'm going to kill him!" she exclaimed. Norrin noticed that she was beginning to tremble. Then, before he could do or say anything, Sophie fell to the ground unconscious. He stepped off his board to see if she was alright. Her pulse was normal and she didn't seem to have injured herself in the fall. All the same, he decided to take her back to Reed. Besides, he didn't know which apartment was hers.

But no sooner had he stepped back onto his board with her once again in his arms that she began to violently shake and convulse. He sped off towards the Baxter Building, only pausing to knock on the window when he arrived. Reed ran over and opened the window. Sophie was still in her seizure when Norrin laid her on the examining table. Then both men held down her arms and legs until it was over.

Norrin stayed until Sophie woke up. For some reason, he felt partly responsible. He watched as Reed scanned her and hooked her up to a machine he was unfamiliar with. It took longer than he had expected for her to wake up, a lot longer. As in, an hour and a half, longer. And when she finally did wake up, she was in a daze.

"What happened?" she asked; the fact that Norrin was sitting right next to her not seeming to bother her. Reed looked up from his ever present place at the computer.

"You had another seizure. Norrin brought you back here," he explained. She frowned.

"Norrin? Who's Norrin?" she asked. Reed smiled.

"He's the guy that saved you; twice. He's also the guy that's sitting right next to you," he said. Sophie turned in the direction opposite Norrin first. Then she turned and looked right at him. She was momentarily shocked, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Thanks again. But just so you know, this still doesn't make up for Thomas," she said. "At all." He nodded.

"I assumed as much," he said. Reed smiled crookedly.

"Sophie, he really is sorry. Norrin wasn't exactly himself when it happened. You should forgive him," he said. Norrin gave him a What-the-heck-do-you-think-you're-doing?! look. Sophie frowned at Reed and crossed her arms.

"Oh really? And I suppose you want me to forgive you, too, huh?" she asked. His eyes dropped for a second and his smile grew sheepish.

"Well, I was kind of hoping…," he started

"Of course you were hoping. But I'm still going to kill you for telling him first," she said as she pointed at Norrin. Then she turned and looked at him. "I told you I was going to kill him; didn't I? I did." He nodded, smiling slightly in Reed's direction. Sophie leapt off the table and picked up her bag.

"Can I go home now, Reed?" she asked. The stretchy superhero checked a few files on his computer.

"Yeah, but be more careful this time, would you?" he said. She rolled her eyes. Then she disappeared beyond the threshold of the door. Although, a few seconds later her head popped back in.

"Want to come with and keep me out of trouble, Norrin?" she asked playfully. The surfer looked over at the scientist, who merely grinned, although it was mostly to himself, and shrugged. Ultimately, he ended up going with her anyway.

Sophie dropped her things off at her apartment and somehow convinced Norrin to leave his board as well. Then she dragged him off. For someone who had a serious grudge against the Silver Surfer, she spent the entire day doing exciting, completely reckless, and totally random things; and having fun. And she got the feeling that he was too, even if he was reluctant to do certain activities.

At the end of the day, all of Sophie's energy had been used up during the adrenaline rushes she had experienced. Norrin had taken her back to her apartment, and so here they were, sitting on the roof with their legs dangling over to edge. He stared aimlessly off into the sunset, and she closed her eyes. A few minutes after they closed, she dozed off a little and her head fell down the rest against his shoulder. But as soon as she made contact, her eyes snapped opened and she sat back up straight.

"Sorry," she said. He turned to look at her; his silver eyes and face blank.

"That's alright," he said, his voice more emotionless than usual. Her eyes narrowed in concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He only stared at her. She sighed and they sat in silence for a while longer.

"So… when'd you get your death notice?" she finally asked.

"Today," he said. She smiled.

"I suppose we have more in common than I thought," she said.

"I suppose," he repeated as he turned back around.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, turning back out to the view as well.

"My skin," he said.

"What about it?"

"It's deteriorating."

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Oh. How much time do you have?"

"Not much."

"Me either. Do you have plans?

"Do you?"

"No."

"I'm going home."

"Where's home?"

"Very far away."

"How far?" He paused, considering her question.

"3,000 light-years."

"What's it called?"

"Zenn-la."

"When will you leave?"

"In the morning."

"Do you have someone to go back to?"

"Possibly." He wasn't about to tell her his life story.

"Do you love her?" He turned to stare at her.

"How do you know I have a woman to go back to?"

"I didn't. But now that you've admitted it, answer my question." His eyes widened slightly.

"Yes. But I do not know if she has moved on or not."

"And if she has?"

"Do you always ask people so many questions?"

"Sorry."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What will you do?"

"I haven't thought that far yet."

"How old are you?"

"Almost twenty-one. Why?"

"You haven't figured out what you want to do with the rest of your life yet?"

"I haven't really had time to think about it. With this stupid 'disease', I've spent more time unconscious than worrying about what to do with my life. I had doctors and nurses and scientists and a whole bunch of other freaks to worry about that stuff for me."

"Well, think about it now." Sophie stared back at him. The sun had almost slipped beyond the horizon.

"I guess I'll do the things that I always wanted to do when I was little."

"And then?"

"I don't know." Her eyes focused yet again through the now dim light. "Will you be leaving now?"

"No. I will leave when you are asleep."

"What if I don't go to sleep?"

"I will leave in a few hours." She nodded. Then she stood and walked over to the stairs that led down to the main floors of the apartment building. As she stepped down to the first stair, she stopped and turned around. Sophie couldn't see Norrin anymore, but she knew he was there.

"I'll leave the door unlocked so that you can get your board," she said. He didn't reply, so she continued downward.

The next morning, Sophie woke up on her couch. She cringed as her muscles protested to her movements. She rolled over in spite of the discomfort. Norrin's board was gone; and to her surprise, she was disappointed. It didn't make much sense, the man who had killed her fiancé was gone, and she almost wanted him to come back. Almost; but still.

For the next few days, she spent her life as she normally did. She didn't do any of the things that she told Norrin she was going to do. Everyday she almost thought about it, but something more important always came up. But really, her mind was postponing everything; the things that got in the way weren't really all that significant.

On the fifth day that Norrin had been gone, Sophie thought it was very sad that she was keeping track, she spent just about the entire day hooked up to various machines in Reed's lab. Apparently, he believed himself to have made a breakthrough. Sophie just went along with it, she knew better.

When he finally let her go home, she was completely and utterly exhausted. She quickly took a shower and put on her pajamas. Then she dropped into her bed. She fell asleep almost immediately. But she woke up again at about three in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Eventually, she gave up sleep and decided to get up.

Norrin had gone back to Zenn-la, but he found there was nothing for him left there. His people were there, and the love of his life was too. But she wasn't his anymore. In his absence, she had indeed moved on. So, finding nothing left, he sped off into the cosmos once more. He returned to Earth, his unofficial home world. He figured he could find some place to stay there.

As Norrin flew into Earth's atmosphere, considering the places that he could stay. By the time he could make out the few cars and street lights on the ground, he had only come up with two; both conveniently located in New York. The Baxter Building was completely locked up, so he tried Sophie's apartment. The door was locked, but when he tried the living room window, he found it wide open with her pale green curtains billowing in the slight breeze.

He hunched down on his board and gently slid through the window. Then he sat down on the couch. Everything was quiet for a while, but then he could hear someone tossing and turning in the next room. A few minutes after the noises stopped, he heard said someone getting out of bed. A tall figure walked into the room. It turned to glance at him; but kept walking towards the kitchen. Then it flipped on the lights and poured a glass of milk.

"What happened to Zenn-la?" Sophie asked.

"Did I wake you?" Norrin asked, ignoring her question.

"No. Answer the question," she said irritably as she put the glass in the microwave. He watched it go around for a while before answering.

"There was nothing left for me there," he said. Sophie was quiet as she pulled the glass from the microwave and walked sleepily over to him. She was wearing an oversized grey T-shirt with two silver S's on the front and a silver surfboard on the back. Her long black hair was now pulled back in a braid. She sat on the couch next to him and looked scornfully at the board hovering near his feet like an ever faithful little puppy.

"Does that darn thing ever stop following you?" she asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice. The board shrunk back as if it had been slapped and floated over the rest against the wall. Sophie's expression softened as she looked at Norrin. He was still watching the microwave.

"She moved on didn't she?" she asked gently. He didn't say anything, but she saw his face harden.

"What was her name?" she asked. He paused.

"Shalla Bal," he answered.

"Who'd she move on with?" she asked.

"My half-brother," he said. Sophie was shocked. It wasn't what he had said that surprised her; it was that he had said it in the first place. She hadn't been expecting him to answer.

"Oh," she said as she put her now empty glass on the little table next to the couch. Then she held her arms out to him.

"You're still not my favorite person, but nobody deserves that," she said. He simply stared at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Would you just come here already?" she asked as she leaned forward and hugged him. She could feel his muscles tighten and his body stiffen. She let go and yawned. Then she picked up her glass, put it in the kitchen, and turned off the lights.

"You need to loosen up. Anyway, I'm going back to bed, so here are your necessities. You can sleep on the couch," she said as she threw a pillow and a blanket at him. She paused before walking back to her room.

"Although, something tells me you won't be sleeping," she added. Then she vanished around the corner into her room, leaving Norrin to stare at the last spot she had been in. Eventually, he stretched out on the couch, propped himself up with the pillow, and draped the blanket over himself. It had been a long time since he had done this. And suddenly, sleep and rest didn't seem like such bad ideas.

The next morning, when Sophie came out into the living room, she was quite surprised with what greeted her. Norrin was sprawled out on the couch; his head resting on one of his arms, this one was amusingly hanging off the end of the couch, and the other holding the pillow to his chest. One of his legs was also hanging off the end of the couch and the other had fallen off completely and his foot was resting on the floor. The blanket was slipping off his body; half of it was already on the floor with his foot. But the best part by far, was that he was sound asleep and his mouth was hanging wide open.

Sophie stood where she was for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. She didn't really care if he woke up, it was just too funny. When he didn't wake up and she stopped laughing, she ran back into her room to get her camera and hoped that he wouldn't wake up by the time she got back. Of course, he hadn't; so she happily snapped several shots. Then she tried to wake him up.

"Norrin. Nor-rin," she said in a sing-song voice as she poked him in the head. His mouth closed and he shifted his position a little, but he still didn't wake up. She giggled and proceeded to poke him in different places and try to tickle his feet. He only curled into a tight ball and hugged the pillow tighter.

After a while, Sophie gave up trying to wake him. But when he slept until six o'clock that night, she began to get worried. She had called off a meeting with Reed to stay at home and make sure he didn't suddenly die, although she conveniently left out the part that the Silver Surfer was sleeping on her couch. But since he hadn't woken up yet, she figured she was going to have to call Reed.

"Reed? I need your help. I lied; the reason I couldn't make it was because Norrin's at my place. He fell asleep on my couch last night and he still hasn't woken up! I'm really worried about him!" she exclaimed.

"Calm down, Sophie. Is his pulse normal?" Reed asked soothingly. Sophie frantically grabbed hold of Norrin's wrist.

"I guess. It's there at least," she said. She could hear him rushing about his lab.

"You should probably get him down here so I can look at him," he said. Sophie was exasperated.

"How do you expect me do that? I don't have a car and I don't think he's going fit on my bike with me on it too! And I hardly think his board will work when he's unconscious!" she cried.

"Alright, alright! But what about a taxi?" he asked. Sophie was speechless for a moment.

"A taxi?! Basically, you're suggesting that I haul Norrin, unconscious, down three flights of stairs and continue to hold him up until I can hail a taxi?" she asked. Reed sighed on the other end.

"I'll send someone over with a car, but you'll have to get him downstairs, okay?" he said. She sighed as well as she looked at Norrin, who had just rolled off the couch for the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

"Fine, let me kill him," she muttered as she hung up. Then she looked at Norrin, who was now hugging the table leg.

After she pried him off the table, Sophie dragged Norrin by his arms over to the door. She opened it, dragged him out, and shut it. Then she looked at the stairs. Why couldn't they have put in elevators like every other apartment building? she thought. After looking at the stairs and cursing the builders for a moment, she pulled Norrin up so that his arms were over her shoulders and his head rested on one of his arms. Then she linked her arms behind her back and around his waist and carried him slowly down the stairs.

When she finally got down to the street, Sophie quickly spotted the car Reed had sent for them. The driver got out to help her shove Norrin in the back seat. Then she climbed into the passenger seat, but a moment before they started to drive off, she went and sat in the back seat to make sure Norrin wasn't going to croak on the way over.

Reed was waiting for them outside the Baxter Building. He helped Sophie get Norrin out and carry him over to the elevator. When they got up to Reed's lab, it was strange for her to watch someone other than herself being hooked up to all of his machines. And for being a powerful intergalactic entity, she couldn't noticing how frail and helpless Norrin looked. After a while she grew tired of just watching and waiting, so she went to explore the kitchen. There was almost nothing in it. She walked out to find Reed with a very annoyed expression.

"Reed, I told you to go shopping, didn't I?" she complained.

"You did," he said, not looking up from the computer.

"Well? Why didn't you?" she asked. Reed looked up at her.

"I'm working! Stop yelling at me; I get enough of that from Sue," he grumbled. Sophie put her hands on her hips.

"Sure you are. Seriously Reed, you're on the computer so much it's a wonder that you still have things to do!" she exclaimed. He didn't say anything. She walked back into the kitchen in a huff. She sat down at the table and opened a pack of Oreos that she found in the cupboard. They were almost at the expiration date, but she ate them anyway. In the long run, she ended up falling asleep on the table.

Speaking of sleep, Norrin woke up about an hour after she fell asleep. He didn't do anything for a few minutes, part of him just wanted to go back to sleep. But the other part of him wanted to see what Sophie was doing. It was probably morning; he bet that she hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. But when he opened his silver eyes, he was quite surprised to see that the windows were dark; and that he was no longer in Sophie's apartment. Of course, if you looked at him, you would never know.

When Norrin sat up, Reed noticed the movement out of the corner of his eyes, but chose not to look up. Norrin stared at the scientist for a few seconds. Then he eased off the table and walked over to him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You slept through the entire day and completely freaked out your host," Reed answered, still not looking up.

"Where is Sophie?" Norrin asked. Reed pointed in the direction of the kitchen, his eyes never leaving the screen. Norrin paused, but walked in the direction specified to him.

He found Sophie sleeping on the counter and using her arms as a pillow next to an open package of Oreos. He watched her for a while, not wanting to wake her. She looked fairly peaceful. He hoped he hadn't worried her too much, he hadn't meant to sleep as long as he did. He finally decided to wake her up though, just so that she knew he was alright. He reached out and gently shook her shoulder.

She didn't move or show any reaction at first, but when he shook her a second time, her head snapped up and her grey eyes slowly and sleepily scanned the room. When they landed on Norrin, they were no longer tired or dazed. She gasped in surprise and leapt up from the table. She looked at him for only a moment. Then she threw her arms around him. He froze.

"Oh god, Norrin. I thought you were going to die already." Then when she looked up at him, she added, "Promise you'll wait for me?" He watched her for an instant before answering.

"What do you mean?" he asked. She rested her head on his chest and tightened her grip on his waist.

"Don't die before me. I don't want to be left alone," she said. He paused.

"But you have Reed," he pointed out. She scoffed.

"Yeah, sure. Reed's too busy with his computer. We should warn Sue about the affair before it's too late," she said.

"What about your family? You did say that you wanted to spend more time with them," he suggested.

"I haven't had a family for over three years. They got all freaked out about my 'disease' and we haven't spoken much since," she said. Norrin figured that it was no use arguing with her. He looked down at her.

"Do you think that you might have hugged me enough by now?" he asked. She didn't say or do anything for a few moments, but then she released her hold on him.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said. He smirked, one of the broadest feats of emotion she had ever seen him express.

"Have you gotten over your grudge already?" he asked with fake amazement. She put her hands on her hips, but her annoyed demeanor was utterly destroyed when she yawned.

"You…wish," she said quietly as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was shivering.

"Is it just me, or is it suddenly colder in here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Norrin's new playful attitude disappeared and he stepped over towards her. It was a good thing they were already at the Baxter Building, because if she slipped into one of her seizures they wouldn't have to go very far.

"I don't think so," he replied. Her eyes were beginning to close and her shoulders were starting to droop. She was desperately trying to warm herself up by rubbing her hands up and down her arms. But with every second, her movements slowed down, her body fell limp, and her eyes closed all the way. Then she collapsed and Norrin lunged, barely catching her before she hit the ground. He lifted her up, holding her bridal style. Her head hung over his arm and her arms and legs hung limply as well. He carried her out and laid her on the exam table.

"Is she okay?" Reed asked.

"I believe so. She said she was cold, then fainted. Do you have any blankets?" Norrin asked. Reed leapt up and pushed some buttons next to the table. The table shifted and moved so that Sophie was in a slightly reclined sitting position. Then he put a strap over her chest and another over her calves. He hesitated, then put another strap over her waist; securing her to the table.

"What are you doing?" Norrin exclaimed. Reed stared at him incredulously. He had never seen the surfer express any feeling this much.

"She wasn't cold; it's one of the phases of her illness. They don't come in any specific order, but I've seen this happen to her before," he said. At that moment, Sophie's eyes snapped open and she immediately started coughing. She hacked and choked for a few minutes. When the few minutes were over, her coughing subsided to a violent heaving of her chest. And after that, she sighed and passed out again.

The next morning when Sophie woke up, both of the boys were asleep. Norrin had fallen asleep in the chair next to her and Reed had his head on the keyboard. When she walked over, she found that he had typed nearly one hundred pages of the letter "g". She walked into the kitchen, but when she found nothing even remotely edible, she decided to leave a note a go home. She left the note on Norrin's chest; it simply told him she was home and he should follow.

Norrin woke up about an hour after Sophie left and Reed a few minutes after him when Sue came in to check on him. She was pleasantly surprised to see Norrin, so his trip back to Sophie's apartment was delayed a while. Sue was upset that Reed hadn't offered to let Norrin stay with them, by the surfer eventually convinced her he was perfectly fine staying where he was; although later he jokingly told Reed that he might not make it out alive. Sophie's bitterness and sharp attitude towards him had softened, but there was still a chance that it might return.

When Norrin finally rang Sophie's doorbell, it was almost six o'clock. She opened the door and scolded him much like a mother would for not coming home soon enough. He sort of stood in the doorway and listened; although most of what she said went in one ear and out the other. After a while she looked at him and sighed.

"You're not listening to me are you?" she asked irritably. His cold silver eyes focused in on her and he shook his head. She rolled her own grey eyes.

"Just get in here," she said as she pulled him inside. He sat down on the couch and she walked into the kitchen, leaning over the counter to talk to him.

"What were you doing anyway?" she asked. He watched her for a few seconds, as if determining her worthy of an answer.

"Sue found us," he said. She smiled.

"No wonder," she said. Then she went over to the fridge, pulled a plastic container out, and stuffed it in the microwave.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Are you sure?" she prompted. He stared at her; his platinum features blank. She shrugged and waited for the microwave to beep. When it did, she went and sat on the floor next to the couch and contentedly dug her fork into whatever it was that was in the container. He wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to know. So, they both sat in comfortable silence.

When she finished whatever she was eating, Sophie got up and rinsed out the container. Then she turned on the radio on the counter and placed a CD in it. Then she pushed play and walked back over to the couch. Almost immediately, soft classical music filled the room. She sat back down on the floor, resting her head against the arm of the couch and closing her eyes. Norrin listened to the music; it was beautiful and eerie. It unnerved him and he didn't quite know why.

"This was Thomas's favorite," Sophie finally said. Now he knew. This was her loved one's favorite music; and he was dead by Norrin's own doing.

"I'm sorry," he said. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes were calm, calmer than he had ever seen them.

"I know," she said. Her voice was soft and serene.

"Why the change of heart?" he asked, slightly nervous. She smiled, her eyes closing a bit.

"We're both dying, Norrin. We can't waste any more time in the past," she said as her eyes closed all the way again. "And you did save the whole planet from…whatever that thing was." Norrin closed his eyes as well for a moment; that wasn't a subject he wanted to talk about. They sat for a long while just listening to the music; letting the melody drift around them and fill their heads. Then the tune faded and finally stopped. Sophie's voice carried on in its place.

Norrin watched as she walked over to turn the radio completely off, still humming her song. It was almost ten o'clock. The CD had lasted much longer than he had expected. Sophie walked over a sat on the couch next to him. He looked at her.

"Tired?" he asked when she pulled her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. She smiled.

"Yes. You scared me, and I think it still hasn't worn off. And all the memories," she said, her voice trailing off.

"You should go to bed then," he said. She sighed.

"I never thought, ever, that I would be sitting next to the man that killed my fiancé and actually enjoying his company," she said, completely ignoring his suggestion. He didn't say anything; but she had gotten used to this standard response over the short time she had known him. They sat for a while in silence, Sophie starting to hum again and Norrin simply going over all the things she said. Part of him understood, but the other part of him was still failing to make sense of it.

"What was he like?" he finally asked. Sophie's eyes shot open and her head whipped around to stare at him. His eyes widened in shocked surprise.

"What?" she asked. Norrin wasn't sure he wanted to repeat the question.

"What was he like? Thomas, I mean," he said again. Sophie was quiet for a while and her eyes were still wide. She looked away from him, her eyes looking down at the floor. Then she stood and put her arms around herself.

"It's been a year since he died, but I still can't bring myself to talk about him. Maybe tomorrow after I come back from work," she said softly. He cocked his head.

"Work?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, Reed got me extra time off because he thought he had a breakthrough and wanted me there a lot. I have to go back tomorrow. I get off at three and I expect you to be here when I get home," she said firmly. He smiled a bit.

"And if I'm not?" he asked.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I have to get up early. Good night," she said, yawning soon after she finished.

"Good night," he repeated. She pointed to a corner of the room, the same that his board rested in.

"Your pillow and blanket are over there. Just try to wake up this time, okay?" she asked jokingly. He nodded. Then she walked around the corner into her room.

Norrin didn't fall asleep for long time. At first he just wasn't tired, but then he heard Sophie crying. He listened for a while; although he couldn't bring himself to go and comfort her. He waited until a short time after the sobbing in her room stopped to go and check on her. He was worried that her crying might have induced a seizure. But when he walked in, he was relived to find that she was perfectly fine. Her hair had fallen over her face and he brushed it out of the way. Her hair was soft; he ran his fingers across some of the sleek, long, black hair on the side of her face. When he was satisfied that she was alright, he went back to the couch and eventually he fell asleep.

The next day, when Sophie finally came home, the first thing Norrin noticed was the strip of silver hairs on the side of her head where he had touched her the night before. She obviously didn't notice and she wasn't acting any different. She smiled at him and put her things in her room. Then she came out and sat next to him.

"What do you want to do today? You've been spending a lot of time on this couch, I have too," she said.

"What happened to your hair?" he asked, despite the fact that he knew. The same way his touch had scrambled Johnny Storm's powers, it had changed the color of Sophie's hair.

"What are you talking about? My hair's the same as it always is," she said. He smirked.

"Look in the mirror," he said. She frowned at him, but stood and went into the bathroom. She came back, her eyes wide, and plopped back on the couch next to him.

"Did you do something to me?" she asked. He faked offense.

"Why do you think I did it?" he asked. Her eyes narrowed.

"Because my hair is silver!" she exclaimed. She looked like she was going to strangle him. He smirked.

"And if I did?" he asked. She paused.

"If you did, then you'd be able to take it away," she said. He took the hint. He reached out and captured the silver hairs, gently willing them to turn black again. She watched him; unable to read his expression. The hairs darkened, but stubbornly reverted back to silver. He tried again. This time there was no reaction whatsoever; Sophie's hair remained silver. Norrin, confused, tried one more time. The silver spread. Silvery hairs popped up everywhere, leaving what was left of Sophie's black hair to be highlighted with numerous silver strands.

"I'm sorry. I tried," he said. She smiled gratefully, but he knew it was phony and only there to make him feel better. She looked down at the floor, gently combing her fingers through the solid strip of silver hair on the left side of her face.

"He was everything I ever wanted. He was kind and let everyone go at their own pace. And whatever that was, he was more than happy to go at that speed as well. He always put everyone else before himself; despite the way I hate that he did stupid things to protect strangers. He ran out into the middle of the street once; it scared me to death. When he wasn't talking or doing something incredibly stupid, he was listening. He was a great listener." It didn't take long to figure out what Sophie was talking about. She hadn't said his name, but he knew she was talking about Thomas.

"Then he wanted to join the army. I didn't want him to; I thought it was too risky. For a long time, he had a desk job. I liked that. But then they started sending him out into the field. I worried a lot then. He was good; the worst injury he ever brought home to me was a cut on his cheek. Then he didn't come home at all," Sophie said. Norrin noticed the tears that where threatening to fall down her face. He reached out and wiped them away before they could drop. She looked at him, her eyes red and wide. Then she closed them and put her face in her hands.

"I told you that I'd tell you about him," she sobbed, her voice muffled by her hands. Norrin wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything. Instead, he watched her struggle not to cry. Eventually, he simply put his hand on her shoulder. She put hers over his and grasped it tightly; still keeping one hand over her eyes and trying to keep her body from shuddering. He sat with her for a while, waiting to see if he was going to need to take her to Reed. He was hoping that her sobs wouldn't induce one of her seizures. But they did.

About five minutes later, Norrin was flying out the window with Sophie in his arms; unconscious and violently convulsing. Reed let them in and the boys held her on the table until it was over. While they waited for her to wake up, Reed smiled as he watched Norrin. The surfer had assumed his faithful position at Sophie's side.

"You know, for someone who's living with someone who hates them, you seem determined to stay with her," Reed commented. Norrin's gaze drifted over to the scientist.

"She forgave me," he said. Reed looked at him in surprise.

"Really? Sophie forgave you that easily?" he asked. Norrin nodded.

"She told me that we couldn't live in the past anymore. The only real reason that I have been forgiven is because she is dying," he said. Reed nodded in understanding.

"Did you do that to her hair?" he asked. Norrin smiled a bit.

"Yes. But it was an accident. I tried to turn it back, but it failed to work," he said.

"Hmm," Reed murmured thoughtfully. "I think it looks good on her." Norrin looked back at the unconscious woman on the examining table. It does, he thought. At that moment, Sophie's grey eyes fluttered open. They didn't seem to register anything and stared blankly at the ceiling. From where he was sitting, Norrin could see flecks of blue in her eyes. He'd never noticed before. She turned her head to look at him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You had a seizure," he said. She turned her face back to the ceiling and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm getting closer," she said sorrowfully. Norrin frowned.

"Closer to what?" he asked. Sophie turned back to him.

"Thomas," she said. The seizures were bringing her closer to the bridge between the edge of life and the brink of death. She sat up and looked over at Reed.

"Can we go home now?" she asked.

"We?" he asked. Sophie rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Norrin and me; we're living together in case you forgot," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. Reed smiled mischievously. Her mouth dropped open when she realized what he was hinting.

"Not like that! He sleeps on the couch!" she exclaimed, her finger pointing furiously at Norrin. It was so close to his face that he had to cross his eyes to look at it.

"How come you only painted two fingers?" he asked as he studied her hand. She turned and looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she pulled her hand back to look at it. Both the nails on her pointer finger and thumb were silver. She gaped for merely a second.

"Change them back!" she demanded. Norrin took her hand in his. He was surprised to find that her hand was actually much tinier than his. He focused on her fingers, but only succeeded in turning the other three finger nails silver as well. Sophie sighed in exasperation and put her other hand in front of him. A few seconds later, all ten of her finger nails were shiny and silver.

"Answer my question, Reed," she insisted. Reed nodded.

"Yeah, just try not to kill each other; or turn them into a clone of yourself." The second part was directed at Norrin, who simply twitched up one corner of his mouth. But after the words left his mouth, Reed realized how strange he had sounded. They got the picture anyway.

Norrin stood up and lifted Sophie from the table. She protested openly. But when he stepped onto his board, she closed her eyes, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and hung on tighter. She wanted to turn around and feel the wind in her face, but she was too scared. Instead, she marveled at the fact that Norrin held her so carefully; like she was made of glass and would break at any moment if he made a wrong move. And at that moment, she realized just how much smaller than him she was.

When they got back to the apartment, Norrin gently lowered Sophie through the window before coming in himself. He kept a firm grip on her wrists, but she was still completely terrified. She stopped him before he could fly in. Neither said anything for a while. Finally, she worked up the nerve to say what she wanted to.

"Norrin?" she started. He stared at her; he was listening. "Can we go for another ride? I…I want to try again," she finished.

"Go to the roof," he said. Then he flew upward. Sophie rushed out her door, almost forgetting to close it. When she got to the door to the roof, she paused. She didn't want to seem like she was in too much of a hurry. She opened it slowly and peeked around the corner. Norrin was waiting for her.

The board hovered a few inches above the floor of the roof. Norrin held his hand out to Sophie as she walked over. She hesitated, not sure that she wanted to go though with this. She took his hand anyway. He pulled her up and held up her up until the board accepted her feet.

"Are you ready?" he asked. She pulled his arms around her tighter.

"I'm scared," she said. He pulled her a little closer, hoping it would comfort her. She gripped his wrists.

"Are you ready?" he repeated. She shuddered once in frightened anticipation.

"As I'll ever be," she said. He kept his arms firmly around her middle and flew off. Sophie's grip on his wrists tightened immensely, turning her fingers white. Her silver-streaked black hair blew back into Norrin's face, but somehow he didn't mind. Besides, he knew where he was going.

Sophie struggled to keep her eyes open and not scream. Norrin's hands were comforting around her waist, but the wind in her face and the deadly drop below her were not. It was exhilarating, but she was scared speechless. Norrin was perfectly calm; the only reason he was tense was because he was holding her on the board. They whizzed past the city, quickly leaving it behind. In a matter of minutes, they were flying over the ocean.

Norrin turned back around and flew higher. Sophie was finally getting over the fear of flying when he continued to soar higher. The air was getting increasingly colder. She shivered and wished that she hadn't lost her voice. Unfortunately though, she had. Their high altitude had made it harder to breathe. Norrin began to straighten their flight out, and finally they didn't go any higher.

"Do you trust me?" he whispered. His warm breath felt good on her ear.

"No," she managed. She couldn't see him, but somehow she knew that the ghost of a smile had just passed over his features.

"Good," he said as they abruptly plummeted down towards the ground. Norrin was temporarily blinded when Sophie's long hair blew back up into his face. She screamed. And he let her go. Immediately, she plunged downwards and toward the busy streets of New York. She was still too high for anyone to hear or see her.

Then, all of the sudden, she was back in Norrin's arms. She wanted to slap him or something like that, but at the moment she only clung to him in relief and fear. But when they finally landed she did just that. The sound of her hand making contact with the side of his face was very satisfying. She could tell he was slightly shocked as he put a hand on his cheek.

"What the heck were you thinking?" she exclaimed. Her eyes were huge, much larger than Norrin had ever seen them. The blue in them was gone; now there was only grey; despite the fact that they were a shinier grey than before. He didn't say anything, even though this only aggravated Sophie more. As he looked at her, he decided that if they were animated, smoke would definitely be coming out of her ears.

That night, Sophie still wasn't speaking to Norrin. He knew that she knew he was there, and she did, but she didn't once even look in his direction. She got in the shower and when she got out, she walked out into the living room in nothing but her towel. Needless to say, he was extremely surprised.

Sophie's hair had been pulled up into a bun to keep from dripping, but most of her skin was still rather damp. Obviously, she cranked had up the heat while she was in the shower; the overpowering warmth poured off her skin. She walked over and sat next to him on the couch, irritably flipping through the channels on the TV. Eventually, she went into her room and came back dressed in grey cotton capris and a white cotton tank top.

"How long are you going to stay mad at me this time?" Norrin asked. As soon as the words left his mouth he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Sophie turned and glared at him. Her eyes had narrowed into menacing slits and a scowl was firmly placed on her mouth. She stood up and walked over to the hallway. But before she went into her bedroom, she threw the remote at his head. It hit solidly, knocking him completely off the couch. Then, as he lay on the floor holding his head, he heard her door slam.

The next morning went as the night before had gone. And so did the week after it. Norrin quietly watched Sophie and she completely ignored him. Then she went to work and he stayed at the apartment while she was gone. But at the end of the week, when she had two hours left of work, he left and went to the Baxter Building.

Reed let him in and went back to his computer. Norrin sat in one of the few chairs left in the room. Then they sat in silence for a while. Reed would turn and look at Norrin curiously every so often, but Norrin was always silently staring at the ground. It didn't bother Reed that he was there, but the way he was so quiet and somber did.

"Did you get in a fight with Sophie?" he asked. Norrin looked up at him.

"She threw the remote at my head and knocked me off the couch," he said. Reed's eyes widened.

"Really? What'd you do?" he asked. Norrin grimaced.

"She wanted to try flying again, so I took her with me. But I let her go," he said. Reed stood up in amazement.

"You did what?" he exclaimed.

"I caught her, but when we got back she slapped me. Now she isn't talking to me and won't even look in my direction. Well, unless she's throwing a remote at me," he said. Reed sat back down and rolled his chair over to Norrin.

"So, what're you planning to do about it?" he asked. The surfer frowned.

"That's why I came here," he said.

"Try to make her something. You've seen her microwave haven't you? I made that when I screwed up," he said. Norrin looked over at him.

"But what am I going to make?" he asked. Reed paused.

"Or you could give her flowers. She likes lilies; especially the white ones," he added.

Norrin stayed for a while longer and weighed his options. After some time, he settled on the flowers. But he had to go back to the Baxter Building when he realized that he didn't have any money. Reed gave him some and told him that if it didn't work, he could stay with him and Sue. Norrin didn't find that very encouraging.

It was awkward for Norrin to buy flowers. The little old saleslady kept giving him a weird look; even after he repeatedly told her that he didn't have a girlfriend and that he was only buying flowers because he screwed up. That only rekindled the lady's flame of assumptions. He was glad to get out.

When Norrin got back, with a half hour to spare, he noticed that he had accidentally turned a few of the flowers' petals silver. As he put the lilies in a vase, he wondered if the deterioration of his skin was part of what was causing him to turn everything silver.

All of the sudden he began to feel light-headed. He walked over to the couch and sat down. His head hurt, not only where Sophie had hit him, but everywhere. Then he passed out; barely managing to wake up before she walked through the door.

She put her sweater and bag in her room and her shoes by the door. Then she walked into the kitchen, not noticing the lilies until she came back out. She froze; her eyes wide. For a moment, Norrin wondered if he had done something wrong. Then she turned her gaze to Norrin, where he was equally surprised with what he saw. Sophie's eyes were no longer grey. They were solid, shiny, and silver.

Both stared at each other for a long time. Sophie's now silver eyes flickered frantically back and forth between Norrin and the vase of flowers. He only stared at her eyes, wondering what horrible thing she would do to him when she found out and hoping that he would still be alive to stay with Reed and Sue.

"I think we are going to need more flowers," he said quietly, never taking his eyes off of her. She stared.

"Why?" she asked breathlessly. Norrin was almost reluctant to tell her. He liked Sophie better when she wasn't mad at him.

"Your eyes," he said, still unable to look away from her. Her eyes narrowed as she walked around the corner to the bathroom. When she came back, she sat on the couch next to him in utter defeat.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" she asked softly.

"Sophie," he started. "I'm not doing it intentionally. If I could take it away I would. It's my skin, I can't control it," he explained. For the first in that week, Sophie looked at him; really looked at him. She reached out and put a hand on his cheek. He didn't pull away.

"What happened to you? Your skin is so dull," she asked. He didn't say anything, but he did look down at himself. She was right.

"Looks like we're both getting closer," he said.

Sophie forgave Norrin for the most part, but she wouldn't allow his board in the apartment anymore. After a while, she started to ask him about his life on Zenn-la, and why he left. He was reluctant to tell her at first, but she eventually persuaded him to talk. At night they would sit on the couch and swap stories; each finding the other more interesting then themselves.

They learned about of each other's people, and the struggles of each other. They learned of lost loves. Hobbies, dreams, traditions; they all poured out into the open. Sophie was surprised to hear that Norrin used to be an astronomer and a scientist, that is, before he became the Silver Surfer. He discovered that she used to draw, but gave it up when her family gave her over to various medical institutions.

After that, Sophie encouraged Norrin to work on experiments and go to the Baxter Building more often. In return, he convinced her to start drawing again. Unfortunately, Sophie's hobby went better than Norrin's.

At first, he brought back simple little machines that didn't really do much. Then they got bigger. And finally, he started taking little things from around the apartment to build them. Her lipstick, pocket mirror, hairdryer, three forks, two spoons, a knife, a lamp shade, and a few CD cases all disappeared.

"Norrin!" Sophie yelled as she stormed into Reed's lab. The scientist and the surfer were happily working on some strange contraption in the far corner of the room. Reed turned to Norrin and smiled.

"Guess she's yelling at you now too, huh?" he asked. His companion grimaced as he looked at the fuming woman now standing next to them.

"Yes?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"You know exactly what I'm going to say," she said as she put one hand on her hip and extended the other expectantly. Norrin stood up and rummaged through a pile of stuff in another corner. Then he pulled out Sophie's blue and white radio and put it in her hand.

"Thank you," she said as she walked out. Reed and Norrin exchanged knowing looks before going back to work.

The next week, Norrin was experimenting in the kitchen with various things when he got one of his headaches. He looked at the clock and a bit of panic set in. Sophie would be home soon and he didn't want her to find him passed out on the kitchen floor. And he still had his experiment going too. He was starting to get lightheaded and dizzy. Then he passed out, landing on the stove controls and turning the element up in the process. At the moment he slid off the counter, Sophie walked through the door. She screamed as he hit the floor and the contents of his pan caught fire. She quickly extinguished the flame and dropped to the floor.

"Norrin! Norrin, say something!" she said as she lifted his head into her lap. He didn't say or do anything. She grabbed his wrist and was relived to find that his pulse was still there. Then she gently dragged him to the couch and waited for him to wake up. She left him only to put her things away and clean up the kitchen; but she never took her eyes off him. He woke about fifteen minutes later.

"What happened?" he asked. Sophie rushed over and knelt by the couch.

"You tell me. All I know is that you passed out. Does your head hurt? I think you hit it when you fell," she said. Norrin put his hand to his head.

"No," he said. He sat up and looked over at the kitchen, expecting to see the charred results of his test. Instead, the kitchen was clean and all evidence of his experiment was gone.

"Do you feel alright? Do you know why you passed out?" she asked. He turned his gaze back to her.

"Yes. In your case, your ailment causes seizures. Mine causes me to pass out," he said. Her silver eyes narrowed.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked. He paused.

"About a month." Her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It always happened when you were gone."

"What were you doing in the kitchen?"

"Experimenting."

"You almost set the whole kitchen on fire."

"But I didn't. Right?"

"No. Only because I came home right when it caught flame."

"Sorry."

A few days after the fire incident, Norrin brought home the project he and Reed had been working on. Sophie sat on the couch doodling while she waited for him to start it up. The machine was bigger than he was by about two feet and there was a pointed rod while a small iron ball at the end sticking out from the side near the top. She kept careful distance from that and wasn't exactly sure that she was comfortable with it pointing straight at the spot next to her on the couch.

"Okay," Norrin finally said. Sophie looked up from her drawing pad. He pushed a few buttons and the machine whirred to life. His board hovered outside the window; he planned to shoot whatever the machine generated at it. She had been stunned when he explained what he was going to do, but relaxed a bit when he told her that his board would only absorb the energy. As he began to turn it towards the window, one of the hanging lamps on the ceiling bumped one of the buttons, sending a blinding blue ray from the little iron ball and into the end of the couch.

When they opened their eyes, they saw that the ray had completely disintegrated the end of the piece of furniture. All that was left of it was a small pile of ash. Sophie stared, the tablet and pencil had fallen to the ground and her hands were tightly gripping what was left of the couch. Norrin's eyes were wide as they looked back and forth between the hanging lamp and the couch.

Sophie stood up, opened the door, and pushed the machine out the door; all shock replaced with fury. She pushed it over on its side and shoved it out when it wouldn't fit right side up. Then she went into the closet and stuffed the pair of clothes she had borrowed from Reed for Norrin to wear if they went somewhere in a plastic bag. Then she pushed Norrin out the door at threw the bag out with him. Then she slammed the door. He could hear it lock as he stared at it in surprise.

Reed was sitting on the couch with Sue and contently watching a movie when the doorbell rang. The couple looked at each other, wondering who it could possibly be at this hour. Reed paused the movie and went around the corner to open the door. A very pathetic looking Norrin stood outside with a plastic bag.

"What happened? Where's the laser?" he asked.

"It's back in your lab. Sophie broke it," Norrin said.

"What? How?" Reed asked. The surfer handed him the bag with his clothes in it.

"Her lamp pushed the button and it blew a hole in her couch. Then she pushed it out the door and kicked me out with it," he explained. Reed took the bag and stepped aside so that Norrin could come in. He paused, but slowly walked in; stopping when he heard Reed close the door behind him.

"Sue! We have a visitor!" Reed called. Both could hear Sue hesitate, then stand up and walk around the corner.

"Norrin! What are you doing here?" she asked. When he told her, her warm smile melted into confusion.

"You did what?" she asked. When Norrin didn't say anything, she turned to her husband. "You're the one that got him into this mess in the first place. And who is Sophie?"

"Well," Reed started. "She's a…she's a friend. Norrin was staying with her." Sue's gaze flashed between the men. Then she took Norrin's hand and gently led him down the hall.

"You can stay here," she said as she showed him an empty room at the end of the hall. Norrin noticed that Sue's hand didn't fit in his quite the way Sophie's did. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind he quickly dismissed it. She probably wasn't going to be talking to him any time soon. And so, he ended up spending the rest of the night watching, but not really paying very much attention, some romantic-comedy with the Richards'.

Sophie woke up the next morning feeling worse than she normally did. When she walked out to the living room, she expected to find Norrin sitting on the couch waiting for her. Instead, there was only the half burnt sofa and memories of throwing him out the night before. She stood where she was for a few minutes, wondering what it was that she was going to do next.

Norrin was faced with a quite similar problem. He was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. That morning he had expected the pale peach walls of Sophie's living room; but was instead greeted with the warm brown walls of Reed and Sue's guest room. And when he went out to their living room and sat on the couch the only woman that came out and meet him was the blonde, blue-eyed Susan Richards.

Norrin, Sue, and Reed ate lunch in silence for the most part. The only reason Norrin was sitting at the table with them was because Sue wouldn't stand for him to sit anywhere else. She also insisted that he eat something, but he managed to work his way out of it. The couple tried to ask him questions and engage him in conversation, but he remained mostly silent.

When Sophie got home from work, she was prepared this time for Norrin not to be waiting for her. But as she stood in the doorway, all she could do was stare at the vase on the table. After the lilies died, she decided the keep it on the table for decoration. At the time it had seemed pretty, but now it seemed out of place. She hesitated only a moment before placing it back in a cupboard and out of sight.

Norrin sat in Reed's lab watching him but at the same time not really seeing what he was doing. The scientist was trying to fix the laser that Sophie had broken and enthusiastically trying to use the broken parts of the first model to make a smaller and more efficient version. The surfer simply sat in one of the various chairs scattered across the lab; and although he didn't remember, it was the same chair he had been sitting in the day he had first met Sophie.

Sophie sat quietly in the kitchen as she ate her dinner. She had no desire to sit in the living room anymore, so she seated herself at the small table in the kitchen. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed sitting on the floor with Norrin. While she sat there, absentmindedly twirling her fork and letting her uneaten food get cold, she considered calling Reed ad asking him to convince Norrin to come back since she assumed that was where he was but her pride quickly dismissed the thought.

Over the next few days, both grew accustomed to their new lifestyles. Sophie readjusted to living alone, and Norrin adjusted to living with more than one person. But as they got used to their new surroundings, their conditions began to worsen. Norrin's skin became increasingly duller and he passed out more frequently. Sophie shook a lot more and had additional seizures; all of which she didn't tell Reed about.

About a week after they split, Norrin became so ill that he was confined to bed and only allowed to leave for Reed to test him. Sophie's health was ailing as well, and almost just as fast. She took sick leave at her job and stayed home instead. She still didn't call Reed; and he was beginning to worry.

"Sue! What did you do with the phone?" Reed yelled.

"It's on the counter!" she shouted back from another room. He walked over to the kitchen, finding it exactly where his wife said it was. He stared at the phone for a moment and then dialed Sophie's number.

Sophie was sitting on the new couch that she had bought a few days prior when the phone rang. She listened to it ring twice before she got up to answer it. It rang two more times before she got to it. As she stood in front of the charger, she waited for the answering machine to pick it up. It was Reed's number, and if it was Norrin, she didn't want to answer it. But when Reed's voice began to leave a message, she quickly picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Sophie?" Reed asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

"How are you doing? Do you feel sick?" he asked.

"Everyday."

"You should come down here so that I can look at you."

"How's Norrin?"

"Sick, too. He's in bed."

"Oh. That's where I should be."

"Sophie, really. I want you to come down here so I can see how you're doing."

"Can't you come here?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"What? Wait! Reed!"

Sophie scrambled to get her apartment presentable. Ten minutes didn't exactly seem like a lot of time, but somehow she managed to make things look remotely nice. And right on cue, Reed was at the door. Sophie let him in. For a second, all the scientist could do was stare at her polka-dot pajamas and silver eyes, hair, and now lips.

"No offense, but I hope Sue and I don't turn silver," he said. She smiled a little.

"None taken. I was hoping it would wear off since he wasn't here anymore, but so far it hasn't," she said. He put his things on the table.

"I see you got a new couch," he said.

"I did," she said as she sat on it. "So, what did you want to test me on?"

From what Reed collected from both cases, neither had more than a week at the very most to live. Norrin was almost unable to get out of bed and Sophie couldn't walk anymore. Both still attempted to do what was now beyond their capabilities and wouldn't accept help unless it was forced upon them. And finally, they knew they were dying and asked for Reed and Sue not to come see them anymore.

Norrin opened his eyes to see Sue peeking in the door. She did that, just to see if he was still there. He didn't really mind, she never actually came in anymore. He watched her smile feebly at him; it was hard for her to see him like this. As he lay there, he wondered if Sophie was still alive. He had heard Reed talking about her the day before, but she might not be around to talk about as of now. Sue softly closed the door and he pulled himself quite ungracefully into a sitting position.

His board was lying in the corner of the room. He called it over to him and purposely fell off the bed onto it. He laid on it uncertainly, wondering if he had enough strength to make it. But before he could lose anymore more energy or nerve, he flew out the window into the dark of night.

Sophie lay on the couch, her blue-contacted eyes fighting to stay open. But no matter how hard she tried, they always fell closed again. She had painted her nails pink, effectively covering the silver. She wore pink lipstick as well, along with a black hat to cover up all of her silver hairs. She couldn't stand to see anything that would remind her of him.

She wondered if Norrin was still alive. Reed had said something about him a few days ago, but nothing since then. She hoped he was still alive; but if he wasn't, she hoped that he was happier now. But now more than anything, she wished that he was alive and there with her.

At that moment, a sleek shadow came in through her open window. She weakly turned her head to see what it was. She expected it to be the shadow of a tree or something, but she was surprised to see the Silver Surfer himself lying on his board in the middle of her floor.

"Norrin?" she asked softly. She could see his head turn to look at her. She rolled off the couch and lay in pain on the floor for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she tried to crawl over to him. Ever so slowly, she reached her destination; lying side by side with Norrin.

"I didn't want to be alone," he said. He noticed that she had covered all of her silver features, something that made his heart sink.

"Me neither," she said. They lay there for few minutes and stared at each other, feeling the energy leaving their bodies.

"Do you want to know something?" she murmured.

"What?" he whispered.

"Thomas always said that if you loved someone enough, and if they loved you, you could overcome anything. Even death. But my love wasn't strong enough to save him," she said. Norrin stared at her, his eyes closing and opening every few seconds.

"Why tell me that?" he asked. She closed her eyes.

"Because I'm hoping it will be enough to save you," she said. This time Norrin's eyes stayed open.

"Are you saying that you love me?" he asked, his voice out of breath for more than one reason.

"What else would I be saying?" she asked irritably. But because her voice was so weak, it barely came across even slightly annoyed. Both of their breathing began to slow, their heartbeats as well.

"Norrin?" she asked.

"What?" he replied.

"There's one more thing I want to do." she said.

"What?" he asked. Then, working up what nerve she had left, Sophie leaned forward and kissed him. Norrin kissed her back, not quite even realizing that he had done it. It just felt natural to do so. But both of their hearts kept slowing; despite the tiny jolt they got form the kiss. And eventually, they stopped, and their lips detached from the others and their heads fell back a little.

"Reed!" Sue yelled frantically. Her husband poked his head out from around the corner.

"What's wrong?" Reed asked worriedly. She didn't normally get this worked up about anything.

"Norrin's gone!" she exclaimed. They both hurried down the hallway. But when he opened the door, his wife was right. There were no signs of the surfer. But as Reed saw the open window and the absent board, he had a pretty good idea where Norrin had disappeared to.

The scientist jumped into his car and left, leaving his anxious wife at home. As he drove down the road to Sophie's apartment, he wondered if they were alright. He hoped that he wasn't going to find Norrin laying dead in the middle of the street somewhere. But when he arrived in front of Sophie's apartment door, he was relieved to have found no bodies. He knocked on the door, even though he knew that if Sophie and Norrin were in there in the first place they would be too weak to make to the door to start with.

When he turned to door handle, he was surprised to find it locked. Sophie didn't normally lock the door; especially now that she wasn't strong enough to open it for anyone. He tried to put his finger in the lock, but eventually had to resort to reaching under the door and blindly trying to find the lock on the other side. When he found it a pulled his arm back out, he was reluctant to open the door. But seeing no other choice, he turned the knob and let the door swing open.

Sophie's apartment was dark, but you could still plainly see her and Norrin lying in the middle of the floor. Reed flipped on the light and slowly closed the door behind him as he walked over and knelt beside them. Sophie's wrist pulsed once and then no more. Norrin's wrist didn't pulse at all, but after a few moments, it throbbed once. The same as Sophie's, it didn't pulse again. The scientist gathered the lifeless woman into his arms. Her body was still warm, but it was limp and her eyes were closed. He held her tightly.

"Sue?" Reed asked softly. He had replaced Sophie on the ground and went to call Sue to help him get the pair out.

"Reed?" she responded. He paused.

"I need you to come help me get them out," he said. She let out a muffled sob.

"Should I call Johnny or Ben?" she asked.

"No, I think we can handle it," he said.

"Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes," she said and then the line went dead. Reed sat on the new couch and tried not to look at his friends. He was going to miss them both a lot. They had been almost like an extended family; almost. Norrin had always been the cool and calm and there to help you keep your head on straight sort of friend, and Sophie had been the sweet and sour but always there when you needed her friend. It was hard to believe that he wouldn't have that anymore. At that moment he heard Sue knock softly on the door.

When she saw Sophie and Norrin lying on the floor she clung to his arm. He pulled her into a hug and she held him tightly. Then they began the process of bringing the pair down to the cars. Reed took Norrin and Sue carried Sophie. When they got to the cars, they gently sat Norrin and Sophie in the back seats and buckled them in. Then they drove back to the Baxter Building.

When they carried the pair up the lab, they couldn't think of any other place to put them overnight, Sue noticed that Sophie's pulse returned for one beat every few minutes. When Reed stopped to check, he found that Norrin's pulse behaved the same way. They quickly took them to the infirmary and hooked them up the respirators and heart monitors. As the Richards' watched, they saw that Sophie and Norrin's hearts both beat at the same time. But the important part was that their hearts were still beating.

After a week of being hooked up to machines and monitored, Sophie and Norrin seemed to be back to normal, despite the fact that they hadn't woken up yet. The surfer's skin showed no trace of any deterioration; it was shiny again and he was healthier than ever. And all hints of Sophie's disease had disappeared. She was healthy too. It had been hard, but Reed and Sue had managed to keep them a secret from Johnny and Ben. They felt a little bad, but they figured that the others would find out soon enough anyway.

Norrin was the first to climb his way out of their comatose states. He opened his eyes, still expecting to find the darkness of Sophie's apartment. Instead, he was forced to squint against the stark white walls. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he found himself in the infirmary at the Baxter Building. When he tried to sit up, he found that his muscles and limbs were stiff and sore. Then he spotted Reed looking at something in the far corner of the room.

"Reed?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse from disuse. Reed nearly hit the ceiling.

"Norrin?" he asked as he walked over. The surfer looked over at him as he finally managed to sit up. Then his gaze drifted to Sophie, who was still lying unconscious in the identical white bed next to his.

"What happened?" he asked. Reed gave a small smile.

"You both almost died and have been in comas for a week now. You're the first to wake up," he said, his smile vanishing as he too looked at Sophie.

"Is she okay?" Norrin asked. Reed nodded.

"It's probably just taking her a little longer to recuperate. But she'll be fine," he said.

"What about her seizures?" Norrin asked. Reed sat down in a spare chair.

"Gone. Whatever illness she had, she doesn't have it anymore. Neither do you; your skin is all healed up," he explained. Norrin tried to get out of his bed, but his legs buckled and he fell to the floor.

"I guess I'm going to have to work on walking again," he said. Then, seeing his board leaning against the wall, he called it over and sat on it. It floated over to the chair next to Sophie's bed and he climbed off, claiming his spot at her side.

By the time Sophie woke up three days later, Norrin was up and walking again. She opened her eyes, and like him, expected the dark walls of her apartment. But one thing hadn't changed. Norrin was still in his faithful place beside her; and for that she was thankful. He hadn't noticed, and she smiled.

"Norrin?" she asked. The surfer jumped and quickly looked down in her direction.

"Sophie?" he asked. Her smile grew.

"Yes?" she asked. He gently grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"What happened?" she asked as she tried to pull herself into a sitting position. He helped her up and explained everything that had happened.

"You're cured?" she asked. He smiled.

"You are too," he said, amused that she was more concerned about him. She returned the smile.

"So, what did you do without me?" she asked playfully. He smirked.

"Now or then?" he asked. She laughed.

"Both," she said. He motioned for her to slide over on the bed and climbed on with her. Then he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I didn't do a whole lot," he said. She sighed.

"Can we get up now?" she asked. He slowly crawled off and offered his hand. She swung her legs over the side and took it. And when she slid off, her legs collapsed just like he thought they would. Luckily, he was prepared to catch her. She stared at him, it was hard not to now that their faces were so close together. They stood in that position for a few moments until Sophie smiled and pulled her face back a bit.

"Thanks," she said. He nodded and scooped her up into his arms. She giggled. Then he carried her off to find Reed. Over the next few days, Sophie managed to get her footing back. Needless to say she didn't mind Norrin carrying her everywhere. Even though the scientist had no idea that Norrin and Sophie were now an item, he was beginning to catch onto their tiny and subtle hints.

Sue was out of town, so it was just Reed, Sophie, and Norrin at the table. He had asked them to stay longer because he wanted to make sure they were going to be alright going back out into the real world. Currently, Sophie was trying to convince Norrin to eat something; so far her attempts were unsuccessful. But eventually she shoved something into his mouth and he was forced to eat it. He made a face and she laughed.

"What's up with you two?" Reed finally asked. They both froze.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked.

"You used to be mortal enemies and now you're acting like best friends and being all cuddly," he said. Norrin made another face.

"Cuddly?" he asked, disgust plain in his voice. Reed rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean," he said. The silver-eyed pair looked at him, at each other, and back at him.

"No, we don't," Sophie said. Reed folded his arms stubbornly.

"Yes, you do," he argued. She looked at the surfer and smiled sweetly. He simply rolled his eyes in what looked like defeat. She giggled and squeezed his hand.

"Do you really want to know?" Norrin asked. Reed looked at him.

"Do I?" he asked.

"I think he already does, Norrin," Sophie said. The silver-haired girl looked expectantly at Reed.

"What?" he asked, suddenly suspicious.

"What do you think's going on?" she asked. The scientist paused.

"I think you like each other," he said. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"Of course we like each other. We like you, too," she said. Reed sighed.

"As more than just friends," he continued. Sophie smiled.

"Do you think we should give him a prize, Norrin?" she asked teasingly. The surfer smiled and placed his hand over hers.

"It took him too long," he said. Reed dug his fork into his food.

"Whatever. I suppose I should congratulate you anyway," he said. Sophie laughed.

The next day, Reed finally released them to go back to Sophie's apartment. The pair was relieved to get out of the Baxter Building and back home. Norrin laughed when he saw that Sophie had replaced the couch and put higher lights on the ceiling. That night, they sat on the new sofa and watched a movie; Sophie sitting upright and Norrin stretched out with his head in her lap. He didn't really understand what was happening, he was just glad to be spending some time with Sophie.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked. Norrin blinked; he hadn't realized that he was staring. And he told her so. She shrugged it off and went back to watching her movie. She absentmindedly traced swirling patterns across his chest or brushed her fingers down the side of his face every so often. All this and her silver eyes never left the screen.

She didn't hide all of the silver features he had given her anymore. The pink nail polish had been rubbed off, as well as the lipstick hiding her silver lips. She had taken the contacts out and only wore the hat when they were outside, but she still let the silver hairs hang out. Over the days that she had been in her coma, her hair had turned completely silver. There were no traces that her hair had ever been black. But he liked her better this way.

He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed that Sophie was staring back down at him. His glazed eyes focused in on her. He could tell that she was thinking; her eyes were cloudy like his had been only a moment ago. He noticed that the movie was still going and was quite surprised that she wasn't still watching.

"Sophie," he started. She blinked a few times and looked at him.

"What?" she said. He smiled.

"When did I become more interesting than your movie?" he asked. She laughed softly.

"What makes you think you're more interesting?" she asked.

"You were staring at me," he said. She put her silver-nailed finger on his nose.

"I was thinking. It was only coincidence that I looked at you," she defended. He rolled his eyes. She faked offense.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me," she said. He gently took her finger off his face.

"What were you thinking about then?" he asked. She sighed in defeat.

"You caught me," she said. He tilted his head on her lap in confusion.

"I caught you?" he asked.

"I was thinking about you," she said. "You and Thomas." He frowned.

"What about us?" he asked, relieved that there weren't any more chances that she might go into a seizure.

"I think he would have liked you," she said. "You both are actually more alike than I realized."

"Do you think Thomas would forgive me?" he asked.

"For what?" she asked.

"Killing him and taking his fiancée," he said. She nodded.

"Yes. If I could forgive you, Thomas would most certainly be able to. And I think he would be happy that you're here to take care of me and keep me out of trouble," she said. He smirked.

"And just what kind of trouble would you be getting into?" he asked. She blushed.

"I don't know; just trouble," she said. He laughed a bit.

"I see," he said as he sat up. The movie was over and the credits were ever so slowly creeping across the screen. After a while she turned and looked past him, just noticing that movie was over when the screen turned blue. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I miss him," she said. He put his arm around her and gently pulled her closer, not answering. She looked up at him.

"But now I have you," she finished. He only looked at her. His face was blank, but she could see the smile in his silvery eyes. She lightly kissed his nose, but he caught her lips in his before she could draw away. Then they separated, even though she lingered. They watched each other, playfully suspicious. And that night, although nothing happened, Norrin didn't sleep on the couch.

The next week, Reed invited them over for dinner. Ben and Johnny were coming too. Sophie arrived before Norrin, but after Ben and Johnny. She stood in the doorway and talked with Reed for a few minutes before they walked out to meet the rest of the guests. Sophie smiled sweetly at everyone as she came in. They stared curiously at all of her silver features.

"I'm Sophie Mason. I've heard so much about you all; it's wonderful to meet you in person. You must be Sue," she said as she approached Reed's wife. Sue smiled as they shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you, too," she said. Sophie moved on to Johnny.

"You must be Johnny," she said. Sue's brother grinned devilishly.

"That would be me," he said proudly. She smirked.

"Your attitude matches your powers," she commented. "You're cute," she added. Johnny smiled wider; obviously pleased with her comment. Ben wasn't quite sure about Sophie; he was giving her a strange look. She smiled reassuringly.

"And I'll put my money on the fact that you're Ben," she said. He nodded. Sophie trailed her fingers down the spot on his head where his ear would have been. Then she pushed herself up on the tips of her toes and whispered, "You're much cuter." He laughed. The sound startled her, but then she saw Norrin flying over in the distance. She walked over to the window just as he stepped through and into the room. She stood so that her back was against his chest and his arms were securely around her.

"Besides," she started.

"I'm already taken."