The warm darkness of the hospital nearly overwhelmed Doc as he slid his scalpel across Wanda's skin. Well, Melanies. Despite his violently shaking hand, he managed to make a clean cut. Tears started to roll down his face as he thought of what he had to do next: remove Wanda.

His breathing quickened as he slipped his finger under the body's skin, carefully feeling around for the tiny little Soul, the only one whom he actually cares about. He felt her body roll under his fingers. With every segment his finger glanced over, another tear drizzled down his cheek. The soft sound of footsteps padded against the floor and he looked up, scared. Nobody was there. Must be somebody heading to the latrine.

His finger finally found the soft, pearly section of Wanda's body. He massaged it gently, praying to God that he wasn't hurting Wanda. Was she even awake? Did she understand what was happening? He hoped not.

After a second or two, the soul relaxed itself, detaching easily from Melanie's body. He carefully cupped Wanda in his finger and slid her outside of the body. "Jared," he whispered to the boy waiting just outside the hospital. Wanda didn't want him to watch, but he was allowed to come in and care for Melanie.

Jared walked inside, his eyes red, too. He carefully tended to Melanie's wound, rubbing Heal, Clean, and Smooth over it just as he'd watch Doc done before. Doc popped the lid of a cyrotank, carefully not to drop the precious creature in his hands. Though he had seen so many host-less souls before, he had never found them beautiful. The thought of them had always disgusted him so much. But now, holding his friend tightly in his palm, he believed that Wanda was spectacular to look at, glowing silver in the darkness. He set her down carefully inside of the tank, the cold air brushing his skin, and sealed it tight. He was just setting it down––separate from the other cyrotanks––when he heard more footsteps, this time pounding fast on the ground. "Wanda!" Ian called from outside the hall. Jared looked up from Melanie's lifeless body and cursed. Doc rushed over to the door to block Ian. This was not part of the plan.

"Wanda! Wanda, stop!" Ian called, his body coming into Doc's view. He caught sight of him, standing there, and charged, anger flaring through his face. "Where is she? Please, Doc, please tell me you didn't-" he was yelling. But even in the darkness, Doc could see the tears covering his face, the redness in his eyes. He struggled against Doc's grip, sobbing softly.

"Ian, please, stop fighting," Doc said, holding him back. Jared was now standing behind Doc for back up. Seeing the two there, Ian resigned and fell against the wall, holding his head.

"Why, Doc, why? She-she didn't have to do this! She's so stupidly selfless," he bawled. "Why can't she ever do anything for herself, huh? And you!" he exclaimed looking at Jared. "You didn't even try to stop her! All you care about is getting your damn Melanie back! You don't even care that Wanda sacrificed her life to do it! She'd do anything for you, and you just abused that!" he wailed, his body up in flames of anger and grief.

"I'm sorry, Ian. Please, just listen," Jared said, kneeling down beside him. "I was going to stop her, but . . but she ran off. There was no way of talking her out of it. I'm sorry. If I could, I would want her back. Mel would too. She didn't even care about not having her body if it meant Wanda dying." Although Wanda had told him that Mel was happy about it, he had easily seen through the lie. It was obvious Melanie was just as pained about the decision.

Ian just shook his head angrily, moaning, "I loved her!" He banged his head against the wall. "I loved her, Doc. And you took her away!"

"Ian, I'm-" Doc started, but he was cut off by the sound of a moan, coming from the hospital. Jared's eyes bulged out as he turned around and saw Melanie, rolling her head to the side. Even Ian stopped yelling at that. The three rushed over to her bedside, forgetting their argument for just a moment. Even Ian couldn't betray the body at this time.

"Mel," Jared murmured, placing his hand on her face and rubbing her cheek softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly. She took in a shaky breath and placed her hand on top of his.

"Jared," she repeated. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just make out a cyrotank, softly glowing blue to show that it's occupied. "Oh, Jared," she cried. Tears rushed down her face as she pictured Wanda inside of it. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. Confused at first, Jared shot a puzzled look at Doc, but then embraced her softly.

"Shh, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay!" she whined. "We need to get Wanda back now! I tried to stop her but I-I couldn't do anything. And I can't stand the idea of not living with out her." Thinking about it made Ian start to tear up as well. "We need to get her a new host, Jared. Now!"

Jared held his hands out. "Woah, Mel, slow down. I just got you back and you think I'm going to leave you? I need some time, Mel. I've missed you a lot," he said, stroking her hand.

"I know. I-I missed you, too. But, Wanda is our priority right now."

"You don't actually think she'd want to be put in another body, do you? She said she doesn't want to be a parasite. Just let her be," Jared argued.

"Are you crazy? She's my sister! I'm not letting her go that easily," Mel shot back, sitting upright. The No Pain was very effective, and she barely felt any different from before.

"Your sister? Mel, she took over your body. I know you didn't like it."

"She didn't take me over willingly, Jared! It's not like she asked for this. It's who she is. She can't help it," Melanie defended. "And I love her. Yes, it was hard, and different from any experience I've had, but I'm glad it happened. She's the kindest human I've ever met. She'd do anything for anyone, even people who treat her poorly. She'd probably sacrifice herself for Maggie or even Sharon, she's that selfless. And if you don't understand that, then-"

Jared cut her off by kissing her softly, stopping her angry, defensive rant. After a second or two, he pulled away, already missing the taste of his lips. "Mel, that's not what I was trying to say. I like Wanda. You know I do. I just . . I need some time with you before we do anything else. Okay? I just got you back." He leaned in again, but Melanie squirmed away.

"Stop, Jared. I know you like Wanda, but sometimes you make it seem like she's the bad guy. Just please help me get her back," she whispered softly, taking his hands gently. Doc and Ian were watching intently, both hoping that Jared would agree. If they were to go on a raid for a new host, Jared was a necessity.

He took a deep breath in, looking into Mel's silverless eyes, and smiled slightly. "Okay. But not today. You deserve at least one day alone here before we have to leave." Melanie grinned, agreeing to the terms, and wrapped his arms around him.

As the two reunited in a less angry manner, Ian turned to Doc, Wanda filling his mind. "Where's the cyrotank?"

Doc pointed to the single cyrotank resting in the corner. "She wanted me to let her go, but I couldn't do it." He was so relieved he had not simply left Wanda out to die. A few minutes without a host and she would be gone forever. Ian nearly ran over to the tank. He picked it up and held it tightly in his arms, careful not to shake it. He looked down at it sadly, picturing his love laying oblivious inside the tank.

"Can I hold onto it until they come back?" Ian asked.

"Of course," Doc nodded. He turned away and headed to his desk to look over so work. Ian walked over to Jared and Mel, who were now smiling at each other like idiots, hands wrapped around each other. "Ian, I'm sorry," Mel started, finally noticing him. "I really tried to stop her, I just-"

"I understand. It's not like you could've done anything," he shrugged. It was weird talking to the girl he'd known for so long as Wanda. Same voice. Same body. Different words.

"I promise we'll get her back, though! I'd rather be trapped in my head with her than in my body without her," she laughed lightly. "And we'll make sure that the human won't wake up. So she won't be a parasite. Does that sound better?" Ian just nodded in approval, to drained to say much else. "Okay, well, I guess I better go say hi to everybody. We should probably explain this, too, right?"

"That might be a good idea. It's almost morning so everyone will be at breakfast soon," Jared added in.

"Great," Mel smiled, laying her head against his shoulder. "Do you want to come, Ian?" Despite Mel's dislike for him before, she didn't mind him much now. The only reason she really hated him was because he wasn't Jared.

"No," he shook his head, looking down at the glowing cylinder. "I think I'll stay here for a while. I just . . . need to think."

Mel nodded slowly then looked up at Jared. He grinned and helped her up, wrapping his arm around her waist. "It'll be okay, Ian. I promise," she whispered just before turning out the door.

"I hope so."