Claudia cried out in pain as Artie and Leena unbound her and moved her from Artie's office to his bedroom. Leena gently laid Claudia across the covers, and Claudia sighed as the mattress conformed to her curves. "There's no way you will ever get me to believe this thing's not an artifact."

Leena gave Artie a smirk, and he coughed, embarrassed that he had finally been caught. "Well, um, you see, it is."

"Ha! I totally knew it. No mortal mattress could be this comfortable. Ow!" she yelled, Artie jostling the bed as he sat down beside her. "Easy geezer! My back is kinda hamburger right now." Claudia regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth when Artie grimaced as if she'd slapped him. "Oh, Artie, I didn't...I didn't mean..." She sighed and held Artie's hand to her face. "I forgot I wasn't the only one hurt by an artifact."

Artie caressed her cheek, loving its soft warmth against his aged skin. "No, I deserved it," he said quietly, gazing at her with a mixture of love, regret, and endless guilt. "I'm responsible for this."

Claudia shook her head. "No, you're not, Artie. Leena wasn't responsible for what she did while under the influence of the Pearl, and it's the same with you." She leaned over towards Leena for support. "Tell him, Leena."

Leena gave Claudia a sad smile.. "No, what happened wasn't my fault, but that didn't erase the fact that I did what I did." When Claudia opened her mouth to protest, Leena raised her hand. "I had to make amends in my own way, Claudia. I had to make it right." She picked up the box and handed it to Artie. "The same way Artie has to make amends with you."

Artie opened the small box and took out the long needle. Claudia smiled when she saw Artie fall into lecture mode. "Claudia, this is the Panacea Needle, partly to blame for the fall of Athens at the hands of Sparta." Artie looked down and was pleasantly surprised to find that Claudia was actually listening to him. He smiled at her and continued. "When Spartan soldiers were wounded, they would call for a priestess of the Greek goddess Panacea. She would come with her needle and sew him up. When she was done stitching he was good as new and would continue fighting."

Claudia gave him a sideways glance. "Women always got the short end of the stick back then. What was the catch?"

"The catch," Leena said, "was that the solder's wounds were transferred from his body to hers. She would chant, 'thee unto me' while she stitched, and when she was done, she was hurt but a fully healed solder would arise to fight again."

Claudia was fascinated. "So, was there a priestess for each soldier or something? I mean, one person can't heal an army."

"Yes she could," Artie answered. "She would take the wound from every soldier on the battlefield. Unfortunately, when the fight was over, so was she."

Claudia looked back and forth between Artie and Leena. "What does that mean?"

Leena put her hand on Claudia's. "She took every soldier's wounds, including the fatal ones."

"You mean she died?" Claudia asked incredulously.

Leena nodded. "The priestess of Panacea always died. For a long time it was thought that the act of using the needle was deadly to the wielder, but it was probably the fact that she took so many wounds."

"Probably? Ow!" Claudia cried as Artie jostled her on the bed. "I thought I said-" Her speech cut off when she saw that Artie was taking off his shirt. She looked at him sharply. "What are you doing?"

Artie sighed, scratching the gray hair on his chest. "You don't have near as many wounds as a Spartan soldier."

Claudia's eyes widened in shock. "You can't use the needle, Artie! Leena just said you would die!"

"No, she said I could die. Big difference."

Claudia shook her head. "No. No, I can't let you do this." She struggled to get up, cried out in pain, and laid back down "I can go to the hospital, Artie, and they'll fix me up!" She turned to Leena. "It'll take time, but I can heal up on my own." When Leena shook her head, Claudia pleaded, "Damn it, Artie, you don't have to do this!"

"Yes I do!" he roared, shocking Claudia into silence. Artie closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked down at Claudia. "Yes, I do." He held up his hands before Claudia could start to protest. "Claudia, I harmed the one person who means the most to me in all the world, and I have to make it right. You may have forgiven me," he said, his eyes brimming with tears, "but unless I make you whole, I will never forgive myself." After a pause, Claudia reached out, took his hand in hers, squeezed it once, and nodded.

"Don't you dare die on me, old man."

Leena stood up. "I will be in the office." She smiled at them mysteriously as she shut the door behind her. "I'll know if you need anything..."

Artie bent down to Claudia and kissed her, a tender meeting of tongues and lips. He drew back and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Are you ready?"

Claudia nodded. "Whatever happens, Artie, remember that I love you."

"I love you too, Claudia, with all my heart." Artie picked up the Panacea Needle, held it close to his lips, and breathed, "Thee unto me." The artifact began to glow.