Ace slept on and off for the next four days, sleeping more often than she was awake. That was mostly because she allowed herself to, because she felt that she was safe. There was an almost constant guard at her bedside, and though she was barely awake to know all who sat there, she found that it was most often Hank, which pleased her, and Ororo, who almost apologised every time Ace as much as opened her eyes. That was, until the hunter had managed to explain that one could not, in fact, control anything while possessed, and she had had no way of defending herself against the demon taking over. On the second night, when she woke up briefly, Ace had been surprised to find Logan sitting beside her, fidgeting with his dog tags. Neither of them had said a word, as usual, they shared an instinctive mutual understanding, and she had merely gone back to sleep, but it was nice to know that he cared at least a little beneath the gruff exterior.

As she opened her eyes she knew that the fifth day had dawned, and she noticed that she was considerably more clear-minded than she had been since Ororo, possessed by a demon, had given her one of the worst concussions she had ever experienced. When she turned her head to look to the side, she found that Hank was sitting, slouching more like, in the chair, his eyes closed and his hands folded in his lap. Whether or not he was sleeping, she could not tell, but judging by his slow breathing, he just might be asleep. He looked peaceful, his brows not lined in deep concentration over some calculation, and not creased in worry over anything. It was refreshing to see him like this, and fascinating. Ace had seen many things through the years, but peace and quiet rest was not one of them. She sighed deeply, looking at his gentle expression with a warm gaze. As though he felt her looking at him, his eyes slowly opened. She immediately schooled her expression into something far more neutral, before he had a chance to see the look in her eyes. He had been sleeping, that much was clear from his slightly groggy expression, and she couldn't help the slight smile that came to her lips at the way he almost fell down the chair when he saw that she was awake.

"Welcome back." He said, almost too softly for her to hear, as he sat up properly. A smile crept to her lips again, but something in his eyes made it vanish almost immediately. Something was off, not something supernatural, but something personal. She looked at him with concern, which he returned with confusion. Then it dawned upon her that, just as any person who met a demon for the first time, he was trying to come to terms with something it had said. He didn't know that the bastards lied and told the truth in equal measure. "What did it say to you?" She asked, noticing how his eyes widened slightly with surprise, and she knew she'd hit it on the head. No doubt he was wondering how she knew to ask that question. But he wasn't keen on answering it. Hank shrugged, clearly trying to find a way around answering. Ace realised that it was too personal, too close, and her expression softened.

"You do know that they'll lie if it'll make their situation any better, right? You never know whether they're telling the truth or not, they know exactly what to say to hit home." Her words seemed to have the desired effect, he leaned back in his chair almost unnoticeably, and his eyes narrowed as he applied the new information to his mind. He looked overall relieved, and she couldn't help but reach out and place a hand on his arm, trying to move as little as she possibly could. In spite of her careful movements, a sharp pain shot up from her fractured ribs and she couldn't keep from wincing slightly. Hank didn't fail to notice her discomfort, and he placed a warm hand over hers. "Take a deep breath." He ordered, and Ace immediately realised the Doctor McCoy in his tone, she smiled weakly and did as he asked, though it wasn't very pleasant. It was both painful and relieving, to feel her lungs inflate fully. The warm hand over hers was a comfort though, she had to give him that.

"Six weeks, right?" She mumbled, and he frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"It takes six weeks to heal, right?" She explained, chuckling airily at the way his expression cleared and was replaced with understanding. He nodded, "Yes, six weeks is the usual timeframe for fractured ribs."

"And the concussion?"

"You've almost recovered from that." She'd been aware of that, of course, but she had asked anyway. All insecurities, all doubts and all awkwardness seemed to disappear from Hank's demeanour when he spoke of science or medicine, and he had begun to get flustered when she had asked about the demon's words, so she had naturally chosen to change the subject. She might not be a telepath, but she read people alright.

"Right. How's Storm?" Ace's raised eyebrow, and her slightly smug tone made Hank chuckle. He shook his head at her, clearly finding her question just as amusing as she did. "Ororo is fine. You bruised her jaw and ribs, but that's about it." Her disappointed 'aw' left him in a fit of laughter, that she had to really try hard not to join in on. Laughing wasn't really something she wanted to do with three broken ribs.

"Anything else?" she removed her hand from beneath his and pushed herself up in a sitting position, ignoring the pain that shot up from her ribs. She'd simply have to live with that for the next month-and-a-half. Hank reached behind her and carefully adjusted her pillow so that when she leaned back, she was still resting against it. He shrugged at her question. "Ororo has begun to whisper 'christo' at times, and I have nearly found the genetic sequence that separated beings from your dimension and mine." That made her sit up straight, something she immediately regretted when a sharp sting reminded her of her wounded ribs. She carefully leaned back again.

"You've found it in my DNA? So you'll be able to create a warning system?" She quieted down when he held up a hand to silence her, looking a lot less enthusiastic than she was. "I said nearly. I'll need a sample from another individual to be sure, and even then the system might not be as effective as we could wish for."

"Let's hope you won't get a chance to get that sample." Ace replied, her enthusiasm now replaced by gloom. Her thoughts had fallen on Sandra again, they did that quite often, and it always brought on a bad mood. Chances were that she would never return to her dimension again, and as such she would not see her partner for the rest of her life. That hurt. Sandra was like a little sister and a best friend, they had saved each other's lives so many times Ace had lost count. Hank noticed her downcast look, and frowned, leaning forward slightly to grasp her hand, a move that almost shocked her. She let him, though.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" His deep voice was concerned, and she offered him a sad smile in an attempt to reassure him that she was fine. "Yes. I was thinking about Sandra. I hope she's alright, but she might get herself killed without me." It was a weak attempt at a joke, and it completely fell through. She couldn't even cheer herself up when these sudden bouts of sadness overcame her. She just had to wait them out, and that wasn't as tough to do with Hank at her side as it was alone. With a deep sigh, she forced herself to open up. It seemed the right time, and the right person, and she couldn't bottle things up forever.

"We spent years together on the road, hunting those things were the only purpose we had. We didn't have a home, didn't have a base, moved from state to state all the time. We didn't have any constants but each other, you know?" She looked up at him, noticing that he looked at her as though he expected her to break into tears any moment. Maybe if she had been different, she would have, but as things were she just didn't cry. There weren't any tears for her to shed. "We came to the point where we barely ever said a word when it was really important, because we knew what the other one'd do or say. And now she's gone from me, and I feel like I've been cut in half. I know it's been like a month, but it still feels that way." No tears, but the deep, overwhelming sadness was the same. That dark pit in her stomach, filled with swirling blackness, was no less abysmal because of her lack of tears.

"Such a partnership is not impossible to find again." He said, unsure of whether that would comfort or upset her. He really wasn't good at handling situations like these, it wasn't was he usually did. But he had to try. And within his eyes, Ace saw not only concern, but also the slightest spark of hopefulness, so fragile that she didn't want to quell it. Still, she couldn't lie.

"I know. But what if something or someone takes me back to my world, and I'll have to go through the whole thing again?" It was unlikely, she knew that, and his slightly disappointed expression, even though he tried his best to hide it, almost hurt. "Besides, I don't really feel like touring the States with nothing to hunt, so…" Once again, she noticed the slightest signs of relief, the muscles around his eyes relaxing and his expression softening almost unnoticeably. "I think, for now, I'm good with putting aside my nomadic ways and staying put. It's… Nice to have a permanent place to stay for once. And people with a steady life around me, I like that." She knew what she meant, even if he didn't fully understand it. Giving up her life on the road wasn't just saying goodbye to her purpose, but also to her past. She was ready for something new, but unsure of whether she should reach out for it. She hadn't before, not for long. Men were for one night only, and love wasn't possible on the road. She was used to endangering everyone who came close to her, and to protect them, she had pushed them away. The big question was whether she was ready to stop doing that.

They sat in silence for a few, long, awkward moments, before Ace broke the silence. "I'm starving. Do you have any bacon?"

At once, the mood lifted, and they looked at each other and laughed.