A month passed with no leads, no help, no nothing. No Gods or Goddesses appearing. No more scary invitations. No more gashes in the middle of the night. Things were tense. Dexter knew that Valkyrie and Skulduggery were thinking the same thing, but didn't want to say.

If Ezra and Dexter were dragged down, would they be?

Dexter didn't know. He felt numb and scared and angry and guilty and ashamed all at once. He felt a ball in his chest steadily expanding as another day goes by with nothing. Three months to go.

Sorrows was throwing a party for Valkyrie's 23rd Birthday. Things were tense, and she felt useless, and if there was one thing she hated it was feeling useless. Dexter understood that feeling.

Ezra had been herself. She refused to blame Dexter for his father's returning, and she stayed up into the early hours of morning with him because he was too frightened to go to sleep. She made him eat, whether he wanted to or not, and she did everything she could to try to find something, anything, leaving for days, sometimes with Valkyrie, Milo, Skulduggery or even Lila, sometimes with Dexter, sometimes on her own. She went to Deacon, Finbar and Cassandra, seeing if they saw anything. She went to friends she had helped in the war, which was an endless list to be frank, and she had them doing little jobs that wouldn't get them hurt. But she was wavering.

Dexter knew her too well.

She was pale, her blue eyes looking too bright on her tired face. She was eating less and less, wearing the same shirt for a week at a time. Her lips were cracked and bleeding from biting and picking the skin off them. Underneath her eyes were grey.

She was just as scared, just as tired.

But she did was Ezra did; smiled and said everything was fine.

Dexter looked over at her, on the phone to one of her friends.

"Yeah... Yep, okay. No, no. It's okay, don't worry at all! Thank you so much for you help. Yeah, you too. Okay... Yep. Thanks again... Okay now, bye!" She hung up, and for moment, just one, her facade fell. She showed how desperate and tired she was, how helpless and useless she felt. But it disappeared a moment later. She sat on the couch then laid down, her head on Dexter's lap. Her walls were crumbling.

"What do we do?" She asked in a small voice. Dexter didn't say anything. He didn't know. Ezra covered her face with her hands, then dragged them down. "The party is tonight. We should get ready." She said, grabbing Dexter's hand and looking at his watch for the time. She got up and looked at Dexter. "We'll do this." She said. Then she disappeared upstairs.

Sitting and sulking isn't going to help anything, he thought dumbly to himself. He got up and went upstairs. Ezra was mid-change, slipping the dress over her head. Her arm got stuck and she started laughing, her head covered by the fabric. She was waving her arm frantically, her other arm stuck in the dress. Dexter snorted and went over to help her. He was too quiet, and she didn't realise he was near and thwacked him in the face, which just made them both laugh more. "I'm sorry!" She said, her voice disjointed and muffled because of the dress and her laughter. He untangled the stretchy, strappy cream coloured fabric, still laughing. Her arms finally free, she popped her head through the dress and was finally dressed. Her hair was in her face, and Dexter brushed it aside. She was still smiling, and so was he. "Thanks." She said quietly, looking from his eyes to his lips. He grinned, putting his hands on her waist. He pulled her closer, touching his forehead to her's.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She replied.

Then her phone started ringing. "Can we ever have a moment?" She asked, lightly pressing her lips to his as she picked her phone up off the bed. "Skulduggery? What's up?" She frowned. "The blue one?" Her frown deepened. "Um... The brown ones? I don't know, ask Milo. He's good with stuff. Okay, don't be snarky, there is no need for that." A smile danced on her face though. Dexter made a decision then.

He wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

Ezra said goodbye then went to the little vanity China had given them as a house warming gift. It seemed out of place in the bedroom, with the bedroom being homely and cosy. The bedspread was blue, the bedside tables distressed wood, the paint beige with an accent wall of a darker brown, a weekend spent well by Ezra and Dexter. The vanity was white, with a mirror that had lights elegantly but intentionally placed. Ezra had graciously accepted. It didn't match though, and China offered to redecorate, which was graciously declined. It also wasn't a new house, either, which made the whole idea of a house warming gift somewhat redundant in this situation. Ezra sat down and plugged in her hair curlers as Dexter went to the closet. It was already opened from when Ezra got the dress she was wearing from it. Everything in there was made by Ghastly. There were dresses for Ezra that he had made over the years, that no one but Skulduggery knew about. Ghastly died before he got the chance to give them to her. There were different styles from each era. Ghastly hadn't given up on her. No Dead Man had. Dexter looked on his side, picking out a perfectly pressed white shirt, a dark grey skinny tie, and a black waistcoat and trousers. He got dressed as Ezra curled his hair and for a moment he wondered if this was what if felt like to be normal. His girlfriend getting ready as he got dressed for a friend's birthday party. "Do you think she'll like what we got her?" Ezra asked, her arms awkwardly bent as she reached for a golden strand in the back. She couldn't reach. Dexter straightened from putting on pair of grey socks and took curlers from her, burning his hand in process, he curled the last section of hair. "I hope so. If we got her anything more violent, Skulduggery and her parents would rain down on us." He passed the curlers back and Ezra laughed, turning them off. She took a section of hair on the side, twirled it, and pinned it back with a silver clip. She started on her make up, rubbing creams and powders and shadows on her skin. Dexter went back to the closet and looked sadly at the clothes. He almost felt guilty for wearing them, but he knew Ghastly would haunt him if he left them there to collect dust. "While you're in there, could you pass me the silver heels?" She asked. Dexter got them and got himself a pair of black dress shoes, also Ghastly made. He finished with little silver cufflinks. He changed his sturdy watch for nicer one that Ezra got him for Christmas a few years back, then put on the belt with the silver buckle, just as Ezra put on a touch of a light brown, pink coloured lipstick in an attempt to hide her cracked lips. She put on her shoes and stood, looking at Dexter. She nodded. "You clean up well." He smiled at her, trying to remember how to breath. He offered his arm. "So do you." She slipped her arm through his, putting her phone in his pocket and picking up the black box with a silver ribbon as they walked to the car.

Gah fluff is my favourite!