Thorpe was back to pick up Rory. He sat in the car, the impatient movement of his leg shaking the car. Rory ran to the passenger door. She held her coat and scarf wrapped tight around her shivering body. She slipped a bit on a patch of ice right by the car and slammed into the door to catch herself. "It's about time," Thorpe said gingerly as she settled in.

Rory ignored this statement, instead deciding to try to focus on the heat of the car. She watched Wexford grow smaller in her side mirror. She and Thorpe didn't talk much on their way to pick up Stephen. They both had their own thoughts to tend to. Like how neither of them were very excited about where they were going.

Thorpe apparently had a key. Rory was surprised to find no crime scene tape, nor any evidence of what had happened only a few days before. Hadn't she just been here with blood on her hands? Did she really lie on this couch without a pulse? What had she done in that time? She was struggling to remember, grasping for something, some beam of light as to how Stephen and she were alive. She followed Thorpe up the stairs.

Stephen was this time not lying still under the covers in a white t-shirt, but instead sitting on the edge of the bed without a shirt. Rory felt like she could actually breathe at the sight of him. Stephen, however, became embarrassed upon seeing her. Despite continuing to hold onto his serious demeanor, his cheeks were colored pale pink. "You're finished, Stephen. For today, at least. You can dress," said the doctor.

"How does he look, Marigold?" Thorpe was sitting in the chair, his coat draped over the back.

"I'll tell you in a moment. Aurora, I'd like to examine you, too. Please remove your layers and sit," she replied, not looking up from whatever she was writing.

Rory looked from Stephen to Thorpe to Marigold. "I- I'm sorry?"

The doctor looked up finally and repeated, "Please remove your layers and sit. I'd like to examine you."

Rory shook her head and laid her coat, hoodie, and one of her sweaters on the bed. She sat on the bed beside Stephen, who unfortunately had his shirt back on. Marigold turned to Thorpe, still looking at her notes. "Well, he seems to be as healthy as he was before the accident. It's strange, though. There should be some sign of trauma, somewhere, but there just isn't. His brain shows no sign of swelling, his heart is as strong as ever. There's nothing wrong with him. It's as if this never happened."

Stephen sighed, but only Rory heard. She looked at him. He did look healthy. His eyes turned to her, and she saw some ghost of a smile. Rory looked away; she was trying to focus on keeping her teeth from chattering. "Jane did say something about that," she blurted. "She said that when he came back he would be fixed from the inside out. Something about… the soul rejoining the body?" Rory made a face.

Something on Thorpe beeped. "Good," he said, checking his phone. "I have to go. Stephen, would you stay with Rory and make sure she gets back safely. I still don't think she knows London well enough. I don't want her getting lost, or running off."

"I am right here," Rory said through clenched teeth. Nobody responded. Stephen only nodded to Thorpe. Without another word, he left.

"Rory, take off your shirt please. I need to do a medical exam," Marigold said.

Stephen cleared his throat with a pointed glance at me. "I'm just… I'll be waiting outside."

Even when he was out of the room, Rory made no attempt to undress. Marigold waited expectantly. "No offense," Rory said, "but the last time I got undressed in your house, bad things happened. So I'm gonna have to say 'no thanks.'"

"Rory, do not be difficult," Stephen said from the other side of the door. Of course he was listening. Rory stared at the door for a moment before finally relenting and removing her shirt. She covered her bare chest self-consciously. "Considering I only have one bra at the moment, and I've been wearing it for a few days… Yeah."

"Rory, there's no reason to be embarrassed. I'm a doctor." Marigold went through the routine Rory expected; the cold stethoscope, light in the eyes. Rory felt like some sort of alien almost. She felt fine. There was no reason for this. They let Stephen back in as soon as Rory had replaced her shirt. He sat in the chair as Marigold took some blood samples from Rory. "Now, I would like you to tell me about a few things. You are what has been described to me as a terminus? An ability unique to you only?"

"Um…" Rory looked at Stephen. "Yeah?"

"And how is that affecting you? Anything you're worried about?"

"No. Well, yeah, but it's okay. I can deal with it."

"What? Rory, what's wrong?" Stephen asked. He leaned forward in alarm.

"It's nothing, just… Well, a few days ago, the last time I blasted a ghost… It hurt. I couldn't breathe. Boo and Callum had to help me back to the car and I slept for a while after that. That was actually right before we came over here. It's getting worse every time. But I was thinking about it and maybe it was only because I didn't touch him, he touched me. That's happened before, where I've gotten sick when a ghost touched me and not the other way around. And he was a really old ghost, like he's been dead for a long time. Usually it just feels kind of tingly, like static. I don't know. It's not like we'll ever really know," Rory trailed off.

"While it's true, there is no way really to test this, we can try to prevent it. Perhaps gloves. Try it the next time you encounter an entity and let me know next time you see me. Is there anything else?"

"No," Rory sighed. "I guess not."

"Then you are both good to go for today. I will need to see you again within the next two weeks, though." Both nodded as Stephen helped Rory put her coat on.

Rory decided they should get something to eat before taking the tube back to the flat, and Stephen didn't disagree. They ended up at fast food restaurant getting burgers and fries. Rory chewed slowly as she watched Stephen eat. She dipped a fry into her ketchup. "I have to tell you something," she said, keeping her eyes on the soggy fry. Stephen looked at her, his brow knit. He swallowed his burger and said, "What is it?"

"You're probably going to be mad at me… I told Jerome and Jazza everything today…"

"When you say everything, what do you mean?" Stephen studied Rory as she looked down at her food. She looked guilty, almost upset.

"I- I didn't tell them about you all. I didn't tell them what I was doing or where I was staying, but… I felt like they deserved to know something. Especially Jerome, considering he helped so much the other night and we didn't tell him anything. I just told them about ghosts and Jane because after everything I've put them through it seems wrong not to."

"I agree with you," Stephen said, casually taking another bite of his burger.

"What?"

"I said I agree with you. Jerome did deserve to know something. I'm not worried about the information you gave them, as long as you didn't disclose anything that could put you in danger. Why do you look so surprised?"

"I thought you would be mad," Rory said. "I thought you would try to lecture me, or yell at me that I've just put us all in danger because you don't trust either of them not to say anything."

"Well, Julianne, I hear, has been talking to your parents. From observation. she seems fairly honest, but she also seems to know when a lie is required. Do you trust her?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then." Stephen sipped some of his coke out of the straw as if to make a point.

"What about Jerome?"

"What about him?"

"Aren't you afraid he's going to go on some website and tell anyone who will listen about this? Thorpe was a few days ago. He kept threatening him."

"I'm not Thorpe. Jerome seems obviously protective of you. He did help us a lot the other night. I don't think he'll tell anyone anything. Not if it would endanger you. You trust him. I trust you. "

Rory took a moment just to stare at Stephen, to take in what he said. She reached across the table to grab his hand. She felt a shock of deja vu, but quickly ignored it. "Thank you," she said. They held each other's gaze. Rory quickly let go of Stephen's hand and grabbed one of his fries.

"Hey!" He did not try very hard to grab it back.

Rory dipped it in ketchup and smiled. "Sorry! I'm all out," she laughed and popped it into her mouth. She saw a faint smile grace Stephen's face, though he tried to hold it back. "Back at home, I would never bring my own lunch to school cause I never had time to pack it, but I hated the lunch lines. I also rarely had any pocket change to get anything from the vending machines, but trust me, whenever I found a quarter, I acted like a peasant who was able to feast. Anyway, my friends were worried I had an eating disorder even though I tried to explain to them I was just lazy and stupid. They would throw anything they didn't want at me. Someone would sacrifice a fruit roll-up, another would give me carrot sticks. I kept trying to explain to them that I wasn't starving myself. If anything, I'm a binge eater. They never believed me, even when we went out to eat and I had my card. I would get the most out of everyone, but come Monday they would still ask me if I needed to see a doctor or something." Rory finished off her burger and shrugged.

Stephen listened intently as he drank some coke. He nodded when she was finished, at this point used to her tales. "So you aren't sick, you're just too lazy to make your own food."

"When I was in school," she corrected. "I make a mean meal when I have time. I had my credit card, but my school didn't take them. I didn't have time in the mornings cause I liked my sleep. At night, I would normally do my homework until I fell asleep on top of it and my parents had to make me go to bed. I used to be very good at school. I think the shift is really what got to me. I don't think I was as ready for Wexford as I thought I was…" Stephen let her reminisce for a moment. He pushed his fries closer to her and she ate them absentmindedly.

When all the food was finally gone, he stood and stacked their trays. "Ready?" Rory nodded and stood as Stephen threw their trash away. She kept her hands clasped around her hot coffee as they walked to the tube. "It's almost Christmas," she said.

"It almost is."

"We don't have a tree." She looked up at him.

"We don't have room for one."

"Not even a little one? Like a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

Stephen raised his eyebrow as he looked down to her. "Fine," he said. "We'll get a tree tonight." Even on the tip of her toes, Rory wasn't tall enough to reach him. She grabbed onto his scarf and pulled him down enough to kiss his cheek. He let her.

AN: I would really appreciate feedback! I can't get enough! Love y'all wee starchildren.