Author's Note: Just want to really, REALLY thank Cyn Tolram, my Beta reader, for all of her great input and for catching all my stupid typos. Thanks, Cyn  *waves*

Chapter 3 -- Answers

When Jess let herself back into the Watchfire, the first sight that confronted her was a large pile of books on one of the tables. The pile of books shifted slightly to reveal Cole. "Hello, Jess."

"Cole, what are you doing?" she asked gently, approaching.

"Studying, Jess."

Those were medical texts, she realized, feeling infinitely sorry for the man. He was, presumably, very smart, but she had come to realize that he was also, in many ways, very innocent. Like his total denial about the seriousness of Mel's condition and his persistence that he could find out what was wrong with her where the doctors had failed. How was she supposed to make him see reality? Was she even supposed to try, or would it be better to let him have his hope, no matter how misguided?

"Where's Mel?" she asked finally, not wanting to disappoint him.

"Sleeping, I think..." Cole muttered without looking up from the tome he was reading.

Jess sighed sadly and walked up the stairs to see if Mel needed anything. Maybe Mel could talk to Cole. Mel was sitting at her kitchen table, wrapped in a blue silk bathrobe and sipping at a mug of hot cocoa. The upstairs apartment was stiflingly hot, a fact which Mel seemed unaffected by. She looked up at Jess with a smile.

"Hey, Jess."

"Hi, Mel." Jess smiled and wiped a layer of sweat from her forehead. "Little warm up here, isn't it?"

Mel shrugged. "I'm comfortable. Cocoa?"

Jess shook her head. "No, thanks. I just thought I'd come up and see if you needed anything."

"I'm good." Mel smiled. "There's ice-cream if you want."

Jess shook her head and sat down. "Mel, we need to talk."

Mel looked up curiously. "Sure, Jess. What's up?"

"Cole. He's..." she trailed off.

"Being Cole?" Mel asked with a smile. "What'd he do this time?" She grinned curiously at Jess. "He's not walking around in his underwear again, is he?" The thought brought a slight flush of color to her cheeks and, oddly enough, made her want to giggle.

"Mel, I'm serious..." Jess began, shaking her head and frowning slightly at her friend's reaction. "He's worried sick about you."

"He says he thinks I'm going to be just fine."

"Maybe to you, yeah. But that doesn't change the fact that he's downstairs with about twenty medical-books convinced that he's going to find what the doctors couldn't." Jess sighed. "Mel, someone's got to talk to him. If you... if something happens to you, he's going to be heart-broken."

Mel sighed and nodded. "I know, Jess. I also know that you're in as much denial right now as he is."

Jess frowned. "Mel, that's not fair..."

"But is it true?" Mel sighed. "Jess, I'm not trying to hurt anyone here. Look, I'll talk to Cole, okay?"

Jess nodded. "Are we opening tonight?"

Mel shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Go home, take the day off, Jess."

"I could stay if you want..." Jess offered tentatively.

"It's okay." Mel shook her head. "I'm not real great company right now, Jess."

Jess sighed and nodded. "Well, if you need anything..."

Mel nodded, sighing again. People kept saying that, like she was somehow incapable of taking care of herself suddenly. It was annoying, especially since she felt just fine. "Yeah, Jess. See you tomorrow, okay?"

Jess nodded and rose. "Sure, Mel. You hang in there."

She smiled and nodded. "You, too, Jess. Cheer up, okay?"

Jess nodded slowly and turned to leave. "Talk to you later, Mel."

Mel smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Jess hurried down the stairs, as much to escape the oppressive heat upstairs as anything.

Cole looked up from his reading as she returned to the bar. "You're sweating..." he observed.

Jess rolled her eyes and nodded, quickly checking to make sure that nothing was too visible through her sweat-soaked blouse. "Yeah. Mel's got it up over ninety in there."

"She must be cold..." Cole muttered, reaching for another book.

"Yeah." Jess nodded and sat down next to him. "Cole, put the book down and look at me for a second."

He obediently put his book down and regarded her quizzically. "Yes, Jess?"

"Cole, has it occurred to you that Mel might not get any better and that you might not be able to help her?"

He nodded. "Of course it has, Jess. But that doesn't mean that I can't try."

"I know, but I worry about you." Jess took his hand and smiled gently at him. "I just don't want you to be too upset if Mel doesn't get better, Cole."

Since he did not believe for one second that Mel was not going to get better, he saw no harm in telling her, "Don't worry, I won't be. I promise, Jess." He smiled warmly at her.

Jess nodded slowly and rose. "Look, Mel says that the bar's not going to open tonight, so I'm going to take off unless you need anything."

He shook his head. "I'm fine, Jess."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay, Cole. You call if you need anything, or if you just want to talk."

He smiled and nodded. "I will, Jess. Bye."

As she left, he returned his attention to the book in his hands. It was all very interesting, he reflected, although it was also a wonder that humans lived as long as they did, given the number of problems to which their fragile bodies were prone. It was also very strange to think of Mel in connection with any of these defects. She was always so strong and vibrant that the idea of some disease slowly draining the life from her body was not a connection that his mind had been willing to make before. On some level, he realized, he had stopped identifying her with her own people and started viewing her almost as a fellow Cirronian.

He frowned thoughtfully, putting the book down. When had that happened? And why? Certainly her life-force was unique among those he had encountered on this planet, but could it really be that unique? Or were his strong feelings for her clouding his judgment? The thought alarmed him because it might also mean that his feelings were clouding his perceptions of how sick she really was. Either way, it would not be long until he knew for sure. The books had told him all that they had to tell.

Rising, he piled the books neatly on the table and started up the stairs. As he opened the door, he was met by an invitingly warm blast of air. Mel had a habit of keeping the apartment far too cold for his taste, but right now it was perfect. He smiled as he walked towards his room. A wonderful smell coming from the kitchen distracted him, so he walked there instead.

"Mel, what is that?" he asked, smiling curiously.

"Hot cocoa." She smiled at him and rose, pouring him a mug. "Here, have some. Any progress?"

He nodded. "I think I understand enough about your physiology now to construct some diagnostic equipment." He sat down and took a cautious sip of the cocoa. He smiled at her. "It's very good, Mel."

She grinned and sat down again. "I'm glad you like it, Cole. It's my grandmother's special recipe." They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking the cocoa. Finally, Mel asked, a little nervously, "What exactly will these tests you're going to do involve?"

Cole glanced up, startled by her anxious tone. "What's wrong, Mel?" he asked gently, reaching across the table and touching her hands.

She shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Cole. I'm just sick of painful, invasive medical procedures..."

Cole nodded his understanding. In the medical-books, most of the tests mentioned had seemed somewhere between unpleasant and torturous. "It won't hurt, Mel..." he assured her gently, giving her a reassuring smile. "All I need is a little skin-sample. You probably won't even feel it. It won't hurt."

Mel smiled and rose. Circling the table, she wrapped her arms around Cole from behind. "Thank you, Cole..." she whispered.

"What are you doing, Mel?" he asked curiously, hoping that the question would not prompt her to stop.

He was feeling a little dizzy and his thoughts were becoming fuzzy again, but otherwise it felt very nice, the way her hair was brushing against his cheek and especially the feel of her hands against his chest. Her warmth made it hard to tell where her body stopped and his started. It was amazing. And very, very pleasant.

Mel grinned at the question. "It's a hug, Cole."

Cole nodded. She had hugged him before of course, though never quite like this, so he understood what it was meant to convey. As Mel had explained it some time ago, a hug was a touch between human friends meant to convey strong emotions, usually, but not always, positive. Hugging Mel was always nice when her emotions were positive, and this time was no exception. He reached up and gently covered her hands with his own, unsure of the proper protocol for this type of hug but hoping that it was one of those hugs which lasted for a very long time.

He smiled up at her. "This is nice, Mel."

She smiled and inhaled deeply, enjoying the closeness. "Yeah, it is."

At first, he had seemed to be a little uncomfortable with casual touching, but lately he had really been warming up to the idea, especially, Mel had noticed, where she was concerned. That thought gave her the warm fuzzies. It also gave her hope for the future of their relationship, although she was always careful not to push where that was concerned. He had made his feelings clear enough in that regard. The best she could do was to be there for him and help him in his mission without pushing for a physical relationship.

Having said that, though, she knew that if Cole ever came to her and asked for such a relationship she would have been more than happy to oblige. But the fact remained that Cole was not, in spite of his outward appearance, human. She had no idea what was going on inside of his mind, could only guess from his actions. And even those were sometimes hard to interpret.

The truth was very simple. She loved Cole, liked to think that he might love her as well, but in truth she simply had no idea and would not until Cole made his feelings clear. Or, perhaps, clearer than he had when he had told her that he could not afford to get 'distracted'. Mel sighed and pulled away.

Cole glanced up at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, Cole."

He frowned uncertainly. She had sighed. Sighing was for sorrow or confusion. Why was she lying to him? Because there was something that she did not want him to know, obviously, but what? "If you'd like to talk about it..." he began tentatively.

She shook her head. "No, Cole. I don't think you'd understand." She gently kissed his cheek. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome, Mel." He rose and smiled at her, his face burning where she had kissed him. "I should get to work. If you decide you would like to talk, I'll be in my room."

Mel nodded. "Thanks, Cole."

"I'll see you soon."

She nodded. As he left, she called after him, "Cole?"

He turned. "Yes, Mel?"

"Do you need any help?"

He considered for a moment. He knew that, when humans were upset, they tended to crave socialization. It was likely that this need for company was at the root of Mel's offer, and he could not leave her alone if she was upset. He found himself not really wanting to leave her alone anyway.

He smiled at her and nodded. "That would be nice, Mel."

She grinned. "Good. What do you need me to do?" she asked, following him to his room.

***

Three hours later, the makeshift testing equipment was ready. Her remaining microwave had been gutted, although Cole assured her that he would fix it when he was done. Mel could not help but wonder how powerful it would be once Cole had 'restored' it to its original condition. The thing would probably boil water in under five seconds and burn popcorn in under a minute. They had also done some work on a toaster-over and one of Cole's computers, although Mel was not sure what had become of those. They had vanished when Mel had left the room for five minutes to find Cole a 40-watt light bulb.

Cole's desk currently looked like a cross between its normal, cluttered self and something out of a 50's B-movie about mad scientists. Cole had picked up a large glass beaker and a handful of test-tubes at the store, along with a bottle of iodine and no fewer than ten of rubbing-alcohol. He emptied several of the bottles into a large beaker in the center of the mass of equipment. It was resting on the hot-plate that Mel had almost thrown out during her last spring cleaning.

Mel watched, curious. "So, how's it work?"

"This..." he began, pointing to a piece of equipment, "analyses your DNA for flaws that could lead to metabolic upset..."

The rest of Cole's explanation flew quite predictably over Mel's head, but she smiled and nodded and pretended that she got the gist of it. When Cole had finished, she asked, "So, you said you would need... a skin-sample?" she asked.

He nodded. "From inside your mouth. That way I can test your DNA and look at your hormone and body-toxin levels."

Mel shrugged. "If you say so."

Cole produced a sterile cotton-swab and unwrapped it, taking her chin in one hand. "Open your mouth, Mel."

Mel shrugged and allowed Cole to wipe the swab around the inside of one cheek. He dropped it into the large beaker and typed a series of commands onto the computer.

"What now?" Mel asked.

Cole used an eye-dropper to transfer some of the liquid from the large beaker to each of the test-tubes. "Now we wait."

Mel nodded. "How long will it take?"

"Under an hour."

"Let's go downstairs..." Mel suggested. "I could use a drink." In fact, she almost needed one. She was feeling a little breathless for some reason.

He nodded. "Okay, Mel."

They walked downstairs and Mel stepped behind the bar. "Cole, could you turn on the jukebox? I feel like listening to some music."

"Okay, Mel. What do you want to hear?"

"Something happy."

Cole nodded and called up the song that they had listened to when Mel had taught him how to dance. Hearing it always made him happy, and he hoped that it might have the same effect on her. Mel rested her elbows on the bar and rested her chin on her hands, smiling at him. Cole returned to the bar, grinning in response to her infectious smile.

Mel smiled, remembering her recent dreams with a flush of pleasure. She circled the bar and held a hand out to Cole. "Dance with me."

"Okay, Mel."

Smiling, he took her hand and pulled her gently into his arms. Dancing with her before had been nice, but this was even nicer. She felt different in his arms this time, more yielding somehow. He smiled down at her as she snuggled into his chest. She had not showed him how to dance like this, but it was not difficult to figure out. He slid his arms around her and held her close, swaying in time to the music with her. When the song was over, neither felt particularly motivated to walk all the way over to the jukebox, so they continued dancing despite a total lack of music. 

Mel smiled up at him, basking in his warmth. "Cole..." she muttered languidly.

"Yes, Mel?" he asked gently.

"Thank you..." she whispered, reaching up and stroking his face.

"For what, Mel?" he asked, curiously regarding her fingers on his face, wondering what she was doing. Whatever it was, it felt very nice, he decided.

How could a man make a woman feel the way Cole made her feel and not realize it? "Never mind, Cole..."

Smiling, she shook her head and pulled him closer. His total lack of understanding could be so endearing at times. She fleetingly wondered how Vic or Jess would have reacted if they had walked in at that moment and seen Mel, wearing nothing but a silk bathrobe, close-dancing with Cole without any music. It was amusing to picture their respective expressions, especially the look that Jess would no doubt be wearing, somewhere between 'I'm so jealous' and 'it's about bloody time'.

Cole noticed when she shifted closer and was slightly surprised by it. He would not have thought that it was possible for them to move any closer than they had been, but Mel had managed. He experienced a brief surge of frustration that he did not understand everything that there was to know about human relationships and, more especially, human intimacy. Although he had told Mel that they could not have a physical relationship, he wanted one, sometimes so badly that it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He had no idea how to broach the subject with her, though. He had noticed that certain subjects seemed to distress her when he brought them up, and, unfortunately, this seemed to be one of them. The net result was that he knew almost nothing about these particular human behaviors, not only in the biological sense, but also in the social one. What made one man a woman's friend and another something more was beyond him and, since he could not ask Mel without upsetting her, it seemed likely to remain beyond him. The thought left him feeling strangely hollow inside.

He pulled away from Mel, hoping that being in a different room and having something else to occupy his mind would distract him from the unpleasant thoughts and the physical sensations that they triggered. "I should go check..." he muttered, leaving quickly.

Mel stared after him, shaking her head. The behavior was typical of Cole, work first, then Mel. Somehow, the thought did not irritate her, it only made her feel sad and very, very lonely.

***

Cole stared at the results on the computer-screen, frowning and shaking his head. What had he done wrong? He rubbed his forehead, trying to recall when and how he could have contaminated Mel's genetic sample, but he could not think of anything. Shaking his head, he re-ran the results, adding a command to screen out the contamination where it occurred. The results were identical.

Cole rubbed his mouth and stared at the screen again, sighing deeply. Clearly he had done something seriously wrong in constructing the diagnostic equipment. The program was flawed, it was the only possibility.

"Isn't it?" he asked himself quietly, typing a few more commands.

He continued testing long after the results became indisputable. There was absolutely no question of it. A few more tests told Cole all he needed to know. He sighed deeply, stunned and more than a little flustered.

"At least I know what's wrong with her..." he muttered, shaking his head and not even realizing that he was doing the very thing that he had quizzed Mel about so recently, talking to himself.

So he knew what was wrong with her. But how the hell was he supposed to explain it to her when he could barely believe it himself? He sat there for several more minutes before rising to find Mel. He had to tell her. She had a right to know. He found her in her bedroom, reading. Trying to read, he amended as she tossed the book aside in disgust. She looked up, startled to realize that she was not alone.

She smiled at him. "Oh, hi, Cole." Her smile faded at the look on his face. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Cole was not entirely sure how to answer that, so he settled for, "We need to talk, Mel."

Mel shrugged and nodded, feeling a little anxious. The look on his face was not a promising sign. "Sure, sit."

"Not here, Mel." Cole shook his head, feeling uncomfortably with the idea of discussing this with Mel here. It was not only that, in the past, she had made it clear that her bedroom was off-limits. Cole may not have known much, but he knew enough about human intimacy to know that the bedroom was where it happened. "Living room."

She shrugged and followed him, her stomach sinking. "You know what's wrong with me?" she asked quietly as she settled down on the couch. To her surprise, Cole took the arm-chair instead of sitting next to her, distancing himself from her. That could not be a good sign.

Cole nodded slowly. "I know what's wrong with you, Mel..." he began slowly. "Which is why we need to talk."