2005

GRAVEYARD SHIFT

CHAPTER 20 -Working Relationships -

"Did you hear about the two blood corpuscles named Romeo and Juliet?

They loved in vein."

The public funeral parlor rooms and the autopsy rooms were separated by a hall, offices, doors, and a stringent policy. The clients were never to know what occurred beyond those doors. Lines of propriety partitioned one world from the other, and rarely were the lines crossed. But when they were, it could only mean a serious breach had occurred in the fabric of space and time, or so Valgaav believed.

Valgaav's smile faded fast. "What's the problem?"

The young assistant to the night funeral parlor manager was beside himself. "The funeral is about to begin and the widow says it's the wrong body, er, man in the casket!"

"Terrific," Valgaav growled and stormed out into the hallway separating the morgue lab from the public places and offices. "I hate these night services. Things always get screwed up, and there's no one to take care of it but me." He continued grumbling until he reached the outer door. The night parlor manager should be fired, he thought, and he decided to talk to his father about it in the morning.

Xel, Zelgadiss, and Lina followed behind. It didn't take long for them to figure out what the trouble was. Indeed, they could hear the widow lamenting her most appalling discovery through the closed doors.

"That's right, I took one look at my dear, dear departed husband and, to my horror, he's in a brown suit. I'd specifically said to the undertaker that I wanted him buried in his blue suit. I had brought it especially for this occasion. It is most distressing, SHOCKING to me that the mortician had left him in the same brown suit he'd been wearing when the lightning bolt hit him. I demand that my husband be changed IMMEDIATELY into the blue suit I brought especially for that purpose!"

Vurumagen would have solved the problem immediately with a minimum of fuss and his signature flare. The man could accomplish tasks that would take two or three men working together simultaneously to do, and he would do them with precision. In fact, he wouldn't have let it happen at all, and he certainly wouldn't have let it escalate to this degree. Sadly for Valgaav, Vurumagen only worked days and the evening's manager was inept; he chose to argue with the client. "But madam! It's only a minute or two until the funeral is scheduled to begin! We can't possibly take him out and get him changed in that amount of time."

To which the woman replied logically, "Who's paying for this?"

Xel whispered to Valgaav, "You take care of the lady; I'll deal with the deceased, okay?"

Valgaav agreed and pushed through the door. "Excuse me, ma'am. We'll take care of the problem at once. Please accept our humblest apologies..." Valgaav continued on, smoothing the irate woman's feathers as Xel wheeled the coffin out, down the hall, and back into autopsy suite.

"What are we going to do?" Zelgadiss asked.

"I'm not running out for a blue suit this time of night," Lina griped.

Xel continued into the chilly cadaver keep. "I'm sure you won't have to. Check this out." Xel pulled back a sheet covering another body revealing a man in the blue suit. "Just as I thought, the day shift put the wrong clothes on these two men."

Lina said, "How's that possible if the brown suit was the one he wore when he died?"

"Because he wasn't wearing that suit," Xel replied. "There are no singe or burn marks anywhere on it. The widow must be confused, but that's all okay. We'll remedy this."

Zel's breath left a visible puff in the frigid room. "Man... I've never dressed a dead man before, but I can tell you that it's going to take us a while to switch clothes."

"They look to be the same size and shape, right?" Xel smiled.

Lina did a quick comparison, and then offered up her opinion. "Mr. Blue Suit might be a tad thinner in the gut, but other than that, they're the same build."

"I agree. Good, we'll have this fixed in an instant. Zelgadiss, wheel Mr. Blue Suit here out, I'll get Mr. Brown, and we'll line them up in the autopsy room."

Zelgadiss did as he was told, while Lina watched, wondering what Xel's brilliant idea was. When he told them what he was going to do, they both paled, but Zel started blubbering. "That can't be okay, can it? I'm sure Valgaav wouldn't want us to do that."

"Who the hell cares?" Lina waved him off. "He's doing his job and we, er, Xel's doing his. I say, just do it and get it done with."

Surprised, but pleased by Lina's unexpected support, Xel got down to business. "Thank you. Zelgadiss, if you would loosen that one's tie..."

Minutes later, Xel wheeled the coffin back into the funeral parlor. Miraculously, the corpse was in its correct blue suit. The widow was well-satisfied, and complimented him on the smooth and speedy service. "I especially want to know how you were able to get my husband into his blue suit so fast. Even alive, it took me hours of complaining to get him to dress himself."

Xel tilted his head. "Oh, well... you see...that's a secret." He gave her a disarming smile, tipped an invisible hat, and disappeared quickly.

Valgaav stayed by the coffin until the ceremony was about to begin, then rejoined his friends in the autopsy room. "All right, Xel. How did you pull that one off so fast? I have a nasty feeling about this."

"Oh, it was easy. It happens that there was another body in the cadaver keep, who was, as I suspected, already dressed in the blue suit. Luckily, the men had been close enough in size not to matter. All we had to do was switch heads."

"That was entirely your idea. Leave me and Zelgadiss outta it," Lina said, pulling her support out from under Xel.

Valgaav focused on Xel. "No...you...didn't," Valgaav gasped. His frown deepened. "That is illegal. Shit, Xel! The funeral home could lose its license over this."

"Only if someone reports it, and they won't. That guy's going to be buried in an hour. The other one," Xel flipped through the funeral schedule book he'd filched on his way out, "has already been viewed and will be cremated in the morning. No one but us will ever know. See? All is well."

Valgaav stretched to his full height and glowered down at his older cousin. "No, it's not. You didn't know that when you did the switch. You just looked now. It's all just a matter of expedience with you, isn't it?"

"That's right, and it doesn't matter any more. Relax. You worry too much. We have plenty of other things to do tonight." Xel smiled and strode off, leaving Valgaav to deal with his anger internally.

"Well, you sure ticked him off," Lina muttered as Xel passed her.

Valgaav turned his back on them all and found the work list on the clipboard. From his standpoint, Zelgadiss and Amelia were the only people he could stand being around any more. He started to think about what he would do come the start of fall classes in few weeks. What were his choices? He had several to think about, but he couldn't come to any decision because Lina and Xel's problems were distracting him. He wanted them to patch up their friendship soon. Perhaps, he thought, if he corrected an untruth it would get the ball rolling on a solution. On the way home from work that night, Valgaav decided to tell Lina about the misrepresented Lain girlfriend, but not in person. He called Lina from his bedroom the moment he got home. "Lina?"

"Valgaav? What is it, and it had better be important 'cause I was about to take a shower."

"Amelia and I were talking, and she told me that Xel has a girlfriend named Lain."

Lina was quiet. "So?"

"Not true. Lain Sherra is really our cousin, Sherra Lain Grauscherra. I don't know what he was thinking, but I can guess." He waited a moment for her to say something before continuing. "He's acting crazy-desperate, so don't take it personally."

"Oh, I won't. I'll just kill him for lying to me. Thanks bunches, Valgaav. At least now I have a concrete reason to hate him." Lina slammed down the receiver and ended the call.

But as tough as she sounded when speaking to Valgaav, Lina was more exasperated with Xel's behavior than resentful towards him for lying to her. Why had he broken off with her? Had Xel really believed that he had been doing it for her own good? "What an idiot!" she said aloud. "How am I going to set him straight?"

Valgaav barely touched the phone to the cradle, when it rang again. "Lina..."

"No, I'm Amelia."

"Oh, hi, babe. Sorry about that. What's on your beautiful mind this early in your morning?"

Amelia giggled softly. "Um, would you do me a big favor?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Could you get Mr. Zelgadiss out of the house today about lunch time?"

"Probably. Shall I get Xel out, too, and then we'll have the whole house to ourselves?" he asked with a chuckle. "Just kidding, you know. Yeah, so what's up?"

"I just want Mr. Zelgadiss out and you with him, say... to lunch and I'll meet you guys there, okay? Please?"

"No problem. What's another day without enough sleep? And to show you how much I care, I won't even ask you why it is you want to see my cousin here alone."

"Oh, you figured that one out, huh? Thanks, Valgaav. I'll tell you later, when it's all over."

They spoke quietly a few minutes longer, and then called it a night, or start of a day, for Amelia.

Six hours later, Valgaav and Zelgadiss left home for their lunch appointment, Zelgadiss doing the driving. On the way to pick up Sylphiel at the hospital, he told Valgaav that this would amount to his first date with her. "So, just so you know before hand, since it just sorta happened."

"I didn't know you were interested in her," Valgaav said.

"She's been very nice, taking care of me at the hospital and all. She wants me, Valgaav. I mean, she really wants me. I like her, too, don't get me wrong. She never has a bad thing to say about anyone. She's gorgeous and she thinks I'm still good looking. Can you believe that?"

"Yes. We've been over that, and you know I think you look fine. I think you're pretty cool looking, and so do most right-thinking people. The thing is, you think you might want her as a girlfriend, right?"

"Absolutely."

"And you think she likes you, that you have a chance?"

"I'm sure."

"All right. I'm tight with that." Valgaav stopped his car. Before Zelgadiss reached for the door handle, he added, "I told Amelia I loved her."

"Really!" Zelgadiss dropped back in his seat. "Love her?"

"Yeah. Maybe it was a mistake, but that's how I feel."

"But she's still in high school, and you're going back to college, aren't you? How's that going to work?"

"I don't know, Zelgadiss. Maybe I won't go back next fall. Maybe I'll stay in town and see what happens after she graduates. It's only a year, and who knows?"

Baffled, Zelgadiss shook his head and asked, "You'd do that? Put off your dream, work for your dad-- which I know is something you don't want to keep doing– all for her?"

"I'm thinking about that, yeah."

"Hnn," Zelgadiss snorted. He wondered if Valgaav had forgotten his plans to share an apartment or something with him in Atlas City. Zelgadiss shook his head with a wry smile. Naturally Valgaav hadn't been thinking about that when he had been with Amelia, which could mean that it was true: Valgaav was in love. So, in that case, Zelgadiss knew that he should support his friend and not cloud his moment with issues. "Hey, I guess you are in love. Um, that's great. She's nice and cute and rich, if you didn't know."

"I know she's nice and cute, but the money thing... It's not important. Heads up, it's your new girlfriend. She must have gotten tired of waiting for you to go get her," Valgaav chuckled and pointed out the car window.

Sylphiel had crossed the blazing hot parking lot to Valgaav's car, smiling, pretty, and eager to join them. "You're a little early, but so am I. I arranged a nice long lunch break today, too. Hi!"

"Hi," Zelgadiss said as he rushed to open the door to the back seat and slid in beside her.

Valgaav nodded. The way the two gazed into one another's eyes told him the two were infatuated with one another.

Valgaav, Sylphiel, and Zelgadiss arrived at the restaurant a little early. It was Sylphiel who waved when they noticed Gourry arrive and hold the door for Filia.

"Hey, look!" Gourry called out. "It's Zelgadiss with some of the others."

Filia scanned the group for "the Evil One," and, not seeing Xel in the company, said, "Nice. Let's join them."

Valgaav asked the waitress to find them a couple tables next to each other in the back. He was going to watch Filia closely. He didn't know her well enough to guess how she might react to Sylphiel's entry into Zelgadiss' life. Would she flirt with him and attempt sabotage it, or be supportive?

While Valgaav was watching Filia over lunch, Amelia arrived at the boys' house to confront Xelloss. Xel answered the door, barely awake. "Amelia? Ah, nobody's here but me. Sorry."

"I came to see you, Mr. Xelloss."

"Oh? Well, that's nice. Come in, then."

Amelia stepped into the front room but didn't sit. "You see, I'd like to hear it from you. Why did you hurt Miss Lina? Why did you flirt with her when you had no intention of being true? Why did you have to just dump her like a poor excuse? It's so unfair...cruel! She was just...oh, I don't know, but you have hurt her a lot, and that makes me mad at you." She stared at him, challengingly, waiting for him to comment.

Xel was awake now. He ran a hand over his face and said nothing for a minute. Amelia stood her ground, which was several feet away from him, waiting. There was no long-standing friendship uniting them, only the shared love for a particular friend, which was now keeping them at odds.

At last Xel found his voice. "If you love someone, you should be prepared to let them go."

"Oh, really? Does that mean you would leave your cat or... your child if it became boring to you or interrupted what you wanted to do?"

"No, of course not," he said sharply.

With great sincerity, she started to lecture him. She believed in what she said wholeheartedly, so she put a lot of feeling into her presentation. "Pleasure is about coming and going as you like. Love is about doing what is sometimes difficult or expensive in time and emotion, for someone else's sake, and finding that if it adds to their happiness, then it does to yours also."

"You are wise beyond your years, Miss Amelia," Xel said, mocking her gravity. "But what you say does not apply to this situation."

He did not intimidate her, however; she was not leaving without getting her answers. "How is it so different, Mr. Xelloss? Why does that make you so selfish and brutal?"

He thought a moment before lashing back, telling her to mind her own business. He was mulling about in his head the notion that Lina possibly had fallen in love with him, deeply. Perhaps Gourry wasn't the right man for her. "You choose to speak plainly, so I shall, too. I was reminded that I was much older than her, and that I should give her a chance to grow up on her own. It hadn't mattered at first. She was just one of the group we were getting to know, but then feelings developed. I care too much for her to be the one who corrupts her. Besides, she has Gourry. He's very solid, dependable, and all-around good guy. He'll make certain no harm comes to her."

"Well, we agree about Mr. Gourry, and that's about all. I'd heard about the other line of thinking...from a...friend." Amelia did not wish to involve Valgaav, and so, changed points. "Did you think to discuss your findings with her? Let Miss Lina be part of the decision?"

"Well, ah..."

"I thought not. Sadly, I think she has fallen in love with you, despite everything." Amelia's voice softened and she appeared misty-eyed when she added dreamily, "She is so empty now."

Xelloss averted his gaze and considered what Amelia had just told him. Had Lina loved him? Had he truly loved her?

Amelia continued on as if reading his thoughts. She was moved to melodramatics at times, and this was one of them. She was fighting for a cause, a just cause. "I don't know how deep a love it is, certainly. Maybe she had merely been in love, that consuming need for another person which might include gentleness, generosity, patience and the ability to give of the heart, but also might not. It could simply be a mixture of enchantment and hunger, a loneliness temporarily kept at bay."

"Say what?" Xelloss was having difficulty standing. He felt a bit woozy. This was too much to consume this early in the day, for him, and was now wondering about his relationship with Lina. Had he really loved Lina? He thought back, trying to remember it honestly. It hurt for many reasons, but mostly because he was ashamed of it. He had been fascinated, excited, challenged. She had been more intensely alive than any other woman he had known and certainly cleverer, and she was passionate. Of course, and he smiled slightly at the thought, so had other women in his past, including her sister, Luna.

In spite of that, he had became bored by the others because he was concerned primarily with his own appetites, his desire for excitement, change, flattery, and the sense of power in new conquests. How childish he had been. And now that he had released Lina, he realized what he had lost.

"Perhaps happiness was not in taking what you pleased, but in knowing the infinite value of what you had, and of being able to look at it with gratitude and joy!" Amelia shouted triumphantly with a beatific countenance from her achievement.

Xel focused his eyes with difficulty upon her beaming face. "Erk...?"

"And what about this other girlfriend of yours? Is she for real, or not? I don't even think there ever was a Lain Sherra, was there?"

"Well..."

"Ah, ha! There wasn't, was there? You lied to Miss Lina just to make her feel small and unimportant. What was her problem– not falling head over heels for you, or just that she wasn't willing to sleep with you? Well, it's your loss. She could have given you more than you ever dreamed of. You turned out to be just as awful as my sister said you'd be!"

He did not argue or even comment. Xel didn't like hearing the biting synopsis she'd given of his character.

"At least my sister was wrong about Mr. Valgaav," Amelia added, more than a touch self-righteously.

If only she hadn't said that.

For an unfortunate instant, Xel's better judgment fell to his baser instincts. He snapped back, "Oh! So, she told you he was a bisexual, and you're okay with that?" At that moment Xel recognized from her look of astonishment and pain, that Amelia had been in love with his cousin. He had crushed Amelia's image of Valgaav with a sentence, and he regretted his outburst immediately. Of course Nahga hadn't told her, possibly she hadn't known herself. It wasn't something he advertised to women he dated.

"You are a terrible, spiteful man, Mr. Xelloss. You think nothing of hurting everyone who loves you, do you? I came here to see if you were a man worthy of Miss Lina's heart, but I can see she's better off suffering a little pain now in order to shake off your charms and go on with her life. I am sorry to have bothered you." Amelia stood and left out the front door. She had waited until she was outside the house before she broke down and cried. Whether it was for Lina or herself, she didn't know.

Valgaav sat where could observe Filia's response to Sylphiel and Zelgadiss' new relationship. If she started a scene, he was prepared to end it immediately, even if it meant carrying Filia out over his shoulder. He had stood up to women like her before; they didn't intimidate him. Zelgadiss and Sylphiel nestled into a cozy bench seat in the back, Valgaav across from them, and Filia and Gourry, both tall, fit, and sporting long blond ponytails, shared a two-person table, which had been shoved up next to theirs.

"You getting another checkup at the hospital?" Gourry asked Zelgadiss. It appeared to be an innocent question, if you missed the twinkle in Gourry's eye. In an earlier phone conversation, Zelgadiss had given him a brief rundown of what had occurred at his last appointment, so Gourry was aware of his friend's budding romance.

Zelgadiss looked askance at Sylphiel before smiling and shaking his head. "No, this is just a lunch date."

Valgaav studied Sylphiel from beneath his green hanks of ragged bangs. He knew she had liked Gourry in the past, and wondered if her dating his best friend would make either of them uncomfortable.

"Our first date," Sylphiel said softly. Her eyes rose from the napkin she had been creasing to meet Zelgadiss' electric blue-green eyes, and they held that gaze for several moments.

"Of many," Zelgadiss finished for her.

Zelgadiss appeared at ease and so did Gourry and Sylphiel, too. So far so good, Valgaav decided. His thoughts drifted to Amelia for a second, and he hoped her meeting with Xel was going as well. If she couldn't inspire Xel to do the right thing, nobody could.

"Oh, so you two are going out now?" Filia said in a casual manner. "That's nice. I always thought you'd be great together, except that you looked too much alike. But now that Zelly's got his new look..."

Valgaav cast a glance at Zelgadiss, hoping Filia would shut up already. She had a way of making cutting remarks that hurt others. Zelgadiss was concentrating on Sylphiel, however, and meekly shrugged as Filia continued expressing her opinion, "But it seems that...that's not such a problem any more."

Sylphiel replied in her kind manner, "That's so sweet, Filia! Our biggest problem, actually, is finding time together with our different work hours, so-- and I just found out today, Zelly– next week I work at the hospital on the night shift. Isn't that great? We'll be on the same duty period."

"That's nice, Sylphiel," Zelgadiss told her. "You just started there, though. You're not pushing for favors or anything, are you?"

"Oh, no. No one wants the night shift, so they were thrilled to do this for me. I'm doing the head nurse a big favor, in fact. Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you so I'd better do it now or I really might forget... Um, my father would like to meet you, so after lunch, if you don't mind stopping by, he'll give you a ride back home and drop me off at work."

"That would be okay," Zelgadiss murmured. He didn't think he'd make a very good impression, but didn't want to hurt her feelings by refusing.

"Just keep the car, then," Valgaav offered. "I'll get a ride back with Amelia." If she ever gets here, he thought to himself.

Valgaav could tell that Zelgadiss was ill at ease being the center of attention, so with those plans settled, he was about to ask Gourry about his job when the waitress came by to take their food orders. After that, he had his chance, but Filia started in first, saving him the trouble. "So, I love the job, Sylphiel. No wonder you stayed at the health club for so long. It's really fun work. You meet the best people, and Gourry is a great boss."

Gourry appeared a little embarrassed when she praised him, but he didn't argue. Instead he found nice things to say as well. "Yeah, I never thought we could replace you, Sylphiel, but Filia's coming along real fast. And most of your clientele are coming back. Next door, the coffee shop is going up for sale and well... Filia's got this idea for turning it into a health bar and café kinda place."

"That's a good idea," Sylphiel agreed.

They continued discussing the possible menu and redecorating plans for the bar and café until their lunches arrived. They ate in relative silence for the next ten minutes. Sylphiel kept feeding Zelgadiss French fries and cajoling him into trying half her BLT sandwich. "You're still underweight."

Valgaav thought it was funny and tried hiding his smile whenever Zelgadiss would give in to another bite. "What a guy won't suffer for a girl," he snickered under his breath.

At last, Zelgadiss could eat no more, so he started talking. "So we bowl against Zelas' team Sunday. Any hints?"

Gourry, Filia, and Sylphiel all had plenty of things to say. By the end of the meal, they had Valgaav and Zelgadiss dreading the upcoming game. Gourry must have sensed the conversation was getting everyone down, because he was the one to change the subject this time. "So, are you still doing that play?"

"Yeah, in fact we have dress rehearsal pretty much all day Saturday, which sucks because we'll be wasted before the bowling tournament." Zelgadiss looked angry, but he drew a deep breath and calmed down when Sylphiel patted his arm sympathetically. "Anyway, the performance is next weekend, if you're interested."

Of course they were. Everyone wanted tickets, so Zelgadiss offered to take care of that. Filia checked her watch. "Oh, darn. Looks like we'd better get back so the others can take their lunch breaks, too, don't you think Gourry?"

"Yep," he agreed. "So, ah...congrats you guys, and be seeing ya around, then." Gourry left money to cover their portion of the bill. "Say hi to Amelia when she gets here," he added, and then left with Filia.

"Are you sure she's coming?" Sylphiel asked Valgaav. "What's she doing?"

He had been quiet most of the afternoon, preferring to sit back, listen, and study the other people. "She had some appointment to go to first. That's okay. I'll wait here for her. You two go on and do your thing. You have the keys on you still? Oh, yeah I've got them. Here!"

Zelgadiss snatched the car keys out of the air. "Yes, thanks. This ought to cover us," he said, dropping a few bills. "I'll catch you later at home."

As the couple left, hand-in-hand, Valgaav knew he didn't need to worry about Zelgadiss any more. The man was in good hands. Valgaav could now concentrate on his own life, and what he should do, come fall. His father would be gratified if he remained at the mortuary. He could continue to see Amelia and accumulate wealth. When Amelia was ready to graduate, they could go to college together, he to finish up his anthropology and she to study whatever she was interested in. He began to imagine what her interests might be, when his daydreams were interrupted by his buzzing cell phone.

"Yeah?" The call was from Xelloss, which meant, Valgaav deduced, that Amelia must be on her way. "Hey, about time you made good with Lina, dude." He listened to the brief message, and then added, "Okay, just drop me and Zelgadiss off first, if it works out that she wants to go. Right. Bye."

"Good for you, Amelia." Valgaav's admiration for her filled his heart to the brim, then bubbled over into a smile. An inner-warmth he'd never experienced before sent a thrill through him. He knew it was love, and it was turning his world upside down. Everything he wanted to do began with the word "Amelia." He enjoyed the new feeling, and the moment of solitude. It gave him time to think, and he liked to sit and think, so he did. He gazed unfocused into the distance, past the dusty binds. Behind them, the sun blazed at its apex. He liked the heat. His clan had been a desert people, so the steady heat of summer was in his blood. He would like to return to see his birth place. His thoughts roved to a possible road trip to the desert at winter break. He imagined Amelia at his side, listening to music, driving under the open skies, and smelling the sagebrush.

Xel stood on the other side of the door and listened to Amelia's sobs. Valgaav would kill him for this. Amelia was the best girl Valgaav had ever had. She made his serious cousin smile. He'd even remarked about her while they were at work. "Oh, shit."

He opened the door and silently stepped out onto the porch, wrapping Amelia in a gentle hug. "I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have said that; it wasn't my place. Valgaav's a good guy, Amelia– the best. He is crazy about you, and you are the best thing that's ever happened to him. You make him laugh, and the gods know how he needs that in his line of work."

"Really? You mean that?" she asked, sniffing back her tears. "This isn't another of your lies, is it?"

"No, it's the truth, Amelia. Valgaav talks about you, and he never talks about any girl, ordinarily."

Amelia's expression hardened. "Any girl? How about boys?"

"Not them either. Believe me; I'm sorry I said that. It just came out. Valgaav's not dating guys, Amelia. There was a time when he was...confused, I guess. Lot of guys are, actually. But he hasn't lately, that I know of." Xel met Amelia's eyes and sighed. "Atlas City is a different place than Seyruun. Rules are different, and that makes people act differently. Me included."

"It seems to me that you act as bad here as your reputation leads me to believe you acted there."

It took him a moment to follow her line of logic. "Not everything your sister tells you about me is correct, but I'm not going to defend myself right now. Valgaav, on the other hand, I owe a fix to what I said about him. I'm sure he'll talk to you about it, if it's important anymore. He's very honest that way."

"I don't know what to believe. Coming from you, an endorsement doesn't mean much. Don't you have any morals?"

"Of course I do. I'm a doctor."

Amelia realized his weakness at that moment, and decided to take advantage of it. "Well, if that's not your problem, then it's simple, I mean... what your problem is, that is. See, you've never been in love."

"No, never, not at all," he agreed with aplomb. He wasn't going to let this little girl get the upper hand. However, she was breaking him down little by little. "I mean, I have feelings for Lina, but I don't understand them. Still, I think she'd be better off with a better man."

"Maybe, but that's between you and her, not for you alone to decide; at least, that would be the right way to go about things."

"The right and just way?"

"Don't patronize me, Mr. Xelloss. It wouldn't kill you to do something nice for someone."

"We don't know that." He smiled and held out a hand for her to shake. "Truce?"

"Maybe. Are you going to tell Miss Lina the truth?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea. I'll let things run their course, my way."

"Uh, huh. We'll see how that works out." Amelia crossed her arms across her ample chest, and then shook her finger in his face. "I think you like Miss Lina a lot and that terrifies you. You're afraid of finding love and happiness, because if you do, you might have to change your evil ways, and that takes a real man to do, not some over-grown teenager. Good bye, Mr. Xelloss."

"Good bye, Miss Amelia." What he had told her was not accurate. His feelings were very strong for Lina, and he had decided it was time to take action. Xel didn't want Amelia to know and somehow have that information get back to Lina before he had a chance to meet with her himself. He called Valgaav's cell phone and got him on the third ring. "I'll be getting with Lina after work tonight. Yeah, okay, thanks. Bye."

Valgaav had no idea how long he had been sitting there, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder and then heard a familiar voice that broke him from his revere. "Hi, sorry it took me so long. I had to stop for gas."

With a strong, lanky arm, Valgaav pulled Amelia close so he could growl in her ear, affecting a strange accent. "Yes, woman. You make me wait so long... my friends... they all have left me."

"You're so funny," she giggled. For a moment she forgot her mixed feelings about Valgaav, after her conversation with his cousin, but when she sat in the booth, her stomach clenched up with nervous dread.

He knew something was not right. "Hey, what's the matter? Xel give you a hard time? I don't know what you said, but you got to him and he's going to talk to Lina now. Say, now... Why the tears, Amelia?"

His heartfelt concern vied with the terrible images she had conjured up in her head as she had driven to the restaurant. Valgaav dressed in girl's clothing, picking up boys, and partying in Atlas City. "Can we go someplace else?" she sniffed.

"Sure. Zelgadiss has my car, so we'll take yours. Sure. Whatever you want, babe." Valgaav counted out his money and settled the remainder of the bill. "Come on... where are you parked?"

She handed over the keys and let him drive to a nearby park packed with kids from a daycare center. They found a shady spot beneath a tall oak tree and sat together on the only non-sun-baked grass they could find. "Okay, tell me what's wrong," he said. "Xel didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He wasn't very nice, but, no, he didn't harm me." She looked down at her hands, afraid to say what was on her mind.

Valgaav was used to waiting. He let her collect her thoughts and tell her story in her own time. He wouldn't push her. Instead, he thought about how he'd bash Xel's head in when he got home.

"I think I got a little preachy and got on his nerves. But things were okay until I mentioned how much better a guy you were than him, and then he...he..."

"What did he tell you, Amelia? Was it something about me? Something you don't like?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and she had to hunt through her little purse for a tissue. "Yes."

Valgaav though for a moment. He hadn't any secrets; he had nothing to hide, but he could think of one thing that might upset Amelia. "He told you I'm bisexual, right?"

She nodded through bleary eyes.

"He shouldn't have. I was going to, soon, in my own way. All right, then come here closer and let me tell you something." After she settled comfortably in the crook of his arm, using his chest as a pillow, he began. "When you go places, you see guys you think are nice looking, right?"

"Well, yes..."

"Okay, you look at them, but you don't hit on them, do you?"

"Oh, no. I have you. I don't need them at all," she said quickly. She didn't have to think hard to understand her deepest feelings for him.

"Well, same thing goes for me. I see girls, or guys, that I think are hot, but that's it. I love you. I don't need any others. I don't need anyone but you, ever again. Okay, yeah, I think some guys are sexy, and some girls, too-- that's just the way I am. Doesn't make much difference to me. I'm lucky that way; I can appreciate any type."

Amelia's eyes were wide and glistening, but she was no longer on the verge of crying. "That's lucky? Well, I guess since you put it that way, I guess you are. But, Lina told me you and Xel dressed up like girls for a show you put on. Was that true?"

"Yes, but that was just for the show, Amelia. For fun. I'm not a transvestite. You can check my closet, if you want. Nothing to hide. I've got a past, but it doesn't haunt me."

"But..."

"Yes...?"

"But I always thought it would be kinda icky, two guys, ya know?"

Valgaav chuckled at her cute scrunched-up face. "Yeah, well, I'm no expert, Amelia. I don't mess around like Xel, and I'm not a dater. I just hang out with folks for a good time."

"Oh. I'm not sure I understand, completely."

"Ah, that is, until I get to know them, then I would. I mean, I'd like to take you out sometime, not with the others around. A real date. You think you'd like that? Are you okay with what I've told you? I wasn't trying to hide anything, Amelia. I was going to talk to you about that and other things about my family, like how I was adopted and all, but I was waiting for a little privacy."

"Oh, well, I'm glad you told me now. I think I'm good with it, Valgaav, just as long as you tell me everything about yourself so I don't have to hear it from someone else first."

"I promise." Valgaav was sincere. He wanted Amelia's trust more than anything. "So, do you think your father would let you date me? I mean, if you want to, of course."

With a sigh, Amelia gave up all her anxieties about him. He was perfect for her, almost, but his flaws were a part of him, too, and thankfully, she could live with imperfections like that. "I'd love to go out, Valgaav. Daddy likes you, so that's a good start. He's home now, drafting plans of some sort. Why not come over and ask him?"

"Sure, we can do that. I have time." He wrapped her in a tight hug, pressed his lips close to an ear, and whispered to her, "Don't let Xel or anybody hurt what we've got. You just come to me whenever you aren't certain of something, and I'll it give it to you straight, all right?"

Then Amelia knew why she loved him so much: he stood for truth and justice in her eyes, and that meant all the world to her. "I promise you, Valgaav. Even if I don't like what I hear, I know you'll always level with me and not treat me like a child. And, as much as I love being here with you... it's too hot!"

She jumped up and straightened out her clothes. "Ready to go?"

"Um, you think, maybe, I should wash off the eye makeup?"

"No. It's a part of who you are. Either Daddy likes you that way, or not, and my bet is he will have faith in my judgment."

"You are a rare human being, Amelia, my little princess." He rose from the ground, leaned in, and kissed her lightly. "Now I'm ready."

Work was a very quiet affair that night with no interruptions and little talking. Lina had two pickups, both at convalescent hospitals. Valgaav and Zelgadiss completed two embalmings, and Xel assisted on one autopsy. An hour early, Valgaav hung up the clipboard and called the work-night over.

Xel timed his exit to synchronize with Lina's, after Valgaav and Zelgadiss had both left the morgue building. "If you don't mind," he said to Lina, "I'd like to drop off my cousins first."

"First?" Lina was caught off guard by his voice. She assumed he would prefer avoiding her than seeking out her company. She wondered what his move might mean. "Okay, if you want to go out of your way like that, it's no skin off my apple."

Xel's smile faded. Lina was trying too hard to sound unconcerned, he thought. Had Amelia been wrong? Was it too late to mend what was left of their relationship and start over? Time for the direct approach. "I'll drop them off, and then I think you and I need to talk."

Lina swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Having to confront Xel and her growing feelings for him suddenly took on monstrous proportions. Shrinking away from him, she said, "Talk, huh? Well, I'm pretty wasted tonight, and I'd like a bath, maybe something to eat..."

"I promise you'll get all that, but we will talk." He applied emphasis to the last three words and could actually see her flinch. He couldn't read her mind, and her face was sober, but her quick-stepping-it to the car was a sign of her nervous state. He hoped it was a good kind of nervous or his plans to impress her would fall flat. With a skip to catch up to her, he added, "Don't run off, Lina. I mean all this in a good way. I want to right some wrongs; I've been a fool, Lina. I hope you can forgive me."

Lina shrugged her acceptance, but inside she was both thrilled that he was so interested in her and shocked that he had admitted a failing. She wanted to hear more, but not with Valgaav and Zelgadiss listening in.

Xel apparently felt the same way, she observed, because as soon as they reached the car, he said no more to her. On the ride to their house, Valgaav and Zelgadiss did all the talking. A few minutes later, Xel was parking in front of his house, engine running. He leaned over and whispered in his cousin's ear, "Wish me luck."

Valgaav nodded and slid out of the passenger seat. Zelgadiss hopped out, followed by Lina, who then climbed into the front beside Xel. Zelgadiss thought this was odd and was about to ask Lina what was up when Valgaav caught his sleeve and pulled him toward the house. "Come on. He's going to take her out to settle things."

"She's going with Xel, alone? Why should she trust him? He's only leading her into one of his traps, right?"

"You don't think she can handle herself?" Valgaav asked looking back at the car about to depart.

"I guess she can, but I don't want things to get worse. She's been in a touchy enough mood all week, and we have that bowling tournament with Zelas' team this weekend, remember? It would be nice if the team could actually behave like a team this time."

"I think Xel has taken all that into account. Don't worry. He can only make it so much worse, and he might resolve everything. So, we got tamales to heat up?"

Zelgadiss said, "Yes," and then described how he made them as the Xel and Lina drove off.

Xel shoved the car into gear then turned toward Lina and suggested, "How about we drive awhile?"

"Sure, we can watch the sun come up, but I warn ya, I might drift off." Her heart leapt at his smile, sending a flush of blood to her face, which nearly gave away her eagerness to be with him. She couldn't possibly fall asleep because of her excitement, and also because she was curious where he was taking her.

Her mind raced. To Lina, it seemed that what Amelia had said was true, and now he was having second thoughts about their ten-year age difference. That was nice; it fit in with her decision to fight for his attention again, however, how much did she want a relationship with Xel? She had to wonder about that. She was still unsure about him, herself, and where Gourry fit in. Life was more exciting with Xel, possibly dangerous, which she liked. There was a problem with reliability, his motives, and trust; he could equivocate better than anyone she had ever known. But then, she wasn't looking for a life partner, or was she?

Xel chose a CD, turned up the volume, and opened the skylight. The cooling breeze blew her hair gently, but the night air was still warm. The soft jazz instrumental music floated on the air around her; the car was carried with the tide, rising with the waves– it was like a dream as they surged ahead into the night. She sighed, smiled, and leaned her head back on the seat. She might as well enjoy herself, she thought. "Where are we going?" she thought to ask.

"The Inn at the Top of the World."

"That's nice," she said, thinking he was making it up. She did notice the continuous rise in altitude as they wound their way up a mountain road. Every so often, the switchback revealed a breathtaking view of the Seyruun valley below. The car decelerated past a row of neatly pruned tea bushes as Xel turned into a nearly full parking lot.

Lina straightened in her seat as she read the sign. "You were serious!"

"Yes. You've never been here?"

"I hadn't even heard of this place before. Is it really an inn?"

"Hot springs, five star restaurant, and private accommodations." He turned off the ignition. The comfortable, modern lodge was set in a cedar forest. Private stone baths were chiseled out of the limestone bedrock and plumbed to distribute the hot, natural mineral water to each of the rooms. "It's the perfect place to unwind after a night at the morgue. We can soak and eat without staying over, but I'd prefer not to drive back without a few hours sleep."

"Looks pretty pricey. Bet you need reservations a year ahead of time."

"Almost. We have some."

"Some what? Reservations? What are we doing here?"

"I promised you a bath, food, and rest."

"Here?"

"That's right. Wouldn't you like to go in and see the place? I took the liberty of arranging a room, but if you aren't comfortable, we can leave."

"You don't think I can like a fancy-ass place like this? I can fit in anywhere."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." I'm asking you to sleep with me, his mind screamed.

"Oh, you meant staying here together and sharing a room. Well, we'll see how it goes. Now that we're this far, I'm not about to go back without you at least buying me dinner."

"That's the spirit! I hoped you'd be enthusiastic." Xel held the door for her and led her to the desk. Even at that hour of the early morning, the desk was staffed.

"Yes, Mr. Metallium. Your room is ready. Would you like to take breakfast first?"

"I think we'll have it delivered to our room. Does that sound okay with you?" Xel asked Lina.

"Sure, I'll have one of everything."

"Well, that's a great deal of food, madam."

"That's true," Xel said with a smile. He whispered to the desk clerk, "I already ordered all that's necessary, but we don't want to make a scene," then winked. He lightly wrapped an arm around Lina's shoulders, a feather-light touch, and turned her in the right direction. "Let's see that room, Lina."

As they walked off down the hall, Lina turned to Xel. "I hope you aren't getting any ideas about all this. I don't have a change of clothes or anything."

"I'm getting many ideas, Lina, but I'll take my cue from you."

Again, Lina found herself blushing from his suggestiveness. When she looked up to see if he had noticed, she found that he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he had stopped at a door, busying himself with swiping the pass card through a metal slot. The lock disengaged magically, to Lina, who had never seen a pass key like that.

He swung open the door. "I tried to take care of everything. Take a look."

The room was elegant, but not overdone. The carpeting was thick and soft on her feet as Lina removed her sandals. She strode past the bed and table, ignoring the furniture completely, and approached what she thought were floor to ceiling windows. She flung back heavy silk curtains to reveal a pair of French doors. "A porch?" she wondered. "No! Oh, our own hot springs to soak in! This is terrific."

"Shhh... Let's not wake up the neighbors," he cautioned her. "The lodge provides towels and robes. Would you like to go in before we eat?"

"No, I'd rather eat first, but I'll take a quick shower to clean off the morgue smell."

"I'll wait, then."

"Oh, you'll wait lots."

Lina was quick to undress, then, wrapped only in her thick gold robe, she stalked out into the room. Xel thought she was beautiful. His eyes skimmed over her tiny figure, resting finally on her eyes. "Ah..." He was so absorbed in the study of her undulating form beneath the cloth that he nearly forgot what he about to say.

Lina noticed and filled with pleasure, although she also hid it as best she could. "Go ahead and clean up, too. You'll feel better, and I guarantee you'll smell better. Hey, don't worry. I see the table. I'll show the guy where to leave the food when it comes, okay?"

Xel placed a bill on the table. "I'll leave the tip, then. Thanks." Without another word, he strode past her to shower.

When he come out in his matching gold robe, Lina was already seated at the table and watching the server light candles and open the champagne. "That's okay, I'll pour that," Xel told the young man. "You can go now. Thanks."

As the room service cart disappeared out the door, Xel took a chair. "I'm not sure if I want to drink. Sometimes having inhibitions is a good thing."

"Yeah," she agreed, and then removed a covered dish. "Sushi?"

"Yes, with local stream-caught fish, so it's the freshest possible."

Lina was more interested in finishing off a big bowl of hearty pork-stock soup loaded with handmade noodles. She set down her bowl at last and pointed out another dish. "What's that?"

"Tofu." The soft curd sat in an ash-gray clay bowl. Xel spooned out balls of glistening white tofu into shallow, glossy black bowls. "This is hand-made on the premises. I think it has a nutty aroma and is nice as is, but you may like a dribble of soy sauce and a few scallions."

"Okay. So this is a Japanese meal."

"Light and nutritious."

"It's different. I may need more to eat later." Lina poured herself ice water from a carafe, while disguising a yawn.

"That is what 24-hour room service is for."

The rising sun cast its rosy glow into the room. Xel liked the way it made Lina's hair turn to flames, but he couldn't stare at her for too long or he might lose control. She wasn't his to have. He hadn't won her heart for certain, if that was yet even possible. He looked out the glass doors at the wisps of steam rising from the water. "Ready to soak those tired muscles?"

"By the dawn's early light? Sure, but shouldn't we wait and hour or so?"

"No, we can go in now. We just shouldn't stay in the water too long, after eating. Would you like to get in first?"

"With you watching me? No. You first, then turn your back."

"With you watching me?" he chuckled. "I see. Well, have it your way." He strode confidently to the pool's edge, but when he was about to drop the robe, he was overtaken with self-doubt. He had no idea how experienced she was with men, but he didn't want to disgust her. He modestly turned his back to her, stepped into the water, and, at the last possible instant, removed the robe and gave it a hard toss to the side. He slipped under the water to his neck and sighed contentedly.

As soon as he heard the padding of her feet on the rock edge, he closed his eyes and turned away. If he could throttle his eagerness, allow Lina to move at her own speed, he might have a chance.

"This feels...unbelievable. I've never been in a place like this. Not even a hot tub. Gods, I want one of these in my house someday," she said, sighing.

"Hmmm..."

They soaked in silence awhile, watching the sunrise. After awhile, Xel decided he needed to begin. "Lina, let me begin by apologizing for my stupidity the last time we were at Wolfpack Island, where, I must say again, you were most impressive. I was thinking that by cutting short any possible...romance between us, that I'd protect you from my evil devices, but, then the way I ended up treating you turned out to be worse than ever."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Somehow, I didn't want you to know how...attracted I was to you." He was finding it more difficult telling her the how he felt than he had expected, and was stumbling over certain words.

"You mean, when I pointed out the heart thing you drew with the initials in it—you know, the one marking the way out of the sewer-- that really was about you and me, like I thought?"

"Yes... yes, that embarrassed me so I lied about having a girlfriend with the "L" initial. Lain. You know that's your name with the "a" moved?" He smiled trying to lighten the moment, but failed to amuse Lina.

"Is that all? You are confessing that after using me as an excuse for being on the island and as a distraction for your mother, you just found me too hard to resist. However, I was not the kind of pushover you were in the market for, so you dropped me for an non-existent girlfriend. Is that it in a nut shell?"

"No, no!" He sat up, eyes wide, nearly frantic. Unfortunately, he inhaled a mouthful of hot mineral water, causing him to gag and fall into a coughing fit. After he had composed himself, with no sympathy from Lina, he explained. "I took you to the island because I wanted to show you the place. Remember, I was going to gather evidence alone; it was you who forced me to take you into the labs. I was showing you off, if you have to know. Sherra, she's a cousin, you met her, and she not my girlfriend, of course. Oh, and told me she liked you, by the way. She thought you were...very brave."

"Foolhardy, I'll betcha she called me. Okay, so I messed up your plans, although without me you wouldn't have seen those bodies..."

"Or had to kill a man..."

"Well, sure, but he was one of the bad guys, right? So things were going pretty good until I mentioned that heart you drew."

"That and, well, later I was reminded, and rightly so, that I had ten years older than you. And that what I might want...well, it wouldn't be fair to ask a girl your age to..."

"To what? You want to date just me or what? Be exclusive? Or are you meaning you didn't want to seduce me and ruin my reputation or something? Ah, 'cause I can tell you, you wouldn't be the first in that department."

That caught Xel by surprise. He hadn't expected her to have ever slept with a guy, not by her behavior as far as he could tell. "You and Gourry, then?"

"No, not with him either," she sighed.

A wave of relief passed through him. Somehow, he saw Gourry as his biggest obstacle to winning Lina, and knowing that she'd never slept with him was a good sign. "Oh? Well, ah... oh."

"I'll tell you who, so you don't keep trying guessing, 'cause it wasn't Zelly, like so many others seem to think. It was Zangalus."

Xel stared incredulously at her. "Martina's boyfriend? That Zangalus?"

She nodded. "Nothing to be proud of about that one. It was a big mistake all around, I can tell you. I did it on a dare. It was so stupid. Not only stupid but awful, in fact. The next day he started boasting about it at school. Luckily, Gourry was the first and the last guy he told. I thought Gourry was going to pound the shit out of him. Zelgadiss stopped him, thank the gods, and they both managed to silence Zangalus with the threat of permanent damage. Somehow the rumor was started that it was Zelly and me doing the messing around, probably by Martina, who had been trying to get Zangalus to notice her, but by that time I was dating Gourry, and the stories just faded away. That's probably why Martina hates me, now that I think about it. My point being, you wouldn't be the one who ruined me, if anything ever would happen, and I'm not saying that it would, because to tell you the truth, the sex part is icky and uninteresting."

"I wouldn't say uninteresting..."

"I hate being touched."

"If it were Zangalus doing the touching, I'd hate it too," Xel said with a wry smile.

Lina chuckled a little. "Idiot."

"I think I could do a lot better, but I'm not asking or trying to push you in any way. I didn't bring you here for that, believe me or not. I wanted to treat you to a nice time, without the threat of storms, wolves, or mad scientists with knives attacking you, and I wanted to tell you... the truth."

"And you've told me the truth?"

"Yes. Well, not totally."

Lina shot him a fiery glare. "Oh yeah? Why not?"

"I mean, everything I've said has been true– no lies, Lina– but I haven't told you everything. I'm not sure I can."

"And why's that? What dark and terrible secrets do you need to hide still?"

He demurred. Now that gotten this far, he wasn't sure about taking the next step. How much should he admit? "Oh, not so dark and terrible. I'm just uncertain as to how I should tell you."

"How about in as few a number of words as possible. I'm getting tired."

"I can do that, but it means I'll have to get a lot closer."

"That depends on just what you're getting at," Lina said. She could feel ripples of water slapping at her exposed shoulders as Xel moved across the pool to her side.

"Well, can we consider this our first date?" he asked, inches from her ear, and sending shivers up and down her spine.

As she nodded, his lips brushed her neck.

"And you forgive me?" He circled around, kissing her lightly on her cheeks and the tip of her nose.

She blinked once, and then he kissed her lips, once only. That was it. If he allowed himself to caress her skin, then he couldn't hold back his desire. "Lina, it's time to get out of the water."

"W-what? No way are you getting me out of here."

"We both have to get out. It's too warm. You don't want to get overheated, especially after eating."

"But I'm so comfy."

Xel sighed, tired of arguing. Her childish stubbornness wasn't very appealing. "Aw, it isn't so bad. You get out, wrap up in your robe, towel off a little, and go to bed. I guarantee you'll sleep like a baby, and then the pool will be here when you wake up."

"How long have we got this place, then? Can I eat again, too? That Japanese stuff was okay, but not very filling."

"We have to leave in time to pick up the others for work, but that's for many, many hours. Until then, enjoy yourself."

"As long as you're footing the bill, okay. So, ah, turn around...look out that way." Lina waited until Xel's back was turned, then she climbed out of the warm pool.

He could hear her moving about a little, and then leave and enter the room, but he remained and enjoyed the tranquility a little longer. The sunrise over Seyruun had been spectacular, and now the pale mauve tones of rising mist signaled what would be another hot, steamy day in the valley. The cedar forest blocked half the valley from view to one side, and from it rose a clamor of bird song and squirrel chatter. He thought that might be a fun place to explore with Lina later. His thoughts returned to Lina. He guessed that she was under the sheets by this time, and it would be safe for him to get out of the pool. He wrapped a towel around his waist and carried in his robe. Sure enough, Lina was asleep-- right in the center of the bed.

"Lina, you make this ever harder for me," he said softly, although he knew she couldn't hear his voice in her sleep. He scooped up their clothes, stuffed them into a laundry bag provided by the lodge, and set it outside the door for cleaning. He locked the door and returned to the bed. Leaving the towel where it dropped, he climbed in beside her, gently pushing her into a more comfortable position, for him. "Do you want me?" he whispered. "I wish I knew."

After a few minutes, he, too, dozed off. They slept away the intense heat of the day, and might have slept longer had Xel's watch alarm not awakened him. "How nice," he said to an armload of Lina and face full of her hair. He carefully dislodged an arm from beneath her neck and pulled apart without jostling her. First things first, he paid a necessary visit to the bathroom, then he retrieved his robe, for modesty's sake, and called the desk. "Hello, yes everything is fine. We'd like dinner, but we haven't anything to wear. I set out our clothes for cleaning, and they haven't returned. Okay... Oh, that would be fine. No, no problem. How about in ten minutes? Thanks."

Lina had awakened at the sound of his voice on the phone. "What's up?"

"They have a small clothes shop here, where robe attire is welcome, and no one else is in the store currently. So, here's your concealing garment..."

"Barely," she grumbled as she snatched the robe from his hand and proceeded to dress under the sheets. "Why don't we just order room service again?"

"Because, this is more fun. Let's go see what the fashion guru here has for us."

There weren't many things to choose from, but Lina found a short sea-green silk dress that flattered her build and new underwear, while the clerk located a pair of black, pin-striped slacks and a black sports coat for Xelloss.

"Lina, help me find a shirt."

"This gold turtleneck would look good on you," Lina said.

"It looks hot, and I mean that temperature-wise."

"The restaurant is air conditioned," the clerk told him.

"Fine, but I'll take this burgundy cotton shirt, too, if I can't stand it. I think those silver sandals would look nice with that dress, Lina."

She agreed, but warned him, "They're not cheap, Xel. This is coming to a lot of money."

"What price beauty, eh?" Xel smiled. "Give me a minute to change clothes, then we'll go eat." He handed over his credit card to the clerk, and then disappeared into a changing room. When he came out, he was wearing the red shirt. "I don't care, the other is too hot for summer."

"Yeah, but gold's your color. Get it anyway, for winter."

"Very well." Xel shook his head and told the clerk to total it all up.

"So, we're about ready to go eat then?" Lina asked, poised to move.

"Yes, as soon as these are paid for, we'll go to the dining room. It has a nice view." Xel said evenly. He didn't look up, though. He watched the clerk carefully write out the receipt in his perfect script.

"Okay, then I'll just dip into the dressing room and put on the underwear."

Xelloss' head snapped up, his eyes opened partially, revealing x-ray amethyst orbs, just in time to catch Lina's wink before she ducked behind the curtain. In that instant, he overlaid the image of her lying in bed– oh, yes, he had looked long and hard at her delicate nude body before pulling the sheets over them and falling asleep– upon her now-awake form dressed in a tiny silk dress. The urge to chuck dinner and drag her back to their room was strong enough to cause him to take a step forwards.

The poor clerk gasped, and then cleared his throat and asked, "Sir? Your credit card and receipt. Enjoy your purchases. Would you, er, like me to have those robes sent back to your room?"

Xelloss halted mid-stride. He nearly growled at the poor clerk for interrupting his train of though. "Yes! Do that."

Lina exited the dressing room, beaming. "Ready! Now, let's eat some real food, okay?"

Xel smiled resolutely. "Okay, and then we have time for a short walk around the grounds and maybe another soak, if you'd like."

"I'd like that, sure." Lina smiled in return and marched out the door. Xel had to hurry to keep pace. "Don't dawdle, Xelloss. Dinner is going to take awhile."

"I was just wondering. You were joking about the underwear back there, weren't you?"

"Maybe I was, and maybe I wasn't." Lina smiled over her shoulder at him. "And maybe I'm not wearing any now."

1Xel couldn't remember ordering, or eating, but he must have because the time had passed and the bill had arrived. Lina had put away a five-digit-dollar, five-star dinner all by herself. He had requested the cost of the meal be put on their room tab, then led Lina out.

"That was some dinner. You were awfully quiet."

"Was I?" Xel wasn't about to tell Lina that he had been distracted throughout the dinner by anything as stupid as wondering about the presence of her underwear. It had even shocked him that he had been wholly distracted by such a simple detail, after having spent the previous few hours completely naked with her– unfulfilled ones. "I, ah, would like to see the forest. It's just a short walk. Interested?"

"A walk in the forest? Sure, why not?"

The forest was a parts of the lodge's rounds. Carefully tended paths, soft with layers of tinder-dry cedar debris, wound around rock outcroppings and bushes heavy with berries, eventually leading them downhill to a stream. Lina took off her sandals and splashed along the edge. Xel closed his eyes and breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the delightfully scented air. It was always cooler in the forest, even after a sweltering day, and with the low sun casting long shadows, he sensed the first suggestion of fall weather. He felt better than he had in weeks.

Lina noticed. "You look happy." She like the dappling of sun and shade on his hair, making the purple highlights sparkle.

"I am."

"This place suits you."

"It does. I grew up playing in the forest. Running and playing in the forest. Well, mostly running. Wolves chased me, you know."

Lina laughed. "Ha! Wolves...what a bunch of..." Her foot landed on an algae-coated rock and slipped out from under her.

"Watch out!" Xel leaped forward, nimbly hopping a snag of rushes and finding steady footing on a flat rock. He caught Lina just before she hit the water and scooped her up in his arms, glimpsing, for an instant, a flash of white while holding her aloft. "Don't want to get water spots on your new dress." As he said that, his mind converted the image into information relevant to the situation, and then he started to chuckle.

"What? What's so funny?" Lina asked as she wiggled around in his arms to look up into his face.

"You are wearing underwear."

Lina roughly slapped at his hands to be set down, but then started to laugh, too. "That was really bothering you, huh?"

"Well ..." As he set her on her feet, he hid his eyes and his shame at his weakness.

"You are an idiot!"

"Maybe...but I'm your idiot." Xel caught her hands, raised them to his lips, and kissed them both, making her laugh more. "You've forgiven me, right?"

"I guess, for the fake girlfriend thing, anyway, yeah."

"And for my fear of corrupting you?"

"Yeah, that was kinda sweet."

"How about the age difference?"

"Well, you are kinda old. I'll have to think about that one."

He sighed and drew her arms around his neck, while encircling her in his arms. "Thank you. So..."

"So...?"

"Are you my girlfriend now?"

Lina's smile faltered. "No. You haven't proven yourself to be truly Lina-worthy, and besides, I already have a boyfriend. A-aaaand I have to talk to him, first."

"First? As in, before you and I..."

"Unless you want to share me."

Xel shook his head. "I don't share well." His watch timer buzzed. As he shut it off, he said, "Time to go back to the room, if you want another go at the mineral springs."

"You bet I do. Come on."

"Lina-worthy, eh?" he said with a faint smile as they returned to the cool lodgings.

"Yeah, and you're pretty close, this place giving you a big step up, ya know?"

"I see. So, you like going to new places, then?"

"You bet. You know about more places like this one?"

"Not just like it, but I think you'd enjoy them."

"Oh, look. Our old clothes are clean and ready for another night at the morgue," Lina said as they arrived back at their room.

"Good. I didn't want to go to work in these," Xel said as he ripped off the warm jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Lina disappeared into the bathroom, where she removed her clothes and donned her robe. "Coming through!" she yelled, her hand blocking sight of whatever state of undress he was in as she raced to the French doors.

When Xel stepped into the water, Lina asked, "So what are those scars from on your ah...hip?"

Xel slipped into the water quickly. "I thought you weren't going to look."

"The scars, Xel."

"That's where I was bitten by a wolf when I was a child. Satisfied?"

"Then it was true– what you said about running from wolves in the forest?"

"Yes. Please, let's change the subject, okay?"

Lina did, but only after getting him to promise to tell her about it later. The warm water soothed away any lingering stress, like a full-body tranquilizer, and he hoped she would forget about his promise. Being nearly torn apart by trained wolves at his mother's command for a minor infraction of her rules was not a memory he wanted to relive. He submerged it along with many others, and let Lina-dreams wash them away.

They didn't stay in the water long; they had to dress, drive back to Xel's house to pick up Valgaav and Zelgadiss and then go to work for night. They listened to music on the way down in a reprise of their drive up the mountain. When they were back in town and nearly at Xel's house, Lina asked, "You realize, don't you, that you never told me how you feel about me? Not once."

"Do I need to, in words?"

"Sometimes it's nice to hear." Lina turned to Xel quickly, slapping her hand over his opening mouth. "But don't tell me now that I've mentioned it. It would be like I forced you."

She pulled her hand off when he nodded. "I wasn't going to. Not until ..." He almost said "Not until I know what that is," but his hesitation allowed Lina to fill in the missing words her own way.

"Yeah, better wait until I know what I'm going to do with you. I mean, the way you race through girlfriends, I'll bet those lovey-dovey words can just roll off your tongue, and I don't wanna hear any more of that meaningless crap."

Xel parked the car in his driveway and honked the horn once, then cautioned a quick glance at her face to see if she was smiling or not. She was not. He wasn't certain whether or not she really meant what she'd said or was simply covering up for feeling a little slighted. He hadn't told her that he loved her, and he wouldn't. It would seem like begging, especially if she decided to remain with Gourry after all. "Lina, you know I care. You know I haven't been dating anyone else this entire summer. What does that tell you?"

Zelgadiss was first to emerge, then Valgaav. They were laughing, sharing some joke and punching one another playfully.

"Why do they look so happy?" Lina asked softly.

"Because they believe that they are in love," Xel answered in an equally subdued voice.

Lina looked at him in surprise. "With each other?"

"Oh, no!" Xel laughed. "Sorry, about the way I put that. No, Zelgadiss has found himself a girl, and Valgaav has been ensorcelled by your friend Amelia, of course."

When Valgaav and Zelgadiss piled into the back seat, Valgaav was the first to ask, "So, you two make up?" which mixed up some instant animosity to squelch Lina's good mood.

"What're you getting at?" Lina remarked harshly. "We're not going to kill each other, if that's what you're wondering."

Valgaav and Zelgadiss flashed each other "It didn't work out so well for him" looks, but it was Zelgadiss who bravely pushed on. "Well, that's good, because we heard that Zelas' got a couple new men on her team from out of the country, and they are wiping out every team in their path."

"Oh, won't Sunday be fun, then?" Lina moaned, looking over at Xel to see how he would take the news.

Xel smiled benignly, and if the information bothered him, he gave away nothing in his expression. "From her, I wouldn't have expected less. She means to win and incur some damage along the way. We should be prepared for nasty tricks."

"Great," Zelgadiss groaned. "Do you think we can get out of another play practice tomorrow so we can come up with a plan of our own?"

"I doubt it," Valgaav answered. "It's the last one, the dress rehearsal. The play's next weekend, if you've lost track."

"Don't worry, then," Lina told them. "I have a plan, so I'll take care of things. We'll win. We've got to."

And the look she passed to Xel, touched his soul. She wanted to win for his benefit; to show how good a son Zelas had given away to Gaav's team. Lina really did care, despite her vague words to the contrary, and he understood. "We will," he assured her, and smiled a genuine smile that she could see, and so, know that he grasped her meaning and cared for her in return.

End, Graveyard Shift, Chapter 20