Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was not accustomed to being woken up in the wee hours of the morning by frantic hammering on her front door but nevertheless she threw on a dressing gown, grabbed a light and went to open it anyway.

There was a veiled lady, Elizabeth would've presumed widow but for the very large sword strapped to her back, holding up a young prostitute, whose dress was soaked in blood.

"She has been cut by the Ripper. I can only do basic first aid, she needs surgery." The widow explained.

"The Ri…the murderer?" Elizabeth's eyes widened but she asked no more questions, ushering them both into the house and locking the door after them. "Lay her out on the dining room table." She pointed to the door at the far end of the hall.

They staggered into a rich but sparsely furnished room. There was a cabinet, filled with small glasses and bottles of liquor in the corner. A large rectangular table took up most of the space. Its well-polished surface gleamed in the lamplight that Elizabeth lit. She moved the chairs surrounding it out the way so Vastra could lay Jenny down, the young woman already drifting in and out of consciousness. Vastra brushed strands of hair from her pale face and glanced around the rest of the room. The only other object was an oval mirror above the fireplace, reflecting Vastra's face back at her, visible to her through the veil. She was startled from her reverie by Elizabeth returning from setting a pan of water to boil and thrusting a bundle of old sheets into Vastra's arms.

"Tear them into strips please. Long ones."

Vastra was glad to have a task to do, as she watched Elizabeth cut the dress off of Jenny. A brief thought occurred that Lettie Palmer would not be best pleased at this happening. Later, this thought would be amusing. At the moment, Vastra felt like a ball of anxious electricity. Liquid was poured out, Vastra smelt iodine, and used to clean the wounds.

"The arm is fine, tis but a scratch. The side wound will indeed need stitching, but it's not too deep and it's clean." Elizabeth opened up a brown leather bag. "Usually I'd do this in the hospital, but I can see you are in somewhat of a hurry." She eyed the sword, which Vastra was using to cut the sheets into strips. "She is already unconscious at least." She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a needle steaming.

Vastra had never considered herself in the slightest bit squeamish but the sight of Elizabeth threading a needle made her turn away.

"I've met you before." Elizabeth remarked conversationally as she went about her work. "I recognise this woman. She is your maid, is she not?"

"Yes."

"You should give her a pay rise, then she might not need to resort to prostitution."

Vastra was piqued by the barb in Elizabeth's words and couldn't help herself. "My name is Madame Vastra. I am an adventuress and occasionally undertake cases for the police. Jenny is my maid and assistant. She was merely dressing like that to draw out the Ripper."

"Successfully, it appears. Well, I suppose that explains the sword. Are you sure you haven't bitten off more than you can chew? Although, for my part, I would be glad to see the blaggard strung up. My hospital treats women you know. The kind of women he's after. For their problems. A recent development of course. Before, they would go to lock hospitals, or the workhouse. It has only been two years after all, since the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act."

"Contagious Diseases?"

Elizabeth paused in her stitching to gaze at Vastra, studying her, trying to detect sarcasm.

"Surely you must know? Or have you never undertaken that line of police work? Such cases never fallen into your remit? Hm." She scoffed and turned back to Jenny. "Before the repeal of the CDA, police could arrest a woman, wandering about at night and force her to undergo examination, jailing her if she refused. The damage they could do, I have seen women die from it. And of course, if a woman was found to have the disease, they were locked up in asylums, or put on wards, completely isolated. Whereas the man who might have infected her, was free as a bird to go and pass it on to more, with not a word against him. My sister campaigned for years about it."

Vastra listened in silence, remembering scenes from her walks about London in the past, of young women accosted by the police. Really, they weren't much better than some of the criminal gangs. Apes were too barbaric sometimes. And yet, there were people like this woman, and her sister too apparently, still trying to help, to better the world.

"There." Elizabeth declared, tying off the bandages. "Keep them clean, watch out for any dead tissue. She should be fine. Plenty of rest of course. You'll have to hunt the Ripper by yourself I'm afraid."

Vastra stood over Jenny, still sprawled unconscious on the table, gently stroking strands of hair from her face. "She will not be happy about that." She said softly.

Elizabeth looked between her and Jenny, a small frown appearing on her face. But she said nothing and started winding up the strips Vastra had made.

"What did you need those for anyway?" Vastra asked, as Elizabeth disappeared back into the kitchen with them.

"To keep you busy with." Elizabeth called back. "Nothing worse than having to stitch someone up with their friend or otherwise hovering about panicking and fussing. And I can use these, once their boiled and treated, to give out to poor women as bandages or some such. Nothing better than old bed linen."

Vastra lifted her veil. She always felt that the veil somehow obscured Jenny from her, even though the young woman could see through it perfectly. Seeing Jenny's pale face, the bloodied dress cut away, the bandages already stained, she felt Elizabeth's words.

"I should never have agreed to use you as bait." She whispered. "My lack of skill as an investigator should never have put you at risk. You should never have had to resort to this."

She pondered, as she gazed at Jenny, how on earth she was going to get the young woman home. There was no carriage and she couldn't carry Jenny all the way there without attracting attention. And if they walked? What if the Ripper came back? Thoughts swirled and distracted her, worst case scenarios.

"I've made up beds in the cellar for you both. No point moving her so soon and it still being night as well. You can…" Elizabeth bustled back into the room and froze. "What…is that…a skin condition? A disease?" She hastened over to look at Vastra, covering her mouth and nose to peer more closely.

Vastra had gained many reactions from her skin, but a detached professional curiosity, mixed with caution was new. "It is merely my skin. It is not contagious."

Elizabeth let her handkerchief fall away. "Hm. It is like scales. What manner of disorder caused this?"

"Being born." Vastra said with a touch of asperity.

Realisation caused Elizabeth to turn a more ashen colour than Jenny. Her eyes widened to the point of watering, taking in the sword once more. And yet she did not back away, whether frozen in place by fear or bravery, Vastra couldn't tell.

"Amazing." It was a barely audible breath. "May I…would it be impertinent…could I examine you?"

"No."

"But you are…not human."

"No, I am not."

Elizabeth looked at Jenny once more. "But she…and you…" Words failed the doctor once more and she was silent for a moment. "Regardless. My patient requires rest. Help me move her."

Vastra picked Jenny up in her arms, daring Elizabeth to comment.

"Be careful of her wound" was the only remark that was given as Elizabeth led the way down the cellar.

The beds were simple cots, not vastly different from what they'd slept in back in the attic room. Elizabeth had lit several candles about the place. There were a few rustlings and chitters from rats but Vastra had never been particularly bothered by them.

"She will probably run a fever." Elizabeth warned. "I've put water there, it'll remain cool enough down here. I've laudanum for when she's in pain, when she wakes. And here's a fresh nightgown for her. I'll leave the rest to you. I must get back to bed myself."

Vastra nodded, gently dressing Jenny in the nightgown, mouth twitching at the memories it brought back, of the night she'd rescued Jenny. Her care was more tender now, more concerned as she laid the young woman on the cot and curled up next to her, cocooning them in blankets.

The next morning it was easy enough to send a messenger to Paternoster Row and soon enough the carriage was rattling outside Elizabeth's door and the doctor bade farewell to her two strange and unexpected guests.

Jenny was stiff and in pain, despite the laudanum Elizabeth had dosed her with before Vastra could argue. The moment they were home, she went straight to bed without complaining. Vastra followed, a little worried, to find the young ape crying.

"Jenny?"

"Why couldn't I fight 'im? How did I get hurt like this? I won't be any use to you now." She sobbed.

"Nonsense."

"I should've been able to fight 'im off. To hurt him at least. What if he murders someone else, while I'm stuck here! It's gonna be my fault."

"Jenny!" Vastra was unnerved by the depressive train of thought. "Of course, it won't. Any more than it'll be the fault of Scotland Yard for not catching him. Or me? With my prized warrior abilities and instincts and still he slips past me?" she slipped underneath the covers, gathering Jenny to her. The young ape was clinging to her and such a display of vulnerability caught Vastra completely unawares. She hummed and clicked, crooning a Silurian lullaby, the only thing she could think of to try and soothe Jenny. She pressed her forehead against Jenny's, her triangular scale glowing a dull orange. Hands gripped the front of her dress tighter, but the sobs cut off abruptly.

And suddenly Vastra was aware of pain and guilt and love swirling into her mind and she almost flung Jenny from her in panic, the emotions were so intense and overwhelming. She trembled as she stared at the ape in her arms. Jenny looked dazed, blinking slowly, half rising from the covers.

"Vastra…" she tried to focus her eyes properly, struggling for a moment to overcome the shock. "What…"

The urge to flee fought with the desire to stay, to try it again and made Vastra's muscles shake almost uncontrollably and she fell back. She had wondered about such a connection being possible but had dismissed it an impossible dream, that the ape mind was not capable of it. She gazed in awe as Jenny shifted to sit in her lap, straddling her. She stretched out a hand and Vastra grasped it, entwining their fingers as with her other hand she pulled Jenny's head down, pressing their foreheads together. Jenny winced at the strength of the emotions, the wonder, the fear, the confusion and broke away, massaging her temples.

"How?" Jenny whispered, her hand clutching Vastra's. "I could feel…"

"Laudanum." Vastra interrupted, as she realised. "I have heard the drug used to expand the mind. Taking it might have opened up potential…" she trailed off, watching Jenny closely. Her ape was staring at her warily now. "I believed it impossible, for a Silurian to share such a connection with an…human, otherwise I would've warned you. Believe me." She added, pleading, as Jenny was now frowning at her.

Jenny shifted off Vastra and led back down, the laudanum was beginning to make her sleepy now, not the best state to try and understand what had just happened. But she had to know. "What connection?"

"It is a revered form of intimacy, a connection forged between two minds, joining them, enhancing the bond between them. Allowing them to share emotions, even thoughts. It is rare, even among Silurians."

"So we c'n read each other's minds now?" Jenny was not entirely sure she was comfortable with the notion.

"I doubt our bond is that strong." Vastra shook her head.

And yet, such dismissiveness from her Silurian was hurtful. They didn't have a strong enough bond, did they? Jenny shifted down and pulled the covers up, snuggling down beneath them.

"Above and beyond that, to be able to feel anything more than vague emotions, to be able to discern and communicate fully articulated thought, without physical connection, would require intense focus, not to mention discipline and practice." Vastra explained.

The emotions hadn't felt very vague to Jenny. "But we could, one day. If we did that."

Vastra recalled the Doctor asking her "Will you tell her what that means? For Silurians?" She felt shaken to her core at the fact they had shared a connection, even for that brief moment. The thought of exploring it further, and what it would mean if they were successful, filled her with a strange terror. And surely it was just the laudanum, the high emotions of the evening. It was doubtful they would be able to repeat the experience, even if Vastra wanted to. Fear turned to longing.

"Vastra?"

"Possibly." Vastra rolled onto her side and held her arms open. She could not dismiss it out of hand, now that it was there. Jenny wriggled closer and Vastra embraced her gently.

"Any other magical Silurian abilities I should know about?" Jenny murmured. "Anythin' else you bin dismissing as impossible with an ape?"

"No." Vastra said shortly. Jenny prodded her. "Not magical abilities. There are…certain experiences." She felt herself turn a darker shade of green. "But that would require you to be healed, I think, among other things."

Jenny sighed, the laudanum was making focus difficult, to decipher Vastra's meaning. But something struck her then, more sharply than it had ever before, that as much as she and Vastra were together, as much as they had a future, beyond all that they had promised, there was still some part of Vastra that was out of Jenny's reach. An infuriating distance that made Jenny's heart ache. She didn't want to be able to read Vastra's mind, she wanted Vastra to tell her. Not the drips and drabs of information she'd been able to pick up, about Silurians, about Vastra's past, and not because she'd badgered the Silurian into giving it. She'd shared so much with Vastra about her life and family, she wanted Vastra to feel safe enough to do the same, to volunteer proper knowledge to give Jenny more understanding. Up to and including things like telepathic abilities. But Vastra was right, Jenny once again needed to recover before she could do anything about it.