Murdoch kept his word. He arrived ten minutes before her shift ended. As soon as Rosa spotted him, she hustled Anna out the door, promising she could close up alone. As Anna was getting her jacket, she paused, one arm in a sleeve. "Rosa," she said quietly, "you know I'm married. Does it bother you that I'm... seeing another man?"

Rosa tilted her head to the side, thinking for a moment. "No," she said finally, "it doesn't bother me. You're happier with Mr. Hand than you are with John, I can see that. And frankly, I think you should do what's best for you." She smiled brightly. "Just, please, be sure you know what you're doing. Don't leave John for some fling that will end as soon as the forbidden factor is gone from your relationship."

Anna nodded. She thanked Rosa again and left out the employee doors. She met Murdoch in the lobby, who touched her cheek affectionately. They ended up at the river landing again, one of their favourite spots. They sat at the bench, holding hands. Anna rested her head on Murdoch's shoulder.

"I think we should leave," he murmured suddenly.

"Leave the city? I thought we couldn't."

He kissed her forehead tenderly. "I think I can get us out, yes. But we cannot tell your husband." The word husband stuck in his mouth and was spat out like a rancid bite of meat.

"I wouldn't anyway," Anna said, "but out of curiosity, why not?"

Murdoch's hand tightened around hers for a moment. "He would not be pleased to know that I'm still alive. I can imagine him trying to kill me."

"He wouldn't," Anna gasped. "No, he couldn't."

Murdoch smiled faintly. He was smiling a lot more than he had ever before, and part of him was glad. He had always been cynical, even as one of the Strangers. Anna had softened him. He had explained to her on their walk to the landing what the Strangers were and the extent of their powers. He told her of the battle between John and the leader of the Strangers. Anna found it hard to believe that her husband— mild, boring John with and obsession with the ocean, harboured such powers. But she hadn't believed that Murdoch Hand had those powers either, and he had proved her wrong.

"When will we leave?" Anna asked. She didn't bother asking how they would leave. She trusted Murdoch had a plan. In her mind, she thought with relief that they were leaving. Living with John was becoming stifling. They hadn't so much as hugged in ages, and sleeping in the same bed as him was torture.

"Next week," Murdoch said. "We'll leave next week."

"How much should I pack?"

Murdoch shrugged. "As much as you would like. Although, Anna, I think... could you take out money from the bank? As much as you can, John will be fine without it. He can fend for himself, or make more."

Anna nodded. "Alright."

Murdoch walked her home soon after. They stood outside the house, just out of view of the front window. The lights were on inside. Murdoch was reluctant to come closer, in case John was watching for his wife. Anna kissed him suddenly, passionately. He held her warm body close to his, feeling her wildly beating heart beneath the swell of her breasts and her full lips against his. It was hard to let Anna go, but he knew that if John thought something had happened to her, he'd tear the city apart looking for her.

She gave him a subtle wave before letting herself into the house. Murdoch watched the door close, cutting her from view. He pulled his hat farther over his eyes and walked swiftly away. He was planning their departure.

Since discovering his humanity, Murdoch J Hand realized that his sickness was abating. He used to have a strong repugnance to sun and water; they both burned his skin like acid. As well, he had been dying. John knew it when they saw each other for the last time and had let him live because of it. John thought that Murdoch Hand wouldn't have survived much longer after the destruction of his race.

That was not the case.

Murdoch Hand, despite his sickness, set out to find Anna. The first few months after John let him live, he hid away. He stayed deep underground where the sunlight would never find him. He rested and regained his strength. And then he worked on finding Anna. At first, he didn't know why he was trying. He simply knew that he had some instinct to do it. He thought that it was trace emotions left from being imprinted with John's memories. After finding her, he realized that it was emotions of his own that were developing.

When he fell in love with her, his sickness began to disappear. Their first kiss brought an apocalyptic rush to him. Originally, he was an alien being living inside a host body. As he had told John once, they used the dead as vessels. A newly dead corpse, so fresh it was still warm, re-inhabited by an alien. When Murdoch became individual, not part of the collective memory, the alien part of him was reabsorbed by the human body. It had been extremely painful, which he had tried not to show. He theorized that he had grown a brain. That was certainly what it felt like at the moment. A blazing pain, a sudden build-up of pressure and then more pain.

When he moved his head, it felt different. His thoughts were different too, no longer linear. It was more like clouds of thought. He didn't think in sentences anymore. And all the memories he had absorbed from his people, the collective memory they shared, dissipated. He was left with the memories of John and the ones he had gathered himself.

He was free.

The one thing he had kept from his alien heritage was Tuning. He was glad. Otherwise, he and Anna would never be able to escape the dark city. He did think, however, that the power exerted to leave the isolated city would drain him completely. It would be the last time he could ever Tune. They would have one chance at escape.

It was definitely worth the risk. Murdoch even knew where he would take Anna away to. They would return to Earth, the planet she had been abducted from. Now immune to sun and water, Murdoch felt it would be the safest place for them. John had no idea where the planet was, and had no knowledge or resource to find it. He could never come looking for Anna or Murdoch.

That suited Murdoch perfectly.