6.

The next time I woke up, it was dark. I blinked blearily, trying to peer through the gloom. "Doctor?" I said, wondering if he was still here. I didn't get a response, which meant he was either in my apartment and doing that creepy statue impersonation thing he did, or. more plausibly, he really was gone. There was a sudden racket at my door and it creaked open slowly. The Doctor hadn't locked it, apparently. A thousand possibilities ran through my mind: burglars, more fae, burglar fae.

"I thought you were going to fix this door," Anji's voice complained, and I relaxed instantly. "It still sticks."

"I meant to. It's just that I never got around to it," I called back apologetically, still half-asleep.

"Hmph." Anji snorted disapprovingly. I could see her fumbling for the light switch, a small black smudge in the dark. I heard the switch click a couple times, but nothing happened. "Oh, come on. Did you blow out the lights again?"

"Yeah. There's some candles on the table. Hold on a sec." I disentangled my arm from the blankets and flicked my hand, muttering "feuer" under my breath. My motley collection of candles flared into life. They illuminated the kitchen and dining area: about half my apartment. Anji made her way into the light, holding what looked like a bag of groceries. "What are you doing here? Not that I mind having a beautiful woman in my place, but…"

"Stop it," Anji said mildly, putting the bag down on the countertop. "Blame that faery friend of yours."

"What?"

"I got back home and found him in my house having a tea party with Chloe. Scared me half to death."

"What?" I asked again. Somehow I couldn't quite picture that. "A tea party, really?"

"Yeah." Anji shook her head, smiling faintly. "He seemed pretty involved in it. He's very nice, for one of the fae." I had to agree with her there. "Anyway. He gave me some money once I stopped trying to attack him and told me to buy you food."

"Oh, God," I groaned, burying my face in my pillow. "That's embarrassing." Anji's words struck me and I raised my head, eying her. "You attacked him?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? I thought he was going to hurt Chloe." Note to self: don't mess with Anji's maternal instincts. "Come over here and help me with this stuff."

"Ugh. Fine." I sat up cautiously. I was feeling a lot better, surprisingly. The pain was still there but it wasn't nearly intense as it had been earlier. I got out of bed and padded over to the kitchen, grabbing a clean shirt off the floor as I went.

"How are you doing?" Anji asked once I'd reached her. Her face in the flickering candlelight was concerned. "He said you'd been attacked."

"Yeah." I shrugged into the shirt. "I'm fine. The Doctor patched me up."

"The Doctor, huh? Guess he lives up to his name." Anji glanced sideways at me. "What happened?"

"I went to Sam's house and got jumped by a demon." I crossed my arms, shuddering at the memory.

"Sam?" Anji sounded distant, like someone trying to remember something.

"Sam Jones. Y'know, the girl who disappeared?"

"Oh. Yes, Sam. Right." She shook her head. "Sorry." I stared at her. Something was up. First Sam's dad, now Anji...people were starting to forget this girl. That worried me. "A demon, though? Sounds nasty."

"It was. Haven't seen one of those things since my mom died."

"Hmm." Anji bit her lip, then shook her head. "Anyway. Food." She pointed at the bag and I eyed it suspiciously.

"You didn't get any of that weird organic stuff, did you?"

"No, Fitz. I know you hate healthy food," she said dryly.

"Damn right I do." I pulled the bag towards me and peered inside. "I don't suppose you picked up any cigarettes?" I asked hopefully. Anji wrinkled her nose.

"Of course not. You really should quit, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, pulling food out of the bag. "Thanks for this."

"No problem." Anji smiled at me. "I can't stay, though. I have to put Chloe to bed. The Doctor said he'd be by later." She paused for a second. "You know, I think he likes you."

"I wish he didn't. Do you know how scary it is to even be in the same room as something like him?"

"I heard that," the Doctor said from behind us. I stifled a yelp, dropping the can I was holding. It rolled towards the window and the Doctor stopped it with his foot. He bent down and picked it up as he walked toward us. He nodded at Anji as he passed. "Thank you for doing this."

"Sure." She turned to leave and I gave her my best pleading look. Anji just shook her head. "See you later, Fitz. Doctor." She left the area of light and I heard a muffled curse as she stumbled over something. Then the door clicked open and Anji was gone, leaving me alone with the Doctor.

I turned to him with a nervous smile. "Um, about what I just said-"

"It's fine." He waved a dismissive hand, stepping closer. I backed away and he frowned, taking another step forward. I made to back away again and he grabbed my wrist. "Stop moving," the Doctor said in a voice tinged with frustration. "I just want to ask how you are feeling."

"Uh," I started. Jesus, his hand was freezing. "A lot better, actually. Thanks."

"Good." The Doctor let go with a satisfied look on his face. "Go sit down."

"Ok…" I did as he said, a bit puzzled. I watched him as he emptied the grocery bag on the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking," the Doctor said matter-of-factly. "You need protein. Do you like chicken?"

"Yes," I said automatically before my mind processed what he'd said. "Wait, hold on. What?" That wasn't suspicious in the least. "Look-" I said, pushing the chair back.

"Sit down." The Doctor didn't even turn around, just kept rummaging through my cabinets. I dropped back down immediately. "Where do you keep your cooking utensils?"

"Bottom shelf, third cabinet," I replied distractedly. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why wouldn't I?" The Doctor turned around, holding a pan. He'd managed to find one made of aluminum. He seemed genuinely confused by my question.

"Um." I blinked. "Because it's not really a thing faeries do? Cooking for humans?"

The Doctor made a harumphing noise and turned back to the stove. "I am hardly a typical fae," he said quietly. Anji's words came back to me. I think he likes you.

Great.

"I've figured. Look, as nice as this is, I'm not exactly sure I trust you."

"Fitz!" The Doctor set the pan down forcefully, turning around with a growl. Crap. I'd said the wrong thing and now he was going to kill me.

"Sorry, sorry!" I held my arms up defensively, wondering if throwing a candle at the Doctor would do anything more than irritate him. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that-" The Doctor stepped across to the table and I closed my eyes, flinching away.

"Fitz," the Doctor said again, more quietly this time. I cautiously opened one eye to find him crouched down in front of me. He gently pushed my arms aside and reached a hand towards my face. I pulled away from the touch and he dropped his hand with a sigh. "I am not going to hurt you. All right?"

I bit my lip, then nodded. I believed him. For now, at least. "Yeah. All right."

"Good." The Doctor stood up decisively. He walked back over to the stove and started clattering around.

"Um, is there anything I can do to help?"

"No," the Doctor said, dumping some food into the pan. "You would just mess it up."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, and the Doctor shot me a grin over his shoulder.

"Tell me what you found out from Samantha's father."

"I don't know." I leaned my elbows on the table and sighed, watching a candle moodily. "I asked him some questions but he said he didn't even have a daughter. What's up with that? And then Anji too. She forgot about Sam for a bit before you came. I don't know what's going on."

"That is worrying," the Doctor mused, cutting up a carrot. I don't even own a cutting board.

"Why was there a demon there, anyway? Did somebody send it? What for?" I rested my forehead on the table and groaned. Too many questions, exactly zero answers. "Ugh." I heard a footstep and looked up to see the Doctor setting a pair of plates down on the table. How the hell had he cooked that so fast? Whatever. It looked good.

"We will have to find out, then." The Doctor sat down across from me.

"Yeah," I said glumly. "I want to go back to that lot, take a poke around."

"I will come with you. For protection."

"Thanks." I hated to admit it, but that made me feel a lot better. If there were any more nasties hanging around that area I could do with a bit of supernatural back-up. I picked up my fork and poked at the chicken experimentally. The Doctor had managed to whip up some sort of culinary masterpiece in less than an hour. I'd only had food this fancy a handful of times before in my life, and it was a bit weird to be eating it in my kitchen, surrounded by candles. Kind of like a romantic date.

And I had not just thought that.

I took a bite and glanced up to see the Doctor watching me anxiously. "What?" I asked after I'd swallowed.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, actually. This is really good." The Doctor gave me a pleased smile and dipped his head, picking up his own fork.

The rest of the evening kind of passed by in a blur. I zoned out about halfway through the meal, suddenly exhausted. I think I remember the Doctor helping me to bed. I could hear him washing the dishes as I lay in bed, which was weird. There was a faery in my apartment washing dishes. Weird.

That was the last thought I had before I fell asleep again.