Wow, OK. Where to begin? Well, hello again! It's been another long break, for which I am excruciatingly sorry. To those of you who have stuck with this the whole way through, you deserve some kind of medal. A commendation, at least. However, I expect you will simply have to make do with another chapter as my way of saying thanks. I mean, as well as me literally saying 'thank you'. But there you are, and I'm rambling. So, THANK YOU for sticking with me, and for all of your alerts and favourites and lovely lovely reviews. I appreciate every single one of them. :) (Reminder: replies to reviews are at the bottom, if anyone is interested.)

'Sleep On It'

Myrnin's POV

Myrnin pulled her in closer for a brief moment.

"It gets better, Claire." He said, his voice soft. "I promise it does."

He allowed them to just sit there for a moment, then he sprang into action. Not literally. More mentally.

"Come on. There's been quite enough excitement today, I think. You need rest."

He pulled Claire to her feet, and she sagged in his arms, suddenly completely exhausted. Myrnin picked her up, and deposited her onto the bed she'd left empty the night before. A shiver ran through him as he recalled with perfect clarity the way she had looked, standing there in the half-light. The contrast of how she looked now almost shocked him, which things rarely did. Claire seemed to have shrunk into herself, closed a part of herself off to him, somehow. She was watching him now, out of frightened, bewildered eyes.

"Don't leave." She whispered. Myrnin didn't answer; he simply sat down with his back against the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Claire sighed contentedly and curled closer to his head. After a while, Myrnin allowed his eyes to drift close, listening to the sound of her breathing. Just as he thought she was asleep, he felt the feather-light flutter of her fingers in his hair, pulling gently through his curls. Myrnin let his head fall back onto the duvet, his lips quirking into a barely-there smile. Neither of them spoke again until Claire's fingers had stilled in his hair, and her slow breaths had become even slower.

Myrnin stood and bent down, bringing her pale hand to his lips.

"I think I love you, my little bird." He whispered softly. "And I am a coward, because I cannot tell you." He sighed, and straightened up, leaving the room soundlessly.

Claire's POV

Morning dawned, and Claire slept on. She didn't wake at any of the strange noises coming from the lab - not even when a lab table suddenly collapsed, sending all manner of items crashing to the floor. She slept through Amelie's somewhat unwelcome afternoon visit, and through Myrnin's resulting destructive rage. She slept until the minute the sun sank behind the horizon, and dragged the light down with it. Then her eyes snapped open. Claire lay still for a moment in the pitch darkness, then sat up.

"Myrnin?" She whispered impulsively.

There was silence, then the door was opened, flooding the room with light. Claire's eyes adjusted immediately.

"Claire. You're awake."

She slipped the covers off and swung her legs around so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Myrnin, I'm-" She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "-I'm thirsty."

"Of course."

Myrnin disappeared for a moment, then reappeared holding two blood bags. He handed them to Claire, and she looked at him questioningly.

"It's mine. I thought you might find it... easier to drink from one of those. Although it is colder. Would you like me to heat it up?"

Claire shook her head quickly, and murmured her thanks. She carefully ripped the corner off one of the bags, and lifted it to her lips. The scent wafted up to her and she felt her fangs slide down, her vision flashing red. She caught Myrnin's eye and quickly looked away again, blushing deeply. It seemed wrong, somehow, to do this in front of him. She swallowed thickly, and brought the bag to her lips again.

The first taste was heaven, and her grasp involuntarily tightened for a second before she forced herself to relax. It took a lot of self restraint for her not to gulp it down greedily - she was determined not to do that in front of Myrnin.

Claire finished the first, and moved onto the second. There was no doubt that it was much, much better when she drank directly from him. She resolutely kept her eyes on the bag of blood, instead of allowing them to wander over to Myrnin. The supply of blood ran out too quickly, and she meticulously squeezed out the last droplets of blood before passing the empty bag back to Myrnin a little sheepishly.

"Um. Thanks."

He gave her a wry smile.

"It's the least I can do." He frowned. "Or the most, depending on how you look at it."

Claire grinned, and it felt like she hadn't smiled in years. It quickly faded, however, and a heavy silence descended.

"So what's- what's happening today?" She inquired. "More tests?"

Myrnin nodded.

Claire grimaced, feeling an irrational spike of fear.

"O-Okay. I'll just get changed."

The man in front of her tilted his head to the side slightly, studying her.

"We don't have to, Claire. If you don't want to." He said softly.

Relief washed over her, and she licked dry lips.

"...Thank you." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Thanks."

Claire felt the end of the bed dip down as Myrnin sat next to her. She could sense his movement even before one long arm wrapped itself around her shoulders, and he pulled her to his side in an awkward hug.

"I'm so sorry, little one." He murmured, his lips in her hair. "For everything."

Claire opened her eyes slowly, gazing at the wall in silence as she considered his words.

"It's...OK, Myrnin. I'm OK." She twisted round, looking into his eyes. "I forgive you." She whispered.

Myrnin's whole countenance seemed to relax suddenly, as if those words were what he had been waiting for. A worried crease between his eyebrows smoothed out, making him look young again. Claire hadn't even noticed the change in him, so concerned had she been with herself, but now that she thought about it, she realised how different he'd been acting recently.

Without thinking about it, she reached out a hand, placing it near his cheek barely touching his skin. He sighed, and his dark eyes slid half-shut as he tilted his head into her touch.

"Claire, I-" He broke off, and Claire heard his breath hitch slightly. "...Thank you."

She knew he had been going to say something else. Instead of asking, she just nodded to herself, letting her hand drop to her side.

"So," Myrnin said lightly, after a moment's silence. "What would you like to do today?"

Claire smiled, and felt a little bubble of happiness rise inside her chest. She had a whole day to do whatever she wanted.

"Can- can I go and see my friends?"

Myrnin hesitated for a second, surveying her.

"Do you think you are- up to it?"

Claire met his eyes, then nodded carefully.

"Yes. It's not like I'm gonna want to attack them- is it?"

Myrnin shook his head, but his expression remained guarded.

"No..." He said slowly. Claire waited, but he didn't say anything else.

"Great, let's go!" She said, unable to keep the enthusiasm out of her voice. Myrnin watched as she grabbed clothes from her bag and disappeared into his bathroom, sliding the lock shut behind her. When she emerged again barely five minutes later, he was miraculously already changed and standing with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for her. Claire subconsciously noted down what he was wearing with appreciation: black jeans, customary flip-flops, a purple silk shirt and a black waistcoat. The shirt was open at the collar, exposing the alabaster skin of his neck.

Before she knew what was happening, Claire found her gaze latched onto his throat. Her teeth started sharpening in reaction, and a low growl slipped from between them. Her surprise at this snapped her out of her blood haze, and her hand flew to cover her mouth.

She met Myrnin's eyes just in time to register the fact that they were also widened in slight surprise, before he gained control of his expression again. He relaxed out of the stiff defensive posture he'd taken, and took a step towards her.

"Don't worry, my dear. It's - a natural reaction." He murmured.

Claire nodded and bit her lip, her cheeks flushing with shame.

"Maybe I shouldn't go see my friends today." She said quietly, her voice breaking.

"Nonsense!" Myrnin smiled at her reassuringly, and placed a comforting hand on her arm in a comfortingly human gesture. "You'll be fine."

Claire searched his face, and found herself believing his words. He flashed her another brief smile before turning and opening a portal straight to the front door of the Glass House. Claire's hand slipped into his instinctively, and he glanced down at her.

"Ready, my dear?"

She took a deep breath, and blew it out shakily, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous.

"OK."

OK, I know you definitely deserved a longer chapter after waiting so long, but I kind of wanted to build up a bit o' tension before she goes to see the Glass House inhabitants for the first time in many chapters...

Here's review replies, if you guys want them:

SassYNoles: Don't worry - if I have my way, there will most definitely be some Myrnin/Claire coming this way! :)

sweetascandy: Yes, I'm back! Well, sort of, anyway :P Thankyou :) x

devilthroughandthrough: Yeah, I was a little worried it was too not Claire, but I'm glad you liked it! XD x

Jessabells: Sorry for the wait! Thanks for your review :)

Margie22: Wow, thanks! Sorry that I immediately let you down with your request, but you're right. I'm being distracted by exams :( Thanks so much for your review, especially the last part! Made me smile :D

Anonymous: :D Happy belated birthday! xx

whereangelsfeartotread:Ha, glad you liked it so much, although I'm sorry I deprived you of sleep! :) Thank you thank you for your comments! *evil smile* Although I may have them interrupted one more time... :D x

Anonymous: :O You know it too? XD I never thought I'd find someone else! Haha x

vicky199416: Heh, thanks for the review + the compliments (they make the writing world go round). I agree with what you said, I personally feel like I've lost the characters completely. I think I started off OK, but then I hadn't read one of the books for ages been publications, so my writing style slipped. :P Hope you caught up your work! :) xxx

Melzie97: I'm not quite finished yet! :) (Hope that's a good thing!) Thanks for the review x

Emma: Thanks for the review, I agree completely, they are an amazing pairing. Although, having read the latest book, I don't think it's ever going to happen. Claire's too in love with stupid Shane...

Lala Danvers: Ha, thanks :) Here you go then, another chapter! Thanks for the favourites as well :) xxx

JayJayxRae: Wow. Thank you so so so so much for your review! It really made my day :) I hope you'll be glad to know that receiving your review motivated me to finally get this chapter finished and posted! :) xxxxx