Many thanks and much gratitude to my beta, xfang-girlx.

Finally a chapter that's not so violent and full of sex, but there are a few choice words. I apologize for any disappointment you may feel due to the absence of those things. xD

Sera groaned, not wanting to open her eyes. They felt as if they had been glued together because they felt sticky and difficult to separate. Her head ached terribly. She moved her hand to touch her head, feeling the pull of the IV tube and the sting of the needle as it moved under her flesh. Her eyes popped open and immediately closed again when the fake bluish light of the fluorescent lights inflicted instant blindness and surging pain. Groaning again, she pulled at the tube attached to her arm in an effort to keep it from being jerked out of her vein as she reached up to investigate her head. Her head was bound in yards of white bandages. Opening her eyes slowly this time, she gazed up at the white ceiling then the light green walls around her. The hospital. She was in the hospital. Her eyes fell on the handsome red-haired man sitting in the chair beside her bed. Dr. Blackwood was incredibly sexy and enticing while awake, but asleep he was downright cute. His long black eyelashes lay against his ivory cheeks covered with the lightest smattering of freckles. His shoulder length red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and tied at the nape of his neck with a white ribbon. Where did he find that? He was wearing his doctor's coat and green scrubs, all of which were wrinkled due to him sleeping in them. Extending her hand toward him, her fingers touched his shoulder which caused him to jump and snort when she startled him into wakefulness. She giggled when he blinked in confusion then hurriedly stood to his feet. Her laughter vanished when he leaned over her and began examining her. Holding her breath as his expert hands skimmed across her cheeks before her gently palpated her head, she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting to the flashes of pain that ran through her brain like lightning bolts. Her eyes widened when his light blue eyes stared deeply into hers. Unfortunately, it was the gaze of a doctor examining his patient instead of a romantic stare.

"How do you feel?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Awful," she answered, forcing a smile to her lips. "How long have I been out? Two or three days?"

Dr. Blackwood snorted derisively before he could stop himself. He placed his hand over hers that was laying over her belly. His big hand and long fingers extended over hers, partly pressing against her abdomen. "You've been in a drug induced coma for three weeks. Your skull was fractured so badly it caused swelling of your brain. It was as if your skull had been caught in a vice and crushed. What happened?"

"I-I d-don't kn-know," she stammered, gingerly touching her forehead as not to set off another explosion of pain. She remembered exactly what had happened. Tears singed her eyes with the recollection of BB squeezing her head with the intention of breaking her skull and turning her brain to mush. Her eyelids fluttered shut and a tear slipped from the pool that had formed in the corner.

"It's all right," Dr. Blackwood cooed, scooting forward to pull her into his arms. "You're going to all right."

Am I? Am I really? I am a serial killer who fell in love with a COMPLETE psycho serial killer who tried to kill me, she thought to herself, more tears sliding down her cheeks. She was aware that she was crazy, but it was the containable kind of crazy - the kind of crazy that could be pushed in a somewhat positive or even useful direction. So what if there was one less child molester or serial rapist in the world? Wasn't that a good thing?

"I'm frightened," she whispered, encircling his waist with her arms. She gasped when his arms tightened around her shoulders protectively.

"I'll take care of you. I've been taking care of you," he returned, his lips grazing her cheek as he pulled back to look at her. "I'll continue to do so."

~...~

Ethan Blackwood lay in bed unable to sleep because he was thinking about the woman he had left at the hospital. Serafina Bethesda had always been a mystery to him; a mystery he had grown more curious about solving in the years he had worked with her. She seemed strong, unemotional, stalwart, and solid as a rock mentally as if nothing could move her but everything could be moved by her. Then other times he had seen her weak, afraid, falling apart, and needing someone to help her through...through whatever she was going through. And beautiful. She was beautiful. Her chocolate-brown hair and eyes looked as warm and rich as the candy they shared a color with. There was something else in those eyes, something dark that escaped explanation. He sighed in exasperation, giving up on the possibility of sleep at the moment. Throwing back the covers, he got out of the bed and went straight to his computer. He might as well do a little research on the conundrum named Sera. Or should she be considered a problem of a different sort? It was too soon to tell.

After typing her name into the search field, an unexpectedly lengthy list of options appeared on the screen. Ethan read about her mother's horrifying suicide, her father's grisly murder, the police investigation that centered on her and her long stay in a mental institution after her father's death, her early high school graduation at fifteen, and then topping that off with graduating from medical school by the age of twenty with a master's degree. So far what he had found was amazing; an unbelievable bout of tragedies followed by astounding triumphs. She had always behaved professionally and with utmost precision at work. She kept to herself and barely talked to anyone. He was one of the few people she would actually converse with at any length while at work. What about her secret life? Her personal life away from the hospital?

Leaning back in his chair, Ethan threaded his fingers together behind his head. He had to find out what she was really like, who she really was. It was completely inappropriate to ask out a coworker, but she would not be a coworker if he had her transferred to a different surgery department. She seemed to have a big heart for children so maybe he would suggest a change to the obstetrics division or intensive pediatric surgical ward. However, he would hate not being able to work with her on regular basis. But if he could see her every night on a personal level that would not matter. Yet he could be assuming too much. She may not have even the slightest bit of interest in him and would view that as a shameful breach of employee policy.

"Dammit," he grumbled, moving back to the bed in hopes of getting sleep. Laying in bed, he continued to think about the woman whose bedside he had sat at for three weeks worrying and waiting for her to regain consciousness. Hopefully soon he would get answers to his questions, unraveling the mystery of her.

~...~

Sera was glad to be home after her lengthy stay at the hospital. Going back to work would not happen any time soon. She was not sure if that was a good or bad thing. There would be too much idle time, too much time to think. At least Tutanubis would be by her side to keep her company and protect her. There again, the positive or negative consequences of that were debatable. Grumbling to herself in aggravation, feeling like a prisoner in her own home, she flopped down on the couch and turned on the television. The news was on.

"Oh, great. Now to hear bad news, bad news, and more bad news," she muttered, laying her arm over hers eyes. She only half listened to the stories of the latest airplane crash, what stocks were up, and the forecast of rain that was moving into the area.

"A man was found murdered in his own bedroom last night," the smooth voiced commentator announced.

"There's a shocker. A murder in Los Angeles," she mumbled, turning her head to look at the television.

"Shocking details have been released about the murder by secret sources who say the victim was forty-four year old freelance writer known as Believe Bridesmaid. The man died of asphyxiation. Exceptionally odd evidence in the form of four Wara Ningyo, Japanese straw dolls used for curses, something like Voodoo dolls, were left at the crime scene. An even stranger circumstance of the murder case is that the door was locked from the inside, and there were no signs of forced entry at the door or the window. In other news..." the man continued, dropping the story immediately as if was yesterday's news.

Sera guessed it was in fact old news since it had been divulged to the public, and there were a hundred other stories to get to. It never ceased to amaze her how many details that should never be released were given news agencies by their secret sources. Immoral greedy bastards. Sometimes she wondered if was the murderers themselves who called in the details as if to scream 'Hey! Look at what I did!'

"Oh, god," she gasped, coming to a sitting position so swiftly it made her dizzy. She personally knew one person who would be that arrogant and boastful. Her heart was pounding and she thought she might faint. "No. It can't be him. It just can't."

"It is," Tutanubis informed her, appearing at the end of the couch.

"Oh, shit!" she exclaimed, holding her hand over her heart that nearly burst out of her chest. "Dammit, don't do that!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, kneeling beside her. He was still taller than her even on his knees. His arms slid around her to hold her because he could see her shaking. "I've been following him. I watched him do it. He drugged the man first, strangled him with a rope, then slashed his chest, carving the name of his next victim into the skin. He also had the nerve to redress the man."

"How thoughtful," she croaked, her voice weak and tremulous. She pressed her cheek against her Shinigami's chest seeking comfort in the heat of his body. There was no heartbeat to soothe her. "Sick, cruel, evil bastard."

Tutanubis closed his eyes and kept his mouth firmly clamped shut until the urge to tell her 'I told you so' passed. He considered keeping the next tidbit of information to himself, but he felt the need to tell her. "Guess who's the secret source feeding information to the media and the police?"

"Oh, no," she murmured, leaning back to look at the wolf headed death god. "What an unbelievably cocky egotist! What an asshole!"

What better way to cover his tracks than to pretend to be a squealer divulging sensitive information when he was in fact the killer? The truest case of hiding in plain sight ever. Her head hurt from the totally twisted logic. He truly was diabolical. BB was in a class all by himself.

"What do I do?" Sera asked, seeing Tutanubis's eyes narrow as he revealed his vicious pointed teeth.

"Nothing," he snarled between his pointed ivory teeth.

"But I can't just - " She stopped talking when he squeezed her upper arms until it pinched and made her yelp.

"You can just stand by without doing anything. You will not get involved with this. I won't let you."

~...~

Four days later...

Sera had just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang. She hurriedly dried off, pulling on black capri length leggings and an over-sized red and black striped shirt. Looking like a clean hobo never bothered her a bit. Leaving her hair in the towel wrapped around her head like a turban, she cautiously but quickly moved to answer the door. Stopping by the downstairs kitchen that was by the front door, she grabbed a butcher knife before advancing. Gazing through the peephole required her to stand on her tiptoes. Hopping up and down a few times, she was able to see red hair and a familiar, very welcome, very attractive face. She threw the knife in her hand back into the kitchen, wincing as it made a horrible clanging sound in the metal sink. Snatching the towel off of her head, she threw it into the empty room on her left.

"Sera? Are you all right?" Dr. Blackwood called.

"I'm fine. I just tripped over something," she called to him, rolling her eyes. "God, I'm such an idiot," she hissed under her breath. Pasting a smile onto her face that she hoped was not too plastic, she opened the door. Seeing the bags in his hands, she asked,"What's this?"

"Dinner. Can I come in?" he inquired, lifting the bags as if to remind her that he was holding them. "I was kind of thinking I'd stay and eat with you, but if you would like to consider it delivery, I can do that as well."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling the heat of embarrassment warming her cheeks and neck. Reaching out for one of the bags, she moved to the side to allow him entrance. "Just go up the stairs there. I mainly use the second floor."

"Wow, this is nice," he murmured, glancing around the sparsely yet immaculately arranged and decorated house.

"Thanks," she responded, leading him to the upstairs kitchen. She set the bag down on the counter before opening the cabinet to retrieve dishes.

"You don't have to do all that," he said, pulling the plastic containers out of the bags.

"I don't mind. Oh, that looks great." She could feel herself drooling as she looked at the containers full of various greens and lettuces topped with feta cheese and steak strips.

"I wanted to bring you something healthy. Have you been taking care of yourself?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" She picked up one of the containers to slide the salad onto the plate.

"No," he laughed, assisting her with the salad dressing.

"Any wine?" She received a raised eyebrow of incredulity in answer.

"Sparkling water." He pulled out the bottles.

"I'll get wine glasses anyway. I like to be fancy," she replied to lighten the mood.

They picked up their plates to sit down at the dining room table across from the kitchen in front of the floor to ceiling windows.

"This is a beautiful view," Dr. Blackwood complimented, looking out of the windows.

"I love it here. It's so peaceful, isolated," she murmured, stuffing a forkful of the salad into her mouth.

"Do you like being alone?" His summer sky blue eyes met hers.

Sera could feel him looking at her, but she kept her eyes turned to stare out of the window. She watched as a deer, a doe, cautiously stepped into the clearing below. The nervous animal's ears twitched and turned in an effort to detect any sounds of danger. The doe looked back toward the forest she had ventured from and a small fawn tentatively walked forward to join his mother.

"Look, Dr. Blackwood, how lovely," she whispered as if the animal might hear her.

"Ethan."

"What?" She turned her gaze upon him, blinking in confusion.

"Call me Ethan. It's my name you know." He smiled at her, receiving a more relaxed and genuine smile in return. "Yes. Deer. Beautiful."

"They are beautiful...deer," she mumbled, unable to move her gaze from his mesmerizing eyes.

Ethan Blackwood nearly laughed. He had never seen the usually cool, calm, and collected woman so out of sorts. He found her amusing and captivating. "So what have you been doing to keep busy?"

"I've decided to take up my mother's hobby of pottery. She made these dishes," Sera informed him, rubbing the smooth lacquered edge of the hand hewn plate. She had watched her mother make these plates. They were concentric circles of blue, beginning in the middle with a circle of the lightest, palest blue, the color getting darker with each successive ring until it ended on the outside with a blue so deep it almost looked black.

"They're marvelous. She did gorgeous work," he said, pushing his salad around to see the rich colors.

"She was an incredible woman." She suddenly lost her appetite. It still decimated her emotionally when she thought about her mother.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to - "

"It's okay." She received another dubious glance. "Really. I'm okay." She was such a liar, and he knew it.

At first the conversation was stilted and uncomfortable, circulating around small talk, until they began discussing their days at medical school studying to ascertain their current careers. By the end of dinner, they had relaxed again and the conversation flowed more freely.

"Shall we have dessert in front of the television?" she suggested, taking their dishes to the sink. She pulled the dessert plates from the cabinet that matched their dinner plates. Once the chocolate molten lava cakes were transferred to the plates and their glasses were refilled with fizzy water, they walked to the living room.

Sera almost jumped out of her skin when the doctor, Ethan, sat so close to her that his thigh pressed against hers. He was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a plain beige button up shirt. The muted colors were actually flattering against his pale, freckled skin. Grabbing the remote, she turned the television on to distract herself. Ethan was so good-looking, so smart, so personable...the list could go on forever. He was damn near perfect. Too much so for the likes of her. She was deeply damaged, hopelessly tarnished, and broken beyond repair. She picked up her glass draining half of its contents. If only it were wine to calm her nerves.

"Another strange murder has occurred in Los Angeles," the female news anchor proclaimed, consulting her computer monitor for what to say next. "A thirteen year old girl was found dead in the basement of her family's home. She had received blunt force trauma to the head. Police investigators believe this crime is linked to the murder of Believe Bridesmaid. Three Wara Ningyo were found at the scene."

Nausea engulfed Sera. She felt as if she had been microwaved: hot on the outside while cold on the inside. Her hand trembled as she set the plate containing the decadent dessert on the table. Once again she had lost her appetite. This time there was no getting it back. She wrapped her arms around her belly as if to hold her rolling and lurching stomach still. A thirteen year old girl. A child. You bastard. You killed an innocent child. How dare you...HOW DARE YOU!' her voice screamed inside her head. Her hands flew to her ears in a useless attempt to stop the noise but she could not halt the storm raging within her mind and body.

"Sera? Sera!" Ethan exclaimed, trying to pull her hands away from her head. He misinterpreted her reaction as suffering from agonizing pain due to her head injury. Sliding his arms under legs and behind her back, he picked her up from the couch to carry her to her bedroom which he guessed was behind the first door to the left. Pushing open the half closed door with his foot, he stepped inside to lay her on the bed. Her body quaked and felt cold and damp to the touch. Her already light skin had become so white she resembled a ghost. Shock. She was experiencing shock. What the hell had happened? He pulled back the bed coverings, lying down next to her before he pulled the sheet and comforter up to their chins. He nestled her body against his, tucking her head under his chin. "Sera, talk to me."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ruined your evening," she said, feeling the warmth of his body soaking into hers.

"You didn't ruin anything. I'm just glad I could be here with you when this happened," he murmured, hugging her tighter to his body. He kissed her forehead, noticing the gradual warming of her cool skin. That was a very good thing. Maybe he should schedule her for a CAT scan to detect any contusions, lesions, or other injuries to her brain.

"I'm all right," she whispered, pressing her body closer to his. She felt secure and completely safe in his arms.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" he asked, rushing to add, "It would be strictly to make sure you are all right. I don't want to leave you alone after that episode. No funny business, no sexual advances. I promise."

Sera sighed, snuggling into him. At this moment she would not mind a hilarious bout of tomfoolery of the adult kind. Being held in a solely platonic manner, to be watched over in a non creepy way with no ulterior motives, was quite comforting and enjoyable as well.