We're almost there, thanks for waiting for so long

I still don't own Rocky Horror, sadly, but it's been temporarily left in my capable hands Enjoy!

"So what happened today? With Betty and Ralph?" The mention of the incident draws Riff-Raff and Magenta out from the shadows once more, they hover near their sister, anticipating her reaction.

Janet looks irritated, shakes her head, signaling she doesn't want to talk about that right now. The feeling of betrayal was still too close to deal with at the moment. "I thought they were my friends," she laments.

"I'm sure they were just surprised to see you…like this. I mean, I'm used to it, but they haven't seen you since any of this happened."

"I can't help what's happened, Brad! I can't take it back, and I hate feeling like I should want to!"

"Maybe you should call them up, tell them…well, don't tell them everything, but enough. I don't know, at this point I don't even know what is and what isn't too strange for most people."

Janet gives him a smile, "You've crossed over. You're not like them anymore. Do you really think talking to them would help?"

Brad ponders, "I don't know, but maybe it would help to let them know how you feel."

"They probably don't want to talk to me. They think I joined a cult."

"They're humans," Magenta observes harshly, "they don't matter."

Brad turns to face her, offended by her assessment. "I suppose you think the same of me."

Magenta looks confused, looks between Brad and Janet, then over her shoulder to exchange a grin with her brother. "Don't be stupid, you're not a human to us. You're married to Janus, you're von of us."

Brad is amazed; his mouth hangs open, speechless at the certainty in her voice. Riff-Raff confirms with a drawl, "Like it or not. Welcome to the club. Do you want the tattoo now or later?"

"What, like your…" he trails off with a forced laugh, his eyes straying to Janet's legs, up to where he knows her birthmark is. "Are you serious?" Riff and Magenta exchange looks and nod.

"Don't make him get a tattoo," Janet interjects. "He doesn't need to be marked. Besides, he's still a human, it would get confusing."

Relieved, Brad agrees with her, "Thanks, though. That means a lot."

Several weeks pass, soon it's the middle of December, and true to Janet's predictions, her siblings are soon grateful for their new winter clothes. Their only sign of rebellion against "Earth culture" lies in the alterations they attempted. A few rips here, some embroidered sequins there, and they now sport a look that Brad calls "undercover Transylvanian".

Slowly but surely, they were all putting the events of the castle behind them. Janet was especially pleased when one day at work during a bathroom break, she spotted a small pool of purple in the toilet. Relieved that her encounter with Frank and Rocky hadn't gotten her pregnant, she called Brad from work to tell him the good news. After some awkwardness about 'women's troubles', not to mention hearing it billed as a good thing, Brad is as happy about it as she is.

Encouraged to venture out into the world, Riff-Raff and Magenta take to prowling the streets in the early mornings and evenings, learning their way around town. They are met with a few startled townspeople at first, but after their habit becomes routine they soon attract fewer stares. They remain aloof from society, though, their manner striking many as either painfully shy or possibly paranoid. The story that they were Janet's long-lost family had circulated for enough people to accept their presence.

One day, Brad is startled to see a familiar figure stalking through his office up to his cubicle. Although she is hiding behind overlarge sunglasses, he can distinguish Magenta's features well enough that he pulls her in and makes her duck down out of sight.

"What are you doing here? What's wrong?" He hisses urgently, looking frantically around to make sure no one had seen her come in.

"Ve haff to talk," she whispers back, looking very distressed. "I'm…I might be…I can't go alone, it could be your fault and if it is then Riff would kill me!" She prattles incomprehensibly. She is such a picture of earnest distress that Brad grabs his coat and follows her out with no further questions until they get to the car. Once they're driving through town, he starts in on her again.

"What are you talking about? What's my fault?"

"There's a doctor in town…one of our doctors…ve need to be sure. Vhen Janus and I vere…not ourselves?" She hints.

Brad is still confused, but picks up on some of her hints, "What about that?"

"Please, ve need to see the doctor. To test for…human DNA."

He looks at her quizzically, then laughs, "Human? Janet and I didn't do that while you were each other! No way!" They stop at a red light and he gives her a reassuring smile.

Magenta pulls off her sunglasses and stares at him. "You didn't? You're sure?"

"I think I would remember if I had."

That's when she grabs him around the neck and kisses him on the mouth. With a dark chuckle she sits back, looking very relieved. The light turns green and they pull forward. Suddenly, a car coming from the left-hand corner of the intersection careens through the red light on his side and crashes into the front-driver side of Brad's car! He's thrown against his sister-in-law as shards of glass rain down from his window. Blood flows down his face and pools into Magenta's lap, and her eyes widen in shock. She leaps out of the car and storms up to the other car. The other driver, like Magenta, is miraculously not in bad shape. She points accusingly, like a malediction, screeching for the whole town to hear: "He killed my brother! He killed my brother!!" She keeps repeating this frantic scream while people call for an ambulance. When help finally arrives, Brad is removed from the wreckage and placed on a gurney. He's still alive, unconscious and bleeding badly, but alive. Magenta finds herself guided onto the ambulance with him, and she's given something for the shock. The police are on the scene as well, taking the man responsible for the accident into custody.

The whole way to the hospital, Magenta doesn't take her eyes off of Brad. The EMT hooks him up to an IV and goes into the front of the ambulance.

Brad's eyes flicker open, with a soft groan he looks around, wondering where he is. Magenta sees him move and has to stop herself from pouncing on him.

"Hey…'Genta…I…heard what you…said. What you…c-called me." He struggles to string words together.

"Ve're going to a hospital. Don't die. Janus vould be upset," she advises him.

He smiles, seeing right through her cool act. "You need…human name. You can't give your real one. Understand?" She nods.

"I don't know how to name myself in Earthling," she whispers almost inaudibly, her mouth right up to his ear. "You choose one."

"Me?"

"Riff named me vhen I vas born. You name me now."

Brad is touched to say the least. He takes her hand, thinking for a minute before suggesting. "How about Margot? I think it suits you. Kind of…foreign…dark…"

She nods, not sure what to think of her new name. "Mar-go" she tests it softly as Brad slips back into unconsciousness.

They pull right up to the ER entrance and process him in. Magenta waits fearfully as he's sent into surgery. She doesn't even know how to call home to tell anyone what happened. Hours drag on, she is certain the clock on the wall must have stopped when a nurse approaches her.

"Excuse me, you came in with Mr. Majors, is that right?" Magenta nods stiffly. "Are you family?"

"He married my sister," she rasps hoarsely.

"What's your name?"

She pauses, remembering what they'd discussed in the ambulance, "Margot."

The nurse smiles, "That's a pretty name."

Magenta looks up, surprised, "It is?"

"I think so. It definitely suits you."

But not even the pleasure of learning that she was given a 'pretty' name would take her mind off of the one who gave it to her. "How is he?"

"Recovering. He was very lucky he got help when he did. He had a few broken ribs and some lacerations, but he's going to be fine. They just stitched him up and now he's resting." Magenta clutches her heart and sinks down into a seat. "Do you want to see him? He's in room 147." She points the way helpfully.

Magenta is back on her feet in a flash and finds his room with no trouble. When she sees him propped up in the hospital bed, she puts her hand over her mouth. He would recover, he is alive and healthy, but the scarring…

"Oh, Majors, you're a mess," she sighs mournfully. She glides to his bed and stares at him. His face is crisscrossed in stitches like a jigsaw puzzle; it reminds her of some of the more creative threats that Frank had used to ensure her 'cooperation' in the past.

"Is it bad?"

Magenta nods tactlessly, but softly asks, "Does it hurt?"

"I'm really sore, but that's to be expected. I think I'll live."

Gesturing to her face, she hesitantly asks, "Have you…seen…?"

Brad nods grimly, not meeting her eyes. "Hey, can you get home all right from here, or should I call you a ride?"

"I think I can."

"It's not too far to drive. Hope it isn't too long for you to walk, though."

"I'll be fine," she assures him half-heartedly, anxious to get home to tell the others what happened. On her way out, two nurses are talking rather loudly together, and in the few seconds that the door hangs open, Brad hears one say to the other, "Too bad about that guy, I saw in the paper last week he was just married, too."

"Yeah, what's his wife gonna think of that?"

Magneta leaves the hospital and sets out back home. On the way, she looks into the florist shop and gets a rather human idea.

"Afternoon, miss, is there something I can help you with?"

Magenta looks at the shop keeper awkwardly, still not used to being addressed by humans. "There vas an accident. They say people give people these…things…" she falters, gesturing to the arranged bouquets, "when people are in the hospital."

"Yeah, it cheers people up. What can I put together for you? Or would you like to arrange one on your own?"

"I've never seen these before. Back home, they vere…different, but they…meant things. Do these?"

"Yes, a lot of flowers hold a special meaning. Even different colors do."

"So many colors…" she breathes, nearly blinded by the vast technicolor array.

Holding up a few roses of different colors, the shop keeper demonstrates. A red rose is used to symbolize love, yellow often denotes friendship…"

"Vhat about both? Can it be red and yellow?"

"We do carry dipped roses, if that's what you're looking for." She sticks a red-dipped yellow rose in a vase with some ferns. "How's that?"

"Can…I…?" Magenta asks, looking around, "it needs more."

"By all means, just tell me when you're done."

Going to the back corner where the off-season decorations are lying in a box, Magenta finds four fuzzy bats on wires left over from Halloween. She smiles at her discovery and brings them to the counter.

The shopkeeper raises her eyebrows at her selection, "Interesting…anything else?"

Magenta looks over various ribbons to finish it off. Completely unexpectedly, she finds a spool that bears her name. Unrolling a length of it, she admires it openly. "This one. It says Magenta!"

"That's the color you want? It doesn't quite match…" she warns.

"It's perfect, it'll say it's from me."

"You could always attach a card."

"Just write 'She would agree.' He'll understand. Can you send it to the hospital, please?"

"Who is this for?"

"Brad Majors."

"I'll have it sent over, he should get it this evening. I'm sure he'll find it…lovely," she adds uncertainly.

With that taken care of, Magenta goes the rest of the way home.

Once she gets to Janet's place, where they had been helping her move out, the others start in immediately—

"Where the devil have you been, Magenta? We thought something happened."

"There vas an accident, Brad vas hurt. He'll be all right, but…"

"What happened to Brad?" Janet shrieks.

"He's fine, don't vorry."

"I'm calling over there, I need to see him!"

The receptionist answers the phone, "I'm sorry, it doesn't look like Brad wants to see you."

"You mean he's too tired for visitors?"

"He was very specific, I'm sorry."

Janet stammers confusedly, "He…doesn't want to see me?" She sinks down into a chair, dropping the phone. "Well, that's not going to stop me."

After two days of attempting to see Brad and getting sent away without so much as a glimpse of him, Janet is becoming agitated. He's let everyone else in to see him, today Ralph Hapschatt even is allowed in.

"Wow, Brad, you're…you're…"

"I know, Ralph, I've seen it," Brad sighs. "Don't rub it in, huh?"

"Wow, that's too bad. What did Janet think?"

"She hasn't seen, I don't want her to see me like this."

Riff-Raff and Magenta barge in at this point, "It's not going to go away, you know. And neither is she," Riff reminds him sharply.

Brad sits up straighter. "Hey guys. Thanks a lot for the flower arrangement."

Magenta glowers at him, "Did you read the card?"

"Y-yes…"

"Did you understand the message?"

"I did but…"

"Then vhy are you leaving your own vife outside while you let this…person in to visit."

Riff and Magenta scowl at Ralph maliciously, remembering how badly he'd treated their sister. She stands next to the bedside table, twirls one of the bats around in the vase, holding Brad's eye-contact. "She would agree," she affirms.

There is a silent battle of wills, and soon Brad concedes. "Fine, let her in, then you'll see what she thinks."

"It's not that bad," Magenta pronounces firmly.

Riff-Raff goes into the waiting room and gestures for Janet to come in. She stands and stomps in in a huff.

"Brad, what in the world are you thinking, keeping me out like that?!" she shouts. She stares at him, looking him up and down. "Why are you still here? You look fine."

Ralph crosses over to her, in attempt to talk sense to her, "Are you serious? Don't try to spare his feelings, he can handle the hard facts. Face it, he looks like something a mad scientist just brought to life!" Much to his surprise, his assessment of Brad's features is met with shrieks of laughter from every corner of the room. Although they try to suppress their giggles, he can see there's something he's missing. Everyone's looking at Janet now, who's fidgeting guiltily.

"Don't. Say. A word." She commands the others. Brad looks her in the eye, they smirk at each other.

"About the creature, or the mad scientist?" Riff-Raff tactfully supplies.

Brushing their inside jokes aside, Janet sits next to Brad on the bed, smoothing back his hair.

"Janet…if you want a divorce…I'd understand." To clarify, he gestures to his face.

"What's the matter? You look fine."

"Ralph's right for once, don't lie to me."

Janet shakes her head, "I mean it."

"You can't see the scars?"

"I'm not blind, I can see them. So you look a little different…so I look a little different. It doesn't change the way I feel about you. You didn't leave me, I'm not leaving you. That's final."