((I am deeply thankful for all the well wishes and humbled. My son had a cyst that ruptured and got massively infected requiring surgery and IV antibiotics to clear it up. It was very stressful but we are back home. I'll try to get back into the swing of things here so bare with me. Here's a quick one to smile about..I hope. Thank you all again.))

Mai truly could get into trouble anywhere. Right now he was watching her hanging on to her temper by a thread. He was amused but also very annoyed with the pig who questioned. The man actually thought he was a drop out. What a low life. The entire thing grated on him. If it wasn't for the hefty fee and his true interest in the happenings he'd have been out of there.

The fee was a big factor, SPR needed funds to keep himself, Lin and Mai paid. Mai most of all depended upon her job to support herself. She was an orphan and he'd helped her out of pity. It started out like that. He couldn't quite put his finger on why he'd hired her but she'd believed in him when the rest of the part timers doubted. That meant something to him. Mai trusted him. He trusted her to get into trouble and be as reckless as possible.

The student who'd come to his office and been very persuasive and now he was talking to Mai and making her smile and laugh. Why did this annoy him so much? Oh and now this kid has the nerve to want to stay the night, why so he can keep flirting with Mai. Not bloody likely.

Oh second thought, if he could show Mai that this Yasuhara was a coward she'd spurn him in favor of himself, who had proven his bravery on more than one occasion. He'd pair them up, while he monitored on the cameras of course.

He was brilliant. He smirked to himself and Lin cast him a sidelong glance. When Oliver didn't say anything his Chinese assistant let out a long suffering sigh.

"Why should I turn down FREE help?"

"Because you obviously have an ulterior motive Naru..I saw how you tensed when he and Mai were around one another. If you don't like her around other guys you need to stake your claim, and soon or she'll be gone."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Lin. It's free help and someone to watch over that idiot to make sure she doesn't fall over her own feet or drop another camera. That is all, unless YOU want to leave the base and do the grunt work?"

"Hmm", was all Lin said before he turned back to his computer. Naru smirked, now all that needed to happen was for that damn dog to show back up and put the scare into them. He'd arrive and put himself in harm's way for her and she'd have no choice but to acknowledge him as the better man.

Why did it matter so much what his hair brained assistant thought? That's what really troubled him. Ok she had dreams that often helped him, and saved him valuable time, but so what. The tea was good, ok it was great but that could hardly justify her exorbitant salary. She called him when he was a pompous ass and as much as he didn't like that he had to admit he needed it.

Mai was also very pretty when she smiled, which was often. She lit up the whole room, and it was infectious. She was the only thing in Japan that seemed to ease his pain when he had to carry the terrible secret of his brother's death. Not death. Murder. She was the one bright spot in the whole damn country for him. Would it be so bad to tell her he liked her?

Yes.

He'd be leaving Japan as soon as he found Gene's body. His twin's death weighed heavily on him and he often wished he just had come with the fool. No doubt his perfect medium of a brother would still be alive and he would not be so alone.

As he reflected that with Mai around he didn't feel so alone he watched the girl who was the focus of his thoughts on the screen and listened in on her conversation via headphones. To anyone else it would appear he was just monitoring for activity, but the only activity he cared about was between Yasu and Mai. Could Mai like someone like that?

Would she like him more than himself? Damn it he didn't know what to do anymore. He watched who she moved in her skirt and caught a sight of her bending over to adjust the mic stand. He also saw Yasu watching which filled him with murderous thoughts. Mai was a lady and that cretin was not going to just ogle his precious Mai. Wait, was she wearing little hello kitty panties with a bow? Jesus he had to get a handle on his hormones. It was just teenage hormones. It was his body betraying him. Still though, didn't Yasu know that Mai was his.

Now Oliver knew he'd lost his mind. She was hardly his. She was his assistant. He was her employer. That was as far as it went. As far as it could ever go. Would it really be so bad though to hold her hand as work with her as Yasu was now, minus the hand holding. He wondered if she was scared?

He made up his mind that he'd go out with her next time. He could tell her he was evaluating her work. She'd buy it. If she got scared and turned to him like she had down in the sewer more's the better. Perhaps he could just entice her to come be his assistant in England. He wondered how good her English was. He could teach her. She had such a nice mouth, it'd be wonderful to watch it work and try to turn over the words. He wondered what she'd taste like. He imagined it'd be sweet.

Yes, once he found Gene he'd have to thing long and hard about the Mai situation. For now there was nothing he could do. He was bound to keep the secret that could very well keep him alive. If Mai knew, would she cry for his loss? She cried for others. he couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her so moved by what he'd been through.

Lin had figured out that Mai was special to him. So had Ms. Hara, the annoying thorn in his side. He'd have cut her off if she hadn't been blackmailing him. She'd even tried to force her hand to get rid of her. He'd drawn the line in the sand at this. NO ONE told him how to handle his business. Even England had given him a wide berth. He had a 100% closure rate here in Japan. He was running in the black, if just barely. Only Madoka could boast results like his own.

When Mai returned to base he was annoyed with her for some reason. It bothered him that she talked so easily with Yasu. He really did hurt him ow she'd smiled for the other boy.

"Mai, tea, and please go get some more tapes" Grumbling she'd gone as quickly as possible so she could get back. After a minute or two he'd started to feel bad. It wasn't her fault after all that Gene was dead. He made his mind up to go check on her. This place was dangerous and he shouldn't have sent her off alone.

Mai was of course in trouble. He could hear her yelling for help. When he reached the lab door the sound had stopped. He weighed his options and spent a little of his PK to open the door. When he found her passed out his heart stopped.

The room smelled of chemicals. No, No NO NO! She couldn't be dead. He felt and found her pulse she wasn't dead. He picked her up unsteadily and her heard Lin calling for him and his feet running down the hall. Lin held out his arms to take Mai's burden from him and he begrudgingly let her go. He wanted to be the white knight but his friend was physically stronger. He breathed in her perfume and followed to the infirmary.

Lin set her on the bed and went to find Ayako to check her out. He got a cold cloth and placed it on her head. He justified it as trying to keep SPR's medical bills low. He sat on the bed next to her and watched her sleep. He hoped it was only sleep.

Could she have head trauma, a concussion, be in a coma? His mind raced around the possibilities. He anxiously waited for Ayako and the others to arrive. He stole a moment and ran his fingers over her cheek. Her skin was so soft. What would it feel like under his lips? Before he had a chance to find out he could hear the others coming.

Perhaps one day. Till then, he would just do all he could to keep her safe. Afterall, Lin made bad tea and he sure as hell wasn't going to do it himself.