Tses never thought things would ever be 'okay' again. After loosing Ty time and time again, she stopped wishing, stopped hoping he'd come back. Angry, bitter, maybe she pushed him away, maybe he pushed back. But in some weird, magnetic way, they drifted back together. Getting shot might have sucked, but waking up and finding she was still in his arms... Somehow it made it worth it.

She used to be the type to burn up fairy tale books. She would rip cupid's wings off if she ever caught a glimps of him, and she would have been the little girl stomping on flowers rather than counting the pedals. But moments like that... it brought out the hopeless romantic in her, the dreamer, the child. She wanted to believe in things like soul mates or happily ever after. She was still in pain, and part of her was angry. But she had wasted too much anger over the last year. Now when he most deserved her to be mad, she was finding it hard to stay that way.

Morning light drifted through the window as Tses staggered from the bed, and dizzily made it to the bathroom. This time she didn't end up giving herself a bloody nose on the coffee table, but she did end up sitting on the couch about halfway back. Walking with a busted leg was hard enough, but she was feeling dizzier and weak than she felt like she should have. Mentally she dried to calculate the day, but she didn't know what day it was at this point. It could have been December, it could have been January for all she knew. Christmas, Birthdays, she sort of stopped counting those things lately. Her powers usually told her at least every two weeks time was passing though.

Cautiously, she tried to reach for the moonlight stored in her veins...

The world spun a little. She leaned her head against her hand to make it stop.

New Moons didn't feel this bad before...Then again, she wasn't throwing punches through people's heads before. "Ty....what day is it..." She said, voice sounding weaker than she hoped it would. She wasn't sure if he'd hear it or wake up, but it was worth trying. So it wasn't most dire question to wake someone up for, but there was a lot tied into a day this time of the year.

Everybody has that one thing that no matter what, will wake them up each and every time. For some it was the pitter-patter of animal feet running through the house; others, the voice of a small child. For Ty, it was Tses. Even though her voice was weaker than usual, it still caused him to sit up straight in bed.Rubbing his eyes, the icy blue orbs slowly began to adjust to the dim morning light.

"Friday," he answered groggily. "You okay? Can I get you anything?" were his two follow-up questions. Early or not, his protective instinct had kicked in.

Friday.... Friday may not help much. She shifted her head, trying to shake the dizziness back off. "Date... date though. I think the New Moon snuck up on me..." She tried explaining. "I don't remember them kicking my ass quite this much though..." She muttered under her breathe.

>>"Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head slightly, then regretted it, slowly letting herself just lean into the couch. Her shoulder protested but her head was grateful. "Just dizzy... Trying to let it pass..." She answered.

Ty looked at his phone again. "Thirteenth," he replied, looking at her. He had to admit, he was...concerned. He'd never seen her this bad off before.

Standing up, he stretched a little, straightening his hair with his hands. "Okay. If there's anything, and I mean anything I can do, let me know, okay?"

Thirteenth... Tses tried to process the date, mentally putting it in line with the last moon phase chart she looked at. That definitely made sense...She lifted her head slightly and breathed in through her mouth. "So....trivia question for you... New Moons always meant I have no powers...No moonlight, no energy, right? I'm starting to take a few guesses on what a light form....could mean...." She felt sick to her stomach. Her initial hunger she woke up with this morning was gone and now she just felt sick.

>>"Okay. If there's anything, and I mean anything I can do, let me know, okay?"

Tses gave a somewhat sarcastic smile that hid some of the pain she was going through. "Unless you've got a bottle of moonlight in your back pocket, not sure this is one you can help with..." She let the dizziness pass for a moment, then cautiously tried to push herself back up from the couch.

The world tilt immediately and she fell knee first back into the coffee table with a fresh round of cussing.

Ty winced. "So it seems we're not going anywhere for awhile," Ty replied to the question that wasn't there. "And sadly, no, I don't have any moonlight in my pocket."

And then...she fell onto the coffee table, and Ty sprang to his feet, having let out somewhat of a startled yelp as he did so. Gently, he picked her up, moving her to the bed and laying her down gently.

"You should lie down. If you need anything to eat, or anything, I'll go get it for you. Though at some point I should probably head to my room and get a few things. Clothes, ipod...possibly my cat..."

Tses didn't protest Ty's help at this point. It seemed every time she tried getting up lately she was injuring herself even more. She curled up under the covers and hugged one of the pillows, nodding her head as he spoke. Part of her was only a little surprised he wanted to get his cat. She glanced around momentarily for her backpack, relieved to see it tucked in the corner.

"I think I'm just going to lay here for a bit...If you go though...you could set out the guard tiger..." She muttered, nodding over towards the bag. Then she closed her eyes and tried not to move too much. Still on the leading edge of the New Moon, it felt like something was sucking away all her energy. The actual 'new' phase of the moon only lasted for a moment, but she was still nervous about what it could do. Would she just pass out? Could she sleep through it? This was all feeling like a big experiment. She couldn't process it all at once.

Ty nodded, getting the tiger out of her bag and setting it on the table. Then, he walked over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise," he whispered, heading out the door, locking it behind him.

The trip to Sanctuary was pretty quiet, and once there, he filled a backpack with clothes, his iPod, and other things he thought he'd need over the next week or so. Then, he scooped up the black cat he'd grown so fond of, and began the trip back, Mischief not putting up any sort of a fight; she'd grown equally fond of Ty since he'd brought her home.

Unlocking the door to the hotel room, he stepped inside, dropping his stuff and letting the cat roam free. Then, he plopped on the couch.

The kiss felt distant as Tses closed her eyes to rest. Part of her thought she just imagined it, just a wishful dream that he would display such a gesture of caring. Her shoulder burned with pain, the medication wearing off, and her drained mind was the only think dulling the intensity of the signals coming from her injuries. She hated being injured, hated feeling helpless, but she put herself in this situation and now there was nothing to do but wait it out. If she could stay off her feet and avoid smashing into that coffee table anymore, maybe she'd actually heal...

She wasn't sure how long Ty was gone when her body felt the New Moon start to pass. For a few minutes she felt so drained she could barely move, then some of the strength started to return. She slept on and off after that, distantly hearing the door unlock as Ty returned, and then there was tiny paws close to her face and purring against her chin.

"Didn't realize you had a think for cats." A slight smile pushed the corners of her mouth as she reached out with her good arm and pet the little kitten. It was more comforting than she expected to have a cat in the room.

Ty chuckled as Mischief took right to Tses. "I didn't either, really. I found this lost little kitten in a back alley, looking all sad. So, I picked her up and took her home with me. I named her Mischief." he smiled softly, pulling out her medicine and grabbing a cup of water, then helped her take it as he had the first time.

"Okay, so I got that taken care of. There's some sandwiches and a couple of snacks in my other backpack on the table, Mischief's all set up in the bathroom...Am I missing anything?" he asked, looking at her.

Tses wondered if she would have any pride left by the time she healed from this fiasco. Ty helped her take the pain medicine again, which both touched and annoyed her. She was learning to sift through those emotions at least, pressing through the flickers of resentment and just letting someone be there. If nothing else, the last few months had been helpful in that regard. Starved of friendship, help, affection, she realized that maybe she didn't hate people caring so much as she was afraid of it. But things couldn't get worse that being that alone... Having nothing to loose was just hopeless. Even the cockroaches' threats lingering in the back of her mind couldn't stop the emotions twisting in her stomach. She couldn't push him away right now. But she was careful holding on to something she wasn't even sure was there.

>>"Am I missing anything?"

"No...but...we do need to talk." Tses pushed herself so she could lean against the backboard of the bed, careful not to send herself falling off the edge or something stupid. Mischief crawled into her lap, and she pet the kitten gently. Some people were just cat people, Tses used to resist it, but after loosing Maggie, the animals were comforting when she crossed their paths. "Ty....As much as I appreciate your help right now... I just... Are you just helping me because you feel bad you shot me? Are you just guilty? I need to know..." She tried to bury things like hope at this point. Her mind was mixed up. They were a volatile mix, and she was constantly waiting for something to go wrong... But when they were right... It always felt like it was worth all the drama.

Ty sat down on the edge of the bed at the words 'have to talk.' He chewed his lip at her questions, trying to form the answer the way he wanted it to come out. "Part of it is feeling bad. Yes, I feel terrible for shooting you, but that's not the only reason I'm helping you. There are quite a few times I remember helping you, and the reason then is the same now. I feel it's the right thing for me to do." He smiled over at her.

"That and I like being there for you. I'm not doing it just out of guilt. I help you because I can't bring myself not to; never could. I do it because I still care for you. I probably always will."

Tses watched him carefully, fingers running through the fur of the cat in her lap. As he started speaking, she listened, waiting, listening for the words that could keep or end that spark of hope stuck inside her. At first, she didn't hear them, and it started to fade away.

Then he finished talking, and she let herself look up. "I still care about you too..." She admitted softly, looking over at the tiger still sitting guard on the coffee table. She glanced back at the backpack in the corner. "I never was sentimental... Didn't like holding onto things because it seemed destined to end badly. Maybe I was right in a way. But I still miss having you around..."

Her words made him smile, but at the same time, a tear welled up in his eye. Wiping at it furiously, he looked back at her again. She still cared about him. There was hope, after all. Maybe.

"Yeah, maybe you were. Meanwhile I'm the type that clings to every single little thing linked to a happy memory. I miss you too." He took a breath, thinking. "I know I'm not one known for making...smart choices...but I do have the best of intentions. Usually..." His smile got a little weaker. After all, how could shooting the one you love possibly have good intentions behind it?

The best intentions... Both their thoughts drifted to the same event and a spark of pain went through her shoulder. She looked away from him and towards the window, but she didn't look upset. Sad, maybe... "Don't stress about it so much... I would have shot me too..." She wanted to make a joke, but it stuck to the roof of her mouth like peanut butter. If he had better aim, maybe they wouldn't have to have this conversation... The cupid remark spun through her head, but she just looked down at the cat instead.

"I just... You might have good intentions Ty, but I'm not sure I do... The more I look at me, the more confused I get... I feel lonely, and I want friend and I want...I want you to be around. But I like you too much to try and curse you with me... I feel like I'm a rain cloud that rolls through peoples lives. Yeah, it's great when I have people who are these moments of sunshine around me, because I feel better... but what if I am only making everyone else feel worse?" She leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling, as if it'd push back the tears stuck in her eyes. Maybe it was the dizziness, maybe it was the medicine getting back in her system. She was talking more than she felt she probably wanted to, or more than he probably wanted to hear.