> "...the only thing I can think of is that her brother might know how to get a hold of her...but Robert hates me...with a passion."

Now this was more like it. That man wasn't quivering in his seat and practically begging to be put down like a rapid dog anymore: he was thinking. Better yet, he seemed to have some nice healthy anger solidifying up that jelly of a personality. About damn time. When they'd first met, the man had been angry--that was the Tarin that Rupert wanted to be dealing with, right now. He knew how to deal with that.

He gave a small nod. "Robert. All right. How do I contact him?" His smile twitched a hair's breadth wider. "And don't worry. I'll deal with him. Though believe it or not, but you're not my favorite person in the world right now, either. I think this 'Robert' and I are going to have a lot in common."

> "And Rupert...for what it's worth...thanks for that by the way...the...reality check...I really needed it."

"Any time, Tarin." Rupert shook out his hand lightly. " Believe me. Any time."

Tarin's face still stung, and he had a feeling he could feel a bruise rising on his skin, it went nicely with the throbbing pain in the back of his head and the dull ache in his shoulders. As time went on Tarin was starting to feel cranky...really cranky.

Now Rupert wanted to know how he could get a hold of Robert and Tarin scowled slightly at the commentary, "Look he said emphatically, "If you hadn't figured it out I'm not exactly my number one fan either Rupert, I feel like shit..."

Rupert was smiling slightly at the thought of calling Robert...and Tarin sneered, "Yeah..his number is..." Tarin tried to get up to show Rupert the list of numbers on the fridge and the cuffs tugged his shoulder sockets and wrists. Instead he jerked his head in the general direction, "There...on the fridge it says 'Robert'. You two probably do have a lot in common...but I highly doubt you condoned your parents pulling your sister out of school and locking her in a room for a couple of years when she was fourteen...but enjoy the interaction, Robert is a special kind of bastard"

Tarin shifted in the seat, to a slightly more comfortable position and moved his wrists to the cuffs stopped chaffing then said, "and just so you know, he's seen Lee a couple times after some of the more mild incidents where things like this have happened...I told you she gets hurt..so I don't care who you are Rupert if you mention my name you're not going to get anywhere. . Lee doesn't have a cell phone, but I'm almost positive Rachael, their sister does, and she was with Lee at the bar last night."

Rupert said he'd be happy to help with a reality check anytime and Tarin shook his head slowly, "Well, I'm going to try my damndest to make sure that there's never another time...but I'll count on that promise in case there is..."

> "Look, if you hadn't figured it out I'm not exactly my number one fan either Rupert, I feel like s**t..."

Rupert briefly contemplated hitting the man again, but then Tarin started being more than a dead weight on existence: he got helpful. Rupert returned sneer for smirk as the man tried to stand up, and was forced to simply point with his head, instead.

A special kind of bastard, was this guy? Rupert was looking forward to speaking with him already. He listened to the man's continued explanations as he found the phone number, and dialed. That's why when another man picked up on the other end, Rupert knew exactly what to say.

He was looking at Tarin with a damn amused smile on his face while he said it, too. It very special kind of amusement reserved for when you were about to dig another man in deeper.

"Is this Robert," he fished around his mind for Lee's last name, and finally grasped it in a half-remembered image of her original Camp internment papers, "Smith? ...This is Detective Kelley with the NYPD. We're looking for a number to contact your sister, Emily Smith, at.

"She's recently left the apartment where she lives with one Mr Tarin Brooks. I don't want to alarm you, Sir, but some of her neighbors are... concerned for her. I don't know if you are aware of this, but she's been spotted with bruises on several occasions, and it doesn't seem as if Tarin lets her--" He deliberately corrected himself; "It doesn't seem as if she maintains contact with friends and family very well.

"Now really, I don't want you to be concerned. I've spoken with Tarin, and he has assured me," how much disquieting doubt can a cop cram into one word? "that Emily is staying with your other sister, Rachael. He claims that Emily does not have a cell phone, and that he has no contact information for Rachael. I did, however," he let a certain triumphant smugness enter his tone, "happen across your name and number when I was searching his--I happened across your number.

"I can assure you that your sister is not in any trouble with the police; if you have a number at which I could get in touch with either her or Rachael, however, I would like to lay some of her former neighbors' unease to rest by speaking with her myself."

Rupert watched Tarin all through his little phone call. He tried not to look as maliciously self-pleased as he really was. He didn't envy the man any clean-up he had to do the next time he spoke with Lee's brother.

Tarin didn't like the look on Rupert's face, didn't like it one little bit as he made his way to the kitchen, he was just too smug. Why was he acting this way? Well...Tarin knew why he was acting this way, Rupert was acting this way because to him Tarin was nothing but a piece of shit who'd killed more than one person in recent history. Well, that was partially true and Tarin decided to take it like a man, until Rupert started to talk to Robert.

Rupert looked absolutely gleeful as he confirmed the things that Robert had suspected from the first time Lee had showed up with bruises around her neck. Tarin's jaw dropped and he simply gaped. It was simply sadistic, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter, it didn't matter at all. Lee wasn't coming back so Robert wouldn't really have to worry about it.

The worst part about the whole thing was that for some stupid reason Tarin had thought he could trust Rupert. He'd been the first person he'd thought to call when he realized what was happening, apparently that had been a mistake, because Rupert was enjoying this way too much to really have been trustworthy...so Tarin just sat, shaking his head and seething with anger at what was going on.

Rupert hung up the phone and Tarin followed his progress from the kitchen back out to where he was. "I hope you enjoyed that..." he said scathingly from his lower vantage point in the chair, "He already thought that I hit on her, but she's not coming back so you didn't accomplish anything by doing that. Unless it really did make you feel better about yourself."

Tarin's jaw was clenching and his face still hurt from where Rupert had hit him, then suddenly he slumped in the chair defeated, "If you got the number though, none of it matters. You'd just better hope Robert isn't arrogant enough to come here and try to settle things for Lee, because he might be stupid enough to do just that."

Tarin stopped talking at this point and just sat there, waiting for Rupert to make the call that was going to bring Lee right into the middle of all of this. He was going to have to see her again...after what she'd seen the night before....after what he'd gone on to do the night before. His chest tightened and he stared at the floor, absolutely miserable, oh well...it was the least he deserved.

Sadistic. That was a good word for what Rupert was feeling right now. Hell, that might even be a good word for who he was--it would certainly explain a hell of a lot of the things he did. All of the stupid situations he put himself in. Like this--the smart thing was to turn Tarin in, and have done with it. The man was a murderer. If a fire user had lost control and incinerated those women, Rupert wouldn't have batted an eye at hauling him in. What was different about the medium? There was something else making him do the murders, but it was part of his power--a part he couldn't control. It was just the same damn cough syrup in a different flavor.

Rupert had promised the man that if he ever killed again, he would hunt him down. He'd meant it. Mostly, though, he'd meant it as a deterrent--like telling a kid that if he didn't behave, he was getting a time out. The longer he spent in the man's company, though, the more he had time to think about it--whether he wanted to or not. Threatening Tarin wasn't like threatening a kid. It was like threatening a landslide. "You fall on my head, and you're in trouble!"

The smartest thing would be to kill the man. Like a landslide, it was out of Tarin's control whether his power overwhelmed him... and crushed innocent people in its wake.

Rupert tried not to think about that. He tried to keep his thoughts simple: pick up the phone again, dial the number Robert gave. Talk to Rachael. Awkward. Get handed off to Lee. Not exactly comfortable. Explain why, with as little yelling on both sides as possible, Lee had to get her ass back to her ex-fiance's apartment as soon as was bloody possible, thank-you-hang-up.

That, of course, left Rupert with Tarin. In the man's kitchen. With nothing to do until Lee arrived, but think.

Why the hell was he helping this man?

He walked to pour himself another scotch, leaned against the counter, and stared at the man in the chair like he was contemplating something fascinatingly vile. A raccoon corpse next to a train track at noon, looking like it was sleeping except for the unnatural bulge in its stomach as that first stage of bloated decay set it. That dog of your neighbor's you never liked, strangling by its collar on a fence it tried to jump. Tarin Brooks, a mutant and a murderer. Rupert wasn't sure which of those titles repulsed him more, and he couldn't help thinking there was something wrong with that. Something wrong with him.

He drank the scotch, coughed, and set his cup down. Something the man had said between phone calls came back to Rupert.

> "I hope you enjoyed that... He already thought that I hit on her, but she's not coming back so you didn't accomplish anything by doing that. Unless it really did make you feel better about yourself."

Rupert gave a single humorless laugh, thinking about that. He matched it with a single humorless smile. "I'm not sure that's possible," he said, mostly to himself. He shook his head at the man. Poured himself another scotch. Raised it in a toast. "This one's for you, medium. For giving my conscious that last **** over that broke the cheap whore's back."

Why was he helping this man?

Because he liked him, unfortunately. Tarin was a good man. Better than Rupert ever was.

He slammed back the scotch, and coughed.

Tarin was still pissed off, and he didn't really know why. Well, he did...for some odd reason he'd expected Rupert to come in and actually want to help him. Why he'd thought that, Tarin didn't know. His previous interactions with Detective Kelley should have been enough to show him that it wasn't going to be the case...and expecting remorse was absolutely ridiculous. Rupert was making the phone calls though, doing what he could to get Tarin out of here in something other than the body bag he'd originally threatened.

Tarin scowled some more as Rupert dialed, then then scowl faded and Tarin couldn't help but listen for Lee's response as Rupert told her in no uncertain terms what it was she was expected to do. What was surprising though was the ease with which Lee agreed to help. Tarin knew with a sinking feeling that it wasn't because she wanted to see him....if anything it was probably because she knew that it was the only way to stop what was happening. It was sickening, as was the pain that continued to throb through the back of his skull with every beat of his heart.

Rupert hung up the phone and poured himself another scotch. Tarin looked at the bottle longingly, wondering if he could simply drink himself into a stupor that would ensure his body wouldn't respond well enough to kill someone....that'd be a hell of a way to fight this problem.

To the present, Rupert had rarely answered Tarin's direct statements or questions...in fact Rupert had made it completely clear that he was the one controlling the situation. As he drank more scotch and coughed, however, he responded to something that Tarin had said.

Rupert's subsequent description of his conscience was almost enough to make Tarin laugh...almost...he didn't think he could honestly laugh in this situation though. Frowning slightly in Rupert's direction and shifting again in the seat, Tarin took a deep breath and prepared to set himself up for what was likely going to be another slap to the face....as Rupert tossed down another glass of the scotch.

"Believe it or not...I am sorry I involved you...not as sorry as you're going to be once Lee finds out what you told Robert...but I am sorry. I just didn't know who else to call...I was scared what the other cops would do to me if I just turned myself in..."

Tarin stopped there, staring longingly at the scotch bottle that Rupert held then looking back to the floor, "My conscience isn't a debutante either..." a thought occurred to Tarin and he took another risk, "Assuming what Lee does works...and she doesn't kill me in the process...Do you know anyone through the resistance who could help me? My contact with them during the breakout was really limited and I don't want to put anyone through this ever again... "

> "Believe it or not...I am sorry I involved you...not as sorry as you're going to be once Lee finds out what you told Robert...but I am sorry. I just didn't know who else to call...I was scared what the other cops would do to me if I just turned myself in..."

"They would have done exactly what I should have done." Rupert stated in no uncertain terms; "Locked you away for a very long time."

> "Assuming what Lee does works...and she doesn't kill me in the process...Do you know anyone through the resistance who could help me? My contact with them during the breakout was really limited and I don't want to put anyone through this ever again... "

Rupert rubbed a hand against his temple. "The Mansion," he said, like other people said 'unfortunately'. "Xavier's Sister School for Gifted and Talented Freaks. I get the impression that they try to train people to not..." he waved his hand in the air, the wrist swiveling as he tried to think of the right word. "...To not end up like you," he decided on. He stared at the scotch bottle. With a sigh, he screwed its cap back on, and set his thrice emptied cup into the man's sink.

The knock came blissfully soon, though still not damn soon enough. Obviously, it was a few weeks too late. Rupert opened the door and waved the woman inside with a dead pan stare and a sweep of his arm. "He's in the kitchen. He's all yours. Fix him. I," he said with a tired monotone for life in general, "am out of here. Hope you enjoyed Canada. Have a nice ****ing day."

Rupert might have slammed the door behind him. He might have stolen the man's half-empty scotch, too. He might even have forgotten to leave the handcuffs keys with Lee. Who-****ing--ops.

Lee had been shocked to get the phone call, to be sure. Other than Robert, who the hell would be calling Rachael's cell phone to try and get a hold of her, after all? That curiosity was erased the moment that Rachael told her it was a 'Detective Rupert Kelley' on the phone wanting to talk to her.

Apparently, somehow, he had beaten her to Tarin, had already managed to subdue Tarin, had him handcuffed to a chair in the apartment. And somehow, he knew that she had been able to end the merges before, and was telling her (in that way that only Rupert had) to get over to Tarin's and fix things.

Yeah, cause she hadn't already been planning on that. At least now she didn't have to worry about trying to figure out how to do it while putting herself in the least amount of danger.

Rachael tried to follow her, which Lee would not allow. It was bad enough that Rupert was there, bad enough that she had to go deal with it. Rachael had no gun, had no speed or strength to protect her. Lee couldn't deal with Tarin being merged and trying to protect Rachael at the same time. Finally, Lee managed to get Rachael to agree by telling her to call Rupert later if she hadn't heard from her by the time she got back from the show.

The walk over to the apartment seemed to take forever, yet not long enough. Briefly, as she made her way down the elevator, Lee contemplated getting a cab over, but then decided against it; if there was traffic, she could make it there much faster on foot.

Lee did decide one thing, though. Over breakfast, Lee had been wondering about how she'd initially incapacitate Tarin. Still, it couldn't hurt to do that even though Rupert already had Tarin restrained, could it?

Up the stairs, to the oh so familiar door, and Lee paused. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock, as she had done so many weeks before when she had moved out, only this time it was a different man answering, actually waving her into the apartment.

But even though Rupert said that Tarin was in the kitchen, Lee didn't spare a glance in that direction. Not yet. Instead, Lee gave a brief nod that she had heard the cop, who was still rambling on about Canada and something about having a nice day as Lee ripped open the closet door and pulled a box down off the shelf, hearing it land with a loud clatter. Almost before it was even on the floor, Lee's hand was in the box, rummaging around, and came out a moment later.

It was only then, that Lee looked into the kitchen, only then that she saw Tarin sitting there, covered in blood, looking more miserable and dejected than she could ever remember seeing him, and she had seen some horrible expressions on his face the last few times she had seen him. Lee's breath caught in her throat, but the taser was already raised, aimed at Tarin, the trigged pulled.

"I didn't do it though..." Tarin said imploringly, Rupert was someone Tarin felt he needed respect from...needed to understand the distinction between who he was and who the monster was who'd committed the crimes. "I wish you understood..."

The Mansion, Xavior's School for the Gifted and Talented... Places where they trained people so that they didn't end up in the same position Tarin was in? Where were these places and where had then been all these years?

Rupert looked dejected and done with the whole situation, but for the first time in weeks Tarin felt hopeful. If he managed to get out of this situation alive he had somewhere to go for help...at least there was a chance that someone there would be able to help him keep this from happening again.

Then he heard it...the knock...Rupert was ready to go...and he was taking the scotch...it was fine, the least Tarin could do. The door opened and there she was...Lee was really there for him...at least as the only one who could possibly stop this thing from happening again and again. From deep in his consciousness Tarin felt the monster inside of him stir and come to life...struggling once again for power the way it had when Rupert was trying to cuff him to the chair.

She's not going to get rid of me this time medium...I will take you down...completely down...even if it means the end of my existence. She'll have to kill you to get rid of me..."

That's unlucky for you... Tarin thought back, waging his own silent battle for control of himself, his eyes slipping shut so he missed Rupert leaving the apartment and Lee striding past him, because right now I'm pretty sure she wants me dead more than you do..

Lee's footsteps were back and the monster retreated for the moment while Tarin opened his eyes to look directly into a taser. There was just enough time for himo to think about how muc this was going to hurt on top of the dark bruise forming on his cheek and the massive lump and small cut on the back of his head from the pistol. "Hi Lee...." he said with a slight smile then she pulled the trigger.

Tarin braced for the impact of the barbs but still wasn't ready for them when they hit him and the effect was instantaneous. Voltage surged through his body and Tarin's head jerked back as spasms wracked his body. It seemed like all the feeling had gone from his limbs and as he lost feeling he slumped in the chair almost hanging from the back by his armpits looped over the sides.

He couldn't think...he couldn't move...but he could see her and Tarin stared through slightly drooping eyelids as he twitched from the current. He could hear the spirit...it was screaming too...it seemed they shared more than a body. This was a good start.

Rupert was gone. At least Lee was hoping he was gone, and what she had heard behind her wasn't just the door closing from when she had entered the apartment. Yes, she could feel energy coming from behind her, from the opposite direction than Tarin was sitting in, but she was far too distracted at the moment to figure out whether it was from Rupert inside the apartment, out in the hall, or even one of the neighbours in the next apartment.

Lee hadn't even stopped to think about anything once she had the taser in her hand, hadn't paused once she turned toward Tarin before pulling the trigger, because she wasn't sure she'd actually be able to if she had. Especially with that little smile and the 'hi Lee' he had given her even as the barbs were shooting toward him. And with the tears she now felt running down her face, Lee was sure it was a good thing she hadn't hesitated this time.

"Don't give me that bs," Lee said, finally easing up on the trigger as she saw Tarin's body twitching and hanging in the chair. "You might have been able to fool me with a 'hi Lee' last night, if you had been able to unwrap yourself, but not now."

Lee paused and took a deep breath, the taser still held ready in her hand though currently not shooting electricity through to Tarin. She needed to get control of her tears, at least get some control over her emotions, she couldn't be out of control like this once she got closer to him. She'd already almost killed him once because she hadn't been able to control it, Lee was not about to do that again.

"So," she asked slowly, looking back up at Tarin. Were those his eyes, or the spirit's looking back at her? It was hard to tell through the blood covering the face and the emotions she was feeling at being back there, facing Tarin again. "Are we doing this the easy way, where you just leave, or the hard way, where I make you leave?"

The electricity stopped flowing from the tazer and into his body and Tarin slumped even more in the seat for a moment, still twitching slightly. He tried to sit back up but his arms and legs wouldn't respond, they just tingled. He couldn't talk either...he tried but all that game out was a garbled, "umbggg...hurghb...." His eyes were open so he gave up on those other things and tried to just focus on Lee, hear what she was saying as she stood in his apartment crying...again...

Her words hurt even more than the tazer, or the pistol whip to the back of the head, maybe not quite as much as the backhand though. Feeling was slowly returning to his arms and legs and Tarin struggled to a more upright position so it didn't feel like his shoulders were being pulled out of the sockets.

"I deserve that...and more..." Tarin said, turning his head away from Lee and looking down at the floor. "I got tired of not being able to feel anything Lee...you'd been gone a month and I hadn't left the apartment. I know you don't care, but you deserve an explanation. She was lonely too...and she paid for it."

Lee was moving on now, all business about the whole situation, talking to the spirit inside of Tarin's head...the weird thing is he wasn't responding...wasn't talking and Tarin, still breathing heavily, shuddered at the thought of Lee tazing him again.

You're a fool if you think I'm going to reveal myself to her...look at her medium, she's already hesitant...she doesn't want to believe that it could actually be you doing these things...but with how she already feels about you, can you be so sure she won't be convinced?

It doesn't matter either way... Tarin thought back, staring slightly into space as he continued to try and regain his composure.

"He's not going to show himself...." Tarin said, jaw clenching slightly, " 'sonly been coming out when I'm asleep...didn't even know he was there until today."

Tarin looked at Lee, he still loved her, loved her with every fiber of his being. Even now when he knew all of the things he'd done, all the things he'd felt...and all the things he deserved. More than anything he wanted her to come to him and hold him, make him feel better. Tarin squared his jaw again and took a deep breath, eyes watering slightly.

"Do this Lee," he said, "and don't stop until you're sure...no matter what" he made eye contact finally, looking at her with more emotion than he'd felt in over a month, "I'm so sorry you have to do this." he woun't tell her what the spirit had said, how he'd drag them both down before he'd give up.

Tarin was trying to explain, trying to rationalize what she had seen the previous night. It didn't matter, Lee had already dealt with her feelings on that, at least as best she could, the previous night. Yes, she had realized that Tarin would move on, most likely in that very way she had seen. That was not the surprising part, she just did not want to have ever seen it, didn't want to have to think about what little bit she had seen would lead to. And she did not want to hear him talking about this now, either. There was absolutely nothing Tarin, or whatever spirit was inhabiting his body, could say that could possibly make things better.

Then 'Tarin' went on to say, after she asked whether things were going to go the easy or hard way, that the spirit wasn't going to show itself. Oh, wasn't that convenient, Lee thought. Tell her the spirit wasn't there right now, convince her that Tarin was in control, then what? Attack her like he had all those other women?

At that thought, Lee's breath caught in her throat. Just like another time she had been attacked, in Tarin's shop, by a spirit who had wanted to do such horrible things to her that Tarin wouldn't even tell her what they had been. If this was Tarin actually talking right now, telling her the spirit wouldn't 'come out', maybe it had learned?

Lee was lost in these thoughts, not really paying attention to what Tarin was saying. She had heard his thoughts on her doing everything she could, and not stopping, when merges happened many times before, anyway. But if her thoughts about this spirit were right, about him learning from before...

Lee cocked her head to the side slightly as she eyed Tarin, the tears still wet on her cheeks, but at least no fresh ones were flowing at this point. If she was right, for her plan to work she had to be strong. "He only comes out when you're sleeping?" Lee asked, her voice suddenly calm, thoughtful. "Why? Isn't he strong enough to be able to take over any other time? Doesn't he have the power to be in control all the time?

"I mean, I understand him not wanting to show himself to Rupert," Lee continued with a shrug as she took a couple, slow steps to the side. "It's not exactly reassuring to have that man pointing a gun at you, I know. But, me?

"Or is that it? You're too worried about not being able to best me, to over power me, like with those other women that you're not even going to try? That, if you don't show yourself, you won't be emasculated by not being able to control me?"

Lee didn't respond to what he'd said about the bar, she didn't respond to what he'd said about doing what she needed to do to get rid of the spirit, in fact, Lee didn't respond to a single god damned thing that he'd said. Tarin's eyes narrowed as she started to berate the spirit for not being strong enough to come out and fight with her.

Foolish, idiot woman. the spirit cackled, then continued to laugh at her threats. He wasn't going to get angry this time, wasn't going to do something foolish like attack a being far superior to him in strength and power. She was obviously angry with her lover, and maybe that lover's spat was enough to get whta he wanted out of the situation.

Tarin could hear the laughing and shook his head, glaring in Lee's general direction, "You'd think..." he said, jaw clenching slightly, "that since I'm the one with the maniac in my head I would have some inkling of what he was thinking now that I know he's there. You'd also think that at some point someone who is supposed to be helping me would pay attention to something I'm trying to say."

Tarin glared some more, "First Rupert comes in here, knocks the shit out of me and thinks it's helpful to reinforce what I piece of shit I am. As if I didn't already know Now you come in here with all your self righteous anger over something you wanted."

Tarin paused and turned his head, still completely helpless and cuffed to the chair, but not wanting to look at her.

"Obviously you weren't listening when I was speaking to you...or you'd have heard what I said. He's. Not. Going. To. Come. Out. Jesus Lee...just get it over with. Don't bother holding back either."

As Lee spoke, she could see Tarin getting angry, getting frustrated, but...not the way she was wanting. Not whatever spirit was possessing him, was merged with him, getting angry because of what she had said, not getting carried away and saying too much. No, this was anger at the fact that apparently she hadn't been listening to him.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to just up and believe every single thing you say because you say it's not him speaking?" Lee asked, anger and sarcasm entering her own voice. "Without even a single moment to question or think about what's going on. Or to wonder who's speaking to me. Yeah."

That wasn't the end of it. Apparently Tarin wanted to stress the fact that, at least with what she was being told, the spirit wasn't coming out to 'play', and so she should just get on with it.

It's not like she had hesitated this time, it wasn't like she was in danger. Even if she didn't have her finger still on the trigger of the taser, he was handcuffed to a chair. So what was the problem with her doing things her way? She was the one who had come to help him, wasn't she?

"Just get on with it?" Lee asked, her voice soft as she slowly walked toward Tarin, her hand tight around the handle of the taser. "And who said I was going to hold back? Just because I don't like touching people, doesn't mean I can't do what I need to."

By this time, Lee had made it to Tarin's side. She hadn't put her hand on him yet, though; she was busy trying to find a place to touch him that wouldn't get the drying blood on her, too. She couldn't find anywhere, at least none that would still give her direct contact with his skin. Taking a breath, Lee settled on putting her hand on the back of Tarin's neck; direct skin, and that way if he did start to struggle, she could tighten her grip to stop him.

As soon as her hand touched his neck, Lee felt the energy flowing into her, faster than it normally did when she touched people because she was concentrating, willing it to come as fast as possible. It also felt strange because for so long, she had avoided so much contact, hadn't felt this stream of energy entering her body. And with her first intentional contact since the camps being this, for this reason, Lee did not miss it, did not feel she had been missing out one bit.

Now it was Tarin's turn to ignore what Lee was saying. It didn't matter after all, and yelling at her more wasn't going to solve the situation. It wasn't going to make it worse though, and it sure as heck made Tarin feel better. His ability to ignore her didn't last long though and Tarin found himself sneering slightly as she approached him, the taser still in her hand.

"What you need to." he said, looking up at her and shaking her head as she came up beside him, "It's not about that Lee..." he said, then looked at her, really looked at her for the first time. Her hair was longer, and she'd obviously let the dye from the last time she'd colored it grow out because it was a truer shade of brown. God she looked good, and Tarin was suddenly angry that he thought so. It was so damn hard to get her out of his head...

He watched her, watched out difficult it was for her to reach out and touch him....how much she didn't want him to do it. Then he felt her hand land on the back of his neck, in the same place it had been so many times, under such different circumstances.

As he felt the energy flowing from him and the spirit reminded him over and over that it simply wasn't going to give in, it was going to kill him, Tarin settled for letting his eyes close and trying to remember every single time Lee had put her hand on his neck like this. If the spirit was going to kill him...than this was the way he wanted to die.

Opening his eyes, Tarin looked up at Lee again, her hair falling forward and he actually leaned towards her. He could really fell the pull of energy now and Tarin knew that he wasn't going to be able to hold it together for a great deal longer. Drama time. "Lee..." he said..."If this doesn't go like it's supposed to...I want you to know that you were the best thing in my life...I love you Lee...and if I live through this I'm not going to stop fighting until you're mine again. I should have been doing that from the moment you walked out the door that day...and I won't make the same mistake again."

By the time he'd finished talking, Tarin's voice had grown soft and his shoulders started to sag from the absolute lack of energy that he was starting to feel from Lee's direct contact and effort. The spirit was pissed now, and trying to grasp at the strings of control, still strong as Tarin weakened...he was going to lose control...and soon. He only hoped that Lee would stick to her resolve and not stop.

"You're doing great...just don't stop..."