(A spiritual successor to Nuts to Her)

"So?" She sniffles before continuing, "So, this is my life now?" She looks from doctor to doctor, each with a grim expression. "I just let the cancer take more of my body? And then hope it won't come back again like it always does?"

She waits for a response from the doctors. One starts to say, "I wish it weren't --" then cuts himself off. The rest nod in agreement or shake their head in frustration. All shuffle out of the room leaving the two behind.

Strong arms reach over and lift the quadriplegic up. Her hair dangles as the arms cradle her. "Cecelia, it'll be okay."

She turns her head into his chest and sobs. While she lets it all out, he continues, "Dear, I promised I'd be with you in sickness and health. We'll get through this together." She curls a little as that's all she can do to hug him.

After she cries for a while, she wipes her face on his shirt since her rounded shoulders do nothing to dry her tears. "Xavier? What would I do without you?"

He smirks, "Drown?"

This elicits a chuckle out of her. "You're too good to me."

The door clicks shut.

They both look to the door to see why it closed with Xavier rotating Cecelia since her rounded hips don't allow much movement.

There, standing in the door frame, is a man they don't recognize wearing a lab coat. "Excuse me for overhearing, but did I hear there's something wrong here?"

"Who are you," asks Xavier.

"Just a passing veterinarian." He puts up his hands as if they'd protect him. "I mean you no harm."

"We are just dealing with a diagnosis of cancer."

"But it's cancer that keeps coming back?"

"Yes. No matter how many times, the doctors cut it out or poison it to death, it comes back."

Cecelia joins in, "And each time it takes more of me away." She swirls a free shoulder to illustrate.

"I see. And I assume from the line of depressed doctors that just left that you have cancer again?"

"Yes. And this time it is operable. I'll just lose my breasts."

"I see, and I assume you are planning to go through with it?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like I have any other choice. It's either that or let it invade my body and kill it all."

Xavier interrupts her, "That is not going to happen."

"Have you considered prosthetics?"

"Yes. Unfortunately for us the cancer comes back faster than they are making them, so they never fit right."

"I see. If you'll excuse me." He pulls out his phone and pokes the screen while heading into the hall. His muffled voice wafts into the room, but no discernible words can be heard. After a moment, he returns with his hand outstretched and a smile on his face. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Doctor Fred Hines."

Xavier takes the hand and shakes it, confused. "What's the meaning of this?"

"What would you say if I told you that there might be a way to cure you?"

"Cure me? As in get rid of cancer without removing my breasts?"

"Yes," he nods. "And maybe more."

"More? What else could there be?"

"I'm not allowed to say at present, but I am allowed to extend to you an invitation. A business associate has taken an interest in you both. He would like to fly you out to his place and meet you."

Xavier squints at the man suspicious, "Just like that? Without even knowing us?"

"Just like that. You come highly recommended."

"By you."

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

"I'm not allowed to say, but he will introduce himself if you choose to go."

It's Cecelia's turn to be suspicious, "And this man has the power to remove cancer when no one else can?"

"He has plenty of money, power, and influence. If he wishes it to be so, it happens."

"And this powerful man wishes to see us?"

"Well, yes, but it's more that he would like to meet you."

"So, all we have to do is get on the plane, fly to him, and he'll cure me?"

"I wish I could say he would do it for free. He is a business man after all, and he'll probably want something in return."

"What if what he wants, we can't give?"

Doctor Hines shushes them. "Listen, my associate is very generous. He can answer more of your questions than I can. If you fly to him and you can't work anything out, he'll fly you back here no strings attached. How does that sound?"

"I think we need to think about it." The husband and wife look to each other reading each other's faces.

"Wise choice." Doctor Hines scribbles on the back of a business card and hands it to them, "The plane will be at this hanger at this airport until tomorrow night. All you have to do is get on the plane." The doctor turns to go, then turns back, "I hope to see you there."

The discussion on the trip home is filled with concerns, hopes, and questions.

What it comes down to is this. "Xave, I'd do just about anything to be rid of this cancer for good and spend more time with you."

"But, CeCe, what if he takes you away from me? or worse?"

"We'll make ourselves a package deal. Both or nothing at all. Plus the doctor said we could just go and listen. String's free."

"Well --"

"And we'll decide together. If we don't like it, we'll leave."

After a short ride, they stepped up the stairs onto the airplane as the sun sets behind them. The tiny, jet powered vehicle is large and spacious inside. Six swivel padded seats are spread throughout the cabin.

The doctor from before stands and walks toward them. "You made it! I'm so glad." He ushers them to seats as he says, "I was afraid you'd say no." He continues gushing as Xavier buckles Cece into a seat being careful not to disturb her sun dress, "Just wait until you meet him. I'm sure you'll like him, too."

Dr. Hines takes a break to pick up the phone, "Okay guys, we're ready to go."

Once the plane takes off, tiredness crashes in on them. Dr. Hines smiles and shows them how to recline their chairs into a small bed. "Go ahead. I'll be hours before we land. Rest up. Today's been a rough day."

The cabin lights dim, and they both fall asleep fast.

Bouncing wakes Cecelia up. Light streams to a circle near her but not in her eyes. She twists and turns trying to see where she is, "Xave?"

A sleepy voice nearby answers, "Yeah, Cece?"

Panic creeps into her voice. "Where are we? I can't move!"

"Mmmm? Oh, we're still on the plane. You're buckled in, so you wouldn't roll out of your seat during some turbulence."

"Turbulence? I didn't feel any ..."

"And you shouldn't have. This plane has dampeners that minimizes anything that keeps the flight from being anything but calm." He gestures to the open door, "Shall we?"

Xavier carries Cecelia in his arms as he takes the stairs a step at a time. The doctor already at the bottom of the flight calls out, "Sir, it's so good to see you again."

A chocolate smooth voice answers, "It's good to see you as well, Doctor Hines." Xavier looks up to see who's speaking but all he can see is a shadow as the sun is right behind the man. He lifts a hand to shield his eyes, and Cecelia slides a little.

Xavier tries to juggle his wife to get her balanced and back up, but the man speaks again after a clap, "Please see to my guests." A sea of hands reach for them. "We'll meet up for breakfast."

With another clap, the voices that are connected to the reaching hands start up at once in hushed whispers. "Come this way." "We must make you ready." "Let's get you clean." "You must be so tired from your flight." The words stumble over each other in eagerness to help the two of them as they are ushered along to a building along one side of the main building.

With the sun out of their eyes, they enter without much trouble. Xavier is so struck by the beauty of the interior that he doesn't notice he's not holding Cecelia anymore until she calls for him in panic, "Xavier!"

He reaches out for her and multiple hands hold him back. "Don't worry. You'll be in the room right next to her."

Uncertain, he calls back, "I'll. I'll be close." He looks to the one next to him who nods. "I'll be right next door."

The words, his and the ones near her, must have calmed her because the fear is less, "Okay."

That's the last of their conversation before Xavier is shuffled along to a giant bath that encompasses most of the room and goes under a bamboo wall on one side of the room. After that he strips and sinks into the warm water under the directions of the women around him. They wade in after him getting their bathing suit-like uniforms wet.

Pouring the liquids in their hands all over him, they begin to scrub and lather him up. Looking from face to face of the women washing him, he sees that their smiles are only skin deep, not forced but not genuine either.

A familiar female moan crosses through the bamboo. "Cece?"

"Mmmmhhhhhmmmm?"

"You doing okay over there?"

"I never thought a bath could feel this good. When we get back home, we need to get you lessons on how to bathe me like this."

He smiles, "Of course, Dear."

Blocking their probing hands he finishes washing up. After rinsing, the helpers are nowhere to be found. He does find a pile of folded clothes. Putting them on he finds they are just his size. Xavier exits the room to find his attendants waiting. "Wait here, please." "Breakfast is almost ready."

So, he waits in the hall surrounded by an swarm of women. Before long, the door at the other end of the hall opens. Another mass of women exit surrounding a rolling cart. At the top is a small recliner with Cecelia at the top lounging in a purple blouse, denim shorts, and a garland of flowers on her head. Her eyes are closed with a satisfied smile on her face. Two groups move and merge and thrust the husband and wife through the swinging double doors.

He takes two steps and stops as the doors behind him swing shut. Cece's trolley travels a bit further. Xavier stops a moment to take in the room. The place has vases and artifacts and marble with gold, all things to make the room seem old yet opulent. Even more surprising is that his vision of a long table with two chairs, one at either end, is nowhere to be seen. A carved wooden table with people sitting around it is small, possibly 4 person table, inlaid with gold and silver. Closer to the wall opposite the window is a longer table covered in food.

Both gentlemen at the table look over and stand. "Please, come join us," the smooth, deep voice invites them. Xavier steps behind the cart and pushes his wife toward them.

When he almost reaches the table, he stops. A little gasp escapes his mouth, "You! You're! That guy!" Turning to his wife, he continues, "Cece, do you know who this is?" She looks at the man and then shakes her head. "He. He was a famous actor back in the day and. and. Nothing's coming." Xavier's excitement quells a little at his frustration of not being able to remember the actor's name.

He smiles and extends a hand, "Melvin Harrison, former teen actor and now investor."

"Yeah, that guy."

He smirks a little. "Please have a seat and we'll get started with breakfast." With a clap man servants take their plates and return a moment later full of eggs and vegetables and sweet fruits. Xavier reaches over to feed Cece some food before taking a bite, but finds one of the servants already placing eggs toward her mouth.

Xavier eats in the almost silence with the only sounds being silverware touching the plates. It begins to bother him and the concerns of their visit well up. Swallowing, he asks, "Sooo, what are we doing here?"

Doctor Hines looks up startled, "Nonono. We don't talk business during meals. Afterwards --"

Melvin holds up his hand to quiet him, "It is true that it is rude to speak of business while eating, but I'm sure our guests are concerned about their situation."

"No. I didn't realize. We'll talk after."

"Indeed."

"MMmmmm, Xave," Cecelia speaks as her mouth is being wiped clean, muffling her speech a little, "We also need to get you better cooking lessons and a servant. This is wonderful."

Their host chuckles, "Beginning a list, I see."

Cecelia swallows and chomps down on another offered bite, "mmmmMMMMHHHMMmmmm." She smiles and nods. The doctor and former actor turn and chuckle at Xavier. He joins in.

The rest of the meal is spent eating quietly punctuated with drumming silverware and happy moans about the delicious food as course after amazing course appears before them.

At last, much to Xavier's nervous relief, the host stands up and turns toward the doors Xavier hadn't entered. Xavier dusts his lips with his napkin and stands, too. He takes a step after Melvin but turns back to wait on his wife.

The doctor stands, "I'm going to check up on my patients while I'm here. I'm sure they'll enjoy the visit."

At the door, their host turns with a smile, "Yes, I'm sure they'd like that."

Xavier hears a quiet, "I'm done. Thank you very much."

Seeing the servant bow and hearing his wife's words, he realizes he didn't express his gratitude. He turns to the servant and echoes his wife, "Thank you very much. It was nice not to feed her for once." Turning back to his wife, he asks, "Ready to go?"

"Yes, let's." Xavier pushes his wife's cart out the doors they saw Melvin exit. He is not there. With the helpful directions form a servant, they make their way to another building. This one is white and has a sterile feeling to it.

Down the hall, a doctor steps out, spots them, and waves them in. Inside the room is Melvin and a sea of people in lab coats. Melvin gestures to them, "This is my amazing team. They are the greatest minds I could assemble." With a smirk he adds, "And they are bored. That's why I brought you here. You see, I figured a cancer as malignant and aggressive as yours would be a project that would keep my team busy." They all nod, eager. "So, since you have the cancer now, if you'd be so kind as to submit to their battery of tests, they'll get started."

Cecelia nods, "Okay." They roll her cart to the middle of the room and all the doctors start speaking at once. Xavier hears bits of conversation, most of it is various tests they want to run.

Melvin grabs his arm and starts toward the door, he calls out over the noise, "We'll be in the hall if anyone needs us."

"There's got to be more to this than you are telling us," Xavier accuses.

"Yes, you're right." Melvin pauses a moment, then continues, "You probably noticed my collection in the dining room. I said I'm an investor and I am. How did I get so rich? By taking calculated risks that paid off. Those decorations have been seen many times by others who have paid to see them. I've paid off the original excavations and more. In the case of your wife, if my team manages to find a cure, think of how many people would pay to get that cure."

"So, this is all about the money?"

"Of course. It's always about the money."

"And what makes you think that your doctors can figure it out when all the other doctors couldn't?"

"You might say I've got a little bit of an edge over everyone else."

Seeing that the actor is being tight lipped about that, Xavier heads down another path, "What are you planning on doing to her?"

"Well, first we're going to cure her. Then we can try out some new research my other R&D team has been working on. They are very close to making something to cause limbs to regrow from what they are learning from starfish. Wouldn't it be great to show the world a full functioning person who cured cancer and got their body back?"

Xavier imagines Cece on their wedding day and how beautiful she was. "That would be nice." Then he remembers what Melvin said about money, "What's this going to cost us?"

"Well, for this portion, how about a trade? Researching her cure for some plant care. I've got a dying plant that needs some love. You guys nurture and fertilize it, and we'll call it even."

And that's how Cecelia found herself on a toilet seat over a hole by a plant. "Xave? Have you ever seen a plant like this before?"

"No, Cece, I haven't."

"There's something ... foreign ... about it, though, right?"

"I guess?" He looks at it again. "I think it's getting better. It's more green than it was yesterday. I think it likes your ... uhhh," she gives him her best 'Don't you dare' look, "fertilizer," he finishes.

Her 'fertilizer' is part of the problem. She is sure Xavier knows, but with him nearby she locks up. She does her best to change the subject since she is getting pretty desperate. "Ummm, could you go get me some to drink." Just saying the words cause the weight on her bladder to increase. The last thing she needs is more water, but it's the only thing that gets him away from this greenhouse.

"Okay, Cece. I'll be right back." She sighs. He's the only one she has to worry about. The walls surrounding her are opaque enough to let the light in but she'll be a shadow to anyone outside.

Like a magical spell, she waters and fertilizes the plant. I guess I'll have to wait until he gets back to clean me up. She smiles at thoughts of the ways he takes care of her in her helpless state.

In these pleasant memories she doesn't feel something playing with her hair. She doesn't feel anything until she feels a breeze beneath her. Looking down, she sees that she is about a foot above her seat on the ground.

"Wha? What's going on?" She pumps her hips and torso trying to swing some and maybe break free of whatever has a hold of her. As she does so, her blouse starts to slide from shoulder to shoulder. What's going on? That shirt fit me all day so far. The shirt finds the neck hole and slides off her body taking her bra with it.

Cece hangs there in the air in her birthday suit for all to see, or at least get a silhouette of. She'd cover herself if she had arms. Now she wishes she hadn't sent her husband to get her something. She wants him there now. Desperation beats out her embarrassment. She calls out, "Help!"

Her view is rotated to face the plant she had been fertilizing. It looks larger and more vibrant than it did before. Even its blooms are huge. Two move toward her. She begins her swinging again using every muscle at her command to get away from the encroaching vines and flowers.

It's then that she feels two odd things. One is the sensation of something rising, no, rushing to get higher in her body. The other is the deadening of her crotch. It's as if it lost all feeling. No breezes or bladder. She tries to move those muscles, but they don't respond.

She looks up to see she is dangling by one of the vines of the plant that's attacking her. Sensing her distraction, the two lower flowers dive in and latch onto her breasts. She tries again, "Help!"

The odd feeling of something moving around in her increases. All of it from all the parts of her body gets pooled up where the two new attachments are. Despite much resistance, the stuff gets pulled out of her body into the flowers.

Cecelia is surprised at how clean the inside of her body feels. Just as quick as they attach, the flowers remove themselves and pull back while wilting. Is the plant getting bigger?

The door slams open. "Miss Cecel --" Doctor Hines stops short, "What in the world?"

Her tears start flowing. "I don't know what's going on. I was sitting there and I think this plant  lifted me into the air."

Fascinated, he approaches a step at a time. Once he reaches her, he puts his hand toward her head, then looks down at her, "May I?"

Cecelia nods which ends up swinging her body more than any other attempt. Doctor Hines tugs on the vine on her head. Pain causes her to wince. He resorts to two hands. The pain becomes unbearable, "Stop it! It hurts!"

Stepping back, he spots something lower on her. He points and she looks down. "May I," he asks about her brown lower torso.

"I guess as long as it doesn't hurt as much."

"I'll do my best." Doctor Hines first touches the surface. Cecelia doesn't feel a thing. He looks up asking. She shakes her head. Her knocks and checks again after hearing the sound. Again, she shakes her head. "Odd. Your body is becoming solid, but solid what I'm not sure."

"What's happening to me?"

"I'm not sure. We haven't seen anything like this before. We didn't even have this plant until it dropped down from the portal."

"What about those dying flowers?"

"What dying -- Why are they dying?"

"I don't know. They sucked something out of my body."

"Well, it doesn't seem to be killing the plant, so that's good."

Looking at his head, she realizes that she's just a little bigger than it."Did you get bigger?"

"No, my dear, you got smaller."

"What? How?"

"I don't know." He stops. "You. The." Unable to form words, he points at her. She looks down. The brown from before has covered her breasts now.

With panic in her eyes, she asks, "Am I going to die?"

"No, my dear, we'll figure out some way to reverse this or bring you back to life."

A tear rolls down her cheek and drops onto her shoulder then she feels it no more.

"Why's the door open? Cece, I got you some -- Would you like some water?"

She nods and he brings the cup to her lips. Liquid flows in and she tries to swallow, but nothing goes down. All of it flows out of her. Feeling the liquid touch less and less of her, she demands, "Xave, kiss me."

He does and his mouth covers most of her head. Her tiny lips peck his lower lip. They stay in this embrace until the doctor tugs him away.

There they see a huge nut shaped like Cecelia. Turning to Xavier, the doctor informs him, "Melvin is on his way. Understand that we will do everything in our power to restore her." Xavier nods. His mind wanders about. Cece, my love, what happened to you?

After that, things begin to blur as people move to and fro, voices speak to each other and him. He just nods and arms drag him some place, he doesn't know where since he can't focus on anything. The next few days pass the same. He's sure he's eaten, but he doesn't remember when.

"Good news," someone announces next to Xavier. He looks up, head clearing for a moment. He is at the breakfast table and the standing person in the direction of the voice is Doctor Hines.

"News?"

"Yes, first after testing your wife in several different ways, we have found that she is completely cured of cancer."

"But she's a nut," he counters taking a bite of the food before him.

"Well, yes. There's that, but the nut no longer has cancer. Somehow that plant knew she had it and cleaned it out of her. Also, the black and wilted flowers results show that they have cancerous material."

Melvin swears, "Damn it."

"Sir?"

"What a waste. That is a lousy cure. I can't have people get cured just to become some kind of plant."

"Well, we still have her samples and tests. Any progress there?"

"Not yet."

Xavier tunes them out, their words meaningless mutterings. What am I going to do without Cece? Pushing his plate away, "I'm going to her."

The other two men watch him go, silent.

Blind with tears, he follows a path he's trudged for days. There in the greenhouse she dangles at the end of a vine like the lure of an anglerfish. He heads toward her and drops to his knees.

Feet sprint past the door behind him. Another set of feet slide to a stop behind Xavier. "Uh! Xavier! I! I need ..."

"What do you want, Doctor?"

After a moment's hesitation, the doctor answers at a near whisper, "Your wife."

Xavier stands and spins on the doctor glaring at him, "What do you want with her?!"

Looking down, the doctor can't even meet his eyes, "My researchers found something in one of the magic tomes that came through the magic portal." He looks up to gauge the reaction for what he's about to say, "We might. We might have found a way to bring your wife back to life."

"What?"

"... but not as a human."

"What? Are? You? Saying?"

"You know the chocobos that are in my care?" Xavier remembers the strange animals that are a cross between a chicken and an ostrich. He remembers the visits he and Cece shared and how much she loved petting them and hugging them. How they would rub back and eat food out of their hands.

Xavier nods. "Well, you see, they aren't from Earth. They came out of a portal. Well, two of them did. It seems to give us things from another place, a magical place. Usually it's books that come through."

"In one of these books we learned about breeding and that is how we got all the rest of the chocobos." Doctor Hines gulps and continues, "Well, in one of the books we discarded because we didn't understand at the time, it describes a Wutai Nut that looks like a woman." Xavier seems him look at Cecelia. "We think Cecelia is that nut."

Xavier is still trying to figure out what's going on. It feels like he has everything except one piece. "So, you're saying if I let you take Cece, I'll get to see her again?"

The doctor swallows and lets out a nervous, "Yes."

"Are there any dangers?"

"None that we know of."

Again, Xavier is sure the doctor is leaving something out, but the thought of seeing Cece again pushes all that out. "Okay." He watches as the doctor plucks his wife from the plant with the utmost gentleness and then carries it out of the room. Like carrying some breakable artifact, he holds it out in front of himself.

Like a zombie, Xavier shuffles his feet as he follows the doctor as he takes turn after turn. It dawns on Xavier where they are headed, to the stables. He hurries to catch up to the doctor.

When he reaches the man, he finds him petting two chocobos together in one stall, one with each hand, and Cecelia is nowhere to be found. The two birds start nuzzling each other. The doctor turns him around and ushers Xavier back outside, "We should give them their privacy at this point."

"What did you do? Where's my wife?"

The doctor's eyes slide to the side as his head drops, "I fed her to the chocobos."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry. The book told us that if you feed a Wutai Nut to a Black Chocobo and a Wonderful Chocobo, you would get a Golden Chocobo for sure. According to the book, the new chocobo is part human and remembers everything from before." He pauses here to let it sink in, "You'll get Cecelia back, but she'll be part bird."

Xavier wants to be mad at the doctor. He even turns his back and crosses his arms.

"I know this is hard. Please give it a shot. I'll do everything I can to help you. I'll take good care of her."

Xavier turns slowly on heel to the doctor. Xavier enunciates each word to make his question clear, "What? Did? You? Just? Say?"

Doctor Hines twiddles his fingers, once again not making eye contact, "I said that I'd take good care of her. Since she is part animal, she'll have to live with the animals." His eyes dart back and forth. "Plus she'll need a veterinarian to make sure she's in the best health."

"This is what you weren't telling me."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The doctor breaks down into tears. "This was the only way ... only way ..."

Xavier storms away from the miserable wretch of a man who tricked him. And runs right into Melvin.

"So, did you hear the good news?" Xavier says nothing, seething. "I'm getting two amazing gifts all thanks to you and your wife." Taking Xavier's silence as permission to continue, he does. "I'll be getting a Gold Chocobo and the first real hybrid of human and animal. People from everywhere are going to want to see her. I am definitely going to get my money back from this investment."

"No offense, but I'd like to be left alone right now."

Melvin takes his arm off Xavier, "No problem." As he turns away, Xavier doesn't see the doctor anywhere. He hears Melvin say to himself, "Now to see my money maker and start planning how to show her to the world."

The last thing he hears before he leaves him behind is, "No, Sir, they're not ready to be seen ..."

Xavier shuffles back toward his sleeping quarters. He passes the greenhouse and stops to look in. The vine that held his wife aloft is gone. On the far side of the room is the same plant as before and just as vibrant green. Maybe it has even grown a little. he muses.

Still depressed, he heads back to his room and begins a fitful sleep. Will she be back? Will she be human enough? Will she remember me? Will she still love me? Could she still love me? Could I love her as an animal? These thoughts and more flow through his mind.

His door creeks open. "Couldn't sleep," asks the voice from the door, "Neither could I."

Xavier sits up in bed. "Come on in."

The door finishes opening and then closes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't made that phone call in the hospital, none of this would have happened."

Xavier takes this all in and thinks. After a moment, he asks, "Will I get to see her?"

"Absolutely! You'll be the first. Before I even tell Mr. Harrison."

"Will I get to talk to her? See if she even recognizes me?"

"Sure. Sure. Anything."

"What was he saying about 'showing her to the world'?"

"Oh. That. He's planning to do what he does with all of his treasures. He's going to start by getting his big spenders to pay to see her, and then work his way down to get as much as he can from common people seeing her."

"Why--" He begins to ask, but he knows the answer, Money.  He starts again, "How--?"

This time the doctor cuts him off, "He thinks of her as his property."

"But she's not his property. She's my wife."

"His plant and his chocobos were used, so therefore he thinks she's his. Or at least, I'm guessing that's what he thinks from the way he's acted in the past."

"But! But," Xavier protests.

"I understand. Look. Tomorrow morning, if the other births were any indication, we'll have an egg. By lunch, she should be hatched. No one would blame you if you skipped breakfast to be down there. I'll send some servants with food and stall him as long as possible."

Not sure what to say, "Fine."

"If the book is correct, she'll remember you. Spend time talking. Decide together." The doctor turns to go, "Hopefully this eases your mind. I'll send a servant for you in the morning."

Xavier mumbles out a, "Thanks." Despite thinking otherwise, the doctor's statements calm him, and he goes right to sleep.