Nic shrugged. "I guess that everything will work itself out," he replied. "That Yue will believe me. That I can settle things with Sheng. That we can stop whoever wants to hurt us. That we can start rebuilding our lives."

--

Without a sound, Yue slowly tipped over, mind too overwhelmed to stay conscious anymore. So she laid on the ground, covered in sweat, body shivering. Like she had thought, the trip into the past had proved too difficult for her. And now she was alone, somewhere between the past and present. Lost somewhere in her mind like James was lost in his.

--

"What do you think we should name him?" Sheng asked. Then after a moment he called, "Long." Long blinked. "Ling and I have shared our opinions," Sheng explained. "So what do you think?"

Long blushed a little, feeling very out of place. "I couldn't," he replied quickly.

"Why not?" Sheng asked. Ling giggled a little.

It took a little more persuading from Sheng and his sister, but Long eventually timidly replied, "... Xing?"

Sheng nodded a little. "Perhaps Xing would be a fitting name," he mused. Ling nodded in agreement. "... That would be the name you would give your own son, wouldn't it?" Sheng asked, resting his chin on his hand.

Long's eyes widened a little, and Ling found her voice caught in her throat. After a long moment, Sheng mused, "... Then perhaps it wouldn't be..." Then he started talking about other things, and the topic was dropped. But Long couldn't get Sheng's question out of his head.

Laurel nodded, kissing his jaw again, "Well, considering we both believe in magic now, there's a good chance the wishes will come true. What's more powerful than a star, right?" she smiled.

--

A doctor eventually found Yue and attempted to pick her up and place her in her bed.

Nic didn't reply, but he pulled Laurel a little closer and rested his chin on her head.

--

Yue didn't respond. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her physically; it seemed to be all mental. Based on how they found her, it looked like she had been meditating and it had gone awry.

So Laurel snuggled up to him and was silent for awhile, "When we get through all of this." Laurel said quietly, "Is there someone you'd like to live? You've been on the run for so long... there must have been someplace you wished you could have settled down." she figured.

--

The doctor sighed a little and went to get Kalma. Kalma came in a little later and glared at Yue for a long while before leaving again. When she came back, she had pepper.

Nic shrugged. It didn't look like he had put any thought into it. "What about you?" he asked.

--

It was difficult to get Yue to breathe in the pepper. And when she did, it didn't have too much of an effect unlike last time. Instead of wanting to get out, some part of her seemed to want to stay.

Laurel seemed a bit embarrassed and didn't reply as she squirmed sightly.

--

Kalma sighed a little, "Sadist." she told her. She left and came back in with a airhorn which she proceeded to blow directly into Yue's ear.

Nic let her squirm and not reply. He didn't seem to be in a pestering mood.

--

It didn't work.

"I don't think you'd like it." Laurel finally sighed.

--

Kalma left again, returning after a while with a glass of water. She slowly poured it over Yue's face. Eyes focused.

Nic shrugged.

--

Yue seemed determined to remain where she was; to take care of some unfinished business. She started shaking again a little as the water seeped into her clothes.

So Laurel watched the stars for a long while before starting to get drowsy.

--

Once Kalma was sure Yue wouldn't wake for anything, she got to work. In no time at all, Yue had a face mask on, hair wrapped in foil and drying and nails primped.

Nic let Laurel doze a bit, but before she could fall asleep he started to stand up.

Laurel blinked her eyes open and immediately started complaining at Nic's movement.

--

By the time Kalma was done, Yue was silky, vibrant skin with no trace of dark circles, slightly highlighted and shining hair and perfect nails. Bored again, Kalma stared at her for awhile before James acted up and she left Yue alone.

"You should sleep in your own bed where its warm," he told her, still standing.

"I can't sleep alone." Laurel protested, "Can't we just stay out here?" she was whining a little in her tiredness.

"... I can find Rosemary for you," Nic offered, trying to get her up.

Laurel stayed on the ground and suddenly there were tears in her eyes. She didn't seem to notice right away because when she did she tried to scrub them away.

Nic stopped trying to move Laurel and crouched down, waiting to see if she would voice her thoughts.

"I just..." Laurel whispered, not taking her hands away from her face. "I just don't want to go back." she suddenly confessed, "I really feel... free... out here. Free to be with you, free from the gangs and the trouble and the money. What if we don't get another moment like this, Nic? What if this is it? What if we don't make it through this...?" she asked, struggling not to cry as her usual optimism crumbled, "I d-don't want this moment to end."

Nic thought about it a little bit. "... If we don't leave this moment, then we'll never know," he replied.

Laurel was silent for awhile, slowly calming herself down. "I know... that I shouldn't be afraid anymore." she finally told Nic quietly, "But I can't help it."

"... That's alright," he replied. "It's natural to be scared."

Laurel glanced at Nic, "When I think about losing you... I can understand my sister a little better." she murmured before reaching out and pinching Nic's nose lightly, "But don't worry... I won't waste this moment, right now, by being afraid." she managed a small smile as she tugged on his nose a bit.

Nic frowned a little, but let Laurel tug at his nose. If it cheered her up, he'd put up with it.

That brought out a slightly bigger smile before she let go of his nose and kissed his cheek in apology. "Well, Sir Nic," she teased lightly, "I'll never let you go." she informed him, "Ever. So don't even try to run away." she smirked.

Nic blinked, wondering why she'd even bring that up. And he waited to see if Laurel would continue to insist on staying outside.

Laurel stood on her own, allowing Nic to lead her indoors. "Just so you know." she whispered, squeezing his hand tightly as they left the night sky behind, "I'll never regret meeting you, no matter what happens."

Nic glanced at Laurel for a moment, but didn't say anything as he lead her to her room.

When they got to her room, Laurel gave Nic a quick kiss on the lips and said goodnight. "Make sure you sleep." she fussed a little as she yawned.

Nic nodded. "Will you be able to sleep alright?" he asked.

"Probably not." she replied honestly, "If I manage to get a few hours in I should be fine though." she nodded to him.

That didn't seem to make Nic feel any better.

Laurel sighed, "If you'd feel better about it I could go sleep with Raven." she offered with a shrug. "I'd sleep through the night that way."

Nic actually thought about it a little. "Whichever you'd prefer," he decided.

"You like Raven, right?" Laurel clarified.

"Like?" Nic asked, requesting clarification on the meaning.

"You like him... um..." Laurel tried to clarify with her tired mind, "He's a friend, someone you... like being around?" she offered.

"... Not particularly," Nic replied honestly.

"But you two get along." Laurel tried again.

After a brief moment, Nic nodded.

Laurel nodded back, "And he's gay, so obviously you don't mind that I'm sorta dating him at the same time, right?" she clarified.