Vivienne made Dan drop her off on the front side of the dry cleaners and she then walked around to her apartement. Her truck had indeed been parked outside. She paid it little heed other than getting the key ot it (which Dan had put back) so she could unlock it and get her set of sparekeys and her phone out of it. Then she locked the truck back up and went inside her apartment. (please note I say nothing about her locking her door behind her)

The first thing she did was undress, this was followed by a shower, pacing around the apartment in pain, and then another shower. The second shower she stood under the hot water crying, until two things happened, the water wasn't hot anymore, and she couldn't stand. So she was slumped and crouching along the shower wall crying under the luke warm water. She was going to kill that angel for this....she really was......

Vivienne wasn't answering her phone. Uriel hadn't heard from her in a while, and it's not like he meant to get so attached, but... well, he couldn't help but be worried. So he decided to just come down to her apartment without asking. He would've felt guilty about it had he not been worried.

But here he was, anyway, his motorcycle parked as he trotted up to the door to Viv's apartment. It was left unlocked (sorry for assuming), and Uriel creaked it open somewhat.

He wasn't even wearing a shirt, stupid demon, but it was hot outside. His blue hair was a velvety curtain around him, his pink eyes concerned, jeans held on by a belt the only clothing he was wearing.

"Viv?" he called softly. She probably couldn't hear him over the shower.

Indeed she can't hear him over the shower. Viv is noramlly very alert too, but her own crying, altough quiet has also made the blood pound in her ears, she really can't hear much at all right now. She's enraged, hurt too, but enraged, and a good bit of her rage is at herself.

The apartment is in it's normal state of order except for a few small details. The heap of clothing in the middle of the floor, and the keys and cell phone not placed deliberately on her desk as usual, but simply lying on the floor with the clothes. There are also wet towels on the floor, in two different places, though from the sound of things Viv is still in the shower. Areas of the floor are wet as well from the first time she got out of the shower and was pacing, her hair dripped all over the place earlier.

He stepped into the apartment, a frown creasing his lips as he shut the door behind him. He stared at the floor for a long silent moment before stepping forward, footsteps silent on the wet floor.

"Viv?" He called louder this time, resting thin and graceful pale fingertips on the wall, a deep frown on his lips.

He was, perhaps, too concerned.

That time she heard him. Damn it! I left the door unlocked. She had not wanted him to see her like this......But she really wanted him to hold her right about now.

She couldn't quite get up in her present sorry state, but she could reach the faucets, sort of. She turned the water most of the way off. Water still ran down over her in slow unsteady trickles with minimal pressure behind them. "In here." she croaked. Her voice was rough and cracking from the crying and the lump it had formed in her throat. This wasn't how she wanted him to see her at all.

His pace quickened slightly when he heard the sound of her voice, and he gently pushed the door to the bathroom open. He swallowed a little tightly.

"Viv? Viv, are you okay?" he asked softly, kneeling down beside the bath tub, not pulling away the drawn curtains just yet (again I assume).

Even though she doesn't want him to see her like this her heart hammers even more when she hears him come into the room, when she hears the worry in his voice.

For once she answers him candidly. "No." (again you assume rightly) She can't quite reach the curtains the way she is either. "No I'm not alright, I need help." she admits, which is no small admission for her, but she knows he'd never hurt her.

He would've asked, 'want me to...?', was going to, but it would only be a stupid thing to ask and would waste time. He frowned when she said she wasn't all right and drew the curtains away.

Saying nothing, Uriel got back up on his feet but remained in a crouch next to the tub and leaned aver it a little bit.

"This might hurt a little." But he was going to be as gentle as he could when he grabbed her from under her thighs (technically on the back of her knees) with one hand and supported her neck with the other. Though Uriel wasn't that strong Viv didn't really weigh much, so he was able to pull her out of the water quite easily and gently. "Sorry."

He stood straight now, Viv secured in his arms.

It didn't hurt much. Her teeth were chattering. She'd been under the stream of luke warm water for a while, regeneration made her cold if she didn't eat often enough, and to top it off she was cold and wet. She was glad he hadn't yet addressed what had happened to her. She was too cold and shaky at the moment to render even the vauguest explanation.

He seemed able to carry her rather easily. She was glad she couldn't stand that she might cause him to hurt himself. "Should I interpret the fact you're only half dressed to mean anything?" she asked noticing he wasn't wearing anything but jeans while he carried her. The words were spoken hoarsely. She had taken a stab at humor because hello how are you seemed utterly inappropriate for the circumstances. Her eyes closed though, and then even more quietly she said, "I missed you."

Uriel stopped a moment. "Where are your towels?" Because I can't just leave you on your bed when you're wet. He could feel how cold she was, the chattering of her teeth and her shivering.

"Depends. If you're intrepeting it to mean I was worried and needed to see if you were all right, forgetting my shirt, then you're right." All of this spoken in a calm and level tone. He was going to ask her what had happened, but figured it'd come with time, later.

He wanted to frown, tried to smile, but his face ended up expressionless. "I missed you too." A whisper, like the gentle fluttering of a butterfly, and as soft as the kisses of their wings.

"Towels, the shelves are behind where the bathroom door sets when it's opened." She explained.

She gave him a very curious expression at his answer. "Worried, I'm so sorry." she apologized to him with sad eyes. She hadn't wanted him to even find out about this. She hadn't wanted to upset or hurt him in any way.....and worry counted. She had to squeeze her eyes shut when he whispered he missed her too. Tears still managed to leak through though, glistening like small gems in her eyelshes.

He nodded very gently, pushing the door away with his foot so he could see where the towels were. He bent his knee a little and rested her on it and his upper arm as he grabbed a towel, mauvering somehow so that it was now wrapped around her naked body, covering her. Now he was back to holding her like a small child and pushed the door open again so that he could make his way down the hallway and into the living room.

"Don't be sorry. People who love you are supposed to worry about you." He told her quietly as he now set her on her bed, pulling the blankets over her to attempt to warm her freezing figure. He gently rubbed her shoulder as he kneeled down on the floor beside the bed as he'd done in the bathroom.

She nods, she understands love and worry, but her worry gets used to compel her, granted Gattie doesn't always mean to but he does. She in no way wants to feel like she's manipulating Uriel. "I meant that I don't want you upset, or to feel like you have to do things for me." she says. She still hasn't opened her eyes. "I suppose this means that you're going to take care of me?" she asks.

And she in no way is manipulating Uriel. He's doing these things of his own free will. "I won't ever feel like I have to do something for you, Viv." He looked down at her, tracing warm fingertips across her cheek. "I'm going to take care of you, yes. But not because I'm compelled to, because I want to."

"Okay." she tells him softly, reaching to take his hand.

She drifted off holding it, but her sleep was soon turned restless. She let go of his hand and began thrashing and struggling with dream things after only about twently minutes. Her nightmares were rife with all sorts of horrific things she'd endured. At several points she yells out, "No pops, no. Please I'll stop, just don't hurt them. Stop hurting everyone." and statements along a similar vien. She dreams about the angel to of coarse, and when she is she repeats her promise....."I'll see you in hell."

Uriel had been watching her sleep peacefully for a few minutes, gaze hurt and sort of heavy. Hurt because Viv was hurt. He was hurting for her, trying to hurt with her. Trying to understand. Trying to comfort her.

He was startled out of his mindless and numb state when she began yelling out in her sleep, half-lidded gaze becoming a sort of wide stare before leveling to a normal state.

"Viv." He says calmly though firmly, shaking her shoulder a little bit. "Viv, wake up. 's only a dream." And a horrible one at that, which was why he was trying to wake her up from it.

She doesn't wake easily, but finally she does. "Was I yelling?" she asks Her throat certainly feels as if she had been. She can tell how very worried he is. She's also still cold. She sits up. "I need to eat. Dare I ask what I was saying?" she says, taking his hand again.

"Yes, you were," Uriel said finally after the general relief that she was awake washed over him. "Do you need me to make you something...?" He asked, running his thumb gently over her knuckles. His hands warm in contrast to her coldness.

"I don't think you should." Ask, that is. It had startled Uriel quite a lot until he figured out that that she was just sleeping.

"Was it that bad?" she frowns. His hand is very warm. "There's all sorts of left overs in the fridge, just heat some that involve meat please." she says, she sounds very sleepy. She clings to his hand for a minute. "Thanks." she tells him.

He gave a slight inclination of his head and slowly and gently let his chin decline so that it was placed in the same spot as before. It counted as a vague nod. "All right, I'll see what I can find." Gently letting his hand slip out of her grip, he stood. "Any time." Tiny smile as he walked over into the kitchen to fix something for his Vivienne to eat.

She laid back down and let her eyes flutter shut. Were she here alone she would probably pace, but Uriel was here looking after her, She didn't need to be as edgy if he was taking care of her. She didn't need to wory about being alert even while resting. She didn't fall back to sleep. She just lay there naked, but all hunched under the blankets to stay warm. She listened to him routing around in her kitchen fixing her food. She'd be a little warmer once she ate, she knew. After about ten minutes of listening to him, and simply being reassured that he was looking after her though, she did drift back to sleep. She was sleeping very lightly, that sort of half slumber where one is not quite dreaming and still aware of things around them. So she heard him approach with the food. She sat up again.

There was a soft noise coming from the kitchen. Uriel was trying to be as quiet as he could, opening up cabinets to search for plates. Once he found said item of neccesity he set it down on the counter, bringing out some leftovers that involved meat, as she said. He put it on the plate, heated it up, then rummaged around for a fork.

Once he found one, carefully holding the plate in two hands he made his way to the living room again, setting the plate down on the bed beside her when she sat up.

"Do you need anything to drink?" He was heading back into the kitchen to put away the food anyway.

She sat a pillow on her lap to put the plate on. "Thanks,"She said graciously as she took the plate. "Water's fine." she told him. She was very hungry, her stomach gave a loud groan as she picked up the fork. Her hands trembled slightly, mostly from her lowered body temperature. She could tell he was trying to be quiet. "You don't have to tiptoe, you're not bothering me at all." she assured him as he went after the water.

"Okay." He gave another gentle nod as he padded back into the kitchen, bare feet warm even on this floor.

He didn't have to be quiet but he wanted to be, as he still had some doubts that she'd be okay with noise.

So still he was quiet, near silent in fact as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and turned the sink on, letting it run cold water for a minute or two before filling the glass up.

He returned with the water to her bedside.

She took the water and looked at her empty plate. "I was hungry, wasn't I?" she says rhetorically as she accepts the water. She notices he's still very quiet. Her feet are just now begining to get warm. She's still shaky, but it's normal with all the magic she released earlier in the morning.

After drinking the water she laid back down, snuggling back into the bankets. "We'rre going to have to talk sometime.....sometime soon."She says quietly in sleepy tones and then she closes her eyes again.

"Mm." Another gentle nod as he traded with her the water for the empty plate, holding it in one hand now. The other hand rested on Viv's shoulder and he gently rubbed it.

"Soon. But soon is not now, and for the moment try to get your rest."

He took the empty glass in his other hand now, wandering back off into the kitchen, his mind wandering elsewhere. How she got so... like this.

She slept again, this time for about three hours before the nightmare settled in. She doesn't yell this time, in fact her words are garbled, but it indeed sounds like she's begging. She falls silent briefly and then the tossing and turning starts, this time she wakes herself up. She sits up and flings a pillow into the door with enough force that a little cloud of feathers puffs out of it on impact.

After a few minutes of rustling around in the kitchen Uriel had everything back where it was, the used dishes rinsed first before they were put in the dishwasher and the food back in the fridge.

He walked silently back to her bed, seating himself on the floor like he'd done before, watching her sleep. He shifted a lot in the three hours she slept and he grew vaguely tired over time but didn't fall into the sweet temptation of sleep.

Once again, eyes widen. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly." she says getting up. The bruises are all gone and the cuts seem half healed. The two large wounds, one on each side still look very bad though as she pads quietly into the bathroom and shuts the door. After a few minutes the toilet flushes, and the sounds of her electric toothbrush can be heard for a time. Then she emerges and walks to the dresser, she takes out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to put on before going out into the kitchen to rout around in her fridge.

The good news is she's feeling up to walking anyway. She fixes her self another plate of food, again, something with meat. She washes it down with a half gallon of orange juice and then cleans up after herself before coming back out into the living room. "Come to bed." she tells him as she climbs back in it herself.

His gaze followed her as she got out of bed until she disappeared into the bathroom. He let his eyes close for a time, resting one hand on the bed where she had been.

His eyes flutter back open when she comes back to her bed. "Mm, okay. Feeling any better?" He asked as he carefully slipped into her bed beside her.

She snuggles up against him, "Now yes." she says quietly, "Still worn out though, give it a day and I'll be fine. You won't be able to tell anything happened. Though I'd say two days before I'm not tired and dragging around in low gear." she says. She's waiting for the inevitable questions about why she's healing so quickly, in fact she's waiting for questions about anything, though it should occur to her, he usually waits until she volunteers things to him.

She's still a bit cold, but not like she was. She puts her arms around him and rests her head against his shoulder. "Mmmm you're warm." she says before closing her eyes and giving him a faint smile.

Uriel put his arms around her comfortably as well. At least in the bed he had reason (or excuse, rather) to close his eyes and at least almost subconsciously sleep. "Two days? That's impressive." He didn't question how she could manage such a thing.

He smiled in return, not quite letting his eyes close just yet.

"Impressive, huh, maybe." she murmurs half asleep and struggling to think about what he's saying. "I love you." she whispers. Then she's out, she actually manages to sleep without waking with Uriel next to her. Perhaps just sensing him close is enough for her to keep the nightmares at bay.

"Love you too." he said softly, allowing her to drift off into perhaps a sweet slumber. Uriel himself couldn't afford such the pleasure of sleep, something just bothered him. He knew the apartment was safe, but he held her as if he feared whoever had done this to her would come back and do something even worse. So he almost slept but it was a rather half-sleep knowing he could not stay awake nor could he fall asleep on her.

Every once in a while his eyes would flutter open, watching her as she slept yet again.

Nine hours of uninterupted sleep and she wakes ravenous again. She carefully climbs out around Uriel not meaning to wake him. She's halfway out of the bed when she realizes he wasn't really asleep. "Sorry, have you been awake the whole time?" she asks once she's standing.

She heads to the bathroom again, same as before, toilet, sink, toothbrush noises, sink again and then she's out. She's goes to the kitchen and gets the jug of orange juice. She stands out there and finishes the reamining half gallon before throwing out the container and sitting down on the bed. "We need to talk, or to be more to the point, I need to tell you things." she says quietly.

His eyes are sort of half-closed. "Kinda, yeah." He answered, turning over to watch her head to the bathroom again. Now that she was out of bed Uriel closed his tired eyes, listening to all the noises.

He opened them again when she sat on the bed and he took it upon himself to sit up, blinking lazily. "All right... I'm listening." He said quietly as well, and definitely softly.

"I'm not even completely sure where to start, you're not going to like some of it, hell I don't like some of it."she says her stomach growls and she ignores it. "You obviously are willing to over look a lot of things, but It's not fair for me to expect you to. The healing thing, I can start there I suppose, I regenerate, It's something My father did to me, I don't completely understand it though. He experimented a lot....With blood magic predominantly. I'm a mage too, So's my brother, who lives here in the city. Shit. This is all coming out crazy, so if something doesn't make sense just ask me, I'm tired of not telling you anything. I came here to stop doing things, bad things and magic things, but some things came up and I can't stop right now.

My magic has unusual side affects on me, You need to know this part so you don't freakout. Sometimes so much magic builds up I can't disperse it any more, so I have inflict pain on myself to release it. Before you ask that's how a small portion of what happened to me happened, but the majority of it happened becasue I wouldn't let someone at my magic.

The other thing is, well probably the worst.....I....."She stops talking while she looks at him with sad eyes, looks at his scars....."I don't just fix things, sometimes it's people, I take money to go make an example of someone...." she won't meet his eyes now. There's a lot more of coarse, but there is just so much with Viv it's hard for her to figure out what's important.

Uriel stayed silent the whole time she explained, listening to every word she had to say, taking it in without judging her at all. He nodded vaguely once she was finished with explaining, trying not to let any of his negative emotions leak into his expression. His stomach was slightly knotted. Was it selfish to want the Vivienne he’d known without explanations back? Was it selfish to want to not know these things? Was it selfish that he wanted to hold onto all the good things about her? Was it selfish that…

“Viv… I… want you to know I don’t hate you.” He still looked into her eyes even if she didn’t. He leaned over and gently pressed a claw to her chin so she’d look at his eyes, know he meant what he’d said. “I want you to know I still love you, and I want you to know I’m sorry. So sorry.” Was it selfish that he wrapped his arms around her just to attempt to hide her from all the things that haunted her? Did it mean he was too possessive in the fact that he just wanted to hold her and comfort her? His Viv?

“And I… I’m… I don’t care what you do… as long as you’re all right.” It almost hurt to say, though.

"But I don't want to do....."She made a frustrated noise....."Part of what I do could follow me home, I know you don't want to know these things, damn it, but if you got hurt because of my fucked up life.....I think I'd just die." she said. It sounded stupid even to her, but she still isn't completely recovered, it's still an effort for her to say things that make sense.

She let him hold her. She didn't really want to go back out into the world, and if she had no brother to worry about, she wouldn't. She did meet his eyes when he lifted her chin. "There's only one more thing, something I need to know....." she said looking into his eyes.

"Don't say that, Viv. You can't die on me now." His hold on her became a little tighter, as if forcing the meaning of the words into that possessive hug. He might have been a little hurt, but not enough to leave her. Not enough to want her to die.

"What?" His voice was a near sweet and delicate whisper as he held her.