The special on the menu at the inn that night was tension.

Tucker stood watch behind the bar. He hadn't seen Eva come in but there she was at the bar. A moments hesitation and he pushed off the backbar, moving to her. "Eva! What can I get you?"

"A damn explanation." Eva's eyes held barely restrained fire.

Jolyon tried to interject into the tense scene. "Now then, please, if calm is not possible at least a moment of restraint, I ask you." His words directed to all parties, because he meant restraining from being sarcastic, provocative, basically for them go against their natures -- he asked a lot.

"You." Jab of a point of Mason's finger at Tucker. "Outside..now."

"No, no, no." Serena's hand tightened on Tucker's arm, fingers digging in their hold. "No."

Tucker's eyes widened along with a clenching of his jaw as he looked at Mason. "Watch where you point that finger."

"He's been watching us. Ask him, ask him. He's been watching our apartment. Our private lives." Eva wasn't sure why she was yelling at Serena. She knew Serena didn't know what Tucker had done. She could see it. But she couldn't stop herself.

Eless circled closer, using her abilities to encourage calm. "Now everyone settle down a moment and explain to me what is going on."

Tucker laughed taking a step away from the bar that separated he and Mason. "I promised Jolyon that I'd let him talk to you first. I'm going to let him do that." He crossed his arms across his chest and stood his ground.

"Damn coward." Mason spit the words at Tucker.

Serena kept her voice soft. "You've got to give him a chance to explain why. Please just give him a chance to explain."

Jolyon shook his head at the runaway emotions, pleading. "Please, if not here, then somewhere else so I can give you everything I have learned so far."

Eva looked at Serena."Fine, we're here. Explain." As Jolyon's words sunk in a brow goes up. "This is.... this is... related to Her?"

"Yes." Jolyon breathed out and gave a sharp nod.

Eva stared at Jolyon, that obviously gave her pause. Her eyes flicked to Tucker, then towards Mason. "Mason."

Elessaria lifted her chin, looking Mason square in the eyes,undaunted "At least hear them out first, Mason. Then if 'tis a bunch of hooey, the two of thee can beat the snot out of each other in the alley."

"Seriously? You think it's right for him to spy on us? Follow us?" Anger had gotten the better of Mason as he stared down at Eless.

"I do nay know the entire story, Mason." Her tone still edged with her empathy as Eless bore Mason's gaze unflinchingly."Mason, thou dost need to stay calm as much as possible."

Serena was not thrilled with the idea of leaving Tucker's side at the moment. But they were working their shift and already people were watching the confrontation. Tucker looked down at his hands, trying calm himself. He slowly released the fists he had going and stuck his hands into his pockets.Quickly and efficiently, Serena grabbed a glass and filled a drink order. She even mustered a flick of a smile in spite of all the tension.

"If you have had any faith in my efforts to help you, then I ask you to listen to me now. If my efforts have done nothing and meant nothing then I will have to accept that." Jolyon rubbed a hand over his mouth.

Eva reached out, trying to get Mason's attention, to intercede before Eless got hurt, her hand on his arm. "Mason." Her voice raised and sharp to cut through the din of the bar.

"Just listen and breathe, Sugar Plum." Blue flames flickered and flared deep in Elessaria's eyes. She ramped up her empathy a bit more, extending the circle farther out in hopes of including Tucker in her attempts to calm the fiery tempers.

Now Mason was getting it from all sides. His jaw ticked and he shot another glare over at Tucker. "Fine." The word growled from his lips.

"He's going to have a heart attack..." Fio breathed a moment's alarm to Kyrie, hearing the erratic shout that was Mason as the confrontation at the bar caught the attention of several near.

Kyrie turned on her stool to look at Mason, to see in livid Technicolor all those straining lines pulling him apart from the inside."Fio... 'Tis like seein' a cadaver...everything spread open, stretched, displayed. Only it 'asn't 'appened yet. It 'asn't ...popped."

Kendal watched unabashedly as she weighed her empty cup in her hands idly.

Tara mumbled to herself. "Uh oh. Heads on pike's time."

While there was an eye in the storm of high tempers, Jolyon went to quickly gather his things into his satchel, then to Eva. "Perhaps somewhere else may be better?" He was hoping to protect of Mason what he promised to protect.

Serena was back to Tucker's side in a flash, her hand lifted to rub his back in an attempt to soothe his temper as her eyes jump over to Jolyon and she released a long slow exhale.

Tucker nodded as he still stared at Mason. "Fine. Next door. The Outback. I'm tired of waiting."

"Right. Because that's a great place of calm and tranquility." Serena mumbled under her breath and she removed her hand from the big burly man to untie her apron.

"Lay him down." Eva reached for Mason's other hand. "Mason!"

Jolyon moved to help Tucker get Mason to the floor. "Is there something I can do?" Elessaria shrugged out of her cloak and folded it to make a pillow for Mason's head.

Tucker watched as the foul black liquid raced up Mason's veins, and then he grabbed Mason's bicep tightly above the black, hoping to create a tourniquet of sorts, trying to stop its progress.

"Jesus Christ, he's going to have a heart attack..." Eva stared, terrified as she watched Mason's healthy veins turn black. "Oh my god..."

"Eva... I didn't do it... I swear." Mason clutched at his own shirt, his chest tightening and heart racing.

Tucker's eyes widened. He heard Mason and believed him. His hands tightened more, willing the black to stop where it was.

"Tell him you believe him, Eva." Serena's words sharp under her breath.

"I believe you, Mason, I know... I know." Eva kept her eyes on him, but she couldn't help flicking them down to the black climbing up his arm. "Eless what is that!?" She couldn't stop herself from screaming it, frantically searching Mason's coat for his heart medication.

"I do nay know... I believe 'tis some sort of taint or something from Her. 'Twas triggered by him viewing the orb." Eless studied his arm and the path the black was taking. "I do nay know for certain." Bewilderment, confusion, concern... all mixed amidst the flames in her eyes.

Mason continued to try and pull at his shirt. "It wasn't me." More and more was making sense now. The strange looks he had been getting from Tucker, Serena and once from Jolyon.

Eva pulled the top off of the bottle of medication, pills overflowing into her hand, and rushed to kneel beside him. "Mason... I know... babe, I know." A pill between her fingers, Eva fed it to Mason, then reached to tug open his shirt.

"Mason? Wilt thou let me help thee?" Eless pleaded.

Jolyon scrambled for his satchel, the theory impossible at his own hands, but one he has been working on, he pulled out his pen, scowling at the insanity of trying this without information. He returned and right above Tucker's hands, he drew a line to encircle, focusing on it, trying his best to make it real, to counter the Muse's work with her own style; but he is no magician, no great conjurer, it only served to make him feel as if he had tried all he could.

"What didst thou see? Why this black?" Once more, Eless' tone plaintive. "Mason... please!"

"Everybody believes you, Mason. We all do." Serena said firmly as she reached out to touch Eless' arm gently as her eyes study the black, her mind running over all her grandmother's training and what she knows of Sam's studies.

Laying there with the others surrounding him, Mason saw the black creeping along his arm. He looked up at Tucker. "Cut it."

"Nay! Do nay cut it!" Tears of frustration welled up in Eless' eyes. Her voice softly pleading. "Please, I am nay like them, Mason."

Between Tucker and whatever the scribe of line was on his arm from Jolyon the black was stopped but it was only a matter of time till the capillaries would fill to slip by.

Tucker looked directly at Eva. "Cut it! Drain it out!"

"Yes," Jolyon suddenly on the idea. "...like bleeding from old. Do you have something?" He asked of Eva.

"You three have lost your minds. Let Eless try before you go hacking into Mason's arm." Serena's hand tightened around Eless' arm, eyes wide in disbelief.

Eva shook her head staring at the black, shaking her head further at Jolyon's suggestion. But it's the only thing. It's the only thing. She got up and ran for the bar and the med-kit that was stowed there.

"He doth nay trust healers, Serena. With good reason...but still..." Eless stepped back as Mason tried to explain but he wasn't really in the position to at the moment. It was much more than his fear of healers.

Serena kept a hold on Eless' arm and, thus, stepped back as she did. "I cannot believe they're going to bleed him on the floor of the Outback."

It didn't take Eva long to return. Her head shaking over and over again as she tore open an alcohol swab from the small med-kit. She looked at Mason. "This is crazy..." Automatically swabbing the throbbing black vein in the crook of his arm. "You could go into shock, have an episode."

"Already there, babe." Trying to sound jovial and failing at it badly through gritted teeth. He looked up at Eva. "I trust you."

Eva started with a syringe. The barrel filling with viscous black ink. It would take too long this way. She grimaced. "I need better equipment for this, I can't keep doing this, I need... I need..." Simply. "I need a knife."

Mason had broke out into a sweat, his breathing heavy. Eless and Serena had dashed off for supplies that might be needed and Jolyon searched his satchel for a penknife. Mason mumbled something about his knife in his pocket and Jolyon didn't stop to see if Mason approved of him rifling his pockets or not first.

Still gripping Mason's arm, Tucker looked to Eva while she was close and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry." She looked up at Tucker and met his eyes for a moment. She grabbed the knife that was found and quickly soaked it in bourbon, then moved her hands back to his arm. Trust or no trust, she made an incision, opening the vein.





"Tucker, let go." It was Eva's voice. There was a bowl of the black and Mason's blood that she nudged out of the way as she applied pressure and started the bandaging.

The drained black liquid only served to increase Eless' nausea. "It doth come from Her." The emanations assaulting her drove her further away from the small group but still she watched intently.

Slowly, Tucker released his grip, and then finally stood and took a short, almost stumbled step backward.

Jolyon looked to Tucker, murmuring. "Have your answer?"

The timing of Jolyon's question gained a dark frown from Serena. Eva, brow furrowed as she worked, took a moment to look up at Tucker at Jolyon's question, the expression in her eyes too conflicted to read. Tucker looked at Jolyon though he didn't answer. He was breathing hard and held out a hand to Serena, motioning to her that he was alright.

"He thought I was going to kill you. That's why he was there." Mason spoke quietly but in the deserted Outback the words seemed loud. His eyes on Eva.

Eva looked down at Mason, her eyes on his, then she looked up at Tucker. Clear she didn't know what to say. Jolyon nodded to Mason, though the statement had not been aimed at him, at least there's a bit of clarity there.

"And I'm a idiot." Mason said, knowing now why Tucker had been watching them.

Jolyon moved to offer Eva help finishing the bandaging.

Tucker was sweating. "I uh..." He cleared his throat, his mouth dry. "...I have to go." He gave a nod to Jolyon. Simply to say thank you for his insight.

Eva lifted her head to look at Tucker, she still didn't seem to know how to feel or what to say. "Tucker..." She shook her head, and then looked at Jolyon and nodded as she grabbed another layer of gauze and pressed it on top. "Hold this please, Jolyon."

Mason twisted his head to see what looked like Tucker leaving and he fell quiet. His eyes shut for a time but that did no good. All he saw was images from the orb.

"Do you want me to walk with you, Tuck?" Serena shifted from her lean at his statement, lips drawn into a tight frown on concern.

"No. No...." It was a bit too emphatic of an answer. "I'm fine. I just. I need to go home."

Serena froze in place, unsure if listening to him or pushing back against it was the best path so she merely remained stuck and silent.

Tucker turned and went for the door. Finding his way out as he wiped absently at the stain of black on his forearm that didn't seem to want to go away.

Somewhere in the apartment a faucet leaked. Eva stood at the window, listening to the steady drip, drip, drip, watching as a cloudy sky cast a premature night-like shadow over the street. Across the way, a bicycle was frozen up to its handlebars in hardened two day old snow. Eva bent her head closing her eyes as her temple touched the cold window, her breath blowing frost against the glass.

She couldn't stop thinking about Tucker. There was too much snow and ice to go running. Her thoughts remained unsorted, swirling in her head. Closing her eyes did nothing to shut it out. Nothing to shut him out. Why couldn't she be done with him? Why couldn't her heart be hard? Why did she still care so deeply about him, about what he thought?

It had been the ink. The Muse's poison. She knew that. His anger, his aggressiveness. It wasn't him.

But what if part of it was? What if...?

The goal had been to get him to touch her. Not hit her, or hurt her. But touch her. He would never believe it if she had just sauntered into the bar that night and started coming on to him. He would know better. But if she could play to the heightened masculinity he'd been showing, if she could give him something to prove, maybe he would come on to her. Maybe he'd touch her. And if he touched her, maybe the ink, the poison, would leave his body for hers. That was the plan.

Maybe he'd reach for her. That was the fantasy wasn't it? That one day, Tucker would reach for her. She'd been so close. Just once, once. Why couldn't he reach for her? It had never been her intention, but now that it was all over, she couldn't help but wonder what might have happened. What might he have said? If Reap hadn't interrupted, would he have answered? She had had one chance to find out. What had been so wrong with her? What had been so hideous that kept him from wanting to touch her, to be with her? Just one chance, and now that chance was gone.

She ached, all over. Mason was her only respite. But he'd been working so much, Eva was often left alone to her thoughts. Thoughts she didn't know how to share. Thoughts she was ashamed to share. She had a new relationship now, a new life. Why did Tucker's rejection still hurt?

A deep sigh exhaled into a cough, and Eva opened her eyes. Was it day or night now? She couldn't tell the difference. The radiator rattled. The faucet leaked. Drip, drip, drip. Just like the days. Steady. Meaningless. Eva turned to pour herself a glass of bourbon from the side table. Mason would be home soon. Eventually. What did it matter? None of it mattered. None of it mattered.