No, worse. Holding Gabriel's purse, he felt like a husband. Her husband. Waiting for Gabriel to try on clothing in the dressing room, he combated wave after wave of nausea due entirely to his situation.

He kept his eyes glued to the floor. In fifteen minutes, he had the pink heart pattern permanently ingrained in his memory. As disdainfully girly as the carpet was, it was also the safest place to rest his eyes. There were cute teenagers milling around; holding up garments to show their friends, picking through lingerie no man's daughter should ever think to buy or wear.

Steelbeak shuddered. Suddenly, having to wander the aisles of a toy store seemed like a vacation compared to this. Whatta headache.

"So . . . What do you think?" Gabriel asked, walking up to Steelbeak with a thoroughly unamused expression.

He cautiously looked up at his partner and his headache vanished in lieu of uproarious laughter.

Gabriel scowled. "What. Is. So. Damned. Funny?"

"Ya look like yer tryin' ta be Tegwen's twin!"

While that was the precise answer she was hoping for, Gabriel still didn't appreciate Steelbeak's laughter over it. "Clam it, Tin-Face!"

"It's jest -- ya look ridiculous!"

"Well so do you," Gabriel retorted instantly, "and you do that no matter what you're wearing!"

"So now yer not only tryin' ta look Tegwen's age, but act it as well?"

She leaned in close enough to whisper, "I won't kill you in public, but may God help you when we're alone!"

"Go on 'n' get changed so's we kin get oudda here already," he ordered, ignoring both insult and threat.

She shook her head. "I'm . . . I'm wearing this out." Gabriel glanced down at her outfit: a feminine pink and white plaid skirt, paler pink stockings with lace edging just below her knees, a white camisole with a red vest and a pink bolero jacket to top it off. Plus she had chosen pink tennis shoes to complete the ensemble. She hadn't been in a pair of those since high school gym class. And even then, she hadn't the stomach to wear pink.

"Yer gonna freeze like dat," Steelbeak said. He thought to remind her that she'd promised to never wear skirts again. He also thought to point out her legs were too skinny for the look but figured it was safer just to keep his opinions to himself. Besides, he didn't want her thinking he knew a thing about girls' fashion. Which he didn't.

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