She quickly glanced over her shoulder to find, much to her relief, that she was in bed alone. Then she sneaked a peek under the covers. She adorned a thigh-length red button-down shirt, and her underwear from last night beneath that. Her velvet dress was hanging in the open closet across from the bed. Tegwen had no recollection of changing out of it.

She had no recollection of much of anything from the night before; only the overwhelming sense that she'd really enjoyed herself. My God, what the hell did I do? Her pulse was just beginning to pick up as she glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. 10:55. Tegwen frowned; that time meant something, but Lord only knew what.

She shook her head, trying furiously to clear it. If she could just think straight, things might fall into place. That would sure be nice!

The strains of music flittered into the bedroom, followed by the strong scent of coffee. While she was inclined to say "what the hell?!" Tegwen smiled instead. She gathered the red silk bed sheet around herself, holding it closed tightly at her chest and shuffled cautiously out of the bedroom in pursuit of answers.

"Good mornin', Sleepin' Beauty," Steelbeak said from the kitchen table.

Tegwen blinked, wondering if some vortex had opened up and swept her into some bizarre alternate universe. Somehow this was too good to be true. It was better than waking up at Megavolt's place, hands-down.

He smiled. "Ya chilly? I can turn de heater on."

"No," Tegwen replied, though giving a little uncontrolled shiver for his comment. It hadn't even occurred to her how cold his apartment was. "I'm just under dressed for mixed company."

"Aw, c'mon. Dat shirt's more den long enough ta cover what matters. I didn't see any of de important stuff." Steelbeak smiled in such a way that made her think maybe he wasn't being entirely honest.

Tegwen tightened her grasp on the sheet but sat at the kitchen table across from him. "That music you're listening to. . . That's Verdi, right?"

Steelbeak looked surprised. "Yeah! It's La Traviata. How'd ya know dat?"

She smiled. "My daddy used to play it all the time when I was little. He liked classical music. He. . . He said everything else was crap that corrupted society."

He frowned slightly. She was getting her memory back in bits and pieces. How stupid he was for getting attached to her when he knew fully well she was not his to keep! When their pleasant exchanges were all made on borrowed time. Worst yet was knowing he may very well have missed a window of opportunity that he felt stupid for thinking would be open for a longer period.

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