"Ahh, the magic words," she answers, her voice adopting a teasing note as she returns his smile, although hers is noticeably tired this morning as she slips into his kitchen at his invitation. It's as familiar to her as her own at this point, but there's a part of her consciousness, in the back of her mind, that glances around with a wholly new assessment, taking in everything around her with both interest and caution.

It's a strange feeling, and the assessments that part of her mind makes about a perfectly innocuous room is a little bit disconcerting. So she distracts herself with taking a seat at his kitchen table and glancing over at him with a serious look.

"I think there's something wrong with me."