Taylor left the room and came back with painkillers and water, much like Damien did for Rose.

"Here," he said softly to Sera. "Take these and go back to sleep."

Rose groaned, but managed to make herself sit up long enough to take the aspirin. Then she flopped back onto the bed and burrowed into the blankets.

Sera nodded and took them quickly, drinking the rest of the water in hopes that it would help. Then she settled down again with a sigh, intent on more sleep.

Damien rubbed her back gently, hoping to help her get back to sleep.

Taylor stayed with her until she was asleep again, stroking her hair and rubbing her back gently until she was asleep.

Rose sighed softly as she drifted off, moving a bit closer to Damien's hand. She felt better knowing he was there.

Damien stayed there, just rubbing her back while she slept. He wasn't about to let her out of his sight. Not right now.

Sera didn't wake up again until that evening, and when she did she was still groggy, but not in pain. She blinked a few times, trying to orient herself.

"Feeling any better?" Taylor asked. He'd dragged a chair into the room so he would be nearby in case Sera had needed anything, so he saw when she woke up.

Rose stirred at about the same time. There was a weight on the bed that suggested Damien was still there, and she moved a bit closer to him before she finally opened her eyes.

"Yeah." Sera yawned briefly. "Still kind of bleh but that's okay. I'll get over it." She stretched briefly before looking over at him. "What about you? What happened last night?"

Damien smiled. "Hey," he said quietly, pulling her a little closer. "How do you feel by now?"

"I'm fine," Taylor replied, this time with almost perfect honesty rather than the thinly-veiled white lies he usually used. He moved over to sit with her on the bed. "An old ex of Damien's showed up and decided the two of you would make nice hanging decorations," he said.

"Better," Rose said softly, snuggling close to him. "What happened last night? I don't know why, but it seemed kind of... familiar, I guess."

"Well. That would explain the bruises." Sera rubbed her wrists ruefully. "So I assume you and Damien showed up and got us out somehow."

"An old ex girlfriend of mine showed up," Damien said quietly. "It probably seemed familiar because she's a siren." He brushed some hair out of her face gently.

"We did," Taylor replied, nodded. He put an arm around her gently. "I told you last time I would always come and get you if you needed me."

"You dated a siren?" Rose asked, looking up at him. Absurdly, the first thing through her mind was that if he'd dated a siren, why would he want a human girl like her? "Why would she show up now?"

Sera smiled a little and stayed there. "Yeah, you did. Thanks, though. Really."

Damien shrugged. "Honestly? I still don't know. I'm not sure why she showed up now, or what she really wanted. All I know is we don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Don't worry about it," Taylor replied, pulling her a bit closer. "The problem was taken care of, so everything should be fine now."

Rose looked at him, torn between asking what happened to her and accepting it. After a moment, she nodded.

"Alright," she said.

Sera nodded, just assuming that Damien had taken care of this siren too. She snuggled closer to him happily.

Damien pulled her close. "I was worried," he admitted quietly, holding her a little tighter. "Once we realized she'd taken you."

Taylor held her close, more relaxed than he'd been with her in a while, now that he was properly fed. He debated with himself about telling her, and then decided it was best to get it over with sooner rather than later.

"It was Damien who brought the two of you home last night," he said softly to her.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Rose said softly, snuggling into Damien's arms. "Are you alright after everything?" By now, she knew how he tended to get when he was upset or worried like that.

Sera paused to let that thought percolate through her head. "Okay..." she said slowly, not willing to jump to any conclusions. "So you took care of the siren."

Damien smiled a little. "I am now. I'll admit I watched you all night to make sure you were okay, though."

"I took care of the siren," Taylor replied, nodding once. He watched carefully for her reaction.

Rose snuggled closer, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks," she said softly. "I'm okay now."

Sera looked at him, trying to decipher 'took care of'. She knew he was capable of violence when the occasion called for it, and she didn't want to immediately assume that he'd just fed off her. Then she realized that, yeah, he had, and she looked away.

Damien nodded. "I'm glad," he said quietly, rubbing her back again briefly. "You sure you feel okay now?"

Taylor was quiet while Sera had come to her conclusion.

"It's dangerous for me to starve myself," he said softly. "Especially for you. I've been trying to hold off, but it wasn't working."

"I feel a lot better with you here," Rose replied, cuddling closer to Damien.

Sera nodded, trying to keep calm and understand, but mostly she just didn't like it. "So why didn't you tell me before? I know I've asked you several times."

Damien purred a little, keeping her close. He was going to be a little clingy for the next few days, at least.

"I thought I could handle it," Taylor replied. He was telling her the truth as he knew it. "A few nibbles here and there took the edge off so I could focus on you and not on devouring you." He sighed. "But I realized maybe a day or two ago that it wasn't working. And then with the siren... The opportunity was too good to let slip away."

Rose didn't mind that he was being clingy, not at all. She liked being kept close like that, at least for a while.

Sera was quiet for several long moments, looking down at her lap. "I... don't know, Taylor. You know I don't like that. But I don't know how else I can help you, either."

"I know you don't, Sera," Taylor said softly. "I've tried to keep that part of me away from you, and I'll keep trying. I just needed to be honest with you." He looked at her, but didn't try to pull her close. He was too afraid she would flinch back, and he didn't want her to be afraid of him or disgusted with him, and both were highly likely.

Sera sighed. "Alright. At least you told me." Which earned some points in his favor. But not a ton. She was still upset with him, but she wasn't going to send him away. It took a lot of effort not to, but she kept reminding herself that it wasn't entirely his fault and he didn't deserve that.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you," Taylor said quietly. "I really am. But I thought it would be better for me to tell you now and have you be angry with me than you figuring it out later and leaving entirely." He took one of her hands gently. "And it's better that it was the siren instead of you. I don't ever want to hurt you like that."

"I know, Taylor," Sera said quietly. "I just... I don't like it. And if we'd figured it out sooner maybe we could have some up with some other way to help you." She shrugged a little. Although he was right to have told her.

"We still can," Taylor replied. "I should be alright for a while, so we can figure something out in the meantime." Cautiously, he put an arm around her waist. She hadn't pulled away yet, after all.