A thump that was chained to a series of beats, which in turn was followed by deep breaths and finally to a grunt that broke the layer of darkness surrounding him.

Rinvar woke up to the low yet subtle vapor of disinfectant that moved with the air. White walls were seen by his gradually-clearing vision; the soft hum of the fan above his head came to his ears in choppy, irregular cycles. He looked to his left and met with a pair of almond eyes atop a smiling face; a lock of silver hair drank the sunlight that came out of an open window. The room's whiteness highlighted the strong tan of her skin as she drew closer to the bedridden enforcer.

"I'm happy to see you awake again." Her low tone slid and tickled Rinvar's ear.

"Hey, Love." Rinvar's voice came out broken; his throat in need of water. "Looks like I got you pretty worried to come over here and see me like this. I haven't been too careful and screwed up."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." The woman stood up, sat on his bed, and caressed his forehead. "All that matters is you are doing well."

"How long have I been here Elena?"

"Almost a day." Elena pushed back the lock of hair and picked up an apple from a nearby basket. Her other hand went for a second apple and gave it to him "How about you sit down beside me while we eat these?"

"I could get up and do that." Rinvar's stretch out of the bed wasn't as smooth as it used to. He felt something wrapped around his abdomen. His hand went underneath his shirt to feel tightly-wound bandages replacing the smoothness of his skin.

He was so close that night – close to more clues that could have led him to the Gray Fox's capture and also close to losing to the pair who assaulted the Archives. Rinvar could feel his opponent's fists on his body as if they were imprinted on him; a small stab of pain made him grin when his hand reached for the apple. Biting the apple proved to be a chore as well; both sides of his face felt as if it was a piece of clay disfigured by a playful child's hands. Perhaps he should thank whoever that swordswoman was for leaving him alive; killing anyone served the least of their purposes for breaking into the Archives in the first place.

Rinvar hoped that the other soldiers who fell in the attempt to stop the pair were resting at the infirmary with him. Of all places they would strike, why the Archives? Everything else was undisturbed except for the Chamber of Artifacts. What did they take inside?

All thoughts on that matter had to be put on hold for now; Rinvar has to be concerned with his spouse who traveled all the way from Luminberg to see him.

"I would have brought you chocolates, but I figured they're not the best food for you when you wake up." Elena mumbled after making another bite on the apple, "You've healed quite fast. The swelling on your face was much, much smaller now."

"Thanks Love, for reminding me how I got nailed with a kick."

"Such a strong leg for one who could beat you up this badly, but I shouldn't mind that. At least we get to sit beside each other and talk."

"Yeah... I'll return the favor once we come across each other again."

"I know that what you're working on is not something for me to know..." Elena's smile straightened away; her voice had a hint of stuttering but would not go through. "Seeing things are getting more dangerous by now, must you have to continue this? You have the assistance of Farin and the Bureau for the case. You could work on it without being this close to peril."

"Sorry if this is giving you these thoughts, Love." Rinvar stopped after eating half the apple, staring at the bright redness of the fruit. "I have to do this. I feel that all that happened is only part of something... bigger. Also, I want to do this for him."

"Your father again..." Elena's voice became a half-whisper. "Is he the only reason why you risk all this? That one day, he would finally give you what you have longed for from him?"

Rinvar nodded; the look in Elena's eyes did not return his determination with the same fervor. "I promise you, this will all be over, and we will live that life you've always wanted. Do you believe in me?"

"I do. Whatever happens, come back to me once this is over."

"I will, Elena. I'll finish this and come back to you."

Rinvar's arm reached out and pulled Elena nearer to him; she rested onto his shoulder as both their eyes watched the outside from an open window.

That moment of silence was disturbed when Elena spoke:

"I heard Farin almost died in the assault. I hope she stays fine."

"Yes. She took quite a hit." Rinvar wanted to elaborate on how they went up against a magician, but there were rules to follow, and he was again reminded that Elena was no longer a weapon of the Empire. What was worse would be that the slightest him of facing such enemies would reinforce Elena's stand to stay out of the fight. "I'd like to go check on her. Want to come?"

"Wait..." Elena stood up and went in front of Rinvar when the latter was going for the front door. "Do we know which room she is? I can go downstairs and ask the nurse first."

"I can always guess." Rinvar's confidence was obscured by the slight swelling of his face. "It's going to help with my walking too."

"Just don't strain yourself. You're..."

"Relax, Elena. It's not that my legs were hurt." Rinvar sprung up standing; a small grin matched by the slight squinting of his eyes betrayed his confident look. "My torso reacted from that. Ow."

"I'll just stay with you then. Just don't stretch those bandages too much."

It was a slow journey from Rinvar's ward to another room five doors from the left as a roving nurse instructed them. The couple stood in front of a brown door whose occupant tag was left blank. Rinvar pulled down the doorknob and opened the door for Elena, who went ahead. Both went inside and found a partly-asleep Farin lying still. The officer's hospital gown could not conceal the violence the wearer took; much of her body was covered in a thick layer of bandages.

Farin wasn't exactly lying senseless as her head moved in the direction of her two visitors.

"Hey, Captain. Glad to see you up on your feet." Farin's voice was not dry or coarse – she could have been awake longer than Rinvar. "Elena here must have caught wind of what happened to us."

Farin let out a soft laugh – one of the few expressions her body was permitted to do in her condition. She wanted to make light of the aftermath of the attack, but the couple would have seen through the ruse right away.

"You're getting better now, Farin. Glad to see that you'll be on your way out of that bed."

"The doctors said it might take awhile before that's possible Rinvar." Farin looked at a tube-draped arm before her stare registered again at the couple. "I was either tough or lucky to have taken the attack and stayed alive after that. I would have been in a coma, or worse, otherwise."

"The Bureau will miss its lovely director for some time then."

"Save the flattery for later, Captain." Farin smiled as her lips gathered more momentum to let out a laugh. "I didn't expect the attackers to be that dangerous, and I must have been too comfortable with my swordplay to let them do this to me."

"That makes two of us Farin."

"This is what happens when you don't keep your husband in check Elena." A second attempt at humor somewhat touched the couple; smiles were seen on Farin's visitors. Her soft laughter faded before she said:

"Could you two stay a little longer? It's boring to be stuck here."

"Of course, we can stay, right Rinvar?" Elena looked at her partner who gave a nod of approval. "There will be a lot of catching up for me when it comes to what's happening in the Bureau."