Kate was still frantically searching for a plausible explanation as to why she would skip work while Mari looked expectantly at her. She felt her forehead grow damp.

Then, there was a knock on the front door. Kate's eyes went wide and panic coursed through her. Half of her wanted to run off to the bedroom and hide in the closet. The other was too terrified to move a muscle. Who was it this time?

Kate didn't respond, but Mari did. "Come on in, the door is open!"

As if she had any right to! Had it been because of her lie? Kate felt a strong urge to choke or curse Mari, but her mind went blank when she saw who her new visitor was.

Dressed impeccably as always, there stood Rose.

"What do you want now?" Kate snapped. She already had her confession. Wasn't she busy off making preparations to expose Kate? Or had she come here to gloat about it.

"Kate, I want to talk about your magic," she announced. "Please."

Kate sagged into the couch as if all life was draining out of her. Now Mari was going to loathe her for being a witch too.

Mari, on the other hand, stood and faced Rose. "That's why you've been pestering her? Listen, you're way off about that. Kate isn't a witch. Never has been."

Were her ears playing tricks on her? Kate hardly could believe what she was hearing. Mari was defending her?

"Then what explains what I saw during several operations? There was a golden glow enveloping Kate's hands, and it always happened when the patient was in serious trouble. A moment after, she had the situation under complete control. You can't tell me it was just a trick of the sunlight," Rose countered.

Crossing her arms, Mari stood firm. "It wasn't, because that was my magic. The glow just happened to show up close to Kate's hands because that's where the injury I was healing was located."

"Your magic?" Rose's face contorted into an expression too complex for Kate to decipher. "What about the glow? Kate knew of it! She mentioned that I shouldn't be able to see it! How would she if she wasn't a witch?" Rose demanded.

Mari stood her ground. "That's because Kate is sensitive to magic. She can see it, but she isn't able to use it for herself. They're rare, but people with that ability do exist."

"You weren't even around all of the times I saw the glow," Rose countered.

"And?" Mari responded with a shrug. "I can use my magic from a distance. You could say me and Kate have an agreement regarding specific patients of hers. I'll keep an eye on them, magically, and with my magic and Kate's top-notch surgical skills we can give them the shot at life no one else can."

Rose shrunk back. "The two of you were working together... but you were the one with the magic, not Kate?"

"Yup," Mari nodded. "All this time, we were working together. Of course, it was still a problem for you to be so fixated on Kate, which is why we tried to chase you away."

"I... I apologize." Rose lowered her head. "It seems that I've gotten a lot wrong about this situation and caused an undue amount of trouble. I'm sorry."

Mari blew out a breath of air. "Yeah, you sure were a hassle. I never imagined that you would be so persistent. So, what's your deal?"

Rose straightened her back. "I suppose I have some explaining to do. You see, I've always been... able to see strange things. For as long as I can remember I would see an occasional golden glow, usually paired with something good happening. What you'd refer to as a stroke of luck, I suppose."

"Yup, sounds like you're sensitive too." Mari chimed in.

"Sensitive," Rose spoke the word as if she was tasting it. "I see... Yes, then I suppose I would be sensitive." She paused for a moment and rubbed her collarbone. "At first I thought they might be fairies, but then adults around me maintained that no such thing existed. When I kept telling them about the things I saw they grew increasingly annoyed. I was called a liar. Laughed at. At one point my parents took me to a therapist. I lied my way out of it and stopped telling anyone of what I saw, but I was still left wondering."

"Why did you pursue Kate? There must have been plenty of other options if you saw magic everywhere," Mari pointed out.

"Not everywhere," Rose corrected. "I saw it once in a while, but they would be fleeting instants. A bike veers dangerously but rights itself, accompanied by a golden glow. Before I can do anything, both bike and rider are far in the distance. I see a glow in a crowd, but I can't track it to one particular person. I see a glow, but there is no person in sight. I tried, I truly did, but I never could get close."

Kate didn't know how to feel. That was a lot to process. It was a good thing Mari was doing most of the talking at this point and not her.

"I was thrilled when I saw the golden glow when Kate was performing surgery," Rose looked off to the side. "I didn't even consider that someone else might be the user of the magic. Her hands were surrounded by the glow, so I thought the conclusion was obvious."

Which it was. Mari was really coming through with her act today. Kate silently thanked her.

"You know, a lot of people aren't overly fond of witches," Mari pointed out. "Revealing someone else's magic could cause them a lot of trouble. Sure, some people would be thrilled to know, but others would rather take a baseball bat and... you catch my drift."

"Please believe me when I say that I only wanted to understand myself." Rose smiled bitterly. "I never planned on revealing you to anyone carrying ill intent."

"I could have been someone carrying ill intent for all you knew," Mari pointed out. "If that were the case I'd probably have acted regardless of whether Kate was an actual witch or not."

Rose's smile faltered. "I... I didn't consider that in my desperation. I'm terribly sorry, to both of you. Thank you for telling me the truth. I apologize for all the trouble I've caused. I'll leave you two to your own devices from now on."

Rose left. When the door closed after her, silence fell.