Guilt wasn't exactly a new feeling. But it was rare. It was rare enough that China didn't even try sleeping herself, wonderful though a good night's rest would have been. In light of that, she'd offered Merlin her own bed as evening fell, but he'd staunchly refused and fallen asleep on the living room couch instead.

A perfect gentleman. Surprising, given all the legends about King Arthur and Camelot. Despite being exhausted, Merlin had insisted on helping China with her library; help which, she had to admit, was invaluable. His knowledge of magic seemed all-encompassing. China could have managed on her own, but nowhere near as quickly. Or efficiently.

It wasn't until after he was asleep that China realised she hadn't asked him one question about himself. That surprised her, but at the same time... she understood why. And she didn't really feel a need to rectify that fact, which was so unlike China that it left her dizzy.

She was slipping, ignoring important calls and avoiding certain people because she simply didn't want to deal with them - a bad idea for someone as renowned in their information-dealing as China was. Sooner or later, someone would suspect something. A part of her didn't care.

As luck would have it, she'd just stepped back into her apartment that morning (Well, morning to a point. It was actually just about midday now.) to check on Merlin when her telephone rang. The caller ID told her it was Kenspeckle Grouse.

She quickly ran through all of the reasons he'd be calling her before alighting on the most probable one - Merlin. That was the only reason she picked up the phone. If the professor had called only to try and get her involved in anything else, he was going to find himself on the other end of a tirade. China usually made it a point not to lose her temper over anything, but recent events had made a lot of old habits die surprisingly easily.

Her voice, when she answered, was warm enough. "Yes?"