The day went by so slow. It seemed like forever, and it was not even mid day yet. Before opening the shop again, she had washed the spot Cage made on floor. She did not want any of the customers asking any questions. When it finally became about 3 in the afternoon, Beth closed the shop for her usual late lunch break. She ate some of the bread that was getting too cold, and wondered how Cage was doing.

How long had he been awake? - Before sleeping here, that was. He had been absolutely exhausted. He looked so... Tired and dirty. Actually, really dirty. Where had he been? He looked like he had swum through a lake and then rolled on the ground.

Beth got up from her chair, and grabbed her watering can, which was already full of water(she had collected the water last night, before Cage had shown up). This water was actually meant for herself, but she thought he needed it more. As she went up the stairs and into her chambers, she caught herself in almost running to get up there. Was she growing fond of him? No, that could not be - she barely knew him.

Beth opened the door and looked at Cage. He was sleeping on his back now, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Cage?" She softly spoke while she put the watering can on her dresser, where the bowl and sponge was.

Cage shifted and licked his lips, before gutturally answering, "Yes?"

"You need to wash."

Cage rubbed his face with both of his hands. "I am sorry, what?"

"You are dirty, and you need washing," Beth specified, placing her hands on her waist.

Cage sighed before lightly shaking his head. "When will you be done taking care of me, you silly woman..."

Beth pursed her lips, to cover the fact that she wanted to smile. "When you are clean. You brought this on yourself: You chose to barge in on my door, now you must deal with the consequences. No matter how terribly gruesome they may be."

"I guess I must." He reached up to grab his device and got up, after placing them securely on his nose. "I am guessing that objecting to the matter, will be completely useless?"

"You are correct."

"It will not really make much of a difference, you know," He said. "My clothes are dirty, so I will get dirty again, after I put them back on. I will be wasting good water."

"No, you will not," Beth continued. "You can borrow some of my fathers old clothes, while I wash yours."

Cage's face turned hard. "No. That is something I cannot, it is too much. I am putting my foot down."

"Well, I am removing your foot, then." Beth said, ignoring his serious tone. She enjoyed how he did not mind her overstepping her verbal limits as a woman. "They are just for borrow, so do not get your breeches in a twist."

Cage made a frustrated sound. "God, woman. Fine, as you wish. But I am just doing this because I do not want to stain anymore of your belongings."

"That is very considerate of you."

He mumbled something under his breath, but Beth just smiled. She had won yet again. As he got up from the couch, he did his weird clicking thing again while walking towards the dresser. At this point she had gotten used to it, so she ignored it, even if it did confuse her. She picked an old pair of breeches and a shirt from her drawer and laid the set on top of the dresser.

"Alright. I am going to wait downstairs. Do not worry about the shop, I am on my usual late lunch break." She said. "If you need anything let me know."

"Like that would be possible, the way you cater on my hand and foot." Cage mumbled. He took the watering can by the handle and poured the water into the bowl.

Beth hid a smile, but then walked out of her chamber and downstairs, allowing him some privacy. She got into her chair and started humming some songs to herself, to make the time pass.

Maybe she should bake some bread... Get some fresh stuff out for the people...

Suddenly there sounded a loud bang from upstairs, followed by a blasphemous curse.

Beth immediately jumped out of her chair, ran upstairs and knocked on the door. "Cage? What happened in there? Is everything alright?"

She heard a few more curses. "Everything is fine. I just had a little accident. Do you have any... sheets you could possibly spare?"

She was not buying his words. Beth burst through the door and gasped at the sight that met her.

Blood was pouring down Cage's chest from a large slit, and his right palm had a nasty cut. On the floor was the dagger she had taken from him, with blood running down the blade.

"What by God's good name were you doing?!" She screamed at him.

Cage cursed when she burst in, and quickly covered his chest with the shirt he was still wearing over his shoulders. But she had already seen the cut he had made.

"It is nothing. I just... Had an accident." He said dismissively. Clearly he was trying to cover the fact that he had just harmed himself.

Beth was furious. She quickly picked up the dagger and placed it on the dresser, then turned to look at him. "You have blood all over, Cage! Look at yourself!" She made a gesture towards his chest, which he was still trying to cover.

"I know this must look bad, but trust me, it is for the better."

"How can this be for the better?! Cage, it looks like you were trying to cut out your own heart! What were you even doing with the dagger?!" She bellowed at him, as she rumbled through her drawers to find some old cloths. "Here, press that to your chest!"

Cage did as she told him, while she took a chair and placed it in the middle of her floor.

"Sit down," She ordered and Cage did not argue. - Which was probably for the best right now. Beth pulled out more cloths and started wiping the floor, before the blood would stain. When she was done, she wetted the cloth and kneeled before Cage, who was still holding the other cloth against his left chest, trying to stop the bleed.

"Alright, move your hand." Beth said, wanting to clean the wound.

"Beth, you do not have to worry. It does not hurt." Cage said with a soothing voice.

Oh, but Beth did care. "Cage, remove the cloth." Maybe it was the cold tune that made him do it, but non the less, he removed the cloth and revealed a number of deep cuts made on his left pectoral.

"God, Cage," Beth gasped and pressed the wet cloth on the wound. "What were you trying to do? Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"No!" He quickly said. "It is nothing like that. I..." He paused and Beth waited for his answer. He looked like he was picking his next words with care. "I just needed to do something important. I cannot tell you why, but you need to trust me. I am not trying to kill myself."

Beth felt his heart beat strong and fast under the cloth, as though it was trying to emphasize his words. She carefully dabbed the wound. "And what about your hand?"

Cage awkwardly cleared his throat. "That was actually an accident... The knife slipped."

Beth sighed. "I just do not get why you would do something so painful to yourself."

"This is nothing compared to what I am use to."

Beth looked at him. "What are you use to?" She asked, puzzled.

Cage looked like he had spoken over himself. "Nothing. Never mind, your innocent ears do not need to hear about this."

"That's it!" She stood up and threw the wet cloth at his chest, causing him to look at her in shock. "I am trying to be respectful, but do not do that shíate with me! I can handle hearing about pain! It is nothing new, people get bruised everyday!"

Cage lowered his head respectfully and pressed his lips together. "I am sorry. I did not mean to anger you, I just... My past is not pretty, and I do not like you knowing things about me. I am not sure you will be able to sleep, if you hear about what has been done." Cage slowly got up from the chair, his muscles tensioning by the act. Beth's eyes dropped to the godly vision of such a strong male body, and blushed. They were in the middle of an argument and here she was, having impure thoughts about a man she barely knew.

"If you knew what I have been through, you would not be so kind to me." He said in a low voice, looking at her through the device. "You would not want to help me."

Beth swallowed and forced her eyes to meet his. "Well. That is up for me to decide. Besides, I thought you would like me not being so kind to you all the time."

Cage's lip curved up into a half smile. "I like that you are kind to me, I just do not understand why."

"And I do not understand why you are like this," Beth simply said.

"It seems we have an understanding to not understand each other."

Beth smiled a little, but then shook her head. "Very well then. Let us get you cleaned up, now," She changed the subject before he had a chance to speak. "Take off your shirt, I will wash you."

Cage immediately froze up again. "No that is fine, I will manage on my own."

"Cage, your hand is sliced and your chest is bleeding. Just let me help you." Beth offered.

"No, I do not--"

"Cage... Please." She placed a hand on his arm, causing him to flinch.

"Beth, I do not want you seeing my back!" He suddenly snapped.

She immediately retracted her arm, as if she had been scalded. "Why... not?"

Cage pressed his lips together and then blew out a breath. "It is not a pretty sight."

"It is alright, Cage. I can handle it." Beth smiled softly. If this was about shyness then perhaps they could work through it.

"You do not know what you are saying yes to, Beth," He said. "I do not think you will want to help me on this."

"Again, I believe that is up for me to decide," Beth firmly said and pursed her lips. If he thought she was backing down, then he was wrong. What could possibly be so wrong about his back?

Cage finally sighed and rubbed his face. "Alright. But please, do not try and be brave. If you want me to cover up again, just say it." He turned away from her and slowly slid the shirt off his shoulders.

Beth gasped and nearly fainted from the sight that met her.

Holy mother Theresa.