Clara walked through the hotel lobby as her phone vibrated. The pattern indicated that it was Evelyn reaching out. While comforting to know the vampire was keeping in touch, Clara was still bitter about the situation.

“You should not take it out on her,” Silver said.

“I can’t help how I feel,” Clara replied silently.

She was more in touch with her emotions, more so than at any other time in her life. Her motivations were simpler as a hunter, as one simply needed to never fail and move onto the next mission. It made her a formidable hunter… but a terrible friend…

Those failings ruined several relationships, some of which could have led to peace and fulfilment. Instead, I ended up with a monster…

“You can’t choose who you love,” Silver interjected.

Is that actually true? Clara certainly made choices that ensured love never developed.

“I miss her,” Clara said while passing by the front desk.

“Sounds like you needed a distraction,” Clara said when the laughter died down. 

“You have no fucking idea,” Julia said. “I’m going to stick around the hunting grounds. It’s peaceful and I want to find the old me.”

“Do you need me to—(help)?”

“You’ve done plenty,” Julia began. “When I feel ready, we’ll meet up again.”

“Feel free to embrace your inner dingle dangler.”

Clara was about to explain that a ‘dingle dangler’ was someone addicted to using the phone, but she never got the chance. 

“I will—bye!”

And with that the line went dead. It was hard to imagine, but Clara simultaneously felt better and worse. 

“Purgatory must be on Earth…”

“Evelyn said there was a silver lining,” Clara said. 

“What’s that?”

“She can’t get me pregnant…”

Clara smirked as Julia giggled like a schoolgirl. The humour was high to avoid delving too deeply into their trouble. Bastet’s curse was just a convenient way of skirting the periphery of various topics. 

“Fuck me,” Julia said. “I’m in a lesbian version of the Munsters with me as the weird werewolf aunt.”

Clara made a note to check up on that reference, or to ask Evelyn about it later. The way Julia was laughing sadly indicated how far out of date she was for popular culture references in the last ninety years.

“I owe you,” Julia said. “You picked up that phone and made sure someone was there for me.”

Hearing those words made her blood pressure drop. The sounds of the city just outside the window became filtered as though she was submerged in water… You were at that dark place because I sent someone else…

“Also, a thanks for stopping me from making that kill…”

“Oh?” Clara asked without thinking how the answer was obvious. 

“I don’t need extra fertility or whatever side-effect the Katnip Evercry wannabe left you will…”

Clara had no idea about that reference nor did she care. This meant they were back to the start of the conversation.

“All good… no apology needed.”

In the distance a couple was walking down the sidewalk towards several restaurants. It was beginning to get dark and the fog from their breath came out in long streams. The way they held their hands hinted they had been together for a while. I never had that in life…the mission was always more important—

“I’m… still not where I want to be,” Julia said. 

Clara only realised that the werewolf was talking when the last words registered in her mind. After a few breaths her mind formed a coherent message.

“Look… I—” Clara began, but cut herself off. The phone is the last place to confess.

“I owe you,” Julia said. “You picked up that phone and made sure someone was there for me.”