After everything that had happened, all Valerie wanted to do was drive home, crawl into her bed and preferably hibernate for a century or so. She sighed, her breath visible in the cold air. She looked over to Elena, who was shivering and staring out at the glittering lights of the city. Markus was pulling at his scarf in a slightly irritated manner, his brow furrowed in concentration. What he was concentrating on, Valerie had no idea.

Maybe he was thinking the same thing that she was: they had just single-handedly destroyed Stigma's threat to society. They had saved thousands of people, maybe more.

"We should probably be celebrating," Elena said, her teeth chattering.

Valerie turned to look at her and smiled half-heartedly. "I'd love to, but…I think I'll just call it a night. It's been an emotionally draining couple of weeks, you know?"

Elena nodded.

"Val's right," Markus said. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages."

"Maybe some other time, then," Elena said, running her hands along the length of her forearms in an effort to keep herself warm. "I'll see you two at work bright and early tomorrow, then."

She smiled reassuringly at both of them and took her leave.

Markus and Valerie stayed in their respective spots on the roof, silent.

"I can't believe we did it," Valerie breathed. She pulled her coat around her and sighed. "I thought I'd be happier."

"I know," Markus said flatly. "I thought the same."

She tilted her head slightly to look at him, with his dark hair fluttering in the chilly breeze and his jaw set. She felt that there was not much more to be said, so she simply bade him goodnight and left.

Markus couldn't sleep.

He had been trying for hours and hours on end, but he hadn't been able to lie still for even just a moment. He turned to look at the clock on his bedside table, which was cluttered with books.

3:30AM

"You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned, pulling his pillow over his head. His cat meowed plaintively and pushed herself into his side. Markus sat up, feeling vastly annoyed. He had just helped to cure one of the most dangerous diseases known to humanity. He should been sleeping like a baby, not tossing and turning the way he was. He pushed his navy blue sheets away and stood up. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help.

His cat meowed.

"It's worth a try, anyway," Markus said. He very occasionally spoke to his cat – that is, if very occasionally meant speaking to his cat every single waking moment that he was in his apartment. He padded over to his poky little kitchen and pulled the refrigerator door open, momentarily blinded by the light.

"Oh, good, out of milk," he grumbled.

It was definitely going to be one of those days.

Markus took two steps out of the kitchen and found himself in his so-called living room. He flopped down on his couch and sighed raggedly, looking out of the window at the ever-glittering lights. He was suddenly hit with the realization that he had nobody to talk to – and boy, did he need somebody to talk to. Something was nagging at him, keeping him from letting go of what had happened over the last couple of months. He knew he was surrounded with people all the time, but he somehow felt alone all the same.

Then a knock came at the door. It was quiet, almost hesitant. Markus's cat meowed confrontationally and Markus shushed her. He went over to the door and looked through the peephole.

It was Valerie. He shook his head in bewilderment and pulled the door open.

"Val?"

She was dressed in plaid pink pajama pants and was wrapped up in her beige coat. Her cropped hair was sticking up in each and every way and her eyes were red and puffy.

"Val, what's going on? Is there an emergency at the hospital or something?"

"No," she said, managing to keep her voice from cracking. "I just couldn't sleep."

"Oh."

"Are you going to let me in?"

"Wha – yeah, of course."

Markus quickly moved out of the way, letting her into his apartment.

"And put some clothes on, will you?"