Isaiah met me at the entrance to my apartment building, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief.

"Dad," I said, not even thinking about what I was calling him, even though we were both on the clock and doing business for the zoo.

My father nodded his head in greeting, without mentioning the fact that I had called him "dad" and looked at the blanket in my arms before he looked at me. "Is she ok?" he asked instead.

"She's breathing," I replied and shrugged, biting back a small grimace. "Can you unlock the door, please? We need to get her into the apartment right now so that we can help her."

My father nodded and took his personal keys from his pocket and quickly turned to the door. He unlocked and opened the door before he gestured for us to go inside the building, and we did, with him following us in and locking the door behind him.

Rias sighed in annoyance at being indoors again while she rested her head on my shoulder, and I couldn't help but bite back a small chuckle, growing amused with the bird that I was helping.

"I have an outdoor area too that lets in as much sun as it can," I said. "Unfortunately, we have to go this way to get to my home."

"Uh, no," Stephen said and shook his head, and I had to hold back an eye roll because I knew what he was about to say. "We could go the back way, but this is just "easier" to get to, and Isaiah doesn't have a key for the other part."

"Just because you do not have a key doesn't mean that I do not have one, Stephen," Isaiah said in a calm and controlled breath, and I bit back a small snort while my friend and coworker gasped in shock and surprise. "This is the best way to let our other friend breathe." He looked at me and nodded, silently indicating that I could lower the blanket off her head.

I breathed a small sigh of relief and nodded, grateful that my father was allowing me to take the blanket off of her head so that I could allow her to breathe. "This is going to hurt for a second, Rias, so I am sorry. I am going to need you to stay still for me so that I can do this ok. Ok?"

Rias grumbled under her breath but nodded. She didn't say a word and waited for me to take the blanket off of her head.

I breathed a small sigh of relief because I knew that it meant that she was actually going to stay still for me, and I quickly pulled the blanket off of Rias's head, making sure that I didn't hurt her too much. "Here," I said. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak," Rias said and laid her head on my shoulder. She sighed and closed her eyes, and I could feel her growing weaker in my arms. "Is there a way that we can pick up our pace, please?" she asked tiredly, and I nodded in confirmation.

"Of course," I said and rubbed my thumb against the blanket in a soothing manner. "Let's go ahead and pick up our pace. Dad, are you able to walk faster so that you can go ahead and open the door to my apartment, please?"

"Yes," he said and nodded. He did what I told him to do and started to walk faster, and we followed him with Stephen moving closer to my side and earning a weird look from the bird in my arms.

"He's a friend," I said, noticing that she was growing tense in my arms when he came closer to me. "You don't have to look at him like that."

"He hurt me," she said and narrowed her eyes at the man beside me, and Stephen hesitated before he moved further away from me. She relaxed her gaze from him before she looked at me with red eyes filled with the fire that she held underneath her skin. "He can't be trusted."

"He can be trusted," I said and shook my head, and Stephen gasped when he heard that because it wasn't every day where I defended him from someone or something. I held back an eye roll while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "He has saved my life on many occasions, and I have saved his. I would not have given him a key to my apartment if I didn't think he could be trusted."

"And who all has keys to your apartment?"

"Only my father and him," I replied. "I have a few other friends and then coworkers that I am friendly with, but they do not have keys to my apartment."

"And animals are able to come in at any time. I am sorry if I have hurt you with whatever it was that I was doing, Rias. I did not mean to do that. All I wanted to do was get you inside the cage and then get Erin because I know that she will be able to talk to you."

"Correction, he hoped that I would be able to talk to you because you are a different bird than what we normally deal with," I said and gave him a pointed look, and Stephen shrugged and grimaced.

"Ok, fine, I hoped that she would be able to understand you, so I am happy that she is able to understand you," Stephen said with a small groan in his voice. His cheeks turned red, and I rolled my eyes and scowled before I turned my attention back to Rias.

"He's more of a pain in the ass than anything else," I said, and Stephen gasped in shock while my father cleared his throat to hide a chuckle. "It's true, and you know that it is the truth." I gave him a pointed look, and Stephen rolled his eyes and scowled.

"Very funny, Ernie," he grumbled and folded his arms across his chest while he pouted. "And here I thought you cared about me." He bit back a small sniffle, and Rias opened one eye and slowly blinked before she closed her eyes and sighed without saying a word.

My father opened my apartment room and gestured for us to enter it. "Do you need me to start a fire?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Either you or Stephen needs to do it, please." I licked my lips and rubbed the blanket again, feeling her grow slightly weaker with each second that passed. "Hang in there, Rias," I said. "Don't pass out on us again because we are almost able to help you."

"We'll be able to help you even if you are passed out," Stephen said, and I nodded in confirmation, "even though I do agree that you shouldn't pass out just yet." He touched my arm before he quickly walked to the fireplace and started to get a fire started in the fireplace.

"Hmph." She sighed and closed her eyes tighter and sighed. "If I pass out, then I am sorry. I will be fine whenever I get put into the fireplace. After that and I am healed, we can talk about what happened and why I am here. Ok?"

"Ok," I said and nodded in confirmation. "That's fine with me. You're more than welcome to stay here until you are better and don't need to hide, and we'll help you get back to wherever it is that you belong."

You have my word...