"I'll have mine taken out," Anders assures him. "Not at home. I'll have Martin's friend Watson do it, at their clinic." He'll take no chances on a second visitation of the Masked, however unlikely it is that the chip would be damaged in a routine removal.

Guilt is rising in him, the way bile rises in the throat, but he swallows it back. No time for it now; he's in healer mode, concerned primarily with the well-being of his patient, and as his patient also happens to be his lover, he's that much more intent on caring for him. It's unfortunate that nothing material remains to be done or disposed of. Gently he strokes Nathaniel's hair away from his face.