The scientist looked at the purple girl beside him and chuckled slightly. She was trying hard to concentrate on the elements in her arcane workbench, studying how to infuse them together, and was purposely ignoring him. It was almost night-time and he was worried she was going to overwork herself; but after the previous joke about how Satan could have combined the elements faster, which Kim had taken to heart, she had refused to stop all day.

"Kim…" he started, but was cut off from an angry wave of her hand, as she didn't even turn around to acknowledge him. Duncan could tell she was still annoyed at him, but he couldn't stop laughing – seeing the small purple girl angry made him laugh… how could someone that small ever feel threatening to him?

"Kim…" he tried again, but was once more cut across by Kim's angry sigh.

"I can't find this stupid element which you mix with silver. And no, I do not want you to tell me what it is because I am perfectly capable of adding more… sparkly… stuff…" Kim trailed off as she sneaked a glance at Duncan with a slight smile on her face as she realised he was trying not to laugh at her.

"It's not funny, Duncan!" she said angrily, despite the smile on her face. Turning around once more to hide this, she started to focus on her crafting and mumbled for Duncan to leave her.

Duncan laughed at her angry expression and made a hastened exit after she picked up her wand and set it casually to 'fire' . Travelling up the elevator, he opened the door and headed outside of Panda Labs. The sign titled "Save us from the taint" was still there, which caused Duncan's mood to drop slightly. He knew it was selfish but now he was also infected with the taint, he was more worried about Kim... and therefore himself. His thought process behind this was if the taint became worse for him faster than it did for Kim, there'd be no hope for her – she needed him to find a cure.

Duncan headed down towards the alter, intent on seeing Sir Ramsey, but paused as he noticed the Silverwood Tree was in bloom and shimmering slightly in the moonlight appearing before him as the sun set behind Panda Labs. He briefly stopped for a moment and then headed towards the tree, the leaves turning in a slight breeze. Although the night was cold, Duncan was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice it – Christmas was approaching and he hadn't even had time to appreciate it might snow.

He smiled as he remembered how Kim had expressed how she had wanted there to be snow soon – although Duncan wouldn't have put it past her if she had a ritual to do so, seeing as she could now summon storms. A lot of people had told Duncan that he should be keeping an eye on Kim and that it might be unwise to let her study magic and science together – he was ignoring their comments however. Kim was a free spirit – it was one of the reasons why he loved her.

Duncan reached the tree and sat down, leaning his back against its trunk. He stared ahead and watched the moon appear and cast its reflection upon the slightly rippling waters, which otherwise looked real. One day he might actually be able to walk on moonlight – but he'd want Kim to be there when it happened. And it wouldn't happen if she was overcome by the taint along with him.

Duncan leaned back and closed his eyes. He didn't really believe in love, but he couldn't deny the strong feelings he had for Kim – but he had no idea what they were. He was a scientist, and taking on an apprentice was natural, so what he and Kim were, in terms of working relationships, was natural too. Duncan shook his head to himself – logic didn't work with anything to do with Kim, even trying to figure this out. He smiled at this thought before frowning to himself.

Why is it I can understand beauty, life, science and magic, but not love? Duncan wondered to himself as he opened his eyes and started to notice all the wonders the night held as he heard both the silence of the waters and the flames of Panda Labs before and behind him. Noting how high the moon had risen, he realised how late it was and decided he should really try to force Kim to go to bed with him.

Blushing, even though there was no one around who could hear his thoughts and how strangely they were phrased, despite his innocent intentions, Duncan picked himself up and awkwardly patted one of the branches of the tree before making his way back to Panda Labs, briefly glancing over to check the rest of the animals were alright before heading off.

"Kim?" Duncan called as he entered the house to be greeted by silence. Confused, but not worried, he headed down the elevator down to the bottom floor; jars were stacked up and piled in different areas. "Kim?" he called again, briefly worrying before hearing a slight noise behind a section of the jars. As he raised his head to glance around them, he found Satan anxiously hovering beside Kim, clearly unsure of what to do, as she lay on the floor fast asleep. Duncan smiled and felt his heart rate go back to a steady pulse, watching Kim sleep with a slight frown on her face. He moved over to the arcane bench and realised that she had managed to make the element she had wanted… and a few other surprise ones at that. Duncan's appreciation was cut short by the sound of Satan's shuffling as he stopped hovering near Kim and went to the purple lighted corridor again – he spent most of his time pacing that corridor for some reason. Duncan crept towards Kim and gently picked her up, carrying her towards the elevator and taking her up to the bedroom.

After laying her carefully on her bed, Duncan tucked his covers around her so she wouldn't get cold in the night, and decided that the sofa would be a comfier place to sleep that night – he was still embarrassed by his previous thoughts of how his mind had phrased something so simple as making sure Kim slept well into something more… well, something more. He crept on the sofa and faced away from her deliberately so he wouldn't be tempted to watch her sleep, convincing himself that it was coincidental that the worry line on her face had vanished as soon as he had picked her up. However, he could still hear her soft sighing as she breathed, and continued to listen to every breath until the night was almost over.

Duncan suddenly realised, as the beginnings of the light began to shine through the window, that he could no longer hear Kim's breathing and stiffened. He relaxed as he heard Kim shuffling about however, and snuggled deeper into the sofa, determined to at least get a few hours' sleep before the work of the morning began.

"Duncan?" Kim's voice questioned sleepily as he heard her sit up in her bed, stretching slightly.

"I'm here, Kim…" Duncan replied softly, raising an arm above the sofa so she could see where he was. He almost felt Kim instantly fall back asleep as she lay back down, to sleepy to question why Duncan was sleeping on the sofa.

"Thanks Duncan…" Kim muttered and resumed sleeping after a moment or so.

Duncan knew he should say 'You're welcome' or something along those lines, but the temptation was too great as he propped his head up on one hand and peered over at the peaceful image of Kim sleeping. He couldn't explain it as he repeated "I'm here, Kim…" instead before putting his head back on the sofa and falling asleep immediately.

In her sleep, Kim smiled.