"Er..." What an odd guess. Rhymed, though. Maybe that was the joke? He looks down at Melanie. "Well, no. Er, listen, it's been a bit of an odd morning for me. There's something wrong." He shifts his weight, coming a little closer but still staying out of arm's reach. "It might be the rift's doing - I don't know what else it would be, actually - but everything I've touched today has turned into a book."

He really doesn't want to demonstrate. He hopes Spike takes this at face value.

"Including people. So best keep your distance." Not like Spike is very touchy, but nonetheless. He holds Melanie up. "This, er, this is Melanie, the girl who's staying with me. Melanie, this is Spike. I've mentioned him a few times."

He opens her up to show Spike her greeting. "She can still talk," he says. "She seems all right. I'm quite hopeful that we can fix this. I didn't really know what else to do but bring her here."