DISCLAIMER: Okay, here we go again. I'm sure you all know this, but just in case you don't, Kat and Liz didn't create all of these characters. Big surprise there, right? Of the three main characters, Aria belongs to Kat and Elaine belongs to Liz. Richie belongs to both of us and the rest of the Clan Denial because, hey, we're the ones who keep giving him a sex life. If you were Richie, would you want to go back to the idiots at Davis/Panzer? There are a few more Highlander characters mentioned in here, but none of them actually appear in this story. They don't belong to us anyway. There are also some Forever Knight characters mentioned in this story and just like the Highlander characters, they don't belong to us either. As for everyone else? Well, you got us there. Kat and Liz did create them all, but we forgot who did who exactly. Well, Kat did do Lou first and Liz pretty much created Markie (who, by the way, is based on a real friend of hers who died of AIDS several years ago), but beyond that? Who knows.

Oh yeah, and all cameo appearances are done with full permission of their ReaLife(TM) counterparts. Except for the idiot in chapter the twelfth. We didn't ask him. ;-)

Two May Be Company, But Three's A Lot More Fun

The dark shape flew along the San Francisco skyline, checking her location with a map.

She stuffed the map in her bag, then looked up just in time to stop herself from crashing into a building.

Damn. When did they put this thin' up? She circled around it, laughing mentally. This is supposed tah beh a pyramid? Has the ahchitect even been tah Egypt? Probablay not.

She found a convenient ledge and sat down on it. Since the map was no help, that left only one way to figure out where she was going. She just hoped they were close enough to feel them.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated. It was faint, but it was there. Two little beacons of light in a sea of darkness. Of course, it had to be on the other side of town. Oh well, maybe she could pick up a bite to eat on the way.

It took her a while, but she finally found the new house with the skylight. It was real sweet of Richie to install it for her.

It would have been even sweeter if someone had bothered to tell her the code that unlocked it.

She sat down next to it and tried to figure it out. Since they presumably wanted her to use it, it ought to be something easy. She tried first 070275, then 100442. Nothing. So it wasn't Jimmy's birth or death dates. What else? Not her wedding date, she never told them that. Not the day she died. That left -- she quickly punched in 021453. The skylight quietly swung open.

Cute guys, real cute. They knew she hated her birthday. Another friggin' reminder of things she'd rather forget.

She slipped inside and closed the skylight after her. Quickly locating Aria and Richie, she decided to look around before letting them know she was here.

Not bad. A little smaller and lower class than she was used to, but she'd lived in worse places. And it was just like Richie to not want to live off of her or Aria's money.

The kitchen was interesting. Apparently, the air conditioner had broken down earlier and someone had been trying to fix it. The reason why it was still in pieces was obvious. Neither Richie nor Aria had done a very good job of cleaning up.

She smiled and headed upstairs. Her two favorite Immortals were in for a surprise....

Richie pressed Aria up against the shower wall, kissing her passionately.

"Richie," Aria groaned. "Will you knock it off?"

"Why?" Richie asked as he nuzzled her neck. "You weren't arguing like this earlier."

Aria tried to push him away. "Richie, I mean it," she said.

"Ah, you're no fun," Richie sighed. "How's the spray?"

"Could stand to be a little to the left," Aria answered.

"Not a problem," Richie replied. "How's this?!" He pulled the shower massager out of its holder and pointed it right at her.

Aria let out a shriek. "Richie! Cut it out!" She held her hands up, trying to block her face from the spray.

"Okay, how's this?" Richie moved the spray around and hit her in the butt instead.

Aria jumped out of the way. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that," she promised.

"Oh yeah?" Richie countered.

"Yeah."

"I don't think so." Richie hit her with the spray again.

Aria fought her way through the spray, intent on tickling him. "Die, you male!"

Richie tried to fight her off while still spraying her with the shower massager. "Never, woman!" he laughed.

The two soon became so involved with their play that neither one of them noticed when the shower door opened just enough for a hand to slip in.

Aria screamed as the nice warm spray was suddenly replaced by ice cold water. "What the bloody --"

A familiar laugh filled the room. Richie pushed the door aside to reveal Elaine leaning smugly against the wall.

"Ah noticed what y'all had been doin' in the kitchen. An' on the staahs. An' the table. An' the couch," she said. "Don' yah evah make it tah bed?"

"Not when you're around," Richie answered, turning the water on her.

Elaine squealed, trying to duck the blast. "Watch it! These ah mah fav'rite flyin' leathahs. It took meh ages tah get them broken in right."

"She's right, ya know," Aria agreed, squeezing past Richie. "Good leathers are hard to find. So...." Her eyes gleamed mischievously, causing Elaine to slowly back out of the room. "....We'll have to get rid of them."

Aria pounced on Elaine, dragging her to the floor. Richie joined them and the two Immortals proceeded to remove Elaine's clothing until she was as naked as they were. They continued the attack, tickling her until she begged them to stop.

"Give up?" Aria asked.

Not by half. "Still ahn' in bed, ah weh?"

Richie and Aria looked at each other, silently agreeing on a plan of action.

Despite being the smallest of the three, Elaine could easily lift the other two with one hand. It still didn't prevent her from being picked up and thrown over Richie's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Not a good move on Richie's part. Halfway down the hall he suddenly yelped and hit his head on the ceiling.

"She bit me!"

"Then don' stick yah ass in mah face," Elaine snarled.

Aria very carefully lifted the blonde's head. Sure enough, there was a nice set of teeth marks embedded in Richie's rump, punctuated by two deeper holes.

"'Laine, that's not very nice," Aria gently chided.

"Neithah's throwin' meh ovah a shouldah," Elaine shot back.

"Promise me you won't do it again."

"Why? Yah wan' tah do it yahself?"

Instead of answering, Aria found a spot on Elaine's neck and placed a finger on it. "Promise me."

Elaine sighed. That particular spot was the vampire equivalent of a Ferengi's ear. "No faah."

The touch turned into a stroke.

"A-riiiiiiiii," the vampire whined.

More stroking. "Promise me."

Elaine did try to resist what Aria was doing. Unfortunately for her, once Aria had learned about that spot, she'd gotten very good at it very quickly. The blonde never had a chance.

"All right. Ah promise," she said, giving in.

"Promise what?" Aria wanted to make sure.

"Ah promise not tah bite Richay's verrah adahrable ass as lon' as Ah'm in this verrah indignant an' highlay embarrassin' position," Elaine vowed. "Happay?"

"Very." Aria removed her hand.

"Yah don' have tah stop," Elaine pouted.

"Have patience, dear," Aria told her. "Patience is a virtue."

"Ah'm not that vahtuous," the blonde reminded her. "Ah thought yah knew that."

"Later," Aria promised.

Richie went back to walking.

True to her word, Elaine didn't bite Richie again. Still, a few steps later, he stopped.

"What now?" Aria asked.

"She's licking me," he answered.

"Ah promised no bi'in'. Ah nevah said nothin' abou' no lickin'," Elaine smirked.

Aria was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Well, it's not like she's hurtin' ya."

"No, but she's making it hard to walk," he replied.

"So I noticed." Aria eyed the effects of Elaine's efforts. "Then maybe you'd better hurry."

Richie carefully double-timed the rest of the way to the bedroom, waited for Aria to pull down the covers, then deposited Elaine on the bed.

"Well?" Richie and Aria asked.

Elaine pretended to inspect the sheets. "Ah admit, theah ah some signs of usage. But fah all Ah know, they could've been used elsewheah an' put on dahtay. Ah'm afraid yah jus' goin' tah have tah prove it."

Which, of course, was exactly what Aria and Richie had in mind.

The two Immortals sat down on the bed, one on each side of Elaine.

"Aria and I have been talking, and we noticed something," Richie started, reaching out and fondling the nearest breast.

"Like how you usually let me have Richie first," Aria added, copying Richie's movements.

"What cn Ah say? Ah like watchin' y'all. An' Ah like the way it makes yah taste. Ah'm selfish that way," Elaine explained.

"Maybe. But it's our turn to be selfish today," Aria said.

"Right," Richie agreed. "You've been gone too long. We missed you."

"Oh, reallay?" Elaine teased. "Shoah didn' seem like it in the showah."

Aria and Richie looked at each other. What were they supposed to do? Wait for her when they didn't know she was coming? Then they saw the way she was smiling at them.

"Yah know what?" the blonde then asked. "Ah missed yah, too. How come neithah of yah's kissed meh yet?"

"She has a point there, Richie," Aria said.

Richie nodded his agreement. "We are definitely going to have to remedy that situation," he replied. He leaned down and kissed Elaine passionately.

"Yah tahn," Elaine said to Aria after Richie had broken away.

Aria kissed Elaine herself. "Better now?"

"Much," Elaine nodded. "But yah still haven' proven anythin' abou' the bed."

"Has anyone ever told you you have a one-track mind?" Richie laughed before replacing the hand at her breast with his mouth.

"Two track, actuallay," the blonde corrected. "One fah each of yah. Ah believe someboday promised meh somethin' abou' mah neck?" she added, looking at the other woman.

"Ya mean this?" Aria round the spot on Elaine's neck and slowly ran her fingers along it.

"Mmmmm. Yeah." Elaine closed her eyes, enjoying what the others were doing to her.

The two Immortals divided the vampire's body between them.

Taking the lower half, Richie slowly licked his way down to the nest of curls between Elaine's legs. Elaine sighed as he spread her thighs apart. His tongue flickered over her private parts, causing a sharp intake of breath, then a low rumble erupting from her throat.

Richie smiled inwardly as he worked on her. Elaine was the only woman he knew who could really purr; it was no wonder Aria had nicknamed her Kitten. That he and Aria were two of a very limited number of people to ever hear it made the sound all the more exciting.

Slipping her legs under Richie's arms, Elaine wrapped them around his back, trapping him in place. She thrust against him, wanting more and more of him inside her.

Aria, meanwhile, concentrated on Elaine's upper half.

One hand still massaging the blonde's neck, the other alternating between her breasts, the Immortal woman bent down for another kiss. This kiss had a specific purpose -- searching for and finding the vampire's other erogenous zone.

Elaine shivered with delight as Aria's tongue flicked over her fangs, drawing each of them out to their full length. Blood dribbled down her throat from the little cuts they were making, spurring her on to greater and greater heights. She wasn't going to last much longer and all three of them knew it.

Never one to take a passive role in anything, even her own pleasure, Elaine returned the favor, her hands roaming the other woman's body. It wasn't easy -- her senses were being assaulted on three fronts at once, but they did eventually find what they were looking for.

Now it was Aria's turn to moan as Elaine's fingers slipped inside her.

Aria let out a deep moan, almost forgetting what she'd been doing. Luckily, her hands had a memory all their own and she was able to continue stroking Elaine's neck and breasts. Much to the vampire's dismay though, she was forced to stop her probing tongue as her breathing quickened and she moaned in bliss.

But since Richie's tongue was doing the more interesting probing, Elaine didn't protest too much. She thrust her fingers deeper and deeper into Aria and the two women quickly found a rhythm, trading between thrusts and strokes. They began to moan in unison, their voices joining in a symphony of pleasure.

Richie continued to work on Elaine, his tongue alternating between probing inside her and lapping at her outer flesh. This had definitely been one of their more brilliant ideas, even if he wasn't sure how long he could wait. Between the moaning, the sweet, coppery taste of Elaine, and sharp smell of Aria, a definite stirring was happening in his groin that was going to demand attention soon. But with all Elaine had brought to his life, he could wait long enough to give her one orgasm.

Reaching for Aria's neck, Elaine brought it to her mouth. The small trickles of blood had been enough to hold off the vampire before, but she wasn't getting them now. Between Richie's tongue and Aria's fingers, the vampire was becoming fully awake, and it was demanding blood. She began nuzzling the neck, running her teeth along the tender skin in anticipation.

Aria stretched out, positioning her neck so the artery was right under the vampire's fangs.

The feel of a pulse throbbing against two of her most sensitive parts finally drove Elaine over the edge and she sank her teeth into Aria. Sweet blood filled her mouth. She greedily drank it down, eagerly awaiting that most intimate of connections that came with being a vampire.

Aria groaned as the vampire's fangs pierced her flesh. It didn't hurt anymore, but it still took her a moment to adjust to the feeling of her life being drained away. Once she did, she let Elaine's mind touch hers, losing herself to the thoughts that washed over her. Finally she slumped against the other woman's body, dead.

Normally, Elaine would have rested just now, to give herself time to digest the images in her head, but Richie wasn't done with her yet. Going on the attack, he slowly climbed her body, devouring every inch. His teeth nibbled at her skin, working their way up to her breasts.

Elaine moaned as his tongue wrapped around her nipples, teasing them back into life. The moans grew louder as he reached her neck.

Richie's cock tormented her, rubbing along her thighs, the outside of her flesh, anywhere except the one place she really wanted it. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Richay, please," she begged.

Richie rose above Elaine, then plunged into her, as hard as he could. Elaine cooed, enjoying the sensation.

There were occasions when Elaine really hated her small size. This wasn't one of them. Richie filled her so completely, sometimes she really couldn't tell where one of them ended and the other began. As for Richie, he found her so tight that often it was all he could do not to lose it the minute he entered her.

"Better?" Richie asked.

"Mmmmm, almos'." Elaine flipped over so she was sitting astride him. "Theah. Much be'ah."

Placing his hands on her hips, Richie guided Elaine into a rolling rhythm up and down his cock. Once he was sure she would continue on her own, he moved up to her breasts, thumbing her nipples.

Moaning, Elaine lowered herself over him, nibbling at his flesh and lapping up the blood. He thrust into her, slowly at first, then faster as his needs grew more urgent. She continued to ride him, allowing the vampire within her to wrap its spell around them both. Every move, every sensation was heightened almost beyond the level of human endurance.

Richie lost it first, his shaft spouting off inside her. Elaine chose that moment to bite him, driving her fangs deep into his neck. Their thoughts merged, becoming one even as their flesh had.

Elaine reveled in it. This is what she lived for! Not the sex, sex with Richie, and now Aria, was great, but it was the means to the end, not the end in itself.

The blood was the end. It completed her, made her whole.

The blood was life.

Unfortunately, the blood was also death and all to soon Richie gave in to it, after giving up all he had for his love. Elaine rolled off of Richie and looked at Aria. It hadn't been fair. She'd hoped Aria would come before she did, only it hadn't worked out that way this time. But she could correct that now.

Aria woke to the feel of a warm mouth caressing her most private of places. She could tell right away it was Elaine, the feel of the vampire completely different, if just as pleasurable, as Richie.

Gripping the sheets beneath her with one hand, the brunette began feeling her way down with the other. She made contact with her lover's neck and began returning the favor by stroking that special spot.

Gasping, Elaine purred louder, her tongue working faster as she lapped up every ounce of Aria's fluids. The warrior woman's smell and taste alone was usually enough to turn the vampire on, but there was still enough of Richie's scent from their early exercises that it spurred her on even more.

Aria arched her back as pleasure started building up in her groin. "Oh 'Laine," she moaned. Her breathing was quick and shallow as she had never really been able to catch her breath after returning to the land of the living. But the pure ecstasy of it all was worth every struggled for breath.

About this time, Richie also woke up. For a while, he was content to watch his two loves enjoy each other.

Soon, though, the sights and sounds started getting to him. He reached down, stroking his already hardening member, then stopped. The sight of Elaine hanging half off the bed was giving him a better idea. She was still very wet, dripping with both his and her juices. It would be easy enough to.... Richie headed for the foot of the bed.

Elaine felt a pair of hands lift her hips, propping her legs under her. The hands caressed her nether regions, almost causing her to forget what she was doing. Fortunately, by that time her tongue was on autopilot. Then she felt Richie enter her and this time she did bite Aria, her fangs piercing the inside of the other woman's outer lips even as Richie's cock pierced hers.

The three lovers settled into a rhythm, Elaine moving forward to lap up Aria's blood and other fluids, then back to meet Richie's powerful thrusts.

The three came almost at the same time in a chain reaction of pleasure. Aria was first, shouting out her rapture. Nipping into the warrior's throbbing clit, Elaine used Aria's climax to start her own blood orgasm. This triggered a similar reaction in Richie, who started shooting off inside the blonde until he exhausted his supply of semen and collapsed to the side.

Elaine continued to suckle Aria's blood until the other woman thought she would go mad from ecstasy.

And stopped.

Weakly, Aria raised her head. "What happened?"

"Ah stopped." Elaine looked at her and grinned broadly. "Shalla, Ah stopped."

Aria returned the smile. "Will wonders never cease?" she laughed tiredly.

Somehow, Richie was able to gather enough strength to crawl up next to Aria, followed by Elaine.

"So," Richie asked as he curled up next to the brunette, "do you believe us now?"

There was no answer, just the low purring of one very satisfied vampire. Richie and Aria shrugged and closed their eyes, preparing to join her in sleep.

Right before everyone fell asleep in a tangled mass of limbs, the two Immortals heard Elaine murmur, "All right, y'all, yah win. Yah do use the bed."

That morning, Elaine came downstairs to find Richie and Aria in the kitchen.

"Mahnin', y'all," she said, before spending the next several minutes kissing each of the Immortals. "Aria, what ah yah doin'?"

What Aria was doing was obvious. She was standing in front of the stove, fiddling with something that looked vaguely like food. The question was why she was doing it. "Fixin' breakfast," she answered.

"No, yah ain', Shalla," Elaine objected. "Ah've tasted the way yah cook. Give meh the spatula."

"One of these days I'm gonna fix you guys m'recipe for squirrel stew so you'll quit bitchin' about the way I cook," Aria grumped.

"Actually, Ah used tah rathah like squahl," Elaine noted. "Coons wahn' bad eithah. It was the shoes Ah ha'ed."

Richie had to ask. "Elaine, you've eaten shoes?"

"Yup, the blonde nodded. "A wahd of advice, Richay, Nevah beh on the losin' end of a wah. Espec'allay when the othah side has all the supplays."

Aria flopped into one of the kitchen chairs. "Never had to eat m'shoes," she said. "Ate m'horse once, but never m'shoes."

Richie's eyes grew wide. "You ate your horse?"

"Stringiest damn thing I ever tasted too," she nodded. "Muscular horses are good for ridin' and fightin', but they ain't worth shit for eatin'."

Richie paled. "I think I may be losing my appetite," he groaned.

The two women shared a glance.

"Ah don' believe it," Elaine said.

"What?" Richie asked.

"The Bottomless Pit just lost his appetite," Aria answered.

"Very funny, guys," Richie answered. "So what's the latest news from the studio?"

Elaine groaned. So much for her good mood. "Would yah believe those idiots actually bought that piece of crap Aria came up with? Theah people out theah who think Duncan reallay killed yah."

"Talk about losin' your appetite," Aria grimaced. "Disgustin'."

"Isn' it, though," the blonde agreed. "It's almos' enough fah meh tah break the Code jus' tah show them what reallay happened in Paris."

"What did happen anyway?" Richie asked. "I mean, one minute I'm in Paris, getting whacked by Mac, then I'm living in San Francisco and Paris was all a dream, then I'm a character on a TV show. Sometimes, I can't even keep the number of girlfriends I have straight."

Elaine turned down the stove while she rummaged through a cupboard, pulling out several spice bottles. "Don' yah jus' love quan'um univahses? Heinlein would have had a field day with us. But Ah thought aftah las' night yah'd at least beh able tah remembah how manay gahlfriends yah have. Oh shall weh remind yah?"

"Later," Aria admonished.

"Yah takin' all the fun out of this, yah know that, don' yah?" Elaine pouted.

"I'm starvin'," Aria replied, burhisng her bands out of her eyes. "So if ya want anythin' more out of me than a bad attitude, you're gonna have to feed me first."

"I thought that was my line," Richie teased.

Aria stuck her tongue out at him. "Look, Richie, all you need to know is that you're alive and well and that we both love you," she said. "We'll fill in the rest of the details when you're older."

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Richie asked, hurt.

"It means that at twentay-two, yah reallay too youn' tah undahstand all this," Elaine answered, sniffing and tossing some of the spices in.

Hell, I didn't get it until I was two hundred," Aria added.

Richie sighed. "I'm beginning to understand what Reality meant about dimension hopping being a pain in the ass."

"Who?" Aria and Elaine asked.

Richie shook his head. "Uh, nobody. So, 'Laine, other than dealing with the morons who used to control my life, what else have you been up to?"

"Well, aftah Ah woke up an' lef' y'all in bed, an' Ah still can' believe Ah did that, Ah've nevah done it befoah without help, Ah made a phone call tah that fashion designah friend Ah tol' yah abou' Ari," the blonde answered. "Ah hope yah don' mind, but weh have an appoin'men' with him on Thahsday."

Aria snorted. "And just what in the bloody hell is wrong with m'wardrobe?" she asked.

"Nothin', Shalla," Elaine assured her. "It jus' needs a li'le wahk."

"But I like the way Ari dresses," Richie said.

"Obviouslay, since y'all seem tah beh shaahrin' the same wahdrobe la'elay," Elaine replied.

Aria shot her a dirty look. "Just because you dress like an out-take from Frederick's of Hollywood doesn't mean we all have to, 'Laine."

"An' what's that supposed tah mean?"

"Nothing," Aria replied. "On you, sexy works. But if I tried some of your stuff, I'd get laughed out the bleedin' boardroom. It's nothing personal, love. It just ain't m'thing."

Elaine tossed her a very fetching pout. "But Ah jus' wan'ed tah do this fah yah, Ari," she replied, running a hand down the other woman's side. "Yah got such a wondahful boday, an' Ah wan' ev'ryone tah see is."

"But I can't fight in your wardrobe," Aria pointed out.

"What if Ah promise yah'll beh able tah fight in anythin' weh get?" Elaine asked.

"No," Aria answered. "Look, Raltra, your clothes are wonderful on you, but they're just not me."

"Please?" Elaine pouted.

"No," Aria replied.

"Pahday please?"

"No!"

"Pahday please with choc'lat sahrup on top?"

"What part of no don't you understand, 'Laine?"

Richie shook his head. "Ari, you might as well give in now," he said. "Elaine's even more persuasive than you are."

Aria rolled her eyes. "All right, but I get final say on any outfit, got it?"

"A'cahse, Ari," Elaine replied. Although something about the tone of her voice didn't leave Aria feeling very confident about her position in all this.

"All se'led then. An' since yah the hungray one heah, yah get tah taste this." Elaine popped a spoon full of food into Aria's mouth.

Aria let out a yelp.

"Oh, too hot?" Elaine asked, concerned.

"Dou could thay dat," Aria answered, fanning her burnt lips. "Ward thomebody dext dime, why don't da?"

"Ah'm sahrah," the blonde repeated. "Ah fahget sometimes y'all have tah worrah abou' tem'ratuahs. Yah sah delicate.

"Anyway, that's all mah news," Elaine finished. "What've y'all been up tah? Yah tol' meh yah wah movin' tah San Franciscah, but yah fahgot tah give meh the address. Good thin' weh've shaahed enough blood Ah cn locate y'all without it."

"Only because you never called and asked for them," Richie pointed out. "There's this wonderful thing called a phone, you can use it to get in touch with anyone you need to. All you had to do was tell us you were coming and we would have been more than happy to let you know how to get here."

"He's got ya there, love," Aria teased. "But we really haven't been up to much. Just fixin' up the house, hangin' out with Lou, same ol' same ol'."

"Theah's alsah this thin' called a phone numbah, which is requiahed in ahdah tah use said phone," Elaine reminded them. "Who's Lou?"

"The original owner of the house," Richie answered. "He's a real sweet old guy, and, well, he doesn't have any family in the area anymore so we sort of adopted him."

Elaine smiled. Yeah, that sounded like her two lovers all right. "But that can' beh all yah been up tah," she said.

Richie blushed. "Well, I have been checking out a few a course catalogs," he admitted.

Aria grinned. "Yep, I finally got him convinced he's college material," she said. "It's about time he started believin' he's as brilliant as we know he is."

"Good," Elaine agreed. "Jus' because Ah ended up mos'lay self-educa'ed doesn' mean yah should beh as well."

The blonde thought for a moment. "Ah believe Ah know some of the people on the staff of San Franciscah State. If yah wan', Ah could talk tah them, maybeh see abou' ge'in' yah a scholahship. This is jus' tah get yah foot in the doah, yah undahstand. It's up tah yah what happens aftahwahds."

"And don't think we'll let ya get lax in your studies either," Aria added.

"Yes, Mothers," Richie teased.

"Oh, an' that reminds meh," Elaine realized. "Ah need tah see abou' ge'in' meh a job. Seein' as how Ah'm tah beh stayin' heah fah a while?"

"Of course you're stayin'," Aria replied. "Why'd ya think we got the king size bed with the reinforced steel frame?" That last comment was made with a wink in the blonde's direction.

"That's good." Elaine put down the spatula and produced a ouple of small jewelry boxes from the pockets o her robe. "Because Ah'd shoah hate tah have tah destroy these aftah Ah've gone tah all the trouble of havin' them made up."

"What in the world?" Aria asked. "'Laine, you didn't go buyin' us presents now, did you?"

"Why not? It's mah monay, Ah cn do what Ah wan' with it," the blonde pouted. "'Sides, these ain' exactlay gif's Ah'm givin' yah. Theah's a pahpose tah them."

Richie opened his. Inside was a gold ring, set with a medium sized amethyst, surrounded by six garnet bars.

"Damn, wron' box." Elaine took the box out of Richie's hand and handed it to Aria, giving the one she held to Richie. "Try that one."

This time, the ring was definitely for Richie. The setting was wider, more masculine and the center stone was sapphire instead of amethyst.

"Nice," Richie noted.

Aria rolled her eyes, barely resisting the urge to make a typical male comment. "'Laine, they're absolutely beautiful," she commented instead. "But what's the purpose behind 'em?"

"They'ah tah protect yah when Ah'm not heah," Elaine said. "Hol' them up tah the light."

The Immortals did. Inside each of the larger stones was a dark center. It was hard to see, but it definitely was there.

"That's mah blood," the blonde continued. "If anay vampiah gets close enough tah attack yah when Ah'm not aroun', he'll sense that an' most' likelay run away screamin' when he finds out yah belon' tah meh."

Aria smiled. "Beautiful, slightly romantic, and down right practical," she said. "I love it."

"Especially since that pretty much sums you up to, 'Laine," Richie teased.

"Sah yah reallay like them? Aw hell! Han' meh a plate, quick!" Elaine turned back to the stove, hoping to save the Immortal's breakfast.

Richie held one out to her and she flipped the contents of the skillet onto it.

"Thanks," she smiled at him. "Yah don' have tah weah them on yah fingahs if yah don' wan'. Aroun' yah neck on a chain's good enough."

"Now why in the world would I want to go and do that?" Aria asked as she slipped the ring onto her right ring finger. "Perfect fit."

"Ah know," Elaine grinned again. "Ah measuahed yah fingahs while y'all wah both out back in Seacouvah. An' if yah'll excuse meh," she stifled a yawn, "Ah thin Ah'll go back tah bed. Ah don' wan' tah mess up mah sleep pa'ahns."

"I'll get it!" Aria called out unnecessarily as she headed to the front door. After all, she was the only one downstairs. She threw open the door and grinned. "Lou!"

"Hello Aria," Lou Hoskins replied. He was the man who had owned their house before Aria and Richie had bought it. His wife was gone and all his children had moved out of town, so the young couple had sort of "adopted" him. "I hope it's all right that I'm a little early."

Aria moved out of the way to let him in and then closed the door behind him. "No worries, I was just in the middle of heating up lunch." She took his coat and hung it up on the rack by the door before leading him towards the kitchen.

"Where's Richie?" Lou asked.

"Oh, he's upstairs," Aria answered. "I finally found the perfect tub for the bathroom and he's hookin' up all the gizmos for the whirlpool and whatnot."

"Does he need any help?" he asked, brightening. "I used to be pretty handy with a wrench back in the old days. Of course, all I ever seem to have anymore is old days, but that's another story. Pray you never get old, kid."

Aria did her best to fight off a snicker. Lou didn't know she was actually old enough to be his great great great grandmother. "Actually, Lou, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Don't think I can keep up with that boyfriend of yours?" Lou asked, hurt.

Aria quickly shook her head. "Oh no, no, nothing like that, Lou," she answered. "More like he can't keep up with you." Not to mention I don't want you findin' out about the naked blonde in m'bed.

Lou didn't really seem to buy that.

Fortunately for Aria, the microwave dinged.

"That'll be lunch," she explained. "Hope you're in the mood for lasagna."

Lou raised an eyebrow at how jumpy the young English woman had suddenly become. Aria had never really been the type to treat him differently just because of his age, so he didn't really think it was that.

The more he watched her run around the kitchen, chatting up a nervous streak while she set up for lunch, it seemed more like she was trying to hide something from him.

Aria finally got everything together and they sat down to eat.

Lou was rather familiar with her lack of culinary skills, so he took a tentative bite and then gasped. "Wow, Ari, this is fantastic," he said. "Although it could use more garlic."

"Richie was just really in the mood for lasagna, but we're all out of garlic and neither one of us wanted to run to the store," Aria Shrugged. "But I still think it turned out pretty good.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream filled the room.

Aria dropped her fork and ran upstairs.

Lou followed.

No wonder Aria had been acting funny. Richie was on the floor holding a naked blonde in his arms. The blonde was ... smoking?

Not cigarette smoking, really smoking. Gray wisps seemed to be coming from her skin.

"What happened?" Aria asked. "I dropped the hammer and the shade went up," Richie explained.

Lou looked at the window. Sunlight streamed through it, landing on the bed. The bed was all mussed up, as if someone had been sleeping in it, and also smoking. Had the blonde been in it when it had somehow caught fire? Or had the sunlight set the blonde on fire? That would mean ....

"Is she okay?" Aria continued.

"A little scorched, but that's all," Richie answered. "I managed to pull her off before she burst into flames."

For the first time, the blonde spoke.

"Would someone mind doin' somethin' abou' the windah?" she asked. "It's sah brigh' in heah, Ah can' see."

Aria took care of it.

The blonde blinked and looked around the room. "Louis?"

Oh God, it was her. "Mama 'Laine?" he asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "What ah yah doin' heah?"

"Richie and Aria invited me for lunch," Lou answered. "You?"

"Flew in a couple nights ago," Elaine said. "Ah'm stayin' with Richay an' Aria. Who's mindin' the buildin' these days?"

"A nephew I'm not very fond of," Lou answered. "My youngest was for awhile, but he got a better job offer and moved."

"Younges'," the blonde repeated. "That'd beh Kevin, right? Oh did yah 'n' Ednah have anothah aftah Ah lef'?"

"No, Kevin was the last," Lou answered.

Aria stood there, shocked. "Uh, 'Laine, why don't you get fixed up and then you and Lou can tell me and Richie what in the bloody hell is goin' on here?"

"Shoah," Elaine agreed.

Aria shooed Lou out of the room.

Richie tried to get up to follow, only Elaine grabbed him arm, stopping him.

"Stay heah with meh fah a momen', would yah, Kaltock?" Ah need a favah." Murmuring an apology, Elaine sank her teeth into Richie's wrist.

A few minutes later, Richie and Elaine, now dressed, arrived downstairs.

Noticing that Lou and Aria were in the middle of lunch, Elaine headed for the kitchen. She returned carrying a plate and a glass of milk for Richie and her usual glass of red wine.

Aria waited for them to sit down before speaking. "Okay, so who wants to be the first to tell me what in the bloody hell was goin' on up there?" she asked.

Elaine and Lou looked at each other.

"Well, Ah suppose the easayes' way tah staht is by sayin' that Lou is Geahge's fathah," Elaine said.

"George? That's the doorman at your building in Seacouver, right?" Richie asked.

"What's that got to do with anythin'?" Aria added.

"'Laine's a family tradition with us," Lou explained. "She saved my father's life and we've been taking care of her ever since."

"You mean ya know?" Aria asked.

Lou nodded. "So do all the kids," he answered.

"Then why the bloody hell did I try to keep you outta the bedroom?!" Aria snapped.

Richie squeezed her shoulder, knowing full well how Aria felt about being left out of the loop.

Elaine winced, though only Richie noticed it. "If Ah'd've known yah Lou was mah Lou, Ah would've tol' yah. 'Sides, outside of Lucien, onlay yah 'n' Richay have seen meh naked."

Lou started at her words. "You've seen Elaine naked?" he asked Richie and Aria.

"A'cahse they have," Elaine told him. "It'd beh hahd tah beh lovahs without it."

"You're LOVERS?!" Lou was surprised by her answer. "'Laine, I thought you said you couldn't make love without killing your partner."

"Oh hell," the blonde sighed. "Richay, Ari, d'yah mind if Ah tell him? He alreaday knows mah secret. Yahs should beh safe, too."

"Might as well," Aria shrugged. "I mean, we only kept it from him 'cause we didn't think it was fair plus we wanted to keep him outta the Game."

"Tell me what?" Lou asked.

Aria grinned mysteriously. "Lou, hon, know how you're always tellin' me to never grow old?"

Lou nodded.

"Well, you're a little late, love," Aria replied. "I mean, three hundred seventy-three years is practically ancient."

"But you're not vampires," Lou said, confused.

"Right," Richie agreed. "We're Immortal."

"Immortal?" Lou asked. This conversation was taking a weird turn.

"'Laine, may I?" Aria replied.

"Jus' try not tah make a mess all ovah the floah," Elaine said, pulling out her knife and handing it to Aria.

"Your concern is touching," Aria replied sarcastically. She grasped the knife in one hand and then sliced open her left palm. She held it out to Lou and then wiped away the blood with her napkin, showing that the wound was now gone. "Immortal."

Elaine took her knife back and licked the blood away seductively.

Aria grinned. "I love it when you do that," she flirted.

Richie rolled his eyes. "You would."

"Anyway," Aria said, getting things back on topic as she smacked him in the chest, "Richie and I can't die permanently as long as our heads are attached. So 'Laine can kill us as many times as she wants and we'll pop back up again like one of them kiddie punchin' bags with the clowns on 'em."

"And you didn't tell me this because?" Lou asked.

"To protect ya," Aria answered. "I don't like tellin' mortals anyway, it never seems fair to me. 'Guess what, pal? I ain't gonna die but you will.' Doesn't seem very nice ya know? Shoot, I only told the Sullivans 'cause they sort of found out after one of the horses bashed m'head in."

"Exsqueeze me?" Richie asked, disgusted.

"I never told you that story?" Aria replied. "Right after they finished buildin' m'house, I hired this young couple to look after the place for me. They had this son that was always gettin' into trouble and one day I caught him wanderin' into the corral and there was this one stallion in there that was bad news and the kid was headed right towards him. I ran in, pushed the kid out of the way, but the horse had already reared back and he came right down on m'noggin. He cracked m'skull open, killin' me instantly, and the couple had a fit. I mean, their son was saved but their employer had bit the dust. Then I healed and woke up again and sorta got forced inta spillin' the beans. And the Sullivan family has worked for me ever since. Kinda like your family and 'Laine, Lou."

"That's verrah much like how Ah met Pe'ah," Elaine agreed. "Ah was comin' home from a pahtay on Nob Hill when Ah got this weahd feelin' an' all the buildin' stah'ed shakin. Sah Ah took tah the aah an' that's when Ah saw this kid abou' tah get squished."

"I remember Dad telling us kids about it," Lou added. "He described it as this golden angel coming down from heaven to save his life."

Aria laughed. "Golden angel?" she asked in amusement.

"Somethin' wron' with that?" Elaine sniffed.

"Honey, there ain't nothin' angelic about you," Aria explained. "And that's just the way I like ya."

"Yah be'ah like meh this way," the blonde smiled. "Ah think it had somethin' tah do with the gown Ah was weahrin'. Had a lot of gold trimmin' on it. Anyway, Ah pushed the kid out of the way an' ended up ge'in' caught mahself. Now, anyone in his right mind would've run right then 'n' theah, because whensomething like that happens tah a vampiah, theah ain' no way of hidin' what weh ah, if yah catch mah drif'. This kid? He spends the nex' hoah pullin debris off meh. Tahned out a beam had go'en meh in the leg an' by this time, the sun was appeahrin' ovah the few buildin's lef' standin', sah he dragged meh intah the sewah an' weh spen' the nex' three days theah wai'in' fah the fiahs tah die. Oh die ahselves, Ah nevah did undahstand how come the sewahs nevah caught fiah."

"So what happened with the beam that got you in the leg?" Richie asked.

Elaine shrugged. "It stayed theah until Lucien got it out. Pe'ah wasn' stron' enough tah remove it an' Ah couldn' reach it. Ah couldn' even fly verrah fah, it haht that much. Poah Pe'ah spen' mos' of the time tryin' tah catch rats fah meh." She paused for a shudder. "Ah _hate_ rats. Nevah been able tah stan' the damn thin's evah since Ah came across one chewin' on the boday of a soldiah. Made a nice dinnah, though."

Richie gave a shudder of his own as he pushed away his plate. "Eew."

Aria rolled her eyes. "You are so sheltered," she replied. "So what happened after that?"

"Event'allay, the fiahs died an' Lucien was able tah ditch Neeki lon' enough tah come an' get the beam out," the blonde continued. "Then weh got intah a debate ovah what tah do with Pe'ah. Ah won. It wasn' hahd, yah may not believe this, but Lucien has a sof' spot fah children an' Ah've always been able tah tweak it."

"Ol' funny hair likes kids?" Aria asked in disbelief. "Huh, maybe there's hope for the jerk yet."

"Aria, Lucien had a li'le gahl of his own befoah he became a vampiah," Elaine said softly. "He doesn' wan' it known, but he misses hah somethin' awful, even now. All Ah had tah do was tell him how much Pe'ah reminded meh of Jimmay an' poin' out that he alreaday had ample oppahtunitay tah kill meh of abandon meh an' he hadn' done eithah. Then Pe'ah wen' up tah him 'n' tugged on Lucien's pant leg, looked up at him with these big roun' puppay dog eyes, even then yah could tell what a lookah Pe'ah was goin' tah beh an' his son ain' bah eithah," she pointed to a blushing Lou, "an' said in this angel's voice, 'please don' take Mama 'Laine away'."

Elaine paused for dramatic effect. She wasn't disappointed.

"Well don't just sit there, what did he say?!" Richie asked, exasperated.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Well, considerin' that Lou's sittin' here, I think we got a pretty good idea."

"Has anyone evah tol' yah yah no fun, Ari?" Elaine pouted. "Ah don' know if Ah wan' tah finish the stahrah now."

"You better make it up to her," Lou told Aria. "'Laine hates having her stories interrupted."

"Funny, ya didn't mind it so much that night at Joe's," Aria teased her lover. "And I'll make it up to ya, love, just not in public."

"If yah'd caah tah refresh yah mem'ray, Ah had a full bellay that night. Ah'm always in a good mood when Ah have a full bellay." There was a pause before Elaine continued. "Promise?"

Aria winked at her. "Don't I always?" she teased.

"Sah fah," the blonde conceded. "But Ah still wan' Richay tah staht ea'in' again befoah Ah continue."

Richie looked down at his plate and blanched. "I don't think I can," he groaned.

"Fine. Then Ah ain' finishin' the stahrah," Elaine sulked. "Aftah all, Ah didn' have tah make dinnah today. Ah could've jus' le' Ari do the cookin' oh let yah fix somethin' out of the freezah oh ahdah pizzah, but no, Ah had tah go an' make the lasagna mahself, nevah mind how the smell of that stuff makes meh feel, Ah mean it's not like Ah cn eat anay of it anyway...."

Richie sighed. "Alright, but try and avoid the rat images and the like, okay?"

Lou laughed as Richie began eating again. "You haven't changed a bit, 'Laine," he said. "You still give the same guilt trips to get your way."

"Ah killed a Jewish gran'mothah once an' some of it stuck," Elaine shrugged. "Anyway, tah get back tah mah stahrah, aftah Pe'ah had said 'don' take Mama 'Laine away,' Lucien drew himself up tah his full height, which was reallay somethin' since he's a full foot tallah then meh, hissed 'you will regret this' an' took off in a huff."

"That's all he did?" Aria asked, disbelief clearly written on her face.

"I'm with Ari on this one, babe," Richie added. "From what you've told, that just doesn't sound like LaCroix."

"Ah know. Ah was absolutelay stunned," the blonde agreed. "But Lucien can beh quite genahrous at times an' he knew Ah had tah do this. Weh spen' the nex' sev'ral nights sahchin' fah Pe'ah's pahren's. Ah fin'lay foun' theah names in a newspapah listed amon' the dead."

"Is that when you started looking out for him?" Richie asked.

"Yup," Elaine nodded. "Neeki an' Lucien wah movin' abou' a lot jus' then an' Ah foun' it easayah tah have one place an' go tah him whenevah Lucien sen' fah meh. Then Neeki got right frendlay with the Romanoffs an' Lucien tol' meh ha wan'ed meh in Yahrope on a pahmanen' basis. Pe'ah, who was abou' seventeen, made this real lon'-winded speech abou' how this was his home an' he didn' wan' tah leave."

She paused for a smile. "The one thin' he didn' say, wen' out of his way tah avoid sayin, was that nex' doah tah us was a rathah fetchin' youn' thin' by the name of Kate Fitzsimons, who was abou' sixteen an' that he was rathah fond of. He hadn' acutallay asked hah out yet, but.... Yah get the pictuah. Sah he stayed behind an' kep' house fah meh while Ah moved tah Paris."

"So when did you end up becoming a Hoskins' family tradition?" Aria asked.

"When Neeki did that numbskull runnin' away act of his," Elaine answered. "Lucien an' Jenette follahed him tah Los Angeles an' as usual, Ah got sen' fah once they all had se'led. Since Ah alreaday had a house heah, it made sense. Pahfec' timin', too, since Ka'ay had jus' died an' Pe'ah found himself alone with a pascal of kids."

"That was another time Dad used to like to tell us about," Lou said. "Apparently, we were causing a few problems that day."

"A few problems?" the blonde snorted. "Bobbay 'n' Lauray wah figh'in' ovah a toy, Sillay was chasin' Sye up 'n' down the staahs, Misha was tryin' tah dress the dog up in the babay's clothin', Lou was plastahrin' the walls with his oatmeal an' Callay had a dahtay diapah an' was le'in' ev'ryone know abou' it at the top of hah lun's. No wondah the govahness had quit the day befoah."

"Who?" Aria asked, having a hard time keeping all the names straight.

"Bobbie, Laura, Misha, Silvia, Sye and Calista," Lou answered. "My sisters."

"Sye?" Richie repeated.

"Well, hah real name was Sue," Elaine corrected. "But fah some reason no one could remembah, ev'ryone always called hah Sye."

"And I thought I had a weird name," Aria replied, snickering.

"What's wron' with Aria 'n' Sye?" Elaine asked. "Lots of people had names that ain' bein' used any moah these days. Ah even knew a Cheysu once."

"Who's talkin' about Aria?" Aria countered. "I mean Aria, daughter of Indala, sworddancer and shieldmaiden, Last of the Daughters, Fulfiller of Prophecy, Blessed Warrior Who Cannot Die. You try puttin' that one on a driver's license."

"That's your full name?" Lou asked.

Aria nodded. "Yep," she answered. "And as important as m'name may be, it's still a bleedin' mouthful."

"Yah know, that's one thin' Ah've wondah abou', how come y'all keep the same name decade aftah decade?" Elaine asked. "Ah mean, weh'ah always changin' ah names whenevah weh go from one life tah the nex', an' weh tend tah avoid the comp'nay of mahtals, keepin' amoun's' ahselves. But y'all live 'n' wahk amon' them an' hahdlay evah change yah names."

"Not all of us," Aria pointed out. "Connor changes his all the time and Adam changes identities like most people change socks. But my name is very important to me. To an Andraven, who we are, our entire identity, everything that makes us us, is wrapped up in our names. I've changed m'last name a couple of times since it's not really m'name, but to change Aria would be to change everything I am and I can't bloody well do that."

"And Mac's just an unimaginative prick who couldn't come up with a new name if his life depended on it," Richie added, grinning. He scooped up the last bit of lasagna and polished it off. "There, I've finished everything. Now you have to finish the story, 'Laine."

"Not quaite," Elaine corrected. "Theah's still dessaht."

"Dessert?" Richie squeaked.

The blonde moved over to Richie's lap and slowly kissed him. "That's dessaht. Now, let's see," she said, returning to her seat. "It took meh ten minutes tah get ev'ryone se'led down. Ah am afraid Ah had tah cheat a bit."

"Cheat?" Richie asked.

"Yeah." Elaine turned to Lou and told him to get up, stand on one foot and hop three times, then turn around five times, which he promptly did. "That is cheatin'."

"Ya whammied poor, innocent children?" Aria replied. "Shame on ya, 'Laine. I mean, do you have any idea how much money you could make in childcare with that trick?"

"An' do yah have anay ideah how much trouble Ah could get intah if it was found out?" Elaine countered. "Oh how nosay kids ah? Even as caahful as Ah was, it baahlay took a yeah befoah Pe'ah's fam'lay found out theah was somethin' strange abou' meh."

"And they didn't suspect that right from the beginnin'?" Aria teased.

"Yah ain' nevah seen meh play human, Shalla." Elaine turned to Richie. "Richay, did Ah seem strange when weh fahst met?"

"You mean besides needing a cold shower every time I saw you?" Richie joked.

"Richay, yah stuck in a nineteen yeah ol's boday fah etahnitay. The day yah not hahnay is the day weh staht worrahin' abou' yah." She reached out and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Ah mean besides that."

"Not really, then," he said, thinking back. "I mean, you did tell me about your family, but I thought you were talking about the Mafia or something. I never thought about vampires. That, and I wanted to kill your husband."

"'Laine, darlin', who said I was talkin' about you bein' a vampire or playin' at bein' mortal?" Aria pointed out, winking in the blonde's direction. "Even as a vampire you're pretty dang weird."

"An' yah ain'?" Elaine replied.

Aria grinned smugly. "Never said I wasn't, love."

The blonde went over to Aria, knelt in her lap and put both arms around her neck. "You," she emphasized the word, "grew up in a village of pagan wahiah women. A'cahse yah weahd. But as fah as vampiahs go, aside from mah predilection fah some mahtals, which still ain' all that unusual, Ah'm downright nahmal."

"If'n ya say so, love," Aria replied. Then she kissed Elaine hard and fast, distracting her from further argument. "Now you were sayin' somethin' about the kiddies figurin' out you were a vamp?"

Elaine looked at her former foster son. "Oh, Ah think Ah'm gonnah let Lou ansah this," she said, smiling. "Seein' as it was him who stah'ed it."

The two Immortals stared at him. "Lou?" Richie asked. "What?" he asked almost defensibly. "Mama 'Laine had just read some of Peter Pan to me and I went to the window to see if I could see him. Like you never did the same when you were kids."

"Well, considerin' the fact that Peter Pan hadn't been written yet when I was a wee one," Aria replied, "I don't think I did. I did go look for the fairies a couple of times, but they were just a tad different than Tinker Bell."

"This is what I get for falling for older women," Richie sighed. "So what did you see when you went looking for Peter?"

"Meh takin' off in the aah," Elaine grumbled. "Ah thought Ah couldn' beh seen, but appahren'lay Ah crossed a moonbeam enough fah Lou tah see meh. Not that he let meh know Ah'd been seen."

Lou shrugged. "It's not my fault," he said. "The eyes didn't start going until I was forty. Besides, I wasn't sure if I'd imagined the whole thing or if I really had seen you flying. So the next night, I woke Misha up and made her come watch with me. Night after that, we made everybody but Callie, since she was still a baby, get up and watch with us and after that the rest of the odd things about Mama 'Laine just seemed even stranger."

"Like what?" Richie asked.

"Like we'd see Elaine at breakfast, but hardly any time after that until nightfall," Lou said. "And whenever she'd cook for us, she'd have one of us tasting it instead of tasting it herself. In fact, none of us could remember her ever eating or drinking anything at all." He smiled. "I'm sure you've both noticed that already."

"Just a bit, yeah," Aria answered. "Although I'm pretty sure us tastin' food for her is a wee bit more fun than when she had you do it."

"Ah don' think weh reallay need tah go intah that right now," Elaine said as she returned to her chair. Lou was handling everything marvelously, he didn't need Richie and Aria being her lovers when he couldn't thrown in his face. Any more than it had been.

"Tah get back tah Pe'ah Pan," Elaine continued, "abou' a week la'ah, Ah came home tah find ev'ryboday up 'n' wai'in' fah meh. The nex' couple of hoahs wah spen' with Pe'ah 'n' meh doin' some verrah caahful explainin'."

"Such as?" Richie asked, curious.

For a brief instant, Elaine found her mind going back to that night. Why it hadn't happened before, she didn't know. Then she dragged herself back to the present. Flashbacks were her brother's hobby, not hers.

"Lou, what did weh tell yah?" she turned over the question.

"I was four years old, you expect me to remember?" he replied. "I don't know, something about Darwin and survival of the fittest and shit like that. Uh, if anyone asks you, you didn't hear me say that."

Aria didn't bat an eyelash, but Richie seemed startled. It was kind of like hearing his grandfather swear. Not that he'd ever had a grandfather, but he was pretty sure it was the same kind of feeling.

"Lou," Aria said, "I've heard and seen a few things over the years that would make Elaine blush. So you swearing is not that big a deal." Then she looked at Richie. "At least not to me at any rate."

"You've never had Mama 'Laine wash your mouth out with soap," Lou shuddered.

"You?" Aria laughed. "The original gutter mouth and you washed their mouths out with soap. Oh this is just too much."

"She's got you there, 'Laine," Richie added, fighting a few snickers of his own.

"Gutter mouth? Mama 'Laine?" Lou couldn't believe it.

Elaine sighed. "Y'all may not believe this, but Ah do know when tah keep mah mouth shut. None of the kids evah hahd meh sweah. That they remembah, anyway."

"Oh I don't doubt that ya know better than to swear in front of a wee one," Aria replied. "It just strikes me funny that you punished them for somethin' ya do yourself is all."

"An' how else would yah go abou' raisin' kids?" Elaine cocked an eyebrow. "Ah jus' did what Mammay taught meh."

Aria shrugged. "Momma always taught me by example," she replied. "And the back of her hand if'n I got oughta line too much. Course, with my momma, you didn't do that very often. One look was enough to shut up half the kids in the village." Then she smiled wistfully. "Great Mother, I miss that woman."

"Mammay had a right fast hand whenevah Papa oh Ah did somethin' wron'," Elaine nodded. "Although Ah nevah passed that on tah any of the kids. Rathah los' mah taste fah that by the time Reese was done with meh. 'Sides, didn' need it no moah."

"Yeah, I can see where being able to Whammy them in to behaving would definitely be a plus," Richie laughed.

"Momma's look was close enough," Aria replied. "Although if'n ya ask Danny and Maggie about it, I managed to inherit the better part of it. I just happened to be thick- headed enough that I needed the occasional whap on the bum to get things into m'skull. Most of the time I was too afraid of disappointin' her to let things get beyond that."

"Ah nevah had a chance of disappoin'in' Mammay," Elaine said. "She disappeahed abou' the time Shahman fahced ev'ryone out of A'lan'a. A lot of people wen' missin' from that. Is anyboday else ge'in' depressed as hell from all this?"

"Maybe we need to get back to how ya get them watchin' over you instead of the other way around," Aria suggested.

"Good ideah," Elaine agreed. "As Ah recall, it was in the thahtays. Lou was jus' hi'in' pubahtay an' he wan'ed meh out of theah because Ah was scaahrin' all the gahls away," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Lou turned beet red. "Well, I wouldn't say that exactly. You know there was nobody besides you and Edna."

"You and Edna?" Aria repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I'm beginnin' to think there's more to this story than you're tellin' us."

Eyes glowing with adoration, Lou looked at Elaine. "You two weren't the first to fall for Mama 'Laine. I've spent most of my life in love with her."

"Ah think Ah prefah bein' depressed," the blonde in question grumbled.

"Hey, you can't help it if you're gorgeous," Richie teased.

Elaine turned and snarled at him. "Drink yah milk."

Richie shrugged. "It's true, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it's true, but Ah don' have tah like it," she snapped. "Damn thin's cause moah trouble then it's wahth. Happay now?"

"So if Lou wasn't the problem, why did ya leave?" Aria asked, deftly changing the subject before Elaine really got angry.

After a brief glare, Elaine answered. "Sev'ral reasons," she shrugged. "Fah one thin', the neighbahs wah beginnin' tah notice Ah wasn' agin'. Women have a shaht enough time as it is befoah people realize somethi's not right, an' heah Ah had a pascal of kids tah compaah meh tah. 'Sides, what with ev''ryone growin' up,the house was ge'in' real crowded an' with meh out of theah, that gave two moah rooms fah the gahls tah spread out tah."

"Two more rooms?" Richie noticed.

"Evah taken a look at mah closets back in Seacouvah?" she asked.

"Good point," Richie agreed.

"Sure those are the only reasons?" Aria added, sensing Elaine was hedging around something.

"Weeelllll." After a moment of squirming, the blonde answered. "Lucien got tiahed of meh playin' house an' tol' meh tah get out of theah," she said as fast as Southernly possible.

"Mm-hmm," Aria grumbled. "I had a feeling old funny hair had somethin' to do with it. Every time you start gettin' happy he does seem to have a tendency to stick his nose in it all."

"That's not it," Elaine said defensively. "He's tryin' tah protect us, that's all. It's not a good idea fah any of us tah get ovahlay involved in the mahtal wahld. It cn cause too manay problems."

"So you keep sayin'," Aria replied, "but I still don't believe it. Course, if he didn't treat ya like a dog every time ya disagreed with him, I might be more inclined to believe that he had your best interests at heart."

"Ah believe yah ge'in' Lucien confused with Reese, deahhaht," Elaine said as her eyes narrowed. "An' anyway, how Lucien treats meh is none of yah bus'ness."

"It's only my business because I love you and I don't like seein' anyone I care about get treated that way," Aria shot back. "If I didn't care so much about you, I wouldn't get so worked up about it. Why do you think I get so pissed off at Duncan when he makes a jackass comment about Richie or when he says something about you?"

Elaine almost imperceptibly sank in her chair. "Then weh won' discuss him any moah, an' yah won' get sah upset. 'Sides, if he was as bad as yah think, would he have bought meh mah own lan' an' tol' meh tah build whatevah kind of house Ah wan'ed?"

"Depends, did he do it out of the kindness of his heart or did he do it buy ya off?" Aria asked.

"He did it fah meh," the blonde insisted. "Because Ah'm his responsibilitay. Y'all should beh glad he gave it tah meh. Ah was able tah feed sev'ral fam'lays dahrin' the height of the Depression an' since it didn' cos' neahlay what anyone expected, Ah was la'ah able tah give Lou 'n' Ednah theah own house fah a weddin' present."

Richie nearly did a spit take. "You mean...?"

"This is the house Mama 'Laine gave us," Lou nodded. "Now you know why I wanted to find the right people to sell it to."

"This is the place Ah bough' yah?" Elaine asked. "Intahrestin'."

"No wonder this place felt so right," Aria snickered. "Great Mother but Andraven does love to throw the occasional twist in m'path."

"Who?" Lou asked.

Oops. "Um, well, Lou, m'Immortality ain't the only thing I didn't tell ya about," Aria answered, trying to figure out how to best breech the subject. "To put it bluntly, I'm what ya'd call a pagan. I'm the last Daughter of Andraven, a religious culture of warrior women who worshipped a warrior mother goddess named Andraven."

"Really?" Lou's eyes brightened. "Non-Christian religions happen to be a passion of mine."

Three pairs of eyes stared at him.

"What?" he said. "You guys got any idea how boring it was looking after Elaine's place during the day?"

Aria laughed even harder. "All this time, I've been hidin' all this stuff from you. Why the bloody hell did I even bother?"

"Beats me," Lou shrugged.

Aria shook her head, trying to recover from laughing fit. "Well, Lou, I doubt you ever came across us in your research," she said. "Unfortunately, the male dominated world we live in saw fit to have the Andravens struck from the history books. And what little of us remains kinda got mixed up with the Amazons."

Lou surprised them all again. "Amazons? You were grouped in with the Amazons? It's just that I always imagined Mama 'Laine as an Amazon so they've always been a favorite of mine. Not that you can find much on them."

"Well, no offense, but 'Laine here is a little on the short side to be an Amazon," Aria teased. "Course, I'm a little on the short side to be an Amazon, so it's not like I can say much." She leaned over and gave the blonde a quick kiss before she could complain. "It mainly just came from bein' a culture full of warrior women. Since most history books were written by men, they sorta cut us out of the picture and decided one group of warrior women was the same as the next. And while the Daughters share some similarities, we're different in a lot of ways."

"Like what?" Lou asked, curious.

"Well, for starters, we don't go around cuttin' our boobs off just to improve our aim with a bow and arrow," Aria answered. "Ya get the same effect from strappin' the suckers in good and tight and it don't hurt nearly as much."

Richie tried to think of Aria boobless and failed. Impossible. Not going to go there. They were too important, he liked them too much. "I think I'm glad you're not an Amazon," he said.

"Men," Aria groaned, rolling her eyes.

"It's not jus' men, Shalla," Elaine chimed in. "Ah'm alsah fond of thse pahticulah featuahs of yah anatomay."

Aria shook her head. "I'm just not gonna win this particular argument, am I?"

Her two lovers looked at each other, then at Aria. "Nope," they both said, then laughed.

Lou shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Richie asked. "Mama 'Laine," he explained. "I've seen her laugh before, like the time Callie put Bobbie's make-up on the dog, but you could always tell she was holding something back. She's not doing that anymore."

"Blabbahmouth," Elaine teased.

Richie grinned. "See? I told you we were good for you."

Elaine stuck her tongue out at him.

"Funny how she keeps doing that," Richie commented.

"Almost like she wants us to catch it or somethin'," Aria added.

"Are you guys like this all the time or are you just putting on a show for the old timer?" Lou asked.

"Pretty much," Aria answered. "And watch who you're callin' old timer around here, kid."

"Then you watch who you're calling a kid. Anyone who's had five children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren is no kid," Lou countered. "Unless you can beat that."

There was a small, awkward pause as Richie and Aria looked at each other.

"Um, Lou? Immahtals can' have children," Elaine told him. "Much as Ari 'n' Richay would have it othahwise. Howevah --" She practically jumped out of her chair and left the room.

"'Laine, where are you goin'?" Aria called after her.

"Wheah'd yah put the pictuahs?" the blonde called back. "Nevah mid, Ah found them."

She returned carrying a photo album.

"Lou, yah remembah how yah used tah tell meh Ah should've had children of mah own?" Elaine opened the album, flipped a couple of pages and handed it to Lou. "Take a look. Ain' she gahgeous?"

"I shoulda known," Aria laughed.

"Getting predictable, isn't she?" Richie added.

"Just wait until she tries to fix Nat up with one of your grandkids, Lou," Aria teased.

"An' what's wron' with that?" Elaine asked defensively. "Lahd knows Ah don' like hah da'in' Neeki. She desahves someone be'ah."

"Are you saying this because he's technically your brother or just because no one's good enough for your Nat?" Richie replied, teasingly.

"We don't mean anythin' by it, 'Laine," Aria said. "It's just you do such a three sixty whenever ya bring up Natalie that it's kinda funny."

"In case yah haven' fahgo'en, Neeki may beh mah brothah, but he's alsah a vampiah. Ignahrin' the fact that he's moah likelay tah kill hah the longah they keep seein' each othah, Ah wan' gran'children!" Elaine turned to Lou. "Ah don' suppose anay of those great gran'kids of yahs would happen tah beh boys, would they?"

"A few of them," Lou answered. "Only, considering the fact that they're all under the age of fifteen, I don't think you're Natalie would be interested. Pretty though she may be."

"Not fah Natalay." She turned the page to a young, blonde woman with an eleven or so year old girl beside her. Obviously, the two were mother and daughter. "Fah hah. That's Amay," she said, pointing to the girl.

"'Laine, she's just a wee lass," Aria said. "Don't ya think it's a bit soon to be findin' her a husband?"

Elaine shrugged. "Middle Ages, people used tah get marrahed when they was bahn. It was nice, in a way. No da'in' problems, an' when the kids reached pubah'ay, they alreaday knew who they could take it out on."

"But they don't do that now, 'Laine," Richie reminded her. "Shoot, when I was Amy's age I was too busy playing basketball to notice girls."

"Then maybeh it's time weh brough' it back," Elaine replied, then smiled. "Don' worrah, all Ah wan' tah do is introduce them. Ah couldn' whammay Amay if mah life depended on it."

"Thank the Goddess for her sake," Aria said, winking at her lover.

"Elaine, I'm sure Amy is a wonderful girl, but I sort of learned long ago to stay out of my children's love lives," Lou added. "And that goes for their kids and their kids too."

"Ah jus' found Nat 'n' Amay a few yeahs ago," Elaine answered, eyes narrowing. "Give meh time."

"Well, if it's any consolation, ya can always meddle in my love life some more," Aria replied pulling Elaine into her lap for a kiss.

"Mmmmm," the blonde snuggled. "Ah like it when yah do that."

"Now you know half the reason why I keep doing it," Aria teased.

"So tell us more about your house, Elaine," Richie suggested.

"Looking for decorating ideas?" Lou replied, grinning.

"Well, I am having trouble with Ari's bathroom," Richie laughed.

"What problem?" Aria replied. "All I asked for was a bathtub big enough for three."

"Is that why y'all wah in the gues' showah when Ah ahrived the othah night?" Elaine asked. "Weh became busay enough Ah fahgot tah ask."

Richie nodded. "I've got it all ripped up and the water turned off in there because we were waiting for the tub to arrive so I could install the damn thing," he explained. "I had no idea one piece of porcelain could be such a pain in the ass."

"If it's takin' too lon' tah get heah, Ah cn have the people who built mah house look intah it fah yah," Elaine offered. "They'ah ... verrah good at ge'in' othahs tah delivah on time."

"Well, it's here now, that's what I was working on when I accidently fried you," Richie replied sheepishly. "But, uh, wouldn't the guys who built your house be retired by now or something?"

"Not if they're like her, ya daft git," Aria pointed out.

"A'cahse they ah," Elaine laughed. "Who be'ah tah create a sunlight-proof residence then someone who alsh needs tah avoid the sun?"

There was a pause before she continued. "One of the thin's they specialize in these days is mechanical windah blinds that can onlay beh opened with a remote control," she said, looking at Richie through half-closed eyes.

Richie had the good sense to look ashamed. "I'll call 'em right after sundown," he promised.

"Ah think it'd beh be'ah if Ah call them," Elaine suggested. "Las' Ah hahd, Bennay was rathah pickay abou' who all he'd accep jobs from. He wouldn' daah refuse meh."

"Then definitely call them," Aria replied. "And be sure to have him do whatever it takes. This is your home too, 'Laine, and I want ya happy and safe here."

Elaine smiled at Lou. "Ain' they sweet?" she asked, yawning as she did. "Oh, excuse meh."

"Late night?" Lou asked.

"No moah then usual," she answered. "Ah'm jus' nahmallay asleep at this time. An' Ah spen' mos' of las' night lookin' fah some place tah sin' at."

"Why?" Aria asked. "Not that ya don't got a wonderful voice, 'Laine. I just didn't think ya'd want the publicity."

"That's one of the reasons it took meh sah lon'," Elaine answered. "Ah wan'ed a place that was small enough Ah wouldn' attract much attention, but was still makin' monay. Think Ah've found one, too. Called the Stahlight Club an' the main sin'ah's jus' abou' tah go on vacation. She doesn' know it yet, but she is."

Aria shook her head. "You're impossible, ya know that?"

"Sah yah keep tellin' meh. But Ah keep doin' it anyway," Elaine smiled.

"Good thing we love you that way," Richie teased.

"Yah keep tellin' meh that, too," she said, stifling another yawn.

"'Laine, why don't ya go back to bed?" Aria suggested.

"Yeah, there's no reason for you to be staying up on my account," Lou added.

"Yah probablay right," Elaine agreed. "Ah'll see yah tonight."

She kissed Aria, went over to Richie and kissed him, then turned to Lou. "An' yah, youn' man, behave yahself, oh Ah'll send yah tah bed without suppah!"

"Yes, Mama 'Laine," Lou said, standing up.

The two hugged, with Elaine standing on tiptoe to reach him. Then Elaine headed for bed.

"God, it was nice seeing her again," Lou said after she left. "You two have no idea how lucky you are."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Aria replied.

"Yeah, I think we've got a pretty good idea just how lucky we are, Lou," Richie added. "A pretty damn good idea."

"I remember the day I told her I was in love with her," Lou continued, sitting back down. "It was my eighteenth birthday and she wanted to know how come I'd never had a date. That was one thing about Mama 'Laine, I don't know how she did it, but she always had kept track of whatever us kids were up to. You should have been there the first time Laurie spent the whole night with her boyfriend."

"Elaine was upset about that?" Richie snickered.

Lou shook his head. "Only when Laurie tried to lie her way out of it and did a horrible job. No, she just wanted to make sure Laurie was in love with the guy and she didn't get pregnant or anything. She even offered to get Laurie some birth control, even though that was illegal unless you were married. And then," the seventy-five year old man paled, "she started giving Laurie advice."

Aria laughed. "Now that sounds more like our 'Laine," she said.

"So what happened when you told her you loved her?" Richie asked, curious.

There was a long pause. "She was ... real nice about it," Lou said finally. "I mean, she didn't laugh in my face or anything. She just sat me down and very carefully explained why it wouldn't work out. How she'd end up killing me and even if she didn't, she'd always stay thirty-three while I got older. So I asked her to make me like her."

"And?" Aria prompted, by now as curious as Richie.

"Turned me down flat. Said I was too innocent. Can you believe that? Too damn fuckin' innocent!" He slammed his fist down on the table, making the Immortals jump.

Aria gently touched his hand. "Lou, by her standards, ya are innocent," she pointed out. "Hell, by my standards you're innocent. That kinda blood on your hands, does strange things to a body if'n ya ain't prepared for it."

"Yeah, I realized that after Mama 'Laine told me about her mortal life," Lou agreed. "Did you know she killed someone when she was _ten_?"

"Saw it in her blood once," Aria explained, nodding. "And she only had me beat by five years."

"You were fifteen the first time?" Richie asked, surprised. He'd never heard about that.

Aria nodded again. "Yeah, but I don't like talkin' about it," she answered. "Besides, this is Lou's story."

Richie wasn't too crazy about letting it go, but he knew better than to pry. Aria could be as closed mouthed as Elaine, but she would tell him eventually. He just had to let her go at her own pace.

"So what happened after that, Lou?" he asked instead.

"Well, since I was about to enlist, and it looked like the US was about to go to war against Hitler, whether we liked it or not, we made a deal. If I saw combat, managed to live through it and still wanted to become a vampire, she would go about finding someone to make me one, since she wasn't sure she could do it herself," Lou explained.

"So what glitched things up?" Richie asked.

"Got shot," Lou said. "And the brass sent me to London to convalesce."

Aria grinned, figuring out where this was headed. "You didn't," she snickered.

Lou nodded, blushing a little. "Am I just a walking cliche or what?"

"What?" Richie asked, once again hating not getting it.

"You never watched many World War Two movies growin' up, did ya?" Aria replied. "Edna was Lou's nurse at hospital."

"Most beautiful vision I'd ever seen too, next to Mama 'Laine at any rate," Lou replied. "Plus now you know why I'm crazy about your accent, Aria."

"You married your nurse?" Richie repeated.

"Yep. Right in St. James Cathedral, believe it or not," the old man smiled. "Mama 'Laine arranged it after I wrote her. She even offered to fly the family in except we decided it was too dangerous. So Edna and I got married first in front of her family in England and then my family here. It was going great until Edna met Mama 'Laine."

"They didn't get along very well?" Aria asked.

"That's one way of putting it," Lou admitted. He dug his wallet out of his pocket and started flipping through it. "Did I ever show you two a picture of Edna and me before we got old?" Instead of waiting for their answer, he turned his wallet around and showed them something inside.

"Oh dear," Aria replied.

The picture was faded, but not enough that you couldn't see the images. It was of a young man in an army dress uniform with his arm around a young woman. The man was obviously Lou, but the woman looked a lot like a younger version of Elaine.

"Oh God," Richie agreed with Aria.

"Yeah," Lou agreed with both of them. "Edna took one look at Mama 'Laine and flipped."

"And Elaine?" Richie asked.

"She was too busy trying not to laugh."

"Sounds like her," Aria remarked.

"That upset Edna even more and it got worse when she found out I'd be working for Mama 'Laine and I'd be spending as much time with her as Edna," Lou continued. "It got so bad, Mama 'Laine had to have a 'talk' with her."

"Whammied her up but good, huh?" Aria asked.

Lou took on a hurt look. "Only enough so Edna wouldn't cause problems," he protested. "But that's why we never told her about Mama 'Laine. She wouldn't have understood."

"Lou, relax," Aria replied. "Unlike m'annoyin' brother, I ain't got a problem with Elaine's whammy. The thing'd come in damn handy sometimes when it comes to dealin' with m'sword or hidin' a battle or whatever."

"Brother?" Lou noticed. "If you can't have children, how can you have a brother? Or was he adopted?"

"Well, not bein' able to have children has absolutely nothin' to do with havin' siblin's," Aria pointed out. "I mean, just because I'm adopted it doesn't mean Momma couldn't have had other kids. But Duncan's more m'brother in a metaphysical sense. It's kinda like how Elaine's always referrin' to Nick as her brother. I've just known him for so long that I've gotten to thinkin' of him as family."

"Oh, you mean like how us kids have always thought of Mama 'Laine as being like our mother, even though our real mother died not long after Callie was born," Lou thought it through. "So, Richie, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Depends, do foster siblings count?" Richie replied.

Lou's face fell. "You were never adopted? A great kid like you?"

Richie shook his head. "Nope, not officially at any rate," he answered. "I mean, Duncan and Tessa all but did, but since I was eighteen by then, it wasn't legal."

"Too bad you weren't around here. We might have been a little on the old side, but Edna and I would have gladly taken you in," Lou said, scratching behind his ear.

"Yeah, I think that would have been nice," Richie smiled.

"And just think, you could have grown up knowing Mama 'Laine," the old man added.

Richie tried picturing that and just couldn't. "Somehow I just don't see that working," he laughed. "Besides, if you guys had adopted me, I would have met Elaine, but I never would have met Aria. And quite frankly I can't see my life without them both in it."

Lou's curiosity finally got the better of him. "If you don't mind my asking," he hesitatingly began, "do all three of you? At the same time?"

"Occasionally," Aria admitted. "It all sort of depends on which of us is around and who Raltra bites first."

"And you really let her kill you?" Lou continued.

"Well, it's not like she gives us much of a choice in the matter," Richie answered. "But it's not too bad. I mean, it's better than a lot of the other ways I've been offed and we do pop up again a little while later."

"Yeah, if ya gotta go," Aria added, laughing.

"What's it like?" was Lou's next question.

"Well, El's biting hurts a little at first, but after that, it's the most intimate and one of the most pleasurable experiences you've ever felt," Richie answered.

"And dyin's kinda dull and usually very painful," Aria added. "'Cept when 'Laine's the cause at any rate."

"Do either of you know -- will I see Edna?" Both the Immortals could see the unspoken question in Lou's eyes.

Aria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to figure out the best way to word her answer. "Well, I don't know about Richie, but I don't really go anywhere when I die now. The first time though, I was definitely headed somewhere. Andraven just changed m'mind for me," she answered. "However, I can tell ya that Andravens do believe in an afterlife and we even believe that sometimes your loved ones come back for a visit from time to time to look after ya. I know m'momma's with me. I'm not one of the lucky ones who can actually see ghosts, but I feel her presence all the time. So I'm pretty sure you'll find her again, assuming she ain't already here." Then she squeezed Lou's hand and smiled at him.

"Thanks," he said with relief. "That helps a lot. So, Richie, what'd'ya say we tackle that tub of yours?"

"Sounds like a plan," Richie answered. "I could definitely use the help."

"I only turned down your offer earlier 'cause I was tryin' to hide 'Laine from ya, Lou," Aria explained. "Forgive me?"

"Of course," Lou said. "I don't even blame you for not telling me about her when we first met since I know how secretive Mama 'Laine is. Not that I blame her."

"Then you won't mind keeping our secret too," Aria replied.

Lou became the picture of innocence. "Secret? And what secret would that be?"

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Aria laughed.

Richie finished the last of his milk and then stood up. "C'mon, Lou. 'Laine's probably asleep by now so we can get back to the tub."

"Yeah, she's used to my voice so I doubt I'll keep her awake," Lou agreed as he got up.

"And since I doubt we'll have the excuse of her being naked anymore, we better get started before the slave driver here cracks her whip," Richie added, winking at Aria.

"Funny," Aria replied as she slapped him on the butt. "Now get movin' or I'll skin ya where ya stand."

"See what I mean?" Richie teased. He gave her a quick kiss and then the two men headed upstairs.

Naturally, once the tub was completely installed, it had to be initiated. So Richie and Aria waited until Lou left, then woke Elaine, who was already showing signs of stirring.

"Oh Raltra," Aria sing-songed. "Wakey-wakey."

The blonde rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. "Go 'way."

So Richie gave it a shot. He reached under the sheet and began rubbing her neck. "Come on, 'Laine. Aren't you getting hungry?"

That earned him a purr, but nothing else. Aria's fingers soon joined his. "We've got something fun planned, 'Laine," she pointed out.

Elaine slowly opened her eyes and peeked out. "What kind of fun?

"Richie and Lou got the tub installed," Aria explained. "And since Lou's gone home...."

"We thought it should be broken in," Richie finished for her.

An idea with definite potential.

Smiling, Elaine rolled over on her back and held out her arms. "Carrah meh."

Aria snorted. "Aren't we the queen of Sheba," she teased.

"Yah queen of Sheba, meh Jane," Elaine shot back. "Ah wannah beh carrahed."

Richie and Aria looked at each other and shrugged. Then they grabbed Elaine, hauled into her the bathroom, and dumped her straight into the full bathtub.

The blonde disappeared under the suds. Richie and Aria were beginning to wonder if she was going to stay down there forever when she popped back up, spitting a mouthful of water at Richie. The shirt she had been wearing followed, smacking Aria in the face.

Aria grabbed the shirt and dropped it into the hamper. "That's what ya get for askin' to be carried," she replied sweetly.

"Yah wahn' sah advahse tah carrahin' meh the othah night," the blonde reminded them. "Fahgiven?" She held out her hands, one to each of the Immortals.

"Until you bit me in the ass," Richie reminded her. But they took her hands anyway.

Elaine yanked, pulling them into the tub. "Yah carrahed meh the wron' way," she said as soon as they surfaced.

"Oh you're gonna pay for that," Aria growled.

"Promises, promises," Elaine laughed.

"Promise this!" Aria tossed a handful of soapy bubbles at the blonde.

Elaine gave a screech and retaliated by slapping the water, splashing Aria.

Aria gave a much harder splash back, drenching the blonde again.

So Elaine promptly pushed her head under the water.

Aria grabbed Elaine and pulled her down under as well.

Fearing that things were about to get violent, Richie slipped between the two women and separated them. "Hey, you two, stop that. You're getting water all over the bathroom."

"Shall we?" Aria asked.

"Definatelay." Elaine smiled wickedly.

The smile was quickly matched by Aria, sending a chill down Richie's spine.

"Oh shit," Richie replied.

Aria barely perceptively nodded to Elaine and the two splashed, intending to soak Richie. Instead, he ducked and the women caught it.

While he was down, Richie did a little mischief-making of his own and first Elaine, then Aria found their legs pulled out from under them.

After that, it was all out war. Elaine drenched Richie, Aria splashed Elaine, Richie dunked Aria. Until there was more water outside the tub than in.

Then Elaine decided to play dirty. The next time someone, who just happened to be Richie, got her, she ducked under his arms, grabbed him by his ears and planted a kiss on his lips.

Caught off guard, Richie fell back against the wall of the tub. Then he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss.

The two lost interest in the water battle, their attentions caught up in an entirely different activity.

Aria sighed and turned the tap on, refilling the tub.

Taking Richie with her, Elaine rolled first into the corner, then into the back of the tub.

Grumbling to herself, Aria waited for just the right moment. Once the tub level had risen, she slapped the water hard, sending a spray right towards her lovers.

Only Elaine was no longer there, having picked that moment to disappear under the water. This left Richie to take the full force of the splash, right in the face. He didn't give the reaction Aria had hoped for, though, being more interested in what his other lover was doing.

Not having to breathe other than to talk, Elaine didn't have to worry about coming up for air. Nor did she have to worry about choking on any part of Richie's anatomy. She just licked, sucked and nibbled to Richie's heart's content.

Aria sighed again. This was just getting totally ridiculous.

Richie moaned, his hands tightly gripping the edges of the tub. Something was missing and he knew exactly who it was. "Aria!" he gasped.

"Well it's about bloody time ya remembered I existed," Aria replied as she headed over to him.

As soon as she was within range, Richie grabbed her and pulled her against him. His tongue entered her mouth, causing her to silently moan.

Aria pressed her body downward and found -- not what she expected. She looked and discovered she was sitting on Elaine's head.

"Okay, this is gonna be weird," she said.

"Don't ... worry," Richie panted. "'Laine ... doesn't ... breathe."

To distract her, Richie moved his hands around her body, down her back and across her front. He spent a considerable time at her breasts squeezing and massaging them in time with Elaine's licks and nips. Then Elaine reached up, groped around until she found one of his hands and moved it to between Aria's legs.

Aria moaned as Richie's fingers rubbed her clit. She pressed her body down, not quite sure of whether she was riding Richie or Elaine. It didn't matter, this was a ride that never could have happened without both of them.

Elaine's fangs scraped along Richie's cock, drawing blood and making him jump. His fingers slipped up into Aria, causing another, deeper, moan.

Hearing the sound through Richie's blood, Elaine decided she liked it, so she again nicked Richie, hoping for the same result.

And was rewarded by another deep moan from the English woman.

Aria pressed her knees against the wall of the tub under Richie's arm and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she kissed him passionately as her hips pushed down on his fingers.

The three settled into an easy rhythm of Elaine sucking and nipping Richie, Richie rubbing and kissing Aria and Aria kissing and licking every part of Richie she could reach.

The pace increased as Richie thrust into Elaine's mouth, matching the motion with Aria.

Aria kissed Richie as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She began to suck on it, unconsciously mimicking Elaine's actions on his dick.

It was too much for the young Immortal. Richie came with such a force that his body vibrated, triggering Aria's own orgasm. They held each other tightly as they cried out their ecstasy.

Pouting at the loss of her play toy, Elaine sank her fangs into his thigh. Hot blood poured into her mouth, flavored by Richie's climax. She kept drinking, needing the blood to finish healing, until Richie's eyes closed and he died.

Aria untangled herself from her lover's dead body as she came down from her own orgasm. "That's the only thing about this," she sighed.

A hand reached up out of the water, pushing at the warrior's hip.

"That's what ya get for goin' down there," Aria pointed out as she moved to the other side of the tub.

A stream of water arced towards her, followed by Elaine's head rising out of the water. "What?"

"I said, that's what ya get for goin' down there," Aria repeated.

The blonde shrugged. "Ah was havin' fun. An' it's not like yah all that heavay tah meh."

"Then don't bitch about me sittin' on your pretty little head," Aria teased.

"Ah wasn' complainin'," Elaine said defensively, misinterpreting what Aria had said. "Ah jus' wan'ed tah get up. Got a crick in mah back." She proceeded to stretch, cat-like, loosening up her vertebrae.

Aria gave a very appreciative whistle.

The blonde looked down at the objects of Aria's affection. "Not bad fah all that they've been chewed on, ah they? Nice thin' abou' the vampiah, it put ev'rythin' back in its propah place excep' mah maidenhead. Even got rid of mah stretchmahks."

Aria shrugged. "To an Andraven, stretchmarks are a badge of honor, somethin' to be proud of," she replied. "Sometimes I really get pissed that I can't grow old. On the other hand, some of the side benefits are worth it." She winked at the blonde.

"Reallay?" Elaine asked. "That was always one of the thin's Ah was lookin' fahwahd tah when Ah became a vampiah."

"Elaine, when ya live by the sword, dyin' of old age isn't always an option," Aria answered. "If'n you're one of the lucky ones who gets that chance, then it's somethin' to be proud of. One of our oldest sayin's is 'any idiot can die young, only a true warrior gets to die of old age.' Plus, you were older when ya died. When I was mortal, twenty was kinda old, but now I keep gettin' treated like a kid. I think it's one of the reasons I love Richie so much, he understands what that's like. It'd be nice to be able to have some of the years and wisdom I've managed to live to acquire showin' up on m'face."

"Oh shoah, make meh feel like an' ol' woman," the blonde pouted. "But even if Ah didn' live by the sahd, Ah was still luckay tah make it as fah as Ah did. Almos' died twice when Ah was pregnan'."

She looked around the bathroom, discovering the results of their play. "Lahday, what a mess."

"That's what ya get for startin' a splash fight," Aria replied. Then she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. "And 'Laine, you are not an old woman. And even if ya were, I wouldn't love ya any less." Then she kissed her lover passionately. "Should we wait for Richie or start cleanin' up ourselves?"

Elaine almost blushed. "Ah'm afraid Richay's not goin' tah beh wakin' up fah a while. Ah killed him a bit moah then Ah had intended tah. 'Sides, men nevah clean anythin' right."

"True," Aria agreed. "Men ain't good for much of anythin', 'cept that one important thing." Then she winked at Elaine. "C'mon, let's dry off and I'll try and see if I can remember where I put the mop."

"All righ'." The blonde got to her feet and helped Aria up. "Wheah do yah keep yah towels?

"Cupboard over there," Aria answered, cocking her head to the right.

The two women got out and started cleaning up the water. A few minutes later, Elaine realized something.

"Wheah's Richay?" she asked.

"In the tub, silly," Aria answered. "You killed him and we left him there, remember?"

Elaine tugged on Aria's arm, pointed to the tub full of suds and water and repeated. "Wheah's Richay?"

"He's supposed to be in the tub," Aria replied. "But he's not in the tub. Where is he?"

"He couldn've go'en pas' us," Elaine noted. "Sah that means...."

"Uh-oh," Aria said.

They returned to the tub and checked. Sure enough, there was Richie, still dead, under the water.

"Cute, ain' he?" Elaine remarked.

"Down right adorable," Aria agreed. "You want to get the camera or shall I?"

"Yah be'ah do it. The onlay time Ah evah used a cam'rah," Elaine paused, "mos' of it isn' verrah cleah."

Aria shrugged. "Whatever, just make sure he doesn't start floatin' towards the surface while I'm gone."

So Elaine sat down on the edge of the tub and placed her feet on Richie's chest while Aria fetched the camera.

Aria shook her head as she came back in. "I didn't mean it quite so literal there, love," she replied.

"Then yah should've said sah," Elaine said, removing her legs and getting up. "Ah'm too used tah the way Lucien does thin's."

"What am I gonna do with you?" Aria sighed. She quickly snapped a couple of pictures and then grinned. "There, these oughta come in handy the next time he's bein' a stinker."

"Yah know what yah cn do with meh," the blonde answered. "Don' yah think weh should beh ge'in' him out an' dried off?"

"Depends, is he startin' to prune up yet?" Aria asked.

Elaine reached in and picked up one of Richie's hands. "He's stah'in' tah bloat."

Aria put the camera down on the shelf above the sink. "Give me a hand then," she answered. "We can hang him over the side of the tub at least."

Handing the limb she was holding to Aria, Elaine got on the edges of the tub and grabbed his other arm.

Aria turned to the blond. "On three, right?"

"A'cahse. One."

"Two."

"Three."

The two women pulled and lifted Richie out of the tub.

"Bloody hell," Aria heaved. "As soon as he wakes up, we're puttin' him on a diet."

Elaine held him up while Aria grabbed a towel and dried him off. "He ain' heavay," she smiled. "He's mah lovah."

Aria burst out laughing. "That is terrible!"

"Then yah shouldn've set meh up sah nicelay," Elaine teased back.

"I swear, between you and Richie it's gonna be a race to see who makes me lose m'mind first," Aria replied.

"An' what's wron' with that?" Elaine asked. "'Sides, since Richay was the las' one of yah Ah bit, he's wheah Ah'm ge'in' mos' of it from."

"Well, I figure it's a good idea for one of us to at least be able to pass as sane," Aria replied, grinning.

Elaine returned the grin. "Ah'll whammay anyone who says anythin' agains' us. Move him tah the bed?"

"Sounds like a plan," Aria answered. "And I mean that in both respects."

"Ooh, twice the respect," Elaine said, hopping down and catching Richie before he fell. "Ah guess Ah don' have tah worrah abou' how yah'll feel abou' meh in the mahnin', do Ah?"

"Nope," Aria teased. "I'll respect ya in the mornin', the afternoon, the evenin', and any other time ya can think of, Raltra."

"Tea time?" Elaine asked.

"Yep," Aria answered, helping Elaine put Richie into a more comfortable carrying position.

"Dinnah time?"

The two moved into the bedroom.

"Yep."

"Bed time?"

"Yep."

"Good." Elaine set Richie down on the bed and turned back to Aria. "'Cause that makes one of us," she teased.

"Oh you're gonna pay for that," Aria shot back.

"Ah am, huh," the blonde dared her to try anything.

"Yeah, you are," Aria challenged.

"Try it, Ah daah yah."

Aria got that wicked gleam in her eye and the matching grin that usually sent Richie running for cover. "With pleasure." Then she pounced, tickling the blonde.

Elaine gave a screech and grabbed the pillow from under Richie's head. She hit her lover with it and when that had no effect except to make Ari tickle harder, hit her again.

Increasing her attack, Aria pushed Elaine onto the bed and on top of Richie.

Whether caused by Elaine's sudden presence, or it just being the right time, Richie jerked awake. "Hey!"

"Do you mind?" Aria huffed. "Elaine and I are tryin' to have a little fun here."

"Again?" he asked. "Didn't you get enough in the tub?"

"An' heah Ah thought it was Richay ge'in' enough in the tub," Elaine teased.

"Not that kind of fun," Aria answered. "Just because you think with your pelvic region doesn't mean we all do."

"I do not!" Richie protested. "Most of the time, anyway."

"Right, the other half ya think with your stomach," Aria replied. "Course, in 'Laine's case, that's pretty much the same thing."

"Moah fun that way," the blonde shrugged.

"Remind me again why I woke up," Richie sighed.

"'Sides, it ain' jus' nahrishmen' Ah get from y'all," Elaine added, ignoring him. "Ah get othah thin's, too."

"Yeah, I know," Aria replied. "That memory thing is still takin' some gettin' used too."

"That's paht of the nahrishmen'," the blonde corrected. "Ah was refahrin' tah ah emotions an' the like."

"You pick up on that kind of stuff too?" Aria asked, intrigued. "I mean, I know Diana does, but I thought that was because she's an empath."

"It's a li'le moah complicated in mah case," Elaine slowly answered. "Ah need yah emotions in ahdah tah feel anythin'."

"What do you mean?" Aria asked, confused.

When Elaine didn't answer, not knowing how, Richie did.

"Being a vampire makes it hard for Elaine to feel some things," he explained. "Like love and happiness and the like. Or at least that's what she told me."

Aria sighed. "Sometimes I'm rather thankful our Immortality is so much simpler," she said.

"Sometimes," Elaine agreed. "But Ah like bein' a vampiah be'ah."

"True," Aria replied. "After all, you don't have to worry about everybody ya meet tryin' to chop your head off."

"An' yah nevah alone," the blonde added.

"Alone is definitely not fun," Aria agreed.

"Ah hate bein' alone," Elaine said.

"I thought that's what you guys had me for," Richie teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Fah the mos' paht," Elaine agreed, smiling wickedly.

"When ya can actually make it through the event," Aria added.

"Very funny," Richie shot back sarcastically.

"Well, yah do have a ... limi'ed attention span at times," Elaine teased.

"Hey, I wouldn't have had any trouble if you hadn't killed me," Richie replied.

"It's yah own fault," Elaine pouted.

"It is?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "Yah taste too good. Ah can' help mahself."

Aria laughed. "She's got ya there, Richie."

Richie reached out, grabbed Aria and pulled her down. "And I've got you."

"What're ya gonna do with me?" Aria challenged.

"Just this." Richie took the pillow from Elaine and hit the warrior with it.

The night of the appointment with Marcus, Elaine decided she wanted to fly there.

Aria had never flown before. At least, not without a plane.

The warrior woman let out a snort. "Not a chance in hell!" she snapped.

"Why not?" Elaine pouted.

"Because you're not the one who could end up a wee red stain on the ground if'n she got dropped!" Aria shot back.

That hurt. "Ah can' believe yah said that. Shalla, Ah'd _nevah_ drop yah. But since yah feel that way abou' it, fahget Ah evah brough' up the ideah. It's jus', the Ci'ay is sah romantic when seen from up above an' Ah wan'ed tah show it tah yah an' {sniff}"

Aria sighed. "'Laine, if it means that much to ya...."

"No, Ah don' wan' tah heah anothah wahd," Elaine continued. "Ah'll go an' get the keys tah the Cadday, even though theah's no pahkin' fah blocks, sah weh'll have tah wahk theah...."

"Raltra...."

"An' it's in the Tendahloin, sah the Cadday will probablay get stolen an' weh'll get mugged, but at least they can' kill us, not pahmanen'lay, anyway, an' Ah'll get a meal out of it, sah it won' beh a total waste, an'...."

"Raltra...."

"Not tah mention Mahcus' studio is at the top of the buildin' an' theah's no eleva'ah, sah weh'll have tah walk the fifteen flights of staahs, an' ....

"If ya shut up, I'll let ya fly me there, okay?" Aria had the feeling she was going to regret saying that, but -- anything to get Elaine to stop talking.

On the other hand, Elaine usually made it worthwhile to give in to her.

The vampire threw her arms around the older woman and spent several minutes kissing her. "Yah won' regret this, Shalla, Ah promise," she said in between kisses. "Yah'll enjoy ev'ry minute of it."

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria noticed the smirk on Richie's face and began to realize just how successfully Elaine managed to manipulate her.

"You're a bitch, ya know that?"

"Yup," Elaine agreed. "But admit it, yah wouldn' love meh have as much if Ah wasn'."

"Well...."

Elaine kissed her again.

"All right, you win," Aria laughed. "So what do I need ta do?"

Elaine led Aria down to the middle of the beach in the back yard and left her there, explaining how she liked to "get a runnin' staht when Ah'm carrahin' someone biggah then meh."

A running start? Aria wasn't too sure she liked the sound of that. She was just about to go inside when there was a rush of air and a pair of arms scooped her up.

Three hundred seventy-two years old and Aria discovered something new about herself.

She was afraid of heights.

Sure, she'd been in planes before and on the tops of skyscrapers before, but there had always been something under her feet before.

Now only a pair of arms belonging to a rather small woman prevented her from plunging thousands of feet to her death.

This wasn't natural, this wasn't right, and she wanted off.

A voice under her arm mumbled something.

Aria realized she had her arms in a death-grip around Elaine's neck and somehow managed to loosen them -- a little.

"What?"

"Ah said, weh'ah onlay a couple hundred feet in the aah," Elaine repeated. "Give oh take."

"Give or take?"

"This is San Franciscah," the blonde explained. "The hills make it hahd tah estimate."

That made Aria feel so much better. Not.

"Would yah please relax, Shalla?" Elaine continued. "Yah not makin' it anay easayah fah meh. Ah'm not gon' tah drop yah an' even if Ah did, Ah'd probablay beh able tah catch yah befoah yah hit the ground."

"Thanks." Aria wasn't sure if she believed her, but she did relax a bit.

It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again.

"Aria?"

"What?"

"Open yah eyes."

Aria did -- and the sight took her breath away.

"Gahgeous, isn' it?" Elaine said. "That's one of the reasons Ah wan'ted tah take yah this way. Verrah few people get tah see the Ci'ay like this. Han' on, weh'ah goin' down."

The landing wasn't quite as bad as the take-off. At least Aria was expecting it this time.

Elaine slowly swooped down, straightening herself at the last moment. Then she lowered herself to the rooftop and let Aria climb down.

Aria spent the next several minutes kissing the ground. Elaine found this hysterical.

"Don' get too carrahed away, Shalla," she told her, trying very hard not to laugh. "Weh'ah not theah yet."

The brunette glared up at her. "More flying?"

"Ah'm afraid sah. Sahrah."

"Then why'd we stop here?"

"Because weh need tah talk an' since Ah know yah not goin' tah like some of the thin's Ah have tah say, Ah wan'ed tah get yah wheah yah couldn' throw anythin'," Elaine explained.

"What kinda things?"

"Dishes, glasses, silvahwaah...."

"No, I mean what do ya want ta say ta me?" Aria corrected.

"Oh, that." Of course Elaine had known what Aria had meant. But she wanted to distract Aria from her love-fest with the roof.

Elaine scratched her head, wondering where to begin. "Yah've nevah met any othah vampiahs, have yah? Besides Diana, that is," she quickly added. "Since Di's a recluse, she doesn' reallay count.

"Weh tend tah beh an ahrogan' lot," she continued. "Mos' of us think of mahtals as food an' not much else. The onlay ones Ah know of who don' ah Diana an' mah brothah, Neeki."

"And yourself," Aria interrupted.

"If Ah wan'ed tah include mahself, Ah would have," Elaine said, glaring at her. "Ah have a few exceptions, that's all. Which brin's meh tah how yah goin' tah beh seen."

"Which is?" Aria crossed her arms over her chest, already convinced that whatever came out of her lover's mouth, she wasn't going to like it.

"As, um, mah pet."

"Your pet," Aria repeated. "Is that how you think of me?"

"The truth?" What a stupid question. Of course Aria wanted the truth. "Sometimes," Elaine admitted. "Mos'lay when Ah'm away. Befoah yah staht yellin', may Ah try tah explain?"

Aria glared at her, but didn't say anything.

"Bein' a vampiah comes complete with its own mahral dilemma," Elaine said. "How do yah kill a human bein' night aftah night tah sahvive? Not killin' is not an option -- yah eithah do it oh the vampiah takes ovah an' yah kill anyway. But one way of the othah, weh'ah goin' tah do it, an' that's what weh have tah deal with.

"Some of us, like Diana, nevah get used tah it. An' yah saw what she's like.

"At the othah end of the spectrum ah those who take tah killin' sah well they lose all sense of propahtion an' have tah beh destroyed befoah they reveal ah presence tah the wahld.

"Fah the rest of us, weh solve it by se'in' ahselves apaht from mahtals. Aftah all, weh ah supahriah tah them. Weh'ah strongah, fastah, smahtah, weh live fahevah. Besides, mahtals all die soonah oh la'ah anyway, does it reallay ma'ah why?

"Mahself, Ah see us moah as caahtakahs. It is ah job tah pick off the weak 'n' the eldahlay an' tah keep the population down. But then, Ah was raised moah on Dahwin then the Bible."

"So where does bein' a pet come in?" Aria asked. She really wasn't liking the path this conversation was taking. She knew she couldn't really judge Elaine by her own set of moral standards. Hell, she couldn't judge most people by Andraven standards. But hearing her love talk about human beings the way the warrior woman used to talk about deer was not sitting well with her.

"Like any good fahmah will tell yah, theah ah those animals yah raise fah food, an' those yah raise fah othah reasons," Elaine answered. "Occasion'lay, a vampiah will fahm a attachmen' tah cah'ain mahtals. An' the ones who live become ah pets."

"Like me and Richie," Aria said.

Elaine smiled. "Actuallay, Ah was thinkin' moah of Lou 'n' Joe. Yah 'n' Richay Ah think of as anothah type of vampiah, onlay yah don' drink bood an' yah eat 'n' cn go out in the sun 'n' all that. If that makes any sense tah yah.

"That's what Ah think of yah when Ah'm heah, anyway," she continued. "Thin's get muddled the longah Ah'm away."

"Then maybe ya should stick around more," Aria suggested.

"It'd beh nice," Elaine agreed. "Unfahtunatelay, Ah have too manay responsibilitays elsewheah. Maybeh some day.

"Howevah," the blnode returned to the previous topic, "what Ah think abou' yah doesn' ma'ah right now. What ma'ahs is how othah vampiahs will see yah. Which is as mah pet."

She took Aria's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. "Ah haven' tol' anyone abou' Immahtals. Not Neeki, not Nat, not Simon, not anyone. Lucien knows, because Ah can' keep secrets from him, but that's it. An' Ah intend tah keep it that way. Franklay, Ah'm not shoah how mos' of us would handle the knowledge.

"Anay vampiah weh meet is goin' tah think yah mahtal. An' that's goin' tah get yah a lot of condescension," she said. "A few of them know yah know abou' vampiahs an' that's goin' tah ahn yah even moah condescension. Pah'lay from meh. When in Rome, an' all that.

"Ah have no right tah ask this, but Ah need yah tah take whatevah is said without ba'in' an eye," Elaine asked. "Ignoah what weh'ah sayin' an' fah God's sake, don' talk back. Because if it even looks like Ah don' have yah completelay undah mah thumb, yah'll beh seen as a dangah tah the Communitay an' Ah'll beh fahced tah take caah of yah.

"Ah don' wan' tah do it, an' Ah'll ahgue as lon' as Ah can, but if the Enfahcahs ahdah it, Ah will kill yah."

"What makes ya think ya could kill me?" Aria snorted.

"What makes yah think Ah couldn'?" Elaine shot back. "Take a swin' at meh, Ah daah yah."

Aria took a half-hearted swing at Elaine. After all, she didn't want to hurt the smaller woman.

Elaine casually batted it aside. "Oh, come on. Shoahlay yah cn do be'ah then that."

The next swing was a little more on target.

This time, Elaine waited until the last second and just stepped aside. "Trai agin."

Aria's third, fourth and fifth attempts also failed -- and Elaine had yet to put any effort into it.

"Ah yah shoah yah a wahiah, Shalla?" Elaine taunted. "'Cause Ah have yet tah see anay proof of it."

That did it. Now Aria was pissed. She swung at Elaine, fully intent on killing her.

Aria's anger was what Elaine had been waiting for. Instead of ducking the blade like she had been, the vampire stepped under it, grabbing Aria's sword hand in a casual, yet iron grip.

Aria stared at the creature in front of her. This was not the Elaine she was familiar with. Her eyes were cold, ruthless, with more than a hint of madness in them.

This Elaine was a monster.

The monster spoke. "Ah know yah don' trust meh. Yah right, yah know. Yah should _nevah_ trust meh. Right now, Ah could crush yah hand sah badlay, the bones would beh powdah. In five seconds, Ah could have yah sahd in pieces. Make no mistake, if it evah came down tah it, Ah will kill yah. Ah don' wan' tah. Yah a pah' of meh now an' losin' yah would haht moah then yah could possiblay imagine, but Ah would sahvive it. Ah will always sahvive. Ah will do whatevah it takes tah sahvive. Yah have limits. Ah don'. That is the diff'rence between us. Nevah fahget it."

Some of the humanity returned to Elaine's eyes and she shifted her grip, running her hand along the edge of the sword. Then she held out the bloody palm as a peace offering.

"Now that that's all se'led, cn weh go back tah bein' friends?" the blonde asked.

Aria used Elaine's momentarily dropped guard to her advantage. She knocked the blonde to the ground and sat on her, pinning her there with her the edge of her sword to her lover's neck.

"First, you get one thing straight," Aria hissed, fire blasting behind her eyes. "I may not be a cold-blooded killer, but I will do whatever it takes to survive until after I have completed m'destiny. I don't want to be the last, but I do want to survive. I love you, 'Laine, but if I have to rip your bloody heart out with m'bare hands to ensure m'survival, I'll do it. And if you ever do something like this again, I'll stake your arse to the nearest cross and leave you to sunrise."

Aria sheathed her sword, took Elaine's hand, and licked away the blood, her anger gone just as quickly as it came. "However, if'n ya ever want to teach me that move, Raltra, I'd appreciate it," she said. "Might come in handy when I'm facin' somebody taller 'en me. Or was it a purely vampire thing?"

Elaine hated being thrown on her back -- it tended to panic her. Too many memories of it happening from her mortal days.

Her usual method of dealing with it was to attack whoever was on top. But she didn't want to start another fight now that she and Aria had made their peace.

Besides, something Aria said had caught her attention.

"Yah reallay love meh?" she asked in a small voice.

Aria started, surprised that Elaine thought that she even had to ask that. "Of course I love you, Elaine," she answered. "You and Richie mean more to me than just about anyone or anything. Hell, if I didn't love ya do ya think I'd put up with ya so bloody much?" That last comment was made with a very flirtatious smile.

"Good," Elaine agreed. "Because theah's somethin' Ah fahgot tah tell yah abou' flyin'."

"What?" Aria asked.

The blonde wrapped her hand in Aria's hair and pulled her down for a kiss.

"It makes meh reallay, reallay hahnay."

Elaine rolled over, pushing the other woman onto her back. She pulled Aria's arms over the warrior woman's head and then held them there with one hand while the other trailed down the muscular body. She fondled Aria's breasts for awhile through the fabric of her blouse before moving down to the button on her jeans.

"Now yah know why Ah don' like pants, Shalla," she mumbled between buttons. "Damn thin's become damn incovenien' at times."

Buttons undone, she forced her hand inside Ari's panties. It was a tight fit, but her fingers did manage to find the folds between the other woman's legs. Ruthlessly, almost methodically, she pushed one finger in and began rubbing.

Aria's hips bucked forward as she let out a deep moan.

Elaine smiled. Sometimes Aria was as easy to get off as Richie. "Like that, do yah?" she mumbled, nuzzling Ari's neck.

"Yes, oh Goddess, yes," Aria answered.

"How 'bou' this?" Elaine added a second finger.

Aria's response was inarticulate at best, but definitely very positive.

The spell of the vampire wrapped around the women, magnifying everything Aria felt. Elaine's fingers moved faster and faster within her, pushing Aria past the level of endurance.

Aria leaned her head back and cried out again and again with each wave of pleasure. Another, final, wave hit and Elaine's fangs sank into her neck. Her life force flowed out of her and into Elaine and then there was nothing.

Aria opened her eyes to find Elaine staring down at her.

"Yah all right?" the blonde asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Aria answered. "What happened?"

"Ah glammed yah," Elaine said. "Ah should've wahned yah, Ah don' take kindlay tah bein' thrown on mah back."

"Don't piss me off that much again and it shouldn't be a problem," Aria teased.

Elaine sighed. "Aria, it may not sound like it, but Ah am tryin' tah save yah life. Even if yah manage tah get past meh, which Ah'll a'mit is highlay possible, since yah do have a way of distractin' meh." She paused to fondle Aria's left breast. "Yah'll nevah get pas' the Enfahcahs. Noboday can fight the Enfahcahs. An' Ah won' even beh able tah help yah, because in all likelayhood, Ah'll beh dead. Sah it's both ah necks on the line. Now would yah please promise tah behave?"

"Ya know, I really don't like where all this is goin'," Aria replied. "I mean what's next, a leash and dog collar?"

"A'cahse not! That would imply Ah couldn' control yah without 'em. 'Sides," Elaine's eyes took on a mischievous twinkle. "Ah'm savin' them tah put on Richay the fahs' time weh go club hoppin'."

Aria snorted, losing some of her anger. "You're impossible, ya know that?" she laughed.

"'Cahse Ah am," Elaine laughed. "That's why yah love meh."

Aria smiled. "Yeah, love, that it is," she replied. "That it is."

This time, Aria handled the flight a lot better. She didn't enjoy it, but she also didn't freak out.

Elaine landed next to a door marked 'Stairs,' allowing the Immortal to disembark.

"Remembah," she whispered so softly Aria could barely hear her. "Keep yah tempah, don' lie an' do take offense at anythin' Mahkay oh Ah say. An' hopeflllay weh cn get out of heah with ah necks intact."

She placed a hand on the doorknob, then turned back to Aria. "An' if it helps, remembah Ah love yah."

There was a small pause as Elaine realized something. "Ah'm ge'in' be'ah at sayin' that, ain' Ah? Maybeh theah's hope fah meh yet."

A short kiss, and the two headed down the stairs.

Elaine rapped on the door and opened it. "Mahcus?"

"Hang on, dear. I'm just finishing the chapter," a tenor voice called out.

Aria peered over the blonde's shoulder. It was a typical fashion designer's studio. Over on one wall was a bulletin board lined with sketches of figures. Several sewing machines and a cabinet full of bolts of fabrics and sewing notions filled another. A couch was pushed against the third wall, with a man reading a book lying on it. Aria thought she recognized the cover. Great Mother, please, not that one! 'Laine'll never let me hear the end of it. And in the center was a large table, covered in cork.

The two women stood silently by the door, waiting for Marcus to finish his reading. Finally, the vampire put down his book and went over to them. He was a little shorter than Aria, the warrior noted, and slightly on the pudgy side. No vampire was ever overweight, but Marcus came close. His short dark brown head of hair had a huge bald spot in the middle which was made up for by a mustache and beard lining the edges of his face. As expected, he was impeccably dressed, black trousers and a black shirt with blue stripes and a Nehru collar.

"Mahcus, Dahlin'!" Elaine said, entering the room.

"Elaine!" he squealed.

Aria watched as the two vampires gushed. First they held hands, then kissed each other's cheeks, then hugged. Not the way Elaine usually hugged, though. The two stood a foot apart, with only their upper bodies touching. A beautiful people-type hug.

"How's my favorite inspiration?" Marcus asked.

"How do Ah look?" Elaine took a step back and slowly turned.

Marcus clapped his hands together. "Elaine, you've been feeding! If I didn't know better, I'd think you've gained weight!"

"Mah-cus!" the blonde pouted.

"Now don't get your knickers in a twist, on you it looks good." He turned towards Aria. "Still playing the generous hostess, I see."

"Ev'ryboday needs a hobbay," Elaine shrugged off-handedly. "This is Aria. She needs a new wahdrobe sah Ah cn show hah off."

"And I was so hoping you'd bring that pretty boy of yours," Marcus sighed. "What was his name, Dickie?"

"It's Richay an' yah know verrah well why Ah didn' brin' him. Yah tried tah take him away from meh las' time," she pouted. "Don' yah have enough boys of yah own tah play with?"

"Had, dear. I lost the last one to AIDS last year." He flamboyantly wiped away a non-existent tear.

"Oh, Ah'm sahrah," Elaine said. "Ah hate when that happens. But someone always comes alon' la'ah, an' then yah find yahself fallin 'all ovah again, don' yah?"

"If my heart can stand it. I was absolutely devastated when I lost Franklin." He waved the thought aside. "Never mind. Let's take a look at your friend."

Aria found herself being grabbed by the hands and pulled into the room. The fashion designer slowly walked around her. "Not bad. A little on the skinny side, perhaps, but I can work with it," he decided. "All right, dear. Off with the clothes."

"Excuse me?" Aria asked. Oh she was not liking this. "And I thank ya to be watchin' your hands there, ducks. I don't even let 'Laine touch me there."

"Aria," Elaine warned.

Aria switched over to Andraven. "I do not like any of this, Elaine," she hissed. "I'm a warrior, not a bleedin' dress dummy!"

"Aria, please!" Elaine snapped back in the same language. "All he wants to do is see what you look like without clothes. Don't worry, he's not interested in you, believe me. Now please don't embarrass me and do what he says."

"That's not m'problem, Raltra, and you know it," Aria hissed. Finally she switched back to English as she started to untie her boots. "Look, it's nothin' personal and it's not like I've never been to a dressmaker before or whatever ya prefer to be called. I'm just not used to one who's so ... direct."

"Impetuous little thing, isn't she?" Markie laughed. "Obviously you've never been to an artiste before, dear."

"Well, I did spill a drink on Calvin Klein once, but that was only because Naomi Campbell tripped me." Aria took off her boots and then went to her shirt. "So I guess maybe you're right."

"Calvin Klein?" Markie repeated, suddenly all eyes and ears. "You've met Calvin Klein?"

"Yah jus' had tah mention CK, didn' yah, Shalla?" Elaine groaned. "Now weh'll nevah heah the end of it. Mahkay's had a crush on him fah the las' twentay yeahs."

"Oh hush," Marcus told her. "Like you've never lusted after anyone."

"True," the blonde admitted. "But as least Ah have the sense not tah make it a public figuah."

"As if I had a choice. The man is simply to die for." He turned back to Aria. "Ignore her, she's just jealous. No, don't drop them on the floor. Hand your clothes to Elaine and she'll take care of them. Now tell me all about meeting CK."

Elaine folded the clothes neatly and set them in a pile on the couch. Then she set about trying to find some means of distracting herself. Aria wasn't deliberately posing, but the sight of her standing there naked while Marcus measured her was still getting to the blonde.

The book Marcus had been reading caught her attention. Especially the title and cover art.

"Blade of the MacLeods," she read off. "Aria, did yah know abou' this?"

"Um, Amanda may have mentioned it once or twice," Aria replied vaguely, blushing.

Of course the blush gave her away. "Aria," Elaine admonished.

"Okay, so she mentioned it two or three times," Aria replied. "And she bought me a copy.... And I tagged along when they went to Carolyn's party.... And I did kinda help her put Carolyn and Terence back together. But that's it, I swear!"

"An' yah didn' tell meh?!" the blonde asked.

"Well, I don't like it when you and Duncan fight, I keep feelin' like I'm caught in the middle," Aria answered. "So I don't give either one of ya any more ammo than I can help and I knew you'd never let him live that one down. 'Sides, it sorta slipped m'mind."

"Oh, yah sah righ' abou' that, Shalla," Elaine said, eyes taking on a devilish gleam. "Ah can' wait tah get MacLeod on this one."

"You know that bronze god?" Marcus asked.

"Unfahtunatelay," the blonde shrugged. "Ah don' like him, but sev'ral of mah ... friends do, sah Ah'm stuck with him."

"Let me have him, please?" he begged Elaine.

Elaine thought it over. She knew what Marcus wanted. It was so tempting. Mac would be out of her hair once and for all and she wouldn't have to lift a finger. Still --.

"Sahrah, Mahcus," she said, turning him down. "But anothah of mah friends is in lust with him an' Ah promised Adam that Ah'd help him get MacLeod. Maybeh aftahwahds."

"I knew I just shoulda kept m'big mouth shut," Aria sighed.

"No, you were right to bring this to our attention," Marcus stated. "I've been dying to meet someone like him to sweep me off my feet."

"Yah alreaday have," Elaine reminded him. "An' all five of them ah dead."

"Maybe he won't die this time," he shrugged.

Elaine choked. "Mahcus, yah can' beh serious," she sputtered. "Shoahlay yah not thinkin' of....?"

"Why not?" he asked in a huff. "He won't be pestering you anymore and I get my fantasy. It's a perfect solution."

"Because Ah know Duncan MacLeod," the blonde growled. "Do it an' he's libel tah kill half of us befoah anyone could stop him. He'll beh even wahse then Neeki."

She switched over to Andraven. "Help me out here, Shalla. We can't let this idea sink into his