"Good morning!" Victoria cried, bursting into Kai's room at eight in the morning and blowing an air horn. "Time to get off your ass and come eat. We have lots of things to do today."

"Like what?" Kai muttered, refusing to get up. "It's too early. All of it can wait until noon."

"No, it can't!" Victoria shook her head, made him levitate off the mattress with her magic, and then drop hard on the floor. "Now come on. Get moving."

"What did I ever do to deserve such treatment?" Kai asked, giving her a dirty look.

"You murdered me and tried to bury me in your backyard!" Victoria replied. "That's what you did."

"But I said I was sorry," Kai replied. "Can we just forget about that now?"

"No," Victoria shook her head. "Did you honestly think I would forgive you so easily after that? If you did, you're a complete idiot. Oh, and I don't remember you apologizing for killing me at all."

"Well, okay," Kai huffed and reluctantly got out of bed before striding over to her. "I'm sorry I killed you," he said, his voice flat.

"I doubt you are," Victoria replied and looked away. "But if that's the best apology I'm gonna get then I'll take it."

He smirked at her. "Why are you looking away from me?"

"Well, I didn't know you slept naked," Victoria said. "When I first brought you upward you were covered by the blanket. And usually when I see you in the morning, you're wearing boxer shorts."

"Now you know," Kai replied and stepped toward her, holding on to her as he nibbled at her ear. "Does it make you feel differently about joining me in bed at night?"

"Maybe," Victoria replied, trying to maintain an aloof demeanor so he wouldn't see how much he was actually affecting her. "Now get dressed. We have stuff to do today."

"What kind of stuff?" Kai asked. "I'm not dressing until you tell me what horrors I'm going to be subjected to today. And I'm not interested in reforming if that's what you've got your mind on. If that's what you're thinking, you can just think of something else."

"I admit I thought about that," Victoria told him. "But then I realized that trying that would be pointless, plus you wouldn't be so much fun afterward. So what I'm doing instead is trying to find activities for you to do that will make you look at things in a more positive way. Like gardening, or cooking, or even getting a pet."

"That's it?" Kai asked, looking very underwhelmed but putting on a pair of black boxers anyway. "You know what makes me happy, so why can't you just do that?"

"Cause it's not really a long term solution now, is it?" Victoria replied. "I can feed you or have sex with you all I want, but it doesn't really change anything. I just have to do it again later. And again, and again, and again."

"Yeah, and what's the problem with that?" Kai wanted to know. "I don't see why this bothers you. What part of this is beyond your understanding?"

"The part where you insist on being miserable and mopey and having no motivation to improve yourself!" Victoria cried. "It drives me crazy!"

"Well, it's not gonna change, sweetheart," Kai told her as he grabbed her and looked into her eyes. "So either get used to that and enjoy yourself, or make yourself miserable, I don't care. Either way, you're not going anywhere." He patted her a couple of times on the bottom and gave her a push toward his bedroom door.

"All right, I get it," Victoria nodded. She threw a shirt at him and left the room, and several minutes later, Kai could smell bacon cooking. He put the shirt and pants on and ran into the kitchen.

"Bacon!" He cried. "Can I have some?"

"No," Victoria shook her head. "I'm afraid this is all for me. If you would have come in to help me, then you could have had some, but I see no reason why I should just give away something I'm working so hard to make to someone who's too lazy and stubborn to feed himself."

Kai's jaw dropped a little. "Now just a minute," he said. "You neglected to mention this to me. If you had said something, I would have helped."

"Okay," Victoria nodded. "Will you help me with lunch?"

"Will I not get to eat it if I don't?" Kai asked.

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "Now you're getting how to play the game."

"Okay," Kai replied. "I'll help you with lunch."

"Wonderful!" Victoria smiled.

Then she slipped him a couple pieces bacon. He ate them and then after he swallowed, he said to her, "I think you're a big softie. You just can't stay mad at me for long, can you?"

"I choose not to because I know it won't accomplish anything," Victoria responded. Then she stood up. "So…how do you want to occupy your time now? It has to be a way that's meaningful."

"Says you," Kai replied and turned on the TV.

"Do you really want to risk forgoing doing something with me and missing out on whatever it is?" Victoria asked. "Do you?"

"All right," Kai said at last. "It's a nice day. Let's play a game in the yard."

"What a wonderful suggestion!" Victoria exclaimed. "What game do you want to play? You can pick."

"Well," Kai magicked a gun into his hand. "How about cops and robbers?"

"I don't know how we would do that exactly, but okay," Victoria shrugged. Anything to encourage his positive involvement in what she was doing.

But unfortunately (and she should have seen this coming), the game of cops and robbers was short. Once he had her subdued and tied up, he carried her into the house and sat her down in a chair, and after gagging her, turned the TV on.

"There," he said, stretching out on the sofa like a cat. "Now I can watch my TV shows in peace."

But his vengeance was short-lived. After his show was over, Victoria made him help her fix lunch and then, after they ate, she made him help her plant a garden.

"What's this supposed to help me achieve?" Kai huffed as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"It's supposed to make you feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth," Victoria replied. "Plus, it will help you put your amazing shoveling skills to use on something other than my body."

"Let that go," Kai said between his teeth. "I said I was sorry already. How much longer are you going to hang that over my head?"

"Probably forever," Victoria told him. "It was murder for fuck's sake. Not a play day at the beach."

Kai then threw a clod of dirt at her face.

"Seriously?" Victoria asked. "You really wanna play that game?"

"Yes," Kai nodded. "I do."

"Fine," Victoria replied. "Cause I can play too." Then, without fully thinking of the consequences of her actions, she made a hose appear and sprayed him with it. When she put the hose down, he was approaching her, soaking wet and shirtless.

"Do you think that was really a good idea?" He asked her and pulled her to him to give her a kiss.

"No," Victoria shook her head. "I-I really didn't think that through. I'm gonna go inside now and think of something else for us to do."

"All right," Kai winked. "I can't wait to see what it is."

By nightfall, Victoria was still running after him continuing on her heedless quest to make him find more wholesome ways to spend his time (he'd already coped with it all day; wasn't she done by now?) And Kai had reached the end of his rope. He managed to shut himself in his room and climb into bed again as he waited for her knock and yell more.

But to his surprise, he didn't hear anything. At least not right away. Several minutes later, there was a knock at the door, however. "Go away!" He cried. "You try and make me do one more thing and I really am gonna kill you again, Victoria!"

"I'm sorry, monsieur," said a muted voice from the other side of the door. "But I am needing your laundry now, s'il vous plait. For cleaning."

"What?" Kai asked himself as he got out of bed. "Monsieur? Why the hell is she talking like that?" He opened the door and he perked up as he saw Victoria standing at the door in the maid uniform.

"How long do I have to wait?" She asked in a bossy tone and tickled his face with a feather duster as he pulled her inside with a chuckle. She put the feather duster down on the bed and then ripped off his shirt before kissing him. "Your clothes. Now."

Kai smiled deeper. "What happens if I don't want to take them off?" He asked. "It's much more fun to have you do it."

Victoria heaved an exaggerated sigh and clicked her tongue. "I knew you were going to say that," she told him, getting down on her knees and unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. "You're a very bad boy."

"Yep, I am," Kai smirked and shut his eyes as she cuffed him and began to touch him.

"I fail to see how I'm the naughty one when you're doing all this," he said. Then she gave him a slap and said firmly, "No talking, do you understand? I'll tell you when you can speak! Now I want you to nod and say 'Yes, ma'am'."

"Yes, ma'am," Kai repeated obediently, even though his eyes were bright with laughter.

"Good boy," Victoria said and proceeded to touch him some more, before scratching his torso with her sharp red nails and licking up the blood that welled up from the cuts. "Does that hurt?" She asked.

"No, ma'am," Kai shook his head.

She then cuffed him to the bed and began whipping him. "You must be really mad at me for hurting you so much," she said after the first crack of the whip. "I wonder what you'll do to me once I let you out of these cuffs?"

Kai turned his head. "Are you scared of the prospect? You should be?"

"Oh, I can't wait," Victoria smiled. She let him out of the cuffs after two more cracks of the whip and then he grabbed her and pushed her to the ground, breathing heavily as he pushed up the skirt of the maid uniform, slipped off her panties, and captured her mouth with his.

"I'm gonna make you sorry, Vicky" he said. "I'm gonna do such awful things to you that you'll be begging me to stop."

"Go ahead, Malachai," Victoria told him with challenge in her eyes that aroused him even more. "Do your worst. I can take it."

"I know," Kai replied as he spread her legs and massaged her inner thighs, and then slid upward into her core. "That's the best part." Then he laughed as she let gasp and bucked her hips forward, her arms going around his neck as he kissed hers and she breathed his name over along with saying how much she hated him and couldn't hate him any more if she tried. She could say it all she wanted. But that doesn't mean she meant it.

"Oh, sorry," said a voice as someone bumped into Klaus at the supermarket.

"It's quite all right," Klaus replied, looking up just in time to see the woman who'd bumped into him. Her red hair was up, she wore dark glasses, and was openly drinking red liquid out of a water bottle. He studied her closely from her face, to down her torso and her legs, to her feet, which were in purple pumps, which Klaus recognized as Amy's. He gently grabbed her and slipped the glasses off her before turning her to face him. "Hello," he said. "How are you? Real subtle way to get your blood in. Aaron and Rosalie making you drink from the bottle?"

"They're not making me," Amy shook her head. "I picked this."

"Of course you did," Klaus replied, letting her go and sighing. "Still the same old Amy, I see."

"Well, it's nice to see you too," Amy said, trying to ignore the sound of everyone's heartbeat pulsing in her ears. She put her hands over them and shut her eyes tight.

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked her.

"Yeah," Amy nodded, grabbing him and stroking his neck before pushing him away, gulping down blood from her bottle, and then running off with her cart at full speed.

Klaus stood alone for a few seconds and then decided to follow her. At a distance, of course. After she'd paid for her groceries, she got in her car and drove not home to Rosalie and Aaron, but to a more seedy part of town where there were several homeless people camped. She parked her car and got out, walking among the sad-looking tents and large refrigerator boxes that were being used as dwellings.
Klaus wondered what the hell she was thinking going to a place like this, but it didn't take long for him to find out.

When one of the men approached her and grabbed her, trying both to pull up her skirt and get at the bracelet she wore, that was when she pounced, sinking her teeth into his neck and feeding with gusto. When she finally dropped him, her dress was covered in blood, and so was her face. She took a deep breath and then ran back to her car, locking herself in and laying her head on the steering wheel to try and calm her breathing. She started badly when Klaus knocked on her window, which she then reluctantly rolled down.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to keep her cool. "May I help you?"

"That was a fun little display," Klaus remarked. "Do you do it often?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "I do."

"Well…good for you," Klaus told her. "You'd be eating better if you were with me, but…you do what you want. Have a good night now." He left and then dialed Rosalie from his car. "Watch your mother," he told her. "She's feeding on people, and I'm not quite sure she knows what she's doing."

"All right, Daddy," Rosalie said. "I'll look out for her."

"Thank you, pet," Klaus replied. "I don't know what I'd do without you."