Chapter Eleven

The Hallway

This was the last door Wolverine had on his end of the hall. He knew who was behind the door, and he really didn't want to knock on it. He had seen her earlier and known that she was in a rage. He had no choice. If he didn't tell her and get her to the meeting, then 'Ro would be mad at him. He couldn't win for losing. Damn, damn, damn! he muttered silently as he knocked on the door. "There's a meetin' in fifteen minutes downstairs, Kat. Ya need ta be there."

"I di nae need tae be any damn where, Wolverine," Kat snapped back. "Now gi the fuck away an' leave me be!"

"Can't do that. 'Ro'll have my head if I don't bring ya. If ya won't come peaceful like, I have ta tell her. But I think ya two almost had a fight already today, didn't ya?"

"Aye, yer wee bitch 'tis screwed in the head! Ye can gi back tae her an' tell her I tol' the whole bleedin' lot o' ye tae get fucked an' that I'll burn whoe'er thinks they're bastard or bitch enough tae take me tae th' damn meetin'!"

"No problem," Wolverine told her. He figured he'd let the two women fight it out. He'd had enough fighting for one day. Without another word, he headed back down to the kitchen, where he'd last seen 'Ro.

As she raised her fist to knock upon the closed door, her mind flashed back to the images of the women within. Both were beautiful, but it was the latest one whose image had been haunting her mind while she had been calling others to the meeting. It might have been her imagination, but she couldn't help thinking that Tessa had been admiring her just as she had her.

Her fist still raised to knock, Rachel hesitated again. Tessa was beautiful, but Kitty needed her . . . needed her but didn't want her. Surely it couldn't hurt to entertain ideas of an affair with Tessa, an affair that might at least help to dull the pain in her heart? Her fist fell softly against the wood of the door.

Tessa almost ran to the door. She couldn't wait to see Ray another time!

Janeesa got slowly from her place on the floor and trailed behind her sister. She wondered if she could get closer to her Golden Angel without him knowing it. If he said one word about his music instrument, she knew right where it was and she could tell him. For now, it was her secret. She hid a smile behind her hand as she slipped closer to her sister.

Tessa snatched the door open. "Hi," she said with a smile. She didn't know why she was being so bold. Usually, she was very bashful, but Ray just brought that out in her.

Rachel found Tessa's smile to be instanteously infectious and returned her grin. "Hey. It's almost time." Her eyes again travelled the long length of Tessa's body, falling, at last, upon her legs. Most admirers would have had their eyes returned to the lovely brunette's ample busom, but Ray's green eyes lingered on her legs. She wondered what she looked like with a tail, and then a thought crossed her mind that gave her grin a wry twist. How would a human go about doing it with a mermaid? Was it possible to do it when they were in their tailed form, or would they have to have two legs in order to mate properly? There had to be a way . . .

Tessa blushed as Ray's eyes swept her body. She wondered what was going through the redhead's mind but wasn't about to ask. She glanced at Janeesa nervously, but Janeesa seemed to be in her own world. She reached out and grasped her sister's hand. "Time for the meeting, dear; let's go down." She pushed the door to behind her and then, giving Ray another smile, said, "Lead on, please."

Rachel took the lead without hesitation and used her best walk as she led the way. Her hips swayed from side to side, and her head held high but not too proudly. She knew she was poetry in motion. She was proud, confident, but not overly so, she assured herself, and she wanted Tessa to know that. She wondered if she could trust Janeesa enough to get away with questioning her about her sister.

Tessa followed behind, watching every movement of Ray's. Her walk was so graceful and exuded confidence and power. She wondered if she was that good in bed and what it would be like to sleep with a human. Only Janeesa had been interested in humans for as long as Tessa could remember. Not once had she even been curious, but now she wanted to know all about them: how they walked, which Ray was doing a very fine job of, she thought, her eyes not missing a single movement, and even how they slept. She was determined to find out if a mermaid and a human could make it as soon as possible.

First, they had this silly meeting to go to. She figured since Janeesa and she were outsiders, they really didn't need to and would probably be asked to leave the minute they got there, but every second she spent in Ray's presence counted. What was it about this one, strange, red-haired girl that made her heart do flip-flops every time she saw her?

Cole knocked on the door yet again. His innumerable knocks had not done any good. He knew Smee was in there and that he had to come down for the meeting, but the man simply refused to answer. At last, Cole shimmered into the room and had to hold his nose at the stench. "Smee, why are you abed? Have you fouled yourself, man? Are you sick?" Cole peered anxiously at him but did not approach the bed.

Smee's red eyes flew open at the unexpected sound. "What're you doing in here?!" he demanded. "Get out! Get Out! GET OUT!" He threw a pillow at him but was careful not to make it the one beneath his head.

"I will not get out of the room! I have been sent to fetch you, and fetch you, I will, but not until you have changed your filthy garments! You can not be seen in public like that! Every one must attend the meeting! We do not have time for you to get a bath, but at least you can change your clothes!" Cole dodged the pillow and let it hit the wall.

"I'll do no such thing! What makes you think you can command me as though you're my C-C-C-C-C-Captain?!" Even saying the word brought a great swell of pain to Smee's heart, and tears ran down his face yet again. Every time he thought he was cried out, he discovered he still had more to cry.

"Vang needs your presence downstairs. After all, you are his partner. I will not allow you to stay up here when you need to be down there. If I have to, I will drag you out, but I would rather you come calmly along so as not to draw attention to yourself." He walked across the room to the closet and opened the door. Grabbing the first set of clothes he saw, he pulled them out. "Put this on, and hurry, man! We don't want to be late!"

"I'm not changing my clothes, and I'm not leaving this room! I'm doing all for Vang that I'll do!"

"What do you mean you've done all for Vang that you will do? Until the test results are in, man, you need to do everything you can! Your fate is the same as his; you hang on each other. Don't make me have to get you out of this bed; I can, and will, do it!"

Smee folded his arms across his flabby chest. "That's the only way you're getting me out of this bed! Who do you think you are to come in this room and make such demands?!"

Reaching out his hand, Cole snatched the cover off of Smee. "One way or the other, little man, you're gonna get up. You're gonna get dressed or I'm gonna dress you myself. You will go to the meeting. I don't care if you sit anywhere near James Hook or not. You can stand on your head, for all I care, but you will go to the meeting!"

Smee glared at the stranger who he vaguely recognized as one of Jack Sparrow's men. "Do whatever the Hell you want to me; you can put me in no worser Hell than I already am! But I'm not leaving this room!"

Brendan's Bathroom

He drove shaky hands through his dark curls and bent his head back underneath the fountain of pouring water. He had to stop crying, he told himself sternly yet again. He had to stop crying. Elizabeth would be back soon. He had to stop crying!

Yet no words of wisdom seemed to do him any good. He could no more stop the tears that raced down his face than he could quell the pain in his heart, or a hurricane for that matter, or forget that he was soon going to have to face him. Elizabeth had given him hope, but now alone again, Will could not help wondering. He had already failed Jack greatly. What if his love refused him a third chance? What if a . . . blow job, as Elizabeth called it, would not satisfy his needs? What if he still failed him? Hell, what if his mouth began to refuse to work as stubbornly as the pathetic thing that hung limply between his legs did?! What could he possibly do then?!

Ever since the first moment Will had met Jack, he'd wanted nothing more than to be in his presence. First it had been to fight him, but not too long after that and almost ever since up to about a month ago, it had been to ravish him. Now he wanted to be nowhere near him. It wasn't that he no longer wanted to ravish him, taste of his sweet, rum-tainted lips, drown in the ecatsy their loving union created . . . If only things could have been that simple!

He still ached to hold Jack. His fingers burned to caress the Pirate whose handsome visage haunted his every moment, regardless of whether he was awake or dreaming! His mouth still thirsted for the Pirate Captain's who had first captured him all that time ago in the smithy . . .

Aye, he still wanted Jack, still needed Jack, still loved Jack so intensely that his need to be with him was a physical pain akin to an enoromous fist clenching tightly around his heart! It had been slowly increasing its death grip on him ever since the day they'd parted, and Will knew it would be the death of him yet if he could not somehow find a way to earn Jack's forgiveness and be with his love again!

But how could Jack possibly forgive him? How could they get back to what they had been and escape from where they were now? How could Jack possibly forgive the great failure that he had become? He had failed his beloved Jack, the one person he'd most never wanted to fail, in the one way he never would have dreamed of . . .

The blacksmith's muscular shoulders rolled with the heavy sighs he heaved, and his dark eyes fell to look down upon the thing that had let him down so greatly and, in so doing, had caused him to fail his love so grievously. There it hung, limp and oh so lifeless, between his legs. "Maybe I should just be done with it all and cut you off?" he murmured. "It's not like you're any good any more . . . "

A sudden knock on the bathroom door startled Will out of his thoughts. "Yeah?"

"You're not done yet?"

"Brendan, I told you to go on to the meeting without me!"

"You know I can't do that, Will; some one's got to be there to keep me away from Prue!"

"I'd be right along, and Eddie would be with you in the mean time."

"It's not the same, and you know it!"

"Will," Elizabeth called as she entered the bedroom, "are you done yet?"

"No, I'm not done yet!"

"Well, hurry up, will you? I've got your clothes, and the meeting's going to start soon! We have to get down there!"

"You could go ahead without me!"

She tossed the clothes on to the bed and turned to the door with her hands on her hips and a stern expression upon her face. "And leave you here to return to your bed and miss the meeting, or worse? Absolutely not! I don't know what's been passing through that head of yours during the short time I was gone, William Turner, but I have not and will not go back on my word! I am going to see you and Jack reunited! You can make him happy; I've already told you how!"

"But what if it doesn't work?"

"It will! I even have a few . . . " She glanced in shy embarrassement at Brendan, who quickly looked away and hummed, pretending not to hear her. " . . . special techniques I can tell you to amplify the sensations. You can please him, Will, and besides, just to be with you again will make him so happy!"

"What if he doesn't want to look at me again?"

"But he does!"

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Damn it, Will! Just get finished getting ready or, by Gods, I'll come in there and scrub you my own self!"

At that warning, Will fell silent and rushed through the remainder of his bath. Elizabeth was upon the door by the time he turned the water off. "Can you pass me the clothes through the door?"

Elizabeth smiled. "That's more like it!" As she slipped the clothes inside, careful not to open the door too wide to reveal Will's naked body, she called, "And don't even complain about the pants! I don't want to hear it! It's not my fault they were all that was left, and it's not like you can wear Brendan's or Toly's!"

Will's mouth fell open when he looked at the black leather pants.

The Meeting Room

Chong sat stiffly in a chair in the family room, his foot tapping the floor. He made no indication when Hansel entered the room with Derek draped all over him. What was wrong with the boy? He couldn't make up his mind! Chong thought. Maybe . . .

There is no need of beating yourself up. You just have to do without him. He has made his decision. I will not share him! he told himself. However, just one look into Hansel's blue eyes made him change all that as he saw such sadness and heartbreak therein that he could not bare it.

It's against everything I believe, Chong reminded himself, but his heart would not let his reasoning side win out. He could not stand the thought of the man he loved being in such pain! He did not stand up as he refused to give in to the point of crawling over to Hansel and Derek with his tail tucked between his legs, but he did lift his hand out toward Hansel.

Maybe he could . . . ? No, he could not! He must not! SHUT UP! Chong roared at himself. I will do what is best for Hansel! I love him! He raised his hand the rest of the way to Hansel, hoping that Hansel would take it and sit beside him, even if Derek, too, was there.

One day, I will get rid of you, you chou ba guai yanse lang! he thought, glaring at Derek with such fierce intensity that one might even think he thought his glare alone could make him disappear. Wo xi wang ni man man si, dan kuai dian xia di yu!

The smooth sensation of Hansel's hand sliding into his shattered Chong's dark thoughts of condemning Derek to Hell. He looked up, and his eyes met Hansel's. He melted at the smile on his love's face and in his eyes, that were now truly dancing. Though every part of his being wanted to scream at Derek to get his paws off of Hansel, he could not help smiling brightly in return as he pulled Hansel down to sit beside him. Only some one who really knew Chong, as Hansel did, would know he was plotting revenge.

Hansel's heart had nearly leapt out of his body, he had been so thrilled when Chong had actually reached out for him. He had hurried along, pulling Derek with him, and taking Chong's hand with a true smile that even reached his now-sparkling, blue eyes. He had kissed Chong's hand before sitting down next to him, but no sooner than he sat down than he found himself presented with Derek's hand in front of his mouth. He immediately kissed it, as well.

He knew there was more trouble ahead, but he refused to dwell on it or fear it. For now, he would enjoy both the men he loved as much as they would allow him to do, and he would grant them both as much pleasure as he could. He reached over, kissed Chong's cheek and then his ear lobe, and whispered into his ear, "I know you don't understand, my sweet, Chinese otter, but I love you! I'll find a way to prove it to you."

Then he leaned over and kissed first Derek's cheek and then his ear lobe. "I also love you, my dear darling, and thank you for understanding. I'll find a way to prove to you that you mean as much to me as you always have and that you are my world." Just as Chong is, he thought, squeezing both of their hands.

The Kitchen

"Kathleen O'Hara refuses ta come down," Wolverine announced, looking at Ororo and wondering how angrily she would react. "In fact, little darlin', I think she's packin' ta leave."

"Well, that's quite lovely, isn't it?" Ororo was already rather ticked for first she'd been unable to find Dawson and then she'd looked in upon those gathering for the meeting and seen that her plan to help Chong certainly had not worked. He had Hansel now, true enough, but Derek was attached to Hansel's other side! She walked the few paces it was to the family room and stuck her head in again. "Ace, Kitten, Delvira, I'd like to see the three of you now, please."

No sooner than Ororo had withdrawn from the room than she poked her head in a third time. This time, she smiled. "Ah, Dawson, I see you've joined our little gathering. I'd like to see you, as well."

Full of curiosity, Dawson followed 'Ro into the kitchen. Ace was hot on his heels. Delvira followed Ace, and Kitty trailed behind, muttering to herself as to how many times she had to remind Ororo that Kitty, or even Katheryne, was her name but not Kitten. For piracy's sake, she was a grown woman and a Captain to boot, even if she didn't have a ship at the moment!

Ororo turned immediately to face the small gathering. "Dawson, take this key," she said, pressing a key into his hand, "and go up to Jack's bedroom. You'll see what you're there to collect once you see his bed." She smiled. "I know you'll want it, but be careful. It's a . . . rather dangerous package to collect."

"Faith?" Dawson asked, scarcely believing that 'Ro was handing her up to him like that. "How'd you manage to capture her?"

"It was not I, my dear boy, but others of the family and another friend, or so I've heard. Goddess speed, and good luck."

Dawson was out of the kitchen like a shot.

The Hallway

Janeesa had been walking quietly, lagging behind a bit, but now that they were almost reaching the family room, she was attempting to go forward faster. She didn't know which one to sit closest to: the Golden Angel or the Golden God. She was pulled to both of them and wished that she could put them close to each other so that she could be the cheese between them.

Janeesa's bubbling thoughts hit Rachel unexpectedly, and she let out a low whistle and shook her head slightly. She grinned, though, as she thought the woman had good taste, even if she was looking at men. She could have chosen a lot worse. She slowed up just a bit so that she could walk beside Janeesa and whispered softly to her, "Word of advice, girlfriend. There're other telepaths here. Your thoughts are safe with me, but if you get some odd looks, you might want to be wary."

Janeesa's blue eyes grew larger as she looked at Ray. "You're not supposed to read my mind! Why'd you do that? I didn't allow you!"

Rachel had not expected the girl's accusations, but she plastered a calming smile over her face. "I wasn't trying to read your mind, sweetie. You're so excited about those two males that I couldn't help overhearing. Your shields really aren't that good, but I honestly wasn't trying to read your mind." And if I had been, she thought to herself, it dang sure wouldn't have been about men! She would have loved to have known about Tessa, though.

"You don't understand," Janeesa told her. "No one's ever been able to read my mind, unless I allowed it. You must be really strong. I'm glad you're my friend; we can talk without any one knowing we're talking. I always wanted a secret friend I could do that with." She gave Ray's arm a gentle squeeze. Now why don't you go ahead and ask me those questions you're just dying to ask?

Rachel looked at Janeesa in surprise but barely missed a half-step while walking. "Xavier always did say I was one of the most powerful telepaths he's ever come across; I take after my Mother in that way." Am I that obvious?

Not really, but I will tell you that Tessa's extremely interested in you. She's never had a human before; in fact, you're the first human she's ever shown interest in.

Rachel quirked an eyebrow, and then a slow, true smile covered her face. Perhaps she could get something blossoming with Tessa. She really could use a very special friend right now. Well, she thought back to Janeesa, I've never had a mermaid before either. Thanks for the info. She winked at her, still without saying a word aloud.

Smee's Bedroom

Cole pulled Smee out of the bed and stripped his clothes off. "Put those on," he told him as he indicated the ones he had tossed onto the chair that was by the bed. "I'm going to count to ten, and if you don't start dressing, I'm going to dress you. Like I said, you're going to the meeting. One, two . . . " Cole did not make another move on the man, but he was getting ready to as he approached the final number. He'd do what he'd have to to get the little man out of there. He was told to make sure every one came, and come they would rather they wanted to or not.

The very moment the stranger released him, Smee jumped back in the bed. He left his massive rear end pointed upwards, and his hand slipped underneath his pillow to close around the butt of the pistol he'd kept hiding there the entire while he'd been locked inside what he'd thought was the safe haven of this room. He didn't know who or what this man was to be able to get in this room when he'd so carefully barricaded it and to be able to manhandle him like he just had, but he refused to be taken to the meeting or to ever face James and his lies again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Smee," Cole told him. "I know what you're reaching for, and the minute you come up with it, I'm gonna shoot it out of your hand. I can see that you're not going to get dressed on your own. I'm going to have to do it for you, so stand up here like a man or I'm going to shoot you."

"You wanna shoot me, go ahead, but I'm not going to that meeting! You can shoot me! You can beat me! You can do whatever you want to me, but the only thing of me you'll take to that damn meeting is my corpse! And just to remind you: if I die, Vang dies." He wasn't scared of being shot, Smee realized. Perhaps the gun would not harm him? It could him, but if he died, Vang died. What if he shot off a limb, he wondered, or threatened to do so? Would that get the damn thing to leave him to his misery? He kept a tight grip on the gun.

Cole let go with a energy ball and hit Smee on the butt. "Off the bed, I said, and into your pants!" He kept hitting him with very tiny, small, sparkly energy balls.

With each energy ball, Smee yelled. His yells carried throughout the house, but still he did not budge.

The Kitchen

"Now, for the three of you," Ororo continued, "we have a situation. We have one who refuses to come to the meeting, but it gets worse. Delvira, can you quickly put spells upon a room to lock inside what is inside without being in the room itself?"

"Yes," Delvira answered her with a nod, "but why?"

Ororo's eyes moved to Ace. She nodded. "Yes, it's Kathleen. She . . . She plans on leaving, permanently, from what I understand. The plan is this: Katheryne, if you will, phase Ace into the room; then, as soon as she's out, Delvira, you put the spells up. Can this be done?"

Ace sat as though he was in a stupor. How could things have gone so wrong that his beloved Kat no longer wanted him around? "I don't know what I did wrong, 'Ro! I checked back through; I didn't see a damn thing! Captain said I didn't do anything, but yet Kat's leaving! I can't take it! Why's she doing this to me?!" he cried out from the pain he felt in his heart. "What could she have had in a test that could make her hate me so much?! It won't do any good to phase me in there; all she'll do is throw fireballs at me! She doesn't want me!"

"Ace," Ororo spoke gently as she laid a reassuring hand upon his thin shoulder and looked into his despairing eyes, "if she wanted to burn you to a crisp, you'd be ashes by now."

"But she doesn't want me any more! I'll die without her, yet she doesn't want me! I'm defeated before I ever start! But I'm willing to go and try."

"At the very least," Ororo tried to assure him, "this should give you your answers."

"Take me, Kitty; I'll do my best to stop her."

"I'll have one of our telepaths keep an ear open for you, Ace, so if you get to the point that you can not handle her, though I doubt that shall be the case, do not hesitate to call for help. Help, I promise, will come." She watched as they left and wished them the best of luck.

The Hallway

As Rachel turned her gaze back to the pathway that lay ahead of them, her smile haltered and her heart skipped a beat for there, up ahead, was Kitty. She breathed a quiet, shaky sigh that she hoped no one else heard, and as their parties drew closer, Rachel realized that Kitty didn't look happy at all. What was she doing with Ace? "Kitty," Ray called, "what's up? Where are you guys going? The meeting's about to start."

"I didn't want to go to the blasted meeting any way," Kitty told her, "but we've got a pissed off pyrokinetic to deal with."

Janeesa looked, startled, at Kitty. "Who's having a problem with a pyro . . . what?" she asked innocently. She wondered what that big word meant. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Basically, it's somebody that shoots fire," Rachel murmured to the merwomen. Aloud, she asked, "Can we help, and what's wrong with Kat, any way?" She figured that was the only reason why Ace would be involved.

"Ray, half the house is in crisis," Kitty answered as though she was overlooking the obvious, "but we've got it under control. Thanks." She smiled at Rachel and Janeesa, but her smile didn't meet her troubled eyes. "Come on, gang; let's do this." She walked around the others, and as she continued leading the way, called to Delvira, "You got everything you need to work those spells with? We don't need her coming out of that room once she's supposed to be locked up."

Delvira knew Kitty was pissed, and she knew that it had nothing to do with Kat, Rachel, Janeesa, herself, or even Ororo calling her Kitten. She smiled calmly at the girl. "I assure you, Captain Pryde, that I am more than adept at fulfilling my part of the plan once we reach our destination. Now I suggest we hush or else she's liable to hear us coming."

Ace walked on tippy-toes. He had smiled at all three of the ladies they had encountered in the hall but had not spoken a word. He prayed that this would work and that Kitty would get him in the room with Kat, even if she fireballed him when he got in there. She couldn't leave him; he loved her too much!

He had to find out what scum of the earth had upset his lovely Kat and fix the problem. Thank the Goddess it wasn't him, but he just couldn't figure out who it was. When he did find out who it was, he'd make them apologize! He couldn't wait to see Kat's eyes light up again in happiness and not anger. They reached her room, and he waited for Delvira to work her magic.

Jareth's Bedroom

Jareth was still staring in the mirror at himself in between glancing at a nearby pistol when the knock came on the door. He knew he'd have to get dressed and go to the meeting soon, or they'd come after him again. These people never gave up! They kept coming and coming until they finally got you!

"Aw, Hell, why put on clothes?" he questioned his reflection. "I'll just turn into an owl. I'll swoop down amongst them and fly up high and perch. That way, Delvira can't get her paws on me. That will be the only thing she has on her mind: capturing me." He padded over to the door, opened it, changed, and flew away without a backward glance.

He circled around their heads when he reached the family room. He finally came to rest on the chandelier, gazed down at them, and waited for the meeting to start. He did not see his beloved, Delvira, and wondered where she had gone off to.

The Hallway

Rachel watched Kitty's retreating back and then gave herself a forcible shake. She turned and smiled at Tessa and Janeesa. "Come on; the family room's just around the corner here." She walked to the entry way and then stood there, her arms ushering them gracefully inside.

Knowing her eyes would betray her feelings, Rachel turned her head to look inside the room. She spotted Lockheed first and smiled sadly at the sight of the small, purple dragon stretched out over two seats. He had actually dozed off, probably for the first time in days, and that was why he had not sensed Kitty's movements.

She knew, too, why he had saved two seats. The other wasn't for Kurt, though the blasted Priest would have liked to have thought so; it was for her. Lockheed knew that, unlike most men, she would never try to brush him off or send him out of Kitty's heart, arms, or even her bed. She sighed deeply; unfortunately, for the both of them, it would never happen for Kitty was determined to get stuck with a male who was unworthy of her and would only let her down in the long run.

Rachel's eyes then sought out the two men she knew Janeesa would look for. Trent was sitting between his sister and Carlos. Her head jerked back a little at the sight of the men, and she studied them again. Andrew was lost in whispered conversation with Trina, their heads nestled close together, as they indulged some secret fantasy, or so Ray thought, but Trent and Carlos were a far cry different. They sat with their arms folded, their eyes pointed determinedly at the front of the room, and frustrated expressions on their faces. At first, their legs were even pointed in opposite directions until Carlos shifted his position so that his legs swung toward Trent. It was almost, she thought, as though they were lovers who had just had a quarrel, but she knew that was impossible. Carlos loved Trina, who he could never have, and Trent . . . Trent just needed to get a good sniff of Janeesa.

Unlike Trent, the man Janeesa thought of as a Golden God -- Rachel chuckled silently at the ridiculous notion -- sat alone. He had clearly cleaned up after the battle for his appearance was impeccable again. His shirt was thrown against the back of the chair, and Ray knew Janeesa would probably get a thrill looking at his bare chest and glistening muscles. The man was solely intent upon sharpening his sword, however. With a grin, Rachel sought to get a glimpse of Janeesa's face for when she spotted her interests.

Janeesa's quick eyes went to Carlos and Trent. They were just too close together for her to ever get a word in edge wise, even long enough for her to let them know where the music instrument was. She got a weird feeling every time she looked at the two of them together. Something was going on there. She wasn't sure what, but she wasn't going to intervene.

Her eyes then darted around the room until they located her Golden God, and she started heading in his direction. She sat down about three seats away from him. The chairs were set in a circle so that no one could sit behind any one. She looked at the front of the room where she presumed the Captain usually stood, but he was not there. Where's the Captain? she asked Ray. He should be here by now. Isn't the meeting about to start?

He'll be here, Ray thought assuringly back to Janeesa. This meeting's too important to miss for him and for most of those in the room. There's been a lot of Hell raising that you two probably aren't aware of. She had not followed Janeesa and was instead heading toward Lockheed, whose snores were now beginning to grow in volume.

"Is he yours?" Tessa asked, falling into step beside Rachel. She would have liked to have ran forward and scratched the dragon behind the ears. She had often seen sea dragons playing in their ocean but had never gotten close enough to touch one.

"No, he's . . . " Thinking better of what she'd been about to say, Rachel cleared her throat. "He's a friend." She knelt before the chairs when she reached Lockheed and ran a hand softly down his scaly back. He peeped one eye open, yawned slowly, his long tongue lolling out, and then suddenly sat up at attention. Ray shook her head and whispered to him, "It's okay. She's taking care of business, but she'll be back. Why don't you come sit with us in the mean time?"

Lockheed looked toward the closed door of the kitchen and then at the exit to the hallway. He should go after Kitty, he thought, but maybe if he stayed with Rachel, she'd still sit with her when she got back. "Coo," he granted his permission and flew up to perch on Rachel's shoulder as she straightened.

Smee's Bedroom

Cole was very perturbed. He didn't know what to do; his plan wasn't working the way he wanted it to! Grabbing the suit of clothes in one hand and touching Smee with the other, he shimmered them both to the living room. Dropping a naked Smee in the midst of the family room so that everybody could see and letting the fresh clothes fall beside him, he quickly shimmered out.

Connor's mouth flew open. "DAD, PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON, SHITT!" He had jumped to his feet when Cole had shown up with Smee and was trying desperately to block the view of his father from the rest of the people in the room.

Frederic raced over and gave him some more coverage. "Dad, get your clothes on! What are you doing down here naked?!"

Zora ran as swiftly as the boys to Smee's side with Vang loping close behind her. She whirled around, facing the room with a snarl and green eyes that were even wilder than usual. "I'll rip out the eyes of any of you who look at the poor man!" she warned.

"Euuw!! Gods, like any one wanted to see that in the first place!" Cordelia exclaimed with a shudder. "I'm never going to get that image out of my head!" She buried her face in Angel's shoulder and shuddered again in revulsion.

"Si! Get that thing covered up before I cut it off!" Roxanne exclaimed. She placed a comforting hand on Theodora's shoulder.

"I'm with them!" Trina exclaimed from between Trent, who was beet red, and Andrew, who looked only slightly less embarrassed. "Nobody wanted to see that thing in the first place!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Smee wailed. "That damn, conivving bastard didn't leave me a choice!"

"Well, you have one now," Vang's deep voice informed him. "Get dressed already, man! And what's . . . " Vang's question stopped in his throat, and his tail slashed the air as he gazed intently at the pistol Smee's shaking hand still clutched.

James thought it best not to get too close to the crowd of their family. He didn't want to give Smee more problems. He couldn't see what was going on, but Vang seemed to be disturbed about something. He wanted to yell across the room, "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON NOW?!", but didn't dare. He watched intently, hoping that Smee would get to his feet and put his clothes on.

Frederic looked back to see what was taking his daddy so long to put his clothes on and saw the gun. "Now I wonder how that got here?" he asked the room in general as he reached down, took the gun out of his father's hand, and slipped it into his pocket. He wondered how his dad had gotten the gun in the first place. He didn't dare contemplate what his father might have been trying to do with it.

James saw Frederic pocket the gun and sighed with relief. Even across the room, he could tell that it was one of his old guns. He didn't dare let his mind go where Smee might have been going with the gun but breathed a sigh of relief because Frederic had got it.

To Be Continued . . .