"Well, well, well. Here you are again. I thought you were dead." The sound of the voice made Thomas' blood run cold. He then took a deep breath and steeled himself before turning away from his car to face the demon girl in the parking lot at the library. He'd just put his books in the backseat and was preparing to get in and drive away.

"I bet you wish I was dead," Thomas told her. "That's probably what you expected when you left me on the floor. But I'm harder to kill than you think." He came closer to her, running his fingers gently down her neck. "But you…not so much, little witch. I don't like the thought of killing, but if you try and start things with me again, I will. I swear."

Davina pushed his hand away and chuckled. "Oh, really? I'd love to see that."

"Well, you won't," Thomas told her firmly, holding her chin so she had to look him in the eye. "I hope for your sake that we never see each other again."

"Oh, believe me," Davina said before giving him brain pain which made him collapse. "I'd have to agree. I hate our little encounters as much as you do." As he yelled on the ground, Davina sighed and decided to take pity on him. She took his keys from his hand and tried them on the doors of the car he had been standing near. When they opened it, she put Thomas in the front seat and zapped them to where he lived. Leaving the car in the driveway, she dragged Thomas to the front step, set him down while he still yelled because the pain he felt was still ongoing, and then, after ringing the doorbell to get someone's attention, just left him there before disappearing herself.

Unfortunately, Charlotte was the one who answered Davina's ring and the sight of Thomas lying there, clutching his head and yelling, was almost too much for her. She let out a small yell that could have been much louder, and then when Davina's magic had worn off and Thomas was calming down, she helped him to the couch and sat him down.

"What happened?" She asked. "Can I get you anything? How about a glass of water?"

"Sure," Thomas nodded, still wincing a little from the pain in his head that lingered. "That would be nice, thanks."

"So what happened?" Charlotte asked when she brought it back and even helped him handle the cup so he wouldn't spill.

"I ran into that damn witch again," Thomas huffed. "I stood up for myself and she took it a bad way. At least she was nice enough to take me home this time."

"Yes, that was good." Charlotte agreed. She got up and swayed a little.

"What was that?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, nothing," Charlotte replied quickly. "I just…I feel a little dizzy today, that's all." She then bit her lip and avoided his gaze as she wondered whether this was one of the symptoms of whatever would take her away from Thomas for good, and if it was, whether she should tell him the whole truth now to get it out of the way. She decided she would, cause that was what was best for both of them.

"I have a little confession to make about how I came back," she said. "I should have told you at the beginning, but I didn't want to put a damper on things."

"What is it?" Thomas asked.

"Well, you and I weren't technically supposed to be together at all, but when the person who figures these things out learned my previous history, he took pity on me and let me have some time with someone who actually loves me, and of course that's you."

"But?" Thomas asked.

"But the catch is that it won't be forever," Charlotte got out with a sigh. "We'll have our time, but eventually, I'll die again. You and my sons will have to go through letting me go. I know it's a selfish and horrible thing to do to people you love, but…I couldn't pass up my second chance." She looked him in the eye now. "Go ahead. Tell me how mad you are."

"I'm not mad at all," Thomas told her. "I've had many people come in and out of my life. I've had to say many goodbyes to people I care about deeply. So if you're worried that once you die, I won't be able to go on, I promise I will. This isn't a bad thing. It just means we have to make the most of the time we do have, all right?" He took her in his arms and kissed her as she gave him a small smile.

"Thank you," she said. "It feels so much better to have that off my shoulders."

"I bet it does," Thomas nodded. He got up, turned on some music, and offered her his hand as the slow melody drifted around the room. "Now…will you dance with me?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"Of course," Charlotte nodded. "I'm much more accustomed to this type of music, so you'll be dealing with a very competent dancer."

They danced through the song and Charlotte enjoyed herself so much that she asked him to put it on again. By the time Andrew and Amelia came back from seeing Matthew, the pair were on their fifth or sixth dance.

"Isn't that sweet?" Amelia whispered to Andrew quietly so they wouldn't spoil the mood.

"Yes," Andrew whispered back. "What do you say we leave them to it before they spot us and go have some alone time for ourselves?"

"Sure," Amelia nodded and grabbed his hand. "Let's go."

"Mom! Dad!" Elijah and Selina were leaving the hospital cafeteria following Selina's latest medical appointment when they heard the voice and turned around, surprised and pleased to see their son Tristan coming toward them, his dark hair neatly cut and his blue eyes bright.

"Well, hello, son!" Elijah cried and gave him a hug. "When did you start working here? Or have you always been and we just haven't seen you?"

"I just started last week," Tristan replied and adjusted his white doctor's coat. He was the youngest of their triplets, and along with his sister Margaret, one of the most promising. He looked his mother over, and said, "I was going to ask why you're here, but I think the answer is pretty obvious. Am I getting a new brother or sister?"

"Both!" Selina smiled and bounced on her heels after taking a bite of the frozen yogurt she'd gotten. "We're having twins! We should have seen that coming after all the work it took to get me pregnant, and I figured as much from how big I was, but it was still a little surprising to hear." She giggled. "I can't wait to tell your grandfather."

"He won't be shocked, if that's what you're expecting," Elijah told her. "He'll be very pleased. And speaking of, when we tell him, please don't go picking a fight, even if he tries to goad you into it."

"All right," Selina agreed grudgingly. "I know you don't like being put in the middle, so I'll spare you that."

"Thank you," Elijah said. Then he looked at Tristan. "Would you want to come over and visit sometime?" he asked. "You and Emily both? I think it might be fun."

"All right," Tristan agreed. "What about after my shift is done tomorrow night? And we won't stay long, I promise. I wouldn't want to wear Mom out."

"Oh, that won't happen," Selina promised. "Now that I'm no longer spending the whole day sick in bed, I'm not something people can stop!"

"All right," Tristan said. "But if you feel tired during our visit, say so and we'll leave. I have to go do more rounds now. Good luck with Grandpa."

"Thank you," Elijah told him. "And we'll see you and Emily tomorrow around six?"

"Sure," Tristan nodded as he walked away. "Can't wait."

"Twins?" Mikael asked when Elijah told him. He looked at Selina and smirked. "My, my, aren't we fertile all of a sudden? You know, I was beginning to wonder."

"I'd say the same about you!" Selina shot back despite her promise to Elijah that she wouldn't give into Mikael's taunting and do something that would put him in the middle of their fighting. She couldn't help it. He was such a big jerk sometimes and she couldn't let it go. Not when everything he said always smacked of hypocrisy. "Tell me…how long has it been since Gwen gave birth to King again?"

Mikael stood up and growled and Elijah placed himself between his father and his wife. "All right, all right, enough. We came because we thought you should know the news, Father. Not because we wanted to start a fight."

"Did you let your wife know that before you came here?" Mikael asked him.

"You know very well you provoked her," Elijah told him firmly as Selina stuck out her tongue at Mikael from behind Elijah's back. "Don't start things with her if you don't want some sort of response. Although she did promise me she'd be quiet this time. But you can't stop the hormones, I guess."

Mikael sighed. "I miss the women you used to marry. They never caused trouble."

"Well, that's because they were products of their time," Elijah told him. "And don't pretend like you hate bold women; if you did, you wouldn't have married Gwen and you know it."

"Why wouldn't he have married Gwen?" Gwen asked, coming through the front door just in time to hear Elijah's last remarked.

"Your husband was just saying that he's not fond of strong women," Selina told her. "What do you say to that?"

"I would think it's absolute nonsense," Gwen told her, her blue eyes flashing. "What brought this conversation on?"

"He said I have too much attitude and he missed the sort of women Elijah went after when they were all human cause they hardly ever said a word," Selina elaborated, gleeful about getting to rat Mikael out to his wife.

"Well, when I said that, I wasn't talking about you, Gwendolyn," Mikael told her quickly. "I was talking about other annoying modern women who aren't you."

"What did you and I decide you were gonna say when Selina told you about her news?" Gwen asked him. "We decided that all you would do was say 'Congratulations' and leave it at that. Why did you veer from the script?"

"He can't help it," Selina told her. "It's his way. I'm used to it by now."

"Yes, but that doesn't make it okay," Gwen told her firmly.

Mikael stood up. "If you want me to apologize, I don't plan on it," Mikael told Gwen firmly.

"I wouldn't ask you to," Gwen told him. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it."

Mikael stalked off then and Gwen sat down in his place. "So," she said to Selina, "what's the verdict?"

"Twins," Selina said. "A boy and a girl. I'm naming the boy Alexander Jacob after my uncles."

"And I get to name the girl, but I haven't decided on a name yet," Elijah added. "Maybe Stephanie. I've always been fond of that."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Gwen told them. "And I'm sure your father is too, even if he shows it by acting like a child. If you need me for anything, just let me know."

"Thank you," Elijah told her. "We will."

Despite Selina's bravado about staying up all through Emily and Tristan's visit, she felt herself getting tired just after they ate dinner, much too early for her liking. She tried to stifle a yawn, but all it did was make her eyes water, and it didn't fool her son or his wife.

"Are you getting tired now, Selina?" Emily asked, her big brown eyes full of concern. "We can go if you are. We don't want to wear you out." When she and Tristan had met, she'd been human, but a virulent form of cancer had made Tristan (aided by his cousin Henry) determined to keep her alive. So they'd stuck her in another body, and later that body had been turned into a vampire and she and Tristan had been living together without anything getting in the way of their happiness ever since.

"That's nice, but you've hardly been here long enough for the trip to be worth the effort if I retire now," Selina told her. "I'm fine, I promise." But she fell asleep not long after, and Tristan put an afghan over his mother's body.

"I think we'll go now," he told his father. "Maybe our next visit can be earlier in the day so we'll actually have time to talk."

"I'd like that," Elijah nodded. "And remember what your mother said about taking that leftover cake home: if you want it, it's yours."

"I don't think we'll have a problem remembering that," Emily smiled, zipping into the kitchen and taking a couple of slices of cake in hand before coming back. "It was great to see you again and like Tristan says, I hope the next one is much earlier so we can make the most of it."

"At the very least you can tell me when Mom's next appointment is and I can meet you for some food in the hospital cafeteria," Tristan continued. "I know that's not much, but it's something."

"Yes," Elijah nodded as he gave his sleeping wife a long look and then followed Tristan and Emily to the door. "Yes, it really is."