Tamsin watched Trick nervously stroke his beard.

Her news about Lauren contradicted the reality he and the gang had pieced together for themselves, and obviously the Blood King was struggling to make sense of this extraordinary new set of facts.

"But why," he began out of the blue, "Why would Lauren even get involved with Taft — if she wasn't planning some sort of revenge all along?"

"Revenge?"

"…For — what was her name? Her comatose lover? Granted, Lauren wasn't recruited under the most honorable circumstances.."

"Recruited, eh? That's what we're calling extortion these days?"

"You know what I mean, Tamsin."

"Oh I know what you mean. Look, imma be frank; we all know Bo has been through, like, a lot, okay? But you know — when it comes to relationships — she just — well I'm not so sure she knows how to be in a relationship. And I'm sure that's a survival tactic or whatever, fine, I don't mean it as a criticism. I'm just saying it's hard being with someone who sometimes seems like they're not entirely into being with you."

Trick extended his forefinger and before the words could leave his mouth, Tamsin interrupted, "Aaaaaaand I know she's a succubus — dude, don't even, we're not talking about that. We're talking about being blind to the needs of others, the ones closest to us because we assume they'll always just take care of themselves."

Trick frowned and turned his head askew.

"I know you know what I mean, old man. All I'm saying is there's reasons why stuff happens the way it happens — we may not always have all the details, but like, cause and effect, you know?"

The corners of his mouth curled downwards, "So Bo's to blame for all that's happened?"

"No, I think we all probably played a part; we all had our own selfish agendas when it came to Bo — pulling her every which way 'til tuesday. I think it put a huge strain on her relationship with Lauren. Maybe you can see how Lauren probably felt pretty isolated, and was all too happy when someone finally came along and acknowledged how fantastic she is, how smart and generous and…" Tamsin stopped as soon as she realized she was gushing. She took a nervous sip hoping her exuberance didn't betray her.

Trick lowered his gaze and stood, arms spread out on the bar, rapt in thought.

"Come on, Trickster. What were you just saying about trust and friendship? You've got to trust me on this."

"Alright Tamsin. What do you need from me?"

Tamsin grabbed his meaty hand and squeezed it, "I need to bring her here. I've been over this a thousand times in my head and the fact of it is there's nowhere we can go where they won't find her, this is the only place i can think of where she stands a chance."

The barkeep nodded his head while he contemplated the ramifications of reintroducing the exiled doctor, "I'm not going to lie, Sanctuary or not some folks are going to take issue with her being here."

The detective wondered if by 'some folks' Trick meant Bo. For a moment she considered telling him about her relationship with the doctor; on one hand, it made sense to get the news out there early, make it known up front that this wasn't just some elaborate scheme to garner sympathy or attention from the succubus.

But Tamsin knew she could only speak for herself. Acknowledging this caused her heart to sink a little.

"I'll prepare my office for her — she can stay there as long as she needs. When should I expect her arrival?"

"We planned for monday. But now that I've been canned ….things are complicated."

"Complicated how?" his voice had more than a hint of concern to it.

Tamsin waved her hand dismissively, "I'll figure it out — you do what you need to do, I'll take care of my end."

Trick nodded and freshened up her drink, then pulled his cell phone from his apron pocket. He paused briefly before candidly stating "Pardon me a moment, I've some calls to make," in a hushed but serious tone. It seemed like a formality; like he'd much rather make his call in private but knew doing so would come off as suspicious. His discomfort was palpable. It made Tamsin nervous.

He hopped down from his stoop behind the bar and walked over to a row of cushioned seats under the glow of a stained glass window. From the corner of her eye the detective watched as he lifted the spectacles that hung on chain around his neck and placed them over his nose; with his sight restored - he pecked like a chicken at the digits on his phone.

Tamsin looked away.

He's calling Bo

Of course he is

What did i expect?

Gotta start somewhere I guess

Shit

Maybe it's Dyson

Don't know if that's better or worse

She then tried to imagine how news of Lauren's return would go over, and second-guessed herself over whether or not she should have mentioned that she and the doctor had become intimately entwined.

Of course, having sex with someone does not automatically mean you are a couple, or even dating - but the detective wasn't just afraid of being presumptuous; by far Tamsin's darkest fear was that Lauren was only playing along because she felt she had no other option.

But it didn't feel that way

Hell if she was acting...

...she's one hell of an actress

She took a long, drawn out sip of her vodka, allowing an ice cube to kiss her lip.

Even if it's true

Even if it's true just a little bit

Is that so awful?

And who am I to judge

My motivations haven't always been the purest

The detective smiled timidly, remembering that she proposed the idea of an affair as a means for them to rebound from Bo. It made sense at the time - it didn't now. Tamsin could see straight through some of the lies she'd told herself initially. The big one being that there was just a hint of revenge swirled in with her desire; not enough to make her incentives truly malicious - but it was there - along with a hearty dose curiosity.

And longing, strangely enough. Part of her was still aching from the hole Bo had blown straight through her, and in a way being physical with Lauren was like putting on a favorite worn & tattered sweater forgotten and left behind by a long-passed lover.

She felt shame from these thoughts now, and told herself that if her ridiculous last-minute plan to hide out at the very first place The Dark will come looking backfired she'd just be getting what she deserved.

If only we had more time together

Time to talk about these things

There's so much I should have told you

What if I never get the chance again

Tamsin's mind started to wander off at the thought of what-might-have-been. Hopelessness coupled with a sidecar of vodka was leading her down a dark and dismal perilous path. Luckily, she began to catch wind of Trick's conversation - sparse words scattered here and there like a breadcrumb trail guiding her back to reality. She strained her ears to make sense of his words:

Yes I'm sure

She's here right now

She didn't say

Tamsin imagined what it would feel like to walk through the Dal's front door come Monday, the doctor at her side. She downed the last of her drink and nonchalantly glanced over her shoulder. Trick was standing with his back to her, phone pressed to his ear and his free hand massaging his bald spot.

Suddenly and all at once it occurred to Tamsin that, regardless of what the future held, what she shared with the doctor was still special, and that no exterior force could diminish its meaningfulness. Finding love again was emancipating, rejuvenating — what people of faith refer to as miraculous. The closest comparison the detective could think of was learning to breathe again after years of suffocating under water. How could she be angry or bitter or petty after having received such a gift?

She was reminded of Edelinne just then and brought her hand to her heart. Tamsin realized she'd been in mourning for centuries, punishing herself for failing protect the love of her life — but her grief was a bottomless pit that could never be satisfied by any amount of suffering. She was now asking herself what the point of suffering was if no redemption could ever come from it? As she contemplated making peace with her past and her present — an idea started to blossom in the back of her mind.

You were far braver than I ever was, Eddy.

One idea led to another, and in an instant Tamsin was pushing herself away from the bar. She gathered up her things and dashed towards the door. Trick muffled the receiver of his phone and shouted behind her, "Hey - hey! Where are you going?"

Tamsin spun around on her heel and answered with an excited smile, "The Apple store!"

Just after nightfall Tamsin was hurriedly treading a familiar woodland path. When she was far enough from the road she pulled out her phone and called the gremlin's burner.

"'Allo?"

"Susan I'm on my way to you, I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Nice a' yew to call furst but jeez Louise y'could give a gal a bit maw no-tisss.."

She ended the call and a moment later a tiny light appeared in the distance. Charlie was waiting in the knothole, standing with a candle. "Evenin'!" He waved cheerfully.

Doyler and Susan appeared a moment later, teacups in hand.

"T'what d'we owe this unexpect'd honor? Look, ah'm sorry about yissterday but wiv'out my charismatic smile I got nuffin' — all's I got in this life is my powah of seduct-shun."

"Forget yesterday," Tamsin interjected, "I need you tonight. This is something new, not part of the original plan. Can you help me?"

Susan's lips curled into that familiar greedy smile, "Well if this is sumthin' new, it depends on woss on th' table.."

The detective pulled the delicious white box from her bag and held it before the wide-eyed, salivating group of gremlins.

"IPHONE!" Charlie screeched hysterically.

"That's right bitches, mama's got an iphone for you. Who's in?"

"Wot - wot's the j-job?" Susan was struggling to breathe steadily.

Tamsin handed over a photocopy of Lauren's badge.

"This woman is being held at the same campus as our other job. I know which building, but not which room. Her room will undoubtedly have concealed microphones and cameras. I need you to find which room, disable the monitoring system, and give her this letter."

"Thass it?"

"That's it. And we're leaving now."

The trio of gremlins looked at each other in quiet disbelief.

"Awright then I'll git mah purse."