"I'm gonna have to apologize to your father," Selina told Elijah. "I really didn't mean to lose King. And we were getting along so well!"

"It's not your fault!" Elijah replied. "I know you would ever lose King on purpose. He compelled you to think everything was okay. You shouldn't have to apologize for that! Father and King should!"

"Even so, I shouldn't have let him run off," Selina sighed.

Elijah put his arms around her and gave her a kiss. "He's a determined child of Original descent. Despite your hybrid status, you're no match for that. Don't feel bad. I forbid it!"

"Well, all right," Selina replied. "I'll try. If I allow you to forbid anything, it's being upset about King. Cause I mean, I know what you're saying is right, but I still can't help feeling bad."

It was then that the doorbell rang and then Laura strode in with Eli a few seconds later. "Hi, Mom," she said. "Want to come ice skating with Eli and me at that new indoor rink?"

Selina surveyed them. "Are you sure you want me near your kid? I could lose him."

"Oh, it'll be fine!" Laura said.

"Yeah, come with us, Grandma! Please?" Eli begged.

"Go," Elijah urged with a smile. "It'll be good for you!"

"Okay," Selina replied, standing up. "If you really want me to. I can't promise that I'm a pretty skater, though."

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Laura replied. "Lots of people aren't so good." She looked at her father. "What about you, Daddy?" She asked. "Can you ice skate without falling flat on your face?"

"Well, yes," Elijah nodded.

"Wanna come and at least help keep me upright?" Selina asked.

"Oh, why not?" Elijah asked. "I suppose the fresh air will do me good and it's been awhile since I've engaged in some free-spirited frivolity."

"You know, some people call it 'fun'," Laura told him as they headed to the car.

"Well you may call it whatever you like," Elijah replied. "The point is, I'm coming with you."

"Good," Laura replied. "Let me guess: you wanna drive."

"Oh, no," Elijah said. "I'd rather sit with your mother in the backseat."

Laura smiled. "Is someone gonna have to be your chaperone, or can I trust you two crazy kids to behave yourselves?"

"Yes," Elijah replied. "We'll be fine, Laura Christina."

They reached the car, and Elijah paused by the door. "I forgot my scarf," he said. "I need to run back in the house and get it." So they let him, and when he returned, he wore no scarf, and was looking perturbed.

"What's the matter?" Selina asked.

"I can't find my scarf," Elijah replied. "I looked everywhere."

"Oh, that's nothing to worry about!" Selina said, coming inside with him. "I've knitted a gazillion scarves." She grabbed a pink one off the back of a chair and handed it to him. "Here," she said. "Wear this one. It's Ethan's, but it'll do for now. He's not here. He won't miss it."

"I'm not wearing that!" Elijah replied irritably as Selina put it around his neck. "It's pink!"

"So what?" Selina asked. "It's not like anyone will care. Besides, I can't see any others and we don't want to keep Laura and Eli waiting." She then took his hand and led him outside. "Wow, Dad," Laura remarked. "Nice scarf."

"See, I told you people would notice!" Elijah whispered angrily.

"Just get in the car," Selina snapped. "When we get to the ice rink, you can take off the damn scarf and there will be no reason to fuss until we leave and you have to put it on again."

Elijah rolled his eyes and got inside, and Selina followed after. They were silent on the way to the rink and definitely did not need a chaperone.

True to what Selina predicted, Elijah was in much better spirits once they got inside the rink and he could remove his coat and scarf. They got on their skates and headed onto the ice, where Selina discovered that Elijah was much more graceful than she realized.

"You promise you won't let go of my hand?" She asked as he pulled her along after him.

"Of course not," Elijah replied. "All you have to do is trust me." But she didn't get him for long, cause he soon noticed that his daughter was more wobbly on skates than his wife and was constantly falling, cause Eli wasn't strong enough to keep her upright.

"Here, dear," he said as he reached for Laura's hand to help her up. "Why don't you skate with me for awhile? Your mother is really not as inept at this as she says she is."

"Are you sure?" Laura asked as he pulled her to her feet. "I don't want to break up a good team."

"It's fine," Elijah replied. "I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind." So Selina then skated with Eli, and Elijah helped Laura along (even though she still struggled under his guidance.) And when her loss of balance sent both her and her father tumbling on the ice, she'd decided she'd had enough.

"Thanks for trying to help me, Daddy," she said as they both struggled to their feet. "But I think I'm done for now. I'll just go take off my skates and have a cocoa, and you and Mom and Eli can enjoy yourselves."

"Are you sure?" Elijah asked. "Cause I can keep helping you. I don't mind. It's just like when you were learning how to walk."

"Did I knock you on your face on the carpet then, too?" Laura asked dryly.

"Well, no," Elijah replied. "But what I'm saying is that if you want to keep going, it's no trouble."

"And I appreciate that," Laura said. "But I think I'll just sit and watch you all. That would be more fun."

"All right," Elijah nodded and kissed her hair. "If you insist." He then walked her to a bench near the ice rink and untied and removed her skates for her. "There you go," he said. "Where are your shoes?"

"Oh, I'll find them," Laura said. "They're around here somewhere. You go have fun. And thanks for the help with my skates."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied, and after kissing Laura one more time, he went back into the rink while she put her shoes on, ordered a cocoa, and watched her family skate.

"You're just having to fix your family left and right, aren't you?" Edward asked Laura as he took her in his arms. "You're really a saint. Do you know that?"

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Laura replied with a smile and kissed him. "But I am pretty great! You're so lucky!"

"You haven't told me how ice skating went," Edward said. "Was it good?"

"I fell on my butt one too many times and then got cocoa and left the ice-skating to Mom, Dad, and Eli. He did a lot better than me," Laura replied.

"Well, let me see if I can help you feel better," Edward said, moving his hands down her waist and giving her butt a squeeze.

"Yeah, that's better," Laura replied. "But let's keep going anyway." She leaned forward to kiss him and backed him up against a wall as he helped her pull off her sweater and then she reached down to unzip his pants. They were down to their underwear soon after that and Edward carried Laura to bed. She removed his glasses and smiled at him. "Do you think you'll need these?" She asked.

"No," Edward replied. "I think I can navigate your body well enough without them by now. Plus, I know I look better without them anyway."

"Oh, that's not true!" Laura replied, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair as he unhooked her bra and helped her wiggle out of her panties. "You are a very handsome man, and thanks to that, we have two very good looking sons."

"Don't give me all the credit for that," Edward replied, taking her face in his hands and giving her a kiss. "Save some for yourself. We all know I'm gonna be an old guy in about ten years while you'll still be beautiful!"

Laura shook her head. "I like the idea of being with a distinguished man," she said. "But you just say the word and we can change you whenever you want." Then she leaned back and shut her eyes, feeling tension depart as he touched her and ran his warm hands over her body. This was so relaxing. Much better than having to deal with what was going on between Elizabeth and Charlie. She was glad to put that out of her mind for a few hours, even though she knew it would find some way to pop up sometime soon.

Katherine came back from telling Elizabeth good night and she collapsed on the bed, looking dejected.

"What's the matter?" Gregory asked, playing with her hair. "Can I help?"

"That's the problem," Katherine replied. "I don't think anybody can. But I can't just sit on my ass and watch Elizabeth suffer. I just can't."

"When we brought Elizabeth home, I know you were hesitant about raising her, so now I'm gonna say something that I never thought I'd get to say," Gregory said, holding Katherine to himself. "You're a good mother, Katerina."

"Well, thank you," Katherine replied. "Cause I really do try, you know."

"Yeah," Gregory kissed her. "I know."

"So what should we do?" Katherine asked. "She says she doesn't want to turn yet, and I respect that. But what other options are there to make her feel like she fits in?"

"I'm not sure," Gregory replied. "For now, I guess all we can do is listen when she wants to talk and hope she'll share things with us."

"And not kicking her out of the house when she has an upset would probably be another good idea to help her fit in," Katherine told Gregory pointedly. "You hated it with your father did it to you, so I don't know why the hell you thought it would be a good idea with Elizabeth."

"Hey, it wasn't so tragic for me when Father kicked me out," Gregory said, moving Katherine's hair off her neck and kissing the soft skin there before giving it a nip that made Katherine jump a little. "Then I got to come and live with you!"

Katherine chuckled. "I don't know if that was one of the best or stupidest decisions you ever made."

"The best," Gregory said firmly. "It's how I got you and Elizabeth, so it's definitely the best."

"Ah, you softie," Katherine told him.

"I know," Gregory replied. "But you're touched and you know it." He smiled.

"You're absolutely ridiculous sometimes, you know that?" Katherine asked. But she hugged him anyway, and Gregory just sat there holding her, stroking her hair, and thinking how lucky he was to have her, even if she did drive him crazy sometimes.