"So what happened?" Annaliese asked. Elijah had been too distracted to talk to her over the phone, so she'd just decided to come visit in person instead.
"Someone burned your mother's bakeries down," her father told her.
"Really?" Annaliese asked, looking down at her sobbing mother, then taking a seat next to her on the bed. "I'm very sorry, Mom."
"You...you don't have to be," Selina replied. "It's not like you did it, right?"
"Of course not," Annaliese said. "Does anyone have any idea who might have done it?"
"She just found out," Elijah replied. "And once she's in a more stable frame of mind, we're gonna go talk to the police."
"We don't need to talk to the police!" Selina said. "I already told you that it was your father who did it!"
"You don't know that," Elijah said firmly. "And if you accuse him unjustly, it could lead to trouble that I don't really want to deal with. So we'll leave a report with the police, and then, as politely as I can, I'll go talk to my father. All right? But we'll do it later. You don't seem to be in the frame of mind to handle this right now."
Selina's face twisted. "Okay."
Instead of taking her to the police station, Elijah took her home and brought her to bed. slowly undressing her, then standing at the foot of the bed so she could watch him undress. But instead of reacting with lip-licking enthusiasm like usual, she just stared blankly, and when he got into bed beside her, her participation in their sexual activities was only half-hearted.
"Sorry," she said when Elijah was finally forced to give up. "I appreciate your efforts to cheer me up, sweetie, I really do, but...I just can't focus right now. It's all too raw. Maybe we could try later."
"All right," Elijah said with a sigh, getting out of bed, dressing, tucking Selina in and kissing her. "Try and relax," he said. "Think happy thoughts. We'll deal with this, I promise."
"I know," Selina replied. "I know."
After Annaliese returned to her and Peter's, she actually did decide to call her sister.
"We'd love to come!" Margaret replied. "We've kind of been in need of new friends since our dear brother and Emily can make out and stuff now."
"Why?" Annaliese asked. "How?"
"Well, I sort of, um...took Tristan out to the cemetery and we got Emily a third body to reside in," Henry said, not meeting Margaret's eyes as her jaw dropped. She took the phone out of Henry's grasp and stalked away with it. "We'll be there to visit whenever you want, but first I have to have a talk with Henry, if you don't mind," Margaret told her sister. "Goodbye!"
"Bye," Annaliese said and hung up, imagining the look on poor Henry's face as Margaret went after him.
"How could you do something like take Tristan out to a cemetery and dig up a body to give to Emily and not tell me about it?" Margaret asked Henry. "Tell me why! I wanna know!"
"I just...I didn't think you'd care!" Henry replied, backing away from her nervously. She'd grabbed a knife and was approaching him with it, holding the pointy side up. "Relax and put the knife down, would you?"
"What if you'd gotten hurt?" Margaret asked. "Or if someone had caught you? I would have had no idea where you were! It would have made me worried sick! Why didn't you think of that?"
"I'm sorry!" Henry cried. "I'm sorry!" He then quickly zapped the knife out of her grip so that it landed safely in the knife block, and held her arms. "You have every right to be angry with me, Maggie," he told her. "But if we're gonna talk about this, it will be as calm, rational people...not using any sharp, pointy weapons. Okay?"
"Fine," Margaret replied, her face twisting. "Just let me go."
"All right," Henry replied and released her. "Where would you like to talk?" He paused. "How about our bedroom? Let's go there!"
"Are you trying to stop me from being mad at you using sex?" Margaret asked.
"It depends," Henry replied. "Would it work? I've already told you that I was sorry. I don't know what else to do."
"Do you swear that you'll never do anything like that again without at least telling me first so that if you die or get hurt, I'll know where you are?" Margaret asked. "Cause that's really what I'm mad about. Not that you got Emily another body, cause lord knows Tristan and Emily deserve to be happy finally, but that you went and did something potentially dangerous and I had no idea about it."
"I know," Henry nodded and took her in his arms, hugging her tight. "And I'm sorry. I promise that the next time I do something that is potentially dangerous and could get me killed, I'll bring you with me."
"Damn right you will!" Margaret replied. "Now, did you mention something about us having sex?"
"Sure!" Henry replied. "If you want to."
"Well, have you ever known me to tell you 'No'?" Margaret responded.
"Good point," Henry replied and picked her up. "Come on! We'll have a little fun, and then I'll be in good enough spirits to go and see your sister. How about that?"
"Wonderful," Margaret replied as Henry zapped them into the bedroom and began taking off her clothes. When she was just in her panties, she grabbed him, unzipped his pants, and gave him a big kiss. "Works for me!"
The next day, after Selina and Elijah returned from what she believed to be a fruitless encounter with the police, she gave Elijah a look. "You gonna go make your father confess what he did now?" She asked.
"Yes, yes, yes," Elijah sighed. "And if it turns out that he's the perpetrator, I'll deal with it."
"And don't tell him that I've cried, either," Selina said. "Please don't. I don't want him to know how much he hurt me!"
"I wouldn't do that to you," Elijah told her. "And I know this is difficult to ask, but...why don't you try not to think of what happened, at least for a little bit. We go back to bed. I'll help you relax."
"Okay," Selina replied. "I don't think it will work, but since it's been a few days, I'll give it a shot."
"All right," Elijah replied. But she was still restless. Not only in regards to sex, but in other ways too. The day Elijah decided to confront Mikael, he left Selina with a bag of stuff from the grocery store. She'd decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies, after reasoning that just because her bakeries were burned down, that didn't mean she couldn't bake anything ever again. Seeing this as an improvement in her mood, Elijah gave her a kiss, wished her luck, and went off to face his father.
"Well, look who's here?" Mikael said, a smirk on his lips when he opened his front door and found Elijah standing on the other side looking angry. "I wondered when you were going to come and see me." He grinned wider. "And how's your lovely wife? It's a shame to hear about what happened to those bakeries she was so fond of."
"And you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Elijah asked. "Seeing as how you were the one who burned them down!"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" Mikael replied with an incredulous laugh. "Don't you think I have better things to do with my time than commit petty acts of arson?"
"Well, I would hope so!" Elijah replied. "But Selina told me that you came to one of her bakeries around the time the fires happened."
"So did a bunch of other people and I don't see you accusing them of arson," Mikael replied. "It just so happens I was visiting your wife's establishment because I was watching Regina and she wanted something sweet. That was my only purpose in coming anywhere near that place.
"Tell me, though," Elijah replied. "Who else but you would have reason to want to hurt her in such a manner? Why did you do it, Father? Was it in the hopes that losing one of the most important things in her life would break her and she'd be so upset that she would start killing again, which would give you an excuse to murder her?"
Mikael smiled. "Perhaps," he said. "Good plan, don't you think?"
It was then, as what his father was saying sunk in, and Elijah stared at the smarmy smirk on his father's face, that rage he'd not felt for years overtook him and he punched his father, breaking his nose. Once the deed was done, they both stared at one other in shock as Mikael reached up to touch some of the blood that was now flowing freely from his nose.
Elijah began to back away as his father growled and advanced on him. "You remember what I did the last time you acted foolishly toward me regarding your wife," Mikael said.
"You mean when you thrust a dagger in my heart and locked me away for six years?" Elijah asked.
"Yes," Mikael nodded. "I did it because you made the wrong choice, and apparently haven't learned a thing since then."
"Oh, I've learned a lot, Father," Elijah replied, trying to stop himself from showing any fear. "I've learned that I love my wife and my children a lot more than you ever cared for Mother, or me, or any of my brothers and sisters, and I think it's really helped me. And that's why, whenever it comes down to my having to decide between you or my wife, I'll always pick her, because she loves me, and you never did."
"Love isn't everything," Mikael replied. "Love is weakness. Love can be taken away. It's not worth it."
"Oh, but it is," Elijah replied. "I know you've loved, Father. I know things went wrong and you and Mother ended badly, but...just because that happened to you doesn't mean it will happen to me. I love my wife, she loves me, and I'm going to enjoy that, rather than waste my time being suspicious and angry so I end up becoming suspicious and alone like you."
"Fine," Mikael replied, his tone sharp. "You've been a lost cause and a disappointment to me for years. Go and destroy your life. I have no use for you anymore."
"Oh, really?" Elijah asked, his hand on the doorknob. "Do you really mean it this time?" Then, before Mikael could reply, Elijah slammed the door behind him and went back to his wife.
When Elijah returned home, the first thing that hit him when he closed the front door behind him was the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Good, he thought to himself. Selina has realized that not having a bakery doesn't mean she can't ever bake again. Maybe she's cheering up.
But when he reached the kitchen, his jaw dropped. Every inch of the counter tops and floor was covered in pans full of cookies, and of course, Selina was pulling yet another dozen out of the oven. "Darling?" Elijah asked carefully. "What in the hell is going on here?"
"I thought I should keep busy," Selina replied. "Now that I have no bakeries, I need to find something to do with myself. Did you talk to your father?"
"Yes, and I even punched him in the face," Elijah replied. "You would have been impressed!"
"You punched him in the face to defend me?" Selina asked. "How sweet!" She moved some of the full pans of cookies aside so she had a pathway out of the kitchen, and told Elijah, "Have as many as you want. I'm off to the store to get more ingredients, okay?"
"Now just a minute!" Elijah replied, grabbing her wrist and groaning when he realized that he'd stepped on one of the many pans of cookies. "I think you should stay here. You haven't been sleeping, you're baking crazy amounts, you just...I think you need some rest."
"No!" Selina shook her head, looking like she was about to cry. "I was just about to go search for another bakery building! I'll stop baking cookies, I swear!"
Elijah looked at her desperate face and made a decision that he knew one day he would regret, but for now, it had to be done. "I want you to forget all of this," he said, locking eyes with his wife. "I want you to forget that your bakeries are gone, that you need to get a bunch of stuff done to start up new bakeries, and that you haven't been sleeping."
"All right," Selina nodded, a relaxed smile lighting up her face.
"Good," Elijah replied and moved some of her dark hair out of her eyes. "Now, why don't you come to bed with me? I think we both need a break."
"All right!" Selina grinned and stripped down right there in the kitchen, then grabbed him and gave him a kiss. "Race you to the bedroom!"
"All right," Elijah replied. His underwear-clad wife took off, but as much as he wanted to follow after her, he knew he shouldn't leave the kitchen in its current state. It took awhile,but he managed to find locations and containers for all the cookies, and then, with a sigh, he headed to their bedroom, apologized to Selina for taking so long, stripped off his clothes, and climbed into bed with her, taking her in his arms, tickling her until she burst out laughing, then just held her close to his heart, not being able to think of anything else except how much he wanted to protect her, from his father, and everything else.
