Laura and Katherine looked at each other awkwardly as Charlie and Elizabeth chased each other around the park.
"Look," Laura said finally to Katherine. "I don't like you, and I don't think I ever will, but since our kids seem to like each other, we should at least find a way to be civil to one another."
"Did you hear me say a single bad thing to you?" Katherine asked. "What happened to 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'?"
"You're right," Laura replied. "Sorry."
At that point, Charlie fell down and burst into tears. As Laura ran toward him, Elizabeth helped him up and kissed his boo-boo. He seemed fine after that and Laura went back to the bench and she and Katherine continued to sit in awkward silence watching their children play.
Eventually, it mercifully ended with Laura taking Charlie home and Katherine taking Elizabeth home. Neither woman said goodbye to the other.
"Can I go to the park with Charlie again soon, Mommy?" Elizabeth asked her mother when they'd settled themselves in the car.
"I don't know," Katherine replied. "I find these trips a little tiring."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"Cause your Aunt Laura doesn't like me," Katherine replied.
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"I don't know," Katherine replied. "Maybe your grandmother would, though."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"Stop asking me that!" Katherine yelled and hit the horn. Elizabeth didn't cry, but she looked shocked.
Katherine sighed and started the car, not saying another word until she and Elizabeth got home, and mercifully, Elizabeth did the same.
"We're back!" Katherine announced, opening the front door and letting Elizabeth run in ahead of her.
"There you are!" Gregory said as Elizabeth ran at him and he picked her up. "How was your time in the park with Aunt Laura and Charlie, Elizabeth?"
"Charlie fell down and got a boo-boo," Elizabeth told her father. "I kissed it better."
"Did you?" Gregory asked. "That's so nice of you." Elizabeth nodded and yawned, leaning her head against Gregory's shoulder and shutting her eyes. her long dark hair cascading over her face. "I'm sleepy."
"Well, let's just settle you down for a nap, then," Gregory replied. He did that and came back to Katherine. "You look absolutely exhausted," he noted. "Did something bad happen? Was Laura mean to you?"
Katherine shook her head. "Not any more than usual," she replied. "It's nothing I can't handle."
"Are you sure?" Gregory pressed. "It was very sweet of you to take Elizabeth to play with Charlie, even though I know it's not your cup of tea, spending all that time with my sister."
"It's all right," Katherine replied. Then, her worn out look changed to a grin. "I knew I'd be well-compensated for my good deed by her brother afterward."
Gregory nodded and they walked to their room and stripped down to their underwear with Gregory standing against the wall. "I know you're angry about my sister," he said. "I know there's a lot of frustration held in for Elizabeth's sake, so..." He opened his arms, exposing his chest and stomach. "Take it out on me."
"I'm fine," Katherine replied. "Really. Let's just get in bed."
"I don't believe you," Gregory pressed. "If you hold it all in, you're gonna take it out on some innocent person and it won't end well, so take your anger out on me instead."
With a grunt, Katherine gave him a shove. "I told you," she said through her teeth. "I'm fine." But despite that, she began aiming punches at his gut, which had no real affect on him whatsoever, but it helped her. She gave him a slap across the face, and pulled him into a kiss where she bit his lip and then licked up the blood. He was breathing hard now. "Feeling better?" He whispered, breathing hard.
"For now," she nodded. He then carried her to the bed and dumped her on it, climbing in after her and removing her bra and her panties, before slipping his boxers off and pulling the blankets over both of them as he ran his fingers down her body, kissed the inside of her thighs, and finally, pushed into her as she let out a yell, pulled his hair as she threaded it through her fingers, and scratched his back, her nails leaving long, slightly bloody cuts in his sweating back. She then pulled his face down to kiss her. He then rolled beside her, smiled, and pushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Do you need nap time like our daughter, Katerina?" He asked.
"Maybe just a little," Katherine replied, her eyes shutting behind her curtain of dark hair just like her daughter. Once her breathing steaded, Gregory moved her hair out of her face, kissed her forehead, and settled down to rest himself.
"I don't know about this," Henry said as Margaret stood beside a bike. "It doesn't look safe. Are you sure people ride those?"
"Yes!" Margaret nodded. "Now stop being a chicken and come get on!" She gestured at another bike nearby.
"What if I fall off and hurt my head?" Henry asked.
"That is what this helmet is for," Margaret replied. "And my mom is going to help you too. She'll come out once you decide to get on the darn thing."
"I'll just use my powers to get this thing running," Henry mumbled. "I won't fall off that way."
"You said you weren't gonna use your powers when we did this," Margaret said. "You promised."
"Right, right," Henry sighed. He put the helmet on and then Margaret went to go get Selina so she could help him onto his bike. Then, she showed him her own bike. "I'll be next to you," she said. "Don't worry. After you do this, you'll be like the other ten year old boys." Then, she went to go get her mother.
"All right," Selina said when she and Margaret appeared again a few minutes later. "Need me to help you get your helmet on, Henry?"
"He's still nervous about being on it cause I won't let him use his powers," Margaret replied.
"Why not?" Selina asked. "At least in the beginning, I mean. If it makes him feel comfortable, I think he should, at least until he gets a hang of it."
"Thank you," Henry told her. She helped him get his helmet on and then he got on the bike, making it start with a swish of his hand. It started to go and his eyes widened as it sped up and he realized he was no longer in control of it. "Help me!" He cried. "Make it stop!" Selina ran after him while Margaret shouted, "Put on the brakes! Put on the brakes!" While she pedaled furiously to try and catch up with him.
"I don't know where they are!" Henry called back, and then took a tumble on Selina and Elijah's neighbor's driveway. Then, the bike fell on top of him, and Selina tripped over the bike and fell on top of it.
"Shit, are you all right?" She asked Henry when she got to her feet and picked the bike up. "I'm really sorry. How hurt are you?"
Henry got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Just some bruises," he said. Then he noticed that the nail of one of his little fingers had completely come off. "I broke a nail, too," he said.
"Why did you hurt Henry, Mom?" Margaret asked her mother.
"I didn't mean to," Selina replied. "I tripped and fell."
"But it hurts so much!" Henry wailed, his eye on Margaret. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"What hurts?" Margaret asked.
"My-my finger," Henry said. "And my head. Would you kiss it and make it better?" He asked the favor as if they were still five years old.
"All right," First, Margaret kissed Henry's finger, then his head, and she gave her mother a dirty look as she led him back into the house. "So, do we want to try this again tomorrow?" Selina called after the pair of them as she brought the bikes into the garage and rested them against the trash can. When there was no response, she sighed. "I guess not," she said to herself.
"I know that you probably won't want to hear this," Elijah said one day after he and Selina returned from Kol and Margot's. "But I think it's time you and I-"
"Had another baby?" Selina finished knowingly.
"Yes!" Elijah replied. "How did you know that's what I was going to say?"
"Well, we were just at Kol and Margot's and you could not leave Regina's side," Selina replied. "It wasn't the biggest leap to make."
"Who would have thought that a child raised by my brother could be so charming?" Elijah asked. "Other than a slight preoccupation with her looks, she's turned out very well."
"Lots of little girls especially are obsessed with how they look at that age. Laura was."
"She was?" Elijah asked. "I wouldn't know. I wasn't there, remember?"
"Don't bite my head off," Selina replied, putting her hands up. "It was your father that daggered you for six years, not me."
"So, when are we gonna have another baby?" Elijah asked.
"Eventually," Selina replied, which made Elijah let out an impatient noise. "But I want a baby now!" He exclaimed.
"Fine," Selina replied. "Then give birth to it yourself."
Elijah rolled his eyes, and stormed off to his office, slamming the door loud enough for Selina to hear. "What a dork," she whispered to herself.
She didn't see him the rest of the day, and when she was alone in bed reading that night, she started a little when he came in.
"Ready for bed?" She asked and grinned at him, waiting for him to undress. But instead of undressing, he began pulling clothes out of the dresser and grabbing some other items and putting them in a sack.
"Where are you going?" Selina asked. "Is everything all right?"
"I've decided that I'm moving into the spare bedroom," Elijah replied.
"Why?" Selina asked. Then, it hit her and she gave him a look. "Is this because I don't want to have a baby yet?" She asked.
"Yes," Elijah nodded. "And I want to respect your decision, so I'm going to be in a room of my own where you won't be a distraction to me."
"Excuse me?" Selina said, getting out of bed. "That's really not necessary. Just because I said I don't feel like having kids yet doesn't mean I'm kicking you out."
"I know that," Elijah nodded. "But I really think it's the best for both of us. Good night, dear."
"Good night," Selina replied, her mouth twisting. He left and she slammed the door behind him. Really, sometimes he was the most exasperating man. Or rather, man-child.
The next morning, Selina gasped as she woke up to see Elijah stripping down in front of her. "If you came in here to try and manipulate me..." she began.
"No, of course I wouldn't," Elijah replied, kicking his pajama pants aside. "I simply came in to use the shower, because, if you will recall, the spare room doesn't have a bathroom attached to it."
"Well, you could have gone into the bathroom and changed," Selina said, covering herself up.
"Why?" Elijah asked. "Has it come to the point where the sight of my body repulses you?" He stood directly in at the foot of the bed in all his glory.
"No, no, stop!" Selina cried, her face buried in her pillow. "Take your shower and just go away!"
Elijah chucked and then came to run his fingers through her tangled hair. "As you wish, my love," he whispered, then leaned down to nibble a little on her exposed ear. She didn't look up again until she heard the bathroom door slam and the shower water turn on. Then she sat up. "What the fuck?" She whispered to herself. She had to figure out a counterattack to Elijah's scheme. Because if she didn't plan a good defense, this would be a very difficult period of time for her.