"So Savannah goes and sees your mother today," Amy said to Klaus the next morning.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I think that would be best."

"Would you mind horribly if I stayed home this time around?" Amy asked him. "From the sound of your mother, I don't think I'm ready to meet her yet."

"Why not?" Klaus asked. "What exactly did Enid tell you about her?"

"She freaking broke all of Selina's limbs when Selina did something she didn't like!" Amy said. "Don't you tell me that's not something to worry about, Klaus!"

"I understand," Klaus nodded. "You're letting yourself get agitated and that won't do you any good. Now just sit down and breathe!"

"All right," Amy nodded and took some deep breaths. "I am breathing. I am calm. So, do you think if your mother saw me, she'd want to break all my limbs too?"

"Well, surely Enid told you that the reason all Selina's limbs were broken is because Mother was under the impression that Selina had killed Elijah's wife at the time. Mother was very fond of her and hated to see her go. She doesn't just go around breaking people's limbs for no reason!"

"Well, that makes me feel a little better," Amy told him. "But still, I think I would prefer to sit this meeting out and go next time you visit her."

"All right, it's good you know you're going to have to come sometime," Klaus told her. "Mother knows Selina and I aren't together anymore and she'll no doubt wonder where this latest grandchild came from."

"What if she doesn't like me as much as she likes Selina?" Amy asked. "What kind of shoes am I filling?"

"Oh, don't work yourself up so much," Klaus replied, picking Savannah up. "She's not gonna hate you. As long as you give her grandchildren, she's good. And you have, so you don't have to worry." He paused. "Now, are you certain you can't find it in yourself to come with us?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "Not now. Please give your mother my regrets and tell her that I'll see her on your next visit."

"All right," Klaus nodded. "But you know what not going to see my mother makes you?"

"A big coward," Amy nodded. "I know."

"I was gonna say it makes you a hell of a lot smarter than me, but if you want to go with 'coward', that's your prerogative," Klaus told her. "Take care of yourself. I don't know exactly when we'll get back. If she wrangles us into staying the night, which is a possibility, I'll call and let you know."

"All right," Amy called after them as they headed to the car. "Good luck! See you later!"

"So how did it go?" Amy asked as Klaus came into the living room with Savannah a few hours later. "Is she okay? Did she make it through the visit with your mother?"

Klaus plunked Savannah down in Amy's lap. Her eyes were wide and she looked overwhelmed. "What did your mother do to her?" Amy asked. "She looks horrified!"

"Well, let's just say my mother is very affectionate. She took her from me the second we got in the door and wouldn't give her up until we left."

"Oh, you poor sweetie!" Amy said. "Let's put you in bed so you have time to yourself."

"I don't mind going to bed," Klaus told Amy. "But I don't need to be by myself. In fact, I would enjoy your company much more."

"I was talking to Savannah," Amy replied dryly, clutching the overwhelmed baby. "I'm gonna give her a bottle, put her in her crib, and then you and I can do...whatever."

"'Whatever' is code for something, right?" Klaus asked.

"Not really," Amy shrugged. "I just don't know what to do."

"I think I deserve a really big reward for spending the whole day with my mother," Klaus replied.

"I'll think about it," Amy told him. "Just be patient. Maybe go out hunting in the mean time."

"Great," Klaus sighed. "I spend the day with my mother and now Amy is being a tease. Everything is coming up me."

Klaus headed in the direction of his and Amy's room, then turned around to see if she was following him. "Oh," he said when he realized she wasn't. "You were serious about having to decide about sex. I thought you were just teasing."

"I'll be there in a minute," Amy said, picking up some dishes around her. "Just let me go put these dishes in the dishwasher and I'll join you."

"Or you could zap them clean," Klaus pointed out. "That would be quicker."

Just then, Amy pointed and suddenly Klaus was clad in nothing but his boxers. "How's that for quick?" She asked, blowing on her finger as if it were a smoking gun.

"That's a perfect speed for me," Klaus replied. He then picked up all the dishes, put them in the sink, and carried Amy to bed.

"Don't bother zapping your clothes off," he told her as he kissed her neck. "I enjoy my own method of removal much more."

"Wait just a second!" Amy said, giggling because his lips tickled.

"What now?" Klaus asked.

"Well, what happened at your mother's?" Amy asked. "I wanna know. Did she ask about me?"

"Yes, she did," Klaus nodded. "And as I suspected, she was a little sad you didn't come with us."

"Did you tell her I'd come next time?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I did," Klaus nodded. "But that didn't make her any less disappointed."

"Well," Amy swallowed. "Has she already planned our next meeting? Maybe the three of us can go to dinner this weekend. She does eat, right?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "She eats. You would think she'd be a traditionalist, but she's not."

"Well, all right, then," Amy nodded. "When you've recovered, would you call her and ask if she'd be willing to go to dinner with the two of us?"

"All right," Klaus nodded. "Now, can we stop talking about my mother and focus on other things?"

"Yes," Amy nodded and let Klaus pull her into his arms. "Now we can focus on other things."

They kissed each other deeply, then Klaus undressed Amy and lay back as she stroked him and slipped her mouth his penis and sucked gently. Eventually, he came and let out a yell, grabbing Amy and flipping her underneath him to push into her, which caused her to be just as noisy. He then rolled off her and they rested. Then Amy sat up. "Savannah is quiet," she said. "You would think all of our noise would have woken her. Maybe I should check and see if she's all right."

"I bet she's fine," Klaus told her. "Just let her sleep."

"No," Amy shook her head. "I have to go and check on her. I've been reading all these parenting books that say it's possible for babies to die in their sleep!" She ran out of the room and he put his pants on and followed her. They found Savannah still sound asleep, contentedly sucking on her pacifier. "See, I told you she was fine," Klaus said to Amy. "Didn't I tell you that? And you have to stop reading those parenting books. They're about human babies, and Savannah is not a human baby. You keep reading those books and you'll make yourself sick!"

"All right," Amy nodded, taking Savannah's hand. "I guess you're right. Did Selina ever read parenting books?"

Klaus scoffed. "That would mean she'd want someone to tell her what to do, and it will be a cold day in hell before she let's that happen. The weird thing is, Elijah loves to tell people what to do, so how those two work out is always gonna be a bit of a mystery to me. Now, what do you say we let Savannah keep sleeping and go back to bed? Because she's clearly alive." He pointed to her pacifier bobbing up and down as she sucked on it. "See that? Our time with my mother clearly wore her out."

"Yeah, I see it," Amy sighed. "You're right. She's fine."

"Of course I'm right," Klaus replied, herding her out of the room. "If you'd just remember that, it would make things so much easier."

"All right," Amy nodded. "I'll try to remember that. Except for when you're wrong, that is. But let me guess: you're never wrong."

"I try not to be," Klaus replied. "Now, are we going back to bed or not?"

Amy shrugged. "We might as well," she said. "For another half hour anyway. Then it's time for her to be fed. I have the bottle all ready and everything."

"You know," Klaus said as they got back into bed. "I'm glad you have Savannah on a bottle now."

"You are?" Amy asked. "Why?"

Klaus then grinned wickedly. "Cause now I have your beautiful breasts all to myself," he said. "I really hate having to share."

The night before James was to leave on his mission for Astrid, he and Lenora planned a big night of goodbye sex to tide them over. Lenora finished doing the dishes before bed while James stripped down to his boxers and waited. Eventually, he heard a soft knock on the bedroom door. He chuckled and went to open it, preparing to make the most suave pick up line ever, but the person on the other side was not Lenora. It was Susanna. "Hi, Daddy," she said to him. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Just a minute," he said and put on a shirt. Then he went back and picked her up, bringing her into the room. "Mommy and I have plans tonight before I go," he said. "You go and sleep in your own bed and I promise I'll say good morning to you before I leave tomorrow."

"No!" Susanna shook her head and held on to him tight. "I wanna stay in your bed! You don't love me anymore!"

"Of course I love you!" James replied. "Now, let me go please and go back to bed."

"What's going on in here?" Lenora asked, her robe open to reveal her underwear and bra. "Susanna, you're supposed to be in bed, young lady!"

"I wanna stay with Daddy cause he's leaving!" Susanna cried.

"She's not letting me go," James said, his voice strangled. "Lenora, help!"

Lenora tried to pull Susanna off, but she ended up being covered in scratches and bruises. Finally, Lenora gave up.

"All right," she told Susanna. "If it's that important to you, you can stay with your daddy tonight."

"But...?" James complained, his jaw dropping a little.

"Trust me on this, James," Lenora said. "We have to stop fighting her. It's not worth the pain."

Susanna smiled. "So I stay here?"

"Yes," Lenora said. "But if you want something from Mommy and Daddy in the future, you don't have to hurt us to get it. No scratching, no hitting, use your words!"

"All right," Susanna said and made Lenora disappear. Then she snuggled up against James and shut her eyes.

James looked down at his sleeping daughter and sighed. It wasn't how he'd wanted to spend his last night before he left, but it would have to do. He tucked her in beside him and tried to relax so he could get some rest and be in good shape for his mission the next day. It took awhile, but eventually, he managed to sink into dreamless nothingness, and he was glad for it.

The next morning, he woke up to see the naked back of a woman with long blonde hair. He stared for a few seconds, then his eyes widened and he cried out, backing away from her on the bed as much as he could. "Damn it!" He cried. "What the fuck? Bloody hell!"

He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, feeling sick. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Can I come in there?" A female voice asked. "James, are you all right? What's the matter?"

"Go away!" He cried. "For the love of god, just go away!"

The door opened and James closed his eyes and sat on the toilet. "When I open my eyes, will you go away?"

"That's a nice way to talk to your wife who you're leaving for months in a few hours!" The voice said. It sounded indignant. "James, what is the matter with you?"

James opened his eyes and looked up. "Oh, Lenora!" He cried and jumped up from the toilet to hug and kiss her. "I'm so relieved it's you! If it would have been who I thought it was, that would have been absolute hell!"

"Wait," Lenora said, holding him at arms' length. "Who exactly did you think was in bed with you?"

"I thought it was Susanna aged twenty years!" James exclaimed. "And don't you look at me like I'm crazy. Stuff like that can happen. And besides, it was her that was in bed with me when I went to sleep last night, not you! Stop looking at me like that!"

Lenora looked at him for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. "You-" she chuckled. "You actually thought-" She started laughing so hard she couldn't speak, and as James frowned deeper and deeper, she finally got her breath. "Sorry," she apologized. "That wasn't nice of me."

"It sure as hell wasn't!" James replied. "Explain yourself!"

"Oh," Lenora wiped her teary eyes. "It's just that...when I was around four years old, Mom dropped me off at Damon's neighbors' house for a Halloween party along with Aunt Lucy and her brother Sam, who were six at the time. We went trick-or-treating and were sorting out our candy afterwards when I discovered they had candy I wanted. But they wouldn't give it to me, so I put a spell on them to make them age ten years, and then I took possession of all their candy. Mom always meant to have me take that spell off, but we never got around to it, and now there's really no point."

"So it was you all the time?" James asked. "It was never Susanna?"

"Exactly," Lenora nodded. "Susanna came and got me around three in the morning and told me she was willing to sleep in her own bed and that I should be in bed with you, so we switched. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, cause it would still allow us some time together before you left, but apparently, it wasn't as good of a surprise as I thought. Are you really okay?"

"Yes," James nodded, putting his arms around her again. "A couple of stiff drinks and I'll be fine."

"No, you don't want to show up drunk in front of my grandma," Lenora replied and let her robe fall to the floor. "I have a better idea."

"You're right," James replied, looking her body over, then grabbing her in a bear hug. "That is a much better idea!"

She let him carry her to the bed and they rolled around for an hour or two before Lenora looked over at the clock and realized that James didn't have much time left.

"You should probably dress and say 'goodbye' to the kids before you go," Lenora told him. He noticed she was on the verge of crying.

"What's the matter?" James asked her.

"I don't know," she said. "It's stupid, but I have this fear that you won't come back."

"Of course I'll come back!" James told her and hugged her. "I promise."

"Yeah, I know you will," Lenora sniffled. "It's just me being silly. Go tell the kids goodbye now, before you have to go. I promise I'll be all right."

James wasn't sure he believed her, but he went to Susanna's room anyway, where she was soundly sleeping, curled up in her bed, the covers tucked tightly around her. He watched her for a brief moment before gently shaking her awake. "Hey?" He whispered. "Monster? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Susanna let out a groan and her eyes opened. She peered at James for a minute, then sat up and yawned. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi," he said, sitting down next to her and taking her in his arms. "Your mother told me that you let her come back to my bed, and I wanted to thank you. That was very nice of you."

"You're welcome," Susanna replied and leaned against him. "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes," James nodded, kissing her head. "I have to, unfortunately, and it will be awhile before I come back, but I promise I'll call you every night, okay?"

"All right," Susanna nodded and held up her tiny pinky. "Pinky swear?"

"What's that?" James asked. "What are you doing?"

"You hafta put your pinky with my pinky," Susanna said, hooking them together. "Then you promise to do something and it means you have to do it. That's what Henry says."

"Oh," James nodded. "All right. I pinky swear I'll call you every night."

"All right," Susanna nodded and gave him one last hug. "Goodbye, Daddy."

James smiled and ruffled Susanna's hair. "Goodbye, Monster." He then headed for Henry's room.

"Are you going?" Henry asked right off when James came through the door.

"Yes," James nodded. "I'm afraid I have to. But I'll be back, eventually. I told Susanna I would call her, and if she lets you have the phone for a bit, I hope we can chat too." He smiled. "Or will you be so busy with the lady Margaret you won't even realize I'm gone?"

"I will," Henry said. Then he paused. "Can I come with you on your job for Grandma?"

"As much as I would love that, I don't think the time is right," James replied. "You're a big boy, Henry, but you're still young. When you're older, when you get to be a teenager, perhaps I'll take you, but for now, you have to stay home and be the man of the house for me, and watch over your mother and sister."

"Oh, all right," Henry sighed. "I will."

"Good lad," James nodded and held out his hand. Henry gave it a brief but firm shake and then after one last goodbye, James was on his way, with no idea when he would be home to see his family again.