Malachai let himself wake up late in the morning just this once. He had some studying to do after the spell for Tyler and Isabella and he'd decided the night before that he needed to be well rested. Thus, it was almost eleven in the morning when he pulled the covers aside, showered, and then got dressed in worn jeans with a hole in one knee and his old gray college sweatshirt. He then headed to the kitchen and as he made coffee and cereal, grinned at the silence. Good thing for him to have while he looked through his books and notes.

But that didn't last for long: Soon, the doorbell rang, and even though he hadn't been expecting anyone, there were only a number of people who'd come to visit him since his split with Helene so it wasn't hard to guess who was at the door. But when he opened it, he realized that he'd guessed wrong.

"Hi, Malachai!" Cried Avery. He took one look at her, let out a small yell, and then slammed the door in her face as she tried to step in the house.

"That's not very nice, you know!" She called. "I have heavy books in my arms cause Mom and Dad...I mean, Steve and Gwen, wanted you to teach me magic and manners. But maybe when I tell them how you're treating me, they'll ask someone else."

"Good!" Malachai cried. "That's the point."

"Oh, come on," Avery cried. "I'm going to be very polite! I promise I'll behave! You're not being very fair!"

"I...your parents should have warned me before they sent you over here," Malachai said and tried not to breathe too hard. "I'm very busy."

"Doing what? Wearing an ugly shirt and stuffing your face?" She called. "I like those jeans though. They make you look tough and manly and hot!" Her words were met with silence instead of an invitation inside, so she stomped her foot. "Open this door!" She cried. "I can't do it myself. Remember all the heavy books I have?"

More silence. Then Malachai decided that it would be best to just let her in and explain things to her that way. He opened the door as far as it would go without undoing the chain. "All right, I'll let you in, but you have to promise that you'll behave."

"Of course I will!" Avery replied earnestly. "Cross my heart!"

He opened the door but blocked the entryway because he still had a few things to figure out. "Now, tell me more about these books? Why do you have them? What did your parents want from me exactly?"

Avery sighed and rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear me say that Gwen and Steve want you to teach me magic and good manners?"

Malachai sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, of course. I did say that some time ago but I didn't expect your mother to actually take me up on it."

"But of course she would," Avery said. "Anything to make me go away." She then gave him a look. "You do see how nice I'm being right now, right? If I wanted into that house really bad, I could just blast you out of the way and come inside, but I'm letting you stay there, even though it hurts my feelings." She pouted.

Malachai groaned. "It's not that I don't want to teach you, but I had plans today!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Can't I just read my books and eat cereal alone? What does a man have to do to make that happen?"

"Please, please, pretty please?" Avery begged, her dark eyes big. "I came with good intentions. I just want to learn about my powers from the best there is!" She crossed her fingers behind her back and gave him her biggest, most innocent smile.

"Oh, damn," Malachai sighed. "I just know I'm gonna regret this." But he got out of the doorway and gestured for her to come in, even taking her books for her.

"Thank you, you're such a gentleman!" Avery said, giving him a peck on the cheek as she passed by him.

Malachai scoffed and wiped his cheek off. "Now let's get one thing straight, young lady: If you want me to teach you manners and magic, you're going to have to stop kissing me. We are going to have a strict teacher-student relationship."

Avery pouted. "But that's going to be very hard for me!"

"Why?" Malachai asked. "How is that hard?"

"Because it's you, silly!" She got out. Then she brightened, grinning mischievously. "Is it gonna be like those movies where the student does something naughty and then the teacher takes off his shirt and hits her on the bottom with a ruler and then they start kissing and take off each other's clothes?"

"No!" Malachai shook his head. "And do your parents know you're watching movies like that?"

"No," Avery shrugged. "And please don't tell them."

"Sure," Malachai sighed and rubbed his temples. "Can we please not speak until we get to the living room? I'm starting to get a headache."

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby," Avery told him. "Would you like me to rub it for you?"

"No!" Malachai shook his head. "I'm fine. No need for you to rub anything on me!"

"Well, okay, I was just asking!" Avery exclaimed. "No need to bite my head off when I was just trying to be nice."

He waited for her to say more to rile him up, but she must have sensed that she crossed some sort of line, because she remained mostly silent, following him through the house and remarking on the decorating rather than anything about him.

"You have very good taste in decorating. I like the modern style."

"Thanks," Malachai sighed. "But it wasn't really my idea. It was all Helene. I actually kind of hate it."

She saw that he was getting down again and whipped off her jacket. "And where can I put my coat? Is there a closet nearby?"

"Sure," Malachai answered. "Just let me have it, and I'll..." But as he grabbed her coat, he got a good look at her outfit: high black stillettos and a short black leather mini dress that had a neckline practically going down to her belly button.

"Okay!" He decided as he put a hand over his eyes and let her coat drop to the floor. "First rule: if you want me to teach you good manners and how to excel at magic, you're going to need to dress properly for our lessons."

Avery looked down at her dress, then back up at Malachai. "What's wrong with this dress?" She asked. "You don't like it?"

"It's wonderful if you're going to go to your nephew's night club or to a party, but not very good for the learning environment. You're a very smart woman," Malachai tried to reason with her. "The classroom is not a place to put all your..." he swallowed. "...Your assets on display. Don't you want to be known for how smart you are? Don't you want people in the world to take you seriously?"

"I can turn them into bugs and squish them if they don't take me seriously, no matter what I wear, so what's the problem?" Avery asked.

It's...um..." he found his eyes straying down to her chest. It was very hard to look away. "The problem is...that dress reveals a lot of your attributes and I can't...I can't..."

Avery tilted her head. "What do you mean by my attributes?" She asked, thrusting her chest out and putting her hands on her hips.

Malachai was blushing bright red now, and really trying to look her in the eye. "You know," he waved his hands around wildly. "Your...chest area." He whispered the last two words so quietly that she could barely make them out.

"And what's wrong with my chest?" Avery asked, cupping her breasts and flopping down on the sofa. "Go ahead and tell me so I can fix them. Do you want them bigger? How do you do that with magic?"

"Oh, damn," Malachai sighed. "I'd ask your father for help but he's in way over his head as it is."

"Don't try it," Avery shook her head. "When it comes to me, he doesn't even bother. I just get to do whatever I want."

"Doesn't surprise me," Malachai told her as he tried to take a deep breath and stay calm. "I promise you that your breasts are fine. You don't need magic to make them bigger or better."

"Really?" Avery brightened. "Yay!"

"But you truly need to do something about that dress," Malachai told her. "If you wore it specifically to attract me, I don't like it. It makes you look like a lady of the night."

Avery's eyes widened. "You think this makes me look like a hooker? I don't want that! I want you to think I'm pretty!"

"Well I'm always going to think you're pretty but...wouldn't you rather dress like royalty?" He questioned. "I mean, after all, you're God's daughter!"

"Yeah," Avery scoffed and narrowed her eyes. "Lucky me." But then she gave him a small smile. "Do you really think I'm royalty?"

"Wait!" Malachai exclaimed. He ran into his room and came back with a hoodie that while normal sized on him, completely covered Avery's dress. "Wear that and we can get on with things."

At first, Avery pouted, but then put it on because she knew it would make Malachai happy. But then when it was covering her, she realized something.

"This smells like you!" She cried, putting the sleeve against her nose and inhaling deeply. "All right, I guess I don't mind wearing it after all."

"If that's what it'll take to keep me sane, then so be it," Malachai muttered between his teeth.

"What?" Avery asked. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Malachai shook his head. "Moving on!"

"I get to learn stuff now?" Avery grinned. "Yay! Teach me how to turn people into bugs!"

"No, no," Malachai shook his head. "It's too soon for that. You have to learn about the history of magic first so you have a foundation. Because witches and magic have a lot to do with the whole supernatural world. All right, so a long time ago, witches were ruled by men. A man called Conal had a son. But he didn't like his son very much so he decide to have one of his daughters rule instead. He planned on the oldest, Hazel, but knew that his younger twin daughters would want a chance too. He got them together and made up a contest: whoever showed the best display of magic would win. So while the younger daughters duked it out and created werewolves and vampires, Conal discreetly crowned his daughter Hazel and there you go."

"So are you done now?" Avery asked. She was bored to tears and the thought of having more lectures was terrible. She didn't want to hurt his feelings though.

"No, there's so much more to share!" Malachai told her. "Don't be in such a rush!"

"Oh, all right," Avery sighed. "Please continue babbling." She let it go on until she couldn't take it anymore, then stood up and pulled a pencil from her bun, which caused her hair to cascade over her shoulders. Then she heard a noise and looked up at Malachai, who had his eyes on her once more. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, yes," Malachai nodded and stepped back. "Of course I am. No worries! I just need to grab that book on the table."

"No, I'll do it," Avery told him. "Just let me..." They reached for the book at the same time and bumped heads. "Are you all right?" She asked him. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad. My head is sort of hard, I know."

"No, no," Malachai shook his head as her scent enveloped him. "You know, never mind about the book. I think you've learned a lot today and we can resume lessons later."

"Okay," Avery nodded. "If all you're gonna do is talk, maybe that's a good idea."

To prove to himself that he was doing all right, Malachai walked her to the door, keeping a few steps behind her so she couldn't see how oddly he was walking, yet another reason he ended the lesson early.

"Thank you for teaching me," she said. "Do you want your hoodie back?"

"No, no, please keep it," Malachai insisted. "I beg you."

"All right," Avery agreed, kissing his cheek. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." She winked. "See you later, Professor."

"Right," Malachai nodded, running his fingers through his hair as she opened the door and left. "Right." Then he found himself focusing on her bottom as she got farther and farther away. "Damn," he told himself when she was gone. "Boy am I glad that's over."

"So what did the doctor say?" Klaus asked as Amy sat next to him on the couch with a hand on her belly and then leaned in against him. "Nothing wrong?"

"Not wrong, I suppose," Amy shook her head. She had just returned from an appointment with the gynecologist to talk about her unusually long pregnancy. "I mean, she's not breach or anything like that...she just...doesn't want to come out. Or she's growing at a rate closer to a human pregnancy, which is really weird." She shrugged. "But as long as she's okay, I suppose I can...tolerate it...for a little bit."

"Really?"

"No," Amy huffed. "This doesn't make any sense. It's just astonishing!"

"Hey, don't go blaming me," Klaus put his hands up. "I finished doing my part a long time ago."

"I'm not blaming you, I just think it's weird," Amy winced. "I should have had this kid by now." She looked up at Alistair, who was wearing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron and walking around stirring something in a bowl. "Do you know why my pregnancy is suddenly slower? Please tell me you do? Make yourself useful!"

"Well, I can't say I know for sure," Alistair admitted. "Maybe now that you're a vampire or something you have powers that go against the influence of the demon genes?"

"That's ridiculous!" Amy replied. "If I had that, why would it just show up now? Why wouldn't it have led to weirdly long pregnancies with my other babies?"

"I have no idea," Alistair said. "I just am throwing out ideas. Now since you don't seem to like what I have to say, I'm gonna go...um...polish the silver and wash the china."

"You do that," Amy nodded. Then she looked at Klaus and rolled her eyes. "I really hoped he'd be more help." She put a hand on her belly. "If only I could ask her what's going on...if only..."

As Milo came whistling into the white space, Natalie crossed her arms and glared at him. She was thinking the exact same thing. But she knew who to ask."What do you want? And what are you doing to my mother?"

"Well, there you are," Milo remarked. "Looking good as usual."

"Oh, don't you try to flatter me!" Natalie narrowed her eyes. "I'm not even born yet and you make me sick!"

"I got news for you, babe, you're not the only one," Milo told her.

"So why did you drag me out here then, if I don't want to be around you and you don't want to be around me? You spill it right now!" Natalie demanded. Then a grin slowly curved her lips. "Unless you're incapable of forming complete sentences, which would not surprise me!" She tilted her head and grinned.

He gave her a push and when she landed on the floor, he put a shoe on her belly. "My parents are indisposed at the moment and will be for quite some time. I wanted to tell you why."

She reached over and grabbed his ankle so he wobbled and fell. "Keep your dirty shoes off me," she spat.

"They're my best Italian loafers!"

"You think I give a rat's ass?" She yelled, giggling to herself as she pictured him in neon pink flip flops before taking his hand and biting it.

"Owww!" He yelled and snatched it away, then tried to kick her, but missed."That hurt! Fuck you, you crazy bitch!"

"Did that hurt?" She grinned. "Good!"

"You're gonna pay for this!" He yelled.

"Oh, I already am, being stuck here with you," Natalie returned. "Now, what the hell is going on? Why am I still here?"

"Well, my parents are going to be indisposed for some time and there is no way you are going to be allowed to be born before me," Milo told her.

"Why are they indisposed?" Natalie questioned. "Cause the thought of having you is so horrible?"

Milo bared his teeth. "None of your damn business, that's why."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, if you're not gonna tell me anything useful, then I'm leaving!" She huffed."That way I won't have to look at your stupid face!"

"So you're just gonna leave?" He asked. "You're not...you don't have anything to say about what's going on with your mother?"

Natalie turned and got in his face. "Actually, I do. What is your problem, you punk?" Her body was tense and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. "I oughta punch all the teeth out of that pretty mouth of yours! How dare you?"

"Well, I did just dare, sweetheart," he told her and grabbed her, his eyes roaming over her trembling body while he tried not to show how affected he was by it.

"Oh, I see," Natalie nodded. "I should have known that you're so insecure and dumb that you couldn't stand being beneath little me. You have to have your mommy and daddy protect you. Well, you're right about something for once," she conceded and poked him in the chest. "Because believe you me, Morningstar. When we get out of here and meet again, I will not forget this and I will beat you up so bad you'll bleed! Maybe become unconscious if I'm lucky!"

But then she gasped as Milo grabbed her and pulled her close against himself. "Now, are you sure about that?" He asked her as she squirmed and thrashed, trying to get free. "Because I don't think so."

"Fuck you," Natalie cried.

It was then that Milo grabbed her face in his hands and crashed his mouth on hers. But almost immediately, they realized what they were doing, froze, and detached from each Natalie slapped him.

"Don't you ever lay your dirty hands on me again, Morningstar! Or put your filthy mouth on mine! Do you understand me?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," he said. "I like pretty girls. Not ones who dress like boys." He looked at her chest. "And who are built like them too."

"Not entirely!" She huffed.

"Yeah, well," he looked again. "Close enough."

As Oliver pulled up to Katherine's house and parked his car in the driveway, he took a deep breath. He had no idea why she was so mad at him, but he'd decided to get her flowers, thinking that maybe that would cheer her up. He looked at the dozen roses beside him. They were pink because he thought red would be too much. He grabbed them and studied them. A very pretty shade, he decided. How could she not like them?

He was about to get out of the car and present the flowers when a wave of regret and nervousness hit him. Not only did he have to make things up to Katherine for who knew what reason, but then there was his son, too. Now that time had passed, he had to admit to himself that he'd not been the world's best father to the boy. He had a lot of making up to do, but at least, thanks to the Angel of Death, there was time to do it. But Katherine, the gorgeous, sexy, amazing woman who made his heart beat faster, came first. It would give him time to think and he would take whatever he could get.

Finally, he got out of the car and made his way up to the door, immediately ringing the doorbell before he lost his nerve and gripping the roses tight. It took a little time, but finally the door opened, revealing a sour-faced Katherine.

"Yes?" She snapped, arms crossed. "Just what do you want?"

He coughed and struggled to speak. "Yes, hi. Well, I called and I've left you several messages, but you didn't reply, so I just...I just wanted to come and see if you were all right?"

"You know, some people would have taken being ignored for so long as a hint to go away," Katherine told him. "Lucky me that I get the one guy in the world who hasn't figured it out yet. Just tell me what you want, because I'm very busy!"

"Well, I, um..." He gripped the roses, which he'd moved behind his back, tighter. "I bought you some flowers to make up for my bad behavior and how insensitive I was about...something. I'm not sure what, exactly." He pulled them out from behind his back with a flourish. "Here they are. For you!" He grinned and held them out toward the open door where she stood.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Well, I have to give you points on how well you've adapted to becoming a human man because only a true human man would think that he could just get me flowers after everything and things would be okay."

Oliver blushed. "Well, if you would just tell me what it is that I've done, then maybe we could-"

"I don't think so!" Katherine told him, grabbing the bouquet and slamming the door in his face. "Thank you and goodbye!"

Oliver's jaw dropped in shock and he began knocking relentlessly on the door. "Hey!" He cried. "Let me in. This isn't fair!"

"Well, deal with it!" Katherine called. "You got all you wanted from me and now you're free to move out just like you planned. Go away and leave me alone!"

Oliver sighed and got up close to the door. "All right, I won't come in," he said, in what he hoped was a calm and soothing voice. "Not unless you want me to. Please, open the door and explain to me what I've done wrong. I know I'm a man. I know I can do stupid things. But it wasn't more than a few weeks ago that I was something else entirely. I want to learn. I want to do better. Please let me have a chance. I don't know what I'm doing and I need your help." He paused and took a deep breath. "When I say I have no idea what I did wrong, I'm not saying that you don't have a right to feel hurt. I know, again, that I'm a man and probably the biggest idiot out there, and I probably don't deserve to ask this of you, but..I miss you. I miss our connection. Yes, is that what you would call it? Our connection?"

After what seemed like an eternity of silence as he stared at the closed front door, Oliver sighed and turned on his heel. That was that. He'd tried, and if she wasn't going to come out, then she wasn't going to come out.

But just as he got down the first step, he heard the door open. He turned, leaped up the front step, and found Katherine glaring back at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't be so happy," she warned. "You're not forgiven yet. I'm not just some doormat that you can stomp all over."

"I never thought you were," Oliver said. "Now, since the door is open, may I please come in?"

"Fine," Katherine sighed. "Do that. But I'm only letting you because the neighbors will ask questions if I abandon a man on my front step."

"When did you start caring about what the neighbors thought?" Oliver asked.

"I don't," Katherine shook her head. "I just don't want trouble. Now, what do you want?"

"I want to do whatever I can to make things up to you," he told her. "You're sort of...well, really the only person I know at the moment. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Oh, that's sweet," Katherine said. "You can't make friends so I'm bound to keep you around." She paused. "Not that I have much experience with friends myself, but I don't think that's how you treat them. Why would you just want to leave?"

"Because...because I remember how I used to be. I know I was a rat. And I don't want you to be so sick of sight of me because we live together that you don't want me around anymore. I thought I was doing you a favor." He reached out and put a hand on either side of her face as she sucked in a breath, while his thumb made circles around her cheek. "Even if I move out, we can still be friends, right?"

"I'm...I'm not a friendly person either," she got out, wondering just what sort of friend he meant.

"You have been to me," he said and kissed her hair as his hands gently moved down her arms. "A very good friend."

"How can you say I'm your friend? I don't know how to be anyone's friend since I've never had one, not really." She paused. "Actually, I have Remiel now, I guess, so..."

"See?" Oliver exclaimed. "You do have a friend!" He gave her a soft smile and pushed some hair out of her eyes."I know I'm a mess. I just don't know what sort of man I'll become; I don't want to drag you into it if I fall into my old habits and become bad."

"What if that's a risk I want to take?" Katherine asked, getting on her tiptoes to speak the words against his lips. "You can't just make that choice for me. Apparently, I have more faith in you than you do."

"Oh, Katherine," he shut his eyes and took her hands in his as his heart began to beat faster.

"Oliver," she murmured.

They moved just a little and soon, they were kissing deeply, their hands roaming all over each other as he pushed her against the refrigerator and some of the magnets fell on the floor. Katherine gasped and moaned as he, after pushing a bit of shirt aside, kissed her shoulder, then nibbled on her neck. Then he picked her up and kissed her soundly on the lips again as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. This went on until, just as she was sure that she would soon end up without panties as he had his way with her on the kitchen floor, he paused, kissed her forehead, and put her down.

"Well, that was a nice bit of fun," he told her with a smile. "I just remembered that I have to go do an errand, but I promise I'll call you again later. Is that all right? Good. Goodbye, Katherine." Then, before a shocked Katherine could get a word out, he turned on his heel strode out the door, and slammed it shut, leaving a shocked Katherine behind him as she tried to catch her breath.

"I hate you!" Helene hissed. "We could have stayed with Walter and Barbara in their nice warm house with all the food and the hot water, but no! Thanks to you, I'm traipsing around the woods again! Thank you so much, Mr. Considerate!" She sped up so she was walking ahead of him and Ludovic didn't mind. She had on new clothes, which included some very tight black exercise pants that she would probably need his help peeling off at night. All in all, not a bad trade off.

He let her rant for a while, then reached out and grabbed her arm to yank her closer to him. "Are you done with the pouting and the whining?" He asked.

"Not until you explain why you made me leave," Helene said. "And anything along the lines of 'I said so' is not acceptable!"

Ludovic chuckled, twirled her, and dipped her. "Oh, Princess, I'm touched! I had no idea you felt so good about being married to me!"

"It's not that I felt good about it, but if pretending to be married to you gets me good food, a warm bed, and a roof over my head, that's what I'll do," Helene shot back. "But in reality, I'd rather eat a bag of cockroaches!"

"Not a bad choice," Ludovic told her with a grin. "You know, they're very nutritious."

Helene made a face. "Gross!"

Ludovic sighed, speaking seriously. "Look, I know you would have preferred to stay with Walter and Barbara, and if I thought we could afford it, I would have wanted to stay too. But remember that we're not just honeymooners. We're on the run from the law and who knew if we could trust them? If we had stayed, they probably would have recognized us and ratted us out eventually. Do you want that?"

"Well, no, of course not!" Helene shook her head. "But how is it that you're so sure of everything and always have an answer?"

"I'm older than you," he told her.

"What?" Helene asked. "Say that again? What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" Ludovic shook his head. "Never mind, let's just keep walking."

"I understand your concerns about them calling the authorities," Helene told him. "And while it makes sense from a logical standpoint...I liked staying with them and I'm grateful for the time we had. It was...it was nice to be in a place that really felt like a home."

Ludovic did turn his head to look at her for a moment. "Do you miss your parents?"

Helene shrugged. "I don't know. I just...my parents and I have an interesting relationship. They had to go all over the place for their jobs and mostly spent time at the office or their employer's house and brought me along. I mean, we had a house, but it wasn't like either of my parents clocked out at five and we had dinner in our dining room in our house every night. And at Walter and Barbara's, I finally had a taste of that: a taste of normalcy. What it's like to have a place to go where people love you and wait for you. Where it's comfortable and steady." She sighed. "Never mind. I know it's stupid."

"Oh, honey, I thought I gave you that in our marriage," he winked.

She chuckled but kept it brief so he wouldn't be able to lord over her the fact that sometimes he made her laugh and took the darkness out of her life, if only for a little bit.

"Well, if your parents didn't give you much of a sense of home, was it...was it your place with that well-known warlock husband of yours that you miss?" He asked. "Did that improve things for you?"

She froze and stared at him, wide-eyed. "Are you...how do you know about him? Are you following me now? Stalking me?"

"Well, no, but I had to do my research on you before I had the not so brilliant idea of becoming your employee."

"Yeah," Helene sighed. "Malachai. was a nice man, but...he had a lot of baggage. Thirteen kids, crazy sister...at least I think she was his sister...and it just..."

"Wait," Ludvic cut her off. "He had how many kids?"

"Thirteen," Helene sighed. "None of them were mine, although I did end up being stepmother. Not a lot of peace. And he and I did have one son named William. It took him time to get control of his magic. Thank goodness my parents were at least able to help with that."

"Do you miss him?" Ludovic questioned. "No offense, but it doesn't sound like things with him were a lot of fun. What was in it for you?"

"I...uh...um," She struggled to find a good answer, having never thought of it that way before. "I got to be married...that's something."

"No, I mean really, seriously, and truly, what was in it for you?" Ludovic pressed. "What did he do to make you happy? What did he to to lighten your burden? Was he just the sort of guy who dumped thirteen kids on you and then ran off to a bar until the wee hours?"

"Well, no, but..." Helene muttered. Truth be told, he hadn't done as much as he should have to help out, all things considering. Or at least she wished she would have asked him to help more. "It was okay," she sighed. "It wasn't great, but it was okay."

"You still miss him, don't you?" Ludovic asked.

"As a friend," Helene sighed. "Just like Adrian. I go after guys who are good to be friends with, but crap to be married to, at least in my head."

"So you weren't in love with him?" Ludovic clarified.

Helene shrugged. "Well, apparently not." She paused. "Now let me ask you the same question: Do you have a wife or a girlfriend? A secret family you haven't told me about? What about your parents? Where are they?"

Ludovic sighed deeply. "Well, I have parents just like everyone does, you know. People who made me...but I haven't talked to them for a very long time."

"I see," Helene nodded, even though she really didn't. "And don't forget about whether or not you have a girlfriend."

"You know I can't," he winked. "I'm married! But in all seriousness, no girlfriend. As for kids, can't have 'em. Maybe that's for the best. Werewolf families can be...very difficult."

Helene paused. "What do you mean you can't have kids?"

"I can't," Ludovic shrugged. "Simple as that."

"Does it bother you that you can't have kids?"

"I've come to accept that that's how things are," he told her. "Are you done with all the questions?"

"Yeah, I guess," Helene nodded.

"Good," Ludovic snapped. "Then let's keep walking. We have a way to go before we reach the camp site."

"Damn it!" Helene yelled. "Not another mosquito bite! Do they think I'm running a blood bank here?" She growled and then began stomping around the campsite with Ludovic watching her as he began setting up the tent.

"Why don't you help me?" He offered. "That will distract you."

"I don't want to," Helene pouted. "Every time I try and help you, you criticize me!"

"Well, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'll try not to do that anymore. And then, afterwards, we can catch dinner. I think there's a lake with fish in it somewhere."

"Not more fish!" Helene cried. "No. More. Fish. If I even look at another fish I am going to puke or scream!"

"Oh. come on, it's part of the experience!" Ludovic told her. "Why are you having so much trouble embracing this? It would be a lot easier if you did."

"I am not having any trouble at all!" Helene cried. "I think I'm doing a very good job embracing things under the circumstances! I can embrace my raw, primitive self!"

"Yeah, in a hotel with room service, satin sheets, and cedar closets to put your fancy clothes in," he remarked. "With your hair and nails always done...you couldn't last a minute without all that."

She held up a hand, which had chipped plum nail polish on it. On some fingers, the nails were jagged and on others they'd been bitten down to the quick and the other hand was the same. "Do those look perfectly done to you? No!" She snapped.

Ludovic sighed. "Helene...I know, in my heart, that there is a part of you that could really handle this. You're a tough, strong, badass woman and it's only...only your denying your true self and this crazy need you have to conform to prim and proper witch society that's turning you into a mess right now. Just let it go!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Helene huffed. "Will you stop babbling nonsense?"

"I don't think I am," Ludovic shook his head. "I mean, look at you! Look at your relationships with men!"

"Excuse me? The fact that my relationships have failed in the past is not all my fault!" Helene defended herself. "The guys had problems too, you know! And I can do a lot of things, but I can't work miracles!"

"I'm not saying that everything is your fault, but think about it: with Adrian, you tried to turn him into the perfect Prince Charming and because it wasn't what he wanted, it didn't work out. As for you, I sense you always wanted to be the perfect witch and have the perfect, long-lasting grown up relationship with a house and a picket fence, even when you were a teenager. Am I right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," she said and grabbed a blanket, her eyes on the grass rather than Ludovic's face as she tried to hold back tears and failed.

"With Malachai, you thought you'd finally achieved your aim," he continued. "You got yourself a nice, upstanding warlock, you had your nice little family, and so you could look witch society in the eye and say 'look how well I've done'. But that's all he was for you: a means to an end, since you obviously were not in love with him, even though you seemed, from the outside, the perfect couple."

"Oh, my gosh, stop!" She yelled. "I don't see you in a relationship! So don't you judge me! I did the best I could!"

"I'm not trying to judge you!" Ludovic cried, his voice full of exasperation. "I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to help you see why you're not happy! Why everything you've done in your life has made you miserable, and how the best thing to do is to chuck all of it and try something completely different! I want you to finally be happy!"

Unsure of what to say, she stared at him in silence before saying, "Since it's a warm night, I think I'll go clean myself and get some sleep."

"Fine with me," Ludovic huffed. "It's a full moon, so I'll be doing what werewolves do!"

"What?" Helene gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as she looked toward the moon. "You...you're going to transform tonight?"

"Of course I will!" Ludovic nodded. "Because unlike you, I'm not afraid of my true self. Don't wait up for me, sweetheart."

Then, as Helene growld and stomped her foot, he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Oh, geez," Helene whispered as she got out of the lake, her teeth chattering. She was cold and covered in goosebumps but at least she felt clean. That was better than nothing. She began gathering up her clothes, finding her panties a few feet away from the lake where she'd thrown them. But as she reached to pick them up, she heard a growl. Then, a tiny squeak escaped her throat as a large, majestic wolf emerged and strode toward her. Her breathing picked up. She could feel her heart start to race. She knew in her head that the wolf was Ludovic, but she...this was the first time she really had a sense of how large he was when transformed.

He reached her, and stared at her as she slowly grabbed her panties. He sniffed them, looked at her, took a few more steps, and nudged her with his nose, making her stumble and fall to the ground.

Unsure of what he was going to do next, she tried to hold his muzzle at a distance, until she realized that all he wanted to do, as weird as it was, was sniff her very gently. She tensed her body and shut her eyes tight as she waited for him to get it over with. "Turn back," she whispered, hating his warm, sour breath on her shoulders and neck. "Turn back, please."

Then she heard a soft whimper. She opened her eyes. He didn't seem feral. He seemed calm...almost human. Tentatively, she reached out and stroked him behind ears, which made him get closer to her, the whole weight of his warm, furry body resting against her stomach and chest as she ran her fingers over his fur. "Turn back," she whispered, for a much different reason now. "Turn back, please."

She wasn't sure how much he understood, but he began licking her face and before she knew it, he was in human form again, holding her close and licking and nibbling on her neck.

"Here you are," she said with a smile. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," he breathed. "But I need..."

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "Me too."

He then kissed her soundly as he pulled her to himself and her legs wrapped around his waist. They then fell back onto the ground, still kissing furiously. When he broke the kiss and paused for just a moment, she frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you...you realize that I'm gonna be fucking you in the dirt, right? Are you okay with that? Do you want to move to the blanket?"

"No, I don't care!" Helene cried. "Just...I don't care!"

"Well, all right, then," Ludovic nodded. "Works for me! And if the spirit moves you, don't hesitate to scream and yell as loud as you can. Something tells me you don't exactly want me to be gentle."

"No, thank you," Helene shook her head. "I mean, if you really want me to scream..."

"And I do," Ludovic nodded, grinning and baring his teeth. "All right, I'll go for it."

Nevertheless, he started out reasonably gently, nibbling and licking everywhere he could reach until Helene was panting loudly. "Enough of this!" She cried. "I'm going to explode!"

"I know," Ludovic told her. "Why do you think I did it this way? Ready for the real thing?"

"Yeah," Helene nodded and sucked in a breath. Then she let out a cry as he buried himself inside her, yelling and screaming as he did it over and over again. He couldn't help but want to kiss those full lips of hers, but he knew she had a lot to let out so he just let her keep going until he collapsed against her. They rested for a moment as she ran her fingers through his dark hair, and then he pulled her into his arms again, kissing her furiously, and barely letting either of them having a breath.

"Come inside me again," she ordered. "Now."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, though he was slightly gentler this time, her screams more from his nails going down her back. Then, at last, he rolled off her, exhausted, panting just as heavily as she was.

"I know you probably have lots more to get out, but...can it wait until tomorrow?" He asked. "Or at least an hour?"

"Yeah," Helene panted and reached for him. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Holy cow! All my life, I've never...it's never been like that." She took his face in her hands. "Are you okay? I hope you can still hear things. I know I was screaming a lot."

"I'm all right," he promised, taking her hand and kissing it. "It was good for you."

He then got up and grabbed a blanket, coming back to put it over both of them. Then he pulled her close and gently kissed her neck. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"Good," she assured him. "I just...it felt really good to let it all out like that. I...I hope we didn't freak anyone out. I hope no one thought you were, you know, murdering me or anything."

"I don't think anyone thought that," he told her. "I think it's just us out here."

She smiled and took his face in her hands again. "Thank you...so much. I...is this what it feels like to actually live? I've been missing out on a lot, haven't I?"

"Yeah, you have," he nodded. "At least I think so."

She ran her hands over his cheeks. "You know, that beard of yours tickles," she smiled.

"Oh, come on," he grinned and kissed her palm. "You know you love it."

"Yeah," she nodded, interrupted by a large yawn. "I do."

"Sounds like you're tired," He remarked."I could take you to the tent."

"No," She shook her head. "We have the blanket here. I really don't want to move. I just want to be like this. Maybe forever."

"Yeah," Ludovic nodded as she snuggled up against him and her eyes slowly closed while he looked up at the moon. "Me too."