Karen frowned as a faint clomping sounded in the distance, a faint clomping, she reflected as she picked herself up, rubbing her bruised thigh gingerly, that could only be Jack's, with the distinct high and mighty manner to it. Her assumption was confirmed as she caught bits and pieces of angry, erratic muttering, and thought nothing of his failure to keep quiet; his name wasn't exactly first under "Most Subtle" in the World Guinness Book of Records. She licked her lips eagerly, grasping her knife so tightly that sweat pooled into her palm; she quickly wiped Will's blood from the blade and made her way furtively toward the sound of Jack's voice.

But he surprised her. She found him on the landing, right out in the open, and not looking too terribly alarmed at the sight of her.

"Hey, Kare…" he greeted her rather gloomily.

"Hello, Jackie," she said smoothly, taking one careful step at a time. "You must know by now that I have nothing left to say to you."

"Yeah, and I have nothing left to say to Will and Grace, so you might as well get on with it."

"Why do you say that, Poodle?"

"I say that because they're so unfair," he complained, his lower lip trembling dangerously. "They figured out how to get into your hideaway in the basement and they're trying to see how wasted they can get before you waste them, but they won't let me--"

He smiled knowingly as Karen disappeared at the speed of light. She reappeared just as quickly, however, enclosing Jack's wrist in a grip of steel.

"You're coming with me," she growled, and they were off.

"Aaahhhhhhhhh, God, Grace, aren't you going to give me some of that?" Will giggled mischievously. "You're taking all the good stuff!"

"It's all good stuff," Grace chuckled, throwing her head back, rather tipsily in attempt of laughter, and taking another drink. "Find you own, Will…no, no, don't touch me there!" She shrieked with mirth. "Just find your own!"

"What is this, what is this, what the hell?" Karen demanded as she found them lying on the floor, surrounded by innumerable empty liquor bottles. "This is my toy box, you have no right digging in it…unless," she added slyly, "I give you permission to go into it…but I don't! I don't! Get up!" She dug the tip of her heel sharply into Will's side.

"Oh, oh, don't do that, Karen, don't do that!" Will exclaimed in obvious hilarity. "That tickles! Stop! That tickles!"

"Ooh, the big gay boy is ticklish!" Grace yelled, rolling over to tickle him, which sent Will into hysterics.

"No, Grace, no, stop, stop, stop--"

"STOP!" Karen screamed.

They stopped.

"Will," Grace whispered, cowering behind him, "I thought you said witches didn't exist."

"They don't, but ugly overgrown bats do," he said.

"I said get UP!"

"Awww, Karen--ow, ow, OW!" Grace whined. "That doesn't tickle, that hurts!"

"It's supposed to hurt," she snapped. "Get used to it."

"Oh, c'mon, Karen, don't be so mean," Will begged. "If someone was about to take your life, isn't this the way you'd want to die?"

"That's me, Wilma, and unlike you and Big Red, a dark haired man and a steak wouldn't do it for me."

"That would be very good too, I must admit, but we don't have either of those things, or any way to get them," Will pointed out.

"Blondes would be okay too," Grace added pensively.

Will shrugged. "So we're just making do."

"Not with my private collection, you're not doing anything," Karen said. "And not that you're going to need it for future reference, but private refers to the owner, and no one else, having personal access to something, unless that owner should decide otherwise, and in Karen Walker's case--she didn't."

"I don't know what you said," Will slurred in amusement, "but it sounded funny. I think you should have a drink with us."

"You're off your rocker if you think that I would--"

"Oh, GOD," Grace moaned as she shook a generous portion of Jack Daniels out on to the floor and rolled around in it, "look at me, I'm absolutely bathing in it…feels sooooooooooooooo goooooooooood…"

"Grace, get up from there!" Karen shouted at her. "You're wasting good--"

"What are you suggesting I do with it instead?"

"Oh hell, give it to me!" Karen snatched the bottle from her, tilting her head for a long drink.

"That's nothing," Will scoffed as she finished, lurching forward slightly. "I could do that in a minute. And I bet you can't!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"And if I was a betting woman, I'd bet that whatever you could do in a minute, I could do in half a second!"

"Could not!"

"Could too!"

"Fine then, show me!"

"Fine then, I will!" She started to raise the bottle to her lips, then paused. Squinting at them, chewing at her lower lip thoughts. "Oh. Oh, ho, ho. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho."

Will eyed Grace and Jack anxiously. "What?"

Karen shook her head knowingly. "Ahhhhhhh…ha…ha…hhhaaaaaaaaaa…"

"What?" Grace challenged.

She shook her head again. "I know what this is. I know what this is about. And you're not fooling Karen Walker. No. See, Karen Walker fools people. That's just the way it works."

"It is?" Jack squeaked out.

"Mm-hmm," Karen hummed with a cunning smile. "That's right. No fooling. Not the least little bit."

Will swallowed hard, trying to conceal his mounting panic. What were they supposed to do now?