The bathroom mirror is foggy, and Kate reaches out to wipe the condensation away. She pauses momentarily, taking in the image she and Seth present. He's standing behind her, his hand tucked around her waist. Fresh out of the shower, they're both wrapped in towels. This is a rare moment of quiet stillness between them and she clings to him, taking advantage of the opportunity.

"I had to do it for Richie," he whispers, his voice earnest.

Guilt vibrates off of him, and she turns around in his arms.

"I can't let anything happen to him. You get that, right?"

She cradles his face. "I do."

"I'd do the same for you."

She hugs him tightly, hoping the gesture will ease his guilt. The fact is, even though she's angry at him for working with Santanico, she gets it. If it meant saving Scott, she'd do the same in a heartbeat. "I need to ask you something."

Seth leans back to look at her. "What is it?"

"I think Scott's in trouble."

"How do you know?"

"It's just a feeling I have." Disappointment floods over her again as she remembers the brief moment she shared with who she thought was her brother. "Carlos said something about him. I think he knows where Scott is."

"Carlos is a little prick. He probably said that to get under your skin."

"Even if that's true, I can't just ignore that my brother's out there somewhere." She locks eyes with Seth, peering at him closely. "I need you to promise that you'll help me find Scott."

"Are you sure he wants to be found?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Silence ensues as Seth draws a long breath, biting his bottom lip hesitantly. "If Scott wanted to see you, don't you think he would've turned up by now?"

"Maybe he's in trouble and can't come see me. Did you ever think about that?"

He holds up his hands in the air. "All I'm saying is-"

"You and Richie would do anything to protect each other. Why don't you guys understand that I feel the same way about Scott?"

"You sure he'd do the same for you?"

She glares at Seth. "Why? Because we're not biologically related?"

"I didn't say that."

"But that's what you meant, right? Scott and I can't possibly have the same kind of relationship you and Richie have because we're not related by blood."

"Don't put words in my fucking mouth, Kate." Seth grabs his clothes and storms out of the bathroom. "Even when Richie was pissed at me all those years ago, he still lurked around, he didn't give up. But you haven't seen Scott in years. You sure he's not deliberately hiding from you?"

She casts Seth an angry glance. "You know what I remember? How pissed you were at Richie back in Mexico, but then you got over it." Her voice cracks with emotion, and it breaks her heart that Seth doesn't get it. She had thought that he, of all people, would have understood her feelings but apparently she was wrong. "You would do anything for Richie, including work for someone that you absolutely despise. I'd do the same for my brother. And, no, I don't care if he's mad at me. What I care about is him being out there alone and angry. What if he thinks I don't want to have anything to do with him? What if he's in trouble? I need him to know I still love him, that he and I are still family. How can you not get that?"

Seth's expression softens, and it seems like she's finally gotten through to him. With quick strides he approaches her and gathers her in his arms, his lips grazing her temple. "We'll find him. Once we get this Ford shit out of the way, I promise we'll find him."

"You mean that?"

"Damn fucking right I do."

Feeling calm and in control once again, she buries her face in his chest.

Seconds later Richie bursts into the room, and he's by himself. Immediately, Kate starts to worry."Where is she?"

"Did you seriously let viper fang bitch go?" Seth demands.

Richie takes a seat on the bed, pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "She's fine. She's feeding."

Seth makes a face, causing Kate to shake her head with exasperation. Even after all this time, he's disgusted by the idea of vampires feeding on blood, and although it irritates her at times, she also finds his reaction strangely endearing.

Richie picks up a matchbook from the nightstand table, retrieves a cigarette and presses it between his lips before lighting it. His movements are fluid and controlled, exhibiting a level of confidence that reminds her of the first time they met. He was simultaneously arrogant and vulnerable with her, and that hasn't changed. The petty part of her wonders if he was the same way with Santanico but she pushes the thought aside, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand.

His gaze settles upon her face. "You okay?"

She moves away from Seth and towards Richie, taking a seat next to him. "As long as the two of you aren't signing up for any suicide missions, I'm fine."

Richie's hand closes over hers, his grip gentle, while he looks up at his brother. "So what's the plan? Sicilian or the Waterloo switcheroo?"

"What are you guys talking about?" she asks, shifting her attention between the brothers.

Seth starts pacing in front of them. "Forget that for now. First we gotta get our hands on the blueprint of the house."

"I can get that," Kate says. "The Ford house is old, it's practically a historic landmark. I don't think that'll be too hard."

"Santanico said he's out of town," Richie offers.

"And we're just taking your psychotic ex's word for it?" Seth argues.

"Well, brother, you're the one who decided to work for her. So I guess that means we'll have to trust her."

Thankfully, Seth doesn't take Richie's bait and keeps his mouth shut.

"Kate, you get the blueprints. I'll get us weapons." Seth nods his head at his brother. "You work out the security details, and make sure psycho fang bitch doesn't get in the way."

"Can we stop calling her a bitch?" Kate asks, leveling Seth with an irritated look.

"Oh, you guys best friends now?"

"No. I hate her just as much as you do, but having you call her a bitch every two seconds is only going to make things more tense. And right now, we need her help in getting that ring."

"We don't need her for anything," Seth fires back. "And the only reason we're going after that goddamn ring is for her."

"Do you really think she's the only one who finds that ring valuable?" Richie counters. "I know her, and I can smell her desperation. She wants this ring bad, and I bet the Lords want it too."

"No. We're not going down that road, Richie. I want to get that goddamn ring and give it to her so she can get the fuck out of our lives."

"I'm with Seth on this. Let's just do this and get it over with."

"Fine, but the two of you are passing up a winning ticket," Richie says.

Seth finishes getting dressed. "I'll be back." He cocks his eyebrow at Richie. "Make sure your soul-sucker doesn't take off." He quickly exits the room, leaving them alone in the room.

"That ring can give us leverage over the Lords, help us find out what the hell they're up to," Richie says, his eyes boring into her.

She retracts her hand from his. "We can worry about that after we find Scott."

Richie stays silent as takes another drag off his cigarette, but she can feel the argument brewing in him. Not ready for another fight, she stands up and walks to the bathroom to retrieve her clothes. As she gets dressed, he saunters over to watch her.

"I don't want to fight, Richie," she warns.

"Fine, then let's not fight." He tugs her close, his movements playful.

She gives him a pointed look. "We have work to do."

"I know. Apparently, my part involves babysitting."

"You were out there with her for a while."

Richie's eyes twinkle with amusement. "You jealous?"

"Should I be?"

"You don't have anything to worry about."

Kate plays with the buttons on his shirt. "She has a hold over you."

"Because she fucked with my head, turned me into her lapdog. I'm not that guy anymore."

She wants to believe him, and a part of her does, but she has a sneaking suspicion he's hiding something from her.

"We should get going."

She pulls away and starts to get ready, pushing aside her doubts. Whatever Richie's up to, she'll figure it out later. Right now, they have work to do.


As Richie dismantles the security system at the Ford mansion, Kate experiences that same, uneasy feeling again. She sneaks a quick glance at Seth who is standing a few feet away, busy scanning their surroundings.

"Easy as pie," Richie declares as the system shuts down.

"That took way longer than I thought it would. You're slipping, bro."

Richie shoots his brother a look of disdain. "How about you do it next time then? Oh wait, you can't. You don't have the required skills or patience."

Kate rolls her eyes, simultaneously fighting back a smile. Despite the cloud of danger hanging over them, it's good to know some things are still normal, and the Gecko brothers constant sparring is definitely that. "Guys, can we keep it down? Unless you want to get caught breaking and entering."

Soon, they're inside the mansion and quickly making their way upstairs. They've gone through the blueprints of this place, and have a general idea of where the ring is kept, but as they creep up the stairs a strange sensation comes over her. "Don't step on that spot," she warns Seth, looking at him over her shoulder. "It creaks."

He sends her a curious glance. "How the hell did you know that?"

She doesn't know how to explain it, but everything seems familiar, as if she's been here before. As they walk along the hallway she instinctively knows the wall that is now covered in damask wallpaper once used to be blue and yellow.

"Babe, you need to hurry the fuck up," Seth says from behind.

Seeing that Richie is already a few feet ahead of them, Kate picks up the pace. As soon as she turns the corner, however, she stops dead in her tracks.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Kate!" Seth gripes, grabbing her from behind. "I almost shot your head off."

"What the hell is taking so long?" Richie asks, turning back to look at them.

Kate can't stop staring at the picture hanging on the wall.

"You guys do realise this is a time-sensitive plan, right?" Richie bites out.

"Kate, what the hell?"

She reaches out, traces the frame with her fingers. "That's my mom." Caught in a daze, she takes a step closer to the picture. "This is a photo of my mom."