"So doing what we did the other night worked for you?" Selina asked Elijah. "Would you be willing to do it again?"

"Yes, I would," Elijah replied. "It felt so good! But I hope you're not lying to me about not killing anyone. Next time we go out, let's stay in the yard."

"All right," Selina nodded. "I can deal with that as long as you're getting outside."

"How come you can still remember all we did and I can't?" Elijah asked.

"It's cause you're new," Selina replied. "When you first start out, your, for better lack of a word, human side, deals with what you do by shielding you from it and making you forget. But the longer you go on, and the more comfortable you become with what you are, you won't have that amnesia anymore. Okay?"

"Sure," Elijah nodded. "All right. I could have used that in my early vampire life."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Me too."

"But," Elijah said after a few seconds, "The fact that we got through it all without help is a testament to how strong we are. Isn't that right?"

"I suppose," Selina replied. "Although my early days are part of why I'm so unpredictable and, at times, hard to handle now."

"Oh, I wouldn't say you're hard to handle," Elijah replied. "I mean, you do, on occasion, have a tendency to give into your hedonistic, animalistic tendencies, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. It's not a problem to pull you back from the edge. Now if we're talking about myself, on the other hand-that I'm not so sure about."

"You don't think I'd pull you away from the dark side?" Selina asked.

"I worry you'd be too pleased about having a partner in crime to do so," Elijah replied. "Don't tell me I'm not right about this."

Selina scoffed at his accusation. "You do remember that you and I have done an experiment where you actually allowed yourself to consume larger quantities of human blood right from the vein before, right?" she asked. "I think it was for my birthday one year. I vaguely remember you hijacking a policeman's car and stealing his clothes, then pretending to arrest me, followed by us feeding on the poor man."

"And do you remember enjoying that?" Elijah asked. "Cause I won't repeat it. I won't."

"Don't worry," Selina replied and hugged him. "I wouldn't ask you to. It's a bit alarming to see you go off the edge, honestly."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," Elijah told her, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her head. "Thank you for helping me through this werewolf business. It's unfortunate that it happened, but at least I don't have to go through it alone this time."

"You're welcome," Selina replied and kissed his nose. "It's my pleasure."

Ethan and Jeffrey were both off school a few days later, so, with their parents' permission, they made a play date.

"I'm glad you and Jeffrey are so close," Selina told Ethan. "But what happened to Toby? Why don't you hang around with him anymore?"

"I tried," Ethan replied, his eyes downcast. "But Toby said we couldn't be friends anymore because of Jeffrey."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Selina replied and hugged him. "But these things happen. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "I think I am. Thank you for checking, Mommy."

Just then, a horn honked outside. Ethan went to peer out the window. "That's Jeffrey and his mom," he told Selina. "I gotta go!"

"All right," Selina replied. "Have fun!"

He waved goodbye to his mother and ran toward Jeffrey's mother's car. "There you are!" Jeffrey said as Ethan nearly threw himself into the backseat. He reached for Ethan's hand and Ethan took it as Jeffrey's mother drove off, and Ethan watched his house disappear out the side window. Then, once it was gone, he turned to Jeffrey. "So, what are we gonna do at your house?" He asked.

Jeffrey leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "My mommy has some clothes in her closet that we could play with. And I got some new toys."

"That sounds like fun," Ethan replied. "I can't wait!"

When they got to Jeffrey's, he took Ethan's hand after his parents went to watch TV in the living room, and headed to their bedroom, where several dresses were laid out on the bed.

"Mommy laid these out for us," Jeffrey told Ethan. "And I know where she keeps her shoes."

"Are you sure she'll be okay with us playing with her clothes?" Ethan asked. "What if it makes her unhappy?"

"I told you," Jeffrey replied patiently. "She set these out for us to play with. It won't make her upset."

"She's okay with the fact that you play dress up and like boys?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Jeffrey nodded. "My uncle has a boyfriend too, so she's used to it."

They put on two of the dresses the best they could (Jeffrey wore a blue one, and Ethan, a purple one) and then, tottering unsteadily in high heels, they managed to make it out to the living room to show his mother and father their handiwork.

"How do we look?" Jeffrey asked his mother.

"Beautiful," his mother replied. "But be careful with the heels. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

His father eyed Ethan and chuckled. "You know, son," he said, "you pull off that dress a lot better than my wife's brother did."

"You know," his wife added, "I think you're right about that."

"Thank you," Ethan replied, his face flushing a deep red.

"Let me get the camera!" Jeffrey's mother rose to her feet. "I have to get a picture of how adorable you two are!"

Ethan and Jeffrey held each other's hands to steady themselves while his mother took the picture, and then afterward, Ethan just couldn't hold himself up in the heels, lost his balance, and fell on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Jeffrey asked.

"I think I hit my head!" Ethan replied and rubbed his bump. Jeffrey then kissed it gently. "Better?" He asked.

"Yes," Ethan replied, a wide grin on his face. "Thanks a lot!"

After that, Jeffrey's mother helped them put her clothes away, and then they went to play with his stuffed animals. When his mother brought them cookies and juice, she found then stationed on either side of Jeffrey's bed, each holding a bear at stomach level, with one of their arms stuck out like they were holding guns.

"What are you two playing?" His mother asked.

"War," Ethan replied, tilting his head toward the animals on his side. "Jeffrey's animals are taking over the house and I have to stop them."

"You won't be able to!" Jeffrey replied, making noises like bullets being shot out of a gun. "We're gonna take over this house if it's the last thing we do!"

"How about you two take a break from the battle and have a snack?" His mother suggested. "I made brownies."

"All right," both Ethan and Jeffrey said as they dropped their teddy bears on the floor and went to eat the brownies.

After the snack, they played a little while longer, then Jeffrey's father said they had to go visit his grandmother so Ethan would have to go home. His mother drove Ethan back to Elijah and Selina's, and as the boys were saying goodbye, Ethan gave Jeffrey a little kiss on the cheek.

"Isn't that sweet?" Selina asked from the window she and Elijah were staring out of.

"Little boys shouldn't kiss other little boys!" Elijah replied. "I don't like it!"

Selina turned. "Will you stop?" She asked. "If Laura and Edward had met each other as children and had given each other kisses like that, you'd have thought it was nice."

"Well, that's completely different," Elijah replied curtly. "I'm gonna go back to my office."

"Good," Selina replied, her eyes narrowing. "I wouldn't want Ethan to think his father was ashamed of him."

"He can do whatever he wants," Elijah replied. "It's not like I'll be able to stop it. I just don't want to see it." He strode off and Selina continued to look out the window until Ethan came inside.

"Did you have a good time at Jeffrey's?" She asked.

"Yeah," Ethan nodded and gave Selina a hug. "Jeffrey should come here sometime! Or would that make Daddy upset?"

"Oh, you can have a play date here with Jeffrey," Selina nodded. "And don't worry about your dad. He'd probably stay locked in his office the whole time anyway."

"Good," Ethan nodded. "Cause I wouldn't want to upset him."

"That's very sweet of you," Selina said, ruffling her son's hair. "I know you love your daddy. And he loves you too. He just...has trouble expressing his feelings."

"Really?" Ethan asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I'm sure."

"Did you see the pictures in the magazine?" Elizabeth asked Charlie as he set his homework out on Laura and Edward's kitchen table after school. "You looked really good!"

"Well, thank you!" Charlie replied. "And I did see them."

Elizabeth waited, and then finally said, "You missed the part where you're supposed to tell me I looked good too."

"But you know that already," Charlie replied. "So why do I have to say it out loud? I thought it was implied."

"It was not implied!" Elizabeth told him, tapping her foot. "I'm waiting!"

"Oh, all right," Charlie replied. "You looked very nice too."

"Thank you," Elizabeth smiled. "Was that so hard?"

"No," Charlie replied. "But you have a high enough opinion of yourself that it was unnecessary."

"Are you mad at me?" Elizabeth asked him. "Why are you being so mean?"

"I don't mean to be," Charlie replied. "I just don't know why you have to be praised all the time. Can't you just accept that you're pretty and whatever without hearing it from everyone?"

"I could," Elizabeth nodded. "But it wouldn't be as fun! And besides, I don't need to hear it from everyone. But I like hearing it from you!"

Charlie considered this and cleared his throat. "All right," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that."

"It's okay," Elizabeth replied, coming to sit next to him. "I forgive you!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he smiled.

"Thank you," he told her. He then got up and grabbed a handful of cookies from the jar next to the refrigerator and handed her a couple. "Here you go," he said. "I figured since I was getting some for myself, I might as well share with you."

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied. She waited for him to say that they needed to get started on their homework, like he usually did, but instead, he stood up from his chair and peered at her. "I don't think we should do our homework now," he said. "I think it can wait."

"What do you think we should do instead?" Elizabeth asked between bites of cookie.

"I don't know," Charlie shrugged. "You pick!"

"Really?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"Yes," Charlie nodded. "Really."

"All right!" Elizabeth replied, and after they finished their cookies, went to ask Laura (who was having a slow day), if she could take her and Charlie to the mall.