He was alone at the bar, watching over the dinner table, taking in the empty plates and bottles. Dinner had been a success, full of appreciation and kudos, he just couldn't figure out why he felt unfinished. Unfinished like a red sauce that hasn't been let to simmered long enough, runny and weak and it felt like acceptance of Vex hinged on this performance.

"Sexy Vexy," Kenzi said, distracting him from his thoughts. "Why the long face?" She pouted for effect.

"Dyson's been riding me like a pony since I started dating Mark."

"You know what they say: two's fun, three's a party."

Vex scrunched his nose and shook his head. "Not with the wolf," he grumped.

"How are you and the boy wonder doing, anyway?"

"Eh," he said wiping the bar top with a rag. "He's good, I think I'll keep him."

"I thought for sure you'd have grown tired of him by now."

"He can be tiresome," Vex smirked. "But…"

"He's ripped," Kenzi finished his thought.

Vex grinned. "Yeah." He sighed. "But Dyson…"

"He's just sore. The wolf can be such a Dy-baby. You want me to talk to him?"

"Would you?" He looked hopeful.

"Nah, you're on your own for this one, big guy."

"Having a laugh now are you? Well, ha-ha, this is serious."

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'll talk to him. But I make no promises. That pooch is stubborn."

Everyone jumped when the door blew open and all at once every Fae at the table stood in defense of Dagny and the Humans shielding her. Collectively, they held their breath until a perfectly manicured hand appeared on the doorjamb and out of the blowing snow Evony Fleurette Marquis did appear. Mark rushed to close the door as she sashayed into the pub.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Vex hissed for effect.

"That's my line." Evony sneered and looked at the Fae frozen next to the table as she shrugged out of her fur coat. "The gang's all here."

"No holiday's complete without at least one crazy relative crashing the party." Kenzi bounced Dagny on her hip and smirked.

"Get her a plate, Vex." Bo forced a smile. The men relaxed and returned to their seats.

"Gladly." He wandered toward the kitchen. "Now where did I leave my arsenic shaker?"

Evony wandered further into the bar, into their sanctuary for lost and broken Fae and Humans that somehow they had woven together to form a family. She looked at Kenzi holding the baby and made a face. Her eyes glanced past Bo to Lauren. "Is this the Human table?"

"Still not over that?"

Evony scowled at Bo. "Would you be?"

"I'm sure it's not half as bad as you let on."

"Oh, that's right. You're more than comfortable playing house with your Human life partner, and raising the dead Valkyrie's baby together."

"Why aren't you spending the holiday with your husband, Evony?" Lauren asked from over Bo's shoulder.

"He's out of town making the world a better place." She sighed. "Another hostile takeover."

"Are you sure he's not just spending the holiday with his other family?" Kenzi blurted.

Vex dropped a plate of food in front of Evony unceremoniously. "Don't choke on it," he said retreating to the kitchen again.

Lauren covered her mouth and looked away as Evony's chin wibbled, her mouth unable to form words. Being Human had made Evony softer and Lauren felt responsible for these nervous breakdowns. "Kenzi," she chided.

"What? We're being nice to her now?" Kenzi looked at Bo, confused.

"It's fine," Evony dabbed her eye melodramatically. "I can take it." She looked at her plate of food. "Did you get this from the men's mission?"

"Vex worked very hard," Kenzi defended.

"Well now you know why I fired him-his presentation is army barracks or high school cafeteria tray. To elevate one's food, you must elevate it."

"What is she talking about?" Kenzi jerked her thumb in Evony's direction.

"One of the main principles of plating food is height," Lauren explained.

"Is Hotpants the Evony decoder ring I've always hoped and dreamed about?" She elbowed Bo in the side.

Bo ignored Kenzi and turned to Evony. "So what brings you here tonight, Evony?"

"I was hungry and I heard that Trick's rejects were collecting at the Dal so I thought-" Bo's face fell. "Was it something I said?"

"If you wanted to hang out with your kind, you could have joined that wake of vultures eating road kill up on Canyon Road and saved us all the trouble." Lauren took a long drink from the glass of wine in front of her before she noticed everyone staring at her. "I'm supposed to be the nice one? I'm always the nice one."

"Says the woman that took my Fae."

Lauren groaned. "Please, can we move on from this conversation forever?"

"And then you know what she did? She used the research on herself."

Bo got to her feet suddenly, taking Evony's elbow in her hand "All right, Evony. Let's get you a doggy bag."

"Wait. What? Just what are you trying to say?" Evony stood her ground, indignant as ever.

"It's time to go." Bo pulled on Evony's arm. "Mark, call Evony a cab."

"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!" Kenzi sang from her side of the table.

Evony's jaw dropped. "Give me a break, it's Christmas Eve." She looked around the room for sympathy. "You can't just throw a person out on Christmas Eve… it's unhuman."

"Inhuman," Lauren corrected.

"Oh, shut up."

Bo pulled on Evony's arm. "Are you going to behave?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it beats sitting outside in the snow waiting for a cab to take you back to your empty mansion." Bo sat back down next to Lauren.

"Duly noted." Evony looked around the room then, the drama having passed, and everyone resumed what they had been doing before. "So how are the lovebirds?" Her eyes glanced to Bo's hand on Lauren's thigh. "On again, I see. When you're ready for a plus one to liven up that sad little bedroom act, you know where to find me." Evony walked to the bar. "Hey teen wolf, do you know how to make a martini?"

"Sure do." From the other side of the bar Mark shot her his best Abercrombie and Fitch grin.

She leaned over the counter. "Three olives and make it dirty."

The keg room door opened and Dyson, with his back to the door, inhaled deeply. He smiled and turned to greet her. "What are you doing in here, K-star?"

"You work too hard," she said inspecting her nails.

He unhooked the connection on an empty keg and rolled a full keg into its place and reattached it. "It's a matter of keeping the beer flowing, my friend." Standing upright, he dusted his hands off. "What's really bothering you, Kenz?"

"Well, I was talking to Vex…" Dyson resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but the groan wasn't so inconspicuous. "Give him a break, D-man. He's really trying."

Dyson got to his feet. "He can try all he wants but that will never erase who he is." He tried to step past Kenzi, but she put a hand on his chest.

"I seem to remember a certain wolf killing himself over previous transgressions," she said. "A lot, actually."

Dyson sighed. "Yeah, and I still am."

"So don't you think Vex is doing the same?" He looked at the ceiling. "I know you hate his guts, but he's been there for us. Doesn't that deserve something?"

"I guess." He sighed again. "Why did it have to be my son?"

"Your son loves him."

Dyson made a face. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"Parenting's hard, D-Man, let me tell you." Kenzi stepped next to him and wrapped an arm around him. "I'm already on my second valkyrie and I am not looking forward to another teenager."

Dyson chuckled and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Maybe you can help me out then."

Kenzi patted his stomach as they walked out of the keg room. "Atta boy. Anytime."

Hours later, Bo found herself in the alley outside the Dal by the light of the streetlights. She watched them pile into the back seat of a taxi, Kenzi buckling the car seat in before Lauren joined her with the diaper bag. She looked over her shoulder and out the back window at Bo who stood next to Dyson.

"Thanks for hosting." She smiled at Lauren who turned back in her seat to fawn over the baby.

Dyson nodded. "Trick would have wanted us to celebrate together."

"He picked the right man to carry on his legacy."

"He prepared me well."

"I wish there had been more time," Bo said sadly.

"Life is not about controlling the elements, but instead adapting to them."

Bo smirked. "Did he leave you a book of Trick-isms too?"

Dyson chuckled. "No, I just picked those up during the thousand years I knew him."

Bo smiled. The five years she had spent with her Grandfather would never be enough, but with Dyson his memory was alive like the Olympic torch, passing his flame to each person he touches. "I'd better…" She pointed at the cab and turned to hug him. He smiled into her hair and inhaled her like he always did. Slipping away from him, Bo climbed into the front seat of the cab. He shut the door and tapped the roof of the cab twice as it drove away.

There was a resounding crash from the kitchen, followed by a cry of 'OPA!' and a drunken verse of Arthur's Theme that wafted out and into the bar as Vex washed up after dinner. Mark chuckled and collected glasses from the table while Dyson shot a round of pool. Shaking his head at every wavering note floated through the air.

"I'm gonna have to replace all that shit he's breaking," he mumbled.

Mark rolled his eyes and put the bus bin down. "I'll pay for it, relax."

Dyson sighed in frustration. "Did it have to be him?"

"What, would you have preferred Bo or something?"

"What did you say?"

Mark blinked. "Just… like you." He swallowed. "I mean, you know you can't choose who you fall in love with."

Dyson stared at him. "You love him?"

"I dunno, I mean… I think so." He turned to look over his shoulder at the caterwauling in the kitchen. "I can't stop thinking about him. When we're apart, I can't wait to see him again." Mark sighed. "He makes me feel-"

"Stop." Dyson held up his hand and closed his eyes. "I get it."

"Look, I know you guys hate each other. And you both-" he paused for effect, "-have done terrible things in your past-"

"And present," Dyson mumbled.

"He's trying," Mark said.

Dyson growled low, rumbling in his chest. "Just… don't expect a quick turn around, okay?" He looked at his son's face and sighed. "This is still a lot for me to get used to."

Mark smiled at him. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks, huh?"

"Oh, you're going there?" Dyson smirked.

"Yeah, I'm going there," Mark grinned, leaning across the table.

Dyson smiled menacingly, a flash of gold in his eyes. "Rack 'em up, kid. I'm gonna kick your ass."

End part 4