Tara's phone rang. She immediately recognized the number and excused herself from Godric taking the call by the window letting the light wash over her. He saw her clearly then and he wasn't what he was seeing was everything Tara was meant to be, but she was on a path he couldn't take her from by sheer will. She like her maker had to make up her own mind about what she wanted from her immortality.

"Hey," he heard her answer, but the rest of the conversation he blocked out which wasn't hard when Eric and Pam entered. Eric's surprise showed, but Pam went directly to her progeny never mind the fact that she was on the phone having a discussion her hushed tones implicated as intimate.

"Whose that on the phone?" Pam asks.

Tara eyes her maker then the other vampires in the room. She couldn't finish her conversation with Maryann with everyone listening in. At least with Godric she knew he would have the decency to ignore her. Eric and especially Pam wouldn't give her the courtesy. Pam invaded her space already and as if she suspected Tara's intent she grabbed the phone from her too quickly for Tara to pull away or more importantly hang up the phone.

"Who the fuck is this?"

On the other line Maryann paused. The young Vietnamese woman doing her pedicure hummed ignorantly and she considered her next words, "where's Tara?"

"Tara and I were just catching up….I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it," the brunette set her jaw.

"Cheeky," Pam glared at the phone hanging up. Turning back to an irate progeny she tossed it to Tara and joined Godric on the couch. One leg crossed over the other as she inspected the tense shoulder of the chocolate skinned progeny. "Look she's angry," she addressed Eric.

The tall Viking didn't entertain Pam's pettiness when he saw a warning look from Godric. When Pam received the same look she tempered her sadistic glee to a gloating smile.

The dark skinned vampire could run. Flee like Pam expected, like she'd done so many times under maker's cruelty. Uninterested in giving Pam that kind of satisfaction she smiled at the woman in front of her and hit the redial button. Maryann answered on the third ring, "sorry about that lost connection."

Tara paused listening to Maryann's response and then agreed to her proposal to reschedule for tomorrow night.

"Good to see you again Godric," she eyed her maker and her brother, "Pam, Eric." And then she was gone. Her exit was deliberate and calculated and she knew it wouldn't feed Pam's flair for the dramatic.

When she left the hotel room she walked straight to hers and bypassed it deciding she would use the hotel's facilities and perhaps break something along the way. If Franklin wanted to find her that's where she'd be and two hours later staring at her reflection and glaring at the useless treadmill that had given out on her.

"The reunion went that well eh?" he inspected the cracked arms wondering how she'd managed that.

"I thought my human family was fucked."

He nodded his head joining her on the ground staring at his reflection then tracing his eyes over hers. Trouble etched in her forehead they sat like that for a while not saying. He'd been on the receiving end of unwanted advise many times and he came to the conclusion a long time ago he wouldn't be one of those people who acted like they knew the answers for every situation. This was Tara's family, her problem, and her shit that she needed to deal with in her own time. If he wanted to be a psychiatrist he wouldn't have taken a profession that hurt, killed, and sometimes tortured people.

"Shit's so fucked," she started.

Franklin remained quiet. If she wanted to continue she would.

"I hate her. I hate how she makes me feel. I hate that she can do this to me."

"Hates the strongest kind of love there is," Franklin shrugged.

Tara broke her stare and gave him a sidelong glance. "What?"

He breaks out in a grin and shrugs, "it sounded like you needed to hear something poignant and mysterious."

That earned a chuckle and soon their reckless laughter sobered and troubling thoughts took reign against her better judgment.

"The first time I ripped someone's head off I felt high and more alive than I'd ever felt dead."

"This isn't you cheering me up is it?"

"I'm sharing what was missing in my life, death. Maybe you should ask what's missing in yours," he shrugged.

"That's easy control."

"Then take it. I swear Tara sometimes I think you forget that you're way up there on the food chain."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tara wasn't in her room. She knew it with she convinced an attendant to unlock the vampire's suite pretending like it was her own. No one was here, not even her little dark haired friend who'd introduced her to her new profession. She may not care for this new Tara, but there was no denying the woman's tasted blossomed. It was easy to belittle the scared baby vampire new to the world. Intimidation came easy for the blond and perhaps she showed it at some inopportune moments, but it wasn't as if she didn't genuinely care for Tara. She did or at least she'd like to think so. That was why she was here wasn't it? Going through her drawers she began to admire her clothes knowing exactly why she was there. Godric demanded it. In his eyes she'd always been too hard on her progeny. He took her in with a tender hand and which was why he couldn't understand how she could be so cruel he once said. It hurt her to hear it, but he accepted it, and only intervened with Tara when he thought she was out of line in an intolerable extreme—like today. This was supposed to be the beginning of a truce their reunion.

Heading toward the closet she inspected the wardrobe. If she had to wait for Tara got get over her little tantrum then she'd at least entertain herself while she waited.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Stepping out of the closet Pam knocked on the frame before belatedly admitting she was there on Godric's wishes again to apologize.

"What are you apologizing for I'm a big girl."

"I told him that, but you know how you're grandpa can be."

"Yea, he gives a damn. You delivered your sorry ass apology. Leave."

"Are you dismissing me?"

"Sure as hell sounded like it didn't it. Let me be more blunt so this isn't a guessing game. Get the fuck out."

"Hot date with your human?"

"Not tonight."

"Then what's the rush," Pam kicked off her shoes and lay out on the bed waiting for Tara to join her. "We've got things to catch up on."

"I thought we already did that."

Pam shook her head in disagreement, "we didn't, not properly."

"I'm tired."

"Is that an excuse? Next thing you're going to tell me is that you have a headache."

Pam was on her bed for the taking. Didn't she just agree with herself that she was going to use this to her advantage? Didn't she just console herself with an objective to take control of her life? She did, but it didn't mean saying yes to Pam when Pam was ready to give her the time of day. It was tempting. Then again, Pam was always tempting. Her smile, her smell, her come hither eyes darkening from desire.

"Fine, stay but I'm not going to fuck you. You stay on your side of the bed."

"Well we might as well be sleeping in twin bed across like the I Love Lucy Reruns," Pam wad dissatisfied to hear Tara's decision conflicted with her own. She'd come to make peace and perhaps add a little pleasure with the somber business of apology. However, Tara had other plans. She began to get ready for bed and the blond watched her ritual with interest quite she could change her mind as the night drew on. There was still an undeniable attraction between them, a chemistry Tara could deny on the surface, but the blond knew better than to believe her charade.

Tara got in bed under the covers closing the blinds of the one window in the room and sinking into her pillow with her back turned to Pam.

"You're kidding,"

"Feel free to leave at anytime Pam."

Slipping out of her clothes she threw them to the floor and slid under the cover brushing against Tara purposefully. Cold by nature she wasn't worried about the covers, but she the words gave her a reason to leave over Tara and brush her nipples against her progenies exposed flesh, "don't hog the covers," she husked.

All she received was a grunt. She could play this game. She could hold out until Tara came to her senses. Whether the chocolate skinned vampire was aware or not—she'd begun a war.