It was the end of a very long, very exciting, very confusing day. Hal didn't mind that his quiet lunch with Lena had been interrupted by a call for her to save a life, but he was upset by Hetty's attack on their home. He'd been happy to slaughter Hetty's vampires, thrilled to fight alongside Lena, and enamored of the weapons she gave him to use. He'd never seen anything slice through flesh and bone as easily as that sword, and the shield was a stroke of genius on her part.
Then things got out of hand, and he attacked Lena in classic Lord Henry style: demanding sex, demanding blood. She was as fierce and eager as he was—they were in it together—until the vampire took over and tried to tear her apart. She defended herself vigorously, that was certain, and she didn't allow him to reach her blood.
Hal hoped that she had enjoyed the sex, but that wasn't the point. She'd trusted him and he had lost control of himself. He'd stalked her through the house and planned to attack her again. Only her ability to calm herself, to calm the vampire, had kept him from it. She had probably saved his life. Again.
He needed to talk to her, to apologize and to thank her for doing what he couldn't do; control the vampire. He went to her room to say goodnight. Her door was firmly shut, which was their Keep Out signal. Hal went to his own room and waited to hear Lena open her door, as she always did just before she went to bed. He fell asleep waiting.
Lena was hiding from Hal because she was sickened and mortified by what she had done. She had lost control of herself; she had pinned Hal to the floor and raped him. She'd taken advantage of his nature so she could draw out the vampire and challenge it. She'd beaten the vampire by taking what she wanted most from Hal while denying the vampire what it wanted most from her.
She was so focused on the vampire that it didn't occur to her at first what she had done to Hal. When she realized it she got sick to her stomach. She barely made it to the bathroom in time and went directly to her room and stayed there afterward. Hal excused her behavior to Tom and Alex, citing an overabundance of vampire dust in her digestive tract. He had a touch of indigestion himself.
Lena believed that Hal had enjoyed the sex, but that wasn't the point. She hadn't given him a choice. She'd done the thing she most despised: taken another person's body by force and used it for her own pleasure. She'd nearly gotten Hal killed in the process, and she'd felt herself slipping into darkness with him. Maybe her family was right to worry about her.
It was late at night when Lena stepped quietly into Hal's room. He had left his door ajar for the night, as always. She planned to wake him and apologize, but he looked so young, with his untidy hair and peaceful expression, that it broke her heart. She was an ancient monster preying on his weakness, and she hated herself. She left as quietly as she had entered, unaware that Hal had awakened with her first step into his room.
Lena went to the studio to dance away her wretchedness but there was no music in her and no music that could draw it from her. She sat on the floor, drew her knees up to her chest and pulled her t-shirt over her legs. She wrapped her arms around her legs, laid her head on her knees and wept.
Hal found her there. He waited for her to return to her room, and when she didn't he threw on a shirt and went looking for her. He saw that the studio door was closed, which meant she was inside, but he heard no music. He opened the door and saw her huddled and wretched in the middle of the floor. He didn't know what to do; he assumed she was crying because she was upset with him. He sat near her and waited for her to say the terrible things that he deserved to hear.
She spoke without raising her head, so her voice muffled; at first Hal wasn't sure he heard her correctly. She said, "I'm surprised you can stand to be near me after what I did to you."
"What you did to me?" Hal was at a loss. "What did you do to me?"
She still couldn't raise her head to look at him. "I raped you Hal. I pinned you down and took you by force. It makes me sick to think of it. I'm so sorry."
Hal smiled at the notion that she had done anything he hadn't been pleased for her to do. At first he couldn't take her seriously; it was so ridiculous to him that he nearly laughed out loud. But he recognized her misery and took a minute to find an appropriate response. When he did, he was able to use her own words to comfort her. "You cannot take by force that which I freely give," he said.
She stiffened as she recognized the words. "You did not just say that to me." She wiped her eyes on her shirt and glanced at him, then looked away, blushing and miserable.
"Yes, my lady, I did." He wanted to tell her that she had done nothing wrong but wasn't sure how to make her see it. "I don't know what to say about what happened between us today," he began, not looking directly at her.
"I assaulted you," Lena said, not looking back.
"I assaulted you first. I should apologize." He looked at her but she wasn't ready to meet his gaze.
"That was mutual, there was no assault on your part," Lena replied as she traced the lines of the wood flooring with her fingers. "I feel terrible, Hal. I know I hurt you."
"I enjoyed it." He picked a piece of lint from his shirt.
She paused, embarrassed. Her lines turned to swoops and whorls as she traced the grain in the wood. "I've never treated my partner like that. Never. I was out of control. Did I actually say I would ride you clear to hell?"
"You did," Hal affirmed. He winced as he added, "and I encouraged you, and called you a fiend and a bitch. I was also out of control."
"I think you said 'beautiful fiend' so at least it was a compliment."
"You called me a gorgeous beast. I hope that was a compliment."
"It was," she said quietly. "You were a gorgeous beast, Hal. I was a monster."
"I like the monster," he said. She saw the curse flare darkly over him again.
"She's dangerous Hal, and not to be trifled with. No, we must be careful. That won't happen again. It can't," she said, as she slid a hand along the floor toward him. He took it and allowed her touch to calm him.
"I dream of us together, and my nightmares are bloody," Hal confessed. "But I don't want to harm you. Today I tried to harm you. I'm sorry."
"That wasn't us," Lena said. "That was the Nephilim against the vampire. I wanted the vampire, I pushed for it, so I could defeat it, even if just for a minute. I want to break that curse so badly."
"So you weren't interested in me," Hal said lightly, with a bitter undertone.
"Oh, I was interested in you, all right," Lena said. "Post-battle sex is the best, and I hadn't had it in over a millennium!" She looked directly at him then, for the first time. He looked back, saw the truth in her expression and smiled at her.
She looked away, frowning, and continued, "I let it get out of hand. I saw the vampire coming and I wanted to challenge it. I lost sight of you, and took away your choice."
"Trust me, Lord Henry didn't mind," Hal said with a touch of wicked humor in his voice.
Lena nodded. "I enjoy Lord Henry, that's for sure. Maybe we're not good for each other, but damn, I like having him around, especially with a houseful of vampires to handle."
"It seems that we bring out the best in each other during battle and the worst in each other when it is over," Hal said. "You told me once that the two of us could do more damage to the world than Mr. Snow ever dreamed of. How close were we, today?"
"I've been thinking of that too. At first I thought we had gotten too close," she replied, "that my determination to beat the curse in the end may be the only thing that kept me from going over the edge."
She continued, speaking truthfully but carefully. "A part of me could live like that forever, hunting with you, killing with you." She shook her head. "I could easily become the vampire's consort, fly into darkness with you, and never return."
She watched the desire and loathing fight for control of him; he hated the thought of her becoming a monster. He hated it just a hair's breadth more than he wanted it.
She said, "Honestly, I came to my senses and realized what I was doing. I was risking your life, and mine too, in a way. We couldn't be together like that without you reaching my blood. And you, us, this weird family is more valuable to me than all of the excitement in the world. I know where my treasure lies, Hal."
"We will have to be more careful, at least for a bit," Hal said. "I will be tempted to draw you into a fight, to feel the thrill of challenging you again."
"Yes, it is another setback, I'm afraid," Lena agreed. "On the plus side, I won't need my toy for a while. I really did get what I needed from you today." She turned pink again as she smiled at him. His face lit up.
His grin told her how important her compliment was to him, even though all he said was, "I'm pleased to have been of service, my lady."
"I'm no lady."
He was quiet for a moment. "You have been my lady since you first walked through the door. It seems fitting that I use the title."
"You don't say my name very often," she said.
"No, I don't. You said your name was a choice," Hal said. "so I supposed that it wasn't your true name."
"My true name is Inanna. I don't use it any longer. Some interesting myths have been attached to it."
"I shall have to do a Google." He teased her gently.
"I'll give you the cuneiform for it and see how far it takes you," she responded dryly. She finally stretched her legs out from under her t-shirt. Hal got quickly to his feet and held out a hand to assist her up. She accepted it.
"Maybe tomorrow I will be able to dance again," she said sadly.
"It is already tomorrow," he pointed out. "Dance with me. Something fun. A mazur?"
"You remember those?" she laughed. "Dance has come a long way since the village festivals of the 1500's. I don't know if I have music for that."
"Chopin's Mazurkas will do," Hal said. "We'll cobble something together." He shrugged at her surprised look. "I know they were composed 300 years later, but they remind me of you dancing in the village."
Lena found her Chopin compendium and piano music quickly filled the studio. She waited for Hal to lead her onto the dance floor.
"I remember a lot of fast steps and spinning," he said. "We'll see how it goes."
They danced barefoot in their night clothes, moving in a circle around the room and spinning on their own axis as they did. They talked their way through the steps and turns, through clockwise and counter-clockwise spins. Hal took the lead position but it was a joint effort to keep from stepping on each other's feet or tripping each other up. They were smiling immediately and laughing shortly thereafter, and by the time they had made a few turns around the floor the day's destruction was far behind them.
Hal watched Lena dance away the sorrow in her eyes and hoped that she had forgiven herself for her perceived injury to him. He hadn't realized how fragile she could be until he had seen her bereft form in the middle of the floor. It broke his heart to think that she had believed badly of herself for his sake.
# # #
Lena had worried about working in the kitchen, with its quantity of knives and other implements that could lead to nicks and cuts, until one day a package had been delivered to the house that contained several pair of cut-resistant kitchen gloves. She hadn't ordered them; the packing slip showed that the order had been placed by Hal Yorke.
He'd barely glanced at them as she held them out to him. "New technology," he'd said. "I'm surprised you didn't think of it yourself." Hal had seen them in the kitchen at the Barry Grand.
Lena was using a pair of the gloves today to peel apples for a pie. She felt domestic, probably in reaction to her stint as vampire-killer extraordinaire yesterday. Hal was at the kitchen table with his laptop. He had learned not to interfere or offer suggestions as to how she might improve her cooking methods.
"I think I found you," Hal said. Apparently he was doing a Google on her true name. "Some of the images even show your wings." He began quoting from Wikipedia: "Sumerian goddess of sexual love and warfare, sounds about right—most prominent female deity in ancient Mesopotamia…many shrines and temples, very impressive—associated with lions…symbol of power, with your hair the symbolism makes sense—depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses, not sure that was wise—unpredictable…temper tantrums, I thought you said there were myths. So far what I've read sounds completely in keeping with your character."
"Smartass," Lena replied as she calmly continued her work. She wanted the pie done before the installers came to put in their new window and doors.
He continued. "…complicated relationship with her lover, I can vouch for that—descent into the underworld, wouldn't surprise me—speeding carnage, clothed in terrifying radiance, I've seen that so I know that's no myth—battle is sometimes referred to as 'the dance of Inanna', something else that I have witnessed—conversation with her brother, you have a brother?"
"Had. Are you about done with that?" Lena was losing her patience with Wikipedia.
"I'll just browse a little more," Hal replied, and went back to his Google. "There has been poetry written about you."
"Please don't start that, Hal, I really don't need to hear it again,"
"Christ, woman, what have you been up to? 'Plough my vulva, man of my heart'?
"That's a very poor translation."
"This website says that yours is the oldest written story on record. Predates the Bible by 2000 years. The world's first love story. What happened?"
She sighed. "Myths, Hal, myths and legends. People took a piece of me and turned it into something else, something they wanted me to be. That's why I left the name behind."
"So there was no great love story?" Hal knew it was absurd, but he still hoped that Lena didn't have too many love stories in her past.
"There have been a few great love stories," she replied, "but I'm usually discreet enough to keep them from becoming legendary." She took off the gloves and began to add sugar and cinnamon to the apple slices.
Hal moved from the table to the counter and got a slice of apple from the bowl. "Being a legend can be challenging," he said quietly. "It leads to certain expectations." Hal understood the burdens that came with being legendary, as he was quite a legend in the vampire world.
"We need a safe word," Lena said, as usual changing the subject and expecting Hal to keep up.
"A what?" He ate another apple slice while she tried to explain.
"Couples, or families," she added hastily, "have a safe word, a word that one of them can say when something is dangerous or when they are doing something and one is uncomfortable and needs to stop. Or when they are in a group and need to get away for some reason."
"Did you understand what you just said?" Hal asked.
"A safe word, a word that we can say to each other that means we need to stop what we are doing or get away from where we are," she explained again.
"Something in the order of 'stop' or 'we need to leave'?"
"I'm serious, Hal. I'm not supposed to hurt you, and I've hurt you twice already."
"Three times," Hal replied. "Don't forget the punch in the mouth. I doubt the magic word exists that can stop you once you get started."
"It's worth a try, anyway. Pick a word you can say the next time I get too aggressive."
"When I think of you the only word that comes to mind is 'more,'" Hal said with a grin.
"That's what you said on your birthday," Lena reminded him as she put the pie filling in the bottom crust and began to lay the top crust on.
"Because it is true. I will always want more." Hal watched her fingers work nimbly to make a decorative seal around the edge of the pie crust. In a minute she had it in the oven.
Lena was about to suggest a more appropriate safe word when there was a knock at the door. She answered it, assuming that it was the door installers. She returned carrying a beautiful arrangement of red, orange, and yellow roses in a crystal vase. She set it carefully on the table and looked at the accompanying envelope. It was addressed:
My Lady
Hal had returned to the table when she went to the door. He watched her quietly as she entered with what he considered a perfect symbol of her: a bouquet of blooming velvet fire. She looked at him, puzzled, then carefully washed and dried her hands. She returned to the table and gently brushed the rose petals with her fingertips as she leaned over to draw in the rich scent of the roses. Finally she opened the envelope and read his card:
Thank you for not treating me like a child yesterday.
Thank you for giving me the chance to be your partner. It was an honour.
-Hal
"Oh." Lena said the word so softly that he saw, more than heard it. She put the card back in the envelope. "Thank you," she said, and she walked upstairs with the card in her hand. Hal heard her in her room. She was getting her treasure chest. He smiled. Maybe he'd found a way to make her understand how much it meant for him to be accepted as a partner by her, and how little it mattered to him that they had briefly lost control because of it.
# # #
Alex didn't have much trouble finding Allison Larkin because Allison wasn't hiding. The only challenge was getting away from Tom long enough to reintroduce herself and have a little chat with Allison about the importance of staying in contact with loved ones.
While Tom slept, Alex took some time to study the University of Bristol website and memorize a map of the area. She paid special attention to the most boring and academically-based buildings in the area. Allison would be much more likely to be spotted in a library than in a pub.
Once she had completed step one, Alex moved to step two of her plan, which was to begin short visits to the University offices while Tom slept. Alex needed to find Allison's schedule and residence, which took some doing, but thanks to perseverance and her ability to open locks, Alex found Allison's student file and the information she needed.
Step three was a bit of harmless spying on Allison before revealing herself. Alex wanted to learn more about Tom's erstwhile sweetheart before speaking with her. This was trickier because Alex had to be gone during the work day, but she managed it. Tom was very busy and couldn't keep track of her all the time, even though it seemed that he was trying to. Alex knew when he would be less likely to notice her absence.
Allison Larkin was very focused on getting from one place to the next, very focused on her own agenda, and very determined to make the best use of her time, so Alex had no trouble watching her without being seen in return. Alex noticed that Allison's focus was sometimes aimed at a male student who apparently shared some of her classes. They appeared to be 'study buddies.'
Alex decided to visit Allison at night after she was certain Tom was asleep. She rent-a-ghosted to the grounds outside the University residence where Allison lived. There was still a light on in her room, so she was probably studying late. Alex entered the building and paused outside Allison's room. She didn't want to knock and risk waking anyone, but she didn't want to just appear either, in case it would frighten Allison. She stuck her head through the door, a skill she had learned while escaping from her own grave, to see what Allison was doing.
Allison was snogging her study buddy.
Alex jerked her head back through the door and popped outside, where she paced and fumed at Allison's betrayal of Tom. Eventually Alex calmed down enough to realize that Allison wasn't doing any more than Tom had done with Natasha. There was no agreement between the two young werewolves; there were only hopes and dreams on Tom's part. Alex had no idea whether Allison had the same hopes and dreams, but she thought it might be time to find out.
Alex waited and watched for the study buddy to leave. Eventually he did, looking slightly disheveled but none the worse for wear. Alex rent-a-ghosted directly into Allison's room.
"Hey Allison, how's it going?" she asked casually.
Allison jumped about a mile into the air but managed not to scream. She was slightly disheveled but fully clothed, which Alex took as a good sign. Apparently snogging had been the extent of her involvement with her study buddy.
"Alex? What are you doing here?" Allison knew that Alex was part of the Honolulu Heights family but hadn't seen her since before her death.
"Tom hasn't heard from you lately. I thought I might catch you up on the news from Barry. Interested?" Alex sat down as she spoke, even though Allison hadn't invited her to.
"I—of course I'm interested, but I am so busy here that there just isn't time to talk with my friends as much as I'd like," Allison said.
"Friend, eh? Tom thinks of you as more than just a friend, you know."
Allison nodded and stuttered. "Yes, well, of course, I feel the, the same, but, I, I can't consider any kind of formal relationship until I am finished with my education."
"You feel the same as Tom? Does your study buddy know that?" Alex did her best to keep her voice neutral.
Allison blushed but answered directly. "Tom and I have made no promises to each other. There is no formal understanding of any kind between us," she reminded the ghost.
"True." Alex nodded. "I'm just curious. Do you ever plan to have a formal understanding with Tom?"
"I don't know," Allison said quietly. "The more I see where I am going and the kind of life I will have, the less I can see Tom being part of it. I love him, but I have trouble seeing a future with him."
"Tom McNair is the finest man you will ever know," Alex said just as quietly, "and if you think fitting him into your life is a problem, then you have the wrong priorities and you want the wrong kind of life."
The two women sat silently for a minute.
"Allison, look at me," Alex said. "I'm dead. My plans mean nothing. I have nae future. Don't build your life around your plans, Allison, build it around the people you care for. If Tom is one of those people, let him know it. Make room for him."
"You are advising me to change how I think and who I am," Allison said. "I don't believe that is possible."
"Then you might miss out on the best thing you could ever have. Tom isn't the same boy he was last year, Allison. He risked his life to destroy the vampire threat to the world. He did it again to end the British apocalypse. He's faced bigger monsters than you can imagine. He's not just working at a hotel, he's managing it during a major renovation. He's earned the respect of the people he works with and the people who work for him."
"You think he may not be good enough to be with you." Alex shook her head. "Allison, if you can't see the quality in Tom, then you aren't good enough to be with him."
"Why are you telling me this?" Allison asked. She was offended and uncomfortable by Alex's comments, offended because of their personal nature and uncomfortable because they hit very close to the mark. "I don't believe this is an appropriate discussion; this goes beyond the boundary of what you should concern yourself with. How is it your business what kind of relationship Tom and I have or do not have?"
"I love Tom, and I want him to be happy more than anything else in the world," Alex replied simply. "If I was alive you wouldn't have a chance at him. I'd snatch him up and hold onto him and make sure he forgot all about you. But I'm not alive, and I can't give Tom what he needs. You can. You just have to be smart enough to see that he's worth it."
Allison was taken aback by Alex's honesty, and could find no good argument against it. "You have certainly given me something to think about," she said. "Thank you for offering your perspective."
"I'm offering more than my perspective, I'm giving you a warning," Alex said. "Tom may not be waiting for you by the time you are finished with everything you think is more important than him."
She continued, determined to put everything out there and push Allison as far as she could. "And I know I'm not waiting. Tom's helping me become tangible, and as soon as I can I'm going to shag him. I'm gonna shag him like nobody else, Allison. I'm gonna be his first, and the one he remembers best, long after I've gone through my door into whatever is next for me. Unless you decide to beat me to him."
Alex left; the stunned look on Allison's face was exactly the reaction she had hoped for. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if her message had been received and her challenge accepted. Alex hoped for Tom's sake that Allison contacted him soon. She hoped for her own sake that Allison never contacted Tom again.
# # #
A couple of days later the phone rang at the house. It very seldom rang anymore, so it caught Hal and Lena off guard at first. Hal answered, spoke briefly with the caller, and returned to the table where they were reviewing the information they had brought back from London. The two of them were trying to decide what to do with the as-yet untouched section of the Barry Grand, and were going through the discard process to see if any ideas were left when they were done.
"That was Allison Larkin," Hal said as he quickly wrote a phone number on a scrap of paper. "She asked for Tom. I explained that he was at work and gave her his mobile number. She gave me her number to give him as well."
"That's kind of out-of-the-blue, isn't it?" Lena asked. "Have they been in touch recently?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
Lena tossed the papers she held into the middle of the table. "I can't do this, Hal. I have no sense of what the space actually looks like. Blueprints aren't enough. I need to see it."
"What do you propose?" Hal asked.
"I think we need to take a field trip. Let's go take a walk-through of that section of the hotel. C'mon, aren't you curious to see how the renovation is going?"
"I am," Hal admitted. "I will be happy to escort you if you want to go."
As they went to the car Lena handed Hal the key fob. "I'm not sure I can actually find the place," she admitted.
He grinned as he opened her door for her. "Are you always this careless about properties you purchase?"
"Only when they come with good-looking men," she replied. "That's where my real investment is."
Hal looked pleased with himself as he settled behind the wheel, so she added, "And I think Tom is coming along very nicely, don't you?" She grinned back at him.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Hal agreed good-naturedly. "Tom has matured dramatically over the past few months. His manners have improved, his speech patterns are becoming much easier to decipher, and he dresses himself better."
"I think Alex has something to do with that," Lena said. "She goes with him when he buys clothes now. I think she actually convinced him to skip the second-hand shops on their last outing."
"They are good for each other," Hal said. "They have developed a strong friendship."
"I think it is more than friendship," Lena said, "which makes me wonder how Allison Larkin is going to fit into Tom's life again."
They pulled into the parking area at the Barry Grand and Hal opened Lena's door and took her hand as she got out of the car. He kept it as they looked together at the swarm of activity in front of them, which was actually the rear of the building. An extensive, multi-level brick-lined garden area, with walking paths and seating areas, was being created.
"Maybe we should just go in the front door," Lena suggested.
Hal agreed. He called Tom first, to see what was happening in the building, and Tom met them at the front door so he could escort them through the construction areas and show off the improvements and changes that were being made. Hal handled himself very well around the humans who were working throughout the building, but he was careful to maintain contact with Lena, even when escorting her through narrow passages between scaffolding. Tom knew better than to stop for introductions.
They avoided getting splattered with paint while agreeing that the colors were very nice, and they admired the updated furnishings in the rooms that had been completed. When they reached the area that had been reserved for future development, Hal relayed Allison's message and gave Tom the paper on which he had written Allison's phone number. Tom called her right away while Lena and Hal walked through the area, including some of the empty rooms. It was actually the quietest part of the building at present. The workmen who stayed there were currently on the clock in other areas of the building and grounds.
Hal had studied the blueprints along with Lena, and because he knew the building he could point out some of the structural requirements that a renovation would need to consider. Lena walked the spaces and got a sense of their size. Tom joined them to let them know that he was meeting Allison in Cardiff on Sunday.
"She wanted me to come to Bristol today, but we've got deadlines and I can't just walk away from my job," Tom said. "I told her I could get to Cardiff for lunch on Sunday and maybe a visit to the museum. I don't know why she wants to see me all of a sudden like. She said it was nothing special, just wanted us to stay in touch."
"Maybe she misses you," Hal said. "You two were very close."
"Where's Alex?" Lena asked.
"Right here," the ghost said as she stepped through the door of a room. "I was checking Winston's slow cooker." At Hal and Lena's puzzled looks she explained, "He likes to put something in the slow cooker in the morning so it will be ready for his supper. I pop in and check on it. A few of the lodgers do that, so they don't have to go out at the end of the day. Sometimes they have supper together."
"How does Winston know you are checking on his food?" Lena asked.
"Tom's idea," Alex said. There's an 'Alex box' on the wall by the kitchen. People leave notes for me. See?" She pulled a hand-written note from her jacket pocket: Alex, please stir the beef stew in my room. Thanks, Charlene. "I write Done at the bottom and leave the note to show that I've done the job. Easy peasy."
"Some of the notes are to thank her," Tom said, "and some are just to chat. I thought we'd leave the box there after the hotel re-opens."
"Won't that be a bit public?" Hal asked.
"Well, she's here. No reason to act like she ain't," Tom said.
"Isn't." Alex corrected him gently.
Tom gave her a quick smile. "Alex isn't scary, Hal, unless she wants to be. Lots of people believe in ghosts already, so what's the harm?"
Hal looked at Lena. She shrugged. "I think it's up to them, they're the ones who work here."
"Good. Sorted," Tom said. He turned to Alex, who was listening happily to the conversation. "I'm going to meet Allison for lunch on Sunday," he said. "She called."
Alex managed to hide her disappointment from the men, but Lena was perceptive enough to notice the slight droop in her expression.
"That's great, Tom," Alex said cheerfully. "Let me know if you need help picking out your clothes." With that, she walked casually down the hall, turned once to say, "Time to stir the pot!" and stepped through a wall into what was presumably Charlene's room.