Chapter Four:

Five years later

"There you are, I thought you had run off."

Mackenzie's head snapped up as she heard the familiar voice, a grin spreading across her lips. "Hi Godric."

"That's it? Just hi Godric?" the vampire that didn't appear any older than a teenager stepped into the room, a playful smile on his lips. "I miss the days you would run into my arms ad refuse to let me leave."

"I'm not a kid anymore." Mackenzie rolled her eyes, turning her gaze back down to her book.

Godric shook his head as he took the girl in. it had been longer than usual between his visits. Almost a year and a half now. His Sheriff duties had grown more and more, and he sadly hadn't had the time to come visit the girl as much as he had in the past. And it seemed, in that year and a half, much had changed. She was only ten the last time he saw her, and now she was turning twelve. He couldn't believe the time that had passed. He still remembered the little four year old girl running around, stealing their hearts along the way. It was amazing to realize that was over 7 years ago. She had been in their lives longer than Godric even realized.

And my, how she had grown.

She certainly wasn't a little girl anymore. She was beginning to turn into a beautiful young woman, though the roundness of her cheeks still gave her the look of a child. She had shot up, however, and Godric assumed she would be nearly his height by the time she had stopped growing in the next handful of years. Her hair had grown longer, now halfway down her back, or else it would have been if it hadn't of been stuffed into a loose ponytail he was sure was driving Pam crazy. Long gone were the days of Pam dressing her, he was pleased to see, and instead of the pink dresses he was accustomed to on her birthday's, she was clad now in a simple pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt.

"Is your book more interesting than I am?" Godric crossed the small library to where Mackenzie sat curled up in a plush chair. He reached to grab the book from her hands but she just moved it out of his reach.

"Shh, I'm at the good part." She tried to shoo him away, not taking her eyes off the book.

"Ah so the book is more interesting than I am. Shall I just leave then?" he teased. "I could return back to Dallas..."

That seemed to strike a chord as suddenly the book dropped from her hands, a serious expression crossing her face. "Don't you dare."

"Perhaps a few more books and you'd never even know I wasn't here."

"Don't even, Godric." She tossed the book at him. "I haven't seen you in a year and a half. You're not leaving."

"As you wish, princess." He chuckled, leaning down and brushing his lips against her forehead. Her smile returned at this action, flashing him that wide grin he knew and loved. "Happy birthday, little one."

"I'm not so little anymore." She pointed out, scooping the book off the floor and setting it carefully on the arm of the chair before standing and enveloping Godric in a hug.

"You'll always be little to me." he murmured as he held her tightly. It had been too long since he had her in his arms. He missed this, missed spending time with his family, with those he cherished. He knew he had a duty in Dallas, but it was this duty, of being part of this family, that he treasured the most.

"I've missed you Godric. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." She mumbled into his chest.

"Yes, it's been far too long, little one." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "More visits in the future, yes?"

"Mhmm, definitely." She agreed, pulling away after a moment to shower him with more smiles. "But since you're here...that must mean it's cake time."

"You have an odd fascination with cake." Godric rolled his eyes.

"I'm only allowed cake one day a year. You know Eric doesn't like me eating sweets. Apparently I get too 'hyper'." Her nose crinkled in displeasure.

"That's because you do get hyper." He ruffled her hair before placing a hand on her back and leading her from the room.

"I'm a twelve year old girl, I'm supposed to be hyper. But Eric's stupid rules..." she huffed.

"What about my 'stupid' rules?"

Mackenzie stopped in her tracks, her eyes growing wide as Eric stepped out of the kitchen, an eyebrow raised at the pair.

"Godric." he nodded at his maker. "I never heard you come in."

"Apparently no one did." Godric teased the growing girl. "She barely even cared that I was there. You should forbid reading in your home, Eric."

A smirk crossed Eric's lips. "I've already tried. She was demonic at the mere suggestion."

"You can't forbid reading!" she argued, as if the mere thought of banning books was just appalling. "You just can't."

Eric just rolled his eyes. "Let's just hurry this along. I have business to conduct tonight."

"Well then just leave then, no one's stopping you." Mackenzie muttered under her breath, but unknown to her, both vampires heard her perfectly clear. Godric quickly gave a narrowed eyed Eric a pointed look to keep him from losing his temper. Eric didn't look happy about it, but inhaled sharply to try and control his rising anger whenever Mackenzie had the gull to talk back to him. It had happened more often than not since she hit the age of ten. She was growing up, a bit too quickly for either of their likings. She was sweeter, even more manageable as a child. Now she was just a year away from being a teenager, and Eric was dreading that stage of her life.

"Let's just go cut the cake." Godric suggested, motioning Mackenzie into the kitchen.

At the mention of cake, Mackenzie immediately forgot about Eric and dashed into the kitchen, acting much more like the five year old girl he once remembered. Eric went to follow behind, but Godric caught his arm and sent him a small glare.

"Behave, Eric."

"Don't I always, Godric?"

"Hardly."

"Can I ask you a question?" Mackenzie caught Godric's gaze as she finished the last bite of her cake. Karen had already left for the evening, and Eric and Pam were off somewhere discussing matters that didn't concern her. So she was left with Godric alone with only her thoughts and questions to keep her company. And did she have a lot of them. She wasn't a little kid anymore. She wasn't naive or stupid. She was the top of her class at school, though she hardly liked to brag about it. She had observed many things in the past 7 years since living with these people. Observations that hadn't sat right with her and she really hadn't noticed until recently. She thought about bringing them up to Eric, but he never liked to be asked too many questions and she'd likely fall victim to some sort of grounding if she did.

But there Godric was, all ripe for the picking.

"Of course, little one." Godric nodded with a smile. "What would you like to ask me?"

"How come I've never seen you eat?"

The question threw Godric for a loop. He hadn't expected the question to slip from her lips, at least not today of all days. He knew eventually, she was going to wonder about them, why she never saw them in daylight, why they never ate in front of her, why they were so pale. And eventually, she was going to notice that not a single one of them aged. Not even a tiny bit.

"What do you mean?" Godric tried to remain calm. He knew this day was going to come, the day that they would have to explain to her what they were. He knew it was going to happen eventually. A part of him just wished he could forever keep her in this innocent bubble of hers. He was worried about her reaction. He was worried about how she would perceive them once she knew the truth. She was still just too young.

"I never really thought about it until recently." She mused, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "But I've never actually sat down to dinner with Eric. And every time you're over, you never eat here. Ever."

"Well..." Godric searched for an appropriate answer for her. But he was rendered speechless. What was he supposed to tell her?

"And I never see you during the day. Why is that? Eric's always sleeping. And Karen tells me I'm never allowed to try and wake him up. Why? I just don't get it."

Godric didn't know what to do. She was asking about everything at once. How was he supposed to tell her their most guarded secret?

"And..." she chewed on her bottom lip, suddenly turning shy. "And you haven't aged."

Godric could do nothing but just sit there gobsmacked. They should have known that with every passing year, this was going to happen. She was going to grow the courage to ask why they hadn't aged. And now here she was, across from him, asking him a million questions at once. And he had no idea how to answer any of them.

"You're just so young. Like really young. All the time. You haven't gotten older at all. Why?"

"Well..." he shifted nervously in his seat. "You've probably just noticed a change because you've aged so quickly. That's what kids your age do."

"Karen's aged." She pointed out logically. "And she's a lot older than you are."

"I..." Godric couldn't remember another time in his life that he was left without a word to say. "Perhaps we should..."

"Oh god, don't tell Eric I've asked all these questions." Her eyes grew wide at just the thought. "He hates when I ask a lot of questions. Please don't tell him. I don't want him to get mad. I always seem to make him mad these days."

"Unfortunately, little one, we do need to talk to your...to Eric about this." Godric sighed, running his fingers through his short hair.

"No no no, that's alright. Forget I ever asked them." She shook her head wildly. "I don't need answers. I love you guys, I shouldn't question anything."

"You have a right to wonder." He reached across the table and caught her hand in his. "I was just hoping that this conversation wouldn't happen until you were a bit older."

"What conversation?" her porcelain skin turned even paler. "Oh god you're not going to talk to me about the..." she lowered her tone, a blush rising across her cheeks. "Birds and the bees, are you?"

If he could have blushed, he would have. "No no, not at all."

"Oh thank god." she sighed in relief.

Godric silently agreed. That was one discussion he never ever wanted to have with her.

"Brat, you have a phone call." Pam choose that moment to pop her head into the room, the house phone in her hands with a wide smirk plastered across her painted lips. "It's a boy."

It was as if all her curiosity, all her embarrassment, just vanished at that single statement. Mackenzie's eyes brightened, her ears perking as she straightened in her chair.

"Who?" she asked excitedly.

"I didn't ask. He sounds...cute." Pam held out the phone, looking too amused for her own good. "Hurry up, before he loses interest, chick pea."

Godric had never seen her move so fast before as she hurried across the room to grab the phone. But before she could reach the piece of technology, Eric appeared in the kitchen with a frown on his face. He snatched the phone out of Pam's hand in a hurry, looking disgusted to even be touching the thing.

"Never call here again." Eric growled into the phone before hanging up.

Mackenzie's mouth fell open in shock, sliding to a stop as she stared up at Eric in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

"Boys do not call here." Eric crossed his arms over his chest. "That's the rule."

"That's not a rule." She insisted. "You've never had that rule before."

"Well I'm making it a rule."

"But..."

"No boys. Ever." Eric grunted. "You can be damn sure that's the rule around here, Mackenzie."

"But he was just a friend!"

"Is he still a boy?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Well he can't help that." she threw her hands up in frustration. "You're a boy."

"Yes, and I'm also your...guardian." Eric caught himself, his eyes narrowing. "And you'll do as I say. No boy is to ever call here. Is that clear?"

"You're being unreasonable." She huffed, twisting on her heal with her hands planted on her hips. "Godric, tell him he's being ridiculous."

Godric was relieved to have a new topic to focus on. "Actually, I believe Eric is being very reasonable..."

"What!" she screeched, a look of disbelief on her young face. "This is unfair!"

"You're only a..."

"I'm twelve! I'm not a child anymore!" she argued. "I'm probably more mature than Pam is half the time."

"Well that was just uncalled for." Pam rolled her eyes. "And I was going to agree with you too."

"I...er...I was just kidding." She quickly turned to Pam for help. "Tell them this is unreasonable."

"She is right." Pam agreed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "When I was her age..."

"Many things were different when you were her age as I recall." Eric sent her a pointed look. "It was a different time then."

"A stricter time." Pam pointed out. "So she's friends with a boy, what's the big deal? It's not like they're..."

"I'm not!" Mackenzie nodded her head. "That's just...gross. He's just a friend. And anyways, what would be so wrong if I wanted to kiss..."

"There will be no kissing!" Eric roared, his temper boiling over. "No kissing. Ever. No exception."

"But..."

"No exceptions."

"This isn't fair." Mackenzie pouted. "This isn't fair at all."

"If you're going to pout, you can do it in your room." Eric stood his ground.

Her shoulders were tense, and she appeared as if she wanted to argue with Eric some more. But she thought better of it. She knew she could never argue with Eric and actually win. He was unreasonable and he always had been. He's always refused to listen to anyone other than himself. He was selfish and thought of himself as always right. Nothing she could say would ever change that. So instead of arguing, she just stormed passed Eric and Pam and stomped up the stairs to her room, slamming her bedroom door shut behind her.

"She needs to stop growing up." Eric rubbed the bridge of his nose. "For my sanity."

"As worrying as Mackenzie's growing an interest in boys is...we have something much more worrisome to deal with at the moment." Godric sighed as he stood, preparing himself to break the news.

"What now?"

"She's been asking questions, Eric. Questions about us."

"It's too soon, Godric." Eric shook his head. "I refuse. She doesn't need to know about us. Not yet. Not ever if I could have it my way."

"As much as I would like to protect her from this, she needs to know. She's asking questions about us, questions that we cannot simply shove to the side or answer half heartedly. She's going to eventually ask them again, and again, and again until we tell her the truth." Godric sighed. He too wished he could keep their precious girl in a protective bubble and never share this secret of theirs. He worried about her reaction, about how she'll take the news. What if she no longer wanted anything to do with them? What if she told someone at school and she was taken from them? There were too many unknowns, and that worried Godric. But he also knew that eventually, Mackenzie would figure it out on her own, if not pressure them into telling her. She was an intelligent girl. She wouldn't just stand by with all of these questions and be satisfied with their lies. She had been in their life for too long now. She deserved to know.

"But now? She's still too young." Eric frowned, running a hand through his hair. "She's only twelve. Can't we wait a few more years?"

"I'm not sure if we can." Godric shook his head. "I agree with you, my son. She's too young. But she's always going to be too young. We're always going to want to protect her. But we need to give her the benefit of the doubt and trust that she'll take it better than we expect."

Eric didn't believe him. He didn't believe Mackenzie would just accept everything they told her as if it were nothing. It wasn't nothing. They were vampires. They were blood thirsty monsters. This was anything but northing.

"What's your take on this, Pam?" Eric questioned his own progeny, looking for any helpful advice on what to do. He only trusted two with his life, with his decisions, and those were the two vampires in the room with him; his maker and child.

Pam raised an eyebrow, looking up from filing her nails at the kitchen counter. "I didn't think I had a say."

"Of course you have a say. You've raised her just as long as I have."

Pam tilted her head to the side, gazing upwards at the ceiling before back down at her maker. "She's strong, Eric. Maybe she won't exactly take the fact that we're vampires lightly, but she's not some fragile little flower. She never has been."

"Careful, you sound like you actually like her."

"She's grown on me." Pam shrugged. She still remembered the day that little rug rat came into their lives. She had begged Eric to send her to a human orphanage, to get her out of their lives. They weren't supposed to raise some human child. They weren't supposed to take care of a child that wasn't there. They were supposed to fuck and kill and laugh about it. But Eric had been insistent, and soon, that child was theirs. Pam hated it at first, keeping her distance and pretending she didn't exist. But eventually, Mackenzie began to grow on her. Maybe she wasn't as terrible as Pam first expected her to be. She was like a doll, a very stubborn doll of course, but a doll nonetheless that she could enjoy dressing up. Eventually Mackenzie grew out of that stage, and that should have bored her, but Pam still felt herself growing closer to the girl. She may not let Pam pick out her clothes anymore, but there were many days Mackenzie would come to her, asking her to do her hair, or to ask about girl things. And Pam found herself enjoying those bonding moments with her.

"So you think we should tell her." Eric leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I think that eventually, she's going to figure it out, like Godric said, or she's not going to stop until we tell her the truth. She's inherited your stubbornness just by being around you." Pam rolled her eyes, her lips twitching upwards. "She's strong, Eric. She can handle this. I know you want to protect her, but you can't protect her from everything."

"I can try." He muttered to himself, but Godric and Pam had heard him clear as day, the two sharing a knowing look.

Before their conversation could delve any deeper into how they were going to tell Mackenzie the truth, the girl in question snuck into the kitchen with not even a single vampire noticing.

"I still think you're being unreasonable." She grumbled, each of the vampire's heads snapping in her direction. Mackenzie never noticed the array of emotions in the room however, as she stormed across the kitchen to the fridge, yanking the door open and peeking in. "I'm not five."

Eric welcomed the shift in discussion. He didn't want to talk about telling Mackenzie their secret. He didn't want to tell her at all. One day she would dig deeper into who, or what they were, and when that day came, perhaps she would be old enough that he could just glamour her to forget. It would be easier that way.

But Godric was having other thoughts. He didn't want to have this conversation with Mackenzie, but he knew they would have to. She was still so young, too young even. But she was asking too many questions. And Godric knew that eventually she would go searching elsewhere for the answers she sought. If she discovered that they were vampires from anywhere but them, it would only make things worse. It would be easier to just be honest, to assure her right from the start that she was in no danger, that just because they were vampires, it didn't mean they loved her any less.

This unfortunately, was a conversation they needed to have. Now.

"Mackenzie, love, come sit down." Godric patted the chair that sat between him and Eric at the kitchen table. "We need to have a talk."

"Godric." Eric's head snapped in the direction of his maker. "Not now."

"Now is as good of time as any." Godric sent him a pointed look. "There's never going to be a perfect time to talk to her about this. We're always going to think of her as too young. But she needs to know."

"No."

"We should just tell her." Pam agreed with Godric, eying the confused blonde closing the fridge door with a frown on her lips.

"What are you talking about?" Mackenzie questioned curiously. "Is this about me liking boys? Because I'm not a kid anymore. I can't help it. I just do."

Godric shook his head. "This is about the questions you asked me earlier."

Mackenzie had begun around the kitchen island, only to come to a complete stop at the mention of her questions. Her eyes grew wide as she sent Eric a worried glance. She knew just how much he hated her asking questions, or just being a nuisance in general. She tried, she really did. She tried not to anger him, to make him rethink coming back for her five years ago. She remembered that night as if it were yesterday. She didn't want to be sent away again. This was her home, and it had been for the majority of her life. She didn't want that to change because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"It's alright, Mackenzie." Godric motioned her over, taking not of her hesitance.

"But..." she chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"Oh tell her you're not angry with her, Eric." Pam slipped off the island stool and took hold of Mackenzie's shoulders, nudging her towards the table. "Let's just get this over with before it takes all night. Some of us have plans."

Eric sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as Mackenzie hesitantly took a place at the kitchen table, still eying him closely, waiting for a reaction from him.

"I don't want to do this. Not tonight." Eric sent his maker a pleading look. "Does this really have to happen tonight? Right now?"

"When would you suggest we do this?" Godric reasoned. "It will never be a good time, Eric."

"What are you talking about?" Mackenzie looked between the two, trying to understand what any of this had to do with her and her questions. They were just observations. They were odd ones, yes, but they were still just silly observations. She never really expected straight answers. She just thought Godric would laugh at her questions and tell her she was imagining things. Only he didn't. Not really. And now everyone was arguing over whether to tell her...what exactly?

"Mackenzie," Godric reached over and grasped her hands in his, squeezing them gently as he caught her gaze. "I never wanted to have to tell you this, even though I always knew one day I would."

"You're starting to freak me out." she tried to tug her hands free, but Godric held them firmly enough to keep them trapped. "Godric?"

"I don't want to be a part of this." Eric grunted, bolting out of his chair.

"Eric." Godric sighed. "You need to be here for this. We all need to be here for this."

"Just sit down, Eric." Pam positioned herself in front of the door. "We might as well just get this over with."

"You're forgetting your place, Pamela." Her maker growled, his eyes narrowing down at her.

She stood her place however, a perfectly manicured eyebrow rising. "I'm remembering my place well, Eric. And right now, that's supporting Mackenzie. She needs to know."

"But she doesn't have to know now. This is unnecessary." Eric shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "I refuse to be a part of this."

"Eric. Sit." Godric's voice hardened as he shot the Viking a glare. "Now."

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow is surprise at Godric's demand. She had never really seen him take control before, not like this. She knew, despite the fact that Godric appeared younger, that in some way, Eric respected him, he looked up to him. She didn't understand why or how, but she never questioned it before. Godric was just always the wiser of the two, the one who always knew what to do, who always had all the right things to say. She just never realized until now that he had the ability to control a room.

Eric shuddered as the silent command washed over him. Gritting his teeth, Eric knew he had no other choice but to abide. Even if he wanted to, he physically couldn't defy his maker. So against his wishes, against his better judgement, he took a sat back at the table, with Pam taking the last seat. Mackenzie eyed all three of them, feeling as if she had just stepped into something that didn't involve her. A part of her just wanted to tell Godric to forget about her questions, that she didn't care, that she didn't need to know. She had a feeling she wasn't going to find the answers she was expecting to hear.

"As I was saying..." Godric's gaze softened as his orbs caught hers. "You've asked me many questions today, questions I never expected, at least not until you were older."

"I'm not a little kid anymore." Mackenzie automatically responded, though her lips slammed shut the moment she finished speaking.

"You're right, you're not." Godric nodded in agreement. "You're turning into a beautiful young woman, a very intelligent young woman."

"I...I don't understand what any of this has to do with what I asked you earlier." She knew she should have just shut up and let Godric explain whatever it was he needed to. But she just couldn't help her curiosity.

"You asked me why you've never witnessed any of us eating, why we only wake at night, why we haven't aged a day since you've come into our lives." Godric paused for a moment, glancing quickly at Eric and Pam before continuing. "And there's a reason for this, Mackenzie, a reason that we've been hiding from you for many years now."

"They were just stupid questions." Mackenzie shrugged. As curious as she was, the tension in the room was almost suffocating. She just wanted out. She just wanted to curl back up with her book and forget she even asked those stupid troublesome questions.

"They weren't." he shook his head, squeezing her hands as he expression grew serious. Though as she watched him closely, as she watched them all closely, she could see what she could only describe as worry and fear evident on each of their faces. But what were they all afraid of? "Mackenzie, you see..."

"I don't need to know." Mackenzie shook her head, tugging her hands once again, and this time releasing her hands from Godric's grasps. She just had this feeling that she didn't want to know what Godric had to say. Whatever it was, it was going to change their lives forever, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that. Maybe Eric was right, maybe she was too young to hear this. "I-I think I'm just going to go..."

She jumped out of her chair, and would have made a mad dash for the door if Godric hadn't suddenly appeared before her, halting any movement. Her eyebrows furrowed, gazing back at the chair he had only just been in seconds ago. He had just moved so fast, like he just melted through time. But that was impossible. She was just seeing things. Maybe Eric was right to not let her have sweets often. It was starting to get to her.

"Mackenzie," Godric laid a hand on her shoulder. "This is something you need to hear."

"But I don't want to." she tried to move around him, but he just stepped in her path.

Her heart was beginning to race and she felt the sudden need to get out of that room pronto. All three vampires could hear her heart jump; they could all practically feel her blood pulsing in her veins. Pam was the first to struggle with her fangs, keeping her lips firmly locked together in case they did extract on accident. Godric had more control than that however, and while his eyes fell down to where her heart resided, he was able to fight the animal from within.

"I really don't want to hear this. Please." She begged softly. She looked over her shoulder to where Eric sat, only to find that he wouldn't look at her. "Eric?"

"Just get it over with." Eric muttered.

Mackenzie couldn't describe it; she couldn't explain the feeling she was having all. Maybe it was just intuition, a warning even. But a warning for what? Either way, there was just something different in the room, something different about the family she knew and loved. She just couldn't put her finger on it. And she wasn't so sure she wanted to.

"Shh, love." Godric's hand rose to cup her cheek. It should have comforted her, but for the first time since knowing him, Mackenzie began to realize just how cold his skin was when in contact with hers. It was ice cold, as if she had just stuck her hand in the freezer for a good minute. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise you. I just need you to look at me, please."

She didn't want to. She just wanted to run from the room. But she had always trusted Godric in the past. He had never done her wrong before, why would he start now? She should have trusted him enough to know that no matter what he had to say, it wouldn't hurt her, it wouldn't cause her any harm.

"That's better." He offered a strained smile as their gazes met. "There's a reason why we cannot rise during the day. We're...allergic to the sun, I suppose you can say. And as for eating? We don't necessarily need the same nourishment that you, as a human, needs."

"Hurry it up." Eric urged, everything about the Viking tense. "Please, just hurry it up and get it over with, Godric. Just tell her."

Godric ignored his impatience and continued at his own pace. He needed to be as delicate as he could in revealing their true selves, or they would risk losing her forever.

"As for aging, well that's much simpler to explain." he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "It's because we're immortal."

Immortal. Those words rang in her ears but it just didn't register. Godric could see that she didn't completely understand what he was trying to say and knew that he would have to just tell her point blankly. He just prayed that this didn't change everything.

"Mackenzie, love." He just wanted to take her in his arms in that moment, or worse, even to glamour her to forget this conversation ever happened. But he knew he could never do that. Mackenzie deserved to know. She needed to know. "Eric, Pam and I...we're more special than you are. We're different. We're..."

"Oh just say it already!" Eric suddenly stood abruptly, knocking his chair down as he did. Mackenzie jumped, yelping as she spun around, only to let out a small shriek as she found herself faced with two razor sharp fangs. "We're vampires."

A/N: and their secret is revealed! I hope you liked the chapter, there was a bit of a time jump from Mackenzie being 7, to now 12. there's a few events that happens between these ages that are going to be shared later, I just didn't want to take longer than necessary for her to grow up. the big question now, however, is how will Mackenzie react to this?

P.S. a fantastic reviewer mentioned Alcide as a possible love interest that would certainly rub Eric the wrong way. let me just say, that idea is now being locked away for further review ;)