"Here it is, boys," Steven said as they met up after their time at the Council was over for the day. "I got it out of Miss Amy's office." He held up the picture. "Look at it and be amazed. This is gonna make us legendary."

"You know, that's a really good picture," Percy said. "I can see why you took it. I never realized how pretty Miss Amy was until right now."

"I didn't get the picture because Amy is pretty in it!" Steve replied irritably. "This is what we're gonna use to make the spell work!"

"You mean, we're gonna go back into the past?" John asked. "Isn't that risky?"

"Of course it is!" Steven told him. "That's why we're not going ourselves. We'll send the people in the photo back. They know magic. Surely they'll be smart enough to bring themselves back."

"But what if they can't?" Percy asked, his eyes in their usual state of dilation. "What if they're stuck back in time because of something we did, and then everything is ruined and we get in big trouble?"

"You always have to be a wet blanket, don't you, Percy?" Steve asked the dark-haired boy irritably. "If it gets that bad, we'll deal with it, but now, let's not. For all we know, I could do a damn good job with the spell, who knows? And if they, as adults with experience, aren't smart enough to get back to the present after being zapped away by a boy who has far less experience with this than they do, that's not really my fault, is it?"

"Okay, okay," John told him. "Now that we've analyzed the crap out of the possible repercussions, now how do we actually do this? Do you have a plan, or have you not thought beyond the initial idea?"

"Well, I thought that since you'd both be helping me with this, we could all make the plan," Steve replied. "Isn't that a good idea?"

John scoffed. "In other words, if you get taken down, you want us to go down with you. That's it, isn't it?"

"Well, it wouldn't be fair for me to just go alone, would it?" Steve asked.

"No, it wouldn't, I guess," John said. "But before we do this, can I just say you're a real bastard?"

"Sure, go ahead," Steve grinned, gazing at the picture again. "It's not like it's going to change anything."

"Hello, James," Helene smiled as he strode through her door and looked at her with surprise.

"Hello!" He replied and came over to the desk, pulling up a seat to sit down. "Are you working here too now?"

"Not permanently," Helene replied. "But Mom thinks it would be good to have a backup in case something goes wrong, or she becomes indisposed or something. So she's training me."

"Ah," James nodded. "All right. If a blond boy with sunken eyes comes running in here, just send him back to me, okay? He's my intern."

"I know," Helene nodded. "Liam told us about him. He seems like handful."

"He's not so bad, really," James replied. "Not after Henry and Monster. Gives me a little excitement in my day, if nothing else."

There was another knock and Max, who had been promoted to James' work assistant and not just his house servant, poked his head in. "The boy's escaped again," he said.

James sighed and stood up, giving Helene a wave. "You think if I let him kill someone, he'd stay put?" He asked as Max closed the door.

"I really couldn't say," Max replied. "But I know what your wife would think if you just began killing people, or allowing murders. She wouldn't like it. And neither would Astrid."

"Oh, even though she won't admit it, Astrid condones a murder every once in a while," James replied. "She knows that my reputation as a savage, scary killer is one of the things that keeps people in line, and if that got wrecked, she would have a lot of unnecessary trouble on her hands."

"All right," Max nodded. "I'm sure it's not my place to contradict you. Should we go and catch the boy?"

"Yes," James nodded. "We should. He's up to something. Something not good. As a rat myself, I can recognize shifty behavior when I see it."

They left and then Helene just waited and played with the stuff on her mother's desk, also sneaking some of the life savers and lemon drops she had in her desk drawer to stimulate her thinking.

When Astrid returned, she quickly shut the drawer, although, with her cheeks full of candy, it was obvious what she'd been up to.

"Don't eat too many of those," Astrid told her with a smile on her face. "I don't want you to choke."

"Uh-huh," Helene nodded, getting out of the chair and offering it to her mother.

Astrid sat down and waited for Helene to spit out the extra candy, and then when she only had one in her mouth, asked "Anything happen while I was gone? Thanks for watching the desk for me."

"No problem," Helene replied. "What would you like me to do now?"

"Well, why don't you go and read some of the old court cases in the file room?" Astrid suggested. "It'll give you an idea of the sort of problems we deal with and how they were solved. Plus, they're really interesting reading. But be careful when you get to the one with James. It's a bit intense and I don't want you to have nightmares."

"All right," Helene told her and saluted. "I'll watch out for that."

"I'm so glad you stopped by, Lissy," Klaus told Felicity as he gave her a hug. "I've missed you, young lady. How come you never call?"

"Because your best friend the hermit hates people," Felicity said dryly. "So now that he's dealing with this thing with his mom and his brother, I'm gonna stay away from him and me and Aunt Lucy are going to hang out."

"Lucy," Klaus said. "Do you know how long it's been since I've seen her? Where is she now?"

"At your brother's, hanging out with him and Grandma," Felicity replied. "You want me to tell her you wanna see her?"

"Sure," Klaus nodded. "That would be nice. I have to wonder if she forgets that she's my daughter and not my brother's."

"Oh, I'm sure she doesn't," Felicity assured him. "It's just that she spends so much time around a guy who needs her to run his life that maybe she wants a break from that."

"I don't need her to run my life!" Klaus defended himself. "That's what I have Amy for! Among other things, anyway."

"My ears are burning!" Amy called as she came through the door after work. "What are you two talking about?"

"How I can get Lucy to come and visit me," Klaus replied. "Do you think you'd like to have her come over?"

"Sure," Amy nodded.

"Speaking of people coming over," Felicity told her, "thank you for letting me come and stay here in spite of our past history. Not everyone would let someone who horribly tortured their parents back into their lives."

"Yes, well, it was a shock when you first did it, but…it's been long enough now that I've adjusted," Amy told her. "It's not like you didn't suffer any consequences for what you did."

"That's true," Felicity nodded. "I don't have any magic anymore. Haven't for years."

"I don't really miss my parents all that much to tell you the truth," Amy said. "They wrote me off when your grandfather and I got together and by the time you tortured them, I don't know how long it had been since I'd seen them last."

"Well, there you go," Felicity smiled.

There was another knock on the door and Stefan stomped in without so much as a 'Hello' to Amy.

"Are you working through that mess with your brother?" Felicity asked. "Have you gotten anywhere?"

"What do you think?" Stefan asked irritably. "There's no talking to Damon at all." He then turned to Amy. "Can Lissy and I have a room?"

"No, you and I are not getting a room," Felicity said firmly. "You are going to work on this thing with your brother until it's fixed. If my grandfather wants to take you out, that's one thing, but I'm not gonna be a distraction for you."

"What happened to you, Lissy?" Stefan asked. "You used to be so fun! It's Lucy's fault, isn't it? She's rubbing off on you!"

"Maybe," Felicity said firmly. "And that might not be a bad thing."

"What have I done to make you act this way?" Stefan wanted to know.

"I want to see people and the world!" Felicity got out. "We've been hermits in the boardinghouse for years! I need air! It's a testament to how fond I am about you that I didn't kill you years ago!" She growled in frustration and stomped off, leaving Klaus and Stefan staring at each other.

"You wanna go out?" Stefan asked after a bit. "Just you and me? It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Klaus nodded. "Would you mind if Amy came along too?"

"Why would she want to?" Stefan wanted to know. "She doesn't hunt!"

"Actually, yes I do, now," Amy told him. "But I…I don't want to interrupt your bonding time, so you two go and have fun."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked. "Come with us, please."

"I'm sure," Amy replied, noting Stefan's look, which clearly said 'Stay away'.

Klaus and Stefan went off on their own then, leaving Amy home by herself. She put a load of towels in the dryer and then called Alistair to see if he wanted to come over for tea and a chat. She'd always thought of him as a kindred spirit, and she knew he felt the same. She made up sandwiches, tea, and coffee, and when Alistair arrived, they talked a bit, and Amy warned him about Stefan coming, and how they'd have to be on their guard about her husband until Stefan left.

"It's good you told me," Alistair said to her. "Cause while Klaus is capable of being his own bad influence, somehow, he and Stefan together are even worse, if that's possible."

"Oh, it can't be possible," Amy said. "I mean, I think the last time Stefan was here, we got through it all right."

"Oh, it's possible," Alistair assured her and went to get some alcohol to put in his coffee. "I know you don't want to hear that, but it is."