"I think we should look at the pictures again," Aaron told Rosalie. "Maybe there's something there that we've missed that will help us figure out how my mom died."

"No," Rosalie shook her head. "Let's burn all the pictures and not think about them again. If no one's figured out anything in twelve years, what makes you think we'll figure it out now? And we know how your mom died. Her throat was ripped out."

"Well, you know what I mean!" Aaron replied impatiently. "A clue to who her killer was could be in those pictures!"

"And what if it was an animal that killed her and not a person?" Rosalie snapped. "Fat lot of good it will do looking for fingerprints if the killer's not even a person." She scoffed. "Jeez."

"Do you know something?" Aaron asked. "If you know something, tell me."

"I can't," Rosalie shook her head. "Cause if I do, then you'll hate me and go away."

"No, I won't," Aaron shook his head. "Just be honest with me. Please?"

"I know you will," Rosalie replied. "But I have to tell you anyway. It-it was my dad who killed your mom. He's got werewolf blood in him too and on the day she died, he must have found her when he was going out hunting. He saw her, turned animal, and then…"

"You know that your dad killed my mom?" Aaron asked. "How long were you planning on keeping this a secret?"

"Not long!" Rosalie assured him. "I only just found out recently, I promise!"

"And what am I supposed to do with this information?" Aaron asked. "Wait around for your father to come back and finish me off too?"

"No, of course not!" Rosalie said quickly. "He would never do that! At least not if my mom and I have anything to say about it."

"Oh, I think he would, if he wanted to," Aaron shot back. "And I don't think I'm wrong for feeling that as long as I'm around you, my life is in danger."

"That's not fair!" Rosalie told him. "You never felt that until right now. The one time that your life was truly in danger was when you ended up at Roxie's and then I saved your sorry butt. Don't I deserve your trust because of that? We don't even have to spend time around my dad. If we want to be together, we can go be somewhere else."

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked. "You want us to run away? I can't do that. My dad already lost my mom and I don't want him to lose me too."

"I didn't mean we should run off together," Rosalie corrected. "I meant that when we go out or are together, it should be at places that are not my house!"

"And what if I said I didn't want to?" Aaron told her. "Would you do that mind control thing on me so I'd have to do whatever you said?"

"No," Rosalie shook her head. "If you said you didn't want to, I would be disappointed, but I guess I would understand."

Aaron scoffed. "I don't get it," he told her. "You're gorgeous and you can have any man you want, especially ones that are more handsome and stronger and more powerful than me. And yet, here you are saying you'd be sad if I left. Why?"

"What do you mean 'Why'?" Rosalie wanted to know. "I fucking like you! Isn't that reason enough?"

"No," Aaron shook his head. "Why do you like me? I need a good reason."

"Well, I don't know what you would consider a good enough reason, but you're fun and you're handsome and I like being around you a lot better than the more powerful boys who think they're all that and act like big jerks," Rosalie got out. "I can't give you any more reason than that. So if you're gonna go, then you can go. I won't stop you."

"Um, this is my house," Aaron reminded her.

"Right," Rosalie sighed. "So, are you gonna drive me home?"

"No," Aaron sighed. "I don't want to break up with you, but…I think I should start taking blood from you."

"Really?" Rosalie asked, a little amazed. "You won't think it tastes good."

"I'm not doing it for the taste," Aaron shook his head impatiently. "I'm doing it as a safety measure for when your father tries to kill me. If I have your blood in my system when I die, I'll turn into a vampire, right?"

"Yeah," Rosalie nodded. "But Aaron, becoming a vampire is not a decision you should make lightly. It's a very difficult thing to go through!"

"That's true, but if you want us to be together, it's what has to happen!" Aaron told her. "Unless that's not what you want?"

"It is," Rosalie nodded. She then bit her wrist and held it out to him. He gagged, then stepped forward, shut his eyes, grabbed her wrist, and drank. When he finally let her go, he looked shocked and Rosalie had a very strong urge to kiss his blood-covered mouth.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Aaron nodded. "I'm fine. I just…I wasn't expecting to feel so…powerful after I did that."

"Well, you got blood all over your face," Rosalie told him. "You wanna wipe it off in the bathroom, or do you want me to?"

"What's the difference?" Aaron asked, his brown eyes wide.

"If you want me to do it, I'll do it this way," Rosalie told him, pulling him to herself and licking the blood off his mouth before kissing him deeply.

"That's the difference," she said.

"I like it," Aaron told her. Then her phone rang and she sighed as her mother told her that it would be best if she came home.

"Your father doesn't know where you are," Amy told her. "I told him a fib and said you were at the library but I don't know how much longer he'll believe me."

"All right," Rosalie told her. "I'll be home now. Bye." She was about to zap herself away when Aaron grabbed her arm. "I can take you," he said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Rosalie replied. "If my dad sees you, it might upset him."

"I have your blood in my system," Aaron reminded her. "If he kills me, I'll just come back."

Rosalie sighed. Humans with vampire blood in their systems were always like this. Knowing that they wouldn't permanently die made them act bold and foolish and it was really hard to talk them out of anything. Finally, with a sigh, she took his hand and they drove off to Klaus'.

"What did I tell you about bringing him around here?" Klaus barked at Rosalie when she and Aaron came through the door. "I knew that that thing about you being at the library was a lie!"

"And what would you have done if you'd been told the truth?" Rosalie remarked. "Aaron already knows about us and he hasn't told a soul!"

"You haven't?" Klaus asked as he eyed Aaron suspiciously. "Is that true?"

"Yes, sir," Aaron nodded.

"Well, all right," Klaus sighed, not knowing why exactly he was giving this boy a chance. "I suppose that you can come here, but you better keep that promise."

"I will, sir," Aaron nodded. He then gave Rosalie a kiss and told her goodbye, feeling extremely happy that he was allowed inside the house now. Cause that would help him with his new plan: Kill Klaus to avenge his mother. That was why he'd asked Rosalie for her blood. He knew that there was no way he could take on a guy like Rosalie's father without help and live to tell the tale.

"I heard you have a job now," Gwen said to Victoria when she picked her granddaughter up from school. "Is it a fun job?"

"It's okay," Victoria conceded. "I'm babysitting a criminal for the council because he keeps escaping from prison. He's supposed to be really dangerous, but that doesn't bother me."

"You know, they say the same thing about your grandfather, but having met him, I know he's not dangerous at all either," Gwen remarked. "At least not to me, anyway."

"I wish you could come to work with me so I can show you what I do," Victoria said. "But because it's a prison world, I can't show anyone."

"Oh, I'm sure that being as smart as you are, you could think of a way to make the rules bend for you," Gwen told her. "Who's your boss?"

"James Black was the one who decided I should be hired," Victoria replied. "You know him?"

"Everyone does," Gwen replied. "And when I staged a coup to briefly be head of the council myself, I saw a lot of him. So I bet if you found the right excuse, you could get me in to see what you do."

"Okay," Victoria smiled. "I'll think of something."

"All right!" Gwen cried, striding into James' office a few days later, her and Victoria's plan to get Gwen into the prison world in action. "Just what do you mean by this?" She held out Victoria's arm for James to see: It was covered in rope burns and whip marks, done by magic to simulate Kai hurting her.

"What in the hell?" James asked. "What in the world is going on down there? How could Kai possibly have done this?"

"He hurt me!" Victoria said, looking as innocent as possible. "He's a very bad man!"

"I don't know how he could have done this," Gwen replied sharply. "You have a lot to answer for, Mr. Black. At the very least, let me in the same room as the monster who's hurting her so I can give him a piece of my mind!"

James sighed, realizing that he'd have to let her in, even though he wasn't supposed to just let anyone stride into the prison worlds.

"Victoria, give Gwen your key, so she can leave when she's through with Kai," James ordered.

"No, I can come too," Victoria replied. "I wouldn't want Kai to hurt anyone else." They made their way down to Kai's prison and he reached them, smiling.

"Well, hello," he told Gwen. "So nice to see a new face, especially when it's a pretty one."

Gwen slapped him then, berating him sharply for being fresh with her. "I can't believe you're the one everyone is supposed to be afraid of," she said disdainfully. "You're about as frightening as my husband. Or have you only mellowed since Victoria's been down here with you? I hope she's taught you a lesson or two."

"Oh, she's really taught me a lesson," Kai replied.

"But sometimes he forgets and I have to punish him," Victoria said.

"Yes," Kai nodded, a smirk on his lips. "I'm a terribly forgetful person sometimes."

"Yeah, I bet you are," Gwen told him. Then, she turned to Victoria. "You wouldn't mind if I have a go with him would you?"

"Oh, yes, please!" Kai replied eagerly. He started toward her but then Victoria pushed him back onto his cot and shook her head at Gwen. "I don't think that's a good idea," she replied. "We don't want him to get overstimulated."

"Well, in that case, I suppose I should get going now that I've seen all there is to see," Gwen told her. "Would you see me out?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded. She made it almost all the way to the door before turning and telling Kai firmly, "You stay."

When she got back, Kai said to her, "How come you wouldn't let your grandmother take her turn with me? Are you jealous?"

"No, stupid!" Victoria shook her head. "I just don't want to get in trouble for having someone else do my job!"

"Of course," Kai nodded, actually picking her up and laying her down on the bed as he looked down into her eyes. "Whatever you say."