TEASER

"Got enough boxes down here?" Jess asked, looking curiously around the basement.

"Well, most of them are empty, anyway," Kate told her, punctuating the point by standing on her toes and reaching over her head, using only her fingertips to grab an enormous box and toss it effortlessly aside.

"Your father was a worse packrat than your grandmother, Mel," Jess whispered. "Saving empty boxes?"

Mel shrugged helplessly, not sure what was behind the habit. She looked up in time to see Kate move to displace a box that was obviously not empty after all. The girl gave a startled cry as she and the box started falling. Mel and Jess both started towards her but were beat by Cole, who quickly but gently pulled Kate out from under the box and into a standing position before reaching up to brace it.

"This one is not empty," he announced, bearing it gently to the floor.

"You noticed?" Kate scoffed, shaking her head. Shifting slightly, she quietly added, "Thanks."

"You are more than welcome." Cole smiled warmly down at her. "The passage is behind these boxes?" he asked.

"Yeah. Dad's bright idea. Camouflage. Guess I should have paid more attention when he told me to be careful moving the bleeding things..."

He nodded. "I will move them for you," he offered, taking over the task of disassembling the wall of boxes.

"What is all this stuff, Kate?" Mel asked quietly as Cole worked.

Cole took his time at the task. Obviously, Mark Porter had taken his time on the construction of this 'wall', because fully-loaded boxes were strategically placed at more than one point, ready to topple on to anyone who disturbed them, probably causing serious bodily harm to the unprepared.

"Old stuff of his." Kate shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure what all of it is." Pausing, she quietly added, "I haven't even been down here since before he died."

"You must miss him so much," Mel whispered, hesitantly reaching out and touching her sister's cheek.

"Yeah." Kate nodded faintly, smiling weakly at Mel. "Pretty horribly most of the time. Your friend there strikes me as a lot like him, though," she added, a box marked 'pictures' catching her attention. Curious, she opened it. "Oh, wow," she whispered, picking up her parent's wedding album. "I thought this was lost..."

Mel smiled over at her and peered into the box as well, picking up a leather-bound journal and wondering if she was the only Porter not to keep one. Maybe it was time to start... Opening it, she was unable to suppress a startled gasp to find the pages littered with tightly packed but irregularly-spaced Cirronian glyphs.

Kate glanced up at it, her expression curious. "Some kind of code, you reckon?"

"Or something," Mel murmured, turning pages. There had to have been years represented here, years of her grandfather's life...

"You can have it if you want to give it a crack," Kate told her absently, returning her attention to the box, this time joined by Jess. "I'm awful at puzzles and such..."

"Ooh, Kate, is that you?" Jess asked, picking up a framed picture of an obviously new-born baby.

Unnoticed by either, Mel had pocketed the journal and rose, joining Cole.

"Not me." Kate tipped her head discreetly in Mel's direction.

Jess smiled faintly and looked at the picture again, opening her mouth to call Mel when Kate shook her head. Jess frowned curiously, wondering what she was missing.

"It was taken right after her mum died, Jess," Kate explained quietly. "It's kind of a touchy subject for her..."

"That's the reason she was raised by her grandmother?" Jess asked.

Kate nodded. "Yeah. Dad couldn't... it was too hard for him, too much of a reminder. So he left her with her grandmother and eventually just left... her."

"God," Jess whispered, trying to reconcile that behavior against the loving father Kate had painted.

Kate frowned faintly at the look on Jess' face. "He never stopped loving her," she explained, nodding towards the picture. "Had more pictures of her than me, actually. But... I don't know. It was like he just couldn't handle being near to her for any span." She shrugged. "The older she got, the worse it got. I found him crying over that picture one night after one of her summer visits," Kate told Jess, shrugging. "He was afraid she hated him for being so distant but... she had too much of her mother in her..." Kate shrugged. "He used to tear himself apart over that in private."

"Wow," Jess whispered, staring at Mel as she whispered with Cole.

"Was your father distant like that?" Kate asked, wondering if that was why Jess never mentioned him.

"Mine?" Jess shook her head faintly, firmly refusing to allow the tears that threatened. "No, mine was just mean."

Some trick of acoustics in the basement carried Mel's conversation with Cole to the two women. "She said 'secret passage', Cole. She didn't mention a scanning plate..."

"Maybe he added it later?"

"Yeah, but can one of us trip it? And what if this computer's as mouthy as the one in the States?"

"Unless she speaks Cirronian, Mel, that won't be a problem. Besides, you were going to tell her..."

Jess frowned as she tried to make sense of that. Glancing over at Kate, she saw the young woman looking as confused as she felt, and also faintly troubled.

"You okay, luv?" she whispered.

Kate did not answer, rising instead and joining them. "What's the hold up?"

Mel pointed wordlessly to the scanning plate on the otherwise-blank brick wall.

"Well, this is new," Kate murmured, frowning. "What in the bloody hell did he go and wall it off for?" she demanded. She was starting to feel like a caged animal and it showed.

"Relax," Mel suggested, amused to be giving that advice. "It's not a problem." Raising her hand to the panel, she released a small burst of energy.

"Access granted, Princess," her father's voice announced as the wall melted away.

"Definitely new," Kate murmured, blinking and allowing herself to be ushered into the tunnel, too stunned to resist or question.

END TEASER
ACT 1

Vic's voice filtered over the speaker in the hotel-room, sounding tired and frustrated. "Damn it, Cole, no! I'm sorry, but you can not remove a minor from her native country with her legal guardian's consent."

"But Mel is her sister!" Cole protested, pacing the room as Jess and Kate looked on with wide eyes.

Mel and Cole had not told them much beyond the few vague generalities imparted to them over the Flames, but it was obvious that the two were scared. Vic, too, by his voice. He was being as vague and guarded as Mel and Cole, but there was no mistaking his fear. What really struck Jess in the whole thing, though, was Vic actually trying to help Cole, especially since the Detective had already stated more than once that they were ALL on thin legal ice.

"And the 'legal guardian' in question is so far in Zin's pocket that all Cole had to do was drop his name and suddenly they're offering him tea and crumpets and canceling appointments with knights to get him in on short notice!" Mel snapped.

"Money talks," Kate said, shaking her head. "I'm surprised that faithless piece of... baggage doesn't have the phrase tattooed across her forehead. These people have been making her a rich woman for the past two years."

"So is she... one of... them or not, Cole?" Vic asked over the speaker phone.

"I don't know yet," Cole admitted. "But if she is not, someone close to her is."

"He has an appointment with her at three," Mel told him. "He'll have more after that."

"Unless he gets himself killed," Vic added.

Mel could almost see him shaking his head in frustration. She sympathized, but not to the point where she was ready to back down.

"Vic, this is my sister, we're talking about here. You have to help us... I know you have friends at Scotland Yard."

"What am I supposed to tell them, Mel? The Aunt hasn't tried a damned thing, so what am I supposed to tell them? Jesus, you'll be lucky if Scotland Yard doesn't come after you for kidnapping her!"

"This is ridiculous!" Kate snapped, rising. "I want answers now!" she shouted, feeling near tears. "What in the bloody hell is going on here?"

"Kate," Jess protested softly, shaking her head and grabbing her arm. "Mel and Cole will take good care of you. They'll keep you safe, they will. Don't worry."

"I was less worried when instead of the conspiracy theories of an absentee sister and her naturalist boyfriend the only things I had to worry about were a money-hungry aunt and a mysterious stalker..." she muttered, sitting down on the edge of the bed again. Noticing that Cole was giving her that look again, she added, "And would you kindly stop staring at me!" She flopped back onto the bed, grabbing a pillow, burying her face in it, and letting out a frustrated howl.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Cole told her gently when she had removed the pillow from her face. "I just find you very remarkable..."

"That meant to be some kind of a pickup line?" When Jess had described this bloke as odd, she had not come close, Kate decided. He was off his nut!

"Actually, Cole's version of a pickup line would probably be more along the lines of 'I'd like to pick you up now if you don't mind'," Jess told Kate, shrugging. "Ignore him. He just has a soft spot for Porter woman."

"Jess..." Mel warned, shaking her head.

Kate watched with a smile, then whispered to Jess, "You can tell me all about it after the folks are in bed."

"Oh, I will. And you will love it," Jess assured her with a grin and a wink.

"Back to the topic on hand, please!" Vic snapped over the speakers.

Mel raised an eyebrow. "Good audio reception on those things, Cole..."

Vic made a frustrated sound. "You can't remove her from the country, Mel. Period. You're on shaky legal ground here as it is keeping her hidden away..."

"So how do we keep her safe?" Mel sighed. "Vic, you have to give me something to work with here..."

"I need more time, Mel," he sighed. "Land-grabs aren't exactly illegal. I need more to work with."

"What about those Swiss Bank records that Cole got for you? Those have to be worth something..."

"Yeah, Mel, they are. Against Zin Industries. Not against some real estate agent who can always claim that she was just some poor dupe." Vic sighed. "I'm sorry. I would need proof that Kate is in danger from her aunt or from some other entity..."

"Why not this stalker of hers?" Cole asked.

"He hasn't done anything!" Vic snapped. "Look, I know that this is hard on both of you after what you went through last year. But there is only so much that I can get away with here. You get some clear and immediate proof that Kate's in danger and I will fly over there myself and browbeat Scotland Yard into helping you, but my hands are pretty much tied beyond that. I'm sorry, Mel. I'll call you if we get more. You guys keep yourself safe over there," he sighed, breaking the connection.

"So we're just supposed to wait?" Mel asked, frowning. "That's not tenable..."

"Why not?" Kate asked abruptly.

"Beg your pardon?" Mel asked, shaking her head.

"I turn 18 in less than a month's time. Not long to wait if I keep my guard up and my stalker keeps playing his games. Then I can go anywhere I need to get away from these people."

"And leave the bookstore?" Mel shook her head. "Not an option, Kate..."

"Mel! Why in the bloody hell not?" Jess demanded. "I mean, you're sitting here telling me that Kate's life is probably in danger over that place, and you want her to keep it?"

"Jess, you don't understand..." Mel began, shaking her head and wondering how to explain.

"I'm not leaving the bookstore," Kate announced quietly, shaking her head. "I can't. It's all I have left of Dad."

Mel nodded faintly. "Good, Kate. It's important that you stay there for... well, for a lot of reasons that we really do need to sit down and discuss pretty soon. But... for now we need to figure out how to keep you safe. And where..."

"I want to go back to the store," Kate told her softly. "I won't be chased out of my own home. I refuse to live in fear, Mel. Dad would have hated that..."

"I know he would have." Mel nodded faintly and looked up at Cole. "What do you think? Is she really any safer here given... given what happened last night?"

"What happened last night?" Kate asked, frowning.

"Mel, did something happen?" Jess asked.

"A man broke into this room while I was sleeping..." Mel shook her head. "He didn't hurt me or anything. But... they know where I am and that's..."

"A problem." Cole nodded, hesitating. His gut told him to hide them both away but, at the same time, it seemed equally unwise to have the bookstore unguarded. "You should return to the bookstore until I have met with Kate's aunt," he decided.

Mel nodded and rose. "We should use the tunnel so that the stalker doesn't know we were gone."

Cole nodded. "And I will return as soon as I know anything." Turning to Mel, he touched her heart. "I must go now. I'll call at four if I'm not back yet. You stay safe."

"Yeah, you, too, Cole." Mel nodded faintly. Not caring that there were others watching, she pulled Cole into a tight hug and pressed her lips to his cheek. Keeping her mouth near his ears, she whispered, "No unnecessary risks. We need you, Cole, now more than ever."

Cole closed his eyes and nodded, squeezing her tightly for a moment before releasing her. "Stay safe and try not to be seen when you leave. They may be watching the hotel as well, but I'd rather they don't know about the tunnel. It may be useful later."

"Okay." Mel nodded faintly.

"You armed?" he whispered.

"Yeah." She patted her back pocket, comforted by the weight of the Collector.

"Okay. Stay safe." Cole impulsively brushed his lips across her before turning and starting towards the door.

"Cole," Jess said quickly, rising and approaching him.

He smiled warmly down at her, accepting her hug readily and returning it with a tight one of his own.

"You keep that work-of-art bum of yours out of harm's way, okay?"

"I will, Jess," he assured her with a chuckle. "And you keep Mel and Kate safe for me," he added in a whisper.

"I will. Promise you, Cole."

"Thank you, Jess." He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, then turned and left.

"Good luck, Cole," Kate called quietly after him. "Stay safe."

"You, too, Kate." Cole nodded. "Take care of each other," he added to all three before leaving.

***

"Mel, what's going on?" Jess asked as they reentered the apartment above the Flames. "I mean... all of this?"

"Jess it's--"

"Complicated. So you keep saying," Jess sighed as Kate walked into the kitchen. "Does Kate know?" she whispered, pulling Mel to the couch.

"No." Mel shook her head faintly. "She really needs to, but she doesn't yet. But look, Jess, right now the only important thing is that we keep her safe from whoever's following her."

"Mel, I'm honestly not sure that Kate is in a lot of danger from that quarter," Jess confided.

"Do we want tea or something stronger?" Kate called from the kitchen.

"Tea," Mel answered. "With a shot of brandy."

Jess nodded. "Your grandmother swore by it," she told Kate.

"Okay. I'll put on the kettle."

"What do you mean she's not in danger from this guy, Jess?" Mel asked quietly, shaking her head. "I mean, he's stalking her!"

"Yeah, but he... a couple of months ago we were walking home... it was dark and the streets were pretty empty, except for the gang of hoodlums trying to mug us at knife-point..."

"Oh, my God," Mel whispered, pulling her into a hug. "Are you okay, sweetie? You never mentioned getting mugged."

"Yeah... I was trying to forget it." She had been trying to forget other things about that night, actually, not entirely trusting that what she thought had happened had. She could not tell Mel about the fact that one of the hoods had sliced her arm open and that Kate's stalker had somehow, miraculously, healed the cut. She had not even been able to tell Kate about that. They would never believe her, and the weight of the secret was starting to lead to doubts of her own sanity. But she could tell Mel the rest. "This bloke comes out of nowhere and fights like six guys off, Mel. Called Kate 'Kitten', told us to run." She shrugged. "He seemed like an okay guy, Mel."

"He called her Kitten?" Mel whispered, blinking.

That was what their father had always called Kate, exactly as he had always called Mel Princess. The man that had broken into her room last night had called her Princess. 'Look at you, Princess. You're beautiful...' Rubbing her forehead, Mel sat down, one hand absently tracing the pattern that the intruder's had taken over her throat.

"Mel? What's wrong, Mel?" Jess asked, sitting down next to her and turning to face her. "What's so big about him having a pet name for her?"

"It's not the name... It's... that's what Dad used to call her." She shook her head. Could he really still be alive? Still watching over them?

"Yeah. He says he knew Dad," Kate said with a shrug, carrying a tray with three cups of tea into the living room.

Mel took a long sip of her tea, tasting the brandy that had been added in a too-liberal manner and reminding herself not to have too much. Just in case...

"Kate, what if..." she began, trailing off and shaking her head.

"What if what?" Kate asked.

"Never mind," Mel murmured, shaking her head. "It's silly..."

"You were going to tell us what's going on, Mel," Jess prompted. "Come on. I mean, I can leave if you'd like, if it's... I mean, I take it that it's some personal family thing. I don't mind giving you two some privacy if you need to talk."

"No." Kate shook her head. "You're as much a sister to either of us as we are to each other."

Mel stared at Kate for a moment, eyebrows raised. Young Kate may have been, but wise and insightful, too... Was this what a child of hers and Cole would grow into, she wondered fleetingly, a girl who looked like her and had an understanding like Cole's. How had they ended up so different? Why was Kate in possession of so much more serenity and insight and... She shook her head faintly as it occurred to her. Kate had been raised by a Cirronian, Mel by a human. No wonder they were so different. This was what Cole was trying to turn her into, a Cirronian. And this was exactly what a child of theirs could become.

After the emotional roller-coaster that the past twenty-four hours had been, that thought was just too much for Mel. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

END ACT 1
ACT 2

"Ah, hello again Mister Hayes," the receptionist greeted him as he entered the office again. "Mrs. Braxton is just finishing up a phone call and then you can go right in," she assured him.

Cole nodded and sat down, looking around again. "Mrs. Braxton handles the Zin Industries account?" he asked casually, digging for what he needed.

"Oh, yes. She feels it too important to entrust to any lesser brokers," she explained. "And, of course, you coming recommended from them, she's eager to handle you herself as well."

"She owns this company? She is in charge?"

"Yes. Her husband used to run it, but she took over in short order when he died... bought out a few shareholders to cement her place, I believe."

Cole nodded faintly. "Yes, I'm sure she would have been eager to make sure that her position was secure. How many others work here?"

"Five other brokers, a few junior partners, and three receptionists, sir," she reeled off, used to such inquiries. Potential clients liked to know these things.

"And Mrs. Braxton is in charge of them all?" he asked, once again casting about mentally for the fugitive energy-signature. It was hard to tell given how strong the trace was, but he did not think that there were any fugitives present. Which at least meant that he was not about to walk into one's office. "That must put enormous demands on her time."

"Oh, it does," the receptionist agreed gravely. "She routinely works twelve or fourteen hour days."

"That must interfere with her family life very much."

"Well, I think the only family she has is her niece. Sweet girl. She visits sometimes, but never stays long." The receptionist shrugged. "I don't think they get on too well."

"And I don't think that my family affairs are for you to discuss with my clients, Rebecca..." a cold voice announced.

The receptionist winced and stared up at Marguerite with wide eyes. "Of course not, ma'am," she agreed quietly, her expression the most subservient Cole had ever seen on a human. She looked scared, too, though Cole could not tell if she was afraid of actual violence being offered her or just worried that she was about to be fired. "Ma'am, this is Mister Hayes, your three o'clock."

"Of course he is," she said, shaking her head. "Good to meet you, Mister Hayes," she said, approaching him and extending her hand. Her face was fixed in the least genuine smile Cole had ever seen.

He shook her hand, suppressing a shudder as he did so. When she released his hand, he had to fight the urge to wipe it off. This woman had the most unsettling life-force he had ever encountered in a human. Bitter, mercenary, cold, and manipulative, it made the Cirronian's blood run cold. No wonder Kate hated this woman. If the girl had even a rudimentary ability to sense life-forces, she would have known exactly what kind of person her aunt was. And if she was anything like Mel, it would have sickened her.

He hesitated on how to greet her. 'It's nice to meet you' was not an option because it was not true and he doubted he would have been able to hide that fact. He settled for, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Braxton. I won't keep you long."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she nodded. "Yes, well, straight to business then? This way please. Shall I have Rebecca bring you a cup of tea? Or I've a bottle of good scotch in my office," she added. "I never touch it myself, of course, but some of my clients enjoy it."

"I don't drink," he said simply, following her through the building.

He lightly ran his hand over the desk directly outside of her office as he passed, nodding to himself. This was the fugitive's work-station. Marguerite Braxton's personal assistant, a Vardian. A convenient arrangement for all parties. He wondered if she even knew that her assistant was one of Zin's people and whether it would have made a difference if she had. He suspected that she would have continued to work for them happily even if she had known exactly who they were and what they were up to. It made his stomach churn.

"I think I'll have that cup of tea after all," he told her as she escorted him into her office and offered him a seat.

"Wonderful," she said, picking up her phone and dialing an extension. "Rebecca, Mister Hayes has changed his mind about that cup of tea. Have a pot brought in with some biscuits, will you?" She hung up without waiting for an answer and sat down behind her desk. "Now, did you have a specific property in mind?" she asked. "And is it already up for sale?"

"I do, yes. But the owner has expressed some reluctance to sell, I understand."

"Well, I'm sure that can be worked around," Marguerite assured him breezily, not even acknowledging Rebecca as she entered with a tray of tea and cookies. "After all, most people can eventually be made to see reason in financial matters, yes?"

Money talks... Cole nodded faintly and murmured a quiet thanks to Rebecca as she left. "How much extra is it going to cost me for you to make the owner... see reason?" he inquired.

"Depends on how stubborn the owner is," Marguerite told him, smiling. Far more genuine than the smile she had greeted him with, it was a lot more unsettling. "I assure you, though, Mister Hayes, that I can be quite persuasive..."

"I'm sure you can," he agreed quietly.

"The property you're interested in?" she asked.

Cole hesitated, knowing that there was no way to go about this without raising her suspicions and, more likely than not, bring his interference to the attention of the fugitives. He would have to tread carefully.

"It's a bookstore near the University. The... Flames, I think it goes by now."

Marguerite's smile faded out. "Not for sale," she announced brusquely.

"Isn't it?" he asked, affecting surprise. "Mrs. Braxton, everyone has a price..."

"Yes, they do. Unless they happen to be obstinate little brats like Kate Porter," she muttered sullenly.

"Kate? The owner?"

"Yes, that's right. She's already had several quite generous offers for the store, but she flatly refuses to sell."

"Zin Industries, I suppose. They do have a fondness for that area of town."

Her eyes narrowed. "If you come to us referred by them, then why are you trying to buy the store out from under them?" she asked quietly, making a note to call Mister Haag as soon as this interloper was out of the office. Which would be just as soon as she had the information Haag would want on him.

"Perhaps I'm not," he told her gently. "Perhaps I am here on their orders under the assumption that, while she may not sell to a large company, she might sell to an individual." He smiled faintly. "Money talks. If Miss Porter has a problem with big business, another way MUST be found," he pointed out mildly.

Marguerite frowned faintly. "I see. And why didn't you say you worked for them?"

"Maybe it's supposed to be a secret," Cole suggested gently, giving her a knowing smile. "Maybe it's such a secret that they'll deny that they sent me simply because they don't want the news getting back to your niece."

"Are you implying that I would betray such a valued client's confidence by discussing our private dealings with someone else?" she asked, scowling.

"I'm not implying a thing," he assured her easily. "Simply trying to give you a clearer understanding of the situation. Zin Industries will do ANYTHING that it takes to acquire this property, Mrs. Braxton."

"Anything?" she repeated, frowning.

"Anything at all," he agreed, nodding. "You're the girl's next of kin, aren't you?" he asked abruptly, wondering if he could put some fear for Kate into the woman. She may have been mercenary in the extreme, but he could not bring himself to believe that she would trade her niece's safety for a lucrative sale.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, blinking at the question.

"If anything happens to her the store will revert to your ownership, won't it?"

Marguerite scoffed. "You didn't do your homework, Mister Hayes. I've come to expect better from Zin Industries."

"Oh, of course! The American sister..." Cole nodded. "Well, I'm sure she has no use for a property in London," he said, rising. "No doubt she'll be most amenable to getting rid of it at such a profit."

Her eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

"I believe you heard me," he answered flatly. "If Kate Porter will not sell, Zin Industries will find someone who will. Good day." Nodding once, he turned to leave. He was surprised, and more than a little disgusted, when Marguerite made no move to stop him. Frowning faintly, he turned to face her. "How much do you know about the people who run Zin Industries, Mrs. Braxton?" he asked, frowning.

"I know enough to be able to serve their needs..."

He nodded faintly. She knew nothing and preferred it that way. Disgusting. "In that case, you need to consider your priorities very carefully over the next few days," he told her.

"Is that a threat?" she demanded, folding her arms over her chest, affronted and more than a little shocked at his audacity in threatening her.

"Not at all. Zin Industries would never threaten You... Not while you remain so useful," he assured her, leaving the office before she could respond.

Hopefully the meeting had put the woman on guard for Kate's safety. And her own. He had no doubt that they would kill her as soon as she had outlived her usefulness to them. They would have to. She knew too much for them to risk her turning State's Evidence. Once she began to realize that, she would be more inclined to protect Kate, he was sure. In the meantime, though, it was easier for her to pretend that there was no threat. Forced to see the threat, there was hope that she might still rally to her niece's side.

It was strange, he reflected as he politely took his leave of Rebecca, that he had just, in essence, threatened a woman's life and he did not feel even slightly guilty about it. All he felt was a hope that he had made her rethink her loyalties.

END ACT 2
ACT 3

After Mel's tears had died down, the three sat in uncomfortable silence for a long time, each wanting to break the oppressive stillness that had fallen over the room but none quite sure how. After a while, all became absorbed in their own thoughts and the quiet was easy to ignore.

Mel's mind chased itself in circles as she tried to figure out how to tell Kate and how much to share with her. Secondary to that, was the concern over whether or not, and how much, Jess should be told what she had stumbled into the middle of.

For her part, Jess was quite sure that what she had stumbled into the middle of was, in fact, the Twilight Zone. Mel and Mel's dead-ringer of a sister and Cole and international criminal syndicates tied back to all three and melting walls leading to secret passages and stalkers who could heal with a touch... it was all too strange for her to make sense of, so she fell back on doubting her own sanity again.

Kate was in much the same boat as Jess in that regard, no longer sure what to believe. Here was Mel telling her that her stalker was not to be trusted and Mel's friend telling her that her life might be in danger from her own aunt, and Jess acting as though they were to be trusted implicitly no matter how bizarre their claims or behavior. Then there was the vanishing wall in the basement and the recording of her father's voice, addressing Mel rather than Kate as though it had been able to tell one from the other... In the midst of all this confusion, she found herself missing the presence of her stalker, a fact that was confusing in itself.

"Sod it," she muttered, rising and starting towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Mel asked, alarmed. She climbed to her feet.

"Downstairs for some steamed milk." Kate shrugged. "Relaxes me."

"I think we could all go for a cup of relaxation right now," Jess suggested quietly. "Mind company, Kate?"

"Company or a body-guard?" she asked, shaking her head.

Mel, who could sense exactly how distressed Kate was, approached her, lowering her voice and resting her hands on her arms. "Kate, you're going to be fine. I promise you. Cole and I are going to keep you safe."

Kate nodded faintly, her lower lip trembling. "I'm sorry I never called."

"Me, too," Mel told her. "I... I was waiting for you to call me. I thought... I thought that you just didn't want anything to do with me. I mean, I guess I was right about that one," she said with a mirthless laugh. "But I should have called. We could have cleared this all up instead of you spending the last two years hating me."

"I didn't hate you, Mel. I was just..."

"Angry." Mel nodded. "You had every right to be after what your aunt told you. I should have gotten in touch..."

"Well, you have now. We won't fall apart again. We'll stay in touch after you go home," Kate promised, looking up as she became aware that Jess was hovering uncomfortably. "Relax, Jess. Let's all go downstairs and get a drink. Make ourselves seen out the café windows by you-know-who."

Jess nodded and followed the two down the stairs. "Cole is going to take care of things, isn't he, Mel?" Jess whispered as Kate walked over to the counter and spoke to the barista on duty.

"If anyone can, it's Cole."

"This is way bigger than the INS, isn't it, Mel?" Jess asked quietly. At Mel's nod she asked, "So where do you and Kate come in? How are you involved in it all?"

"Through our father," Mel explained honestly. "It complicated. I think... Well, there's just a lot going on." She shrugged. "We'll know more when Cole gets back."

"More than nothing?" Kate asked, walking to them carrying a tray with three large paper cups, full to the brim with steamed milk. "Well, that should clear up everything... Let's grab the couch and armchairs," she suggested, nodding towards the corner.

"Is it safe?" Jess asked, frowning at the large picture-window behind the couch. "Awfully exposed..."

"Which is good since we're acting like nothing's wrong," Kate said, nodding. "Come on."

"Ice-water in the veins, that one," Jess murmured, shaking her head in awe.

Mel, who could feel exactly how anxious Kate really was, shrugged. "She's more nervous than you think, Jess. Putting on her game-face is just how she deals. Come on."

Jess nodded and followed them to the corner, settling into an arm-chair as Mel and Kate sat down next to each other on the couch. "You know, if you two want some privacy," she began.

"Not from you, Jess," Mel said, shaking her head.

"Never from you," Kate agreed. "It's like I said earlier..."

Mel nodded. "Sisters, all three of us."

Jess sipped at her milk. "I appreciate it, guys. I... Well, you know how it is with me. No real family of my own."

"Not any more," Kate told her.

Mel nodded. "Hell, Gran all but adopted you. You're as much a Porter as either of us."

Jess smiled, flattered. She had always been close to the women, but it made her feel warm inside to think that they considered her a sister. Her head shot up as she saw a man emerging from the basement. Relieved, she jumped to her feet and quickly crossed the bookstore, jumping into Cole's arms.

"Hello again, Jess," Cole greeted her mildly, hugging her close for a long moment.

Her distress was too obvious for him to do anything else. He looked up as Mel and Kate approached more sedately. Kate had an awkward greeting and a short hug for him and Mel's hug, while obviously genuine, was as constrained as her public displays usually were. He enjoyed it while it lasted, feeling a pang of loss as he released her.

"Can I get you a drink?" Kate offered him. "Coffee, latte, mocha?"

Mel winced at the last offering, earning herself a sideways glance from Jess.

"Plain coffee is just fine, Kate," Cole assured her, smiling to himself at Mel's reaction. Since New Year's Eve, she had winced every time chocolate was brought up. He had been abstaining religiously since, aware that he must have done something to upset her while under chocolate's influence and hoping that it had not been TOO serious an infraction.

"We're all having steamed milk," Jess added. "More relaxing. I really don't think that any of us really need caffeine thrown into the mix, all things considered."

"Steamed milk would be nice," Cole agreed.

"I'll get it," Kate offered, not really sure what to say to the man under the circumstances.

"Thank you, Kate," Cole told her.

"You want it flavored? We have vanilla and chocolate and..."

"Vanilla would be wonderful," Cole assured her, giving Mel a reassuring wink.

"We're sitting over here," Jess told him, pointing to the couch and arm chairs. "Kate wants her stalker to see us, think everything's normal."

"That is wise," Cole agreed, following the woman into that corner.

"So, what did you find out?" Mel asked immediately.

Cole sat between Mel and Jess on the couch, considering. "She is connected to them, but she is not one of them." His expression reflected his distaste as he added, "I think she would ignore many things in order to make this sale..."

"Ignore many things?" Jess repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Cole nodded faintly and lapsed into silence, his expression pensive.

Mel could understand Jess' confusion and provided, "These people, Jess... they'll do an awful lot to get what they want."

"Things like hurting Kate?" Jess asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah," Mel sighed, nodding.

"Just for a piece of property?" she asked, shaking her head. "I don't understand..."

"I think that they are less interested in the property than in what might be buried under it," Cole told her gently, touching her forehead and discreetly releasing soothing energy.

"There something buried under my bookstore?" Kate asked as she rejoined them, frowning at the intelligence.

At Mel's faint nod, she slid onto the couch next to her. It was a tight fit on the overstuffed couch, especially given Cole's bulk, but all four felt obscurely comforted by that closeness. All four were willing to take comfort where they could get it, even in something as simple as 'human' contact.

Jess sighed and leaned into Cole's arm, feeling hopelessly lost. The Cirronian looked sadly down at the girl for a moment before wrapping his arm around her shoulders, knowing that she needed comfort. Mel flashed him a grateful smile, as worried about their friend as he was.

"So," Kate began, sighing faintly. "What exactly is buried under my store that someone wants so badly that my life's in danger over it? And what's dad's connection, Mel? And yours, too, actually?" She frowned, adding, "And Cole's..."

END ACT 3
ACT 4

"Would you like privacy, Mel?" Cole offered gently as she struggled to frame an answer.

"Yeah." Mel sighed and nodded faintly, knowing that he was not so much offering to leave himself as he was offering to take Jess with him. And as much as Jess was like a sister to her, she was not sure how far she wanted Jess drawn into this, for her own safety. "Maybe it'll be easier if it's just Kate and I..."

Cole nodded. "Go upstairs and discuss it, Mel. Jess and I will wait until you have talked and decided how much you wish to tell Jess."

"Oh, come on," Kate began to protest. "Jess is as much a part of this as--"

"No, Kate," Jess interrupted, shaking her head. "This is family business. Just between you two. If you decide you want to tell me, that's fine, but for now I think you and Mel really do need to discuss things alone."

Kate hesitated, then rose and started for the stairs, closely followed by Mel.

"Thank you, Jess. Mel has not been looking forward to this meeting. I think it will help her to be alone with Kate for a little while."

"I can understand why she hasn't been looking forward to it," Jess said, nodding and noticing with some surprise that Cole's arm was still gently looped around her, but not much minding. In fact, she was grateful for the continued comfort. "I mean, with Kate thinking that Mel didn't want her and Mel thinking that Kate didn't want her and then two years of total silence between them..."

Cole nodded faintly, his expression troubled. "I can not imagine allowing myself to become so separated from a sister or a father as Mel has..."

"Can't you?" Jess asked, staring up at him. "You must have had an absolutely perfect family life, then."

"It was not perfect," Cole told her, shrugging. "And I did not spend as much time with my daughter as I probably should have, but I can not imaging ever having isolated myself from her so completely."

"You have a daughter?" Jess asked, staring up at him in surprise. "Were you married?"

"Yes." He nodded faintly, aware that, as close as he was to Jess, they knew nothing about each other's lives. It seemed wrong to him, so he explained, "I married Nallia fifteen years ago. We had our daughter a short time after."

"Nallia? That's a pretty name."

"Beautiful name, Jess," Cole corrected her gently. "It was a beautiful name for a beautiful creature. She was... amazing, Jess."

"So what happened? She leave?" Jess asked, wondering why any woman in her right mind would leave a man like Cole.

"They were killed," Cole told her quietly, sipping at his milk and wishing that he had taken Kate up on the offer of chocolate flavoring.

"Oh, God, Cole..." Jess whispered, staring up at him with wide eyes. She hugged him impulsively. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Cole hugged her back for a long moment before releasing her again. Since his twin stints as 'Rose', he had been a lot more comfortable with physical affection from people other than Mel. Especially with Jess, though, hugging in comfort or from affection just seemed like the most natural thing in the universe.

"It's okay, Jess. You had no way of knowing," he told her. "It was many years ago. It no longer hurts the way it once did."

She looked up at him with wide eyes for a moment. "I need some fresh air," she whispered. "Do we have to stay here? Can't I just go have a walk around the block and back? Just to clear my head?"

He nodded, rising and helping her to her feet. "I will come."

"Who'll protect Kate?" she protested.

"Mel," he answered without hesitation.

"Mel?" Jess repeated, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"She has learned much in the past several months, Jess. Kate is her sister and Mel loves her dearly. She can and will keep Kate safe," he promised. "As I must keep you safe."

Jess nodded and hesitantly extended her hand, not sure if Cole would accept it. She smiled gratefully when he did, giving his hand a squeeze. "Thanks," she murmured.

He nodded faintly as they walked from the store, still hand in hand. As preoccupied as she was, Jess failed to notice a familiar figure, complete with hooded sweatshirt. His mind on Ashi and Nallia as well as Mel and Kate and Jess, Cole even failed to notice that his life-force was distinctly inhuman.

"I've missed you, Jess," he murmured as they walked. "You've always been very dear to me, you know."

She smiled weakly up at him. "You, too, Cole. You're a really great guy and I'm so glad that Mel found you."

"And I am glad that I found Mel," he answered honestly.

Jess dropped onto a bench, tugging at Cole's hand until he joined her. Turning to face him, she asked quietly, "Why don't the two of you... I mean, she obviously loves you as much as you love her, Cole. So why not..."

Jess recognized that pained expression, the same one that Mel wore when talking about the 'why not' of their relationship. Cole, though, did not hesitate to offer up an answer.

"Mel is in enough danger because of her connection to me, Jess. I can not make her more of a target by bringing her closer. Her place in my heart can not be denied, but I worry constantly about her safety. When it is safer, then I will offer myself to her. I can not before then."

"You really love her?" Jess asked quietly.

He nodded. "She is... like the sun in the sky, Jess. She gives light and warmth and I could not see my path without her."

"That's beautiful, Cole," Jess whispered, giving him a quick hug.

He hugged back, holding his friend close. "It is true."

She smiled up at him. "What about me, Cole? I've never really known what to make of the way you treat me. I mean... you pretty much completely ignore every woman out there, except Mel and me. But... with me it's... different."

"Very different," he agreed, nodding and releasing her. He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, his expression unabashedly admiring before he answered. "You remind me... so much of her."

"Your wife?" she whispered, staring up at him, her expression shocked. Oh, bloody hell...

He smiled and shook his head faintly, amused. "My daughter, Jess. You even have her same laughing eyes and that infectious enthusiasm for life. It is beautiful."

Jess smiled faintly. "Didn't even have that for a lot of years. Kind of a gift from Adelaide, actually."

Cole nodded his understanding, touching his hand to her heart. "There was pain, doubt. She took that away."

"Yeah," Jess admitted, whispering the affirmation. "How'd you know?"

"Your laughing eyes are also sometimes very expressive," he told her, cupping her cheek in one hand. "I am sorry that he could not appreciate you as he should have. It is a crime for a man to treat his own daughter so."

She frowned uncertainly. "Cole, how did you..."

"Your reaction every time Mel or Jess talk of their father. And in the basement I heard you tell Kate that your father was cruel. It is unforgivable," he told her, pulling her into another gentle hug, as much for his comfort as her own.

"It wasn't his fault," Jess murmured, hugging him tightly back and burying her face in his shoulder. "After my mum died, he drank to make it stop hurting. That's what made him mean."

"You've forgiven him?"

"More or less."

"Does he still live?" At her nod, he said, "A man should be in touch with his daughter. A girl should be in touch with her father."

"That could take more time," Jess said softly, pulling free. "I'm not ready yet. I mean, on one level I have forgiven him, yeah, but... I still have anger and... scars and... I'm just not ready yet."

"I understand, Jess," he told her, rising and offering his hand. "We should go back. I don't like leaving Mel alone for long."

"A man broke into her room last night?"

Cole's expression was grim as he nodded. "Yes. Someone has been following her for months now."

"Then we should get back," she agreed.

***

The word 'alien' had not come up simply because Mel lost her nerve. That knowledge could wait for another day. Kate knew what she had to in order to deal with the situation at hand: that an ancient artifact of great destructive power was probably buried under the store, that it's twin had been buried under Mel's bar, that there were people who would not stop at anything to get their hands on both, that their family was sworn to protect these artifacts as they had been doing for generations and generations now. Kate was rattled but taking it better than Mel had taken the news of her heritage.

"Explains a fair bit, I guess," the girl said quietly, clutching at her cup of milk without drinking. She was ghost-white and her hands were shaking slightly, but she was not otherwise betraying her raging emotions.

Mel could feel them anyway. "What's it explain, Kate?" she asked gently, touching her arm.

"The midnight phone calls, strange visitors, the reason he absolutely forbade me to ever sell this place... the secret passage. Your friend... He like us, too, I suppose?"

"Not exactly. He... has a different kind of duty. But a big part of that has become keeping me... US safe, kind of by default."

"And Jess doesn't know any of this?"

"No. I honestly thought she'd be safer here. Never occurred to me that she'd find herself stuck in the middle of all this again. Someone tried to kill her last year because of her connection to Cole and I... I hated to have her leave last year but... I comforted myself that she'd be safer."

"And then she falls in with me and is in the middle of it all over again." Kate sighed and nodded. "She's a good woman, Mel."

"I know. She's the best kind of friend... I know that we could tell her all of this and not have to worry about her betraying any of it to anyone."

"It'd scare her, though," Kate said.

"She's already scared, Kate, just like the rest of us. She has a right to be."

"This is... huge," Kate sighed, nodding. "You know what I wonder?"

"What's that?"

"How she ties in to all this."

"What?" Mel asked, frowning.

"Dad always claimed that things all tie together, fate and such. We all have a role to play and we all find ourselves in the right place at the right time to play it. So how come Jess keeps finding herself in the middle of this thing?"

Mel blinked, considering. "I... it never occurred to me that she might have a part to play. Of course, until pretty recently it never occurred to me that I did, either." She laughed uneasily. "Strange, this whole thing."

Kate nodded. "That's putting it mildly. Where's my stalker tie in?"

"I don't know... From what Jess says, I'm not even sure any more that he's one of the bad guys."

"He says he knew Dad," Kate told her.

Mel nodded faintly. "So I gathered by his habit of calling you Kitten and me Princess..." She hesitated for a moment. "Kate, what if..." She looked up at the sound of knocking. "Cole and Jess," she announced.

Kate regarded her with wide eyes. "You can... feel people, too?"

"Runs in the family," Mel explained, smiling faintly. "Cole's helping me learn."

"I had Dad for that."

"He ever tell you... why we can do the things we can?" Mel asked cautiously, momentarily forgetting Cole and Jess at the door.

"Just said it runs in the family." She shrugged. "More to it, then, is there?"

"Oh, yeah." Mel looked up at the renewed sound of knocking. "Another time?" she asked.

"Yeah." Kate nodded, rising and going to the door. "Something tells me that we're going to need to have several more of these talks before everything's out in the open."

Mel chuckled and nodded. "That's putting it mildly, little sister..."

END ACT 4

TAG

Jess had taken Kate's revelations about the way Kate herself had. Externally calm, it was only because she could not decide which of the dozen emotions vying within her to express first. She was startled when Cole moved from sitting on the arm of Mel's chair to sit next to Jess on the couch, offering up many reassuring murmurs and gentle touches that actually did leave the young human feeling far calmer. Silence grew between the four soon after.

Mel returned to the hotel first. Exhausted physically and emotionally, she left as soon as a similarly exhausted Kate had retired. Cole murmured that he was going to stay for a few more minutes, something he felt he needed to discuss with Jess. Thought surprised by the initiative, Mel had no doubt that Jess was in serious need of some words of reassurance, words which Cole was no doubt eager to supply to his dear friend. He had joined Mel in the hotel room almost two hours later, evasive when she asked him what he had been speaking to Jess of. 'Things that she very much needed to hear', he had told her before closing the subject.

That subject closed, Mel had handed over her grandfather's journal. Cole had been reading it since, a faint smile on his face, not even noticing when Mel vanished into the bathroom to get ready for bed, or even when she climbed into bed. Eventually, realizing that she was too wound up to sleep, tired or not, Mel sat up and watched Cole, reading the diary by the light of a small lamp, clearly entranced by whatever was written there. His expression was the most beautiful she had ever seen, even from him.

"What's it say?" she asked, climbing out of bed and walking over to him.

Cole paused, considering how to explain it. "It says... many things. Your grandfather was a poet, Mel."

"It's poetry?" she asked with a bemused smile.

Cole smiled and shook his head. "No, Mel. Just very poetic. Most of the later entries address your grandmother by name, more like letters to her than like journal entries. I don't know if he shared them with her, but his love is obvious. Here, he is talking about the first time they joined in a mating."

"Oh..." Mel's eyes widened faintly. "Well, you just... enjoy that and... I'm going to go back to bed." Yeah, that was as good a place as any to not think about Cole's beautiful expression and mating...

She retreated in that direction but Cole followed, insistent.

"You should let me read this to you, Mel. It really is very beautiful..." he said, sitting next to her.

"Cole, they're my grandparents," Mel protested, shaking her head and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I really don't think I need the graphic details of their sex-life!" Definitely not. Absolutely no graphic details while sitting on a bed in a dark room next to Cole.

He smiled faintly. "The details are not graphic, Mel, simply beautiful. He loved her very much."

Mel could not help but be moved by his expression, one normally reserved for fond memories of his daughter and wife. Whatever he had found in that journal had moved him deeply. "What's it say?" she whispered.

Although he had committed the passage to heart already, Cole considered for a long moment more before speaking, wanting to convey the full eloquence of the words to Mel.

"Always before, I thought I knew what it meant to live and to feel. I was wrong. Your touch was the first I ever truly felt. Hearing my name from your lips in pleasure was the first time I ever knew joy. In your arms, I found peace. I was half a soul before you, incomplete. I only ever started to live the first time I saw your radiant smile. I thought I understood what it meant to live and to feel, but I was wrong. Now I know, and it is woundrous. In your arms, my love, I am complete. This is who I am; this is where I belong..."

Mel touched one hand to her heart, swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in her throat. "That is so beautiful," she whispered in a shaky voice, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

The words themselves had been lovely, but it was the emotion that Cole had infused into their recitation that had her near tears. 'Soul of a warrior, heart of a poet.' It was what her grandmother had always said about her grandfather. It was no less true of the man sitting next to her on the bed, making no attempt to fight against or hide his own tears at the beauty of the words and the emotions behind them. That was love, pure and unadulterated, the love of a child of the stars for a child of man. A guardian's angel... Absently, she reached up to smooth away Cole's tears.

Cole gasped at the almost electric contact, letting the book slide from his hands and not even registering the sound of it hitting the floor. Written on the pages, the words had been nothing more than a beautiful expression of love. Hanging in the air between Mel and himself, though, he found himself forcefully reminded that they had, after all, been about sex.

And about a human women who had found it in her heart to love a broken shadow of a Cirronian and to give of herself, spiritually and physically, to make him complete...

Mel swallowed hard, aware of the shift in his emotions probably before he was. She tried to look away from his flushed face, but could not. She found herself as effectively trapped by those amazing, expressive eyes as if he had been physically restraining her.

There was conflict in those eyes: more fear and confusion than she had ever seen from him. There was also more love and passion than she had ever seen from ANY man, even at the height of lovemaking. Even through the fear, though, his love and, no use denying it to herself, his desire for her were undeniable. She felt her resolve to wait until he was ready waver. The simple truth was that, no matter what they told themselves, no matter how many times they denied it, he was ready. And it was tearing him apart...

"Cole," she whispered, her hands coming up to cradle his face. Unable to believe what she was doing, she murmured, "Stop fighting it... Stop fighting yourself, my love."

"Mel," he whimpered, gathering her tenderly into his arms and kissing her with gentle urgency. He broke away, gasping under the intensity of everything he was feeling, physically and emotionally. "I need you," he whispered, a confession and a realization. Awed, he repeated more firmly, "I need you, Mel."

"I know," she whispered, happy tears streaming down her face. "And you have me. You have had me, Cole, for a very long time now."

"You're crying," he whispered, afraid he had frightened her with the force of his emotions. Certainly they were so powerful that he found himself frightened by them, almost beyond words.

Making no effort to check her tears, she simply reminded him, "It's what happens when you care."

Cole felt as through his heart might burst. Not frightened. In spite of her tears, his Mel was not frightened of him or of feelings for her that were so intense that he was frequently frightened by them. His expression hopeful, he rose slowly, hesitantly. His heart pounded painfully in his chest as if ready to burst, but he ignored it along with his fear, focused only on Mel, his Mel, as she gave a faint nod of encouragement.

She smiled reassuringly up at him as he moved in front of her and lowered her onto the bed gently but still awkwardly, his hands shaking. Part of her wanted to tease and tell him that her head was supposed to be on, or at least near, the pillow, but this was no time for levity and she knew it. She had never in her life gone into a romantic encounter feeling more serious. Or, in spite of the fact that she was now almost sobbing under the force of his emotions and her own, less nervous.

"Morah, Melah en'i," he whispered in Cirronian, two words of many in the language that expressed beauty at its most perfect. "You are beautiful. so beautiful..." he whispered, his voice breaking.

He caressed her throat for a long moment before moving his hands to unbutton her pajama top. This was how things worked with humans. As much as he wanted to continue caressing her forever, if things were going to progress, the clothes would have to go. Unwilling to sacrifice even that short moment of contact with Mel, not after a year and a half of waiting for her to come to him, of fighting with himself, he lowered his mouth to her throat, kissing the sensitive flesh as he started undressing her. Not used to approaching buttons from quite this angle, and definitely not with badly shaking hands, he was reduced to tugging sharply at the buttons until they came undone or simply tore free.

In retrospect, both had to admit exactly how it must have looked, especially in the dark: the bedsheets disordered and Mel crying under Cole as he hungrily kissed her and tore at her top, struggling to remove it.

"GET OFF OF HER!" an angry voice shouted as Cole found himself tackled and borne to the floor.

He lay there for a moment, too stunned to even try to fend off the blows raining down on his face until Mel tackled his assailant herself. As the unknown man grappled with the woman clinging to him from behind, Cole moved to protect her.

Thinking only of protecting Mel from the man assailing her, the new arrival had not expected an attack from the rear. His head snapped around in shock. "Melanie?"

Mel let out a yelp and backed away, into a corner. He followed quickly, breathlessly. Cole moved to attack again, to defend Mel from their attacker, but was stopped in his tracks by a single word from the clearly distraught and undeniably confused woman, more of a sob than anything.

"DADDY?"

END TAG

RavenKat

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