With This Ring

By Princess Alexandria

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http://pub17.ezboard.com/fgargoylesxfrm5

Day 1 – Wednesday, October 15^th

Vicky sat back in her chair and Trini went quiet. She'd been seeing the woman often enough to know she had something to say. "Trini, we've been talking about so many things in these past weeks and I see one trend that I think we need to talk about." Vicky moved to sit forward. "Yes you are unique physically, but that doesn't mean that you are responsible for everything. You blame yourself for so much that was out of your control, some of which has nothing to do with you." Trini felt a blush cover her cheeks. "You aren't the center of the universe. Other people deserve their blame and their credits. It doesn't matter what your genetic makeup is, or you magical powers, you are one person. I'd say human out of habit, but one person. Stop beating yourself up over things you can't control and start focusing on what you can. Demona's problems with Angela are Demona's problems and from what I can tell you are only a small part of that. Sorry to burst your bubble but that one isn't your fault. They had problems before you arrived on the scene." Vicky's speech was coming a bit faster. "You need to start to realize that You Aren't the Center of the Universe. In these sessions we should be focusing on you and what you can do, what you can change about how you behave and react but instead I listen to you worry about other people lately instead of thinking about why we are really here. We are here to deal with YOUR problems. Let your mates come to me if they need help, but this hour is about just you. Whether or not Demona takes training to learn about her magic isn't something you control."

"You don't understand." Trini was frustrated with having a fully human doctor now. It was hard to share. She just slumped down in her seat and went quiet rather than elaborate. Demona's new found link to Trini included the empathy that Trini shared with Fox, but Demona wasn't as good about blocking it out. Demona's problems became Trini's problems on a level that a human just couldn't understand, and Demona's refusal to train with the Weird sisters was really causing Trini problems. How could she demand her mate spend time with the women she hated most in the world, women that wronged her so badly? But Trini was getting so tired of covering up how Demona's flashes of anger or frustration leaked through. Trini was able to block it on the way back to her mates and able to keep it from flowing into Fox, but she was starting to feel like nothing more than a buffer between Fox and Demona. "Never mind." She sighed out with her own frustration, but her shield was up and neither of her mates would feel that. And to think she'd been excited when she first found out about the potential for telepathy. It was a joke.

"Our time is almost over." Vicky was a little more gentle. "Next time you come to me I want you to have a list of some things you can change and want to change, but trying to change a lover is a sure fire way to destroy a relationship. These changes need to be changes within yourself." Trini just gritted her teeth and didn't share that whatever Demona felt lately was within Trini. "So lets focus on you for the rest of our time."

"Trini, how are the preparations for the wedding going?" The doctor spoke with a different tone, less commanding.

"We have a little over two weeks." Trini sighed. "I'm going to be glad when it's over. She's way too into planning. It's grown…" Trini just shook her head a little at what Fox was doing. Trini would have been happy with a super small ceremony like the one she had with Demona, but Fox wanted elaborate decorations and plans all of which Trini had to help with. Trini had every spare moment filled with wedding or honeymoon plans and hadn't been able to write for weeks. It might not have been that time consuming but she didn't want to short change her lovers either, so she spent time with them instead of writing, which while she loved them both she was really missing writing.

"And the clan? How are things going there. Have you finally talked to any of them?"

Trini sighed. No, she'd almost bumped into Brooklyn and Broadway on patrol the other night, but she'd run quickly before they saw her. She felt like a coward, but she just wasn't ready to listen to Brooklyn berate her again, and Broadway's declining her invitation to the wedding had hurt more than she wanted to admit. He'd been kind of nice about it, but still it was clear that she was definitely an outsider. "Nope, haven't seen them in weeks." She answered with a lie and then started to wonder why she bothered to lie about that. "I've avoided them." She admitted.

"Delilah?"

"I haven't been seeing as much of her since Goliath found out she was visiting me." Trini gritted her teeth and turned to look out the window at the gray skies. "I talk to her on the phone, but she's followed and told to turn around if she tries to come to the house. They say it's because of Demona, that they don't want her getting hurt, but Demona usually leaves us alone when Delilah visits." Because Trini had asked her too after the first night Demona said hurtful things to her friend. That had been the first and only argument where Trini could feel the frustration and anger from both of them. It made their fights much more animated, because Trini couldn't stop fighting until Demona calmed down. It was almost completely out of her control when they argued. Trini's fists clenched. She'd hit her mate that time. The combined anger had been too much and she'd actually struck Demona and in spite of how angry she could feel Demona was about that her lover never raised a hand to her.

It still made Trini feel like dirt that she'd done that. She didn’t argue with Demona anymore. She just agreed to whatever the gargoyle wanted and kept quiet about what she didn't care for. She was afraid of that double dose of anger and what it could make her do. But that was another thing this doctor couldn't understand. Vicky couldn't comprehend how another person's emotions could affect Trini's actions and had upped their focus on Trini's anger management. Demona needed to do it too and Trini had tried to convince her mate to seek help for her temper, but Demona wouldn't go to a human for help of any kind. Trini gave up before it turned into an argument.

Before Vicky could ask anything else about Delilah Trini started to talk about the latest in another of her problems. "My family is telling me that they've stalled almost as long as they can and Oberon is going to be coming after me soon. Really soon." She'd reluctantly decided to let this human in on her triple heritage, she had to if this would work. Vicky knew about the fey, or at least as much as Trini did. Vicky looked concerned for Trini. "Fox and David have upgraded the security on the Eyrie and Demona's attempted to do upgrades at home, but… no one is going to be able to stop him from coming after me. I'm going to have to face him and fight for my right to stay. He's the king of the Fey, the most powerful of our kind." Trini felt her own frustration beat at her. She was learning to tell the difference between her and Demona's emotions, but Fox's were always easy to understand. Their bond was natural, not artificially created and it worked more smoothly. "Even the sisters look nervous about that and they don't always show what they feel."

Vicky just looked at Trini for a moment. "There never is a dull moment with you is there."

"I'd pay big money for one."

When Trini left the office she felt drained. She normally did after a session with Vicky, so they'd moved those sessions to be after work and Trini got off early on those days. She sighed as she sat down in her car and started it up. She had a date to get ready for. It was Fox's night. That was another thing she was getting tired of. She couldn't just lay on a couch and cuddle with her bond mate, because she didn't live with her anymore. They went out and did things far more than they used to, but those quiet loving moments were far and few between. "I had the makings of a perfect life and I fucked it up." She muttered and turned down the stereo. She preferred having two homes and being able to give both lovers a more equal share of her time. Well, she had to get home and change. She needed to be ready for when Fox picked her up.

As soon as she stepped into the house she could hear Domi in the kitchen. She must have gotten home just before Trini. Once Trini dropped her purse off on the table by the door she followed the sounds to see her mate. "How did the session go?"

"Fine." Trini learned to not elaborate on that, because while her lover looked calm and supportive Trini could feel the anxiety and fear about every little thing she admitted to the human doctor. If they didn’t have the bond Domi would get away with her supportive act, it was good. The irritation she felt at that was now the normal response, but it was better than fear. "I need to get ready to go. You gonna be okay tonight hon?" Trini moved forward to hug her lover, but the irritation from her lack of details seemed to radiate from Domi and she couldn't pull out those feelings of love and devotion that she knew she had for this woman, and with this bond she knew Domi loved her too. So why was it so hard to feel that anymore?

"I'll be fine." Domi kissed her forehead. "You go get ready." Flashes of anxiety, a bit of pain. Trini could have asked about those feelings being projected, but her mate always got angry if Trini admitted she could read her. She said it was her anger at her family, but Trini wasn't so sure she didn't share some of that blame being sent out.

"Okay." Trini kissed Domi's cheek and turned to leave, feeling like she was loosing something vital slowly.

Trini was dressed in club clothes and ready to go a little later than planned and moved towards the stairs. She'd heard Domi answering it a few minutes ago and felt the familiar hum of her bond mates magic. "Has she said anything to you?" Domi was speaking quietly and Trini slowed. She knew she shouldn't spy on her lovers, but the tension radiating off of Domi drew her attention.

"No." Fox spoke gently and Trini moved to see that gentleness was reflected in her eyes as well while she talked with Domi. That was one good thing that came out of this. Fox and Domi were definitely friends now and Domi didn't try to deny it anymore. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"Of course I have." Domi's irritation flared and Trini winced. Domi always felt things so very strongly. "But ever since that fight… she's been distant. She won't talk about it. She's not talking to you?"

"No. I know she's very upset that she hurt you. She's talked about that." Fox moved to rest a hand on Domi's shoulder and Trini just stared at it. Domi didn't mind that at all. There was no irritation, no pain, none of the tension that Trini's touches caused lately.

"Anytime I try to talk about it, or anything meaningful she just nods and agrees. She actually agreed that maybe I should just kill her uncle rather than argue with me about it. She won't argue about anything."

"You weren't really planning to kill him were you?"

"No, I just wanted to see some god damned emotion in her eyes!" Trini winced at the flash of anger. "I'd think she was on drugs if I didn't know better."

Trini took a few steps back and then walked a little louder. She needed to end the conversation before Domi's emotions got louder. She couldn't take the anger any louder. "Sorry I'm running behind." She spoke loudly while pretending to be rushing for the door. She didn't miss that Fox had stepped back from Domi and wasn't touching her anymore. Keeping secrets from her. Trini smiled humorlessly. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." Fox smiled at her. Trini wanted to just rent a hotel room and hold Fox for a while. Maybe she could talk her out of dancing.

"I'll see you later Domi." Trini felt awkward leaving like this. She always did and that never went away.

"Trini…" Domi sounded like she wanted to talk and Trini knew what it was about. She moved quickly to peck her mate on the lips to stop the words. If they argued around Fox Trini might get a third wave of anger and it would wash her away. She was so scared of it she'd do anything to avoid that. She still remembered the smell of Demona's blood when Trini hit her and the way her lover had to reset her own nose because Trini was shaking too badly to do it. Never again. No matter what Trini had to do that would never happen again.

"I love you." She put her own emotions into her words, because Domi didn't like to feel them through the link. They pretended that link wasn't there and Trini suffered in silence. She could feel she was hurting her lover and she didn't know what to do. When Fox's magical touch brushed against her seeking out Trini's emotions Trini strengthened her shield to keep Fox out. She couldn't deal with two of them. She couldn't block out Fox's look at what she'd done. Fox didn't like to be kept out. She loved the link and how they could share things. It was the opposite of Domi really.

"I'll work on researching that ring some more." Domi sighed and stepped back so that they could leave. One conversation averted Trini nodded and stepped out the door. Domi's voice was quiet, and maybe they didn’t realize that Trini's hearing had improved even more after the gargoyle put on the ring. "Try and find out for me?"

"I will. Don’t worry, she does still love you. Something else is going on." Trini just sighed and moved to get in the car. She didn't want to avoid talking with Fox as well. Maybe she would just tell her and let Fox talk with Domi while Trini was out of range of Domi's emotions. She needed a go between to work this out.