On The Edge Of Suspicion

By Princess Alexandria

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http://pub17.ezboard.com/fgargoylesxfrm5

Day 11– Thursday – August 7^th

The scream sounded in the air again, and Demona corrected her flight to head in the direction of the alley it was coming from. "I want to see how you fight other people. It will be helpful in training you." Demona spoke in a detached way as she landed on the nearby roof, instead of gliding into the alley. Trini was a little thrown by that, since she'd expected Demona to come with her. She rushed to the edge of the building to look down and saw a group of five thugs surrounding a middle aged well-dressed woman. What must be her husband or boyfriend was laying on the ground, his clothing ripped and dirty. He must have been beaten up rather quickly.

"Hand over the purse and your pretty jewelry." One of the men spoke harshly while waving a knife at the woman. Trini glanced over at Demona with a slightly pleading look on her face, but Demona just shook her head no.

Trini gave a quiet growl and moved further away from the humans in the alley so that she could climb down in the dark corner. These buildings weren't too tall. Trini glanced one more time at Demona, feeling odd about having an audience for this, and then ran for the edge of the building, pushing off with a good deal of strength so that she could make it to the building on the other side of the alley. She fell a few stories before embedding her talons in the wall. She then kicked off and spun her body around to be able to latch on to the building that Demona was still standing on. From there she was able to fall to the ground quietly.

"Bitch, just hand the shit over!" Another gruff male voice spoke as Trini carefully moved closer to get a better look at the scene before acting. There were four men and one woman in this gang. The muggers were armed with knives. The man on the ground was groaning in pain and his wife was holding her purse tightly, apparently too scared to move.

"Five." Trini whispered to herself. Fighting five people wouldn't be as hard if she wasn't also worried about the two other people out there. She had to make sure they didn't get hurt in this. She reached down for a rock, because she'd stopped wearing her fanny pack full of rocks a while ago. When she didn't find one she ripped some out of the wall.

When she looked up she could see the shadow of her lover against the moonlight, and that just made this more nerve-racking. Demona was treating this like some sort of test. Trini was surprised that Demona was even willing to let her fight alone; knowing how protective Demona was of her.

With a sigh Trini tossed out a rock, and watched it smash against the lead thugs hand before moving out of hiding. He was screaming and cradling a broken hand as she kicked one man hard enough to knock him down, but not nearly as hard as she could. These were muggers, not rapist or murderers. She didn't want to hurt them too badly or kill them. All she wanted to do was scare them away, and maybe scare them badly enough to make them reconsider next time they thought of mugging anyone.

She noticed another guy moving towards the couple, so she jumped the distance to place herself between the beaten man and his wife and the angry thug. She was able to block his arm easily and squeezed until the knife fell from his hand. She didn't even notice the pained scream he issued, because she had to let go quickly and duck to avoid being hit in the head with a pipe or bat. She didn't really look hard enough to identify it.

They headlights suddenly shining into the dark alley startled Trini, enabling the female thug to get past her defenses. The pain of the cut traveled up Trini's arm, making her eyes burn red. The female holding the knife stared at her in shock. Trini lashed out, punching that woman hard enough to send her airborne onto the hood of the Ford Fairlane blocking the exit to the alley.

Trini found her eyes captured by Elisa's shocked gaze for a moment, before the sound of that woman she'd come to save brought her back to reality. "My God, you're a Demon!" The now familiar cry for help made Trini's heart ache. "Help! Demon!" She took a hesitant step towards the woman, wanting to calm her down, but the woman cowered away from her. It was then that Trini realized her eyes were glowing. It wasn't Demona that she saw; this woman was calling Trini a demon.

"Fuck!" Trini turned and ran for the darkened corner of the alley, leaping up as soon as the darkness covered her.

"Wait!" Matt's voice called after her, but Trini ignored it.

"No, Matt… Let her go." Elisa's voice was weary, and Trini knew that the detective recognized her, even if her partner hadn't gotten a good look at her. "Let's just round up these thugs."

Trini's arm ached as she climbed the wall as quickly as she could. That really didn’t go well at all. Demon? Did she really look like a demon? She was surprised how much that strangers comment hurt. Trini pulled herself up over the ledge, and onto the roof. Demona was just standing there with her arms crossed, waiting.

"You see what they are like. You rush off to save those humans, and they are more scared of you than the vermin attacking them." Demona's voice was bitter.

"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Trini could hear the voices in the alley rising to them, and didn't want to listen.

"I'm sorry, but I really think you need to see this." Demona walked over to the side of the building and looked down. Trini reluctantly followed her.

"I don't know what that was, but she wasn't human!"

"Calm down and tell us what happened here." Matt sounded like he was trying to calm a child.

"That woman… or whatever… suddenly appeared and started to attack the muggers." The woman was kneeling beside her husband, trying to help him up. Elisa and her gun were covering all the muggers. Their knives littered the ground at their feet. "She was probably going to attack us next." The woman Trini came here to save wasn't even talking about the men that beat up her husband, and threatened her with a knife. Trini gritted her teeth when she saw that bitch glancing around the shadows nervously for Trini.

"Were you expecting gratitude?" Demona spoke quietly, even though the people on the ground wouldn't be able to hear them. "Because gargoyles don't get gratitude." Trini looked up to see Demona was now watching her rather than the scene below. "Those humans you were trying to save would have eagerly taken a knife and stabbed you in the back."

Trini took a deep breath, "They aren't all like that. Those kids in the river weren't like that." She fought the tears that threatened to fall when she heard the word beast travel up to her. She was so used to looking human. She'd never had to deal with the victims being afraid of her before. It was a horrible feeling.

"They were kids." Demona dismissed that argument easily, and Trini suddenly realized that this mess threatened to undo all the progress she'd made with her mate's attitude. "We might as well get out of here, before Detective Maza's lapdog shows up." Demona's voice was full of derision, and it took Trini a second to realize that Demona was talking about Goliath. She was still distracted by the voices in the alley.

As they glided, Demona started to talk again. "You know how to fight better than that. That was not good at all." Trini felt a wave of embarrassment and shame at the scolding. "That human should never have been able to cut you, and you are strong enough to knock them out easily, why were all those humans still standing when you were done?"

Trini's voice was quiet, "I didn't want to accidentally kill them. I pull my punches with humans."

Demona's growl startled Trini a little. "They wouldn't do that for you. If you insist on patrolling, don't put yourself at risk to protect the bastards you are fighting!"

They glided in silence for a while, towards the direction of the mansion. Trini didn’t know what to say. Demona was partially right. The woman Trini had come to help would probably have attacked her if given the chance, but Trini couldn't give up on an entire race like that, because some of them were so blind. Still, she'd never been the monster, the one to be feared, and it hurt.

Demona's voice was gentle, "I'm sorry you had to see that, but you wouldn't believe me any other way." The kiss to her forehead drew Trini's attention back to her mate, and away from staring at the lights below them. "It was just a matter of time before the humans you decided to protect turned on you."

"They aren't all like that." Trini spoke quietly. She felt so frustrated. How was she ever going to get Demona to let go of her hate when the gargoyle clung to every evidence of the human's being horrible, and didn't see the rest no matter how obvious?

"You look human to them. You don't see this side of them, but we do. Ask anyone in the clan how many times the humans they are saving run from them, or turn to attack them."

Trini sighed as stared back down at the ground. "They aren't all like that." Trini repeated softly, "I see that side of the humans too, just because I am one doesn't mean that I don't see it."

"You aren't human!" Demona tensed up. Trini looked up into her mate's eyes and just stared for a moment.

"I'm more human than I am anything else. You put the humans down, claim they are stupid, evil, monsters… but do you even realize that you are talking about me too? I'm not a real gargoyle, no matter how much you want to believe it. You said it yourself, I look human."

Trini hadn't even realized they were home until Demona shifted to land. Good, she needed to get away for a little while. Her mate's hate was hard to deal with all the time. As soon as Demona set her down, Trini moved into the bedroom and started to undress for a shower.

The gargoyle reached out to grab her shoulder as she started towards the bathroom, and decided to break the tense silence. "You aren't human." Demona forced Trini to look at her. "You are so much better than they are."

Trini reached out to lightly caress Demona's stomach, where a belly button wasn't. "You look at me all the time, but do you even see me?" Trini felt tears in her own eyes, because right now Demona's anti human comments felt too personal. Demona just couldn't seem to accept this part of Trini, and it hurt. Trini decided that she wanted to deal with this now. She didn't want to go into her breeding season with Demona if her mate couldn't accept this part of her. She didn’t want to find in a hundred years that Demona suddenly realized that Trini did belong to the race that the gargoyle hated.

Trini took Demona's hand and brought it to her own stomach, to caress over Trini's belly button. Demona was looking at her quizzically. "I was born, not hatched." Demona let her guide her hand up to Trini's forehead. Trini noticed the gargoyle curved her talons out of the way as Trini moved Demona's hand to brush along the space that a brow ridge wasn't. "You look at me all the time and you never see this." Tears fell down Trini's cheeks as she guided Demona's hand down her body. Trini ran Demona's hand over her pubic hair. "Human. Can't you see I'm human too?"

Trini sighed, let go of Demona's hand and turned to continue her trip to the shower. Her voice was a little tearful as she called back to the still gargoyle. "I need you to love all of me, you can't just pick and choose parts…"

Trini stood under the warm water and washed away the dried blood on her arm. The wound underneath had healed. She felt a bit alone while she mechanically went through the motions of washing her hair. She didn’t really fit in anywhere. Beast. That woman had called her a beast. She hadn't heard that name in years. Demona thought humans were little more than beasts too. What did that make Trini?

She turned to rinse her hair out, and was upset when a whimper escaped her lips. God it hurt. Fox was the only one that actually saw all of Trini when she looked at her: the human, the fey and the gargoyle. Fox saw and accepted it all, and Trini loved her bond mate for it. Demona just tried to see the gargoyle and seemed to ignore the rest. That wasn't good enough.

Trini just stood under the warm water with her arms wrapped around herself as she started to cry. She started bending over as if in pain.

"Trini?" Demona sounded very concerned, and the silent sobs Trini was issuing become vocalized. "Oh Trini…" Trini turned to cry into Demona's shoulder as soon as the gargoyle reached out to touch her. The comforting caress of Trini's lower back made Trini pull Demona tighter to her body. She completely ignored the fact that she was pulling the clothed female under the shower, and getting her wet. "What is it? What's wrong?" Demona sounded so lost. After a moment of silence Demona spoke again. "I do love you. Trini… I just…" Demona's words trailed off.

Trini was whispering very quietly, "I'm part human… and you hate them. There is always going to be a part of me that you hate, and it hurts so much." Her throat felt like it was tightening up, so she stopped trying to talk. Demona pulled her closer.

"No, I don’t hate anything about you." Demona spoke quickly while moving her hand over Trini's lower back. "Please don't cry." Demona pushed Trini away enough to kiss her forehead gently. She then stared into Trini's eyes, and Trini felt like Demona was searching for the right thing to say. Apparently she couldn't find it, because she just pulled Trini closer to her body for another hug. Trini noticed that Demona's clothes were dripping wet now, but still clung to the blue female tightly.

After a few minutes of being held, Trini felt her tears recede. She knew she was being a bit over emotional, but it felt like she didn’t have any emotional shields left to protect her. Her emotions were just out there and the slightest thing set them off. She took a slightly shaky deep breath. "Thanks. I'm sorry." She felt embarrassed about the scene, so she just moved to continue the shower.

"You don’t need to apologize." Demona spoke softly before leaning in to plant a ever so gentle kiss on Trini's lips. "I… I never thought of it like that. You…" Trini could see that Demona was having trouble saying what she wanted to. "you are part human. I love you anyhow." Trini visibly flinched at those words, "No… what I mean is I still love you and that makes no difference." Trini watched Demona grimace at her own words before starting again in a stronger voice. "I love everything about you." Demona leaned forward to kiss Trini's forehead slowly.

Once blue talon crept down to caress Trini's belly button, and Trini watched a soft smile cross Demona's lips. "You have the cutest belly button." Demona then slowly fell to her knees and Trini watched with wide eyes as Demona leaned closer to her to kiss that belly button, and to slowly dip her tongue into it.

"Oh that feels nice." Trini whispered in encouragement. What Demona was doing was so sweet. The taloned hands moved to caress Trini's knees, where the knee spurs weren't, and then traveled up to briefly play with the small patch of hair over Trini's sex. The gargoyle leaned back so that she could watch what she was doing. She ran her talons through the hair as if petting Trini, and Trini felt the stirrings of desire start.

Demona's hair was flat to her head, and her skin glistened with water. Her voice was smoky, "I want to show you how much I love all of you." The brief flash of red in Demona's eyes had Trini's heart beating faster.

"Blue" Trini whispered, her voice full of love as Demona leaned forward to start kissing Trini's upper thighs. Demona reached up both hands to gently urge Trini to spread her legs. The water was beating down on Trini's back, and running in rivers down her body. She stared down into the rain speckled face of her lover as Demona leaned in to kiss her very intimately. Trini moaned as she felt Demona's tongue travel along her sex. She fell back to lean on the shower wall, because her legs were too shaky to hold her. One hand reached down the caress the wet locks of her lover as Trini pressed her sex more firmly to Demona's mouth. "Yes…" Trini hissed out quietly while gripping the red hair more firmly and pulled Demona closer, as Trini's hips started to gently thrust towards her gargoyle. Trini's back arched and the shower water beat against her face, so she had to close her eyes. "Blue… Demona…. I love you."

Trini whimpered when her lover's talented mouth left her sex before Trini was done. "I love you… all of you…" Demona spoke almost solemnly, and the kisses traveled up to Trini's stomach. Trini bit back a moan of disappointment, knowing that Demona would never leave her unfulfilled. Her gargoyle just loved to draw things out… a bit painfully at times, but Trini knew that Demona wasn't being cruel. The gargoyle really just wanted these moments to last as long as possible.

Demona braced her hand on Trini's hip and rose to her feet. Trini licked her lips and pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on. Her back felt a bit cold from the tiles. "We might run out of warm water if we stay here, and I don't want my hard work ruined if you get cold." Demona gave Trini a slightly mischievous smile.

"I don't think cold could ruin anything." Trini leaned forward to catch Demona's lips in a gentle kiss that lingered as she tasted herself on her lover's mouth.

Demona's smile grew a bit after Trini pulled away. "Finish showering quickly and meet me in the living room in ten minutes." Demona took a step back, "And not a moment before." Trini was shocked that Demona was stopping in the middle of things, completely stopping, but the look in her lover's eyes kept her from complaining. Something about the smile on Demona's lips made Trini think that she wasn't going to regret this pause at all after things resumed downstairs.

"Okay." Trini turned to comply without looking back at Demona, because the urge to pull Demona into another kiss would just delay the fun they were going to have. Demona grabbed her own long red hair and wrung it out before leaving, without even bothering to take off her dripping wet clothes or dry herself.

Trini got out of the shower shortly after the bathroom door closed again, and started to try and dry her hair and make herself more presentable. She kept glancing at the clock in the bathroom so that she would know when she was allowed to leave, because she wasn’t going to make her gargoyle wait for her. She was going to be on time for this love making date.

As she walked past their dresser her cell phone began to ring. Trini checked the number and saw it was Elisa's cell. She nibbled on her bottom lip a moment, before switching the phone off. She knew what Elisa wanted, and she wasn't going to let the detective ruin this evening for her and Demona. She forced her thoughts away from her ex and pulled the deep blue robe about her body more firmly. This robe was the first piece of clothing that Demona bought her, and the gargoyle had just left it in the bathroom without saying anything about it. Trini just knew that it was her robe hanging next to the red one on the hook.

When she walked into the living room there was a large fire in the fireplace. That soft blanket that Demona had laid out was in the same place it had been the first time they'd made love. There was a large bowl of something and a smaller bowl sitting on the coffee table. Trini just stood still for a moment and looked at the romantic sight in front of her.

Movement from the other doorway drew Trini's attention, and she turned to see Demona standing there, staring at Trini with such love and devotion on her face. The gargoyles wings were caped about her body, concealing her breasts, but fell open by mid stomach, exposing her sex. The way Demona stood made it seem like she was completely unaware that she was naked. Trini always felt just a little awkward walking around without her clothes, but it never seemed to bother Demona. Of course, it shouldn't, Demona was the most beautiful gargoyle in the world… and she was Trini's.

Demona smiled gently at her. "What are you thinking of so hard?"

"That the fates were really kind to me when they gave me you." Trini tried to put all of her love in that comment, but Demona's slight flinching confused her.

"You don’t know who the fates are do you?" Demona seemed to study Trini and Trini's confused expression answered the question. "Never mind that. I have plans for you little one. Tonight is most definitely going to be one sided."

Demona walked towards the blanket, so Trini moved to meet here there. Something about the fates… oh! Trini paused in mid step when it occurred to her who they might be. "I doubt they planned that far in advance. They said my choice of mates surprised them." Trini brought her other foot down solidly on the ground and stared at her lover, "It is them, isn't it?"

Demona moved closer and caressed Trini's cheek. "Yes, they are the fates, the furies and the graces… now can we stop talking about your family so I can seduce you?"

Trini felt a smile tug at her lips at that very convincing argument to end that conversation. "Of course."

Trini waited for Demona to lay down beside her before rolling over to rest her head on the gargoyle's shoulder. Her body was still shaky from the pleasure Demona gave her. "Oh, God… you are so…" Trini's whispered words fell quiet for a moment; she just didn’t know how to express her feelings, "amazing."

After a moment of recovery, Trini's hand started to caress Demona's stomach, heading further down. "Trini, no… just relax and enjoy for a little while. I can wait." Demona pulled her closer to hug her and kissed Trini's forehead lovingly.

Trini felt a little odd laying there in her lover's arms, when she felt that she really should be reciprocating. Slowly she tried to do what Demona had asked, and took a mental inventory of how very good she felt. All of her tension was gone, and she felt limp. Her whole body seemed to feel the pulsing of her heart in a pleasurable way, and the slight breeze in the warm firelight room caressed her skin. The scent of the strawberries that Demona had been lovingly feeding Trini perfumed the air, along with the wine that they'd enjoyed. Demona had forgone a glass to sip her wine from Trini's bellybutton, in an obvious attempt to make Trini realize that her humanness wasn't a disappointment to the ancient gargoyle. It had tickled at first, but Demona was nothing if not persistent.

"You always rush lovemaking." Demona spoke softly, only a hint of gentle reprimand in her voice. "I just wanted you to see the pleasure that taking your time could cause." Trini leaned into the gentle caress of her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed by the complaint. No one had ever criticized her lovemaking before. "It isn't all about the orgasm, there are so many other pleasures to be had on the way."

"I'm sorry." Trini whispered quietly while hugging Demona to her.

"No… no little one, you are" Demona pulled her closer, her voice getting a bit smokier, "a very good lover. I just want to teach you other things." A touch of pleased humor entered Demona's voice. "We are immortal. We can afford to take our time."

Trini could hear Demona's heartbeat under her ear, and felt like her own heart was beating in time with it. At that moment, she felt like she was a part of her lover, that they truly were one, and she was surprised she could feel that with anyone but her bond-mate, that anything other than magic could give her that feeling. She just focused on that incredible, loving feeling for a few moments, before moving up to look down into Demona's gentle eyes and slightly pleased smile. "This is so nice." Trini whispered and kissed Demona's lips gently, with love rather than raw passion.

"Fox is doing you a disservice if this is new to you." Demona's quiet and slightly introspective comment startled Trini. Demona never talked about Fox before, during or after their lovemaking.

Trini's blush renewed and she spoke in her other lover's defense softly. "You and Fox are very different kinds of lovers, but she's in no way neglecting me."

Trini rolled onto her own back when Demona made a subtle movement that Trini took as wanting up. Demona then leaned over her looking down at her with curiosity in her eyes. "How are we different?" Trini felt her eyes widen at being put on the spot like this. When Demona's lips twisted in a smirk, Trini's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Did Demona purposely turn the conversation like this? She started to replay the conversation in her head to figure that out, but the blue gargoyle interrupted her thoughts. "Is there anything that I could do differently? That you would enjoy more, that she is doing?" Trini saw a moment of vulnerability in Demona's eyes, and realized that Demona was thinking that Trini compared her lovers and was worried that she was not measuring up favorably.

"No…" Trini spoke softly while caressing Demona's arm. She blushed, " You two are so different, but I don’t want you trying to be like her… or her like you." The caress of Demona's arm continued as Trini spoke shyly, "You both give me what I need." She was a little embarrassed about what she needed from Fox and didn't want to admit to how her and Fox were in bed to Demona. Demona was always so very gentle with Trini, even in her human form. Trini just couldn't see her gentle lover understanding the roughness Trini and Fox shared.

"What am I like?" Demona spoke softly, pulling Trini out of her thoughts.

"Gentle, loving…" Trini started quickly, but her answer started to take more time to think about. "romantic, creative" Trini smiled a little as she added that while looking over at the melting bowl of ice. "gentle."

"You said that already." Demona grinned and leaned down to kiss her before pulling away. "So, how is Fox different? What is she like?"

Trini gritted her teeth and tensed up a bit. She had hoped that Demona had forgotten about Fox. "Why are you after this suddenly?"

Demona looked a bit concerned now. "Why won't you tell me? Is she doing anything to you? Making you uncomfortable?" Trini could hear the protectiveness leaking into Demona's voice. Trini's blush while looking away for a moment while she tried to think about what to say was probably a mistake. Trini felt her lover's body tense up so she looked back quickly, and could see glowing red eyes studying her carefully.

"No, no… Fox loves me. She isn't doing anything to me." Trini spoke quickly to try and ease Demona's mind. Demona just continued to stare at her with those red eyes, and Trini could see some disbelief on the gargoyle's face. Trini's face went very red as she stammered to continue. "I just shouldn't talk about her… I don't talk about you to her, and it just wouldn't be fair."

"I see." Demona spoke slowly. The clock in the entryway decided to ring out the time at that moment. Three am. "Well, you need to get some sleep." Demona's gentle smile helped ease Trini's worry. "Sorry, but you might need another shower, the strawberries and wine…"

Trini pulled Demona down for a kiss. "I love you… but I am not going to go to bed without pleasing you."

Demona sighed, "I'm tired too. Let's say tonight was just for you."

Trini left for another shower while Demona started to clean up the living room, and she didn't notice the concerned look Demona gave her back.

Trini stepped into the office and glanced at Domi's closed office door. Inside of Trini's briefcase was one single red rose. Dominique appreciated romance, so Trini decided that she could get away with this small show of affection for her mate here. "When is Ms. Destine going to be available?" Trini asked in a very businesslike way, and the new receptionist, Carrie, glanced at the calendar.

"She's out of the office until four-thirty."

Trini felt a wave of disappointment, which she quickly squashed. At least she'd see her before she left. Domi seemed to hate to talk about work while they were home, but it would be nice to know if Domi was even going to be there. Trini knew that Domi was going to have dinner with Andrea before the artist showed her the art. Trini wished that she could go too, but they had both decided that it would be best if Andrea didn't see them together too often. No one was supposed to know they were friends, never mind lovers. Andrea might pick up on it. The other problem was the fact that Domi and Trini couldn't be seen in public together. It would be a mess if the three of them went out to eat and the clan heard about it.

Trini took the mail as an excuse to wander into Domi's office. She smiled as she opened the top drawer and laid the rose down, so that as soon as Domi opened the drawer for a pen she'd see it. She then placed the mail in Domi's inbox and went to her own office to work.

Trini had a few forms she needed Domi to sign, so when she heard the redhead's voice in the reception area she got up and grabbed them. Her heart was beating a bit quickly just with the sound of her lover's voice, and she had to school her features into a more professional appearance. When she came out of her own office to greet Domi, she noticed Domi looked a bit haggard. Not obvious enough for other people to see, but Trini saw it easily. There was also a slightly guilty look in Domi's eyes for a second after she saw Trini that was disguised quickly.

"Ms. Destine." Trini bowed her head in greeting, being as professional as she could be, but she was a bit concerned.

"Ms. Stephens." Domi took the pile of papers Carrie was handing her and walked to her office, "Come in."

Once they were behind closed doors Trini's rigid posture relaxed and she walked over to the desk putting her papers down. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Domi's answer was a bit too fast, but Trini just sighed and let it go. She knew better than to push. It just made Domi defensive.

Trini gave Domi a slightly seductive glance while pushing her forms closer for a signature. The slight smirk grew as she watched Domi sit down to get a pen. Domi looked so good. Trini just wanted to take her on the desk, and forget professionalism all together.

Trini was watching Domi's face when her lover opened the desk drawer, and was very glad that she did. The rose was spotted instantly. Domi's eyes widened a bit, and a smile graced her lips for the first time since Trini saw her come into work. "Oh, Trini…" Domi spoke quietly while picking up the flower. For a moment Trini's lover replaced the CEO, so Trini walked around the desk and leaned in to kiss Domi gently.

"You are my goddess." Trini's voice held so much love as she squatted down beside Domi's chair and caressed her cheek. "I hope it's okay for me to do this sort of thing once in a while." Trini glanced at the rose in Domi's hand for a moment, before looking back into the green eyes that looked just a little glassy. Trini was surprised at how well her small gift was being taken.

"Yes, it's more than okay." Domi leaned forward to kiss Trini, but the door opening startled them both of them.

"Domi, I know I'm…" Andrea's voice trailed off as she stood in the doorway. Trini exchanged a look with Domi that spoke of the awkwardness and complications they were about to endure. She then stood up and tried to seem as casual as possible.

"Hey Andrea." Trini's smile was a bit forced looking. Trini was supposed to be out of the office before Andrea showed up, but the artist decided to be early, probably for the first time in her life. Trini looked at Domi briefly while picking up the forms that she'd brought in as an excuse to get Domi to open the drawer. They were still unsigned. "I'll talk to Carrie." Her voice went a bit deeper, as she started to pull her boss persona out. Carrie should have at the very least called Domi's office before sending Andrea back, even though Andrea was a friend.

"I'll take care of things in here." Domi spoke softly while smiling at Andrea. "Well, you are actually early." Domi started to speak to the artist as Trini moved to walk around Andrea, who gave her a strange look before smiling and waving goodbye.

Trini sighed as she sat back down in her chair. She knew that Domi would have wanted her to be harsher with Carrie, but the woman did seem nice. Carrie was new and far more pleasant than Lori had ever been. Trini had called her into her office and gave her a verbal reprimand that she told Carrie wasn't going to be recorded this time. It would look like she did nothing if Domi ever checked, but she could see that Carrie understood what she did wrong and wouldn't make that mistake again.

"I really am sorry Ms. Stephens." Carrie spoke softly, looking more like a scolded child than a mid-twenties year old woman. Trini felt a little strange reprimanding a woman her own age. It wasn't that long ago that she was a secretary, and Carrie really made her feel aware of that.

"I know this is a new job and you have a lot to learn about how we do things here." Trini conceded softly. "I want this to work out for both of us. Ms. Destine is far from the forgiving type, which means we need to get you up to speed fast." She noticed the hopeless look in the blonde's eyes. "It's too busy in the office for you to read any of the notes and procedures I left for you, isn't it?"

Carrie looked down at the pencil holder on Trini's desk for a moment, "Well I keep getting interrupted when I try to, and you said that they had to stay in the office. I would have taken them home to study if I could have."

Trini sighed as she tried to think of a way to give Carrie the time to learn the job she needed. The notes did have to stay here, because some of the instructions were quite strange. She pulled out her calendar, fully aware that Carrie was watching her. "Okay, here is what we'll do. I can cover the front desk occasionally to give you time to study. We will set up time to work together as well, so that I can show you how to survive in this job." Trini looked up from the calendar to see Carrie's relieved face and smirked, "But you have to pretend I was a complete bitch in this little meeting and this is your punishment. I do have a reputation to uphold."

"I can do that." Carrie smiled brightly.

"Good, now when you leave my office, remember to look depressed." Carrie just nodded at that instruction and took a deep breath before opening the door to leave. She left the door open, because Trini preferred her door to stay open. It gave her the opportunity to hear what was going on in the reception area, and know if she was needed. Carrie had learned that the first day.

Trini started to block out times in her calendar to help Carrie with training. Domi had never really spent much time training her secretaries, because she assumed they weren't going to stay long, but Trini wanted to change that trend. Things would run a lot smoother in this office if they had a fully trained long-term person.

Andrea popped her head in the office, looking a bit less energetic than normal. Trini was surprised when the artist came right in and closed the door behind her. "Domi had a phone call to make before we go." Andrea moved to sit across from Trini's desk, and her expression was serious. "She told me why you have to keep this job a secret."

Trini just nodded, because she had no idea what excuse Domi would have given.

"Is your ex really that crazy? You've moved on… Domi seems to love you but you can't even go out to dinner without worrying about the detective? Can't you report her to the police? They have to be able to do something."

Trini's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She shook herself out of her shock while staring at Andrea's compassionate eyes. She swallowed and decided to steer clear of the accusations against Elisa. "Domi told you?"

A slight smile crossed Andrea's lips. "Not about you two being lovers… but you are, aren't you?" Trini clenched her fist when she realized that she'd been played. Andrea's smile faded and her eyes seemed to harden a bit. " I've never even heard of her dating since her last disastrous relationship. Don't get me wrong, you are my friend, but she's been my friend much longer. If I hear that you are using her or hurt her I will be pissed."

Trini smiled, "Fair enough."

"You two really need to do something about the cop. I can't believe that the police would ignore a stalker just because it was one of their own." Andrea reached across the desk and took one of Trini's hands. The artist's voice was full of concern. "You might be in danger. Stalkers aren't something you should just ignore."

Trini gritted her teeth. She really didn't like this cover Domi came up with. "I'll be fine. She just needs some time. She'll stop eventually and she's not violent."

Trini was grateful for the knock on her office door. Domi stepped inside shortly after. With Andrea's eyes turning to the redhead Trini was free to glare daggers at her lover. "Andrea we better get going."

"Sure." Andrea grabbed her purse and stood up. "Trini, I'll call you later. We need to do dinner sometime." The obvious look in Andrea's eyes told Trini that Andrea wanted to talk about the stalker detective some more. Great… just great.

"No problem." Trini gave Andrea a weak smile. She could see Domi's apologetic eyes behind Andrea but she didn't acknowledge it. Domi was highly intelligent, so why was this the best cover she could give them? No, this was purely a chance for her to bad-mouth Elisa, and now Trini was stuck with another set of lies.

When Trini got home she was surprised to see David leaving her rooms. She stared at his back as he went down the hall, wondering why he was in there. When she opened the door Trini saw Fox staring out the window in the living room. Her fey lover seemed tense. "Baby, what's wrong?" Trini's concern was clear as she set her briefcase down and moved toward Fox.

When Fox turned around, Trini's eyes widened, and started to glow red. Fox's tattoo covered eye was swollen shut and bruised. "What happened?" Trini said quickly while moving closer to inspect her lover's wound while caressing her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Well, it still throbs, but it's not serious." Fox gave Trini a weak smile. The smile didn’t comfort Trini at all.

"What happened?" Trini felt her back tensing up as she felt an incredible urge to hurt whoever was responsible for hurting her lover. Fox's fake smile faded.

"Trini, I just got caught off guard while sparring."

Trini stared into Fox's good eye and decided that she was being lied to. She pushed her magic out and could feel Fox's apprehension. Trini's lips thinned. "Bond mates… did you forget? You can't lie to me." Trini glanced toward the door that she'd come in, a sick thought entering her mind. Why would Fox try to cover this up. "Did David Hit You?!" Trini growled out.

"No, it wasn't David. It was a misunderstanding. It's been taken care of." Fox's voice was firm, as if that was all she wanted to say.

"Who did this to you?"

"Trini… she thought I was hurting you." Fox's voice became softer. "I didn't understand what she was asking… it was just a misunderstanding."

Trini's shoulders slumped as she stared at the bruise on Fox's face. "Domi hit you?" The red glow of her eyes faded in shock.

Fox wrapped her arms around Trini and pulled her closer. Fox's voice sounded soft and comforting. "She took your reluctance to talk about our sex life to mean that something was wrong. She just came here to try and protect you. Everything is okay now. We talked and it's all straightened out."

Trini just stood there quietly for a moment. The thought that her lovers had fought like that hurt. "I'm sorry she hit you." Trini felt like the whole thing was her fault.

"Hey, it's okay." Fox pulled back and stared into Trini's eye before giving her a gentle kiss. "She tried to talk before hitting me, but I didn't get why she was asking the personal questions. I started teasing her, and now… looking back… I can see why she hit me. If I thought she was doing what she thought I was to you, I would have hit her too."

Trini cupped the injured side of Fox's face tenderly, "What was she thinking?" Trini's voice held her bafflement at what could possibly be an excuse to hurt Fox.

"Trini." Fox's voice became more serious. "She thought I was using the bond to hold you in an abusive relationship. I don't know how she jumped to that conclusion, but she was so upset. She thought I was making you do things… that you didn't want to do." Fox stared into Trini's eyes, "Am I?"

"No!" Trini protested immediately. "No, you aren't."

"Good. She started to worry me. I don't ever want to do that to you."

Trini caressed the parts of Fox's cheek that didn't appear hurt and leaned in for a tender kiss. "I wish I could lend you my healing, that looks like it will hurt for a while." Trini said softly while looking into Fox's good eye in concern.

During dinner Trini flinched whenever Alexander stared at his mother's black eye. Trini almost felt like she'd put the wound there herself. She really needed to work on communication with Domi, because the gargoyle seemed to jump to the wrong conclusions easily. The official story was that Fox's sparring partner was getting better. Trini could just imagine what people would think if they saw Fox's black eye now. They'd assume what Trini had, that David was a wife beater. Trini didn't even know why she'd jumped to that conclusion now. She knew David, and knew how very much he loved Fox. Why would she believe something that horrible of him?

Trini finished lacing up her shoes so that she'd be ready for patrol. Fox was planning on staying out of the gargoyles' sight for a bit, at least until the angry swelling calmed down. It embarrassed her. "You be careful, and watch out for Elisa… we only managed to delay it, she's going to continue to push for information."

Trini sighed and slumped a bit in the chair. "The things she mentioned aren't easy to explain away."

"I know." Fox looked very much deep in thought. "I'm working on it. If things start to fall apart, we need to make sure it doesn't ALL come out. The murders have to stay hidden"

Trini tensed up at the thought of any of her secrets being found out. God, how many secrets did she have going on now anyhow? How many times did she have to lie to protect other lies? She was buried so deep in them now that she could barely see beyond the mess she was in at times.

"Domi told Andrea that Elisa is my stalker ex-girlfriend, and that is why Domi and I can't be seen in public. It's also supposed to be why no one is supposed to know where I work." Trini said out of the blue. It was the latest lie she was being forced to keep track of. She really preferred lies a little closer to the truth. Those were easier to remember.

"She didn’t." Fox started to chuckle, and that grew into full blown laughter. Trini just gritted her teeth, not really seeing the humor in this at all. "Oh, ouch… ouch…" Fox held the side of her face while she started to calm down. Trini watched her lover's face red with barely contained laughter and shook her head slightly in disappointment. "She has a wicked sense of humor… just wicked." The laughter started up all over again.

Trini just stared at the black screen of the television screen while she waited for Fox to control herself. She decided to ignore Fox's giggle fit and her voice was a little somber when she started to speak to a calmed down Fox. "It isn't funny. It's just another lie I have to remember, another person I can't trust. I wish I didn't have to lie all the time. I wish I could just trust my friends to support me. That I could tell Delilah and Elisa what was going on without worrying about what they'd do or what would be done to them for knowing. I hate having to run from Elisa. I fought for the right to still be able to see her, and I can't risk being around her."

"It's not going to be forever honey." Fox moved closer to Trini and looked at her in concern.

"Oh, yeah because tomorrow I can tell her I'm a murderer and not have to worry about it." Trini's voice dripped with sarcasm. "And I'm sure everyone will get over my other mate being their worst enemy in just a matter of days. Look how well they took our being together, they are all so VERY accepting."

"Trini" Fox stared at her, and Trini turned to stare back. She was angry, but it wasn't with Fox. She was pissed at her horrible luck, and the fact that it was obviously failing her again. She was mad at the fact that she was scared of Elisa now. "Don't fall apart now. Everything is hinging on you. Demona and I were part of those murders. If you crack we all go down."

Trini took a deep breath. "I'm just bitching, I would never risk either of you like that." Trini clasped her hands together. "If worst comes to worst, let me take the fall. You have David and Alexander to worry about, and I did the most killing anyhow."

"It isn't going to get that bad." Fox reached out to put her hands over Trini's. Her voice was soft. "If we don't admit to anything we will be fine."

Trini's lips thinned. "Okay." She let go of Fox's hand and stood up. "Well I need to finish getting ready. I get to be carried around by a female that has a pheromone induced crush on me for hours." Trini grimaced and started towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, about that…" Fox's voice rose, and sounded a more upbeat. "Exactly how far has Delilah tried to go with you?"

"What?" Trini turned to stare at Fox dumbly.

"Demona seems to think that Delilah's only symptom was the hugs, but I remember her nibbling on your neck in front of my father. She seemed pretty comfortable with that at the time."

Trini's blush started to cover her face quickly. "I… I haven't…"

"Not even in your dreams?" Fox's smile grew wide, making Trini relax a bit. She had thought for a moment that Fox had developed a jealous streak like Domi's.

Trini smiled softly, "Honey you're in my dreams, you would have seen it if I had." As soon as she said that she faltered, remembering the other sex dream she'd had.

Fox's grin was accompanied by a sexy sway as she walked closer to Trini. She looked very much like a predator at that moment, making Trini a bit nervous, "It looks like you've had some fun without me when you've slept in later." Fox's grin as Trini felt the touch of magic briefly, too quickly to calm her own nervousness before Fox felt it. They'd developed their powers enough to be empathic with each other, so of course that was going to work against Trini now. "Bond mates… you can't lie to me either. What are you hiding?"

Trini sighed heavily, "It was just a little dream that the sisters walked in on. It was embarrassing and I don't really want to talk about it."

"Aww. Poor baby doesn't have any privacy with family like that do you?" Fox was sounding distinctly unsympathetic in her teasing. "So what did your grandma end up seeing?"

"Just drop it." Trini felt like her face was burning hot.

"Come on, tell me…" Fox pushed again.

"Drop it!" Trini growled with a bit of anger. She immediately felt bad when Fox's eyes went wide in shock. Trini's voice softened. "I'm sorry baby, but it was really embarrassing. Please just drop it."

"What could be so embarrassing you couldn't tell me?" Fox asked softly.

Trini looked down at the rug. "I need to finish getting ready to go." She spoke softly.

"Okay." Fox said distractedly and Trini glanced up to see Fox staring at her like she wished they were already telepathic.

Delilah glided past the apartment building that Andrea lived in and Trini found herself trying to glance into her friend's apartment, but they moved by too fast to see anything.

"All clear so far at the Park. Delilah, Trini how are you two doing?" Angela's voice came over the communicators. These were exactly like the ones that Trini had used while her lovers' and her were capturing those men, so she knew how to use them.

"Pretty quiet here to." Trini started to answer before hearing something that sounded like a muffled scream. "Hold up, something is going on. Quiet please."

Delilah moved to glide over towards the alley, and Trini grimaced at the idea of being called a beast again after trying to save someone. If this mugging victim made Delilah cry, they were going to see what sort of Demon Trini could be. Trini's eyes widened as she realized how very Demona-like her thoughts had gotten. She really should have taken tonight off. Her attitude was all wrong for protecting tonight.

They swooped down into the alley and Delilah dropped Trini the twelve or so feet to the ground in the darkness, before gliding over and grabbing the largest man and picking him up to toss him in the open dumpster. Trini moved out of the shadow towards the other two people. Her eyes fell to the woman that one of them threw to the wall, and they widened. Andrea looked scared.

"You Fucking Bastards!" Trini yelled and leapt out of the shadow. She didn't bother being gentle with the man that threw her friend against the wall.

Her communicator screamed out at her, "Trini! Stop you'll kill him! Stop." Delilah sounded frantic, which was probably the only reason it got through to her. Trini stopped hitting him and he slide down the wall. She didn't think she was hitting him hard enough to kill, but she'd scared Delilah. That wasn't good.

Trini spun around and didn't see the third man around anymore. She left the thug on the ground to go to her friend. "Andrea?"

"Tri… Trini?" Andrea looked up at her, and Trini could see the beginnings of a bruise on Andrea's cheek. She kneeled down beside her friend.

"Yeah, it's me." Trini smiled gently. "Are you hurt?" Trini could hear the sound of wings behind her, but didn’t bother to turn around. She was still tense as she waited to see that Andrea was okay. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

Andrea started to get to her feet shakily, so Trini helped her. Trini's eyes made a circuit of Andrea's body to make sure she was okay. "My hero…" Andrea gave Trini a weak smile, "always around when I need you."

Goliath's voice startled Trini and her and Andrea turned to see him and the other two females coming out of the shadows slowly, probably so as to not scare Andrea. Angela moved to the unconscious thug that Trini had been beating on to check on him, and suddenly Trini realize how close to killing him she'd come. She'd completely lost her control in her rage, and she started to wonder if she would have ever stopped hitting him if Delilah weren't there.

"He's alive."

"How bad?" Trini whispered out, feeling sick at her loss of control. Andrea reached over and took her hand, so Trini glanced over at her friend while she squeezed the hand she was given for comfort. "Are you okay? Do you need a hospital?"

"You just want to drag me across town to another hospital." Andrea was glancing at the gargoyles in the alley often, but Trini felt it was her friends concern for her that kept Andrea from moving to talk to them.

"Trini? Do you want to introduce us to your friend?" Goliath spoke as he stepped closer, with a smile to the human that wasn't running away.

Angela even left her post next to the unconscious man to see this human that did not run away. Apparently the man wasn't too bad off or Angela would have had them calling the ambulance by now.

"This is Andrea Calhoun." Trini told the group, and immediately saw Angela's eyes widen as she started to really study the woman. Trini then turned to Andrea. "This is Goliath, Angela, and Delilah" Trini said while indicating which gargoyle's she was talking about. She really didn't feel comfortable with the clan meeting Andrea. Andrea was Domi's friend, and she was afraid that Goliath would find out and ruin that.

"It's nice to meet you." Andrea smiled brightly, and winced a little in pain with her facial bruise. "Wow, I live in New York for years painting gargoyles, and then I meet four in just a few days."

Trini tensed up almost visibly, but forced herself to relax.

"Four?" Goliath glanced at Trini and Trini quickly shook her head no. Andrea didn't know about her. She didn't want anyone saying anything that blew that cover. "Who else?"

"Marie." Andrea smiled fondly and Trini felt like squirming. "Marie didn’t tell you she came to my studio to pose for me?"

Trini just managed to not speak. She wasn't supposed to know Marie, but she wanted to tell Andrea that Marie wasn't a part of that clan. She could see Goliath and Angela staring at Andrea, but Delilah just stepped a little closer.

"This is my friend Delilah." Trini spoke more softly, to encourage Andrea to shake hands.

"I didn't know you knew any gargoyles." Andrea said in return before stiffly moving to take Delilah's hand. Andrea was a little nervous, like she was with Marie in the beginning.

"You are the artist that drew Trini?" Delilah asked politely.

Andrea started to smile. "Yes. Do you want me to draw you?" Trini grimaced behind Andrea's back to let Delilah know how very not fun that was.

"While I like to visit as much as the next guy, can we get out of here before the police come?" Trini addressed Andrea. She wanted to separate her from Goliath as soon as possible.

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea." Goliath conceded, before turning to Andrea again. "It was nice to meet you."

Trini glanced over at Delilah and spoke quietly. "I want to walk her home. She lives down the block. Meet me after?" Delilah just nodded.

"I don’t want you telling anyone I know gargoyles. It would be dangerous for me." Trini spoke quietly while walking beside Andrea towards her apartment building.

"You are just full of secrets aren't you?" Andrea said while looking just a little put out. "Do you think you could talk one of them into modeling for me? Maybe Goliath?"

"Uh… Goliath doesn’t really like me." Trini stammered out. They walked a few more steps before Andrea changed the subject a little.

"Can I tell Domi about them?"

Trini sucked breath in, and began to glance around the skyline to see if they were alone. "Sure"

"So she knows you know gargoyles?"

Trini nibbled on her bottom lip, silently praying that the gargoyles really were gone. "Yes, she knows."

Once they reached the front of Andrea's building the police car sped past them towards the alley. "Now I see why you go around rescuing people. You spend so much time with them you are becoming like a gargoyle." Andrea grinned at that joke that really wasn't. Trini gave a weak smile back.

"I should get going. Please be careful. If you don’t have enough money for cab fare, just ask Domi or me. I don't want to be too late to save you some day."

Andrea pulled Trini into a hug. "Okay, but this time it was laziness. I only wanted to go to the store on the corner for a sugar fix and didn't want to wait for the cab." Andrea took a couple of steps up the stairs before turning to Trini again. "You and Domi need to come to my place for dinner one of these days. Maybe before your birthday." Andrea's smile grew. "I have a present for you already."

"Sure, not a problem." Trini smiled and waited until the artist was safely inside before wandering into a nearby alley to start her climb up.

She wasn't even halfway into the alley before she felt arms grab her and take her up. "Angela told me who the artist was so I stuck around." Goliath's angry voice made Trini go rigid as she realized that the male was the one carrying her up into the air. "Do you often have dinner with Demona?!"

Day 12 Part 1– Friday – August 8^th

Trini's heart was pounding as Goliath took them up into the air, while holding her by her arms like Demona had done the first time she'd taken Trini from the park. Her legs dangled in the air. "Let me go." Trini's face was pale and her voice weak. She didn’t want him holding her, touching her. Her voice got louder, almost frantic. "Let me Go!"

"God Dammit Trini stop squirming." Goliath growled at Trini and it only made her struggle more.

"Let me go. Don't touch me, let me go!" She started to scream as she tried to twist her body around so she could kick him. Her heart was pounding frantically and the hold he had on her made it so hard to fight back. She was hardly thinking clearly in her panic, she just wanted away from him.

A white blur dove towards them and Trini glanced over at Delilah's brightly burning eyes. "Give her to me!" Delilah's growl was full of threat as the female moved to flank Goliath.

Trini finally managed to connect a weak kick to Goliath's stomach, and he grunted in pain but didn't release her. "She has a few questions to answer first." Goliath growled back at Delilah.

"No, you give her to me!" Trini could hear the threat and anger in her friend's voice, even though she couldn't see either gargoyle. It started to calm her panic. Delilah was going to get hurt if she continued to act like that. Trini tried to take deep breath to calm down. Her fear only upset her friend. She couldn't let it get to her.

"Delilah, I don't want you hurt." Trini found herself almost crying. "I don't want him to hurt you." Being this close to an angry Goliath, after all those dreams, was terrifying her. She was defenseless with her arms being held like this.

"Here." Goliath spoke quickly and held Trini further away from him. Delilah moved in quickly and scooped Trini out of his arms. Trini latched her arms around Delilah's neck and buried her face in the gargoyles shoulder. Her body was shaking like a frightened puppy, and Delilah's eyes burned into the watching male's eyes for a moment.

"I have you. I have you now." Delilah murmured comfortingly. Another gargoyle glided up to them, and Angela stared at Trini's shaking back.

"We have to call a meeting." Goliath's voice was full of barely suppressed anger. "Trini hasn't been completely honest with us. I'm going to go get Elisa. Angela, you make sure that Delilah takes her back to the castle."

As soon as Goliath moved to glide away, Trini's body started to shake less. Delilah was murmuring comfortingly and caressing Trini with her hands where she held Trini and rubbed her face alongside Trini's.

Trini completely ignored their silent guard to whisper. "You can't go against the clan to protect me. You'll lose everything. I love you, but you can't do that."

"He scared you!" Delilah growled out. "He knows you don't like males to touch you and he took you anyhow."

Trini took a few shuddering breaths as she tried to think. She wasn't going to be able to talk her way out of this. Goliath had overheard her and Andrea. "I don't always tell you things. I didn't want you to have to chose between being loyal to me or the clan." Trini started to pet the gargoyle's snowy hair. "I love you, but if they make you chose, you can't chose me. I can't protect you like a clan can."

"Trini what is going on?" Delilah's voice sounded a little fearful, so Trini released her firm hold on the female so she could lean back and look into the glowing eyes. "Why are you talking like this?"

Trini reached out to caress Delilah's cheek, before leaning in to give the gargoyle a gentle peck on the lips. She ignored Angela's surprised gasp at that show of affection. She felt like this might be goodbye, because she had no idea how Delilah was going to take tonight's meeting, and the fact that Trini's been lying to her. She had no idea how much of her secrets were going to be coming out tonight. Trini then took a deep breath and started to mentally create a new batch of lies and half-truths. Her heart ached at her having to do this to her friend. She wanted so desperately to tell Delilah everything and beg for her understanding. It was a good thing that Angela was there, making that choice impossible. Trini had to stay strong. If she faltered, Fox and Domi would get caught.

"Goliath thinks he finally has some real ammunition against me. Andrea is my friend, but she's also Demona's friend." At Delilah's shocked expression Trini continued. "Andrea doesn’t know that Domi is really a gargoyle, and I don't tell her. Demona needs to have human friends. It might make her think twice before plotting things." Trini took a deep breath of the cool air and noticed that they were just gliding around the castle so that they had time to talk. Trini glanced up once at Angela, who was watching this conversation with obvious interest. "Andrea is the one that introduced me to Domi. We all used to spend time together before the…" Trini's voice got softer, "kidnapping. I didn't know she was a gargoyle either."

"Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?!"

"Because I felt stupid!" Trini looked away, remembering how she felt when she found out Domi and Demona were the same person. "I was locked up in a room with Domi, and was telling her how I'd try to protect her. I was actually worried that Demona would hurt her." Trini gave a humorless laugh, "I was conscious when Demona took me from the building, and I saw the fire. I was so worried that Domi was in the building that Demona had to tell me several times that Domi wasn't there before I'd calm down. I was so stupid."

Angela finally spoke, her voice soft. "No, you weren't stupid. Anyone would make that mistake." They finally landed. "Father will want me to take you right to the meeting room to wait." Angela sounded a bit apologetic.

"This is going to take all night, isn't it?" Trini asked while Delilah gently lowered her to the ground. At Angela's hesitant nod, Trini sighed. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

Angela had her use the bathroom off the library, rather than letting her go to her own room. It really felt like Trini was under arrest, even though her guard was so reluctant to do her job. As soon as Trini was alone she pushed her magic out, trying to find Fox. She was staring into the mirror as she did this and could see her skin was pale, and her eyes would glow green when she pushed harder, hoping that she was wrong. Fox wasn't home. She was alone.

Trini took a deep breath and took the opportunity to go to the bathroom. She wouldn't be surprised if Goliath tried to use her own bladder to torture her in the meeting, by refusing her a break.

The clan filed in quietly, and Trini had no idea what Goliath had told them. She sat and stared at the tabletop while she continued to push out desperately for Fox. She wasn't smart enough to do this alone. Trini took a deep breath and sighed. She was going to have to be.

When she glanced up and saw Elisa's measuring gaze, Trini flinched a bit. Delilah, Angela, and Goliath entered after Elisa. Delilah looked a bit defiant as she moved to sit beside Trini. Trini sighed, obviously Delilah wasn't going to stay out of this. When Angela moved to sit on Trini's other side, Goliath's eyes widened in surprise and then he glared at Trini quickly before walking after Elisa to sit on the other side of the table. Trini had no idea how she warranted Angela's support, but she cherished it. Without Fox there, she needed all the emotional support she could get. Brooklyn and Broadway sat on the side of the table closer to Angela, and Lex and Hudson on the side near Delilah.

Trini looked up into Elisa's eyes. The detective seemed to be staring at her in an attempt to read her mind. She wasn't hostile, like Goliath, but the friendliness wasn't there either. Trini took a deep breath and stared down at the table.

"When were you planning to tell us that you know Demona?" Goliath growled out at her.

"What?!" Brooklyn's shocked and angry voice filled the room, but Goliath held out a hand to let the clan know not to speak.

Trini glared at him with red eyes. "I didn't see that it was any of your business." She could have kicked herself for responding like that. Now wasn't the time to let her anger control her, but he seemed so self-righteous. She didn't appreciate being talked down to by Elisa's boyfriend.

"Mother tricked Trini. She was just too embarrassed to tell us." Angela interrupted. It got Angela a glare from Goliath, but Brooklyn's glowing white eyes seemed to fade.

"Angela, I'm talking to Trinity." Goliath scolded his daughter briefly before turning his eyes back to Trini. "How did she trick you?"

Trini grimaced as Elisa leaned closer to whisper into Goliath's ear. Even with her hearing, she couldn't hear what Elisa was saying, but she did have a bad feeling about it. She'd just finished telling the clan about the kidnapping, at least the part she'd just told Delilah on the way home.

"Trini, why were you patrolling last night? You told Goliath that you had to work." Elisa stared at Trini with cop eyes, and Trini clenched her fist underneath the table. The hand that started to gently caress her knee was a shock. Trini turned to glance at Delilah briefly, and the female gave her a small encouraging smile. This petting was probably Delilah's attempt at comforting, but it was doing the opposite.

Trini's hand moved to take Delilah's so that Delilah would stop her caresses. Trini's hand was shaking a little as she did that. She had enough to deal with, she didn't need Delilah's increasingly sexual caresses right now. The ventilation system in this room wasn't strong enough.

"I was taking a break and heard that…" Trini's teeth gritted, "woman's call for help." She was still angry and hurt about being called names after putting herself at risk for that couple.

"I had to take three of those thugs to the hospital Trini." Elisa didn't sound pleased, "And the man from tonight went to the hospital too. You are too violent."

Trini just stared at Elisa dumbly, while feeling her face pale a bit. This was the opposite of what Demona told her. "I had to do that. I pulled my punches, but…" Trini just shook her head in disbelief. "How can I stop them without hurting them? I have to do that."

"I heard that Delilah was afraid you'd kill that guy tonight. That she had to beg you to stop." Elisa's face held no expression and her voice was a bit deeper than normal.

"I…" Trini stared at Elisa with wide eyes.

Delilah interrupted. "I over-reacted. I've never seen Trini fight before."

Trini stared down at the tabletop and took a deep breath as she remembered the panic in Delilah's voice. "I couldn't stop." Trini said quietly, but the silence in the room made it more than loud enough. "I saw Andrea hurt and I just couldn't stop."

"Would you have killed him?" Elisa asked with no real expression.

"I…" Trini looked up at Elisa. "I don't know. He hurt Andrea. I… I just don't know."

Elisa's eyes narrowed. "What is your relationship to Andrea?"

Trini grimaced, "I'm not fucking every woman I know Elisa." She growled out, angry at the accusation and the way it was done in front of the whole clan this time. "She's my friend."

Trini could see that she'd done something, but she couldn't tell what. Elisa's eyes seemed to brighten at that comment. "So are you going to have dinner with her and Demona?"

Trini took a deep breath. They were back on topic. "I'll probably tell her I can only see her late at night, and that way Demona can't come." Trini felt a bit better at the sudden inspiration she had. If Trini were actually trying to avoid Demona that plan would work.

Goliath fidgeted in his chair for a second, but he stayed quiet. It was Elisa leading this investigation. "How is that working? Sharing a friend with Demona?" Trini noticed Brooklyn was fidgeting a bit at that comment. Probably couldn't believe that Demona had a human friend.

"It's fine."

"Do you ever go out with both of them?"

Trini sighed deeply. Elisa was going to do this like a regular interrogation, and try to bore Trini to death. "No." Trini wasn't the only one getting bored.

"Why don't we just tell this Andrea about Demona? It's dangerous for her to spend time with that bitch!" Brooklyn spoke and Trini turned red glowing eyes on him.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea what Andrea is?" Trini growled. She couldn't let the clan take Andrea away from Demona.

Elisa glared at Brooklyn for a second, and the red gargoyle looked properly chastised. "Why don’t you tell us?"

Trini's eyes burned with anger and the passion of her beliefs. The boredom dissolved as Trini got angry and defensive. "She's the HUMAN in Demona's life! If Demona had more of those she couldn't justify her hatred anymore! You try to take Andrea away and Demona will just chalk it up to human betrayal, and it'll take hundreds of years to get her to try making friends again!"

"Demona's likely to kill her when she is more of a bother than anything else." Brooklyn snapped at Trini. He'd been fuming ever since Trini called him an idiot.

"She wouldn’t do that!" Trini's body tensed for a fight that was more words than anything else. She needed Demona to have Andrea; there was no other way to get to her mate on this issue. If Andrea abandoned Domi, there would be hell to pay.

"How would you know?" Elisa spoke with authority and Brooklyn sat back in his chair. Trini glanced around the room and could see the suspicion in the males' eyes. Even Lex seemed uncomfortable.

"Trini, why don't you just tell them?" Fox's voice almost made Trini sag in relief. She turned to see Fox leaning in the doorway. Trini hadn't even heard it open in the heat of the argument. Fox came into the room and David came in right after her. The cavalry was here, and Trini almost felt like wrapping herself around her mate in relief and gratitude.

Fox moved to lean on the wall behind Trini, and David stayed in the doorway. "Trini is our spy in NightStone. She works with Demona."

"What?!" Goliath's shout was almost in sync with Elisa's. Trini felt her face pale, but she knew that this was her cover story. She just wished it hadn't needed to be used.

"I told you I have to protect in other ways." Trini said quietly, her voice tense. She could feel everyone's eyes on her then, with that confirmation. "I work there and keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Why wasn't I informed?!" Goliath's glare seemed to sweep over Trini, Fox and David at the same time.

Trini opened her mouth to snap at him, to tell him that he wasn't in charge of everything. She hated his smug in command attitude. She wasn't his to order around. David's hand on her shoulder shocked her into silence.

"Trini is working for me on this." David lied smoothly. Trini went quiet and hoped that David could deal with this better than she could. "When she told me about this opportunity, it seemed like the best possible solution."

Elisa stared at Trini and her eyes narrowed. "How did you get Demona to hire you? What are you doing, don't you know how dangerous this is?! After what she did to you how can you do this?"

"I assure you…" David started, but Elisa glared at him.

"I want to hear this from Trini." Elisa growled at him. Elisa's gaze moved to Fox and narrowed. "I have no clue how you could be so cold as to put her in that much danger." Elisa's eyes then moved to bore into Trini. "Tell me."

Trini prayed silently that she wouldn’t say anything wrong. "Demona offered me the job, repeatedly. I told her no about three times. Finally it dawned on me that working there would give me a chance to keep an eye on what was going on. Basically I'm working there and will stay there until she fires me or I finally have to act." She noticed Goliath getting ready to say something, and spoke more quickly to cut him off. "I'm not ruining my cover for anything less than a genocide attempt. Small crimes, which I haven't seen yet, will be ignored."

"We could have you plant some bugs so that we know what she's up to." Lex spoke excitedly, and Trini grimaced.

"Then she finds them and fires me, and I'm not there when the next plan to destroy humanity comes along. I mean it Lex, I HAVE to save myself for the big stuff."

Brooklyn's voice was a bit louder than normal. "Lex has a point, we could monitor her more easily."

Trini's eyes narrowed at him. "This has nothing to do with you. This is MY job."

"Why was she so desperate to get you?" Goliath crossed his arms in front of him while he studied Trini. "She's not the type to take in a known enemy so easily."

"I can work nights." Trini answered him minimally, with a bit of an attitude, but David's hand moved to her shoulder again and squeezed in warning. She stifled her anger and continued more civilly. "She told me she needed someone for occasional nights, would like to not have to be surrounded by humans all day, and I think she's trying to turn me against humans."

Elisa looked so upset it made Trini feel bad. Trini then turned to see Delilah, and the gargoyle was a little pale. Trini gave Delilah a weak smile and reached under the table to take Delilah's hand to comfort her. "I'm okay. I've got it all under control." She spoke softly to Delilah.

"How closely are you working with her Lass?" Hudson asked, making Trini look at him for the first time since getting in the meeting room.

"I'm her personal assistant." Trini sighed. "I have the office right next to hers. I'm her Owen-in-training." Trini could hear a few people suck in their breaths at that.

Elisa was staring holes in Trini. "You said you had to work last night."

"I did." Trini said minimally while staring at Elisa.

"What kind of work are you doing for her?"

"Right now I'm restructuring the employee orientation program. I'm also training the new receptionist. Nothing really exciting." Trini leaned forward. "I also read boring reports written by people that don't know how to write, so that she doesn’t have to." Trini shook her head a little. "Just normal business stuff."

"So everything you just spent the last hour telling us is a lie?!" Goliath glared at Trini with glowing eyes.

"No, it was true too." Trini glanced over at Elisa when she said that.

Elisa sighed, "Trini, undercover work is dangerous. You don't have the training, and Demona won't just fire you if she finds you doing something she'll… she'll try to kill you."

"I'm the only person that can do this." Trini spoke softly to her ex, while ignoring all the other eyes on her. "Not many gargoyles can hold day jobs."

Hudson's voice was soft. "Elisa's right lass, Demona might kill you if she thinks you betrayed her."

Trini felt a small smile tug at her lips. They had no idea how very wrong they were. She stared down at the tabletop to cover that inappropriate smile. The stress of this situation was getting to her. "I'm harder to kill than that. I'll be fine."

There was a bit of awkward silence. "I want to be kept up to date with what is going on." Goliath's cold voice made it was clear that it was a demand. Trini tensed up and glared at him, but David's hand squeezed her shoulder again, warning her.

"We will do what we can to keep you in the loop." David spoke softly and smirked at the clan. "It's getting late, and Trini needs some rest for work tomorrow." David pulled the chair back for Trini in a gentlemanly move, and Trini nodded her thanks as she got up. She finally looked at Angela, and could see the girl had a million questions.

Trini glanced at Goliath and then at Angela. She really wanted to give one last parting shot, and tell Angela in front of the clan that Goliath had forbidden her to talk to Angela about Demona. David took her arm and moved to escort her out of the room. The look in his eyes was a clear warning not to do whatever she was thinking of doing.

"We will talk about this later Trini." Elisa called out to her, and Trini gave Elisa a nod. "Fox, what happened to your eye?"

Trini flinched a bit when Elisa asked that. Fox just smiled flirtatiously at Elisa. "I zigged when I should have zagged."

"Trini did that?" Elisa seemed a bit surprised, and Trini's eyes widened. Elisa actually thought she'd hit her mate?

"No, I do spar with other people detective." Fox gave Trini a glance. "Trini pulls her punches with me. She's afraid to hurt me."

"That reminds me." Goliath spoke quickly. "Trini, until you are no longer a threat, you aren't to patrol. We don't need you sending more people to the hospital."

Trini took a deep breath. She wasn't letting him get away with that. "If I want to go out on my own, I will. You aren't MY clan leader." Trini turned to glare at him. "Or should I just sit back and watch the rapists and murderers work?" She hissed, upsetting herself with her words. She'd seen far too many rapes and far too much pain. "I wasn't patrolling last night." Trini spoke with less venom, "but I can't just hope the police come in time when I hear people in trouble. They don't always come to the rescue." She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Lex flinched at that. She turned to him and gave him a weak smile. She didn't blame Elisa for not rescuing her, even though she'd been praying for Elisa and Fox to find her the entire time she was held captive. That's not what she was talking about when she said that help doesn't always arrive on time, but Trini strongly suspected that Lex thought her comment was far more personal.

Delilah held out a hand for Trini to squeeze as Trini walked past her for the door. So far the secrets weren't so bad that Trini's white haired friend would abandon her.

As she walked out the clan made no motion to leave. They probably planned to talk about her more.

It took a while to finally get away, but Trini was now safely in her rooms. She walked over to the couch and collapsed back on it, while staring over at Fox. Trini didn't even try to speak. She just moved to stare out the window at the city lights, and found her eyes nervously looking around to make sure that there weren't any gargoyles outside of her rooms, waiting to spy on her.

Fox moved behind Trini and started to massage her shoulders. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. Owen called us to tell us what was going on."

Trini moved her hand to rest it over Fox's. "It's okay, you two should be able to go out once in a while." Trini sighed heavily. "This is only the beginning of it, isn't it?"

"Afraid so. Elisa looked like she had more questions." Fox pulled Trini closer to her body, and Trini took some comfort in her lover's closeness.

The opening of Trini's door made Trini tense up quickly. She slowly started to relax back into Fox's body when she saw it was David. David just smiled at the sight in front of him for a moment before moving to sit on the chair across from them. Trini was too worn out from the meeting to worry about the fact that Fox was holding her in front of other people.

David's face became more serious. "Trini, if you don't want them investigating you, you need to at least pretend to keep them in the loop now." Trini nodded reluctantly. "It's going to get worse before it gets better. You need to prove yourself to them now." Trini's eyes burned red at that, but David ignored that. "Trini, they aren't sure if you are an ally or an enemy at this point. Goliath isn't really someone you want as an enemy." David gave her a slight smirk. "He has a habit of getting in the way and ruining plans. It's best to not have him even suspect you aren't being honest with him." David took a deep breath, "And on that note… you can't continue to bait him like you do. It isn't helpful. You need to learn to be more subtle in your hate."

Fox pulled Trini more tightly to her body. "David's right Trini. We've gone against the clan before, and they are a very determined bunch. Now that they think they know your secret, maybe it's time to change your tactics."

"Well, I can see you are very tired." David got up to leave. "We will have to talk about this more later. Goliath will have more questions after he and Elisa are done talking I'm sure."

Trini came out of the shower wearing her robe, and once she noticed the company was very glad she remembered to bring the robe into the bathroom with her this time. "Delilah?" Trini glanced around for Fox and didn't see her. A quick magical push showed that the redhead was in the kitchen. Trini was a little uncomfortable being alone with Delilah after those caresses the gargoyle tried to give her tail in the meeting, and Trini's being naked under the robe wasn't helping to make her feel more secure.

"Trini, I'm worried about you." Delilah took a hesitant step closer.

"I promise I'm okay. I'm being careful." Trini gave Delilah a small smile. "Did you want something to drink?" Trini didn't feel like visiting now, but she wasn't going to push Delilah away.

"No, thanks." Delilah pulled Trini into a hug. Her voice was quieter, but more tense. "When I saw him grab you I wanted to hurt him. You looked so scared."

Trini felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She hated that she'd shown her fear. "Thank you for helping me." Trini wrapped her arms around Delilah and rested her cheek on Delilah's shoulder. She wasn't going to act weird around her friend. It wasn't Delilah's fault. It was the pheromones that made her act like that.

"Anytime." Delilah just held Trini a little longer before pulling back and heading for the door. Once the door was open Delilah turned to Trini, and looked a bit shy. "I want to have another movie night with you."

Trini felt a bit uncomfortable with the adoration in Delilah's eyes. Just a little longer and the pheromones would be gone. Trini just had to last just a little longer. "I'm going to go into season any day now. I can't make plans ahead of time." Trini grinned shyly at Delilah's smirk.

"So we'll just be spontaneous again." Delilah smiled and shut the door behind her.

Trini wanted to call Demona and tell her about the latest problem, but then she remembered the black eye that Fox had, and she just didn't have the energy to call. She couldn't just let Demona get away with hitting Fox, no matter what Fox said about it being okay now. There was NO excuse for her mates to fight like that. If Demona thought Trini was being hurt, she should have come to Trini about it. It could all wait until tomorrow. She'd had enough tension for tonight.

Trini was naked under the sheets when Fox came back. Trini's eyes trailed after the redhead, as she got ready for bed. When Fox started to change for bed, Trini spoke softly. "Sleep naked with me. I want to feel your skin." Fox smirked at her and came to bed wearing nothing at all. Trini cuddled up to her and moaned softly in happiness.

Trini heard her alarm thinking about going off, or that is what she told herself as she woke up suddenly a minute before it was going to go off. She shut it off before it had a chance to make any noise that would disturb Fox. While staring down at Fox's face and the bruised eye, Trini felt another wave of guilt and anger. She whispered quietly. "I'm so sorry honey." Trini then leaned down to kiss Fox's forehead gently and got out of bed to get ready for her day.

Trini was a bit ahead of schedule, because she wanted to drop by and make sure Andrea was okay before going to work. She stared out the window as she made her breakfast mechanically.

"I wanted to talk to you about Demona's visit yesterday." David spoke as he entered the kitchen.

Trini took a deep breath and moved her plate and glass to the table he sat down at. "Did you see it? Fox won't give me any details."

David stared into Trini's eyes. "No, they were alone. We are in the habit of shutting down the surveillance equipment when she visits now, so it's not even on tape."

Trini stared down at her eggs, not feeling very hungry now. "I guess that's good. I'd hate to see it."

"Trini, she assaulted my wife in my own home." David's voice was quiet, but it was obvious he was upset.

Trini took a shuddering breath as she pushed her plate away. She couldn't try to eat now. "I don't know what to do. Fox says she took care of it, but I can't just ignore it."

"I told you Demona was a mistake. She's too unstable."

"She's not…" Trini trailed off, because she knew she couldn’t defend Domi hitting Fox. "I'm going to talk to her about this. I… really thought she was coming around. It seemed like she liked Fox now." She whispered the rest of what she had to say. "I thought they were friends." Trini got up and tossed her breakfast, uneaten, into the trash. "I have some errands to do before I go to work today." She looked into his concerned eyes. "I'll take care of this."

Trini pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards Andrea's. She didn't notice the white van that followed her through the busy streets, and parked a half a block away from where she did. It took Andrea a while to answer the bell, and when Trini finally saw her friend, she became concerned. Andrea was moving very stiffly, and the bruise on her face looked very purple and painful. "God Andrea, are you okay?" Trini stepped into the artist's apartment without waiting for an invitation, while staring at her stiff robe clad friend with concern. Andrea looked like she was in more pain than she was the night before.

"I think I might have hurt my back last night. I had trouble sleeping because it hurt." Andrea said while leading Trini slowly into the living room.

"I should take you to a doctor." Trini stood up straighter as she tried to fight a blush. "Can you get dressed? Or do you need help? I could take you now."

Andrea grimaced. "I'll be fine. I have an appointment for tomorrow with my doctor. That was the soonest I could get in. I can't afford an emergency room visit, and I don't want Domi to pay for it again."

Trini watched Andrea wince as she moved a bit. "No, I'm not leaving you like this. Go get dressed." Trini spoke with authority. She gave Andrea the glare that Domi gave Trini when she didn't want Trini to argue. It seemed to work.

Once Trini was alone she pulled out her cell phone. "Fox? Andrea needs a doctor, but can't get an appointment. Can our doctor look at her?"

"Sure. Bring her over."

Trini pulled into the parking lot of the Eyrie and noticed Andrea's eyes staring at her. "Xanatos Enterprises? Your doctor works in this building?" Trini just nodded and went around the car to help Andrea get up. The artist was moving like an old woman in her pain.

"I should have taken you to the doctor last night." Trini murmured to herself as they got into the elevator, but Andrea heard her.

"I told you not too. I didn't feel hurt then. That's not your fault."

Trini's body tensed a bit as they got out on the MedLab floor. Karen wasn't really a normal practitioner, but she was the only doctor Trini knew, and she was actually gentle.

When they stepped into the main research room, Karen smiled at them. Trini noticed that she promptly took off her doctor's robe and came to see them. "Fox told me to expect you." Karen waved them towards the examination room adjacent to the research facility.

"She isn't a normal Doctor?" Andrea glanced around at the group of researchers at work.

"Karen does a little bit of everything around here." Trini answered for the Doctor and held the door open for Andrea. She knew Karen was nice, but Trini wasn't planning on leaving a friend alone with a doctor. She went right in after them even though just being in a medical room made her tense.

While Karen was getting a few things out Andrea spoke to Trini quietly. "This is where you go?"

Trini realized that it did look strange, her having a doctor that was more a researcher than anything else. "Karen works for some friends of mine. You met Fox." That seemed to make Andrea relax a little.

Karen came up to Andrea with one of those patient robes. "I need you to change into this. Can you do it, or do you need help?"

Andrea took the robe. "I can do it."

"Good, we'll wait outside until you open the door a crack." Karen held the door open for Trini as they left.

Once the door closed Karen turned to Trini, "Are you planning to stay throughout the exam?" Trini blushed a bit. It seemed silly now. Karen rested a hand on Trini's arm, so Trini looked up into the Doctor's eyes again. "Trini, I'm not in the habit of hurting my patients. I won't hurt your friend. You don't need to stand guard."

"Okay, I'll just go make some phone calls then. Let me know when she's ready to go home." Trini wandered out to the hall to call into work. She was almost late for her job already, and was going to be later.

"Carrie? Tell Ms. Destine I'll be late."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to tell her that yourself?" Carrie asked a little nervously.

"No, you can tell her. Thank you." Trini hung up quickly. She wasn't ready to talk to Domi yet, and Domi didn't know that Andrea got hurt again. She kind of wanted to patch the artist up a bit better before letting Domi know.

Trini drove Andrea home and then took the prescriptions for pain medicine with her to the pharmacy. She felt bad for not being there just a little sooner. Just a minute might have kept Andrea from hitting that wall. At least nothing was broken.

Trini went to the grocery store and the drug store for Andrea. It took two trips to the car to bring all of it in for the artist. "I thought you were just going for the medicine." Andrea glanced around at the bags of groceries, bandages, bottles of pain medicine, cold packs and the hot water bottle.

Trini gave Andrea a small grin and started to put the groceries away. "I figured you forgot to shop again, and I was right." Trini's face became a bit more serious. "Call me if you need anything like groceries. I don't want you hurting your back more because you try to carry things."

"God, you're worse than Domi was after I hurt my foot."

Trini put the last of the items away while Andrea watched. She then looked at Andrea inspecting the blue ice she'd bought for swelling. "I've been too late to save people before." Trini spoke quietly with a haunted look in her eyes. "I was so scared when I saw it was you last night. That I could have been too late for you." Trini took a shuddering breath. "Please… Please, you have to be more careful. I've seen things… horrible things that I don't want to ever happen to anyone I care about." Trini normally would try to hide this sort of thing, but maybe if Andrea heard about some of this she'd finally learn to be careful. "I found a girl that was raped in Central Park. I've seen gangs beat up people. There is so much going on in this city, and you need to be careful or you'll get hurt."

"Oh Trini…" Andrea took a step closer and pulled Trini into a careful hug. "I never even thought about what you might see while out rescuing people like me."

"I don't want to have to rescue you anymore Andrea. I want you to just be more careful so I don't have to do that." Trini was extremely gentle with her hug, afraid of hurting Andrea. "I don’t ever want to be too late for someone I care about again."

"again?" Andrea's shocked question made Trini's body tense up. "You've been too late for a friend? Oh God… Trini…" Trini couldn't believe she let that slip so easily.

Trini pulled back and glanced around nervously. "Well I think I have you all set up. I'll call you tomorrow to see if you need anything else."

"You aren't leaving now!" Andrea seemed to be trying to glare, but the artist just wasn't very good at looking angry.

"I'm already two hours late for work."

"I don't think Domi will fire her own lover. Sit down!"

Trini stared at Andrea helplessly. "I can't really talk about it." She whispered.

Andrea just studied Trini's face. "You are full of secrets and pain. I saw it when I drew you weeks ago. You are a lot like Domi that way." Andrea moved stiffly to sit on the couch with Trini, whose eyes were widening in surprise that Andrea would know that about herself or Domi. "Domi won't tell me about her pain either. She just changes the subject very poorly and glares at me if I push for her to open up."

"Yeah, Domi's not too big on opening up." Trini replied softly.

Andrea gave Trini a weak smile. "Like you're Miss communication? I've known you almost all summer, and I hardly know anything about you. You never even told me you were dating my best friend, or that you worked for her."

Trini stared down at her hands. "She cares about you. I didn't want you to treat her funny because she's with a woman now. I didn't know how'd you take it."

Andrea smiled, "If I were gay I would have been after her for myself, but since I'm not… I'm glad she has you." Andrea's face became serious again. "You aren't going to talk about any of these problems are you? Not about the detective, or whatever it is that gave you that pain I see in your eyes, or about this time you were too late."

Trini sat in silence and stared at Andrea for a moment. "I can't. Thank you, but I just can't."

Andrea sighed a bit unhappily. "Well don't forget I offered."

Trini stood up to go. "If you need help or money you know where to call."

"I will."

Trini sighed heavily as she pulled out into traffic again. She was now going to be two hours late for work. She felt like skipping it all together, but she pulled into the NightStone parking anyhow. She was going to act professionally. She was going to just go in there and get her work done, and all the personal stuff could wait until she got Domi home. Trini grabbed her sunglasses and put them on as she rode the elevator up to the top floor.

Carrie looked up at her in relief when she entered the office, making Trini wonder what the poor receptionist was going through while she was gone. "Ms. Destine wanted to see you as soon as you got in."

"She with anyone right now?"

"Yes, but that meeting should be over soon."

"I'll just get to work until she's free." Trini had expected Domi would push to talk right away, but Trini wasn't ready for it. She went into her office and started to work. She heard the person that had been in Domi's office leave, but she didn't get up to go see Domi. In a wave of irritation she decided that if Domi wanted to see her, she could come to Trini's office.

"You're still wearing your sunglasses." Domi's voice at the doorway made Trini grit her teeth. She glanced up at the CEO, her boss and lover, and sneered.

"I do what I have to."

Domi stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. "Trini… about yesterday…"

Trini held up one hand to silence her lover and growled. "Not here." She lowered her sunglasses so that Domi could see how pissed she was. "If whatever it is you want right now doesn't have to do with work, I want you to get out of my office."

Domi's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to Trini's desk. "Don't talk to me like that! I was worried about you!"

Trini felt like slamming something around. "You couldn't just ask me?! You just went in there and accused my mate of raping me, and you couldn’t just ask me?!" Her voice was starting to get a little too loud.

"I tried asking you!" Domi growled at Trini while starting to lean on Trini's desk. Domi's face was a bit red.

"Just get out of my office and we will deal with this at home." Trini pointed at the door with a sharp jerk of her arm.

"Trini, she has that hold over you…" Domi started and Trini found herself grabbing her pencil holder and tossing it in Domi's direction.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY OFFICE!" She screamed as the heavy glass container flew through the air, missing Domi. It shattered against the wall. She was not going to sit there and listen to Domi's anti-human shit being focused at Fox!

Domi glared at Trini and then spun around to head for the door. "That was certainly loud enough for the entire floor to hear!" Domi growled as she slammed to door behind her. The windows shook with the force of that, and Trini just sat there staring at the shattered glass from the pencil holder on the carpet, and the pencils and pens sitting among it.

"Oh, god…" Trini whispered and put her hand over her mouth. She could have hit Domi with that thing. She took a deep shuddering breath and attempted to look at the file she needed to read. It was too bleary from her tears.

"Dammit." Trini's voice was tight. She swept everything she was working on back into her drawer and locked it up again. She couldn't work. She needed to get out of here.

When she passed by Carrie's desk she noticed the blonde trying not to look at her. Obviously the receptionist heard that fight. "Everything that happens in this office is confidential." Trini said flatly started to leave. She glanced once at Domi's closed door, and felt a wave of pain. "I'm off for the day." She spoke out while not even looking at Carrie and left.

Trini pulled out of the NightStone parking lot less than an hour after she got there. Her tires squealed a bit, as she pulled out, eager to get away before anything else went wrong. She just started driving, having no idea where she was going.

After an hour of aimless driving in the city Trini pulled over to get something to eat. She made sure her phone was still off as she got out of the car and wandered down the street looking for a place to have an early dinner. It was her first meal of the day. She was only going to eat because the rumbling of her stomach was distracting.

She sat alone in the corner of the restaurant watching the people walk past without really seeing them. The only other people in the restaurant were a group of men that talked quietly in the other corner booth. The name had sounded familiar, and as she sat alone in the expensive restaurant she realized that Fox had mentioned it once.

"Well, sweetheart, what is a lovely young lady like you doing looking so sad and alone?"

Trini sighed as she turned to look at the man trying his luck. He was attractive with an attitude that showed he knew it. His long black hair hung to his shoulders, with a streak of white that actually looked good in dark hair. He was one of the men from the other booth. "I'm Tony Dracon." He smiled and moved to spin a chair around and sit down at Trini's table.

Trini sighed and looked at him. She just didn't have the energy to come up with lies to be polite. "And you are so wasting your time. I'm a lesbian."

Tony chuckled. "Well, that was direct sugar." He smiled at her and leaned on the back of the chair, wrapping his arms around it. "So I guess it's girlfriend trouble then?"

Trini was surprised to find herself chuckling at that. Her chuckling was just a moment away from becoming sobs. Trini was so glad that she didn't end up breaking down. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

The waiter came up with Trini's meal, and set it down. Tony addressed him. "Put the ladies food on my bill."

Trini tensed up a bit at that. Once the waiter walked away she stared at him. He just smiled at her, still looking very confident that he could get into her pants if he wanted to. "So do you have a name?"

"I'm Trini." Trini nodded politely. She wasn't sure how to deal with him. He'd bought her dinner, it would be too rude to run him off now. She started to cut her steak up while thinking of a way out of this conversation.

"Nice to meet you Trini." Tony smiled like he won some grand prize in getting a name out of her.

"I'm not likely to be very good company right now." Trini sighed as she reached over to grab the pepper.

"Well, we'll just see if we can change that sugar."

Trini finished cutting her steak and then just turned to stare at him. "Thanks for the dinner and all, but I wasn't lying, I really am not interested."

"That’s fine." Tony smiled at her and Trini just had to shake her head in disbelief. Some women would love for this man to hit on them. She wished he'd go find one of those women. "So if your lady isn't treating you right, maybe it's time to move on."

"To you?" Trini tilted her head and took a bit of her steak. Once she finished eating she glared at him. "If I were going to leave my lover, it wouldn't be for a man."

"Chill sugar." Tony glanced over at his table of friends and back again. Trini started to see what was going on. This was to impress his friends. That actually made her relax when she realized it wasn't actually personal.

"So what's the bet for?" Trini smirked at him when he looked a little surprised for a moment.

"What makes you say that?" Tony seemed to study Trini and a smile crossed his lips again. He smiled all the time. "I thought I could make you smile."

"That's why those men keep looking over here? To see if you made me smile?" Trini felt a smile tugging at her lips at such a stupid bet, but she fought it.

"Well, my boys are pretty pathetic. They probably never get to see a woman as pretty as you are." Tony glanced down at Trini's meal. "Would you like some wine to go with your dinner? I was going to order some for myself."

"You plan to stay here?" Trini's amusement faltered a little.

"You look like you need someone to talk to." Tony waved the waiter over and sent him off with the wine order quickly.

"I was looking to be alone for a while."

"So you could replay the latest argument in your head and doubt your every word." Tony stared into Trini's eyes. "And then you'll crawl back to her and tell her that you were wrong, when you probably weren't."

Trini gritted her teeth and turned to stare out the window. When she felt the hand over her own she turned to glare at him. He just took the hand away without looking at all concerned.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I see it all the time, usually with boyfriends… but I'm right aren't I?" Tony took the wine glass the waiter offered without even noticing the man. "Time to think isn't what you really need. You need to go out and have fun. To get your mind off of it for a while."

Trini rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, you can help me with that?" Her voice was weary and clearly not the least bit interested.

Tony's phone ringing spared him from answering her right away. Trini watched him walk away for some privacy and then lean over to talk to his friends. When Tony came back he had an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry to have to leave such charming company, but business calls. I'll take care of your bill. Order any dessert you want."

"You don't have to do that." Trini protested lightly, but he just held up a hand gently to cut her off.

"Oh, but I want to honey." Tony smiled and turned to leave.

"Thank you." Trini called after him, earning herself another smile from him before he left.

Trini didn't order a dessert on Tony's bill. Instead she wandered outside and found an ice cream place. She got herself a small cone and walked through Central park to find a bench to sit on. It was still a while before sunset, but she could already hear the grasshoppers chirping in the shadows. She found an abandoned bench off a less popular path and sat down heavily.

The chirping got a bit louder and her gargoyle hearing made it easy to make out the bugs symphony. Trini watched a little boy looking around trying to find the chirping bugs, but his mother waved him over and they both left. Trini stared where the boy had been looking as she got lost in her memories.

First grade had just started that Monday, so this was the first weekend of the school year. Trini rushed out after dinner to go see the neighbor's cow. The animal was so friendly and liked it when Trini fed her grass. There weren't any other large animals like that in the neighborhood.

On her way back it was starting to get dark. That was the loudest she'd ever heard the crickets. When she came out of the woods near her home she saw the two boys hovering over something. They were older boys. Trini found out later that they were in the third grade.

"Pull it's wings off like this." One boys spoke to the other and proceeded to do just that to a cricket that Trini saw being held helplessly in his hand.

"Put it down! Don't do that!" Trini yelled while rushing towards the boys.

Everything had moved so fast she didn't remember giving him that black eye that she saw on him at school on Monday. He ran away with his friend after Trini kicked him hard. Trini just stood there and looked around, imagining the crickets were cheering for her and how she'd saved them.

She stayed there for a little while telling her tiny protectorate how she was going to protect them from mean boys like that. That no one should have to lose their wings, and she'd make sure they never hurt like that.

Trini pulled her feet up onto the bench after she finished her ice cream cone and hugged her legs to her body as she started to remember coming into the front door at home, and her mother's angry face staring at her as soon as she closed the front door.

"Look at you. Not a scratch on you." Momma had looked at Trini with cold eyes. "Scott's father called me. I work with him. He told me that you beat up his son."

"But Momma, he was…" Trini started to explain herself quickly. Momma's quick arm movement silenced her.

"You can't go around beating people up, especially bigger boys! People will start to talk." Momma started to yell.

Trini tried one more time to explain herself, and flinched in shock at the glass her mother was holding flew through the air to shatter nearby. "Dammit Trini, the hunters are in town! You can't act like a beast now!"

Trini tried not to remember the feel of her mother's hand as she slapped her and sent her to bed. The force of that hit almost sent her to the ground, and when Trini woke up in the morning, after crying herself to sleep, she saw that she had a black eye. It was swollen shut, just like Fox's was now.

Momma had looked at her with such concern in the morning. "Trini, baby I'm sorry." She'd gently caressed along the outer edges of the angry bruise. "If anyone asks, you need to say Scott did this. A big boy like that, he should have been able to fight back. Just tell people that Scott hit you."

Trini just nodded, feeling sick to her stomach and got dressed to go out to the park. It was about three blocks away from home.

Trini just sat on the bench in the park and watched the other kids play on the toys for a while. She didn't feel up to playing yet. She just didn't want to be home right now.

"Hi." Trini looked up to see a blonde girl looking at her with sympathy in her eyes. "I'm Robyn. Can I sit down?" Trini had scooted over, surprised that an older girl was talking to her. Hardly any kids really talked to her. "What's your name?"

"Trinity." Trini smiled a little but had to stop, because that hurt her face.

"That's a pretty name." Robyn smiled gently at her. The smile faded a bit. "What happened to your eye?"

Trini took a deep breath to tell another lie her mother told her was okay to tell. "I got in a fight with a boy." Looking at the pretty girl, Trini couldn't help but add. "I hurt him too."

Robyn just nodded and looked out at the playing kids. "My brother wanted to play for a little while. I'm just watching out for him." Trini followed Robyn's eyes to see a boy a little older than her with blonde hair smiling and running around with some of the neighbor boys. Scott wasn't among them.

When Trini had looked back at Robyn she noticed the bruise on Robyn's arm. "What happened?" Trini asked while hesitantly reaching out to touch the purple skin.

Robyn looked at Trini in shock and pulled the sleeve of her shirt down further to cover it. "I fell."

They sat there quietly on the park bench for a while before a stern looking man got out of a car. Robyn tensed up a moment before getting up. "See you later?" Trini said tentatively. It had been nice sitting with the older girl.

Robyn just gave her a small smile. "No, we're leaving for Paris. Goodbye."

Trini sighed as she started to walk down the path. It was getting a bit dark for her to hang out in central park unless she wanted the clan to find her not working like she said she was. She hadn't thought about that little girl in a long time. Trini clenched her fist as she realized now what she couldn't then. Robyn's daddy wasn't any better than Trini's mom.

Trini never did understand why her mother had yelled at her for talking to strangers after she told her mother about her new friend that night. Robyn was just a little girl. Trini actually got grounded for talking to a little girl.

Trini wiped the tears from her eyes and continued to walk towards the shops. She hated remembering her childhood. She never seemed to remember to good stuff. She was starting to doubt there were any good times. Her mind flashed on that glass being thrown at her and dug her hands into her pockets. "I'm becoming just like her." Trini whispered to herself as the tears started to flow again. She remembered tossing that pencil container.

Trini walked into the bookstore and quickly headed for the bathroom. She suspected her mascara had run with all her crying and wanted to get cleaned up before anyone saw her. She was right. When she looked into the mirror it was not a pretty sight. Trini grabbed some paper towels to try and clean that up a bit, embarrassed at doing this out where the other women could see her, but she needed the mirror.

A an overweight middle aged black woman walked up to use the sink next to Trini's. Trini could feel the woman's eyes on her as she focused on cleaning up. She stopped and leaned back. It didn't look like she'd been crying anymore.

"Are you okay honey?" The woman finally spoke. Trini sighed and looked at the reflection of the woman in the mirror.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Trini then decided to leave before the woman could ask any more questions.

Trini wandered aimlessly through the bookstore. She didn't really feel like shopping, but she didn't want to go home yet. She wasn't ready to face Domi and she really wasn't ready to face the clan. Trini grimaced. She had two homes, and couldn’t go to either one of them. That was pretty pathetic.

Trini started to look at every shelf. She was doing little more than reading the titles as she slowly walked down the walls. She gave the black woman from the bathroom a weak smile as she walked around her and skipped the area on African cultures to put some distance between them. That woman was still looking like she'd like to mother her, and Trini didn't need that.

When Trini's eyes caught the title, "Children of Abuse: Breaking the Cycle" she stopped her slow movement and stared at it a moment. Her heart pounded a bit as she reached out and pulled that one off the shelf. She noticed herself glancing around nervously hoping that no one noticed what she was looking at. When no one seemed to even notice she existed she opened the book up to take a glance inside.

Once she made up her mind about the book she held it tight to her body so that no one would be able to see the title and continued to look around. The next shelf over triggered another memory, of Elisa telling her she was too violent. That had hurt last night. She reached out with her free hand and took the book on Anger Management off the shelf and put it with the other without even opening it.

Trini continued her shopping while feeling like she was being watched, but a look around the store showed that no one was looking at her. It was probably just her nerves.

Trini's hand was shaking as she took the next book off the shelf. She did another glance around the store before opening it up to read the contents. It was put on top of the stack of books she had and pulled tight to herself, as if Trini hoped to hide that book inside her body as she walked up to the counter to purchase these.

The check out counter was busy. Trini stood tensely waiting for her turn, and praying that she had enough cash, because she didn't want a record anywhere to show that she bought these books. She wasn't supposed to let anyone know. The cashier scanned the first book and slid it into the bag. Trini started to relax as the large title of "Surviving Rape" was hidden from view. She didn't notice the black woman from the bathroom was glancing at her books as they were rung up while waiting for her own turn, or the concerned look that woman gave Trini's back while Trini paid cash for her purchases.

The black woman walked right up to the man signing books near the entrance. Trini nodded politely at her as she walked past the line of people getting their books signed by Jeffery Robbins and wondered if she'd ever get published. If she did, she was pretty sure she'd rather not go to any signings. She glanced at her watch as she stepped out of the bookstore and was surprised by how long she'd been in there. It was nine and completely dark outside.

She suddenly felt guilty as she realized that she should have at least called her lovers to let them know she was alright. She knew that at least Fox would be worried. She wasn't sure if Demona would care, after Trini had caused that scene at work. She didn't even know if she still had a job now. God, wouldn't that be something, to get fired the day after telling the clan she was spying at NightStone.

Trini loaded her books into the trunk before pulling out her cell phone. She was surprised when the voice mail picked up. "Fox, I'm okay, just shopping and such." Trini's voice was a little flat and she knew it would make Fox concerned. She tried to cover it up a bit more. "I'll see you tomorrow." She couldn't go home and risk the clan seeing her when they knew she was supposed to be away. Her voice got quieter as her shoulders hunched forward. "Can you call her and tell her I'm okay? I… I can't talk to her now, but if she is actually worrying…" Trini sighed and just hung up. She sounded pathetic. Too bad she couldn't erase her message and start over.

Trini put her phone away and just started to walk down the street. She had already paid for this parking space, and she'd never been in this neighborhood before.

She wandered into a store to browse. She didn't have anything better to do.

She left that store a little more somber. In a bag she had another pencil holder. This one wasn't glass. Whether or not she kept that job, she owed NightStone the replacement. As she had time to think about it, she really couldn't see Domi being able to keep her working there after that scene. God, how many people heard her yell? No one else would get away with that. She would fire herself for that sort of thing.

She didn't think her lover would break up with her, but she was still worried about that. At the very least Domi had to be so incredibly disappointed in her. Trini gave a humorless laugh as she walked. Tony was right, she was doubted her every comment and action. Maybe she did need a break, just a little fun, some time off from this constant doubt and pain.

She looked up when she heard the strange clanking. The author from the bookstore was using his stick to feel the path in front of him while the woman from the bathroom led him to a car. Trini tried not to stare. She just couldn't see how that stick helped him get around.

"Thanks for the ride Diane." He said as the woman held the door open. Trini walked past them towards her own car to deposit the latest purchase in the trunk. She took her wallet out of her purse and pulled out her money and id. She was going to go to that dance club she walked past on the way to the car and lose herself in the music for a while.

Her outfit didn't really have enough pockets, so she left her phone in the trunk as well. She hadn't been dancing in years. Maybe that would help with this funk she was in.

Day 13 Part 1– Saturday – August 9^th

The bar was very busy. Trini watched as Tony stood at the bar ordering their next round of drinks. He chatted with the brunette next to the bar and glanced over at Trini, but Trini's eyes had traveled back to the dance floor longingly.

She just smiled at Glasses when he got up to go make a phone call. Trini couldn't believe she was actually sitting at a table with five men and had been able to do that for the past few hours. When she'd gotten into the club, Tony had spotted her quickly and waved her over. At first Trini was reluctant to take that spot that Tony had cleared for her, but then she thought about the books she just bought, and the way she'd reacted when Goliath grabbed her. She did have a fear of men. She'd tried to deny it, but it was real, and she wasn't going to let it rule her anymore. That was how she ended up sitting down. She wanted to prove to herself that she could hang around men and be okay. It wasn't easy, and that just proved to Trini that she did have a problem. She kept finding herself flinching subtly at any lustful looks. They didn’t seem to notice how tense that made her, and Trini felt that was progress. She knew that she could take out any of these men in a fight, and that was something she reminded herself of whenever her nerves got a bit shot.

Trini smiled tensely at Tony while accepting another drink. She glanced over at the band while sipping it. The live band was decent, but not terrific. The bar was pretty crowded with dancers, but for some reason, no one intruded on Tony's space. The bar was a little warm, so Trini had taken off her business jacket and had it draped over her legs. The cool air on her lower back felt better. She was only wearing a half top under the jacket, so now her pale skin, and what she told Tony was a tattoo was visible. When he had told her most women get tattoos of roses, she'd just smiled and sipped at her drink. She'd had a lot of drinks in the past few hours, and felt a bit light headed.

Tony leaned in closer so that Trini would be able to hear him. "Wanna dance again sugar?"

Trini just nodded. Her skin had stopped crawling every time he touched her while dancing, and she was able to focus on the dancing rather than her partner. They'd been up and down to dance several times in the past two hours, and they were getting to the point that they actually danced well together.

Trini had enough alcohol in her system to make her a much looser dancer. She smiled flirtatiously at Tony and moved a little closer, determined to show the other dancing couples on the floor how it was done. Her first girlfriend had been the one to teach her how to dance like this. Robyn had been pure sex on the dance floor. She raised her arms above her head and swayed her hips to the music, while ignoring the appreciative glances Tony gave her body, or the way that made her half shirt ride up to just below her breast. The music had a slow seductive beat that Trini used to her every advantage.

Tony moved behind her and put his hands on her swaying hips and she obediently moved back, closer to his body. She was dancing without even thinking about it, becoming lost in the music and the singer's voice. When a brunette woman walked up to start dancing in front of Trini, Trini smirked a little and moved forward to include her in Tony and Trini's dance. The woman put one hand over Trini's shoulder and moved closer, with a seductive air about her. Trini's eyes slide shut as she lost herself in the music again, and she didn't see the smirk that the woman and Tony shared over her shoulder.

Trini felt Tony getting closer at the same time the woman in front of her moved it, sandwiching her between their bodies as they swayed. Tony's hands moved around Trini's body to rest on the woman's hips, and Trini could feel the movement of their bodies and moved in time with them.

Once the song ended the band decided they were going to take a break. Trini noticed that Tony was a little slow in backing away when the dance ended, and fought to control the irrational fear that caused. She just gave him a slightly faked smile, but the woman's voice drew Trini's attention back to her. The other people on the dance floor were abandoning it for their tables but the three of them just stood there.

"I don't live too far away." The woman smiled flirtatiously at Trini. "You two could come over to party."

Trini's eyes widened a little and her heart beat a little faster. "I don't party." Trini hissed out suddenly her mood was ruined. The woman's shocked expression forced Trini to try and calm down. She was drinking too much if she couldn't control her knee jerk reaction to that word. Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry, but I'm taken."

The woman glanced over Trini's shoulder with a confused expression on her face. "But your boyfriend said…"

Trini turned to glare at the calm face of the man behind her. "Tony is not my boyfriend." Trini's eyes flashed red as she glared down at the floor, for a moment to give her time to control that. She then marched away angrily, realizing what had happened. Tony thought if he brought a woman for Trini to play with, Trini might have sex with him. She growled as she walked, and didn't pay any attention to Tony and the woman talking on the dance floor.

Once she got back to their table, Trini grabbed her jacket and nodded at Glasses, before turning to leave. Tony was in her path. "Sugar, what's got you in such a huff?"

Trini glared at him. "We were just having fun and you had to ruin it with this game of yours."

"She was pretty. What's your problem? I thought you might like her."

Trini sneered at him. "Well, thank you so very much for being so considerate as to try and whore me out. I don't know why I'm not more grateful."

Tony held his hands out, "Chill honey. I was just doing you a favor, if you didn't want her you just had to say no. You did… It's over."

Trini sighed heavily and closed her eyes to rub her forehead. Her voice was weary when she spoke. "I don't need any more men trying to whore me out. Please… don't do that again."

Tony's smile and nod made Trini relax a little, but she was still tense. That had ruined her mood. She didn't feel like staying any longer. "I'm gonna head out."

"What? Don't bail now sweetheart. There's still several fun having hours left."

Trini gave him a weak smile. "Not for me." She started to walk around him and froze when he gently grabbed her arm.

"Whoever she is, she doesn’t deserve you." Trini turned to his suddenly serious face. He pulled a card out of his pants pocket and held it out. "You ever need to go out and have fun again, you call me."

Trini pocketed the card absently, never really intending to call, but unwilling to tell him to his face. "Bye." Trini took a few steps before Tony's voice called out to her.

"Trini…" He smiled flirtatiously. "The doors over there." He pointed in the opposite direct Trini was going.

Trini rolled her eyes. "Bathroom break first." She gave him a fake grin, "You're ruining my exit Tony." That made him laugh. Before moving on towards the dark hall in the back of the club to find the bathroom again. She'd been fine dancing, but she had to actually concentrate on walking, because she didn't want to embarrass herself by appearing drunk.

In the bathroom she stared at her reflection while putting her jacket back on. It made her hot and she would rather not wear it, but she didn't feel like carrying it either. She sighed as she took one last look. She wasn't good to drive. She was going to have to call a cab. She needed to figure out where she was going to go. Maybe she could figure it out while she walked to the car to get her stuff.

Trini stepped out of the bathroom and her heart stopped as she felt strong arms grab her and start to drag her through the dark curtains. "Be quiet!" A familiar voice hissed at her, and Trini started to relax and allowed herself to be pulled out of the hallway. Once they were hidden by the curtain Trini was released.

Trini spun around and her eyes widened when she saw they were both there. Demona was draped in a dark cloth, obviously trying to use it as a cloak, and Fox was looking through a hole in the curtain out to the dance floor. Demona tossed the cloth to the side and then glared at Trini with red eyes.

"Blue… I…" Trini started hesitantly. She wasn't ready yet. She would have preferred some time to mentally prepare before seeing her lovers.

"Quiet." Demona hissed while motioning towards the dance floor.

Trini stared at the gargoyle in shock. Her heart ached at the harsh tone.

Fox's voice was cold "He's starting to stare at the hall."

Trini watched as Demona's red glare faded. "He's going to investigate if she doesn't come out soon. We need to get out of here."

"What are you two talking about?" Trini turned to talk to Fox.

"You've been followed. I'm surprised you didn't notice him, he hardly fits in out there." Demona answered for Fox, speaking quickly and the gargoyle was obviously upset. Fox moved out of the way to allow Trini access to the small tear in the curtain. Trini looked at both of her lover's expectant faces before looking. It only took her a second to see what they were talking about. The older white haired man with a beard looked far older than any of the young crowd in this bar. He was sitting at a table alone, watching the hallway to the restrooms.

"Shit." Trini muttered under her breath, suddenly worried about how long he'd been with her. "Why can't that asshole just leave me alone?"

"Let's just get out of here." Fox's voice tore Trini's attention away from MacBeth. "Backdoor."

Trini followed them obediently to the door and noticed it was a bit mangled. Demona probably had to break it to get in. The area was littered with mops, buckets, and all sorts of other poorly balanced piles of clutter. When Fox opened the door and peeked outside rather than just marching out Trini almost bumped into her. She was a little off balance from drinking more than she should and knocked over a pile of buckets. The crash as they tumbled over made all three women tense, but it was Demona's hiss of pain as one hit her on the shin that froze them all in their tracks.

"Dammit…" Demona glared at Trini. "We need to go, he had to have felt that."

Trini felt a wave of guilt at her clumsiness causing that. They darted out of the building into the dark alley. Trini started to move for the wall, before stopping with wide eyes and turning to Fox. Her lover couldn't climb walls. She watched with a bit of surprise, and a small wave of jealousy as Fox quickly walked up behind Demona and wrapped her arms around the gargoyle before Demona started to climb the wall. Those two looked pretty comfortable with that. It took Trini a moment to shake out of her shock and she started to climb the wall as well. Demona would be the better choice, she climbed better, and Trini was a bit unstable on her feet right now, but still… Fox was Trini's mate. It should have been her responsibility.

Trini's legs swung over the edge just as she heard the back door slam open. She pulled herself away from the edge quickly, trying to keep out of sight. Demona and Fox were standing, but Trini had rolled painfully onto the gritty roof to avoid detection. She just laid there for a while, feeling like an idiot for not noticing him. She also felt violated. All she wanted was some time away from it all to relax. Some time away from the lies and problems, and one of those problems decided to trail after her and destroy her privacy. Privacy was a thing of the past for her. She should just accept that there would always be someone spying in her windows and listening to her conversations, watching her dreams. Her hands clenched as she felt the urge to scream at the unfairness of it all.

That bastard was just following her because he wanted to use her against Demona, like all the others did. Demona was right, the first thing the clan wanted when they heard that Trini knew her, was to use her against the immortal gargoyle, and MacBeth was just waiting for a chance to take Trini and use her to try and get close enough to kill her mate.

"Are you going to get up anytime soon?" Fox spoke, pulling Trini out of her thoughts.

Trini just grimaced and got up. Her clothes were a lost cause. She'd probably have to dump them.

Trini stared down at the lines on the freeway until they made her sick. Fox was driving, and other than the people on the radio, no one was talking. The sound of the wind filled the car from Trini's opened window. Demona was going to meet them at her mansion. Trini stared at the rings on her fingers and played with the one that was supposed to be Demona's.

God, her gargoyle looked so mad after she dropped Fox off on the ground so that they could go to Trini's car. Demona never said a word as she turned and climbed back up the building so that she could take off. Trini just stood in the alley and watched the blue female glide away with an ache in her heart.

"I told you it was taken care of." Fox's voice startled Trini, who had gotten used to the tense silence.

Trini sighed heavily. She never took her eyes off the rings. "I know." Trini wiped some tears from her eyes. "But… I…" She felt so confused. She didn't really know how to explain herself. She just went quiet again.

"We were worried sick when you didn't go to either home. Demona was starting to think MacBeth got you. She also ranted about how the Quarrymen might have hurt you." Fox sighed, "She was starting to scare me with all her worry. We've been looking for you for hours."

Trini's voice was quiet, almost as if she were talking to herself. "I'm sorry. I just needed some time alone."

Trini didn't see Fox glance over at her with concern. "You can have that, but you should let us know. Don't just run out like that and make us worry."

Trini just nodded and swallowed hard. This talk was making her feel like a child, but she knew she deserved it. She should have called sooner.

There was more uncomfortable silence while Trini watched the stars. "Trini, what were you doing with Dracon?"

"We were just dancing." Trini turned to look at Fox, surprised she knew Tony's name.

"No, Demona and I were there for a while, waiting for a chance to get you without MacBeth noticing. You were at his table talking to him and his friends. We say you dance with him twice, and… Demona almost came out to rip his head off the last time." Fox turned to look at Trini, "Your dancing was very sexual. It really looked like…" Fox shook her head and turned to watch the road again. "Why were you hanging out with him?"

Trini watched the road as Fox took the freeway exit. "I ran into him during dinner, and he was at the club too. I just…" Trini sighed heavily. "He was just someone to talk to. Someone to dance with."

Fox stopped at the stoplight and turned to Trini. "He was really a bad choice. He just got out of prison, his conviction was overturned." Fox's eyes burned into Trini's, "He's the local Mob Boss."

Trini felt a chuckle come to her throat unbidden. Of course. Of course he'd be a mob boss. Trini couldn't have just made friends with someone normal like an accountant or something. Now the very good service they always got made more sense. And the way even the dancing crowd kept their distance. Everyone but Trini knew who he was. The chuckle made it out, "God dammit." Trini muttered. Well, if she ever wanted to branch out with her crimes she knew where to go now. She could work her way from rape and murder to extortion and fraud. Cover all the bases. Trini glared out the window at her thoughts.

The light changed so Fox had to drive again. "Elisa put him in prison last year, but he has good lawyers." Of course he'd have something to do with Elisa too, Trini sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. Fox seemed to focus on the drive for a block, but Trini paid little attention to the silence. She was more concerned with the upcoming talk with Demona.

"I yelled at her. I screamed at her and threw things." Trini whispered as they started to enter Demona's neighborhood. "She's gonna have to fire me. I fucked up pretty bad." Trini took a shuddering breath. "I can't control my temper. Elisa was right. I'm too violent. I could have hurt her. I could have hit my own lover, I was so mad." Trini stared down at her hands. "No wonder Elisa thought I hit you. I have that in me. I could be like that."

Trini was surprised to feel the car pull over quickly. They weren't there yet. Trini looked up and saw they were in a deserted parking lot.

Fox put the car in park and turned to stare at Trini with concern on her face. "Is that why you disappeared?" Fox just seemed to stare into Trini's soul. Trini felt the magical touch and didn’t try to disguise her disgust at herself and her regret. "You yelled and threw a pencil holder. You didn't even get close to hitting her. She told me about this."

Trini swallowed hard. "That's how it starts. It just starts with yelling and throwing… that's what momma started with." Trini reached out to caress Fox's swollen eye. "I was mad at her for hurting you, and I could have done the same thing to her." Trini sighed heavily and looked at Fox with sad eyes.

"Trini, I just don't see that in you." Fox said gently, "Maybe it's all the stress lately. I'd have a tough time being in your shoes, and I was a mercenary for years." Fox's voice got quieter. "You weren't prepared for everything that happened this summer."

Trini took a deep breath. "It doesn’t matter if I was ready or not. I wasn't exactly given the option." She started to play with her rings nervously again. "It's no excuse to treat the people I love like that. I don't like who I'm becoming. I have a problem. There's something wrong with me." Trini looked down at herself. "Both of you deserve someone much better than this."

Fox went quiet for a moment. Trini didn't have the energy to look up. She continued to spin the red band that should be Demona's on her finger. "I love you. If you think you have problems we can work through them. If you are unhappy we can try and do something." Fox reached out to force Trini to look at her. "I love you, and you don't need to be perfect for me to love you." Trini felt her eyes sting as the tears started to blur her vision. "As for Demona, if how frantically she was looking for you tonight is any indication, she loves you very much."

Trini stared down at her fingers again. She didn’t notice Fox look out the window with widening eyes and nod at the shadow on the roof of the pharmacy they'd parked in front of. "Her ring isn't coming off." Trini spoke quietly. "But I don't know if she'll take it when it does. She doesn't trust my family." Trini tugged at it again, to verify that the ring was stuck. "I don’t know why that bothers me. I can understand why she feels like that. They lied to her, and she's suffered for it." She gave a weak laugh, "And that stupid link pisses me off too. I'd love to kick his ass for following me around."

Fox's voice was a bit stern. "MacBeth isn't someone you want to mess with. He's a warrior, and has been for a long time."

Trini shuddered. "I know. He scares me. He's human, but not really. I really don't like that he's following me, because there is something so dangerous about him. I don't like that he wants to use me against her." Trini looked up at Fox again. "If he does take me, don't let her come after me. I couldn't face eternity without her."

"We never really talked about that." Fox glanced around. "About how you feel about being immortal." Trini just sighed heavily. Fox's voice got a little faster. "David wanted to be immortal. He tried several spells that didn't pan out."

"He obviously didn't think it through, because I can't see anyone choosing this." Trini tilted her head to stare at Fox. "The only reason I probably won't kill myself when you die is Demona. If I didn't have her, I wouldn't put in more than one lifetime. I'm not as strong as she is. I couldn't do it alone, and if he kills her I won't."

Fox got quiet at that. Trini just stared at the dash. "She's probably waiting for us. I've worried her… you both… enough for one day." Fox started the car again and they pulled back onto the road.

They drove for a few minutes in silence when Fox spoke. Trini could hear the forced upbeat tone in her lover's voice. "I can see why you like gliding so much now. Being held in her strong arms, close to her body."

Trini's eyes widened. "You went gliding with her?"

"We glided over the city while I tried to feel our bond. That's how we found you." Fox's smile was a little wicked. "It was my idea. I told her she owed me for the black eye, so see… it's all straightened out now." Trini just nodded at that. She strongly suspected Fox really enjoyed being able to force Demona to carry her about.

Trini could hear Demona was in the kitchen, and it sounded like she was cooking. That confused Trini. She'd fully expected the argument to start right as she came in the front door. She was a bit nervous as she followed the sounds coming from the kitchen, with Fox in tow. God, if Demona was pissed Trini would have preferred to not have Fox there to see it, but the redhead had refused to just go home. Trini had asked her twice, and after the glare that the second request got, she decided not to ask again.

Trini stepped into the kitchen and sighed. "Hi." She spoke weakly as she moved to sit at the kitchen island. Demona only glanced over at her and Fox, briefly before putting something in the oven.

"Trini." Demona's voice was a little deeper than normal. Trini could hear the disappointment in it.

"I need to go use the bathroom." Fox interrupted and left. Trini noticed the encouraging look Fox sent her way and realized that Fox probably didn’t need to go, she just decided to give them some privacy.

Demona's voice started to get a little louder once Fox left. Trini watched the gargoyle's eyes start to burn. "You were hanging all over that human! He had his hands all over you and you let him!" Demona marched over to Trini dangerously and Trini stood up quickly her heart pounding. Demona just reached into Trini's pocket and pulled out a card. "And you didn't dump it. It's still here."

"I was just dancing!" Trini stared at her mate in shock. "How can you even suggest that I would…"

"That was dancing?!" Demona yelled loudly. "That wasn't dancing! That was the most obscene thing I've ever seen on a dance floor. You were practically fucking him out there!"

Trini's jaw dropped a little, before she closed it hard and her own eyes started to burn. "I Was Just Dancing!" Trini growled out at Demona.

Demona held the card up in the air. "I should just go kill this bastard."

"Don't you fucking Dare!" Trini's voice grew even louder than Demona's. "You can't just kill anyone that spends time with me you don't like! Tony didn’t do anything wrong! We just danced!"

Demona sneered at Trini and appeared to grow even taller to Trini's eyes. "Did you like it when that vermin touched you? Is that why you are protecting him?"

"No, I didn't like it!" Trini's eyes blazed. "I wasn't planning to take him to the corner and fuck him. I wanted to go out, get away, that's all. I Don’t Do Men!" Trini shook her head in her frustration.

"That's not what it looked like!"

Trini just clamped her mouth shut and started to walk away. She couldn't win this argument with Demona and she was getting too mad. The urge to just scream and throw things was too strong. She just wanted to shake Demona and make her listen.

The grip on her arm was steel tight as Demona reached out to stop her from leaving. "Where do you think you are going?!" Demona hissed at her. "We are not done here!"

Trini grabbed Demona's wrist and pulled it off quickly so that the gargoyle wouldn't have time to get a better grip. This resulted in the gargoyle's talons cut into Trini's flesh, but she took that without even flinching at the pain. "Yes we are!"

Trini started towards the doorway again, and could hear Demona moving to grab her again. "Demona," Fox's voice had a cold edge to it. "Don't." Trini just kept moving. She needed to get away before she did something else she regretted. She could hear Demona and Fox's voice as she marched away, trying not to pay attention to it.

"This isn't any of your business Fox. This is between her and I."

Trini changed out of the ruined outfit she had on. Her hands were shaky as she did that. She just tossed them into the garbage in the bathroom, while feeling a pang of regret at the wastefulness. She then got closer to the mirror and started to wipe the blood from the cuts on her arms. These weren't Demona's fault. It was Trini that did that.

Trini was actually surprised that no one followed her up. She was tense as she waited for Demona to find that she'd locked the gargoyle out of her own bedroom. Once the cuts healed Trini finished changing into her loincloth and halter-top. The clothing did irritate her. Everything irritated her lately. She sat down heavily on the bed and stared at the locked door.

Did she go to far with that dance? Was she over compensating for her fears? Demona tended to go overboard with the jealousy, but was she right? Is that why Tony thought his attempts to get a third for them would work to get her into bed?

The knock on the door startled Trini. "Honey." Fox's voice called in before the fey tried the door and found it locked. "Let me in. I need to talk to you." Trini hadn't expected that it would be Fox that came to her this time. Demona must be too mad at her. The gargoyle probably didn't want to see her right now.

Trini got up off the bed and lumbered over to the door to unlock it. She didn't say anything as she did that, and just walked back to her post on the end of the bed. She barely looked up when Fox entered and closed the door behind her. Fox probably heard that whole argument. It made Trini want to be invisible, to just fade away. It was bad enough to argue with Demona, that hurt more than enough, she didn’t need witnesses.

"Trini?" Fox's voice sounded a bit hesitant as she moved to sit beside Trini on the bed. Trini glanced over at her with sad eyes.

Trini sighed. "She's not always like this." She didn't want Fox thinking Demona yelled at her like that all the time.

Fox looked like she didn't want to say whatever she was thinking, but she spoke anyhow. "Trini, she has a point. That dance… was a little much. Why did you do that?"

Trini looked down at her bare feet as she tried to think. "I… I just did that to prove to myself that I could." Trini glanced up at the confusion on Fox's face. Her voice became little more than a whisper. "I am afraid of men and I just want to get over it. I'm sick of flinching away, of being scared. I tried to make Goliath drop me last night when he grabbed me. I wasn't even thinking, I just wanted away. Even David makes me nervous. I didn't use to be like this."

Fox stared at Trini, but it was her heavy sigh that made Trini look back up at her. "I didn't realize it had gotten that bad. I'm so sorry." Fox reached out to take Trini's hands. "We can work on this, but you shouldn't just go out and dance like that. I would hate to see you get hurt trying to get over this." Fox leaned in and kissed Trini tenderly. "I came up to get you for a very late dinner."

Trini stared at Fox for a moment, so Fox smiled gently. "We have things we need to talk about, all three of us, but maybe we can do it in the morning. You have enough going on right now." Trini's eyebrows raised a bit at that. Fox was staying here? "So…" Fox stood up. "You coming to dinner?"

Trini didn't feel at all hungry right now. "No, you can go. I'm fine." Trini gave Fox a weak smile when the redhead looked hesitant to leave her. "I ate earlier." Trini stood up and noticed Fox's eyes travel over her body.

"I never saw you dressed like this." Fox smiled flirtatiously. "It looks very nice. Are you wearing anything underneath that?"

Trini couldn't help the small smile that Fox's hungry look brought to her face. "No, you can't wear underwear with loincloths. It would show."

Fox took a predatory step closer to Trini and ran her fingers along Trini's exposed shoulder. "Why don't you ever bring this outfit home?"

There was a small blush starting to cover Trini's cheeks. "Because this is Marie's clothes, and if anyone saw me dressing like Demona I'm sure I'd hear about it."

Fox's eyes traveled over Trini's body appreciatively. "I'm getting you another outfit like this, and screw what anyone says about who you dress like. I like it." Fox pressed her body tightly to Trini's. Her voice was getting lower and more seductive as she rubbed up against Trini. "I also really like how you dance. You are so sexy." Trini noticed her lover start to sway as if to music, while putting her arms around Trini's neck.

"Oh Fox" Trini spoke softly while moving to sway with Fox to imaginary music. Fox's lips started to trail up along Trini's neck, and Trini pulled Fox tighter to her body. "I love you." Her voice held a tiny whimper as Fox found that sensitive spot behind Trini's ear.

Fox's whisper in Trini's ear felt good. "While I would absolutely love to take you on her bed, to make you scream so she can hear it, I think it would piss her off too much." Trini whimpered as Fox pulled away from her. Fox's expression changed from seductive to just caring. "Honey, you need to come out of this room and talk to her eventually."

"I will, I just don't…"

"Don't want me around when you do?" Fox stared into Trini's eyes. "I'm tired and will be sleeping in the guest room after dinner. I'll tell you good night before I go to bed."

"Okay." Trini nodded quietly and opened the bedroom door so Fox could leave.

Fox's knock startled Trini nearly an hour later. Dinner had taken longer than Trini thought it would and Trini was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling while getting lost in her thoughts. She walked quietly downstairs after kissing Fox goodnight and leaving her lover in the guestroom. It felt so strange to have both of them nearby tonight. Something felt so off about having Fox sleeping here.

Trini stepped into the kitchen to find Demona sitting at the island drinking a glass of wine. The gargoyle looked up at Trini and seemed a little weary. It hurt Trini to realize that she was doing that to her mate. Demona set her glass down and got out of her seat.

Trini couldn't read the expression on Demona's face. "Trini. We need to talk." The voice was much calmer, with no hint that Trini would be getting yelled at. Trini's eyes widened at those words, though. Those words didn't bode well at all.

"Are you leaving me?" Trini felt the blood leave her face, and she felt sick.

That seemed to surprise Demona. The gargoyle's body seemed to lose the rigid stance. "No, I'm not." Trini let out the breath she'd been holding and sagged in relief.

"But.." Trini found herself tensing up again as she stared into the serious expression on Demona's face. "we do need to talk. I think we should start with what happened between Fox and I." Demona's voice started to contain just a hint of her anger. "Now, will you let me tell you what happened?" Trini just nodded jerkily. Demona took a deep breath and started. "I've been noticing you acting a bit strange whenever I mention Fox. It's been happening ever since we became intimate. It worried me. I kept mentioning her in little ways and watching your eyes, but they always darted away from me at those moments. That's what you do when you are ashamed, or don't want to be having a conversation. You look away."

Trini opened her mouth to protest quietly but the glint of red in Demona's eyes stopped her. "You will not interrupt me. I've waited hours for this chance to tell you what you should have listened to when I came to you. I've spent all night worried sick about you and imagining all sorts of horrible things. You will just let me talk."

"Okay." Trini spoke meekly while looking down.

"Don't do that to me. You aren't going to hide your eyes and pretend you aren't here." Demona hissed at her. Trini looked up to find the red was in full bloom in Demona's eyes. It felt like just breathing was pissing her mate off at this moment. She didn't look away to avoid a conversation. She still listened. It was just so hard to see Demona mad at her, even though she'd expected it, she didn't feel ready for it. Trini took a deep breath and looked up to give Demona what she wanted.

Demona nodded once at that, looking a bit more like her human persona in that move that Dominique did far more often than Demona. "As I was saying I suspected something was wrong. When I asked about what Fox was like when she made love to you, you became defensive and avoided my eyes more than I have ever seen you do it before. It was a simple question. It wasn't like I asked for all sorts of details, and you are my lover… I think I have some right to know."

Demona motioned to a chair, and Trini sat down. Demona sat next to her facing her. Trini had to concentrate on listening and not looking away. Her mind was spinning at how much thought Demona had put into her accusations. The gargoyle also sounded like she'd rehearsed this talk a few times.

"You once told me Fox was like an addiction you couldn't break, and at that moment you couldn't look me in the eye when you said it." Demona sighed. "I was there in the hotel when Fox and the detective came to save you. Your reaction to her magic was extreme. I thought that was what you meant, that you were ACTUALLY addicted to her magic. That coupled with what looked like shame when we talked about her made me think something was wrong."

A shadow crossed the doorway but Trini didn't notice Fox's presence just outside the room. She was deep in thought processing what Demona was saying. It did look bad that way. "Trini, Fox was a bit vague when I went to ask her about it, and then she started saying things that sounded like I was right. You are my mate. I couldn't let anyone hurt you like that again. I wanted to kill her, but she's your bond-mate. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?" Trini stared at Demona with wide eyes. She could imagine how helpless not being able to help in a situation might make her gargoyle feel. Trini's skin went a little paler and her hands moved a little as she fought with the urge to pull Demona into a hug. Demona obviously had more to say.

Demona sighed. "We fought. I hit her, and then we talked. She answered all the questions that you avoid about the bond, about what you are like with her, about how living in the same home with her other lover works. Everything that you don't talk about, that I want to know." Demona just stared back into Trini's eyes for a moment. "Now…" her voice was very commanding. "Why wasn't I able to ask you these things? Why wouldn't you just tell me?"

Trini's eyes started to trail down to her hands, where she was starting to nervously play with the rings again. Once she realized what she was doing she looked back into Demona's face. "The bond upsets you. I didn't want to point out how connected Fox and I are. I didn't want to make you feel left out because I can't have that kind of connection with you. I love you just as much as I love her, and I don't want you to feel like…"

Demona nodded softly in encouragement. "And what about your relationship with Fox. Why couldn't you just tell me what was going on between you two? Why were you so ashamed?"

Trini felt a warm blush cover her cheeks, and lost the fight to keep eye contact. "I don't talk about you with her, because I didn't think you'd appreciate it. If I wasn't going to tell her about you it just didn't seem fair to tell you about her."

Demona studied her for a moment quietly. "That isn't all of it."

Trini sighed heavily. Her voice and body were tense. She didn’t know what Fox had told Demona, if it was all the truth or just some of it. "I just need different things from her. I wasn't sure you'd understand."

"You are doing it again." Demona's voice was tinged with irritation. "You're hiding your eyes and staying vague. I already know you like it rough. That you like to beg." Trini looked up with wide eyes. Demona paused for a moment, before her voice became a little quieter. "That you like to be tied up." Trini paled instantly. "That you ask to be punished." Fox told her all that? "That's what your ashamed of isn't it?" Demona stared at Trini, and Trini dropped her eyes again.

"I didn't want you to think I was a freak." Trini took a few shuddering breaths. She really didn't want to be here right now. Trini's cheeks were flaming red as she stared at the floor.

The silence that followed wasn't very reassuring. Trini could just imagine what Demona must think of her letting Fox do that. Asking for Fox to do that. There was just something about Fox that pulled all these needs out of Trini that she couldn't explain.

"Do you actually like that, or are you doing what Fox wants?"

Trini took a deep breath. "I like it. I need her to…" She gritted her teeth to look away. She had no idea of what she was saying.

"What do you need her to do?" Demona reached out gently to redirect Trini's eyes to her and caressed the hot skin of Trini's cheeks.

"I don't know." Trini spoke quietly, every word conveying her confusion.

Demona pulled Trini into a hug and Trini rested her cheek on the gargoyle's shoulder. Trini stared at the kitchen window, as her mind seemed to stall and no thoughts got through. Demona spoke after a few moments of just holding her. "Why don't you ever ask me for those things?" Trini pulled back to look in Demona's eyes. She was surprised that Demona would even ask that. Demona stared into Trini's eyes intensely. "Are you being honest with me about what you need? Are you too scared of me to let me do that?" Trini's jaw dropped a little.

"I trust you. I trust you completely." Trini reached up to caress the gargoyle's hair. "It's just not what I need from you."

Demona just stared at Trini quietly for a little too long. It made Trini squirm a little under the intense gaze. Trini's eyes widened in shock when Demona lunged forward pressing Trini back into the wall. The gargoyle grabbed both of Trini's arms and held them to the wall so fast Trini had no chance to even realize it was happening before she was held still. Demona's eyes weren't burning red. She wasn't mad, which was what Trini was worried about. She allowed herself to relax as she stared into Demona's eyes. "If you want us to be like that we can." Trini spoke gently, "but what we have is different." Trini grimaced as she fought for words. "I don't know how to explain it."

Demona loosened her hold but didn't let go. Trini could tell by the tension in her lover's body that something was bothering her. "Trini. I want to stop doing the spell on me." Trini just stared at her, trying to make the connection to the current conversation. Demona stepped back and sighed heavily. "I was going to keep the spell going until after our mating flight, because I was worried you would have a problem with how rough I'd end up being during your moon." Demona reached out to caress Trini's hair almost absently. "You saw how I was like that first night. If you are at all afraid of me it won't work." Demona's gentle kiss had Trini leaning into it with a happy sigh. "I'd like to feel you when I fly you. I want to lose control. If you can handle it, if it won't scare you, I want to let nature take its course."

"I'm not afraid of you." Trini reached out to hug the gargoyle to her. "You can stop the spell. I didn't like you using it anyhow."

The phone interrupted the kiss that Trini was leaning in to give Demona. It was what? Trini glanced at the clock. It was after 3:30. Damn, that was probably Angela. No humans would call at this hour. Trini took her arms off of Demona's shoulders to let the gargoyle go answer the phone.

Trini went to the fridge to get a snack, and found a plate of leftovers set out just like Fox did at home. She knew which lover did that. Trini smiled as she took the plate over to the microwave. She glanced over at the gargoyle smiling and walking into the dining room to talk with her daughter. She jumped a little when she saw a hand move into view, and then turned with a pounding heart to see it was Fox.

Fox smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you." She whispered. "I just needed something to drink."

Trini pulled out a glass for Fox, which Fox filled with water. Fox glanced over at Demona who was watching them both while she talked. Trini could tell from the sly smile that started to cross Fox's lips that the woman was up to something. Fox put the glass down and leaned forward, putting her hands on the counter on each side of Trini. "Goodnight baby." Fox spoke with a seductive purr, before leaning forward and giving Trini a lingering kiss. Fox then turned and left with a gentle sway in her hips. Trini found her eyes watching her lover leave, almost mesmerized, until she shook her head to break the spell. When she glanced over at Demona she could see the lightly glowing red eyes staring right at her while the gargoyle talked to Angela.

The microwave beeped and Trini broke the tense gaze with her gargoyle to get her meal. She sat down at the kitchen island and started to eat. She ignored Demona's conversation with Angela while she ate mechanically.

"Marie?" Demona's calling out that name startled Trini a bit. She glanced over to see Demona in the doorway holding out the phone. "Angela is asking for you."

Trini took a drink of her juice and cleared her throat before she attempted Marie's deeper voice. "Okay."

"Hey Angela." Trini stood up and to take her plate to the sink, but Demona took it from her.

"I heard." Angela sounded a bit shocked. "You plan to have a joining with my mother."

Trini took a deep breath and smiled at Demona's less than casual glances over at her. "Yes. We wanted to do it soon." Trini sat back down. "Can you come?"

"Ah…" Angela's hesitation worried Trini. "I know I'll be there, and I can talk Broadway into it easily, but I really don't think I can get the whole clan."

"I would prefer it if your father wasn't there." Trini stood up and started towards the dining room. She knew her mate would probably eavesdrop, but she felt some need to make the effort. "He never did give up on getting me to find another mate. I'm happy with her."

"I think Brooklyn should also miss this joining." Angela spoke with a tinge of bitterness. Trini could hear Angela sigh heavily. "Mother has done a lot to the clan. My problem isn't who not to invite, but who to invite. I… I'm sorry Marie, but it's possible that me and Broadway will be the only ones there."

Trini thought for a moment. "Try Delilah and Lex." She couldn't tell her friend it was her own joining, but it would be nice to have Delilah there even if she had to be Marie for this. "And if Hudson can keep it from Goliath, him too. I really don’t want him ruining this for her."

Angela's voice sounded a bit surprised. "Delilah? Mother hates her. Are you sure?"

Trini's eyes traveled to Demona's and the female wasn't even pretending not to be listening in. "Yes I'm sure."

"Okay, I'll look into it and see you Sunday." Trini's eyes widened. Sunday? That was fast. "Can I speak with mother again?"

"Sure." Trini started back towards Demona with the phone.

"Oh, and Marie?" Angela sounded a little friendlier than she used to before she met Marie. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Trini smiled before handing the phone over. She looked at Demona. "I'm going upstairs. Talk as long as you need to." She was glad she remembered not to say she was going to bed, because normal gargoyles didn't do that.

Once Trini was upstairs she glanced at the guest room door. She wanted to go to Fox, but she just shook her head and told herself that she'd just wake Fox up if she went in there. Trini found herself staring at the door quietly for a moment. It was a strange feeling to go to her and Domi's empty bed, knowing that Fox was sleeping alone.

Trini was asleep when Domi finally slipped into the bedroom and slid into bed beside her. Trini immediately cuddled up to her without even waking up.

Trini woke slowly to the feel of a gentle caress moving slowly over the tip of her ears. When she opened her eye she could see Domi laying on the bed next to her staring into her eyes with a smoky, lustful look in her eyes. "Trini?"

Trini reached out to caress Domi's hair gently before pulling her in for a kiss. Domi took control of that kiss, and pushed on Trini gently until Trini moved to lay on her back. The way that Domi roughly shoved the sheets out of the way was a surprise. Domi was normally never in a hurry with sex. Trini wasn't wearing anything, and now she could see her mate had forgone her pajamas as well. The feel of Domi's warm wet mouth on her nipple had Trini arching her back and moaning softly.

"What's gotten into you?" Trini asked a little breathlessly a Domi moved over her and gently pushed her leg between Trini's.

"I just need you. I need to hear you. You are so sexy when you moan out my name." Domi replied distractedly while leaning in to kiss Trini's neck.

When Domi grabbed Trini's hand and dragged them up above Trini's head, Trini did moan. "Domi?!" Trini looked up and saw the smug look before Domi disguised it. That was when she remembered that Fox was staying with them. Domi wanted to rub in the fact that she had Trini in her room today.

Domi leaned down and started to nibble on her ear. Trini thought about all the times that Fox had asked what Domi sounded like, what Domi was like in bed, and almost laughed at the woman on top of her thinking she could make Fox jealous. Trini smiled and decided to play Domi's game. Fox would probably enjoy it.

Of course there was one thing Fox might enjoy more. Trini smiled wickedly before kissing her lover's shoulder. She then spun them around and stared down at Domi's slightly surprised expression. Oh God… Trini leaned down and kissed her hungrily. "I want to take you." Trini growled out. Her lust was very real. She wanted Fox to hear Domi scream. It was something that she could give her Fey lover, and Domi need never know that Fox fantasized about her.

Trini trailed her kissed down Domi's neck, paying special attention to that one spot that always made Domi squirm. "Trini. I was thinking that I would…" Domi started breathlessly, but Trini took that moment to start to gently suckle on Domi's breasts. It stopped all talking. Trini soon pushed thoughts of Fox away as she focused solely on the lover laid out before her.

"Trini…" Domi panted out while gripping Trini's head and holding her where she wanted her. Trini obeyed and started to suckle on the flesh Domi offered. "Oh God… Trini… Yes…" Domi's voice grew louder, so Trini renewed her efforts to please her mate. Domi was so wet, so ready. Trini whimpered and rubbed her pelvis more firmly into the bed as she pleasured her mate. The chanting started again as Trini suckled on Domi's sex. "Trini… Please, Please baby…" Trini decided to actually give her a release this time. The first time she'd slowed down and then started again, to try and make Domi lose herself in her pleasure and forget the woman down the hall. The first time Domi had been trying to be quiet, and that wouldn't do. She wasn't being quiet anymore. Domi's voice actually achieved her gargoyle growl as she came. "TRINI!" Domi screamed and convulsed. Trini stayed with her to draw out her pleasure until the redhead collapsed bonelessly to the bed.

Trini then leaned on her elbows and drew in several breaths of air. "Domi?" Trini whimpered out while crawling up her lover's body. "Domi I need you. Oh God…"

Trini looked in the slightly crooked smile on Domi's face. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You wouldn't let me come until I was loud enough."

Trini gave Domi a wicked grin. "That's what you wanted isn't it? For her to hear that you had me? I just changed the game a little." Trini pushed her magic out and wasn't surprised by the wave of desire she felt in Fox. Fox definitely didn't mind this game, but Domi didn’t need to know that. It would ruin it for Domi, who Trini realized was trying to assert her own claim on Trini. She leaned down to rub her body suggestively against her lover. She whispered in as seductive a voice as she could. "I'll be as loud as you want me to be, but I need you now."

When Trini stepped into the kitchen she felt a sense of déjà vu. Fox had laid out some lunch for all of them, and Domi just nodded in thank you and headed for the fridge for something to drink. Fox smirked at Trini as soon as Domi's head was in the fridge, and Trini smirked back.

"I think Demona makes you scream louder than Elisa did." Fox's grin grew wicked and Trini's jaw dropped. She turned to see Domi's back had gone rigid. What the hell was Fox doing?!

"Fox." Trini's voice held a note of warning as she glared at her bond-mate. Whatever game Fox was playing was a bad idea.

Fox gave Trini and Domi an innocent look, "What, I'm just saying it sounds like Demona's a better lover than Elisa. I remember how loudly you screamed out Elisa's name. I don't think it was quite as loud as what you just did." Trini glanced over at Domi and could see the stiffness in her stance. Domi didn't like to think of Elisa touching Trini at all. Fox was really not fighting fair at all.

Trini's eyes burned red and she just clenched her fists and shook her head in disgust. Fox's mouth had been opened to say more, but Trini glared at her until the redhead shut it again. "That was low. I…" Trini just turned around and gave an apologetic look to Domi before leaving. She didn't like Elisa being used as a weapon to hurt Domi. That was so mean spirited. Trini had never seen Fox act so badly.

Trini was at the base of the stairs before Fox caught up to her. Trini just glanced at Fox, not really wanting to talk to her right now. "Trini, I'm sorry."

Trini sighed heavily. "Dammit Fox, why did you do that? What reason could you possibly have to do that to her? To me? You know how she feels about Elisa. Do you know how scared I was she wouldn't want Elisa's cast off? Do you have any idea how scared I was that she'd be too disgusted to touch me?" Trini took a shuddering breath. "Don't ever use Elisa against her like that again."

Fox reached out and Trini flinched away from her. Trini could see Fox's shoulders slump as those arms fell back to her side. "You aren't Elisa's cast off. You shouldn't think of yourself like that."

"Well, basically that's just what you called me." Trini waved over towards the kitchen without looking that way, so she missed Domi watching this scene. "You make me sound like a whore. I really don't appreciate that."

"That's not what I was trying to do. That's not what I meant."

"No," Trini's lips thinned in anger, "You just wanted to hurt her and found it convenient. Dammit Fox, it's not like you didn't like listening, cause I know you did! There was no reason to lash out. Couldn't you just give her this one thing? All she wants is for you to understand that she's not second in my heart. That she's an equal. You couldn't just give her that?" Trini's voice cracked on that. She just spun around and continued upstairs.

Trini started to make the bed with a heavy sigh. She was starting to make a habit of hiding in the bedroom. That wasn't the best way to deal with this. Those two might come to blows again, and Trini should really make sure no one got hurt.

She opened the door to the bedroom quietly and reluctantly started down the hall. Their voices carried to her and they sounded calm, so Trini slowed down to listen as she made her way towards the stairs. From here she could see into the living room, and both women were sitting on the couch.

"We still have to deal with the clan and Elisa. Elisa is already planning to get Trini alone to talk." Fox spoke in her business tone. The same voice that she used to help plan the murders that all three of them were trying to keep hidden now.

"Maza is the main problem. It would be so much easier if we could just get rid of her." Trini's body tensed at Domi's words.

Fox sighed, and sounded a bit weary of the whole thing. "but since that isn't an option we need to come up with something else. Trini isn't doing too well right now and I really don't know how much longer she's going to be able to hold it together."

Domi's concern carried easily to Trini who was feeling a bit concerned as well. Fox didn't think she was doing okay? Did Fox think she'd betray them? "What are you talking about?"

"The lies are getting to her. She's not used to the deception and it's wearing her down. She's feeling overwhelmed. She's also got a lot of personal problems she's dealing with." Fox's voice was soft, but it stabbed at Trini's heart that she was the weak link. "Demona… she's dealing with a lot right now." Fox's voice was a little deeper and Trini watched Fox scoot just a little closer to Domi. "She called us last night, but it went straight to voice mail. She said she was out shopping. I checked the trunk." Trini's eyes widened and her hands clenched. "She has books on child abuse and rape in there. She needs help."

Domi seemed to shake as her body clenched up. "We can help her." At Fox's silent look Domi continued. "I'm not sending her to a human counselor… it was humans that did this to her!"

"Her dancing with Dracon was her attempt to deal with the rapes. She was using him to try and get over her fear of men. Do we want her to try and deal with this that way? She's just going to get hurt again. She's not making good decisions and she's not comfortable talking to us about this. She figures that you suffered so much more. That if you are okay, she should be okay and has no right to complain." Trini was fighting to keep her breathing quiet. It sounded so loud to her ears. She swallowed hard and stared at her mates. Fox reached out and took Domi's hand, and Domi let her. "I'm not qualified to help her with this, but I can get her a doctor that won't talk."

Domi's voice was bitter, "Like that last doctor you got that wouldn't talk? He was so easy to bribe. He helped me take her, gave me the drug that had worked so well on her while in his care. Is that the kind of help you want for her?!" Domi's voice got quieter as she seemed to realize that she'd gotten loud. "And who can she trust with the fact she's not human? What human isn't going to turn her in?"

Fox sighed heavily. "There is a psychiatrist that has been working with some of the Labyrinth clan and the people that live with them. She's the one that's seeing Kelly about her rape." Domi gave Fox a confused look, "Kelly is the girl that Trini found in the park." Fox added more quietly, before continuing her original thought. "That doctor has been able to keep her mouth shut and she's been with them for a while now. I think she can be trusted." There was a tense silence before Fox spoke again, since Domi wouldn’t. "She's a danger to herself. Dancing with men like Dracon, preferring to skydive into the pavement rather than let a male glide with her… it's only a matter of time before she's hurt. Demona, she needs help, but if you don't support it she won't take it. She'll suffer in silence, because even though those bastards hurt her, she thinks of that whole thing as your rape and she doesn’t feel she has the right to talk about it."

Trini had heard enough. She crawled down the hall back towards her bedroom, trying to make sure they didn't hear her. When she finally got there she curled up on the bed and cried.

Trini cleaned up and tried it again. She took a few deep breaths before leaving the room, to try and look less upset than she was. She didn't want them to know she'd heard them. She'd been feeling like she was going crazy for a while, but it hurt to have Fox agree with her.

This time she made sure that she wasn't too quiet as she walked to the stairs. She didn't want to risk hearing anything else. She did notice that Domi scooted away from Fox when Trini came into view, but pretended not to see it.

"I'll get us some drinks and we can get to work." Domi said as she got up and left for the kitchen.

Once Domi was out of the room Fox spoke quietly. "I'm sorry. I apologized to her."

Trini nodded as she sat down in a chair. "Good."

Domi came back and set the glasses on the coffee table. "We need to decide how to deal with Maza and the clan. You are about to become the center of attention now that they think you are spying on me." Domi gave Trini a half smile, "Goliath also really doesn’t like anyone taking initiative behind his back. I used to be his second, and he really doesn't care for that. He's old fashion in his beliefs, and thinks that he is the leader and needs to do it all himself." Domi's smile faded and an angry look crossed her face, "It's part of what got our clan killed." Trini was sitting too far away to reach out and comfort Domi, but Domi just shook herself out of that thought. "So he's going to want to control your investigation now. Maza's probably going to be just as bad."

"We've been talking, and have come up with a few ideas of how to deal with that." Fox reached over to grab her glass of juice. "If you appear to be cooperating more, it might take suspicion off of you." Fox smirked at Domi, "So Demona's going to have to work on her counter-espionage skills, because you are becoming a spy. This might be good practice for you, in case you ever need it in the future."

Trini turned to look at Domi and could see she was amused. "You want me to really spy?"

"Yes, at least for a while. Once the clan is convinced you are what you say you are we can calm it down." Domi's voice softened. "I'm not doing anything they should find interesting at the moment. I can afford to have a spy in my midst, but I don't want anything here. This is our safe place, and I won't lose it." Domi sighed. "I'll become suspicious and do a sweep for bugs after they've been there long enough. I'll miss one so that they can hear I'm accusing you of it, and you can worm your way out of the accusations. After that they will understand if you don't want to plant anymore bugs."

Trini gave Domi and then Fox a searching look, but it looked like this was the plan. "I guess I can do that."

"The other issue is Elisa." Fox scooted forward in her seat, bringing her closer to Trini. "She's obviously planning to get you alone and interrogate you."

Trini nodded. That was the feeling she got too. She wasn't feeling too confident in her ability to fool Elisa. The detective was so smart, and was clearly able to see through Trini pretty well.

"Trini." Fox's voice was softer. "You'll need to stick with the lies that we give you. You can't stray at all."

"Keep your answers simple. Just like you did when you first talked with the clan. You need to play this like that." Domi interjected. "Let her draw her own conclusions. Don't give her much to draw them from."

"I'm sure that Elisa wants to believe you Trini. If you just stick to the story and don't let her trick you, you should be alright." Fox was staring into Trini's eyes, and had to have seen Trini flinch at that. That was the problem. Elisa was her friend and wanted to believe in her. She hated lying to her like this, but Trini would do whatever it took to keep everyone safe. Fox got up and moved to the chair beside Trini. "Trini, you don't owe her anything in this. This is just survival, it's nothing personal." Fox took Trini's hand and Trini stared down at the hand holding hers. The ring she gave Fox was on that hand.

"I know." Trini sighed as she glanced over and noticed the concerned look on Domi's face that the redhead concealed quickly.

"This isn't even breaking the law. Maza isn't taking you into the precinct for this. She may act like a cop while she's talking to you, but this is just personal. She's just butting into something that has nothing to do with her. She doesn't even suspect you of a crime."

"Which means you don't HAVE to answer her questions. It might look suspicious, but it's better to just go quiet than to give her something to go off of." Fox added in quickly. Fox got a slightly wicked look on her face. "You could always do what we did last time to throw her off balance too."

"What did you do last time?" Domi asked, and Trini really wished she hadn't.

Fox turned to address Domi, who was still on the couch. "I invited Elisa to have sex with us." Trini watched Domi's face redden a bit. "I knew she was too inhibited to actually do it, but it flustered her enough to shut her up. She just left when I started to..."

"I'm sure that's more than enough." Trini spoke quickly through her embarrassment.

"Oh no, I want to hear all about this." Domi snapped at Trini, before giving Fox her full attention.

Trini could see the challenge in Fox's eyes, and pushed out her own magic to show her bond mate she wasn't going to listen to another hurtful jab. Fox glanced at her and nodded. She understood.

"You two are communicating aren't you?" Domi seemed to be studying them and it made Trini a bit uncomfortable. She gave Domi a weak smile.

"Well, Elisa wanted to know why I was visiting when you came to kill her." Fox jumped into the story with a strange, almost enthusiastic tone. "So when she was bothering Trini about it I walked in and told her that I wanted to find a woman to do a Menage a' Trois. She's so vanilla she'd never go for it. She practically imploded in shock."

Trini was watching Domi out of the corner of her eye while she wrung her hands nervously. She could see that Domi wasn't as amused at that as Fox was.

"Then I started making out with Trini, and she just went away." Trini glanced over at her Fey lover and could see Fox was studying Domi's every reaction. "Elisa isn't really brave enough for something like that. I knew she'd turn me down. I wasn’t setting Trini up for anything for real." The way Fox said brave made Trini's eyes widen a little in understanding. This was a disguised challenge.

Trini tensed up and then her eyes fell to her hands as she felt the ring move when she went to play with it. "Oh man." She whispered while staring at it. She stopped touching it, because if it came off and Domi didn’t want it, Trini couldn't put it back on. She curled her hand up into a fist to try and keep the ring on.

"What is it?" Fox asked and Trini turned her wide eyes to her, before glancing back at her hand. "Oh… OH…" Fox then stood up and grabbed her half full glass and stood up. "I'm going to go get some more juice." Fox glanced at the glass in front of Domi, "Do you want anymore?"

Domi was staring at Trini's hand and just nodded absently. Once Fox stepped out of the room Domi moved to take Fox's place. "It's ready to come off?"

Trini looked up at Domi a little fearfully. "Do you want it? If I take it off it won't go back on my hand." She waited tensely while Domi seemed to think about that.

"We still don’t know what they are supposed to do." Domi's words made Trini's heart sink. Her eyes traveled down to the red band on her right hand.

"No, they aren't talking. I tried a few times to get a straight answer, and I got nothing." Trini sighed heavily.

"Can I just see it?" Domi spoke gently, obviously realizing that Trini was taking this a little personally. Her voice got softer as she reached out to caress Trini's hand. "I do love you. This ring is just…"

Trini nodded. She could understand that. "If you get it even partly on, it will finish the job. Fox's won't come off her finger." She searched into Domi's eyes. "You want me to take it off?"

"Yes, take it off." Domi gave Trini a small smile.

Trini slide the ring off of her finger slowly, leaving just the one silver band on that hand. "Let's go to the mirror. I want to see something." She got up and started towards the entryway and the mirror that Domi had there. She took a deep breath and held the ring up to look through it.

It was Demona's ring. It showed her mate in her gargoyle form, clinging to a reddish brown wall of stone. The Demona in the mirror was slowly climbing up the surface. Trini moved her hand to make it possible for Domi to look into the ring. "Can you see it?"

She watched Domi's face as the woman blinked and moved a little closer. "What does this mean?"

"I don't know. Fox's had this too, but hers was different."

"What do you mean different?"

"It showed her outside at the castle, with a storm going on."

"And mine shows me climbing a cliff?" Domi looked at it again.

Trini heard Fox moving around in the kitchen putting away dishes and obviously trying to stay out of the way. When Domi reached out to take the ring and look more closely Trini felt she had to warn her again. " If you don't want it, you should make sure not to even start to put it on your finger."

Domi turned her attention to Trini. "Trini, honey… I want you, but I'm just not so sure about the ring. I'll take it, and I'll cherish it, but I won't wear it. Not until we know more about what it is." Domi went quiet for a minute and stared upstairs for a second. "Give me a second. I'll be right back."

Trini wasn't left waiting long. Domi came back down the stairs while playing with something in her hands. When Domi walked up to her Trini could see it was a necklace, a simple gold chain. Domi gave Trini a small smile and handed it over. "Can you put it on that?"

Trini took the end of the chain and was almost surprised to see that the ring let the chain through. She threaded the ring to the middle of the necklace and turned to see Domi turning her back to Trini and holding up her long red hair. "I'll wear it like this until we know more." Trini smiled and moved to gently put the necklace on her lover. The ring fell almost to Domi's cleavage. When she finished fastening the clasp the leaned down to kiss the back of Domi's exposed neck. "I love you so much." Trini whispered and pulled Domi back into her body to hug her.

Trini took a deep breath and sighed as her car got on the freeway. Fox was playing with the radio trying to find a decent channel. "Don't worry, you'll do okay." Fox reached over and squeezed Trini's knee gently. Trini just gave her a weak smile, but her mind was on the last thing that Domi had said to her before she left the mansion. Domi had told her that if she needed to talk about what happened to them in Canada, if she needed help, she should get it.

Trini was laying on her couch reading the book on rape slowly. The knock on her door startled her. Keeping the book in her hand she got up and walked towards the door. "Who is it?"

"Trini, it's me." Elisa's voice sounded pretty serious.

"Just a minute." Trini looked around a moment and noticed her bar. She opened the cupboard with glasses and slid the book inside. She took a deep breath and went to open the door. She wished that Fox were there but Elisa would continue to try until she had Trini on her own. Fox was spending the day with David and Alex, knowing that Trini was here, waiting for Elisa.

"We need to talk." Elisa's voice was all business as she came into Trini's apartment. Trini suppressed a sigh and closed the door after the bossy detective and followed her into the living room.

Trini would normally offer Elisa a drink, but since she didn't want Elisa so accidentally see the book, she did.

The detective stood in Trini's living room rather than sitting, so Trini didn’t bother sitting either. Trini could see Elisa was more than a little angry. When Elisa started to talk it was a bit louder and faster than she normally did. "Dammit Trini, what are you getting mixed up in?!"

Trini took moment to compose her thoughts. "I can handle this Elisa, and I think I can do more good working there than I can anywhere else."

Elisa's eyes conveyed her concern for Trini, and it hurt Trini that she couldn't tell Elisa she was safe and have the detective believe it. That concern was masked as the detective's eyes became more hawkish and Trini knew the interrogation was about to begin.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I didn't tell you because you might try and stop me." Trini gave Elisa a pleading look. She hated being here right now.

"Demona is dangerous. Do you even remember her kidnapping you? How can you go into work and face her every day?"

"I manage." Trini remembered what Demona said about looking away when she was ashamed or didn't want to be talking about something. She did her best to not do that with Elisa.

"You manage?" Elisa gave Trini a doubtful look. "How? How do you manage?"

"I just do." Trini sighed as she moved to sit down. This might take a while.

Trini watched Elisa pace across the floor in silence. Elisa had been questioning her about the job Domi had hired her for, and how Trini was managing to spy on such an untrusting female. Trini gave the stories that she and her lovers had created, but she could see Elisa didn't quite believe everything. Elisa didn't say anything out loud, but she'd started repeating her questions, with just slightly different wordings. Trini could tell Elisa was trying to catch her in a lie.

"Elisa, how many times are you going to ask me the same questions? Why are you treating me like a criminal?" Trini sighed heavily as she watched Elisa finally sit down. Elisa chose to sit beside Trini on the couch.

"I can't believe that Fox would just sit back and let you walk into this much danger. She came close to hitting me when I had you come on that one mission and you got hurt. I just can't believe that she'd let you anywhere near Demona, knowing what Demona will probably do to you if she finds out what you're doing."

Trini spoke quickly to defend Fox. Trini didn't want anyone blaming Fox. "I didn't give her a lot of choice in this. If Demona does kill everyone… it'll be everyone but me. I don't want to watch everyone die." Trini's voice got softer, " I don't want to lose everyone." Trini's chest felt a little tight, because that wasn't a lie.

Elisa studied Trini as she reached out and took Trini's hand. Trini looked into Elisa's eyes and could see that the detective was starting to feel the pheromones. It didn't affect humans as strongly, but Fox had told Trini that she should use any edge she had. Trini was covered in her pheromones right now, to make this interrogation as hard as possible on Elisa. She felt like a complete ass doing that, but did it anyhow. She couldn't handle a long interrogation, and decided that the pheromones might work to drive Elisa away once the detective realized she was being affected.

"Oh Trini." Elisa sighed. "Are you ever going to tell the clan about that?"

"My immortality?"

"Yeah." Elisa stared into Trini's eyes, and Trini couldn't help but look away.

"I can't see that going well." Trini took a deep breath as she thought about that. It wasn't related to any of the other secrets she couldn't afford to let go. Technically she could tell them, but she didn't really want to. "Either I'll get volunteered for all the dangerous things, and end up getting hurt all the time, or they'll start thinking…" she trailed off. Finally Elisa filled it in.

"That you are really working with Demona, because you have that in common?" Elisa seemed unaware that she was caressing Trini's arm, and Trini wished she could just pull that arm away, but she needed Elisa to realize this on her own and get embarrassed. "Goliath won't just assume that. The clan doesn't assume just because MacBeth is immortal that he's the enemy, they won't do that to you."

"Well, I don't feel comfortable telling them." Trini fought with herself. She wanted to pull her arm away, because while Fox thought this was a good tactic, she knew that Domi wouldn't care for it. She just clenched her other hand briefly and left her arm in Elisa's hands.

The caresses stopped and Trini could see out of the corner of her eye that Elisa was blushing. She had finally realized what she'd been doing. Elisa's voice started out a little nervous before it calmed down again. "I think it's starting to become relevant and you did tell me that if that happened you'd tell them."

"No, I said that I'd consider it. I didn't say that I'd do it." Trini almost snapped at Elisa.

Elisa's eyes narrowed as she stared at Trini, "And if they find out and you never told them they are going to be all the more difficult to convince you aren't Demona's pawn."

"Dammit Elisa, I can't go around telling people about this! If the wrong person finds out, I could be tortured for a very long time! I'll become nothing but a lab rat!" Demona's fears came out of Trini's mouth. They had quickly become her own after Demona had told her that she'd been experimented on like that. Trini still didn't know the details about that, but her last bout as a lab rat made it far too easy to imagine.

"You need to make an effort to fit in! Just because you say you aren't clan doesn’t mean that you aren't a part of this castle." Elisa spoke quickly with more than a hint of anger. "The clan wouldn't betray you by telling anyone about that. Why are you always so eager to think the worst of him?!"

"Because he's been an ass!" Trini snapped back. "Do you think I don't know that he's still trying to destroy what Fox and I have? I heard he tried to set me up with Marie."

"Trini." Elisa tried to soothe Trini with her voice. "He just doesn't understand yet. He will come around. I'm working on it."

"You shouldn't have to. He should just stay the hell out of it." Trini took a deep breath to try and calm down. She didn't need to yell at Elisa about this. "I'm going to marry her Elisa. She's my mate, and I'm going to marry her."

"What?" Elisa looked shocked. "But how? She's already married."

Trini sighed. "It won't be legal. Even if she weren't married it wouldn't be legal in this country, but we are going to have a wedding and pledge ourselves to each other. I proposed a few days ago." Trini looked up into Elisa's still shocked looking eyes. "I'm not telling the clan on a whole, just those that won't berate me for who I love. I don't want Goliath and Brooklyn telling me she isn't mine anymore, and I don't want them at my wedding putting me and my mate down for this. If you can come without him, you are invited… but I don't want him ruining this day for her."

"Oh my god Trini. Married?" Trini noticed that distraction worked much better than her pheromones. "When?"

"We haven't set a date yet." Trini couldn't help but get nervous with the fact that she was also getting married tomorrow night. That one she couldn't tell anyone about. She really hoped that Delilah would come. Fox was already planning to be there. "We've barely started to plan yet."

Trini had hoped that the shock would last longer than it seemed to. "So you found out about Marie?"

Trini silently berated herself for bringing that up then. It sounded like another line of question had just been opened. "Yeah." Trini didn't have lies prepared for this. She had to make it up on her own, or refuse to answer questions. God, which would be better? What would Domi and Fox want her to do now?

Trini remembered Fox's last minute advice in the car. "If Elisa is getting too close or you can't keep up, sex can be a powerful weapon. I know Demona won't like it, but she'd probably rather you got away than ignored that and got us all caught." There had been no teasing, no mischief in Fox's eyes at that moment. Trini had been upset that Fox would even suggest that, but now it was looking like a very viable solution.

Trini gave Elisa a look that seemed to startle Elisa with the sexuality in it. "Elisa," Trini blushed as she thought about what she was doing. "When Fox first brought it up, I was pretty… upset about it. But I've been thinking…"

"What?"

Trini stared into her ex-lover's eyes. "Fox is a very good lover. I love you and since you can't… with him, if you want to be with us…" Trini's cheeks were blazing red. She looked away so she didn't see the suspicious look on Elisa's face.

Trini's eyes snapped up from her hands to Elisa's face when she felt the caress on her arm start up again. She saw Elisa giving her a look that she hadn't seen in a long time from her, open desire. Elisa was supposed to run away. She wasn't supposed to look at Trini like that! "Thank you." Elisa's voice was deeper, and Trini's eyes widened a bit in shock. "I don't know how I feel about being with Fox, but…"

Trini found Elisa kissing her and her entire body tensed up before she forced herself to relax. This wasn't at all what was supposed to happen. When Elisa moved straddle Trini's lap Trini stopped breathing for a moment. This was moving too fast. She didn’t know how to stop it without ruining her cover. Trini started pushing out her magic frantically. She needed help, because she couldn't back down, and she couldn't betray Domi.

Elisa nibbled on Trini's ear a little, making Trini moan softly. Then Elisa began to whisper in Trini's ear. Trini was surprised to hear anger in the detective's voice. "I don't want you mentioning what I can or can't do with him again." Elisa pulled back to stare into Trini's slightly frightened eyes. "I'm a detective. I know how to go undercover, and how to pull off distractions like the one you just tried. You are not doing a very good job at all. I can't see how you can fool Demona with anything you say or do!"

The front door opened and Fox came in. Trini was watching Elisa's face when Fox stopped at the end of the hallway looking a bit surprised at what she found. "Well, I guess Elisa decided to take us up on the offer."

Elisa glared over at Fox while pulling away from Trini and getting up from straddling her. "Well, look at that. As soon as you're in over your head Fox shows up. She does that a lot." Elisa didn't sound at all embarrassed about being caught that close to Trini. She sounded like she'd just proved something to herself, and Trini didn't like that at all.

Once Elisa left Trini fell back on the couch and stared blankly at the slowly darkening sky. Fox moved to sit beside her, but didn’t say anything. Fox just stared at Trini while Trini tried to gather her thoughts. "I obviously am no good at using sex as a weapon." Trini took a deep breath. "It was so easy for her to turn it on me."

Trini was just sitting on her couch listening to the stereo. Fox was spending some time reading to Alexander, so Trini was trying to relax. The interrogation wasn't too bad. At least Elisa didn't have anything to use against her, Trini tried to tell herself, but she just didn't believe it. And the fact that she'd kissed Elisa again wasn't going to go over very well with Demona, even though Trini hadn't really wanted to. She was staring at the stereo blankly with a sad look on her face when the knock on the window startled her.

Trini turned quickly to see Angela staring in the window. Dammit, when where the gargoyle's going to learn to use the door! Trini opened the window wide enough for the female to come in.

"I know, I know, you want us to use the door, but I didn't want father seeing us come in here." Angela started quickly and before Trini had time to question about us… Broadway, Lex, and Delilah entered the room.

"What are you guys doing?" Trini gave Delilah a questioning glance, but the female just shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know why they were in Trini's room.

"We needed a secure place to talk, and I figured this would work." Angela answered, obviously feeling very in charge. Trini started to get some idea then of what this might be about, but she shouldn't know.

"Well, sit down." Trini motioned to the couches and chairs.

"Angela, why are we sneaking into Trini's room?" Broadway asked once he was seated on the couch. Angela sat on the chair beside him, setting herself apart and Trini almost smiled at the serious expression on the female's face that reminded Trini of Domi in a meeting.

Angela glanced over at Trini once and sighed before starting. "Mother is getting joined tomorrow night." Trini glanced around and watched the shocked looks on the males' faces. Delilah look surprised as well, but also a bit puzzled. "She asked me if I could get at least some of the clan to witness for her."

"What?" Lex seemed a bit upset. Trini didn't even notice Angela raise her hand to stop his comment, but he went quite.

Angela gave Lex and then the other gargoyles a pleading look. "I know she hasn't been a part of this clan in a very long time, but she needs witnesses."

Delilah spoke a little hesitantly. "Why am I here? She isn't going to want me around."

"Actually." Angela smiled gently at Delilah. "You were invited specifically. Marie wants you there."

Delilah's voice became a little harsher. Trini noticed the white haired female glance at her before speaking. "She hurt Trini. Why should I go."

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Broadway asked, while reaching out towards Angela in a silent apology for having to voice that thought.

"I believe mother. She wants the joining to be in Central Park. It's out in the open. She doesn't really seem to expect me to be able to get anyone, and she sounded a little sad about that. She just wants to give Marie a proper joining." Angela's voice became pleading. "I know none of you have a reason to do this for her, but I'm asking you to do it for me. We would have to keep this a secret until after the joining. If you decide not to come, please at least keep this quiet. Whether or not you go." Angela was looking at Broadway. "I'm going."

"I'm not letting you go alone." Broadway squeezed Angela's hand. "I'll be there."

Trini and Angela looked over at Lex and Delilah. Delilah seemed lost in thought, and Lex seemed to be waiting for Delilah to come to a decision. Trini was glad that he was looking like he'd support whatever she wanted.

Delilah turned to Trini and the question was so easy to read in her eyes. Delilah wanted Trini to tell her what to do, and while Trini wanted to tell her to go, she wasn't going to be going as Trini. That would seem odd to tell Delilah to go and not go herself. Trini sighed heavily. "You don't need to worry about what I'll think. You need to do what you want to do." Trini couldn't help but add. "But not many people were invited specifically. In fact it looks like it's just her daughters that were."

Delilah's eyes widened at being called that. "You think they invited me because…"

Angela spared Trini from answering. "Marie wanted to meet me because I was related to Demona. It's very possible that's why she wants you there."

Delilah glanced at Lex for a moment. "I'd like to go."

Lex looked over at Angela, "So it looks like we're in."

Trini felt like squirming when all eyes turned to her. Angela and Delilah wanted her to go as well. "If she wants me to go she'll invite me herself." Trini glanced around at them. "You aren't supposed to know I work for her. She probably won't invite me because of that."

"So you are playing at being a double agent?" Broadway asked and suddenly the whole conversation seemed to shift and the air got even tenser.

Trini took a deep breath. "Yes and no. She knows where I live and that I know the clan. She's working on pulling me away from the clan, so I need to seem…"

Broadway's eyes widened. "You mean that is why you fight with Goliath so much?" Trini just nodded. Part of her was amused at this idea that Domi had. It seemed to explain so much, and it gave her a reason to keep her distance from the clan. Trini needed that distance right now.

"I thought it was because of Elisa." Broadway continued and Trini tried not to grimace. She didn't think the clan knew about that. She thought he'd kept it quiet. Apparently her attempt to not look upset didn't work too well. Broadway spoke more softly. "I figured it out on my own. Angela didn't tell me."

Trini then glanced over at Lex and he didn’t look surprised either. "Delilah told me after you and Goliath had your talk."

"So pretty much everyone knows?" Trini could hear her own insecurity.

"That you have good taste?" Lex smiled gently. "Yeah, but we don't talk about it. Goliath thinks it's a secret."

Trini noticed how nice it was to have guests. They were treating her like she actually belonged. It was like the idea that she was working to protect the city cemented some friendships. They started to talk about other things. Trini was tense whenever Broadway asked a question, because he was the one most interested in her job as a spy.

"Trini, do you have anything to drink?" Broadway was glancing over at the bar longingly.

"Oh sure." Trini spoke off handedly while listening to the story about a joining that Angela had seen while on Avalon. It wasn't until Broadway was starting to open the cupboard that Trini's heart hammered in her chest. She suddenly remembered that she hadn't moved the book. It was still sitting on top of all the glasses.