There were a dozen different ways he could answer that, but they all meant the same thing. "No, not until you say yes," he replied with an almost amused smiled. She'd already had sex with him; he didn't see how a simple dinner could hurt. Then again, whether he wanted to admit it or not, she was starting to get under his skin.

She held his gaze for a long moment, the tap of her foot giving her entire body an agitated quality as she considered her options. "Fine," she conceded eventually. "One dinner. And not tonight, I need to organize something for Lila if we're gonna do this ....date ....thing."

"Right. Because making a phone call takes planning," he teased, though he wasn't sure he should push his luck too hard. At least, she'd said yes; it was progress. She could have called half a dozen people at the Grove to take Lila for the evening or at least for a few hours, but if they were going to do this, he had a feeling they were going to have to do it her way.

"I'm not dressed for dinner," she countered, but the smile was back. What was it about him that broke through every barrier she had so carefully constructed over the years" Why did she want to impress him, even as she failed to keep him at arms length' "And she deserves to hear it from me that I'm going on a date. That ....that's something that hasn't happened her whole life."

His gaze moved over her, taking her in from head to toe. "You're not dressed for filing papers, either," he pointed out, but again, he wasn't going to argue about it. However she was dressed, he was obviously enjoying the view. "When would you prefer, then" Or are you going to put me off for a few more weeks?" he asked, a teasing gleam in his eyes.

For the first time that she could remember, Brynne felt herself blush, her body reacting to the way he looked her over in a way she knew she wasn't very good at resisting. She tried, though. "If I do, are you going to start stalking me properly?"

"Do you want me to?" he countered, wondering what she'd do if he did. He didn't think it would be necessary, though, now that she'd said yes. "Honestly, Brynne. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a date. I'm not asking you to marry me." He leaned in with a smirk on his face to add, "Yet."

Despite every instinct telling her to, she didn't lean back as he leaned in, holding her ground until she could feel his breath on her skin. His smirk was begging to be wiped off. "You're an ass," she informed him with entirely too much affection for it to be the insult she might have intended, countering his lean with her own to bite his lower lip with gentle teeth. "And I thought this was a business meeting." To her everlasting amazement, she actually managed to step back, turning away with a smirk of her own to look over the documents he had given her in the first place.

He grinned back at her, taking no offense at the insult that wasn't really an insult, his body betraying him again when she tugged at his lower lip with her teeth in an intimate gesture that was not quite a kiss. "It is. Olivia sent me over with some legal documents or some such thing. I wasn't expecting to find you here, though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Do you think she did it on purpose?"

Brynne snorted, shaking her head. "I doubt she can do duplicitous," she admitted. "Liv Storm is about as squeaky clean as they get. And these should be here, she's right. I'll get Caro to counter-sign them in the morning, and we'll archive it." She bent, making a note on the outside of the envelope before dropping it into her in-tray for the morning.

He tried not to admire the view as she bent over her desk, but he couldn't help himself. He might be a warlock, but he was also a man with all of a man's needs and wants. "I suppose it would be very forward of me to offer you a lift," he remarked, offering her a ride home in a roundabout way.

"Very forward," she agreed, straightening up again. "And timely, since Caroline just left with my car." Although she hesitated for a moment, knowing what this meant. But then ....they'd already met, before she'd met him. "Looks like you're doing the school run," she told him with a slightly wicked gleam in her eyes. "I was going to hire a car, but why do that when I can ride a warlock instead, right?"

"Are we doing this the old fashioned way or are we cheating?" he asked, a smirk on his face, assuming she would not want him to use magic to get the children home, even if it was a lot quicker and easier. He'd brought the car with him anyway, and though he couldn't help teasing her, he thought he might as well use it.

"You're driving," she told him firmly, tapping one finger against his chest. "No mojo on my kid. Or my brother's kid. Or my cousin's kid. Not least because my brother and my cousin would kill me slowly over several days if they ever found out."

"Mm, which cousin are we talking about?" he asked, having learned a long time ago to choose his battles wisely.

"That would be Dominic," she said, tilting her head as she considered him. "Wait ....are you scared of my family, Mr Big Bad Mojo Man?"

"That's what I thought," he replied with a slight wince. He wasn't exactly afraid of Dominic, but he wasn't foolish enough to piss him off either. He knew better than to poke the bear. "Not scared. Cautious," he added, producing a set of car keys in his hand, out of thin air. "Shall we then?" he asked, the smiling returning to his face.

She smirked at his wince. Dom might look scary from the outside, but everyone who got close knew he was a teddy-bear until riled. Avoiding riling Dom wasn't hard, either. "Sure you can handle three little girls full of questions?" she asked teasingly, shrugging into her jacket as she locked up the filing cabinet and her desk. Her bag, it seemed, was already packed and ready to go.

"I can if you can," he replied, offhandedly. He wasn't as worried about the three little girls as he was about Brynne's cousin Dominic, but even so, he wondered if it shouldn't be Brynne who was concerned about questions, considering the fact that they were likely to ask about their relationship or lack thereof.

To be fair, she was hoping that an intense dose of her daughter and said daughter's two favorite cousins would be enough to make him forget he'd ever asked her on a date to begin with. She wasn't above being duplicitous; that was how she could spot it in others. "I'm a mom," she pointed out. "I know how not to answer questions." Picking up her bag, she tilted her head in his direction. "After you."

"And I'm ..." He trailed off before he could finish that thought, for some reason, though he didn't say why. The smile had vanished from his face as he seemed to turn inward, and he turned toward the door at her prompting. If she was hoping to get rid of him, maybe she shouldn't have slept with him, but that thought hadn't crossed his mind yet.

Despite herself, Brynne felt a flicker of concern at the way his smile, his smirk, faded entirely. What was wrong with her" She wanted him gone ....didn't she" Eyeing him for a moment, she ushered him out of the office, pausing only to lock up before heading toward the elevator. "You're what?" she asked then, wondering if that was enough time for him to decide on an answer. "Sneaky' I already knew that."

As she drew back, there was suspicion in her eyes. Was it her, or had he not responded to that kiss" He'd let her kiss him, certainly; he hadn't pushed her away. But he hadn't pulled her in, either. "Yeah, we should," she agreed, pulling those barriers in closer, preparing herself for the rejection that seemed to be hovering. "Your car?"

If anyone was worried about being rejected, it was him, knowing what he knew and what she did not. He found himself suddenly worried what she would think when she found out that he'd manipulated her into meeting him. Would she be flattered or enraged" It was hard to say, and he wasn't sure he was ready to find out just yet, but he did find himself pulling away, just a little, as if he was afraid of getting his own heart bruised.

"Yes, it's going to be a snug fit, I'm afraid," he told her, turning to lead the way toward the electric blue convertible Mini-Cooper he'd parked there a short time earlier. Was he capable of making the car bigger with just a flick of his fingers, or was that beyond his ability' Either way, the car might be small but it was possessed of a back seat that should easily fit three young children.

"That ....is a nice car," Brynne complimented him, aiming toward a safer topic. It seemed as though the flirting and teasing was just a little dangerous. "You know where the school is?"

"Not exactly, but I'm sure you'll direct me," he told her, going to the passenger side and opening the door for her, the first he'd shown that there might be a gentleman lurking inside him somewhere.

This sudden gentlemanly side was another layer of confusion for her, though. So perhaps he wasn't gearing up to reject her, but instead trying to prove that he wasn't just after what was between her legs" Which was a bit of a problem, since she was pretty sure all she wanted was him between her legs, but never mind. "Thank you," she nodded to him, sliding into the car. "It's not too far, really."

"You're welcome," he replied politely, before going around to the driver's side, climbing in, and turning over the engine. "Aren't you going to ask why I bother with a car when I could just as easily poof wherever I want to go?" he asked, looking over to make sure she was buckled in and leaning closer to double check the seatbelt was properly adjusted.

"Should I?" she asked curiously. "It's not like you suddenly turned into a ..." She trailed off as he leaned over to her, her hands clenching as he made a few adjustments to her belt that woke up parts of her body she had thought she'd put to bed for the time being. "A-a ....Men like cars," she finished. not exactly intelligent, but it was a sentence, just.

"Into a?" he inquired, brows arching upwards, even as he adjusted her seatbelt, unaware of the effect he was having on her body. "I am essentially a man," he pointed out, satisfied with the seatbelt and leaning back into his own seat. "A male of the species, anyway," he added helpfully, though that seemed obvious enough. "Here in Rhy'Din, I don't have to hide what I am." Though even here, it seemed, there were prejudices and hatred against those who were not human.

"You shouldn't have to hide what you are from anyone," she said, and for a moment there was a flicker of passion in her voice. "Bigots and idiots exist everywhere, but they should not be allowed to dictate how anyone lives their life." That was partially why she'd left Rhy'Din all those years ago; Luke had hated being in a place where humans were not solely in charge.

"They used to burn witches, you know," he remarked quietly, turning away either so he could concentrate on pulling out of the parking lot or because he didn't want her to see his expression when he said that. He might be all the things she accused him of, but he was still something of a mystery.

"Ignorance isn't an excuse," she said heatedly. "Basic decency is not that hard to do. Even I can do it, and I'm not exactly Ms. Come-One-Come-All." She sighed, glad for the distraction away from what his proximity did to her. Her gaze flickered to her watch. "Wow, I might actually be on time for them for once."

"We could get there faster, but it might make you nauseous," he told her, that teasing smirk back on his face. He seemed to have pushed past whatever it was that had darkened his mood. "Which way are we going?"

She raised a brow, once again surprised to feel her lips quirk into a genuine smile, however brief it was. "Somehow I don't think you want me throwing up in your car," she pointed out, glancing through the window to determine which way down the street he was driving. "Oh ....this next right, and then the third left. Believe me, you really can't miss this school at throwing out time."

"Throwing out time," he echoed, chuckling. "That's better than throwing up time, I suppose," he remarked with a grin. "So, when would you like to have dinner, or must you consult your calendar first?" he asked, still not letting that subject go.

"Oh gods ..." She rolled her eyes heavenward, mentally asking for some kind of divine intervention. When that wasn't forthcoming, she let out a huffing sigh. "Fine, Saturday. Or does that conflict with your hectic schedule?"

"No, I have weekends off," he informed her, glancing her way for a moment with a curious look on his face. "Don't you?" Though they worked for two different Grangers, they did practically the same job or close to it. What was a P.A. anyway but a glorified secretary, or was it the other way around" At least, Jon didn't have him shopping for him or taking care of any other tasks that were beneath Sol's pay-grade.

"Uh, yeah," she nodded. "Caroline disappears off on that boat with her fella and the kids from Friday night to Monday morning. And I usually spend the time with Lila, when she's not at her clubs."

"Oh," he said, a small frown on his face as he followed her directions on their way to the school. "I wouldn't want to take away any time you spend with her," he said, though he wasn't sure how else they were going to arrange this date. She wouldn't want to go out during school or work nights, and she spent the weekends with Lila. Where did that leave him"

"She's eleven and obsessed with my lack of a love life," Brynne said in a weary tone, albeit amused by this side of her daughter. "As soon as she figures out you asked, I won't have a choice but to make time for you."

"And that's bad because?" he asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had a feeling she didn't really want to go on a date with him and was only agreeing to appease him, but he wasn't sure why. Then again, maybe he knew why all too well and just didn't want to admit it.

"It's not bad. It's just ..." Brynne let out a low sigh. She could hear him waiting for her to rip the whole idea to shreds, and why wouldn't he feel that way' She hadn't exactly been the friendliest she could be. "In case I didn't make it clear earlier ....I like you. Probably a lot more than I should. And yes, I've been avoiding you, but that's more because I don't trust myself around you, and ....I don't know how to explain it. I'm so used to saying no, it's difficult not to. Even when I mean yes."

He actually chuckled at little at that explanation, wondering if it was more for his benefit or for hers. "No wonder you're confused," he said, as he made the left turn she'd indicated in her directions. "You want to know what I think?" he asked, not waiting for her to reply one way or the other. "I think you're overthinking things. It's just a date, Brynne. Live a little."

In the front, Brynne glanced at Sol in amusement. "Regretting this yet?"

"Not at all," he replied, tossing her a brief grin. "I find it rather refreshing really. I'm usually bombarded by children who aren't out of diapers yet," he said, vaguely hinting at Jon and Vicki's small quartet of midgets.

"Do you snore, Mr. Sol?" was the next question from the back seat, followed swiftly by another. "Where are you taking my mom on your date?"

"Snore?" he echoed, brows arching upwards. "I don't really know. I've never heard myself snore, but then how would I when I'm sleeping" As for the date, I haven't decided yet. Where do you think she'd like to go?" he asked, as if Brynne wasn't sitting right next to him, eavesdropping.

"Um ..." This question elicited yet more whispering. Brynne was just as interested as Sol to find out what her daughter thought was a suitable date for her.

"Something not ordinary," Zahan suggested eventually.

"Yeah," Lila agreed. "Something not boring. Something that makes her laugh."

"Oh, oh!" Daisy exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together. "Take her to the theater! I heard my Mummy and Daddy talking about it. They said a new musical is coming up called Kiss-Met. You know like, they met and then they kissed! Just like you!"

"Who said anything about kissing?" Brynne demanded in amusement, twisting to look over her shoulder at the little group on the backseat.

"You could screw him instead," Lila suggested, and Brynne was instantly transported back to a conversation with her brother, in which he had told her that her relaxed style of parenting was going to bite her in the ass one day.

"What does screw mean?" Daisy asked, innocently, brows furrowed in confusion as she looked from one friend to the other.

"And that's enough questions for one day!" Sol interjected before anyone could answer that question or continue that line of thought. Thankfully, they had reached the gates to Maple Grove, waiting momentarily until they were allowed inside.

"Screwing is how a mommy and a daddy make a baby," Lila explained to her younger cousin, not one to be put off by an obvious tactic to shut her up.

"They giggle a lot when they do it, too," Zahan offered. "Papa always smiles a lot afterward."

"Are your Mummy and Daddy trying to make a baby?" Daisy asked of Zahan. Her parents had already given her a baby brother, but Zahan was still an only child. "Do they only screw when they are trying to have a baby' Because my Mummy and Daddy giggle a lot!" she added with a giggle of her own.

Sol wisely kept his mouth shut, letting Brynne handle this, since it was her daughter who'd brought it up. He'd like to be a fly on the wall when Daisy told her parents what she'd heard on the drive home from school today.

"Oh gods ..." Brynne groaned aloud this time, twisting to get the full attention of all the children in the back seat. "Screwing is a very crude way of describing something that adults do together in private," she explained to the three of them. "Sometimes they're married, and sometimes they're not, but they do it as much to have fun as to make a baby. Okay?"

"Do you and Mr. Sol do it?" Daisy asked, as innocently as possible. Sol and Brynne might not know it yet, but Daisy wasn't nearly as innocent as she seemed. She had Elle for a mother, after all.

Sol snorted in response, not touching that one with a ten foot pole.

Brynne narrowed her eyes at Daisy, despite her smile. "Did you hear what I said about private, Daisy?" she asked in a friendly tone. "That means that even if adults are ....playing together ....they won't usually talk about it. Not a word, Lila."

Lila shut her mouth, bursting into giggles at the look on her mother's face. "So is Mr. Sol staying for dinner?" she demanded to know next. "Because he said he can cook, and he should prove it. Mom knows how to turn toast into a fossil," she added, for Sol's benefit.

Daisy frowned, pouting a little at the scolding. Lila was the one who'd brought the subject up, after all. She turned quiet. Even if Lila's mother had used a friendly tone of voice, she knew when she was being scolded.

Sol exchange a glance with Brynne before looking back to the road that wound around Maple Grove. The three girls lived close enough together that he didn't really need to stop at each and every house to drop them off, though he intended to do just that. "That's up to your mother," he told her simply.

Zahan leaned down and whispered in Daisy's ear, "That means yes and she hasn't told Lila yet, so we're not supposed to know." Apparently Ed hadn't quite managed to keep Zahan as innocent as he would have liked.

"I live there too, and Mrs Kirkpatrick said she was going to make meatloaf, and meatloaf stinks," Lila complained.

Daisy only nodded her head, still feeling a little contrite at having been scolded, but the mood would pass soon enough. Sol didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss, but he winced at the mention of meatloaf. "She has a point, Brynne," he said, as he pulled the car to a halt near where Daisy lived with her parents.

"I have to go," Daisy said. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Sol," she told him politely as she scooted around Zahan to get out the door.

"Bye, Daisy! See you tomorrow!"

The goodbyes from the backseat were fulsome enough to send her off with a smile, at any rate. The second the door was closed, however, the full scrutiny was back on Brynne and Sol. "So can he stay and cook" Please, Mom, please, please, please""

Brynne rolled her eyes. "Fine, he can stay," she conceded. "If he wants to. And he's only cooking if one of you can convince Mrs Kirkpatrick she doesn't have to."

"Now I know what a stray dog feels like," Sol remarked under his breath, with a hint of amusement. Or was it sarcasm' "I will have you both know that I am potty trained, and I clean up after myself," he said in defense of himself.

Lila cackled, rolling her eyes. "We don't have a potty for you," she informed him with a cheerful grin. "I could dig you a hole in the garden."

Beside her, Zahan grimaced. "Toilets are better than holes," she told her cousin. "You can fall in holes."

Lila looked horrified. "Did you ever fall in a hole like that?" she asked in shock.

Zahan shuddered and nodded.

"Uh ..." Brynne stared at him for a moment, uncertain whether he actually wanted an answer to that question or not. Given the choice, her impulse was to say yes, but she wasn't sure it would be a welcome response. His addendum, however, made her laugh. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a grin, before tugging the keys from the ignition. "Shall we brave Mrs. Kirkpatrick's ire?" he asked, as he pushed open the driver's side door and climbed out of the car.

"She might surprise you," Brynne warned in amusement, climbing out of the car herself. She bent to retrieve Lila's bag, laughing a little at the sight of the shoe hanging in a rose bush. The girl herself was audible inside the house.

"....boyfriend home and he's going to cook and isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh, good lord," Sol remarked, rolling his eyes heavenward with resigned sigh. "Do you want to burst her bubble, or shall we just play along?" he asked, though if they kept going the way they were going, Lila's hopes might become reality before long.

"I'll talk to her later," she promised him quietly. "For now, just let her jabber. I haven't seen her this excited for a long time." Bending to grab the errant shoe, she invited him inside to face Mrs Kirkpatrick, who was hand in hand with Lila and trying very hard not to laugh.

"So you don't want meatloaf tonight then, little miss?"

Lila offered up an innocent smile. "Why don't you take it home and give it to your grandchildren?" the girl suggested sweetly.

It seemed to Sol that Lila didn't want meatloaf any night, but he wasn't bold enough to say so. "Hello, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. I'm Solomon Spencer. I hope you don't mind, but I promised Lila my homemade macaroni and cheese tonight," he told her, as politely as he could.

"Add some meat, and you can have the kitchen all night," Mrs. Kirkpatrick replied in amusement. She knew meatloaf wasn't a favorite, but she was a big fan of balanced meals.

Brynne bit her lip; the look of painful hope on Lila's face was too good to forget.

"No need for meat, but I will add some vegetables. Deal?" he asked, holding out a hand as if he was making a bargain with the devil himself. There was enough cheese in the macaroni and cheese to provide plenty of protein, in his opinion.

"Deal." The older woman took his hand, shaking on the deal with a smirk of her own.

Lila just about managed to bite down a cheer, rescued from being caught by Brynne.

"Now that's settled, you go and change out of your uniform and make a start on your homework," she told her daughter, unsurprised by the sudden obedience that got Lila out from under Mrs. Kirkpatrick's eye.

Once Lila was out of earshot, Sol leaned close to Mrs. Kirkpatrick to whisper conspiratorially, "Don't worry. I'm not looking to steal your job," he told her with a reassuring smile. "I was conned," he added with a chuckle.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not looking for my job," Mrs. Kirkpatrick chuckled. "Having a man around here will do wonders for these girls."

"Oh, not you too," Brynne groaned, ignoring her housekeeper's grin as she hung up her jacket.

"There's coffee in the pot," Mrs. Kirkpatrick told them as she gathered her coat and bag. "Have a nice evening, Miss Brynne. Mr. Spencer."

"You, too, Mrs. Kirkpatrick!" Sol replied, with a wave and a friendly smile. It was hard not to like someone as polite and friendly as he was, but it had taken him a long time to learn those skills. He made no comment regarding the remark about having a man around the house, though he had noticed it, just like he'd noticed everything that was said and done in his presence. "Well, shall I peruse your refrigerator or just snap my fingers?" he asked, once the cook had left.

Brynne rolled her eyes, unable to help another smile. He seemed very at home here, especially given what had happened the last time he'd visited. Thankfully, Lila was making enough noise upstairs to prevent her mother from a re-enactment of that visit. "Come through," she told Sol. "I figure too many people know you're here and cooking for you to poison us too easily."

"My dear lady," he started, laying a hand against his chest in mock shock. "I would never so much as harm a hair on your head, if I was able to prevent it," he told her a little too solemnly, as if this was very important to him.

"And you're still taking me too seriously," she pointed out, hooking her fingers around his tie to pull him into the kitchen. Once there, she released him, pulling down cups for coffee and a glass that she filled with juice for when Lila came back into view. And perhaps encouragingly ....she remembered how he took his coffee without needing to ask.

Splash of milk and a dash of sugar, for the record, though he didn't bother to remind her or check to see if she was making it properly. "May I?" he asked, with one hand on the door to the fridge. He was either going to have to check the contents of her fridge and cupboards for the ingredients he needed or do a little magical shopping of his own.

"Be my guest," she said, gesturing toward the fridge herself. "Which you kind of are. Coffee." She placed the cup on the counter nearest to him, forcing herself not to kiss his cheek or touch him. Initiating hadn't gone so well for her today. With her own coffee in hand, she leaned against the counter, watching him investigate the surprisingly well-stocked contents of her kitchen.

He chuckled at something she'd said. "You're not going to break into song, are you?" he teased as he made himself at home in her kitchen, gathering together various contents of her fridge and cupboard.

"Well, seeing as I'm not a candelabra, a clock, or a teapot, I'd say you're safe," she smirked, sipping her coffee.

"Safe from what?" Lila asked, slithering into the kitchen on stockinged feet. The girl had changed out of her uniform and into jeans and a sweater, wrapping her arms around Brynne's waist to say a proper hello.

Brynne smiled, curling her arm about Lila's shoulders as she kissed her daughter's hair. "Safe from me singing," she shared warmly.

"I haven't heard you sing in years," Lila pointed out. "You should."

"I thought she was about to break into 'Be Our Guest'," Sol admitted with a playful grin aimed at Lila. He wasn't sure if she'd break into song or not, but it was, at least, nice to see Brynne smiling. He turned away to put a pot of water on to boil, the smile fading as he did, his heart aching with a feeling he hadn't acknowledged in a long time - loneliness.

"You have no idea," he murmured, worrying that she was going to hate him when she found out the truth - how he'd manipulated her and why, along with the guilt he carried on her account. There was no reason to think she wouldn't hate him when she found out the truth, though he hoped she wouldn't. He was acutely aware of her touch, trying as he could to ignore it.

She let that pass gently, slipping her hand from his back. "Maybe you should try me sometime," she suggested, without judgment or pressure, turning away to close up the dishwasher. "That coffee should be fresh again by now, if you need more."

"Maybe," he replied, knowing he'd have to tell her the truth sometime, but not now, not yet. He wasn't ready to have her hate him yet. Funny to think she had cared for him once upon a time, though she wouldn't remember it. "I never say no to coffee," he told her, glad she'd changed the subject. There were other things he hadn't said no to either, though maybe he should have.

"You have now used my kitchen twice, you can serve yourself," she told him with a wry smile, gesturing for him to do just that as she turned her attention to setting the table for the three of them. It felt ....easy ....having him there, easier than she had thought it would. Perhaps it was the way he had fallen into conversation with Lila, or the way he didn't seem to be inclined to asking her those difficult questions anymore. Or perhaps she was just leaving herself open to his company, in a way she hadn't done for more than a decade.

He tried not to let his thoughts stray to how good it felt to be here with her and Lila, how normal, just like being part of a family again. He'd watched from a distance while all the families at Maple Grove went about the business of living, while he stood apart, separate, not really a part of anyone's life here, except as a paid employee. He did as she asked, refilling his coffee and adding a touch of milk and sugar to his liking, thoughts turning inward as much as he didn't want them to.

Brynne let him have his thoughts, knowing that sometimes you had to let them rule you before you could break free. This was the closest to vulnerable she had ever seen him before, and she was not going to make a spectator sport out of it. Keeping busy, she laid the table in just a few minutes, only then turning back to him. One hand reached out to touch his cheek, stroking her thumb against his skin. "Thank you, for being stubborn," she said softly. "It feels good to have you here."

Surprised, not only by her touch but the way she'd said those words, like she really meant them. "It feels good to be here," he told her as softly in return as he turned to face her, taking her hand from his cheek and touching it to his lips for a tender and in a way, charmingly old fashioned and chaste kiss. His voice was warm with what seemed like affection or fondness, though as far as she knew, they had only just met. He paused a moment, saying nothing, as if he was waiting for her to say or do something, to question the moment at hand before he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

A part of her wanted to make a joke, to lighten what felt like a moment that had the potential to be life-changing. But not even Brynne would do that; not even she would deliberately throw away what might be her only chance. Touched by the way he kissed her hand, the way her fingers curled about his as though they belonged, she could feel herself smiling without moving her lips, knowing how intimate that expression was and how rarely it was given. "Try me."

He was almost afraid to ask her what he had in mind, and he was rarely afraid of anything these days. "Do you believe in the possibility of souls" Of a part of the human existence that goes on forever and never dies?" he asked, with an expression that said this was an important and serious question, albeit a bit out of the blue.

The question might have seemed a little out of left field, but he seemed to have forgotten which family she came from. "I don't need to believe it, I know it's true," she said quietly. "I've got a cousin who's seen some of the past lives she's lived. So yes, I believe in the possibility. This isn't the end, it's just a step on the journey."

"For humans," he pointed out. He wasn't really saying why this distinction was important, except to remind her that he was neither human nor mortal. "Human souls are special. Ironic, isn't it, how so many humans crave immortality without knowing how immortal they really are?"

"I don't think it matters how long you have," she said still in that quiet tone, uncertain why they were talking about this. "I think what?s important is what you do with the time you're given. Isn't it?"

"That depends. Some people have more time than others," he said, though it was still unclear why he had brought this up. Did he want to go so far as to tell her that he'd searched for her for centuries or was that too much for her to handle right now" "No one really knows how much time they have, do they?"

"I think if we knew how long we had, we'd waste time trying to make that span longer," she mused thoughtfully. "Instead of being with the people we love, doing the things we enjoy; instead of living our lives, we'd waste them grasping at more time. It's human nature."

"I think you're right. In fact, I know you're right," he said, but thankfully, it seemed the morose mood had lifted now that he'd gotten a little of what had been eating at him off his chest. "Anyway, we only have twenty minutes until the mac and cheese is ready, and I promised Mrs. Kirkpatrick I'd make some veggies to go with it, so what do you and Lila like?"

She smiled as his mood seemed to lift. "I won't tell if you don't," she suggested. Evidently Mrs. Kirkpatrick's healthy balanced meals were something of an onslaught. At least Lisbeth had tried to make those balanced meals varied and interesting, but she wasn't their housekeeper anymore. She was family.

"How about a salad?" he suggested. There was no cooking involved there, so it would be fast and easy, and most everyone liked salad.

"Tell you what, if you can get Lila to eat salad, I won't kick you out at bedtime," she offered teasingly. Lila was, after all, a child still. Children were not known for their discerning palates.

"Alright, watch this," he said, and with a wave of one hand, as if conducting an orchestra, the contents of a salad started drifting out of her refrigerator, a knife animating to chop the veggies up and toss them into bowls all at his direction. It was like watching The Sorcerer's Apprentice with vegetables.

"You're not gonna make me dance with a mop or anything, are you?" she drawled in amusement, but her eyes had come alive at the sight of this display of magic. There was a childlike enjoyment in seeing inanimate objects get up and start moving around, capturing her imagination and holding her attention.

"No, but it lacks something. Music!" he exclaimed, realizing that was the missing ingredient in his presentation, and suddenly the kitchen, not the hills, came alive with the sound of music to accompany the dance of the vegetables.

Brynne jumped, suddenly surrounded by sound as well as motion, and let out a laugh. A genuine, childlike laugh that wasn't forced or put on display; she was giggling in true enjoyment of what she was seeing and hearing, leaning into Sol's side as she watched the antics around them.

"It's not spying if you're not hiding, and I wasn't hiding, I was just walking," Lila pointed out, making a face as Brynne set the bowl of salad down next to her. "You said vegetables, not grass."

"Lila." Brynne said her daughter's name with just enough warning to keep the ungrateful comments from spilling out.

"Thank you, Mr. Sol."

"What would you like it to taste like, Lila?" Sol asked, curiously, though there was a method to his madness. He removed the oven mitts and laid them on the counter before taking a seat at the table to join them.

Brynne eyed him a little suspiciously. She was never going to be able to convince her daughter to eat vegetables if he made them taste like something else entirely.

Lila, on the other hand, seemed to take this query to heart, giving it her full attention as she waited for the main part of the meal to be served. "I don't know," she admitted. "But not like grass. It's all really sharp and juicy and weird. That's not food, that's bad water that didn't freeze right."

"What kind of salad dressing do you like?" he inquired further, as he took it upon himself to scoop out a healthy portion of mac and cheese and plopped it onto each of their plates. Lila's portion was only a fraction smaller than his and Brynne's, but there was plenty more where it came from.

"Auntie Lis makes one that's nice," Lila offered. "Kinda tangy and fresh, but I don't know how she makes it."

"I do," Brynne said quietly. "It's very simple, you know, bear. It's just lemon juice and olive oil."

Lila's mouth fell open. "Really?"

"That's simple enough," Sol remarked. He snapped his fingers and there it was on the table - a bottle of Lis' salad dressing, or as close to it as he could get without knowing the exact recipe. "Try that on your grass and see what it tastes like," he told her, with a wink sent in Brynne's direction.

"Oooh, magic!" Lila grabbed for the bottle, sniffing it curiously before sprinkling a healthy dose of the contents over her salad.

Brynne chuckled softly, meeting Sol's eyes in relief. Salad dressings, she could get behind. "That's enough," she told Lila, taking the bottle. "Now taste it."

Sol waited with baited breath to see if Lila would accept or reject the salad dressing he'd pinched from out of thin air. This sort of magic was easy for a warlock of his skill and experience, but it was also more rewarding in that he genuinely enjoying pleasing people, and unlike others of his kind, did not see mortals as being inferior.

Stabbing her fork into the greens, Lila shoveled a large mouthful past her lips, chewing thoughtfully as she considered the taste. Brynne bit down her own smile at the sheer size of that mouthful, avoiding looking at either of them in case she laughed. But eventually, Lila swallowed.

"That's real good, Mr. Sol," she conceded reluctantly. "Can you teach Mom how to cook?"

"I can if she likes," Sol replied. "But what about Mrs. Kirkpatrick?" he asked. He wasn't even sure exactly what Mrs. Kirkpatrick's job was here. Was she just a cook or a housekeeper, too' He'd never thought to ask, nor had he ever had need of one himself, being a warlock as he was.

Lila pulled a face, but kept her opinion to herself. "She can still come if she wants, but she doesn't have to cook anymore," she said, settling her attention to eating the meal in front of her.

Brynne chuckled softly, pouring out three glasses of water before raising her own fork. "I think, if I knew how to cook, we probably wouldn't need her every day, bear," she said thoughtfully. "She might not want to come if all we need her for is cleaning."

"Well, as it so happens, I spend a good amount of my day here at Maple Grove. I could easily stop by after work a few days a week and whip something up," Sol suggested, though he didn't want to put Mrs. Kirkpatrick out of work or upset the routine they had already established. "Or if you like, I could come by on weekends and teach you to cook," he offered, as an alternative.

"Weekends sounds like a better idea," Brynne nodded in agreement, relieved Sol had cut to the heart of why she didn't want to just terminate the older woman's employment. Mrs. Kirkpatrick genuinely enjoyed looking after them, after all.

"Does that mean you'll come over and sleep here at weekends and everything?" Lila asked hopefully.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there, okay?" Sol replied with a smile, reaching over to affectionately tweak Lila's nose. He'd never been overly fond of children, but that was mostly because he'd never been exposed to too many of them and had never had any of his own. He'd chosen a solitary life, for the most part, for reasons of his own choosing and that he wasn't about to share at dinner anyway. "The trick to eating salad, Lila, is to smother it in a tasty salad dressing so it doesn't taste so much like rabbit food," he told her, adding a good dollop of the lemon juice and olive oil mixture to his own salad and skewering a forkful of the stuff to prove his point.

"I happen to like so-called rabbit food, thank you very much," Brynne chuckled, foregoing the dressing to enjoy her salad on its own. "This is lovely. Thank you, Sol."

Lila nodded around a mouthful of mac and cheese. "Fank 'oo," she managed to echo.

"No need," Sol replied, with a dismissive wave of a hand. "Even warlocks have to eat sometimes," he said, grinning around a forkful of mac and cheese. He made no secret of what he was, but he didn't flaunt it either, knowing there were those who might choose to cause him harm, just because he was different.

"What is a warlock?" Lila asked curiously. It wasn't that she was unaware of magic, or of other races. It was more that she wanted to know what made Sol special enough to have caught her mother's attention after Lila's entire lifetime of celibacy.

"It's sort of the male version of a witch," Sol replied, giving her the simplest explanation possible, if not the most accurate. "But we're not like the witches and warlocks in the Brothers Grimm tales. We aren't inherently evil. We don't eat children, or hand out poison apples, or ride broomsticks, or put curses on people. We aren't like the witches in Harry Potter either. We don't need wands or potions, or incantations. At least, not for simple magic. It's all in here, you see," he said, tapping a finger against his temple.

"What does inherently mean?" the eleven-year-old asked, absorbing everything he told her as she ate.

Brynne smiled to herself, letting Sol field the questions, since he was clearly comfortable answering them for now. The moment he seemed uncomfortable, she'd step in.

"Pop," Lila provided instantly. "Because you wiggle your fingers and things just pop out of nowhere."

Brynne smiled, leaving it to Sol to field that one. Pop was, after all, another synonym for father.

Sol chuckled at that suggestion. Old as he was, he had worked hard to keep up with culture and not become too much of a fossil. "And what?s wrong with just calling me Sol?" he asked, amusing lighting his eyes again at last.

"Everyone calls you Sol," Lila pointed out. "And everyone should have a name that just for them, that people who love them use, shouldn't they' Like Mom calls me bear, and Vicki calls Emily little bee, and I'm gonna call you Pop, and you can't stop me. So there."

For once in his life, Sol actually looked surprised, brows arching upwards at Lila's insistence regarding the pet name. "And what shall I call you, then?" he asked, though he had the feeling that was a question only he could answer. It seemed that pet names weren't something you chose for yourself, but that someone chose for you.

"Something nice," was Lila's only contribution there.

Brynne laughed, taking a sip of her water. "Pet names just kind of happen," she assured Sol. "There's no pressure on you to come up with one right this minute, or ever. Just, you know, sometime when you call her something that fits, it might stick. That's all."

"If I'm Pop, does that make the two of you Snap and Crackle?" he asked, making a joke of his own, though he wasn't sure if Lila would get it. She was probably a little too young to get that reference. It did seem to amuse him and lighten the mood though.

Brynne snorted with laughter, enjoying the play on words even if Lila didn't quite get it.

"Who's Snap and who's Crackle?" the girl demanded to know. She didn't get the reference, but she liked the silliness all the same.

"Oh, you are definitely Crackle," Sol replied, with a smirk, though he wasn't sure why. The name just seemed to fit her better than the other. He knew this was a ridiculous conversation, but he found himself enjoying it.

"Why am I Crackle and not Mom?" Lila asked, her curiosity piqued by this seemingly random decision. "Doesn't Mom go crackle to you?"

Brynne bit her lip. Personally, she thought Snap suited her just fine.

"No, she definitely goes snap, especially when she's angry, don't you think?" he countered, though there could be arguments for and against each of the name with regard to each of them.

"Mom gets angry with you?" Lila asked, apparently astounded by this revelation.

"And I think this is where we change the subject," Brynne announced in amusement, turning her attention to her daughter. "What was school like today' How did your presentation go?"

And with that, all thought of difficult questions was gone. Lila regaled them with an account of her day in school that continued well past the end of the meal and into the beginning of her homework, which she coaxed Sol into helping her with while Brynne tidied up the kitchen. It was a school night, so the time spent with Lila was definitely finite, coming to a rounded halt around half past eight, when Brynne shooed her daughter upstairs to get ready for bed.

As much as Sol was enjoying Lila's company, it was almost a relief when it was time for her to get ready for bed. He was finding a renewed respect for those who had children, even if there was only one of them. "How do you keep up with her?" he asked. Apparently, even warlocks got tired sometimes, too.

"Practice," Brynne assured him. "Besides, this is tame compared with what she was like as a toddler. Spare a thought for Jon and Vicki when you consider that, huh?" She smiled, heading toward the stairs herself. "Make yourself comfortable, I won't be too long."

He'd seen first hand what life was like for Jon and Vicki. Their crazy, hectic life was one of the reasons he'd been hired to help keep Jon organized and manage the day-to-day minutia of his career, especially now that Liv was busy with her own life and family. He furrowed his brows at the thought of that, while she tucked her daughter into bed. What did he know about such things, after all, when he hadn't been raised in a conventional manner"

Not too long turned about to be about twenty minutes, the last half of which was filled with the subtle sound of conversation between mother and daughter, too low to follow, but warm and loving. Brynne made it all the way downstairs before Lila was heard one last time.

"Good night, Mr. Sol!"

Snorting with laughter, the mother cast one last look upstairs before joining Sol once again. "There, she's settled. Are you okay?"

"Good night, Crackle!" he called back, turning the TV off now that Brynne had rejoined him. He hadn't been paying much attention to it anymore, just flipping between channels of nonsense to pass the time. "I'm fine," he assured her, sliding over to make room for her on the couch. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," she mused, easing down onto the couch beside him, "Lila at home is a very different creature to Lila out there. I'm sorry she asked so many questions, but I figured you could handle it."

"No, I expected her to ask me questions. I just wasn't expecting her to ask them so soon," he said, a thoughtful frown on his face. "To be honest, I haven't really considered Lila in any of this, until tonight," he said, seemingly hinting at the fact that this went a little deeper than a mere chance meeting, at least for him.

"She's part of the reason I wasn't exactly ....inviting ....to begin with," Brynne admitted, settling against his side with a comfort she hadn't thought would be there yet. "Me dating ....it affects her, even if she tries to brush it off. Like I said, it's been just me and her for all her life, pretty much. Her dad burned his bridges before she turned three, she barely remembers him."

He'd promised himself he wouldn't ask about that - about Lila's father - but if they really were going to make a go of this, there would have to be no secrets between them on either side. "You were protecting her," he said, putting what she'd told him in different terms that more than adequately explained her reasons for keeping her distance.

"And hiding behind her," she admitted. That was a big step, to admit that she had been using her daughter as an excuse not to let anyone close. "I think ....I think I can trust my instincts, these days. I know myself, and I know her, and ....well, I think I know you well enough to know that you are nothing like Luke. Incidentally, if he ever shows up again, I am going to reach down his throat, grab his balls, and tie them in a knot on the top of his head."

"I don't know. I prefer to think we make our own decisions and choose our own fate, but I've seen things ..." he trailed off, seemingly not yet ready to share those experiences, if he ever would be. "I believe in Free Will, for lack of a better phrase. You might be born with preordained possibilities, but in the end, you choose what path you take, if that makes any sense."

"That makes sense," she agreed thoughtfully. "I guess it's not something I've ever really thought about. I mean, if Fate is real, then wherever I end up is where I'm meant to be, and I have no real say in it. But if it's not real, then there's no guarantee that I'll ever make up for the person I was ten years ago, and I don't think I want that."

"No, you choose your own Fate to some extent, Brynne. There are, of course, things you can't control, but you can control how you react to those things and how you choose to live your life. There's not much point in dwelling on a past that can't be changed. All you can really do is learn from it, and I'm sorry." He broke off again, laughing at himself. "I'm getting a little too philosophical."

She was smiling as he spoke. "Do I look bored?" she asked innocently. "I don't feel bored. Of course, if you think this is bored, then I guess I'm gonna have to work on my fascinated and also slightly horny facial expression a bit more."

"Slightly horny?" he echoed with another chuckle. "Should we just go straight to bed, don't pass Go, don't collect $200?" he quipped, quoting one of the cards in the game of Monopoly, though that took your playing piece to Jail, not bed with a beautiful woman.

"Hey, I'm keeping it under control," she protested laughingly. "I haven't thrown you to the floor and removed your pants, have I" So no complaining, buster." One finger waggled below his nose briefly.

"No complaints here," he assured her with a smile, tilting his head forward to touch a kiss to her finger as she waggled it in front of him. He knew Lila was just up the stairs, and he had no way of knowing whether or not she was asleep without using his magic to find out, but he was in this for the long term and content to follow Brynne's lead.

She laughed softly, pinching the end of his nose with a gentle twist of her forefinger and thumb. "Just so we're clear," she told him. "I'd like you stay. But I think, for Lila's sake, you probably shouldn't be here in the morning. It's gonna take some time for her to get used to having you around. Baby steps, you know?"

"Oh," he said, taken a little aback by her backstepping, though she claimed it was for Lila's sake. He wasn't too sure himself, as Lila seemed to have practically given him permission to stay, but he wasn't about to question her either. "Baby steps, right. Should I...?" he asked, gesturing toward the door, wondering if he should go now before either of them got carried away.

"I don't mean ..." Brynne sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I did say I wasn't very good at this, didn't I?" Raising her eyes to his, she offered an apologetic smile. "You don't have to go yet. I just ....I guess I was trying to warn you so you're not offended if we get past a certain point and I send you home?"

"No, I understand. You have to do what?s best for your daughter," he told her, understanding that completely, even if he did feel a little disappointed, and even if he knew it was silly to feel that way. "You're lucky, you know, to have Lila and your brother and your family and friends." He wasn't telling her to make her feel guilty or to garner sympathy; he was only telling her the truth, as he saw it. She might have been lacking a life partner, but she more than made up for it with family and friends.

Her hands rose, capturing his jaw in her gentle grasp, making sure he met her eyes. "You're not alone, Sol," she told him. "You may not have family - I wouldn't know - but you have friends. You have Liv, and Jon, and you have me. I know I'm not much, but I'm not going anywhere. If it was just me, I wouldn't let you leave. But I can't rush Lila into a whole new way of life. I won't do it. We'll get there, if that's where we're going."

He nodded, smiling softly back at her, even if he was still feeling a little disappointed. He had waited a long time to see her again, and there had been no guarantees. He could wait a little bit longer, if that was what she wanted. "I'm a very patient man, Brynne, and you are worth waiting for."

"And that's how I know you won't hurt us," she answered, leaning close to brush her lips softly to his. "You're a good man, Sol. Gods know what I did to deserve you deciding to be stubborn in my direction, but I'm glad you are."

He could have told her right then and there what it was that she'd done to capture his attention and even devotion, but it was a very long story and one that could wait a little while longer. He had claimed to be a patient man, but he couldn't help but wonder what she would she think when she found out he'd waited hundreds of years to find her again and reclaim what had been stolen from them. "I'm glad you gave me the chance to get to know you and to get to know Lila. It means more than you can possibly know."

"Well, you should prove it," she teased, flicking the tip of her finger against the end of his nose. "You really should kiss me again. You're wasting the slightly horny face and everything."

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm a little shy?" he asked with a smirk on his face, though it was hard to tell if he was being honest or just teasing her. He didn't bother to wait for a reply though, leaning close to brush a soft kiss against her lips, one and then another and another.

His kisses found her giggling, refusing to believe that the man who had enthusiastically abetted in his own defilement on her kitchen table was ever going to be that shy around her. And slowly, those giggles faded as her arms curled about him, smiling lips answering his with kisses of her own, awakening what she had been holding at bay since he'd cornered her against the filing cabinet hours before.

But was this where they wanted to enjoy each other, here on the couch where Lila might catch them in the act at any moment' Sol couldn't help but enjoy her kisses, but he also thought they needed to be a little more discreet, at least so long as Lila was in the house. They'd never hear the end of it if she walked in on them while they were too lost in each other to notice. He wasn't even sure if she wanted a repeat performance or if she was content merely to share kisses. As for himself, his body was demanding more than kisses, but everything depended on her.

"Brynne," he whispered between kisses, "not here."

She tensed as he said her name, that wariness of being rejected flaring for just a moment before it was soothed away by his whispered assertion. Not here. Not where Lila might walk in on something. "All right," she breathed back to him, forcing herself to draw away, to rise onto her feet and offer him her hand. He knew where her bedroom was, but this time, she was inviting him there.

There was no danger of her being rejected, not by him, not so long as a heart beat in his chest and he was able to satisfy her every desire. The last time they'd made love, he'd carried her to the bedroom, both of them in a frenzy of needful desire, but this time, he planned on taking his time. Following her to the bedroom, hand in hand, like two young lovers, he couldn't help but smile. She may have asked him to leave before morning, but he would make sure he was missed.

Last time it had been frenzied. It had almost been a competition, a race to see who would cry foul first that neither one of them had been willing to lose. This time ....this felt ....Brynne could feel herself trembling. Anticipation was doing the work of a teenager's hormones, filling her with nerves as she drew him into the only place that was solely hers. She felt vulnerable, as though he could see straight through her, as though he could see all the flaws she knew only too well. But he was there, despite those flaws. Did he really not know how intimidating that was"

Who was he to judge her for her flaws when he possessed so many of his own? And yet, he thought she was perfect just the way she was. Maybe if he'd met her years ago, he might have thought differently, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was the here and the now. Explanations would come later. Right now was not the time for talk, and Sol intended not only to leave Brynne speechless, but breathless.

This time, she didn't fight him when her skin was bared to his eyes and his touch. This time, she didn't almost strangle him trying to get his shirt off before undoing his tie. This time felt almost like a dance; one where she knew the steps, knew her partner, and yet every twist, every turn, was new and thrilling. This time, she didn't try to escape when the moment was over, daring instead to nestle close against him and wish, if only for a second, that he would be there in the morning.

But there would be other mornings. For now, they had tonight.