There had been a few changes since Lauren had moved in with Valerian. Just a few, given how panicked his response had been to just the thought of her stamping her personality on his penthouse apartment, but enough to offer a splash of color to the former bachelor pad. It was just on sunset when she got back home, setting her bag, coat, and shoes aside to investigate the kitchen and throw together a sandwich for herself. Val would be waking up reasonably soon, and even though he drank a mug of warm blood, it had become a habit to eat together, as it were.

What the vampire would have given to see just one more sunset, one more sunrise, but whether he would be willing to give up his immortality for it was uncertain. If there was a cure. That was still a pretty big If. Valerian was a creature of habit. He woke every night just after the sunset, rose, fed, and dressed in that order. After that, he sometimes visited his nightclub and tended to business there, though more often than not, he trusted it to Adelia to run things there, only summoning him when she thought he was needed. Tonight was no different. Val made his way into the kitchen, looking pale and in need of blood, his hair mussed from bed. Unlike the plethora of fictional vampires, he preferred a bed to a coffin and always had.

"There you are," he said, as he wandered into the kitchen, pausing to touch a kiss to her lips, his own lips a little too cold yet.

"Mmm, here I am," Lauren agreed, smiling into his kiss. She turned, smoothing her hands over his sides to his back as she leaned into him. "Sleep well, baby?"

"Like the dead," he quipped, the ghost of a smirk against his lips. Or more like the undead. He'd never liked that word to describe his condition. He wasn't dead or undead. He was alive; he just wasn't human anymore. He touched his nose to hers and gave her rear a squeeze, but he couldn't tarry too long before he had to feed. "You smell like ..." He buried his face in her hair a moment, trying to identify the scent. It was like nothing he'd ever smelled before. Vaguely human, but different.

She giggled as he squeezed her backside, lifting her head even as he buried his face in her hair. She rolled her eyes, stroking his back gently. "I smell like Aurelia Evans and Rhys Bristol," she told him. "Teeth away from my jugular until you've fed, please."

"Hm, so am I smelling witch or something else?" he murmured uncertainly, all too aware of the pulse that beat dangerously close to his lips.

But he would never hurt her, not in a hundred thousand years, not if she were the last source of blood on Earth. He'd rather die first. He took her warning seriously though, and broke away from her to fetch a canister of blood from the fridge and warm it in the microwave. It wasn't quite as enticing as a warm body, but at least there were more civilized options in today's world.

"I'm not sure," Lauren admitted. "She is a witch, I'm certain of that, but she doesn't smell like one and she doesn't seem to be attached to any demon or god. And I have no idea what Rhys Bristol is. He's human, but at the same time, he is something else entirely."

"A witch who isn't tethered to a demon or god?" he asked, arms crossed, tapping a finger against his side while he impatiently waited for the microwave to beep. "Is such a thing possible?"

"It seems to be." Lauren wasn't entirely sure of that, but she had felt the aura of power in that house. "She may be unique, but I am more than willing to concede that she can probably do everything she suggested she would if we harm or cause harm to come to her friends."

"Why would we harm them?" Val asked, the question redundant, not expecting an answer. The microwave beeped and he pulled the door open to retrieve his breakfast, warm and thick and crimson. He took his first swallow, feeling the stuff slide down his throat and warm him from the inside out, before he turned to face her again. "Are they willing to help us?" he asked curiously. He had already expressed his doubts to Tobias. Why would they want to help them' Then again, maybe they could help each other.

"They're going to talk it over with each other, which is fair enough." Lauren took a bite of her sandwich, moving to sit down on a stool by the breakfast bar as she ate. "They have children they need to be sure about protecting, and I'm pretty sure they have other sources they can get to investigate and make sure we're being honest with them. But Rhys wants to meet Toby."

"Well, that's progress, I guess," Val admitted, unsure how he felt about that. He wasn't sure he trusted a man who had a reputation for being one of the world's fiercest hunters. Probably a hero, by human standards. Val wasn't so sure. He wasn't so sure about Toby's experiments either. Given the choice, would he want to trade immortality for an early death? "I don't know why Toby is so hell bent on this cure anyway. It's almost an obsession with him."

"I think it's because of Lorelei," Lauren said thoughtfully. "Because if there had been a cure, he thinks he could have cured her and she'd have lived a normal life, albeit without him, and he would only have had to grieve his little girl." She shook her head. Tobias hated that anyone was turned without their consent. She could understand why he wanted to be able to give people in that situation hope.

Val said nothing about that, only clenched his jaw, his breakfast - his most immediate needs - almost forgotten for the moment. Like Lauren, he knew about Tobias' past, but Josef was gone, destroyed. They had destroyed him together.

"What about me?" he asked, blurting a question he'd been mulling too long. "If Toby is right about this, if there is a cure, then what about me" How would you feel about me being ....mortal?"

Lauren put down her sandwich, frowning curiously as she looked over at him. "Baby, that's not my choice to make," she told him gently. "I mean ....best case scenario, the cure will just remove the immortality and let you age normally from this physical point. That means that I would outlive you, but I would be by your side right to the end. Val, I love you. Whatever you choose to do, I'll be there beside you."

Valerian frowned. He wasn't sure that was good enough for him, and as much as he trusted him, he certainly wasn't going to fill the role of Tobias' guinea pig. "I'm not sure how many of our kind will accept a cure," he remarked, that frown still in place. Then again, he assumed it would be a matter of choice.

"In the end, I don't think it matters," Lauren said in a thoughtful tone. "Working on the cure gives Toby purpose, and with Lorelei and Josef dead, he doesn't really have that anymore."

That didn't help wipe the frown from Valerian's face. "And after he's finished?" he queried. Presuming Tobias was successful. It worried him that his friend and sire might give up on life, or even take the cure himself. He couldn't imagine Tobias aging and growing old. It was unthinkable.

She reached out, curling her hand over his around the mug in his grasp. "These aren't questions I can answer, baby," she reminded him gently. "Toby wouldn't mind you asking him. And the cure is by no means a guarantee. Just having a sample of that blood doesn't mean it can be replicated."

It was such an intimate act that they rarely partook, and it said a lot about how rattled Lauren was about her meeting with the witch and the hunter today that she would suggest it with so little preamble. She needed that moment of preternatural closeness as much as he did, clinging to him as their minds merged for just a few seconds, long enough to be absolutely certain without any room for doubt that this was where she was supposed to be.

He caught just a glimpse of her conversation with the witch and the hunter as his mind touched hers. He could have stayed there all day, savoring the taste of her, but he had learned control. He wasn't so hungry that he couldn't restrain himself, no matter how much he savored her blood. After indulging for a few minutes, he reluctantly pulled away, licking the last vestiges of blood from his lips with a happy sigh.

"Your turn, love," he told her, retracting his fangs so that he looked almost human.

The puncture wounds on her neck oozed just a little as she smiled up at him, the tip of her nose circling his.

"You'd better have had enough this time," she warned, though she was not above taking a side trip to the club just to make sure he was overfed.

Still, she trusted him, her fingers gently curling to the back of his head, tilting his neck as she kissed his jugular, consciously unsheathing her own fangs. A moment later, and her teeth pierced his skin, retracting instantly to let her suckle just enough to heal over her new wounds.

He smiled and groaned with pleasure as she partook of his blood, their minds once again touching if only for a moment. She'd likely sense his worry over her safety, not only because of her meeting with the witch and the hunter, but simply because he couldn't imagine life without her anymore. It wasn't the same kind of affection he felt for Tobias or Adelia; it was the kind of love one felt for a mate, for the other half of their soul.

Her tongue swept tenderly over the marks she left behind, watching them close almost in the same moment as the marks on her own throat closed over, the bruises fading until they were nothing. Licking her lips clean, Lauren tipped her head back, flashing Val a sweet smile. "You always taste incredible."

"It's my sweet nature," he teased, waggling his brows as he grinned at her. He definitely felt more invigorated, the color returning to his face, his fingers warm as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "What now" We have the whole night ahead of us."

She considered him for a moment, that familiar playful mischief in her expression now she was no longer concerned about his strength. "Toby or the Gregorys," she suggested. "Your choice, since you're driving."

"Why not kill two birds - or in this case, three - with one stone?" he asked, not counting Aly, since she was a child. "After all, Nick and Willow need to hear what you're going to tell Toby," he pointed out, and that way they wouldn't have to repeat themselves. "You can call while I drive."

"See, that's why you're the brains of this outfit." She grinned, lifting up onto her toes to kiss him softly for a moment, drawing her fingers through his hair to muss it up just the way she liked it. "Shall we go?"

He chuckled as she mussed his hair, but didn't bother to smooth it, since she seemed to like it that way. "Are you sure you don't want to drive?" he asked, dangling the keys from his finger again. It wasn't often he offered, but he was in an exceptionally good mood tonight.

"I thought I was the one making the phone call?" she asked in amusement, linking her fingers with his as she headed for the elevator. "I might get light-headed a little in a while, we don't want to risk scratching your baby."

"You're right. I would rather drive. You can make the phone call," he agreed, lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss just as they reached the elevator. He cocked his head at her curiously a moment. "Why would you get light-headed?"

"Blood loss, healing." Lauren's smile didn't falter as she explained gently. "I'm still just human enough to need a little bit more time to get over a feed than you do." She winked at him, tugging him into the elevator.

"Then you are definitely not driving," he said, in complete agreement. He closed his fingers around the keys in his hand before pressing a thumb against the button to summon the elevator. "You know, Tobias is a little obsessed with finding a cure. He has been ever since I've known him." Which was a long time, since Tobias had turned him.

"Yeah, same here," Lauren agreed, looping his arm over her shoulders as she leaned into his side. "But it's not like he hasn't had any breakthroughs. Like that cream stuff he can put on his hand" That was a big day." Admittedly, Tobias hadn't got any further than that just yet, but he was only one of many looking for the elusive cure.

"You know, I'm not really sure I'd want to be human again," Val admitted, a small frown on his face. There were definitely advantages to being a vampire, but there were drawbacks, too. "All that nonsense about digestion, for one thing. I don't recall being too fond of sickness either," he said, reaching out to hold the elevator door open so she could get in.

"Val, no one's saying you have to," she pointed out, stepping into the elevator and turning to lean back against the wall as she watched him. "I don't think anyone working on developing a cure is expecting to use it themselves. It seems more like a means to make the future a little less them and us, you know" To be able to give people who are turned against their will the option of going back."

"I suppose," he admitted, that frown still on his face, more thoughtful now than worried. "Nick and Willow haven't been vampires very long. They might appreciate a cure," he said. Their dhampir daughter would outlive them, but most children outlived their parents anyway.

"Yeah, they might, if it happens within the next twenty years," she said, shaking her head. "But that is a huge if, baby. And there's no guarantee that Rhys Bristol will agree to give Toby a blood sample anyway."

"If he does and Toby is able to concoct a cure, there may not be as many vampires to hunt," Val pointed out. Though he had not yet met this hunter and quite possibly wouldn't, he assumed the man might be interested in lowering the vampire population without having to hunt them down and kill them. The thought worried him though. "Are you sure this hunter is trustworthy?" he asked, belatedly realizing the irony in using the words 'hunter' and 'trustworthy' in the same statement.

She twisted in her seat, holding his gaze for a long moment. "There are different layers of trust," she said quietly. "Do I trust him to work with us in eliminating the group that want to kill him and his family' Yes, because he has a personal stake in that. Do I trust him to let us be after that' I don't know. I think it will all depend on how it goes. The only thing I am absolutely certain of is that he will not hurt Aly, so Nick and Willow are safe, too."

"How can you know that?" he asked, not so sure himself whether they could trust a hunter with someone so rare as a child who was a dhampir. Of course, every child was precious, but there were only five dhampirs known to exist in the entire world. "How can you be sure?" He wasn't asking because he doubted her judgment; he was asking because he was worried about her safety and the safety of all those he'd come to love.

"Because no one can fake that level of anger just at the thought of someone hurting a child, no matter their origin," Lauren said softly. She reached for his hands. "Look, baby, I don't trust him with my life. I have no reason to trust hunters, no matter how personable they are. I've been burned before. But he deserved to know that he's in danger, that his children are in danger. We don't have to like him, we don't have to trust him. We just have to work together on this one thing."

Val seemed to consider a moment. It wasn't that the hunter had a child and a family that made him change his mind; it was the fact that Tobias had been working on a cure for so long and for all the right reasons. Val might never be ready to give up his immortality, but it wasn't his place to make that decision for others. For Nick and Willow, who'd been turned against their will. For others who'd suffered the same fate. Perhaps even for Adelia. Would she want a second chance at life, without the need to drink blood to survive" He sighed again.

"Very well. There's nothing I can do once Tobias has his mind set, but if this hunter so much as looks at you the wrong way, he will answer to me."

"I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about us," Lauren assured him, squeezing his hand. She, too, was uncertain quite what Rhys Bristol would make of her when they went into battle alongside each other; she knew she appeared completely human and harmless most of the time. Only those closest to her knew just how deadly she could be.

"He'd be a fool not to," Val agreed, meeting her gaze. "It's time hunters learn that we are not all blood-thirsty monsters, nor are we sparkly and misunderstood," he said, unsure which stereotype he detested more. His frowned deepened a moment, his expression contrite. "I'm sorry, Lauren. I shall try to keep an open mind."

"Baby, I don't blame you for the way you feel," she promised him. "And I know it looks like I'm not being cautious. But he won't trust us if we don't at least put on a show of trusting him." Her lips quirked into a teasing smile. "And we all know I'm best at that."

"I've yet to meet a trustworthy hunter," Val remarked, though he supposed there was a first time for everything. "Do you really believe what Toby says about him?" he asked, merely curious now.

She drew in a slow breath, thinking this over for a moment. "I want to?" she answered eventually. "I want to believe that a hunter could be that noble, that honest with the world. Is that naive of me?"

"No, it's rather noble," he replied, offering her a soft smile full of affection. "I'm afraid I've become rather cynical about the world. Vampire and all, you know," he said, as if that was an excuse for his feelings. Tobias had turned him, not so much because Val had wanted to become a vampire as it had been the only way to save him. Val never spoke of it or of the past, unless it was necessary, and it was something of a secret that only he and Tobias shared.

"It's hard not to turn cold to the world and the people in it when everyone around you dies while you stay young," she agreed softly, leaning close to kiss the tip of his nose. "That's why you have me. I'm not going anywhere."

"I won't leave you, Lauren," Val promised, bringing her hand to his lips, while meeting her gaze. He'd made up his mind there. Even if Tobias did present him with a cure, he wouldn't and couldn't leave Lauren - not when they'd just found each other.

"We're in this together, right' To the end?" She wasn't sure why she needed to hear him say it. Perhaps because the only other man she had ever loved had cared only enough to get her into a position where he could kill her with relative ease.

"To the end," he assured her, that soft smile on his face again. It was a promise he'd never given anyone else - not Adelia, not Tobias. He'd always delighted in his immortality, but though Lauren was long-lived, she wasn't immortal. One day, many years in the future, he would have to let her go, and for him, that would signal the end of his life, too.

She smiled, pressing her lips to his tenderly as her fingers teased through his hair. "I love you," she murmured, the diamond he had put on her finger sparkling in the artificial light of the gas station. "When this is over, we're going on holiday somewhere for a little bit, just you and me, and we're going to make those vows we've been putting off. Okay?"

"Are you talking about getting married?" he asked, dark eyes dancing with amusement. "How human of you," he teased. He didn't need a ceremony or a legal piece of paper to prove his love for her, but the idea of them going away together to make those vows in private was a tempting thought. "Where should we go?"

"Somewhere with warm waters and night-blossoming flowers," she suggested, nuzzling to him affectionately.

"Hmm, someplace tropical then," he murmured thoughtfully. Someplace where they could sleep the days away and indulge in long moonlit nights. "Or we could go where the sun hardly shines," he suggested, but it would be cold there. Frigid really. Too cold to be outside for long without the proper clothing. Even vampires could freeze.

Lauren smirked. "Baby, you know I love your chilly fingers, but there are parts of you I would rather not froze solid," she told him playfully, nipping at his lower lip before easing back into her own seat again.

"Tropical then," he repeated. "We'll just have to make do with the shorter nights," he said with a long-suffering sigh. "I have to admit, it would be nice to see the sunrise again, but I have no desire to become mortal."

"One of these days, I am going to get you to trust me when it comes to that glass," she informed him pointedly. "If even Julian can trust that he isn't going to burst into flames, then you should be able to."

"I'll show you how to put them away so they're not always out and poking your lips," she promised the little girl, taking the other proffered hand. Both dhampirs looked up at Valerian sweetly. "Lead the way, baby."

Despite his awkwardness, he was fond of the child. How could he not be? She was too adorable and too precious not to be fond of, not to want to protect. He'd protect her with his life, just as he would Lauren, if it came down to it.

"You are both adorable, you know," he said, as he led the way to and into the house Toby called home. And they both had him wound around their fingers.

"Of course we are," Lauren agreed in a playful tone. "We're perfection."

Between them, Aly snickered, bouncing along, secure in the knowledge that they would swing her without even thinking about it. She might not have many friends her own age, but Alessandra Gregory knew she was loved.

"You are also insufferable," Val complained, as he was silently coerced into swinging the child between them. "Both of you," he said, more to Lauren than Aly, with a hint of teasing in his eyes.

"It keeps you humble," was Lauren's answer, with a wink to her lover as Aly abandoned their hands at the height of the swing and bounced in through the front door, yelling for her parents and Tobias.

"They're here, they're here!"

"I'll have you know I'm the epitome of humble," Val contradicted, looking insulted, though they both knew that was the farthest thing from the truth. "I'm just a tad vain is all," he said, as if that excused his flaws and foibles.

"Oh, yeah, the tiniest tad," Lauren laughed, closing the door behind them as a grunt declared that Aly had thrown herself at someone else further into the house. "Marco!" she yelled out.

The answer came from Tobias. "We're in the living room, you ridiculous girl."

Valerian flashed a grin at Lauren before chuckling upon overhearing Tobias. "Even Tobias isn't old enough to have known Marco Polo," he remarked. "Well, here we are!" he declared as the two of them stepped into the living room, spreading his arms as if they should all be honored he'd finally arrived.

Nick grunted at the sight of Valerian. There was a time when the two vampires hadn't liked each other, but he couldn't deny that the older vampire had proved a formidable ally. It was better to be friends than enemies.

"As full of yourself as ever, I see," Nick murmured, not getting off the couch.

"It's gonna be one of those days," Willow muttered, flashing her husband an indulgent smile. Aly was latched onto her back, both of them bent over some kind of art and craftsy collage they were working on together.

Tobias smiled at Val and Lauren. "Make yourselves comfortable," he suggested. "I take it you have news."

Valerian flashed Nick a grin, before looking to Toby. "She does. I'm just the arm candy," he said, dropping into an overstuffed chair and drawing Lauren into his lap.

Lauren laughed as she was pulled into Val's lap, making herself comfortable with one arm draped about his shoulders. But the laughter didn't last long, set aside in favor of sharing everything that had happened in the meeting with Rhys Bristol just a few hours ago. "So basically," she finished, "we're just waiting on Aurelia to contact you, Toby, and let you know when and where the next meeting is."

"What's a hunter?" Aly asked curiously from where she sat, always included in conversations like this for obvious reasons.

"Someone who hunts things," Nick told his daughter simply, though that hardly explained things. He wasn't sure she should be there to take part in this conversation. After all, she was only a child, but he and Willow had agreed a long time ago not to keep anything from her.

Somehow Nick and Willow had created one of the cheekiest children they had ever come across. Aly twisted in her seat to look her Dad in the eye, her expression twinkling with mischief, and asked, "Is he a baaaaad hunter?"

"Are you asking if he hunts sheep?" Val asked, clearly not getting the joke, but then it had been a very long time since he'd been five years old. He looked to the others, as if looking for a translation.

Aly made a ridiculous face at Val, switching it to an apologetic grin when her mother prodded her.

"I do believe she is teasing her father," Tobias commented, drumming his fingertips on his knee. "We're not the only ones in on this. The wolves have started to identify the rogues who want those children gone, but apparently they believe that the children are under some kind of protection."

Nick smirked and tossed Aly a wink, clearly proud of his daughter's clever sense of humor, even if one of their party didn't appreciate it.

"Are they?" Val asked, his question aimed at Toby. "Other than that of their parents, I mean."

Toby glanced at Nick, who knew more about the Bristols and their surroundings than anyone. "Care to share your knowledge here, Nick?"

"I'm not sure I know much more than you," Nick replied with a shrug, though he was willing to share what he knew. He was a P.I., after all, and he had done a little digging. "The wolves worry me. There's one at the boy's daycare center, but I haven't been able to determine if she's friend or foe. So far, they haven't done much but watch, but if they want to cause the children harm, they won't wait forever. They're pretty well protected for now, at least, while they're home. The house is warded, and they're constantly being watched, but the daycare center and the school worry me."

Willow frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe we should tell the hunter that there are wolves in close proximity to his children," she suggested.

Tobias shook his head. "I find it hard to believe that those wolves are the ones we need to worry about," he said. "It seems as though they may well be of the same mind as us on this."

"It is a possibility, though I would expect to recognize the feel of angelic power," Tobias mused. "I did not, when I met Aurelia today. But that does not mean that another deity has not involved themselves. Angels are not purely Christian beings."

"Too many factions," Nick murmured. "We need to figure out who we can trust and who we can't," he urged again. "Are the wolves our only enemy' Are they the only ones who want the children ....gone?" he said, pausing a moment before replacing the word 'dead' with the other word, for his daughter's sake. She might be a dhampir, but to him, she was still a five-year-old child.

"No, unfortunately we have a faction of our own who need dealing with in that regard as well," Tobias told him. "We have council support for that; this isn't the only area where they are pushing their luck. If the wolves really are helping to protect the children in some way, it may be that they will aid in removing the threat of their rogues."

"Just as we will remove the threat of our rogues," Val murmured.

"This threat is more important right now than the cure," Nick said. "If we can't keep them safe, then there won't be any cure." He didn't bother to remind them all that they were talking about children here. That, no matter whether they were mortal or not, they were still children; they were still innocent. One arm reached for his daughter, drawing her close so that he could brush a kiss against her cheek and hug her close.

Aly scrambled up into Nick's lap, snuggling close into her daddy's arms to smooch his cheek just because he seemed to need it. Lauren's expression softened as she watched, silently envious that Alessandra got to grow up with both her parents watching over her, glad that she had played a part in making sure that happened.

"So at the moment, there's not much we can do," Willow pointed out. "We have to find out if the hunter is willing to negotiate and work with us before we can poke any further."

"And we need to make sure he doesn't think we're threatening his family," Nick pointed out. "We're not the enemy. But he has a right to know that his children's lives might be in danger." There was nothing he wouldn't do to protect his daughter, and he had a feeling the hunter felt the same.

"What about the children's mother?" Val asked. Not much had been said about her, as yet. All he'd heard was about the witch and the hunter and the Federal Agent.

"She's a thief," Tobias told him. "A rather infamous one, though the mundane police force have never been able to gather enough concrete evidence to arrest her."

"Aurelia said something about the mother being able to use spells," Lauren added. "But again, there's no sense of a demonic aura around that area, so there's a good chance there's an unidentified deity powering those."

"Whatever this other power is, perhaps," Valerian suggested, though he wasn't sure if it was a divine power or something else.

"Well, whatever it is, it's unlikely we're going to find out," Nick added. "So, what now?" he asked, wondering what Toby had in mind, as far as a plan was concerned.

Tobias considered the options for a long moment. "I think, at this point, all we can do is focus ourselves on our own problem, which is the vampires that want to kill his family," he said quietly. "If, during the course of that, the wolves become a problem, we will roll with it."

"First things first. This meeting ....Are you planning on going alone?" Nick asked next, unsure if that was wise. He wasn't sure if his sire was planning on taking someone along, but he didn't think he should go alone. He wasn't even sure where they were meeting as yet, though it would presumably have to be at night, or else Lauren would be the only one who could represent them.

"I'll go with him," Lauren volunteered, but Willow shook her head.

"No, we should let him see our faces," the youngest of the vampires said quietly, avoiding meeting her husband's eyes for a moment. "If we want him to trust us, then we should trust him. I'll go with Tobias."

"Hmm," Nick murmured thoughtfully. "How old are their children?" he asked, curiously, a thought coming to mind.

Tobias had opened his mouth to object, silenced when Nick spoke up. He blinked. "I ....can't recall," he admitted. "Lauren?"

The elder dhampir tilted her head toward them, fingertips teasing up and down Val's jugular impishly. "Five and three, I think," she answered.

"I'm five," Aly declared cheerfully.

"Yes, exactly," Nick replied, smiling proudly at his daughter before turning his gaze to the others, wondering if they were thinking what he was thinking. No, he didn't want to risk Aly's life, but if their children became friends, perhaps their parents could follow their lead.

Willow looked at him curiously, not as alarmed as, say, Tobias. "I don't see a problem with that," she mused. "Although if we do go that way, I'd like Lauren to come, too."

"Agreed," Nick said. "I don't think there should be too many of us there though, or he might find us a threat," he pointed out. He would have prefer to be there, too, but maybe he could be watching nearby.

"You don't really think I'm going to let you walk into what could be a trap, do you?" Valerian asked, looking appalled. There was strength in numbers, after all.

"I think he'll understand the precaution, if we have Aly there," Lauren said quietly. "He, uh, he went out of his way to let me know that he'd never hurt a child, and I believe him. I don't think it'll be a trap."

Tobias was frowning. "I'm afraid to say, I agree with Val here," the older vampire said sternly. "This seems like an entirely unnecessary risk."

"Not if they bring their children, as well," Nick said. He didn't really like the idea of using the children as a buffer to ensure both the hunter's safety, as well as their own, but perhaps if both factions saw what was at stake here - the safety of their children - they'd all be more inclined to work together against any possible threats. "We do seem to share the same goals and enemies."