Lexine sighed, and stayed leaning against him a moment, before kissing him softly. "I'll inform Winsten you're staying..." She said softly with a slight smile. "He'll like having you here...he always does." She added smirking a bit more.

"Hmm.. well... will he like planning a wedding? Even if we forgo the large wedding, our social standing will at least call for a gathering of some sort... a dinner party or ball or something... I'll arrange everything today. I want you to officially be my wife and with any luck, carrying our child before I go accept your dagger." Faal asked, stroking his fingers through her hair.

"Well it would probably be better if I'm carrying our child AFTER getting the dagger..." She said softly, with a slight smile and a blush. "But I'm sure Winsten will be thrilled to hear about the wedding and insist on putting things together...as quickly as possible..."

"After you get the dagger, but before I take it from you... " Faal said with a soft smirk. He kissed her neck as he ran his hands over the new curves beneath the tank top. "Hmmm... I could get used to these... are you going to need to go shopping or do you think what you have will stretch as nicely as this...?" he asked, his eyes glittering mischieviously.

"I'll be going shopping eventually, but at the moment I think I can get by...don't worry...I have some ideas..." Lexine replied with a smirk of her own until she heard the door bell chime and frowned slightly. Then after a few moments, they heard the front door open, then a woman's voice, almost Lexine's, scream angrily. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Lexine groaned. "Oh god...it's the wicked the twin..."

Faal bit back his own smirk. "We can run away... Paris is just a rift away..." he said, kissing her neck again as the sound of feet pounding up the stairs reached them. "Damn that girl is fast..." he muttered softly, still trying not to smirk.

"She'd follow to Paris, you know that..." Lexine said softly, shaking her head. The bedroom door slammed open. "LEXINE!" Lexine groaned softly, before pushing away from Faal and heading out of the closet. Her twin, definitely a girl as well was standing on the other side of the bed, looking furious. "What do you have to be angry about?" Lexine remarked, with a look. "What do *I* have to be angry about?!" Larkin snapped back. "The Deal was you were going to TELL me before you decided to run off to the Seal. But no...you didn't even stop to THINK about me! You're ALWAYS doing that!"

Faal stepped out of the closet and leaned against the bed post, his arms crossed in front of him. "She didn't run off, Larkin... I kidnapped her and dragged her there. She was wearing handcuffs and everything.." he said, doing his damnedest to not smirk, although his eyes was sparkling like mad.

Larkin's eyes drifted from Lexine to Faal. "Oh, I see..." She remarked dryly, "Should have known..."

"It still doesn't explain why you're so pissed. What, were you...working?" Lexine asked, only to get a pillow smacking her in the face with a vicious throw.  And Larkin was already heading for the door. Lexine groaned, hoped over the bed and headed after her twin sister. "Lark! Wait a moment!"

Faal laughed softly as he plucked the pillow off the floor and tossed it back on the bed, then leaned back against the bed post. He had a few comments concerning his soon to be sister in law's current mood, but wasn't about to voice them... at least..  not right then... He laughed again, softly, listening to the twins.

"Larkin, I didn't mean it like THAT!" Lexine caught her sister's arm. Larkin gave her sister a look. "You see, that's the difference between you and I, Lexine...I'm trying to escape my past, you...you're dropping back into it."

Lexine glared at her twin. "I'm not dropping back into my past..."

"Really?" Larkin replied, then shook her head, heading down the stairs again.

"Larkin, PLEASE!" Lexine begged, out of all her family, her twin was the only one she hated to fight with.

Faal sighed, realizing this wasn't just another of the small arguments the twins had. "Larkin!" he called as he left the room after them. "Larkin wait, please." he called after her as he reached Lex's side. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken her without letting you know first. Please.. don't be angry with her on my account."

Larkin stopped at the foot of the stairs with a sigh, before looking back at them. "I've had to spend the whole day, dealing with them...I'm not in a very good mood..." She said wearily.

"Them? They came to see you as well!?" Lexine asked.

"Of course they did, and he took everything you did out on me..." Larkin replied with a look.

Lexine sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Lark..."

"I'm getting tired of playing the good twin, Lexine." Larkin said with a tone.

Lexine snorted. "When were you ever the good twin?"

"Ladies..." Faal said softly, the urge to smirk at the ceaseless arguing once again present, but again he fought it down. Now was not the time for Lex to be upset, and fighting with her sister always upset her. "Larkin... surely you're not holding your sister responsible for your father's actions. If you want to be mad, be angry at him. Not Lex. We're sorry about the business with the Seal... we should have warned you... "

"A little warning would have been nice," Larkin replied. "Since I was working the OTHER job, and its still a bit hard to explain to a room of drunken pub goers..."

Lexine headed down the stairs to her sister's step. "I am sorry, Lark...please...if they're bugging you, why don't you stay here for a while...?"

Larkin shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Lexi, but..." She glanced back up the stairs at Faal, and shook her head again. "I'll go back to my apartment in London..."

"Larkin... stay.. I'll go for now. I think you girls need some time together. girl talk and all that. " he said with a smirk. "Plus I believe Lex has some plans she'll need your input on. You know.. that whole, new,  borrowed and blue thing..."

Larkin looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then back at Lexine who blushed. "I was going to ask if you'd be my maid of honor..." Lexine said softly.

Larkin barked a laugh and shook her head. "Congrats and all, but no, I need to get back to the apartment..." She said, "i've got a...second shift at the pub..." She didn't want to say she still had some one from Chaos Inc waiting for her there.

Faal leaned against the wall and watched Larkin. He knew he was one of the biggest arguments between the two. Larkin didn't like Lexine being with him. She wanted her sister to be happy.... she just wished it wasn't with him. Apparently, she considered him a bad influence. Faal smirked again at the thought. "Come on, Larkin... we'll find you something big and poufy and pink to wear."

Larkin shot him a look, followed by flipping him the bird. Lexine snorted softly. "I do want you to be a part of this, Lark." She said.

Larkin looked back at her, quiet a moment. "I will, for you...but I've got to go..." She hated doing this, playing spy. She was very tempted to tell her parents to fuck off, but then he'd been the one to convince her to show up.

Faal blew Larkin a kiss, his eyes sparkling. He couldn't help irritating the woman. True, he wished she'd let things go for Lex's sake... but still...  he knew that wasn't going to happen, so why not have some fun with it? As long as it didn't cause more problems for Lex...

Larkin rolled her eyes gave her sister a hug and headed for the door, Wintsen bowing her out. Lexine sighed, shaking her head, then shot Faal a look. "Will you stop that?" She asked with a dry tone. "Must you always aggravate her? You should try being NICE to her."

Faal gave Lexine an innocent look at her comment. "What? I was being nice! I offered to leave, despite how badly you know I wanted to stay. And i blew her a kiss.. I mean... that's nice..." he said, his eyes sparkling. "I meant it about the dress though... although... maybe instead of pink, peach...or a really bright yellow...."

"I am not..."Lexine groaned and gave him a look as she marched back up the stairs. "Larkin's the only person in that damn family I care to have any relationship with...She's a good kid, she's just easily manipulated...and they know it! She was lying you know...about getting back to the apartment...no doubt one of them is waiting for her..."

Faal caught Lex around the waist and pulled her closer. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'll try harder... I know she's a sweet kid. She's just so cute when she's mad. Did you see the look she gave me when she flipped me off? Come on... " he chuckled softly as he reached up to stroke her hair. "As for her meeting someone..." his smirk grew. "We can always scry...."

"You're wicked, you know that?" Lexine replied with an amused look. "I just hate the idea of them using her, to get to me...and our father would. He knows she and I are close, and he also knows how easy it is to control her...god, she needs to learn to say no...And we might as well scry."

Larkin opened the shadow portal out side the door and stepped through back into her apartment, aware Nate said he'd be waiting, but she was still nervous. She hated playing spy, and worked on what she intended to tell. It was her twin's life...she didn't know WHY her father was so insistent that they stop Lexine.

Nate looked up as the petite redhead returned, and tipped his hat back a bit. "So? How'd things go? Any big plans in th makin' tha' they tried t' snooker ye in on?"

Larkin glanced at him, then looked away suddenly flustered. He always flustered her. "Define big plans? They're apparently planning on getting married...she asked me to be her maid of honor...anything else she hasn't confided in me yet...but give her time..." Larkin said softly, moving past him.

Nate let out a low whistle. "Married..well.. tha's certainly goin' t' cause a few rows back home..." he reached out and caught hold of her arm as she passed by. "Wait a sec, Larkin..." he said softly as he stood. "Don' go gettin' all mad at me fer this... I'm just doin' m' job."

Larkin flinched slightly, but didn't pull back. "I'm not mad, I just don't like being made a spy..." She muttered softly, still not looking at him and hoping to hell she wasn't blushing, because her cheeks felt warm.

"Yer not a spy, lass." Nate said softly. "Yer helpin' yer family stop yer sister from makin' a big mistake... yer probably savin' her life, Larkin... don' be feelin' ashamed abou' tha'." he said, and on impulse reached out to brush her hair back from her face and lift her chin to look at her. "Yer doin' th' right thing, lass."

"By playing a spy..." Larkin replied softly, surprised by his touch. "I don't like seeing her getting into all this trouble, and he certainly isn't helping, but Lexine knows me well enough to know I wasn't there over the change...we've both been living our lives as girls for too long to let this one thing bother us that much..."

Nate realized with a start that he was still holding her arm and let it go, frowning at the odd empty feeling that he was left with when he wasn't holding her anymore. He sighed and reached up to rub his forehead, bumping his hat as he did so. "Lass... ferget th' whole spy thing. Yer helpin' an' yer doin' th' right thing.. tha's all tha' matters. Beside... yer too cute t' be a spy. An' yer missin' th' trench coat an' fedora.."

Larkin's cheeks turned pink when he let go of her and she looked down again. "You don't need a trench coat and fedora to play spy. Haven't you ever heard of the term swallow? That's a female spy, usually one that's beautiful..." saying that, made her blush even more. "I'll try and find out what Lexine's up to, but I make no promises..." Larkin muttered softly, turning to head away from him.

"Well...ye certainly got th' beautiful part down...." he said softly as he watched her, his thumbs hooking through the belt loops on his jeans to keep his hands to himself. He couldn't seem to shake the urge to touch her. He'd known plenty of beautiful women, and dated his share of them... but he couldn't remember any of them causing this reaction in him before.

Larkin ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and refused to look back at him, knowing she was blushing even more. "Don't, please. I don't take kindly to comments like that from men." She said softly, in an almost strained tone. "I'm sure my parents or Regan have told you my history."

Nate blushed fiercely at her comment and  reached out to catch her hand, pulling her back around to face him. "Hey now! I didnae mean it like tha'! I was serious, lass..." he was suddenly very aware of the feel of her hand in his and how close he was too her as he struggled to find his voice again. "Ye are beautiful. Ifn ye don' believe me.. well.. surely yer da's told ye ye are... or yer mum..."

Larkin shook her head. "No, they've never told me...in fact, my father barely talks to me unless it has to do with Lexine. Some times I think he's more concerned about what SHE'S doing, then me...But if he feels guilty about what's happened, he should talk to her himself..."

Nate frowned softly and stepped closer, that urge to touch her taking hold as he reached up to gently brush his fingers over her cheek. "Now tha's just wrong... " he said softly. "A girl's da is supposed t' bury her in compliments an' love... an' a man as lucky as he is t' have three beautiful daughters... well...it's just wrong t'ignore th' prettiest of th' bunch.."

Larkin snorted softly, but refused to look at him, afraid of what she'd do if she did, she'd always found herself attracted to him when ever she was visiting her parents at the Chaos Inc offices, but she was to shy to say anything... "Well you know how he feels about Lexine, she's special after all, daughter of the seal, and sacred princess and all...I'm nothin' more then the oracle..." Larkin muttered sarcastically.

Nate swallowed his sudden anger at Auron for the way he'd so carelessly tossed one daughter aside for the other. Suddenly he wasn't so sure if this whole plan of his was right after all. Maybe his obession with Lexine was going too far. Nate shook his head and turned Larkin's face towards him again, his hand resting on her cheek. "Yer th' specail one as far as I can see, Larkin...." he said softly, suddenly over come with the urge to kiss her, and he tipped her chin up a bit more and brushed his lips against hers.

Larkin's eyes widened as he kissed her and she gave a surprised squeak, but for some reason, she couldn't pull away. Whether it was her past making her submit or something else entirly, the way her stomach suddenly flipped and the startling pleasurable shiver that ran through her.

Nate closed his eyes, his heart hammering in his chest at the feelings such a simple kiss suddenly envoked in him. He let go of her hand so he could slip his around her waist, marveling at how tiny she was. How delicate. "Lards, Larkin...." he said softly, a touch breathless. "I've been wantin' t' do tha' fer th' longest time...."

Larkin gasped softly as the kissed ended, her eyes fluttering closed. Her one hand had ended up on his chest, and she felt dizzy and breathless. "I haven't been a girl that long...don't lie..." She whispered, almost painfully. She'd wanted him to kiss her for a very long time, even when she'd been a boy.

"I'm not lyin', lass..." he said softly as he stroked her cheek. "I don' think I could. Fergive me fer no' doin' it sooner... but I was too nervous about ye bein' a boy an' all. I'm a fool, I know... " he said, running his thumb across her lips.

Larkin gave a soft whimper, her eyes still closed and her head tipped back slightly. She sighed softly. "You have no idea how long I've wanted you to kiss me.." She muttered sadly.

Nate slid one hand behind her neck, tangling in her hair as he kissed her eyelids lightly. "Now will ye believe me tha' yer beautiful?"

Larkin gave a soft laugh, blushing, and opened her eyes, looking at him as she leaned against him. "If I must..." She said softly, smiling slightly. She looked at him a long moment, then shook her head, pulling away slowly, afraid of where this was really going to go. "You should probably get back to the others..."

Nate sighed as she slipped free of him, but held onto her hand. "Aye... 'spose so. Don't suppose I can convince ye t' come with me...?"

Larkin shook her head slightly, "I've got to work in three hours..." she said softly, blushing slightly. "But it's not like I intend on running off some where else...you can still find me here..." She said, looking up at him.

Nate reached out a final time to brush his fingers over her cheek. "I'll hold ye to tha' lass." he said softly before stealing another quick kiss as a portal opened behind him. He figured if he was ever going to leave, he'd better do it quick before he thought about it. "I'll be seein' ye, Larkin."

Larkin let Nate steal one last kiss, surpressing the moan. "I'll see you later..." She whispered, pulling away, if she didn't go, she was afraid of what it might turn into. She was trying hard not to let herself fall to hard again. After Jack, she'd seen what that could do, her sister was a clear picture of how wrong rebounding like that, could go...

Faal stroked Lexine�s face, letting his fingers brush lightly over her lips. "Perhaps you should encourage your sister to spend more time here and away from them... maybe you should hook her up with Xander..." Faal said, turning away and pulling her along to the closest mirror so she wouldn't see the enormous effort he was making not to laugh.

Lexine was giving Faal a look. "Right, hook her up with Xander, that's a laugh, neither are each other's type." She said with a snort, and a look. "I'm glad you find this all funny...But you're right, I do need to get her away from them..."

Faal pulled her into the bedroom and quickly inscribed the glyphs for srcying. "I'm sorry... blame my bloodline for my sense of humor... if you're lucky our children won't inherit it." The mirror resolved itself in the scene in Larkin's apartment and Faal raised an eyebrow. "Well... wasn't expecting this, that's for sure..." as they saw the two standing close in a rather tender looking moment.

Lexine's eyes narrowed on the scene. It wasn't the idea that her sister was playing spy, it was the obvious intimacy between Larkin and some one she KNEW was part of Chaos Inc, close to her step mother as well. "Is THAT how they're manipulating her...they should be ashamed of themselves!" She spat.

Faal frowned slightly at the thought. This sort of manipulation didn't sound like Clarice... then again, people change... and she certainly had. "All the more reason to get her away from them." he said softly, slipping an arm around Lex's waist and pulling her closer.

"I can't believe the rest of our family would do this to her...they know her past!" Lexine was clenching one fist and already making plans to have Xander retrieve Larkin as soon as possible, kidnap her if he had to...

"I suppose it shows how driven your parent's have become, that they're willing to go that far..." He kissed her hair softly, his eyes never leaving the mirror. "Don't worry, my love... we won't let them hurt her."

Lexine growled something inaudible, turning from the mirror a moment and leaning toward her bedside table, where she pressed a button on her phone, a moment later, the intercom sounded with Winsten's voice. "Yes, ma'am?" "Send Xander up, please, WInsten." Lexine said, her tone a bit cold. "Of course ma'am."

Faal glanced over at Lex as she spoke to Winsten. Auron and Clarice were going too far using Larkin against her. And judging by the look on Lex's face, she was planning on doing everything  she could to make sure they paid for it. He smirked slightly as he turned back to the mirror.

Lexine turned back to the mirror in time to hear Nate's comments and her eyes narrowed even more, flashing dangerously. "You hurt her, and I'll make you suffer..." She snarled at the image. Xander tapped on the door before entering. "Problems?" He asked softly, before glancing at the mirror. "Problems indeed." He added himself.

"It seems the Mordant's have gotten desperate enough to get to Lexi to risk hurting Larkin..." Faal said coldly and turned to glance at Xander. "I'm sure you know what that means?"

Xander gave a whistle then shook his head. "Didn't think they'd stoop so low. Right, shall I go and retrieve her?" He asked Lexine. "Tonight, I want her in this house tonight!" Lexine replied. "And if she doesn't come willingly?" Xander asked calmly.

Faal glanced at Lex before looking back at the scene in the mirror. "Try not to hurt her, Xander... but do whatever it takes to get her here. If need be... " he sighed and cast a sideways look at Lex before he finished his sentence. "..if need be she can be healed for a physical wound... but not from what they're doing...."

"Enough." Lexine hissed, about scrying. "I've seen enough..." Xander nodded to Faal, but was thoughtful. He spared Lexine a glance, knowing how much she cared about her twin. "I think I can manage to bring her by force with out hurting her. You do need to consider how she'll feel about being brought here by force though, Lexine." He said softly. "I do, and I will! But you heard her! Our so called father is doing this to her! Because of me!" Lexine replied hotly.

Faal let the mirror return to normal, the scene in the apartment vanishing. He scowled at his own reflection as he considered what all of this meant.

"Just try not to hurt her, Xander." Lexine said looking back at Xander. "Chloreform, Lex." Xander replied with a slight roll of his eyes. "I've done enough kidnapping..." He added.

Faal slipped his arms around her waist and nodded to Xander. "Of course.. that doesn't apply to him. In his case, do what's necessary to get her away."

Xander raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lexine a moment, then nodded. "Duly noted..." He said softly. "I'll go put things together...I'll have her in the house with in two hours." Xander said, heading for the door. "Thank you, Xander..." Lexine called after him.

Faal turned Lex to face him, caressing her chin to make her look up at him. "She'll be fine, sweetheart. And I'll behave myself around her from now on, I promise... although I may have to pick on Xander a bit more to make up for it.." he smirked softly and kissed the tip of her nose. "I think it's safe to assuming that once Larkin is here we can expect further company.. perhaps you should get dressed?"

"Depends on what they're really up to and who'd they'd send...I suppose we'll find out what's really going on between her and him..." Lexine said softly, but headed for the closet.

Faal smirked as he followed her to lean against the door. "May I make a request?" he asked and reached out to finger one of her velvet jackets. "See if you can still fit into those leather pants you used to wear for me... OR... something you can wear that garter and stocking set you picked up last week.. still haven't had a chance to enjoy that on you. I'm really going to have to visit a pharmacy soon though...." he let his voice trail off with a leer.

Lexine gave a soft laugh, looking back at him. "Oh I think I can still get into the leather pants..." She said softly with a smirk, before finding them.

Xander put everything together, he took a moment to consider everything. Larkin knew him well enough, he might not have to resort to force to get her to come with him...but just in case...

He left for Larkin's apartment, opening a shadow portal and appearing out side her door.

Larkin watched Nate's portal close, before sighing deeply, god that man was something else... She shook her head slightly, starting to turn for her bathroom and a cold shower, when a knock came to her door.

She sighed, heading back toward the door and unlocked it enough to open it with the chain. She raised an eyebrow seeing Xander on the other side. "Hello Larkin...I heard about earlier and I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd check in on you." Xander said pleasantly. Larkin sighed, closing the door and undoing the chain, letting Xander in.

"I'm fine Xander..." Larkin said, as Xander entered her apartment.

"You don't seem fine..." Xander said calmly. Larkin gave him a look, turning to head for the kitchen. "Your sister wants you to come back to the manor." Xander said, following Larkin.

"I can't, I've got to work." She said flatly.

Xander reached out, setting a hand on her shoulder. "They know, Larkin...they know your parents had some one here waiting for you when you came back..." Larkin tensed.

"I don't need to go back to the manor...I don't even WANT too..." Larkin replied, heading into the kitchen, aware Xander was following her.

"I think it would be best if you did, Larkin. For your safety from your father...and for your own good..." Xander said calmly. "They're using you, you know it...they know it... Do you really think he kissed you because he wanted to?" Xander asked in a softly and yet compelling tone.

Larkin stopped. "What would you know about that?" She asked in a whisper.

"We did scry...or they did..." Xander said softly. "Think about it Larkin...you know they're just using you to get to Lexine...come back Larkin, we can keep them away from you..." He said convincingly.

�So? I know that, but what can I do about it?!" Larkin snapped, starting to turn back to Xander.

"You  can come back to the manor..." Xander suggested. "Either way, Larkin, I'm not supposed to leave here with out you, don't make me take you by force..."

"What are you going to do, Xander, knock me out?" Larkin asked with a look.

"No..." Xander said softly, before removing a bottle of chloroform. Larkin eyed the bottle and him, before starting to back up.

"Are you going to make this hard, Larkin?" Xander asked softly, while soaking a rag.

"Well I'm certianly not going to make it easy!" She snapped, back away, she turned to make a run for it, before Xander lunged, knocking her to the floor and pinning her beneath him, slipping the cholorformed rag against Larkin's face.

Larkin struggled, but the more she struggled, the more she inhaled the chloreform and felt the effect closing in on her, the blackness taking over. She stopped struggling, passing out.

Xander waited a couple minutes, still holding her to the ground until he knew she was completely out, checked her pulse, then scooped her up, opening a shadow portal back to the manor.

Faal chuckled  softly as he watched Lex slip out of the sleep pants and gave a soft moan, turning away. "I think I'd better go to that pharmacy now... I don�t think I'll be able to hold out much longer with you looking so delicious..." he said with a soft chuckle. "Behave while I'm gone, Lexine.... I won't be long..."     He heard her answering laugh as she pulled on the leather pants.

"I'll be a good girl." She answered back with a slight purr, before searching for a top and decided on a slim red satin halter top.

Faal chuckled as he headed for the garage, pausing long enough to inform Winsten about their impending guest as well as the upcoming wedding. He seemed thrilled about both and Faal inwardly cringed at what the man might come up with. He'd learned the hard way to only trust his butler so far when it came to making plans and preparations for major events.... Winsten of course was quiet fond and a touch protective of Lexine, he was also quiet fond of Xander and himself.

When Faal reached the garage, there was some one tinkering around with the treasured 65 mustang... He approached Lexine's prized possession ,his gun already drawn with the safety off, but not aimed as yet. His power was already tinting the air around him with an odd oily swirl. Stopping just a couple feet from the car, he cleared his throat loudly.

Gillorn stuck his head around the side of hood and gave Faal a look of wicked amusement. "Ya gonna shoot me for checking the oil?" He asked with a snicker, before dropping the glamour to himself.

Faal rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh and put the gun away. "Stop skulking around, uncle. One of these days I'm just going to shoot you for the hell of it." he said, then snorted, heading for his own car. "And stop messing around with Lexi 's car.. you know she hates it when you tinker with her toys!"   he called over his shoulder as he slid behind the wheel and keyed open the garage door.

Gillorn laughed, "And where are you going all of a sudden? Lexine finally kick you out?" He called after Faal good naturedly, while closing the hood of the mustang.

"Supply run!" Faal called out with a laugh as he pulled out of the garage, giving a short wave to his uncle as he left.

Gillorn watched Faal go with a snort, before heading into the house. "Good afternoon, Winsten, just popping in for a visit." Gillorn informed the butler. "I'm afraid Master Xander is out..." Winsten said as he headed toward the kitchen. "Hmmm...working I take it...well I'll just visit the lady of the house..." Gillorn replied, before heading for the stairs.

Nate stepped through the portal, casting one last look over his shoulder at Larkin before stepping through to find Chaos and Auron waiting for him. "Well?" Auron asked as soon as the portal closed. "Aside from weddin' plans, y' mean?"

Auron's eyebrow shot up. "Wedding plans? Lexine? Was that all Larkin was able to find out?"

Nate looked to Chaos for a moment before turning back to Auron. "Yer hurtin' her ye know.... Larkin.. she's convinced ye don't care fer her fer anythin'  more than ye than using her against her sister... " he said softly, trying to gauge both of their reactions.

Auron blinked, then frowned darkly. "That just isn't true." He said. "I wouldn't do that to Larkin. But she is the only one Lexine will talk to in this family..."

Nate sighed as he looked at the man. "Ifn ye love her so much... how come ye've ne'er told her ye thought she was beautiful... or that ye'd like t' spend time with her.. have ye even told her ye loved her?"

Auron's eyes narrowed. "For your information, I have. And what concern is it of yours what I've said to my daughter?" He asked with a slightly cold tone.

Nate snorted. "When ye told her.. did ye mean it... or did ye just say it cause ye thought ye should?" he asked, his tone going just as cold as Auron's. A part of him kept telling him to drop it but he found himself too angry. He kept seeing the look on Larkin's face, and hearing the tone to her voice when she spoke of her father...

"Of course I meant it!" Auron snapped. "Exactly what kind of father do you take me for? Are you accusing me of using any of my children?!" There was movement from the other room, were Regan appeared, followed by Eire.

"One daughter sure seems t' think so. She feels like ye perfer Lexine o'er her.... an' on thinkin' about it... I tend t' think she' might be right on that...."

"Then you're thinking the wrong thing!" Auron snapped. "and again, what concern is it of yours?! Larkin's not the one in trouble here, Lexine is!"

Nate glanced at Regan then at Chaos. "Have th' two o' ye ever heard him talk about Larkin? Without Lexines' name bein' mentioned? And have ye ever spoke t' Larkin without it being about Lexine?" Nate asked, trying to keep his hands from curling into fists. He couldn't believe the man could be so blind. "Larkin herself told me ye never talk t' her unless it's about Lexine... an' I cannae remember a single time ye've mentioned th' lass unless it was about her helping against Lexine..."

"Nate, he has talked about Larkin with out mentioning Lexine, and he is concerned about Larkin's life, don't make this out to be something more then it isn't." Regan said calmly.

"I have never over looked any of my children and I'm not about to let you stand there and accuse me of doing so now!" Auron growled.

"Then maybe ye should go tell yer daughter that! Cause she thinks ye don't even bloody well LIKE her, let alone love her! Maybe ye should spend less time obsessin' o'er th' daughter that wants nothin' t' do with ye, an' focus on one that does.. while she still does!" Nate growled and  stormed from the room, not trusting himself to be around Auron any longer. All he could think of was the pain and lonelines in Larkin's voice...

Regan watched him go, before shooting her father a look. Auron gave her one in return, before turning and heading in the opposite direction. Regan shook her head and looked at her mother. "And what was this about Lexine getting married?"

Chaos turned to her daughter with a sigh, not sure who she was angrier with; Nate for his accusations, Auron for allowing Larkin to feel that way or herself for not seeing it herself...  "I don;t know... Nate didn't go into it. Just that they were planning a wedding." She looked towards where Nate had vanished and scowled, not feeling in the mood to deal with either of them.

"Well, that certianly makes things interesting.' Regan said dryly, before looking at Eire. "Which one you wanna check on?" She asked her boyfriend.

"Yer kiddin' right?" Eire asked with a snort. before heading in Nate's direction. "Ain't guaranteeing he wont tell me t' fuck off..." He added over his shoulder.

Nate closed the door to his apartment and leaned back against it. He couldn't get the sound of her voice out of his head... or her face.. or the taste of her lips, the feel of her in his arms.... He gave a groan and tossed his hat on the couch and headed for the kitchen to see if he had anything to drink.

A quick search, rather messy and noisy search led to the discovery of  a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of scotch his cousin had given him for Christmas, and  several bottles of beer. He tucked the bottle of whiskey under his arm and grabbed a glass and a couple of the beers and headed for the couch when he heard a familiar knock at his door. "Yeah yeah.. ye know it's open.. an' ifn it's not, ye know where th' bloody key is anyhow..."

Eire slipped in, and headed over to the chair beside the couch. "So...um...How's Larkin doin'?" Eire asked, flopping down in the chair and watching Nate very closely.

Nate  filled his glass half full of whiskey then pointed to the cupboard with the bottle. "Get yer own glass ifn ye want any. " He said and shoved one of the beers closer to Eire. He downed half the glasses contents before giving a snort. "Ye heard how Lark's doin'.... how would ye be doin' feelin' like th' only interest yer family has in ye is for yer use as a spy against yer sister..." He  swirled the contents of his glass before drinking the rest of it. "Its no' right, E... it's not bloody fuckin' right..."

Eire got his own glass, then sat back down, grabbing the bottle from Nate's hand and pouring a shot, "No, it's not." He agreed.” Lark's a good kid...much better then Lexine to be agreed, but I'm jus' wonderin' why yer so worked up 'bout it..." He said softly.

Nate snorted and eyed his empty glass before grabbing a bottle of beer instead. "E... are ye tellin' me ye never noticed? Come on, man... ye know me best o' everyone..." he stared at the moisture beading on the bottle before taking a drink. "I fell fer her, mate... damn hard too..."

Eire snorted. “Course I noticed...Every time Lark was 'round you couldn't take yer eyes off 'er..jus didn't know ye were attracted t' boys like that..." Eire muttered.

Nate smirked. "Tha's why i didnae do anythin' about it before...cause I knew, even if she looked like a girl... but its different now, E'... she really Is a girl now.. ye can see it. I knew as soon as she walked in th' room..." he said softly, then shook his head and took another drink. "I cannae explain it, mate. All I know, is that I'm crazy fer th' girl.. an' I'm madder 'n hell at Auron fer makin' her feel tha' way...."

Eire watched Nate for a long moment, taking a long drink before finishing off his glass, sitting it down before grabbing his beer bottle and  lighting a cigarette. "Aye...ye fell hard fer her alright..." he said softly, shaking his head with a slight smirk.

"Ye don' know th' half o' it, Eire..." Nate said softly, staring at the bottle of beer in his hand, but he was seeing Larkin looking up at him with that faint blush on her cheeks. "Damn man... " he said shaking his head slowly before setting the bottle down and standing up. "I'm goin' back... I should tell her what her da said... whether or no' she'll believe it...."

Eire watched him a moment, taking a long drink of his beer and a long drag of his cigarette, then stood, turning toward the door. "Maybe, mate, instead o' tellin' her what her da said...ye should be tellin' her how YE feel 'bout her..." He said softly, seriously with a look.

Nate laughed softly as he grabbed his hat. "Eire...Ifn I do tha',  lard only knows wha' I'll say...I look at her and... I want t' say th' damndest things..." he smirked as he set the hat on his head. "Ifn ye don' think I'm crazy already mate.. ye would then..."

Eire snorted, taking another drink of his bottle as he opened the front door. "Iffin' ye love 'er mate, tell her...how much real love has the lass had? Maybe ye can get her t' come back 'ere an' maybe then Auron can talk t' her..."

Nate looked at his friend for a moment and nodded slowly. "Yeah.. maybe..." he said, thinking instead that maybe she'd be better off as far away from all of them as she could get. He stabbed a finger at eire. "Don' ye go drinkin' everythin'." he said with a smirk as a portal opened behind him.

After scaring the crap out of a street vendor to buy a bouquet of flowers a block from Larkin's apartment, Nate stepped up to her door and knocked, trying to decide just what it was he was going to say.

Larkin's door had a default in it, if it wasn't closed a certian way with a certian amount of force, it wouldn't latch, so with Nate's knock, the door swung open slowly.

He felt a knot form in his stomach as the door swung open on its own. "Larkin?" He called out as he pushed the door open a bit farther. "Lark? Lass.. it's Nate..." the silence that greeted him only made the knot tighter as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Lark?" he called as he quietly drew one of his guns. He carefully looked through the small apartment finding no sign of her before entering the kitchen. She'd said she had to work.. maybe she left early...He decided he'd slip the flowers into a vase and leave a note. The odd smell didn't even register at first... it was the over turned chair and the table cloth tugged half off the table that caught his eye. He dropped the flowers to the floor as he searched for any signs of blood, but found none. That was then the smell finally registered. It had started to make him a bit woozy..."Cloroform...." he said softly as he backed out of the room, his eyes still searching for some sign of Larkin. "fuckin' hell..."

He leaned against the living room wall, the knot in his stomach so tight it hurt. Someone had taken her shortly after he'd left... The twins had more then enough enemies out there and the Mordant family had an even bigger list. Anyone could have taken her. He needed a place to start... did he go back and tell Auron and Kay that she was missing? Grab Eire to help track her? With a sigh he shoved himself away from the wall and headed for the door. He was too tired to open another portal right away, and even though a quick phone call would have any number of them here, he found himself hesitant to call them. Instead he  found himself heading for the only person he'd ever heard Larkin mention without that sad wistful sound to her voice...

Xander stepped out into the second floor hall with the bedrooms. Lexine came out of her master bed room at the end of the hall, with Gillorn. "Winsten's already got a room ready for her..." Lexine said, opening a near by door. Xander carried Larkin and put her on the bed. "She's not going to be happy..." Xander said seriously. "You had to drug her?" Lexine asked softly, looking at her sister. "Yeah..." Lexine sighed. "I'll sit with her,.."

Xander nodded to Lexine, and backed out of the room int othe hall, closing the door. Lexine settled in the rocking chair next to the bed. she'd explain it to Larkin. She knew Larkin would be upset, but not furious at her as long it was her that sent Xander and not Faal, which it was. Xander looked at Gillorn. "I think things just got a whole lot more complicated..."

Larkin had been drugged with chloreform enough that her body fought against it and she came to on the bed with a gasp, only to find her sister at her side. "Damn it, Lexine!" Larkin hissed. "I sent Xander to get you! We saw what happened!" Lexine stated. "And what, you're going to keep me prisoner now?!" Larkin demanded, her head spinning, she had to lay back on the bed. "No." Lexine answered. "I just don't want HIM using you like that...it's rather low of our father to use you to get to me, don't you think?" Lexine said softly, looking at her twin with worry. Larkin sighed, not looking at her sister. "Just stay here at the manor, they wont come here...not after this morning..." Lexine added. "And what about Faal?" Larkin asked. "He promises to behave..."

"Please, Larkin, just stay..." Lexine said softly, sitting beside her sister. Larkin sighed deeply. She wondered her family would even care she'd disappeared...then she wondered if Nate would care, if he'd come looking for her...Her sister was right, their father was just using her. "I'll stay..." Larkin said softly, finally sitting up and found Lexine hugging her. Larkin sighed again, and hugged her sister back. "But if Faal starts with me, I wont be responsible for hurting him." She added with a look. Lexine gave a soft laugh. "He promised to behave...you really should just get to know him, Lark, he's not really a bad guy..."

Winsten came to the room to inform Lexine that Nate wanted to speak to her urgently. Larkin looked up with surprise then at her sister. Lexine looked at Larkin. "I'll talk to him." Lexine said, getting up. "Wait here, Larkin." She told her twin, before heading down stairs to the parlor.

------

Faal quickly pulled into the garage and grabbed his purchases before heading into the house. He’d recognized Nate as the man was climbing the front steps and had reached the foot of the stairs in time to hear Nate tell Winsten he needed to speak with Lexine urgently. He took a breath as he started up towards the bedrooms, figuring the man was already waiting in the parlor. He wasn’t sure what his arrival here meant, but oddly enough… he didn’t think he’d be needed. Lexine could handle the witch… and Xander was no doubt nearby… he had something else to take care of first.

Faal  knocked lightly on the door as he opened it and looked around at Larkin who was sitting up in bed, leaning back against the head board. "May I come in? I come bearing gifts, apologies and a promise to stop being an ass as much as I can around you ..."

Larkin looked up, looking at Faal a moment, before sighing softly. "You can come in if you like..." She said softly, looking back at the window where she'd been looking out. "And Lexi did say something about you promising to behave..."

Faal smirked as he slipped in the room and pulled a bouquet of pink roses from behind his back and offered them to her. "Yes... I did. I'm sorry for my behavior towards you Larkin... a twisted sense of humor and this need to antagonize is in my blood... but I've promised I'll pick on Xander instead... plus my uncle is here so I can pick on him too... Terra knows he deserves it.."

Larkin stared at him a moment, before slowly taking the bouquet of roses. "Thank you..." She said softly, then snorted softly. "I'm sure Xander can handle it better..." She muttered. "Look, I just want my sister to be happy...if you make her happy, then so be it..."

Faal sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to lay his hand on hers. "That's all I want, too, Larkin. I love your sister with all my heart and soul. I'm sorry for al l the trouble I've caused between you two... its the faerie in me..." he said with a slight shrug and smirk. "Forgive me?"

Larkin looked at Faal a moment, before sniffing the roses, inhaling the scent deeply. She sighed after a moment and gave Faal a weary but amused look. "Yeah yeah, I forgive you. Going to have to anyway, as you're going to be my brother in law. And I'll probably be staying around here for a while..."

Faal  sighed heavily. "Larkin... I'm glad you said that.. I need to ask a favor of you..." he said, taking her hand in his. "Lexine is going after a dagger that can destroy Abadon. Before I take it and go after the bastard, we're going to make sure she's carrying my child... she needs her heir...If anything should go wrong, Larkin... If I don't come back.... help her with the baby.."

Larkin blinked, looking at him with slightly wide eyes. "Is that what this has all been about?! All her traveling and searching? To get something to kill Abadon?!" Larkin groaned. "And no doubt our father doesn’t know that..." she shook her head and sighed. "I'm sure you'll come back...don't think that you won’t..." She said seriously.

Faal smiled softly and gave her hand a squeeze. "Don't worry, Larkin.. I plan on coming back. But it never hurts to be prepared. It would mean a lot to me to know she has you at her side through out everything... just in case..."

Larkin sighed softly, and gave a slight smile. "Of course Lexine'll have me at her side...she's my twin..." She said softly. "But she doesn't want to loose you."

"She's not going to loose me, Larkin.  And she needs you whether I'm here or not. I truely believe you're the only family she really acknowledges, let alone cares about.. Perhaps Regan to some extent..."

Larkin snorted softly. "She knows she's the only person in the family I care about...its because our pasts are so similiar...only she had it worse then me..." Larkin said softly, before glancing at the door at the knock.

Faal gave her hand a squeeze and stood up. "It seems youre about to have company... thank you for putting up with me, Larkin. "He said with a smirk, his eyes sparkling as he raised her hand to his lips. He turned, letting go of her hand to open the door.