“Stand up,” Julia repeated. She glared at the object of her anger, who still remained seated. Heaving a sigh of frustration, she snapped, “D**n it, Mae, stand up.”

“Why?” Mae asked mildly, remaining seated. “I've done nothing wrong.”

Julia cleared her throat, then began to address the group. “Mae Rivers has been my longtime partner and a contributor to our organization for many years. However, recent events have shown her to be... less than faithful to our cause.” A murmur arose from the others; Mae rolled her eyes. Raising her voice to be heard, Julia continued, “She has provided assistance to those named as being against our cause on multiple occasions recently. She has acted in a manner opposite to that which we support. And...” Here, Julia glared at Mae. “And worst of all, she has associated with Ophelia Foley-Cloud on several occasions. Mae, have you anything to say before being ejected from this sisterhood?”

“Actually,” Mae said slowly, rising, “I do.”

“Go on, then.”


AJ slowly shut the door and took off his jacket, then set his keys onto the end table nearby.

“You're an hour late,” a quiet voice greeted him.

AJ turned quickly. Tiffani was sitting in a chair nearby. She had no books nearby, and the TV was off. It appeared that she had simply been sitting there, waiting for him.

“Sorry about that,” AJ responded apologetically. “I had a patient come in at the last minute, and then there was traffic--”

“--AJ,” Tiffani interrupted, “we need to talk.”


“Hey, kiddo,” Valo greeted Artemis, ruffling the girl's hair. “It's been a while.”

“Auntie Jess!” Artemis squealed, hugging Valo. She then turned to Sean with a grin. “I just got a new video game. Want to play?”

“Of course,” Sean responded, following Artemis.

Charise smiled warmly, watching the children hurry off to play. “I'm so glad Artemis has so many friends to play with. Sean's a good kid.”

“Well, I'm doing my best,” Valo replied. “It's a good thing he's generally well-behaved.”

Charise laughed. “So, what's up?”

Valo shrugged. “The usual stuff. How's S?”

“He's fine. Working on that new musical.”

“Oh, yeah, that's right. No rest for this generation's best playwright and composer, eh?”

“Yep.” Charise grinned, then added, “I hear you've got some news.”

Valo blushed a little. “News travels fast, huh?”

Charise nodded. “It's good that you're getting out and doing stuff. I know you loved Grant, but he wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life alone.”

“Don't get too far ahead,” Valo protested. “It's just been a couple of dates. Nothing serious.”

“Well, either way, I'm happy for you.”

“Thanks, Char. You know, sometimes it seems like you and S and Lia and Cy are the only really... y'know... steady couples I know.”