"Skylar?"

The word cut her to the core, that voice that she hadn't heard in over a month cracking with such emotion that she could feel it. Skylar stepped forward hesitantly, hand stretching out in front of her to take her husband's, both of them trembling with such force they were afraid that a simple gust of wind would shatter them.

Liam could hardly believe she was even real, half convinced that he had finally fallen off the edge of sanity and lost himself to madness, but with her hand in his, the feeling of her pulse underneath his palm and the sight of her eyes swimming with unshed tears, he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. Being with her, real or not, was enough for him, and he couldn't bear to lose that again.

"Liam..." She reached up, swiping a thumb across his jaw and wiping away the tears that had spilled. "Liam it's me, I'm here." She smiled, pulling his hand up to her face and rubbing it against her cheek. "I'm not dead."

"But... How?" He looked at her, scanning from top to bottom but he couldn't see anything to suggest that she was anything other than alive. "We saw you disappear I... I held you while it happened. I... I saw you die."

"She almost was." They both turned their heads to the other woman in the room, strolling up easily in the middle of their moment. "She overused her powers saving you, any more and she wouldn't have come back. As it was she spent an entire week pulling herself back together, I watched over her to make sure that pieces didn't get..." She shuddered, seemingly in the middle of a memory. "Lost along the way."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Liam tried to put himself in between the woman and his wife, but to his surprise she pushed him back, stepping to the side.

"Liam... This is probably going to come as a pretty big surprise, but I think I need to make an introduction." She gestured to the other woman, who mock bowed in response. "This is Leila Manzano. This is my mother."

"And your mother-in-law by all accounts." She stepped forward, taking his hand and shaking it confidently. "Nice to meet you, I'm afraid you caught us at an awkward moment."

"What? Oh." The three of them looked at the still captive hunter, who was sitting stunned at the proceedings.

"You... You're married to this thing? You have any idea what she's done here?" He struggled against his bonds, seeing Cayden still standing slack jawed in the doorway. "Hey, you! What the hell are you doing with this bunch of freaks huh?"

"Winning, by the looks of it." He stepped forward, recognizing the hunter. "You're Tim, right? Tim Mackenzie, fought with me against that vampire clan, right?"

"Yeah, yeah that's me!" Tim's face lit up, seemingly grasping the chance that he might make it out alive.

Cayden turned to Skylar and Leila. "Are you done with him?" At their nods, he drew his pistol. "Good."

He fired a single round into Tim's forehead, the hunter slumping in his seat with his face still wearing that hopeful smile. When Cayden saw the looks they were giving him he shrugged. "What? I didn't like the guy." He tilted his head at Skylar, nodding to her while he turned away. "It really is good to see you again Sky, we all missed you. Christ, I need a drink after this shit, no one else is going to believe this."

Her eyes widened at the thought of how everyone else would react to her being alive, but Cayden's hand on her shoulder stilled her movements. "Hey, don't worry about it ok? I'll go ahead and explain everything to the others, you three... Clearly you three need to catch up together, I think that's more important."

"Thank you Cayden, it... This means a lot to us." She nodded her thanks but smiled at the still bashful expression that came over him even now.

"Don't worry about it, but I'm still gonna need some answers after all this, don't think that you're getting out of that." He wrapped his arms around her side, squeezing down tightly. "I'm so glad that you're back."

She didn't get another chance to speak before he stepped out, leaving her alone with Liam and Leila. The two of them were staring at each other, tension growing with every moment that went by with no words said between the two.

"You probably don't really trust me, do you?" Leila smirked, inspecting her fingernails. "On account of me being a career criminal and all that entails, right?"

"My wife died in front of me, and I come here over a month later to see her interrogating a man seemingly under your discretion. I'm sorry if that seems alarming to me."

"Of course, it was under my discretion, it's not exactly something you can just leap into with no training." She ran a hand through Skylar's hair, smiling at her protests. "She's really doing much better than she's giving herself credit for, she really is my daughter."

"I know you probably have a lot of questions Liam, and I want to answer all of them, but I don't know where to start." Skylar squeezed his hand, placing it against her chest. Liam breathed out slowly, the steady thrum of her heartbeat calming his mind and placing him back in the moment. His issues with her mother could wait, and perhaps he would even get answers from the both of them, but right now knowing what his wife was up to was his number one priority.

"I suppose the most important thing is just... What are you doing here?" He placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes swimming with emotion. "When you came back, when you knew that you were alive, why didn't you come back to us? Why did you let us believe that you were still dead?"

She ducked her head, not able to look him in the eyes as she answered, "I was asking myself that question every single day, but I knew that it was what I needed to do. I want Abigail to grow up feeling safe, and that won't happen as long as Christian is around. I'm so sorry Liam, but I had to do this."

"Before you two let any resentment come between you," Leila said, "I should point out that it was my idea to take her away from you and bring her on this trip. If you are going to be angry at anyone for keeping you in the cold about her survival, it is only fair that it's me."

"No, I didn't... I didn't bring it up just so I could find someone to be angry at." Liam ran a hand through his hair, tipping the dead hunter out of the chair and taking a seat. "I just want to know what has been going on since we were separated. I don't think that you did this to abandon us, I never thought that, I'm not that selfish. I'm just worried for you, that's all."

"Well, there's honestly no reason to be worried for her, trust me." Leila's face was filled with pride, clearly the two of them had grown close in their time together.

"You've been looking out for her?"

"She's been looking out for herself just fine, I'm just here to help her when she needs it. To stop something like what happened to the two of you from happening again."

"Of course, she has, she's the woman I married. Strong, smart... Overly passionate." He grinned at Skylar's look of offense, before nodding at Leila. "Thank you though, for being there when I couldn't be."

"I figured it was about time I got involved. I made it through over two decades without lifting a finger, it was time for a change." She sighed, "I just wish I had been quicker. An innocent man would still be alive."

"Did you know Andrew well?"

"Briefly, years and years ago. Him and his wife were the best people I could find to take care of a child, including myself. I don't know what came of him in the last few years, but he was a good man when I knew him."

"He still was." Skylar looked away, eyes growing misty when her thoughts went to her father. "He made mistakes, a lot of mistakes, but he still loved me deep down. He could have just sold us out and ran, but he didn't. He stuck with it till the very bitter end." She walked over to the doorway, stepping out. "I'm sorry, I just need a minute."

They watched after her for a second, neither one sure what to say. Leila looked at Liam, eyes searching for some understanding. "You were there weren't you? What... What were his last moments like?" When he raised an eyebrow, she continued, "We hadn't spoken for decades, but once upon a time he was something almost approaching a friend to me. Skylar won't talk about it, which I completely understand but... I just want to know what happened to the man that I used to care about."

Liam was silent while he thought, not sure how to put into words what had occurred that night. "He... Was very brave, defiant even. Sarconi was one of those men who would demand respect from whoever he was trying to intimidate, and he completely denied him that." A ghost of a smile crossed Liam's face. "If I was to go out, Andrew is the ideal I would strive for. Without fear, without regret, he denied his killer the bare minimum of what they demanded and that is incredible."

He turned somber once more. "Right before he was killed all he was concerned about was making sure that Skylar knew that he loved her, that she was everything to him. Even though he lost his way in life, even though our previous meeting hadn't gone well, it was clear that he loved his family dearly. If him dying was the price that needed to be paid to make sure they were safe, then it was one that he paid gladly."

He couldn't see her face, couldn't discern what she was thinking, but he was certain that he saw a tear falling down her cheek. "Thank you, Liam. I... I'm glad to know that he was brave in his last moments." She huffed a laugh, the sound obviously wet with swallowed tears. "I guess he hadn't changed that much after all."

He stood, offering his hand out to her with a nod. "I think that's what I need to know for now. Probably best that we go and introduce you to everyone else as well. I have no idea how that is going to go, but I think it's reasonable to expect some friction at first."

She snorted, "The reasonable reaction to meeting me is friction, so that is nothing new I assure you."

They walked out together, supporting Skylar from both sides while they started their walk out. Skylar couldn't stop looking at the chaos that the building had become and judging by the lengthy stares that she was giving some of the bodies that had been there before, Leila wasn't the only one who had been taking the fight to the hunters. Liam knew all about the feeling that one got when they consciously took life for the first time, if she needed support he would be more than willing to give it to her.

"Alright, here we are..." Skylar said nervously, "Right through this door are all my other friends and family, who have also thought I was dead for the last month." She put her head into her hands, groaning into her palms. "I don't know if I can do this, what is everyone going to think?"

"Hey, you're going to be fine." Liam squeezed her shoulders, massaging the tense muscle underneath. "They're going to be shocked for a little bit, but then they're just going to be glad that you're back with us. And I... Have something else to say..."

"What?" She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow when he looked away. "Liam?"

"We brought Abigail along with us."

"What? You did what? " Skylar turned to him with widened eyes, even Leila looked surprised at the admission. "You brought our daughter to a vengeance trip? Are you insane?"

"We didn't want to let her out of our sight, not after what happened last time." He shrugged, ducking his head apologetically. "And I... I wasn't ready to separate from her, she was the last real thing I had left of you. And I wasn't going to forget that vow that I made to take care of her. Even if this is dangerous, I think she's much safer being looked over by all of us, rather than just given to someone who doesn't realize the danger the both of them would be in."

"Alright..." She nodded. "I get it. I'm not exactly happy about it but you're right, with us is the safest she could be. That's what this whole thing is about isn't it? Making sure she can be safe without us having to watch her like hawks?"

"That's right." He nudged her towards the door. "Now let's stop stalling, let's go and get this over with. I'm sure you've got a few people who want to say hi."

She took a deep breath, then another. Nodding to herself, she placed her hand on the ruined door handle, pushing the door open slowly and taking a breathless step outside. Instantly she was aware of the eyes upon her, not a word spoken while they took in just who had walked out of that building and back into their lives again.

Skylar locked eyes with each one of them, her nervous smile trembling when she saw their eyes growing wet and their lips starting to shake. "H-Hi guys... It's nice to- oof!"

She struggled to stay on her feet as four pairs of arms crashed into her and squeezed down around her, Iggy and Cassandra stepping back with Cayden, Liam and Leila out of the way. They didn't want to interrupt the moment, happy as they were to see her. Even Iggy found himself overcome with emotion for a woman that he had never met and had only recently heard tales of. There were very few words to describe the state the rest of the group was in, other than "emotional" and "mess".

For the first time in a month, Skylar let herself weep freely, letting the weight that she had been carrying finally fall free and allow her grief at having to abandon those she loved be replaced with joy. She pulled them in as much as she could, burying her face in their hair and running her cheeks along their skin, the sheer blessing of being able to touch her family again starting her sobs all over again.

"This is... Very emotional indeed." Leila wiped a tear away, grunting and forcing herself to remain composed. "I should have known it would be."

Cassandra hummed, "They're a very emotional bunch, you get used to it." She turned, tilting her head at the other woman. "You... You look familiar."

"I'm told I just have one of those faces."

"No, it's... Something else..."

"Alright." Skylar pulled back, dabbing at her eyes gently and chuckling nervously, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions you want to ask but... I have someone that I think it's very important that I introduce to all of you." She stepped back, grabbing Leila's hand and pulling her closer towards her. "Everyone... This is Leila, this is my mother."

Once again, the others were struck speechless, but this time it was not so much out of shock as suspicion. Michael and Hayley in particular wore the stoniest expressions, fully aware of who she was supposed to be and the role that she had previously held in Skylar's life. Which was to say none at all.

"You're Leila Manzano?" Hayley asked, eyes narrowed. "Leila Manzano the mobster? Leila Manzano from the Manzano crime family?"

"I should hope so, otherwise there are going to be a few wise guys who are going to be real pissed off that I've been acting this whole time." Leila crossed her arms, clearly not fazed by the closed off attitude. Liam shook his head, she really hadn't been joking when she said that it was the default response to her. If this was left unchecked it was probably going to lead in a lot of problems down the road.

Leila looked around at the various expressions aimed at her, ranging from guarded to outright hostile. The only exceptions apart from Liam and Skylar were Cayden, who seemed slightly curious, and Cassandra, who looked like she had seen a ghost. "Now I'm not sure what to think here, is all this hostility because of the career criminal thing, or the absentee mother thing?"

"A bit of both." Leah stepped forward, taking a closer look at her. "Where were you all these years when she could have needed you?"

"Being a career criminal. Why? Do you think she would have benefited from my motherhood?" Leila rubbed her hands together. "Oh joy, she could have been picking locks by the time she was six, my own little larcenist!"

"Why'd you show up now? She could have still used your help."

"But she didn't need it. She either had her actual mother and father when they were still around, or she was strong enough to fight her own battles. That was how she was raised, and it wasn't by me." She clicked her tongue, "Also a small word of advice, Skylar and I have already had a conversation about all this. I don't regret giving her up, and she knows that it was for the best anyway. My only regret is that I was late the one time she truly could have used my help, and I'll take that guilt to my grave. Anything else..." She scoffed, "Like I said before, I'm a career criminal. If you think you can manage to guilt me over giving up a child that I wasn't responsible enough to take care of then you're going to be very disappointed."

Before the situation could devolve any further, which was inevitable given the way Farah clenched her fist and Leila began to sneer, Cassandra walked up to her side, taking hold of Leila's forearm and leading her away.

"I'm sorry, but I know you and I need answers." She looked back at everyone else, bowing her head in apology. "I'm sorry, you will be able to continue this interrogation later."

"It wasn't..." Michael trailed off, grimacing at Skylar and Liam. "It was an interrogation wasn't it?"

"Not a terribly subtle one either." Liam grabbed his wife's hand, squeezing down and leading her towards the car. "There's someone else who desperately needs to see you right now, I don't think either of you should wait any longer."

She gasped, knowing exactly what they were heading towards. She ran forward out of his grip, tearing the door of the car open and leaning inside, freezing at the sight of her daughter sleeping soundly. "Oh... Oh my god..."

Liam placed his hand on her back, letting her work through the moment on her own. Slowly, with as much care as one would put into touching a snowflake, Skylar extended her hand, fingers brushing through Abigail's hair and running along her cheeks. The feeling of each inch of her impossibly soft skin was more precious to Skylar than every work of art she had seen, every meal she had ever eaten, Abigail was worth more to her than life itself, and she had been more than prepared to give that up in her favor.

"She missed you so much, we all did but she felt it the most." Liam found himself tearing up once more, his hand joining with hers on their daughter's head. "I didn't give up hope, not completely. Neither of us did. But I still lost my way after I lost you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was a mess Skylar. I was drinking, miserable, Cayden had to come over almost every day just to make sure I hadn't drunk myself to death." Seeing the guilt starting to come over her, he continued, "It's not your fault I was like that. You had to go away to protect our daughter, and I could have found some other way to cope. Instead I drank and thought about ways that I could bring you back from the dead if I needed to."

Her head snapped towards him, her eyes filled with disbelief. "I'm sorry, you what?"

He laughed, "Don't act like you wouldn't at least think about it in my shoes. It was stupid, and dangerous, but I was desperate. I just wanted to have you back so that we could raise Abigail together, to be a family like we always wanted." He stopped suddenly, realizing something. "Actually, it's for the best that Cassandra and Cayden dragged me away on this trip, I don't want to imagine what would have happened if we did a ritual to bring back someone from the dead who had never died in the first place..."

"Yeah that... That would have been bad." She ran her other hand over his cheek, his eyes closing and his head leaning into her touch. "I'm so sorry that I had to leave, even if you say it wasn't my fault..."

"I'll keep saying it. For as long as you have doubts and for a long time afterwards, if I have to spend the rest of my life convincing you that this wasn't your fault then I'll do it, and just be grateful that I have the chance to be able to do that." He looked between her and their sleeping child, smile growing with each second that passed. "I love the two of you so much, and I don't want to ever let go of you. I'll dedicate the rest of my life to making sure that I don't have to."

"I think that we can both just settle for you being a good father. And a good husband..." They locked eyes, and it was like a switch had been thrown in each of them. The flames that neither had felt in over a month flared up inside them, only the presence of everyone they knew keeping them from tearing their clothes off right then and there. And of course, there was the voice that cleared its throat right next to them.

"Sky?" Farah rubbed the back of her neck anxiously. "We just wanted to say sorry for everything, we jumped on her so suddenly and... That must have been terrible to have to go through so soon after coming back."

"It's... It's fine." She nodded her thanks but looked at each of them seriously. "She deserves to be listened to though, I wouldn't have stayed with her if I didn't think she could be trusted. Just wait until she comes back with Cassandra and give her a chance."

"We will." Hayley squeezed Michael's hand, his agreement coming in a nod soon after. "And we..." She saw the way that Liam and Skylar were shifting, clearly distracted by something. It was very easy to figure out that the thing they were distracted by was each other, and it didn't take much detective work to figure out why they were distracted by each other.

"Oh," She said, "We can look after Abigail if the two of you need to..." She hesitated when Michael chuckled beside her, "Catch up? "

"Oh! That would be..." Skylar trailed off, Liam's hand underneath hers feeling like it was over a thousand degrees. She was desperate to know if it would feel the same anywhere else on her body. "That would be really nice, it's not too much trouble is it?"

"Don't even worry about it." Cayden stepped over, not looking at either of them while he picked up Abigail, letting them place a kiss each on her forehead before stepping away. To everyone's amusement, he started to lead Leah away as well. "Come on, I'm sure you don't need to be anywhere near here even more than the rest of us."

Hayley turned back to speak to the two of them, but they had already turned on the car and were pulling out of the parking lot. Before they slipped out of view she could swear she saw Skylar slipping down, but she looked away before she could see any more.

''None of my business, don't need to see that." She grinned to herself, shaking her head. "Good to have you back Sky."

---

They almost didn't make it back to the motel room before they were tearing their clothes off, the taste of Liam still on Skylar's lips from her impulsive act of passion in the car on the way over. His teeth sunk into her lower lip, hand fumbling at the handle and throwing the door open, their hands and mouths not leaving each other for more than a second. It wasn't until now that they remembered that they hadn't had a moment to... Relieve the tension that had been building, grief and the mission pushing it from their minds. Now however, it was all they could think of, and they were not leaving this room until they were satisfied.

"Please Liam, it's been so long..." She gasped when he sunk his teeth into her neck, his mind so overcome with passion they had been edging on fangs, but he managed to hold himself back. "Yes, please! Just like that!"

Liam growled, his hands slipping underneath her waist and lifting her up, holding her against the wall with his hardness pressing insistently against her rapidly dampening pants. With a desperate nod, she slipped her hands down, unbuttoning her pants and sliding them as far down her legs as she could manage, not even managing to get them to her knees before he slipped inside her.

Skylar threw her head back in ecstasy, her walls stretching luxuriously for the first time in a long, torturous month. The familiar feeling of his length touching her deepest depths wiped all else from her mind, her hands winding in his hair and tugging against the roots, his fingers digging into her hips with enough force to hurt.

She'd missed this so much, and she hadn't even realized it.

He was reduced to little more than the animal he was at heart, each scrape of her nails against his scalp or a desperate whimper that was swallowed by his hungry lips fueling the fire within him. He ground his hips against her, her back scraping against the unforgiving wood of the wall with each thrust. She met him eagerly, legs winding around his hips and pulling him even deeper inside her, his tongue sucked into her mouth and her nails scraping down his back hard enough to draw streaks of blood.

She yelped when he turned around, throwing her down on the bed and thrusting down into her without a moment’s pause. Skylar could hardly contain herself, his pulsing cock driving her to the brink, legs around his neck and her dripping nethers exposed to the air. With a grunt he pulled her pants off the rest of the way, pressing himself down against her until her legs were on either side of her head and their lips were locked in a passionate embrace. "Tell me how you want me," He growled into her mouth, "Tell me what you want me to do to you."

"Oh god!" She arched her back as much as she could with him pressing her down into the bed. "Please Liam I... I don't want you to hold back! I want you to give me everything!"

His hands dug into her shirt, tearing the fragile fabric apart and scattering buttons across the floor, her bra going the same way before she could even blink. She wondered idly what he was planning to do before his fingers pinched at her rapidly hardening nipples, gasp being lost in his mouth when he started thrusting with renewed purpose. Her entire body was vibrating from the force of his hips meeting hers, generous backside already starting to bruise from their animalistic, almost vicious coupling.

The pain from her chest being pinched and squeezed, the ache of the rest of her body being so thoroughly used, it was almost too much to bear. That didn't mean she couldn't give her own back however.

Slowly, as delicately as she could while her entire body was being shifted and thrown around, she let her hand slink around his neck. He looked at her curiously when she squeezed her hand slightly, thumb pressed against his windpipe and the tips of her fingers tapping against the back of his neck. "Is this ok?" She asked, making it clear that if he wasn't comfortable she would move away.

He took hold of her hand, moving it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to each knuckle before nuzzling his face into her palm. "It's ok Sky... I trust you." He placed it back on his neck, squeezing her wrist before he moved his own hand underneath her head. When he nodded his consent, she squeezed her hand slowly, his hips working at the same slow pace.

He groaned at the feeling of her fingers compressing his windpipe, breath coming in shuddering gasps when she took off the pressure. Each of his inches sliding in and out of his wife at that torturously slow pace was driving them both insane, her walls squeezing down around him and trying desperately to milk every single drop of his seed that they could get. With the combined feelings of his body being controlled by her above and below his waist, his end was coming very fast and very explosively, but still he held off, wanting nothing more than to feel as much of this moment as he could for as long as he could.

Skylar almost came just from the sight of his face twisted in shocked bliss, each squeeze of her fingers, every roll of her thumb over his Adam’s apple making his cock twitch inside her. She wished that she could see him standing proud in front of her, she could only imagine the rivers of precum that he was dripping, all because of her. "Are you getting close?" She panted, nails dragging lightly against the skin of his throat.

He shuddered, nodding frantically as he started to pound into her in earnest, her pleasured gasps and whimpers music to his ears that was driving himself closer and closer to the end until he could hardly see with all the stars in his vision.

"Do it!" Skylar squeezed one hand around his throat as tight as she felt was safe, her other hand reaching as far down his back as she could to try and push him deeper into her. "Liam please! I need it inside me!"

His body froze, vision disappearing as he all but melted into her, one final piston of his hips driving his length as deep into her body as it could possibly go, his release so powerful he could feel it in the back of his skull. Her walls were painted with his spend, Skylar hovering just on the edge of orgasm but not quite breaking, the pulse of his erupting cock driving her mad with need.

When he came back to himself the first thing Liam was aware of was that his legs had lost all ability to function, the second was that his wife was still panting and squirming underneath him, making him realize to his horror that he hadn't yet made her cum yet, leaving her hanging at that agonizing space between pain and release.

And that just simply wouldn't do.

With some maneuvering, no small task when one's legs are not in working order, he slid down to her twitching slit, fingers spreading her open and his tongue pressing into her. The sensation was one Skylar hadn't been prepared for, breath catching in her throat and her hands almost tearing his hair out by the root. "Oh my... Liam!" She tried to grind against his face as best she could, but with her legs still held more or less by her head and his face devouring her like he had been in a desert without food for years, she couldn't do much except throw her head back and allow herself to be taken along for a ride.

For Liam it was a strange feeling, he had gone down on his wife before, of course he had, he was a caring husband after all. But it had never been in this order, not when she was already sopping wet and he could taste himself on his lips, though with the way that her body couldn't stop shivering and she looked set to burst into tears from sheer joy alone, perhaps it wouldn't be the last time he did something like this.

His fingers dug into her waist, sliding down onto her soft cheeks and spreading both of her entrances open. He leaned forward, lips sealing around her clit while he slipped two fingers into her rear, her mind going blank and her mouth opening wide in a silent wail as her orgasm finally, mercifully started. Her body felt like it was made of fire and lightning, every nerve ending lighting up in a sudden overload of feeling, body shivering and trembling with every pump of his fingers or flick of his tongue.

She couldn't speak, couldn't do anything other than moan and shriek at the way he took every measure to prolong her orgasm, crooking his fingers inside her and locking eyes with her just so she could see the pleasure he was taking in utterly dismantling her. But with how well they knew each other, the way that their bodies held few secrets that either didn't already know, Liam knew when enough was enough, when pleasure would turn to a pain that neither of them would enjoy. He slowed his movements, guiding her down from her high as gently as one could in that situation, chuckling at the wince and the breathy gasp she gave when he slipped his fingers out of her.

When she collapsed back into the sheets and felt his arms wind around her waist, Skylar became aware of just how right this moment felt, how lonely she had been on the road up until then. Her mother had been good company, and she loved getting to know the woman who had given birth to her, but the companionship was not the same. For all of Leila's efforts, she was still mostly a stranger, and a stranger's growing friendship couldn't measure up to the sheer comfort of being in the arms of the person that she had exchanged vows with, who had stood by her on the dawn of the rest of their lives and told her every way in which she completed him.

Skylar had missed her husband, had missed the love that she could feel just by being in the same room, and she wasn't going to let go of it ever again.

"Skylar?" She turned her head at the voice, surprised to see that Liam was avoiding her gaze. "I... I have something that I need you to know."

"What is it?" She turned in his arms, cupping his cheek. "What is it Liam?"

"When I lost... When I thought I lost you, it ruined me Skylar." He looked up at her, his eyes haunted with memory and his hands shaking. "I didn't know what to do without you and everything seemed so hopeless. But every time I looked into Abigail's eyes it was like... It was like you were still looking back at me. And I couldn't let that just fall away."

He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before resting their foreheads together. "I wouldn't have made it through without our daughter, and I'm not going to let anything happen to her. To either of you. Never again."

"Don't worry Liam, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Skylar let her head fall to his chest, his heartbeat a welcome drum in her ear. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her either."

---

Meanwhile, thankfully far from that room that had started shaking again not too long after the two had taken a break from their lovemaking, Cassandra was trying to find some satisfaction of a different kind. She was sitting next to Leila, absolutely certain that she had met her before, just wanting some answers to the questions that had been burning in her mind since they had introduced themselves.

"You know, if you actually want to know something it helps if you speak." Leila crossed her legs, leaning back in her seat and chuckling to herself, "The silent treatment generally doesn't work at all."

"I'm trying to word this correctly, I'm sure saying 'I've seen you before' for the fifteenth time is hardly going to bring the memories back to you any faster."

Leila popped her lips, "I guess you're right, but can you hurry it up anyway? At this point facing down the inquisition out there sounds like more fun."

Cassandra nodded, shifting her chair so that she was facing the other woman and leaning in. "I said before that we've met before, and now I remember exactly where that was."

"Oh?" Leila leaned in herself, smirking. "And where exactly was that?"

"South America, nineteen-ninety-eight. There was a small village on the coast that welcomed whoever managed to find them." She tapped her fingers together, thinking back. "I remember going there looking for someone, following the directions given to me from whoever would see fit to trust me with the location."

Leila's expression had darkened, smirk turning bitter and more than a little venomous, but she still chuckled, "It's been a long time since I thought of that village. Not exactly something that I was in too much of a hurry to remember if I'm being honest."

Cassandra continued on unabated. "There were rumors of a demon that melted into the shadows that had been approaching their homes, but when I asked anyone on the way there was nothing but praise for the mysterious creature of the darkness. Apparently, they were rather unpleasant to be around, but showed nothing less than respect for the local customs."

"And what did you find when you reached that village?" Leila squeezed her hand into a fist, nails digging into her palm to stop her from erupting in anger. "Did the sight that awaited you match the stories you'd been told? The tall tales of a respectful stranger, were they everything you hoped for?"

"When I walked into that village I didn't expect that I would see every resident scattered along the roads and dripping down the walls." The witch looked off to the side, her eyes unfocused at the horror of the memory. "I'd barely gotten a chance to see you before the village burst into flames, and then you were gone. Just like a bad dream, or the shadow of a tree in the nighttime, you just melted away into nothingness."

Leila nodded, breathing out and sitting back. "Impressive that you remember all that, I would think that you've done some pretty horrifying things yourself, why is one village so important that you remember every last detail?"

"Because..." She said, meeting her gaze with an utterly haunted stare. "I killed my brother there that night."