Jubilee carefully dabbed her brush in the paint and turned to Stuart Chandler. "Like this?" It was hard painting in front of the guy whose work she had admired.

Stuart looked up from arranging his exhibit and nodded. "Very good," he praised her. "You have a lot of talent." Jubilee beamed under his praise. "In fact, I'd like to display this one during my next exhibit."

That statement was enough to make Jubilee quiet. "Um... sure," she finally managed to get out. "Thanks."

Stuart's girlfriend, Esther, was watching and laughed. She was a plain woman with a very gentle heart, like Stuart. Also like Stuart, she wasn't as book smart as most people were. Jubilee liked them, they were very accepting people. Suddenly, she beamed. "Look, it's Little Honey." Gloria Merrick and her stepdaughter were pulling up.

Stuart nodded at his ex-fiancee. "She had me make a special picture of Maddie for Dimitri." Something about his face suggested he didn't like the man.

"Do you think she'll let me hold Little Honey?" Easther turned to Stuart. She'd been the baby's nanny back when the baby was known as Sonya, and Erica Kane was raising her. Erica had returned the child to Edmund and Maria, her rightful parents, and gone to jail. "Little Honey loves me."

He shook his head. "Her husband wouldn't like it." He looked very sad. "He's a Bad Person." Jubilee wondered what it took for Stuart to classify someone as bad.

Gloria Marsh pushed Maddie in with a smile and greeted Stuart. "Is the painting ready yet?" Stuart handed it to her. "Thanks. Dimitri will love it." She turned to Jubilee and smiled. "Hi."

Jubilee smiled back, feeling sad for this woman who reminded her of Celeste. Their eyes were almost the same, but Celeste had some strength left in them. "Hi," she whispered as Gloria left the building.

Stuart shook his head. "He's no good for her. He doesn't love her for who she is." Then he repeated, "Dimitri's no good."

***

Paige sighed as she sat down in the chair at Dr. Tolan's office. "I don't want to talk about him," she whispered. "I can't talk about Teddy."

Dr. Tolan nodded, sympathetically. "Paige, this issue is bothering you-"

Paige rolled her eyes. She part of her wanted to talk about him, but the words refused to come. "I remember him looking at me strangely, and I remember him coming in to my room." She was four years old, tucked into bed, and her Uncle Teddy had come to say good night.

Dr. Tolan leaned forward. "Can you tell me anything else?" Paige shook her head, and noticed in an almost detached way that her hand was starting to change. It wasn't the first time this had happened during a counseling session. "Paige, can you control your change?"

Already her arm had husked into adamantium, the hardest material known to man. She shook her head as the rest of her body followed. "No."

She had already switched to full adamantium form. Dr. Tolan reached into her desk drawer and got out a change of clothes as she heard Paige's clothes start to rip.

***

Rahne sat down with Tabitha at her kitchen table and smiled. "A got the test results back- ye donnae got HIV."

Tabitha sighed. "I'm negative!" She hugged Rahne. This past week had been a wonderful chance for the two women to get to know each other. But as nice as it was to make a new friend, she was going to be happy to get back to her team. "Goodness! I can't wait to tell Berto... and Ric." A tear trickled down Tab's cheek.

Rahne smiled at her. "Now, we need tae have a wee little talk." Tabitha laughed as Rahne got out a condom and started to hand it to her. "It's been two years since the last time, ye've had..." Rahne's voice trailed off, realizing what the statement sounded like. "A mean, the test we use shows if ye've been exposed tae AIDS for..." This was a difficult thing to say, especially to Sam's ex-girlfriend. She started again, "In the past, ye've done some things tae expose yuirself tae HIV. Now there are some things that ye can do tae cut down on the chances of yuir gettin' HIV. Waiting until yuir in a long-term, committed, relationship is one option."

Tabitha smiled. "I've heard the condom lectures before, Rahne. The only safe sex is no sex until marriage and then no sex outside of marriage. Safer sex means using a condom every time." Rahne looked slightly relieved. "And I'm not doing a thing to expose myself to HIV again."

Rahne smiled. "You and ... Berto might want to get retested before.... Condoms only do so much, there is a risk of failure in terms of pregnancies and if they fail tae prevent pregnancies..." This was a hard talk to have, but a vital one. She was fighting her conservative upbring to say, or not say, what she was trying to say.

Tabitha smiled. "I know. That's why it's safer sex." Rahne sat back in her chair. Tab grinned wickedly as she handed Rahne the condom back. "Now I want you to save this for the night you and Sam get married." Rahne blushed as she added, "And have fun using it."

Despite her blush, Rahne slipped it in her purse. "If we get married, A'll think aboot it." After all, that was on her long list of things to learn about on her honeymoon. The way she figured it, the process of discovering her answers would make her husband a very happy man. Exhausted, but happy.

***

Paige sat down on the couch to relax while Rahne was taking a little nap in her room. They had helped Berto and Tabitha pack after she'd gotten back from her therapy session. She felt like such a failure there, every time that she would start to talk about Teddy, she would shape shift into something extremely hard. Dr. Tolan would tell her not to worry about it, that was just her body's way of protecting herself, but Paige did worry.

Sam walked in from work and glanced over to check that Rahne's door was shut. Then he asked, "How was yer doctor's appointment?"

Paige started to cry. "Ah did it again, Sam. Ah shifted inta adamantium." Sam hugged his sister. "All Ah can remember is him looking at me--" she stopped, not having the time to unfreeze herself. "Ah've got ta go ta work soon."

Sam nodded, "If'n ya need ta talk..." He didn't notice Rahne come out of her room.

Paige didn't see her either. "Ah know Sam, Ah know."

***

Rahne had had enough of such stuff. She was tired of seeing that hurt look in Sam's eyes and knowing she couldn't help. She was tired of her efforts to help being pushed away. And most of all, she was tired of pretending she didn't love him.

She had loved him from the time they met, but he hadn't felt the same way about her. In time, she learned to live with that. It wasn't that hard, honestly. As long as she could love him, she would settle for what she could get from him- a deep friendship. And she moved on to Doug and Ric, very fine young men for whom she had had special feelings. In time, her love for Sam had become part of her soul, gentle, deep and true.

And then the link with Alex changed what she knew about love. She was so deeply bonded to him by the Genoshans that, much to her chagrin, she wanted him sexually, and that was against her beliefs. Her body betrayed her in so many, many ways. Ways that she fought against now.

When that link was severed, she felt relieved. And she felt hurt. Neither of the men she wanted had wanted her. Then came the night she and Sam went out. And they kissed, and she felt her love for him returning from the place she had hidden it.

But she wanted Sam to say the words to her first, to make that commitment to her. Not only because she was afraid to discover what she thought was love wasn't, but because it was harder for Sam to say those words. Harder because he had to face down his fear of immortality.

Now, with every painful glance, he was closing her out. And she wouldn't watch it happen again. The long, torn expression Sam fixed on his sister's face would be the last one she would watch. He would either let her in or "A'm leaving."

Rahne grabbed her purse and ran out of their apartment, not hearing Sam call her back. She ran down to her car and drove off, not knowing where she was going, and quite frankly, not caring.

***

Jackson Montgomery tried not to listen as his brother, Travis, paced up and down the floor. Travis's wife, Barbara, fidgeted in her chair. Finally, Travis turned to his brother. "You promised that if Bianca stayed here in town, she'd get better."

Bianca Montgomery, daughter of Erica Kane and Travis Montgomery, was anorexic. Jackson sighed as he remembered his talks with his niece. "She doesn't want to get well."

"How could she not want to eat?" Barbara asked. "I just don't understand that."

Jack sighed and repeated the words that didn't make any sense to him. "She thinks food is wasted on her, that she's worthless and doesn't deserve to live." His beautiful niece had always lived in the shadow of her mother, the Erica Kane, model, business woman, actress extraordinare, and had always felt less than beautiful.

Today, Jack had come home from visiting Erica in jail and discovered his niece passed out on the floor. He had rushed her to the hospital and the doctors had been forced to insert a feeding tube in Bianca. It was a last ditch effort to save the twelve-year-old.

What they needed was a miracle.

***

Sam watched as Rahne ran out of their apartment in utter shock. Kitty had warned him that this could happen, but he couldn't believe it. "Go after her, Sam!" Paige urged.

He turned, pain etched on his face. "Ah can't. Not unless Ah can tell her the truth."

Paige shook her head, knowing the words Rahne needed to hear weren't the ones about her and Uncle Timmy, but ones that came from Sam's heart. "You know the words to say." Then she left to go to work.

Sam sat down on the sofa and sighed. To tell Rahne he loved her would mean, in his book, committing to a very serious relationship. He wasn't a man to say those words lightly, and he knew Rahne wouldn't take them as such. If he said those three little words to her, it would have to mean that he could see marrying her.

And that was where the problem was. He had held off telling her that because he would outlive her. Not just by years, by centuries. All that time without her was a death sentence. He couldn't imagine marrying her and then losing her so relatively soon.

Instead of feeling happy that Rahne left him, or sad because she did, Sam sat on the couch and waited. He just grew numb as the hours passed by.

***

"I think that's a little too revealing," Cordelia looked at her mother with a smile. Emma was modeling a skirt so short, if she were to bend over, she'd expose herself.

Emma looked at herself in the mirror and grinned. Dressing the way she did was a business advantage because most stuffy, old men would automatically drop their prices in hopes she think of them favorably. It was an advantage she planned to milk until she didn't have the body to do it anymore. With a sigh, she put back the skirt and turned her attention to what her daughter had picked out.

It was a button down dress that came to her knees, something she'd expect an old maid to wear. She shook her head at the idea of her, a mother, telling her daughter to dress sexier. Finally, she came up with a compromise. "I'll buy and wear any three outfits you pick out for me, if I can do the same for you."

Cordelia thought the offer over and nodded. "But only," she specified, "if I can pick out the outfit you wear on your date with Bobby."

Emma had already spotted a skirt she wanted her daughter to try on. "Sure..." she muttered. Cordelia then started to scout the store for the perfect outfit.

***

Kitty answered the knock on her door and found Rahne standing there. All color was gone from her face. "Can A stay for a bit? Sam and A--" Rahne started to cry as Kitty hugged her. She pulled the woman on the couch.

"Come on," Kitty offered. Pete quickly saw what was happening and left to give the two women some time alone. Rahne sobbed her heart out. She was hoping the tears could erase her love for Sam.

"It's over," she finally said. "A cannae be doin' this to myself."

Kitty shook her head. "You can't give up." Rahne and Sam were perfect for each other. They clicked only the way people with "The Look" could click. Every relationship, hers and Pete's included, had peaks and valleys.

"A cannae be doin' this anymore. Waitin' for him tae let me in his problems, pretendin' like they donnae hurt me as much as they do." Rahne got up and started to pace off some nervous energy.

Kitty decided to play devil's advocate. "What do you want Sam to do?"

Rahne turned to her friend and answered her question as best as she could. "Just let me in. Let me know he cares for me, he loves me. A want tae know the truth about what's hurtin' him, but more important A want him tae say he loves me, let me know he trusts me that much." Kitty nodded, understanding where Rahne was coming from. "A see it every day in the little things, the way he makes my tea, the way he leaves the paper for me, the quiet way he helps me in the kitchen. The way he rubs my feet after a long day at work. Kitty, A ken he loves me. Why can't he say it?" The tears started afresh as her best friend hugged her again.

***

The first thing Pete noticed when he pulled up to Trevor's house was the sound of two kids playing inside. He stopped for a minute, realizing that they were playing X-Men and police.

The boy, about six years old, was the X-Man. He stood in an heroic posture, hands on hips. "Here I am to save the day!" he sang.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and if you spent half the time being nice instead of destroying things, people might think you were nice!" She stuck her tongue out at her friend.

The boy laughed. "But it wouldn't be half as fun!" Quickly they started running around the living room. Trevor Dillon came downstairs as he continued, "And I'll never have to grow up!"

"Jamie, Amanda, what have I told you about playing mutants in the house?" The two looked at him and sighed.

"Don't run, don't break anything, don't throw anything, and for the love of mercy, don't try to explain Dallas!" They repeated in unison. Pete laughed.

Trevor turned to the door with a grin, "Come on in Pete!" Amanda smiled charmingly. She had never met a man she couldn't wrap around her little finger in two seconds.

Pete didn't return that smile so she asked him, "Want to play tea party?"

Trevor started to shake his head no as she started begging, "Please, please, please????"

"Mandibles, what did I say about begging?" Trevor asked his daughter sharply.

"But Daddy, I just wanted to have a cup of tea." She didn't know it, but she appealed to the British side of Pete.

"Sure, kid." Trevor's jaw dropped open.

***

At some point during the evening, Sam fell asleep. Or that was the best way he could describe what happened next.

He was staring at the door, willing Rahne to come back when his father appeared before his eyes. Not the sick, bony man that died of black lung disease, but the younger, more vibrant man who played ball with Sam outside the house in Kentucky.

"Daddy?" Sam asked stunned. "Is that really ya?"

He had forgotten how much he and his father looked alike. It was almost like looking in a mirror. He had inherited his father's blond hair and blue eyes, and body build. As his father reached out and touched his face, he was surprised to notice that his father was still a couple of inches taller than him.

Suddenly, he felt his father hugging him. "Daddy!" He exclaimed as he held him tightly.

"Son," Thomas Guthrie started and then stopped. "Thank ya, God for this."

He looked like his father, he felt like his father. This was the truest dream Sam had ever had. "Daddy. Then ya know what happened-"

Ever the no-nonsense man, Tom Guthrie held up his hand. "Ah'm not here ta talk ta ya about Paige. Li'l Bit can fill ya in on that."

"Where is she?" Sam was worried about his best friend.

"That's her story ta tell," Tom smiled at his son. "And when she can come, she will be on the first plane ta see ya. She just can't come now. She'll be okay. God's got a plan for her and what she's going through is part of it. But that's not why He sent me."

Sam was stumped. "Why?"

"'Cause ya stopped doin' what was right when ya started ta shut yer girlfriend out." Tom sat down next to his son. "Son, Ah know ya love Rahne. Show it."

"Daddy, she'll die before Ah will."

Tom laughed as only one truly living an eternity can. The mortal world seemed so unimportant compared to the next. "Son, ya love Lewis and Linda, dontcha?"

Sam nodded. Of course, he loved the twins. His father explained. "Yer momma and Ah knew Ah was dying when she had them, yet we rejoiced in their births." At Sam's puzzled expression, he elaborated, "Take a deep breath."

Sam did as he was told. "Now, let it out." Sam again did what he was told. "That was the last breathe promised ta ya. Life is uncertain."

Sam was beginning to understand. "But Ah might live so long--" As he said that, he started to realize that he would rather spend a lifetime without her than allow her to spend a lifetime without him.

His father looked at him and sighed. "Sam, ya were never the selfish type so what is the problem?" Sam gave his father a puzzled glance. "By not committing ta Rahne, ya depriving her of somethin' special. A life with you in it. She doesn't have as long as ya, and you can make her so happy by just loving her."

Sam had honestly never thought of it like that. He was trying to protect the one thing that he shouldn't have- his heart. "And through her, God can letcha know mortality. Every sunrise, every bird song, everything ya are afraid of losing joy in she'll give ta ya by her enjoyment of them. Her joy will become yer joy."

"Thanks, Daddy." Sam whispered. This talk was what he needed to clear up all confusion.

His father held up his hand to stop Sam. "Muh time here is nearly done, but Ah have one last thing ta ask."

Sam nodded, brushing away his tears. "What?"

His father handed him a watch. "This was what yer great-grandfather gave yer great-grandmother as a engagement gift. It was a reminder that every moment was special. Give it ta Rahne." His father laid it in his hands and smiled. "Son, ya have never made me anythin' but proud."

He watched as his father became more transparent. "Love ya, Sam."

"Love ya too, Daddy." And his father was gone.

***

Pete looked down at the sleeping Amanda with a soft smile. "She is a nice kid." For a second, he saw a little girl with Kitty's smile and his hair sleeping in the bed and felt a warm glow fill his heart.

Trevor nodded as they made their way out of her room. "Her mom and I think so." They climbed down the stairs and Trevor told him, "I never regret giving up the old business, not when I look at my two kids."

"Wot ever happened to Jeremy?" Jeremy was a friend from way back, who gave up the business to become a monk, and later to become an artist.

Trevor sighed. "He died a year or so back."

Pete nodded, "Shame." Trevor went into the kitchen and got out two beers, smoothly tossing one to him. "How?"

His friend shook his head, "Bizarre thing... his ex-girlfriend went nuts and buried him in cement." He took a long drink of his beer. "My adopted son, Tim, is his half brother." He gestured to a picture of his two kids. Pete reflected that life was truly strange.

Pete looked at the picture and gulped. "Your son hates Janet Green, doesn't he?" A couple of days ago, he had caught Tim smashing in a pumpkin with a crowbar in front of her room at the Valley Inn.

Trevor nodded. "The kid's got a chip on his shoulder. It's to the point that I'm about to take him to therapy." Trevor hated therapists because of a run-in with a Black Air shrink, so that surprised Pete.

"Wot I came here to ask you about was Merrick." Pete changed the subject.

"What do you want to know about the creep?" Trevor pulled down his file.

"It's a gut feelin' mostly, but I think he's behind a lot of the trouble you've been havin' here in town." Pete started to review Trevor's notes.

***

Kitty offered to let Rahne stay the night, but she refused. As hard as it was, there was only one place that Rahne wanted to be. Her love for Sam was a bond that she would never be free of.

So she walked back into that apartment, knowing that she was asking for more pain and heartache. She loved Sam enough to accept that.

Sam looked at the spot where his father had stood in awe, as his love came though the door. "Ya came back?" he whispered, stunned. That was a miracle.

Rahne smiled and asked bitterly, "Where would A go?" Everything she had ever wanted was in this apartment. Everything she needed was staring her in the face.

Sam bolted the distance between them and engulfed her in a huge embrace, trying to let his actions show his gratitude.

***

Paige sighed as she prepared herself to walk into the apartment. Rahne wasn't coming back, not unless the woman had a higher tolerance for pain than she gave her credit for. Her brother would be heartbroken, frantic.

She opened the door and discovered the lights were off. She started to flip them on, but she heard the sounds of a couple making out. Relieved, she started to leave them alone.

But Emma's training came back. What would happen if she didn't let them know she was home? After that non-fight, emotions were going to be loose. Sam was smart enough to stop what could happen, if he wanted to. However, Paige wasn't sure he could, he wanted Rahne to stay in his life. And Rahne would do anything to make Sam happy, even forego her moral beliefs. And Sam wouldn't let Rahne feel cheap.

What did that mean? Simple enough. If Sam and Rahne went too far tonight, there would be a forced wedding in the morning. And that would be a bad, bad idea because they deserved better.

Then, she remembered the way Sam had walked in on her first kiss. Revenge was a dish best served cold. With a grin, she flipped on the lights.

Sam and Rahne looked up from their spot on the couch and blinked. Paige almost laughed as she saw what she had stopped; their clothes were dishevel, and Sam was wearing more lipstick than Rahne. Carefully, Paige kept the laugher out of her voice. "Go to your rooms!" Sam and Rahne blushed, but started to walk into Rahne's room. "Sam, do you mean to sleep there?" Paige asked bluntly, and the couple blushed deeper.

Sam nearly ran into his room. "And take a cold shower!" Paige shouted after him.