Author's Note: Well, this is just part one. More will be forth coming, promise.
(hides crossed fingers behind her back) I wrote this just now, actually, so it hasn't
been beta-ed. Sorry for any atrocious spelling or grammar mistakes. My address
is morgan_peterson@hotmail.com and  C&C is appreciated. More than that, it is shown
to  parents, e-mailed to relatives and friends, used to irritate the cats , and sprung
on innocent passers by. (I really _like_ feedback...<G>)

Standard Disclaimer: To my eternal sorrow, they aren't mine. Please don't sue me
for my creative efforts , I don't have anything you'd want. (Even the computer is
my parents' ^_^)
 

{} Indicates the People's(were-wolves) language.
 

 Raymond Stanley Kowalsky, commonly known as Ray Vecchio, knew he was in
trouble. He was backing slowly away from the tall, blonde woman who was brandishing a
laden basket in his direction. Anne was on the warpath.

 Anne sighed. "Ray, Ray, Ray!" She shook her head in a mock-chiding fashion.
 "Oh, Ray-of-Sunshine-Mine! I get the feeling you don't trust me!"

 Ray shot her a glare. "Don't call me that. And no, I don't trust you."

 Anne made her eyes all huge and teary. "You...you don't _trust_ me? Me? Your
 friend? Your buddy? Your pal? I entrust you with my deepest secrets, and you won't
 even do a little thing like this?"

 Ray steeled himself. 'She's just trying to manipulate you into doing what she
 wants. Don't let her teary act fool ya.'

 Anne's lower lip started to tremble. One crystal tear slid from her eye. Ray caved.

 "All right! All right already! I'll try on the damn clothes! Just don't get all weepy
 on me!"

 Anne grinned and flung her arms around the surly detective. "Oh thank you! I just
 know you'll look _great_ in this outfit! Just think of the girls you'll be able to pick up at
 the party tonight!"

 She grinned as Ray retreated to the only changing room of the small, hole in the
 wall shop. 'He _will_ look great in that outfit. Not only will the women check him out,
 but half the guys will probably be looking too. Especially since this is one of _Ivy's_
 parties. I am not the strangest of Ivy's friends, and I'm a _were-wolf_ for the Lady's
 sake!'

 Anne wandered around, checking out racks as she waited for Ray to stop sulking
 and come out of the changing room. Dief and Fraser walked up. Dief grinned up at her as
 he silently asked: {So, is 'Detective Grab-bag' trying on the outfit you picked out?}

 {Yes. But I practically had to shove him through the dressing room doors kicking
 and screaming.}

 Fraser took in Anne's, still somewhat teary, eyes. "Oh dear. I would conjecture
 that Ray did not take your fashion suggestions well?"

 Anne grinned at the vaguely worried Mountie. "Nonsense Fraser. He just needed a
 little persuasion."

 "Oh dear. He _is_ still in one piece?"

 Anne's green-gold eyes got huge. "Fraser! Was that sarcasm I detected in your
 tone?! Wow! I think I'm just going to die of shock right here!"

 She and Dief both grinned at the furiously blushing Mountie. "Oh no! I didn't
 mean...I mean... I wouldn't..."

 "Don't worry Fraser. I was making a joke. I'm not insulted, or anything."

 Anne looked down at the still laughing wolf. {Is he _always_ that nervous around
 women?}

 {Yep. Well, the one's over the age of ten and under the age of fifty , anyways.}

 Anne just shook her head. 'Woah boy. This kid is _way_ over-socialized...'

 However, her thoughts were derailed as Ray slunk out of the changing room. Anne
 shook her head. 'Honestly, if he weren't a grown man, I'd think he was sulking...Still, he
 _does_ look good.'

 "See Ray? I told you that you'd look great in that outfit."

 "Well, kinda, but...leather pants?"

 " Why not? You're slim enough to look good in 'em. Besides, skinny as you are, if
 they shrink, you'll _still_ fit in 'em."

 "Ms. Hollows is correct, Ray. You do look quite striking."

 *Approving bark*

 "See? Even the wolf and the Mountie think you look good!" She grinned
 unrepentantly in the face of Ray's glare. "So..."

 Ray gave Anne a considering look.  He could still back out of this...

 Anne's eyes got all teary again. She sniffled.

 "Okay! I'll _buy_ it! Geeze!"

 She grinned down at Dief. {Do I have it, or what?}

 Dief was watching the changing room. {Do you think I should tell them that some
 woman went in there while we were talking?}

 Anne gave her fellow were-wolf  a startled look. "What!!"

 Fraser blinked at this sudden outburst. It was rather unusual for Anne to start
 asking questions of thin air, but then, _he_ had the ghost of his father living in his closet...

 Anne stepped forward just in time to have Ray barrel into her on the way out of
the changing room, dragging his new outfit behind him. He didn't stop until he was across
 the street and safely ensconced in the GTO.

 Anne buried her face in her hands as she recognized the woman who stuck her
 head out of the changing room door. She was a dark haired woman, with a decidedly
 sultry, feline look about her, and she was wearing very little. Quite _skimpy_ very little at
 that! Anne knew her, a fact she _really_ regretted...

 "Myah?"

 The woman smirked at Anne. "Hel-l-l-o Anne." She was practically purring. "You
 are an Evil, Nasty, Cruel woman for hiding such a _delicious_ man away...What _is_ his
 number?"

 Anne flinched. 'Oh dear. I don't blame Ray for running. Myah in full 'hunting'
 mode is scary for _anyone_! My brother once stayed in his room for a month to avoid
her. Even then, she managed to get in through the ventilation ducts...'

 Anne gave the woman a strained smile. "I'm sure I wouldn't know, Myah. He's
 just an acquaintance. If you'll excuse us?"

 Anne grabbed Fraser by the arm, and towed the confused Mountie behind her.
 "Not a word, Fraser!" She hissed from the side of her mouth. "Not a bloody word!"

 Fraser just tilted his head to the side in an inquiring manner. She paid for the outfit
Ray had ran out carrying, and dragged the silent Fraser to the car, trailed by an amused
Dief.

 Anne sidled into the back seat with Dief, and watched as Fraser got in and buckled
 up. "Drive Ray. Drive very quickly, and watch out. She'll probably try and trail us! Trust
 me when I say you _don't_ want Myah to know where you live!"

 Ray peeled down the street at a good deal more than the local speed limit. He cast
 a strange look at Fraser, who was looking disapproving, but stayed silent. Anne followed
Ray's confused look. 'What's he...Oh for crying out loud!' "Fraser! You can talk now. I
just didn't want you saying anything in front of Myah. You can't obfuscate worth a darn."

 "You think this woman may be a _threat_ to Ray?"

 Anne made a face. "That depends. Does Ray object to being stalked like a deer by
a jungle cat? If not, no problem. If so...Nothing on Earth is as unstoppable as Myah on the
hunt. Take Franchesca's attempts at Fraser, and multiply them by a factor of, oh about
fifty." She grinned as Fraser went pale and Ray flinched. "And, of course, move the target
to the left a little..." Shaping her finger like a gun, she moved it from Fraser, in the
passenger side to Ray, behind the wheel. "Bang. You're bagged."

 Ray shot her a worried look in the mirror. "You're joking right?"

 "Nope. I don't know why, but Ray-of-Sunshine-Mine, you've attracted the
Panther's attention. Prepare to be another notch on her bedpost."
 
She grinned as Ray mouthed 'The Panther'?

 Fraser raised an eyebrow. "If I might ask, would a restraining order..."

 Anne shrugged. "It's been tried. No one could ever _prove_ she violated it, but..."

 The drive back to Anne's apartment was quiet. At least as far as the two men
could hear. However, between Anne and Dief...
 {So, how do you know her-royal-pain-in-the-tail?}

 {Well, we're cousins of a sort...I met her through my old collage room-mate, Ivy.
The one who's hosting the party tonight...By the bye, I have an outfit at home that
 _you'd_ look just scrumptious in, and Ivy knows all about the People...}

 Dief made the lupine equivalent of a blush, and was almost distracted, but he
hadn't been hanging around with Fraser all these years without learning to preserver in the
 face of embarrassment.

 {Cousins? You don't mean...!}

 {Yup. When I called her 'the Panther', I wasn't whistling Dixie. She's of the
People. Cat clan. Not one of their better members either. She has the morals of an alley
cat. Literally.}

 Dief shook his head. {Poor Ray. Poor, poor Ray... He won't know what hit him.}

 Anne grinned. {Unless, of course, _we_ run interference...}

 Dief gave her a wary look. He'd only known Anne for a few weeks, but he
knew that her mischievous look meant trouble. Usually for him. {What do you have in
 mind?}

 Anne's grin widened into a smirk, showing her slightly sharpened canines. {Trust
me, dearest. Just trust me.}

 Dief sighed. What ever else tonight was going to be, it wasn't going to be boring!
 
 Anne grinned at Fraser. "Constable? Would you mind horribly if I borrow Dief for
the evening? I promise to return him in tip-top condition..."

 Fraser looked at Dief. "Well? Any objections?"

 Anne smirked at the look Dief shot Fraser. It was somewhere between 'Are you
kidding?!' and 'Save me.' Then the wolf sighed. {No objections here.}

 "Well then, I see no reason why you can't have him for the day."

 Anne's grin got huge. "Thank you kindly, Constable. But this may take longer than
a day..."

 Ray had stopped in front of her apartment building, and she and Dief were out of
 the car before either man could question that statement.

 Anne led the wolf up the steps. {Can he _understand_ this language?}

 {I've never been entirely certain. Every once in a while...}

 {Weird...Oh well. Now, here's what we're going to do...}
 

 Diefenbaker shrugged a little. He hadn't been spending much time as a human
 lately, and the black jeans and blue silk shirt Anne had insisted on felt a little strange. He
 tugged on the sleeve of his shirt again, looked up at the moon, and sighed. Anne glanced
 over at him.

 "Stop fidgeting. This'll be fun. Trust me. No one _ever_ gets board at one of Ivy's
parties. She considers it her personal mission in life to be entertaining.
 
 Anne turned and paid the taxi and then dragged Dief up to the steps. She stopped
beside the well lit porch. "Now, remember to answer to Baker, since that's what you've
chosen as a name. Although _why_ I don't know!"

 Before he had a chance to ask what was wrong with 'Baker', Anne was pounding
 the knocker into the door of the rather large building before them.

 The door was tugged open, and facing them was a young woman with shoulder
length black hair, piled half-hazardly on top of her head, and bright, emerald green eyes
that seemed to dominate her face. She was grinning. "Anne! I haven't seen you in a dog's
age, pardon the pun! How're you doing? When'd you get to Chicago? How'd the
 programming thing turn out? Have you heard from your brother lately? What's the latest
 gossip? And who is this gorgeous man?"

 Dief just blinked as the slightly impish woman dragged them through the door,
 ensconced them in comfterable, over-stuffed chairs, and placed a glass of iced cola in
their
hands without once pausing for breath.

 Anne was laughing. "You Greens. You never change! Breathe once in a while
 Ivy!"

 Dief blinked again. 'Ivy Green? Her name is Ivy _Green_?'

 Anne took one look at his face and rolled her eyes. "Yes, that is her real name. I
 swear, her mother has to have the most sadistic sense of humor. It gets worse. Her
 siblings are Hunter, Beryl, Jade, Peridot, and Alexander."

 Dief raised one eyebrow. "Alexander?"

 Ivy shrugged. "He got named by his father, lucky schmuck. So? Who are you? Are
 you Anne's fellah? I swear, we all thought she'd _never_ fall in love..."

 Ivy trailed off an flinched. "Ouch. Sorry Anne. Sensitive subject?"

 Anne sighed. "You know how I always ragged on you for your awful taste in
men?"

 "Yes?"

 "Well, I guess I just have to out-do you in _everything_"

 Dief sighed. "Anne...had a little bit of trouble in her last relationship."

 Ivy sighed. She leaned over and placed a hand on Anne's shoulder. Dief was rather
 touched by the truly concerned look on her face. He'd begun to think that this woman
couldn't be serious to save her life. "Oh dear. You want me to get you something?"

 "No thanks. I can deal." Anne noticed Dief's questioning look. "Oh, well Ivy's a
herbalist. A really good one, actually."

 Ivy nodded. "I'm also a psychic. You know, empathy, talking to dead people, that
sorta thing. That's why I...you know..._know_ about you lot."

 Dief nodded. "Makes sense."

 Ivy shrugged. "So, you don't talk much, do you?"

 He shrugged. "Don't get much chance to really."

 "Oh. The strong and silent type. I get it."

 Anne grinned. "No. That would be his partner, Benton Fraser."

 Ivy's jaw dropped. "Benton Fraser? Benton _Fraser_?! _The_ Benton Fraser?!
'Came to Chicago on the trail of his father's killers' Benton Fraser?"

 Anne raised an eyebrow. "You've met him?"

 "Well, yes actually. A few years ago he rescued me from getting mugged, but that
isn't why I'm surprised. It's because for the last few weeks, I've been hearing nothing but
'My Son Benton' stories."

 Dief nodded. "Oh. You've been talking to Robert."

 "Actually, it's more like he talks to me. And talks...and talks...and _talks_!"

 "Baker? Who's Robert?"

 "Fraser's Dad."

 "Oh. Wait a minute! The one who was murdered?!"

 Ivy rolled her eyes. "No. The _other_ one. Of _course_ the one who was
 murdered! How many fathers do you think the guy has?"

 There was a knock at the door. "Oops! The other guests are arriving. Back in a
sec."

 Dief turned and looked at Anne. "Is she _always_ like that?"

 Anne, who was still trying to wrap her mind around the whole 'Benton's Dad'
 concept, nodded rather numbly. "What? Hyper as hell? Yeah."

 "And you shared a _room_ with the woman? How did you avoid insanity or
 homicide?"

 "You've spent the last thirteen or fourteen years sharing space with Benton Fraser.
I might ask you the same question."

 "Well, you get used to it."

 "Exactly."
 

 Ray rolled his eyes at Fraser. "Yes Frase. Your lanyard is strait. Okay? Geeze,
relax a little. This is a party. You know, for the purpose of having fun?"

 Ray knocked on the door of the large building in front of him. 'Hmm, either this is
 like sublet or sumthin, or this 'Ivy' chick is loaded. Cause this is a _huge_ building.'

 The door opened, to show a dark haired, green eyed woman who grinned up at
them. "Oh! Hello! Fraser! And Ray! So nice to see you! Anne and Baker have told me so
much about you! Come in! Would you like soda? Something stronger? We have a bar over
 in the corner, but be careful. Damien is mixing, and he tends to get a little creative at
times. If you see pink elephants, you're hallucinating. If it's talking animals, well, you
might not be, who knows with _this_ crowd? Oh, and what ever you do, _don't_ mention
 Q-tips to Vince, he is _very_ sensitive on that subject at the moment. I _warned_ him,
but..."
 
 The woman shrugged. Ray and Fraser were bowled over by the storm of words.
 Before they could even think of responding to her questions, she was off again. "I
suppose you might want to meet Kevin. He's in law enforcement too. Only he's from the
 23rd. Oh, and I'm Ivy, by the bye. So, do you two have any preferences? Would you like
to join the dancers? They're over through that door way over there, or the food is over
here, and like I said, the bar is over there. If you need to get some air, there's a sort of
window seat/ balcony-esq thingy over by the wash-room, anyone can show you where if
you ask,  if you want, you could just mingle and talk, and I suppose I should shut up and
 let you guys make up your mind! Here're Baker and Anne, I'll leave you in their capable
 hands."

 With a grin and a wave, the little bundle of energy in a green sun dress was gone,
 vanished into the crowd.

 Ray raised an eyebrow at Anne. "Wow. And people say _I'm_ over-energetic!"

 Anne smirked. "Well, you are Ray. It would irritate me, but I lived in a closet sized
 dorm room with _her_ for four years."

 Ray considered her statement. "I'll nominate you for sainthood."

 Anne just laughed. Fraser meanwhile had been watching Anne's date. Who was
 watching him back, a slight smile on his face.

 Ray examined the guy. He was about six feet or so, had hair that was such a light
 blond that it was almost white. It was very thick, and pulled into a tail at the back of his
neck. He was dressed in black jeans, and a blue silk shirt. The over all effect was slightly
piratical. Ray also thought he looked familiar. "So, who's the guy?"

 "Oh, that's my date. Baker. You might remember him. You know, Demon,
 sword-fight, that whole incident. It was only a few weeks ago, Ray..."

 Ray blinked in surprise. It _was_ the guy from the fight with Anne's ex. He'd
vanished right afterwards, and Ray had been too shocked and preoccupied to pay much
attention. It was very difficult to explain the whole incident to Lieutenant Welsh. A bunch
of heartless women and a perp who vanished into thin air was _not_ exactly what he
wanted to hear...and that was _without_ mentioning the whole 'Anne's a were-wolf'
thing. He still wasn't very kosher with that.

 "Yeah. I recall him. The incident is kinda burned into my memory and all."

 Anne nodded and smiled fondly at 'Baker', who was having a quiet conversation
with Fraser. "Yeah. He is nothing if not memorable."

 "Fraser and he seem to get along fairly well."
 Anne choked on her drink. For a few moments, all three men were attempting to
assist her in regaining her breath. "Miss Hollows? Are you all right?"

 "Yo? Anne? You okay there?"

 "Anne?"

 Anne gasped and waved her hand at them in a shooing gesture. "I'd be better if
 you three weren't pounding me on the back..."

 All three men looked abashed. Anne grinned. "Don't be such Mother Hens. I'm
fine."

 Ray sighed. He _used_ to have a very clear view of the world. Things might not
 have always made sense, but they still _fit_. Now he was faced with were-wolves and
demons...Why him?
 Anne grinned. "Come on Ray! I want you to meet some old friends of mine!
Baker? Make sure Fraser stays entertained! After all, you're the one 'used' to it..."

 The laughing woman dragged him off into the crowd, ignoring Fraser's plaintive
look and the fact that Baker was making a face at her. Ray sighed again. It was going to
be an _interesting_ night.
 
 

 Ray was leaning against one of the large windows, just absorbing the coolness. He
probably shouldn't have tried one of Damien's 'creative efforts' but it had seemed like a
good idea at the time...However, now he was feeling introspective. He hated that. With
the way his life had been lately, it was better not to think about the future too much.
'So...What'll happen then? When Vecchio gets back? Stupid Ray. Very stupid to get so
 _attached_ to this life. It isn't yours. Frannie isn't _your_ sister, Fraser isn't _your_
partner, none of this is _yours_! You need to remember that, or you're gonna be in for a
world of hurt when you have to leave...'

 "It'll turn out all right, you know."

 Ray jumped slightly. Reflected in the window, was the hostess of the party. He
hadn't seen her since he and Fraser had arrived three hours ago. But, reflected there was
Ivy Green. Her sun-dress had wilted slightly, and most of her hair had long since lost
anything resembling a style, but she was smiling at him. A sad, sympathetic, understanding
kinda smile. Her expression, along with the weird lighting and the imperfect reflecting
powers of windows, made her look ghost-like.

 "Did I tell you I'd met Fraser before? About three years ago, when I first moved to
 Chicago. He'd have only been here a few weeks himself at that point. Anyway, he rescued
me from a mugging." She chuckled slightly. "Imagine my surprise, my Knight in Shining
 Armor, turned out to be a Mountie in Red Serge. Anyway, he and Ray helped me. Nice of
 them, they wern't even on duty at the time."

 Ray blinked. 'He and Ray? Oh shit. She knows...'

 Ivy held up a silencing hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure there's a reason. I just felt
that you should know that I know...That doesn't sound very grammatically correct.
Regardless, if you ever need to talk to anyone, my door is always open. Well, to you
anyways. I'm not going to leave it open to just _anybody_. Not in _this_  neighborhood."

 Ray was just standing in shock. 'She knows, and she ain't even gonna ask why?'

 Ivy made to leave him to his musing. Just before she left the room, she turned. "It
_is_ going to turn out all right. I promise. From Fate, to me, to you, Ray. It'll turn out all
right."
 "How can you be so sure?"

 "That's between me and the Cosmic Forces, Ray."

 Then with a grin and a wave, she left the confused detective to his privacy and
questions.
 

 Baker was sitting in front of Anne and Ivy, telling Benton stories. For someone
 who heard 'nothing but my son Benton' stories, Ivy was sure eager to hear more of
them....

 "Okay, let me get this strait. Benton left a drowned _Caribou_ on the guy's
desk?! For _real_?"

 Dief grinned and shrugged. "I never said that subtlety was a Fraser strong-suit..."
 Anne laughed. "From what I've seen so far, defiantly not!"

 Ivy was beaming. "I'm going to _like_ this guy. He has a fine sense of dramatic
irony! You know, Baker, you tell these stories _much_ better than Robert does..."

 "Well, I sorta had a front row seat, if you know what I mean. Besides, Robert
is..."

 "A stick in the mud."

 Anne shrugged. "He's dead. That's gotta be a downer..."

 All three became suddenly silent as Ray ran into the room, dragging Fraser
behind him. "Anne! We gotta bail!"

 "Why?"

 "That weird chick from the store is here!"

 "Oh dear. Umm, Ivy? Did you invite _Myah_ to this party?"

 "Well, yes. She _is_ a friend..."

 "I beg to differ Ivy. To be a friend requires the ability to reciprocate emotion.
Something Myah has never excelled at."

 "True, but would you want her mad at _you_?"

 "Point." Anne turned to the severely distressed detective. "Ray, chill.
Baker and I will take care of this. No worries, eh?"

 Anne grabbed Dief by the arm and towed him along behind her. "Okay, dearest.
Just like we planned this afternoon, right?"

 Dief sighed. 'Oh boy. The things I do for beautiful blondes...'

Especially since I'm not even Wiccan. I'm lapsed Catholic, for all the good that does. And
actually, some might think that even worse...Of course, Anne says I'm a spiritualist, but
she is always trying to classify things you know. It's part of that Psychology major of hers.
How she ended up a computer programmer when she majored in psychology, I'll never
know!"

 "Ms. Hollows majored in Psychology?"

 "Oh yes. But she had a tendency to just say 'Learn to cope! Lady knows _I_ had
to!' that just did _not_ endear her to Canada's neurotics. Pity really. She's quite good. An
absolute marvel at predicting behavior. Never bet with her on anything involving people's
actions. She'll win every time."

 Ray was still looking nervously over his shoulder. "Umm, do you think they'll be
able to sidetrack her?"

 Ivy looked ambivalent. "Well...If anyone could, it would be those two. Anne is one
of the few people that Myah is a little afraid of. And Baker seems to be quite remarkable
himself."

 Fraser tilted his head slightly and gave her an inquiring look. She smiled slightly to
herself. He was about to pump her for information. No doubt about it. He was curious
about Baker.

 "Ms. Green? I noticed Mr. Baker seemed quite familiar. Do you know where I
might have met him?"

 Ivy widened her eyes and looked innocent. "Well, I believe he is from Canada
originally. Perhaps you  met in the course of you duties. Or his. He's a Shaman, you
know. Isn't that amazing? At such a _young_ age too! And he's also deaf. You'd hardly
notice, though, would you? I just think that's so inspiring. People who manage to
overcome adversity like that are _so_ admirable! I just wish I had that much dedication
and determination! But my Mother says I'm a bit of a gad-fly, and I fear the rest of my
family agrees. I'm stuck just being the baby of the family. Oh well." She shrugged. "You
can't please everybody. I figure please yourself and those you  care for, and the rest can
go hang, eh?"

 They were interrupted by Anne, who stuck her head through the door and smirked
at Ray. "Okay, Ray. The big bad woman is gone."

 Fraser raised an eyebrow. "Actually Ms. Hollows, from what I saw, the woman in
question is quite petite."

 Anne blinked at him. Ivy started laughing. "He's right Anne. Myah isn't very tall."

 Anne sighed, and muttered something under her breath that sounded like, "Damn
overly-literal Canadians..." and made a strategic retreat. Ivy turned her grin on the two
men. "Well, now that Anne and Baker have saved the day, I suppose we should rejoin the
party."

 Ray shook his head. "Frase and I got stakeout duty tomorrow night. We should
really get some sleep."

 Ivy nodded. "Well, in that case..."

 She kissed each man on the cheek and escorted them to the door. "You two will
_always_ be welcome in my home. Come again and visit! Oh, and Ray? Remember what I
said."

 The door clicked lightly shut, and Ray and Fraser were standing in the street. Ray
blinked. "Well Frase, what do you think."

 "About what, Ray?"

 Ray shot Fraser an irate look. "About what? About the party, what else we been
doing all night?"

 "Oh, well Ray, it was interesting."

 "Interesting."

 "Yes Ray."

 Ray sighed and shook his head. Some things never change, and Fraser's ability to
understate things was one of them. However, he was feeling too mellow to argue. "Sure
Frase. Interesting. Come on. I'll drive ya home."

 Anne and Ivy stood in the window, and watched the two men leave. Ivy smiled
slightly. "So Anne. How did you distract the Evil Cat-Woman from Hell?"

 "I sicked Baker on her. She never knew what hit her. If there is one thing he's
learned from Fraser, it's how to distract and confuse women."

 "And she fell for it?"

 "Hey. He learned from the best." Anne waved a hand at the retreating GTO.

 Ivy shrugged a little. "Anne?"

 "Yes?"

 "Are you related to the Detective?"

 "No! I'm not! And I wish people would stop _asking_ me that! Do you know how
many people tonight asked for an intro to my 'brother'?"

 Ivy grinned. "Well, your brother is well worth the effort..."

 "Leave Jonthan out of this. Look. He _can't_ be related to me. If he were, he'd
be...well, you know...one of _us_!"

 "How do you know he isn't?"

 "I just do, okay? Besides, he would have told me when he found out what I was.
He didn't."

 "Maybe he doesn't know?"

 "Ivy, this isn't the sort of thing you can miss! I mean, he's what? Thirty?
Thirty-five? I think he'd have figured it out if he were...you know!"

 Ivy sighed. "I suppose you're right. But I can't shake this _feeling_ I have..."

 Anne looked vaguely ill. "Ivy. No. No 'feelings'. When you have those, _BAD
THINGS_ happen. So no! No 'feelings'. Especially about Ray!"

 Ivy shrugged again. 'You're going to have to deal with this sooner or later Anne.
If you hang around with them, for that matter, if you hang around with me, strange things
will happen. And I _do_ have a 'feeling' no matter what you say. Ray is going to be
_important_ to the people somehow. He's going to do something _new_. Whatever that
is...I don't know.'

 "So, is Baker going to stop talking to you over this?"

 "Naw. Baker's good at getting out of trouble. I'm sure he'll manage to escape her
preditory-ness."

 Ivy smiled. "So, is this relationship going to go somewhere?"

 "You're one to talk. How many bad relationships have you gone through?"

 "Umm, well lets see...There were the five obsessives who I had to take to court,
there were the two suicides, I still feel some residual guilt about them..."

 "Ivy. It wasn't your fault. And I'm going to keep telling you that 'till you believe
it."

 Ivy smiled at Anne. 'Psychologist rears her head...' "Then there were the three
who tried to kill me in various ways. That's...five...seven...ten. Ten relationships that were
_really_ bad. The others were just your garden variety sleaze."

 "Ivy. You're intelligent, friendly, generous, and beautiful. Why can't you find a
_sane_ , descent man for just _once_ in your life? Have you considered therapy for this?"

 "Anne?"

 "Yeah?"

 "Shut up."

 Anne grinned. "I should be going too, I have to work in the morning."

 "Anne?"

 "Yes?"

 "It wasn't your fault. The thing with Dalen. Remember that yourself."

 Anne stared at her with a strange look on her face, and then smiled. "Yeah. I will.
Thanks. Dinner on Tuesday?"

 "Wouldn't miss it."

 The two friends went their separate ways.

Author: "Wait!", you say? "What about Dief?" Well...

 Dief plastered himself against the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Myah, dressed in black lingerie slinked right past his hiding place. "Baker? Come out,
come out, where ever you are? You'll never get out of here without my catching you, you
know."

 Dief shuddered at the thought of her 'catching' him. 'Dream on lady. Not in _this_
life-time!'

 He snuck carefully through the door, and then shut and locked it behind him.
Myah's voice reached him through it. "This won't hold me for long, Baker-darling."

 He shuddered again. 'Baker-darling', ick! 'It'll hold you long enough for me to run
for it!'

 Dief  made for the nearest window, and took the fire escape. 'The door is locked,
and I don't trust her not to get out of that room before I could pick the lock!'

 He shifted into his wolf form, and made his way to Anne's apartment. 'She owes
me for this. She owes me _big time_!! If I _never_ see that woman again, it'll be too
soon!'

 Dief trotted off into the night, plotting ways he could get even with Anne for using
him as a distraction.