The following morning, Laura pulled into her usual spot behind the school and slumped her shoulders. She glanced at the empty passenger seat and frowned, the silence broken only by the faint ticking of the cooling engine.

She thumped a fist on the steering wheel. By all rights, Heather should be sitting next to her, accompanied by the moans and whimpers of her little sister as she squirmed in the back seat.

She wished she knew how Diane had done it. Neither of them had been forthcoming with any answers, and when she called Penny Sovert later that evening, she got told exactly what kind of bitch Penny always thought she was, followed by a threat of grave bodily harm were she to even look at Heather or Melinda the wrong way.

So Penny had been freed as well.

Laura tried not to let it worry her. She still had her Mistress' power. Whatever they had done to sever Heather from her control, it had not been through any failure on her part.

She got out of the car and lifted her head. Her lips slowly twisted into a sly smile. The school was still her sexual playground. Perhaps Heather and Melinda were lost to her, but there were others. The Harbingers could not protect the entire student body.

Now that a particularly ancient thorn in her side was no more, she would have free rein. She intended to use her influence over the board to force them to let her hand pick Seeger's successor. Someone far more pliant. Someone she could dominate. Then she would be under no one's scrutiny.

Laura walked away from the car with a renewed swing in her step. She had to put past failures behind her. The future was looking bright again. She sauntered through the hall and paused to smirk at the Vice Principal's office, now empty and silent.

She turned towards her own office and stopped as her gaze fell on Marcie's desk. Marcie should be here, squirming on a low flame of sexual desire, her pussy aching at the prospect of hearing her first commands of the day. Instead, her chair was empty, though her purse sat on the desk next to a half-empty cup of coffee.

Laura narrowed her eyes. She opened the door to her office and stopped dead just inside the threshold. Her eyes burned as they fell upon the chair behind her desk.

"Good morning, Laura," said Seeger in an even voice. His hands were folded under his chin, but as Laura stared, he unlaced his fingers and lowered his hands to the desk, where they touched an unmarked manila folder.

If this had been any other morning, Laura would have played along, but after losing Heather, she was in no mood. "What the hell are you doing sitting at my desk?" she snarled.

Seeger maintained a level gaze, eyes and hands steady and sure. "Please close the door. We have some business to discuss."

Laura clenched her teeth and slammed the door behind her. "Where the hell is Marcie?"

"I sent her away for a short while."

"You can't do that!"

Seeger's eyebrows rose. "Indeed? Why? Care to explain how you maintain such rigid discipline over her?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Oh, I see what this is. You're still grasping at straws. You still think you can get me to confess to some huge impropriety. In case you missed the memo, or maybe your ancient brain can't remember anything from day to day, you are retired. You no longer work here. You are trespassing, and I can have the police remove you."

She dashed towards the desk and reached for the phone. She flinched when Seeger's hand slammed against the receiver and held it down.

Laura seethed and stood back. "Don't you dare do that ever again."

"If any call is going to be made, Laura, it will be me calling the school board to inform them that I have accepted your formal resignation," said Seeger.

Laura laughed, though her eyes flitted towards the manila folder upon which Seeger drummed his fingers. "You truly have gone out of your mind. Perhaps I need to call the mental hospital instead. Are you sure you're not coming down with Alzheimer's?"

"That you can make light of such a terrible condition just to hurtle an insult convinces me that I have taken the best course of action."

"Oh, not another long-winded--"

"Normally I would question the morality of my own actions, but now I am convinced. You are representative of the greatest evil there is, the kind which makes one break his own morals in which to fight it."

"Now you are treading into very dangerous territory, you goddamn fossil," Laura sneered. "I will take this to the board before you can take even a step out of this school, and--"

Seeger slammed his hands on the desk with such a report that Laura flinched. Seeger bolted to his feet, eyes blazing. "It is the board who is recommending my course of action!" Seeger boomed. He grabbed the manila folder and slammed it back down to the desk on Laura's side. "Once I showed them this!"

Laura's eyes darted towards the folder. She recalled the incident with the laptop, when Heather had mysteriously opened it, but the light had not been on. The webcam had not been active.

Yet she could not bring herself to touch the folder, as if believing that distancing herself from it would make it go away. Seeger would not allow her that luxury; he reached forward and opened the folder.

Laura drew in her breath and let it go as a slow sigh. Yes, it had been taken with her webcam.

"Who did this?" Laura snarled. "Who the fuck did this?!"

"That is of no consequence."

"That is of every consequence!" Laura bellowed. "Do you realize what kind of trouble I can cause for you with the law?! Do you even understand that you've committed a crime by breaking into my laptop in the first place, you fucking old goat?!"

"Then by all means, bring it before the law!" Seeger thundered. "Then we can bring your sexual molestation of a minor to the fore. What do you think the law will weigh more heavily? And if that means I get dragged through the mud as well, it will be worth it to see this school rid of you!"

Laura's eyes widened. She had never seen Seeger this livid, even with the worst violators of the school rules. "You seem to forget something, Seymour," she said in a quavering voice. "The board will not be willing to bring the law into this."

"Not everyone in the board is under your influence, Laura," Seeger said in a lower voice, though his face was no less adamant. "Yet I've contacted the ones who are, and they are the ones calling for your resignation."

Laura hesitated. "You're lying."

Seeger grabbed the phone and dropped it before her. "Then call one of them. Confirm it for yourself."

"If I do that, I will convince them to forget about this stupid--"

"You seem to forget one thing. You forget why you have influence over them. They don't bend to you because of promises of sex, or of any mental powers you wield. They are frightened of you. I gleaned that revelation last night. They are seeing this as an opportunity to be rid of you."

"And ... and my resignation will make you happy?" said Laura. "Just sweep it all under the rug? If I'm as evil as you claim, wouldn't prosecution to the fullest extent of the law be more to your liking?"

Seeger sat down and folded his hands. "To be honest, yes. But I will take this instead, as it is expeditious."

"And if I don't cave in to this foolishness?"

Seeger closed the manila folder and drew it towards him. "Then I send copies of these pictures to the Haven Police Department, the nearest FBI office, every school board member, and the local tabloids. I will start the firestorm, even if I am to be burned first." Seeger narrowed his eyes, and his voice became ice. "But I will see you burn with me."

Laura met Seeger's gaze with her own defiant one, hoping to see him waver. Instead, his eyes grew all the more steely, and he remained rock-still.

Laura had no more defense, only feeble offense. She curled her hands into fists. "Do you realize what you're making me give up, you miserable toad?" she growled through clenched teeth.

"Yes," Seeger said in a low voice. He opened a drawer and withdrew a single printed page and a pen. He pushed them towards Laura. "Yes, I do indeed."

Laura's eyes shimmered as they read the simply worded statement upon the page: I, Laura Bendon, do hereby tender my official resignation from the office of Principal of Haven High School, effective immediately.

Laura wanted to rail at him, to trash his supposed proof, to insist that no one would listen to him. As she stared at the picture, she could see any number of ways a good defense attorney could shoot it down or even claim it was Photoshopped.

Yet it would take months, perhaps even years. The picture itself was, legally, child porn, and that alone would cause a storm. She would gain far more attention than she ever would want or could deflect, even with the powers Mistress had given her.

Laura let out a slow sigh. "If I go, I take Marcie with me."

"Then take her," said Seeger. "I have little use for someone who is no more than a puppet."

Laura ground her teeth and clenched her hands into fists before she stepped forward and snatched the pen from the desk. She dashed off her signature, then threw the pen at Seeger. He deflected it with his arm, and it clattered to the floor near the filing cabinet.

"There's your fucking precious resignation," Laura snarled.

Seeger let his breath go as a quavering sigh. He took the document and the folder as he stood. "Then I will leave you to gather your belongings," he said as he stepped towards the door.

Laura narrowed her eyes as he passed. "You can't be everywhere you know. Either you or the Harbingers."

Seeger stopped at the door and turned, holding the resignation to his chest like a shield. He said nothing, but one eyebrow rose slightly.

Laura gave him a sly smile. "My signature on that is effectively my 'Get Out of Jail Free' card."

Seeger's gaze hardened. "True."

"Then what's to stop me from setting up somewhere else? You haven't really solved the problem, you just shoved it off on someone else."

"I have considered that, but I must consider my limitations as well," said Seeger. "I can concern myself only with the present and this school. But now you consider this: your laptop was broken into over the internet, and when the internet is involved, you could be across the country or across the street. It matters not."

Laura's eyes burned. She raced towards the bookcase under the window and grabbed the first book she saw. She hurtled it towards Seeger, but it thudded against the already closed door.

Jason emerged from the bathroom fresh from his shower when a soft knock sounded on the bedroom door. "Jason?" came his mother's muffled and tentative voice through the door. "May I come in?"

Jason froze, and for a moment, his mind was tortured by the memory of the last time his mother had entered his bedroom and what had ensued. His cock twitched, filling him with the same shame which had kept him up half the night before.

"Um, just a minute, M-mom," Jason said, stumbling over the last word as if he no longer thought the title apropos. As he scrambled to dress himself, he wished he knew how Richie did it. Perhaps that was why Richie had a chip on his shoulder all the time. That was his defense against the horrible feelings of guilt and remorse.

That option was simply not viable for Jason if he were expected to pick up the mantle of leadership again, a mantle he no longer felt he deserved.

Jason waited until he had buttoned his shirt completely before he announced, "Okay, you can come in now."

The door opened slowly after a few seconds' hesitation. Audrey remained on the other side of the threshold for another moment, her eyes darting nervously towards Jason before she let out a small sigh of relief and finally stepped inside.

Jason's cock swelled at what could have been. He tried to tell himself that it was a normal human reaction, but logic was not enough to heal the wounds he felt he had inflicted upon himself as well as others.

"Good morning, Mom," Jason said in a voice more flat than he had intended. "What can I do for you?"

Audrey hesitated again, and Jason wondered if his greeting had been a poor choice of words. Were the same things going through her mind as well? His father had explained to him what he had done. Failing to excise her memories, he had turned them into self-delusion instead.

His mother stepped forward. Her bosom barely moved under her full-length house dress. Jason could not stop staring at her, despite the risk of his mind playing another cruel trick by overlaying the image of her naked. He had to keep convincing himself that her Aura was really gone.

"I ... I wanted to talk to you about something," Audrey said in a tentative voice.

Jason paused, then forced himself to go about his normal school day morning routine. He stepped over to the bed and hauled his book bag atop it. "Sure, what's up?" Jason tried to sound casual, but his voice quavered.

Audrey folded her hands, fidgeted with her eyes downcast, then finally raised her reluctant gaze to him. "I wanted to ask you about ... about Sunday morning." She drew in a deep breath and let it go as she added, "When your father was called to the hospital."

"Um ... okay, what about it?"

"Henry tells me I came in here to ... to talk to you."

Jason's heart thumped. His father had mentioned that he had told her that she had done nothing more than talk to Jason and give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He had made no mention of what, if anything, he had told her about the conversation itself. "So what do you want to know?"

Audrey sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I can't remember exactly what happened ... I-I mean, what we talked about. I have only ... m-my memory of that morning is sort of jumbled."

Jason would have been relieved to discover she was a blank slate on this point, but he was not prepared; he had no idea what to say.

Audrey rushed into the silence. "There's a lot of things I'm struggling with right now, Jason, and I just need some reassurance. It's like I stopped being your mother for the last few weeks."

"Um ... You expressed something similar to that when you talked to me Sunday morning."

Audrey blinked, her eyes widening. "I-I did?"

"Yes. In fact ... in fact, you were waiting for us to be alone in order to talk to me about it."

Audrey nodded. "Yes, yes, I remember wanting to be clandestine about something, but I couldn't remember what. Well ... I had my own ideas but ..." She swallowed and shivered, sliding her hands over her hips as they swayed once. "N-never mind that."

"You were worried you weren't being a good mother to me."

Audrey uttered a small gasp. "Yes, I do remember that!"

"And you wanted reassurance that I thought you were doing a good job in that area," Jason said. His lips curled into a tiny smile. "And I told you that you were."

"A-and was that when ...?"

"When you gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek? Yes."

Audrey let out a gushing sigh of relief, and her eyes misted. "Thank you. I just had to make sure that ... well ... I won't give you all the sordid details. I haven't been all there the past few weeks. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Jason shook his head. "It's okay, Mom, I understand."

Audrey took a half step forward and raised her arms as if to embrace him. She paused and lowered them to her sides, letting out a small sigh. "Um ... have ... have a nice day at school, Jason." Her lips trembled into a smile before she fled the room.

Jason sighed and wondered if their relationship would ever return to that of just mother and son.

He returned to organizing his book bag, but was interrupted by another knock. His father stepped into the room and closed the door softly behind him. "Hello, son," he said in a low voice. His Aura still had the same diminished look Jason had noticed the night before. "I overheard some of your conversation with your mother. That was a very good cover story. Well done."

Jason burned with resentment. How dare his father compliment him for telling a bald-faced lie to his mother! That was his father's modus operandi, not his. He had prided himself on being as honest with his mother as possible, and it pained him every time he had to lie to cover his Harbinger activities.

"Thanks," Jason said in a curt voice.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I wanted to make her forget, but I'm not skilled enough for that."

Jason just nodded. He was still coming to terms with what his father had done. Maintaining his old hatreds of his father was still all too easy. When he had talked to Melinda on the phone the night before, he had learned what she had done to free her mother. He wished he could be as strong.

When he heard nothing but silence, Jason looked into his father's expectant face. What did he want now? Praise? Jason chided himself for assuming the worst. "I'm sure you did what you could. I wouldn't have wanted Mom to be brain-damaged."

Henry nodded, and Jason witnessed a small shudder pass through him.

"Dad, are you going to get in trouble for this?"

"Likely." Henry paused and smiled, though Jason could tell it was forced. "With luck, I won't have some unfortunate arranged accident happen to me."

Jason's eyes widened. "You better be kidding about that."

"I probably am. Suffice it to say, there will be people not at all pleased."

Jason shoved a book into his bag and yanked the zipper closed. He dropped it to the floor with a thud. "So will you finally level with me now? Just what the hell are you doing with the Darkness? What do you and whatever secret project you're working on at the hospital hope to accomplish?"

Henry sighed. "Son, please ..."

"And don't go telling me there isn't a project, either. We've already come clean about a number of things. You know I've been poking around the hospital network. You know I've hit that one subnet protected by military-grade encryption."

"Yes, and once you get your computer back up and running, I would strongly advise you to stop."

"Then tell me what you're doing," Jason said in a voice that was more pleading than angry. His eyes traced the outline of his father's weakened Aura. "You didn't get that power yourself. It didn't give it to you. You took it."

Henry folded his arms and gave his son a grave look. "Do you really think I am at liberty to discuss matters like that?"

"You're playing with fire, Dad," Jason said in a quavering voice. "I should know. I got burned badly. You're going to get burned as well."

Henry paused for what seemed an eternity, his shimmering eyes regarding his son. "Did you ever stop to think," Henry finally said in a soft voice. "That perhaps we are trying to stop it from burning?"

"Wait ... you're ... you're trying to stop it?"

"Certainly we don't want to see it spread."

"That didn't answer my question."

Henry's lips twitched into a tiny smile. "Perhaps this is good. Having you at odds with me again may make things seem normal around here."

Jason frowned. He slung his book bag over his shoulder, wincing when it whacked him in the back. "Dad, things have not been anywhere near normal around here since the middle of the summer. Stop pretending that they ever will be again."

He started towards the door. His father stepped out of the way, but touched him on the shoulder as he passed. Jason whirled around and sighed. "What?"

"Yes," Henry said with a small sigh. "We want to stop it. Eventually."

"But that's not all you want to do."

Henry remained silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Jason glanced down the hallway. He heard his mother bustle about the kitchen. "Dad, I appreciate what you did for Mom, since I feel I caused that mess. But I can't help but wonder if what you're doing with this project at the hospital is no better than poking the bear with a stick. If you think you can make it do what you want, or get it to cooperate with you in any way, you're sadly mistaken. Heather and Melinda's mother learned that the hard way, and now she has to deal with all that guilt. Don't make the same mistake she did, okay?"

Jason rushed down the hall without waiting for a response.

"Good morning, honey."

Heather hesitated as she stepped into the kitchen, then smiled and replied, "Morning, Mom." She had to retrain herself; such a greeting no longer meant that her mother was about to assail either her or Melinda about something on the Darkness' agenda.

It helped that her mother sat at the kitchen table fully dressed. Next to her, Melinda was finishing her breakfast, her feet sliding back and forth as if she were a content five-year-old kicking the legs of her chair.

"Do you want anything before you head off to school, Heather?" Penny asked.

Heather noticed that her mother's voice sounded tired, and the eyes were a bit bloodshot. She shook her head as she sat down. "No, I'm not really that hungry. I guess I'm a little nervous about heading back to school after everything that happened."

"Ned said he gave the evidence to Mr. Seeger last night," Melinda piped. "Ms. Bendon is history."

"I hope so."

Penny uttered a heartfelt sigh and grasped Heather's hand. "Heather, I ... I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am to have done that to you."

Heather shook her head. "Let's not dredge it up again, please. I just want to put it behind us."

"Mom, we know what really happened," Melinda said. "It wasn't your fault."

Penny's eyes welled up. She bolted from her chair and hugged Melinda and Heather. She closed her eyes and uttered a quavering sigh. "I don't deserve daughters as good as you two."

Heather was too choked up to reply. It made what she wanted to ask of her mother that much harder to bring up. She hated hitting her mother with something like this so soon, but the Harbingers had nowhere else to go.

Penny finally parted from the embrace and sat down. "I'm still going to feel like I have so much to make up for."

Melinda gave Heather a knowing look and tilted her head at her mother.

"Yes, Melinda, I know, I'm going to get to that," Heather said. "Don't know why you couldn't have asked, runt."

"Because we flipped a coin fair and square, bubblehead."

Heather expected a rebuke at any moment for their name-calling, but her mother instead wore a wide grin. Heather's own lips twitched into a tiny smile. She understood. It was the sound of being a family again.

"So it's obvious you two have something you need to talk to me about," Penny said.

Heather sighed. "It's just ... the Harbingers need ..." She trailed off and shook her head, standing. "No, never mind, it's just too soon."

"What?" Melinda cried. "C'mon, Heather!"

"Look, Melinda, I know what you told me, but you can wait just a little longer, okay?"

Melinda looked about to protest, then let out a dramatic sigh and pushed her empty cereal bowl away.

"You want a place for the Harbingers to meet," Penny said. She uttered a sigh, though her lips curled into a small smile. "And a place to have sex."

Melinda goggled at her mother, and then looked at Heather in disbelief. "Um ... well ... yes," Heather said in a helpless voice.

"Please, Mom?" Melinda said. "Please? It's been so long since Jason and I ... um ..." She trailed off and blushed as she realized to what she had just confessed to her own mother.

Penny gave her a gentle smile. "Melinda, I've known you've been doing that for a long time. I wasn't exactly in a position to object."

"And you're not going to object now, are you?" Melinda asked in a wary voice.

"No, I hardly see the point, and I understand why you all need to do it. Believe me, if there is anyone in this room who understands the power behind sex, it's me."

"So you'll let us?" Heather said.

"If I agree, you both have to understand something. I will still have to keep using my power on your father so he doesn't find out about it."

Heather exchanged a look with Melinda. "I hadn't thought about that," Heather said in a sheepish voice.

"But ... but you have to anyway, don't you?" Melinda piped. "You keep him from seeing the Auras. You're not going to tell him about happened with me and Aunt Jo or you at the Inn."

Penny laced her fingers together. "You're right. I'm still going to keep him in the dark. I have to, as much as it pains me. He'd never be able to handle it."

Heather could not bring herself to say anything. Her mother was the Harbingers' last hope.

Penny closed her eyes. "Years ago, I had pledged to fight whatever was endangering my daughters. I got sidetracked by my sister and my own foolishness. Even though my family has been freed of its influence, that doesn't mean any of us are safe." She opened her eyes and reached across the table, taking each daughter's hand. "And if that means letting the Harbingers meet here, for whatever purpose, then that's what I'll do."

Heather smiled and squeezed her mother's hand. Melinda leapt up and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom, you're the best," Melinda said in a soft voice.

Heather knew the moment it was out of Melinda's mouth that her mother was not going to be able to contain herself. Penny gave Melinda a fierce hug as a tear trickled down her face. Heather's eyes grew misty as well.

"I'm going to need a few days to prepare David ahead of time," Penny said. "I trust you can wait that long."

"Sure, Mom, no problem," Heather said.

"But I would advise that you confine all sex to the bedroom. That's going to make it a lot easier to maintain the illusion." She glanced at the clock on the oven. "You two better get going, your bus will be here soon."

"Actually, Mom, I need to talk to you about one last thing," Heather said in a quavering voice. She glanced at Melinda. "Alone, please."

Melinda nodded and dashed out of the room.

"What is it, honey?" Penny asked.

"I just ... I just wanted to know ... i-if Ms. Bendon is still at the school despite what Ned said, would you ...?"

She trailed off as Penny lay a hand against her cheek. For the first time in a long while, her mother's touch brought only feelings of love and reassurance.

"Protect you from her?" Penny asked with a tiny smile. "Damn right I will."

Heather hugged her mother and wished she never had to let go.

Richie stared at the cell phone as he stood at the curb, listening to the laboring sounds of the bus as it stopped somewhere around the bend. His jacket lay open, yet he seemed oblivious to the frigid morning wind which caught his disheveled hair and blew a few strands before his eyes.

So had he succeeded or failed?

He closed his eyes and sought the link to his father, but it remained silent. His self-deception was gone; whatever disparaging thoughts remained he knew came only from himself. He could hold them at bay, at least for now.

He stared at the phone. Coming to terms with his self-loathing did nothing to relieve him of the responsibility of this final task.

He heaved a quavering sigh as he flipped open the phone and dialed. For the first time he hoped to get just the voice mail, and his last wish was granted. "Um, h-hi, Dad," he said in a shaky voice. He held the phone with both hands as they were trembling. "Um ... I ... I couldn't do it." He paused as his throat threatened to close up. He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat forcefully. "I tried. I tried real hard. But ... I-I had to help a friend. She was going to be taken if I didn't stop and help her. I-I don't know, maybe I could've figured it out and saved Mom first but ..."

Richie pulled the phone from his ear and wiped his eyes, sniffling once. He took a deep breath before he continued. "I'll figure it out, Dad. I'll get her back. I won't go back on a promise ever again. Um ... g-goodbye, Dad."

He snapped the phone shut, turned it off, and shoved it back in his pocket. Once he got to school he would give it back to Cassie. Then he would burn the paper with his father's phone number. Not that it really mattered, as his cruel mind had already memorized it. It would be symbolic if nothing else. He did not intend to contact his father again until he had fulfilled his promise.

He wiped his eyes and drew himself straight as the bus appeared around the bend. "Same shit, different day," he muttered as the bus pulled up to the curb.

"What you have done is unconscionable. You have single-handedly jeopardized not only the integrity of the Haven Project, but its security as well. I have every right to have you removed from the Project and tried for treason. You have violated every oath you ever made. Give me one goddamn reason why I should even keep talking to you!"

Henry sat in the employee parking lot outside Haven General Hospital, letting Ted Havers rant. He said in an even voice, "My request for permission is still active. You can retroactively approve it."

"And why on God's green Earth would I do such a thing?!"

His fingers tightened around the phone. "Because of the valuable data I collected in my personal battle with the Entity. I have discovered that several of the parameters we have been relying on are not valid. I cannot give you this information if I am incarcerated or dead."

Henry heard a loud thump which he assumed was a fist hitting a desk. "Damn you! You maneuvered me into this! You were planning to do this from the start. Not a word I said in warning was heeded."

"Ted, all of this is moot. What matters is the valuable information I have. You don't get it unless you clear my actions."

"And just what explanation do I give to my superiors? They are going to demand to know why I would allow such a foolish and dangerous course of action to be pursued!"

"Easy. We manufacture some reports which hint at what I discovered, and you decided that the risk was worth it."

A pause. "There is no way anything you've found could possibly--"

"Even if parameters Alpha-Four and Alpha-Six are wrong?"

Silence.

"And by a significant amount, I might add. And you knew about it, or at least you had your suspicions."

More silence.

"That's why the Project has had so much trouble duplicating the energy. The basic formula is flawed. That's the main reason you don't want me using it, because you can't get any more to replace what I've--"

"Stop."

Henry fell silent and waited.

A heavy sigh. "I was not keeping that data point from you for any selfish reason. It was on a need-to-know basis, and at the time, you had no need-to-know."

"That's irrelevant," said Henry. "I'm not going to rail at you for it. What I discovered is too important."

"And yet you would blackmail me into doing what you want for the privilege of receiving the information! You know perfectly well that correcting our equations was not your intent!"

"You're missing the point. The point is that we can't undo what I've done. Let's take advantage of it instead."

Another sigh and a thump. "Damn you, Henry," Ted said in a less forceful voice. Henry heard mouse-clicks and furious typing, then a few more clicks. "Fine. It's done. You better damn well have that manufactured data ready for me when this hits the Secretary's desk or he'll have both our heads."

Henry uttered a relieved sigh. "I'll have it to you by tonight."

"But let me make one thing clear. This is the last time. You put so much as one toe out of line after this, and I will come down on you."

The line clicked and went dead.

Henry flipped the cell phone closed. He hated portraying his information, no matter how vital, in such cold terms. His wife was not just a data point, but he was sure it would go down in the Project records as no more than that.

No matter. He had accomplished what he had set out to do. He had his wife back.

Melinda stepped off the school bus feeling as burdened as she had the day before.

Perhaps it had been foolish to assume that everything would instantly revert to normal. While it was a pleasure to sit next to Jason again and see him free from his Aura, he was still not back to his old self. He was quiet and almost sullen, and Richie barely spoke a word to anyone.

She glanced at the school entrance and pointed. "Look! Mr. Seeger's still here!"

"Ayep," Ned said with a huge grin as he and Cassie approached, who was also smiling. "Cassie had her driver go 'round the block. Ms. Former Haven Sunshine's car ain't there."

Cassie looked at Jason, and her smile faded. "Jason, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jason said in a low voice. "I just ... I feel like I betrayed you all."

Melinda tuned out the conversation. She didn't want to hear Jason blaming himself for everything. She backed up a step as Heather and Diane joined them, and then she felt guilty for not defending Jason.

She sighed. She felt like there was something she should do or say. She instead backed up another step, and spun around in surprise when she bumped into someone. "Oh, um, sorry, Richie."

Richie shrugged, his hands thrust into his pockets.

"Um ... I didn't get a chance to thank you for what you did yesterday."

"I was just fucking lucky someone forgot to lock the front door," Richie said in a low voice.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that! That was Heather's doing. She had a precog as she was heading out of the house to bring Diane to Ms. Bendon."

Richie just nodded and said nothing.

Melinda bit her lip and suddenly blurted. "I'm sorry!"

Richie frowned. "Sorry? What the hell for?"

"When you helped me, you had to give up saving your mother. I never meant--"

"Stop it, Melinda," Richie said. "It was my fault I couldn't save her. I couldn't fucking figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I thought I was going up against my father, not myself."

"Still, if you hadn't shared your potion with me--"

"Then my mother w-would be free, and your life would still be shit. How's that better?"

Melinda swallowed. She had heard the catch in his voice in the first part of his statement.

Richie shook his head. "Don't sweat it, pipsqueak. Just ... just tell me that this makes up for it."

"Makes up for what?"

"For fucking up when I tried to stop the goddamn cult from taking you."

"But you didn't--"

"Just tell me it does, okay? Please."

Melinda's eyes shimmered. She nodded.

Richie let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, that means a lot to me."

Melinda hugged him. Richie hesitated before hugging her back.

"We better get into school," she heard Cassie say in a subdued voice.

Melinda broke off the hug and gave Richie a smile. The tight knot of Harbingers around Jason began to break up. Her heart skipped a beat as Jason's forlorn gaze met hers, and suddenly she realized what she needed to say to him.

He held her gaze for a moment, giving her a weak and likely forced smile, and started to turn towards the school.

"Jason, wait!" Melinda cried. "I-I need to talk to you."

A few of the other Harbingers exchanged looks, and Jason uttered a small sigh. He stepped forward as the others headed away.

Melinda paused, glancing over Jason's shoulder until she was convinced the others were out of earshot. She took a deep breath, but Jason suddenly cut in. "I know what you're going to say."

Melinda's eyes widened. "You do?"

"You're going to ask me why I didn't do more to help you against your Aunt. Why I was so single-minded on the journal."

Melinda shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to--"

"Or why I didn't fight the Darkness better. Why I left you out to dry. Why I barely gave you a thought."

Melinda swallowed. "Please, Jason, don't do this."

"I have a reason, Melinda," Jason said in a heavy voice. "It ... it goes back to what we talked about on Halloween after everything with Victor. The same thing about how you have trouble saying something to me."

"Okay, but really, just let me--"

"Melinda, I need to get this out. You--"

"I love you, Jason!"

Jason stopped and stared.

Melinda's eyes misted as her lips twitched into a smile. "I love you."

Jason swallowed once, and his eyes shimmered. He surged forward and embraced her, and she let out a shaky sigh when she felt him trembling. "I love you, too, Melinda," he croaked into her ear. His next breath came out as a small sob. "That was the only thing that got me free of the Darkness."

Melinda closed her eyes and dripped a few tears on Jason's shoulder. When they broke off the embrace, she smiled and wiped her eyes. "God, look at us. We're like a couple of characters in some sappy soap opera."

Jason smiled back. "At least it had something of a happy ending. Far cry from most soaps."

"Any ending where I can wear panties again is a good ending."

"I can imagine you won't be taking them off for awhile."

Melinda gave him a sly smile. "Depends on who I'm taking them off for."

Jason's eyebrows rose. "But we don't have--"

"We do. I'll tell you later."

Jason nodded and smiled again. Melinda realized that's what she had missed the most.

Seeger barely acknowledged the stream of arriving students. It mattered little; exam week was one of those few times when discipline issues (save for cheating) were few and far between. The students were too preoccupied with their exam prospects to care about anything else.

His attention was off in the distance, watching the Harbingers as they gathered. Seeing Jason with them again was a welcome sight, though Ned had relayed to him the night before that the others had been largely successful in their endeavors.

He worried about them just the same. That would be one of his jobs going forward. He dreaded confronting the wife that evening. She had pestered him about retiring, and now he had taken more of a burden upon himself.

He supposed he could have refused, but at least this way he had a chance of picking a decent successor. He intended to work only until the job was done. He realized after watching Laura drive away that he had won only one small battle in a much larger war.

The Harbingers approached, save for Jason and Melinda. He worried about them until he saw them embrace. His lips twitched into a tiny smile as he thought them the perfect match: Jason's logic balanced by Melinda's emotionalism.

He saw the hopeful look on their faces, and he answered the unspoken question. "It is done. Laura Bendon is no longer with this school."

Cassie, Heather, and Diane uttered relieved sighs. Ned and Richie exchanged a high-five.

"An' the fact that yer standin' here guardin' the fort tells me we can still call ya the Vice Poobah," Ned drawled.

Seeger heaved a sigh. "Sadly, Mr. Lussander, that is not to be."

Cassie gasped. "Oh no, did the board still force you into retirement?"

"My fate is far worse than that, Miss Kendall. I have been promoted."

"No way!" Richie whooped.

"Mr. Seeger, that's ..." Cassie trailed off. "Um ... I assume that's good?"

"That will depend on how angry my wife is with the news," said Seeger.

"I can't think of anyone better fer the position," Ned said with a grin. "Guess the board figgered out ya were a frood who really knew where his towel was."

Seeger raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I will need that translated later. Suffice it to say the board was desperate to put this behind them. I do not intend to remain at this post forever, only for as long as it takes to help you do what you need to do."

Cassie smiled. "Mr. Seeger, we really appreciate that."

"Gonna be a lot easier now that we don't hafta worry about fightin' on two fronts," said Ned.

"There's still Terri Hollis, though," Diane said.

"I will be watching her," said Seeger. "And possibly encourage her to seek employment elsewhere." He paused. "Is there anyone else I should be concerned about?"

"Not that I know of, Mr. Seeger," said Cassie.

"Is there some way you know when someone is ... well ... tainted with the same evil which afflicted Laura?"

"Yes, we can tell!" Melinda piped as she and Jason rejoined the others.

"Then I would ask that you help me screen applicants for the vacant Vice Principal position."

"We'd be glad to, Mr. Seeger," Jason said.

Seeger nodded and extended his hand. Jason took it, and they shook once. "Welcome back, Mr. Conner."

Jason slowly smiled and tightened his arm around Melinda's waist. "It's good to be back, Mr. Seeger."

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