Finally all I said was, "House doesn't guarantee happiness."

She smiled, bright and sunny once more. "No, but it means someone will be bringing me breakfast."

The balcony was beautiful, as promised. It overlooked a garden-surrounded swimming pool. Wherever this was, I hoped we were staying a while, despite the oddity of being "House." If I could move around outside, maybe swim or take a walk, I'd be delighted.

"Got some room on that bench?"

My head whipped up. "Denise!"

My best friend staggered back, laughing, when I launched myself at her. I was still babbling out an apology about Vlad burning the house and cars when she shushed me.

"No harm, no foul. Spade billed him, isn't that hilarious? Three days later Vlad sent a check. Oh, but he didn't pay for the ceiling that he'd chucked Tate through, because he considered that Spade's fault for not controlling his guest. Vampires, right?"

I laughed as well, in comic disbelief at the protocol of the undead.

Then Denise tugged on my arm. "I've got something for you. It's one of the reasons why I wasn't here last night. Come with me."

I followed her to a second-floor bedroom, though the bed was almost hidden from all the stuff on it.

"Clothes!" Denise announced. "All your size, all new. You must have felt like a Salvation Army fashion model, always wearing stuff that wasn't yours."

I was overwhelmed by the thoughtful gesture. It didn't seem possible that something as trivial as clothes could make me feel better, but it did. Maybe it was girl DNA.

"I also brought some photos and DVDs, but those are for Bones," she went on. "That's the good news. The bad news is..." She leaned over and whispered something.

"Oh, fuck!" I burst out.

"So much for subtlety." Denise quit trying to keep her voice down. "Spade thought that since she's-ahem-known Bones the longest, he'd feel more comfortable with her here."

"No, Spade's still pissed at me and he's a sly son of a bitch," I muttered, holding up a hand to avoid her arguing. "Point me to Lady Ormsby's room. I don't want to find out her intentions after I'm prying her off Bones's door."

Denise gave me a look that said, You shouldn't go, but I know you will. "One floor down, third door on your right."

"I'll be right back."

One floor down and the third entrance on the right later, I banged on the door. "Annette! I need to speak with you. Wake up or stop what you're doing."

Rustling sounds came from within, and then her grumpy reply. "Can't it wait? I'm knackered."

I opened the door. Hey, I'd warned her. "No, it can't."

Annette was sprawled out nude in the bed. A sheet covered one leg that she didn't bother to pull up once she saw me. True, out of everyone, she'd known Bones since the days of their humanity, when he'd been a gigolo and Annette had been his best client.

Her light eyes considered me balefully. "I've flown a considerable amount of time to be here, and I'm returning to my slumber straightaway after you leave."

"Are you going to try to seduce Bones now that he doesn't remember me?" I asked her, ignoring that.

She rolled onto her back. "Always direct, aren't you? Another woman might have invited me to tea, played my friend, and sought to dissuade me with guilt, but not you. Did you bring your knife?"

"It's upstairs, and you're stalling. Answer the question."

"You find me a threat?"

I gave her figure a blunt evaluation. Annette's breasts were full, though without the perfect roundness of youth. Faint stretch marks marred her sides, evidence of when she'd once been pregnant with what was probably Bones's child. Her hips and legs were shapely and generous, exactly the way fashion dictated a woman should look before the past hundred years. She also exuded a sensual decadence, making her flaws somehow more attractive. When she was young, Annette must have been stunning to the point of intimidation, but now she looked gorgeous as well as very accessible.

"Scary as hell, bitch. Flattered?"

A smile curved her mouth. "In fact, I am."

"Flattered? Or going after Bones now that it's your best chance?"

She sat up and let out a sigh. "No, I shan't be scheming after Crispin. Oh, I'd like to. Thought about it the whole bloody flight over, in fact, but I can't. If Crispin's memories return, he'd despise me. Nothing is worth that, darling. I love him too much to risk his hatred."

Any other explanation, I'd have doubted. That one rang true. Faults she might have, and lots of them, but she did love Bones.

"Annette, if I didn't think you'd take it the wrong way, I'd kiss you."

The truth was, she'd be formidable competition. Bones hadn't kept returning to her for hundreds of years because she bored him. Annette one-upped me in many, many ways, so frankly, I was relieved.

"If you kiss me, I promise to take it the wrong way," she replied, amusement clear in her tone. "Now let me rest."

"Yeah, happy sleeping." Since I had the answer I wanted, I was in a hurry to leave, especially after her last comment.

Bones came back well after nightfall. Things must have run late, or maybe he was limiting the time he'd have to deal with me. God knows I'd be stalling if I were in his shoes. If Denise hadn't been with me today, I might have climbed the walls.

Instead, I did feminine things. Tried on my new clothes. Took turns with Denise, giving each other manicures and pedicures, then facials. Let her do my hair in different styles. Denise was in girly-girl heaven.

I didn't let on, but I wasn't. Was this what I was supposed to enjoy? Sure, it was nice, and I was so glad that my friend was there, but another day of playing Be a Barbie would send me running for my knives. What was wrong with me? While curls were being put in my hair, I was reminiscing about bloody fights and near-death escapes.

That's why I was relieved to hear Bones return. Hell, I'd almost flung myself down the stairs to see him before I realized he might just want to sleep. Was it rude to greet him if he was really tired or rude not to? Which was worse, to be perceived as a pouncing spider or the aloof wife? There should be a frigging manual for this.

I opted for Chickenshit Plan C: Dash to the upper-floor balcony and see if he sought me out. I wasn't locking myself in a room, but I wasn't wagging my tail by the door either. If only I'd grabbed a book, I could appear legitimately occupied. As it was, I had nothing to do but stare at the night sky.

Downstairs, I heard Bones greet Annette. Spade introduced Denise as his girlfriend since of course Bones didn't remember her. When he asked, "Where's Catherine?" my heart leapt. How pathetic to be so emotional over a simple inquiry.

"She ran away when you came in," Annette said cheerfully.

Bitch, I thought with an inner groan.

"Did she indeed?" Bones replied. "To where?"

"Outer balcony third floor." Again supplied by Annette. She'd better lock her door tonight.

"If you'll excuse me?"

There was a general murmur of acceptance, and then his light, quick footsteps up the stairs, down the hall, and outside the windowed doors closing off the balcony. I stood up and turned around.

"I was just giving you a chance to unwind...," I began, then stopped. The way he looked at me made me more nervous. "What?"

"You told me no flattery, but I can't help it. You're extraordinarily beautiful."

Bones kept staring at me, his eyes flicking from my face to my dress and back again. I sat down because I didn't know what else to do. Jeez, courtship had been easier when we first met. I'd snarled and plotted to kill him; he'd pummeled me and made fun of my training progress.

So how did I handle our strained new circumstances? With babbling. Idiotic, relentless babbling.

"Denise did my hair, nails, and the rest of it. And the clothes are new, which is nice. Don't have to wonder who wore the underwear before me. No matter if you know they're clean, there's something icky about wearing another girl's underwear...."

Good God, are you really talking about underwear? the logical part of my mind screeched. Stop talking now, moron! But I couldn't seem to shut up.

"...although I never bother with doing all this normally. In fact, most of the time I barely wear makeup, and I only do my hair if I'm going out to kill someone-which, since I quit my job, isn't much anymore. I don't know why I let Denise talk me into this, because when I don't do it again you'll wonder why I only did it in the beginning and everyone will tell you, 'Oh, things change when the girl gets comfortable, that's marriage for you,' and... Aw, hell, I gotta go!"

With that, I bolted from the balcony and went straight to my room, shutting the door. Even that wasn't far enough. I went into the bathroom and turned the shower on, jumping under the spray still fully clothed while I cursed myself for being ten shades of an imbecile. I could just imagine Bones's hushed conversation later tonight with Spade.

Has she ever been treated for schizophrenia? No? Oversight, mate. I'll get right on it.

My head thumped against the tile. A couple of more episodes like that and Bones would be delivering me to Gregor with a big red bow. Maybe I should keep it up. At least then he'd be safer.

In keeping with my new ridiculousness, I stayed in my room and didn't come out. Denise knocked after an hour, but I put her off with a lame excuse about a headache. She didn't press it. After several more useless hours staring at the ceiling, berating myself for behaving like a head case in front of Bones, I fell asleep.

Of course, that's when Gregor showed up.

Water rushed all around me, too thick to swim in. How did I get in the ocean? Why couldn't I swim? Where was everybody?

"Somebody help!"

My cry went unanswered. The water seemed to be pulling me under. I gasped, choked, and felt the burning of it in my lungs. This was how I was going to die. Alone and drowning. Funny, I'd always thought I would die in a fight...

"Take my hand."

Blindly I reached out-and then realization hit me and I yanked my arms back.

"Damn you, Gregor, leave me alone!"

He materialized in front of me, floating right above the water. An invisible wind blew his ash-blond hair, and those smoky green eyes were glowing emerald. The waves lapped at his feet, but they didn't suck him in. That relentless undertow was only for me.

"You're nothing to Bones but an unwanted burden now. How does it feel, knowing what he'd rather be doing and all the women he'd rather be with doing it with?"

"There's one less of those now, isn't there?" I snapped, trying to keep my head above that thick water.

"Oui, that was unexpected. You shall regret it, mon amour. Come to me now, and you may spare the others my wrath."

"No dice, Gregor. The only way you're getting me is dead."

"Why do you do this," he shouted, giving up his false calm. "I offer you everything, and you'd rather be the whore of a whore!"

Something was in the water with me. It felt like hands wrapped around my ankles, pulling me down. Maybe Gregor could actually kill me in my sleep. After all, Patra nearly had.

"Because I'm happier being a whore's whore than being with you."

After I said it, I quit fighting. I let myself sag and the water closed over my head. In a weird way, it felt like being flushed, because all of a sudden I was moving downward very fast and then- "Wake up, Catherine!" Bones was shaking me.

Instinctively I coughed, but there was no water in my lungs. I was in bed, and the only thing wet on me was my own sweat.

"I'm awake," I croaked Bones released me, and that's when I noticed that my cheek stung. Guess he'd been doing more than shaking me.

"You said no more beatings," I joked to take the edge off how rattled Gregor's dream had made me.

Bones let out a relieved laugh.

"Made me break a promise right quickly, didn't you? Charles told me what it would look like if Gregor connected to you in your sleep, but it's the damnedest thing to see it. It's like you're dead, only I can hear your heart beating." Bones leaned closer, brushing away the fine sheen of sweat from my brow. "This is Gregor's doing, isn't it? Despicable filth."

"I'm okay." I sat up, pulling the covers over me where I'd kicked them away.

He watched without blinking. "You were crying out that you were drowning. That's very far from okay."

A glance at the clock showed that it was close to five in the morning. "He can't try it again today. It takes a few days before he's strong enough to make another go at me, so I'm fine. Really."

Bones slowly moved away, not taking his eyes off me. It made me flash to how long it had been since we'd been in bed together. Weeks? More? Cowardly, I shut my eyes, hugging the pillow to my cheek as if I were exhausted.

"You can go back to bed, Bones. As I said, I'm fine."

Nothing but loaded silence for a moment, then finally I heard him get up and leave, closing the door behind him.

I opened my eyes and let out a sigh of frustration. Damn Gregor, and damn me for being a fool who'd let him dream-snatch me before. What I wouldn't give to take it all back and not have gone with him that day. Bones-the old Bones-had been right. I shouldn't have cared about my lost memories. It wasn't like they'd also stolen my strength and left me dangerously vulnerable as Bones's lost memories had done. Who would have guessed that one day he'd need Gregor's blood to unlock what was stolen from his mind? Too bad I hadn't packed an extra vial of Gregor's blood for the road when I drank from him that day...

"That's it!"

I vaulted out of bed, my mind racing from a sudden surge of hope. I'd drunk Gregor's blood. Was enough of it still in my system to help Bones?

I went straight into Bones's room without knocking. He was just settling himself into bed, and in my excited state, I plowed ahead with no forethought.

"Eat me, quick. It might not be too late!"

Instead of going for my neck, Bones whisked me onto the bed and yanked my pajama bottoms down.

"What is your problem?" I gasped, slapping him. Then I pulled my pants back on. He'd had them off in a blink.

Bones sat on his haunches and touched his face in disbelief. "What's yours, luv?"

All of a sudden, I realized his translation. Instead of being apologetic, I was incredulous. "I meant eat me as in bite me. Wow, you don't even know me, but you'd just... just dive right in, huh? Come on, a virtual stranger stomps in here and says 'eat me' and you don't even protest? You should've demanded a hand job at least!"

Bones just gazed at me and then dropped his hand from his cheek. "You confuse me, Catherine."

That deflated some off my huffiness. Well, that and the way the sheets barely covered his lap.