Linda accidentally makes a problem.

Linda sighed contentedly as she looked around the table, smiling softly, then shifted a little in her chair, her breath hitching as she did so.

Seamus looked over worriedly. "The baby?"

Linda chuckled. "No. I'm wearing a sun dress."

Seamus was very confused. "I'm afraid you'll have to enlighten me on that one." He carved a piece of his steak and took a bite, savoring the flavor, keeping his eyes on Linda.

Linda shot him a glance, shifted again, and looked around carefully before leaning in close and pitching her voice low. "You really need to work on remembering all our rules young ma...ahem. Seamus." Linda made a slight face and chuckled ruefully.

Seamus thought back. And further back. But the exact rules were escaping him at the moment. He took a sip from his drink and asked: "Linda, I can't remember, I'm sorry. Enlighten me?" He sat back in his chair and heard Alice laugh lightly as she talked with Maya about something.

Linda blushed and cleared her throat. "All cheerleading staff members are held to the same uniform standards as the cheerleading squad..."

Linda's voice lifted up at the end and Linda eyed him carefully as she prepared to take a bite of her own food, but at his obvious lack of comprehension, she sighed, set down her silverware, and continued. "Four-inch red carmine high-heeled shoes off the field when in uniform. Uniform required for all school days and events."

Linda again searched his face, Seamus was still confused, so she continued: "And any squad-, or staff- member, may choose to temporarily forego the uniform requirements...if they choose to wear a 3-inch diameter..." Linda glanced around again and spoke even quieter still "...red carmine borosilicate glass intergluteal accessory." She leaned back up and cleared her throat again. She carefully sipped her Virgin Bloody Mary. Then shifted in her chair again.

It took Seamus a moment and then he laughed. "Ah. So you chose to wear a sun dress today because..."

Linda looked decidedly uncomfortable as she replied. "I wanted to look my best for you today." She chuckled. "Not my sexiest for you." A slight smile crossed her face and she patted her hair down around her ear.

Seamus cocked his head slightly, "Okay. You do look very pretty. So it worked."

"Thank you." Linda sighed and shifted again. "I'll change into the cheer top and Director's jacket after we leave the restaurant." She squirmed a little. "And the shoes." She squirmed again. "It's been decades since I've worn these things for more than a half hour or so and I'd forgotten how uncomfortable they could be when you're out of practice." She made a face. "And I never, never went more than 2 inches."

Seamus smirked. Then his eyebrows shot up.

Linda smirked back. "I was married for twenty-three years the first time. What did you think we did during all that time?"

Seamus felt his smile fall. He opened his mouth but Linda held up her hand and he closed it.

Linda patted his arm and left it there. "I loved my first husband. It was my own da...my own fault. I let the pain of losing our sons put a wedge between us, between me and God, and it made me hostile to the military."

Linda sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm not proud of everything I said and did after that, and I wish to heaven above I could take back the horrid things I said to that Marine Colonel." Her eyebrows furrowed heavily, then her face smoothed and her eyes opened again.

Seamus covered her hand with his own. "You were grieving. He probably recognized that."

Linda nodded. "Some day I'll want to go to Arlington again." Her eyes peered into the long distance through the table, then she forcefully shook herself. "Enough memories. I've spent too long with my head in the past." She smiled, sat up straighter, made a slight "oof" sound, and looked at Seamus directly. "I'm 22 again, I want smile lines this time, not frown lines."

"I've got a totally great facial system Ms. Linda! I would sooo love to help!" Tiffany beamed as she offered, her voice cutting across the table and all the conversations.

Linda smiled back at Tiffany and raised her voice to reply. "Thank you for the kind offer, Ms. Whitmore, pardon, Mrs. Malone."

Tiffany looked at her quizzically. "Huh? But...my last name...oh!" Tiffany shook her head. "I'm happy to be Shayshay's wife, but I want like a legit wedding in like a church with a minister and EVERYTHING? White dress, soooo pretty? Then I'm for sure taking his name!"

Seamus froze. And looked around the room full of wife after wife, 'Pride and Prejudice' and the many Bennets suddenly ringing in his ears.

Alice snorted beside him, and patted his leg soothingly.

Linda nodded. "I feel the same way, Ms. Whitmore."

Seamus's eyes widened and he looked back at Linda. Well, we did have sex that one night. Lord, why was I so irresponsible? He prayed.

Alice's hand on his leg tightened significantly.

"Ow." Seamus muttered.

Tiffany looked at her again. "Mrs. works! But call me Tiffy! We're like sisters now after all!"

Linda looked offended. "I most assuredly will NOT be calling you Tiffy." At Tiffany's sudden teary look, Linda softened. "But I will call you Tiffany."

Tiffany brightened. "You're the literal best!"

Linda opened her mouth. Closed it. Shook her head. Took a deep breath. "Thank you Tiffany."

"Uh-huh!" Tiffany grabbed a drink from the table and started to sip from it.

"Not yours, Tiffany." Maya said without looking up.

Seamus smirked as he watched Linda cover a smile with her drink as she sipped from it.

"Oh! Like, sorry. They all look the same." Tiffany set it down and grabbed a sweet tea.

"Mine." Hanae said softly. "Gomen." Hanae hesitantly held out a hand asking for it back.

"Sorry!" Tiffany gave it back to Hanae, looked around at the many similar glasses in front of her and grabbed the one that looked different and looked around.

Seamus kept his mouth closed and the laughter off his face as Tiffany let out a sighing of relief at the lack of protest from the group around her and drank from the cup. A look of disgust crossed her face. "Ouch! Hot? Yuck! Who drinks black coffee!" Tiffany set the coffee mug on the table as far away from her as possible.

"I do." Nazps-Odo said calmly, reaching across the table and picked up Tiffany's glass. She took a sip. Her eyebrows shot up. "What is this?"

"Sweet tea!" Tiffany answered.

Maya commented wryly: "In a transparent tall glass, not a short white one..." She grabbed the cold drink of her own and used the straw in it to take a long drink, her eyelashes blinking innocently at the oblivious Tiffany.

Seamus covered his mouth with his hand and held back the laugh.

"It tastes like liquified sugar." Nazps-Odo took another sip, contemplated it, then took a large gulp, ignoring the straw.

"Hey! Like, get your own? Yours is disgusting!" Tiffany cried out, pouting. She picked up the mug from where she'd placed it and slid the coffee cup across the table back to the original position in front of Nazps-Odo.

Nazps-Odo bowed slightly. "Very well." She placed Tiffany's glass back beside Tiffany and took a sip from her coffee before standing up from the table and starting towards the bar.

"Nazps-Odo?" Seamus asked.

Nazps-Odo stopped. "Yes, husband?" She turned and looked at him, her long tail dragging on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Seamus asked.

"To get sweet tea." Nazps-Odo replied, her eyebrow quirked.

"That is the job of the server." Seamus said calmly, picking up his own glass again and taking a sip.

Nazps-Odo sighed, turned back around, and sat down carefully. Looking around, she found Melody walking elsewhere in the restaurant. "MELODY!" Nazps-Odo yelled.

Melody jumped, tripped, caught herself, turned, and ran over. "Yes ma'am? What can I do for you?" Her face was one of careful studied politeness.

"Sweet tea in a glass." Nazps-Odo stated calmly.

Seamus sighed heavily. "Melody, Nazps-Odo's older than the universe, she doesn't mean to be rude."

Melody shot a look at Seamus, nodded slightly.

Nazps-Odo looked at Seamus quizzically. "How is that rude? She asked what she could do for me, I answered."

Seamus looked at Melody with a pained look.

Melody covered her mouth and giggled. Nodded again and turned around, walking quickly toward the bar.

Nazps-Odo turned back and resumed eating. Which now that Seamus thought about it, seemed less like she was unfamiliar with silverware and more like silverware was an encumbrance to her preferred method. He shuddered slightly at the exuberance with which Nazps-Odo tore shreds of beef from the cut with her fork, the knife holding the beef in place.

Linda leaned over. "Seamus."

Seamus looked over. "Yes, Linda?"

Linda's eyes twinkled. "If your memory is that bad...I take it you don't remember about the remote control?"

Seamus looked at her questioningly. "Uhh. No...I don't remember. I thought you said it was made of glass."

Linda giggled. Then smirked. "No! Not what I'm meaning." She made a thoughtful look. "No. May...no. Later Linda. Your watch there, I take it that is where the app is located now, yes?"

Seamus nodded.

Linda said: "Find Rebecca's profile, and click summon."

Seamus eyed her suspiciously. But did so. He scrolled through, found the cheerleader staff group, then the profile for Rebecca Rivqah Mercer, J.D. popped up on the screen. 46 years old, 5'5" 145lb, 34C, medium-brown hair, hazel brown eyes, with glasses and a severe, no-nonsense expression on her face. "J.D.? She's a lawyer?"

Linda smirked. "Your memory really did take a hit. Yes, a very, very good one too. We were lucky to get her for the program."

Seamus looked back down, the memories coming back slowly.

Linda poked him lightly. "Click summon."

Seamus eyed her again. Against his better judgement, he looked under her name and found the button for summon, and pressed it.

Across the restaurant he heard a clatter and a cut-off swear word followed by a loud: "Let me get that!" and then: "No! It's fine! I'll get it later!"

Seamus closed his eyes and counted to three. "Why'd you have me do that?"

"You'll see." Linda leaned back with a slight smug look in her face and then her breath hitched and she rearranged herself.

Rapid heel clicks followed and Seamus looked up to see a woman wearing a staff jacket that read: Cypress State University Wardens, and under it: 'Faculty Advisor', the zipper halfway down showing the same cheerleading top the rest of the squad wore underneath it. Her sports pants were immaculately pressed with sharp lines down the edges.

She stopped a couple of feet away and her arms crossed under her breasts and she looked down at Seamus. Her top had water stains across the right side, and the skin was goosebumped there, and as she stood there, an ice cube slipped out of the top and fell to the floor. "You called?"

Seamus smiled. "Hello Rebecca."

Rebecca looked at him carefully, her eyes hard. "It's Ms. Mercer to you now." Her eyes closed and she sighed. "Sorry, Seamus. No. I can see we need to talk."

Seamus sat up straight and stood up, crossed over to her. He searched her face which was resigned and sad. "Where do you want to go?"

Rebecca looked at him again. "Could you shut off the summons now, please? It kind of stings."

"Oh! Sorry." Seamus clicked off the summons. He turned and looked back at Linda who looked apologetically at Rebecca.

"Sorry, Rebecca. That was my idea." Linda said.

Seamus turned back to Rebecca who opened her mouth and looked like she was about to chew into Linda before she stopped.

"You had no reason to know." Rebecca looked at Seamus steadily. "It happened just before we got our lives thrown into a twenty-year cluster...problem."

Seamus thought back. The last thing...oh. Seamus paled.

"Yeah." Rebecca said tiredly. "You had me nearly naked in pink frills on a pole in a cage twenty feet in the air and I was loving it. But you were only there going through the motions. Why the hell would I put myself through that again?" Her voice was acid.

Seamus winced. "I deeply, humbly apologize, Rebecca."

"Don't. Don't guilt yourself into a spiral that sends us into another twenty-year hiatus again." Rebecca seethed.

Alice put a hand on Rebeccas arm from her chair below where Rebecca stood. "He's not. Right now he's just apologizing."

"And how the hell would you know?" Rebecca bit out.

"I can hear his thoughts and he can hear mine." Alice said simply.

Rebecca stared at her. Turned back to Seamus. Her face looked wary, but a lot less hostile than a moment before. "Really? He's really changed?"

"Yes." Alice said. "This morning is what it took."

Rebecca sagged. Her face looked pained, and hopeful. Her eyes shot to Keiko. "I had hoped...but...I didn't dare." She drew herself back up straight, her face clearing. "Well, you summoned me, why?" Her eyes pierced his as she waited his answer.

Seamus put his right hand on her shoulder. "We do need to talk and probably not in public. As to why I summoned you, that really was Linda. She thought it would be funny for some reason."

Rebecca scowled. "Why?"

"Because I didn't remember the rule." Seamus said.

Rebecca froze. Then laughed. "Oh. That is priceless. You send a shock into me because you forgot what the rule does and I was your guinea pig?" Rebecca sighed. "Thanks a lot, Linda."

"What are friends for?" Linda replied. "Sorry again."

Rebecca shook her head. "I never got a chance to tell you before we went on ice. Not your fault."

Seamus asked her: "I know we're not good. Truce for now?"

Rebecca eyed him carefully. Then nodded slowly. "I will tear you a new one if you haven't figured out a way to keep your mother out of your head yet, and your head out of your ass, but yes."

Seamus smiled sadly. "I'm trying."

Rebecca sighed. "That's all any of us can do sometimes." She closed her eyes. Relaxed slightly into his hand on her shoulder. Then craned her neck down and kissed his hand. She looked back up at him. "I told you a couple of days...years. Days. Shit. A lot of years ago. I don't care who you tell. I meant it. I still do." She put her hand on his arm. "But I'd prefer if you didn't."

Seamus nodded. "I remember the promise now. And the stupid reason I made it."

Rebecca smiled sadly. "You broke my heart that day. Even while fulfilling everything my mind needed, you forgot about my heart."

Seamus smiled wanly. "I never told you, but I told my parents about the harem. And the fact I wanted to marry Alice."

Rebecca's eyes widened. "Why in hell would you want to go and do a thing like that? I only know your mother through you but that seems like the world's stupidest plan."

Seamus nodded. "It was."

Rebecca closed her eyes. "Oh you stupid fool." She opened her eyes again. "You stupid, idealistic, moralistic, wonderful fool. You thought you could unconditionally love your way into a solution, didn't you?"

Seamus frowned. "I wouldn't put it like that."

Alice piped up. "I would."

Sireah said quietly: "I've known you less than a week, Master, and that sounds accurate."

Seamus sighed and hung his head. "Enough. Enough. I get it." He looked back up. "Rebecca, I can't promise I won't let guilt overload my life again, but I can promise I will try to keep it from ruining my relationships again."

Rebecca nodded. "Might want to get back to eating then so we aren't still here when the game starts."

Seamus smiled. Nodded. Quirked an eyebrow.

Rebecca started to look around but stopped. Closed her eyes. Took a deep breath and Seamus felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. "It'll be a while before you'll be...toying with me again, but I feel better now than I did before. Give me a bit though, okay?" She whispered into his ear.

Seamus nodded and kissed her on the cheek. "You got it, Becks."

Rebecca leaned back and smiled sadly. Then her face hardened into a severe look and her spine went ramrod straight. She nodded, spun on her heels and clicked her way back to her table.

Seamus took a shaky breath and sat back down.

Linda leaned over. "My sincerest apologies, Seamus. That was on me."

Seamus looked over and shook his head. "The summons? Sure. My screw-ups? Those were on me."

Maya grumbled mightily. "Those were on your mother."

Seamus growled. "Now's not the time, Maya. Eat."

Maya looked abashed. "Yes, sir."

"Be nice if she responded that way to me sometimes." Linda said idly.

Maya pinked. "Ma'am?"

"Oh, now you use honorifics." Linda teased.

Maya replied. "I'm always polite, ma'am."

Linda smiled. "Your dominant gave you a command." Her eyebrow quirked. "Certain you want to play with that fire?"

Maya ducked her head and started to eat swiftly.

"Manners! Heavens to Betsy. Manners!" Linda sighed and daintily took a small bite of her food and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing it.

Seamus looked at the cooling steak on his plate, not quite as hungry as he was before.

Alice leaned over. "The steak is steak. You're perfectly fine enjoying it even if you messed up."

Seamus kissed the top of her head. "I know." He sighed heavily. "I know." He hugged her, kissed the top of her head again, and tucked back into his meal, trying to do so with gusto, listening to the sounds of laughter, soft conversations, and realizing there was much he needed to remember. Not to dredge up fresh guilt, but maybe to start the healing process.