A kind but firm one.

Steve Keller does not look wholly well as he emerges from the elevator and comes charging down the hallway. While he may once have been a hard-charging finance man, in his 50s his hairline's begun to recede and his waist has gone distinctly to paunch. He's red-faced and panting as he fumbles his keys out of his pocket, but before he can put them in the door, it swings open. Amanda feels almost bad for him as she sees the relief break over his face when he sees her standing there.

"Amanda - thank God - you're all ok?" he pants. He hurries into the apartment, barely even paying attention to her as he rips his jacket off. She closes the door behind him and locks it carefully, but he's already looking around. "Mel, Abby - they're safe?"

"They're fine, dear. We're all here," Amanda says patiently.

"Things have gone fucking insane out there," Steve says. He looks spooked, though something else besides. He shakes his head. "You got - you all got the text messages? The Source?" Amanda nods. "Fucking batshit. Didn't think it was real at first. But then Jenkins said we ought to find out if it was - since it would change everything - and claimed Jeanine, his secretary. And she - " He glances around and lowers his voice before continuing. "She just stripped down and got under his desk when he told her to. Like it was the most normal thing in the world. Like she wanted to. Fuck, Amanda, it was..." He shakes his head. "Then there was a rush for Applecline, of course."

A vague memory of a past rant pings in Amanda's mind. "Oh. That VP who led the charge for those cuts...?"

Steve nods. "Right. The reason half our teams got laid off last year. She tried to lock herself in her office, but some of the guys managed to break in...I think it was Joe Hammond who actually claimed her, but he said everyone was entitled to screw her the way she'd screwed us. It was a madhouse...a couple of her girls were fluffing, I don't know if they were claimed or hoping to avoid being claimed by helping out..."

"Or maybe they just had a grudge too," Amanda suggests. It seems like a perfectly reasonable explanation to her. Steve shudders.

"Well, whatever it was, it was...crazy shit. Once I was - once I realized this was happening everywhere, I beat it out of there, but traffic was a fucking mess. People driving like maniacs...accidents everywhere...I saw people fucking by the side of the road like animals more than once." He shakes his head. "Glad I made it...so you're all here? You're all ok?"

"Yes, dear," Amanda says again, patiently. "We're all well. In fact, we've been making preparations for the new world."

"New world?" He frowns.

"You don't think this is ever going away, do you?" Amanda asks with a light laugh. "Steve. Dear. We've got to be prepared for this to be potentially permanent. And we are prepared...more so every hour. But there are going to be some...adjustments. Growing pains that you've got to be prepared for." She puts a hand on his arm, making eye contact. He looks a bit bewildered, and she does want this to be as gentle as possible. As she looks at him now, though she'd kill him in a moment if Grant asked her too, she does remember all those years of companionship, the passionate early years, the birth of the twins, their move to this city...she remembers the betrayal, too, and she still feels angry about that, but she doesn't want to hurt him. Or let him be hurt, if she can avoid it. "Everything is going to be different, dear."

"I...I guess so," Steve says, his face slackening slightly. "Fuck, Amanda..."

She takes his hand. "Let me show you."

When Steve Keller is led into the dining room he blanches, eyes widening in shock and horror. "What - who the fuck is this?!"

Grant stands from his chair at the end of the table as he sees Amanda put a restraining hand on Steve's shoulder. "Mr. Keller. I'm Grant. Please, sit down. Let me explain the situation here as best I can." Once again, he's surprised at how steady his voice is. Rehearsal helps.

Steve doesn't sit, though, staring at the far end of the table in fury, his face reddening. "Who - who the hell are you people?!"

Grant glances back at the women behind him. "Well, this is Lily, and Jaz. And this is Mary, my right-hand woman. They're my..." Slaves? Harem? "...companions."

"And what the hell are you and your little tarts doing in my house?!" Steve barks. Grant holds up a hand.

"Mr. Keller. I don't think you've fully grasped the situation." He raises his voice slightly. "Mel, would you come in here, please?"

Steve's face goes white as Mel trots into the room. "Hi dad!" She tugs the rope she's holding and drags Abby, stumbling, in after her. The unclaimed girl is once again restrained, a short cotton rope tying her hands and putting her under Mel's control. (Lily had suggested a more "creative" tie, but Grant had firmly held her off...for now.) She lets out a cry as Mel yanks her forward and shoves her into Grant's waiting lap.

"Dad! Dad, I'm not - I'm not claimed. Please, Daddy, don't...don't let him claim me..."

Steve freezes, halfway through lunging into action, as Grant nods and wraps one hand firmly, visibly around Abby's upper arm. "That's right; Abby's not claimed yet, though Mel is, of course, and Amanda is as well."

"Sorry, dear," Amanda murmurs, stepping away from Steve as he whirls to stare at her, horrified. "I was trying to help."

"And she did, at least from Abby's perspective," Grant says. "Amanda agreed to be claimed so Abby wouldn't be. I've kept that promise, and I intend to continue keeping it." He takes a deep breath. "Honestly, Steve, I owe you an apology. Mary and I were looking for a place to hole up, a secure place from which to start building...whatever kind of new life we're going to have in this world. I didn't know you were in the picture until I'd already claimed Mel and Amanda, and I do feel bad about that."

"You sonuvabitch," Steve whispers furiously. He still stands at the far end of the table, though, frozen as he stares at Grant's hand on Abby's shoulder. "You...you've fucked my wife? **** my little girls?"

"Grant hasn't touched me or Abby, Dad," Mel says defensively. "He wouldn't do that to Abby. And...I haven't earned it yet." She looks down, blushing slightly. Amanda nods but stays tactfully silent.

"That's true," Grant says. "And I don't want to fight with you, Steve. Please, sit down and let's see if we can work this out, huh?" His grip tightens slightly on Abby's arm. "I think we can come to an arrangement where we get the best out of this for everyone."

"No. Fuck you, you little prick," Steve spits. "I'll figure out some way to get them back...I'll, I'll fucking...make you give them up. You little shit, I'll kill you if I have to. I have friends - "

"Ah, yes, that reminds me." Grant clears his throat. "Now, please."

Steve jumps slightly, then his eyes widen in shock, as Olivia saunters into the room behind him. "Hi, Stevie," she says throatily, leaning over to peck him on the cheek before she sashays toward Grant. She's changed back into her bikini, and her long, dirty blonde hair spills down her back above her pert, tanned ass. "I'm afraid I think we should end our relationship. It's not you, it's me. I don't want to be the other woman any more...and I've found a better option." Reaching Grant, she leans down and kisses him deeply, making a show of passion as she cups his chin and plunges her tongue into his mouth, crushing Abby uncomfortably between them as they kiss over her head. Grant feels himself stir slightly in his pants as she pulls away from his lips. She turns to stand behind him, leaning down to embrace him from behind and running one hand over his chest as she stares at Steve accusingly over his shoulder.

Steve is white as a sheet. "You - You found..."

"Yes, Grant claimed your mistress," Amanda says tartly. "And yes, I know. That's not even part of all this. We were going to have a conversation about it. A little later." She shakes her head.

"Please, Steve," Grant says evenly. "Sit down."

Finally, the older man does. Or, more accurately, he collapses into the chair at the far end of the table from Grant. With Amanda a few paces down the table from him, he suddenly looks very small and alone. "What...what the hell do you want, young man?"

"I don't really want anything from you," Grant says gently. "Like I said, I didn't mean to hurt you - though it is sort of your fault that I'm here, since I claimed Olivia first and she suggested this as a place to hole up. What I need is a safe place, Steve, and I think for the moment this apartment is it."

Steve buries his head in his hands. "You...you've taken my wife and my daughters and now you want my home, too?!"

"No." Grant shakes his head. "It's the other way around, really. I have your apartment. I'm asking for your blessing to keep the apartment...in exchange for your wife and daughters."

Steve looks up at him, face dark and confused. "What...what do you mean?"

"I claimed Mel and Amanda before I knew you existed. Sorry about that, again," Grant says ruefully. "But now that I've claimed them, they'll do whatever I ask. If I told them never to see you again, they'd do it." Amanda and Mel both nod. "If I tell them to spend time with you, they will. I may have claimed them, but they're still the same people they were." He leans forward. "So I want to propose a trade. You take my apartment - it's just a few floors down, though it's smaller - and let me live here. I'm going to run this building soon, and I think we can make it a good place in this new world. Do this, and you'll get regular visits from Mel, and you can come here for supervised chats with Abby, too. Who I still won't claim. I keep my promises." He glances at Amanda. "I can arrange for visits with Amanda, too, so you can...work out some of the issues in your marriage. Heck, if I ask for it, I'm sure I could arrange for Olivia and Amanda to both visit you, if you want."

Steve is pale. "Why...would I agree to this?"

"Well, Steve," Grant says as gently as he can. "I don't mean to be an asshole about this, but I sort of think I have all the cards here. I'm making this offer out of good faith, because I feel bad for messing up your life. So I'd rather you agree to this so we can move on...because the alternatives are all, honestly, a lot worse for you."