He didn't like the fact that he was risking his career and even jail time himself if he allowed her to file the sexual assault charges against tom. Then it dawned on him, she wouldn't have to file them to get the restraining order. He suddenly smiled and sighed with relief."Okay, here's the deal. Don't press the issue of the sexual assault; just tell the judge that you misunderstood his intentions. However, it's the truth about those two guys with guns, and they did try to prevent you from going home and tom put them up to it. You can truthfully tell the judge that he attempted to kidnap you at gunpoint, although by proxy, and that makes him just as guilty.""As for the shooting last night, tell the judge the truth; well, almost the truth. Don't tell him that you have a wild wolf in your house, which would be a crime. Tell the judge you have a half-breed wolf/dog mix and that you got it from a friend who couldn't take care of an animal of that size. That is legal, and you will be cov

"Damn, I guess I never would have thought it possible; but after this past year, with that Letterman thing, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that it was only a matter of time before the big bad world found its way to our little corner of heaven. You know, thinking about that case; when people get wind of this, there's going to be a lot of talk. You won't be able to hide in a town this small. Do you have any idea what you are going to do if it blows up and gets crazy?"She hadn't thought that far ahead yet. She was just trying to get through that day, not next week. She thought about the media circus that surrounded the Letterman thing and went pale."Whoa! You okay? I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to know that the shit is going to hit the fan on this one if the big news outlets get a hold of it. They'll try to tie it to the Letterman thing and milk a few points out of it for ratings.""Christ, mark! I never thought of it like that. I was just worried about little ol' me,

She turned to find damien smiling at her."What? Did I project again?"Maybe a little, but I'm also smiling because I love to hear you giggle and laugh. That is the sweetest music I've heard all day.She smiled broadly for him and her throat got a little tight."Oh, damien, that is so romantic, no wonder I fell in love with you."She went over to him and hugged him fiercely. He grunted and hooked a paw around her waist and hugged her back the best he could.They went out to the living room and curled up on the couch. They were both dozing off when they heard the delivery truck pull up in the driveway. She got up and went to the front door.Do you want me to hide in the basement?She looked over at him, grinning."Nope, I want you by my side while these guys are in the house."She waved him over and she put her arm over his shoulders, hugging him to her ribcage.As you wish, my love. It is my pleasure to stand by your side."It's not just my wish, damien, I'm yours, so you are here to

Yes, dear."Don't take that tone with me."Elena was getting ready to be pissed when she looked at his face and realized he had just been yanking her chain."I'm sorry Damien; I just don't want anything bad to happen tonight. I want to go to sleep in that wonderful new big bed tonight and not have to worry about anything but what to wear tomorrow for work."I know, me too. Well, the part about sleeping anyway. I'd look really silly in one of your dresses.She started laughing at that image."Thanks, I needed that. Okay, I'll stop stressing out and we'll eat in about an hour. How's that?"Damien nodded. They walked out to the living room and did their favorite thing, snuggled up together on the couch. She flipped the channel over to watch the local news. She wanted to see if anything concerning her had showed up on yet. Thankfully, there wasn't. Just some more stories about the local crops doing well with the nice weather they were having. Some local student had found another dinosaur

Elena nodded and looked back at Mark, who had been watching the two of them carefully. He gave her a strange, confused stare, and then he looked over to Dagomarus. Damien raised an eyebrow as he looked into Mark's eyes. Mark saw the expression and thought, Holy shit! It's waiting for me to ask a question. It's sitting there thinking and acting like a person! No, this can't be.He squinted, calculating what the threat with this thing could be. He denied it to himself that it was that smart. No animal on four legs was that smart. He needed to test this and make sure he wasn't reading too much into the expressions and the antics. This had to be some kind of trick. He tried to think of what he could say or do the make his test valid. Then he had it."Elena, you called him Damien, right?"Mark looked right at her. She nodded."Yes, his name is Damien."She wasn't sure what Mark was up to, but she knew he was planning or thinking something. Mark nodded."Okay. Did you give him that name?"M