Beep beep!

"Hey, Malcolm!" Jamal waved as Malcolm's truck drove past him. "Was that Anika with Malcolm?" he asked Cookie, jogging up the drive. He stopped and kissed her on the cheek.

Cookie nodded and kissed Jamal back. "What are you doing back?"

"Came to get some sheet music I left in Dad's music room." Mother and son walked into the mansion. "So they're finally going public, huh? Good for them."

"Yeah, good for them," Cookie said sarcastically. "I love the idea of Lucious Lyon's wife out in public with her boyfriend."

"It's no different than Dad being out in public with all his side chicks, don't you think?" Jamal asked.

Cookie ignored that question. After all, she was one of the so-called side chicks whether she liked it or not. "Did you know Malcolm and Anika were sleeping together?" Cookie asked as the two of them made their way to Lucious's piano room.

"I knew Malcolm and Anika were dating," Jamal said neutrally. "Just like I knew you and Lucious were dating and didn't say anything to Angelo."

"Don't get smart with me, boy," Cookie snapped. "This is different. We're family, Jamal. Angelo isn't."

"Does Anika count as family?" Jamal asked tersely. "It gets tiring keeping up with everybody's affairs. That's why I don't pay attention to any of them."

Smart-mouthed little bastard. "When did this whole thing start between them?" Cookie asked.

"Valentine's Day, like Malcolm said. No...I think it might've been a little sooner than that, 'cause Malcolm was working with me at WOKE by then."

Jamal never found out why Lucious's offer for virtual therapy never came to pass. Instead, Jamal invited Malcolm to come to the first PTSD WOKE meeting of the New Year. Malcolm went just to be polite at first, but then he went to another, then another. Malcolm had such a warm, easygoing personality that Angelo suggested Malcolm lead his own group meetings for combat veterans as a way to give back to the community.

"Just once," Malcolm told a smiling, triumphant Angelo. He'd pulled the frat brother card on Malcolm in order to get his way. "I'm not a psychiatrist, Mr. Mayor."

Even on short notice, the meeting was three times larger than anybody expected. Malcolm expected to tell about himself, answer a couple of questions about his time in the navy and listen to a few war stories. He wound up leading a meeting that was over two hours long – one that nearly got out of hand when it came to an end. A Thursday night meeting was hastily set up. By the end of January, walk-in meetings could no longer be accommodated, and a third Saturday afternoon meeting was added to Malcolm's schedule.

Malcolm was afraid that Jamal would be jealous, but Jamal was more than happy to turn the combat vets over to Malcolm. Andre came up with the idea of a weekend daycare and rec center so that more families could participate. "Where are we going to get the volunteers for all that?" Angelo asked, slightly overwhelmed with the sudden influx of new WOKE members and visitors.

"Try the high schools," Hakeem suggested. "I'm sure a lot of them need some volunteer hours to put on their college applications."

Magic words. Almost immediately, WOKE was filled to the brim with volunteers and therapy participants, thanks in part to their handsome, articulate, young(ish) military PTSD specialist. By mid-February, Malcolm had been invited to a conference for group therapy leaders specializing in military affairs. Though it would take Malcolm all to the way up to the day before Valentine's Day, Malcolm knew he couldn't say no to the invitation. For someone just indulging a side hobby and with no background in psychology, Malcolm DeVeaux had arrived.

Malcolm wouldn't be the only one traveling for the Valentine's Day holiday. "I heard Dad is taking you to the Bahamas for Valentine's Day," Hakeem said to Anika over lunch with Bella in the nursery. "Do you mind if I keep Bella over at my place while you're gone? Tiana's been wanting Bella to spend the night for the longest, and I'd like Bella's first Valentine's Day to be with her daddy."

Lucious had made no mention of a trip for Valentine's Day. "Sure you can," Anika agreed. I think it's a great idea." The idea of spending the weekend with Lucious anywhere, much less in another country, made Anika nauseous. Lucious apparently felt the same way. As Cookie informed Anika later that evening, his Valentine's Day island vacation was for Cookie, not for Anika.

"I wanted to come and talk to you about it..." Cookie said apologetically. She was embarrassed, and rightly so. Once again, Cookie came running when Lucious told her to.

"Talk to me about what, Cookie?" Anika kept her eyes on Bella as she changed her squirming baby's diaper. "You're going to the Bahamas with my husband for Valentine's Day." Anika's throat grew tight with anger. "Best Valentine's date he could give me. Have fun, Cookie."

"If it's any consolation, Lucious is giving you the guest house for Valentine's Day," Cookie informed Anika. "That, and a credit card with like, a $5 million limit to decorate it however you want to. He's even going to let you keep Bella with you from now on."

The guest house! For months, Anika had been fighting Lucious to let her move out of the mansion and into the guest house three miles down the road. For months, Lucious said no. He wouldn't even compromise on a day/night arrangement – Bella would stay in the mansion for most of the day, but stay with her mother at the guest house at night. Now here was Cookie saying Lucious was giving her the house and her child with no strings attached.

That only meant one thing. "You mean you're giving me the guest house for Valentine's Day, Cookie," Anika corrected. "And all you had to do was suck Lucious's dick and go to the Bahamas with him. Then again, I guess you'll screw him either way, so I should get something out of it, huh?"

"You're pushing it, Boo Boo Kitty," Cookie muttered, but she said nothing more.

Lucious got the last laugh. He and Cookie swung by the nursery the morning of their departure to give Anika her credit card and say goodbye to their granddaughter. "You can decorate the house however you like. Keep everything in it, throw it all out, burn it...whatever. Just be sure you come up and see us sometime." He flashed Anika what was supposed to be a charming smile. "Got any plans for Valentine's Day?"

"Do you care?" Anika asked.

"No," Lucious said honestly, and Cookie slapped him on the thigh. "But that reminds me. Your boy Malcolm called me yesterday. I know we were expecting him back before me and Cookie left, but he decided to stay in D.C. for Valentine's Day after all. Big date."

"What?" Anika and Cookie said at the same time.

"Yeah." Lucious gave a sly grin. "Malcolm told me that he's taking his first love out to dinner. Said he asked her to marry him when they were younger, but their parents said no. Guess Malcolm's about to try again, now that they're all grown up, know what I'm sayin'?" Lucious winked. "So I wouldn't be expecting any Sesame Street and chill on V-Day, Anika."

"Lucious," Cookie warned.

"Hey, just thought I'd let her know. Actually, I'm pretty sure Anika knew, since her and Malcolm are such good...friends." He chuckled as he left, taking a sympathetic Cookie with him.

Malcolm and Anika hadn't spoken since the last time they had sex - not on New Year's Day, but a couple of weeks later. It started when Malcolm knocked on her door late at night after two weeks of not speaking to one another. "I passed the GRE," he told a startled Anika. "I couldn't have done it without you and Andre...I didn't know who else to tell."

"Malcolm, that's wonderful! Oh, I'm so proud of you." A firm, secure hug, the scent of freshly washed hair, skin touching skin. Malcolm and Anika didn't even make it past the sitting room that night. But nighttime situations are made different in the morning. Anika didn't say anything as she got out of bed to take her morning shower. When Anika came out of the bathroom, there was no trace of Malcolm. She didn't expect him to be there, but to leave the nursery without even saying goodbye was like a slap to the face.

White hot with rage, Anika left Bella with Juanita and sped down to Empire Enterprises, straight to Malcolm's office with no thoughts of discretion. "Get out," she ordered Jamal, who was going over some notes with Malcolm for the next WOKE meeting."Now."

"What the hell are you doing, Anika?" Malcolm demanded as Jamal quickly rose and left the room, just as confused as Malcolm was. "You just interrupted an extremely important-"

"You know, it's bad enough you walked out of my bedroom this morning." Anika's eyes burned with tears as she crossed the room. "You hate me?Fine, Malcolm. But you could've at least stayed with Bella while I was taking a shower, especially since you don't visit her anymore."

"She's not my daughter, Anika," Malcolm reminded Anika. "Go tell your babydaddy-slash-stepson to watch her while you shower."

That was true, but it hurt Anika to hear it. "Bella misses you, but I know you don't care about that." Malcolm missed Bella, too, but he wasn't going to let on. "I guess you were just using my daughter to get to me, huh...or were you using me to get to my daughter?" she taunted him. "Seriously, what kind of weirdo hangs out with a married woman and a baby all day long?"

Anika had gone too far with her insults, and she knew it. Malcolm charged across the room so fast that Anika braced herself for a blow that never came. "Don't...you...ever," Malcolm ordered with fire in his eyes, "make that kind of insinuation about me again."

Despite the threat in his voice, Anika lifted her chin and stared Malcolm down with Lyon pride. "And don't...you...ever leave my bedroom without saying goodbye again," Anika replied with clenched teeth. "I will not let you treat me like your whore."

"My whore?" Malcolm mocked. "I'd have to pay you to be a whore. You've giving it up for free, Mrs. Lyon."

Anika slapped Malcolm with all the anger in her body. Then Anika and Malcolm were screaming horrible things to each other and calling each other every name under the sun. Both of them wanted desperately to hurt the other person. Anika wanted to hurt Malcolm for abandoning her while Malcolm wanted to hurt Anika for using him.

"Take your hands off me!" Anika shrieked when Malcolm grabbed Anika by her wrist, muttering under his breath. But Malcolm didn't throw Anika out of his office. Instead, he half-dragged Anika into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him before lifting Anika up on the sink counter. Anika was already loosening Malcolm's tie by then, and he was pushing Anika's dress off her shoulders.

Malcolm grabbed the back of Anika's head and crushed his lips against hers so hard that their teeth bumped together. "My, my, my," Malcolm teased, pulling Anika's dress up past her naked hips. "Where are your panties, Mrs. Lyon?"

"Your daddy has 'em." Anika unbuckled Malcolm's pants and shamelessly reached into his underwear. The heat of Malcolm's cock in her hands made Anika spread her legs wider and lean back so her back pressed against the bathroom mirror. "I fucked him on Tuesday."

"You fuckin' my daddy?" Malcolm asked, sliding his middle and ring finger deep inside of Anika, manipulating her clit with his thumb at the same time.

"Your sister, too," Anika hissed, riding Malcolm's hand as she teased her nipples while Malcolm's eyes shone with approval.

"My sister, huh." Malcolm toed his shoes off and stepped out of his pants and his boxers as they continued to kiss wildly. Anika's teeth nipped Malcolm's lower lip, and Malcolm struggled not to put marks on Anika's fair skin. "Well," Malcolm said, pulling Anika off the counter and turning her body to where they both faced the mirror. Malcolm bent at the waist, rubbing his hard-on against the small of Anika's back until he was able to line his dick up right where he wanted it to go. "The next time you see that bitch..." he ordered as Anika instinctively braced her hands against the bathroom counter, "...give her this!"

Malcolm thrust himself inside of her with one smooth, hard stroke that made Anika scream. Then he did it again. And again. And again and again until Malcolm couldn't take it any more. He had to stop or else...

"Please." Anika's plea could barely be heard. But it was heard, and Malcolm obliged her once again, just as he always did. "Oh, my God," he muttered under his breath as his balls twitched and spasmed as he let loose deep of her. It was dangerous and it was irresponsible, but how could Malcolm say no when not only where Anika's lips were begging him to come inside of her, but her eyes in the mirror as well?

They dressed quietly when it was over, not even looking each other. With his tie still undone, Malcolm sat in his desk chair and turned his back to Anika when she walked to the front door. It was another slap in the face. "Malcolm," Anika said hoarsely. She'd been screaming so loud for so long that she'd lost her voice.

Malcolm didn't turn around. "What is it, Mrs. Lyon?"

Anika was so quiet for so long that Malcolm thought she'd left. He was startled when he turned around and saw her still standing at the door, hair tousled and skin glowing, but with eyes that were so sad. "I've always wondered. Sometimes you call me Anika and sometimes you call me Mrs. Lyon. Why?"

"Anika when I like you," Malcolm answered pointedly. "Mrs. Lyon when I don't."

They stared at each other for a while. Anika's eyes were so full of sadness - sadness that Malcolm had caused - that Malcolm dropped his gaze. "Lucious doesn't sound right on you," Anika said slowly. "I like you better when you act like yourself, Malcolm." With that, Anika left Malcolm alone with his thoughts. Anika spent the next two days faking a cold to hide her laryngitis, and the two of them hadn't spoken to each other since.

Secretly, Anika was hoping that Malcolm would come back around again by Valentine's Day. Now, with his big date on the horizon, it seemed that Malcolm had put Anika out of his mind at last. Anika couldn't say the same, but she was composed enough to wait until Lucious and Cookie left the nursery before she broke down and cried.

The first time Cookie went on Lucious's yacht, she refused to go out on the deck of the Lyons' Den. Terrified of open water and seasick on top of it, Cookie stayed inside sipping champagne and shooting daggers at Lucious's cute little girlfriend, a young A&R named Anika Calhoun. Two years later, Lucious watched with pride as Cookie worked the ropes of the Den with ease, though she still wouldn't swim in open water - or any water, for that matter.

"C'mere, Cook." Lucious held up a champagne flute filled to the brim with Cookie's favorite snack. There were eight pounds of grapes in the freezer, which Lucious hoped would last the trip. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Cookie to go through a pound of grapes a day. "It's time we go over the rules."

"The rules?" Cookie asked dubiously. She brushed past Lucious and went straight inside the yacht to the gigantic freezer. "Cookie!" Lucious groaned as Cookie pulled out a pound-bag of grapes. "If you keep opening that freezer, they'll never freeze." Lucious handed Cookie the glass. "Here, these are already frozen."

Cookie snatched the glass, tilted her head and dumped a mouthful of grapes into her mouth. Lucious laughed as Cookie began to make faces, trying to blow warm air into her stuffed freezing cold cheeks. "I see your mouth can still stretch open nice and wide," he taunted. "I'll have to remember that later on."

"Yuh uh," Cookie ordered from behind the freezing fruit. She moved the grapes from one side of her mouth to the other, still trying to warm her mouth.

"Yuh uh'?" Lucious laughed and laughed watching Cookie chew and swallow, chew and swallow, hooooo...chew and swallow, chew and swallow, shift, hooooo ...shift, chew, swallow. Finally, Cookie was able to speak. "I said shut up." She reached back into the freezer for some half-frozen grapes, and Lucious shook his head at her impatience. "And what rules are you talking about?"

"The rules for being on my yacht. The Den rules."

"You mean our yacht? I didn't do 17 years in prison for you to talk about your yacht."

"Fine, our yacht." Lucious pulled Cookie close to him. Cookie draped her arms around his shoulders. "The following phrases are not allowed to be used on my boat. Number one: '17 years.' Number two. 'Fo' hunnit thousand.'"

"I don't talk like that!" Cookie protested.

"However you talk. I don't wanna hear it. Three, 'Boo Boo Kitty.'"

"Defending your precious wife?" Cookie teased.

"No. But nobody told you to come out here with me, Cookie. You did that on your own." Lucious gently patted Cookie's ass for emphasis. "So I don't wanna hear about my marriage, or your pending marriage, or anything that has to do with that punk Julio-"

"Angelo," Cookie corrected by habit.

"Him, neither. You chose to come out here, so you're not gonna come out here and shit on the choices I've made. You can do that on dry land. You got it?"

"I gotchu, Daddy," Cookie cooed, sounding so much like she used to when they were just teenaged newlyweds.

"That's better." Cookie followed Lucious out to the deck, where he took over the ropes. He laughed as Cookie came out of the cabin with a cheesy blue yacht captain's hat and plonked it on his head. "Get it off, get it off!" Lucious laughed. "I can't see anything, Cookie."

"Fine, fine." Cookie took the hat off Lucious's head and tossed it into the water. She went back inside for more half-frozen fruit, then came back out on the deck just in time to see Lucious go over the boat's railing right into the ocean. "Lucious!" Cookie rushed to the rail. There was no sign of Lucious. Nothing but blue.

"Lucious!" Cookie grabbed the lifesaver and threw it overboard, praying that Lucious would see it from underwater, but there was no sign of him. "Lucious! Please! Oh, my God...Lucious!"

Lucious bobbed up on the other side of the yacht and waved. "Can you believe it, Cookie?" he yelled, swimming back to the starboard side of the Den. "From a two-pack a day smoker to a world class swimmer! Look! I can float, too." Lucious leaned back and casually floated on his back. "Not bad for a Pufnstuf, huh?"

"You idiot!" Cookie grabbed every object she could get her hands on and threw it at Lucious, who was coming up the ladder. "I thought you drowned, you stupid son of a bitch! What the fuck were you thinking!?" Lucious tried to calm Cookie down, which made her more and more hysterical. "You know I can't swim, Lucious! What the hell would I do if you were drowning!?"

"Hey...hey. Cookie, it's okay." Kisses, kisses, kisses all over Cookie's face and lips and neck. "I'm sorry, Cook. I'm alright. You see?" Lucious caressed Cookie's face, tilting her chin so he could look her in the eye. "See me, Cookie? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Cookie couldn't stop crying, not even while being comforted in Lucious's arms. "You scared the shit out of me, Lucious! I thought you fell overboard!" Cookie slapped Lucious's hand away. "And you lost your ring!" she cried, furious all over again.

"Huh?" Lucious stuck his hand out. "Oh, fuck!" For what would have been their 30th wedding anniversary, Lucious bought wedding rings for himself and for Cookie. A friendly gesture, Lucious insisted, but neither he nor Cookie believed it. "It's been feeling loose since I started losing weight and I always meant to get it resized. I guess it came off when-Cookie!" Lucious took both of Cookie's hands. "Throw your ring in the sea."

"What?" Lucious was asking Cookie to throw $52,000 worth of platinum and diamonds into the Caribbean Sea just because he lost his own ring. "Why, Lucious? I love my ring!"

"So that our rings will be together forever. Please, Cookie," Lucious begged. "Throw your ring in the sea."

In a trance, Cookie looked down at the ring she loved so much. Without a word, she took it off her finger and tossed it into the ocean. The loss of her beloved ring made Cookie cry all over again. "Shh. It's okay." Lucious pulled a still-crying Cookie back into his arms. "Don't worry," he soothed, running his hands up and down her back. "We'll get new rings."

"I don't want new rings, Lucious. I want you." Tears poured down Cookie's face. "She doesn't love you," Cookie murmured in his ear. "She can't have you. Do you think she'd really cry for you if you drowned out there? Do you think she'll hurt like I would hurt?" Kisses, kisses, kisses all over Lucious's face and neck. "Don't you ever leave me like that again, you son of a bitch. I swear to God I'll kill you if you leave me again."

"What about Julio?" Lucious asked, trying to be somewhat honorable but growing weak-kneed at Cookie's touch and taste.

"I don't want to talk about Julio," Cookie growled in Lucious's ear. She grabbed Lucious by the hair and yanked his head to where they were eye to eye. "I don't want Julio. I don't love Julio. I love you." Cookie grabbed Lucious's swim trunks and dropped to the deck floor, taking his swim trunks with her, then came up on her knees. "And I am going to suck your soul out of your body through your balls, Lucious Lyon." Cookie shed her bikini top and looked up at Lucious. "Because you love me and you gave me three sons and because I...love...you."

"Oh, God..." Lucious ran his hands through Cookie's hair, biting his lower lip and mumbling curses until he couldn't take it anymore. Bringing Cookie to her feet, Lucious pushed Cookie forward until Cookie was facing the ocean, her hands gripping the rail tightly as she braced herself for the waves of pleasure that she'd been wanting since the second she first stepped foot on the yacht.

There was something so basic about it all, almost primal. The sun on their skin, the wind drying the sweat on their bodies, the soft pop-pop-pop of skin against skin, the sounds of enjoyment - too intense for words, just sounds - the bouncing of breasts and soft nipping of lips, collarbones, nipples and earlobes added to the delicious thrill of having sex on the yacht that their hard work had brought them. Lucious tried not to make any marks on Cookie's skin, but Cookie had no such boundaries.

As they changed positions and moved to the deck chairs and the sun began to set, Lucious's back was decorated with bright, red scratches and tiny droplets of blood. "Please," Cookie moaned in his ear when Lucious began to stroke slower and slower, teasing her clit with the head of his cock. She was close, so damned close. "Please, Lucious..."

"Say it," Lucious growled in Cookie's ear, though he was barely holding on himself. "Tell me what you want me to do." He already knew, but he just wanted to hear her say it.

"Oh, God!...come inside me, Lucious." Cookie rode Lucious's lap harder, her head thrown back and eyes closed tight with delight. "Please...please come inside me-oh, oh...yes!" Cookie tilted her head back, her face to the stars. "Yes! Oh, my God, Lucious!"

Under the moonlight, Lucious and Cookie kissed and cuddled, their love renewed under nature's sky. "Why'd you ask me to do that?" Lucious asked, half asleep from their lovemaking.

"Ask you to do what?" Cookie said coyly.

Lucious stretched his body out. "Asked me to come inside of you."

"I...I don't know." Cookie nuzzled her face against Lucious's neck. "I guess I just wanted it to feel like old times."

"Last time we were together," Lucious reminded her, "you told me to use a condom. Now you got me hittin' it raw?" They laughed. "Well, I'm not going to protest about it. Maybe my nut is magic and can make everything like old times again."

"I hope you're right," Cookie cracked up.

Lucious kissed Cookie's temple. "I hope you're pregnant," he said softly in her ear.

Pregnant!? Cookie almost fainted, though she was lying down.Pregnant! She would be 47 when their child was born. 31, 27, 21 and a newborn. Cookie had already made it plain to Angelo that she had no intentions of having some miracle child or a surrogate mother for Angelo's sake. She'd given birth to three children and had no desire to do it all over again, especially not at her age.

But under God's sky, Lucious's wish almost seemed plausible. They weren't young, but they weren't old, either. Hell, hadn't Lucious swum the length of the Den twice? And Cookie was in the best shape she'd ever been in. "Maybe," Cookie finally said, barely believing what she was saying.

"Well, then." Lucious tapped Cookie's bare ass, alerting her to stand. Cookie stood up and they both walked naked back into the wine cellar at the bottom of the Den. "Let's toast to maybe," Lucious suggested, pouring two glasses of Chateau Margaux. "How about it?"

The last time the two of them had toasted to maybe, Lucious wound up marrying Anika. But maybe this time...maybe this time it would all be different. "To maybe," she said slowly. Then Cookie took the bottle of wine and poured over her naked body, adding to the wetness that was already between her thighs.

"Do you trust me?" Lucious asked the next morning after feeding Cookie a delicious meal prepared by the ship's cook. She needed the nourishment after their vigorous exercise that morning in bed with Lucious. They laid out on the deck of the Den, naked and sated and not having a care in the world.

17 years in jail...fo' hunnit thousand dollars...Boo Boo Kitty and Angelo... "Yes." It made her a fool, she knew, but Cookie didn't care, not out here, not in the beauty of nature.

"Good." Lucious reached underneath his deck chair and produced a life jacket. "Put it on and come with me."

Cookie's heart jumped into her throat when Lucious skillfully dove headfirst into the ocean, even while knowing that Lucious was a strong swimmer. She was relieved when Lucious bobbed up a good 20 feet away from the boat. Who could imagine that the boy from south Philly would be swimming beside his own yacht? We both made it, Cookie told herself.

"Come on, Cookie," Lucious coaxed. "Jump in. The life vest will keep you afloat."

"Hell, naw! All kinds of sharks and dolphins n'shit up in that water. Probably more fish pee than anything."

Lucious floated on his back, as fearless as always. "C'mon, Cookie. Get in the water with me. Come down that ladder there." He swam over to the ladder and gestured towards Cookie. "Daddy got you, babe."

Gingerly, Cookie lowered her body into the sea wearing nothing except the lifeguard vest. It was exhilarating to be able to move and float around while being perfectly still. Cookie kicked her legs, giggling at the feeling of the sea between her legs. After assuring herself that she was going to stay above water, Cookie carefully floated into Lucious's waiting arms. "I got you," Lucious assured Cookie, emphasizing his words with kiss after kiss. "I always got you, Cookie."

All through that Valentine's Day holiday, Lucious and Cookie returned to the water, even after landing in the Bahamas. By the time the two of them set sail for the U.S. again, Cookie could even manage a doggie paddle and float on her back for a short time. Away from Angelo and Anika, Lucious and Cookie's love was as strong and as large as the sea that enveloped their anniversary rings. There was no maybe out here. In the Lyons' Den, the answer was always, always yes.

When Arielle begged Anika to help volunteer at her daughter Kanessa's Valentine's Day party, Anika drove up to Albany to pass out candy, cupcakes and juice to over 80 pre-kindergartners. Anika was surprised to find herself almost nervous, even anxious, in the face of dozens of three and four-year-olds. Being locked up for so long with very little company had rendered Anika agoraphobic, even in the face of sugar-filled children.

But Arielle was there, and so was her darling Kanessa. Anika also had help from the principal of Kanessa's school. The familiar face of Delilah Washington - twin sister of Angelo's mother, Diana Washington Dubois - made things a lot easier for Anika. Now nine months old, Bella was old enough to enjoy her very first cupcake and a sippy cup of juice. Everyone loved little Bella and little Bella loved everybody, though she side eyed Ms. Washington from time to her new residence in the guest home, Anika bathed and played with Bella until she was good and sleepy. "How could you get so sticky with just a little juice and cake?" she teased. Anika also had a scare when Bella's diaper was filled with bright red poop before she remembered the food coloring in the red velvet cake. Bella laughed and splashed around as if her potential rectal bleeding death was the funniest thing in the world.

Hakeem came by to give Anika her Valentine's Day gift and to pick up Bella. Even though Anika wasn't out of town, he still wanted to spend Valentine's Day with his daughter. "I just want you to know how much I care about you, Anika," he told her, presenting Anika with a beautiful hardback set of James Baldwin books. "You gave me my daughter, and no matter what, I'll always have love for you for that."

"Thank you, Hakeem. I can't wait to dig into these tonight." Books and sleep - what more could a new mother want for a gift?

An hour later, Anika's doorbell rang again. "What does this boy want?" Anika muttered, fresh from a long, hot bath and deep into Giovanni's Room. But it was Malcolm, not Hakeem, who stood on the other side of the door. "Malcolm!" Anika greeted excitedly, then tried to temper her voice. "I thought you were in D.C. for a conference?"

"I was. Conference is over." Malcolm looked so handsome in his suit and tie – not much different than he looked every day, but there was something different about that night that made Malcolm look sexier than ever. "Lucious told me that you moved down here...mind if I come in and take a look around? I did the security system here ages ago, but I just want to take a quick look around."

Anika stepped back to let Malcolm in before she remembered why she was pissed off with him in the first place. She stayed in the living room with her book as Malcolm went from door to door. "Here's a Valentine's Day-slash-housewarming gift," Malcolm said when he returned, thrusting a small package in Anika's hands and looking everywhere but at her face.

Anika wasn't expecting a visit from Malcolm, much less a gift. When she saw what was inside, Anika remembered why she was so taken with Malcolm for a friend. Malcolm knew how hard Anika had been looking for a rose in a glass case, much like the one described in The Little Prince. The best she'd been able to find were all related to Beauty and the Beast, with its until-the-last-petal-falls motif. Malcolm's rose was exactly the kind of rose Anika had been looking for. It wasn't one of those cheap polyester roses with a hard, plastic case. If Anika didn't know better, she would have sworn the rose and the grass were real. "Malcolm, it's beautiful.""Thanks," Malcolm answered. "I thought it would make a nice housewarming gift for Bella's new nursery."

"For Bella's new..." Anika couldn't have felt dumber. The gift was for Bella, not for Anika. Malcolm followed Anika into the nursery, where she placed the glass-cased rose by Bella's crib. "How was your date?" she said sarcastically, keeping her eyes on Malcolm's gift.

"Date?"

"Don't give me that look, Malcolm. Lucious told me that you weren't coming home until the weekend because of your little Valentine's Day date."

Anika turned to look at Malcolm, who looked genuinely confused. "And what did Lucious Lyon, the beacon of truth and accuracy, have to say about my so-called date?"

Anika felt like Malcolm was making fun of her, but she pushed on anyway. "Lucious told me that you were going to marry her, but your parents said you were too young. He said..." Anika swallowed back her tears and tried to keep her voice from trembling. "He said that she's...she's your first love."

"Wow. For once, Lucious told the truth. That must've hurt his mouth." Malcolm leaned up against the wall while Anika's eyes nearly cut Malcolm in half. "We were lying next to each other on a blanket after a picnic when I asked her to marry me. She said yes, but our parents said we were too young to get married." Malcolm chuckled. "If someone had told us that no one would wed an eight-year-old and a five-year-old, I could've saved myself a lot of heartache."

"Cute story," Anika said flatly. "So what's the deal now?" Anika turned her back to Malcolm and began talking to the glass-encased rose again. "Are the two of you in love again? Is that what you came down here to tell me - that you still want to marry this girl, your first love?"

"Oh, she'll always be my first love," Malcolm mused. He pulled out his cell phone, flipped through the pictures, and smiled at the one he was looking for. "But since our fathers are still brothers, I doubt if anything will come out of it."

"Your fathers are...brothers?" Anika whirled around and found Malcolm struggling not to laugh. "You punk ass!" Anika shoved Malcolm with all her strength when she finally got the joke. Snatching the phone from Malcolm's hands, Anika's guess was confirmed. "You went out with Olivia Pope!""My cousin says hello," Malcolm's smile was so beautiful that Anika had to forgive him on the spot. "I told Lucious that I was going out with my cousin...can't imagine why he left that part out. Can you?"

Anika shook her head and laughed. Her heart was so filled with joy. "Nope. Can't imagine why."

"What a bas...whatever. Anyway, I left Pope and Associates on some pretty foul terms, so I had the perfect chance to take Olivia out to brunch and tell her how sorry I was. Liv helped me do some Valentine's Day shopping for the special ladies in my life."Malcolm pulled a small Tiffany blue box, the kind that held jewelry, and opened it. "Pour toi (for you)." His eyes were warm and a little anxious.

"Oh, my God." Inside the box was a rose on a rose gold chain with a brilliant diamond in the middle. Lucious kept Anika's hands heavy with beautiful jewelry, but it was all so large and ostentatious, not Anika's taste at all at all. Malcolm's necklace was perfect - large enough to warrant a second look if noticed, but not large enough to draw attention from across the 's excitement faded when Anika didn't say anything else, even though her mouth was wide open. "Do you like it?" he asked anxiously. "I wanted to buy a matching bracelet, but Olivia said that would be overdoing it."

"It's beautiful," Anika whispered through her tears. "Put it on me, Malcolm, please." Everything about Malcolm that Anika been trying to forget came flooding back as Malcolm stood behind Anika - his scent, his smile, his gentle touch as his hands brushed against her skin. The cool metal against her bare skin made Anika flush with excitement. "Thank you, Malcolm," she said. "I...I don't even know what to say."

Beaming (not to mention relieved), Malcolm wrapped his arms around Anika and kissed the side of her neck. "Where can I make love to you?" he asked.

"What?" Anika was trying to sound casual, but she was sure that Malcolm could hear her heart pounding from behind her.

Malcolm turned Anika around and smiled, gently pushing her robe off her body until it pooled around her bare feet. "Where...can I...make love to you?" he asked again.

In a home with over 4,000 square feet, the answer was damn near anywhere.

Nighttime situations become different in the morning.

Malcolm nearly said good morning when Anika got out of bed and reached for her robe. He stopped himself in time, feigning sleep instead. If Anika wanted Malcolm to be little more than her cut buddy, so be it. He'd be damned if he simped himself out again. The necklace was bad enough. Malcolm would be damned if he was going to beg this woman to be with him. After a while, the rummaging around the bathroom made Malcolm more and more irritated. What the hell was Anika doing in there, anyway? Was this her way of telling him to get lost?

Just when Malcolm was about to get out of bed, Anika came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her rose necklace. She climbed back into bed, wrapped her arms around Malcolm's waist, and gave a contented sigh. Elated, Malcolm turned over to face Anika, no longer caring if she saw him awake or not. Anika smiled up at him, placed a kiss on the tip of his nose, then snuggled up in his arms. "When you're ready to get up," Anika said sleepily, "let me know so I can fix you some breakfast, okay?"

"Mmm." Malcolm sat up, climbed on top of Anika and made his way down her naked body. "I already know what I want to eat for breakfast," he announced, making a trail of kisses down to where he wanted his mouth to be. I won, Malcolm thought as Anika writhed with pleasure. I won!

With Anika out with Malcolm, Hakeem upstairs with his daughter and Jamal off to do some work in his office with Lucious, Cookie no longer had a reason to avoid Angelo's calls. Taking a deep breath, Cookie dialed Angelo's number. Angelo's voice was so cool on the other end of the phone that Cookie knew that her relationship with the mayor was finished. "I'm sorry I missed your calls all week," she apologized lamely.

"How was your business trip?" Angelo asked pointedly, knowing full well that Cookie was hardly doing any business while she was gone.

"Angelo." He knew. And the worst part was that Cookie didn't even care that he knew. She didn't care how he found out.

"Forget it, Cookie," Angelo interrupted. "Look, let's just cut this off before I say something I regret."

"I'm sorry. Please, Angelo..." Cookie pleaded. "I don't want it to end like this."

"Then how to do you want it to end?"

"As...as friends?" Cookie asked meekly. It sounded ridiculous the minute it came out of her mouth, and Angelo let her know it. "Look, Angelo," Cookie tried to explain. "It's not you. Please, you have to understand that. What me and Lucious have...it's complicated. I couldn't explain this to you if I tried, but if you'd just let me-"

"Lucious?" Angelo cut Cookie off. "What does Lucious have to do with anything?"

"I meant to call you when we were on vacation," Cookie began. "It's just that I got so caught up on my work...these trips are business trips, Angelo. It just...it just happened."

The silence on the end of the line was so loud that Cookie found herself wishing that Angelo would just cuss her out or hang up the phone of something. Just when Cookie was convinced that Angelo had hung up on her, he spoke. "You...went on vacation...with Lucious?"

Oh, fuck. Cookie said nothing as Angelo let loose a stream of curse words, calling her every name in the book. She deserved it. Everything Angelo was saying about Cookie was true. Her heart was pounding wildly and only one thought raced through Cookie's mind: she was never going to be the First Lady of New York City.

Thank God. Thank God.

Cookie didn't want to be First Lady of New York City. She never wanted to be the First Lady of New York City. Hell, Cookie Lyon was barely a lady, period. Cookie Lyon was a woman who lost her virginity in a hotel-slash-crack den when she was just 15; who, with the help of extremely shady people and cocaine, was legally married at just 16; who slung drugs and did time and had no formal education and liked it hot and hard and up against the wall or bent over a chair with her face and back dripping in warmth. Had Angelo merely remained a councilman, perhaps Cookie could have been happy with Angelo. But First Lady? Could one be First Lady and enjoy backshots?

The unasked question made Cookie laugh out loud. There was going to be an announcement over the news, of course. Hell, now that Angelo knew what was up with her and Lucious, they could get rid of Malcolm. Who cared if the pictures dropped now?

But no...no. For starters, if Malcolm was fired from Empire – or if he quit again – Empire's security would be in shambles. Nearly all of Malcolm's security team quit Empire with days of Malcolm's departure, and nearly all of them came back when he did. Since then, the worst security breach that had happened was the occasional spam email.

Second, to his credit, Malcolm lived and breathed Empire, just like everybody else. He may have been a war veteran with severe PTSD. He may have slept with both of Lucious's wives behind his back. But as far as Cookie was concerned, if Anika wanted Malcolm – God knew Cookie wouldn't inflict Malcolm's soft ass on anybody but Anika – let him have her. Cookie was free. And Anika was...pulling up into the driveway in Malcolm's truck.

"The hell?" Cookie asked aloud. She'd only been gone about 10 minutes, if that long. "What's going on?" Cookie asked Hakeem, who was coming down the stairs with her daughter strapped into her carrier, which doubled as a car seat.

Hakeem, his face stormy, didn't answer his mother. He answered the door before the bell even rang. As Anika, red-eyed and staring at the ground, spoke quietly to Hakeem, Cookie looked out the window in disbelief. There was Malcolm, exiting the truck and storming down the driveway, looking like he would strangle the next person who dared to speak to him. What in the world could have happened to make Anika come back, when she was so excited just a little while ago?

Cookie walked out the front door and past the driveway, where Hakeem and Anika were having a conversation as they were securing Bella in Malcolm's truck. Malcolm had walked halfway down the drive, far away from them both when Cookie managed to catch up to him. "Malcolm!" Cookie dared to ask. "What's going on? What happened?"

"What happened?" Malcolm spun around and glared at Cookie with genuine rage in his eyes. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened. Lucious happened! That's what!"

"What do you mean?" Cookie asked. "What, did he call her while you were driving? Text her or something?"

"He doesn't have to, Cookie. Don't you get it? He's in her head." Malcolm folded his arms tightly and looked towards the mansion. "I mean, one minute we were laughing and joking. Then she was just smiling a little. Then she got really quiet. By the time we hit the freeway, Anika was crying. What else could I do other than bring her home?" Malcolm sighed heavily. "Lucious doesn't have to say anything, Cookie. He doesn't have to do anything. She's always going to be his - just like you, Cookie!"

Cookie ignored Malcolm's stinging barb. "Let me talk to her, Malcolm. Please, just let me talk to her, okay?"

"You can have her, for all I care," Malcolm muttered. "Take her to Lucious. You two can fight over him together. Grab some whipped cream and Jell-O and you can make some money off it."

"Hey! Give it a rest, Malcolm." Anika was sitting in the passenger's seat, staring out the window. Making her way back up the drive, Cookie tapped the glass and gestured for Anika to get out of the truck. She wanted a private moment with the younger woman, away from Hakeem and Malcolm.

Anika got out of the truck with tears streaming down her face. She looked like a teenager who had just come home after sneaking out of the house. "It's alright, Anika," Cookie said tenderly, drawing Anika into a much-needed hug. She knew what it was like to be in Lucious's iron-tight grip. "It's alright, baby girl. You got your foot out the door," Cookie reminded Anika. "You should be proud of that."

"I'm not scared of Lucious, Cookie." Anika ran her hands through her hair. "I don't care about what he does to me anymore. And I know that he'll never hurt Bella."

"He won't hurt you, either," Cookie assured Anika. "Lucious is all mouth. He would never try to hurt you, Anika. He just wants you to think that he will."

"Oh, yeah? What about Malcolm? Cookie, if Lucious does something to Malcolm because of me..." Anika broke down crying again, and Cookie felt goose bumps running up her arms. Hadn't she had the very same thoughts upon coming back from the Berkshires? "Don't hurt him, Lucious. He's gone now. Leave Malcolm alone, Lucious...please?"

"That's up to you, Cookie. It's all up to you."

Malcolm, who had been talking with Hakeem at the bottom of the driveway, came back up to his truck. "Let's go, Anika." Cookie stepped back and let Malcolm help Anika into the passenger's seat. With the door closed, Malcolm turned to Cookie. "Pool house. 20 minutes," he ordered in a soft, low voice. "We have to talk."Before Cookie could say another word, Malcolm got back into his truck and drove away, Anika and Bella in tow.

Note: Sacrifice was written back during season one, where there was a running joke in our fandom that Malcolm left New York for D.C. to work for Olivia Pope. When I found a rash of pictures of the two of them together, I made them cousins.