"I was born in 1520," Tony finally spoke. He paused taking a fortifying breath. "At least, I think so, time just blends together after awhile," he said with a nervous laugh.

He ran his hands through his short black hair. It was much shorter than it used to be. It had been at least a hundred years since he wore his hair long and pulled back in a ponytail, but he still missed it.

He picked up his wine glass and then set it further away from him. Anything for an extra moment to collect his thoughts.

He took a deep breath agsin and plowed forward, "I come from a wealthy family, who owned one of the largest vineyards in Italy. By the time I was sixteen, I was fully groomed to take over the family business. And to be married."

Tony got up from his chair to pace the floor. He noticed the shocked faces of his friends. He had never told them fully about his past. Especially not that he had been married. And never about...

His heart clenched. Not yet, he couldn't think of him yet. He must, but, for now, it must be about Eliana. And about Massi. How it had all began.

"I was betrothed to the daughter of the neighboring vineyard owners. Our parents had wanted us to merge the two vineyards with our marriage. We were nothing more than another business transaction. Our parents were forcing us to marry. It had been arranged since we were toddlers. Children had no say in their betrothals back then. I had avoided Eliana, for most of my life, because of this reason." Tony said, and stared blankly at the floor.

He tried to remain emotionless though he could feel the pain starting to creep back into his bones.

"As I grew older, I became what you might call a ladies man." Tony shot Jake a look warning him to not make the comment that he knew was ready on Jake's lips.

"Women flocked to me as if I was the greatest thing on earth. This pumped up my ego quite a bit. I loved all of the attention that I received from them. Of course, I still do." He said with an unapologetic shrug.

"My friend, Massimiliano, and I often competed for the ladies. It was a game to us, and we enjoyed it immensely. Some nights, Massi would walk away with the lady that we were competing for, and other times, it was me. My father grew tired of these games and he insisted that I stop the flirtations with women and concentrate on the vineyard. He said that I was betrothed to Eliana, so if I wanted a lady, I should just go marry her. I still refused to go see her. I felt that she was my future prison not a future companion," he paused again, taking another breath, preparing himself for the memories to come flooding back.

"One night, at a dinner party that I attended, I heard a discussion that Eliana had turned into a beautiful young lady and that her father had to threaten many men off of his land. This actually made me quite jealous, as Eliana belonged to me, and shouldn't be receiving the attentions of any other men. One night, I snuck over to their property. Through the dining room window, I was able to watch her eat supper with her family. And she was, indeed, the most beautiful creature that I had ever laid eyes on.

To my parents delight, I begged them to invite Eliana and her family over for a dinner party as soon as possible. My parents had already invited several other families to come over sometime the following month, so they included Eliana's family as well."

The memory of that night was as clear as if it had been the night before. The five hundred years of trying to repress those memories were fruitless. Tony let the memory rush at him.

***************************

"Massi!" Tony exclaimed as he opened his front door.

"Antonio, it's good to see you old friend," Massimiliano said, shaking Tony's hand enthusiastically.

His friend smiled the dazzling smile that always had the ladies smiling. His nearly black eyes were, as usual, sparkling with mischief. He stood still outside the doorway, raising an eyebrow at Antonio.

"Well, aren't you coming in?" Tony asked with a laugh.

"Am I invited?" Massi asked curiously.

Tony laughed again, "Of course you're invited! What kind of question is that? You're always welcome, you know that!" Tony exclaimed, stepping back to allow his friend to enter.

Massi stepped into the foyer of marble.

"It's been too long, my friend," Tony said, closing the large wooden door.

"Yes, it has. But I have returned home to stay," Massi said, while admiring his reflection in the large mirror, set in a gold frame, and smoothed back his long brown hair that was held back in a ponytail.

"That is good, besides, we can use a good doctor."

Massi turned from the mirror. "It is a shame that I will be replacing such a fine doctor as Cosimo. His death was a tragedy to all of Italy," Massi said, straightening his jacket.

"Indeed," Tony replied solemnly, leading his friend into the sitting room.

Tony and Massi conversed with the other guests and finally sat down next to each other. Tony was anxious to see Eliana and surprisingly was nervous as well. That was unusual for him. He never got nervous over a woman.

His mother shortly entered with Eliana, both Tony and Massimiliano stood up from their chairs as she entered.

Her long, curly, black hair was pulled back with butterfly shaped combs. Stained glass was throughout the combs, making different colors for the wings.

Her dress was long and red, which showed off her sunkissed skin and chocolate brown eyes. A small couple stood behind her, smiling.

Their eldest son, Salvatore, had died many years before from a plague. Eliana, by marrying Antonio, was their only hope in continuing the family vineyard at the level and quality of life to which they were accustomed.

Theirs and Tony's family's vineyards would eventually become one and make both families even more wealthy than they already were.

"Antonio, your betrothed, Eliana," Eliana's father said, joining Eliana's hand with Tony's, beaming with pride.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Eliana," Tony told her, lifting her hand to place a kiss across her knuckles.

Eliana nodded and her father walked away smiling.

"That is not what I heard." Eliana whispered fiercely, snatching her hand back.

Massimiliano chuckled loudly.

Eliana shot him a glare and walked away. She headed towards the piano and sat down on the bench. With one last annoyed glance over her shoulder for Tony, she began to play a popular tune.

"This one will be difficult," Massi approached Tony's side.

"Massi, she is mine," Tony anwered in a serious tone to his friend.

He wasn't playing games with Eliana. She was his. He wasn't giving Massi any chance at her.

His friend looked at him.in surprise. "You will not compete for her affections?"

"No. She is betrothed to me. She is mine by right."

"Have you lost your competitive spirit?" Massi asked him, frowning.

"No. There is nothing to compete on, Massi. She is mine already!"

A short snort came from his friend. "It doesn't seem like she wants you, Antonio," Massi said sarcastically.

"She will in time," Tony said confidently.

He would marry Eliana and she would grow to love him. He wanted her and that was all there was to it.

They watched and listened to Eliana beautifully play the piano. The music pulled at Tony's heart and he knew that he had to do whatever it took to win Eliana's heart.

Throughout the night, Tony used all his charm on Eliana, but she refused to respond to it. Tony never had a problem with women like this before and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Especially, since she was the one woman that he actually did want. And not for just one night in his bed. But for every night in his bed. The only one who would ever be in his bed again.

Eliana's mother suggested, towards the end of the evening, that Tony take Eliana for a walk in his mother's gorgeous garden. The two abided by her wish.

"What have I done to upset you, Eliana?" Tony asked after several minutes of walking in silence.

"You have done nothing," she replied shortly. She grasped to pull her shawl closer to her as it was falling down around her arms.

Tony turned to her and helped her put it back around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said in an irritated tone and tried to march ahead of him.

"You have been avoiding me all night," he called after her, picking up his pace.

"You have been avoiding me all of our lives," Eliana retorted angrily.

"Is that what this is about?"

"A prison is what our marriage would be? That is what I heard you had said," Eliana growled and walked hurriedly away from him.

"Eliana, I am sorry for what you heard. It is true. I had said that. But let me explain."

She turned to him, crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him furiously.

"That was before I was ready for marriage. I did not know what marriage was, what love was. But I do now, Eliana. I want that with you. I'm in love with you."

Eliana laughed. "Love me? You have hated me our whole lives and suddenly you say you love me. Now you understand what love and marriage is?! Tell me, Antonio, what gave you such enlightenment?"

"You. I saw you."

She studied him.

"Not tonight, although, I feel the same, but I had gone to your house one night. I was jealous. I heard you had many suitors. And this made me angry because I knew you belonged to me. But I was curious as to what would make so many men risk being threatened off your father's property."

Eliana smiled slightly at that.

"I saw you in the window of your dining room. You sat at the table and you were laughing to whatever tale your mother was telling you. And you were so beautiful. I never saw anyone as beautiful in my entire life. And it was not only your beauty that got to me, Eliana. I felt your laughter when you laughed and it filled my heart with such warmth. I wanted to be sitting next to you at that table and have you laugh at my tales. Will you not give me one night to prove to you how much I love you?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. After a moment, she opened her eyes and smiled softly.

"We will have many nights together for me to laugh at your tales, Antonio, although I hear I will be doing much laughing at how absurd they are."

She took his hand and smiled as their fingers entwined.

Tony kissed her hand. It fit perfectly into his. Their eyes met and he knew that she was his match. The other part of his soul.

****************************

"We were married two months later. And almost two years into our marriage, our son, Demetrio, was born," Tony said, as he stopped his pacing, and grabbed his glass of wine again.

He took a long drink of the now warm wine. He looked at his friends' shocked faces. They hadn't known that he had been married nor that he had had a son. He wondered if they were shocked just to be shocked or shocked that he had withheld that information from them.

It hurt him deeply to speak of Eliana and of Demetrio. So, he never did. It was best to let the dead rest in peace.

He poured himself another glass of wine and took a drink. He felt his homeland fill his body as the wine traveled down his throat, down to his stomach, and into his veins.

A lot of vampires said if you leave your homeland, it is best to take dirt from your land with you. It helps keep your strength up. Instead of dragging around a pile of dirt, as most vampires did, Tony dragged around bottles and bottles of wine from his vineyard. This gave him more strength than any pile of dirt. This he actually consumed and he could feel Italy within him. He could feel his father and his grandfather's love of the land in that wine.

And he could feel his Eliana and his Demetrio. He could see their smiling faces as they laughed at his poor jokes. He saw the sparkle of love in their eyes as they told him that it was the funniest thing they ever heard, even if they heard it a hundred times before. And even when it wasn't funny at all.

"Eliana and Demetrio were my life. I lived, I breathed and I existed purely for them," Tony explained.

He looked at them, their faces were still slack in shock, and Tony began to pace the floor again.

"The life that I had known before disappeared the night Eliana and I had finally met. No longer did I have interest in many women. I did not care about hanging out with my friends. I longed to pull myself away from the vineyard and into the house to see Eliana and Demetrio," Tony told them, feeling the memories of his wife and son rush into him.

He pushed back the longing to forget so he wouldn't hurt. He didn't want to hurt like that ever again. But he needed to do this. It was time to let go. To let them go.

****************************

"Papa!" six year old Demetrio exclaimed as Tony entered the backyard of the house.

There was a stone wall around the perimeter of the back of the house and in the center a large gate that led to the vineyard below. Demetrio had once fallen off that wall, scarring his bare back on a stone that had come loose. Tony inspected the wall daily now, ensuring that every stone was in place and was secure. He reminded his son daily not to climb on it even though Demetrio had learned his lesson.

The fall had even shaken Massi. Antonio had caught the tail end of the scolding Massi had given Demetrio as Massi finished stitching him up. A lecture on not worrying the boy's mother, it seemed to have been. Demetrio had left the room in tears, more upset he'd disappointed his parents than in bodily injury.

Tony smiled as he saw his son was again safe. He picked him up and twirled him around.

Demetrio squealed in delight.

"Really, Antonio, how is he going to grow into a gentleman, when you throw him around like that?" Antonio's mother demanded from her chair in the shade.

"I turned out fine, and father did this to me all the time," Tony replied, putting his son up on his shoulders.

"Mmm," his mother replied, turning back to her embroidery with a small smile.

"Eliana, my love," Tony declared as he knelt down to kiss his wife on the cheek as she pulled out weeds from the herbal garden.

"Antonio," she said simply and without feeling, knowing that the lack of enthusiasm would annoy him.

Tony poked her in the rib-cage and made her laugh giddily.

"Yes, Antonio, my love!" She said in mock defeat, and kissed his cheek soundly.

"That's better. Isn't it, Demetrio?" Tony said, looking up at his son.

"Yes, much better, Mama," Demetrio agreed, nodding happily.

Tony pulled his son down, sat Demetrio on his lap, and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed his son's cheek.

"I love you, Demetrio." Tony whispered in his son's ear.

His son turned around, wrapped his tiny arms around Tony's neck, and "whispered" loudly in his ear. "I love you, Papa."

Tony smiled. Eliana smiled fondly at them, put down her gardening tools, and sat down beside them. She linked her hand under Tony's arm and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Isn't this a charming sight?" Massi said, entering the yard through the gate.

Tony stood up and shook his friend's hand. "Good day, Massi."

"I wish it were. I came to warn you."

"Warn us? Of what?" Eliana asked, as she rose to her feet, brushing her hand over her apron covering her dress.

"A plague of some kind. Coming this way, rapidly."

Eliana pulled Demetrio close to her.

"How close?" Tony asked, putting an arm around Eliana's shoulders to sooth her.

Massi frowned. "Within days. That is my guess," Massi said with a sigh. "I apologize. I need to get back to town. Take care of your family, Antonio. Keep them far from town."

"I will," Tony said, picking up Demetrio and holding him tightly.

Tony rapidly heard of the vineyard workers collapsing in the field from the plague. Soon his father fell ill, as well. And then, his mother. They died on the same day, hand in hand.

Tony, with the help of some of the house staff, burned their bodies and the furniture in the room they had confined themselves to.

Not long after his parents had departed this earth, Eliana started coughing in the middle of the night. It was evident that she had contracted the devastating plague... and within a day of her falling ill, so had little Demetrio.

Tony's heart broke into a million pieces. His parents' death had been hard enough on him. Now, his Eliana and his Demetrio, dear, sweet, Demetrio, would be taken down the same path to death. He could not bear it and he cried like a wild animal caught in a painful trap.

Tony dismissed the remaining house staff and vineyard workers and told them all to stay away until the plague was over. He nursed his Eliana and his Demetrio, day after day, and night after night.

But instead of getting better, they only grew much worse each day. He knew that no matter what he did, he would lose them, just as he had lost his parents.

"Antonio. Demetrio," Eliana whispered. Tony looked up from the bible that he had been reading aloud to them. "I... love you," she whispered and her eyes rolled back.

"No!" Tony shouted and grabbed her.

"Mama?" Demetrio whispered. His tiny hand reached across the bed covers for hers.

"She's gone, baby," he put a hand on his son's chest, then kissed his wife's lips softly.

He fought back the tears and the screams that bore within him. He had to be strong in front of Demetrio. He picked up his son and held him close.

"She's gone to be with grandma and grandpa?" Demetrio asked.

"Yes," Tony answered in a strangled tone, biting back a sob, and kissed the top of his son's sweaty, black curly hair.

"They will take care of her," Demetrio said certainly, looking up at Tony.

Tony looked into his son's beautiful light brown eyes. Tony's eyes. His son's eyes no longer looked wide and innocent as they used to. They were filled with wisdom and understanding of what was to come.

"And then, I will take care of her too," Demetrio said solemnly.

"No, Demetrio," Tony said desperately, pulling his son closer to him. "It's not your time yet. You have much to live for. You must fight this! You understand?!" Tony told him fervently.

"Papa. I'm so tired," Demetrio said, snuggling into Tony. "I want to go to sleep now."

"It's okay, my son. You rest," Tony said, picking up his son. "You need your rest to get well again."

He took Demetrio to his bed as he did not want him lying next to his deceased mother in Tony and Eliana's bed. "Papa, if I die tonight..." Demetrio said, pulling up the covers.

"You will not die tonight," Tony told his son firmly, but Demetrio had already fallen asleep.

Tony raked a hand over his face. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be losing them both. Tony held Demetrio's hand and sat on the bed watching him sleep.

He didn't know how long he sat there watching his son until a rapid pounding on the door gained his attention.

Tony blew out the candle on the bedside table, and left the room.

He slowly made it down the stairs and down the long hallway to the front door. He opened it, not eager to gain any more bad news from neighbors. For, that could be all that came to his door.

"I just heard it has come to your house, too!" Massi exclaimed rushing in. "I'm sorry about your parents," he continued, pulling off his cape and tossing it on a nearby chair.

"Eliana's gone," Tony told him numbly.

"What?! No! Where is she, damn it?" Massi demanded, grabbing Tony by the front of his shirt.

Tony pointed down the hall and watched as his friend ran to the stairs and up them.

Tony took his time climbing the stairs knowing there was nothing that Massi could do for Eliana. She had been gone for some time now, though he'd lost track of the time.

Demetrio was his concern now. What remaining energy he had left, all would be given to keep his son alive.

"I'm too late." Massi whispered, holding Eliana's hand, and looked at Tony regretfully with tear filled eyes.

"There was nothing you could have done, my friend. I know this," Tony said, looking at his wife lying stiffly on the bed that they had shared.

"And Demetrio?" Massi asked with concern.

"He's still with us. He is hanging on." Tony brushed some tears from his eyes. "He's always been a fighter, my boy. But even for him," Tony's voice became strangled, "I fear there's not much hope."

"May I see him?"

Tony nodded, "Of course. He is sleeping, but if wakes, he'll be happy to see his Uncle Massi."

He watched as his friend fled the room. He knew that Massi loved his son like a nephew.

Tony was glad that his friend had come. He knew there was nothing that Massi could do for them. But, at least, he could say goodbye.

Tony sat down next to his wife and cried until he had nothing left inside of him.

****************************

"Antonio," Massi said, putting a hand on his shoulder sometime later. "Let me look at you."

Tony wiped his tears and bore through his friend's examination, knowing what he'd find.

"You are coming down with it, as well."

Tony nodded. "I thought so."

"It's not too late for you, my friend," Massi said, holding Tony's arm in a tight grip.

"What do you mean?"

"I could not help Eliana and Demetrio. They were too far into the stages of the plague. But you are not. You are in the first stage. I can help you."

"How can you help me?"

"Do you want to live, Antonio?"

"Of course, I want to live. Who does not want to live?"

"I can make you live forever."

Tony laughed. "No one can live forever."

"I can."

"Massi, I think perhaps you are getting the plague, too. Come, I will make you up a bed," Tony said, getting up.

"No. You do not understand, old friend, I am what they call a vampire," Massi told him, blocking his path.

Massi opened his mouth, and long, sharp, fangs like a bat's fell into place.

Tony stumbled back and fell back into his chair.

"I nearly died myself five years ago until someone made me into this. Now, I will never die."

Tony shook his head not believing.

"Have I not aged as you have? I still appear to be eighteen and yet you appear to be in your twenties. You do not see this?"

"I didn't really notice. You always look the same to me, Massi," Tony said, trying to control his breathing.

"Do you not want to stay young, healthy, and alive?"

"I do not want to live forever. Not without Eliana, not without Demetrio. I would rather die tomorrow than live without them."

"Demetrio is gone, too," Massi told him coldly.

Tony looked at him in shock and disbelief. He got up to run to his son's room.

Massi blocked him. "There is nothing you can do, my friend. He is gone. I burned his body already. I did not want you to have to go through that. You've been through enough."

"NO!" Tony screamed and fell to the floor in agony.

"I know you would have wanted to say goodbye. But I also know you could not handle seeing him that way. I could hardly stand to myself. Antonio, I am so sorry."

Massi knelt and rubbed Tony's back. "I will do the same for Eliana," Massi said, pulling his friend off the floor. "It's too much for you, but it must be done. I wish it wasn't this way and we could give them a decent burial, but we cannot with the plague...."

"No, I will do it," Tony said between sobs, trying to pull himself together. He stared at his wife's lifeless body. "You could not have saved them?" he whispered.

"There's only a certain point in time, if someone is dying or has died, that you can change a person into a vampire. It has to be quick. Demetrio was past that point, and Eliana was already gone, when I got here. But it is not too late for you. Please let me help you," Massi implored.

"No. I do not want to live without them. I will die in my own time," Tony said coughing. "as I am fated to do."

Massi scoffed, "I don't know about fate. I think we can change our lives however we want them to be," he looked at Antonio and sighed, "think of your land, Antonio. Eliana's parents will be dead before the week is out, as well. There will be no one to run your land or theirs. It will be up for the grabbing. DeMarco's will leaves Demetrio as heir, when he reaches his majority, and you in charge until that time. Their land is yours. With both of you dead, the centuries of hard work your families have put into these vineyards will all be for nothing!"

"Not for nothing," Tony grumbled holding his wife's hand. "Not for nothing," he whispered, kissing her hand.

"I know this is a very difficult time for you Antonio, but time is short," Massi said softly, putting his hand on Tony's shoulder and looking down at Eliana's body.

"You do not have the luxury of time to think it over. You need to decide now. Will you come with me or will you die here and let your vineyards die with you?"

Tony looked at Eliana. What would she have wanted him to do? He knew the answer. He knew she would want him to live. To take care of the land that her family and his had worked so hard for so long to accomplish.

It should have been passed on to Demetrio, then to his children, and then their children, and so forth. But Demetrio was gone and there was no one left to pass on the family lines.

Tony would surely soon die and he did not have any more children to continue the family's legacy. How would he go on living without Eliana and Demetrio? He looked at his parents' portrait, hanging on his wall, looking down on him.

He nodded slowly, "I will live, Massi. For them. If you help me," Tony said softly.

Massi grinned. "Let's begin."

The details of it were a blur to him. One moment he sat in his chair holding his wife's hand and the next he was laying on the floor.

He remembered severe agony. Of which, he wasn't sure if it was from the pain of the transformation or the pain of the loss of his wife and child.

****************************

When he awoke, dried blood ran across his neck and down the front of his white silk shirt. He felt at his neck and discovered two large puncture wounds on the side. The bed, where his wife's body had lain, was empty.

He ran to Demetrio's room only to discover that his bed was empty as well.

"Massi?!" he yelled. His voice echoed throughout the empty house.

Tony ran to the back garden doors, pushed aside the heavy draperies, and threw the doors open. He screamed in pain as sunlight touched his flesh. He fell to the ground in agony. As quickly as he was able, he crawled back into the house. Closing the doors, he fell against them.

"What have I done? What have I done?"

He heard a deep laugh. He looked up to where the sound came from.

"Massi! The sunlight burns me," he said bewildered that could be possible.

"It will for awhile. You will need to stay inside until you build up your strength," Massi said crossing the room.

"When you are strong you will be able to face the sunlight," he leaned over to peer in Antonio's eyes.

He nodded. "Come. I brought you something," Massi told him taking his arm to help him up.

Massi supported him, with one arm around Antonio's waist and the other over his shoulder, as they walked slowly to Antonio's father's study.

A woman Tony never saw before sat on one of the dark burgundy couches. "She will feed you," Massi announced gesturing to the woman.

Tony looked at him not understanding.

"Bite her neck," Massi told him as if he should know.

"I couldn't do that!" he exclaimed outraged. The very idea was appalling!

"Antonio, that is how it is done!" Massi yelled. "Now do it or surely you will die," Massi said angrily.

"And I'd have to kill you because I gave you back your existence! An existence you said you wanted to honor your family!"

Antonio walked over to the woman.

"It is alright. I have done this before," she told him with a encouraging smile and leaned her head to the side to reveal several puncture wounds.

"Perhaps, go through another bite, it may be easier for you the first time," she said and gently pulled his head down to her neck.

Tony felt a pulling in his mouth as he breathed her scent in. But it wasn't the sweet perfume she wore that pulled him in. He could smell her blood beneath her veins. He was not repulsed, in fact, it made him hungry. He was actually famished.

He bit into her neck as he would a piece of meat. Tony felt her blood and her life rushing into to him. It made him feel strong and he needed more. He drank hungrily.

"That's enough," Massi said tapping him on the shoulder.

But Tony could not stop. The blood pulled at him demanding more.

"She is a giver, Antonio. You need to stop now or you will kill her!" Massi yelled.

At the mention of his killing her, Tony pulled away.

The woman lay lifeless on the couch.

Tony looked at her in shock and wiped blood away from his mouth.

"Damn it, Antonio, you don't kill givers. They are an asset to us. Kill anyone else, if you wish," Massi said feeling the woman's wrist for a pulse. "She'll live," he said coldly and dropped her wrist carelessly onto her lap.

"What's happening to me, Massi?" Antonio tugged at his friend's coat tails. "Please, this isn't what I expected..."

Massi laughed as Antonio had never heard him laugh before. It was almost evil and it chilled him to the bone. Where had his friend gone? As surely this wasn't he.

"You are now a vampire, my friend. And this is what vampires do."

*******************************

Months, and then years passed without Antonio knowing what he was doing. The vampirism took over him. He became like an animal with only the instinct to hunt and kill it's prey. He killed when he was hungry, anything, or anyone that was in his sights.

He somehow managed to keep the two vineyards successful in between, although he didn't remember doing much of anything but paying the workers. It was a good thing that he had good workers or the vineyards would be nothing but dirt, as far as he was watching over things.

Tony forgot about who he was and about his past. All he cared about was the present and how to obtain more to satisfy his hunger.

Massi was a great teacher. He taught him how to search for the best situations to get blood. He taught him how to hide in the darkness and be able to remain in the light.

He introduced Antonio to other vampires, as well, so Tony would know that he and Massi were not the only ones. They were a brotherhood and they looked out for each other.