(c) Alison Armstrong
While Christina sees the ring as a delightful fairytale treasure, Rafe, Alison, Livvie, and Caleb grimly contemplate its catastrophic potential. Not knowing in whose hands it lies, they endure a limbo of anxious uncertainty. At any moment their plans for the future, their very existence, could be threatened by a purposeful or accidental misuse of the ring.
Clutching the ring, little Christina, with the naïve faith and intuitive gifts of childhood, perceives its magic but is blissfully unaware of its danger. She knows that this is no ordinary piece of jewelry, no inconsequential discovery, but is, instead, the magical key unlocking possibilities she wishes could become true. Although she lovingly accepts Ian as her mother’s boyfriend, she misses her daddy, Kevin, and keeps hoping that someday her parents will get back together again. When Ian receives a call from Dr. Chris Ramsey at the hospital regarding an experimental serum designed to cure Ian’s vampirism, he leaves the picnic he had been reluctantly attending with Kevin, Lucy, and Christina. In Ian’s absence, Lucy and Kevin, closely watched by Christina, discuss their happier moments together in the past. “Come true, come true,” Christina whispers, caressing the ring as she wishes that her mommy and daddy will kiss each other. Captivated by the ring’s magic, Kevin and Lucy find themselves unable to resist the inexplicable impulse to kiss. Her wish fulfilled, Christina smiles impishly, triumphantly. Despite her innocence, she is drawn into the spell she weaves; she is seduced by the power granted by the ring.
Ironically, Christina’s innocent wishes could pose just as much of a threat as those with malevolent intent, for the ring, making no distinction between good and evil, sets into motion a chain of events culminating in the fulfillment of the wish but including unforeseen consequences. Realizing this peril and trying desperately to prevent it, Caleb, Livvie, Rafe, and Alison seek temporary solace in nostalgic re-creations of the past.
Although Alison fell in love with Rafe knowing full well that he was a vampire slayer, an angel, a magical being, she eventually yearned to have a more normal human existence with him. Having been called back to Heaven and then returned to Earth, mortal and amnesiac, Rafe managed, despite Livvie’s trickery, to reconnect with Alison. Reunited, he and Alison vowed to focus on building a future together, one no longer ruled by otherworldly powers. Their plans for a peaceful ordinary life were shattered, however, with Caleb’s resurrection as “Stephen Clay.” No matter how hard Rafe attempts to ignore his Slayer impulses, he finds himself constantly drawn towards confrontations with Caleb and tempted to use his supernatural gifts to ensure Alison’s safety.
When Alison suddenly, mysteriously, receives a bouquet of pink roses, she accuses him of using his angelic powers to surprise her. But Rafe, having done no such thing, suspects his arch enemy/scapegoat Caleb as being responsible for Alison’s unexpected gift. During the resulting argument, in which Alison blasts Rafe for his fixation on Caleb and his inability to renounce his Slayer magic, she emphasizes her desire to return to the way things once were, before Caleb and the supernatural seemed to govern almost every aspect of her relationship with Rafe. Promising again to focus on Alison and a normal life, Rafe assures her of his undying devotion. They kiss and, presumably, make love, ignoring for the time being the dreadful uncertainty threatening their happiness.
Blamed for sending the roses, Caleb, it turns out, had nothing to do with their arrival. (Alison’s mother, Elizabeth, had sent them as a congratulatory gift to celebrate the new gym’s grand opening.) As Elizabeth manically works on designing clothes (allegedly by “Georges”) for the fashion show, Caleb tries to convince a skeptical, distrustful Livvie that his plan to perform a new song at the show will work to their advantage.
“The new song will draw whoever has the ring, and they will bring it directly to me,” he reiterates.
