Selene winced as yet another bullet ricocheted off the wall several meters from its intended target. Michael had asked her to teach him rudimentary gun skills in case they ever got caught up in another fight, however unlikely that was with their new life in the sleepy English countryside. She had agreed, reasoning that it couldn't hurt to have someone other than herself able to use a gun, and brought him down to the shooting range they'd had installed in the manor.

"Damn." Michael groaned, "I'm never going to get the hang of this." He left the gun on the shelf and stalked over to the only chair in the room, Selene didn't even know why they had a chair in here but her first priority was getting Michael out of his self-pity."

"You're just not a fighter," she walked over and crouched by his side. "That's not a bad thing."

"How am I meant to protect you and Eve if I can't fight?" he challenged, transforming just enough that his claws showed. "Surely fighting from a distance is less dangerous than using these at close range?"

Selene thought for a moment, he did have a point but one of the things she loved about him was his innocence, no that was the wrong word. His compassion, that was it. From the day they'd first met he'd always tried to help where and who he could. That girl in the subway, he'd hardly known her and yet his first response was to rush over and help and then later, when they were both running from Lucian, he cared more about her wound than his despite the fact she'd basically kidnapped him. Looking at him now, Selene could see that he hadn't changed all that much, yes he was more jaded and trusted people less but he still cared, still wanted to help humanity and it was that which mattered.

"Don't you think one of us being a killer is enough?" she finally spoke. Michael looked at her and frowned.

"Don't call yourself a killer. You've protected us all this time, if you were a killer you wouldn't bother." He knelt beside her and pulled her to his side. Selene leant into his embrace, his steady heartbeat the only sound in the silence of the room.

"For more than six hundred years I did nothing but kill, what else can I call myself?"

"Wife, mother, friend." She felt rather than heard Michael sigh. "That part of our lives, it's over now. Here we can just live, raise our daughter in peace."

"It isn't that easy," she pulled away and stood up, beginning to pace in front of him. "There will always be danger for us."

"Maybe I'm just an optimist." Michael caught her hands and pulled her close again. "Besides, you deserve a rest. Let me take some of the weight on your shoulders, you're not alone anymore."

Selene smiled faintly, something that occurred more often now than it did before she met the man beside her. She hated showing it but she was thankful that Michael was around, he was right, she'd carried so much on her shoulders with no rest for so long. Now he was offering to help.

"This is why you wanted to learn to shoot a gun?"

"Partially." He replied honestly. "I want to be able to protect you and Eve. I want to be at your side no matter what." He chuckled, "We both know that apart we're useless but together we're unstoppable."

"I don't need a man to protect me, that's a little outdated these days," she smirked, another thing that came more easily to her now.

"I know that," Michael smiled, remembering the countless times Selene had pulled him out of danger. "Just let me take some of the slack."

Selene noted his determination and knew that she'd never be able to dissuade him from this. If Michael wanted to learn to shoot a gun then she'd teach him all she knew. "Alright then," she picked up the gun he'd been using and handed it back to him before drawing her own Beretta. "First off, you need the right stance." She watched as he copied the way she stood and smiled. "Now we get some target practice. Don't think about it too much, just aim and shoot."

She pulled the trigger and sent a bullet straight into the heart of the statue, beside her Michael did the same, sending his bullet into the neck. Selene nodded at him, "Good, now let's try a few more. Let your instincts guide you."

"My instincts are telling me to run the hell away before you decide to use me as a live target," he joked. "Why do we keep silver bullets around the house? I'm allergic."

Selene grinned, her eyes flashing icy blue for a second. "That's exactly why."

"Great," he muttered, rolling his eyes at her. Selene knew that he was aware she was teasing him and felt utterly at ease with their strange method of flirting. Target practice for her and Michael was rarely the normal definition after all.