"You're not rocking the boat.  You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me.  I knew what we'd be getting into, I just...it didn't occur to me that she would be anything but happy to have another person around."  Erica bites her lip, knowing it wasn't her place to reveal Cass' behavioral eccentricities.  She caught his face in her hands and looked him dead in the eyes.  "You<em>don't</em>have to apologize.  She and I can get...temperamental.  It's part of who...what...we are.  If you feel you need to, okay then, but...this isn't something either of us can 'fix' by being overly polite.  In fact," she giggled lightly, remembering Cass' expression one time when she'd tried to talk about table manners or something, "If you're too soft footed, it might make things more difficult.  Cass respects strength, but she needs control.  I...I think I took part of that away when I brought you here.  She's just reeling a bit, like we all are."  She grabs a washcloth and fills it with soap, rubbing it in her hands until she has a good lather, at which point she begins to clean Alfred, kissing him lightly on the cheek.  "It'll be okay, I think....it just...takes time."