Fiction- AtHwA12- Sleeping Arrangements

Title: All That Heaven Will Allow

Chapter Title: Chapter Eleven- Sleeping Arrangements

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. I also do not own the rights to Charmed. They belong to the WB. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Crossover

Type: Angst, Action, Humor

Pairing: canon pairings in both shows

Summary: Slayer dreams and Whitelighter-Witch hybrid powers collide when the veil between worlds come close to collapsing. Can baby Wyatt survive life on the Hellmouth?

Spoilers/ Time line: Season 4 (after “Harsh Light Of Day”) of Buffy and Season 6 (after “Forget Me... Not”) Of Charmed.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This was one of my contributions started for NaNoWriMo 2012. The story was by no means completed in that month and I am looking forward to continuing it.

A/N2: There is a definite time difference between these two worlds and the seasons that I am using. This will hopefully, be explained within the fiction itself.

All That Heaven Will Allow

Chapter Eleven

Sleeping Arrangements

Long used to hosting Scooby meetings at her house now, because it was just an extension of hanging out with her friends, Buffy had everyone quickly organized. Whatever Xander had said to Anya outside had calmed the ex demon considerably and from the twinkle in Oz's eyes, they might get to hear about it. Or not. The werewolf had developed better hearing during his human time only as a result of his affliction. Which Oz hadn't minded too much, it was useful after all. Of course that didn't feel as good, now hearing the nuances of the sucky in the band's playing, of which he was lead guitarist.

“Okay,” Buffy sighed as she fidgeted slightly in her seat. “Wills, what did you,” she noticed Anya's mouth drop open and turned to give the other blond in the room a tight smile, “and Anya discover?” The inclusion was enough to stop the protest or comment of whatever it might have been that Anya was going to make.

“Oh, well, it's nothing really,” Willow began, cuddling with Oz, tilting her head to the side. “I mean, not in the sense of finding something. But we have a way to find something.”

“Huh?” Buffy grunted, waiting for the clarity that she would hope would come.

“What she means is that she realized that the spell we performed can be mutated to track the magical signature of the infant that you rescued from the Hellmouth,” Anya was the one to provide that clarity, though with less harsh bluntness than normal. “Although I could have told you that ages ago. Again, because someone didn't bother to ask,” she huffed and Buffy hid a smile.

“Ahn,” Xander seemed to automatically step in these days to explain or argue or find some way to silence her protests, which was good because the others seemed to just naturally fall back to wishing for a blunt object in their hands to deal with the newly re-humanned girl.

“Remember we talked about this?” he reminded her. Anya sighed as she rolled her head back on her neck to stare up at the ceiling.

“Yes and it was decided that I'm to blame because I'm not forthright enough to provide others with information before they ask for it, when I never know what's going to be welcome because my mode of speech is different than everyone else's. Which I don't know why is such an important point to this conversation,” she complained. “If the ambassadors of feuding countries can manage to sit down and communicate without problem, then why should I have to change how I talk to accommodate all of you?” She drew a breath and Buffy could see that the others were gearing up to take offense, if they hadn't already. But as usual, it was Oz with his cool and collectedness that diffused the situation.

“Isn't that one of Xander's functions?” he teased. “That's what he's been doing, right? Explaining and clarifying? Translating?”

Anya appeared taken back for a moment and then beamed up at her boyfriend. “Why yes, he has. Although perhaps he might benefit from watching some CSPAN. Very informative, you know?”

“Okay, I thought I was doing a pretty good job, especially with the learning curve we've got,” Xander defended himself, humor restored. “But we'll table that discussion for later and get back to the main agenda, all right?”

“I suddenly find myself turned on by your attempt to emulate the politicians that run this nation or at least the talking heads that fill the screen during important political debates,” Anya announced and suddenly the weirded out factor was back in full force.

“We'll talk about it, uh that, later Ahn, focus,” Xander urged and then with a slightly abashed look, turned to the others and clapped his hands together. “Okay, magical baby. Let's run with that.”

“Yes, Willow,” Giles nodded, turning back to the redheaded female. “You can track Wyatt's magical... residue, as it were?”

“Uh huh,” Willow nodded. “See, we were trying that first spell and were trying to locate precisely where the baby would be arriving and the spell lit up.”

“It was very pretty,” Anya added. “All the purples and blues and yellows.”

“And the turquoise,” Willow chuckled, for once in unusual agreement with the ex-demon. “We're pretty sure that was Wyatt.”

“Why would you think that?” Giles wondered idly, or perhaps not so much, but his British stiff upper lip kept him from appearing too excited.

“Because we found Buffy at the Hellmouth and since there hasn't been any magic going on there, it was pretty easy to track her going in and then coming back out and when she came back out she had this brilliant blue with her, so...” Willow shrugged.

“What color was I?” Buffy wondered. “And why was I? I don't do magic.”

“It's an extension of the Slayer gift,” Giles hypothesized though the others didn't realize that, since he sounded so sure of himself. “A natural by product of the way you were gifted with your abilities.”

“So I'm not magic?” Buffy deciphered and it was Giles, Anya and Willow that nodded.

“It was very faint,” Anya pointed out kindly. “Just the barest hint of red.”

“I was red?” Buffy scrunched her face up as she thought about it. “Is that good or bad?” she wondered, looking to her mentor and then friend for an answer.

“I wouldn't necessarily assume that it's bad Buffy,” Giles soothed as he removed his glasses from his face and a handkerchief from his pocket. Settling back to clean his glasses once more, because everyone knew what dust magnets they were, he continued. “This is just a trace on the magic that was performed on you, truly on every Slayer. It's an indication of the ancient magic users and not a reflection of you.”

“Oh, okay,” Buffy accepted. She turned back to Willow. “So Wyatt is blue? How does that help?”

“Well we,” Willow gestured to herself and Anya, “saw that there was only one blue signature of that exact shade. So we might be able to start searching for the same shade of blue elsewhere, until we find it and then we can figure out where to go from there.”

“Of course, she's not adding that it's going to take a long time,” Anya put in. “Not to mention the cost of the ingredients for repeated spell use. And there are going to be concentrated areas of magic users that will need special attention. Not to say anything about the infant being from another world or dimension.” She ticked the things off on her fingers as the problems seemed to come more easily than the solutions did.

“Be that as it may,” Giles sighed, “I'm quite sure we'll manage. Willow, make a list of the ingredients and we'll get started on the spell casting as soon as possible. We can also go through other means, I'm sure. I would suggest going global to start to see if we can narrow down an area to look and if that's too much, perhaps continental.”

“We're gonna need some maps then,” Willow nodded, happy to contribute.

“Okay, since that's taken care of, or will be,” Buffy announced, “then we have something more important to discuss.”

“What's that?” Xander wondered and Buffy regarded them all as seriously as she could, evaluating her friends in the light of new criteria.

“Who's gonna babysit?” she announced, followed by a wicked grin.

AtHwA~AtHwA

After the debate, in which Anya and Oz had immediately protested, one much calmer than the other, which was no problem, since Buffy had dismissed them instantly because of Wyatt's almost predilection to mistrust or be afraid of them, there had been discussion as to what they would do to care for the child.

Schedules had been drawn up and Buffy was happy with what they had figured out. As she lay in bed, slightly regretful that she hadn't gone out for a patrol, but knowing that the other events of the day and evening took precedence, she took deep calming breaths. There had been several creatures, monsters that she had defeated in the actual Hellmouth itself. So if that ever opened up again, then yay, several less things that could come out of it.

Looking after Wyatt was going to be a challenge, for all of them. But she was sure they could do it. He felt... important, somehow. They needed to do this. Like their safety, their world might depend on it. And since she was a champion of humanity, then right now it fell to her. But there was just something amazing about holding that baby. Something Buffy had never thought to encounter. And it wasn't, she was pretty sure, that he was just a baby and was bringing up longings for one. She had sorta dealt with that through Angel. And through her Slaying. Knowing that it was probably never in the cards for her.

But when she held Wyatt and protected him, kept him safe, know that even if in just a small part, he was loved, she felt whole. She felt like anything was possible. And it was nice to see that. To look down into his face and know that if she kept him safe and got him home to his family, then maybe he would have a chance at a good life. It was something she knew, academically that fighting monsters was making the world better for the people, the humanity that inhabited it. There wasn't a lot she could do about the mundane badness of life. But if she kept doing her job and the Slayer that followed kept it up and so on and so forth, then maybe humanity would have the chance to get it right someday.

She was just starting to drift off when she heard the baby start to whimper softly, from his drawer bed in her mother's room. She had checked on them when she had come up after the meeting had broken up, both mother and guest sound asleep. They could have put him in the spare bedroom but it was full of extra shipments for her mother's gallery. She waited a moment, as Wyatt's cry started to slowly escalate, wondering if her mother would wake. It didn't seem like it and she was just about to climb out of bed, when she heard and felt the tingle that she was starting to equate with Wyatt's teleportation power.

The next thing she knew, she had just pushed off the bed covers, when Wyatt was sitting up at her side, crying hard. Instantly her arms went around him, to steady and comfort him. “Oh, Wyatt, shh shh baby. Whatsa matter?” She rubbed at his back as he leaned forward, banging his head on her chest. “Ooh, oh, don't do that honey.” She quickly repositioned both of them so that she was now cradling him. “Did you have a bad dream? Are you hungry?” She frowned as he continued to cry and tried to think her way logically through what he as a baby might need. “Uh, diaper? Did you get wet again?” She continued to rub his back gently, while with her other hand, gingerly felt at the diaper that did seem fuller than before.

“Okay, little guy, I got this,” she soothed. “Though why Mom didn't wake up... But then, you know, this woulda probably been a lot more effective than those bezoar eggs they gave out in high school.” She climbed out of bed with the baby in her arms, rambling about nonsensical topics as she padded down to her mother's room to retrieve the diapers.

“Quiet now,” she warned softly as Wyatt whimpered into her shoulder. “Mom has to work in the morning. She's not a night owl like us, little guy.” Wyatt responded by stuffing some of Buffy's Yummy Sushi pajamas that she had left behind on her last laundry run, into his mouth and gumming at them. “Hungry too, huh? Okay.”

Quiet wasn't enough as her mother rolled over and lifted her head. “Hmm? Buffy?”

“It's okay mom,' Buffy assured the woman. “Wyatt needs a change. I got it. Go back to sleep.”

“”kay,” Joyce murmured and settled back down into her bed. Buffy pulled a few diapers from the packet they'd been using as well as the wipes and cream and padded out of the bedroom to the bathroom. She laid Wyatt down on the rug in front of the counter and tickled at his tummy before opening up his pajamas.

“Good thing I can see pretty well in the dark,” she quietly teased the little guy as he kicked his legs free. “Don't wanna blind you by turning on the light. Okay, let's see the damage.”

Luckily he was just wet and after she had changed him, rose to dispose of the diaper and wash her hands. Wyatt, now redressed, pushed himself over and up into a sitting position, before lifting his arms to her and making more noises that weren't quite upset sounds, but not too happy either. Buffy could have sworn that he was almost talking to her. But there weren't any grown up words in there at all.

“Are you telling me a story?” she grinned as she bent over to pick him up, the memory playing in her mind. It was something her mother always said to her when she was young and talking nonsense when she played with her dolls. She had seen her mother do it as well, when babies would babble. Wyatt seemed calmer now though still slightly agitated as she made her way downstairs. “You keep talking kiddo,” she encouraged. “I'll have you sayin' Buffy before you know it!”

She turned at the bottom of the stairs and headed to the kitchen. “Hope I can read the directions right,” she said through a yawn. “You can wait a sec for a bottle, right?” Wyatt kicked his feet and held up his hand.

“Maa!” he cried and Buffy blinked several times. Well, that was as clear as day.

“Oh honey,” she cooed, brining him up closer to her face. “Do you miss your mommy? I sure don't blame you. I'm a poor substitute. But we'll take care of you, sweetheart.”

Wyatt snuffled some more as Buffy found the grocery bag. She smiled as she noted that her mother had taken time to write out the instructions in large bold block print on a pad of paper. Several things were underlined, like not using the microwave to heat the bottle and also testing it on her wrist first. “Nice of Mom to think ahead, huh little guy?” She was relieved to read that she could let the water heat up from the tap instead of having to boil it on the stove. Thanking several times, her Slayer blessed dexterity, that she was able to put together a bottle with mostly one hand, she soon had what she hoped was an acceptable midnight snack for the baby. Now to see if he'd take it.

He wasn't as interested in the bottle as he was the first time Joyce offered it to him, but Buffy figured that that was probably normal. After all, he had been fed earlier when he was desperately hungry, so that was good. And there was a bottle now if he wanted it. Guess babies were pretty self centered and it figured that Wyatt would figure he'd be taken care of. It was just surprising to Buffy that he had gone to her.

As she finally settled into a slightly awkward position so that Wyatt could drink easily, she thought a little more about that. Was it a sign of trust? Was it because she had been the one to rescue him? Well, he had rescued them just as much, before falling asleep before their climb back up out of the pit. Getting them back to the way out. How had he known how to go there? Was he like a mind reading super baby as well? She'd have to remember to mention that to Giles when she saw him. Maybe knowing exactly what his powers were would help them to find the rest of his family.

She continued to silently muse until Wyatt had drank the majority of the bottle and then pushed it away. “Maa,” he cried again, and Buffy instantly focused on the little guy once more.

“I'm sorry baby, I know,” she hushed him, bringing her lips to his forehead. “I want to get you home, but we don't know how sweetie. Unless you can do it yourself, it's gonna take time.”

As if he could understand her Wyatt snuggled deeper in her arms and Buffy very carefully set the bottle on the side table. Standing, she carried the sleepy baby back up to her mother's room. Joyce seemed a little more alert than previously as she lifted her head yet again to watch her daughter deposit the baby back in his make shift bed.

“Okay, go to sleep now,” Buffy crooned as she adjusted the top blanket. “Sleep Wyatt. Sleeeeeepy.”

“Buffy,” her mother's voice was wry though quiet. “Go to bed honey. He'll drop off on his own.”

“Okay Mom,” she agreed, since of the three in the room, who was the ranking expert on babies? She pressed one more kiss to Wyatt's forehead and rose up. She exited the room, though she felt a little unsettled. She made it back to her room and into her bed, just getting the blankets adjusted when Wyatt transported himself back to her side like he had done earlier. Buffy's eyebrows went up as she regarded him. “You little imp,” she chuckled. “It's beddy bye time now.” She lifted him up and padded out of the room and back to her mother's.

“Buffy?” her mother questioned, sitting up in her bed now. “My goodness, he likes you, hmmm?”

“Yep,” Buffy agreed as she put him back in the drawer. “You gonna stay there, young man?” she asked as sternly as she could, but Wyatt went right back into her arms as Buffy quickly adjusted to the sudden weight. Her mother's tired chuckle told her this might be a problem.

“I suppose you could take the drawer back to your room,” Joyce suggested sleepily.

“All right,” Buffy huffed, though she was far from upset. She pursed her lips at Wyatt and quickly set him in the drawers and then lifted it up. “Ha, fooled you,” she teased softly as Wyatt giggled. “Good night Mom.”

“m'night Buffy,” Joyce chuckled back. “G'night Wyatt.”

It took a moment fro Buffy to get them settled. She had originally set the drawer on the floor next to her bed, but Wyatt's mouth dropping had her changing her mind. She lifted him up to her bed, thankful it wasn't a teeny tiny mattress like in her dorm room. She shoved the drawer to the side closer to the wall and climbed in after him. She looked down at him as she fixed the blankets so she would be covered. “Just so I don't roll over and squish you, okay baby?”

She smoothed his blanket over him and when he caught her finger, smiled as she propped her head up to watch as he finally drifted off again. Once assured that he was safe and warm and dry, Buffy allowed herself some rest at last.

AtHwA~AtHwA

Phoebe sat in her elder sister's room. After the horrifying and tumultuous events of the day and the day that repeated and then this night, Piper had been running on empty and beyond. Emotionally drained and about to fall apart. She had finally collapsed after Sandra the Elder's visit. At her limit or worse, she and Paige had worried that she was pushing too hard. It would not help get Wyatt back if his mother killed herself in the effort. Paige had orbed her down to her bed from the attic and then went back to working on possible solutions while Phoebe had sat with her older sister.

There wasn't anything she could really do, other than rally at her sister's side, to try and lend Piper some of her emotional strength. There was a well there that she never knew existed until times like these tested her. She knew the pain of losing a child, even if she understood that the child had never really belonged to her. Her son had been loved, but even that had not been enough to save him. She couldn't understand intellectually the devastation of losing Wyatt.

She understood it on an emotional level.

Such as she was feeling now as Piper moved through dreams that must seem a nightmare. As much as her waking hours had been. But then, there was a shift. Phoebe lifted her head from the seat in the corner, though Piper had not moved. She wondered if her sister was waking, as things seemed a little lighter, if that was the right word, than they had a moment ago.

Piper did not move or make a sound, but the lightening continued. Until at last Phoebe felt the easing and heard her sister's soft sigh,

“Wyatt.”

Chapter 12- Fueling Up

Fiction- AtHwA13- Fueling Up

Title: All That Heaven Will Allow

Chapter Title: Chapter Twelve- Fueling Up

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. I also do not own the rights to Charmed. They belong to the WB. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Crossover

Type: Angst, Action, Humor

Pairing: canon pairings in both shows

Summary: Slayer dreams and Whitelighter-Witch hybrid powers collide when the veil between worlds come close to collapsing. Can baby Wyatt survive life on the Hellmouth?

Spoilers/ Time line: Season 4 (after “Harsh Light Of Day”) of Buffy and Season 6 (after “Forget Me... Not”) Of Charmed.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This was one of my contributions started for NaNoWriMo 2012. The story was by no means completed in that month and I am looking forward to continuing it.

A/N2: There is a definite time difference between these two worlds and the seasons that I am using. This will hopefully, be explained within the fiction itself.

All that Heaven Will Allow

Chapter Twelve

Fueling Up

“So,” Phoebe murmured as she took a seat at the kitchen table the next morning. Admittedly, it had been a long night, the night before. So much had happened and with her self imposed vigil of watching over Piper, she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. “You want to tell me what's up with the sudden one eighty on your attitude.”

Piper, who was standing at the counter watching the food that she was cooking, glanced over her shoulder, quietly regarding her sibling. “What d'ya mean?”

“I mean,” Phoebe spoke through a yawn and shook her head a little to try and clear the cobwebs away, “you were so drained, emotionally and physically. And now you're, well you're not exactly bopping around the kitchen like all is well in the world, you're... I hesitate to say it, better?”

“I don't know that I'm better exactly,” Piper hedged. “Suffice to say that sleep helped. I'm still scared out of my mind about Wyatt and Leo of course.” It didn't escape Phoebe's notice that she had left Chris out, but that was forgivable as they didn't know the young man very well yet. And the Elders were helping him to recover. “But... and don't laugh at me, I had a dream.”

“A dream?” Paige asked as she swept into the kitchen, unlike her sister's, fully dressed. “Isn't that Phoebe's field?” She moved to the island counter that separated the breakfast table from the appliances, quickly looking over the choices presented there.

“It wasn't a premonition,” Piper protested and then paused in her stirring of a pot of fruit compote. “More like... an assurance or something. I think,” she paused again and looked down at the fruit. It needed to simmer a little more before it could be served and she settled the wooden spoon she had been using on the spoon holder before grabbing a towel to wipe her hands off. She turned to face her sister's who were waiting to hear her explanation and leaned against the island counter that was between them. Bracing herself for their disbelief, she announced, “I think Wyatt sent it to me.”

Surprisingly there were no outbursts or accusations of her insanity. They looked, contemplative.

“Well,” Paige tilted her head consideringly. “Can't say that I've heard of that power, but with your kid? Who knows?”

“Perhaps it's like a reversal on an active power,” Phoebe wondered. “I mean, if you consider that someone or something sends me premonitions, where do they come from? Someone has to do that. Or something. Maybe Wyatt is like the thing that does it.”

“You think my baby hands down premonitions?” Piper asked wryly and Phoebe smiled gently.

“Not like that,” she groaned softly. “But you understand what I mean?” Piper nodded in response and began fixing herself another cup of coffee.

“So what kind of dream did Wyatt send you?” Paige wondered curiously, leaning on the island counter now herself, breakfast forgotten for the moment.

“It was strange,” Piper commented, recalling some of the details and some of the things that seemed hazy now but had been so clear then in the middle of the night. “It was just so normal. And I mean, you'd think I'd be freaking out. But for the most part, he felt safe. You know?”

“Not really,” Phoebe waved her hand, “but go on.”

“Well,” Piper continued as she skirted the island and took a seat at the table, “I could hear him crying in the dream.” Phoebe nodded, starting to equate Piper's story with the emotions that she had felt from her before Piper had calmed and was able to sleep more deeply. The eldest Halliwell sat stiffly as she tried to recall the nuances and feelings from those precious moments. “He was sitting in a pile of blankets. And then there was someone there. He was crying for me and then a girl was there. She held him and changed him. She fed him when he was hungry and he kept going back to her.”

“A girl?” Paige questioned, perking up slightly. “How do you know, did you see her face?”

Piper shook her head in the negative. “I don't know a lot of guys that would wear girly Japanese cartoon pajamas and she had boobs. Wyatt definitely noticed the boobs,” she chuckled for just a moment.

Phoebe grinned widely, leaning her hand on her head, relieved that her sister could find some humor in a moment like this. “He's definitely a daddy's boy there, huh?”

“I'm not sure I like what you're implying there,” Piper sniffed but then nodded before continuing. “Well, at least I know he's being taken care of.”

“You know or you think?” Paige asked carefully. Piper spared her a glance.

“I know,” she stated assertively, rising to check on her compote again. “I don't know who this girl is. If she's caught with him wherever he is or by whomever has him. I don't know. But he kept orbing back to her. He felt safe with her,” she insisted.

“Okay,” Paige soothed. “I just wanted to be sure. Good to know.”

“At least wherever he is, they're not harming him physically,” Phoebe pointed out. “That counts for something.”

“So now we just have to worry about the mental damage,” Piper sighed. “I know,” she nodded as she lifted the wooden spoon once more. “So we will continue to do everything possible to find him and get him back. As soon as witchly possible.”

“Right,” Paige agreed. “And as soon as we've eaten and fueled up our bodies, we'll get crackin' right on that.”

“All right,' Piper agreed as she tapped the thick liquid off of the spoon and took it to the sink to add to the wash pile. “Then grab some plates because breakfast is ready.”

AtHwA~AtHwA

“Knock, knock, anyone up?” Xander called as he tried the door at Buffy's house and found it unlocked. He pushed it open further and stepped into the foyer, his other hand full of a product he was sure would make the Summer's women pretty happy.

“We're in the kitchen Xan?” he heard Buffy call back. With a relieved smile and hearing the baby's pleased gurgle, he headed in that direction.

“So how go the adventures in baby sitting?” he asked as he entered the warm and bright kitchen. Buffy was holding Wyatt up on the kitchen counter, both arms around him as Joyce was at the kitchen counter, wiping something from her blouse.

“Wildly,” Joyce commented with a shake of her head and then turned to face her daughter. “Oh, it's a lost cause. I'll have to send it to the dry cleaners.”

“Well, I hate to say I told you so, but seriously, does anyone like pureed prunes?” Buffy chuckled.

“Yes, all right,” Joyce chuckled dryly. “You've made your point. Wyatt made your point. What can I say? It was very early and I thought I'd give it a try.”

“Let me get this straight,” Xander was blinking heavily at Joyce. “You tried to feed the baby mashed prunes... why?” Settling the burdensome, awkward package down, he held up both forefingers and quickly spanned them apart before pointing at both females. “Did Wyatt come from the home planet of tasteless and yucky is actually delicious and nummy?”

“Not that I'm aware of,” Buffy giggled, which made Wyatt giggle as well. “He seems to have come from the world of good tasties only. Yes he did,” she crooned and then giggled again.

“All right, you three, enough,” Joyce threw in the towel, literally and figuratively before crossing her arms and nodding towards Xander. “And what little surprise have you brought to my doorstep this morning?”

“Oh this?” Xander asked, pointing at the large bag at his feet. True it was a trash bag and not normally how he wrapped things up. Though really, he was a guy, he was in a hurry and he figured they'd probably prefer it clean, rather than dusty and dirty from the walk over. “Oh, well see,” he muttered, clapping his hands together and then leaning over to pick it up and moving it to the island counter. “I was thinking last night, I know my mom still has a bunch of my old baby stuff packed away, so I asked her if there was anything you might be able to use. She wanted to know why, so I told her about your nephew coming for a last minute visit and voila!”

“She saved your car seat?” Buffy asked dubiously, eying it as he continued to push the plastic down to reveal everything.

“That's a pretty new model,” Joyce commented, coming over to look at it.

“No, no,” Xander shook his head at Buffy. “I told her you guys have nothing. And aside from a few clothes and some blankets, we pretty much had nothing. But,” he grew animated again, “Mom told me that they have a program at the hospital where you can sign out car seats for an emergency at a small fee and when she went to work, she signed one out for you guys. You know, so you have the extra one to use for whoever is babysitting Wyatt. You know, if they actually have a car to put it in. Or for nap time or whatever.”

“Oh Xander, that's genius!” Buffy complimented, her eyes lighting up as she considered several possibilities that hadn't occurred to her before.

“Certainly much cheaper, one would assume,” Joyce nodded her appreciation as well, “than buying one that might be obsolete before it sees use again after Wyatt.”

“Oh yeah,” Xander agreed. “They even included instructions and an on the spot safety inspection for this bad boy. They wouldn't let me add a skull and stakes decal though.”

“Well what do you think about that, Wyatt?” Buffy asked the boy as she turned him to see the car seat. He wasn't much interested it seemed, instead reaching for Xander. Buffy, sensing an opportunity scooped the boy forward and right into Xander's arms. “He thinks it's great and wants to thank Uncle Xander while Buffy goes to grab her bag!” she decided brightly and then spun and dashed out of the room.

Xander, awkwardly juggling the new squirming bundle in his arms, turned to Joyce. She watched him for a moment, assessing before she held her hands up. “Don't look at me. I need to change my blouse and get to work. I'll be late if I take took long.” And with that she had hurried out of kitchen as well. Xander looked forlornly after the direction the women had taken before looking down at Wyatt again.

“Okay, I know she's super powered and all, but her best power yet?” he asked rhetorically of the boy. “Sensing a sucker. Yeah, that's right.” He couldn't help the grin on his face as Wyatt lit up and squirmed again. “But just don't expect me to change your butt kid. I draw the line at diapers!”

“And Xander!” Joyce called from the stairwell. “you might want to check, but Wyatt hasn't been changed since we got up.”

Xander looked down at Wyatt who, honest to goodness, laughed right in his face. “Okay,” he muttered. “But just this once and don't tell anyone. You keep this between us kid and I'll hook you up with all the yummy snacky goodness. No more yucky prunes for you!” Xander never even noticed as his language descended into baby talk as he wandered the house, wondering where it would make the most sense to put diapers for a baby you weren't expecting.

AtHwA~AtHwA

“Okay, so he's got enough bottles and formula to last all day. We got the rice cereal and fruit. There's diapers and everything you need in the diaper bag to change him,” Buffy recited breathlessly as she settled bags on the dining table of Giles apartment. “Do you need me to write out instructions? Cause I can do it real quick. Or ooh,” she grunted, checking her wristwatch. “Maybe not. I'm gonna be late for psych!”

“I'll muddle along, I'm sure,” Giles sighed. “And I've learned that most products in America come with instructions.”

“Even Buff,” Xander chuckled, having decided to go along on the shopping trip that Giles had picked them up for earlier. “Though I don't know why you didn't keep that handbook.”

“You've met other Slayers and you still think to ask that question?” Giles commented with his usual wry humor. “Will you be staying?” he asked of the other man.

“Sorry,” Xander shrugged. “I've actually got a job interview that I should probably get to. You know, for like paying for the car seat rental money that I owe my mom. Rent, food, stuff like that.”

“I'm sorry about that Xander,” Buffy grunted as she extracted the napping boy from his five point harness car seat. She wanted to let him sleep but didn't think he looked too comfortable all strapped in. “I will pay you back for that. I just forgot with all the food and other stuff today.”

“No problem Buffy,” Xander shrugged. “I know you're good for it. And if not that, then at least a few drinks at the Bronze next party night.”

“Ether way, you're on,” Buffy agreed. “But for now, I gotta book, with my books!” She touched one finger to Wyatt's cheek, gently and sighed. “Wish I didn't have to leave him, but well, Professor Walsh waits for no man or woman, for any excuse.”

“All right Buffy,” Giles nodded as he escorted her and Xander to the door. He closed it behind them and turned to look at the new form of chaos that had invaded his apartment. He wasn't quite sure yet if it was more or less manageable than the chaos that being a watcher to a Slayer and mentor to her two sidekicks, had already brought.

With a dismissive glance at the goods Buffy had purchased, knowing that none needed to be refrigerated, Giles instead moved to his collection of books lining the bookcase behind his sofa, he chose several that he wanted to look through and then retired to a seat where he had a good view of the baby.

“You just have yourself a nice long nap, lad and we'll get on all right,” he murmured and then settled in to read.

AtHwA~AtHwA

“You know, I half expected to find you a mess and pulling your hair out by the roots,” Joyce chuckled as Giles allowed her entry into the apartment.

“Oh, not at all,” Giles chuckled as he shut the door behind her. It wasn't the first time that Joyce had been here, but at least the circumstances were much better this time around. “I'd like to think that working at a library that sat atop the Hellmouth for three years, whilst dealing with angsty youth prepared me admirably for this task.”

“I can just imagine,” Joyce agreed. “Though I see you've added to your wardrobe.”

“Yes, well, Wyatt does not seem to like creamed spinach much like the pureed prunes,” Giles chuckled, lifting the tea towel that he had slung over his shoulder to mop at his hairline. Joyce hid her grin, seeing a slight smear of green still there.

“You fed him creamed spinach?” she suddenly realized. “Oh no.”

“It was baby friendly, I assure you,” Giles hastened to assure her. “He seemed to like the rice cereal well enough and when he wouldn't eat the spinach, I mixed the two, hoping to blend the familiar.”

“Oh, oh yes,” Joyce at once understood. But things like that had been coming back to her quickly. “I'm not certain that he's at that age to mix the foods, but it certainly won't hurt anything. The formula is vitamin and iron fortified. No need for Popeye just yet.”

“Quite,” Giles agreed as he led Joyce into the living room. Wyatt lay on a blanket in the middle of Giles' tiny living room. His little bottom was lifted in the air as he slept face down. “Hmm,” he murmured. “I see he's a mover, even when he sleeps.” He turned to face Joyce. “He was playing just a little while ago and fell asleep on his back.”

Joyce nodded. “Buffy was like that as well. The moment she learned to roll over, we couldn't get her to stay sleeping on her back. Her pediatrician told us that the risk of crib death went down a little at that point. But there's always new research coming out, isn't there?”

“What one man discovers, another tears down, only for another to build up again,” Giles agreed. He finally figured that rubbing at his hair with the towel wasn't doing any good and abandoned it to begin instead, picking up the things that Wyatt had managed to get into in the course of the day.

“I suppose,” Joyce nodded as she began picking up Wyatt's few belongings. She had stopped at a consignment store, never realizing until she needed it, that there was one in town. It was one of those stores that the eye passed right over every time you drove by it. “Did you manage to get a schedule figured out for the rest of the week?”

“I did that, yes,” Giles sighed as he straightened up from his crouch with an arm full of old knick knacks that were child friendly. Of course that was only in that they had no sharp edges, weren't heavy and had no monetary or magical value. That left very few in number that he'd been able to play with, but Wyatt had seemed fine with that. “Although since none of the others know of it yet, we'll see if it will meet with democratic approval.”

“Probably only if it involves you and I doing the heavy work while they get a chance to play in between the important parts of their lives,” Joyce grunted and then her shoulders sagged. “Oh Rupert. I don't mean to sound bitter. Truly, Wyatt is a lovely baby, but, well...”

“I know,” Giles nodded, seeing things from Joyce's point of view. “I myself managed to get through most of the day by simply reminding myself that it's a temporary situation at best.”

“And at worst?” she worried.

“Then we'll all be prepared should the real thing happen. It's good practise,” he grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes.

After a few more minutes of picking up and then putting the still slumbering baby into his borrowed car seat, Joyce headed off, barely noticing the nosy neighbors peeking from behind their curtains. Her mind was already moving ahead to preparing dinner for herself and her daughter and hoping they'd find something Wyatt liked other than bottles, Buffy and rice cereal.

Fiction- 38b38- A New Generation

Series Title: 38 By 38

Fiction Title: A New Generation

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. I do not own the rights to Twilight, they belong to Meyer and Little Brown Publishing. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Crossover

Type: Angsty

Pairing: Canon Pairings

Summary: She wanted to be the one to be strong now. She wanted to be the one to protect those that were weaker.

Spoilers/ Time line: Book 2 “New Moon” for Twilight-verse and post Season 3 of BtVS.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This fiction came out of a stray thought I had while I was discussing these books with my elder children. Only one character that was author created comes from the Buffy-verse. I do plan to expand on this story, checking in on a scene that was not included in this portion of fiction and continuing on from where it goes at the end. So please, enjoy.

A New Generation

I stared at Edward, not quite even with him as we stood in the massive, impressive, though slightly disturbing chamber that the Volturi guards had brought us too. Vampires, other than the Cullen's were down right terrifying. And I had truly thought that perhaps the worst of things had passed when I was once again in Edward's arms. True, there were still some things to work out. Like whether or not Edward truly cared for me, or, if as he had told me in that rainy forest outside my home in Forks, Washington, that I was just a distraction in his very long life.

It didn't seem to me as if he might. If he did, wouldn't he give the leader of the Vampire royalty, Aro, his assurances that to keep their secrets, he would turn me into a Vampire such as they were. Well, with the major difference would be that as a member of the Cullen family, I couldn't bring myself to think of them as a coven like the Volturi vampires, I would limit my diet to drinking from animals. And not humans as other Vampires did.

And while it was true that Alice had said on the plane trip over that she was tempted to do it herself, that the vision she had been gifted with had shown her me as a Vampire, I couldn't trust her friend to go against Edward's wishes. After all, the whole Cullen family had left me, alone and defenseless in Forks with vengeful Vampires coming after me.

“Mean it,” I begged of him softly, referring to the out that Aro had gifted them with. But his tortured countenance only deepened and something in his eyes warned me. It was everything I had feared. No matter what he said or did, he just didn't want me. And it was more heartbreaking than the possibility of dying here today. Unable to tell my father farewell, assure my mother that it had been a pretty good life. Leaving my friends and family behind with no clues, with the great exception of Jake, who was a werewolf and would be unable to explain the full implications behind my disappearance.

Perhaps, I wondered absurdly, it would be just thing that Jake seemed to be looking for, an excuse to start up a war between the werewolves of La Push against the Cullen's. A way to overturn the treaty that Jacob's very own great grandfather had created with Carlisle Cullen.

“Oh for crying out loud,” another Vampire broke away from a group of spectators that had been silently observing the proceedings. I didn't exactly miss the way Aro's head snapped to the female's direction. But I did see the confusion clearing for a moment on Edward's face, looking slightly hopefully. But the scowl that swiftly followed told me that hope wasn't too be found in this distraction. “There is another way, you know,” the female, about my height, pointed out, even as Caius hissed slightly. Of course, it had been Caius that had declared that it was my life and my life only that was forfeit for being a human among Vampires. One that knew the secret that they all strove so hard to protect.

Instinctively, I cringed away from the unknown female, even as Aro moved closer, as did Edward. Alice, I noted, was staring at the Vampire, but it was not the vacant stare that indicated she was having a vision. It was more like an annoyed and potentially dangerous glare that reminded me, that for as tiny as Alice was, she was a heck of a lot more lethal than I on her best day. Or her very worst.

But what alarmed me was that Caius and Marcus, the lackadaisical Vampire that finished up the trio of Volturi royalty, were sitting forward in their thrones, their eyes keen. “Is it...?” Marcus breathed out and I wondered what it was about this Vampire that had them sitting up and taking notice as it were.

With no small measure of pomp, the unknown Vampire threw back her hood to reveal, to my utter let down and disappointment, a rather ordinary face. It wasn't old and papery looking, like Aro's was. Nor was it young, icy white and beautiful like the others. In fact, this was the closest to human looking Vampire that I had ever seen. Or maybe she wasn't, I decided after a moment of studying this new person nervously.

Before anyone could speak though, the female continued. “Sorry to disappoint, but Anyanka's been... reassigned.”

“Oh, how sad,” Marcus moaned, sinking back into his seat. Caius spared his brother an annoyed glance and then turned back to the drama unfolding before him.

“Not necessarily, brother,” he grinned ferociously, eying me in a way that had both Edward and Alice moving closer to me. Protectively, like an automatic habit,. “Perhaps we should ask...?”

“I am Somehka,” the Vampire perhaps human, introduced itself.

“Somehka,” Caius repeated, and then glanced around the room at large, clearly enjoying himself. “Perhaps Somehka would like to explain why D'Hoffryn went back on his decision to interfere in our business once more?” he ended on a light note, sounding amused. The other one, this Somehka, didn't seem so, but it was hard to tell.

“D'Hoffryn does not make all of the rules,” the being seemed to be reminding them. “There are some that are immutable. This time is one of them.”

“Really?” Aro drawled. “Not that we're... not ungrateful, the last being what it was. Of course, you realize why we worry?”

“I can see why,” Somehka responded, eyes darting to Edward and then to Alice and finally, to me. “Regardless,” she, since I was really starting to get the feeling that it was a she, straightened up, “I have a job to do and your concerns do not concern me.”

“Perhaps they should,” Caius hissed. “You forget your history.”

“I've forgotten nothing,” Somehka smirked at the blond prince of Vampires. “Did you really think I would come in here with no defenses in place?”

“If you could even engage quickly enough,” Caius taunted.

“I'd be gone before you could even twitch towards your bully boy,” Somehka half scoffed and all eyes turned towards Felix, even mine, though it was only because everyone else had looked to him. He seemed startled at the sudden attention, but then the same feral grin that had been on his face before returned. I was starting to get a headache.

“Wait!” Edward half shouted, holding his hands up. “Do you mean to tell me...” he began, his voice incredulous as he stared between this Somehka and Aro. Aro's face went from annoyed to thoughtful and then amused almost too quickly for me to register.

“It's never come up dear Edward,” Aro purred, one eyebrow arched as if daring Edward to question him further. I glanced at Alice and she seemed just as perplexed as I was at what was going on. “You of all people should know best how your gifts work. We did not think it, therefore, you did not hear it. And it's only been recently that this information came to light, relatively speaking of course.”

“Of course,” Edward grunted, shaking his head slightly. I couldn't tell if he was amused or upset or maybe just sort of stunned. “But this...” Okay, awed is what he sounded now and even Alice was getting twitchy to figure things out. Suddenly he was standing before the stranger, Somehka. “I want to-!” he began but the stranger held up her hand.

“Get the facts, back the hell off and let me do my job,” she growled and Edward looked surprised. “This is between me,” she pointed to herself and then to me. “And her.” Her gaze traveled around the Vampires that were assembled. Aro was smirking, as was Caius and Marcus had gone back to looking bored. The other Vampires were looking a little apprehensive. Alice had gone stock still, her eyes glazing over and Edward's head snapped around to stare at his sister.

And in that tiny moment of confusion, everything changed. Somehka was before me and I hadn't even seen her move. The smirk was still there on her face and I instinctively tried to move back from this unknown Vampire, if that was even what she was. Because she didn't seem like any I had met or seen before.

“Let's go dearie,” she cooed and I tried to hold up my hands, a physical sign to back the hell off me, but she grabbed my hand and then everything was spinning.

It wasn't the usual sensation of running. Or at least being carried by a Vampire that was running. The dizzying speed as things rushed by me. No, this was true spinning and dizzying that way, disorienting and when it finally stopped, I had to squint my eyes at the bright flash of light that just wasn't going away. I covered my eyes with my hand and managed to gasp out, “what? Where are we?”

“The only possible safe place at the moment,” Somehka chuckled. “Take a moment. I assume you've never traveled this way before?”

“Uh, what way?” I asked as I slowly blinked from behind the cover of my hand. I warily started to lower it and found that unlike the assumption I had made about the lights being something extraordinary, it was simply the transition from inside to out. She was right that it would be safe, from Vampires at least, because while we weren't in a crowded area, there were people around. My vision was starting to realign itself, though the sounds were slightly muted. Like I was waiting for my ears to pop after a long flight.

“Teleportation,” she answered succinctly. “It's one of my... gifts.”

“Oh,” I answered, a little dumbly. “One of?” I asked then, because I hadn't ever heard of a Vampire having more than one gift. Edward had his mind reading, Alice her visions. Except Jasper, I guessed. He could sense emotions, but also manipulate them. But that was sort of two sides of the same coin.

“It's actually an addition to what I really do,” Somehka deigned to explain. She laughed fully outright then and I looked at her in confusion. “You're confused,” she stated and I nodded. That was no secret. “Let me explain then, which should make things easier, especially as you already know about Vampires.”

“Please do,” I almost begged. “Because none of this is making sense to me.”

“All right,” she nodded. “I'm not actually a Vampire,” she began with a smirk and I nodded. I had wondered about that right from the start of her interfering in the Volturi's palace. “I sometimes move in the same circles as they, because of my job.”

“Your job?” I echoed, still confused. “Like...” I struggled to remember the girl's name and then it came to me. “Gianna? Do you want to be a Vampire?”

“Oh no,” she shook her head, looking surprised. “Sorry, but they're so... limited.”

I laughed in shock then. “Limited? Is there anything they can't do?” I asked incredulously.

“Quite a lot, actually, when you think in terms larger than what most humans are capable of,” she said and sounded quite sympathetic.

“So, then, what are you? Exactly?' I wanted to know.

“Well, the classification system is debatable,” she shrugged. “But I am known as the Patron Saint of Scorned Women. It's a title I inherited from my predecessor.”

“That Anyanka?” I struggled to remember the name and the hopeful way that Marcus had said it.

“Yes,” she hissed slightly, obviously unhappy about that. But then she seemed to wave away whatever was bothering her. “Bella,” she gentled her tone and reached for my hand. I didn't want to give it to her, but non-Vampire or not, I didn't think that I could take her on, being just a normal girl that had the paranormal all around her. “Your pain, the pain that you've been feeling all this time, it called me to you.”

“Called you?” I demanded. “Called you how? And why now? Why not before?”

“It's been calling me all along,” she explained, though it wasn't much of one that made reasonable sense. “There have been times that I was ready to go to you, but you weren't yet ready for me. Today, I sensed that the time may have come.”

“The time for what?” I wanted to know, still mystified but intrigued by this new turn of events, that if nothing else had taken me from Caius' clutches.

“Bella, I am a representative of beings that deliver Justice for the truly wronged,” she told me and I shook my head in instant denial. She tightened her grip on my hand slightly and ducked slightly, being taller than I after all, to look in my eyes. “We are Immortal beings here for just this purpose. We are not Vampires, nor are we werewolves. But we are here because these things touch on humans lives. We are equalizers.”

“Has this... has this happened before?” I wondered, remembering what Edward and Aro had been hinting at with their bizarre conversation.

“This specific situation?” she grinned and then shook her head. “Not exactly, but let's just say that a beautiful young girl like yourself falling in love with a Vampire? I've seen that hundreds of times over.”

“Really?” I was surprised and felt my eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously? Hundreds?”

Somehka laughed again and turned so that she was level with me and dropped my hand to wrap her arm around my shoulders. Strangely enough, I didn't feel all that uncomfortable anymore. She had interesting information and maybe I would hear something that I could use to my advantage. “Bella, contrary to popular belief, this world did not start off as a paradise.”

“You mean, like Biblical stuff?' I questioned, wondering what Carlisle would think of that announcement.

“Exactly,” she nodded. “Let's walk so we're not so conspicuous.”

“We're not going to...?” I waved my hand in a swirly motion and she shook her head.

“Not unless you wish to,” she offered. “Or it's absolutely necessary. I see that it disorients you and I'd rather you made your decision with a clear head. You understand?”

“Yeah, I'd prefer that myself too,” I agreed. “But what decision?”

“That's what we're getting to,” she commented and suddenly, she was dressed as an ordinary young woman. Sort of like how I was dressed, in jeans, a shirt though she wore a cardigan over top of hers. “Okay, focus,” she drew my attention back up to her. I determinedly focused on what she was trying to tell me and we started walking down the street.

“The world wasn't a paradise,” I reiterated and she nodded.

“This world was overrun with demons,” she explained. “Demons like out of your nightmares, Vampires unlike what you are familiar with, among them. But humans came along and began to beat them back. They were smart and resourceful, even back then. But at the cusp of being exterminated, one of the demons bit a human, mixing it's blood with the human and the first corporeal Vampire was born. It was a terrible thing,” she shuddered as she said it.

“I... yeah, I can imagine,” I shuddered along with her, because I could imagine. I remembered well the sensation of being hunted close up by a red eyed, blood thirsty Vampire.

“And thus the quest for balance began,” Somehka went on. “Justice Beings were created and I know that it's very hard to fathom, but we grew, in numbers, in powers, to help the humans find a way to thrive in this world. But only those that truly need us. You Isabella Swan, definitely qualify.”

“But why?”

“I'm sure of you think about it, it will come to you,” Somehka replied mildly, though I could see something flashing in her eyes, reminding me that she wasn't Vampire, she wasn't a werewolf, if that were even possible, since it had only ever been heard of in some of the males of Jacob's tribe. She was definitely something more. And powerful, if the Volturi were wary of her. She was...

“Scorned women,” I murmured, feeling a little foolish. “Edward and then Jacob. But... not anymore.”

“Weren't you just, once again?” she questioned harshly. “Back there, in their death chamber?”

“I...” I began to protest, but honestly, she was right. Just because I understood how Edward felt about the situation, that he would rather I be anything but a Vampire, even dead apparently, told me the truth. He would rather that I died and he followed immediately after than turn me into a “monster” like him. In my mind, that was just sick. “But you can change things?” I clarified, having worked out that this was what she was here for. To make a wish, to make amends to me for being scorned by the man I loved, by the best friend and family that had abandoned me, though he had sworn that he wouldn't.

“What is it that you want most?” Somehka asked her gently. She reached to put her arm around my shoulders and surprisingly, she wasn't cold like I expected. The whole Vampire thing really was a facade. “It was obvious, back there, that you are willing to become a Vampire. Why? To be with your love forever? Romantic, but not technically practical,” she winced and shook her head quickly. “After all, there's no guarantee that you would be mates.”

“But we love each other,” I defended and then winced myself. Maybe that had been true once, when I had believed in the lie. After all, what could a human like myself have, aside from liters of his natural food source and a mind that he couldn't read, providing a challenge, to make Edward want to keep me around? “I love him.”

“And he'd rather see you dead than in his arms forever,” Somehka scoffed, echoing my thoughts of just a moment ago. “Terribly tragic, hmm? Tell me, he was turned as young as he appears?”

“Seventeen,” I confirmed and I could suddenly see it from her point of view. The eternal angsty teenager. I could see it because I had wondered myself. Locked into his mind set, he had told me that I had changed him. Really, being his sun in a black night sky just woke him up a little, to what there was in the world. It didn't necessarily make him grow up. Or change. Maybe he had just switched from obsession to obsession to obsession. Making his “change” when the latest lost it's attraction, or flavor.

“I can see the attraction of that,” Somehka nodded seriously. “To be young seeming forever,” she supplied, though she tapped on long, perfectly manicured nail on her lips lightly. I was reminded for a moment of Rosalie, the most beautiful of the Cullen's and indeed any Vampires that I had met so far. “But you don't strike me as the type of girl to be like that. You're more... and no offense dear, you're more the sweetheart of a girl next door.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed. She wasn't wrong there. I was definitely the plain Jane sort.

“Quite unaware of your own charms, whatever they may be,” she chuckled. “So Bella, what was the attraction of the Vampires then?”

I shrugged my shoulders, unsure if I could explain it to a stranger. But maybe that in itself was a good thing. Although some warnings, mostly in my father's voice, were ringing through my mind, I found myself spilling a little of my inner most feelings. “I've never fit in with everyone else,” I explained. “I've always felt different. Out of step or too mature for my friends. Not that I've had all that many of them. I've had to take care of my parents in different ways for a long time, be the adult. My mom says I was born an old soul. And that's how I feel. When I figured out that Edward was a Vampire and that werewolves exist, I didn't run or scream or anything you'd think a smart person would do. But I felt right with them all. Sort of. The ones that like me anyway. And when I thought that I might become one of them, that I would have a family, a place to belong. I'd be strong enough not to need to be protected all the time.” My chest was heaving by the time I finished and I whispered out, shaking my head sadly. “I just wanted to be strong.”

Somehka was watching me, nodding every once in a while as I let everything off my chest. Finally she ducked a little to look me straight in the eyes. “This is what you wish. To be strong enough to what?”

“To be the one...” I swallowed heavily and then inhaled deeply before looking her square in the eyes. “I wish that I was the one strong enough to be able to protect others!”

Her lips curved into an approximation of a smile. “I can work with that,” she nodded quickly. And then her face changed. Almost like I had once thought that Vampires faces would, but hers was much more extreme. Twisting into something out of a nightmare. “Wish granted!” her voice boomed, drawing attention through the square to us, but as I felt a tingling going through my body and seeming to settle in the deepest recesses of my brain, I was powerless to do anything. Finally the sensation abated, for the most part, although I felt an itchiness that wasn't quite an itchiness, that I wanted to tear my fingernails across in the back of my neck.

“What did you do?” I demanded. I looked down at my hands. There was no sparkle. There was no hardness or coldness. In fact, I had never felt more alive. Even after all the near death experiences that I had had recently in my life.

“I granted your wish,” Somehka smiled happily. “Fulfilled my quota for the day and gave those old Vultures something to think about. Oh, how they will rue the day they offended my master. But that's a story you may never hear. I can't wait to see how they take you now. Let us return. I'm sure you're... anxious to see your friends?”

“Yes, please,” I nodded. Why wasn't I a vampire, my mind wondered as I took her hand once more. Obviously I wasn't specific enough. She was almost like a genie with the misleading ideas and the word specific wishes that were granted. I should have remembered that. But I did feel stronger, Somehka even winced as my hand closed it's grip around hers. Truthfully, my skin crawled a little at her touch and I wanted to rip my hand away, much like when Aro had taken my hand. But I quelled the instinct. I prepared myself for the return trip, which was exactly like the previous one, without all the resulting dizziness.

Our return seemed to startle the rest of the Vampires. They all stared in shock at where we were standing and while my heart cried out for Edward, a silent plea that he would never hear, there was a part of me that felt repulsed by the coldness in that room. I had no other way to describe it. I wanted to tear it down, burn the palace and salt the earth. All with these Volturi, these Vampires within, their burning pieces acrid in my nose, the screeches of their tearing limbs, music to my ears. I gasped softly, which was echoed by Alice only a moment later.

“I can't see her,” my best friend cried out in shock and Edward was shaking his head slightly.

“Well, an interesting turn of events,” Aro drawled, glancing at the all seeing pixie-like Vampire. I felt sick, my lips trembling as where my once best friend stood, I now felt revulsion. This was Alice! 'How could I feel this?' I wondered numbly, silently to myself. “And not one I would have imagined. What precisely did she wish for?”

“Oh Aro,” Somehka giggled girlishly. “You know that I am bound by certain confidentiality clauses. As to what she wished, I'm sure you'll figure it out quickly enough. It's not so very hard to discern.” With that said, she turned to me and took the shoulder closest to her. “Just remember, when the time comes, the gift that I gave you, in the name of D'Hoffryn. This wish can not be changed and Bella? You've just changed the world.”

“What?” I whispered brokenly. I didn't need that. I didn't need the whole world to change for me. I had found my world, I had thought. But suddenly now, it was anathema to me. I looked at the still figures, like statues around the room, all staring at me and that urge, overcame me once again. I wanted to kill, to burn. I didn't realize until all the Vampires had eased back slightly from me that the growl in the room was coming from my chest, from me.

“What did you do?” Edward demanded, his eyes heavy, and though they were focused on me, he was asking this of Somehka. A demon. I focused on him, trying to bring back the love that I felt for him. It was there, I knew it, but it felt like it was being slowly smothered, barely more than an ember now. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Marcus rising from his throne. He was the one with the ability to see relationships.

At his pronouncement, many faces turned his way. “Their bond is breaking,” he announced in that monotone way that he seemed to have. Boredom of everything. He would welcome an end, I sensed. “She serves a new master now.”

“No,” Edward protested even as Marcus spoke.

“If things have changed so much that she will not be part of the Cullen clan,” Caius hissed happily as I turned to glare at him, no longer so afraid of his menacing presence, “then the law must be upheld.”

“Alas,” Aro nodded slowly, as if he were regretting this. He glanced at Edward, who began to struggle, within himself, but it was still there in his eyes. “This is true. I am so sorry Edward. I would never have wanted the situation to come to this. Our laws are absolute. I tried to give you a chance, but you must see...”

“Felix, take her,” Caius commanded and within the blink of an eye, Felix was before me, reaching for me. But I had seen him coming. How had I done that? I put my hands up to block his grasp and felt the cold stone of his hand in my own. Instinctively, knowing it wouldn't do any good, but still I had to try, I twisted out of his way. Somehow, I could not think when this threat was before me. The movement was swift, he didn't expect it, and really, neither did I. I twisted around, holding his hand in both of my own and when I finished spinning away, I held his hand still, but I was several feet away and there was a screaming, wrenching noise filling the halls to the rafter.

Everyone, including myself, but strangely, not Somehka was staring in shock as Felix dropped to his knees, cradling his wrist were there was no more hand. Because it was in mine. But Somehka, that evil, evil demon was laughing uproariously, like it was the best joke that she had ever heard.

Finally, it was Caius that came out of his stupor. “Kill her!” he roared to the remaining guard and even as movement surged around me, Edward and Alice screaming things out and Aro looking petrified, I felt hands on my shoulder. Warm hands, I registered and then Somehka's voice in my ear.

“The odds are not good, but they had to know for the game to continue,” she hissed at me. “Come on little Slayer. Time to go!”

And we spun through the world once more.