Charli turned and peered over the counter to watch Sienna helping Devin build a tower out of her Jenga game. The two of them were laughing and giggling and having a great time.. especailly when the tower would come crashing down, scattering blocks everywhere.

She sighed and smiled sadly, a touch sorry that she'd never thought about giving Sienna a brother or sister. She'd always been so caught up in her own problems and fears, she'd never considered how lonely her daughter must have been...

A loud clattering crash and squeals of laughter signaled the destruction of another tower and she chuckled and turned back to the dishes.

She found her mind stuck on the subject however, and went over it all as she scrubbed. It was 'HIS' fault, really. She'd been perfectly happy thinking of having kids and everything .. until 'HE' came along. At first it had been wonderful, but then he'd begun getting jealous for no reason, then he'd started following her whenever she'd go out... then he'd started getting mean. One moment they'd be snuggled on the couch watching TV and the next he'd be squeezing her arm until she cried out, or he'd pinch her until she begged him to stop.

When she found out she was pregnant she hoped he'd change.. and he had.. for the worse. Not a day went by that she didn't have a new bruise. He was always careful that they were never someplace that showed... if her father or his pack mates had ever seen a bruise on her that she couldn't explain, they'd have literally torn him to pieces. She wished she had had the nerve to tell them, but his threats against her family, friends and her unborn baby had always held her in fear of him.

She remembered the day she'd finally had enough and had ran. The look on his face as he held their tiny baby up by her leg as she kicked and screamed her little lungs out. The bruises from his fingers had lasted so long...

Charli gave a snort and scrubbed harder at a stubborn spot on the last pan.

It's no wonder she'd never felt comfortable around men again. Well, at least in a romantic way. It had taken her a while to trust Eire and Nate enough to be around them with out flinching all the time... And it had felt good to have male friends she could trust again.

She felt her face grow hot as she remembered her affair with Eire and still had to fight the urge to kick herself for breaking it off. She really did care for him, and she really had enjoyed being with him.. but... she just couldn't shake the fear... She shook her head, blinking away the sudden tears.

Damn 'Him' for doing this to her... she wondered if there would ever come a day when she could just be with a guy and be happy without the fear surfacing...

She sniffed back the tears and rinsed off the pan, adding it to the stack beside her and reached for the next dish. She remembered the surge of jealousy she'd felt when she'd heard Eire had met someone. The guy deserved to be happy, and she certainly couldn't be the one... and Fairlen was a nice girl. He deserved to be happy.

She sighed and pulled the plug, watching the dirty water swirl down the drain.

He DID derseve to be happy. He was a wonderful friend, and... and she wished she hadn't been such a fool and let him go. It was for the best though, she told herself. She couldn't make him happy the way she was, Fairlen can. Maybe someday she'd get over this and find someone else.

A sudden crash behind her made her jump and give a soft laugh as she heard Devin's squealing giggles. The playful yipe that followed brought her spinning around, wondering how on earth a dog had gotten in.

A reddish brown wolf cub was cavorting around Devin, playfully nipping at his shoe laces.

Charli ran out of the kitchen and skidded to a stop a few feet form Devin and the wolf. She searched the living room for any sign of Sienna. "Sienna!? " She called, her eyes going back to the wolf cub as she eased her way closer to Devin. "Devin, sweetie.. where's Sienna?" she asked as she got close enough to scoop him up and move away from the cub, who was sitting there staring at her, it's head tilting comicaly from one side to the other as she spoke.

She jumped as it gave a yip and jumped to it's feet, trotting towards her. "Sienna!!" she called, still backing away. The cub gave another yip and Devin giggled, reaching out towards the pup. Charli froze staring in horror at the wolf cub then back at Devin. "Oh... no... no no no..." she set Devin down on the floor and stared at the pup who came over and licked her face. "Sienna?" she asked softly, staring into soft brown eyes that seemed to almost be laughing at her. She turned and stared at Devin who had sat down and was smiling at her giggling at the pup kept hitting him in the face with her tail. "What have you done, Devin?" She asked softly. She scooped the pup into her arms and struggled to open the door, running down the hall yelling for Chaos.

Devin scrambled to his feet and ran after her.

Lex  reached out and caught him before he could tumble over in the hall, and stood with the little boy, looking at Charli with a worried expression. "Charli, what's wrong?" He asked as Devin giggled and squirmed and put his attentions on Lex, playing with the ring on his collar. Lex looked from Charli's expression to the cub in his arms still trying to piece everything together.

He jumped with a yelp when Eire appeared at his side in the hall. "Wha's wrong?" Eire asked, looking from Lex and Devin to Charli and the wolf cub, then Eire's nose twitched and his eyebrows shot up. "Charli...is that...Sienna?!" Eire asked, with a laugh.

"Sienna?!" Lex blinked, looking at the puppy who yipped, tail wagging. "But how in the world..."

Charli turned back and nodded towards Devin. "It was that .. that THING! He did it! He changed her!!" Charli fumed, furious, then was struck by an idea. "Eire! Eire.. you can change her back, right?! You change all the time.. you can help her.. right?"

"He's not a thing, Charli, he's just a little boy." Lex said softly in a submissive whisper in Devin's defense.

Eire had to struggle to keep a serious face. It wasn't that he tought it was funny, it's just that Charli was over reacting. "Charles, calm down. I'm sure it can be reversed. Sienna's always had wolf blood in her, she gets it from you probably. Not sure I can change her back, might have t' get Kay and Nate for that... but I can probably teach her how t' control the change." He said with a geniune smile. "Lex, why don't ye take Devin with ye fer right now."

Lex nodded, having the feeling that was probably a good idea. Devin was still playing with the ring on his collar. He shifted him to his hip and gave Charli a sympathic smile before heading down the hall.

"Don't worry so much, Charli, we'll take care of this." Eire said, moving on down to Chaos' door first, and knocking.

**
Lex took Devin down stairs with him, looking at he toddler as he walked with him. "Lords Devin, what'd you do..." Lex shook his head. He turned into the staff kitchen, and sat down on a chair, Devin climbed up, standing on his lap, grinning. "Child, I think we underestimated just what you are." Lex said, looking the boy in the eyes.

**

Clarice answered the frantic pounding on her apartment doorand looked from Charli to Eire to the wolf pup and sighed, opening the door farther and ushering them in. "What catastrophey has befallen us now?"

"Sienna's changed herself int' a wolf.. Charles would like us t' help her change back..." Eire said, trying to control his smirk.

"Sienna did NOT change herself! It was that .. that... THING! That demon child of your sisters.. HE did it!" Charli snarled, her eyes flashing in her anger.

Chaos suddenly went cold. "Devin?" she looked from one to the other, then down at the pup who was busy playing tug of war with Eire's pant leg. "Devin did this?"

Eire shrugged. "Kay... Sienna's part wolf... she could've just..."

"No!" Charli snapped, cutting him off. She turned to Chaos and jabbed a finger at her chest. "Your nephew did this to my baby... change her back! And get rid of that damned .. THING.. before he does something even worse!!"

Chaos looked down at the finger poking her and Eire gave a small groan. "Oh shite.." he muttered softly and bent to scoop Sienna into his arms.

"Charli..." Chaos said, her voice eeirly calm as she grabbed the woman wrist. "First off.. he's not a thing.. he's a little boy. Secondly, Sienna is part were wolf, so it is possible that the change occured naturally.. thirdly... Sienna is just as much demon as Devin is, so don't you dare go throwing insults around." She pushed Charli down into a chair and held her shoulders. "I know you're upset right now, but you need to get a grip and calm down. Just because you never developed the ability to change shape, doesn't mean anything where your daughter is concerned. Plus Sienna has her demon blood added in and we've already seen some of the effects of that.. why is it so hard to believe that this is one of them?"

"But..."

"No buts, Charli. Yes it is a possibilty that Devin might have had something to do with it.. after all, we've seen that he can somehow break spells placed on people... at least under certain conditions anyhow... but we've never found any evidence of him CASTING spells... If he did cause Sienna's change, it was more likely him effecting her own abilities... and if that's so, then she would've changed on her own anyways at some other time..."

Chaos cast a look back at Eire who was standing just inside the door holding a wiggling wolf cub who was currently enjoying a game of 'kiss Eire before he can stop you'... she gave a soft snort and tried not to smile. "And Devin would be?"

Eire had to stop himself from snickering as the wolf cub kept trying to get at him, and held her out at arms length for the moment, looking back at Chaos and Charli. "I had Lex take 'im with him. Probably got 'im down stairs." He said. "Look Charles, Kay's right, Sienna was bound t' change sooner or later. Now like I said, I can teach 'er how t' control the change, once she's back. I'm guessin' Devin sorta unlocked the ability for 'er."

The wolf cub was growling playfully, wanting to play. Eire was doing his best to resist the urge to change himself to play with her. "Hell, Sienna's takin' it better then I did me first time. I think I was scared shitless the first time I changed." He said with a lopsided grin.

**
Lexine watched Devin playing on the floor of the staff kitchen with a clean pot and spoon, beating the pot and banging the spoon off the floor. "Well at least it doesn't take much to amuse you." Lex said softly with a smile, watching him.

He slid off his chair to sat on the floor next to the boy, and crossed his legs, sitting the boy in his lap. Devin giggled but continued to play, while Lex pondered over him, and just what he was capable of doing.

**

Chaos sat on the arm of the chair Charli was in and watched Eire. "So... how shall we try this...? I'm not sure just what I can do... my shifting abilities are limited to this body and my demon form... what about if you changed and then changed back? Maybe being in contact with her when you change would be enough to trigger it... damn .. I don't know... the only one I can think of who might be able to control someone else shifting forms would be my dad....I might be able to come up with something... alter a spell or something.. but that's not exactly safe..."

Just then Sienna gave a twist and broke free of Eire's hold on her, dropping to the floor. Before any one could make a move she was out the door and on the run.

"Shite!" Eire swore, turning and giving chase. Knowing he probably wouldn't keep up with her on two legs, he shifted in to wolf form and ran her down, chasing her down the hall and around the corner. He barked twice for her to stop, but she was obviously having too much fun or had other plans on her mind, so Eire sped up. He chased her down the stair case onto the next floor, where they had to skirt past Aiyla who looked at them with a raised eyebrow as they passed.

*
Lex looked up from the staff kitchen as he heard the commotion. Devin seemed oblivious still playing with his pot and spoon. Lex saw the wolf cub run by and a flash of silver indicating Eire was hot on her trail. He shook his head.

**

Sylvie gave a startled shriek as the two wolves tore past her heading for the stairs. "What on Earth...? Eire Montgomery!"

"It's alright, Sylvie! He's trying to catch Sienna... call security down stairs and tell them to lock the doors!" Chaos yelled as she raced past.

Sylvie had the phone in her hand giving the order before the words even fully registered. As she let the handset fall back into the cradle her eyes shot open. "Sienna?!"

Eire put on an extra burst of speed and slipped up beside Sienna then in front of her, haulting her in her tracks. Before she could turn and bolt the other way, the silver wolf grabbed her gently by the scruf the neck, picking her up off the floor. She wiggled and yelped, but he carried her back toward Chaos, even as she struggled to get free.

Chaos skidded to a stop seeing Eire trotting towards her with the pup by the scruff of the neck. She gave a soft chuckle. "Hold her a for a second Eire. Sienna." she said squatting down at eye level with the pup. "Sienna, hun.. you have to change back. You're mom is going crazy... " She looked at Eire. "Trying keeping in touch with her as you change back E.. maybe it'll kick start something..." she said, giving a shrug and reaching out to hold the pup still.

Eire sat down, nestled the pup between his front paws securly, letting go of the scruff of her neck and shifted back, so that now in human form he was holding her securely between his arms. He shook his head slightly and turned his head to the side, spitting. "Dog hair, yuck." He said with a snicker, before looking downward.

Chaos held her breath as the pup started to squirm and suddenly let out a sigh of relief. "I can't believe that actually worked.. Sienna... what happened!"

Sienna looked sheepishly at Chaos then looked up over her shoulder at Eire who was still holding her. She gave a shy shrug and answered quietly. "We were just playing..."

Eire gave a snort, shoved himself backward and climbed to his feet. "Yeah.. we kinda saw tha' " he said with a grin as he pulled Sienna to her feet.

"Sienna... what happened... did you do this.. or did Devin...?" Chaos asked as she rose to her own feet.

Sienna shrugged. "I don't know.. I think he did... kinda... we were playing and kinda watching T.V ...sort of.. it was on and we mostly ignored it, but you know..." she said and shrugged again. "Anyhow, there was some nature show and they showed these wolves running.. and I was watching and wishing I could be a wolf too.. like grampa and the pack... and then Devin touched my cheek, and..." She looked up with a mischievious smirk and shrugged. "It was fun.. and I can do it on my own .. I know I can... I can feel it!"

Chaos smirked, shaking her head. "Your mother is having a cow... I think you need to talk to her about this..."

Sienna groaned. "Do I have to! You know how she feels about .."

Eire cut her off, tapping on the top of her head until she looked up at him. "An' YOU know how she feels about this... she's afriad o' it.. especailly fer ye."

Sienna gave a sigh and suddenly flopped backwards against Eire, letting him catch her. "But I LIKE being a wolf... she's gonna kill me... "

"She's no' gonna kill ye, kiddo." he said with a chuckle.

"No.. but she won't let me change again...." She said softly as she climbed to her feet  and headed back up stairs.

Eire watched her go, before skirting past Chaos and jogging to catch up with Sienna. "Si, half pint, wait a minute, eh?" He said softly, popping around front of her on the steps and sitting down, looking at her. "Yer mum's just scared fer ye right now. Ye know she loves ye, she's yer mum. Mums always act like this, trust me. Me mum went... insane when we found out I could change. I don't think I was allowed t' properly change till I was sixteen... I found out I could when I was twelve. So I spent a few years sneakin' behind her back." Eire said with a smirk. "Then again, she probably knew, knowin' Ruby." He waved it off and looked at her.

"I wasn't as lucky as ye are, half pint. I didn't have any other wolves t' learn from. Was on me own..." He sighed, knowing Charli would probably refuse the idea, but maybe between him, Sienna and Chaos they could convince her... "I can talk t' yer mum...if she can be convinced t' let ye, I'll teach ye how to control the change...how t' be a wolf." He said with a wolfish grin. "If I do though, there's a couple stipulations... like ye gotta listen t' me, and don't go runnin' off helter skelter when changed." He said seriously.

***
Lex had heard Chaos Eire and Sienna. Devin had crawled into his lap and seemed to be settling there for a nap. Lex scooped the todder up, shoving the pot and spoon back in a cabinet and got to his feet slowly. Devin put his head on Lex's shoulder as Lex made his way to the door of the staff kitchen.

Chaos was still in the hall, having watched Eire go after Sienna. "Is...Sienna okay?" Lex asked softly. "And Charli? I mean, did Devin really cause it to happen, or did he trigger something?" He asked, looking at Chaos as Devin giggled softly, but sleepily.

Chaos turned to look at Lex and smiled softly to see the petite redhead holding Devin. "She's fine. I think he just triggered it, Lex... and by the sounds of it, it was somethnig Sienna wanted very badly." she walked over and gently brushed Devn's hair back.

"Eire's talking to Sienna... I don't know whether to wait for Eire to join me to talk to Charli... or whether I should talk to her on my own..." she glanced back towards the stair well. "Or just leave it to Eire... he's probably closer to Charli than I am... she might be more receptive with it coming from him..."

With a sigh she turned back to Lex. "So how are things coming along for my Chief Archivist? I was in the other day and I must say, Lex, I am very impressed with how thing are looking. I trust Daniel and Laini are working out alright for you?"


***

Sienna looked at Eire for a moment as he sat there, an odd look on her face. Then she smiled and nodded. "Deal." she said, her smile shifting into a smirk as she started past him. "She'll say yes if *you* ask her... Can I call grandpa and tell him? Or should I wait... maybe I should wait... he'd get worried.. werewolves don't change until they hit puberty, he said... isn't that dumb? Think of the fun they miss out on as a kid... " she said and started quickly up the stairs. She stopped at the next landing and leaned back down. "Hey Eire?" she called back down. "Next time, can we go outside and run?"

Eire listened to her, or half listened to her, trying to comperhend what she meant by 'she'll say yes if YOU ask her...' He didn't think too many of the others KNEW about that... He scratched his nose with a sigh and turned his head to watch Sienna bounce past and looked up at her on the next landing as she called back down.

He bounced up from his spot, catching up with her. "Maybe not 'round here. 'Round the complex MAYBE, but if ye really wanna go outside an' run, I'll take ye out to the country. An' if we do go, an' I tell ye not t' run again, like I did earlier, ye gotta listen t' me." He said pointedly, about when he'd given her the two barks to stop running earlier. "It's a big wide world out there half pint, an' yer jus' a cub right now." He said softly. "Come on, lets go talk t' yer mum." He said, nudging her with his elbow and heading back upstairs.

Charli was still in Chaos' apartment. Eire gave Sienna a gentle push inside and gave them a couple moments together. He leaned against the door frame a moment, watching them. Charli was still a damn fine woman. Any man in his right mind could see that. She was something wonderful. There were times Eire wished things between them had gone a different way. That he'd been able to get her to trust him.

For a moment, he was caught up in the fantasy that it had worked out, that he was standing here under slightly different circumstances, maybe even Sienna's step father. It was an appealing fantasy. He sighed, shaking his head. He could see Sienna in ten years, beautiful like her mother, outgoing and charming. She was going to be a heart breaker. The boy that got her attention was going to have to be something else...and in all probility, a wolf, possibley a half shade like him.

After a moment, Eire cleared his throat, coming further into the apartment. Sienna looked at him expectedly. Eire rubbed the back of his neck and took a breath. "Listen Charles, Sienna an' I were jus' talkin'. She knows what she is, an' she accepts it. I don't wanna put my foot in the door so t' say, but she'll make a fine wolf...if she can learn to control the change an' how t' be one. Me offer still stands...t' teach her, iffn ye'd be willin' t' let me." He said softly, but seriously.

***
Lex smiled slightly, Devin was all but asleep on his shoulder, and after a moment, Lex found he didn't mind, a tiny surprised bit of him actually found he liked it. But he shoved that back for the moment, just thinking it was because Devin was just his baby brother. Admittedly since he WAS his baby brother, adopted, but all the same, Lex realized he was going to have to spend more time around the boy.

"I was kinda worried...Charli seemed really upset about it..." Lex said softly. "She called Devin....a thing...a bit unfair. Eire suggested I take him with me...so I brought him down here...we played with a pot and wooden spoon." Lex added with a smile.

"As for the archives. Well...there's still a lot of work to be done...now that Daniel's got most of the information uploaded, I want to start a hard cataloging. Which I intend to start tomorrow. Daniel and Laini are working out well...at least they have some idea of how to handle the books." He said with a slight lopsided smirk. "I just don't know how Faal did it...I don't know if he realizes just what all he has...he has NO organization to them at ALL.excpet maybe personal preference but still..."

Chaos chuckled softly and placed a hand on Lex's back. "I'm not sure he even has that much organization to things, Lex... I'm not the most organized person in the world.. but even I can find things easier the he does. Did you know he has no idea where half of his cars are? And those are expensive damn cars! He's always loaning them to employees, shows and friends and they get driven from one place to another and left. Sometimes, I wonder if he even knows where all the houses he owns are... the man is in deserperate need of an entire TRIBE of personal assistants." She gave a soft laugh. "Looks like Devin's ready for bed... want to take him up, or would you rather I do it?"


**

Charli looked to Sienna, who was practically bouncing on her toes as she waited for her reply. With a sigh she held out an arm to her daughter who came over quickly and climbed onto the couch beside her.

"Sienna, baby..."

"Mom.. please.. I WANTED to ... I still do! Please!?" she said softly and Charli felt something inside her twist painfully and she looked away. Every thing she'd wanted for her daughter was suddenly gone. All the dreams and wishes... the plans... all gone.

She looked up to see Eire still standing there, half slouched as he always did when nervous or unsure of something, his hand shoved in his pockets.

"Does what I say really matter anymore, Sienna?" she asked softly, her voice empty and sad. "It's a part of you now.... it will always be a part of you now... if I stop you.... it'll still be there, eating you up inside..." .. and sooner or later, you'd hate me for it... she thought but didn't say out loud. She leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead then pushed herself to her feet and walked toward Eire, stopping a foot away. For a moment she didn't say anything, then she just shook her head slightly and gave him a weak smile. "Look after her, Montgomery... don't you dare let anything happen to her..."

She started past him into the hallway. "See if she can stay with someone for a bit... I.. I need to take off for a while.. I don't know where, I ... I just need to get away.... from everything..."

 "Whoa... why do I get th' feelin' I just missed somethin' big...?" Nate asked as he approached his best friend, watching Charli walk slowly towards the elevators.

Eire looked to Sienna who was sitting on the couch looking confused and sad. "Si changed t'day... Charles is havein' trouble dealin'... " he said softly as he turned to see the Charli waiting for the elevator. "She's takin' off fer a bit... but I think she needs more then just space... I think she needs someone t' talk t'."

Nate gave a low whistle then snapped his fingers. "Someone like mum?" he asked with a smirk. Eire turned to look at him then smirked slightly. "Come on, E'... Hawkscliff 'll be good fer her... an' ye know if anyone get through t' her.. its mum." The elevator door closed and Nate turned and started for the stairs. "I'll head her off an' mention it to her an' arrange it with mum. She'll love havin' the girls visit..."

"Si's not goin' Nate.. just Charli..." Eire called and Nate gave another low whistle and a shake of his head as he dissapeared through the doorway. His voice called back. "Damn .. looks like mum's go' her work cut out fer her this time..."

~~

Charli looked out of the window at the tarmac below as the plane taxied up to the terminal and the ground crew prepared to extend the loading ramp. She couldn’t see much of anything beyond the lighted area of the landing strip and the terminal, the land around a seemingly impenetrable blanket of black. Part of her wished she had waited and caught the next flight so she could’ve enjoyed the scenery, then again, if she’d taken Bull up on the ride, she would’ve have been here several hours ago. She sighed and undid her seat belt as the indicator flashed off and the flight attendants announced they’d be disembarking shortly.

She wasn’t sure why she’d taken Nate up on his offer. She’d only met Helena MacDonnell a handful of times in all the years she’d known her son, and yet here she was half way across the planet coming to impose on the poor woman. Well, okay.. so maybe it wasn’t actually ‘half way’…

Another sigh as she realized just how far away she was from her little girl. She’d never been more then a hundred miles from Sienna in the girls entire life, and that only once a year during the summer when Si went to stay with her parents for vacation. And yet here she was putting an entire ocean between them.

The trip down the loading ramp and through customs went by in a blur and she found herself suddenly by the luggage carousel staring at the bags going by and wondering just what the hell she was doing abandoning her daughter like this…

“You have to get your own act together before you can help her with this.” She said, earning several curious glances from the people claiming their luggage. One lady gave her a worried glance and ushered the boy with her a bit farther away. Charli blushed as she realized she’d spoken that thought out loud. *Wonderful.. not in the country ten minutes and already you’re building a reputation as a crazy…*

A familiar looking flower printed suitcase went past and a lady stepped forward to claim it, and Charli realized that she’d seen that same bag go by at least half a dozen times. She gave a sigh and moved around the luggage  carousel until she could see the shute… and no more bags appearing from it.

She gave a frustrated groan and ran her hand back through her hair as she walked counter to the carousel, scanning the few remaining bags in vain. The black and pearl leaf patterned set her mother had given her was no where to be seen. “Aww shit..” she cursed softly, jamming her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she watched the last of the bags claimed leaving the empty carousel to turn as if mocking her. She sighed and settled her shoulder bag a bit better, thankful she’d thought to pack a change of clothes and the necessities in her carry on…

With a final kick at the base of the carousel, Charli went off to file a report on her missing luggage,  reminding herself again that if she’d only taken Bull up on his offer…

**

“Excuse me , miss..?”

Charli looked up in surprise, startled from her brooding by the voice. She found a vaguely familiar face and it took her a moment to remember where and when. “Oh.. you’re Nate’s cousin… Duncan…?” she said, remembering a couple brief introductions, usually  in passing.. the last one only a short while ago when the MacDonnell’s had visited Nate and met Aiyla…

A smile spread across his face, causing a small dimple to form and his eyes to sparkle and Charli felt her stomach do it’s familiar flip. “Aye… an’ tha’ would mean tha’ yer Charli… I thought as much, but I wasnae sure... since all I could see was th’ top of yer head while ye were starin’ at yer shoes like tha’…”

Charli blushed, trying to stamp down the feelings that always stirred around cute foreign men… a weakness that she really needed to work on. “I wasn’t staring at my shoes…well.. actually I guess I was..” she said, blushing a bit harder as she tucked her hair back behind her ear. Obviously her pony tail had failed at some point, letting a large portion of hair free. “Did Helena send you?”

He nodded slightly, the smile and sparkle still in place and she ducked her head to keep from staring. She didn’t want to know what colour his eyes were or his hair or anything about him… she didn’t need to get all flustered over a guy right now. She had more then enough trouble as it was. “Aye…she sends her apologies fer not meetin’ ye herself, but she got called int’ a meetin’. An’ I’m sorry I’m late… I had to borrow Auntie Hel’s car an’ drop her off.. an’ th’ blasted thing blew a tire half way here…”

She heard the soft rustle of his leather jacket as he moved and did her best not to look at him, pushing herself away form where she’d been leaning against the wall and hitching her bag back to her shoulder instead. “It’s alright… I would’ve just kept  you waiting anyhow. I had some paperwork to fill out. Thank’s for coming to get me.. I could’ve arranged for a cab or something I guess, but Helena wouldn’t let me…”

Duncan laughed softly and she had to jam her hands back into her pockets and think of something else to keep from looking up at him. Damn but he had a nice laugh. Had a nice smile too… “Well.. let’s get yer bags int’ th’ car an’ get ye back t’ HawksCliff then.” he said. “Where are ye bags, Lass? Surely that’s not all ye have?”

Charli sighed and managed a rueful smirk. “Is now. They lost my luggage…that’s why I was filling out paperwork…” she removed a hand form her pocket long enough to tuck her hair behind her ears again. “So.. we might as well go. Before anything else goes wrong…it’s just been one of those days…”

There was a soft snort and a hand reached out to snag the strap of her shoulder bag, pulling it off. Charli looked up in surprise as Duncan too her bag. His eyes were green… the deepest green she’d ever seen that somehow has a grayish quality to them too, making her think of thick patches of moss in sun dappled shade. * Aww crap.. shut up. Stop thinking stupid shit like that. You are NOT falling for him. NO. You’ve been through this shit before… remember Eire…*

She tore her gaze away and let him take her bag, focusing her attention on pulling out her pony tail and redoing it as they walked, trying to keep her gaze off of him. Unfortunately, he was in the lead and she kept finding herself watching his backside as he walked… he had a really nice…*STOP* she told her self and shut her eyes, trying to block out the sight and the thought… and walked face first into him as he suddenly stopped to open the door to the terminal.

That soft laugh came again, sending ripples through her insides and she felt her face burn as he held the door open. “Are ye alright?” he asked softly and she didn’t have to look to know his eyes were sparkling with amusement. No doubt he knew exactly ‘why’ she’d walked into him… or close enough, anyhow.

“Yeah.. sorry…” she muttered, slipping past him through the open door. “Been a long day..” she added as a lame excuse.

“Aye, I suppose it has. I’m sorry. I fergot tha’ ye’ve got th’ whole jet lag thing goin’ on in addition t’ whatever yer running from…”

Charli stopped as he headed past her to where a car was waiting. “I’m not running from anything!” she snapped, embarrassed. “I just needed some time to myself. Not that it’s any of your business.” She growled, her sudden flare of anger helping to focus. Even as she stalked over and pulled the car door form his hand and slipped inside, she realized that he was right.. she ‘was’ running away… and that just mad her angrier.

Duncan raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden shift in her. He hadn’t meant to upset her but seeing the spark that had ignited in her eyes was almost worth having her pissed at him. She’d been so distant and shy… not at all like he remembered her from their brief meeting earlier, or from Natey’s mentions of her. He’d started to worry that whatever had prompted this getaway had done a lot more damage then could be fixed by a little heart to heart with Auntie Hel… he shook his head as a soft smirk played over his features. He closed her door before tossing her bag in the back and heading around to the driver’s side. This was going to be interesting.

**

Kay propped her elbows on her desk, her chin resting on her hands as she watched Devin sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, coloring furiously. Lex had shyly broached the subject of looking into Devin’s bloodline earlier and she hadn’t been able to get the thought out of her head since.

It was true that they knew next to nothing about him and had no idea just what he was or could be capable of. She’d done some looking into things, but other then what she already knew of her sister’s mother being half demon and half demon/witch mix, she hadn’t been able to discover much on her own. She was fairly sure Devin’s father was at least part fae, but that was all she’d been able to find out on that end since no one had any knowledge of Shada even ‘having’ a child. The blood test they’d had done showed a mix of demon, fae and human DNA, with demon being the strongest, followed by fae, and proved that he was related to her… and there the usefulness ended.

She sighed, smirking slightly as she watched his tongue poke out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on his picture. She wished science had made a few more leaps in preternatural DNA mapping… knowing what kinds of demon were present would help… of course the fact that a large chunk of it was Chaos demon would probably undo any good that might have done. If there was one thing they knew for sure, it was that Chaos demon added into any bloodline caused.. well… chaos. The only solid traits that ran in the Chaos line were a tendency towards blues and purples in skin and hair coloring, and a variety of mimicking abilities that ran form shape-shifting to voice-shifting.. her own ability to mimic accents and to some extents voices was paltry in comparison to most.

The abilities to shadow cloak, call the flesh-eater spell she’d recently learned to handle and grow and control extra appendages such as wings, tails and horns also were a sign of chaos blood in the mix. Control meaning that they would appear and disappear at will… something she was still getting a handle on…Of course, just to make things interesting, not all Chaos demons had all of these abilities and some had none outside of the basics, having completely different abilities instead.

The only thing that was known for causing more trouble then Chaos Demon blood… was fae blood… and Devin had both… just like herself. And look at the fun she’d gone through with just a bit of fae blood? Devin had a good deal more, plus his grandmother’s demon witch blood added in to the mix…

Obviously, even as young as he was, the effects of his mixed bloodline were already having a heyday… after all, the magic stuff aside, how many two and a half year olds were as independent as this one? He acted more like a four year old, preferring to brush his own teeth and get dressed with very little help.. and of course the coloring… the kid was crazy about coloring. Not drawing. She never saw him draw… just color…

She heaved another heavy sigh and folded her arms one her desk and lay her head on them, still watching Devin. She realized that her best chance at learning anything more, even if it was just the possibilities of what might happen… was to go to her father. A part of her really wanted to go and talk with him some more, but there was still that piece of her that balked at the thought. It wasn’t so much him… but going to Hell. With a soft groan she buried her face in her arms and wondered what the chances of getting him to come here were…

**

Nate leaned on the patio rail and watched Eire and Sienna in the garden below, a soft smirk on his face. The half shade had been drilling the girl on shifting back and forth and she was starting to look a bit restless. He had the feeling that the next time E’ made her shift to wolf she was going to run off… which was no doubt why the two of them were just talking at the moment. E’ seemed to have a good grasp on her moods and how to head off the rebellions before they happened.

So far at least.

It had only been a couple days since Charli had run off to Hawkscliff and Eire had assumed the role of Sienna’s teacher and temporary guardian. Nate had helped set up the spare room in Eire’s apartment and move a few of her things in once it had been decided that would be the easiest arrangement. He still wasn’t sure how that had come about.. he suspected it had been decided for a variety of reasons, the least of which being Eire’s wolf lessons. No doubt the women were up to something with this odd move…

He saw a huge grin appear on Sienna’s face as she leapt to her feet and hugged Eire before shifting to wolf and taking off down the path and out of sight. He smirked softly at the expression on Eire’s face and shook his head wondering just what had gone wrong between him and Charli. The two of them thought they’d been so careful and no one knew about their brief affair a few years back, but he’d noticed the change between them. He knew Sylvie had too, even though she’d never said anything. Kay he wasn’t sure about.. but then, he was never sure what Kay knew and what she didn’t…

He caught the curious look Eire shot him and gave the half shade a mock salute. He was answered with a salute of the single digit variety before Eire shifted and loped after Sienna.

“Ye should be more then her teacher, boyo. Ye’d be a damn fine da…” he muttered softly as he watched the flash of silver vanish among the greenery. He sighed and pushed himself away form the rail, deciding he’d better see what was waiting for him on his desk. As he headed for the stairs he found himself hoping things between Eire and Fairlen worked out… his friend had lived in the past for far too long and deserved a shot at a future. A happy one, at that.

  

Charli tucked her cold fingers into her sides, crushing them beneath her arms as she walked among the headstones of the little family plot. The heavy knit sweater she’d borrowed from Helena was wonderfully warm and she wondered whose it was. She didn’t think it was Helena’s since she never saw the woman wearing anything like it. She had thought at first it might have been Nate’s but it was big on her… and she’d borrowed a coat form Nate before and had it fit her just fine. So either it was Nate’s fathers or his older brothers.. and she wasn’t sure either thought sat well with her. Surely it must bother the woman seeing her wearing her dead loved ones clothing…

“Penny fer yer thoughts.”

Charli jumped at the sudden intrusion of the voice and turned to see Duncan sitting casually astride a rather large horse. She hadn’t even heard him approach.. surely she should have heard a horse walking up on her. She sighed and brushed her hair aside, turning back to the headstones to hide her blush. “They’re not worth your money, but thanks for the offer.” She quipped lightly. “Being sneaky on your own wasn’t enough of a challenge, you had to teach your horse how to sneak up on people too?”

Duncan laughed softly and leaned back in the saddle, the leather creaking gently with the movement. “Hardly call it sneakin’.”  he said, watching her. “Are ye cold, lass? I can give ye a ride back t’ th’ house…”

Charli felt her inside tighten at the thought of being pressed close against him during the ride and cleared her throat, tightening her hold on herself, her hands tucking a bit more firmly into her armpits. “No thanks… My hands just got a bit chilled. I’m fine really.” She managed to get out and  got her feet moving again. She heard the soft pad of the horses hooves on the thick carpet of grass and moss as he followed slowly behind her.

“Yer luggage is here finally.. I just left it in yer room fer ye…”

Another twitch and flip on her insides at the soft sound of his voice and the knowledge that he’d been in her room. She scowled at herself and fought harder at quelling the unwanted attraction she felt for him. She didn’t know him. He was a cousin of a friend. That was it. And a damned sexy guy as well… but that had no bearing on anything. She wasn’t here to get involved in another dead end doomed relationship. “thank you.” She muttered softly as she realized he was waiting for her to say something.

Duncan sighed softly. The past week had been the same whenever he’d stopped in. Charli was quiet, usually keeping to herself. And seemed to go to great lengths to avoid him if she had any warning he was coming over. His aunt told him the two of them had spoken a few times about things but had refused to say more, telling him simply it was none of his business and if Charli wanted him to know anything, she’d tell him herself. “Are ye sure ye don’ want a ride back?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.. I’m fine, thanks. Really.” She answered, not looking at him. He was growing a bit frustrated with that… how she did her best not to look at him.. and she rarely ever said his name.

“Alright then… maybe I could take ye ridin’ later? Got plenty of horses fer ye t’ choose from, an’ I know ye havenae been ridin’ yet.” he offered, still hoping she’d accept even though he already knew she wouldn’t.

“I’d rather not, Duncan. Thanks for the offer though.”

He sighed again. At least she’d said his name that time. He tugged on the reins, turning back towards the trees. “Fine.. I’ll leave ye be then…” he said, then added softly. “Ye don’ have t’ deal with everythin’ on yer own, Charli…yer not alone.”

Charli closed her eyes at the soft words and didn’t open them again until the hoofs beats had faded. She angrily wiped the wetness form her cheeks, mad at her own weakness in letting his words get to her. In letting him get to her. She’d been doing fine before he popped up. She was dealing with things just fine.

Her conversations with Helena came back to her and she choked back an anguished sob as she realized she was lying to herself. She wasn’t dealing with anything… Helena was right… Duncan was right. She was burying everything she could and running away from what she couldn’t bury. And it had done nothing but hurt her.. and it was starting to hurt Sienna.

She folded in on herself, sitting on the cool grass between the faded headstones of long dead MacDonnells and cried.

**

Eire yawned and stretched, popping his neck as he did and smirked as Nate winced at the sound. For added measure he cracked his knuckles too. Nate glared at him then whacked him with his hat, sending him sliding off the bar stool with a chuckle.

“Brat.” Fairlen said softly from his far side as he moved to put her between Nate and himself. Eire just chuckled, grinning as he rescued his beer before Nate could grab it. Before Nate could any move to retaliate further, Aiyla grabbed his hat and perched it on her own head before hauling him off to the dance floor. Eire watched them go, listening to Nate’s protests and shook his head softly. He would never understand just why Nate was so serious about that woman. It was plain to see for everyone that she was just … wrong for him.

“So.. how goes daddy-duty?”

Eire blinked, his beer bottle halfway to his mouth as he heard Fairlen’s question. He blushed faintly as he went ahead with his drink before turned to answer her. “Yer enjoyin’ this far too much…” he said simply, giving his best blank face. “Si’s doin’ fine. Stubborn, willful, with a mischievous streak to rival a MacDonnell’s… but she’s learnin.”

Fairlen smirked, her eyes sparkling as she took a drink. “Uh huh. Sounds more like a certain Shade I know…” she tipped the beer bottle at him. “Sorry.. ‘half shade’.” She amended with a bigger smirk.

Eire just snorted and turned on his stool so he was leaning back against the bar beside her and after a minute, slipped his arm around her waist.

“So where is your protégé tonight?” she asked, her eyes going to where Aiyla had finally managed to convince Nate to dance and found herself blushing at some of the other womans’ dance moves.

“At Kay’s… talkin’ t’ her mum on th’ phone. Seems Helena’s managed t’ do her some good at long last…” Eire answered, and gave a snort before finishing his beer. “Come on… let’s get out o’ here. I don’t think I can take much more of that tonight.” he said, nodding towards Aiyla.

Fairlen raised an eyebrow as she finished her own beer and slid off her seat. “The dirty dancing getting to you, Eire?” she asked playfully as she pulled her purse over her shoulder.

“Nah…” he answered, catching Nate’s eye to let him know they were leaving. “Just one o’ th’ dancers.”

“Ah.” Fairlen said, casting a last glance over her shoulder at the couple. “So I’m not alone, then?” she asked, slipping her arm through his an earning a surprised blush at the move. “I mean… I like her well enough.. just…”

“Not with him.” Eire finished for her as they left the bar.

Fairlen nodded, her eyes sparkling as she suppressed a smirk. “Yeah… just not with him. She’s… not the same when she’s with him. She’s…” Fairlen thought for a moment then shrugged. “Oh well, you know what I mean anyhow, I think, so enough about them. I finally have you to myself… what ever will I do with you…?”

Eire fought against the blush that threatened to rise again. “Oh.. I’m sure ye have plenty of ideas already, Fair.” he answered softly as they walked. “An’ if not… I think I have one or two of my own…”

Lex peered over the edge of the book to see he still had Devin's rapt attention. He had started reading with him sitting on his lap, but that had proved to distracting. He'd never read aloud to anyone except Faal before... and Faal didn't stare at him as he read like Devin did. It was a bit embarrassing and more then a bit unnerving. At least this way he couldn't see those big green eyes staring at him... he could feel them.. but he couldn't see them...

The sudden yawn caught him by surprise and he peeked back over the book to see Devin rubbing his eyes. Lex closed the book after marking the page and set it aside, scooping Devin up off the floor and helping him into bed. He smiled softly as he watched the toddled scrunch donw under the blankets and hug the stucked duck tightly to him. He tucked the blankets around him and tapped the end of Devin's nose with a finger, making him smile sleepily. "Night baby bro.." he said, switching off the main light and plunging the room into pale swirling glow of the night light.

Leaving the bedroom door open a crack, Lex slipped out to the living room and curled up on the couch with a second book he'd brought up with him.

Sylvie's advice for babysitting. Stay calm; keep him busy but not hyper; take books.

He glanced at the clock and wondered how Kay and his dad were doing with their 'research' into Devin.

Then he wondered what Faal was doing.

A sudden blush hit him and he struggled to refocus on his book and put the fae out of his mind. His gaze kept straying to the charm braclet Faal had given him to replace Rowen's.

After reading the same sentence for the fourth time, Lex sighed and closed the book, laying it on the coffee table. It was then that he heard the rumble of thunder and became aware of the storm. He pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them and flinched at the flash of lightening and rumble of thunder, whimpering softly.

"LEXI!"

Lex blinked and jumped at the sudden shout before it dawned on him it had been Devin calling him. He was half way to the bedroom before it hit him fully.... Devin had called him. He'd said his name! He couldn't recall ever hearing Devin speak before, although he'd heard Kay and Dad mention he'd spoken a word or two here and there.

He opened the door to find Devin sitting up in bed with the duck clutched tight. "Hey.. it's okay... just a storm, right?" he said, forcing a smile as he moved to the bed and sat down. Devin lay back down and held out a hand towards Lex. with a soft smile Lex lay donw beside Devin, letting the toddler curl up in his arms. "It's okay... I'm here..."he said, feeling oddly better at having to 'protect' his little brother from the storm too.

Lex jumped a bit at the next boom of thunder and didn't notice that Devin didn't. Now that Lex was with him, the boy fell back to sleep, not minding the storm in the least. Lex wondered if Devin had called him needing comfort during the storm.. or to offer it...

**