One

"This is a big fuckin' mistake, Tee." Dante grumbled as he resettled the sword beneath his coat. He'd had to replace his back sheath and he claimed the new one chaffed.

Tamara snorted softly and shot him a glare. "Yeah... tell me about it... but do you really see another option here? It's not like we planned it... and with the jumper on the fritz and no way to contact Tiger..."

Dante blew a breath upwards at a stray chunk of white hair that had resisted the goop he'd plastered it with and fallen forward over his forehead. "Lain is going to fuckin' freak...." he muttered, glaring at the man standing a couple feet away, his hands jammed into his pockets as he slouched, looking rather miserable.

"Oh suck it up, Tay... Lain freaks over everything... especially when you're involved." Tamara smirked and punched his arm playfully. "Come on... maybe this world has a Tiger we can nail for a lift or a Sienna or Devin capable of fixing the jumper..."

Dante rolled his eyes as they headed out of the alley they'd arrived in, Tam pausing long enough to grab hold of the guy’s shirt sleeve and drag him along. "Not fuckin' likely." He grumped, rubbing a thumb nail over his eyebrow. "Yo... Bull... snap out of it, man... Welcome to the fuckin' Twilight Zone..." he growled, a soft smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as the guy shot him a look. "And ditch the ugly fuckin' hat... shit that's lame...”

Bull merely reached up with his free hand and tugging the brim a bit lower as Tamara dragged him across the street to a phone booth where she did a quick search in the phone book. "1015 Rosemont and Bloor..." Tam said as she rejoined the two men. "So we know they've got the new building. That looks promising for the people we need... we've never come across any of them at the original building or the other locations."

Dante snorted again as they headed towards Rosemont Avenue. "Doesn't mean anything, Tee."

"Fuck off, Tay... stop being such an ass. Can't you look on the upside for once?" Tamara asked, walking backwards as she shot him a look.

Bull ignored them both as well as he could, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was in an alternate universe with people that didn't even exist in his. Well... one who had existed but was dead and the others... well…

Tamara glanced back at the half demon as he let out a soft groan and held his head in his hands. "Don't try to figure it out, Bull. You'll bust too many brain cells... just accept it and go with it. You’ve been doing okay so far…"  she said with a soft smirk, patting his back as she turned back around to face forward as they turned onto Rosemont and started down towards Bloor Street and the Chaos Incorporated offices.

"You do realize that the odds of them knowing us are as slim as always... but him... fuck... we could run into this worlds him... wouldn't that be fun?" Dante said snidely and Tamara casually turned as she walked and smacked him on the back of the head before coming full circle without breaking stride.

They paused as they turned the corner and found themselves facing the building. Tamara took a deep breath and slipped her arm though Bull's. "Come on, big guy... no chickening out... let's get this over with." she said softly as she headed down the path.

"Better ways to do this you know..." Dante muttered behind them as he followed. "Less obvious and attention grabbing to..."

"And more time consuming..." Tam called back softly. "So shut the fuck up... we're here. too late to bitch now." she said as she pushed through the doors and went straight to the security desk.

Dante followed with a soft growl, flipping his sunglasses up onto the top of his head as he stepped inside. His eyes were in their red phase at the moment and he normally left the shades on... but he was feeling irritable... which meant he felt the need to irritate...

The security guard didn't even question them beyond registering their weapons and 'names'... which meant that Bull was indeed known here... The three of them headed up the stairs, Bull dragging his feet even more which gave Dante the perfect excuse to poke him in the back continually as they climbed. When a finger jabbed in his spine half a dozen times within four steps failed to get any sort of response out of the man, Dante stepped close behind him and stage whispered in his ear. "You have a very pinchable ass ... unless you want me to pinch it... MOVE!"

Dante grinned devilishly as bull suddenly shot up the stairs and passed Tamara, who turned and shot Dante a glared. He just shrugged, smirking playfully as he jogged up the stairs to catch up with her.

**

"You're in the wrong neck of the woods, boy." The voice came as a hiss, but had the definite ring of familiarity to it, as did the aura of death.   Caleb coughed, sniffed and shifted his weight, but other wise stayed perfectly still. That feeling he'd been having back at in the mortal realm...intuition was saying it was all to right. "You're hiding down here..." Caleb replied, the note of surprise in his voice.   "What concern of it is yours?" Came the reply.   Caleb bit back the snort and grin. "It's a long story...if you'd like to take the point of the sword out of my back, I'll tell you...mom...Ouch! Ouch! New coat, new coat!" The point had dug deeper. "No...No really, there's a logical explanation for what I just said..." Caleb said, swallowing. It didn't matter, guy, girl, Saffron Azreal was still a dangerous person...   "Then I suggest you start talking..." Saffron replied softly, "Sword?" Caleb asked. The point of the sword retracted from his back.   Caleb turned, his hunch had been all to right. "You are hiding down here." He said softly. Saffron remained in the shadows, but it didn't really matter. The point now came to rest at Caleb's neck.   "Again, what concern is it of yours?"   "Look, we're not to far from the Mirrored Hall, can we go sat down?" Caleb asked.   "We'll stand here, until you answer my question."

Caleb sighed. "Okay, well here it is in a nut shell. I'm...from a different...dimension, time continuum...that sorta thing..."   "I know who you are."   Caleb opened his mouth to go on, and then stopped. "Wait... what?!"   "Arcanina has already informed me..." Saffron answered, still in the shadows.   "Then...why..." Caleb was answered by a chill smile and shut his mouth; some times he forgot this was his mother's territory, before it had been his..."Okay...so you know who I am...that makes things easier...we're trying to get back to our...place." Caleb explained. "Any ideas?" He asked.   "No." Saffron answered flatly. "But it would probably be best to get you back to your time." Saffron added.   "Right...well it's not that it'd fuck our world up any more then it already is." Caleb said.

**

"So...Tiger's around then?" Tamara asked and saw Bull blush furiously and shoot her a look that seemed to be a cross of embarrassment and horror. Matt raised an eyebrow as he turned back to her. "Who?" "Tiger.... Krista Langley... err... Turnbull..." she added with a soft smirk and Bull pulled his hat down over his face with a grown. Matt raised his other eyebrow and looked back at Bull. "His wife's name isn't Krista.... its Kory..." Bull groaned louder and hit the floor with a thump. Dante burst into a cackling giggle that had actual tears streaming down his cheeks. Tamara just sighed and smacked Dante again. "Tay... go torture your parents."

Tamara smacked Dante again until he struggled to his feet, and headed for the door, still cackling away. The times when he was like this she was just really glad she was only a quarter faerie. Dante was half faerie with a quarter each demon and elf tossed in and it made for a scary combination at times... no more so than his sense of humor. She sighed as the door closed behind him and looked down at bull. "So... formerly Kory Reese?" she asked with a soft smirk and Bull groaned again as Matt answered yes. "No! Impossible..." he finally managed to say. "She's just a kid... she's only like seventeen..." Matt smirked and kicked at Bulls foot lightly. "Maybe where you are.... but here she's nineteen... Guess there's a bit of a time deal in there after all."

Matt groaned softly as the phone rang and he reached around to grab it. "Yeah... “He said softly and snorted.”No... It’s alright..." he said into the phone then snorted again. "Yeah... thanks kid. I'll be right up. Colleen can hold the fort for a few minutes." he said then hung up. "Look... I have to run up stairs and deal with my kids for a minute. Why don’t you two... make yourselves at home? You know where the lounges and kitchen are... enjoy." he said, already on his way to the door.

Bull suddenly scrambled to his feet. "Wait... I... can I come with you? I ... really don't want to hang out here..." Matt raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Bull. "Sure... what the hell... you’d rather hang out with a bunch of brats that's fine with me...don’t say you were warned." he said, his eyes sparkling as he looked to Tamara. "You too?" Tam shook her head softly, "Nah... I'm fine. You go on." Matt snorted and headed out with Bull hot on his heels.


**

Dante headed straight to the door that always led to his mothers office and went right in, not bothering to knock and unable to stop the crazy cackling giggle that seemed to want to pour out of him. He really needed to get a handle on things... he was usually much better at controlling his faerie side... but then again... he'd never been able to do this before.. Actually blow their cover on purpose and tell everyone who he was... it was really very exhilarating and fun...

He stumbled to a halt as a sword suddenly appeared before his nose and he managed to swallow back his laughter as he looked along the edge of the blade to the woman holding it. He blinked for a moment, unable to find anything to say at first. He pressed his lips together for a minute. "Hi... long time no see... still want to kill me, huh, Aunt Shada?"

One delicate eyebrow lifted at his comment. "Aunt? Clarice.... care to explain?" she asked, glancing to the side out of Dante's line of sight.

He heard a familiar snort as a second sword appeared and lifted Shada's blade up away from his face. Kay looked him over carefully, and then turned a glare on her sister. "I don't remember having a son... anything you'd care to explain, Shada? Another little spell you forgot to mention maybe?"

Shada snorted and rested her sword on her shoulder as she turned and strode deeper into the office. "I said I was sorry... you aren't seriously going to hold that against me forever are you?"

Clarice made a rude sound behind her sisters back then turned her attention back to Dante. "So... who the hell are you and why did you burst into my office cackling like a deranged faerie?"

Dante bit down hard on the giggle that threatened to burst out at that and she raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Shit..." she said softly and pointed the sword towards the sofa.”Go sit down... then tell me  ..."

Dante did as told and plopped down on the closest sofa and looked back and forth between his mother and aunt trying to decide what to say. Finally he shrugged and just said it. "I'm a dimension traveler... kinda got stuck here with some friends... figured I'd pop in and say hi, since... in my world... you're my mom."

Kay snorted softly and started to ask a question when her sister beat her to it. "And who exactly is your father?"

Dante caught the irritated look his mother shot her before he answered. "Ellander Errin."

Kay raised an eyebrow at him. "Who?"

Shada snorted softly. "The long lost prince?" she asked and Kay turned a glare at her. "Shada! "

"What?"

Kay sighed and turned back to Dante with a sigh. "Who?" she repeated and ignored her sisters snort behind her.

"You know him as Faal Dominic." Dante added softly, his eyes sparkling. Shada choked and sputtered then suddenly started to laugh softly.

Kay blinked and waved a hand in her sisters’ direction in a vain attempt to shush her. "Did you say...? Faal? I had a kid.... with Faal....?"

Dante smirked and Kay groaned softly. "Yeah... so now you get why the demented faerie remark got me.... half faerie plus your demon blood...plus... this shit has been hitting me as really fuckin' funny today..."

Dante watched as Kay moved to sit beside him. "Damn ..." she said softly, and then reached out to pat his knee softly. "I am so sorry." she said and Dante cracked up laughing again.

**

"So...why are you hiding down here?" Caleb asked, as if he didn't know.

There came an overly dramatic sigh. "YOU, are as nosey as they come...must get it from your father." Saffron replied. Caleb only managed to smirk, and shrug. Saffron shifted in the shadows, what light was in the dim chamber played over the features just enough for Caleb to understand.

"Ah...I told him not to assume. How long have you been...doing a job for Lord Chaos?"

Dark eyes narrowed. "Two months."

"How long have you..." Caleb asked softly.

Saffron snorted. "Three weeks." She answered.

"Ah...so you've been hiding here all that time?" Caleb asked.

"We've already addressed that." Saffron replied. Then tensed, looking off over Caleb's shoulder.

"So um...what all did...Auntie Arcanina say?" Caleb asked, not noticing.

"Shut up." Saffron snapped with a hiss. Caleb suddenly tensed as well, feeling the sudden vibrations in the air that were...bad, and the sudden quietness. Not that Hell wasn't always quiet, but it did have a certain noise to it, that was now absent.

Saffron's eyes turned back to Caleb. "You were followed?"

"Couldn't have been...no one knew I was coming here, other than four people back at Chaos Inc." Caleb answered. At the same time it seemed both of them were armed with their pair of swords.

"Move." Saffron said, exiting the shadows finally and heading for the exit of the chamber.

"Where?" Caleb asked turning and hurrying in pursuit.

"You know where...you're a hell elemental." Saffron replied.

"Ah fuck...I hate it there..." Caleb complained after a moment of thought.

"Yes, but who ever is following, won't continue to do so, through there."

"Why not just open a portal..." Caleb trailed off with a wince and Saffron's dark laugh. "You aught to know better." She said. "Portals in, not out, not in general hell."

They slipped down the halls, the over growing feeling of being followed. Reaching the doors to the Chamber of Souls, Saffron paused. "Go." She said, giving Caleb a gentle shove, while looking back the way they came.

"Oh HELL no!" Caleb replied, as Saffron had started back up the tunnel. "I know who's following, and there's no way you're going up against them alone!" He said, before grabbing her arm and pulling her through the chamber doors behind him. Saffron had looked momentarily surprised, but didn't have a chance to protest before the doors slammed behind them and Caleb was already pulling them across the floor. They were going to follow, no matter. "This is considered a realm of hell, can't you open a portal?!" Caleb asked, doing his best to ignore the souls that were starting to gather.

Saffron groaned. The kid was right in so many ways. "Yes, but it'll be difficult." She replied. Caleb bit his lip, before looking at her. Saffron sighed. "Right, portal it is, one way stop back to Chaos Inc. I'll drop you off." She said.

"No dice. Either you come back with me, or I don’t' leave." Caleb argued.

"We don't have time to argue this!" Saffron snapped.

"No dice!" Caleb repeated.

Saffron narrowed her eyes. "Fine!" She snapped, and put all her concentration into a portal out of the Chamber of Souls and back into Chaos Inc. It was weak, but it was open. She started to push Caleb through, but he snatched her arm again, and yanked her with him.

The portal had opened up into the hallway of the apartments. Even Caleb could feel the strain as they passed through. And it snapped shut as they came out...for a reason Caleb found, as Saffron passed out. He managed to catch her. "Shit!" He swore.

**

Tamara waited until the two men had left before leaving the office herself. Rather than head out towards the lounge and kitchen area she headed for the door to what had always been her father's office. Matt had said he'd moved back to Scotland with her... which made it sound as if he didn't work here. The thought made her ache inside... Chaos Inc had always been a part of her dad... the idea that he gave it up for her.... almost hurt.

Tam drew a breath to knock just as the door opened and she found herself staring into a pair of familiar deep blue eyes. "Hi Uncle E'..." she said softly and he raised an eyebrow as he looked her up and down.

"Tam... ye've grown... a lot...."

"Um... don't suppose da's here....? “Tamara asked softly, trying not to stare at the sight of Eire Montgomery in a suit.

"No... He’s probably in Texas... where yer supposed t' be...."

Tam raised her eyes suddenly. "Texas?! But... Matt said he moved to Scotland...."

Eire snorted softly. "Thought as much.... yer Tam... but yer not our Tam, are ya?" She shook her head softly and Eire moved aside, nodding for her to enter.

Tam walked into the office, noticing the differences as he went straight to the nearest chair. On the wall where her fathers’ gun collection had always hung was a display case containing Eire's gun blade. The furnishings were similar, including the second desk, although oddly enough there was a feminine touch to the room. Even as she started to consider how to ask the question she spotted the simple gold band on his finger. "You’re married?"

Eire smirked softly. "Aye... just last month... t' Larkin."
Tam raised an eyebrow at that then cleared her throat, not sure what to say. Her father had married Larkin in her own world. "And... da?"

Eire smirked softly. "He's still a bachelor.... but... he's been callin' Lex an awful lot since th' weddin'..."

Tamara sat back and let that news digest. "Okay... that's... nice..." she said and looked up sharply at Eire's snort.”Oh... I didn't mean it... like that.... it's just... not that way it was in my world...." she said softly

Eire snorted again. "Do ye want me t' call yer da? Have him come in? Or.. Do ye want t' go there.... risk seeing yerself...?"

Tam swallowed hard and drew a shaky breath. "I don't know.. I can't go there, Uncle E'.... I can't see me.... but.... gods... I don't know if I can see him either..."

Eire looked at her for a moment. "Why not? Ye've never been shy about anythin' concerning yer da, Tam. Why are ya afraid to go see him?" he asked softly and Tam drew another breath.

"Because I watched him die... “She said softly, staring at the floor.”Since then, I've seen him in other worlds, but always from a distance... and... I'm afraid to go home to see if he's okay there... “She gave a slight shrug.”Once we join up, we don't have a lot of contact with home anymore... and we're not supposed to make contact with our other selves or families from the other worlds... so... it's never been a big deal..."

Eire was quiet for a moment before he dropped to a knee beside her and rested a hand over hers. "Don't lie ta me, Tam... it is a big deal... yer family has always been important t' ya...especially yer da. Being separated form Nate must be killing ya... not t' mention seeing ... a version of him die..." He squeezed her hand gently. "Ya need to see him... if not here... than ya need to go home."

Tam drew a shaky breath and looked up, blinking tears form her eyes. "Gods, Uncle E'.... it's been so hard..." she said softly and moved forward in her seat to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly.”I miss him so much... and my half brothers too, the little brats..." she added softly with a smirk.

Eire patted her back tenderly and kissed her cheek. "Go home, Tam. Yer a MacDonnell, so I know about that need that drives ya t' take the hard, dangerous jobs... but the MacDonnell’s are also big on family, luv... ye need tha' connection... go home."

Tam closed her eyes tightly and held him that much tighter.



**
Four

Bull followed Matt up to the apartments, listening to a baby crying at full volume as he paused outside a door to unlock it. The second it was opened a blur flew through it and attached itself to Matt's legs. "Kitten.... I thought you were helping Si look after the babies for me?" Matt asked the little girl who ducked her head as she turned to look at him. "Bull. This is my Kitten... she's three and a half." he said, smiling softly as he lifted her into his arms. Soft, dark brown hair fell in waves around her face, but Bull could still see the softly pointed ears peeking through. And she had the same pale lavender eyes as her father. "And this is little Jay..." he said as a black haired, blue eyed toddler crawled their way as Sienna appeared carrying the crying baby, with black hair and Matt's eyes.

Matt sighed and ushered Bull inside, setting his daughter down to take Darius from Sienna. Bull looked around the room, his eyes going to photos on the wall. A young, black haired woman in dark, gothic clothing with vibrant blue eyes looked out at him, a baby cradled in her arms. He found himself comparing her to Saffron and thought they looked remarkably alike... if Saffron really did turn into a woman... he bet he'd look a lot like her...

Bull tore his gaze from the photo to see Matt holding his son, the little boy clinging to him tightly but no longer crying. If Matt's wife had died giving birth to another child then the baby had to be over a year old... he looked down as Jayna grabbed hold of his leg and pulled herself up grinning.

"Their twins... Jay and Deej... get it? Dee and Jay... ha-ha... Mist was twisted with names...Deej is the youngest." Matt said softly, turning to face him a bit more and Bull could see that the baby Matt held was almost the same size as the little one clinging to his own leg. He'd just assumed the one crying had been younger.

A sudden shout form the hall outside had them all turning towards the door, and Sienna scooped Jayna into her arms as Bull opened the door. He looked at Caleb and his eyes dropped to the woman in his arms. "Oh... damn ..." he said softly.

"Problems!" Caleb replied with a tone, before forcing himself to take a deep breath. "Some one got a couch or something?!" A glance past Bull made him groan, before he added in light of seeing Matt. "I told you not to fuckin' assume! She wasn't on a job for Lord Chaos, she was hiding down there! I ran into her in the Granite Chamber, and we ended up being perused, we had not choice but to open a portal from the Chamber of Souls. As while the Chamber of Souls is somewhat considered a realm of hell, it's extremely taxing to open a portal from it because of all the negative energy!"

Matt nodded to towards the living room. "Get him... her in here." he said and handed the baby to Bull before moving to help Caleb. As soon as he was through the door, Matt took her from him and carried her straight through the living room and into the bedroom. Kitty bounced along at his heels, her eyes glued to the woman he carried and she scrambled up onto the bed beside her, looking down at her curiously.

Bull and Sienna followed Caleb, each one holding a baby as they watched Matt and Saffron. "Damn ... I was right.... they do look alike...” Bull said softly. "Who came along first I wonder... Mist... or Saffron...."

Caleb leaned against the wall, outside the bed room, and closed his eyes a moment, the adrenaline rush starting to fade, and he concentrated on breathing calmly to slow his wildly beating heart. He didn’t' even want to consider what would have happened if they hadn't made it out of hell. They both knew every inch, but...if they had been doggedly perused it would have done little good and there was no doubt in Caleb's mind that they would have been endlessly followed. With something a mix of a sigh and a deep drawn breath, he opened his eyes, noticing the kids for the first time. He started to open his mouth, but a soft whimper came from Saffron, and Caleb stuck his head around the door way. She was stirring.

"Mist came first..." Sienna said softly as they looked through the open door, watching Matt and Saffron. "They knew each other for a few years before Matt even met Saffron... she was Marilee's daughter."

Matt sat on the edge of the bed and held Saffron's hand in one of his, feeling the cool chill of power flow between them, hoping it was enough to help. He was trying not to stare... trying not to notice the resemblance... Kitty reached out and touched Saffron's cheek, brushing her fingers over the cool skin. “Mama?" she asked softly

Caleb hearing Sienna managed to bite back the question that came to mind. Instead he kept his gaze on the bed. There were a few tense seconds of silence, before Saffron came to with a gasp of air and sitting up to quickly. Her head spun, and she snapped her eyes closed again, to try and stop the spinning, but she was well aware of where that chill shiver was coming from.

Kitty jumped in surprise then scrambled closer and wrapped her arms as far around Saffron as she could.

"Kitten..." Matt said softly as he reached his free hand down to stroked the soft brown hair and sighed as he looked back up at Saffron, lost for words. Jayna and Deej both began to whimper and wriggle at the same time and Bull suddenly had no clue what to do. He looked over at Caleb and shoved Deej at him. "Here... he's your brother..."


Caleb gave Bull a look, but had no other choice but to take the boy. "Yeah, I kinda guessed that." Caleb replied, before rolling his eyes. T

here was a soft gasp of surprise from Saffron when Kitty wrapped her arms around her and Saffron opened her eyes, looking down. The room had stopped spinning, although the lightheadedness and ringing in the ears was still there. She looked up at Matt helplessly.

Caleb spoke up. "Sorry..."

Saffron glanced toward him.”For what?" She asked softly.

"Er..." Caleb shrugged, while holding Deej.

"I did what I had to do; it was get out or be caught." Saffron replied.

"Yeah...but...maybe we should have found another realm."

"Do you think we would have had the time? You said you knew who was down there...” Saffron replied just as softly.

Caleb winced. "Yeah...no, probably not..."

Matt looked from her to Caleb and sighed. "Forget it alright?” he said softly and pulled Kitty into his arms. "As soon as Caleb told me about you turning in his world... I knew this would happen..." he said softly. "I just... I didn't think it would be so soon...." His daughter whimpered and squirmed from his arms and onto Saffron's lap, looking up at her. "Kitten... this is Saffron... not mama...” he said softly as he turned to take Jayna from Sienna before the little girl wriggled her way free.”I'm sorry, Saffron... I should've asked them to keep the kids out of here...."

Saffron shook her head slightly, hair falling in her face, as she looked down at Kitty. "Hello Kitty..." She said softly with a faint smile, before looking back up at Matt. "It was happening for two months...why do you think I was...where I was, and gone for so long?" She replied softly, her voice never getting any louder.

Caleb watched from the door way. "You're not thinking of going back, are you?" He asked suddenly, Saffron looked his way again, but didn't answer. "Because you can't! They could still be down there! And if they catch you..."

"She's not going back." Matt said softly, taking her hand again. "There's no need to... is there, Saff?" he asked softly. "I met Misty first... and loved her... but it was different with Saffron... stronger... more intense. If it hadn't been for Alandra... I wouldn't have married Mist... I'd have waited..." he told them, his eyes never leaving Saffron's face. "I loved my wife... I still do. But I also still love you... we can't hide from that...I just don't know if I can just... jump back in..."

Saffron sighed softly, pushing the hair out of her face with her free hand, her eyes closed a moment, before forced them to open, and looked up at him. She didn't say anything for a long moment, considering everything. After a moment, with another soft sigh, she let her free hand touch his cheek. "I'll wait." She answered near a whisper. "I'd wait eternity."
Caleb leaned against the door frame. *Lovely...I get to be bloody match maker...* he thought to himself with a soft snort, before looking down at the boy in his arms.

Matt smiled softly, ignoring the wetness in his eyes as he turned to kiss her hand. "Gods... you look so much like her... “He said softly and let Jayna crawl from his lap towards Saffron as he reached up to stroke her cheek, brushing a black curl aside.”Your hair is longer and not quite as curly... and your skin is paler... and of course... your eyes...” he said with a soft smile. “I’ve missed you Saffron."

Bull sighed as Sienna slipped out of the room past them and he looked at Caleb. "You and your baby brother joining the family mush fest in there? Cause other wise... I'm closing the door..."

Caleb glanced at Bull, then gave a smirk and gestured with his free hand for him to close the door. "Nah, I don't do group hugs." He said in reply.

Bull snorted, blushing slightly as Sienna ignored the both of them and headed for the kitchen. He looked back at the little boy who was staring up at Caleb in rapt attention. "Think he knows who you are?" Bull asked thoughtfully as Darius reached up and wrapped both arms around Caleb's neck. "Yup...I'd say he does...” he answered himself.”Well... I’m leaving.... have fun..." he said as he headed for the door.

Caleb snorted softly, looking back down at the boy. "Guess so...not unheard of in this family, take my word for it." He said to Bull.   ** Five

Saffron found her lap full and looked down at both the girls, before giving a soft laugh, smiling wearily as she looked back up at Matt. "If I'd known you'd missed me, I wouldn't have stayed where I had..."

"Liar." Matt said with a soft smile. "You stayed there because you knew..." he said softly.”Mist knew about us, Saff... I told you she knew... I never lied to her. She loved you, too... I didn't want you to go after the funeral... fucks... I needed you so bad.... but... when a Demon Lord calls..." he added with a weak smirk and slipped his fingers through her hair to cradle her head gently. "I'm just glad you're here now."

Saffron snorted softly, the weary smile still on her lips, but she enjoyed his touch. "What was I supposed to have done?" She asked softly. "You deserved to be happy...and you have three beautiful children because of it...something I couldn't have given you. I'm sorry I left after the funeral...I should have come back after I'd finished...But I figured you wouldn't have wanted to see me."

"I know... shit happens for a reason, right?" he said and looked down at the girls. "Mist named you as the children’s guardian in her will.... if anything happened to us...Fuck... I did the same..." he said softly. "Even when you weren't around you were still a part of our lives, Saff... She left me a letter... it's in the bed side drawer there...” he said, nodding towards the night stand. "She knew she was going to die... kept dreaming of it.... so she wrote a letter to me telling me that when she did... I should swallow my pride and pain and bring you back into my life... and the children’s lives.... now I wonder if she knew about the change hitting you as well..."

"Who knows...?” Saffron answered with a sigh. "I can honestly say it didn't come as much of a surprise to me...And I don’t' know why I was stupid enough to try getting anywhere with Alandra...She knew...about us...Arcanina had told her...yet she seemed determined to...try and do something with me..." Saffron shook her head slightly. She was quiet a moment, looking down at the two girls. "You know I've loved these children as my own...but I thought...I didn't want them to hurt...it was another reason I stayed away...especially after changing."

Matt just sighed softly, letting the tears fall as he leaned forward and kissed her softly. "Staying away hurt us all far more then being with us ever could, Saff." he smirked softly. "She left everything to you, you know... a couple pieces of her and her mothers’ jewelry to the girls and Deej... but everything else went to you. She wasn't that much taller then you I don't think... won't take much to fit into her clothes. You both had the same classic Goth tastes...Although she had a few more 'modern Goth' pieces... and she made special note about her leather duster and boots you liked.." he chuckled, softly and wiped the wetness from his cheeks.

Kitty climbed back onto his lap and snuggled into him. "Don't leave us again, Saffron. Caleb mentioned that in his world... I was your guardian too...think the odds are in favor of that here too..."

"Well from the way it reads in the journals Lex has...you only have to really kiss me to know for sure." Saffron replied softly, still holding Jayna. "As for Mist’s things..." She snorted softly, smiling a bit more, thinking about the other woman. "She knew me as well as my sisters do..." She sighed, watching the girls for a moment. "If I stay, where do we go from there, Matt?"

Matt sighed softly and leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers and smiled softly." Where'd I'd like us to go... is back to being together... seeing if we can't be a family..." he said then closed his eyes for a moment and brushed his lips over her forehead as he moved away a bit. "And when a bit more time has passed... I'd like you to marry me and adopt the kids...." he said softly.

"And as for the kiss... I kissed you plenty of times, babe... unless you mean it only works with you as a girl...

"I believe that's how it usually works, yes." She said, a bit more of a smirk, before sighing softly again and glancing down, Jayna was peering up at her expectedly and Saffron smiled softly, happy for once, in a long while.

She wrapped her arms around the girl, settled her snuggly in her lap and looked back up at Matt. "All five of us, a family...? Are you sure you want that...because even like the Daughter of the Seal, the Oracle has to give birth to an heir too..."

Matt smiled softly and nodded towards the door. "Yeah... have to give Caleb a shot at joining us I this world, after all...” he said.”The question is... are you sure you want to be a mother of three step children plus your own children as well? Rather large ready made family to step in to... and since their father and their grandmother were both necros... who knows what that means for them... We know Mist was psychic like her mother was before she came into her powers... and Kitty seems to be as well... “He snorted softly.”Of course... Mist wasn't a necro... obviously... but... doesn't mean it won't carry on in the kids since I'm one ...." he sighed softly and looked back up. "And we know by tossing your genes into the mix we'll wind up with a hell elemental as well...."

Saffron snorted softly, and gave him a sad look. "Be part of a family that would understand me more... that love me, possibly more than my ...parents and sisters....a family of my own...a family with you? What do you think, Matt?" She asked softly. "Couldn't be any harder then raising Caleb out there, and obliviously, we did a fine job with him, where that is.

Matt grinned and chuckled. "Yeah  ... extreme tattoos and all..." he said softly and reached back out to cradle her face in his hand.”So is that a yes?" he asked softly. "Or should we see about this guardian thing first?" he asked with a soft smirk. "You know... kiss and tell...."

Saffron gave him a coy smirk. "Kiss me, and then I'll tell you my answer..." She replied softly, she'd missed the playful banter like this between them.

Matt started to lean forward then stopped and looked down at the two girls watching them. "Do either of you ladies mind if I kiss her?" he asked and Kitty giggled and buried her face against him. Jayna looked up and clapped before following her sisters’ lead and burying her face against Saffron. Matt chuckled softly and finished leaning in, letting his lips brush against hers for a brief moment before kissing her fully.

Saffron whimpered faintly, her eyes closed at the kiss, the kiss that did the trick. Though she'd known he was her guardian before hand, she just wanted him to really kiss her. Bringing up a hand, to touch his face, she whispered behind the kiss, "Yes, Matt..."

Matt smiled softly, slipping his hand behind her and holding her as close as he could with the girls on their laps. "Good." he said simply. "I love you Saff... we all do..." he said softly then kissed her again.”I suppose we'll keep living her until its decent enough for us to get married... then... move back home...?"

**   Caleb sat Deej on the floor in the front room and turned toward Bull. "Where are the others?" He asked.   Bull looked back at Caleb, one hand on the door knob. "Don't know... Tamara told Dante to go torture his parents so I'm assuming he did.... last I saw Tamara she was still in Grave’s office."   "Lovely." Caleb said, shaking his head, before following Bull. "No doubt Dante's having FUN...I'd better go find Tam."   Bull smirked softly. "Should I find Dante so we can all meet some where... or... just... head down to the lounge and play pool or something until we figure out what to do...?"     "If I were you, just head to the lounge. Dante'll wander along soon enough...he gets bored easily...always on the look out..." Caleb said, casting a last glance back towards the bed room, before leaving the apartment. He paused, letting his senses stretch out to find Tam's soul, then smiled slightly and heading in that direction.   Bull snorted softly, shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the elevator to see what kind of shape the employee lounge was in this world... the whole 'dress code' had him leery...   Sienna watched the guys leave before heading over to the couch where little Darius was watching as well, his pale lavender eyes intent on Caleb as the door closed behind him. "Don't worry, Deej... I think you'll see him again... not the same him, maybe... but still." she said with a smirk and the toddler stood shakily on the couch and leaned against her. No one had bothered to tell her about the dimension travelers... but then. They didn't seem to need to tell her much without her somehow already knowing... something that they either took for granted...  or were driven crazy by...   **   Saffron snorted softly with a faint smile. "Should rather up the office gossip, shouldn't it..." She said softly, before sighing, and shifted Jayna. "Actually, no one else knows I've changed, though I imagine Lex and Lark probably suspected..." She said softly.   Matt smiled softly and shifted Kitty to one knee before stretching out the other leg and pulling Saffron and Jay closer, wrapping his arm around them. "Lex changed first... she knew it was coming and warned Lark... they went shopping with  nice little body guard contingent, as normal... then the next day Lex was a girl... and Lark appeared a couple hours later as a girl as well. They've been worried about you... so they probably know already. "Matt sighed.”Damn ... I was going to call Lex about some research for the kids... guess I should do that.... can tell her about you at the same time..:"   Saffron sighed softly again, but leaned against Matt, Jayna still on her lap. "I rather should have at least contacted Lex. Should have given her at least a heads up about the kids after Arcanina mentioned it...." She shook her head slightly. "Though I'm not sure what she could find out in the archives...time travel, yeah...it's been done...inter-dimensional, haven't got the slightest idea.."   Matt snorted softly. "Well... they manage it... so maybe some one else as too. Long shot or not, it's all I can think of. I'd better get back down there anyhow... I'm on duty. Sienna was just having some trouble with Deej." he said and kissed the top of Saffron's head tenderly. "Come on... you can go see your sister and ask about something to help the kids and I'll go back to playing head secretary... joy oh joy."   Saffron snorted softly, with a bit of a smirk, looking at him. "Oh, but you do it so well..." She said teasingly, before sighing. "Yeah. I'd better go talk with Lex. Should be a nice little challenge for her." She shook her head slightly.   Matt snorted as he gave her a gentle push to stand up, Jay in her arms. "You haven't even seen me ... but your right... apparently I do it well...” he sighed heavily.”Really fucking depressing... and chicks keep hitting on me in this get up..." he said. "Hey.... did you like my hair better blue?" he asked as he stood, shifting Kitty in his arm as she wrapped her arms around his neck.   Saffron stood up with Jay and glanced over her shoulder at him, an eyebrow raised a slight smile on her lips as she eyed him over. She shifted the girl onto her hip, turning enough to reach over to finger a loose lock of his hair. "Not that it matters, because you still look good, but the blue did set you apart...and maybe not all the women would be hitting on you." She replied.   Matt smirked. "Miss the blue... hadn't really thought of it until I was talking with the kids... maybe I'll go back to it... Might encourage Kay to find me a new, non-office position too...secretaries will miss me though.... they like my coffee." he added with a smirk and chuckled softly as they left the bedroom to find Sienna and Darius on the couch. "I see he's behaving again. They're all yours again, Hun... I have to get back to work." he said, setting Kitty on the couch with them and kissing his daughters forehead tenderly. "Later kitten."   Matt smirked softly as he took her hand on impulse and headed for the door. "Ask mom to take a look at their gizmo... she might be able to get it working again...” sienna called out as she pulled Jay onto her lap beside Deej. Matt looked back at her and one eyebrow rose curiously then smirked and opened the door. "Sure thing, kid... thanks." he said as they slipped into the hall. "Weird kid... freaks people out doing that... I like her."   Saffron followed Matt. "Intuition is one of her gifts...good thing too. Makes things easier. Better then some people with second sight..." She said with a smile. "You go ask Charlie, I'll pop into see Lex."   Matt smirked softly. "Probably better if I had the gizmo before I went after Charli... or the kid WITH the gizmo..." he said, leading the way to the elevator. When the door opened and they stepped inside he hit both buttons and found himself feeling rather sorry that she was getting off on a different floor. It felt so good being with her again..." Hey Saff..." he said softly. "Ask Lex about her spare room... Lark moved out of their place when she got married, so Lex is all alone. Bet she'd love to have a roommate for a few months again... Will make dating easier with us in the same building too..."   Saffron glanced at him. "For a few months, hmm? Yet you know how much I like my apartment away from here..." She said softly. Still, she probably would stay with Lex right now. She leaned back against the back of the elevator. "Three young kids, I don't know how much actually dating you're going to be able to do..."   Matt held the door as it started to open on her floor. "You can't keep your apartment, Saff... “He said softly.”Lex had to give hers up too... it's too dangerous... especially since the change. At least here you three can sleep without fear of someone breaking in..." he said, reaching out to caress her cheek softly. "As for dating... hey  ... me and Mist managed it alright. Might have been easier if we'd lived here with so many potential suckers... er... babysitters around..." he added with a smirk. "Especially three 'aunts -to- be'...."   Saffron moved to leave the elevator, when he caressed her cheek and she looked at him. "Have I ever been afraid of some one breaking in? Change or not, I'm not exactly helpless." She placed a finger on his lips before he replied. "But I'll probably move in with Lex...for awhile. Just have to do something with my stuff."   Mat smiled softly and kissed her fingers. "Go on. I'm sure your sister will help you figure everything out... make sure you congratulate Lark on her marriage to Eire... they eloped last month and apparently couldn't get hold of you to let you know...”   "That figures." Saffron replied shaking her head. "I wondered how long it'd take them." She added, before leaning forward and kissing him softly, before slipping from the elevator. She stopped in the hall, looking back. "I suppose I'll see you later..."   Matt smiled softly. "Yeah... was hoping you'd consider having supper tonight... but if you decide to spend some time with your sisters... we can make it another night...Call me and let me know." he said softly as he pressed the button to close the door.   "Oh, I think I can squeeze it in." Saffron replied, before turning and heading down toward the archives. She let her mind drift, over things right now, thinking about, probably the last year until now.   Matt smiled softly to himself and closed his eyes for a moment as the elevator dropped to his floor. He was suddenly very glad these kids had wound up stuck here and part of him would be sorry to see them go...     ***