Title: Nocturne of the Stars
Rating: R
Pairings: Luna/Fury, Nate(Draco)/Astoria, Chara/Jace, Rob/Gabrielle
Warnings: Various spoilers for the Dark-Hunter series. Sort of.
Author Notes: All characters copyrighted to their respective owners, crossover with Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series.


Chapter Summary: Regulus has what is unquestionably the strangest night... er day - something of his life. Jace is told of a horrifying situation and Kreacher receives an interesting offer - from a very unusual person. Dorian Kontis, however - wants some answers from his brother Rayven - who lets slip a secret he was never supposed to reveal.



Regulus Black woke up from a dead sleep in the single most excruciating pain that he had ever felt in his entire life, both before and after his death. He thrashed back and forth in bed, the covers becoming knotted at his feet. One of the pillows flew off the bed and knocked over the lamp on the nightstand, sending it to the floor and shattering the glass shade and bulb. Clawing his way free from the blankets, his voice came out in strangled groans. The only thought he had was to get some kind of relief – and somehow, the bath seemed to be the only logical place to go. Slowly, painfully, he crawled from his bed to the bathroom, shocked he made it the distance. This was like the cruciatus curse times fifty – and figured this must be what being flayed alive felt like. He knew he wasn't wounded, at least physically and he could not find the breath to even scream. All he could do was lie barebacked on the cold gray tiles, directly under the air conditioning vent, willing the pain to go away. He couldn't register what part of him hurt the most, because everything seemed to hurt. From his toes to his head and even his lungs were in agony. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn he was being torn in two.

Something had happened – elsewhere, not to him, but as the burning pain slowly gave way to an icy feeling not unlike the one he had in that cave full of inferi, he realized in horror who it had happened to. Dragging himself up by the toilet, as the pain slowly seemed to sink into his stomach and settle there, he couldn't think who or what could have harmed Chara. She was the only person who could be harmed that he could imagine would cause him such pain. He couldn't even think what could have happened to her to cause such pain. Not even when he knew she was the prisoner of Death Eaters and having gods-only knew what done to her had he felt pain like this.

Praying that his dinner stayed down, he made it to a stand, the pain still burning in him as if he'd crashed into a Quidditch pitch at eighty miles an hour. Swaying on his feet, he caught sight of himself in the mirror and realized that his eyes were not black, but the amber brown they had once been. That was the last thing he saw before he fell to the floor again as a fresh wave of the wretched pain overtook him, bringing blessed unconsciousness with it.

All this time, he had been unaware of the presence of a tall man just outside the door. He had been there the moment the lamp shattered, but offered no words or help until now. He glanced slowly around at what had to be the only unkempt room in the entire house before looking down at the dark-hunter who looked less like a fierce warrior and more like a little boy playing solider.

Eros bent down and turned Regulus off of his side and onto his back, studying him further. “Oh are you in for a surprise...” He hauled the shorter man up into a sit and vanished with him from the room, glad that the dark-hunter's squire was on a brief vacation.

*

The doors of Artemis's temple flew open in front of Psyche as she went up the stairs, her face livid. Due to a very nasty circumstance, that being Nick Gautier was under Acheron's protection, she couldn't harm him for trying to kill Chara. As much as she and Eros were justified to do so – it could not happen. Since she couldn't take her anger out on the bastard – it was time for Artemis to pay up some of the debts she owed to her. When a soul cried out for vengeance, all of Olympus heard it – but only Psyche felt it. As the goddess of souls and soul mates, she knew the pain of those who had been betrayed. The handmaidens all scattered as she turned the corner, running from her and her anger as she came into the elder goddess's sanctuary.

“What do you want?” Artemis stood, arms akimbo, angry at the disturbance. Given the sheet music and overturned stools, it looked as if the goddess of the hunt had been having herself a private concert. Typical – the world could be going to hell and the woman wouldn't give a damn.

“You know what I've come for.” Psyche spat. “I'm here for the soul of Regulus Black.”

“It's mine, you can't have it.” She folded her arms and glared at her.

“Two years ago you told Acheron that he could have it no questions asked and no payment demanded.”

She blanched in response. “You're not supposed to... know about that.”

“I know plenty, Artie.” They started to circle each other. “I know about Kat, for one.” She smirked when Artemis went even whiter. “I know who her father is. I know what you've been keeping from your brother and from Ash.”

“Don't try to blackmail me, Psyche. You were mortal once, you can be mortal again.”

“How many people do you think can antagonize before they lash back out at you?”

“Why do you want Black's soul so much?”

“Why do you want it? You only took that boy into your fold of dark-hunters because you've collected from almost every war ever fought... and he was the first one from the wizarding war who cried out who didn't look like shit or tell you to piss off.”

“Suppose I do give you his soul. What do you intend to do with it?”

“I'd say that wouldn't be any of your business.”

“I find this amusing, Psyche.. you're here asking for the soul of a living dark-hunter, not for that of one of those poor shades I know you cry over.”

She didn't flinch. “I'm going to make this very plain. I want you to hand over the soul of Regulus to me. I will leave with it, I will keep my mouth shut about Katra and I won't come in here to ask you for another soul... ever again.”

“Is that a promise?”

“I promise I won't come and ask you for another soul.”

Artemis slowly held out her hand and a bright yellow stone appeared in her hand. She stared at it for a moment. Of the souls she owned – this one was a little brighter. The more innocent a soul was, the more brilliantly it shone. Since Regulus had been scarcely more than a boy when he died, it made sense that it would gleam this way. She dropped the stone into Psyche's outstretched palm. She could get a pound of flesh out of this...

“You won't be able to.” Psyche slowly smiled, reading the woman's thoughts. “My mother in law is taking care of such matters. Everything he has will remain his.” She turned on her heel and headed back to her own home elsewhere on Mount Olympus.

****

Jace did not know how much time had passed. He couldn't muster the ability to look up at the clock on the other side of the waiting room. Instead he sat, head in hands, trying to remain calm. The pain from hitting the wall had long ago subsided, or else the pain in his chest was so great, it numbed any other he might be feeling. The only comfort he could take at this moment was that since he was still alive, so was Chara. He couldn't close his eyes – if he closed them, he'd see the horror again. He kept waiting for it to be a nightmare, to wake up back in their hotel room, and everything would be fine.

The beast within was screaming for vengeance at the whole incident. Personally, from what he gathered, very few people were going to believe that Nick Gautier had tried to murder Chara. Well, a hotel full of daimons and Apollites were going to, at least. Perhaps a few patria of were-hunters – if the Peltiers got their heads out of their asses over this. He figured that the jaguars would be outraged, which gave them a bit more credit than the bears. Jace nearly laughed at that – funny how one little act of protecting their world suddenly turned into a very unlikely alliance. He figured that the Balios Katagaria were so grateful that no Arcadians were going to be murdering them in their beds, they'd side with the Arcadian cheetahs for a while.

The door clicking open finally caused him to look up. “Mr. Wilder?” The doctor checked the chart she was carrying.

“Yes?” He stood, swallowing.

“We've moved your wife into recovery and she is in stable condition.” The woman frowned slightly as she checked a second sheet. “We were able to deliver the two babies via cesarean, and they both have been moved to the NICU...” Her voice quivered slightly.

“What is it?” Jace suddenly felt very cold.

She looked up at him and he could feel that she was trying to remain unemotional. “Mr. Wilder, when the attack occurred, given the way the babies were positioned, the blade of the knife went straight through the body of the girl.”

Jace's mind was spinning. Two minutes ago, he had been ready to rip Nick Gautier's throat out, now, he couldn't even find the strength to be angry. This was... He couldn't take this in – how could this be happening? He cleared his throat before speaking. “Is... she going to be all right?”

“Mr. Wilder... while we estimate that your son has an eighty percent chance of survival, your daughter's chances are less than thirty.”

In that moment, the world stood still. He had always thought that the threat to the young of the were-hunter race came after they were born. The threat of a Katagari attack on a house, slaughtering the defenseless – not now, not like this. “Is she...” He cleared his throat. “Is Cera in pain?”

The doctor blinked, confused for a brief moment, before understanding what he had said. “She isn't in much pain. For now, we are just trying to keep her stabilized.”

He nodded. “I'd like to see my wife now, if that's possible.” I don't want her waking up alone.

“Of course.” The doctor gave him a ghost of a smile and led him from the room.

It was much later in the day than Jace had realized. When they had arrived at the hospital, it had been night. He glanced up at a clock as they passed a nurses station and saw that it was almost noon. When he came to the room where Chara was, he nodded in thanks to the doctor and slowly opened it.

While outside it might be brilliantly sunny, this room was cast in shadows. The only sounds were the consistent sound of the heart monitor and the soft drone of the air conditioning. He set a hand on her forehead, stunned at how pale she was. He brushed a few strands of hair off of her forehead, wondering how just twenty-four hours ago, she'd been vibrant and very much the opposite of what she was now.

Almost as if she knew he was there, the sound of the monitor changed to a much more even drone. Chara's forehead wrinkled slightly and slowly opened her eyes. “Nnn..” She winced. Trying to speak seemed to be about on par with trying to run a marathon at the moment.

“It's all right.” He felt himself smile. “You're going to be fine.” He pulled the chair next to the bed closer so he didn't have to take his hand from her. “Do you know where you are?”

She nodded slightly, her eyes trying to find his. She knew she was in a hospital, but had no idea how she got there or how long it had been. She recognized the feeling of being drugged with painkillers – the idea of lifting anything more than a finger seemed impossible. She also knew that the doctors wouldn't have her on this much medication if they hadn't delivered the twins she had been carrying first.

“Everything is going to be fine.” Jace could see the question in her eyes. “I haven't gone to see the twins yet, but I'm sure they're going to be fine.” He caught the look in her eyes. Liar. He brushed her forehead with his thumb. “I don't want you worrying, you just concentrate on getting better.” He shook his head. “I don't know about you, but I'm glad we decided that Sam is still to young to come along with us.”

She managed to smile and nod in agreement, and then coughed twice. “J..Jace...”

“Don't rush yourself,gataki.” The dull ache in his heart was slowly being relieved. “One step at a time.” The door clicked open and a nurse came into the room.

“Good afternoon.” She said as she came over to the bed to change the IV.

“Afternoon.” He leaned over and kissed Chara's forehead. “I'm going to go make a few phone calls and then I will be back, all right?”

She nodded in reply, speaking more than one or two words at a time was a painful prospect. “Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie.” He nodded to the nurse and slipped from the room, as much as he hated to. The second thing Jace didn't want to do was to sit in this hospital alone any longer.

****

Regulus wasn't sure where he was, only that he was lying down on a cool marble floor, gazing up at a ceiling that reminded him of the one in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Clouds swirled above him on a brilliant cerulean sky and on occasion, a bright colored bird flew past. He wasn't in pain, but he knew something was amiss. He could hear people talking, but couldn't differentiate between the speakers – or even who the speakers were. There was an occasional thumping noise, rather like a cane being hit on the floor. He felt oddly peaceful, and then came to the conclusion he had to be dreaming. That was the only way to explain how he could be lying up, looking at the sun shining in the sky. Or else he was looking up at a movie screen – which didn't seem entirely likely. The only thing that felt odd was a dull ache in his left arm, rather like a strained muscle. Sitting up was clearly not an option, but when the floor was so comfortable, why should he want to? Suddenly, a face appeared above him, the owner's hand was on his chin, looking him over.

“He certainly is young.” The woman's voice was like nothing he had ever heard in his life.

“Who are you?” It seemed like the only logical question to ask – because not only did this woman have a beautiful voice, she had a face to match it.

The woman almost looked offended at his ignorance. “Aphrodite”

He blinked at that. “You're much more beautiful than any of the paintings done of you.”

She released his chin and turned to someone he couldn't see. “He reminds me of Hector.”

His mind was spinning again. His grasp on Ancient Civilizations was weak – but he knew vaguely that the man he'd been described as was some Trojan hero who'd been killed by Achilles. The most logical thing for him to do was go to sleep again. He'd figure all of this out after breakfast tonight.

**

In one of those things known as coincidence, Number Twelve, Grimmuald Place was vacant save for one inhabitant in the early morning of July fifth. Kreacher was extremely tired as he settled under his boiler to go to sleep. He had been serving in this house for nearly seventy years – and he felt every one of them. He idly fingered the locket Master Harry had given him. It had once belonged to Master Regulus – and Master Orion before him. It was so quiet now, with the Potters off at the Burrow for the night. He had heard the news, of course, that utterly horrifying news that had been delivered via the floo network.

“Filth...muggle scum, trying to murder Mistress Chara.” He spat, thinking of Nick Gautier. He had been forbidden to use the word mudblood nearly ten years ago... but there were still plenty of words in his vocabulary that he could use for that wretched excuse for a human being. Pulling his blanket up to his chin, he tried to think when he had been so tired, or so angry. He couldn't remember another time. He was on the edge of sleep when he heard a click and the cupboard door was pulled open. He frowned, wondering who could be in the house, and furthermore, why they were disturbing him.

“Goodness... it seems I got here just in time.” The speaker was a young woman, with soot on both of her cheeks, smelling rather like someone who was apprenticed to a blacksmith.

“What are you doing in Master Harry's house?” Kreacher wheezed in response.

“Looking for you.” She had crouched down, setting a hand on his head, smiling. “Of course, I can go away... but things will be a lot more difficult if I do.”

Kreacher sat up. “Who are you?”

“My name is Thalia... who I am isn't important.” She sat down on the floor so that she was almost eye to eye with the house elf. “I've come here to ask you something.”

“What do you want with Kreacher?”

“I know what's happened to Chara, believe me, my sister-in-law is in an absolute fit over it.” She rolled her eyes as she said it. “What I need to ask you is, do you want to stay here...” She indicated the narrow space.“The Potters won't be back for five days.” That struck an odd cord with the House Elf – according to belief, if a house elf wasn't mostly buried or cremated within two days of him or her dying, peace would never be theirs. But why would he think that and why would she mention it? Kreacher didn't think he was in danger of dying, at least, not tonight. “Or you can come with me...” She held out her hand. “I know Regulus would dearly love to see you again.”

He looked balefully up at her. “Kreacher is to old to be leaving...and Master Regulus is dead.”

“Are you certain of that? Of either of those things?” She grinned as the elf looked himself over, shock appearing on his face as he realized that he looked and felt fifty years younger. “It won't be forever... but I can assure you this – were you'd be going is a lot better than staying here.”

The house elf slowly stood and took the offered hand. “Master Harry will be much distressed.”

“Life's full of disappointments.” The girl stood, still holding his hand. “Let's go.”

He looked puzzled for a moment. “What has happened to Master Regulus?”

“That's a very long story... I'll explain on the way.”

“Kreacher is ready to leave.” For the first time in a very long time, the house elf smiled.

****

Jace stared at the sheet of paper in front of him for five whole minutes. He had gone down to the NICU after placing calls to his parents, Nate and Rob – leaving them to spread the news. There were more important things on his mind at the moment. Two names were scrawled on the piece of paper, ready to be handed over to the doctors so they would stop referring to two of the infants as 'Baby Girl Wilder' and 'Baby Boy Wilder.' Sometimes names gave one strength – according to some beliefs, the longer a child went nameless, the less power they would have. In a minute, he would hand the clipboard back and then go into see the twins for the first time. He managed a smile as he read the names one last time, certain that these were perfect. Regulus Jacob and Cera Clementine – he was positive that shortly, the little girl would turn the bend and start the long upward climb to reach the same level of survival as her brother. Gods willing, they'd both soon be well enough to take home to Cody. At this point, he didn't care if it wasn't until Christmas, December was better than never. He stood and handed it to the nurse on the other side of the desk. “Here we are.”

The woman took it and glanced over it. “Thank you.”

“May I go in now?”

“Yes.” She stood and came around the counter and over to a cupboard and looked him up and down. “I just hope we have scrubs long enough....”

He nodded, knowing that they had rules concerning who they let into the room and that protective clothing was needed for the health of the babies. The room itself, however, was something he wasn't prepared for. There were twelve incubators in the semi-dark room, eight of them occupied. Monitors beeped in an odd rhythm, a strange sort of symphony attesting to the fragile life that was doing its best to stay alive. The nurse led him to two incubators that were side by side and she stopped to fill out the small card at the end of one as he looked inside.

The first thing Jace thought was that it was literally impossible for any human or Arcadian that small to be alive. The boy – RJ – wasn't much bigger than one of his hands. He offhandedly thought of that picture of Chara, tucked into the motorcycle boot of one of the Peltier brothers. This boy could more than likely fit into one of her shoes and have room left over. The boy squirmed slightly, making a grasping motion, looking for something that wasn't there. He glanced to the card at the top of the incubator – staring in disbelief at the weight – Two pounds, ten ounces. The combined weight of his dinner of a steak and potatoes last night weighted more than his son. The devices the hospital was using to increase his chances of survival only made RJ look smaller. It also made Jace very glad that the difficulty weres had with electricity didn't show up until puberty. He turned and looked into the neighboring incubator, and almost wished he hadn't.

Cera looked fifty times worse than her twin. There was a horrific scar on her stomach – left more or less exposed due to the fact that there probably wasn't enough room on this little girl for a diaper, a bandage and exposed skin for the same monitors and devices her brother had. He glanced at the weight on the card and had to repress a curse. One pound, eleven ounces - barely more than a domestic kitten. Sitting down in the chair between the two of them, he didn't look at the nurse as she left to make the rounds, checking on the others. He had no idea how he was going to be able to go back upstairs and tell Chara that their two newborns combined weight was four pounds lighter than their brother's birth weight. Even worse, he didn't know how to tell her they might only be taking just one of them home.

**

Chara felt much better by the time Jace returned to her room. Although she still couldn't do much more than be propped up in bed at this point, something was better than nothing. She gave him a weak smile as he came over and kissed her forehead.

“Hey.” He set his hand on her head as he sat down next to her. “Feeling better?”

“A little.” She grimaced and swallowed. “I'm...”

“Thirsty?” He gave her a half grin as she nodded. “I don't want you straining yourself.” He helped her take a drink from the glass that a nurse had left on the bedside table. “They're only letting family visit you for now. They want to wait a few days until they let friends in...although they might make an exception or two...”

“Nate and Tora...” She coughed again.

“Yeah. I think they may be here in a little while. I sent Jordan to go get Andromeda and Teddy. Unfortunately, they have to stagger their arrival, since England is quite the distance...and complications are the last thing we need right now.”

“It's okay.” She nodded towards the water glass and he helped her take another sip. “I don't... want Sam... seeing me... like this.”

He silently agreed. “Few days then?”

“I'd like at least... be able to...” She indicated the glass again. She hated being practically helpless like this. She couldn't remember ever been so weak she couldn't even feed herself.

“Probably a good idea.” He set the now empty glass back on the bedside table. “I don't want him getting scared either.”

“Hungry.” She frowned. “You need to eat too.”

“I'm fine.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

****

Dorian Kontis went to his brother Rayven's house without invitation and without calling in advance. While his brother may be an exile from their patria, as Regis of the Arcadian leopards, he didn't feel the need to do either one. A common belief in the Kontis family was that Dorian's twin, Phoenix had received the temper and the meanness. This was mostly true – but when Dorian got pissed off, it was twice as scary. He glowered around his brother's very plush family room and promptly had a pillow narrowly miss him as the dark-hunter's temporary squire, Erika Something-or-Other jumped up from the couch.

“What... who... you can't come in here!” She spat, trying to look tougher than she was. Had the situation not been so damn serious, Dorian might have laughed.

“Where's Rayven?” He spat.

“He's asleep... it is daytime, you know...” She whined.

He cursed. “Wake him up. This is important.”

“Do I look like I have a death wish?” She folded her arms, far to cocky for someone her age. Dorian wondered where this girl's head was. He was taller than her by at least a foot, a hundred pounds heavier and could hide her body faster than it would take to kill her.

“Yes.” Rayven had been awoken by his brother's shouts and blearily made his way down the stairs. “Dorian, what the hell is the matter with you?”

He whipped around, his face black with rage. “Where's Nick Gautier?”

Rayven stared at his brother. “Why would I know where Nick is?”

“I seem to recall Savitar leaving him as your charge, or was that my imagination?”

“What's going on?” Erika interjected. “What about Nick?”

“Get out of here.” Dorian snarled and the girl literally ran from the room.

“She's a kid, Dori, don't talk to her like that.” Rayven said. “Sure, she's a pain in the ass, but...”

“But nothing. Your little human charge, compatriot, what ever the fuck you want to call him just tried to murder the mate of Jace Wilder.”

This was news to Rayven – he had no idea the cheetah was mated. He'd not seen or talked to Jace Wilder since a chance meeting in the late eighteenth century. He frowned. “How do you know it was Nick? Furthermore, how the hell does Jace know who Nick is?”

“You think Jace would lie about something like this? The reason he knows it was Nick was because Chara knows him.”

Rayven's eyebrows lifted. “Chara.. Jace is mated to Chara Black?”

Now it was Dorian's turn to be confused. “You know who she is?”

“Few dark-hunters don't.” He went to the table where he'd left his cell-phone that morning and flipped it open. “A little over ten years ago, a band of humans kidnapped her and tried to force the secret of the dark-hunters out of her. From what I hear, what they did to her wasn't pretty.” He pressed a few buttons on the phone while Dorian stared at him. “I still don't get why Nick would do such a thing...” He turned away from his brother as he heard the answering service pick up on the other line. “Oz, it's Rayven – why aren't you answering? It's what, three in the morning in Auckland? Call me ASAP.” He hung up. “Damn. Oz isn't answering.”

“Who the hell is Oz?”

“He's Chara's father.” The moment he spoke Rayven winced. He knew that was one of the last things he ever should have said.

“Wait.. her father's a bloody dark-hunter?”

“No one is supposed to know that... forget I said that...” He set the phone down. “Look, I don't know where Nick went... why do you want to find him, anyway?”

Dorian wheeled his brother around and nearly punched him. “Look, you may be exiled from our clan, but this is serious. Odds are, those damn bears down in New Orleans aren't going to give a shit. I'd just like to know where he is before he snaps again and tries to off another innocent were or their mate... the only two that are probably safe are Wren and Maggie Tigarian... considering they were friends or something. But do you have any idea what would happen if he goes and murders Luna or Bride Kattalakis?”

Rayven hadn't thought of that. His own mate, Susan, was a human and out at work at this very minute. He then thought of something else – Jace was a Regis... and if someone wanted to change the leaders of the Omegrion, the quickest way to do it would be to kill the mates. The bonded mates of the Regis – kill one and you killed them both. The prospect of someone using the same method to kill all were-hunters was grim. Being a shade went pretty high up on his list of things he never wanted to be. However, Nick couldn't possibly be out during the day, so there was at least that small comfort. He turned back to his brother. “If I hear from him, I will let you know.”

“I appreciate that.” His voice had cooled somewhat. “I won't tell anyone about Oz, so don't worry about that.”

“Odds are, Jace already knows... he used to be stationed in Boise.”

****

Teddy tucked himself into the corner of one of the sofas in the Wilder's family room, silently fuming. He was trying not to fall asleep – if he fell asleep, his gran wouldn't bother to wake him for news. He had been climbing the tree outside in the garden at home when Jordan Wilder had literally appeared out of nowhere, running fast to their house. It hadn't been five minutes later than he was ordered down from the tree and told to get ready to leave. Something bad had happened to Chara – and no one would tell him entirely what had happened. Only that it was bad enough to warrant him and gran coming to Boise. On the opposite sofa, Jenna Wilder looked just as perturbed as he was.

That had been two days ago – and hopefully, soon, they could go down to Las Vegas and see what had happened. Or rather, he wanted to go see what happened. The details were very sketchy and all he knew was that someone had tried to kill Chara. His gran told him the attack was bad enough that the doctors – she was nice enough not to call them nutters – had to cut the babies out of his cousin. He didn't know people did such things. What he did understand about it was that his little cousins were so small and so young that they couldn't leave the hospital for quite a while.

Tired of doing nothing, he went upstairs to the nursery, where Sam was. Felicity Wilder, whom he figured had been watching him was sleeping in the rocker. His cousin was trying to fit some bristle blocks together. He sat down on the colorful rug, smiling. “Can I play too?”

The invitation was given to him by Sam holding out two green blocks to him. “Weddy play.”

“Thanks.” He started putting the blocks together to make a small car. For a small child of one and a half, Sam was pretty smart. Not that Teddy had spent much time around infants. James knew a handful of words, but his cousin seemed to be a bit more of a chatterer. Finishing the car, he set it down on the rug and nudged it with his finger. It rolled across the rug, further than he thought it would, onto the hardwood floor. Teddy realized he was doing involuntary magic when the car turned on it's two left side wheels and came back to them.

Sam clapped in response. “Again!”

“Okay, I'll try...” He pushed the car and again, it went across the room and this time, his cousin got up and chased it, laughing. This was much better than sitting down on the couch, doing nothing. He made another car to follow the first and sent it rolling along the same way. His cousin was clapping and looking throughly delighted as he watched the block cars chase each other around the room. Teddy wasn't sure how much time had passed – but it seemed that he'd not been upstairs for very long when Jordan Wilder pushed the door of the room open and he and Sam fell into a pile on the rug, giggling.

“Hey you two...” He gave them both an encouraging smile. “You want some dinner?”

“Mama?” Sam toddled across the room towards his uncle.

“Tomorrow, squirt.” He glanced over at Felicity, who had managed to sleep through all the noise. “We'll go see your mama tomorrow.” He gave Teddy a clamp on the shoulder as they went downstairs.

*

Chara's health had grown by leaps and bounds in the first three days. She still couldn't be up for a long period of time, but she was glad to be able to move without pain. She had saved all of her energy for this sunny morning to make her first trip down to the NICU. While she was currently confined to a wheelchair, that was infinitely better than being confined to bed. Jace had tried to prepare her for what the room was like, but it might not have been enough. She had been told how small the babies were, but when she looked in through the glass at them, she thought the same thing her husband had. How could something so small be alive? Jace kept a hand on her back as she reached into the incubator where RJ was and touched his hand with one of her fingers. “So little...”

“Oh, he's going to get bigger.” He gave the boy an encouraging smile. “Give him a little time, I bet he'll be taller than Sam.”

The baby made a grasping movement again, trying to find something. “I bet you're looking for your sister...” She gently pulled her finger from his grip and turned to look in on Cera. “Hey, little girl.” She reached in and brushed the girl's hand and that was when she felt the tears start. “Tell me this isn't real.”

“I wish I could.” Jace hugged her. “But they're tough little kids.” He slid his hand in to brush RJ's forehead. “The doctors say as soon as they're both four pounds, they should be strong enough to move up to Boise.”

“Right now, I'd just like them to be three pounds.” She brushed Cera's cheek, smiling when the girl turned. “That's right, mama's here.” She did her best not to look at the wicked scar. “Maybe after the pair of you are a little more stable they'll put you together.”

“I bet they miss each other.” Jace smiled. “They spent seven months in the same small space, now they're alone in a big space.”

****

Regulus rubbed his face, slowly waking up. He couldn't imagine what could have caused the long, drawn out dream he had. His last memory was of falling on the bathroom floor. At first, he thought he was still there, but he was far to comfortable. The only logical conclusion was that at some time, he had gotten back into bed. He stretched, but didn't open his eyes. The pain that had awoken him was all but forgotten as he lay there, in the warm, comfortable, light filled... His eyes shot open when he realized where the warmth was coming from. Panic caused him to fly from his bed and dive into the nearest shadowy place – the closet.

He stared in utter disbelief. His bedroom was full of sunlight. What the hell was wrong with his squire? Who had come and opened the curtains? He rubbed his eyes, wondering why they weren't burning. Furthermore, why hadn't he been burning? Slowly he stood up, glancing down at his body, checking for injuries. That was when he saw that the double bow and arrow mark on his left bicep was gone. This should be impossible – he had to be dreaming. He took a tentative step out into the sun, expecting to burst into flames. Instead, there was only warmth and comfort.

Dumbfounded, he fell to a sit, staring in utter shock at the fact that he was in the sunlight – something that shouldn't be possible. Blinking, he turned his head as he heard a tentative knock at the door. If Alex had come to check on him, his squire was probably going to have a heart attack. He cleared his throat. “Come in.”

The door swung open and half a second later, Regulus was on the receiving end of a hug that nearly knocked him flat.

“Master Regulus!” Kreacher shrieked for joy. He had been in the kitchen of this massive house, doing what he could with the muggle devices, wondering what the odd girl had meant, bringing him here. Now that he knew...

“Kreacher?” He found his voice and took a look at the overjoyed house elf. There was something wrong here too...he should look much older than he did... in fact, the elf looked younger than he'd ever seen him. Oddly enough, he was also wearing clothes... to a degree. Nothing more than a pair of drawstring pants and a tunic style shirt, but they were clothes. Hanging from his neck, however – was the locket he himself had placed in the cave of inferi, in place of the horcrux. He wasn't certain he wanted to know how the elf had gotten a hold of it. “What's going on?”

“Kreacher does not entirely know.” He let go of Regulus and straightened up and a slightly perturbed look came across his face.“What is wrong with your eyes, Master Regulus?”

“What do you mean?”

The house elf went into the bathroom and returned with a small hand mirror. “Look.”

He took the offered item with thanks and looked into it. His eyes were not black, nor where they amber brown. They were an odd shade of blue – not silver, like Ash's – nor dark blue, like Arianna's had been. But an even shade that was wholly unfamiliar and that was when he felt an odd weight around his neck. Lowering the mirror, he looked down and saw the odd charm hanging from a thin silver chain. It was a single bow and arrow – he held it in his hand, turning it so he could better study it. It was heavy and he let it fall back against his chest. “Is there anyone else in the house, Kreacher?”

“Kreacher has seen or heard no one.”

“Okay... we'll go downstairs... and see if we can figure out what's happened.” He stood up.

“Master Regulus, you can not leave your room dressed such.” He poked him in the leg, rather stunned to see him dressed in only sweats. “You must put on a shirt and shoes.” He went from the room. “Kreacher will go put on a pot of tea.”

Regulus stood in his room for a moment, blinking. He wasn't used to being told what to do, unless it was Ash giving the orders. He shrugged into a shirt and stuffed his feet into a pair of sandals. While he did, he grabbed his cell phone and flicked it on. What caught his eye wasn't the nineteen messages he had waiting – it was the date. He had been somewhere for six whole days. On instinct, he went and shut the curtains of his room, even though there were no neighbors to mark the event. As he did, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Bending down, he retrieved it and read the small note scrawled across it in utter shock.

All will be explained soon. Be patient.

****

A lone figure stood outside the NICU, waiting. Her mind was in two places. One was down here, looking through the glass at the small infants within and the other part was on someone else, someone just a floor up. She had stood in that room for less than a minute before she had to run out. It was an odd scene, upstairs in Chara's room. But she had seen Teddy. That was the important thing. He had gotten so big. She tried not to let it weigh to heavily on her heart, what she had to do here tonight.

“He looks wonderful, doesn't he?” A voice said from behind her.

She smiled at him in response. “I told you he looked just like you.”

“Well, he does today...” He laughed softly. “He might decide to look like you tomorrow.”

“I wish I didn't have to do this.”

“I know, Dora, I know.” Remus Lupin squeezed her hand. “But this is what must be.”

“It all starts here. All that is to follow.”

“Yes.” He set his hand on the glass. “It begins now.”

“It began a week ago. This is merely the catalyst.” Nymphadora Lupin slipped into the room after one final nod to her husband. Having never been in a muggle hospital, she was rather marveled how they were keeping the little babies alive. She walked slowly over to an incubator in the corner, pausing at the one next to it. “So you're the little fighter...” She grinned down at him. “Oh, the things you're going to do...” She didn't think this would be so hard to do – but now.

She turned and looked down. “Aren't you a pretty little thing...” Her hand brushed the tiny amount of red fuzz on the girl's head. “Like an angel.” The nurse on duty didn't see her as Tonks leaned down and reached through the glass like the phantom she was and drew the infant daughter of Jace and Chara into her arms. She was so tiny, she fit easily into the crook of her arm. “A sweet, pretty little angel...” Completely oblivious to the chaos that ensued following their departure, she cooed at the baby as she walked out of the room and back to where Remus waiting for her.

“Aren't you precious...” He brushed the infant's cheek. “Cera.” He looked up into his wife's face. “Let's go.”

She nodded in reply and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She continued to coo down at Cera as they walked down the hospital corridor. When they turned a corner, they vanished into brilliant light.


******

Pre-read by Zoro5001