FF: Synchronicity Solution 8/? (Brand New)

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: The Synchronicity Solution
Chapter Eight: Finding Home
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Timeline: The Story bounces around in time from 2003 to 2019.
Summary: Catherine Finn likes to help people, human and non-human alike. But
can she save her own granddaughter?
Thanks: Cheryl Hill
Warning: Character death, forced drug taking, NOT FOR THE SQUEMISH 

The Synchronicity Solution
Finding Home

Boulder Colorado March 15 2007 3 am

Sheila Rosenberg was awakened by the sound of someone downstairs. Picking up
her portable phone she moved to the top of the stairs. "I am calling the
police." She called down.

"Mom, please don't." Willow replied, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Willow?" Sheila asked but she was already moving down the stairs. Reaching
the bottom step she grabbed her daughter and pulled her into a hug. Willow
was the source a great deal of guilt for Sheila. She blamed herself for the
way her daughter turned out. If she hadn't tried to burn her at the stake or
even just paid more attention to her daughter, things might have been
different.

Instead, her daughter had one day, out of the blue, brought home a young
woman and announced that they were lovers. Sheila often wondered what had
happened to Tara. She had liked the girl. At least her daughter wasn't with
that Summers girl. Sheila was coping with her daughter being gay and toying
with witchcraft. She had even tried to be supportive. Then her daughter just
disappeared in the middle of the school year. That Sheila had not
understood.

When Willow did finally show back up on her doorstep, it was with the
younger Summers girl and a baby. Sheila had been surprised when Willow told
her she adopted Dawn and gave her the Rosenberg name. But she had been in
total shock when her daughter said she was recovering from a heroin
addiction. 

Drugs, she had never guessed her little girl would be involved with drugs.
She hugged her only child tight and cried. She knew Willow was just there
for money. Still it was good to see her daughter and grandchild again.

"Is my granddaughter with you?" She finally asked.

"Nana!" Kim called and ran over to her grandmother.

"Kim, my how big you are?" Sheila said, picking the girl up and hugging her.

Sheila still carrying her granddaughter moved toward the kitchen. She
stopped and glared at Alex. The demon moved out of the way. She then stopped
at Dawn's side and said, "I am glad to see you looking well, Dawn" 

"Thanks, Mrs. Rosenberg."

"Don't be so formal, I believe you are part of the family. When was the last
time you all ate?" Sheila asked. They all looked too thin and pale.

"We had Dinner a few hours ago but we could eat again mom. We didn't want to
wake you." Willow added.

"How long are you staying this time?" Sheila asked putting Kim back in
Willow's arms.

"A week if that's ok." Willow said, looking at the floor.

"You need money, right?" Sheila said, opening the refrigerator.

"Yes but we will pay you back, I promise." Willow said, handing Kim over to
Alex.

"You always have before, I believe you." Sheila said flatly. She had
actually been surprised by the fact that her daughter did always pay her
back. And usually fairly quickly.

"So are you in trouble with the law again?" She said pulling out sandwich
fixings.

"Something like that. We are on the run if that is what you are asking."
Willow said frankly.

"I wish you would just settle down. You wouldn't have to pay me back. Think
of Kimberly, it can't be good for the child to be on the run all the time."
Sheila said evenly before reaching on top of the refrigerator and getting
the bread.

"It's to keep Kimberly safe. Look, lets not start fighting right away. I bet
you're tired and I know we are exhausted." Willow said quietly.

"Fine, we will talk about it tomorrow. You can get something to eat. You and
Kim take the extra bedroom, Dawn you can sleep on the sleeper bed in the
den. Alex you can sleep on the couch in the living room. I won't have you
two sleeping in the same bed in my house." Sheila said evenly.

"Thank you Mrs. Rosenberg." Alex said, putting Kim in a chair at the table
and helping her with a plate of food.

Major Freeway, Heading toward London and away from Liverpool. October, 13
2003

Kate had pulled over when Buffy's contractions were about a minute apart.
Dawn was counting them as best she could with Kate's watch. Willow had
managed to pull the over-sized sailor pants and shoes off of her sister in
law. So she was left with only an over-sized man's shirt covering her.
Willow was trying to watch her dilation, but it was clear to Kate the woman
was coming down off one hell of a high. The girl seemed shaky too, but she
lacked the drug effects her sister in law and red head seemed to have. She
needed to get them to a hospital quickly. 

Getting out of the car, Kate Finn ran around to the passenger side and
opened up the door to examine the pregnant woman, Buffy was trying to
breathe, but the drugs in her system were making it hard. Looking at the
red-haired woman she asked, "How close is she?" 

Willow pushed Buffy's legs open to allow Kate to see the dilation as Buffy
had another hard contraction. "They shot her full of muscle relaxants. It's
making it harder for her to push the baby. I sense it, we need a doctor."
The witch said evenly before letting another wave of pain roll through her
body. She was coming off the heroin. Before Quentin had left them, his men
had shot them all up again, and just left them in the warehouse tied up to
die. Dawn too had been given a small dose of the organic compound they used
on Buffy. 

Kate held Buffy's legs open as she examined the spot where the baby would
try and come out. "You're not dilating correctly, we are going to have to
try for a doctor, I will pull off and head for one of the small towns near
here. Maybe we will stay off their radar longer that way." 

Macclesfield United Kingdom, October 13, 2003

Macclesfield was a typically small English town with a pub at its center.
Kate pulled along the side of the road near the pub and asked for direction
to the doctor's house. She didn't need to explain much, it was clear Buffy
was in labor. A few minutes later they were at Dr. Johnson's office, parking
the car.

Kate pulled Buffy up and began helping her into the office, while Dawn
pulled Willow free of the car and headed in behind them. Even before Kate
made it to the door a strong young man was at her side helping her get Buffy
in the door. Two nurses from inside the office were directing them to a back
room that was clearly set up for small emergencies. It was like a buzz in
the room, everyone seemed to know exactly what to do. The Nurses were
cleaning and shaving Buffy. Willow pulled up beside her friend, still
fighting the drugs in her body, her eyes completely black as she used what
little magic she still had left to help Buffy and protect the baby. Dawn was
also helping out as much as she could, handing things to the nurses, and
generally keeping out of everyone's way. 

The strong young man who had helped Kate bring Buffy into the office had
turned out to be the doctor. He was examining Buffy carefully, with one eye
on Willow. Pulling her shirt down, he asked Kate quietly, "Her back has a
small amount of infection where it's healing, mostly from the lash marks,
but what I need to know is what kind of drugs she is on, her arms, back and
left shoulder show signs where she has been repeatedly drugged. I need to
know what kind of drug was used?" 

"It's an organic compound, lots of different herbs," Willow said as she
closed her eyes and tripped out for a second or two. Then coming back, she
said, "The core ingredient is Soma, massive doses of organic muscle
relaxants. Wanted us to behave, not fight back." Willow added as she slipped
in and out of reality, letting the drugs and the gray magic roll over her
body. The gray magic was still with her and the drugs only made her lose her
way within its ocean of power. 

"And you and the girl?" the doctor asked as he listened to Buffy's heart, as
she was trying to breathe with her contractions. 

"They gave me heroin, soma does nothing to slow me down," Willow answered,
her eyes becoming green again as she forced herself to focus. "Dawn was
given a combination of the organic chemicals, and a mild sedative, maybe
some secinal to make her sleep." Willow said slowly. 

"Really I am fine, they hardly ever drugged me. Now can you help my sister,
please." Dawn said quietly.

Dr. Johnson knew he needed to deal with the two other woman dressed as
sailors in oversized clothes soon, but the girl was right, the pregnant
woman needed all his attention. 

"The drugs are keeping you from dilating correctly, I am not set up here to
do surgery. I am going to have to try a couple of things but mostly we are
going to wait for the ambulance to take you to hospital."

"No hospital, my child will never make it in a hospital." Buffy said flatly
grinding her teeth with the pain. "Willow can you do something?" Buffy asked
quietly. 

"Not strong enough, the drugs are crazy inside me, I could teach Dawn. She
could do it." Willow said evenly as the doctor watched them with horror. He
had no idea what was going on but he knew they were desperate people. 

"What do I have to do?" Dawn asked moving closer to her sister.

"I need stuff, candles, herbs, mercury, crystals, maybe rock salt will do."
Willow said moving off the stool and around to face Buffy.

"Dawn you get the ingredients, I'll need a handful of soil from the ground
outside too, I'll do the spell." Kate said quietly. "But hurry."

"You're a witch?" Buffy asked then ground her teeth with the pain. The
doctor had moved to the end of the table to watch Buffy's dilation. His head
nurse continued to shave Buffy and clean her, she was now bleeding from her
womb as the child tried to be born. 

"Not like your red-haired friend, but my mother passed on some of the
O'Riley family secrets to me." Kate replied as she washed her hands at the
sink. 

"I am going to cut you a little to make the opening bigger." The doctor said
quietly. He was the medical professional, they could practice their religion
later, when the mother and child were safe, and in hospital. 

"It's going to hurt but I would rather we try the normal way first," Willow
said, then her eyes went black and she shifted her magic, sending the
ambulance that was coming for Buffy to another town. "I took care of the
ambulance. Can't wait to see what I can do drug free." Willow added. 

"Good, go help the doctor cut away." Buffy said with a grimace. 

"I need to use a local for this," the doctor replied as his nurse prepared
the needle. "And what do you mean you took care of the ambulance.

"Doesn't matter, and no more drugs, I'll handle the pain, just cut." Buffy
said. Willow just let her mind reach out and picked up the needle. The
backwash of months of holding her magic in was flowing wildly through her.
And she was getting power from the coming child; gray magic was everywhere
as the child tried to be born. 

"My god." The nurse said as the needle floated to Willow.

"Ours too, now please Doctor, help me." Buffy said, bringing their attention
back to her problem. 

The doctor just took the scalpel and began to cut, he needed to enlarge the
hole so the child had a chance to come out on it's own. Buffy ground her
teeth and closed her eyes with the pain. But she held her legs open and
prayed for her child. 

"I am sorry I can't help more with the pain, I can't focus. My mind is
everywhere," Willow said quietly moving over to Buffy and taking her hand.

Dawn came flying through the door, her arms filled with supplies. "I think I
got everything. This is for that spell you talked about last night while we
were tied up, right?" the teenager asked.

"Yes." Willow said quietly trying to focus again. The gray magic was
swimming around her, but the heroin was clouding her mind. And in truth,
right now all she wanted was another dose, another shot, she was addicted
and she knew it, her body knew it. 

"You want to fold space and reach in and remove the child without harming
the mother?" Kate asked, she had actually heard of midwifes using the spell
in extreme cases, it was dangerous. And it sometimes killed the mother and
the child.

"Yes, you know it?" Willow asked, she was already looking through Dawn's
supplies and pulling out what she needed. 

"Mix the soil into the salt to make the circle." Kate stated as she joined
Willow. Dawn grabbed one of the doctor's scalpels off the table and cut the
top off the salt can. Then she began to mix the soil into the salt, using
the scalpel to mix them together. Willow was looking through the herbs and
spices Dawn had stolen from the kitchen. "Dawn when you're done with that
put candles at the four points." Willow directed as her eyes glazed over,
the drugs and magic washing over her again, and she tuned the world out. 

When Willow had come back to herself, Dawn had already lit the candles and
was saying a protection spell to the goddess that Willow and Tara had taught
her to do. Kate was pouring the salt and soil in a circle around the room in
the doctor's office. The Doctor and Nurse were coaching Buffy and in general
ignoring the other 3 woman. 

"Is the baby coming out on it's own?" Willow asked, moving closer to the
doctor.

"Not really, ambulance should have already been here, I need to get her to
hospital soon." The doctor said honestly. He was amazed she was doing as
well as she was, mostly he was concerned about the blood loss, she was
bleeding slowly, which was good for both mother and child, but she was still
bleeding.

"I sent... never mind, we are almost ready, when we pull the child out, you
have to take over." Willow stated trying to stay in the here and now. 

Kate was washing her hands again. "I am just about ready, you know the
words, and let me do the phasing." 

"Dawn you stay behind Buffy's head. I'll be at her left hand side, you
nurses stand on the right hand side and Dr. Johnson you stand beside her,
this is either not going to work or it's going to work fast." Willow said
pushing the doctor and nurse into position.

"It's ok Mildred. Just let them do their religious service. We are waiting
for the ambulance at this point." The Doctor whispered to his nurses.

Kate put both hands on her sister-in-laws knees, as Willow and Dawn took
their places. "Everyone touch Buffy, let your healing power flow into her."
Willow said slowly, her eyes slipping completely black. 

Dawn and Willow placed their hands on Buffy, and a second or two later the
Doctor nudged his nurse and they too joined in by placing their hands on the
slayer. The wind in the room began to spin and circle, as electricity
sparked off of first Willow and then Kate.

Willow letting the sparks flow to Kate and began to chant, "liberato
infantia foris gero consurgo oriundus abeo abeo." Kate began to repeat the
words, along with Dawn and Buffy.

Over and over the women chanted, as Kate's hands became more and more
transparent. Suddenly Willow pulled all the gray magic she felt in the room
into her body and then out of her eyes and into Kate. Kate excepted the
magic and pushed her hands inside Buffy's rounded belly. It took her two or
three minutes to find the child's life force, so much gray magic inside
Buffy confusing her as her hands felt inside the slayer. Grabbing the
child's life force, she pushed in and took hold of the child itself. Then
she began to drag the child toward the opening it was trying to break free
from. She could feel her hands covered in blood and organs, but she pulled
the child away from its mother. 

Willow closed her eyes and pulled the sea of gray magic inside, all the way
inside her, past the drug haze and flesh of her body, she pulled all the
magic she could feel inside her. Then she opened her black in black eyes and
let it all flow out of her body, to Kate, to the baby, to Buffy. If anyone
was going to die, Willow was offering her life up in place of the child's. 

"No!" Buffy screamed and placed an arm on Willow, anchoring her to this
earth. Then she screamed again, an inhuman scream as the baby was pulled
through the opening that was too small for the child to pass. The pain was
like a thousand bones breaking inside her body all at once. Then the child
was free, and crying. And the doctor stepped back into the events, and took
the child in his arms. His nurse helping him to cut the umbilical cord.
Willow had passed out and was lying across Buffy's body, Dawn positioning
the redheaded witch on the table beside her sister. Willow's back was
bleeding badly; her lash marks all reopened with the magic. 

"It's a girl." The doctor said wrapping the child in a blanket before
handing her off to the nurse. "Do you have a name for her?" 

"Her name is Kimberly... Kimberly Rosenberg." Buffy said carefully letting
her hand run through Willows hair.

"Rosenberg?" Kate asked quietly taking her niece from the nurse.

"Kate, Riley's last words were to take care of our daughter. She can't have
my name, or his. So Rosenberg. It will be the safest way to go." Buffy said
slowly reaching out to hold her daughter. 

Kent United Kingdom, October 13, 2003

Seven women sat in a circle on the floor. The pentagram underneath them was
glowing with power as all seven women worked the mazes of time inside their
collective minds. They were the seven oracles of the counsel. And it was
there job to see all the possible futures of the world. 

At the peek of the star was the youngest of the seven women. She was
extremely beautiful with her long red hair and green eyes. She was small,
but taller then she looked, 5' 7" She was dressed in a power business suit
and high heel shoes. She looked completely out of place with the 6 other
woman in the circle. She was the only one not wearing a robe. But it didn't
matter, she was still an oracle. Still needed to complete the work. Slowly
the floor stopped glowing and the woman looked up staring at their youngest
member. 

"I guess I get to talk to Mr. Travers." She stated with a small laugh. "He
has no idea what he has done!" She added laughing hard as she stood up.

"Madeline, be careful, he will need to know that the slayer's daughter is
safely in this world, but he does not need to know about your daughter, and
the key. It is enough that he knows the key seeks its owner." The oldest
member of the group stated as she pulled her hood back revealing her ancient
face. 

"I know what to tell him. And he knows nothing of my daughter. Nothing, even
while he tortured her I said nothing. And may my soul be damned for it,
Lydia. I will tell him what he needs to know and nothing more. For 700 years
I have been sent to inform men like Mr. Travers. So do not tell me my place
old woman." Madeline said with so much hate it almost dripped out of her
mouth.

"And you do it well, my daughter. But the slayer and her children have rolls
to play, just as you daughter does. Just as we are selves do. Today we need
to rejoys, another warrior of light is born." Lydia said quietly as she
moved over to hug her only daughter. 

"Yes, we celebrate!" called out another one of the women in the circle. They
all were moving in for a group hug. They would celebrate together this day. 


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