FF: The Synchronicity Solution 10/?

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: The Synchronicity Solution
Chapter Ten: Too Much Information
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
Too Much Information


Boulder Colorado March 17 2007 7 am

Sheila Rosenberg woke at her usual time. Remembering that things in her home
weren't "usual"; she put on her nightgown and went down the hall to check on
her daughter and only grandchild. It wouldn't be the first time they'd
dropped by and took off in the middle of the night. If she thought she could
manage it she would get Willow and Kimberly to just stay with her. At least
they would be safe. And as far as Dawn went, she liked the girl, and if Dawn
needed to stay she was welcome. Hell, if Willow would stay she could put up
with Alex too. Alex may not be human, but she wasn't the worst thing Sheila
had met in her life. Mostly she just wanted Willow safe. 

As she quietly walked up the hall she stopped outside the extra bedroom. She
took a deep breath and prayed that her grandchild was still fast asleep in
her bed, and not back on the run. Opening the door she peek in. Sheila let
herself take a breath, Kimberly was sound asleep wrapped around... At first
she thought it was Willow, but on taking a second look she realized it was
Dawn sleeping next to her granddaughter. Frowning she tried to calm down. At
least Willow was still someplace nearby, with Alex, she added to herself.
Well at least Willow had left Dawn in the room to keep her safe. 

Turning she went to check the rest of the house, after looking in the other
rooms set up to house Willow's family she gave up and went outside to get
the paper. She slipped on her coat and a pair of oversized boots, it had
snowed most of the night and there was about 2 and half feet of snow outside
the door. Stepping out into the cold Colorado weather, she grabbed her
shovel and began making a path to the mailbox where her paper was also
housed. It didn't take her long to shovel down the sidewalk past Willow's
car and to the mailbox. Willow's car was parked in the driveway; hers was in
the garage. On her return trip to the house she saw clearly through the car
her red-haired daughter. She was wrapped around Alex. They were both covered
in coats but Sheila could see their clothes piled up in the corner of the
car. 

The next thing she knew she was banging on the car door. "LET ME IN!" she
screamed waking the two women up. 

Willow unlocked the front door and her mother slid in the driver seat and
re-locked the door. "I can't believe you slept out here!" Sheila screamed.

"Well you made your feelings about Alex and I sleeping together under your
roof fairly clear mother." Willow answered in an amazed tone, she and Alex
were dressing slowly under their coat blankets in the folded down back seat
of the hatchback. 

"So you slept out here, in the snow? You both could have caught a cold.
Actually the car is pretty warm." Sheila added the last part slowly.

"A simple spell. We have had to sleep in the car a few times over the years.
It's harder now; Kim is growing up so fast. Dawn is watching her for us.
Alex and I just needed some time to ourselves." Willow explained as she
finished dressing and pulled on her coat. Alex wasn't doing as well, and was
still about half dressed, and her skin was glowing and swirling as it did at
times when she was nervous. 

"Alex just calm down, your glow is out of control." Willow whispered and
then kissed her cheek tenderly. 

"She doesn't really inspire the normal kind of fear most demons do." Sheila
commented as she looked at Alex.

"It's that whole not-being-evil thing plus she is just such a pussy cat."
Willow joked back.

"You two could leave me some self respect, I am supposed to be able to
insight fear in the hearts of men, I am a banshee for Christ sake. Ok I am
mostly a banshee." Alex said a little hurt. 

"Alex I love you. Now will you please go check on Kimberly and start
breakfast, I need to talk to my mother for a while." Willow said kissing
Alex on the lips this time then pushing her out the car. The fact that
Willow pushed her half dressed, through the wall of the car, on most
occasions would have caused Sheila to be surprised, but somehow this time,
Sheila just smiled as Alex fell over in the snow, and struggled to put her
pants on before taking off toward the house. Mostly Alex was in a hurry
because her shoes were still in the car.

"Do you always treat her so badly?" Sheila asked. 

"Alex needs a firm hand, and if you ask her, she'll tell you the same thing.
Mother, she is my mate, I can't marry her in the temple yet, but the laws
are changing. And when they do I will marry her. It's really only a
formality. We are mated." Willow said slowly looking at her mother.

"And sleeping in the car?" Sheila asked.

"You're my mother, and I respect you. Actually, so does Alex. So we tried to
respect your rules. The car isn't under your roof. It was the only way I
could figure to both get what I needed and respect you." Willow said staring
at her mother.

"You're not a child anymore, my god Willow you have a beautiful child of
your own. And Dawn, I know you finished raising her for your friend, but
Dawn too is an Adult. Shouldn't she have a life of her own? But you're
always on the run. I love you coming to see me, but I hate the running."
Sheila said evenly. 

"Dawn tried to have a life of her own. She went to college for awhile, they
almost got her. Alex barely got there in time to get her out." Willow said
haunted by the memories.

Texas University at Austin, Austin Texas October 23 2005 

Dawn was terrified; she had just been able to slip past the wet works team.
She had been watching them for days as they watched her. She had seen them
on the edge of her classes, following her around the campus. Why did she
ever think she could live a normal life? Like she knew what normal was in
the first place. Then the clicking on her phone. Willow had taught her to
test it for bugs. And then she had come home pulling out her magic supplies,
oh yeah her roommate had loved the black candle and crystals with the salt
circle in the middle. Didn't matter, the spell had shown her what she needed
to know, they were hunting her: Again. She had been taken once, that was
enough for her. She had sent Willow a message, not by phone or mail, again
with magic. She just hoped she would get it in time. 

Now she was packing, but not making it look like she was packing. She had
gotten boxes, and stolen a few suitcases from the storage room. She had her
clothes and the magic supplies packed and ready to run with, her laptop was
always by her side. She was actually sleeping with it at this point. Now she
just had to wait for either Willow or the tweed patrol to come for her. 

"Hey Dawn, you ok?" Rachel Walker asked her not for the first time that day.

"Fine, just thinking." Dawn lied.
"Hey Dawn I know the first year of college can be rough, the school has this
student counseling program." Rachel said slowly, trying to gage a reaction
from her roommate.

"Rachel, I am not depressed, and believe this or not, college is simple
compared to my life." Dawn answered with a laugh. 

Then Alex walked through the back wall of her dorm.

"Oh good, I was afraid I might have the wrong room, I just picked the one
with the most real magic." Alex explained to Dawn and her shocked roommate.

"There is other magic?" Dawn asked getting out of bed and moving to her
closets. 

"Wannabe stuff, as Will calls it. You know candles-to-the-goddess thing.
College is a time for experimentation. None of them know what they're doing.
Well except you, that's how I found you so fast." Alex explained as she
helped Dawn pack her books off her shelf.

"If you can find me so easily so can they." Dawn stated as she stripped her
bed.

"What is she?" Rachel asked from the corner she had backed herself into.

"She is my friend and one of the good guys. She won't hurt you." Dawn
explained.

"Dawn, how close are these guys?" Alex asked

"Phones bugged, maybe video, close." Dawn answered. Alex just grabbed Dawn's
bags and tossed them out the window. Then she grabbed Dawn and Rachel and
flew through the wall just as the front door was being smashed in. 

They landed on the ground by the bags, as Dawn's window was broken open and
shots fired from the window, Dawn was shot in the arm, the bullet grazing
her as it passed by. Rachel was not so lucky; the bullet hit her square in
the thigh. 

Alex spread her wings and covered the girls, the bullets getting caught in
her gossamer mesh-like wings. "We have to run, I can carry the girl. She
needs to go to the hospital." Alex replied as Dawn tied off Rachel's wound
with a shirt from her luggage. Then she covered her own wound. 

"You go left with Rachel and I'll go right. I'll meet you later. Get her
help. I had started thinking of her as a friend." Dawn said sadly as she
took off running under the gunfire up the street. Alex wrapped the girl in
her arms and wrapped her wings around them both then took off running in the
other direction. 

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, 2019

James was carefully nudged awake. "James, its about an hour before we land
in New York, we need to talk" Cordelia said before stretching out from her
own sleep.

"At least you didn't kill me." James replied pulling down the blanket he had
somehow received in his sleep.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Actually, I was thinking you're a lot
like your mother. But you look more like your father." Cordelia replied as
she folder her own blanket up. 

"You knew my real parents?" James asked quietly. He had long ago learned
Quentin wasn't his real father. 

"Well, I meet your father only once, when we were trying to find Faith. He
was a soldier. And for the most part a nice guy. Very handsome, like you.
You have his smile, and his hair. But you have your mother's eyes. Your mom
is a slayer. The slayer of all slayers. And you have a sister. I think
you'll like Kimberly. And you have tons of Aunts, and a few uncles. And
grandparents who will love you. In short your life is about to get really
complicated, James." Cordelia said with a smile.

"Yeah right, like I really have this large family waiting for me in
America." James said sarcastically.

"I never said they were in America. They are but I never said that."
Cordelia said her smile almost infectious.

"Tell me why I have to get off in New York again?" James asked quietly.

"Your father by now knows you're gone. He also knows if you ever meet your
real mother he is screwed. That's why he keeps tight tabs on you. He also
knows Buffy, your birth mother, is in Des Moise Iowa, but you knew that. She
is sick, maybe dying. Now that he knows you are going after her, he will try
and kill her. Only, Buffy and Willow are both smart. Willow is going to be
hard to explain but just remember she is family. And Willow is powerful, she
actually doesn't know how powerful yet. Some things are going to just have
to work themselves out. Your job is to get to this address, it's your grand
parents home." Cordelia said handing the boy the address. 

James looked at the address carefully, not knowing what to do or who to
believe.

"James, just remember your mother will love you. She never knew about you.
They were sneaky, the counsel was, but your mother will love you, not James
the slayer, but James the man. They all will love you. But you have to fight
like hell to reach them. It's going to be hard, but you can do it." Cordelia
replied as her body began to glow and break into sparkling pieces, and then
she faded out of view, and there was nothing left in her seat but the folded
blanket.




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