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                There

was a pressing need to make some telephone calls, and since they were highly

important, they made them in private. Edward made one that he found to be quite

difficult, while Maggie had the time of her life talking to her connection.

Overall the matter didn't take long, though Edward looked the worse for it. He

steeled himself and put his best foot forward.

                "Ok,

who's up for story hour?"

                It was

several hours later, with the darkness having taken charge of the once bright sky,

before Edward and Maggie filled them in on even the barest of details. Alexei

and Maria knew their parts well enough, but there were a few details that were

new to them. Overall, there were more than a few looks of incredulity amongst

the faces in the crowd.

                Anna

spoke her thoughts quite lucidly. "I have seen much in my long life, but you

two have done more than I could ever have imagined in a relatively short amount

of time. Are you truly telling us the truth about Master Leonardo?"

                Maggie

puffed out her chest proudly. "You had better believe it gran. The guy's pretty

incredible. I'd almost hate to see what he's made of the past five hundred

years worth of science and history since we left him."

                "And

he's working for the pope?"

                "Yeah,

but there doesn't seem to be any conflict of interest. The pope seems to think

that religion and science are mutually separate but still compatible, if you

can believe that!"

                "That's

not like any modern pope I've heard of, to be certain."

                "No, in

that he's a very liberal person. I like him."

                "And

Leonardo? He's alright with his present position?"

                "As far

as I know he is. Maybe you'd like to ask him?"

                "Ask

him? How?"

                "When

he arrives here tomorrow or the next day."

                The

room went silent. "What are you saying child?"

                "I

thought I made myself clear. We put a message in to the pope and he's sending

Leonardo with a package."

                "You're

joking, right?"

                 "Nope. The pope takes us quite seriously."

                "And

why would he do that?"

                Maggie

was nearly cavorting in her glee."Because I showed him what a real werewolf was

like."

                "YOU

DIDN'T!"

                "I did.

He was pretty down with it. Says I was just another of God's creatures. It's

one of the few times I have felt like I wasn't a demon or something, to quote the

typical religious viewpoint. Besides, he's a bit of..."

                Edward

coughed. "...an open minded person. He's more accepting of things than most." He

stared her down until she remembered that the pope's condition wasn't open for

discussion.

                Anna

was incredulous. "No one accepts what we are except each other, and even then,

there has been tales of dissent among the Kind."

                Maggie

gave her a severe look. "And how would you know? Who do you know outside of

anyone we have already talked about?"

                "I knew

Gregori for one. He told us all a few stories. I know some of the old legends.

We are still essentially human dear. That means we are tainted with all of the

jealousy and anger, the envy and greed that infects the rest of the

population."

                "Hmph!

I see you left out things like love, caring and compassion. It seems to me you

missed out on a lot."

                The old

woman looked to be near tears. "More than you will ever know dear."

                The

girl suddenly felt very small. "I'm sorry gran; that was rude." She gave her a

hug and didn't let go.

                Edward

let them have their moment. There was a lot of making up that needed to happen

in a short amount of time. "Leonardo is coming in via airplane thanks to a

papal decree. He's coming into the airport here, so he will need to be picked

up. On top of that, I still need to figure out where we are going to meet this

Leeds person. I hardly want to have it out in a public venue. One public

display like there was in New York is enough."

                Billy

was cracking his knuckles. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. That

place remains on edge after that mess. Some people still consider it to be a

terrorist attack."

                "So,

any suggestions?"

                "Yeah. Find

some place in the middle of nowhere. Not only am I sure you want to avoid any collateral

damage I also assume you want to keep a low profile. That's going to be tough

regardless of where this goes down."

                "Thanks

for stating the obvious," he said drolly. "Thankfully there is more to the east

coast than meets the eye. "

                "Yeah,

but you had better pick somewhere well away from civilization, like a state

park or something. That's assuming this son of a bitch will even meet you face

to face."

                "I

think he will. I'm guessing he wants Maggie pretty badly."

                Her voice

rang out. "Well too fucking bad. I'm taken!"

                "Yes

you are, and I'll never let you come to harm while I still live."

                "I know

you won't."

                After

that, the conversation broke apart and everyone went their own way for the

night. Billy, Alexei and Maria went back to the hotel, while he and Maggie stayed

with her mom and grandmother. They were staying at his urging. As he said it, "You

are going to be going into a battle whose outcome cannot be foretold. Take what

time you have to reunite with your loved ones."

                She had

other ideas. "I know this sounds mean, but I can lose again what I once lost

before. But losing you will kill me. I have lost you before, and it nearly

broke my heart. If you die, I'll honestly have nothing to live for."

                "And I

you Mags. I do love you, very very much. I am only allowing this collaboration because

you have insisted upon it. I would rather do this my own way."

                "I know

you would and I'm very proud of you that you have relented. Maybe I can show

you my appreciation for your reluctant acceptance before we drift off to sleep

tonight."

                "I

think I'd like that very much." While his words were genuine, his attitude was

a little more morose than she would have liked. Whatever he saw in the future

had to be unspeakably awful.

                She

grabbed his arms and held on tightly. She tried to read his thoughts and was

thwarted by his immediate, mental defense. He shut her down. She did manage to

slip through a crack, but opted to leave him be. That which pestered his

thoughts was not something he intended to share. She projected a smile and a

thought of something a little more involved, and proceeded to retreat the way

she had come.

                "Nice

try Mags. Only one of us needs to suffer through this ahead of time."

                "I

still think you're being a stubborn jerk about it."

                "Maybe I

am. My choice." He leaned in and kissed her.

                "Men!

If you die in all this, I'll kill myself, you know that, right?"

                "It's no

more than the way I feel. But there have been things tearing up families for a

while now, and if I can clean house, it will be all for the better."

                "Hmmmm.

I must admit I am curious to meet my real father. Nothing personal, but it

sounds a lot like he's a pretty bad dude. That doesn't mean I'll like him, but

it might explain a lot about me."

                Edward nodded,

getting his clothing off and dropping it over a chair. He set the contents of

his pockets on the night stand. "I think that you should meet him. Heck, maybe

you'll want to go with him."

                She was

staring at his naked body. "Oh hell no! I've got what I want right here!"

                She

shed her clothing like an autumn tree does its leaves. She shivered a little,

part in anticipation and part out of fear; fear for their future. Sometimes she

felt extremely bad about ever pulling him into her life. If it weren't for him

however, she wouldn't even have a life. And look at what he had accomplished!

And yet, it could all come tumbling down around her ears. She had looked up

this Jersey Devil myth. It sounded weird and farfetched, even by her standards.

There wasn't much out there on it though, especially in regards to modern day

sightings.

                If her real,

biological father and that legend were somehow one in the same, he was a

complete freak of nature. So what did that make her?

                At the

moment, it made her feel scared and emotionally overloaded. She needed to work

off some frustration so that she could think clearly. She converted to her "anime"

persona, putting on the charms as best she could. She figured that her best

attack right now would be one he couldn't resist. That little fetish form he

loved soon appeared, from her pointed ears to her fluffy tail. His eyes hovered

somewhere in between.

                "I

think your maturing, unless it's just something you've forced into being."

                Her breasts

were beginning to show more, rising off of her chest like little apricot

halves. They weren't there prior to this, at least not as noticeable before her

transformation. "They might be. Do you like?"

                "No."

                Her eyes

went wide, but before she could voice her dismay, he said; "I love. Everything

else is impertinent."

                She

nearly became a puddle of werewolf fuzz on the floor. As it was she swayed on

her feet. "You know, there are times when I really hate you. This is simply not

one of them." With a leap she pounced on him, driving him back where he was and

knocking him against the bed. Her kisses were coming so fast her head was

nearly a blur. It took him a moment to slow her down and to sync up with her.

After that it was sheer bliss.

                In her excitement

she had allowed her form to revert to being human, and it made no difference to

his delight in her. Love knows no bounds, and the form of the lovers might

enhance the physical experience, but nothing could ever top the feeling of two

souls entwined around each other.

                What transpired

next was quiet, sensual and burned them both to the core. There was no thrashing

about the bed; there was no howling or growling; there were only two lovers who

were caught up in each other and nothing else. For the moment, nothing else mattered

in the least.

                When they

were done, Maggie was wrapped around her lover like a second skin. She was half

dreaming, but with one eye cracked open, simultaneously looking at the pale

crescent moon through the curtained window.

                "Father?"

                "Yes

Mags."

                "Have you

ever wondered why the moon has such a pull on us? I mean, we know it doesn't control

us, but I tend to feel a strange sensation when it's at its fullest."

                "I

have, once or twice. I've not had that much time to dwell on it."

                "True,"

she whispered as her fingers pressed against his sides, "But why do you think

that it's so?"

                "Are

you asking me out of general curiosity, or from some need to see how smart I am

now?"

                "Both I

guess. I am curious about that. I

mean, the moon doesn't have its own power source; all it does is reflect the

light of the sun. Why should one have a pull on us when the other doesn't?"

                He

sighed. "I don't know. I could hazard a guess. Sunlight is full spectrum light.

It has all the colors we see around us inherent to it. You do know how we only

see those colors when they're reflected back, right?"

                "Basic physics,

so yeah."

                "So can

you see red in the light without it reflecting?"

                "Only with

a prism."

                "Correct.

So what if there is something in the dust covering the moon that reflects a

particular waveband of light? And that light triggers something within us?"

                "That doesn't

make sense though. Why wouldn't it trigger it in us during sunlight too?"

                He

thought for a moment. "Consider for the moment your favorite song. Let it play

in your mind."

                "OK."

                He pressed

his hands against her head and thought up hundreds of songs, all at once. He flooded

her mind with them simultaneously.

                Her

eyes went wide. He spoke again. "Now, can you still "hear" your song in there?"

                "NO!

THERE"S TOO MUCH NOISE!"

                She couldn't

tell she was shouting.

                "Right.

Even though it's there, you can't hear it. It doesn't stand out and it doesn't call

out to you. But remove the background and isolate it once again..." he removed

the link, "...and it's back just as strong as it was before."

                "You

know, if you keep this up, you're going to give old Leo a run for his money."

                "I wish

that I had lived back in his time. I think it would have been easier for our

kind to live."

                "Well,

I might not go that far. There were fewer people and more wide open spaces, and

people were pretty superstitious. That's something that hasn't changed much

today. I think that people today might be just as prone to hunting us down as

they did in the olden days."

                He kissed

her head. "And you're awfully smart for your age. Remember that morality is a

matter of philosophy, not nature. A wolf kills for food; a weasel may do so for

no apparent reason. They do what is in their natures. Our minds have the

ability to go beyond that and predict the results of our actions. This both

enlightens us and encumbers us."

                Her

mouth opened and her tongue came out, licking his skin until gooseflesh appeared.

"Sometimes I think I liked you better when you were dumb."

                "Ignorance

is bliss Mags. I envy my old self sometimes too."

                "What

are we going to do? I just want to have some peace and quiet. I don't mind adventuring,

but this had gotten out of hand."

                "That's

an understatement. This situation has literally exploded around us. But I have

been thinking..."

                "Oh

dear."

                "I have

been thinking that maybe this was all meant to be."

                "Fate?

I don't believe in that stuff. The world spins because it spins, and our lives

will transpire both because of what we do with them, and the influences other

people have on them. I don't think it was fate that drew us together, but some

innate sense within us that recognized our kinship."

                "That

may be. But if we truly have control of our lives, I can't say what the result

of this meeting is really going to be. What I see disturbs me, and I still say

I should do it alone."

                "I'm

not going to discuss this anymore father. The matter is settled."

                He

kissed her again."Yes, I believe it has." He settled down into the mattress,

and she curled up by his side. "Sweet dreams Maggie Peterson."

                "Sweet

dreams father."

                In the

morning, she was awakened by the persistent beep of an alarm. It was Edward's

cell phone. She smacked at the table until she found it and turned it off.

Rolling over, she was prepared to say good morning.

    He was gone.