:=: Sadie :=:

Sadie was quiet as she rode in the car next to aunt Maria. It was Tuesday morning. She'd now spent a full week with her aunt, sleeping on the sofa in Maria's small apartment. A full week since mom kicked her out.

She was grateful for aunt Maria taking her in and looking after her, but she was getting homesick. And lonely. She only saw Ashley at school now. They couldn't just hang out together, because Maria picked her up and dropped her off. And last night neither Jenny or Amanda had returned any of her texts or calls.

Sadie hadn't spoken to her mom in all this time either. She'd tried, of course. She called a few times last week, and again last night. Sometimes her calls went to voicemail and other times, mom picked up the phone but then immediately hung up. Now she was worried her sisters had cut her off as well, though she knew it was more likely mom was to blame. Maybe she confiscated Amanda's and Jenny's phones or something.

Maria drove quietly. Sadie knew her aunt was feeling bad too. She was still carrying a bunch of guilt about last summer, but also probably worried for Sadie and her sisters and everything. They were her nieces after all.

It just felt like things had been going so great, everything was perfect and everyone was happy. And then suddenly it all fell apart. It felt like her whole family was being torn apart, all because of her and some stuff she wrote in her diary...

"Sadie? Are you all right?" Maria asked.

She sighed and carefully wiped some tears from her eyes. "Yeah... Sorry aunt Maria... I just... I thought mom would have calmed down by now? Like, it's been a week..."

Sadie hesitated as more tears started to pool in her eyes again. "It's just... What if mom never changes her mind? What if... I can't keep living on your sofa forever... And it's not fair to you...having to suddenly support me and all... Even just the extra time and gas every day driving me to school and stuff..."

Aunt Maria sighed a little. "Sadie you don't need to worry about that. You aren't an imposition on me. You're family. I'll do everything I can to help."

After a pause, her aunt said "I've already been thinking about what we'll do, if this becomes a long-term situation. I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want you to think I've already given up on Liz. But if things don't change, then I'll sell the apartment and we'll move somewhere bigger. Somewhere closer to your school, so you aren't isolated from your sisters and your friends."

Sadie turned to stare at her aunt. "You'd do all that, for me?" She could feel more tears coming as her emotions swelled.

Maria smiled, "Of course I would. For you, or Amanda or Jenny."

After a few moments Sadie frowned again. "That would all be really expensive though, how could you afford it? And... What if mom tried to interfere or something? I mean... She could get the cops after you or something? I mean, until I'm eighteen, I still like, legally belong to her or whatever..."

Maria sighed, "I sincerely hope Liz isn't that vindictive. But if she did try something like that, I could get custody of you."

Sadie was still frowning. "I might not be a lawyer any more aunt Maria, and even when I was I mostly did business stuff... But I know it'd be almost impossible to just get custody. It'd be easier to just wait till I was eighteen. It'd probably take that long anyways, with the courts and lawyers and stuff."

"The coven has friends in high places, Sadie. I'm sure I could get custody overnight if it was necessary." Aunt Maria smiled slightly. "I don't like relying on magic to solve all our problems, but sometimes it's the best option."

"Oh... Right." Sadie nodded slowly.

They were pulling into the school driveway now, and Maria smiled at her. "Have a good day, Sadie. Let Jenny and Amanda know I'm thinking of them. I'll be back around four-thirty to pick you up."

"Thanks aunt Maria." Sadie nodded. She could see Ashley was waiting for her on the steps, so as soon as the car came to a stop she grabbed her backpack and jumped out. "Have a good day, see you later!" She smiled to her aunt. "And thanks again for everything, aunt Maria!"

Her aunt waved at her then pulled away, and Sadie hurried up the steps to her girlfriend.

"Hey Sadie." Ashley smiled at her.

Sadie smiled back, "Hi Ashley."

The two went inside together and headed for their lockers. Sadie checked her make-up in the little mirror she kept inside her locker door, to make sure she hadn't messed it up with her tears in the car.

It didn't look too bad, she was able to fix some smudges with her fingertip. As she was doing this, she heard her little sister's voice as Jenny came up behind her.

"Sadie!" Jenny sounded upset.

"Hi Jenny, what's wrong?" Sadie asked as she turned around.

Jenny was looking worried. "Did Amanda go to aunt Maria's house last night? Was she with you?"

Sadie frowned, "No. I haven't seen her since school yesterday."

"Amanda never came home last night!" The young blonde was looking more upset as she talked. "She wasn't home for dinner, and I tried to text and call her but she wasn't answering... I asked mom if she knew where Amanda was and mom said she didn't care! Mom said if Amanda wasn't home after school tonight then she'd be kicked out too..."

Sadie frowned, "Why didn't you call me, or aunt Maria last night? I tried texting you but you didn't answer."

Jenny sighed, "I told mom we should check with you, if Amanda was there, and mom took my phone away. She said I wasn't allowed to talk to you any more!"

"Damnit," Sadie sighed. "Ok... Amanda was probably with Ben. Maybe she stayed the night at his place?"

Ashley nodded in agreement and said, "I know where his locker is. We can go see if Amanda's there with him."

The three of them went together. The halls were getting more crowded now, but there was no sign of Ben, or Amanda.

Sadie frowned and asked her sister, "Jenny, did mom take Amanda's phone too? Or just yours?"

"Just mine." Jenny frowned. "Amanda had hers with her yesterday and never came home..."

"Ok." Sadie said. "You better get to class, there's no point getting you in trouble and stuff. I'm going to keep looking for Amanda."

Jenny hesitated, and sighed again. She finally nodded, "Ok sis. See you at lunch?"

"For sure." Sadie nodded.

As Jenny hurried off to her first class, Sadie looked at her girlfriend, "Ashley there's no need for you to cut class too."

"Sure there is. My girlfriend's sister is missing, I'm gonna help find her." Ashley stated. "Anyways, me and Amanda are friends now too. I'm sure she's ok but I know you're not gonna be able to calm down till you find her."

"Thanks Ash," Sadie smiled. "Ok, let's double check Amanda's first class just incase she's already there."

First bell had already rang, and the halls were starting to empty now as everyone hurried to their classes. Sadie and Ashley made their way to Ms. Chan's room, and had a quick look inside. Almost everyone was already seated, but Amanda's desk was empty.

Ashley suggested, "I think Ben has physics now, we could see if he's there?"

"Good idea." Sadie nodded. The second bell rang as they made their way there.

The classroom door was already closed when they arrived, so Sadie couldn't see in. The doors all had small windows in them but they were a little too high up, and Sadie was too short to get a good view. Luckily Ashley had a couple inches on her, and could get a clear view inside the class.

"He's not there." Ashley said, stepping back from the door.

Sadie frowned, "I don't know his number or I'd be calling him too... But if both Amanda and Ben are skipping school, they're probably together."

She pulled her phone out and tried her sister again. There was still no answer, so she sent another text, asking Amanda to get back to her ASAP.

Ashley suggested, "We could try Ben's house?"

Sadie considered. "I don't want to get him in trouble with his folks, like if we show up looking for him and they think he's at school? But... yeah. I'm worried about Amanda, it's not like her to skip school. And she doesn't usually ignore me and Jenny like this." She frowned again, "Except I don't remember where he lives..."

"I know where he lives." Ashley said. "I've never walked there, but I know how to find it."

Sadie was surprised, "Oh? How do you know where he lives?"

Ashley rolled her eyes, "You dropped Amanda off at his place a couple weeks ago, when you and me were going out on a date."

"Oh right!" Sadie blushed. "I forgot all about that."

Ashley grinned, "C'mon. It's gonna be like a fifteen minute walk."

The two girls set out. As they walked, Sadie started telling her girlfriend about some of the stuff her aunt had said in the car this morning.

"Woah. That's great, but also pretty serious." Ashley said. "Like, she basically offered to adopt you?"

Sadie shrugged, "I don't think it's quite like that. I mean, just being like a legal guardian isn't like adoption. And it would probably expire when I turn eighteen anyways." Sadie then suppressed a giggle, and said quietly "Gods if she did adopt me that would be like, another level of messed up? Brother, to sister, to niece, to daughter?"

Ashley grinned a little, "Your branch of the family tree's just gonna end in an unsolvable knot." Her expression became serious again, as she asked "Still though, do you think your mom would really like, completely disown you? I mean, she can't stay mad forever, right?"

Sadie sighed and shook her head. "I really don't know any more, Ashley... I mean, if she was really my mom then I'd say probably not? But from what Jenny said, like it sounds as if she's ready to kick Amanda out too, and that... There's no excuse for that. Like, she really is Amanda's mom. Amanda's not trans or gay. There's no reason, no excuse for her to hate Amanda..." Sadie frowned again, "Unless it's just cos Amanda took my side in the argument or whatever? And if that's the reason, then who knows how long before she turns against Jenny too..."

Sadie sighed again, starting to feel a little sick. She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, and she bit her lip trying to control her emotions.

Ashley stopped walking and put an arm around her, "Hey, Sadie... It's ok. Things are gonna be ok..."

Sadie leaned against her friend as her emotions churned. She was afraid to put them into words, but finally she whispered to her girlfriend. "Ashley... I'm just so worried about Amanda and Jenny... I wanna protect them, look after them. If I was still their dad, I could keep them safe. Now... I'm just powerless and useless and I have no idea what I'm doing..."

The tears were starting to flow freely now as she began to break down completely. "It's all my fault... I've messed everything up... Liz hates me, now she's pushed Amanda away... Jenny's scared... My whole family is disintegrating and it's all my fault..."

Ashley was walking with her, guiding her somewhere, and Sadie didn't resist. She wasn't even paying attention to where they were going any more, as she continued to cry. Eventually she was sitting down, and she felt her girlfriend's arms around her.

"It's ok... Things are gonna be ok Sadie. We'll figure it out. We'll find Amanda, and we'll talk to your aunt, and we'll get stuff figured out." Ashley was talking softly, trying to calm her down. "And it's not your fault, ok? Don't blame yourself..."

Sadie had her head resting on Ashley's shoulder now as her body kept shaking with her sobs. She'd never felt so lost, so helpless, so weak, and so useless. And through all the other feelings, was the guilt. For the first time in fourteen months, it finally struck her that she'd abandoned her family. Sure she'd stayed with them, but she'd abandoned her responsibilities as a dad. And now when her kids really needed her, she was powerless to help them.

That realization brought up a fresh round of tears. She knew she couldn't go back, and she didn't want to anyways. But after all this time, she was finally realizing the full extent of what she'd given up. She didn't miss the job, or having her own car, she certainly didn't miss being a guy. What she missed was being there for her family, being able to protect and look after her girls when they needed her.

She cried for a solid ten minutes, the whole time she was leaning against Ashley. Finally the sobs and tears tapered off, and at last she was quiet.

"Feeling better now?" Ashley whispered.

Sadie smiled weakly, "A little... Thanks Ashley."

Her girlfriend smiled back, and fished a wet-wipe out of her purse. "You look like a depressed racoon. A cute depressed racoon."

Sadie blushed, "Thanks." She took the wipe and dug her compact out of her purse, and started cleaning up the smudged make-up.

"Do you want to talk about it? Where'd all that come from?" Ashley asked.

Sadie glanced around. They were sitting on a bench in a little parkette. They were surrounded by backyards and houses, but there was nobody else around.

She blushed as she whispered, "I just kind of realized I guess... When I gave up all the things I didn't like about the 'old me'... I also lost some of the good parts. If I was still their dad, I could keep Amanda and Jenny safe. As their sister, I'm powerless. Just another kid, and my girls don't have a dad any more to look out for them..." She gulped. "I think I was grieving that..."

Ashley was frowning a bit, staring at the ground as she looked thoughtful.

Sadie blushed more. "I'm sorry Ashley... I shouldn't have said that stuff. I know it's only been a week since I told you about my messed-up past... This probably isn't helping..." She thought she was all cried out, but there were more tears threatening to erupt again.

"No, it's ok Sadie." Ashley sighed. "It's... I honestly have no idea what to say or think. But I get that you're going through a lot. Like... You're dealing with problems I can't even imagine. I can't begin to understand what it's all like for you..." She hesitated, then said "I don't know what to say, but I'm sticking with you. You sound like your aunt Maria sometimes you know? Blaming yourself a lot, despite what other people try to tell you."

Sadie nodded slowly, wiping her eyes again.

"Your aunt's a therapist isn't she?" Ashley asked. "You should probably talk with her about this stuff, you know? I mean, she might be able to help or something."

Sadie considered that. "Yeah... I don't know if she's allowed to do therapy on family, but it's not like I can talk to anyone else about this stuff..."

After another pause, Ashley suggested, "If you're ok to keep going? Ben's place is like, just around the corner. We should go and see if Amanda's there."

Sadie sighed, "Thanks Ashley." She smiled a little. "You're the best... I don't know where I'd be without you."

The two stood up, and Ashley pulled her into another hug. "I know where I'd be without you, Sadie. I'll never forget what you and your aunt did for me. I hope you won't forget that either."

Sadie hugged her back, and the two girls finally got moving again. Ashley led the way out of the little parkette and onto another residential street. Sadie recognized it now, though she'd only been here once before.

They turned the corner onto the little cul-de-sac where Ben lived, and both girls stopped in their tracks. There were two police cars there. One was in the driveway of Ben's house, and the other was on the street infront of the house.

Sadie felt her blood go cold and her heart skipped a beat. "Oh no... This can't be good."

She and Ashley hurried towards the house, but before they got there a cop emerged from one of the cars and blocked their way. "Hold up there."

Sadie asked "What's going on, what happened?"

The cop didn't answer her question. He asked, "Do you girls live here?"

"No," Sadie shook her head. "My sister's boyfriend lives here, and-"

The cop interrupted, "Then you should get on home. Or back to school."

Sadie looked at Ashley, but neither of them knew what to say. They moved back a few meters, then Sadie pulled out her phone and called aunt Maria.

The cop just stood by his car and kept an eye on the two girls for now.

Sadie was worried her aunt might not answer since she'd be at work, but she answered after the second ring.

"Hi Sadie. Is everything ok? Shouldn't you be in class now?"

"Aunt Maria, Amanda's missing!" Sadie said in an urgent tone. "Jenny said she never came home last night and mom didn't care. Me and Ashley tried to find her but we can't. We came to check if Amanda was at her boyfriend's house, but there's cop cars here and they won't say what's going on, and I'm really scared!"

She heard her aunt whisper a curse, then Maria replied, "Ok, just hold on for a minute Sadie?"

Sadie waited. She wasn't sure what was happening, there was just silence for several seconds.

Then she heard her aunt gasp. "Sadie are you there?" Aunt Maria's voice sounded shakey now, like she was upset.

"I'm here, what's wrong?" Sadie asked, getting more worried.

Maria stated, "You said there's police there right? You and Ashley stay with the police. Stay where the police can see you. I'll be there as fast as I can."

Sadie gulped, "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"I'll tell you when I get there. I have to go now Sadie." Maria hung up and Sadie frowned.

She looked at Ashley, "Maria sounded upset. She said we should stay here with the cops. She's gonna come and get us."

:=: Maria :=:

Maria's hands were shaking as she hung up from Sadie and pulled up Nicole's number.

The vision she had from the clairvoyance spell when she'd searched for Amanda was burned into her mind, and she was having a very hard time staying calm.

Thankfully Nicole answered quickly, "Hi Maria, what's up?"

"Nikki I need help right now!" Maria exclaimed. "My niece Amanda is in trouble! I need the coven's help! Please..."

Maria heard Nicole speaking away from the phone, "Excuse me folks, I have to take this." There was some sounds of movement and then Nikki asked, "Maria what's going on?"

Her voice was wavering as Maria quickly relayed what Sadie had told her, and then what the clairvoyance spell had shown her.

Nicole was silent for a second or two, then when she spoke there was a little more authority in her voice. Even over the phone, Maria could sense the change in the young woman.

"Maria, go and get Sadie and Jennifer. Take them to the vineyard, Samantha and Jessica will meet you there. We will get Kara, and retrieve Amanda. Don't worry, Maria. We won't allow any harm to come to your niece."

Maria gulped but nodded, "Yes ma'am. Thank you."

The connection went dead, and Maria grabbed her purse and keys and hurried out to her car. She was still very scared for Amanda, but she knew her niece would be in good hands. Kara was the coven's Champion and protector, and Nicole embodied the Goddess within her.

Even driving as fast as she dared without risking a ticket or an accident, it still took almost fifteen minutes to get from her office to where Sadie and Ashley were waiting for her.

Maria navigated the residential streets, then located the cul-de-sac. As she turned onto the street, she saw the police cars, then spotted Sadie and Ashley sitting on the curb a few doors down from where the police were parked. The two girls stood up as Maria arrived.

She unlocked the doors, and the girls climbed into the back seat, sitting next to each other.

"Aunt Maria what's going on?" Sadie asked. "Do you know where Amanda is?"

Maria replied as she turned the car around, "The coven is going to get Amanda. We have to go to the school and get Jenny." She tried to keep the stress out of her voice, but the two teens could both see and hear how tense she was.

"What's going on though? Is Amanda ok?" Sadie asked. "Why do we need to get Jenny?"

Maria tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice as she replied, "Amanda will be fine... The coven won't let anything happen to her. We're getting Jenny just to be sure she's safe too."

"Did mom do something?" Sadie asked nervously. "She didn't do anything to put Amanda in danger, did she?"

"I don't know Sadie." Maria sighed, as they pulled up infront of the school. "Right now we just need to make sure you and your little sister are both safe."

Sadie undid her seatbelt, "I'll go get Jenny."

"No." Maria turned off the car, "All three of us will go together. I don't want to let either of you out of my sight for now."