=:= Samantha =:=

Sam sighed, "This is exactly what Maria was worried about. That there wasn't any thought to her future, now that the threat is over and she's no longer 'useful'..."

Zoe asked "What did Nicole say?"

"That the Goddess didn't have any plans or suggestions." Samantha frowned.

Cindy scoffed, "Typical."

They were talking about Ciara of course. Yule was yesterday, the new year would begin in just over a week, and they still hadn't figured out what to do with the raven-haired Irish girl.

Now that the war was over, the Brotherhood was dead or disbanded and they were all putting their lives back in order, they needed to make some decisions about the girl's future. While Samantha wouldn't just kick the kid out, she simply wasn't prepared to adopt her.

In another six months she'd have a child of her own to take care of, and she already had her hands full trying to catch up with work she'd been ignoring over the past two months during the recent conflict. Maria had her hands full with her four girls, and she wasn't really looking to add a fifth.

If there were no other choice, they could probably come up with something between Maria and herself, but it wouldn't be ideal for anyone involved.

Now Sam was talking with Zoe because Ciara got along well with the catgirl and she hoped Zoe might have some idea about the child's thoughts on the subject. And Cindy was present because she was still reluctant to let Zoe out of her sight, and Sam hoped the sorceress might have some additional insight into the girl's situation.

The three of them were sitting in the living-room on the leather sofa, and they had a nice fire burning, keeping them all very cosy. Ciara was in her room for now, watching cartoons again on a laptop.

"So what options have you considered, or looked into?" Zoe asked.

Sam sighed, "We don't really have a lot of options. We could turn her over to Childrens Aid here and they'll look after her, put her in a foster home, try and get her adopted. Or since she's from the UK, we could send her to the equivalent over there."

After a pause, she added "It's not a great solution. According to Maria, with her age and situation, she could have trouble getting adopted. She may well just stay in foster care till she's eighteen, then be on her own."

Cindy and Zoe both scowled at that. It was clear neither liked that option, and to be fair neither did Samantha.

"I'd suggest asking what she wants to do, but I think Ciara just wants to stay here," Samantha sighed again. "Which unfortunately, isn't really a viable option for us. Neither Nikki or myself are in a position to raise her."

She didn't want to come out and say it, but space was also a factor. Before Ciara had arrived Sam and Nikki planned on renovating the guest room into a nursery, and eventually it would be their daughter's bedroom.

Cindy suggested, "Another option, if both she and her brother agreed, then William could take the body back again. We could change it to be suitable for him. But that's assuming they both agreed to it, and he agreed not to come after us. I mean, the war's over, I think he'd respect that."

Sam stared at her, and asked "How would that even work? I mean, I know she said her brother is with her but asleep, but..."

Cindy shrugged, "Let's ask her and find out."

A couple minutes later they'd brought Ciara down to the living-room with them. She was sat crosslegged on one of the leather chairs, holding her cat plushie and looking nervous. She knew they'd been discussing her future, and she looked worried about what decision they'd come up with.

Cindy gave her a friendly smile and asked, "Ciara, is your brother William still with you?" She was on her feet, standing a few paces back infront of Ciara's chair.

She nodded slowly, "Yes, Will's still here. He's asleep though."

"Would it be possible for us to speak with him?" Cindy asked. "If it's ok with you I mean. Could you wake him up and ask him if he'd like to speak with me, please?"

Ciara looked a little uncertain, but she nodded "Ok Cindy. I'll try."

Samantha and Zoe were both seated on the sofa as they watched. Sam wasn't sure what to expect, or if Cindy even knew what she was doing. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to involve magic. At least, Sam hadn't sensed any magic going on so far.

Zoe didn't appear to be surprised or confused by this, Sam noted. The catgirl just watched quietly.

Ciara closed her eyes, and her expression shifted to a small frown. She remained quiet and still for a few moments. Then her eyebrows inched up, as if she was surprised. Her eyes remained closed though, and after a moment, she was frowning again.

Finally her eyes snapped open, and she looked around with a scowl on her face. She glanced down at the stuffed animal in her hands, and placed it on the left arm of the chair. She shifted her position on the large chair, scooting forward. She went from cross-legged to letting her feet dangle down, though she was too small for them to reach the floor. Her legs were apart slightly, and she slouched a little to one side, her right elbow leaning on the armrest.

She still had a scowl on her face as she looked at Cindy and asked, "Well? What do you want?" Ciara flinched slightly, as if caught off-guard by the sound of her own voice. She glanced down, looking at herself, then back up again as she fixed her eyes on Cindy.

Sam couldn't help but stare. The whole performance reminded her of whenever the Goddess was possessing her wife.

This was Ciara's body, her face, her voice, but the posture and body language were entirely different. Even the tone and inflection in her voice sounded different, and Ciara's strong Irish accent was all but gone now.

Cindy watched all of this, then asked "William?"

The raven-haired girl grimaced but nodded "Yeah. What do you want?"

"Do you remember what the Goddesses said, to you and Ciara?" Cindy asked. "The arrangement they made with you two?"

William scowled, "They tricked me into agreeing to this. I didn't know they'd found Ciara, much less that they were talking to her. They made a deal with her, and they tricked me."

Cindy nodded, "I'm not surprised." She continued, "The war is over now, William. There's no more Brotherhood. We're all trying to decide what to do about your sister."

He sighed, "So I've heard."

"What do you think would be good for her?" Cindy asked. "You're sort of like her legal guardian now, you're her older brother, her only family. You can help her decide what to do. Options include going into foster care, trying to get adopted, or... We could change your body back to something you'd be comfortable with, if you and Ciara agreed to leave you in charge again. As long as you agreed not to retaliate against any of us, of course."

Zoe added, "Or if there's another option that you or Ciara would prefer, let us know."

They were all watching Ciara as she, or he, William, seemed to be thinking it over. Samantha stayed quiet, this whole situation was out of her depth and she had no idea what to make of it.

Finally William sighed. "You know what, I've had my turn, I'm done. It's hers now. She never got a chance at a proper life. You folks seem like decent people, and Ciara likes you, trusts you." He hesitated then added, "I'm sorry for my part in all of this, by the way. You folks aren't anything like I was led to believe. I'm glad your goth friend wasn't hurt after all."

Samantha wasn't sure about any of this, but she was glad to hear that. "Thank you uh, William."

Cindy then asked him, "Do you know what Ciara would like to do?"

"What she wants most," William replied, "Would be to stay with the catgirl and you. She likes you two, she's comfortable with you both."

Samantha was surprised, looking from Cindy to Zoe.

Zoe and Cindy exchanged a glance, and Sam caught the unspoken communication between them. A questioning look in Cindy's eyes, Zoe's ears and tail both up and an very slight nodd from the catgirl.

"Ok William," Cindy nodded. "I think we can arrange that. Is there anything else you want to talk about? Anything else we can do for you?"

He shook his head, "Just promise me you'll look after her. Ok?"

"We promise." Zoe stated.

Cindy nodded, "We'll keep her safe. I imagine you'll still be there watching out for her as well."

Sam watched as the girl nodded once then her eyes drifted shut.

A moment later her eyes shot open again and she beamed, a big toothy grin looking up at Cindy. Her accent was back in full force as she asked "Is it true?! Can I stay with you and Zoe?!"

"Yeah Ciara, it's true." Cindy nodded, smiling slightly. "I don't know yet where we'll go or what we'll do, but yeah."

Zoe added, "We'll figure it out and make it work."

Ciara grabbed the plushie cat as she leapt up off the chair and gave Cindy a hug, then dashed over to Zoe and did the same, wrapping her arms around the catgirl.

Sam looked to Cindy and asked quietly, "Where did you learn to do that? To talk to her...them...like that?"

"Oh," Cindy shrugged. "Me and Zoe have met a couple friends who're like that. Different people sharing one body." She added, "Our friends aren't possessed by ghosts as far as I know, that's uh, unique to Ciara and William I think. Assuming that's what she is. Anyways, I figured it'd work kinda the same, in terms of communication."

Samantha just stared at the small sorceress, "Oh... Wow."

=:= Sidney =:=

It was almost the end of December, summer was getting into full swing and it was getting warm outside. Sid drank an extra glass of water, then started out for his morning jog. It wasn't too hot out first thing in the morning, and there was a nice breeze coming in off the ocean which helped.

He'd been cutting back lately, his knees were getting more unhappy with him these days, but he hoped to make it to five kilometers this morning.

From his house he made his way down to the main road, then across and out onto the beach. Once on the sand, he turned south following his usual route. And same as he did every morning, he turned his head to look at the little park as he jogged past.

It was just over a month now since Cindy left. He missed her, and he still worried about her. He hadn't believed any of that magic stuff she'd talked about, but then she and that woman just up and vanished from his kitchen right before his eyes.

He'd done as she suggested and checked the news. He found out about the strange 'terrorist attack' in her home town in Canada, and it left him shaken. He didn't know if she'd caused all that, or if she'd stopped it. Either way, people died, and it worried him that she'd been involved.

Then the day after she'd left, he saw the reports from London. Another mysterious attack. An old Victorian gentleman's club was blown up and burned down. Over sixty bodies had been recovered from the rubble. Sid waited for more news, waited to hear from the strange blonde teen, but there'd been nothing.

He'd waited a full two weeks, hoping she'd come back. Finally, he looked in her backpack. He found a mobile phone and her ID, along with some clothes. And he found the money she mentioned, though he could hardly believe how much. Almost twenty-five thousand dollars, in brand-new hundred-dollar bills.

Sid donated most of it. It went to small community charities in the area, helping disadvantaged kids have a nice Christmas.

Continuing his run south, he reached the end of the beach then moved up onto the road as he kept going further south. He didn't quite get to two kilometers out this morning, so it would be just under four by the time he got back home. He could feel his knees starting to complain already, so he slowed to a walking pace as he turned around and started retracing his path north again.

Christmas was two days ago, and most of his neighbours had done their thing. They'd had family over visiting, or they'd travelled out of town to be with family elsewhere. He turned down a couple invitations. He was lonely, but he didn't feel like socializing. Since Cindy left, a few people had asked after his 'grand-niece' and he wasn't ready yet to try and talk to folks about her. He really needed to know what happened to her.

The fact that she left her phone and ID behind though, left him with the bad feeling that she didn't expect to survive whatever that woman had taken her away to do. Combined with how she'd been sad, depressed, and then seemed resigned, it all just felt too final to him, the way she'd disappeared like that.

Continuing north, Sid moved off the road and back onto the beach. He nearly reached the north end of the beach when he glanced to his left for one last look at the little park, and that's when he saw them. Three figures sitting together on the grass, looking down at the beach.

A blonde teen, a brunette child, and a...girl with light purple hair and cat ears?

The blonde waved to him, and Sid couldn't contain his smile. He turned and raced straight for them.

"Cindy!" he exclaimed. "You're back! You're ok!"

She grinned at him, "Good morning Sid. Sorry to interrupt your walk."

He shook his head, "You're welcome to interrupt any time, Cindy. I missed you!"

Cindy smiled, "I missed you too. Sorry it took so long to come back."

She added, "So, introductions! Sid, this is Ciara. Ciara, this is Sid." She gestured to the young brunette sitting next to her.

Ciara looked shy, but she smiled up at him. There was something innocent and adorable about her messy black hair, her dark eyes, and her shy smile. And the way she was clutching a little black cat stuffie in her hands. In a soft voice she said "Hello Sid. It's nice to meet you, sir."

He smiled back, "Hi Ciara, it's nice to meet you too." He figured she was about ten. She spoke with a distinct Irish accent, which caught him off-guard. He was expecting another Canadian, like Cindy.

Cindy grinned as she continued, "And the one with the ears and tail is my girlfriend, Zoe."

Sid tried not to stare as he smiled, "Zoe, it's a pleasure to meet you. I ah, heard you were in some danger. I'm glad to see you're safe." Apart from the ears and tail and the purple hair, Zoe looked like a normal nice young woman, around nineteen or twenty years old.

Briefly it crossed his mind that she was a little old to be Cindy's girlfriend, but then he remembered Cindy was older than she looked. He'd even seen that on her ID when he'd found it, she really was nineteen.

Zoe grinned, "Nice to meet you too, Sid. And yes, I was in a bad place, but my girlfriend is fearsomely powerful and she came and rescued me."

"We were wondering if we could stay with you for a little while, Sid?" Cindy asked. "Sorry to drop in on you unannounced. I would have called but I never got your number. And uh, I forgot my phone here last month."

"Of course!" He smiled. "We'll figure out how to fit everyone in, but of course you're all welcome! Come on, let's go up to the house. Have you eaten? I'll make us some breakfast."

The three of them got to their feet, and followed him up the hill towards his little bungalow.

Sid couldn't help but smile as he led them home. He knew there'd be some fascinating stories of course, but mostly he was just happy to see Cindy again, and glad to know she was ok. And seeing the smiles on all their faces brought him an extra measure of happiness.

• • • • •

The house was quiet again now as he focused on his computer. Sid had about a hundred and fifty pictures to sort through from last week's hiking trip. At first glance he figured there were two or three dozen keepers, and maybe a handful of them were solid gems.

He might have had twice that many pictures, but he had to cut the trip short because his knees were acting up again. He knew he should be talking to his doctor about the possibility of surgery, but for now he managed as best he could with painkillers.

Sid had a sip of his coffee as he focused on the large screen, taking his time as he inspected each image before deciding if he'd keep it or discard it.

It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon in the middle of April. Autumn was setting in now, though it was still fairly nice weather outside when it wasn't raining. Long-sleeves or jacket weather, but nice.

He was still concentrating on his pictures ten or fifteen minutes later when the peace and quiet was interrupted by happy shouting, as Ciara came running out of her bedroom.

"Grampa, did you see! We got an email from Cindy and Zoe!" She was carrying her laptop as she came running, a big grin on her face.

Sid smiled, turning away from his computer as the excited child ran up alongside him.

The past four months had seen his life completely changed, but he hadn't been this happy in ages.

Before these three girls came along, he hadn't even realized how lonely and unhappy he'd become, living in the same quiet solitary routine for so long.

That first week his three guests stayed over new-years, they'd shared lots of stories and all got to know each other better. He learned all three girls had been through some remarkable experiences. Some sounded incredible, but some had been horrific.

The girls had formed a little 'chosen family' together, and by the middle of January Sid realized that he'd been included in that as well. He and Ciara had grown especially close. The odd little girl with the untameable black hair quickly became attached to him, and he to her. Sid could still remember the joy he'd felt the first time she called him 'grampa'.

They were an odd little family of course, yet it all felt surprisingly natural.

He now had an eleven-year-old granddaughter who'd possibly died thirty years ago, a grand-niece who was a powerful sorceress and may or may not have access to god-like powers, and her girlfriend who was a formidable witch and also happened to be part cat.

Squeezing everyone into his little bungalow was a tight fit, but they made it work. At first Cindy and Zoe shared the guest room and Ciara slept on the sofa in the living-room. Then after a couple weeks they swapped and Ciara moved into the guest room while the older girls shared a large air-mattress and sleeping bag on the living-room floor.

The three were still here with him at the end of February when they all celebrated Ciara's eleventh birthday together. By the beginning of March though, they'd talked things over. Cindy and Zoe wanted to travel and see the world, while Ciara was happy to stay with Sid.

The girlfriends promised to come back for frequent visits, at least once a month. And they promised to stay in touch while they were away, calling or emailing regularly. Sure enough the two older girls were back again at the end of March to visit for a few days, then the pair were off again travelling some more.

Sid smiled at Ciara, reaching out to muss her hair. "No Ciara, I haven't seen it yet. I've been looking at the pictures we took on our trip last week."

Her attention went to his computer and she stared at the screen. After a few moments, she grinned and pointed at one of the thumbnails. "That one's my favourite!"

"Ok hun, I'll make sure you get a copy." He asked, "Now, what did Cindy and Zoe have to say?"

"Oh!" She blinked, looking like she'd already forgotten about the email.

She looked at the laptop in her hands and said, "They're someplace called Aberaeron, in Wales. They're hiking and touring and stuff! They say the weather's really nice cos it's springtime there now. Cindy says you and me should come out that way too! It's Zoe's birthday next week and Cindy says we should come over there to celebrate and you and me can have a little vacation. She says you'd love taking pictures there too, cos you've already seen most of the scenic stuff around here."

Sid smiled, "I'm sure I would. But your grampa isn't as spry as he used to be, Ciara. I don't think I could manage in a plane that long. It's a very long trip you know, from Australia to the UK."

Ciara dumped her laptop on the sofa and put her hands on her hips. "You know Cindy can fix both those problems grampa. She can just teleport us around the world. And like she said last month, if your knees keep hurting, she can make you young again so you can hike and travel all you want!"

He laughed, "Yes I know Ciara, she keeps threatening that. I'm not quite ready to start over yet. You know we'd probably have to move, so the neighbours didn't question it."

The raven-haired girl pouted, "I know. But I don't like when you hafta stop hiking cos your knees hurt."

"Don't worry hun," he gave her a warm smile. "When I'm ready, I'll tell Cindy and we'll figure it out from there."

That brought a grin to the girl's face again. "Instead of being my grampa, you could be my dad. Oooh, or my big brother!"

Sid just smiled, "We'll see, dear."

He turned back toward his computer again, and took another sip of coffee as he moved on to the next picture.

A moment later, Ciara moved up beside him, and he saw the sly grin on her face. She leaned a little closer and teased, "Or you could be my big sister instead! Sidney can be a girl's name too you know?"

That caught him off guard, and Sid coughed and sputtered in surprise, as he felt his face turning red.

Ciara giggled as she skipped away, heading back to her bedroom.

End

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