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Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

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Elliott turned to Cal with a horror-stricken look as John and Kay's words sunk in. He'd thought they'd been told after he'd been replaced by his doppelganger and had never thought to question it. She gave him a slow nod in response "yeah, somebody, somewhere seriously fucked up. Not to mention the damn" she added a couple more of Attilian expletives to really get her point across "postal strikes." Cliff could see that Cal was getting angry and was about to start ranting again. Cliff had explained this part of the story at Chas' because the when Cal had realised that the strike had delayed Zan's message by over a week she'd erupted into flames and it had taken her a long time to calm down and extinguish herself. So she cut off her wife's rant before he could even begin. "It's a long story, not one for out here" she replied softly. "You should come in like Kay suggested."

Elliott ran a hand over his face and pinched the top of his nose while sighing. "Ell? What's wrong?" John asked worriedly. "There's just one more bombshell that needs to be dropped first." "Oh bollocks, what is it now?" John asked, already assuming the worst. Elliott scratched at the side of his neck, looking uncomfortable before turning to face Jay. The assassin was standing stock still, her face a pale, sickly white, like all the blood had been drained from it "ah.... you've seen him." Elliott gestured lamely towards the man leaning against a nearby wall, who'd up until now been watching the entire reunion unnoticed. Jay's wide eyes were locked on him.

Chas' eyes widened. "No! Is that who I think it is?" "It can't be, he's been dead for years has he not?" Cliff murmured, while Cal nodded "but at the same time." John was less restrained in his wonder. "Is that Jay's bloody brother?" he asked loudly, scrutinising the figure leaning against the wall. They had a mop of blue hair the exact same shade as Jay's and they were just close enough that it could be seen that their eyes were the colour of molten silver. All eyes flicked between Jay and the man, physically they were identical- the same facial structure and build (though his shoulders were a bit broader though). The stranger certainly matched the few photos of her brother Jay had shared with them, but given what had happened with Elliott, physical appearance wasn't enough.

Jay, having recovered a little from her shock reached for her daggers and threw one them at him. He ducked and it sailed over his head. Jay launched another, and another and another. Each time the stranger deftly dodged, the last one he caught with his bare hand, plucking it straight out of the air. He raised an eyebrow at Jay, who responded by whipping out her pistol. "If you aren't him, if this is some kind of sick joke, I will destroy you" she growled in fury "it will be slow and filled with pain like you've never felt before. I will make every nerve of your body scream and I will enjoy every second of it. This is not the first time somebody has tried this on me, so think very carefully about what you do next." The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Jay shot him, the bullet ripping through his kneecap, shattering it into pieces.
 
Seeing the shock on Elliott's face, Kay now could see how much Elliott was letting what they were telling him sink in. How everything he must have been thinking all this time was actually false, which got her wondering if he was told anything about them coming for him or if it was all assumptions. She also felt glad that Cliff was agreeing with her that this was an entire conversation needed to be had in The House and not out in this open area. She was ready to walk back to The House when she saw Elliott run his hand down his face and look like he was feeling awkward about something. She let John do the talking this time and when Elliott replied with the mention of another bombshell to be dropped into them, she wondered what it could possibly be. She also wasn't sure she could deal with anymore bombshells, but it seemed they were gonna get it whether any of them wanted it or not. She looked at the figure behind Elliott by the other house, then toward Jay who seemed to be more shocked than the rest of them and back to the figure again, an action that she repeated a couple of times before people started verbally expressing their shock.

Shock that she only truly felt when John loudly asked if it was Jay's brother, making her drop her jaw in surprise and confusion. Like the others, she was convinced he was dead, it was what they had all been told by Jay herself after all, so why would they possibly think any differently? She spent a few seconds to really take in what features they could truly see from the distance they were all at and the likeness was uncanny to say the least. There really was no disputing that this blue haired bloke looked like Jay, albeit broader shouldered. When Jay finally got her senses back, she watched on as Jay became cold, stern and determined to not be fooled by this person, the first blade that was grown made Kay flinch as she wasn't expecting it to be thrown so soon after the threat. The dodging was highly impressive in Kay's eyes, and it only got more impressive when the man ahead of them managed to seemingly pluck the knife out of thin air and catch it perfectly in his hand. She listened to the more threats spat out by Jay before flinching once again when the gunshot was made. As much as she respected Jay's ability to fight and be cautious all the time, she also wished that for once Jay would just listen before fighting.

"Was that necessary?" She mumbled under her breath, seeing the bullet hit right through her brother's kneecap, figuring that if he was the one who was with Elliott all this time, then he can't be the enemy. He obviously kept Elliott safe all this time and to some extent, company. "Jay maybe we should let him speak? He's clearly kept Ell safe and company all this time...maybe he's really who he's seeming to be, or even if he's not, he can't be an for" she cautiously said to the woman, afraid to say anything but had to say something nonetheless. She just wanted this confrontation done so she could get back inside to the one building that can and has kept her incredibly safe.
 
The other's reactions were less restrained. There was a chorus of shocked yells, the loudest being John's "What the fuck Jay!? Have you lost your mind!?"He'd been right beside Jay when she pulled the trigger and the gunshot had fried what little of his nerves were remaining. "Christ almighty!"Chas cursed. Cal took a step backwards, while Cliff remained frozen in place, every instinct was telling her to run towards the injured man lying on the ground, but yet, she trusted Jay's judgement. The assassin was logical, she wouldn't shoot her own brother unless she had a very good reason. Right? Elliott could only gape at Jay, stunned at how she'd pulled the trigger without batting an eyelid.

"Oh shut up the lot of you!" Jay scowled, cutting of the vocal protests and pleas for her to put the gun away. "I know what I'm doing"

The only person not yelling and pleading for Jay to be logical was, strangely enough, the one she'd shot. Jay's brother was a healer- not exactly an uncommon ability and common enough knowledge in the right circles, but it was the way in which he healed people that was special. His gift was being able to rewind time, letting it flow backwards until the injured area reached a state before the injury was caused. The healing started at the back of his knee, the messy exit wound closing up and drawing the bullet back inside his body. The blood that had sprayed out was pulled back into his body and as the bullet re-emerged out of the front of his leg the shreds of skin flapped shut and fused back together. He jumped to his feet as the bullet fell to the ground harmlessly.

Jay lowered the gun, trying to keep her hands from visibly shaking. People who healed like her brother were few and far between, she only knew of two- one was dead and the other was a figure of Isogrii mythology. It had to be him. The bullet had flown backwards through his body and the damage healed behind it. She took one step forwards, then another, then another, stopping just in front of him. He held out his hands palms upwards allowing he to see the jagged scar across one palm from when it had been ripped open as he caught a crossbow bolt in midair. In typical teenage stupidity he'd decided to let it scar because it would look cool. She stretched out her own hands, letting him run a finger twice around the hairline scar where on of her fingers had been severed then reattached. He started the phrase, she finished it and unable to pretend any more she collapsed against him with a sob. The facade cracked as her older brother wrapped his arms around her and for the first time in years, Jay let the grief out and cried.
 
If Kay was completely honest with herself, she'd have admitted that she just didn't have anymore energy in herself to have reacted in a more dramatic manner like the others did. She had seen enough drama on this day and it was now all just piling up on her and wearing her out, so that combined with not wanting to piss Jay off anymore than she seemed to be in this very moment, whilst carrying a firearm it was just about enough for her take. She also figured her no way in the slightest discreet flinch was enough to show what she thought about the shooting. She even looked around at everyone to see if anyone would try and do anything other than exclaim a load of curses and other expletives, only seeing that Cliff was the one seemingly torn on going to help someone and not moving at all. Jay's snapping at them to shut made Kay flinch a bit again and look down at the floor, realising yet again it was getting more and more difficult to even see her own feet which just got her down all the more.

All she could do right now was look back up and watch the whole interaction or more precisely, stand off, unfold in front of them all. She watched in disbelief as the man who was now on the ground with a shattered kneecap just remained calm the entire time and healed in a manner she had never seen before. It was incredible to Kay how he healed, seeing it was like watching a TV programme or film that was stuck on rewind and she had no choice but to watch it from end to beginning instead of beginning to end. It seemed so unique and rare that she wasn't even sure if what she was witnessing was even real at this point which she figured was saying a lot after everything she had in fact witnessed lately. It was only when she glanced at Jay once more and saw her lowering the gun before slowly making her way toward the man that Kay knew the drama quite possibly was over. A sigh of relief even left her mouth as no more shots were fired and the anger seemed to have passed. Watching the exchange happen between Jay and her brother was touching however and it was quite something to see Jay finally let her emotions out and actually cry. "She finally has her brother back....seems like today has turned into one hell of a reunion day" she commented softly.
 
"Yeah.... it really has, I can't imagine what's she's feeling right now" Chas remarked softly, with a smile. He was an only child, but still the sight of Jay finally being reunited with her brother struck a chord in him. Cal nodded in agreement, the scene reminded her greatly of her own reunion with Elliott. Just like Jay she'd spent years thinking that her brother was dead. She'd managed to hug Elliott within an inch of his life before the tears started though, tears of joy and relief and catharsis. She wasn't in the least bit surprised that Jay had completely and utterly broken down, she'd lost the two most important men in her life in such horrific circumstances and now in the space of less than an hour both of them had returned alive and well. "It must mean everything for her to have him back..." Cliff cast a quick look at John then added "and Ell of course, but her brother after all these years thinking he's dead, blaming yourself....." "it means everything, trust me."

"So where'd he pop up from then?" John asked Elliott. "If you're asking why he's not dead and where he's been these past few years.... I don't know." Seeing John's sceptical look (and Cal's less sceptical, but still unconvinced look) he repeated his words, this time with more force. "Seriously, I don't know. I did ask, I tried to get the story out of him, but he's like Jay in that regard. He doesn't give a straight answer, or any answer for that matter, when he doesn't want to. I got the impression he wanted to explain everything to Jay first. As for how I ended up here with him.... well, Jack was the one who made sure the swap happened. Caught me alone, half-dragged half-pushed me through a portal where my double was waiting." Elliott gave a slight chuckle and shook his head. "Y'know... I actually thought he was Jay at first- with the hat and scarf covering so much of his face the only things I could properly see were his eyes and hair. That's why I went along with it so willingly, I figured she'd gone and taken matters into her own hands and made a plan without telling anybody- it wouldn't be the first time she'd done that. When I saw his properly for the first time I just gaped like a fool when he started talking that I realised it was her older brother"

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up a bleedin' minute. Jay is the younger one?" John asked incredulously. "Um... yeah" Elliott nodded. "I thought she was the older twin." "No, she's the younger one." "Huh" John looked over at the two again, trying to reconcile the idea of Jay being the younger twin, but he couldn't. "Maybe we should go inside, give them some privacy? We lost Elliott for a few days, they haven't seen each other for years... I couldn't imagine what that's like." Cliff suggested.
 
Chas may not be able to imagine how much it means to Jay to have both Elliott and her brother back, but Kay could easily imagine it, just like Cal knew first hand what it meant. She missed her sister more than anything and although she couldn't say for certain if Sam was alive or dead, she liked to believe she was still alive, but she hadn't seen her in so long. Being pregnant and not having her sister around to be by her side just made the misery if missing her all the more greater. So she presumed in some ways, she almost felt a pang of jealousy of Jay getting both people she cared about back in her life, when Kay didn't know if she would ever be able to see her sister again without risking her life. She tried to shake the thoughts out of her mind so she didn't bring her own mental state down (she knew she'd start crying if she didn't switch her thought process), when it was such a positive moment in general, nodding in agreement at both what Cliff and Cal said in response to Chas. Feeling that being mute on the conversation was the safest option for herself. "We'll find Sam Kay, we'll find out if she's doing okay at least at some point" she heard Fee say almost comfortingly inside her head, making her eye twitch, lifting one hand up to rub the side of her temples in response.

She almost grateful that John inadvertently changed the subject ever so slightly by asking where the hell her brother had been or how he'd got to hiding out with Elliott, even if she didn't let anything of what she was thinking show on the outside as best she could. She looked between the group as Elliott spoke, whilst John and Cal have their looks of skepticism, something that she oddly found slightly amusing seeing them both do similar expressions to each other. She too in some ways found it odd that Elliott wouldn't know, figuring that surely he must have been told some kind of story. Instead of giving a look of skepticism though, she just let Elliott continue telling them what he did know or theorised to why he didn't know the full story. The story was actually fascinating to Kay in some degree, wondering when exactly he would have been pulled away from them without them knowing. Then it hit her, it must have been the day they all went to the park together and there was a great group students that separated them all. She remembered them freaking out that they couldn't see Elliott before sighing with relief when he popped up again on the other side of the students.

The story of him thinking it was Jay who was on the plan made her smirk and lightly scoff as she could easily imagine why he would mistake the two siblings. Jay being the younger sibling wasn't the most shocking ting she took from the story, but it seemed John did. When Cliff spoke up her suggestion on leaving the siblings to it for a while, she nodded, feeling more than content with going inside and not having to watch the reunion. "I agree with Cliff. They deserve to have some time alone without us gorking at them the whole time" she agreed.
 
What followed was an awful lot of talking, everybody sitting outside on The House's veranda enjoying the feeling of sunlight on their skin (for many it had been the first time they'd properly relaxed outdoors since Elliott's death). It was still part of The House, so the magical protecting and shielding was just as strong there as it was inside. First Cal retold her story, with an occasional input or two from Cliff. Then Elliott told his- there wasn't really very much to it. He'd had no idea of the plan's existence, no idea who the doppelganger was- by the time he'd come face to face with his double the drug had done it's work and the transformation was complete- he'd been spirited away by Jack who'd pulled him through another portal and onto this planet. The rest of his time had been spent waiting and wondering.

The whole time they'd been talking jay's brother had been eyeing the group with suspicion- the exact same look jay used to give them in the early days when she was only with them because it was an alliance of convenience that would help her get Elliott back. After a sharp dig in the ribs and a pointed look from his sister he told his story, or more precisely, the relevant parts of his story. His barebones summary focused in his role in saving Elliott's life and he said next to nothing to the assembled group about how his own life had been saved or how he'd spent the last five years. His sister was the only person he felt was owed those answers. What he made very clear was that he hadn't become involved in saving Elliott's life until after Zan had been shot. He'd requested specifically for the job, but never met the person that hired him face-to-face. All his orders were given through an encrypted line. His orders had been to tail the group on Attil, making sure nobody got close enough to try anything else and then on that fateful day, find a moment when Elliott was alone and swap him for the duplicate using whatever means necessary. He'd also been specifically instructed not to interact with Jay until after the ruse was up. He'd been the one sending the photos, again on the orders of his mysterious boss, a less elegant fail safe than Zan's. He'd tried to contact his 'boss' after the fake Elliott's death but the line had been deactivated.

Back on Earth there had been another tearful reunion, this time with Trish and Renee. John sloped off during it and the subsequent re-explaining of everything to call Nat and update her on the Elliott situation. He didn't call his sister, neither he nor Chas had informed Cheryl of Elliott's faked death and John saw no need to inform her about his coming back to life. With Elliott back the overall mood brightened and the nightmares lessened, then vanished. Jack seemed to get over his initial wariness quickly and it wasn't long before the group were able to see why Jay had referred to him as 'the charming twin'. He appeared to fall easily into the ways of the group and their banter, quickly honing in one the right level of lewd humour and snappy comebacks. He was also good looking with a smile that promised mischief- two things that Elliott was struggling not to be affected by. But internally he was wary, he didn't trust anybody and none of the bonds he'd seemed to have formed had any actual emotional depth to them. The only one who didn't return to normal was Jay, her brother's initial wariness around everybody had clearly rubbed off on her. She was also sleeping less, having her brother and her..... Elliott back was like a dream come true and she was terrified that if she closed her eyes or took her eyes off them they'd vanish all over again.
 
As she had hoped, having everyone who should be around, actually around and very much alive have Kay that much needed spark of hope and brightness back into her life. The talks, the laughter, the smiles. It was all so welcome to her and made her feel like nothing could touch them in this moment, even if it was a rather naiive thought to have, she was going to revel in that current feeling of joy whilst it lasted. By the time Jack came with Jay to join them all, she enjoyed meeting him and there was definitely no doubt he was a very handsome guy, she also noticed how Elliott was almost struggling with it all, due to the likeness to Jay. It was rather amusing she thought to herself and knew she would never embarrass Elliott by pointing it out to him. She didn't even worry when John went off to a quieter area to call Nat and let her know Elliott was back from the dead, for the first time in a while she wasn't afraid of him not coming back. Then there was the observations of Jack still clearly feeling wary of the group and not fully trusting them yet, or Jay not being the same since Elliott and Jack came back. As the days went on, it was something she noticed more and more, how Kay clearly still wasn't sleeping when they saw them all, but she knew better than to question Jay on it, deciding that it must just be down to getting used to things going back like Elliott and Jack never died in the first, as she could imagine how jarring it must be for Jay. Especially as it was a lot for the rest of them to get used having Elliott back and waking up each day knowing they were going to see him still very much walking around and laying dead on the ground. Like the others, even her own nightmares died off bit by bit and now her head was filled with all things pregnancy related again, dreams of what was to come and who her baby will grow to become.

Days soon became a couple of weeks and Kay knew she was close to having their baby, she could feel it in her soul somehow. Not only that, things were becoming more and more difficult for her to do, not having the energy to do anything, it felt like their child was literally sucking all her energy from her to give itself the strength it needed to be able to be born soon. Just about making it downstairs into one of the main rooms, she slumped on the couch looking slightly more pale than she was the day before as well as feeling incredibly lethargic. She wasn't expecting to feel so tired this close to labor and knew this was rapidly becoming even more less like a human pregnancy. The kicks she was experiencing were excruciating making her wince, groan and visibly flinch at. Her grey blue eyes had flecks of gold in them which wasn't normal for her when not using her powers. Little did she or anyone know in this moment that the closer Kay got to bringing this halfbreed phoenix mage into the world, the magic aura was slowly beginning to radiate outward and reaching things and beings they did not want sensing it.

"I feel like shit...." She grumbled to anyone in the room who would listen to her.
 
John needed space from it, the rapidly approaching birth. He could sort of sense it, it had began as a nagging itch at the back of his mind and now it was like something in his mind was screaming at him to brace himself to prepare himself. It was the bond working in mysterious ways and this he wasn't able to shut it out. So there he was..... preparing The House. He wasn't the tidiest person by nature- one look in his kitchen cupboards made that quite clear- and there were a number of dangerous magical artefacts just lying around the place. Should anything go wrong or out of control, the last thing they needed was those things flying around and accidental killing somebody or suck pieces of their soul out or worse. Not to mention that in the long term a young kid should not be able to see those artefacts let alone be able to touch them. He was also checking the wards of The House, making sure nothing could get in without his say so. He was not ready for this, not ready to become an actual parent, to have to be there at a birth that he doubted was going to bear any resemblance to a human birth. Why couldn't he just have it the easy way and have a kid just fall out of thin air into his life like Elliott and Noah did. Why did the bloody universe feel the need to make him a biological parent and be involved in the upbringing of this kid? Why did the bloody universe think that was a good idea? His track record with kids was shit. Being a parent was a huge responsibility, he was responsible for shaping this kid- Fia's- entire life. He'd have to show her love and care and security and just in general as normal a life as possible- all the things he himself had never had growing up. And as for Kay and what they were to each other, well that was something he didn't want to, no, didn't know how to talk about. Love was a strong word, an abstract concept to him. Sure she was attractive physically and interesting to spend time around and seemed to accept his inherent darkness, but that didn't make her so massively different from any of his past flings. Not to mention with this blood bond clouding his judgement how could he know whether any of this was real or just a prophecy filling itself with no regard for them or their real feeling and wants. He detested being manipulated and let out an annoyed sigh. Nothing he could do about it now, just be there for her, be the strong one and pretend he wasn't panicking inside.
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Cliff looked up sharply. Unlike John she didn't have a magical bond telling him the moment of birth was approaching, but she didn't need one. It was obvious to her just looking at Kay that things were getting serious. Kay had slowed right down, stairs were proving a monumental challenge- Cliff had tried to persuade her to sleep downstairs, but that particular piece of advice hadn't been taken on board-, bending over simply wasn't possible. She was, for lack of a batter comparison, ready to burst. On the other hand, she had finally managed to get Jay to sleep properly though she wasn't exactly proud of or entirely comfortable with what she'd had to do. It had been Jack's idea to sneak a large dose of sleep serum into his sister's drink, he just needed Cliff's expertise to get the right drug and dose. It had worked a charm, Jay had been out cold for the past ten hours on one of the couches, while Jack and Elliott perched nearby, one sketching, one reading. "Any new symptoms? Any changes? Particularly weird feelings? Or is it the same as the other days? she asked.
-----------------

A change was coming, something had been building these past few weeks. At first it hadn't been noticeable, just a prickle at the back of their minds, easily ignored, but now it was a heavy, oppressive feeling, pushing them all down. Patience was fraying, tempers were flaring, fights were breaking out between packs of were-animals that were usually (relatively) docile with each other, shifters and vampires were plagued by oppressive headaches. Whatever was brewing it had now reached fever pitch and was going to break. Every creature of the Downworld could feel it. But they didn't know what it meant.
The Downworlders however, with their strong connection to Hell, did know what it meant. The emergence of a magical being was imminent, one of inherent good and immense power. And they were scheming.
 
Due to the bond, Kay just knew why John was being the way he was, why he was frantically going round The House, hiding how panicked he was. Though, she didn't really need the bond to tell her that. She was terrified as well and it felt like everything was coming to its climax so quickly, the weeks felt like they went by in a blink of an eye. Yet John making sure everything was safe and away from their child was one she fully agreed with as the idea of something happening with said artefacts wasn't something she wanted to think about. The only thing she didn't know was that John was still, even after all this time so far, wondering what was real and what was fake between them both. If she had she no doubt would have been rather sad over it as she knew how she felt about him, what was real, she just....knew. she couldn't explain how she knew, she just did. Then there was the weeks of stubbornly refusing to sleep downstairs no matter how much Cliff asked her to, she just didn't like the idea of being downstairs ever night for some unknown reason to her. Yet the reason she didn't know was in fact, it was an inbuilt phoenix trait. Sleeping downstairs or ground level meant danger to a pregnant phoenix, up high meant safety from predators and even though she was safe no matter where she was in The House, it seemed that deep down trait of her kind still was deeply engrained into her even though she didn't know it. It was similar to a wolf digging a den underground with its pack to keep the pregnant female safe from threats, as they went down low, the phoenix kind went high up. All she could hope and focus on was that John would soon calm enough to grow mentally into knowing what she meant to him.

When Cliff spoke up, she looked at the woman, "the kicks are more painful than usual, I feel like all I wanna do is sleep but can't sleep, I can feel my temperature rising from within..." She explained, knowing she didn't feel like she was getting hotter any other day until now. Usually she loved wearing her oversized hoodie for comfortable, but now just thinking about wearing it made her want to quite literally burst into flames, an ironic thought to herself. "otherwise it's the same but stronger or more painful" she added. "Which just makes me hate that I can't help John prepare The House in any other ways all the more. I wanna be useful and I feel like I'm anything but." she complained. 'i want this over with now...' she thought to herself as her lethargic feelings made her feel the threat of tears prick at the corner of her eyes, which she quickly stopped before she got emotional all over again.

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Hell was feeling the same growing surge that the Downworld was, and with their links to certain downworlders they kept them in the loop knowing that it would cause a rift of mayhem between them. Many didn't know what kind of magical being was coming into the world just yet, but if the surges of power was anything to go by, some had guesses of a being that was considered rare. Some even guessed it was something to do with the phoenix The First was wanting for his own. Scheming was an understatement for what was going on and most certainly word was getting through to those who John and the group definitely didn't want to know about this coming birth...
 
Cliff quirked an eyebrow about Kay's temperature rising from the inside comment and reached for her notebook. This was a new and distinctly different symptom to all the others. To the best of her knowledge all the other symptoms Kay had complained of- lethargy, sore feet, inability to sleep, violent kicks, a general stiffness and heaviness, periods of intense hunger followed by periods where her appetite just vanished- were ordinary ones, nothing unique to a phoenix. As Kay's personal doctor-slash-closest thing they had to a pregnancy expert she was very much out of her depth. She'd tried combing through the books in the library for any useful information, but had had no luck. The only useful passages she had found about phoenix births were in the book of lore John had given Kay and they were written in a language none of them could read. (Kay would eventually learn how to understand it and would pass this knowledge down to Fia, but at the current moment she was just as illiterate as the rest of them).

So to help organise her thoughts and Cliff had started to take notes, chronologically charting the appearance and development of Kay's symptoms. It was this notebook she was writing in now. She cast a glance at Cal, something she'd gotten into the habit of doing. Her wife was a pyrokinetic and thus the closest person they had powers wise to Kay. Cal who shook her head "Only time I've ever felt a heat rising within me was when I was just on the brink of losing all control of my powers. Hopefully that's not what's going on here." A thought struck Cal and she gave a slight frown. "Actually..... should we be worried about a massive outburst of flames setting the whole building alight when it happens? This place doesn't exactly look fireproof" she cast a dubious glance at the wooden walls of the room. "I'm not sure, maybe?" Cliff gave her surroundings a similarly dubious glance. "It certainly wouldn't hurt to do that." She turned back to Kay. "Tell us if this internal temperature starts rising wildly out of control. Normally I'd be suggesting fever treatments or cold therapy, but I know that would harm rather than hurt, so keep me informed and keep hydrated I guess?"

Elliott looked up from his sketch- a drawing of the twins, Jay dead to the world on the couch and Jack sitting on the arm of the same couch, keeping a protective eye on her- a thoughtful expression on his face. "I don't know how fireproof this place is. It's entirely infused with magic so I assume it's not normal wood. The lower basement levels are built of stone however, so maybe it is worth considering moving down there and soon. Before it becomes too difficult for Kay to do so?" He then shifted to look at Kay properly. "Seriously, please don't feel bad about not being to help him, I offered to help, but he didn't let me. It's something he wants to.. needs to do himself, he wants to be completely sure of everything y'know? And besides, there's not that much you could've done even if you weren't heavily pregnant. There's a lot of weird magical shit in this place, things that can really hurt you. or worse if you don't know what you're dealing with."
 
Cliff reaching for her notebook was a normal sight for Kay to see now, all too used to seeing her pulling it out and jotting down everything and anything that Kay was experiencing during this pregnancy. She was actually quite glad that the woman was doing it as it helped her feel less like a weird experiment or freak over everything. Which she thought was slightly ironic as for anyone else, she was certain it would cause the exact opposite. But for Kay it gave comfort that she was truly in safe hands with Cliff. With the heat inside her, she didn't know if it was the pregnancy playing havoc with her power or if it was a weird phoenix ability to keep the baby warm, the latter being reason but one she didn't know and Fee wasn't being much help either. She looked at Cal as she spoke, and she had to admit the thought of bursting into flames and burning the place down didn't even occur to her until now, a worry she didn't want to have. She then looked back at Cliff and listened to her suggestions, nodding in agreement. "Sure thing" she replied as Elliott looked up from his sketchbook.

The suggestion of moving downstairs to the stone built areas wasn't exactly a welcoming suggestion to Kay, but she also didn't want to be the cause of bringing harm to The House. She was on good terms with it, and she definitely didn't want to upset The House by setting any part of it on fire. She just hoped that moving downstairs further didn't make herself feel like she was imprisoned inside when the house arrest was hard enough to deal with as it was, she just tried to not let it show too much to the others, though whether her bond with John betrayed her or not was something she didn't know. Yet there was the other side of her mind that told her it was the right thing to do, she didn't want to put anyone or anything in danger and if going down below meant everyone including herself was safer then she'd abide by that suggestion. She wasn't expecting anyone to then say anything about her complaints, so when Elliott turned to her properly and told her not to feel bad about not being of help to John, she took note of what he was saying and felt she wasn't being totally stupid in moaning. "Yeah...you're right...you just know me by now, I hate feeling like I'm not of any help. I like doing things, being proactive so to speak, I'm not used to having to sit around and let others do anything and everything instead" she replied to him, a small smirk appearing on her lips by the end of her reply in an attempt to make light of her complaints and herself. "I can't even do anything in what's practically now a nursery so to speak and it winds me up, I guess it's just how I am" she added.

Another hot flush rushed over Kay even more than she already felt 24/7 making her fan herself using her hands. She desperately wanted to go and get a glass of water but the idea of getting up and walking to the kitchen was a lot of effort she didn't want, but she refused to ask others to do such a simple task for her. Her fierce independence was still there and the closer it got to labor the stronger it got. With a bit if mental preparation, she then pushed herself off the couch to stand up, pausing to take a moment to get over the head rush the hot flush gave her every time she stood up, then walked (more like almost waddling) to the kitchen mumbling under her breath the entire time. She knew that if this was happening to anyone else she would find the whole sight amusing and laugh about it, and wouldn't blame anyone in The House to laugh, but for her it wasn't funny, just irritating. She eventually made it to the kitchen and pulled out a glass, getting herself some water, adding some ginger into it, mixing it together and then sipping it. "You should be having cinnamon Kay" Fee suddenly spoke up, making Kay groan and roll her eyes, "oh now you speak up.. and cinnamon in plain water is disgusting, at least this ginger is easier to mix into it" she mumbled in response. "And cinnamon is of use for you, the child and me during this time" Fee countered in her head.

"Urgh..fine" Kay complained, pulling out her stash of cinnamon sticks and putting one into the water, swirling it round as if it was a stirrer whilst she made her way back to the room where the others were.
 
Nobody made any comment as Kay slowly made her way towards the kitchen, though behind her back a series of looks passed between the others. Elliott and Cal's looks were questioning (should she really be doing this herself? Or should one of us be hovering over her just in case?) while Cliff's look made her disapproval quite clear- she did not think Kay should be walking around as much as she was. In her mind a fall at this late stage would be disastrous for both Kay and the unborn child and should be avoided at all costs. But she also knew Kay well enough to understand how much Kay valued her own independence and wanted to respect that. All watched her carefully, hoping they weren't being too overbearing with their worry, then slumped backwards in relief when Kay reached the kitchen unscathed.

It was as Kay was preparing her drink (and dealing with Fee's sudden willingness to give advice) that Chas entered The House. He was the only one not to move into The House as Kay's pregnancy entered it's final weeks. He still needed to work and pay the bills, but not only that after so long away from his family, after feeling what it was like to lose somebody he cared deeply about, he just wanted to spend time with his family again, to be with them and appreciate every moment he could. And none of the others could blame him for that- they'd all lived through that same experience of thinking Elliott was dead and it had affected them all deeply- in fact they encouraged him. He'd pop in every so often to see how everybody was holding up and was the one do the grocery run- something that had been particularly invaluable when they realised that what few spices were in The House were so old they'd become little more than dust.

As usual he'd come laden with an assortment of shopping bags which the others helped him bring in and set down on the ground. There was no need to crowd Kay by putting everything away immediately, it could wait. Chas sat down in one of the chairs, rubbing his temples for a few seconds then asked. "so.... how's everybody holding up?" he asked, looking around the room. "I see Jay's finally been persuaded to sleep" he aimed this comment at somewhere between Jack and Elliott, not sure which of them was responsible. "Only after I had her drugged" Jack replied casually as he flipped to the next page of his book. "What!?!?" Chas spluttered in disbelief. He turned to look at Elliott "is he telling the truth or just trying to wind me up?" "The truth."was the reply. "Cliff?" "I helped, gods forgive me, but something had to be done." Chas nodded slowly in understanding, once again rubbing at his temples. "Aside from that anything new or worrying?"
 
The others choosing to not say anything to Kay and showing their worry behind her back was the right choice. Kay only would have protested if one of them insisted on getting her drink for her before huffing as she would have eventually caved into their pleas for her to not move. So not going through all that was a relief for Kay. She knew deep down how much they worried about her moving about so much, and it did mean a lot that she had a group of people that did actually care about her well-being, but her stubbornness and fierce independence still couldn't be fully budged, especially as she knew not to ask John for every little bit of help.

With her drink now made, cinnamon stick swirling in the water (much to her disapproval and Fee's insistence) she slowly made her way back to the main room where she saw Chas having arrived. "Hey Chas" she greeted, sitting back down on the nearest couch to her position which so happened to be the same one she was on earlier. She had only just got back to the room when Chas finished asking if there was anything new or worrying that had happened since his last visit. "Not much is new I don't think, John still running around like a headless chicken making sure everything is perfectly safe and I feel like utter shit, struggling to regulate my temperature from within as my internal temperature is just getting warmer and warmer." She said to answer his question as she just about heard it, then sipped her water, a look of distaste evident on her face as she did so. To her, this was like drinking and swishing salt water round her mouth. Normally she loved cinnamon in most things, all kinds of spices to be precise, but there was just something horrible about it being brewed in plain water that she really disliked. "I'm so done with being pregnant now basically" she added after her mouthful of cinnamon water. "Stop complaining Kay, it's not becoming of a phoenix" Fee scolded in her head, which she tried to ignore, hoping it wasn't showing on her face even though she knew there were times when everyone knew exactly when Fee was communicating with her in her head. Kay also was bored of Fee giving her lectures when she did decide to communicate with her, feeling like that's all she got most of the time nowadays, or being reminded that Fee would be playing a big integral part in the birth when the time came to bringing little Fia into the world. Kay didn't know how Fee played an integral part, but she remembered from one rare lecture that she did, or more precisely, will.
 
Chas nodded, a sympathetic look on his face. Out of all of them in the room, he was the only one who'd been through this before and had the best understanding of what Kay was going through right now. Renee's pregnancy with Trish had been a particularly rough one, she'd had almost every side effect in the book- a whole bunch of weird cravings, all kinds of strange pains-, not to mention exceptionally bad morning sickness.The cherry on top had been when ,a week after the due date there still hadn't been a birth, so the doctors had ended up having to induce labour. Renee had had hot flushes during her pregnancy, but he was pretty sure in Kay's case this was because she was a phoenix. A questioning look at Cliff confirmed this.

Despite Kay's hopes, it was obvious to the others when they saw the way that Kay's forehead was crinkling in annoyance that Fee was butting in and giving advice. Connecting this to the cinnamon stick dissolving into the water which Kay was drinking (but visibly not enjoying) was hardly a massive mental leap. Jack was the only one who didn't connect the dots as he was the only one who didn't know about Fee. He was also the one least affected by Kay's pregnancy as he had no real emotional connection to her. He was concerned for her wellbeing of course but it was the concern he'd naturally show towards anybody who was pregnant (nowhere near the level of concern and worry he'd show to a friend or family member who was pregnant). He was also the only one in The House because it was where Jay was.

"Hey, it'll be over soon" Chas started, meaning to continue by adding some words of comfort, but stopped halfway through as the pain in his head flared up again. It was so sharp and so intense he bent almost double, head collapsing into his hands with a groan. "Chas?" Cliff asked worriedly. "What's wrong?" "Are you okay?" "I've had this awful headache all day, I did take some aspirin for it, but it's done nothing. It feels like my heads about to split open and just explode out everywhere." He explained in a quieter voice, massaging his head.
 
The look of understanding from Chas was welcome from Kay. She knew out of all of them, he would have seen similar from Renée and thus could be a lot more intune with how she herself was feeling. There was just something about having someone like Chas around that was comforting in general for her, especially when John was busy and seemingly looking like a blur as he worked so hard around The House.

When her crunching of distaste for the drink and Fee's lecture in her face subsided, she realised via a quick glance around the room, that they all connected the dots and she wasn't as subtle as she had hoped she was. The one she realised who didn't have that knowing look was Jack which she wasn't surprised about. She hadn't let him know everything about who she was or told him about Fee who resided within her, a defensive action she always took with new people even though she did find him endearing to some degree. Like with other traits of hers, this was one she didn't let go of easily. For all she knew Jack could betray them and give away for her location if he knew the full truth about herself- not that she truly thought he would, but she had to have her guard up for a bit longer for her own sanity. Just like she did with Singh and Nat. Chas'voice breaking through her thoughts made her look back toward him, ready to listen to whatever he had to say but then he doubled over in pain himself. An action she had seen from him before when parts of the book in his head had unlocked, which got her wondering if that was the case once more. She put her glass down on the table and put her focus onto him instead, worried for her friend. Answering the others questions, she fully focused on listening to what he was saying as he was speaking quieter than normal. "Could it be the book in your head? It has been making you connected to me at times over certain things" she asked him with concern.

She also couldn't help but wonder more importantly if it was to do with the pregnancy, as something had been telling her (not Fee for a change) that as it got closer to the day of the birth, the power in the air would change drastically even if she couldn't feel it wave out in ripples like John was. "Should we get John?" She then asked the others, looking around at the group, wanting to help Chas but didn't know how to. Seeing him in pain just made Kay want to take it away from him, comfort him somehow but she hesitated even touching his shoulder, afraid that if she did it may make things worse for him.
 
Chas grimaced at the mention of the book in his head. At first he'd been happy, honoured almost, to have all the knowledge in his head. It was the right and responsible thing to do, neither John or Kay should be burdened with the knowledge of their entire future. John would try to fight it, no doubt making things worse for herself while Kay..... well back then they'd barely understood what she was. He saw reading that book as his way of helping. But he had grown to detest the knowledge in his head. It hadn't helped him to read the phoenix language when he and Cliff had been desperately searching The House's library for any information about the birth. He knew everything there was to know, yet it was locked behind a wall he just couldn't get through. Trying to force the knowledge out only resulted in intense headaches and in one case- which he hadn't told any of the others about- a severe nosebleed. He felt useless.

"It could be... I guess. It only used to cause headaches when I tried to force the knowledge, but now even just thinking about the book makes my head pound and my stomach flip." He winced again, eyebrows furrowing together, biting down on his lip in an effort to prevent himself from swearing aloud. "And the headaches have been getting more frequent these past few days. None of the headache stuff we have at home had been having much of an effect. But I don't know, these headaches could just be a stress thing or even some kind of delayed reaction to trauma. Christ knows how bad that last month on Attil was" he gave a glance at Cliff who slowly nodded. "It's certainly feasible." "But we're dealing with magic and myth here, medicine is probably going to fly out the window soon enough, if it hasn't already." Cliff gave a loud, unusually discontent sigh "a fact I'm all too aware of. Gods I'm under-qualified for this."
 
Hearing Chas say how frequent the headache have been lately and how bad they have been made Kay feel so bad for the man. She never would want this trauma for him just because he had the whole book of her life and ancestors in his head. It didn't seem fair to her that he had to suffer so much for the sake of it, not to mention it didn't feel right. She listened to them all talk and the fact that no human medicine or anything that Cliff had could or has worked for Chas made Kay think it was even more the book causing this problem, and the impending birth of her kid. "Make contact with him Kay, this...pain he's feeling....I'm sensing something within it" Fee spoke up suddenly, taking note of Chas' pain. Kay was hesitant but she also knew that everything Fee had ever done for her was in her best interest and did trust Fee to help Chas if she thought it was remotely possible. "Fee thinks she can help" she told Chas, "at least..try to" she added, pausing long enough to have Chas' permission to let Fee help him before doing a single thing. She knew it would require letting Fee take control of her, and that concerned her.

A mere few seconds later when it was okay to, Kay touched Chas' shoulder where Fee took control for that moment, Kay's eyes changing from her grey blue (though this time they had the tiniest of spots of gold within them due to the pregnancy) to their full on burning golden hue whenever Fee was in charge. A look only really Chas had seen before that either Fee or Kay could recall. "Just as I suspected....Chas it is the book inside your head. It is being affected by the impending birth of the new phoenix hybrid...wait...I...sense something else...it's not just a book. It's my knowledge from my past lives you have within" Fee started explaining, in a tone that wasn't like Kay's tone in the slightest. "I can remove it from your mind, take it back once more. Restore my own memories without of any harm to yourself, but it won't be a pleasant transfer and I will need you to verbally agree to me taking claim once more" she then explained, figuring that if it meant the headaches would disappear, Chas would gladly agree to being free from this task whilst completely ignoring the fact that the others were even in the room and that would be the first time any of them would have 'met' Fee in any format, especially Jack.

Giving him time to agree to the transfer, she placed her index fingers on either side of his head, right where his temples were and once it was agreed to she muttered a few words in the native phoenix tongue.
"His verbis, reverter and me,
gnósi you parelthóntos thnitou,
revertere and Justin dominium tuum,
Mia Kai Gia pànta, xanagennimmenos Kai thymízei"
​
As she finished muttering the words, a soft glow and sparks appeared at the tips of Kay's/Fee's fingers as they pulled the knowledge from Chas' head unlocking it all as it weaved bland whirled from his head into her fingertips, up her arms, swirling round the width of them as it went up and into her own head via her temples making her eyes glow brighter than before. The transfer as Fee warned wasn't excruciating, but it wasn't without pain either for Chas. He would feel everything unlock in his head as it left him, relief as the last word exited from him and into Fee. With a low screech Fee took it all in, feeling all her memories return to her in one big hit, bringing pain to herself in the process. The whole process was a mere minute, no more but it felt like it took much longer.

The glowing faded as Fee finished receiving everything, her fingertips letting go of Chas' temples as she panted and slumped into the back of the couch. "It is done" she simply stated before letting Kay regain control of herself once more. "d...did she help?" Kay asked looking around at them all before she doubled over in severe pain, unable to hold in the loud-ish yelp of pain, clutching her stomach as she did so and sparks began to erupt erratically from her fingertips. "Guys....." She said with worry in her tone.

what Fee says in English is: "with these words return to me, knowledge of past from mortal, return to thy rightful owner, once and forever, reborn and remind"
 
Chas' eyebrows raised in surprise, it was rare that Fee offered an opinion and even rarer for Kay to publicly voice it. He gave a shrug, letting his hands fall to his side "if she thinks she knows something, then I don't see why I shouldn't let her try. Its not like I've not got anything to lose from it and to be honest, I just want to be rid of these headaches." The drive out to The House had been excruciating, the coming and going of the headaches making it difficult to focus on the road. The last thing Chas wanted to do was to cause some kind of traffic accident and if he couldn't drive safely he couldn't work (which as the main breadwinner for his family was a major concern for him).

When Kay stepped towards him the headache increased in intensity and he had to fight the urge to back away. He paled slightly, being so close to her was making him feel nauseous- a sure sign that Fee was on the right track thinking it was related to the pregnancy. The touch on his shoulder was gentle, but still Chas had to bite back a cry of pain. He'd expected to feel a gentle push, like when Elliott entered his mind during a MindWalk, but what he actually felt was the mental equivalent of being hit by a truck. He didn't think it was possible for his head to feel even more full, yet there he was. The first trickle of blood came from his left nostril, shortly followed by a thin trickle from his left. He curled one hand into a fist in his pocket, digging his nails into his palm and gritting his teeth as Fee rooted around in his mind. She lacked Elliott's finesse.

When Fee spoke Chas' gasp was half out of surprise and half in pain. So the book hadn't just been a book. Of course that was the case. Had they discovered this under any other circumstance he would have let out a gruff laugh and a 'why am I not surprised?' But as it was, all his effort was going into not crying out in pain. If the others had anything to say, Chas didn't hear them. He gave a nod of consent, then realising that Fee wanted a verbal confirmation- an admirable thing he would appreciate when looking back on the incident- forced himself to speak"do it. Take it back."

For a brief moment Chas could see everything. He saw the entire history of an whole race, all the memories of a nigh-immortal being flashed before his eyes. He didn't just see, he felt- love, happiness, fear, heartbreak, courage, sorrow, joy- every emotion rushed through him. It was like nothing he'd ever seen or experienced before. And it was too much for him to take. He let out a scream of agony, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground with a thud. All the colour had been leached from his skin, the only brightness was the red streaks of blood running out of his nostrils and around his ears. Cliff immediately dropped to his side, feeling his neck for a pulse. It was shallow, just like his breathing, but it was there.

She was about to relay this to the others, but then came Kay's worried 'Guys.....' and her priorities immediately flipped. The sparks of fire weren't a good sign- Kay losing control of her powers this early on was not a good omen. Elliott had clearly been having similar thoughts "shit! We need to get you to the basement and quick. The trapdoor would be the fastest way, but I don't know, can still you manage that or is it too much of a risk? Flying you down would be easiest, but Cal can't and Cliff......" "me doing it would not be a good idea." Jack meanwhile had other thoughts "either way I'm getting my sister and him" he indicated the unconscious Chas " out of this room."
 
Fee would have loved nothing more than to have made the whole ordeal less painful than it was for Chas, but there was only the one way and not only that, if she was honest, only been the second time she did something remotely of that level. She had witnessed it plenty of times in her many lives over the millennia, but hadn't actually done it herself many times. Before she even checked on Chas or said if Chas would be alright, she had let Kay take back control for fear of putting the child at risk if she was in control any longer than necessary, for dear of triggering the labor. Then when Kay did come back, she didn't have time to compute 100% everything that was happening around her, due to Fee's concerns still coming true. She just about saw that Chas was out cold with the bloody nose when that intense pain erupted inside her. She panted as she tried breathing through the pain, just about listening to what Elliott was explaining and what Jack had said about Jay and Chas. "I...I don't know Ell..." She stammered to him before another intense wave of pain coursed through her, causing her to scream and whimper. "i don't wanna l...r...isk flying...what if I falter?" She continued to say, expressing her concern, terrified that if she tried flying, the pain would be too much and make her just fall with a crash. The thought of falling through the trap door and killing her and John's child would devastate her and she didn't want to put John through that so soon after getting Elliott back.

She clenched her fists tightly closed to try and stop the sparks of ember from totally getting out of control. "There has...to be another...way down..." She whimpered through the pain, "and make sure...he's okay" she said, gesturing to Chas, equally worried for him. She tried to sit up enough so she could get up, she didn't want to put any of them at risk, "someone get John....please and..help...me downstairs" she continued to pant her pleas between the gritted teeth yells of pain, each wave coming almost mere seconds between each other. At this stage she didn't care who helped her downstairs into the basement, got John and who helped Chas as long as they did because all she could truly focus on was the pain she was experiencing and trying not to burn everything and letting the embers escaping her tightly closed fists, her nails digging into her skin deeply. "I don't wanna hurt anyone..." She whimpered, unclenching her fists just long enough to try and get onto her feet, then clenched them shut again quickly to try and stop the embers. They slowly started to get less but she didn't know for how long they remain as such. All she could say she knew for certain, though didn't know how she knew, was that she had to get down into the basement and surround herself in these very embers for the birth. "I'm sorry Kay...this is my fault" Fee said inside her head, feeling the need to apologise, "I can try and help your powers but that's as far as I can go just now, I'm still shifting through all I have regained from Chas and you'll need me once downstairs" Fee then continued to explain to Kay, and Kay alone.

Just as she was told, Fee did take control of Kay's powers and helped to distinguish the embers from her hands from within. As the embers died, it now became evident that Kay had broken the skin a bit in her palms. "Fee's holding my power back..." She said to them, then another wave of pain in another contraction came through, more painful than any other before hand, making her wobble on her feet but not fall over, "GODDAMMIT, JOHN!!!" She couldn't stop herself shouting through the pain.
 
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The trapdoor was a long shot, Elliott knew that when he suggested it and the cry Kay let out as she felt the first contraction only confirmed it- she was in no fit state for ladders. The cry jolted Cliff into action, her head snapped up and she barked orders at Cal and Elliott in Attili before turning to Jack and gave him orders in English (she didn't what, if any, knowledge of Attili he had and now was hardly the time to find out and waste time trying to find another common language).

Cliff's tone was firm and authoritative and everybody leapt into action. Jack took a hold of Chas' feet while Cliff gripped the unconscious man firmly underneath the shoulders and they began to carry him from the room. Cal ran over to Kay "your powers can't hurt me, just stay calm, we'll be down there in no time" she said before pulling Kay into her arms and lifting her up off the floor. Cal was a strong woman thanks to years of physical training in Atti's military and a regular workout routine and found it easy to lift Kay up and into a bridal style carry. She'd completed obstacle courses while wearing full suits of armour, full flight gear (including parachute) and while carrying heavy kitbags on her back. Kay was heavier, but the distance to travel was less (not to mention downhill) and she didn't have a drill sergeant screaming in her ear the entire time.

Elliott ran over to the wall and started feeling along the join between two wood panels until he felt the concealed button. Pressing it caused a large section of the wall to swing open, revealing a set of wide stone stairs leading downwards into the darkness. Mounted on the wall at regular intervals were what looked like lanterns, four sided glass boxes each containing a stone which had been enchanted and glowed with a magical light. Moving as quickly as she dared, Cal descended into the basement. It was a large room, with no windows and a surprisingly high ceiling. It was completely empty aside from the small lamps on the wall and the large central one mounted to the ceiling. There were fresh scuff marks from the floor from when John had moved everything out of the room a few days ago- Cliff hadn't been the only one thinking that a wooden room was not the best place for a fiery birth.

With Kay in Cal's safe hands (or more precisely arms), Elliott's attention went to the second part of Cliff's shouted orders- finding John. It didn't take him very long and he nearly ran headlong into John as he rounded the corner in one of the House's many corridors. When Kay's waters had broken, John had been six feet up a ladder, leaning over to grab a leather bound book of warding spells. He'd been intending to check it to see if there was any types he'd missed or any stronger ones he could use. A sharp blaze of pain had shot through his body and he'd crashed to the floor, splitting open a large gash on his forehead in the process. The bond had been a constant nagging presence at the back of his mind these past few days and now it was like it was screaming at him. There was only one reason it could be doing this. "Kay!" he gasped, rising to his feet and running for the main room only to nearly bump into Elliott

"It's" Elliott began, only to be cut off by John "started. Yeah, I know, I felt it. Where?" Elliott turned around, yelling as he ran. "The basement room, with Cal."

Jack and Cliff were waiting at the door when they arrived. Cliff couldn't think of anything to say, 'good luck' were two words she never applied to any medical situation as to her it seemed incredibly dismissive of all the years of training medical professionals went through and all the others things just seemed either patronising, too much like stating the obvious or more likely to induce fear in John. So she simply settled for gesturing for John to go through. Jack had other ideas and stepped into the doorway blocking John's path. Before anybody could protest, he grabbed John's chin, tilted John's head to get a batter angle, then ran two fingers over the bleeding gash. The wound snapped shut, drawing the blood back in, leaving no trace of that it had ever been there.

Jack's parting words as he released John were cryptic- 'it's easier when the pain is shared' and he had no time to mull over them as he barrelled down the stairs and into the basement.
 
After the one shout, Kay tried to keep her mouth under control so she didn't end up shouting or cursing at anyone in the room as she didn't want to risk saying something she would feel the need to apologise for after the birth. She gladly held onto Cal, letting her pick her up bridal style, "stay calm? That'll be...a fine thing" she panted between gritted teeth screams of the pain. She didn't know how anyone could stay calm when going through this and wondered why people would willingly out themselves through this whole process to have a family. It was excruciating, everything heightened one hundred fold for her as she felt her powers kicking into gear to be ready for bringing this tiny person into the world, not only that she could swear she could feel new things unlocking within her though she wasn't sure if it was powers or something else. With Elliott helping Cal get her downstairs to the basement, she tried to focus son the environment she was being carried down to in an attempt to distract herself from the contractions, even though it was a fruitless endeavour. She barely even noticed Elliott going back in another direction to find John as she felt her beds flickering round her hands all over again, thankful that Cal couldn't be hurt by her fire. "T..thank you Cal..." She said whilst she could think relatively straight enough to even say it.

She had no clue that the others were up top by the doorway waiting for John, instead she was suddenly aware of the room in question had been reached and she noticed how high the ceiling was which if she was under any other circumstance, she would have made some kind remark about her surprise at it. She was terrified to let go of Cal initially, but when Cal would let her go and put her down on the ground, she reluctantly did let go and felt the scuffs in the floor, feeling how they seemed fresh and not old worn out scuffs. "Don't leave me alone...not until John gets here" she practically begged Cal as John and Elliott made it to the doorway upstairs. She was completely oblivious to what was going on up above her, that John had fallen off the ladder or received the gash that Jack had healed up, or even what Jack would have said to John. She just wanted this over with and not to be alone. It didn't take her long however to hear those familiar heavy footed steps barrelling down the stairs and John's face to appear in the basement room. "John...." She whimpered before screaming once more through gritted teeth, her head tilting back onto the hard floor and a rare moment where Kay was visibly starting to sweat on her forehead.

She had to get the circle of ash and spice round her, she knew this but she felt like she couldn't move and didn't even know if she could complete it even if she could move. "Just relax as much as possible Kay, I have this under control" Fee told her, before she silently began the incantation to remove herself from Kay's soul long enough to help her human body do what is a miraculous moment. Kay felt her eyes change, her irises disappearing as they just burn bright glad once more. "Cal get upstairs!" She demanded to the woman, but not in a rude manner, she just wanted Cal out for safety. Both Kay and Fee waited for Cal to be upstairs, but not once did they want John to leave them. When it was safe, for the first ever time in Kay's life (but possibly not the last time) Fee erupted from Kay's soul with a bright burning firey light, dancing flames creating her bird form. Kay trying her hardest to not pass out as she felt the separation from Fee and her eyes turned back to their grey blue hue. Fee soared in a circular motion around both Kay and John, creating ember and ash around them, but left a gap for John. "I need you to scatter the cinnamon on top of the ash and ember, hurry John, I cannot remain separate from her for long! This circle must be closed for the birth" She spoke to him as she gazed at the man who she held great respect for. She didn't respect many humans whom had come and gone in Kay's life, but John she had grown to respect as he, like herself had kept Kay safe and well for the most part. "Fee..." Kay mumbled, suddenly feeling like someone had just injected her with pain relief or a sedative without her knowing, even though none had been administered. Yet despite her mumble, Fee did not respond to Kay, feeling too focused on the job at hand. Fee waited for John to do his part before she closed the circle, making it roar to life in flames. It was truly now beginning and the ritual was soon to continue to bring their daughter into the world.....
 
Cal simply nodded, she had no intention of leaving Kay alone at such a precarious moment. She could feel that Kay's skin was starting to heat up as whatever heat it was that had been consuming her from the inside finally rose to the surface. It didn't hurt her to hold Kay- it couldn't- and she thanked the gods that Cliff was sensible enough not to be in her position right now. It wouldn't be long before the sweat on kay's brow started to sizzle and Cal's eyes flicked worriedly towards the stairs, there was no sign of John. What was taking her brother so long? They needed John here now.

Time seemed to drag for Cal as she waited in the basement, Kay cradled in her arms. When she did finally hear John's footsteps barrelling down the stairs she let out a sigh of relief. She stepped back as John stepped forwards, no words needed to be said, the state of Kay was explanation enough. When Kay's eyes turned and she yelled at Cal to go, she didn't need telling twice. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't something she was supposed to be, prophesised to be, needed to be... present for. Reaching the top of the stairs she pulled the thick door shut behind her.

John stepped back, shielding his eyes against the glare as Fee erupted out of Kay's body. The glow was too bright, too intense for him to properly focus on. This kind of raw power was something mortals like him were supposed to gaze upon and he snapped his shut for fear they'd be burned out of his face. He felt a great surge of air against his skin as Fee created the circle of ash and embers and he was struck by another wave of panic. What the Hells had be gotten himself into? He was a con-man, a trickster mage, not some honourable person capable of doing the right thing, let alone raising another person to do the right thing.

The sound of Fee's voice snapped him out of it, his eyes reopening. It.. She... Fee was staring right at him. For once he didn't question-there was no time for that- he just did as he was told. John was no artist, but years of drawing magic circles, daubing sigils in blood and ink, creating barriers of sand and boundaries of chalk and magnesium meant he could draw a perfect circle without even having to think about it. No sooner had he completed the circle then it lit alight. There was no going back now.
 
Fee was glad that John just did as he was told and for once didn't question why she of all beings was barking orders at him and why he had to do what he had to. She watched him intensely as he drew the cinnamon on top on the flames and embers, the heat bringing the scent out, capable of even allowing Kay to smell it, breathing in the scent through her nose. She watched as he finished, and with her help, completing the safe circle for Kay and in turn, him as well. She knew he was just as panicked as Kay was, but now was not the time for panic in her mind, "there is nothing to panic about John, things will be okay. All you need to do is try and stay calm and keep an eye on Kay's much as it's alien to you, she needs you right now" she told him, softly but firmly. They did not have all the time in the world anymore and deep down Fee did feel guilt for having caused this early labor by helping Chas with his headaches and retrieving her own memories. Even though she did not feel guilt for helping Chas, she only merely felt guilt for what it did to Kay. "John...." Kay mumbled, almost feeling delirious in some regards but also scared when another surge of pain coursed through her and she suddenly remembered she wasn't pain free in the slightest.

Fee hovered above Kay, dulling her flame enough to not burn John's eyes in particular. "It's time" Fee stated, swooping down to Kay's other side, "I will help you all I can, you're doing great Kay" she then said in the softest tone she had ever used to anyone she let hear her. Despite that Kay just wished it was her mother who was saying such words, not the being that lived within her soul. She gave John one more look, determined to let him know what she thought of him before she reconnected within Kay and brought their child into the world. Instead of saying a single word, she gave John a simple nod, a nod that said 'I thank you John Constantine for all you do for Kay. You have my respect'. She needed John to know that he had in his own weird way actually won her over and earned the respect of one of the oldest phoenix souls still in existence even if he did infuriate her at times. He had kept her safe and alive for this long and she trusted he would continue to do so. The silent communication done, Fee lowered herself back into Kay's soul, reconnecting them once more creating dancing flames on Kay's body, her hair igniting all the way down to her feet but in a way that meant if Kay needed to grip into John, she could without harming him. "I'm not ready John...." Kay almost whimpered, even though the truth was she was ready, at least, her body was as she reached her hand out for John's. From within Fee tried to keep Kay calm whilst she helped to make the birth as easy and smooth as possible.

With Kay alight, the ritual circle completed there was nothing else to pause the birth. "Push Kay!" Fee said within, an instruction that Kay didn't need telling twice, the flames roared and danced on top of Kay as she screamed and pushed, it feeling never-ending and unknowing if anything could be heard upstairs or not. It took a good 45minutes of pushing, panting, crying and squeezing John's hand when Kay's body finally extinguished of flames and the circle of flames and spices also died out after bringing their baby daughter over to the two of them. All fire and spices burning themselves out to reveal their daughter wriggling her hands and feet, a head full of red and blonde hair and eyes as blue as John's. Kay was worn out, hair sweat filled and tired but she still looked down at their daughter and couldn't help but smile. She couldn't believe she actually brought a person into the world.
 
John found himself scoffing- out of habit- at Fee's words. He knew they were meant to reassure him, but they had the opposite effect. In his experience any time anybody ever said there was nothing to panic about, it was the kiss of death and ten minutes later they were very much panicking and more often than not, running for their lives. He gave a nod, not trusting himself to speak as Fee started to lower herself down onto Kay's body. He caught the parting look and understood. It gave him more reassurance than her words and he made his way to Kay's body just it erupted with flames- all except for one hand. He reached for it.

---------------------
The birth was not an easy thing for John to sit through, the minutes dragged by as he sat there painfully aware that there was nothing he could do to stop or alleviate the cries of pain and frustration and every other emotion Kay was screaming out. It only confirmed his belief that they were never going to have another biological child and that women who wanted families and went through this process willingly more than once were completely and utterly insane. If there was some way for him to feel the pain to, for him to share it so she would feel less, he'd have taken it. All he could do was sit there and let her crush his hand in his own. At some point he felt the finger he'd fractured during the fight to save Elliott's life snap and re-break as Kay squeezed his hand ever tighter.

--------------------
John looked down at the baby in front of them. He wasn't sure what he was feeling or even what he was supposed to be feeling. Some new parents gushed about how seeing their child for the first time made it all worth it, that just by looking at the newborn they felt a connection like no other. John didn't feel any such connection and he wasn't one of those parents who thought their child was so beautiful just because it was theirs. Fia looked... well like every other baby he'd ever seen- small, wrinkly, pudgy in a sort of Winston Churchill way if he was being honest. The hair was undoubtedly from Kay, but the eyes were as blue as anything. That was his side of the family. A sudden worry struck him and he craned his head to get a better look at the colour. His father's eyes had been a dark, hard blue and John knew if his daughter had inherited them, he'd never be able to look her in the eyes without thinking of the abusive scumbag that had been Thomas Constantine. But the baby's were light blue, just like his eyes, just like Cheryl's eyes, just like.... his mother's eyes, the eyes of the first woman he'd ever killed. He tried not to let his face slip and his thoughts show, wanting to shut that line of thought before he could think on it any further. This moment wasn't about him and his weird morbid thoughts about his own birth.
 
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