A/N: Sorry the chapter's so short. The chapters for this have been short for some odd reason. Maybe I shouldn't write when I have a headache. Heh.

Chapter Two: A Fire in the Distant Hills

Through begging and pleading, the Turners and the Carmichaels shared breakfast together. Unfortunately, they had to sit far enough so that the other couldn't smell their food. The Carmichaels took umbrage at the Turners eating meat and the Turners took offense at the Carmichaels devouring something that seemed inedible. Timmy and Chloe, who were used to it, met in the middle. They were surprised, however, when Tootie and her fairy turned up. Chloe did a double take, but once the shock wore off, she offered Tootie a beatific smile. Timmy's stomach flipped.

They hadn't slept well last night. They'd had to wish for sleep, although that was the providence of the Sand Man. Even so, nightmares had haunted them. Tootie, by contrast, looked like she'd not slept at all. Bags lined her eyes and she stifled a yawn as she trudged up to them.

"Want some real food?" Timmy asked, offering her a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.

"Not hungry," she mumbled. She plopped between Timmy and Chloe and her fairy was disguised as a ferret. Cosmo and Wanda were disguised as rabbits again and faced their godchildren.

"What brings you here?" Chloe asked brightly.

"What do you think brings me here, Miss Ray of Sunshine?" Tootie spat.

"Obviously, the thrill of Chloe's company," Deb piped up and Tootie shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, sure, that's it," she said. "And after which, I'm going to gouge my eyes out. For the sheer fun of it."

Chloe pulled a face and then seemed to brighten further, in defiance to Tootie's attitude. "We're all friends here."

Tootie glowered hatefully at Chloe. "Speak for yourself."

"Anyway…" Timmy said, noticing Tootie looking like she wanted to claw Chloe's throat out, "uh…I didn't think you were interested. I mean, you kinda stormed off last night."

"I don't know how you put up with her," Tootie snapped, pointing accusingly at Chloe. "Just being near her makes me want to murder her."

"Hey!" Chloe objected. "I understand that you have some negative emotions toward me. That's okay. I don't hold them against you."

"Seriously, Timmy. How do you endure this?" Tootie said.

Timmy shrugged. "I'm used to it. And she grows on you."

"Like cancer," Tootie spat.

Chloe frowned and glanced at Deborvak, who winked at her. Tootie glowered at her godfather, who winked at her in turn. She growled, throwing her hands in the air. Aside from Deb's earlier comment, the fairies had remained silent, perturbed by yesterday's events. Timmy didn't blame them. It wasn't every day they encountered a dead fairy…and he didn't want to ever do it again. He shifted closer, unconsciously, to Chloe, who had inched nearer to him. Tootie's eyes blazed.

"Why don't we discuss what we came here to talk about, rather than attempting to verbally flay Chloe?" Deborvak suggested.

Tootie balled her fists, dug her nails into her palms, and then, inhaling shakily, nodded. It still took her several seconds to master herself enough to speak without vitriol. Even so, her eyes flashed when she beheld Chloe. It was obvious to Timmy (and probably Chloe too) that Tootie was seething with jealousy. He didn't know how she intended to put it aside to work together.

"You don't think it'll happen again, do you?" Chloe asked in a hushed tone.

The three children glanced at the three fairies; Cosmo and Wanda flinched. Deborvak frowned, subdued. Timmy noticed Cosmo and Wanda were huddled close together again, as close to a terror hug as their current forms allowed. Deborvak frowned, opened his mouth, and then shook his head. Terror seemed to hang, palpable, over the group.

"You do, don't you?" Timmy pressed.

"Sport…" Wanda said and her voice was tense. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather enjoy your vacation doing something else?"

"If you guys are in danger, I want to know!" he said, jumping to his feet and garnering attention from the adults. Deborvak waved his wand and they returned to their previous activities. Abashed, Timmy settled back down beside Chloe. Her hand sought his and it was Tootie's glower that stopped him from seizing it. They were god siblings. This was totally normal. He didn't know why Tootie's judgment should affect him.

"We'd like to know too…" Cosmo said, strained.

"There's a way to find out," Tootie returned, determined. "We have to find out who attacked the fairy and what they want."

"Isn't it obvious what they want?" Deborvak said, shaking his head. "Tootie, I told you. We can't go sticking our noses where they don't belong. And there's no way to find out who attacked the other fairy, not at this stage."

"I don't believe that," she proclaimed. She rounded on Timmy. "Don't you care about Cosmo and Wanda?"

"Of course we do!" Chloe interjected, speaking for both godchildren. "And we want to do anything we can to help!"

"Perhaps we ought to leave this to Jorgen…" Wanda demurred.

"Jorgen doesn't care," Tootie snorted. She folded her arms across her chest. "He doesn't give a damn about anything but how he looks. He turns a blind eye to those suffering unless they pose a threat."

"That's not true!" Chloe objected. "Why would he give me fairies if I didn't deserve them?"

"Why indeed?" Tootie spat. "Why would he give them to you when you've done nothing to earn them and then ignore me until he decided I posed a threat to Fairy World?"

Wanda tried to catch Tootie's eye, but Tootie ignored her. She brimmed with self-righteous anger and would not be squelched. She dared the others to contradict her, but for once, Timmy didn't know what to say. Her tirade against Jorgen seemed personal and he hadn't been privy to why she'd received her godfather, only that she'd been ten times more miserable than him before.

"All right, we get it. You have legitimate grievances," Deborvak said and, before Tootie had a chance to run roughshod over him, he added, "I'm not discounting them. I'm saying that we need to put aside our prejudices. You want to find the perpetrators, regardless of the personal danger to you. I can respect that. However, castigating Chloe is getting you nowhere."

"Don't tell me you like her," Tootie spat.

"My feelings on the matter are insignificant," he said. "If you want to tackle this, we need a battle plan."

"I don't wanna tackle this…" Cosmo protested.

Chloe's eyes gleamed and Timmy knew what that look meant. She was as determined as Tootie now. There was no chance he'd be able to escape.

"Fine," he said, resigned. "What do we have to do?"

"We need to find the other fairies in town," Tootie declared. "And we need to warn them. Who else has a fairy in town?"

"We're not supposed to tell you…" Wanda pointed out. "It's against Da Rules."

"They can't be that hard to find," Chloe reasoned. "Just look for strange magical occurrences."

"Or Crocker breathing down their necks," Timmy muttered.

"We really ought to tell Jorgen and get his permission before we proceed," Chloe said and Tootie gave her a death glare.

"You do that, Princess. I'll be here being productive," she snapped. She folded her arms across her chest again. "Timmy, you're welcome to join me. Without Chloe."

"He won't," Chloe said confidently. "Timmy and I are a team."

"Told you," Deborvak muttered and Tootie smacked him. Deborvak's eyes narrowed, but he didn't retaliate. For a brief second, his eyes flashed draconic yellow. Timmy shuddered.

They were silent for a time, with Wanda still trying to impress something upon Tootie. Sighing, Tootie stood, crooked her finger at Wanda, and the two walked off. Timmy, perplexed, glanced at Chloe, who looked just as nonplussed. Cosmo shrugged too; only Deborvak seemed to know what was up. His gaze followed the two as they stepped away from the campsite.

"I know Tootie has powers," Chloe remarked quietly. "But that doesn't really explain her hatred for me."

"Duh, she's jealous," Cosmo snorted. "You hang around Timmy all the time. She hardly ever sees him anymore."

"Yeah, she's probably still in love with me," Timmy said, for some odd reason uncomfortable with the admission. He wasn't saying he reciprocated, but it almost felt like he had. Or like he was saying he regarded her as anything besides a nuisance. She had grown prettier in the interim and he'd sympathized with her before, as Vicky's kid sister. Why was it feeling like a competition between Chloe and Tootie?

Chloe frowned, studying Tootie. "I don't see why that means we can't be friends. We have you in common."

"Yeah, but you're not in love with me," he scoffed. Chloe didn't respond and his heart skipped a beat. He cocked his head at her.

"Right?" he pressed.

"Why would she resent my having Cosmo and Wanda if she has a faerie too?" she mused.

Okay, the fact that Chloe hadn't answered him didn't instill him with confidence. Of course, he could be reading too much into it. Why were girls so complicated? He said this knowing full well he had no idea what his feelings regarding Tootie or Chloe were anymore. Both made his heart skip beats and he longed to be near them. On the plus side, it didn't apply to every girl in his life—he still would rather bludgeon himself than be near Vicky.

"Don't ask me," he said.

"Because she wanted us instead?" Cosmo suggested and both children spun to face him.

"So you do know something," Timmy charged.

"Nope. I know nothing."

Timmy groaned, facepalming. Never mind. He was sorry he'd asked. Clearly, he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of his godfather. Chloe's forehead was creased in thought and she studied the other girl. Purple sparks flew from Tootie's fingertips and she was shaking, suppressing her magic with an effort.

"You know," Timmy snapped at Deborvak. He'd almost forgotten the other fairy was there. He had a way of blending in with his surroundings or causing other people to overlook him.

"She feels a kinship with Wanda," Deb commented. "She knows what it's like to be unappreciated."

"That's ridiculous," he scoffed. "Name one time I didn't appreciate Wanda."

Cosmo burst out laughing and Timmy shot him a dirty look. "Oh, wait. You're serious."

He laughed harder.

Chloe folded her arms across her chest too and glowered at Timmy. "You've taken advantage of her?"

"Hey, if she didn't like it, she would've said something," he protested. Then he remembered she had multiple times and he scowled. "Not the point."


While Timmy and Chloe hashed out Timmy's failings, Tootie scowled at Wanda. She knew that Wanda had an obligation toward Chloe and she respected that. However, that was as far as it went. She didn't know why Wanda preferred Miss Perfect over Timmy when (one), they'd had Timmy longer; (two), Timmy didn't make Tootie want to kill something; and (three), okay, well, she'd run out of reasons at two. Chloe seemed more considerate than Timmy, which was something Tootie didn't care to examine too closely, lest she vex herself.

"Hun, I know you dislike Chloe," she said and stifled a groan. "You've made that abundantly clear."

"She doesn't deserve you," she burst out, enraged.

"That's not for you to say," Wanda reminded her.

"She didn't keep Crocker away from you guys, she didn't put herself on the line to keep Timmy's secret— "

"She has," she said. "The secret's shared between them. If one of them blabs, they both lose us."

This didn't mollify her. She wanted a legitimate reason to hate Chloe, not just jealousy. Fuming, she glared at the ground around Wanda rather than risk hurting the little fairy. She was still fond of her, both because of who she was and because of what she'd done for Tootie. Over the years, she'd gotten better at handling her powers, but there were still accidents here and there.

"Sweetie…I know you're unhappy with how much time they spend together…"

"It's not that!" she snapped, though it was exactly that. She bit her lower lip. She drew in a sharp breath and hugged herself. "Timmy likes her, doesn't he? I can't compete against Miss Perfect. It's like Cindy Vortex all over again. Or Trixie Tang. Or anyone else who's caught his attention who isn't me."

She blinked back hot tears. "I can't compete with any of them because they're all prettier and smarter than me. Timmy will never notice me."

"Don't say that," she soothed. "He's still figuring things out. And right now, there are more important things at stake than Timmy's feelings for you."

Tootie cast a nasty look over her shoulder at Chloe. She bit her lower lip again and swiped at the tears slipping down her cheek. She was stronger than this. She was better. She was not going to spend another goddamn minute sobbing over Timmy Turner. Over the years, he'd wrung enough tears from her.

Wanda glanced both ways before changing back into her normal form and hugging Tootie. Tootie hugged her back and her lower lip wavered.

"Are you serious about wanting to pursue whoever hurt that fairy?" Wanda asked quietly.

"I have to. What if something happens to you guys? Or to Deb? I couldn't take it if that happened."

"I think Deborvak can take care of himself," Wanda said wryly. "He doesn't strike me as a damsel in distress. But I appreciate the sentiment."

Tootie said nothing. There had been a few occasions where Deborvak had needed to be rescued, most notably from an evil sorceress, but Wanda didn't need to know about that. Besides, that wasn't pertinent. She swallowed a sob.

"Don't tell me Jorgen will protect you," she whispered. "Remember Doombringer?"

"We've been trying to forget," Wanda said, shaking her head. She stroked Tootie's hair. Even though she had to be rattled, she was still trying to comfort Tootie. Her heart ached. How did Chloe deserve such kind-heartedness?

Wanda pulled her back and held her at arm's length. "If you're serious about tracking down the other fairies, then it's going to have to be you doing it. Timmy and Chloe can't be involved. Fairy godparents aren't allowed to reveal other godparents, but you're a half fairy. Da Rules don't apply to you."

Tootie's lips twitched. "For once, a perk to being a half-breed."

"Don't call yourself that," she admonished.

"If the shoe fits…" she said and shook her head. "Go back to Timmy…and that girl. I'll be okay."

"We'll go back together."

Though she would rather not, she followed Wanda to Chloe's campsite. The adults were still eating breakfast and she almost envied them their simple lives. She'd never be an ordinary human again. Then again, she'd never been an ordinary human. Vicky had seen to that.

"I'm going to attempt a truce," Tootie announced. She held out her hand for Chloe to shake. "If we're going to work together, then I have to swallow my pride. We all care about Cosmo and Wanda."

"Maybe we can be friends?" Chloe suggested and Tootie glowered.

"Don't push your luck."