A/N: As always, thank you to everyone who reads/reviews my story! Only a few more chapters of child Alex to go before we start time jumping! Midnat, as always, you rock.

The usual disclaimer goes here, and now...enjoy!

Chapter 3

Godric stared impassively at the two werewolves who stood before his desk. They had already been there for an hour, but refused to listen to reason. He sometimes missed the past when he could have bombarded them with his power without regard to the fallout. Or just ripped out their hearts. The last thing Dallas needed was for a war to break out between vampires and werewolves. The loss of life, including those of humans, would be catastrophic and difficult to hide in the current technological age.

The Packmaster snarled and brought his fist down on the desk. "Look, vampire, one of your underlings beat a member of my pack so badly that they are in the hospital. They fang-raped his sister as well, and we want justice!"

Godric nodded, but replied calmly, "I agree, but only after I have spoken to the two victims to determine the veracity of their story. Vampires are not known for their love of werewolf blood."

Stan snorted and rolled his eyes. "It tastes like complete dog shit."

Godric sighed, "Stan."

The second were's eyes went yellow. "Those are my children you are talking about, leach! If I have to I will start killing every one of you fangers and-"

"Mr. Sheriff Sir! Mr. Sheriff Sir!" The sound of a small body throwing itself against the heavy door made Isabel shake her head, and the two weres looked on in disbelief.

"I left her with one of the glamoured companions, and told her we were not to be disturbed. My apologies, Sheriff," Isabel bowed, and quickly moved to open the door.

"Alexandra!" she reprimanded, but the girl ignored her. Somehow, and she wasn't sure how, she seemed to gain more arms than an octopus and became as slippery as an eel as she squirmed free of her grip.

"Mr. Sheriff Sir! You'll never guess what happened today! Did you know you have ducks in your pond? Teddy and I tried to pet them but we fell in and got all wet!" she giggled. "Teddy had to go into the dryer, and he got all dizzy from spinning around and around! We took a nap, and then Mrs. Rosie made us cookies for a snack. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and I got to lick the spoon! Then we got to draw and look what we made for you!" she shouted and waived a piece of paper in the air, scattering pink glitter across the pristine carpet.

"Alex!" Isabel snapped, and the girl froze and looked over her shoulder. Unfortunately, she stopped right next to the weres and they leaned down to sniff her.

"You smell…weird," the Packmaster said, and took another deep sniff.

Her jaw dropped and she pouted. "I don't smell weird, I took a bath earlier! Teddy did too!" She looked up at Stan. "Do I smell weird?" she whispered loudly to the vampire that gave her chocolates and let her wear his hat when no one else was around.

"No, darlin', these mangy mutts are just used to sniffing their own rear ends and aren't used to smelling something as good as you." Stan replied, but winced at his Sheriff's glare.

The Packmaster growled but his attention was caught by the bear the girl clutched in her arms. Someone had sewn small vampire fangs into its mouth. The realization that there was a child in a nest of bloodsucking fiends suddenly hit him, and his growled.

"Wait a second. You have a child?! Here? I heard that you were different from other vampires, Godric, but apparently you are like every other leech! Do you glamour the poor thing to not be afraid of you? Pass her around to the other vampires? Do other things to her?"

He looked down at a sudden, dull pain in his leg and saw that the girl had kicked him with her bare foot. He scowled and reached for her to take her over his knee and give her a good spanking, but the growls and fangs of the watching vampires in the room made him pause. Well, that and the sudden presence of extremely pissed off vampire in front of him. This close those fangs looked rather…lethal. The quiet, calm Sheriff was gone and he shuddered at the power the smaller boy-man gave off.

Godric glared coldly at the Packmaster, and his rage only increased when a small arm wrapped around his knee and a trembling body pressed against the back of his leg. His instincts rose, and he increased the level of his power that currently flooded the room, and watched in satisfaction as the two mortals edged away. Only then did he realize, to his shock, that the low, vicious growl belonged to him. When was the last time he had lost control? He opened his mouth to dismiss the two werewolves when he was interrupted by a loud, trembling voice.

"D-Don't you say that about Mr. Sheriff Sir! He would never hurt me! H-He made the bad tentacle monsters in the closet go away last night! He gave me my bear, and he keeps us safe! He promised!" She glared and stomped her foot. "Don't you say naughty things about him, you…you…big meanie!"

The second werewolf rolled his eyes and ignored the warning glare of his Packmaster. "Look cupcake, they've probably been feeding off of you and you just don't know it. If he isn't, then I'm sure the cowboy or Spanish Barbie have been. Or any of the other corpses in the nest. They are disgusting beasts."

Her eyes widened at the look on the men's faces, and she clutched at Mr. Sheriff Sir's knee. "Ms. Isabel takes care of me! Mr. Stan plays horsie with me and gives me rides in the hallway when nobody is around! Mr. Sheriff Sir wouldn't let anyone hurt me and if they tried, teddy and I would tell on them, and Mr. Sheriff Sir would make them go to bed without dinner! Or make them go into Time Out! Or…or be so mean to them that they would cry!" She clutched at Mr. Sheriff Sir's leg, but stood her ground. The warm blanket feeling was wrapped tightly around her and she felt super brave. Teddy agreed, and said that nobody could talk about their Mr. Sheriff Sir like that!

"Alex." The voice was soft, soothing, and so very gentle that every muscle in her body relaxed.

She stilled and looked up at Mr. Sheriff Sir. For once the grey eyes that looked down at her didn't look remote and far away. Instead they were a warm grey, and it was the first time he had ever said her name. "They shouldn't say things like that about you Mr. Sheriff Sir." Her chin jutted out. "Teddy and I wont let them hurt your feelings like that!"

"Alexandra, that is enough!" Isabel commanded. "You will go out into the hallway and stay there until I come for you."

"Now Isabel," Stan said. "She was defending our Sheriff. Would you really punish her for that?"

"Stan, this is why Godric appointed myself, and not you, as her guardian for while she is here." She turned to look down at Alex who cringed further behind the Sheriff's legs, and was now sucking her thumb with wide eyes. Her voice softened. "Now, Alex."

Alex wrapped her arm tighter around Mr. Sheriff's Sirs leg before she sighed and skirted around the two mean men.

Isabel held the door open, and when she walked into the hallway warned, "Sit down and don't move."

The door shut with a thud and she sat down and pulled Mr. Sheriff Sir into her lap. "Teddy, I think we're in big trouble."

Alex had sprawled out in the hallway, and was using her teddy's belly for a pillow, when the door opened, and the two mean men came out. She scrambled out of their way as they stomped by with a glare in her direction.

Her teddy hoped that maybe Ms. Isabel had forgotten about them, but when she appeared in the door the look on her face made her gulp.

"Inside, Alexandra."

Mr. Stan walked by and looked sympathetically down at the girl. "Good luck, kid."

She nervously walked into the room, and stared at Mr. Sheriff Sir who had his back to her as he stood looking out into the garden. He looked…remote. Like nobody could touch him.

Alone.

The pull in her chest felt funny, and she really wanted a hug. "M-Mr. Sheriff Sir?" she whispered, but he did not look at her.

"Alexandra!" Isabel said sternly.

"Yes, Ms. Isabel?" She was nervous. Her teddy had told her that she shouldn't go into the office, but she had really wanted to give Mr. Sheriff Sir his picture…she looked around for it and sniffled when she saw it on the desk. She had wanted to show it to him herself, and now he had seen it and it wasn't a surprise anymore!

"You saw it?" she asked, heartbroken. "Teddy and I wanted to show it to you, Mr. Sheriff Sir. We worked super hard on it!"

Isabel rubbed her forehead and sighed. Could a vampire get a headache? "Alexandra, the picture isn't important right now." She winced at her words and the hurt look they put on the child's face.

"Yes it is! Teddy and I worked really hard on it, and it was a present and now it's ruined. Teddy wanted us to give it to him!" She scrubbed at her eyes and cuddled her bear to her chest. "It was important," she whispered. She looked up and saw that Mr. Sheriff Sir had turned around and was watching her. He looked…confused. Like she felt when adults used big words, and she didn't understand them. The pull increased, and she took a half step towards him.

"Alexandra, I need you to focus." Isabel said, and she reluctantly dragged her eyes back to her and squeezed her bear harder. Ms. Isabel looked so angry. She peeked at Mr. Sheriff Sir again but he didn't look angry or happy, but something told her that he was really upset. Her shoulders slumped. Probably with her because she had been naughty.

Nervously, she shifted and pulled her teddy closer as her thumb slipped into her mouth.

"Alexandra, what did I tell you when I left you in the den?"

Alex looked down and shuffled her feet. Maybe if she was really quiet they would forget she was there? She raised one foot and scratched it down the back of her other leg.

"Alexandra! Look at me when I am talking to you. Take your thumb out of your mouth." Isabel demanded. "What did I tell you?"

Shoulders hunched, Alex whispered. "To not go into Mr. Sheriff Sir's office. That you were having an important meeting."

"And, young lady, where are you standing?"

She sniffled and looked down at her bare toes, and wiggled them in the soft grey rug next to the desk. She smiled at the pink glitter that covered both it and her bare feet.

Isabel's voice was a warning. "Alexandra."

"I-In the office." she glanced up and her heart hurt when she saw Mr. Sheriff Sir had left the room. "T-Teddy told me that I shouldn't, but I was just so excited about showing Mr. Sheriff Sir the picture we drew for him." she whispered. Tears filled her eyes. "And now Mr. Sheriff Sir is-"

"Alexandra." Isabel interrupted. "You were very naughty, and you must be punished."

"B-But …" she stammered.

Isabel softened at her fear. "I think a Time Out would work wonders for teaching you to follow directions. You cannot do what you want, whenever you want. Sometimes you must do as your told so that you are safe. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded her head yes, and then shook it no.

Isabel sighed. "We will talk about this more. For now you will go into the den and stand with your nose in the corner."

"For how long?" she whimpered. The vampires in the den made her nervous. They always stared at her, and she didn't think that Mr. Sheriff Sir would let her hide behind his legs during Time Out.

"Ten minutes," Isabel replied. "You will speak to no one, and you will stand there. Then we will talk."

"Ten minutes is forever!" Alex whined. She would die of boredom! Well, at least she would have her teddy with her…

"Watch your tone, miss. Now, for the second part of your punishment, you have to leave your teddy here."

Alex's jaw dropped, and she put her bear behind her back. "He didn't do anything! He tried to tell me to not come in the room! He will get lonely and scared without me! It's not fair."

Isabel felt her lips twitch, but forced them into a stern expression. "Then next time you will listen to him. He will be fine here, and you can have him back when you are done. Now, march!"

Completely miserable, she asked, "Does he have to sit in Time Out too? Mr. Sheriff Sir isn't here…who will keep him safe without me?"

Isabel struggled to keep from smiling. "Yes, teddy needs to be in Time Out too. Both of you can think about what you did wrong. Nobody is allowed in the office when the Sheriff is not here, so your teddy will be fine."

Alex looked down at her bear and gave him a big hug and ruffled his fur.

Ms. Isabel's voice was firm. "Alex."

Her shoulders slumped, and she turned away and walked to a corner of the room and sat her bear down on the floor facing it. "I'm sorry, teddy. I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I guess I was really bad." She kissed his head and dragged her feet over to Ms. Isabel and took her hand. With heavy steps she followed Ms. Isabel to the den. She blushed when Ms. Isabel told everyone in the room that no one was to talk to her during her punishment as she was made to face the corner.

"Now, Alexandra. Stay here until I tell you that the punishment is over. Think about what you did wrong. Do. Not. Move. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ms. Isabel."

"I will be here with you, and when you're done we will go get your teddy. Okay?"

Alex listlessly nodded and leaned her forehead against the wall. She raised her hand and rubbed at her chest. She didn't understand why her heart felt heavy and cold, but it did. She didn't like it. It felt like something was wrong.

She shifted, and her mind wandered. It had to have been ten minutes, right? It felt like she had been there forever! Was Ms. Isabel still here? She shifted and started to turn her head to check.

"It's only been one minute, Alex. You have nine more to go. Stand still."

Alex groaned and stilled her feet. She was going to be here forever and ever and ever. Her poor teddy would be left alone. Would Mr. Sheriff Sir look after him? Hug him when teddy got lonely and missed his family? She pouted and frowned at the wall. Why did teddy get to stay in the office and she had to leave? Did Mr. Sheriff Sir like him more than her now? He had left before she could ask for a hug. Or tell him about the picture she drew him. Was he mad at her too? Did he not like her anymore? She winced and rubbed her chest where it fluttered and ached.

She missed her teddy. And her brothers and her daddy. She wondered if they were okay and if they missed her as much as she missed them. She wiped at her eyes. She was a big girl, and when she got teddy back she would tell him that she hadn't cried, that she had taken her punishment 'like a man'. She had heard her daddy tell one of her brothers that before. She didn't know exactly what it meant, she thought that her brothers and daddy were boys already, but it seemed to be important. So she wasn't going to cry. Not at all!

A single tear slipped down her cheek. Okay, well, maybe she cried just a little bit, but teddy didn't have to know about it. She bet he was sobbing really hard all alone in the office. She felt bad for thinking mean thoughts earlier, and decided to give him an extra hug when she got him back.

She froze when she heard Mr. Stan told Ms. Isabel that he and the Sheriff were leaving the nest for awhile.

"Alex, stand there, I will be right back."

Terror filled her. She didn't like many of the other vampires in the nest. Something about them felt wrong, even when they smiled at her and wanted to talk to her. Tried to pet her hair. She didn't like it when strange vampires touched her. Ms. Isabel and Mr. Stan were kind of okay, but she only felt totally safe with Mr. Sheriff Sir and he was leaving her here alone. What if the tentacle monsters came back and he wasn't here? What if the bad people who hurt her family came for her?

She was supposed to stay in Time Out but she needed to find Mr. Sheriff Sir. Now!

"Isabel, while I am gone you are in charge." Godric said calmly. "Stan, Kathryn, Jacob, you will come with me to the hospital. Hopefully we will find that the two youths were mistaken in who they blame for their current predicament."

They turned when a small body hurled itself out of the hallway and slipped on the marble floor. Godric vamp sped, and before the girl could crash into the hard ground he had her safe in his arms. He sighed and carefully set her on her feet. "Little one, how many times have you been told to not run in the halls? Especially in your bare feet?"

"Alexandra! You were not told that your punishment was over. What are you doing here?" Isabel asked.

Alex ignored them and looked up, terrified, into Mr. Sheriff Sir's face. "You can't go!" she panted from her dash down the hallway.

He raised a single brow. "Excuse me?"

"Mr. Stan told Ms. Isabel that you were leaving the nest! If you leave, who will protect me and teddy?" She looked around at the other vampires and leaned in to tearfully whisper, "What if the tentacle monsters come back? Please don't go!" She threw her arms around the startled vampire and clung. "You're mad at me and now you're going to go away and teddy will blame me for you leaving us!" she wailed and burst into loud sobs.

"Child." he said without any response.

"Little one?" Still no answer, except for the warm tears that bathed his neck.

He sighed. "Alex," The soft, soothing, and very gentle tone was the same as before in the office.

"Yes?" she whispered, and leaned back to look into his eyes.

"I am not mad at you, and I will come back. I promise you, just as I promised that you and your bear would be safe in this nest," he soothed and carefully wiped her tears away. The fear and anxiety in her scent began to dissipate as she stared at him.

The other vampires relaxed as the pull to protect her eased, and watched with amusement as the little girl raised her pinkie to the second oldest vampire in the country.

"Pinkie promise?" she demanded.

He looked down at the tiny finger and then raised both eyebrows at the little girl.

"If you pinkie promise you have to come back. It's an extra special promise!"

With a grave expression he nodded and wrapped his pinkie around hers. "Yes, little one, I pinkie promise that I will return. Now, go off with Isabel and complete your punishment like a good girl."

She nodded and with a nervous look at Isabel, turned to run back to the den.

"Walk, don't run!" Isabel demanded.

All smiles were wiped from the vampire's faces as they prepared to leave. Godric was the last one out and he turned to look at Isabel. "Feed her more of those cookies she liked so much after her punishment, and do try and keep the nest, and Alex, in one piece for my return."

Isabel watched as the Sheriff vamp sped away, and smiled.

Alex stood on her tip toes and looked out the kitchen window into the garden. She squinted and held teddy up to look too, but they could barely see Mr. Sheriff Sir sitting by himself next to the pond.

Isabel sighed. "Alex, come away from the window."

"Mr. Sheriff Sir thinks Mr. Sheriff Sir is sad." she said softly, and cuddled her teddy closer to her. With a trembling finger, she traced the ear that poked up through the cowboy hat.

Isabel shook her head. "Alex, the Sheriff had a difficult night, and asked not to be disturbed. You should respect his wish."

Alex looked down into the black button eyes of her bear and frowned. No, Ms. Isabel wasn't right. She was needed, she felt it. "My teddy sometimes gets sad." She looked up with wide eyes into Ms. Isabel's. "Sometimes he gets lonely too. Mr. Sheriff Sir gave him to me so that he wouldn't feel sad and lonely anymore. He…he doesn't want Mr. Sheriff Sir to be sad either." She looked up at Isabel. "Teddy thinks that maybe Mr. Sheriff Sir needs a hug to feel better."

Isabel stared, before she smiled mischievously. "Perhaps, little one, it is time to give the Sheriff your picture?"

Godric sat by the pond for the second night in a row, and thought about the travesty he had seen this evening. The two weres had not been attacked by vampires, of that he was certain, but something untoward was going on. If he was not careful, fights would break out between vampires and the wolf pack.

Stumbling footsteps and a racing heart made him internally sigh. "Little one," he murmured when she was close enough to hear his words. "I asked for privacy for the evening. Why are you not in the nest? Is it not past time for you to sleep?"

Her eyes went wide with outrage. "I'm not a baby! I'm five! Only babies go to bed so early."

He slightly smiled. "Yes, I can see how being five would change things."

She crawled up on the bench, and put teddy down between them before she held out a piece of paper that shed glitter everywhere. "Teddy and I brought you your picture. You saw it earlier, but Ms. Isabel said you would enjoy it if we gave it to you ourselves."

He reached down and stared at the glittery and rather…colorful piece of paper. He frowned and turned his head slightly. Was that an…icecream cone in the upper left corner? For the unlife of him he had no clue what the picture was, and he had studied the great master artists of the Abstract Expressionistic movement. "Ah, yes. Very interesting. Nice use of color and-" he glanced down at his sparkle covered hands, "…glitter."

She blushed, and buried her face in her bear for a moment. She shyly peeked up at him. "Do you like it?"

The thought, if not the actual drawing. "Yes, very much."

She bounced in her seat and wrapped her arms around his elbow. "Can you see what it is?"

Her heat was like a furnace against his side. He paused for a moment, and looked down at the green squiggles and black stick figures. "I would prefer you to tell me about it, little one. What made you choose this shade of green?"

She stared at him as if he had grown another eyeball. "Tentacle monsters are slime green. Everyone knows that!"

Finally, something he could work with. "So, then this stick figure with the brown one is you and your-," he winced slightly, "-Mr. Sheriff Sir?"

"Mmhmm!" she hummed happily. "And this one-" she pointed to a gigantic stick figure holding something in his hand, "-is you and your sword!"

His lips twitched, and he felt some of the depression from seeing what was done to the two young weres dissipate. "So there was a sword last night?"

"Of course, you stabbed the tentacle monsters when you growled at them! Teddy and I thought you were very brave." She smiled adoringly up at him before she pointed again at the picture. "Oh, and look! Those are your fangs there! My brother, Bennett, says that I have to always add vampire fangs. I one time drew him without any, and our other brothers made fun of him. He told me the bigger the fangs the better, although that didn't really make sense because all their fangs look the same size. Josiah got mad at him, but I don't know why. Do you think Bennett's fangs are longer and he was jealous?"

He looked down at the childish drawing and laughed when he saw the figure's fangs looked like the size of a walrus', and reached past the bottom of the rather squashed looking head.

"I'm sure your brothers were just teasing each other. Nothing you need to be worried about." He glanced down at her curious face and decided a distraction was needed. "It is very nice, little one. I do have two questions though."

"Yes?" She leaned her head against his shoulder and yawned.

He pointed to the top left corner. "Is that an ice cream cone?"

"Yes. I got hungry."

"Ah, I see." He really didn't. "And the glitter?"

"Teddy liked it. He said that when it got on his fur it made him feel pretty."

"Hm." He carefully put the picture down next to him, and stared into the dark pond, his mind turning back to the question of what to do about the two attacked weres. He could see the fish slowly swimming in circles, always moving but never going anywhere new. He sympathized with them.

"What's that?!" The childish gasp and pointed finger made his head jerk around, certain that some enemy had gotten through both his nest's defenses and his own considerable senses.

"Look, there it is again!" she stood up on the bench and clapped her hands. "Look, look! Teddy! Mr. Sheriff Sir! Little moving stars!"

Godric steadied her when she almost danced off the bench in her excitement. "Ah, no. They are not stars, little Alex. Those are fireflies. Your home is too far into the cold north for you to have seen them before."

"Fireflies…" the awed look on her face made something in his chest relax. Peace flowed into him and he impulsively stood. "Would you like to see one?"

Wide eyed innocence greeted him. "You can catch them?"

In a blink he was gone and back again with his hands carefully cupped together. She could see bits of light flash on and off behind his fingers.

"Ooooh, teddy! Look!" She pulled her bear up closer to see. When Mr. Sheriff Sir opened his palms they watched, together, as the dozens of fireflies danced and lit the air.

She scrubbed at her eyes, and he realized that it was rather late for small humans to still be awake.

"Come, little firefly, let's get you to bed." He picked up his gift, and startled when she slipped her small hand into his and smiled sleepily up at him. He again ignored the odd pull in his chest and started to walk slowly enough for short human legs to keep up with him towards the nest. He could see Isabel waiting in the doorway, and gave her a mildly chastising look for going against his orders. She grinned at him, and he, for once, acted his physical age and rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Sheriff Sir?"

"Hm?" he looked down and saw that she was walking with her eyes closed, her teddy practically dragging across the ground. Without thinking he picked her up, and held her safe within his arms. The odd, warm feeling only increased when she laid her head against his shoulder and cuddled close. It had to be her scent. Any vampire would feel protective of the little one, he reasoned.

"Why do they light up like that?"

At least he knew the answer to this, unlike the one about the Tyrannosaurus Rex. "The males light up to attract mates."

"What's a mate?" she mumbled, and sniffed deeply at his throat. "You smell good."

"Thank you." She was practically asleep, and he thought of how to word it to gain some time. "It's when a male and female come together to procreate." He began to walk faster towards the now grinning Isabel.

"What's pro-cree-ate? Is it fun? Would teddy like it too?"

Isabel snickered loudly at the perplexed look on her 2000 year old Sheriff's normally implacable face. He hadn't looked, for want of a better word, 'alive' like that in years.

She patted herself on the back, she had known that sending Alex out to him would be for the best.