Chapter 10: Restoration

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After the previous battle it was easier than they'd thought for Erica and Lindsey to follow Myrna's instructions to heal both realms. The trip through the portal with Lindsey had been uneventful, and although it was a little hard to breathe in the Midrealm, both of them were able to survive.

Erica found the two pools, joined them together with the same mantra she used to creqate portals, and they waited out the tremors until there was one single pool representing the Earth realm in front of them. All was quiet as Erica thought about what to do next. For the moment she didn't want to meet Lindsey's eyes; didn't want to believe that they could have a future.

She had to leave Lindsey here until after the Tests – whatever they were. Neither of them knew how long that might be. But at least he would live. She could hardly believe it after all this time trying to forget about him.

Now Erica knew why she had tried to keep Spike at arm's length the past few months. They'd grow closer and then she would pull away. She'd been treating him like the rebound guy, even though at the time she'd thought there was no future with Lindsey. Coincidentally, she and Spike were currently in an 'off' period. So she and Lindsey... they were free.

Erica paused in her reflections when there was a shift in the atmosphere. There was a breath of cool, fresh air, then they could see words forming in midair in the Guardian's Text. 'Accept the Life', it said. Erica felt nauseous again, and then fell gently to the ground as a bright patch of mist engulfed her and lowered her slowly as if it didn't want her hurt. She lay unconscious on the ground.

Lindsey knelt at her side as the glow faded. He felt her pulse and checked her breathing, which was slow and even as though she were asleep. He glanced back at the Text and discovered that he understood it. "The life has been returned to the Vessel. She will understand when she wakes." Once he'd read it, the text faded out again.

He cradled her head in his lap and waited for her to wake up. He was trusting the Midrealm, and trusting that she would be all right. He looked around at what Erica had told him would be his home for a little while. Not much to look at. Hopefully he wouldn't go berserk with boredom while she lived her life. Lived it out there, without him. He gently kissed her forehead, and gave her a look that was a mixture of self-pity and resignation.

When Erica finally did wake up, she very quickly had an embarrassed look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked gently, stroking her hair.

"Do... do you remember the night you took me away from Wolfram and Hart?" she asked.

"Uh huh." They had hidden in an abandoned building and had fought off a small group of vampires. It had also been the night he'd taken Slayer energy from her.

Erica hesitated. "We weren't exactly careful," she said, "and we did something." She took another deep breath to prepare herself, and shifted so that she was leaning back on her elbows to look up at him. "The Oracles took care of it for a while until it was ready to exist, but now that the Shadow reality is gone I'll have to stay here … until ... until the baby is born."

Lindsey's look of surprise was priceless.

"Talk to me," Erica pleaded as she sat up, "are you mad, scared, happy… comatose? Give me something."

"I'm still working through surprise here," Lindsey admitted. "So ... What about you?"

"A little scared," Erica said. "I mean, the kid of a Guardian and Protector. This kid's future is going to be interesting, to say the least."

"It's alright." Lindsey told her as he took her hand. "At least now I know you're sticking around for a while."

Erica nodded, still guaging his reaction as he absorbed the news. "We're not just stuck here though. We can go to the Guardian's Sanctuary as well, because it's a part of this place."

"The place we dreamt about?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Okay then," Lindsey said, while pulling her to her feet. He looked at their blood-stained clothes. "I don't know about you, but I feel like going swimming."

Erica smiled. He took the news better than she'd thought.

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AN: Sorry this bit was so short; it was meant to go on the end of the last chapter. Instead I'll combine and a little of what was meant to be next chapter. So how did I go with the baby announcement – not everybody can write that sort of thing well. Oh, and I did hint that this was coming way back in 'The blood of the Ancients', just after she'd spoken with the Oracles. Did anyone guess?

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Chapter 10 (continued): Some time later…

Cordelia came into the kitchen of their apartment as Lawson sat down at the table with his food. It was evening and they'd come home tired after work. Cordelia had gone into Erica's bedroom and when she came out only a few seconds later she handed Lawson a note.

"She's been here," she said to him, and crossed her arms. "It says, 'I'm fine; don't expect me back too soon,'. The Watcher's journals that were on her desk are missing too."

"So wherever she is," Lawson concluded, "at least she's studying."

"That's not remotely funny," Cordelia told him. "It's been nearly a week with no sign of her and that's all she sends us. This note could have been left here days ago for all we know."

"I'm worried too," Lawson admitted, "but she's obviously doing some training by herself, or with those Hegira priests. Maybe she's realised that she's got those Trials ahead of her; I mean, with all the hints we've been trying to give her about being able to depend on herself and not rely on us for protection. It's a good thing if she's trying to prepare herself."

"I don't know," Cordelia said with a little shake of her head, "I've got a really bad feeling that something's coming."

"If she is training in her Sanctuary, then nothing can get to her," Lawson reasoned. "Except the Higher Powers, and you told us that she'd have at least a year to prepare, and that means she's got at least six months to go. Probably more."

"A year by whose standards?" Cordelia pointed out. "She could be spending a lot more days there than are passing here."

"Still," Lawson said, "do you think she'd really stay there for that many months without at least coming back and visiting us?"

"I don't know," Cordelia said, "were she and Spike fighting again?"

Lawson grimaced. "She wouldn't be playing with dimensions just to give him the silent treatment, would she?"

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"Whau!" Lindsey grunted as he had the breath knocked out of him. He was flat out on the mat-like ground but he rolled out of the way before Erica could get an arm lock on him. They were both on their feet in the next second and circling each other warily. They were both wearing loose casual clothing and sneakers. Erica's hair, which had grown a few inches, was tied back in a ponytail. Her scar had faded to a point where it was almost invisible; evidence of her improved self-healing abilities.

Their current environment was a labyrinthine network of caves and hidden passageways that were lit by numerous cracks in the ceiling and occasional burning torches, leaving lots of shadows to hide and confuse each other with.

It seemed that Erica didn't need to control every aspect anymore – the Sanctuary could take samples of both of their memories and recreate a random representation of them, so that both of them were forced to take note of their surroundings as they fought so they wouldn't bump into walls or trip over. There were a few crevasses as well to watch out for, although if they fell into one they'd find it was only a deceptive metre deep. There were even a few bat, rat, spider and snake Shadows around the place for a little more realism.

Erica, who was using Midrealm-enhanced Slayer ability so the fight was more even, jumped to kick at Lindsey's head. He ducked under the move and swept her foot out from under her as she landed. Before he could get a hold on her she got her feet between them, grabbed his arms and kicked him off of her. He landed easily on his feet as she flipped to hers.

"After five years I think I know all your moves, Slayer," he taunted her as they circled again.

"Nearly six," she corrected. "Alex was five last month." She let him back her toward a wall and as he punched she twisted to the side, grabbed his arm and made him hit the wall. She was now on the inside of his arm so she thrust an elbow back toward his face, which he blocked, and then she looped the same arm around his neck and pulled him toward her to make him bend over while she drove her knee up into his midsection.

When she tried to make a headlock he dropped to his knees and rolled over to pull her off balance. The momentum pulled her over the top of him to land on his other side.

There was a sound of a bell echoing through the caverns and they stopped. "Time to go get Alex," Lindsey said with a sigh. Any pain or injuries they'd gotten during the fight had already vanished. They were both still lying on the ground.

"I'm worried about him," Erica said softly as they caught their breath. Slowly their environment faded to look like the inside of a large house. They were in a lounge room with lots of multi-coloured couches, fluorescent green carpets and a purple ceiling. So much for letting a five-year old boy decorate the room. There was no TV or phone, just books on the shelves and a few lamps.

"Why? The whole reason we send him to the priests every day is to make sure he can't open portals on his own. Draining from him a little every day keeps him safe; we talked about this."

"It's not that. He's a growing kid, and he doesn't get to spend time with any other kids," Erica said. "He's too smart to think the Shadow friends I made for him last year are real, and besides, I probably don't know how to make them act real enough. I'm certainly not a kid anymore."

Lindsey nodded as he sat up. "I was talking to Tay the other day. You said he was the only priest not treating you like a kid, right?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Well anyway, you know Alex doesn't have to stay with us. His life isn't bound to the Midrealm like mine is. You could always take him back to LA with you."

"After knowing this place all his life, do you think he's ready for the real world?" Erica asked. "He can't get hurt while he's here. There's no traffic, no criminals, and no real monsters." She looked back at him. "Besides, for how long? We'd both miss you, and I'm not leaving you stuck here alone until that Test thing happens."

"I'm not suggesting anything long-term. Just do visits like we do with Alex and Hegira."

She gave him a short kiss on the cheek before getting up to make the portal to bring back their son. "I'll think about it, then we'll talk to Alex."

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AN: As I have already mentioned, I don't write romance very well, so I'm also doubtful about my 'happy family' scenarios. That's why I tried to keep up the pace of the chapter by keeping action in it and using conversation to explain the years we skipped, rather than having one big long chunk of family stuff. I might do a few flashbacks later. If there's something in particular you want to suggest, please go ahead with a review.