Chapter Ten

Marty was walking down a long dark tunnel, her eyes were overwhelmed by a gorgeous golden light. Cautiously she went forward, her mind overwhelmed with a sense of confusion. She had no clue where she was going or exactly what had transpired, but she knew she had to get to the golden light ahead, because in the light was warmth and safety - within the light was Love.

As she got closer to the end of the tunnel, her heart was bursting with a sense of wonder. The golden light was so beautiful- so breathtaking. Where was she? And where was her precious baby girl?

"Rose."

Her baby's name played upon her lips as she took the very last step at the end of the tunnel. There waiting for her among the clouds were two people.

"Mom? Dad?"

Tears of joy filled her eyes. In the fluffy softness of dozens of snow-white clouds, she saw her parents. They were coming toward her, smiles upon their faces.

Marty hadn't seen them since she was seven years old. On that tragic day, they had died in a boating accident. It was then that she knew. Marty knew that she had died... and that is why she was being reunited with her parents.

"I died," Marty said in a whisper as her mother clutched her close, hugging her ever so tight.

"Yes, Marty," Samantha said gently. "You died... and you are with us now."

"My precious daughter," Marshall Saybrooke said as he too hugged his daughter. "You're back in our arms again."

"I missed you, Mom and Dad. I missed you so much," Marty said as her parents gazed at her in wonder.

Suddenly then, the memories returned. They came pouring back to her all at once- her baby's birth, Irene arrival at the cabin, and then her violent death at Irene's hands. She had died in Victor's arms. She died crying. She had died... and she had left her baby.

"She stabbed me," Marty said in a tiny whimper.

She pressed her hand upon her chest, just over her heart where the knife had penetrated so deeply, but to her shock and surprise, there was nothing. There was no pain and not even a single drop of blood. There wasn't even a wound. Marty had been healed completely. The bloody nightgown she had been wearing was now gone, too. She realized then that she was dressed in her wedding gown. She had worn a long ivory gown the day that she had married Todd.

Suddenly, she looked around in wonder, taking in the sight of the fluffy clouds and the golden light up above. It was a comforting light. It was brilliant with so much beauty.

"Where are we?" Marty asked her parents.

In the sky above she saw a beautiful rainbow, bright with so many colors - many of which Marty had never seen in her lifetime. She realized then, she was in Heaven. She was in Heaven with her parents and she was safe... but where was her baby? Where was her little girl?

"Rose," she said sadly. "I need my baby girl."

"Marty ~ dear," Samantha said as she gently took Marty's hand. "You're in Heaven now. You're safe. You'll never hurt again. And you'll be with us forever."

"But..." Marshall spoke as he gazed at his daughter with love. "...your little girl- she must remain below, safe in her uncle's care. She's not ready yet to join us."

"No," Marty said, because she didn't want it to be so. She needed Rose with her! She needed her baby girl.

"I know you'll miss her, just like we missed you when we came to Heaven... but Marty, you won't be alone. You'll have us," Samantha reminded. "Your father and I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom, but..."

A single tear rolled down Marty's cheek. She needed to see her baby. She needed to see that Rose was alright.

"You don't just have me and your mother here in Heaven," Marshall stated. "Someone else has been waiting for your arrival. Someone else has missed you very much."

A bubble of hope grew in Marty's heart, then as if he was appearing from out of dream, the clouds at their feet rose and slowly parted, and there was Todd. He was wearing the same attire that he had worn on their wedding day. He was smiling as he stepped forward, sweeping Marty up in his arms.

Before she could say a word, he was kissing her. His lips crashed against hers with intense hunger. Marty could feel every sweet sensation, but it was as if the passion in his kiss had intensified. It multiplied and cascaded, leaving her just on the brink of an orgasm. The pleasure was so much more than it had ever been on earth. It was Heavenly.

"Todd," Marty said breathlessly when he had set her on her feel. She was still pressed against him. He was holding her so close.

"I am home," she spoke in a whisper.

"You are," he said as he smiled happily. "I am complete now, because you are here."

"Ohhh Todd, I have missed you,' Marty said. "When I lost you, it felt as if I had lost the other half of my soul."

"Because you did."

Suddenly then, her parents had disappeared and it was just her and Todd. They were floating upon a soft bed of clouds. Marty looked around for her mother and father, a frown coming to her face. Todd gently caressed it away as he spoke reassuring words of comfort. "They'll be back," he stated. "They just want to give us a little time... so we can get reacquainted."

Marty snuggled up against his chest, gently lulled by the movement of the cottony cloud. "Todd, I'm sorry," she whispered. "About ... everything."

"Don't be sorry, Marty. You did what you had to do. You were trying to protect our child, our baby girl."

"Yes, but..."

"You fell in love with Victor."

Marty looked away for a moment. Her heart was aching. Todd knew and she had never wanted to hurt him. It had just ... happened. To her surprise and shock, Todd spoke and the words he spoke were not the ones that she expected.

"I didn't want you to love him at first... I didn't want you to trust him, but in the end, he did everything he could to protect you... to protect our child. I am not angry. I am grateful. I forgive my brother. I forgive Victor for falling for the woman I love."

"And can you... would you... forgive me, too?"

Todd nodded. Gently, he brushed away a tear that trailed down Marty's cheek. "I would forgive you anything," he whispered. "You're the mother of my daughter... and I love you."

Looking at him with misty eyes, Marty smiled. "Ohhh Todd, you should have seen her. She's so beautiful, our precious little girl."

"But there is one thing... one thing I don't understand. I had an ultrasound early on in the pregnancy. The doctor said that the baby was a boy. He said I was having a son," Marty told him.

"You were... at first. But when Irene was closing in, wanting to hurt our child, wanting to take his blood, I intervened. I made it so we had a daughter. I wanted to protect her... and I was hoping to protect you, too. I am so sorry I failed,' Todd said, sadness within his eyes.

"You didn't fail me, Todd. You were with me all along, through the entire nightmare... except... except when..."

"Except when you gave yourself to Victor," Todd finished.

"Yes, I loved him... and I needed him. I needed to feel alive again."

"I know," Todd said as his lips descended onto hers. Very gently, he kissed her.

"But we're back together now... You and I," he stated when he pulled away. "Nothing will ever separate us."

"The baby?" Marty said hopefully, because although she was happy to be reunited with Todd and her parents, she missed her daughter. She missed her little Rose ever so much.

"She's in Victor's care. She will be safe. She will grow up happy and loved."

"But I need her. I need to see our daughter. I carried her for nearly nine months... I loved and nurtured her. I want to see her, Todd."

"You will. You and I - we are going to be her guardian angels. We'll keep her safe. She'll need us. Our little girl - she's special."

"Special? What do you mean?"

"She's descended from a long line of witches. Someday she will be the high witch... and she will defeat Irene."

"Rose will be a good witch?"

"Yes, she's going to protect humanity from evil and hate. She'll have Victor to guide and protect her. She'll be safe. He loves her so much... and he'll protect her from Irene."

"When can we see her?" Marty asked eagerly.

"Very soon... but for now, we must go home."

"Home?" Marty questioned in surprise.

"I've prepared a home for us; a mansion in the sky. I have been waiting for you to join me, Marty. I've been aching to love you again."

There was so much longing in his voice that Marty's heart hurt. She wanted nothing more than to join him within their home he had prepared in the sky, but she was yearning to see her daughter. If only Rose could be there, too, with her parents.

"You knew... I was going to die?" she asked, her voice catching in her throat.

Todd nodded. "I could sense it. I could feel you coming back to me."

"Ohhh Todd." He crushed her close as she cried brokenly.

When all of the tears had dried, Todd was coaxing her beyond the clouds. "Let's go home now. There is so much I want show you. There will be time to go to our daughter later. Come on, baby. Come home with me now."

How could she refuse him? She placed her hand into his. "Let's go home, my love," she happily agreed.

~*~o~*~

Victor arrived in Llanview, carrying a precious bundle within his arms. As he stepped into the foyer of his former home, he gave his wife the shock of her life. "Victor!" Tea exclaimed.

It had been months since she had seen her husband. She had thought that he was dead. In his absence, Tea had tried moving on with her life, but she had missed him. Crying in relief, Tea clutched Victor in her arms.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, her voice shaking.

"It's a long story," Victor sighed deeply.

She looked down at the tiny baby he was cradling in his arms. "Who's baby?" she asked.

"Todd's - my brother's," Victor replied.

"When you were away, I had a baby of my own," Tea announced.

Now it was Victor's turn to stare at her in shock. "Yours?" Victor questioned. "Ours?"

"Ours, Victor. We have a son," Tea announced happily. She threw herself against his chest, kissing him with so much pent-up passion.

Their reunion was interrupted when Blair came down the stairs, holding Victor's son. She gasped in disbelief; she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing. "We thought that you were dead," Blair stated. "Tea and I..."

"Blair and I are together," Tea informed Victor. "We are a couple."

Victor looked at Tea in surprise. He couldn't believe it! His wife had recently given birth to his child... AND she was seeing his ex-wife?! "Blair and you are together?" he heard himself asking. "There's no room for me?"

"Victor, I still love you," Tea said. "I'll always love you. You're the father of my son."

"The question is... are you willing to live here with BOTH of us?" Blair asked. "Because I am not giving Tea up."

"Blair's right," said Tea. "I love you... but I love her, too."

A slow smile came to Victor's face. "Alright then. I can live with that. If you both promise me you'll look after my niece, little Rose. I need you to love her and care for her as if she's your own."

All eyes settled on the infant Victor was holding. "V.J. needs a little companion," Tea said as she gazed at the little one with tenderness. "Of course we'll take good care of her."

"V.J.?" Victor questioned.

"Yes, our son is named Victor Lord III. I named him after you,' Tea said proudly.

Victor's gaze shifted to his son, curled up against Blair's bosom. He was a handsome lad. He looked just like his father. "I think we should put the babies down for a nap," he said, giving Tea and Blair a sexy wink.

"Are you going to tell us about all of your adventures? And how you ended up with Todd's child?" wondered Tea.

"I promise I will tell you everything," said Victor. "But right now, my mind is on sex..." Victor responded. "Sex with bothof you."

"You think you can handle both of us?" Tea taunted.

"I could handle both of you and more," said Victor with a challenging grin.

"Let's go upstairs," Blair said as she reached out for Victor's hand.

~*~O~*~

Meanwhile, not far away, Irene watched as her son carried the baby up the staircase. Hidden cameras had been placed in every corner of the estate. After the babies, V.J. and Rose had been settled within the comfort of the nursery, Victor walked hand-in-hand with Blair and Tea toward the bedroom. It would seem that his wife and ex-wife were both eager to please.

"Victor, you were always a naughty, little devil," Irene spoke as she caressed the screen. "But you have no idea who you are dealing with... no idea at all."

Agent Baker walked in, carrying a huge bowl of buttered popcorn. He sat down with Irene. They were about to watch the "show."

"Did I miss anything?" he asked the evil Irene.

"No, not at all. Victor is so unsuspecting. He has no clue that he's about to bed down with two of my apprentices," she said as she settled back within her chair, munching on a handful of popcorn.

Agent Baker let out a laugh. Victor was very unsuspecting.

Years ago, when Tea and Blair were teenagers, they had studied at an academy for young witches which was located within the city of New Orleans. Irene had been their teacher. She had taught them the dark arts and black magick. After their studies, they had parted ways. She hadn't seen her students for over a decade, but she was sure that someday when she needed them, they would answer her call. She was sure that Blair and Tea would do her bidding - after all, they were two of her finest pupils.

"It's just a matter of time..." Irene said as her son stripped ofx his clothes and climbed into bed with the two witches. The three proceeded to make passionate love. After the sex had ended, Agent Baker was blushing. He had never seen anything so hot... or so sensual.

"Ohhh how I enjoy a good show," Irene said as Victor was being pleasured again by both of her apprentices. "Todd didn't have a son. I couldn't get the baby's blood so I could become strong again. My powers are dwindling... but that doesn't mean that my granddaughter will not benefit me. As she grows, when she comes into her powers, I will be waiting for her. I will be waiting, so I can mold her into becoming just like me. That little girl; she will be mine."

~*~o~*~

In angel form, Todd and Marty were in the nursery, staring down at their sleeping daughter. "She's adorable. She looks just like you," Todd said as he lightly caressed his daughter's cheek with his feathery wing.

"I can't believe she's ours," Marty responded. "I wish we could keep her. I wish we could take her home."

"We'll see her soon," Todd promised. "It's time to go back now. Come on, baby."

Todd lightly tugged on Marty's wing, coaxing her to come away with him. He knew they couldn't stay long. They could only get a glimpse of their precious daughter. For now, Rose was safe.

Marty lingered longingly at the baby's crib. "We'll miss you, sweet Rose. We love you," Marty said to her blonde-headed baby girl. "Be safe."

"Come on, babe. I need you to go with me now. You need to come home, where you belong. You possess the other half of my soul. I am yours," he said.

Marty sighed as Todd enveloped her in the comfort his mighty wings. Together the two faded away into the golden light of eternity.

A stray feather was falling through the air. It landed softly against the baby's cheek. It was a tender caress of love; a gift from her parents.

THE END