Ivy, meanwhile, was extremely close to losing it.  On top of everything else, one of her children wasn't even hers!  There were simply too many things to think about at once.  She downed a few more pills to slow down her racing mind.  She had indeed lost a daughter, before she had even got to really know her.  Disgustedly, she listened to that dolt she was once married to mutter endlessly about how unhappy "Father" would be to hear this.  He was beyond pitiful—so worried about his own hide at all times that the personal ramifications hadn't even sunk in.  How would she get to know her real daughter, Kay, while still trying to become a real mother to Laura?  Poor girl, she knew that Alistair would cut her off the second he heard the news.  Hell, the girl would be lucky if he paid her hospital bills.  He certainly wouldn't want a non-Crane to be involved in the family, especially a non-Crane who also happened to be a Bennett. 

That was one consolation, at least.  She had raised Sam's child, and he had raised hers.  In a twisted kind of way, it was actually rather romantic, another sign that the two of them had intertwining fates.  Maybe it would even help her to get closer to Sam, and to finally get him back after all of these years.  Ivy of course realized that it was wrong to think that way at such a time, but she had crossed the line ethically long ago, and when one had a life like hers it was important to look at the bright side at all times.

She was sincerely interested in getting to know Kay, though.  Previously, she hadn't noticed her at all except as one of Sam and Grace's children, but when Eve broke the news, Ivy studied the girl intensely in the brief moments before she and the Bennetts left the lounge.  In that instant, she saw something in the girl that intrigued her, something she could relate to.  It was possible that the former Mrs. Crane was imagining things, but in the second that her eyes had met Kay's, Ivy could have sworn that she was looking at a darker-haired, younger version of herself.

*****

Tabitha breathed a sigh of relief as Timmy began to wake up once more.  After Tabitha's spell had saved Timmy, he had regained consciousness, but soon needed to sleep again, having been exhausted by his near death experience.  Throughout his rest, she stayed by his side, holding his little hand, moving only to see the circus going on outside the cubicle.  Kay a Crane!  That was one secret even she hadn't known, though it wasn't really surprising upon reflection.  Oh, the chaos that this upset will cause in this town!

Although the spell should have cured Timmy, the witch couldn't help but worry as he had laid there unconscious.  She smiled as the boy opened his eyes and smiled at his princess.  "Hello Tabby.  Is Timmy's sweet Charity going to be all right?"

Again with that meddlesome little do-gooder!  She had nearly gotten him killed, and she was still all he could think about!  "Yes Timmy, the brat will live.  But the important thing is, you're going to get better!"

Timmy's nose scrunched up in confusion.  "Timmy swears he remembers Dr. Russell telling Timmy that both he and Charity were dying."

Tabitha winced as she confessed what she had done.  "You were dying Timmy, but your life was linked to Charity's because of that ridiculous demon's horn you used.  I had to go and cast a healing spell on Charity so that you would live."

"Tabby saved Charity?!" Timmy's eyes opened wide in amazement and gratitude.

Tabitha smiled a bit.  "Well, I couldn't let you die, now could I?  Though I must say, lad, our friends in the basement will NOT be overly pleased with me.   Your youthful infatuation with that simpering simpleton has caused us no end of trouble."

Tabitha tried to scold in a convincingly irritated tone, but Timmy saw through it all and was deeply touched that Tabitha loved him enough to actually save her hated enemy.  He sat up and hugged her, but as his eyes scanned the room, he noticed that something, or rather, someone, was missing.  "Where did Toto go, princess?"

"Oh, that!  Your dog was actually the Little Angel Girl in disguise!  She's the one who told me that I could save you."

            Timmy grinned excitedly.  "Tabby worked for the powers of good?  That means she can renounce evil and help make people happy!"

            "Not so fast, Tim Tim!  That was a one-time deal, a freelance job.  I'm still a pawn of evil, and that will never change, and nothing you or even I can do will ever change that."

            Disappointment was evident in Timmy's face.  "But Tabby can always change!  God will forgive anyone of anything if they're really sorry!"

            "Now don't give me that diatribe.  I'm evil, end of discussion.  Anyway, let's not fight right now.  I'm too happy to have you back.  Oh, and you'll never guess what just happened while you were sleeping!"

            Timmy had known Tabitha long enough to get nervous whenever she had THAT tone of voice.  "What now?" he asked with a generous amount of dread. 

            "It's just turned out that our Kay isn't a Bennett at all!  She's a Crane!"

            "What?  How can that be?"

            She explained the entire situation to him, relishing every sordid detail.  When she had finished, Timmy felt so bad for Sam and Grace, and even Ivy and Julian.  One detail began to bother him, though.  "Princess, Kay has to be Grace's daughter.  You've always said that all of the Standish women possess magical powers, and Kay has proven with her spell casting that she has powers of her own!"

            "Very sharp Timmy, but it's quite plausible that Kay could be a Crane.  You remember Katherine Crane?"

            "She was Julian and Sheridan's mother, wasn't she?"

            "Yes, and a very nice woman, too.  I've told you many times that it's been my life's work to wipe out the entire sickening Standish line.  Unfortunately, a family grows and branches out over the generations.  I lost track of one of the less powerful girls, and she married into a wealthy society family.  That particular Standish strain produced many perfectly ordinary, non-magical members.  That is until Katherine was born.  She had powers, though they were very weak.  Apparently, the special Standish blood resurfaced wholly, mixed with a healthy dose of Crane evil, in Katherine's granddaughter, the former Kathleen Bennett.  No doubt that's what Cassandra had hoped for."

            Timmy was now more confused than ever.  "Who's Cassandra?"

            "I've never told you about that old enemy?  Well, she won't be playing a part in any of this, thankfully.  No, she was killed several years ago in Europe.  If you must know, she is the Crane matriarch, the first Mrs. Crane in the New World, mother of my old "friend" William Ephraim Crane."

            "But, how did she only die a few years ago, if she was that old?"

            "As a young Crane wife and mother-to-be, Cassandra had been attacked and mortally wounded one night by strangers thought to be Indians passing through the settlement.  As she was nearly ready to give birth, the town doctor had been able to deliver the boy via a caesarean.  That's the official story.  In reality, the strangers were not Indians at all but a few vampires starved for blood after their long sea voyage.  They killed Indians and townspeople alike, but for some reason turned only Cassandra.  She secretly stayed in the Crane home, determined to see her family rise above all others.  Secret underground rooms were built for her, whose influence can now be seen in the vast network of passageways leading to, among other things, Hecuba's Lair.  Over time, the knowledge of her existence had been kept from most Cranes.  Nowadays, Alistair is the only presently living family member who even knew about her."

            "So, was her son a vampire too?"

            Tabitha laughed a little.  "Old William Ephraim?  No, but the transformation of a woman into a vampire while her child is still in her womb has many effects on the offspring.  They possess heightened senses, increased speed, a dislike though not complete intolerance of sunlight, and a strong sense of the otherworld around them.  They, unlike actual vampires, are still essentially human and are able to reproduce, and these qualities resurface in their children, though they fade completely within a few generations.  Much longer lasting is the stamp of evil evident in each descendent: a shrewd, calculating mind, a complete lack of scruples, and an actual eagerness to feed, figuratively speaking, off of the misfortunes of others.  These tendencies can be overcome with goodness and love, of course, as Sheridan and various other individuals over the generations have been proof of, but the Cranes as a whole are a literally evil family.  It's rather amusing, really, the townsfolk here have always called the Cranes bloodsuckers, never knowing how very nearly right they were."

            "But why would this Cassandra actually WANT a Standish in the family?"

            "Throughout the centuries, Cassandra has been on the lookout for a True Heir, a descendent worthy to take under her wing and instruct, eventually helping to complete the Crane ascendancy: complete world domination and establishment of a dynasty unlike any seen before on Earth.  Most likely, she had hoped that the marriage between a Crane and a Standish would result in her long-awaited heir, with the supernatural powers of a Standish but a Crane mind and soul.  Turns out, it worked, but she'll never know it.  No, she died thinking that only Sheridan showed any signs of power."

            This was just too much for Timmy.  "Sheridan inherited Standish magic, too?!"

            "Of course she did!  Why else do you think she's still alive now?  For evil's sake, she's been buried alive so long all of her oxygen ran out, injured in a deadly car accident, repeatedly poisoned by a tampered wedding ring, blown up, caught in the water in the middle of the sea during a hurricane, drowned several times, and too much more to list!  She's not nearly powerful, or evil, enough to qualify for Cassandra, though.  Kay probably would've been her girl, but we'll never see that now.  Still, it'll be fun to see just what does transpire for Kay Crane."

            "Timmy has just one more question.  Why are Cassandra and Timmy's princess enemies?"

            "That, my dear boy, is not something I want to trudge up at present, especially since I'll never have to worry about her again.  I'm just glad that you're back, and that the anguish still to come will be so entertaining to watch!"