Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis.

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There were sounds of rage from Sara, Jake, Lilianna and Nottingham.

Irons laughed coldly, "On second thought, I think I'll have Nottingham kill his beloved and then release him from my hold."

There were dry chuckles from a couple of Irons' armed men and Sara calculated what it would take to kill them and get to Irons before he could order Nottingham to take the one life that meant anything to him.

"No!" Lilianna screamed. "Kill me if you must, but don't make him do it. Please! It will destroy him. Think of all that you've done to raise him, I know you care about him at least a little." She paused for a moment and sent a loving look to Nottingham. Her voice dropped to a loud whisper, "Christian, none of this is your fault. No matter what you have to do, I forgive you."

Nottingham walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands.

He brought his lips down to just brush hers, saying against her mouth, "I love you, Lily."

A sob caught in Lilianna's throat and she sighed, "I love you, too."

They kissed tenderly, and for a minute Sara wondered why the scene was so touching. The Witchblade sent her a vision and she understood. It was only the second time they had actually said the words to each other. To anyone, in fact.

Her heart ached for the daughter she never got to raise and the man whose life had never really been his. When the pair pulled away from each other, there were tears on both of their faces and on hers. Sara glanced at Jake, but he just looked confused and angry.

Nottingham walked back to his original spot and waited. Every muscle in his body was tense. The Witchblade on Sara's wrist grew to a gauntlet and she stepped forward. The two men guarding her put their fingers on the triggers of their guns and she stopped and swore. If this version of the child now growing inside her had managed to come back through time and change things this much, maybe the next version would be able to stop this from happening at all. And if Lilianna couldn't, Sara herself would find a way to come back.

And there was no way in hell that she would let Irons anywhere near her child now that she knew what would happen. She would leave New York, the only home she had ever known, ever wanted, if that's what it took.

"Nottingham," everyone in the room tensed at the sound of Irons' voice, but he didn't continue. Instead, he stood up again and walked over to Lilianna. "Why was I never able to control you?"

She didn't answer, just glared at him. He stepped close, so that his face was mere inches from hers.

"You destroyed my property, turned Nottingham against me, and stole the thing that meant the most to me. Where is Elizabeth's body?"

Sara gasped and Lilianna smiled coldly at Irons.

"Great-Grandmother is where she should have been for a long time, resting peacefully. And no one can be turned against someone they were never willingly with."

Irons glared at her a minute longer, then turned away with a sound of disgust. He walked back to his chair, looking bored by the time he sat down.

"Nottingham, kill your wife."

"No."

For a minute no one registered the fact that Nottingham had quietly spoken. Then Irons snapped his head up to stare at the warrior. A second later Nottingham fell to his knees, holding his head in obvious pain. An inhuman scream tore from his throat and the occupants of the room other than Irons watched in abject horror as blood began to pour from his ears, nose and mouth. Lilianna cried out and struggled against the chains that bound her.

A surge of brilliant red light seemed to form around her as the tears continued to run down her face. The Witchblade armor became stronger-looking, bigger, sharper. The chains and cuffs that encircled her were cut clean through and she sliced her way through Irons' eight guards faster than the time it took for Irons to stand up. Lilianna grabbed his lapels, and a second later he flew across the room to crumple at the base of the far wall.

The Witchblade turned back to the normal armor and Lilianna fell to her knees next to Nottingham, who had ceased struggling and was now lying in a heap, still as death. Heart wrenching sobs filled the room as Lilianna lifted his head to her lap and lovingly smoothed his long, curly hair back. She wiped the blood from his face and softly kissed his still lips.

Sara walked over and knelt facing her daughter. Neither one of them noticed the blue vortex that opened across the room from Irons nor the four people that stepped through it. Jake did, but all he could do was stare at them, his mouth hanging open.

Sara reached with a trembling hand to feel Nottingham's neck for a pulse. For a minute she felt nothing and her shoulders slumped, then the faintest stirring under his skin caught her attention.

Hurriedly, she told Lilianna, "He's still alive! I'll call 911. Maybe they can save him."

"That won't be necessary," an unfamiliar male voice stated.

Sara and Lilianna lifted their heads to stare at the four new occupants of the room. A young woman who looked startlingly like Lilianna, but with Nottingham's green eyes and black hair, and a young man who looked almost exactly like Nottingham but with Lilianna's blue eyes and red-brown hair stood next to a young man who looked disturbingly like a young Jake McCartey with dark hair.

The Jake look-alike was the one who had spoken. Another woman was behind them, her long snow-white hair a shocking contrast to her youthful features and brilliant black eyes.

"Eve?" Lilianna queried. When the white-haired woman walked forward, Lilianna begged, "Please, save my husband."

Sara backed away as the woman came and knelt beside Lilianna. Sara could feel immense energy, a thousand-fold stronger than the Witchblade, roll from Eve like a tide. Eve pressed her right hand on Nottingham's head and a black and white crackling energy surrounded her hand and his body. It lasted only a few moments, but Eve staggered to her feet as if sapped of strength. Sara noticed belatedly that the woman wore a leather glove that covered her left arm from fingertips to shoulder.

Eve informed Lilianna, "He'll be tired for awhile, but he's out of danger. Irons will no longer be able to control him."

Eve passed her right hand quickly over Lilianna's injuries and they were gone.

"Who are you people?" Jake finally found his voice enough to ask.

The other young woman stepped forward and smiled, "Maybe you'd better sit down, Grandpa."

"Oh boy," Sara muttered, "I don't think I'm ready to hear this."

Just then Nottingham woke up and Lilianna helped him stagger over to Irons' throne-chair before gently settling into his lap. He stared at the Lilianna and Nottingham look-alikes tenderly for a moment.

Placing his hand low on Lilianna's abdomen, he asked softly, "Our children?"

Lilianna smiled softly and kissed him before answering, "Yes." She pointed at the girl. "Danielle Marie Nottingham." The girl smiled and nodded and Lilianna's finger swung to the young man, "And James Pezzini Nottingham."

James bowed and smiled when his grandmother gasped. He had been named after his great-grandfather who had been killed by Gallo long before his mother had even existed. And his sister had been named for Sara's former partner and her childhood best friend. None of whom Lilianna had ever met or even been told about. But Sara knew every word they said was true. The Witchblade confirmed it before she could even think to question.

And the other young man was her son, Joseph Ian McCartey. Named for Captain Siri and Nottingham, even though Nottingham's full name was really Christian. Sara and Jake had liked the name Ian better. Would like? Boy, this was confusing.

"Why are you here?" Sara asked, concerned. How could they possibly have more problems than they already did? Jake was beside her once again, his expression dazed. "Or should I say why are you now?"

Joseph laughed delightedly at his mother's humor, but James was the one who answered, "Dani and I are here to tell Mom and Dad that they can stay in this timeline safely. Mom won't be born and taken away, her timeline has been obliterated."

"But how is that possible?" Sara blanched and placed a hand on her own still flat stomach. "Am I going to…lose my baby?"

"No," Joseph hastened to reassure his mother, "but the baby growing inside you isn't Lilianna. It never was. It's me. You conceived me a day before Lilianna would have been conceived, after you talked to Maria about her, before you knew who Lilianna was. She will never be born, but Eve called in a favor for her to be able to continue to exist."

Eve must know some powerful beings if Lilianna's very existence could be called in as a favor, Sara thought.

"I can never repay you for this," Sara admitted to the woman at the same time that Nottingham said a simple, "Thank you."

Eve nodded and smiled at them both. A groan sounded from the other side of the room and eight pairs of eyes glared at Irons as he stood up.

Irons growled at Lilianna, "For that I will kill you myself."

Then he seemed to notice the state of things. His eyebrows rose at the sight of the dead guards' shredded bodies. He gasped with surprise at seeing Nottingham very much alive, drew his brows together in confusion at the sight of three young people looking amazingly like the people he considered his playthings, and looked positively terrified when his eyes landed on Eve.

"No, not you, it can't be, that was eighty years ago!"

Sara looked surprised at yet another revelation of how long the man had been alive. Jake threw his hands up in the air, as if giving up on trying to understand any of it. Sara hoped he moved on to acceptance soon. Eve was frowning, obviously trying to place Irons, and the occupants of the room who had not known her before today wondered how old she was.

Then the puzzlement on her face turned to dark fury and she snapped at Irons, "You! You almost killed my sister! I should kill you right here and now. Unfortunately you have another fate in store for you."

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The finality in her words caused Irons to visibly relax and he turned his attention back to his previous concerns. Nottingham was sitting in the throne chair with Sara's daughter in his lap. Nottingham's head was resting on her shoulder and her cheek was pressed to the top of his head. Their arms were around each other, and they both, amazingly enough after what he had done to them, looked calm and happy. They were also both free of injury.

How was he going to turn this series of events to his advantage? There had always been a way before, he was sure a solution would present itself now. An uneasy silence fell over the group and for the first time in a very long time, he was truly worried. Irons motioned to the strangers.

"Who are you people?"

"They are my son and his niece and nephew. And if you ever do anything to harm any of them, you will wish Lilianna or Eve had killed you."

There was deadly promise in Sara's voice, and Irons gulped. Because of her love for her family, she just might reach her full potential with the Witchblade.

When the group turned to leave his office, he did and said nothing to stop them.

At the last minute, Lilianna turned around and informed him, "Don't bother calling my husband, he no longer works for you."

With that, they were gone. Irons sank into his chair. He had trained, paid and controlled Christian "Ian" Nottingham for twenty-nine years. He didn't even want to think about the number of years he had spent setting up his empire so that he would be all powerful when he found the true wielder of the Witchblade to use as his right hand.

All that time, all that work and all he had to show for it was material wealth and some laughable power in the world of politics. Laughable when compared to the power he could have had, anyway. Maybe it was time he saw to some of his other holdings. The New York branch of Vorschlag had outlived its usefulness. It appeared that a long overdue visit to Blue Cove, Delaware was in order.