Chapter Two:
Temperance sighed as she drove her car up Prescott Street. Cretien fidgeted with his gameboy beside her in the front seat, while Apollo drummed his fingers against his legs behind her, listening to music from his portable CD player. It had been a long drive from Sunnydale. Apollo, ever the silent one, hadn't mentioned a word since leaving Sunnydale. Cretien, on the other hand; he had voiced his dislike for leaving every fifteen minutes, saying that he didn't want to meet the father that had left them before they had the chance to know him.
Temperance sighed when she thought of Cole. Tall, dark, handsome, with eyes that made her melt just remembering them. Cole Turner was definitely the one person in her life that had never made any sense at all, but he was the only one who ever truly understood her. And, no matter what, she would always feel drawn to him, that impossible pull of fatal attraction.
"Mom, are we there yet?" Apollo asked. Temperance looked in the rearview mirror, and caught a glimpse of her son, noting he had taken off his headphones. He took after his father in looks. Darkly handsome, Apollo had dark hair and midnight blue eyes. His nose was manly, and his lips were that of a man; thin and wide. There was no doubt in Temperance's mind that he'd have his fill of womanizing one day. Cretien, on the other hand, had Temperance's fair coloring. He retained his father's dark hair, but the eyes, a silver green color that changed, were from Temperance.
"Almost, Apollo," Temperance replied with a smile. Apollo nodded his head and sat back in his seat. Cre, always the one to pick a fight, shut off his gameboy and looked at his mother with angry eyes.
"I don't understand why we had to leave. We were safe with Buffy and Spike." Cre folded his arms across his chest and looked out the window.
"I won't explain it to you again Cretien de Vere St. Waryk," Temperance replied to his sullen tone of voice. "You know perfectly well why we left, and you understand it."
"He's just upset 'cause he had to leave Dawnie," Apollo piped in from the backseat. Dawnie, also known as Dawn Summers, was Buffy's little sister, and Cretien had a huge crush on the girl. That little detail was not lost on his mother.
"Am not!" Cretien cried, tossing a glare back at his brother. Temperance smiled to herself. His ability to deny things was well known to her. It was another thing that he'd unconsciously inherited from Cole.
"Apollo, apologize to your brother," Temperance admonished sternly. Cretien stuck his button nose in the air and turned away from Apollo. The boys weren't very close, but they shared a bond that couldn't ever be broken. For that, Temperance was thankful.
"I'm sorry, Cre. I didn't mean to make fun of your childish crush," Apollo added the last bit to get a rise out of his brother. Cretien was the younger of the two, after all, and Apollo was never one to pass up the opportunity to torment his brother.
"Mom!" Cretien yelled. Temperance sighed. She looked out the window and spotted the house she was looking for and gave another heavy sigh.
"Apollodorus Etienne St Waryk! None of that!" Temperance's stern voice was heard. She pulled to the side of the road and parked the car. They had reached the Halliwell residence.
"I want you both to be on your best behavior," Temperance told the boys as they made their way across Prescott Street to the Halliwell Manor. "No goading each other into a fight." The last bit was for Apollo. He looked at his mother with a sheepish smile. Cre completely ignored her. Temperance sighed and stopped on the sidewalk, pulling Cretien toward her. "Cretien de Vere, you had better pick up your attitude, young man, or you'll be grounded. That means no gameboy at all," Temperance threatened. Cre gave his mother an angry look, but he acquiesced to her request. He plastered a fake smile upon his face and followed Temperance as the three of them made their way to the front door of the large red manor house. Temperance took a fortifying breath to mitigate her overactive nerves. She smiled at the boys and knocked on the door. Apollo stood to Temperance's right, hands behind his back, ready to protect his mother if needed. Cre took the same stance. Only Temperance stood there, her body relaxed.
"Coming!" a voice was heard through the door. Temperance smiled. Cretien and Apollo heaved a long sigh as the door opened, revealing a short young woman with long brown hair. Temperance hadn't seen Piper Halliwell in little over five years.
"Piper Halliwell!" Temperance exclaimed, exuberance filling her words.
"Temperance St. Waryk," Piper's face broke out into a wide smile. She reached out and pulled Temperance into a familiar hug and pulled back, still smiling. "What brings you here?" she asked, moving aside so that they could all move into the house. Piper looked over the two boys and then it dawned on her. "Cole." Temperance nodded her head.
"It's time they knew, Piper, and it's time that they finally met Cole. I can't keep them forever. His shadow came to me the other night." Temperance looked at Apollo. "This is Apollodorus Etienne, Apollo for short," she introduced her son to Piper. Piper gave the boy a wide welcoming smile. Apollo smiled back, instantly taking like to the older woman with an open smile. Temperance looked at Cre and noted the scowl on is face. "And this scamp is Cretien de Vere, but we all call him Cre." Piper welcomed to other boy, but Cre didn't want any of it.
"Where is my father? I want to get this over with, so that I can go back to Sunnydale," Cre snapped. Temperance looked at her son.
"Grounded. No gameboy for a week, and if you sneak it, I'll throw it in the bay and you won't get another one. Do I make myself clear, young man?" Cre's face went crestfallen. "Not another word out of you unless it's polite to the hostess," Temperance added as an after thought, knowing Cre would snap at her again. He gave her another angry look, but he held his tongue.
"So, tell me, why else does Cole bring you to San Francisco? I figured that you'd stay in Sunnydale, regardless of the threat." Piper led them into the lounge, where she smiled at Leo and her sons, Wyatt and Chris.
"Cole needs to know his boys," Temperance answered. She didn't know whether or not she was trying to convince herself or Piper.
"There's more to it than that," Leo commented, looking at the set of Temperance's face. "You're brother's call."
Temperance looked at Leo, her confusion evident on her face. Cre and Apollo looked at Leo, wondering why he was talking about their evil uncle. "Leo, how did you know?" Temperance asked, regaining her composure.
"I've heard it, along with Cole, and the girls," Leo answered, setting Wyatt on the floor beside the couch as Piper went to check on Chris in the playpen next to the window.
"I can understand Cole and the girls, but you, Leo?" Temperance looked at the whitelighter. "How?"
"Whitelighter, connected to the Elders, who are connected to evil, whether they know it or not," Leo explained. "We all got the call at the same time, until someone whispered a spell, curing our headaches. That was your doing, I presume."
"Me," Temperance confirmed. "Spike, Buffy and Willow were having them too." Leo nodded, understanding what was going on.
"You have to defeat him," Piper started, "You have to get rid of Darius before he does something to you and the boys."
"Don't you think I know that?" Temperance exclaimed, trying not to break from her emotions. "That's why I am here; I need Cole to keep the boys safe."
Piper and Leo looked at her. "Don't you mean you and the boys?" Piper asked. "You're going to keep yourself safe too, right?"
"Temperance, the boys need you too," Leo told her. "They'll need to understand the way the world works."
"And they will, Leo. With Cole's help." Temperance looked at Piper and Leo, pleading to them to help her in some mythical way. "Please, Piper, Leo, I need your help."
Cre looked at the people in front of him and sighed. He wasn't sure that he could trust them, but if his mother was willing, he was going to take a chance on them too.
"We'll help you, Temperance," Leo finally acquiesced. Piper nodded her head, agreeing with Leo. Temperance let herself sigh, relieving the tension she felt within her bones.
"You'll have to stay with Cole at the penthouse, though," Piper told Temperance. "Show Darius a united front and you'll show him that he can't come between family bonds."
"Especially a demonic family bond," Temperance snorted bitterly. Piper stared at her.
"Weren't you the one who told me that family was the most important thing in this world?" she asked, looking incredulously at Temperance. "You told me that the love of a family lasts forever."
"That was then, Piper," Temperance snapped. "Times have changed, betrayal has happened, and I've been hunted for the last seventy-five years. How can I have faith in the love of a family?"
Piper looked at Leo, shocked to hear Temperance say something like that. Temperance had always believed in family and the love that families shared. Something was wrong, and it had to do with the fact that they were going to stay with Cole. She was so cynical.
A few hours later, after everything had died down, the excitement of having a family of half-demonic humans wore off, Temperance was busy in the sunroom, scrying with a crystal for her brother over a relatively large map of San Francisco. Phoebe stood in the doorway, watching her, watching the movements that Temperance did without so much as a thought. It's so mechanical, Phoebe thought.
Temperance sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. She still couldn't find her brother. She'd searched all over San Francisco. Every demonic hang out she knew of, she searched for her brother's essence, and still found none. "Darius St. Waryk, you can hear my call," Temperance uttered under her breath, "I know you can, you bastard."
"That's a pretty harsh word for your own flesh and blood." Temperance jumped, and turned to look at Phoebe.
"Did you hear that?" she asked. Phoebe looked back at her, her eyes wide with fright.
"Yeah," she whispered.
Temperance acted quickly. "Dare, you know I'm in San Fran, show yourself," her voice was eerily low. Phoebe pushed away from the door and made her way over to Temperance, trying not to make sudden movements. Temperance looked at Phoebe. "Go find the boys," she whispered, "get Leo and the rest." Phoebe nodded and left.
Temperance sidled around the wicker table in front of her and cautiously looked around. If she knew her brother, he'd show up and try to take her back with him to the Underworld. She knew that he was going to show up sometime, and she'd rather have it now instead of later.
"Sister, dear, you look frightened," Dare's voice filled the air around her. "I've been looking for you," he added.
"Yes, I know," Temperance replied nonchalantly. "You left your calling card with my friends." Dare laughed.
"They did their job well then," Dare acknowledged as he appeared in front of the wicker table. Temperance jumped slightly. "You look good, sister."
Temperance looked down at her faded blue jeans and cornflower blue blouse, and smiled ironically. She then looked at her brother's long black robes and black attire. "You look black."
"That's the color of the Underworld these days," Dare replied. "You should know that, since you are about to become the Queen of the Underworld." Temperance stood up straight, squaring her shoulders.
"You wanted something from me, Dare," she said, ignoring his comment about her being Queen of the Underworld, "what was it?"
"Only to bring you and the boys to see the Source," Dare replied, eagerness coming into his voice.
Temperance smiled when she looked at her brother. Over his shoulder, she could see that Phoebe had done as she'd been asked.
"You're not taking her anywhere," another voice said, from behind her this time. Temperance turned around, too shocked to speak. There was Cole, who'd shimmered in sometime before, standing behind her, energy ball in hand.