It was almost dawn by the time Carrie got home. She didn't have much concern going in alone because it was so early there was no doubt her mother would still be in bed. Much to her surprise she found her mother sitting in the parlor. What was even more surprising was that her mother didn't have a drink in hand, in fact she was dressed and appeared to be sober. "Hi, Mom. You're up early…or haven't you gone to bed yet?"

"I haven't been to bed," Evelyn admitted as she stood up and approached her daughter with mild caution because she wasn't sure if Carrie was still upset with her or not. "You and Caleb never came home. I was worried."

Carrie sighed heavily and moved to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down. "It's been a long night. Parker and Pogue are in the hospital." With everything that had been going on she didn't even think to call her mother.

Evelyn moved to the seat near Carrie's and sat down. "That's terrible. What happened?" She tried not to go into instant panic and waited to hear what Carrie had to say.

"They were attacked by the fifth." Carrie leaned forward and put her hands over her face as she tears she'd been holding back just started flowing right along with the unfolding of current events. "Everything is so messed up, Mom. The Putnam bloodline is alive and they went after Parker and Pogue. Parker is under a spell he cast and he injured Pogue badly. He – Chase – killed his sister when he Ascended and now he wants Caleb's Power. He thinks if the Power lives then the side effects of Using won't apply to him because I'm still alive. I don't know what to do. Chase not only has his sister's Power but his father's and I don't know if we can beat him. Even if Caleb and I join our Power as one he'll still be stronger than us and I'm scared, Mom. I'm so scared."

Evelyn got up from her seat and hugged Carrie tight as she smoothed down her hair before crouching down in front of her, much like she did when Carrie was afraid as a child. "I tell you what we're going to do. We are going to go to the others and ask for their help."

Carrie sniffled as she shook her head. "We can't do that. Chase will kill them all. He's already threatened to do just that if Caleb doesn't do what he wants."

Evelyn took Carrie's hands and squeezed them. "Then we'll go to your father." She saw the instant 'no way' look on Carrie's face and answered it before her daughter said a word. "I know, but listen to me. If your father gives you his Power and you join with Caleb then you will be strong enough to protect yourselves and the rest of the Children."

Carrie couldn't believe her mother was suggesting that, knowing if Power was given away then so was their life. She couldn't even imagine her father agreeing to it anyway. "Even if father would do that, who knows what would happen with the seduction…"

Evelyn cut her daughter off to ease her mind. "Listen to me, Carrie. You have nothing to worry about where the seduction is concerned. My fear of losing you both wouldn't let me see it, but I know – I know that the dynamic, the bond between the two of you is stronger than your father's was with Wendy. I know Caleb would never do anything to harm you no matter what the seduction tries to do." She reached out and wiped the tears from her daughter's cheeks. "You are going to do the opposite of what I wanted you to do, my sweet girl. You are not going to run away – You are going to stay and fight along side your brother. Even before you were given your Power you were always stronger together than apart."

Carrie knew her mother was right. No matter what Caleb could say to keep her out of things to keep her safe, she wasn't going to let him go through this alone. They were one set of the Children of Ipswich and they never left their twin behind. Her mother's wise words were just as surprising as everything else so it made her ask, "How are you not freaking out more right now?"

Evelyn hugged her daughter again as she answered, "Because one way or another you and Caleb are going to survive this. I promise you."

Carrie wasn't sure how her mother was going to keep that promise, but in that moment it didn't matter because Carrie believed her.

Carrie waited for Caleb on the front steps for him to come home. What she was going to say to him exactly, she wasn't sure, but that didn't change her endgame – She was going to fight beside him against Chase and that was that.

Carrie took a long drink from the mug of hot coffee in her hand then set it on the step beside her when Caleb's car pulled up the driveway. She left the stoop and met him halfway as he walked towards her. "I have something to say and you're going to listen."

Caleb was pretty much going to say the same thing to her but let her go first. "What is it?"

"Before anything else, happy birthday." After all, it was officially Saturday, had been for a number of hours now. "Now onto the important matter. When you meet with Chase tonight, I am going to be there." She knew Caleb was about to retort, so she held up her hand to keep him quiet. "I am going to be there, Caleb. We are stronger together than we are apart. If we fight him together, especially after we Ascend, then we have a chance to put him down for good. You're not an only child. You've got a sister who will lead when you need to follow, follow when you need to lead, and stand at your side to kick some ass. Let me do that. Let me help you."

Caleb understood all of that, he knew all that, but it didn't change the fact that if Carrie was there he wouldn't be able to keep his head on straight. Caleb would be more worried about keeping her safe than anything else and he couldn't afford that, not when the stakes were so high. "I can't, Carrie. You can't come with me. If you're there I'll be distracted. I – I can't have you there. Please trust me on this."

Carrie clenched her hands out in front of her as she practically growled because he was so frustrating. "I can't stand by and do nothing. Dammit, Caleb! You're not alone in this! We are the goddamn Children of Ipswich; we fight together. It shouldn't even be just us fighting against him. In case you've forgotten, there are other Children in our Covenant."

"In case you've forgotten, Chase has already put two of them in the hospital!" Caleb slid his hand down his face in frustration. "I will not let any more of us be put in harm's way. I'm going to meet Chase tonight alone. You are going with Reid and the others to the dance to keep each other and Sarah safe. When I've dealt with Chase I will meet you there." When Carrie was about to speak again he said, "I'm calling in my present."

Carrie couldn't believe he just pulled that. "Oh no you are not." When they were kids they promised each other that on their birthday the only thing they wanted was one thing – whatever was asked for had to be done and the other couldn't ask for something to cancel the first thing out. It was usually small stuff like they had to clean the other's room or watch a movie the other never wanted to watch, so Carrie couldn't believe he used that for this.

"I am," Caleb countered, knowing she wouldn't be able to back out of that. "All I want for my birthday is for you not to follow when I deal with Chase."

Carrie turned around with a scoff and started to walk away but stopped when she felt like she was going to cry again. She needed a moment to muster up the strength to turn around and look at him while crying, "Then all I want for my birthday if for you to come back alive."

Caleb went over to his sister and hugged her. He tried to make light of the situation by saying, "Well now that you've asked for it I don't really have any other choice in the matter."

Carrie laughed at that, she couldn't help it. After sniffling back some tears she pulled from their embrace to ask, "What are we going to do now?"

Caleb walked back to the house with Carrie as he answered, "Rest up for tonight. We're going to need it."

Tina stood with Reid, Tyler, Rayna, and Carrie in the Danvers's parlor that evening while Sarah was upstairs getting ready for the dance and Caleb was in the foyer or somewhere speaking with his mother. After hearing what the plan was, Tina was none too happy.

"I can't believe we're to just stand by and babysit." Tina looked right at Carrie, demanding to know, "Are you seriously okay with this?"

"Of course I'm not okay with this," Carrie instantly answered. She'd have it any other way if she could. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I made a promise to Caleb and I never go back on my promises to him."

Rayna leaned against one of the armchairs, saying, "I still can't believe Caleb told Sarah everything. I mean, I knew they were daring but I didn't think they were that close." Hell she still thought Caleb and Parker were going to get together in the end, but it didn't seem like it was going to happen now.

"Caleb said she figured it out after reading that book you're hooked on." Tyler looked at his twin as he spoke since Tina was the one who read it the most often. It wasn't that he was accusing her or anything, he was just repeating the information given.

"And I made it clear it was historical fiction," Tina firmly countered. "Her putting it all together and getting Caleb to confirm everything and get introduced to Papa Danvers is too neat and tidy for my taste." Just as they had been before, Tina's 'spidey-senses' were still on red alert but didn't have the evidence to support it.

Reid knew that Tina was one for conspiracies but for the sake of argument and curiosity, he asked her, "What makes you say that?" He was willing to hear her out, if for nothing else that perhaps she'd finally let it go if she was able to discuss it.

"She's probably still on the mind-set that Sarah has the Power." Carrie was really getting annoyed with that because ever since their discovery in the records room, it deemed that impossible.

Tina rolled her eyes dramatically. "Clearly I was wrong about that since the article clearly stated Chase's sister died in the crash, but that still doesn't mean I trust her. I mean, come on, how long was it before our Power-parent told their significant other about the Covenant?"

"Years," Tyler answered before anyone else did. "At least with our parents." It was a foreign idea for Tyler personally to be with anyone outside the Covenant. He couldn't imagine being with anyone who didn't understand firsthand what it was like to have the Power.

"Exactly. It takes years to find out if one is to be trusted enough to know, but Caleb tells her so quickly? Something doesn't add up." Tina just wished she knew what exactly it was. Well that wasn't quite true, she knew what was still bothering her but all the evidence was against it. Even so, she just couldn't let it go.

Carrie had so much else to deal with, she didn't need to deal with Tina's thought processes, too. "You can calculate all you want tomorrow. Tonight we need to respect Caleb's wishes and keep Sarah safe in case Chase decides to make a move at the dance before going to the Barn. Can we do that?" She looked around at the group and accepted their varying nods in reply.

"Good," was the last thing Carrie had to say to them before going out into the foyer to speak to her while she had the chance since they would be leaving shortly.

Evelyn smiled lightly as Carrie joined them. She was finished speaking with her son but had one final thing to say before they left. "Stay safe, Caleb. I love you." Evelyn kissed Caleb's cheek and joined the others in the parlor.

Carrie stepped up to adjust Caleb's tie since he never seemed to do them right. "You better not renege on your present, frustrating brother of mine. You better come back alive."

When Carrie was done with his tie, he took her hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "I take your presents seriously, worrier sister of mine. I promise you I am going to come back alive."

As the Children walked with Sarah onto Spencer's grounds, Tina looked around in case there was any sign of Chase. She doubted he would make an appearance in a crowd since that hadn't been his style so far, but she wasn't about to put anything past him.

Since Carrie and Sarah were walking ahead and likely out of earshot, Tina went into her broken record mode again. "I don't like this."

"You're not the only one who doesn't like it, but Caleb has it covered." Reid really wanted to believe that Caleb had it covered but even he was starting to worry. They all gave their word not to go and help him so they were pretty much stuck in doing what Caleb asked of them.

Tina stopped in her tracks and turned to address Reid, Tyler, and Rayna. "How the hell does Caleb have this covered? Even when he Ascends he's gonna be going up against a guy who's at full Power plus his father's Power. Caleb is no match for him and we all know this." It would be different if Caleb and Chase were evenly matched, but they were far from it so she honestly didn't believe Caleb would survive.

Before anything else could be said, Reid's cellphone rang. "Speak of the Warlock," he voiced since it was Caleb who was calling him. Before answering he whistled to get Carrie's and Sarah's attention then cocked his head for them to follow them over to the wall so they'd be out of the way of the rest of the party-goers.

"Hey, man. There's no sign of Chase here." Reid figured that would be Caleb's first question.

"How's Carrie doing? And Sarah? Can I talk to them."

"Sure, hold on." Reid turned to where they were just standing but were no longer there. "What the hell?"

"Reid? What happened?"

Rayna stepped forward to where they just were and couldn't believe it. "They were just here! How could they…"

"They're not here, Caleb. I don't know what happened." The second Reid told Caleb that, he heard commotion coming from that end of the line. "Caleb? You there?" He looked at his phone to find the line went dead.

Tina clenched her fists then pointed at each of them, finally feeling like she had all the evidence she needed now. "I told you. I fucking told you!"

"What are you talking about?" Tyler was so far off from her thought train that it wasn't even funny.

Rayna picked up on this quickly. "Tina's right...It's Sarah. She – she's a part of this, too." It made complete sense to her now. "Think about it, guys. Tina was right, Sarah is a part of this. We've all been on high alert for Chase, we would have been ready for him. But Sarah? We wouldn't be expecting her. Not after that article."

Tyler was thinking he was getting what they were saying now. "Hold on. We're back to the Sarah has Power thing? That would mean she's Chase's twin and we've found nothing to support that."

Reid had to side with Tyler on this despite knowing that Tina would likely make him pay for it later. "The article said his sister died –" he looked directly at Tina, " – you told us that."

"The article said his sister died, not his twin." Tina didn't make that connection until that moment because the thought of a Daughter dying at the hands of a Sons enraged her. "Who's to say Chase and his twin weren't separated when they were adopted? What if a couple who already had a daughter only wanted a son which lead to his twin getting adopted by another family? Sarah's eighteen, she told Parker that much. Sarah transferred in the same time as Chase and I bet if we went to the records room right now we'd find out she's adopted, too, and her birth name is Goodwin Pope."

Reid still wasn't sure if he was on board with all of this. "That's a stretch, Tina. Chase could have just whisked the two of them away. He's Powerful enough."

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Rayna looked between the three of them. "If Sarah is Chase's twin and she has the Power then that changes everything. That means Caleb isn't the only target, but so is Carrie. Now I don't know about the rest of you but I never promised not to show up and help her if shit hit the fan. Chase alone or Chase with Sarah, either way they need to be put down."

Tyler was the first one to come around because he couldn't just stand by and do nothing anymore. "I'm in. And if Sarah does have the Power, we'll deal with her."

"No, you won't," Rayna stated that quite firmly. She had a vow to keep and intended to do just that.

"You don't think she should be dealt with?" Reid was still on edge about this whole thing but if they were going to the Barn then he was going to go with them.

Tina saw the look in Rayna's eyes and knew exactly what she meant by her words. "No, my darling Reid. What Rayna is saying – and I'm so proud of her for saying it – is that Sarah is not to be dealt with by you. She's ours." After all, Carrie made it clear no Sons would be killing Daughters. But a Daughter killing a Daughter? – No promises were made about that.

End Part 7