Author's Note: I'll answer any questions for people who are curious about certain things…but I might not give you a complete answer. Heh, heh.

Cold Cold California

"Tootie, I know you meant well, but you need to stop wishing for snow," Deb said. "For one thing, we haven't seen Doidle in over a week."

"Aren't you usually the one preaching magic in abundance?" she said, wrinkling her nose. They were walking home afterschool; Deb constantly shifted into different animals. Once, he was a red robin, another time, he was a squirrel, and the third, a chipmunk. Every time he shifted, he was briefly purple and then he righted himself, projecting an image of the real animal's appearance. It was distracting and Tootie skidded into an ice patch.

"Yeah, but I hate winter," Deb said, shuddering. "An' snow. An' ice."

He melted the ice patch before she crashed into the sign ahead. "Plus, when you wished for snow, you changed all the weather patterns. The people in the Northeast are already getting bombarded and Dimmsdale's become like little New England."

"But it never snows," Tootie said. "Well, except for that one time Timmy wished it was Christmas every day. Then we were buried."

He smirked and changed into a flying squirrel. The squirrel hovered in front of her; she jerked to avoid it, and slipped on another ice patch. He produced a rubber barricade she harmlessly collided with before she fell into the street.

"All I'm sayin', Tootie, is if you keep making more snow…you might become remarkably well preserved."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, walking with her hands on her hips.

"You know what I mean," he said and changed into a blue jay. Although everything else looked normal, his eyes were piercingly royal purple and disapproving. He flew ahead a few feet, flew back, and settled on her shoulder. She noticed he was shivering.

"Why are you antsy?" she said.

"I don't…like…the cold…" he said. "I have to keep moving. I'm a fire elemental and ice is my opposite."

"But you can wield it," she said, frowning. "I've seen you do it."

"Yeah, I can," he said. "But you can clean a toilet."

"What?"

"Just because you can do it doesn't mean you like it," he said and hopped off her shoulder. He assumed the form of a tabby cat. "Tootie, reverse the wish. Dimmsdale'll be flooded for a while, sure, but it's better than being skied out of town by an angry half frozen mob."

"I like the snow," she maintained, staring at the snowflakes descending. Since her wish, there had been a snowstorm per week, just like the Northeast. School had been canceled six times, they were running into vacation time now, and still, Tootie wouldn't repent. Then again, every time school was canceled, her parents had to stay home. She smiled.

"I'll make you a deal," he said. "You don't have to reverse the wish."

"Okay…and what's the catch?" she said.

"Since you seem to like the cold so much, let's see how you live without it," he said.

"Without cold?" she said.

"No," he said and grinned cruelly. "Without heat."

The next morning, she awoke and her teeth chattered. Drawing the covers closer, she exhaled and saw her breath. Shrieking, she flung aside her sheet…and it shattered. She was startled and jumped, sliding off the bed and landing on the ice hard floor. Whimpering, she rubbed her rear and Deb appeared.

He wore a thick robe with a royal crest emblazoned on the breast and his hair was tied back in a ponytail.

"Fairy World says I can't lower the temperature to the point where you'd suffer from hypothermia," he said and rolled his eyes. "Something about 'accidentally killing someone'. But you're a magic user, which means I can lower the temperature beyond where a human would suffer from hypothermia. Fairy World isn't entirely sure the threshold a half-fairy magical user can endure…so we'll find out."

He smiled. "As always, any Ice elemental in my family is welcome to you while you use your magic to fix this. That leaves you Stefan and Vela, but be careful- Vela's pregnant."

"Another lesson?" she said, groaning.

"Dress warm," he said and his smile didn't reach his eyes, which were cool and unconcerned. "I hear it's gonna get real nippy."

He disappeared in a cloud of fairy dust and Tootie coughed, waving it away. Although she was startled Vela was pregnant, that wasn't her main concern. (It had been over five months since she'd seen Deb's daughter, so she supposed wasn't that surprising…) What was a concern was how callously Deborvak had given her the assignment and then vanished. Deb had told her during the last one she hadn't been in any real danger, that Fairy World wouldn't allow it.

She shivered and rubbed her hands together. Jumping to her feet (and promptly slipping on the ice), she reached for her winter clothes. Of course, they were in the top drawer. She grabbed the dresser knob, righted herself, and then had to grab the knobs to keep from falling over.

"How is making more ice supposed to help?" Tootie snarled, frustrated.

"You wanted ice," a familiar voice said behind her. "Dad told you he doesn't like ice."

Very carefully, keeping her back to the dresser, Tootie turned. Wearing a purple long sleeved shirt with flares at the hands and blue jeans, Vela stared back. Her pale skin was the blue of the dead and, as usual, she wore no shoes. Her long hair had streaks of blonde through it and hung down to her waist. Judging by her protruding stomach, Vela was about five months pregnant, which meshed with her last encounter.

"It reminds me of when I iced over the Empress's summer place," Vela said and grinned. "The servants went flying. Oh, that was fun."

"How is making more ice supposed to help?" Tootie said and then stared at Vela's outfit. Wearing her long johns, thick socks, and slippers, Tootie was still freezing. "And how are you not cold?"

"Oh, I never get cold," Vela said. "It's physically impossible."

"Can't you melt this?" Tootie said, gesturing to the shimmering sheet. Next door, Vicky screamed and they heard another crash, presumably her hitting the wall or the door. Vela giggled.

"Oh, no, I can't possibly do that," Vela said with a conspiratorial grin Tootie recognized. "I mean, I could, but one, I'm not even fairy enough to qualify as a godparent. And two, and most importantly, this is your lesson. I'm just here to watch and perhaps prod you in the right direction."

"So, what? I'm supposed to concentrate on fire and it comes?" Tootie said.

"Not quite," Vela said. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"Then tell me," Tootie said, exasperated.

"Dad doesn't want me to," she said and rubbed her belly.

Tootie opened her mouth to ask a question, decided it was none of her business, and shut her mouth promptly. Shivering, she opened the top drawer, fell backward, and Vela caught her. Righting her, she held her steady while Tootie grabbed her gloves.

"Oh, no, no," Vela said. "You can't wear those."

"I'll get frostbite," Tootie objected.

"You won't be able to melt anything with gloves on," she objected. "You have to project the heat from your fingertips."

"I thought you said you couldn't help me," she grumbled.

"That wasn't helping," she said. "That was telling you if you put on gloves, you'll set your hands on fire."

Rolling her eyes, she thought about her advice. It wasn't quite concentration and it probably wasn't quite projection. She imagined it warm, the way Dimmsdale normally was, and the heat shining blissfully upon the city. It touched her skin, warmed her from within, and it felt like a covered flame spread throughout her body. Heat flared and Vela exclaimed, backing up on the ice.

Before Tootie's eyes, the ice cleared from her floor and the dresser. She felt warmer, too, less like she'd been plunged into freezing water. Relieved, she grinned and proceeded to dress.

"Oh, and one other thing," Vela said, respectfully averting her gaze. "Daddy says Timmy also wished for snow. Daddy says Fairy World absolutely doesn't want you interfering with Timmy's wish, 'cuz they're trying to get Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof to reverse it. And…don't let Timmy know you have magical powers."

"I really wanted him to have another reason to call me a freak," Tootie muttered, wiping her brow. She was sweating a little.

"Are you going out like that?" she said.

"I suppose I'll have to put on shoes," Vela said and conjured up black flats. "I really hate them, though. But I can't shift, so this'll have to do."

"Why can't you shift?" she said, frowning.

"I'll lose the baby," she explained.

"Okay…" Tootie said and Vela shook her head.

"You don't need to know that much," she said. "And Daddy's tetchy about private info, particularly about me and Aura. So…shall we?"

"How am I going to explain you?" Tootie said.

"Oh, I can pop in and out," Vela said. "That's not a problem. But I can't change form."

"I'll call you and you'll come?" Tootie said.

"I'll be outside," Vela said and beamed. "I love snow!"

She vanished and Tootie rolled her eyes. Although Vela had gone, her exuberance was contagious and Tootie couldn't help but grin. Being around Vela made her even more hyper than usual and also filled her with cheer. It was hard to believe she was Deb's daughter, considering her bright and airy demeanor compared with how dark and unnerving Deb could be. It made Tootie wonder who her mother was…but if Deb had never mentioned her, there was probably a reason.

Putting on her winter boots, she headed outside, where, predictably, the entire second floor was frozen solid. Vicky exited her bedroom and glared at her younger sister.

"I don't know how, but this is somehow your fault," Vicky snapped. Her face was scrapped raw and she had a black-eye. Tootie bit back a snort.

"When I get my hands on you," she growled and lunged. Tootie stuck out her leg and Vicky crashed down the stairs. She landed on her rear and didn't move, howling in pain. Tootie rolled her eyes and raised her hands again, proceeding to melt the ice on the second floor after the fact. She'd leave Vicky's room as is. Deb would probably reverse it later or not, depending on his whim.

After fixing the stairs, she headed down. Vicky grabbed the banister, almost fell again because the banister was iced over, and hissed. She pushed off, skated into the kitchen, and Tootie halted on the final stair to appreciate the wonderland. Everything was frozen, gleaming in the sunlight coming in through the revealed windows. The power was off and Tootie gulped.

"Would you believe there's school?" Tootie's mother commented as Tootie skated into the kitchen. The cuts and bruises attested to their adventures getting downstairs. She saw Deb's face in her mind and then the injuries vanished…on her parents. Vicky still sported her black eye and scraped face. Deborvak chuckled and his presence faded.

"That's bull," Vicky grumbled. "The whole damn house is frozen."

"You'd better get ready," Tootie's mother said. "And it's not the whole house. None of our things are frozen, strangely enough."

She reached into her pocketbook and handed her daughters lunch money. Tootie knew for a fact Vicky never needed it. She shook down freshmen.

"Probably too many snow days already," Tootie's father said from behind the paper, where he was hiding so he didn't have to face Vicky.

"Better get going," Tootie's mother said. "You wouldn't want to miss the bus."

"Or crash into it," Vicky muttered darkly.

There was school, but that didn't mean Timmy's parents would stay home again. They were going skiing, abandoning Timmy since "he didn't need them while he was at school anyway". Afterschool, Vicky was due to babysit. Six days and Timmy's parents were back to abandoning him again. He tried to ignore the way his heart sank and clenched, but it was hard. Sometimes, he worried his parents didn't really love him…

"Cheer up, sport," Wanda said.

"Yeah, you can ski to school too!" Cosmo said.

Timmy groaned. Then he blinked, staring around his bedroom. "Where's Poof?"

"Babies can't be exposed to the cold for very long," Wanda said. "We had to send him to Mama Cosma."

"So…when will he be back?" Timmy said.

"Sweetie," Wanda said and grimaced. "If this cold keeps up…"

"But I like the snow," he protested. "And maybe they'll have an early dismissal."

"The cold's nice one in a while, but after a while…" Wanda said.

"What? Are you two sick of it?" he countered. "C'mon, you're my fairy godparents. Get over it. It's just snow."

Timmy sneezed.

"And that's just the beginnings of a cold," Wanda warned, eyes narrowing.

"What's the worst that could happen?" he said, sneezing again. "You guys are overreacting."

"Sure," Wanda said darkly.

Cosmo sneezed too.

In an act of charity, or perhaps because Deborvak wasn't allowed to risk hundreds of innocent lives, the streets were clear. No car accidents occurred and the school bus dropped them off in a timely fashion. Vela reappeared, this time wearing a winter coat and mufflers. Like her vest, everything was the same shade of Tyrian purple. She had swapped flats for boots with fluff on the edges.

"The school's iced over," Vela said and grinned. "But only certain parts. Incidentally, they follow your schedule."

"I can't believe he iced the school," Tootie groaned.

"He didn't," Vela said, shrugging. "You're not the only kid who wished for snow, you know."

Tootie frowned, staring at her ears. "Your tips. They're pointed still."

"Oh, that stays no matter what form I'm in," she said. "By the way, Daddy told me every hour it gets colder, so you might want to figure out how you're going to counter the chill sooner rather than later."

She groaned. "Any more good news?"

"Um…my baby's kicking," Vela said. "Six more weeks of winter!"

As much as she hated to admit it, Vela was right. By third period, the heat Tootie raised along her arms didn't help her classmates and the chalkboard had frozen solid, preventing teachers from teaching. Still, the school didn't close. Maybe it was taking cues from a certain state college that refused to close, despite risk to its students and faculty. Or perhaps wherever the principal was, she wasn't affected by the chill.

They huddled together for warmth and Tootie felt guilty. Timmy was bundled in Cosmo and Wanda earmuffs and gloves. Other students weren't so lucky, although she saw a few more faces on winter wear than she had anticipated. Shivering, she projected the heat firmly and barely felt the chill.

"Students, gather in the auditorium while the janitors try to figure out what's wrong with the heating system," the principal called and, in unison, the class groaned. They were frozen to their seats. In unison, they inched forward and their clothing ripped.

They heard a creaking noise and Tootie looked up, to discover the water pipe bulging. She shrieked and the door, which had to have been solid too, suddenly flared red hot and opened. A man with shoulder length black hair with purple highlights appeared in the doorway. He wore a white silk shirt and black dress pants, along with shiny black shoes. His stunning purple eyes, the same shade as Deborvak's, caught Tootie's gaze. In terms of stature, he had to be about six feet tall, thin and lithe, and his face was angular, sharper than Deb's with a long, peaked nose and high forehead. With the eye shade and shortening the forehead and face, he and Deborvak looked rather similar.

"I'm here to collect Tootie," he said and then shot Cosmo and Wanda a dirty look. "And remind a certain duo about the danger of turning students into an exhibit for future generations."

"Tootie, go," the teacher said. Her lips had turned blue. Tootie stared at the man, who had to be Stefan. His skin was the same unnerving hue as Vela's and she could have sworn his ears were tipped like hers.

Stefan waved his hand and the path cleared, invisible to the eyes but no longer ice. Once she exited, Stefan drew her aside, proceeding to warm the path slowly until they were near the lockers.

"Don't lean against those," he warned. "Unless you'd like to become intimately acquainted."

"I thought you were only supposed to show up when I needed help," she said.

"Yes and no," he said. "I'm here to tell you it's a two part system. One, you need to figure out a way to fix the heating system. It should be a simple matter, Deborvak assures me…without telling me how. Second…he would like to impress upon you the urgency of reversing the spell. This isn't all his doing."

"I thought he said it was," Tootie snapped. "He told me I was doing all of this by wishing for it."

"He only said that because he hates winter," Stefan said and rolled his eyes. "Also, he thought you might be fonder of him than you let on and would wish it away by virtue of the fact you care so much. Deborvak has an ego problem."

She sighed. "Any idea how to fix the heating system?"

"Incubation," he said.

"But I don't have that kind of power," she groaned.

"If you can block off the vents…" he frowned. "Ah, I've said too much. But one more thing, although Deborvak won't thank me. Remember bodies aren't the only things that hold heat."

He disappeared and Tootie thought about Vela's pregnancy. She was wondering before how the baby could keep warm in an Ice elemental. But that part of her body had to be warmer than the rest…and incubation could help baby birds, who didn't have their mother…

"Oh!" she exclaimed.

She rushed to the science lab. In a baby bird's incubation tank, they used blankets and a heat lamp. Tootie couldn't conjure a heat lamp, especially not without a wand, but she could project heat. Maybe she could store the heat within something and then line the vents. It'd block off the cold air, perhaps stir warmer currents…

No one was in the hallways, bereft of ice. She saw, in her mind's eye, Stefan nod and wink. In the science lab, she discovered Vela, who was peering at a beaker and frowning.

"Daddy said I'm not allowed to experiment," she pouted. "He said I've done enough chemistry."

Tootie looked at Vela's protruding belly, which wasn't quite noticeable but would get more noticeable in the coming months. Vela snorted and pointed to a cabinet where, normally, one found Bunsen burners and lighters. Instead, there were blankets.

"You can store heat in the blankets like you can store magic in amulets," Vela said. "Not that you can use this information now, but it might prove useful in the future."

She beamed. "You wanna skate around school? It's so funny. The teachers keep colliding and all the math teachers keep losing their calculators."

She reached Tootie in the doorway, pulled her in, and brought her to the cabinet. "They haven't been hurt. I'd never laughif a human hurt himself."

But her gleaming eyes said otherwise.

"Can you show me how to store heat?" Tootie asked and Vela shook her head.

"But I can give you a hint," she said. "You have to push outward, like you did before, except more!"

"That's…not helpful," she told her.

"Maybe I don't want to be helpful," Vela snapped suddenly. "Did you ever think about that? Did you ever consider that maybe I don't wanna be helping a random human godchild when I have more important things to do?"

Tootie retreated.

"I have more important things to do than babysit, you know!" Vela huffed.

"Um…okay…" Tootie said. "Where'd Stef go?"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Vela snapped. "Just hang out with Grandfather and ignore me completely!"

"Wait, Stef is Deb's father? Why does he call him Stefan, then?" Tootie said.

"If you don't know I'm not going to tell you!" Vela announced and stormed out. Tootie's mouth dropped. That was…scary.

Staring at the cabinet, she opened it and brought out a blanket. Spreading it on a lab table, she shut her eyes and focused. Bringing out the heat from within her, she propelled it onto the blanket.

At first, she could only sense the tip of her magic and it frustrated her. Then she felt a blaze of warmth envelope her, like she had entered a hot bath after a long, cold day. Smiling, she pushed again, feeling the channel open up and flow through her. Once the blanket was sufficiently warm, she grabbed another, and another.

After she felt wrung out, unable to touch the rest of her power, she stopped and headed for the door. She turned back and frowned. She could have sworn…but he didn't like the cold…

And besides, he had told her only Ice elementals could help.

"Deborvak?"

There was no answer. Then again, if he had illicitly helped her, there wouldn't be.

Stuffing the vents turned out to be relatively easy. The janitors were desperate for tips and although they had no idea how the blankets had gotten so warm, they weren't going to question it. Tootie handed the blankets off and discovered the temperature had increased. It was still frigid, but not unbearable.

She discovered Timmy unable to open his locker and sneezing up a storm.

"Cold?" she inquired.

"No," he said. "I'm fine." He sneezed again and then coughed. As a magnet, Wanda narrowed her eyes.

Cosmo, a pin on his backpack, also sneezed.

"Not tempted to wish it was warm?" she teased.

"No," he snapped. "They'll let us home early and then my parents will have to pick me up."

"Or get Vicky," she said.

"They have to come," he said sullenly.

"I thought they went skiing," she said.

"Darn it," he snapped and kicked the locker. His foot stuck and Cosmo and Wanda groaned.

She touched her hands to the locker and it warmed enough for him to move. Wanda shot her a warning look and she moved away.

Once she reached her own locker, Deborvak reappeared as a mirror. "You've done enough…of your magic. I'm still waiting for you to reverse your wish."

She groaned and looked at Timmy, who was sneezing again and shivering violently. Her heart went out to him.

"Oh, that's him being an idiot," Deb scoffed. "He'll get over it and end up in bed for a week. Though you can't really blame him."

"Is Stef your father?" she said instead of what she had originally planned.

"No," he said. "Stefan is my grandfather."

"Then why does Vela call him 'Grandfather'?" Tootie said.

"Because my father doesn't exist," he said and his face went blank. His eyes looked through her and she shivered. "We will never discuss my father."

He brightened and his gaze returned to almost normal. "Now, about un-wishing this wish!"

"Okay…" she said, disconcerted by how quickly he had changed topics. "I wish-"

"Don't get cute and wish I'd tell you about my father," he snapped and she stiffened. His eyes were merciless, worse than she had ever seen in Vicky, because at least with Vicky, there was fury and a live wire to touch. There was a wall Tootie could never penetrate and a subtle warning to watch her step.

"Okay…" she grimaced. "That bad?"

"Unwish the wish," he said.

"I wish it'd stop snowing and we could finally return to seasonal warmth!" she said.

"Now Cosmo and Wanda just have to work on Timmy," he said. He smiled, but there was no humor.

"Your family is strange…" she mused.

"Yes," he said sharply. When Deborvak shut her out, sometimes he scared her. Sometimes she worried there was a side to him Jorgen didn't know about and he kept it well hidden, except for little glimpses. The glimpses that said he wasn't as happy or as well-adjusted as he pretended.

By the time lunch rolled around, Timmy couldn't stop sneezing and his nose was stuffed. It was the fastest acting cold he'd ever had and he was growing unintelligible. But that didn't matter. Once he was sent home early, his parents would have to cancel their trip and return. They had to. It wasn't like they were going to call Vicky out of school and force her to babysit him.

Cosmo being sick wasn't a problem. Unless it was the Fairy Flu, but he didn't think it was. They could just heal themselves.

His eyes watered and he slumped over the table. He wasn't hungry and sat alone; his friends, fearing his cold was contagious, had left him alone.

"Sport, don't you think it's time you un-wished this wish?" Wanda said. "We can make you better."

Cosmo sneezed and sent Timmy's milk carton sailing across the table. They were disguised as salt and pepper shakers.

"No way," he said, thoroughly congested. "I'll go home early and my parents will have to cancel their trip to take care of me. Piece of cake."

He started coughing and couldn't stop. Wanda gave him an invisible pat on the back and offered him water.

"Like they did the last ten times you've been sick?" Cosmo said. "Oh, wait, that was Vicky they sent. Nothing says 'sick in the head' like Vicky!"

Timmy sneezed again and groaned. "Maybe they'll change their minds."

Cosmo sneezed. "And I'm not an idiot!"

Nearly halfway through school, Timmy couldn't travel without magical aid. Cosmo and Wanda had to help him to the nurses' office and only more magical aid kept Wanda germ free, with Cosmo and Timmy sneezing up a storm. Someone had to be in charge of this mess. He trudged inside and plopped on a cot…only for another kid to shove him off. Timmy groaned and looked up. Cosmo and Wanda groaned too. The waiting room was full.

"Go wait in the auxiliary room," an aide said without looking at him. The auxiliary room was packed too and he had to drop onto the floor beside a chair.

"Sport, I hate to say this, but they're not going to send you home without someone to pick you up," she said. "And right now…"

Timmy groaned and tried to tune out her advice. Did she always have to be right? It was so annoying. He buried his face in his hands and didn't notice the door open or a figure walk up.

"Daddy says other parties aren't allowed to interfere with your wish, but according to Fairy World, I don't exist anyway," a cheerful voice said and he lifted his head. A young woman with a slightly protruding belly and long purple hair, mixed with blonde streaks, handed him a rather warm blanket. She had a heart shaped face and she beamed when his eyes met hers.

"You be nice to Tootie," she said.

"Who're you?" he said, at least, that was what he attempted. He sneezed and held the blanket away. After some fumbling, he wrapped it around himself.

"Someone to keep an eye on you," she said. She grinned. "In a non-creepy way, of course."

Giggling, she backed out of the door and Timmy stared. Her ears were pointed.

"Um, guys?" he said.

"Quarter fey, if I had to guess," Wanda said.

"Wow, she's even more of a half breed than Toot-" Cosmo started and Wanda elbowed him hard.

Timmy let their words wash over him. He groaned and shut his eyes. It didn't matter how many people were ahead of him. Maybe he'd fall asleep and his parents would be here when he woke up. Cosmo and Wanda bundled inside the warm blanket and he hugged them to him.

His real parents…

"I can't believe it," Wanda murmured after Timmy had passed out. "He'd rather get sick than call off the wish."

Cosmo didn't answer and she groaned. Of course. He'd conked out too. Shutting her eyes, she decided if it was nap time, she might as well take the sleep where she could get it.

"Can you call off their wishes?" Tootie asked after visiting the nurses' office and discovering Timmy still there, unconscious. Deb had reappeared, disguised a hooked earring.

"I could," he said. "In both senses of the word. Fairy World allows us to undo someone else's wish, although they don't like it. I could also use magic that supersedes their own and prevent them from countermanding me."

"There's a but coming," she said, walking away from the nurses' office and toward her last period class, gym.

" 'But' Jorgen doesn't know the extent of the magic I can perform outside Fairy World control and," she could hear the grin, "I don't intend to clue him in."

"How powerful are you, really?" she murmured.

He scoffed and didn't answer. After a few seconds, he jerked on her earlobe.

"You might want to impress upon him the importance of not forcing Vicky to play nursemaid," he said. "Her bedside manner is up there with my Elders."

Tootie saw the dangling lure there and considered following it, but the way he had casually thrown it into conversation didn't necessarily mean he'd open up. Frowning, she said, "What makes you think he'll listen?"

"He might listen to the devil if it brought him relief," he said. "That's some fast acting cold."

"Can't you talk to Cosmo and Wanda?" she said.

"I don't-" he stopped and swallowed. "You're gonna be late, Toot-Toot, so hustle."

Instead of walking to the gym, she pivoted and headed for the nurses' office. Timmy had been moved to a cot in the back and his eyelids fluttered. Upon her arrival, Wanda reappeared as a mouse on Timmy's chest. Deborvak vanished and though she sensed him, she couldn't see him.

"A little birdie told me I should convince you to change things around," she said. "Before Vicky ends up being your nurse."

He groaned. She wasn't sure how much he could understand and she pressed her palm to his forehead. Wincing, she withdrew it.

"Before you end up in the hospital," she said.

"Trixie?" he said.

"Smooth," Deborvak said from somewhere near her temple. "I'd work with that, if I were you. And if I were me, I'll be sitting here mocking you."

"Thanks for the words of support," she muttered.

"No problem!"

"Wouldn't you rather everything was back to normal, nice, warm, and no pesky cold?" she said. She tried a Trixie-like grin and it felt creepy, unnatural. "I'd like you better if you weren't sneezing all the time."

In an undertone, she added, "Believe me."

"Will you go out with me if I make everything warm again?" Timmy slurred.

Deborvak laughed. "Beer goggles?"

"I promise," she said and then grinned wickedly. She saw, in her mind's eye, Deborvak grin wickedly too.

"Okay, then, um, I wish everything was back to the way it was, with no random snow storms and no cold!" he said.

An instant later, his cold vanished and he stared at Tootie. Then he screamed, recoiling on the bed.

"You're not Trixie!"

"Usually, you have to wait until the morning after for that one," Deborvak said.

Basking in her warm house, sans ice and Vicky, Tootie stretched out on her bed. It was sad Timmy had to deal with her sister in order for Tootie to be free, although she wasn't complaining at the moment. Vela was sitting and watching a sci fi show and Deborvak was sitting with a large book in his lap and ignoring everyone else.

"It's good to be warm," Tootie said.

"Feh," Vela said. "Warmth is overrated. I love the cold."

Tootie glanced at Deb, but he was engrossed in his book. Vela poked the space around him and encountered a magical barrier.

"He must be studying," Vela observed.

"I thought he already knew magic from Jorgen?" Tootie said.

"He does," Vela said. She grinned. "Jorgen isn't his only master."

Although he gave no other indication of noticing their conversation, Deb's lips twitched.

"Am I going to meet this 'other master'?" Tootie said.

"I hope not," Vela said at the same time Deborvak, closing the book, glanced in Tootie's direction. His body radiated purple magic and his gaze arrested her.

"No," he said. "Not unless you have a death wish."

At a loss, she gawked and he smiled, waving the matter aside.

"Now, who's ready to make up the days you missed by losing summer vacation?" he called and rubbed his palms together. Her mouth dropped.

"What?" he said and grinned. "There's no such thing as a free day, Toot-Toot. Not by half."

"But- but-" she sputtered. "I learned how to project fire! I got Timmy to un-wish a wish! Why do I have to attend more school?"

"Wah," he teased, his eyes glittering, mocking. "Poor baby."

"I wish we didn't have school tomorrow and it didn't come out of summer vacation," Tootie said defiantly.

"Okay," he agreed and held up his wand. "It'll just come out of spring break!"

"HEY!" she cried.

"You said you didn't want it to come out of summer vacation," he said and beamed. "It has to come out of somewhere. Don't blame the messenger."

He pretended to file his nails with his wand.

"I wish you'd tell me about your father," she said. Deb's smile dropped like it had never been there.

"No."

It was like the temperature had dropped without the wish and Tootie shivered. Vela shuddered too and hugged herself.

"It's against Da Rules not to grant me a wish," she pointed out.

"He was a great Elven warrior, he died, left the family, end story," Deborvak snapped and disappeared with a loud pop. Tootie's mouth dropped.

"Do me a favor," Vela said, gulping. "Never bring up Grandfather Illiyich. If I were you, I'd never bring it up his past again, either."

"He's supposed to be uniquely in tune to me because he's part faerie like me," Tootie protested. "How am I supposed to commiserate with him if he won't tell me?"

"Because some things are better left in the dark," Vela said. "This family has too many skeletons in its closet."