Not mine though I would love to have a Howl of my very own. Anyone know where I could buy one? Still looking for a copy of the book so bare with me I still have only read the fan fiction and seen the movie.

Aub- thank you from your wonderful review. I really appreciated it. This chapter is for you because you thought there weren't enough stories about this out there.

Back on Track.

By/Par: Ja ne, Kat

It was quite late. That time of the day where the world holds, it's breath in between darkest night, turning into day. Howl wasn't quite sure what had awakened his normally peaceful sleep, but, something was tugging at the back of his brain. He slowly stopped to take in his surroundings. He was in his room in the castle, but, something was missing. He reached out to touch the warm, soft body that he had so fast become accustomed to being there, only to find her missing.

"Sophie?" He called out softly.

Could the fact that she was missing be what woke him up? No, he was sure it was something else. It felt almost like someone new had entered his castle, but, he couldn't detect anyone different in his home, and he had been looking all week since he'd first felt it. Shrugging, he got up to look for his lost wife.

O.o O.o

"Oh Calcifer, what am I going to do? We haven't even discussed stuff like this yet! What if he hates me? Or worse what if he runs? What would I do then? Never mind that, what should I do now? Oh Calcifer, you've known him longest, what should I do?"

The fire demon took in the woman crying softly at his hearth, to the light footsteps that had stopped on the stairs. Howl stood there, his blonde hair catching the light he was putting out. As of yet Sophie hadn't noticed his entrance.

"For starters your going to calm down Sophie, no one ever makes a good decision upset. So, come on take deep breaths for me. That's a good girl. Now let's start at the most important point, are you happy about it?"

"Of course! It's part of my job as a wife! I want to be a good wife to Howl, one he can be proud of! But sometimes he pulls some very strange idea's out of his head. Like the skirt he talked me into wearing one time. It came to my knees for goodness sake! Yet he took me through the black door to Wales, and everyone there seemed to think I was covering too much! So for all I know, in Wales it could be a bad thing, something that husbands don't bother with."

"Sophie? Does that sound like some thing Howl would do? Yes, there are times where he'll run away I'm sure, that's how he is, but for the most part I think he'll be happy. So, now we're back to the original question. Are you happy about it? I don't care what you think you're supposed to feel about it, I want to know what you actually feel about it."

He watched as she actually stopped to think about it, a smile crossing her face.

"You sound like Howl."

Then her face went dark, tears yet again collected in chocolate brown her eyes, her moonlight hair falling into her face, hiding whatever else he might have seen from view.

"I'm scared. What if I'm no good at it? What if something goes wrong? It's . . . "

Calcifer cut her off before she could say more.

"Sounds like Howl's looking for you." He said and Howl melted himself into darkness to avoid being seen.

"Oh bother." She said standing up fast and wiping her eyes. "Do I look normal Calcifer? Silly question of course I don't."

Howl backed into their room and made it sound like he was getting out of bed.

"Sophie?" he called loud enough she'd hear him, but not loud enough to wake everyone up. If there was an audience she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her.

"Down here, Howl. I'll be right up."

He snorted. So, his little mouse was hoping he'd go back to sleep and forget about it. He stood up and started down stairs.

"That's okay. What are you doing down here so late at night Sophie?" He asked trying for innocent, as he came down the stairs.

"I couldn't sleep and didn't want to wake you." She said. He snorted elegantly again. His mouse was a terrible liar, a fact he had pointed out on more then one occasion.

"Is that so?" He let the words hang in the air. She nodded her head.

"I really didn't want to worry you with this-"

"That's not what you said. You said you didn't want to wake me up. What could you possibly be worried about that, your HUSBAND, isn't important enough to share with you?"

"It's not like that at all, it just-"

"She was trying to figure out how to tell you something Howl. She wanted it to be a surprise and asked for my advice." Calcifer tossed out coming to her rescue.

"Yes! That's right."

"Well the surprise is ruined now, so why don't you tell me? No time like the present, my little mouse always says. Besides. If it was making you cry, I'd really like to know. I don't like nasty surprises."

Sophie's face went white at those words and he knew he'd said something wrong. What that was, he had no clue but Calcifer would blast it into him later he was sure.

"Sophie? Honest, I was trying to cheer you up. Now please tell me what's wrong?"

Tears fell down her face like rain. Going sliver to match what he thought was starlight in her hair, and to hell with what Calcifer thought.

"Sophie?" Calcifer said softly. "Go on. You normally have so much courage. Lets see it here. You can do it. You have just as much spark as I do." He said trying to look calming.

"I. . . I ca . . . I can't!" she sobbed. "Honest Howl, don't make me tell you right now. Please? I'll tell you in the morning but not right now."

Howl took in the woman, and saw the fear that he'd felt for so long coming off of her in waves. This wasn't like his Sophie. HIS Sophie faced down all her fears, usually with a broom.

"Fine at day break then." He relented. "But for now come here little mouse." He reached out and pulled her down onto his lap in front of Calcifer. "We shall wait right here for sunrise in the garden. Sound fair?"

Head still down. She nodded, looking miserable.

"So?" Calcifer asked, "what shall we do till them? I know! Let me tell you about some of the pranks' Howl and I pulled before we left Madame Suliman."

"Oh no." Howl moaned but Calcifer gave him a look and went strait on to tell Sophie about some of the more embarrassing moments of his life.

O.O o.o

Hours later she was smiling and laughing again. She had made them tea and had pulled biscuits from somewhere. She had returned the favour to Howl by telling some of the things her younger siblings had pulled on her mother when they were younger. She hadn't because as eldest she was required to be well-behaved, and was usually helping out when all the fun was going on.

He looked to the window to see the sun start to come up.

"It's sunrise Sophie."

Just like a switch had been tossed, she went back to being afraid.

"I-"

"No little mouse. Your slithering time is up. This time I'm going to put my foot down and insist you tell me what's wrong."

She nodded and went for the front door, expertly turning the handle to pink. The door opened for her and she looked out into their garden. Pausing she turned back to him.

"Coming Howl?" then she stopped to smile at Calcifer. "Thank you Calcifer." With that she went out the door.

"Calcifer?" he asked suddenly afraid as well.

Calcifer, it seemed, knew him to well.

"Don't blow this Howl. Be happy. Just be happy. Even if you're not, look happy. Please Howl I'm trusting you not to break her heart. She's given us back so much, do this one thing for her and try to help her through this. She's afraid and has every right to be. So for once you're going to have to help her. You're going to have to be strong for HER. Think you can manage that? Anything negative about it you can talk to me about later, but please don't ruin this for her. Help her enjoy it."

"Calcifer your scaring me." Howl told him, looking out into the meadow where Sophie was standing.

"Good. Maybe you'll take something serious for a change."

Howl nodded and started out.

"I won't let you down on this one Calcifer."

O.O o.o

Sophie heard her heartbeat race as the door closed. With the magic in her she felt that flare again as her fear of what Howl would do rose.

"Sophie? You're scaring Calcifer and I. I'm starting to think you're not happy here."

She would have smiled if she hadn't been so tense.

"No Howl. That's not it. I love it here. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else ever."

"Good because this is always your home. You are free to come and go as often as you like and stay here as long as you like. In fact the longer the better."

"Try to remember you said that when you hate me."

"Hate you? Why would I hate you? You're the most wonderful, perfect beautiful being I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and being saved by. Nothing could make me hate you."

"Howl . . . I'm pregnant. I'm going to have your baby." And with that her courage seemed to have fled for her eyes found the ground again.

Howl felt like a light had gone off inside of him. A baby. They were going to have a baby. He picked her up and spun her around.

"That's great! Wonderful! Are we really pregnant? How could you think I'd hate you for that? I think it's wonderful Sophie. Though I'm not sure what kind of father I'd be, but, I'm more then willing to give it a shot."

"You're really happy about this? Please don't lie to me. I want the truth."

"Of course I'm happy, aren't you?"

"I'm scared. What if I'm not a good mother. What if it's a wizard? I can fell its life go through me when I'm afraid." Her eyes were clouding over again. "It's a whole person inside me. One I don't know! One I'm responsible for. What am I going to do?"

At this point Howl placed his hand over her mouth. She looked up at him with tear bright eyes, and felt that thing that had been haunting him flare up inside her. No wonder he could feel someone new but not find it.

"You're going to let me ask you a very important question. Do you want this Baby? Where I'm from in Wales there are doctors that can . . . remove it for you before it's even born. No one would ever know it had existed but Calcifer, you and I."

He watched as the news went across her face and made it blank. He was starting to sweat. Why wouldn't Sophie want to have their baby? Did she regret marrying him? He had made the offer and would go through with it, but, now that he had felt that life and knew what it was he really didn't want to. He wanted to be able to hold that strength, and see what it looked like. Would it have Sophie's silver hair or his dark blue hair? It was a wizard, if he could feel it, there was no way it wasn't. At the moment though he had to convince his wife that he could be a good father and keep it in her.

"Would that make you happy?" she asked voice empty. It was scary he thought, that she could sound so cold about that tiny life. A life she had helped make.

"This isn't about me. It's about you. I want to know what you want to do. If you want to be rid of it, then fine, it's your body and your decision. I will never mention it again or think less of you for it." He said trying to sound like the heart she had giving back to him wasn't breaking at the thought.

"This removal would . . . kill it wouldn't it?" she asked still cold and empty.

"That's correct. It wouldn't survive the procedure." Please say no, Sophie! Howl yelled in his head.

She must have been feeling something, because it flared to life again. Warm and calming, it slowed her pulse back down to normal.

She turned to him and he felt his own power start to leak out, with his fear of what she would say, wind rushing threw the flowers and shooting petals up into the air.

"It's so warm and fluttery just like your heart was. It keeps trying to help me calm down, even though it doesn't know me, it wants to help me, wants me to feel better. I really couldn't kill someone Howl, not for any reason. I'd like to try and be a parent. I was just so worried about what you'd do that I guess I projected my fears onto you. You were happy about it and I ruined it for you. I'm sorry."

"Cariad, don't be. Every mother must feel that same fear. A totally different and alien life is sharing your body. You're allowed to be afraid and emotional, but please next time don't shut me out. I married you. I took a vow to share your troubles with you. So, that's what I will do."

"Howl?" she asked voice small again, the life in her flaring to remind her she wasn't alone. "Would you really have taken me to Wales and let me kill it?"

He took a deep breath.

"I made the offer knowing that you couldsay yes. Having made the offer I would have gone through with it if that had been your choice, if that had been what you really wanted. Would I have been happy about it? No. I want to try and be a parent, one much better then mine were, or hell, even yours were. I want all of our children to know that each of them is important, that they all have the same rights. I want to have a baby with you, and more then one if you're willing. Don't worry about what kind of mother you'll be cariad, Markl will tell you, you're the best mother in the world. We'll have to let him know he's also considered as one of our children. Would you be willing to adopt Markl, Sophie?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Everything you've just said sounds wonderful to me Howl. Will you promise me something?"

"Anything. The moon if you asked. You've given me so much cariad and this is the best thing ever. The moon seems a small thing, compared to all the others."

"No, I don't want the moon. I want you to promise to be there if I ever, doubt us as parents again. To remind me that Markl came out okay and only you were there with him for the first part."

"That is a promise I will gladly make. Over and over again if you need me too, and you have a tenant to remind you when I can't be there. Now I have one last question for you. Do you want to know whether it's a girl or a boy?"

"You can tell!" Sophie asked, delight plain on her face. Happy about her news for the first time.

"Magic is a wonderful thing sometimes. Yes, I can tell."

"Yes, please. I would love to know.

He concentrated and slowly pushed his magic into the part of her where their child lay. Slowly so as not to disturb it and accidently have it hide from him and hurt itself, but to his surprise, power came back to him reached out and tired to help his nerves too. A mixture of his controlled magic and Sophie's wild magic. It reached out and wrapped them all together. It sent a thought at him.

Are you my daddy?

Howl concentrated on sending back to that voice that was fainter then the wind.

Yes.

Why are you making mommy worried? She's making us sick and she doesn't eat enough anyway.

I'll be there from now on to make sure she eats enough for both of you.

All of us?

All of you?

Yes. There are two of us, and if she doesn't start eating I'll be all alone in here. Just me. Will you save us? Mommy can't hear me.

I will do everything in my power to save you.

One more thing Daddy. When the other one wakes up, Mommy will be the one to hear. Only I can talk to you. There's something evil coming for us and Mommy. Make sure to take care of us all right?

You have my word I will save all of you. You're all very important to me. You're my family.

I'm glad you finally heard me. I've been trying for so long. Good night Daddy. I'm tired.

Sleep well.

Howl came back to his body to find Sophie looking at him worriedly.

"There's two. One can talk to me and the other will be able to talk to you. You have to eat more, or the smallest one won't make it. Okay Sophie?"

"Two?"

"Yup! Twins."

"Twins? What are they?" Sophie said wonderment on her face.

"They are---------"

O.O o.o

I'm evil! Your going to be left in the dark! Just so that you have a reason to come back and check the next one shot. Yes they do all run together if you want to read them all but each works as it's own Story I like to think.

Anyway I'll see you next time.

Ja ne!

Kat