A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. I mashed my hand, then my computer went psycho, then I had major writer's block, but here's chapter three! I know this story is a little all over the place, but my excuse is 'It's meant to be that way' and I'm sticking to it. Next chapter will be longer, Brownie's honour. - Sky.

Chapter Three - Wanda's Apology

Long after Timmy had gone to bed, Cosmo found himself unable to sleep. He sat on Timmy's windowsill, staring out into the darkness that engulfed Dimsdale and trying not to cry. He knew Wanda was watching him and not daring to move, and in the darkest part of his soul he felt a bitter happiness that she was suffering. This was her fault after all, she was the one to blame for the way Cosmo was feeling. She should feel guilty, he thought as he pressed his hands against the window. He was her husband after all, how could she do this to him?

-

"I don't think it's a good idea Wanda," Cosmo said quietly. He hated denying his wife anything, especially something she wanted so badly, but he couldn't white wash his feelings and go ahead with what she was proposing. He wouldn't be able to handle it, of that he was certain, and if that was the case he wouldn't be the only one to suffer. He couldn't do it, it wasn't fair.

"Why not Cosmo?" Wanda asked softly, trying to blink back the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. Cosmo felt his heart break just a little bit.

"I won't be able to say goodbye Wanda, you know what I'm like," he said sympathetically, chancing a smile at the mention of his own shortcomings.

"But just think of all the good we'll be doing Cosmo! And it would make me so happy." Most husbands would have felt a dart of anger at their wives if they tried to manipulate them in such a way, but Cosmo just found it endearing. He knew Wanda could wrap him around her little finger, but he was so comfortable there he couldn't see sense in complaining.

"But godparents?" Cosmo replied, defiantly sticking to his guns. "It's such a tough job and we both know I'm not the smartest knife in the draw."

"Oh don't be stupid Cosmo," Wanda replied, waving her hand fussily. "Being a godparent isn't about smarts, it's about love and kindness, and I know you're brimming over with those." She smiled cheekily and kissed her husband on the cheek, reducing him to a mushy puddle that was near incapable of putting up a fight.

"I don't see why we can't..." he began nervously, dodging Wanda's gaze. She smiled, slightly bemused.

"Can't what sweetie?"

"Why we can't have our own," Cosmo said in a rush. Wanda ran her hands over her stomach in response to this.

"Maybe some day pudding," she said, positively beaming. "But not yet. We've only been married for fifty years! I mean, what would the neighbours say?"

"We have neighbours?" Cosmo asked, forgetting his troubles for the moment. Wanda took both her husband's hands in her own and smiled at him. That was all it took, Cosmo knew right then that he didn't stand a chance.

-

Cosmo had caved in soon after that. If he was honest, the idea of becoming a godparent did appeal to him. He had grown up always feeling something was missing, as his father had never really taken the time to get to know him or even acknowledge his existence, and he had been miserable because of it. He had always wished that someone would come along and fill that void and someone had, in the shape of his beautiful wife, and he was more than willing to do the same for others. But he had been honest, and rather vocal, about his fears when the time came to leave their godchildren behind. As Jorgen had explained on their first day of training, kids don't stay kids forever, and sooner or later you'll have to leave them and they will forget you ever existed. The thought broke Cosmo's heart, and he was worried that he wouldn't open up to his godchildren for fear of growing attached to them, and he would fail as a godfather just like he had failed at everything else.

Timmy was restless in his bed. Cosmo threw him a worried look, catching just a glimpse of pink hair as he did so. He had tried not to love Timmy, he really had, but in the end he just couldn't help it. Timmy was an amazing godson. He didn't love them because they folded at his slightest whim, he loved them just because. Cosmo thought of all the times that Timmy had stuck his neck out to help them, even if it was at his own expense, and before he knew it the tears were flowing. He had loved his other godchildren, certainly, but Timmy was something else. Timmy was the son that Cosmo had never had. How on earth was he ever going to say goodbye?

-

"Checkmate!" Cosmo exclaimed happily. Opposite him, a young girl with long red hair and matching freckles narrowed her eyes.

"We're playing Draughts Cosmo," she said in an ammused voice. Cosmo fixed her with a goofy grin.

"Oh," he said quickly. "Then King me!" The girl almost fell to the floor, her violent fit of giggles had gripped her so suddenly.

"Cosmo? Sweetie?" Cosmo looked over at his wife, who was hovering nervously by the door. "Can I talk to you in private for a moment please?"

"Which anniversary did you forget this time?" the young girl asked, struggling to keep her laughter under control. Cosmo shrugged and went to his wife.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, before Wanda could speak.

"What for?" she asked.

"For whatever it is I did that you're about to yell at me for," he said, offering her what he hoped was a winning smile. She rolled her eyes, before changing her mind and taking his hands in hers just as she had done all those years before.

"Cosmo," she said gently, and Cosmo felt his insides freeze. This was her serious voice, her serious manner. She had bad news to tell him. "Jorgen came to see me today, while you and Sarah were at school." Cosmo bit his lip.

"Not now," he said in a whisper. He had played this scene out with Wanda so many times he knew it off by heart. They were leaving, and it would be soon.

-

Cosmo had managed to sneak away a few times after that fateful day without arousing Wanda's suspicions, just to check on Sarah. She wasn't the first child they had left by a long way, and she certainly wouldn't be the last, but Cosmo knew that she would always have a special place in his heart. Four years they had been her fairies, and yet Sarah had never overcome her guilt complex when it came to wishing. It made Cosmo smile to think of the way she would wring her hands and stutter whenever she wished for something that was just for her. Cosmo loved her very much.

When he floated outside of her window and watched her as she gossiped with her girlfriend, it was clear that she had no recollection of her fairy godparents at all. For everything she had acquired through there magics a false explanation had been implanted in her brain. Sarah used to say that hanging out with Cosmo and Wanda were the happiest moments of her life, and now she didn't remember them at all.

Cosmo remembered. It stung him to think that he would never hear her laugh again, he would never see her drop another lamp or ornament out of her sheer clumsiness again, he would never hear her singing to herself when she thought no one was listening again. It was like losing his daughter, and Cosmo had known all along he wasn't strong enough for it. It was killing him inside.

-

"What's his name again?" Cosmo asked through a mouthful of fudge cake.

"Timmy Turner," Wanda replied, glowering at Cosmo for not offering to share. He hugged his arm tightly around his plate and poked his tongue out at her.

"Nuh uh, you said you didn't want any," he said stubbornly.

"Stupid diet," Wanda replied, scowling.

"Why are we going to him?" Cosmo asked, finally putting his fork down.

"He has an evil babysitter," Wanda replied. "Just like Joseph, only this one's much worse." Cosmo's smile faltered a little. Joseph was the one with the pircing blue eyes and soft southern accent. He used to play catch with Cosmo all the time, back in the thirties. He had died just last year, but Wanda said that heart attacks were common at his age.

"Oh," Cosmo said, losing his appetite at once.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Wanda asked, placing her hand on Cosmo's arm.

"Nothing," Cosmo said in a cheerful voice. "Nothing at all." Wanda smiled, apparently satisifed. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you finish your fudge cake," Wanda replied, eyeing the dessert in question. Cosmo sighed at his wife, feeling that bolt of warmth shoot through his heart that came with loving her so much.

"You wanna give me a hand here honey?" he asked, handing her a fork. She grabbed it from him without a second thought and stole Cosmo's plate from under his nose.

-

"You think it'll rain?"

Cosmo couldn't find his voice to answer her. He couldn't care less whether it was going to rain or not, and there was only a trace of shock within him regarding his anger towards his wife. He hadn't wanted this, and he still didn't. He just wanted to settle down, with Wanda and their very own child, raising his baby in the way a proper father would.

"Please, talk to me Cosmo."

He wanted to. God, how he wanted to, but all he could think to say were words that would hurt Wanda, and he hadn't sunken that low yet. He closed his eyes and leant his forehead against the glass. He felt Wanda's hand fall gently on his shoulder, and though every instinct in his body told him to shrug it off he knew that he just didn't have it in him.

"Wanda?" he finally managed.

"Yes sweetie?" she said, her voice full of hope. Cosmo turned around, and Wanda felt herself recoil at the sadness in his face. She felt horrible and wretched, and she would give anything to make Cosmo feel better. She wanted to right the wrong she had inflicted upon him, and make everything proper again the way a good wife should. She loved the man who sat before her, and she was having trouble contemplating why she would hurt him so. Anything he wanted, it was his.

"Can we go home?"

An age passed between the two fairies. Cosmo felt as though he had just had a great weight lifted from his chest. The question he had been dying to ask a thousand godchildren before had finally been spoken. He could finally rest easy now, whatever the outcome. Wanda felt a rush of emotion all at once. Yes, she was tired of this lifestyle and yes, it would be nice to finally stop moving, but oh God what would she do without her godchildren? Cosmo's eyes pleaded with her. It didn't matter what she did. In her heart she knew they would never have another godson like Timmy, and she may as well finish on a high.

"Yes Cosmo," she said softly. "We can go home." Cosmo felt his rage dissolve, only to be replaced with a feeling of grattitude and guilt. This was Wanda's life, and she had given it all up just for him. He felt her bury her face in his messy green hair and he realised with a shock that she was leaning on him, not the other way around. She had come for his forgiveness, and she had won it, but it didn't stop her aching. "Oh Cosmo I'm so sorry," she wept. Cosmo held her tightly.

"What for?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"For putting you through all this. I've been just terrible." Cosmo hushed his wife gently.

"Wanda," he said. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world." Wanda lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. He wasn't lying.

"Cosmo, can we..." she began nervously.

"Can we what sweetie?"

"Can we have our own?" Cosmo brought Wanda's lips to his and kissed her deeply. Wanda smiled, and led her husband to their bedroom.