A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Erskine, Ghastly or Skulduggery. Val is in her 20s, I think.

I walked beside Erskine as we entered the raided Necromancy temple. Cleavers were rounding up the blacked robed mages, but something didn't feel right. Of course, Necromancers always had an inner secret room. We searched the walls and Erskine found it first, a small switch. We jumped back ready for anything, but the sight that met our eyes horrified us.

One Necromancer held a squalling terrified baby skeleton on a stone altar, while the other, madness lighting his eyes held a rock above his head, clearly intent on smashing the skull. The baby squirmed and cried, as a third man, clearly the leader of the temple gave the order to kill it. "Crush the abomination, future Necromancers will thank you!" He ordered.

Then everything seemed to happen at once. I was summoning my own shadows as the Necromancer holding the rock stated to bring it down with a yell. Erskine gave a flash of movement and a gun I didn't even know he carried was in his hand, the roar of each shot deafening. The three men slumped lifeless to the ground and I managed to bat the stone away with my shadows. We rushed to the altar. "How in God's name could they kill a baby, Valkyrie, a baby?" He asked and I shrugged helplessly, removing the warm scarf Ghastly had made me to bundle up the wailing baby.

He held on to me with tiny fists and I cradled him close, he was wailing in fright and mourning, I was sure, the parents he'd lost when he had died. I wondered how the Necromancers could be so heartless to raise a baby from his grave, and I looked at Erskine for answers, but he had none to give.

Although the temple was searched and books were found they would have to be looked at by the Sanctuary first. I was sitting in Erskine's office, still holding the baby which had drifted off to sleep. Erskine looked at me closely. "Valkyrie, I want you to take the baby as your own. He wouldn't be allowed to live by the Necromancers and I'm afraid many mages would have the same idea, but he doesn't deserve a second death, not when he had no choice. Please, be his guardian, care for him, please."

Tears glimmered in Erskine's eyes and I was touched. We'd fought side by side in the war, he was my boss and now sometimes called me in on small cases. I think he felt sorry for me as Skulduggery had at last replaced me as a partner. But I held no grudges and was actually at peace. Ghastly, after all, was not a bad replacement. I nodded. "But you will let me know if anything turns up about him? I have a feeling he was meant to be used in some disturbing cause or to serve them in some other way and something went horribly wrong." Erskine nodded, then we left his office and he drove me home to Uncle Gordon's mansion.

Uncle Gordon was delighted with the baby and kept vigil as I brought down items he would need from the attic. "Those were yours as a baby, fitting your son gets to use them, eh?" Uncle Gordon asked with a delighted smile and I settled the baby into his crib in my bedroom.

I nodded then walked Gordon back to his study. "You know the shock is lifting and I realize I have a baby, who if he lives, or whatever it is he is doing will never age. Or maybe he can. What did I get myself into?" I asked helplessly.

"You got yourself into a life after Skulduggery." Uncle Gordon said gently. "As strange as it seems, Valkyrie, if he said being apart would be the best for both of you, he meant it. You're his best friend, he'd never intentionally hurt you, you know that."

I nodded. "I'm not really hurt and that is the funny thing. He knew Ghastly for centuries so I'm happy they are partners. Ghastly tends to spend too much time alone and I worry about him. I can still see them both. Speak of the devil."

My mobile rang. Ghastly. I nodded a quiet goodbye to Uncle Gordon and walked out of his office towards my bedroom as I answered. I had thought I'd heard the baby cry and sure enough he was up and looking at me. "Hello, Ghastly. Want to see a video of my new partner? He's really cute." I said, then realized I was on speaker phone as the tyres of the Bentley squealed hard in response.

"Go ahead, Val. I'd love to see something cute before I die, and that will be soon with the way Skulduggery's driving." Ghastly answered, amused. I held the mobile towards the baby and filmed him as he wriggled and cooed at me. I sent the video and waited for a response. I heard Ghastly awwing over him. "He's adorable, Valkyrie. Is he wearing your scarf?" He asked, amused.

So I told him the baby's story, hearing a grunt from Skulduggery in reply. "I honestly need to go clothes shopping for him. What size would you say he is?" I asked. Ghastly gave me a size, adding that I shouldn't buy much since he would be making clothes he insisted I take. We talked a little more than rang off.

Later that day I had a nice sleeper set in bright blue for the baby and a few other things. I talked to him and carried him around as I went through my day and realized that even for a baby my life had to be sedate. I was watching TV with the baby fast asleep by me when my mobile rang. Skulduggery.

"Hello?" I said, surprised he was calling.

"It was good of you to take him, Valkyrie. Your one of the few mages on the planet who wouldn't have killed him." He said abruptly, his voice tight with anger and I knew he took the hatred toward the baby personally.

"Skulduggery!" I scolded. "You wouldn't have hurt him and Erskine saved his life. Ghastly already adores him. Oh, Lord, now I have to come up with a name, any ideas?"

"I didn't think you'd want my input, considering." He replied.

I sighed. "I'm not mad at you, OK? Things didn't work out for us, it happens. Hold on, he must be older than he looks he's crawling onto my lap. OK, he's settled. But I'm not mad at you." I said, but the line had already gone dead.

There you have it. Hope you liked it.