Author's note: With the completion of The Indigo Spell, I decided I needed more Jeddie. (I had my fill of Sydrian and couldn't quite get into her head. If you're following Forever With You, that one may be a while for an update.) Anyway, I hope you like the events in this chapter. This one features the lovely plot that fell into my head. Please feel free to review and let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

Chapter Three

"Marti, meet Aunt Jill and Uncle Eddie." Adrian said proudly as he held the bundle in his arms so that they could see her.

"Oh, she's so tiny." Jill gushed. "May I hold her?"

Adrian heaved a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I can give her up for a little while." He passed her over, but stayed close.

"She has your nose." His friend pointed out.

"But her eyes are brown. Which you would see if she wakes up long enough to show us." He kissed the baby's tiny forehead.

"Sweetheart, you should give her some space." Sydney said as she slowly made her way down the stairs. "You can do that in the form of waking your son from his nap. He won't listen to me. Even with the enticing factor of Jill and Eddie being here."

He heaved another sigh and stepped away. "Are you okay?"

His wife, standing on the step above him, leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose. "Fine. Go see about Josh."

Adrian pressed a kiss to her lips and then walked around her calling, "Joshua, time to get up, buddy."

Eddie chuckled. "That might work."

"You haven't been around Josh lately." Sydney smirked. "He's not easy to wake, no matter what we do. Adrian can usually coax him awake, though." She smiled lovingly at her daughter. "Hello, baby girl."

"She's beautiful." Eddie commented. He wrapped his arms around Sydney in a gentle hug. "So are you."

"Thank you." She whispered, hugging him back. She stepped away. "Come have a seat." She walked toward the living room. "I know you must be ready to crash."

Jill followed. "I am a little tired, but I can nap later. I've been slowly altering my sleep schedule for this trip."

"You may have been able to, but I had work to do." Eddie grumbled around a yawn.

"How do you like teaching?" Sydney sat down in a warn armchair and tucked her legs beneath her.

"I like it most of the time." He said, draping an arm over the back of the couch and leaning over the baby. "So Marti, huh?"

She nodded. "It was a bit easier to pick her name that Josh's." She smiled.

Josh came down the stairs rubbing his eyes and yawning. He blinked a few times and then smiled and made is way across the room. He crawled up on Eddie's lap. "Hi!"

Eddie chuckled and gave him a bear hug. "Is that all I get?" He loosened his embrace and started tickling the boy, making him giggle and squeal with delight.

The sound startled the baby in Jill's arms. She showed her fear by wailing loudly. No matter what Jill did, she wouldn't settle until she was safely in her mother's arms.

"Sh, it's okay." She crooned. "Mommy has you."

Adrian leaned down and kissed her face. He murmured something softly to the baby and she started to calm even more.

Jill looked on with jealousy. She felt the familiar hollow feeling in her chest. It expanded even more when Josh slipped off Eddie's lap and climbed up onto Sydney's. She turned and pressed her eyes into Eddie's shoulder for a moment.

Her phone rang unexpectedly, making her jump. She pulled it out to find Lissa's name on the display. She slid her finger across the screen to answer as she walked out of the room.

"There's been an incident and I need your help." Her sister said without a greeting.

"An incident?" She asked, her heart suddenly beating harder.

"There was a Strigoi attack last night about two hours away from where you are right now. I'm just getting the reports. One got away, but they were able to kill the others."

"Was that one tracked?" She sat heavily in a chair.

"They're working on it." She paused. Jill could hear her taking a few steadying breaths. Then she continued. "They killed an entire family except for a little girl and her baby brother. It seems they were all in the home celebrating the baby's birth. I'm working with Rose on getting a group of guardians there tonight, but I would like a couple pairs of trusted eyes on this right away. Would you and your guard be willing to make the trip?"

"We'll go right away. I'll keep you updated."

After a promise to have the directions sent to her phone, Jill walked back into the living room. The group were now dispersed comfortably around the room, Sydney was breastfeeding Marti with a blanket draped over her.

"Eddie." She said softly.

He looked up questioningly. He ruffled Josh's hair and then stood and met his wife in the hall. She told him about the attack and Lissa's request.

"Damn." He said softly. "We'll leave right away." He walked back into the living room and calmly explained the situation. "Are your wards up-to-date?"

"Yes." Adrian assured them. "We had them redone just before Marti was born."

"Good." Eddie headed for the door. "I'll get Leah."

"I'm sorry." Jill said softly. "Hopefully we'll come back. I just have to perform my diplomatic duties."

Adrian got up and walked with her into the hall.

"I know you're terrified." She said. "But you'll be fine. Would you feel more comfortable if one of our guardians stayed?"

He glanced into the living room where Josh was sitting on his mother's lap once more, lifting the blanket away so he could see his sister. He turned back to his friend.

She nodded, already feeling the emotions passing through him. "I'm just glad you put up those wards when we asked. I know you're both trying to stay out of it, but we're connected." She put a hand on his arm. "Everything will be okay. It could just be an isolated incident."

"One or two might be an isolated incident, but this is much bigger than that."

She could see the worry in his eyes. "They're still working on it. They killed most of them. Your wards are up and perfectly fine. You and your family will be okay. We'll leave one guardian here."

Eddie came back in the house with Leah and another guardian on his heels.

"Carter should stay." Jill said, nodding to the man standing beside Leah. "We should be back sometime tonight."

The man nodded.

Eddie said, "Leah and I were thinking the same thing."

Jill looked down at her phone. "I have the directions. We should go." She wrapped her arms around Adrian's shoulders. "I trust him." She whispered as his arms came back around her.

"And I trust your judgment." He patted her back. "I love you, kid. Be careful."

She kissed his cheek. "You too."

With a quick goodbye to Sydney and Josh, they were out the door.

"I'll drive." Leah said, holding her hand out for the keys. "You take a nap, Castile."

He handed over the keys without argument and climbed into the back of the SUV and fell asleep within seconds.

Eddie sat up when the car stopped outside the hospital and looked around. "Leah, do a quick perimeter search."

She nodded and stepped out of the car. She was immediately approached by a guardian dressed in dark colors. They spoke together for a moment as Jill and Eddie waited in the car. She motioned for Eddie to get out.

He and Jill walked toward the pair who had been joined by another guardian.

"Your highness." One said, bowing his head to Jill. "We were told of your arrival."

"How are the children?" She asked.

"Ivanna was bitten. But we were able to destroy the creature before he did too much physical harm. Nikolai was unharmed. His mother died protecting him. But again, the creature was destroyed."

"How many were there?"

"There were five bodies we counted in the end. And more than one witness to a runner. Parker followed, but lost her. We're going to organize a party once the extra guardians arrive."

"Good." Jill nodded. "Shall we go in?"

"Yes. Follow me." He said and headed toward the building. "I'm Jackson, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Jackson." Eddie said and introduced himself.

"We pulled some strings and had them placed in the same room." Jackson said as they passed through a door flanked by another set of guardians.

As soon as they were through the door, Jill froze. The little girl was hooked up to several tubes and wires. The baby on the other side of the room just had a machine monitoring his heartbeat.

"Nikolai is fine, but they want to continue to monitor him." Jackson said. "Ivanna needed a transfusion and they're pumping her through with fluids to keep her hydrated. They think both of them will be fine to leave by morning. But we're still trying to figure out where."

"There are really no other surviving family members? Anywhere?" Jill felt something tugging in her chest as she stepped toward the girl's bed. It seemed to release as she placed her hand on her small arm.

"None that we know of." Jackson confirmed. "I've been guarding the family for years and met no one outside the ones that were present."

She exchanged a look with her husband that said they needed to have a talk.

"Where will they go?"

"I suppose we'll send them to St. Vladimir's or one of the other schools."

"What if there was somewhere else? A family that could take them in?"

"That would be very generous. But most Moroi already have children of their own."

She nodded. "I need to make a phone call." She locked eyes with Eddie and then walked out of the room, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She relayed the situation to Lissa.

As soon as she hung up, Eddie pulled her into his arms. "I know what you're thinking."

"Of course you do." She sighed into his shoulder.

"Jill, I don't know." He combed his fingers through her hair. "This is a big step. We don't even know if the girl will be okay yet. Do you have the energy to deal with her?"

She stepped out of his arms. Her look was hurt. "I don't want to 'deal' with her. I want to take care of her. I feel something. I feel it here." She pointed to the middle of her chest. "I want to help her. I feel the need."

He nodded. "Let's discuss this with Lissa. I don't know what the rules are for this. And being with us is preferable to going away to a glorified orphanage."

She threw her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth to his. "Thank you."

He smiled. "I love you. You know that?"

"Yeah."

The guardians flanking the door gave them dubious looks. Of course they would have heard about the queen's sister marrying the guardian, but it was a different thing altogether to actually witness the affection the two shared.

Ignoring them, Eddie took out his own phone and started discussing the particulars with Lissa and Rose. He nodded and Jill watched anxiously as he paced the small hall. He smiled and gave his wife a thumbs-up. He hung up the phone and motioned for her to come closer.

"What?"

"Lissa and Rose see no reason why they shouldn't live with us for at least a little while. We have temporary custody of two adorable Moroi children. And inherited a couple extra guardians until they can be reassigned."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her forehead against his. "Are you sure?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "That feeling, Jill? In your chest? I have it too. I want to help them. It's kind of in my DNA. But this is a little more than that, babe. And I can't explain it. I know you can't either."

She kissed him softly.

"You should tell Adrian. I'll sit with them for a while." He squeezed her and then walked away.