A/N: I don't own Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Ghastly, Tanith, Tesseract, Springheeled Jack, Billy-Ray, Erskine, Darquesse, Thrasher or Scapegrace. Ye Ye, Reba, Val, Cain, Laura, and Darkling are all my OCs though.

I quickly used my shadows to pull Laura inside and knelt to feel for a pulse. It was there but barely. I was already tired from using my armour so heavily so I had no choice but to call the mansion and ask for a van and for the doctors to be on standby. Then I went to wake Ye Ye, explaining our situation and asking him to watch over the children.

He nodded, instantly up and alert. I went into to see Skulduggery deep in meditation and sighed. Although his big theory for sleeping fully clothed was that he was always ready at a moment's notice, he might not wake for hours yet. But I didn't intend on leaving him out of a case. I'd have to carry him down to my Bentley and follow the van.

He was easy enough to lift up using my shadows and as soon as he was safely secure I grabbed my mobile and keys in time to meet the van of Cleavers. I had no idea why we used them instead of just regular medical personnel but most had rough medical training and a doctor was waiting in the van as Laura was gently lifted in aboard a gurney.

I went to my Bentley to find a rather confused Skulduggery rousing himself. "Valkyrie? Why aren't we in bed?" He asked and I answered him with a lingering kiss that he happily returned. He wasn't wearing his disguise but I wasn't about to go back for it. I adored him and wanted him by my side as he was for once. "Our case showed up on our front door. Laura Row is currently being transported to the mansion to receive medical treatment." I answered happily. I couldn't help it, the detective in me was thrilled to be on the hunt again and to have an additional reason to beat the living daylights out of the bad guy when we caught him.

Skulduggery smiled then titled his head in the way he knew got him anything he wanted. "You know, Valkyrie, this is a Bentley, and I do so adore Bentleys and I've never driven it yet-"

I laughed and got out to his happy chirrup of delight. Skulduggery met me in front of the car and held me tightly. "I love you." He whispered, drawing me into a lingering kiss.

"And I love you, Skulduggery. Now let's go pounce on a bad guy." I said happily. We got back in and Skulduggery showed the same reverence for the Bentley he had in the past. Except for her ivory cream colour she could be a twin to his own beloved car, and he adored her just as much. I knew he was proud beyond words that his wife had such a fine car but in reality the car was his, a wedding gift I'd happily given him.

Skulduggery followed the van, clearly enjoying himself. He glanced over at me. "Got a good scare thrown into us, didn't we? God, Valkyrie, I was terrified you might be next. But I agree with your theory. Poor Erskine. But he'll get to see her again, won't he?" I heard the smile in his voice and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wait, is my partner getting, I don't know, sentimental? My, how children will change a man." I said amused and he laughed even though I sensed a blush.

"You make me sentimental, but in a good way. Speaking of sentimental when are you and Tanith going to face the topic you've both been dancing around? You know as well as I do that you'll have to, Valkyrie."

I sighed. "I know, but I'm rather fond of my teeth in my head. She's never said anything, but I'm guessing she feels betrayed. And it is hurting poor Calamity who wants to be friends with her more than anything. We'll have a lovely Festivus dinner and she can enjoy the airing of grievances." I joked lightly.

Skulduggery smiled over at me. "I like you plan." He said, clearly amused.

"It has a certain understated stupidity." I said, and he pounced as knew he would. He was catching up on pop culture quite nicely.

""Seinfield" the episode on Festivus. Clever, that." He said clearly pleased with me and himself. I laughed and cuddled into him enjoying the ride to the Sanctuary.

Luckily the doctors told us Laura would be all right and seemed to be suffering more from stress and shock than anything else. She'd already been reunited with Erskine and I smiled to see him kiss her tenderly. She'd been given one of the mansion bedrooms and I was OK with that. To me it was Uncle Gordon's mansion to run however he saw fit and he adored being in the middle of the Sanctuary.

He floated up to me, now able to travel at will thanks to his enhanced Echo Stone. "You have no idea how wonderful this is, Valkyrie! To be here, to get to see all this, it's a lovely Christmas present." He said smiling and hugging me the best he could.

"I'm glad you like it. They will be here a few more weeks. Wards have been set up so no one really notices us coming or going. I understand Tanith came in with Ghastly. I better go face the music." I left him with Skulduggery and found Tanith running the kitchen, seeing to all the supplies being carted in.

She smiled when she saw me and came up to gather me in a hug. I got her to follow me to a quiet room. "What's up?" She asked, suddenly serious and nervous.

"You know what." I said with a sigh. "Look, Tanith. I know you don't like who I hired but I'm thinking of the future. Things won't always be this peaceful, and by peaceful I mean only one attack on the Sanctuary in the last few years. Trouble will be coming, it always does."

"But why Billy-Ray? Why, Valkyrie? Don't you care what it does to me to see him? Don't you?" She asked in anger and anguish and I looked at her steadily.

"Yes, I do care, and you don't know how much. But we need him and Calamity as allies. What do you think would happen if we let them go? America would turn them against us, and if one reformed bad guy goes, they all will."

She nodded tightly. "So I just get to suffer until then? Or maybe you'd rather I left?" I looked at her, utterly shocked.

"You want me to make a choice then?" I asked and she nodded again. "You want all of them gone, don't you?" I asked and she looked away. I sighed and left with her with a heavy heart. I knew now I should have expected this. Erskine had been fine and so had Skulduggery. We'd all done terrible things after all.

I'd done more than most as Darquesse. So perhaps I'd cut the bad guys a little too much slack. But they had proved loyal. It didn't feel fair or right to be forced to choose, but I knew I'd have to. Tanith's animosity towards the former criminals was growing. And although I'd cut off my hand before I'd willingly hurt her or Ghastly, I also was an Elder and had to balance justice for all, not just my friends or those I cared about.

Thrasher and Scapegrace found me, and the pair was as eager as ever to help with the investigation. They were utter rubbish as detectives but they were growing on me. Scapegrace still insisting that he, or rather she, had been the Killer Supreme, but now was a reformed zombie. Although they looked terrible and smelt worse the Sanctuary had managed to halt their rotting though we could do little else for them. I looked at Thrasher. He was the first zombie Scapegrace had ever turned and unfailingly loyal to Scapegrace. We'd fought on many occasions but now I needed them as allies and friends.

"Thrasher, how do you get out of a no-win situation?" I asked wearily and he looked thoughtfully at me.

"You don't I suppose, not without loosing something. Why do you ask, mistress?"

"Please don't call me that."

"Inspired Elder."

I sighed. "Valkyrie is fine. Tel me, you two hear and see everything. How are our reformed detectives settling in?"

Thrasher looked unsure and shrugged and Scapegrace sighed. "We're being sacked, is that it? Fired?"

"No!" I said decisively. "You're not. But they'd tell you the truth since you were in the Revenger's club together, well, some of you at least."

Scapegrace nodded proudly and I was surprised her head didn't fall off. I still wasn't used to treating her as a woman, but I was trying. "They're proud to be of service and doing what the mostly did before. So long as you have them going after problems you want dead, they're happy."

I nodded. I didn't like this threat to the Sanctuary so I explained to them that I needed them to gather the former bad guys and go search, starting at the Sanctuary where an agile and cunning Adept like Jack might pick up clues. "But you're taking Tanith with you." I said and Scapegrace gulped but nodded.

As Scapegrace rang the people she'd need I found Tanith and told her of her new assignment. She glared at me in pure hatred but I stood my ground. "Tanith, I love you as a sister, I always will, but if our Sanctuary had a death penalty, you'd be the first one in the chair. You've killed more people than most of our reformed detectives combined and that was before a Remnant possessed you. Now you either put up or shut up." I growled and left her to it.

Skulduggery laughed on our way home, pleased with my idea. "She'll either grow to appreciate them or you'll see their true colours come out and be rid of them. Simply brilliant, Valkyrie. I always wondered how long they'd all last. But we shall see."

"I think they'll surprise us. If Lord Vile and Darquesse can reform anyone can. OK, maybe reform is a bad word to use, learn to kill for the right reason?" I asked then winced.

"Good enough for me, and don't wince. We kill people when we have no other option. I know Tanith will do her best to run them off, but they trust you, Valkyrie. You've always been kind to them. They know you're doing this to force a bond or a choice, but from them, not you and it's a wise move. You're a leader, so it's about time you acted like one." There was fondness in his voice so I smiled in reply.

He was right of course so I answered him. "Tanith might be older and my best friend but I'm her boss, her leader whether she likes it or not. Until the day I step down and someone else takes the ridiculous throne she'll answer to me." I said and Skulduggery beamed at me.

"Now you understand, Valkyrie. A leader can't let those under her walk all over her. Tanith will always push to run the Sanctuary her way but you can't let her or it might as well be her on that throne and we all know that would end in disaster. She has to realize that working with those we've fought in the past is a fact of life for all of us. I notice you don't resent Billy-Ray."

"I saw the man die, remember? And he never kidnaped me either. All he wants to do is mend fences with her now. I don't think insanity cures itself, but whatever his obsession was with her was, Calamity cooled it."

Skulduggery snorted. "You cured it. He told me once when I met him in the hall the real reason he stopped going after Tanith. You were the first woman to treat him the way he longed for, to cry over him. Your compassion saved him. You showed him he could find love, actual love, not a woman he'd have to take in a possessed form. He regrets what he did now, but the man was intensely lonely. I know what that's like, you know. Which is why I took an annoying twelve year old on as a partner." He teased and I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That hurt. But I have a rather wonderful idea. Since we are both up and morning has broken let's grab the kids and take them to our favourite diner. I'm sure Reba would love to meet them, Sean as well." I nodded smiling at the thought of seeing our old friends. They had a little one too, and although he favoured the daddy that wasn't a bad thing in magical communities. Zombie babies after all, are kind of cute.

The drive was a long one and we told the kids a carefully edited version of meeting Reba first at the diner then on our honeymoon and prepared them for Sean. He was a kind of zombie they'd never seen before and we assured them that even though a torso zombie he got along just fine. Sean wasn't out front of course, as anybody was welcome in the diner mages and non-magical folks alike. But the children were enchanted with being in a place they'd only heard about before.

Cain, having insisted on sitting with his sister was poring over the menu with her. The two were close and I enjoyed seeing them spend time together. Thanks to the necklaces they were able to dress as the wished without the disguises Skulduggery preferred. I wore one now too, mainly so I could keep up with the calorie intake my family craved and still remain fit. Magical necklaces having countless uses. I idly wondered why Skulduggery had taken so long to adopt a necklace, but then I knew the answer. A mage could easily see through the illusion and although he had as much skeletal pride as our offspring he was slow to change.

Though seeing the children eat wherever and whenever they liked had softened him to the point where he was now wore his own necklace tucked under his shirt. I liked the change and realized with a start that it was the first time I'd seen him do it and public. Skulduggery caught my glance and grinned at me. "See something you like, Detective Cain?" He purred.

"Always, Detective Pleasant." I purred back. Reba coming to the table caught the exchange and grinned in delight. We both rose to greet her, and she hugged us both tight, then the children.

"So these are the two young'uns we keep hearing about. Well they are both absolutely perfect. You all don't even have to order I'm going to make you up somethin' special on the house and no arguin'. You saved my sweet Sean from any further decay away from our place, and what you did for the zombies was right decent." She smiled and went to get us coffee.

I looked around and realized the patrons were all from her restaurant and relaxed. This had to be a haven for mages too, I realized. I looked at Reba again as she returned woth our coffee and the fiery redhead winked at me. "Figured it out, did you? I like lettin' the non-magical folks in too, but they won't hear or see nothin' they shouldn't. That's the fun part of bein' an Adept I suppose."

The children looked at us and I looked at Skulduggery. "Reba runs a sort of safe haven for zombies, it's a long story and we may take you there some day, when you're older of course. But that's how she and Sean met and fell in love." He said and the look on my sweet little Val's face was dreamy.

She looked at me then, clearly excited about the idea of marrying somebody someday herself. "Mom, can we marry anyone we want?" She asked and I nodded. Not all mages were accepting but both Skulduggery and I held the view that love was love. It wouldn't matter to us if she married a human, a zombie, or a vampire. Or if her beloved was a man or woman or any other gender for that matter. Just that she was loved and sheltered.

I looked at my children wondering who they would end up with, but there was time enough for that. Our food was arriving and I wished Ye Ye had come with us, but the dragon had a flair for competition and was planning a feast for dinner. The feast laid before us now was a sight to behold.

Baskets of golden fries and plates mounded with burgers with decedent toppings, a plate of hot dogs, still steaming from the grill, a basket of deep fried chicken and all sorts of other diner fare. It wasn't exactly the breakfast of champions, but I wasn't about to complain. It was far too much even with the children and Skulduggery eating and I looked at Reba in surprise. "We'll both be joinin' you and closin' up for a spell." She said.

At her gesture the blinds closed and the door to the diner locked itself. Reba got a chair and Sean joined us from the back. He'd taken to a wheelchair now, feeling that while crawling was fine, wheels were faster and saved him getting irritated from dragging himself everywhere. He hugged as all in greeting, smiling at the children once we'd all settled back in.

Sean was still a disturbing shade of green and so far gone as to be skeletal, but he'd put on a lovely blue plaid workshirt for the occasion and thanks to recent breakthroughs by the Sanctuary doctors he'd stopped rotting and lost the aroma of decay most zombies wore like a badge of pride. He smiled at us happily. "I've been talking to one of your Sanctuary doctors. They think they can get me fixed up with a lower half for walking around, but I made sure they know I want it so I can get in and out. I'm proud to be a torso zombie. But it would be nice to be able to wait on guests." He looked at Reba adoringly and kissed her, drawing happy sounds from the rest of us.

They were the perfect couple. Sean had even reached out to Reba's brother Charles and he was in Ireland now as well, even if he was an utter recluse. He'd been deformed in a magical attack and it had turned him bitter when magical science could do nothing to change his fate. I head a movement from the back and realized he was coming out to join us.

I'd never seen the man before, but the one lock of long red hair that hung down from his head and the sensitive brown eyes showed his kinship to Reba. He was huge, as easily as big as Tesseract, but an unfailingly gentle man when speaking to people. He came over and Skulduggery and I happily slid in to make room for the gentle giant. He smiled softly at the children, drawing a blush and giggle from Val who was clearly smitten.

"Hello." Charles said and she giggled again. "That's a lovely dress you're wearing, young lady. You are Valkyrie, correct?" He asked and she nodded happily. Charles turned his attention to Cain who blushed as well. I wondered if he must be an Adept as well because both children looked smitten with him. "You look quite dashing in your suit, young man. You clearly take after your father." Charles said politely and Cain blushed.

Reba looked over at Charles. "Hon, you're doin' it again. You charmed the kids."

Charles looked slightly shocked, then apologized but Skulduggery wouldn't hear of it. "No need to apologize, Charles. We are both rather dashing men, charming people is simply a cross we must bear."

Charles smiled in relief but it seemed as if he'd done something, pulled back a power because the spell seemed to lift. He was still Charles, but the charm was natural now. He ate with us and I knew from Reba's glance it was a huge step for him. But Charles was so utterly charming with his stories from the war and his other adventures that it was hard to imagine him being a recluse.

He'd fought on the side of Ireland, being one of many Americans to happily go against a Sanctuary they thought was wrong on home soil. It had cost him his humanity, he said, but we were all quick to disagree. Yes, the magical attack had left him with features that looked melted, but the man had a huge heart, and the truth was he wasn't even that unusual for the magical community.

A car pulled up while we were still eating and my mobile rang as the driver got out, his phone to his ear. Jack looked nervous. "Valkyrie? Are you inside? We've caught the man who was behind everythin'. Turned out Tanith was right useful in trackin' him and he had to return to the scene of the crime and everythin'. He's bein' taken to the gaol now."

"Of course we're inside, Jack. Hold on, we'll let you in." I said and Reba nodded and went to the door. Jack doffed his top hat to her and gave her his best smile, which of course was more terrifying than usual. He took the booth in back of us and happily accepted the proffered food.

"Thank you, poppet." He said, after I handed him the plate Val hand put together for him. "Never been to this place before, but them trackin' devices in the mobiles are right useful." He was stretched out and Charles had turned slightly to get a better look at him. Jack touched the brim of his top hat politely to him and smiled.

Although the criminal was caught we'd still finished our meal and visit before driving to the Sanctuary. Now the same stream of people who had invaded the mansion were moving things back and my heart melted for them. They had to be dead tired but they all looked cheerful and alert. Not only did we have the man behind the attacks but his two henchman, or rather hench-androids.

They were machines, but so perfectly mimicking human in appearance that they'd fooled us all with the help of Laura's adept abilities and fake IDs. The mastermind was Laura's brother, Darkling, just recently out of gaol and a man who'd had an intense hatred of Erskine ever since the wedding had been called off. He glared at us in the interrogation room, boldly defiant. "Laura deserves better than that scum, I kept trying to tell her that. Happiest day of my life when she called the wedding off."

"That scum is our friend and the wedding was called off over a lie as I think you well know." Skulduggery growled and Darkling laughed.

"Course it was, and I set up that lie. Amazing what women will do for a little revenge and some money. Got put in the gaol shortly after, but I've seen to it the pair keep apart. Nobody takes my sister from me, ever."

"That's the sickest thing I ever heard." A voice said from the doorway and I turned to see Erskine standing there, Laura beside him. "But you've lost, Darkling. Laura knows the truth now, from your own lips. We are getting married, by the way, you only brought us back together. Well done, that."

Darkling roared in anger and would have went after the couple, but Skulduggery easily held him in place with air manipulation. Laura walked in and slapped her brother, hard. "Do you have and idea the pain you've caused me? And blackmailing me? Your own sister?" There were tears of anger in her eyes. She seemed about to confess, but I held a hand up.

"You committed no crimes, Laura. The only one here who did is your brother who is going away for a very long time on various chagres, your imprisonment included." Darkling paled. To teach his sister a lesson he'd held her in his mansion and forced her to use her abilities for him, knowing of times when she'd used them for the wrong reasons in the past. The man sickened me and it was all I could do not to kill him. We left him screaming about revenge, but then most suspects did that.

I met with our former bad guys and found Tanith with them, happily chatting with Calamity. That was new. Jack smiled at me, happy to report on the mission, though I did have one question for him. "You could have killed him why didn't you?" I asked and he grinned with wicked delight.

"He will hate bein' in a cage, love. He already had started in on us never takin' him alive, so we did." Jack said grinning. It was good to see the man happy and I figured he and the others deserved a reward.

"Two weeks paid leave for you Jack. You two as well." I said nodding to Billy-Ray and Calamity who grinned in delight. I turned to Tesseract, Thrasher and Scapcegrace. "You'll get your two weeks when they return, but I need you three on duty until then. But go home and get some rest, all of you."

I left them to it, finding a rather amused Skulduggery in Ghastly's office. Ghastly smiled at me. "Tea?" He offered and I nodded. "Looks like a case went our way for once. It's almsot scary." He commented as he made the tea.

"That's what I was thinking, dad, to be honest. I feel like I got hit by a truck. What time is it?"

He laughed, handing me a mug of tea. "That's from stuffing yourself in a diner. Late afternoon. I noticed you made Tanith go with the other detectives at last. Good. She needed to get the chip off her shoulder. I may love the woman but she can hold a grudge." I grinned in reply, wise enough to say nothing. Which was just as well as Tanith breezed into the office, back to her usually bouncy self for the first time in a long time.

"Why don't we girls go out for lunch?" She asked and Calamity strolled in. I looked at Skulduggery who just shrugged then smiled at her.

"Take the van, sweetheart." Ghastly offered and Tanith took the keys with a squeal of delight. When we got outside I saw why.

"Dang, girl." Calamity managed ask she stared at the brand new electric blue van in front of us. The Honda Odyssey was one of the most expensive vans out there and I couldn't believe Ghastly had gotten a new van, let alone one like this.

"Dang is right, when did you get the new van?" I asked in wonder. "Elder calls shotgun." I added as we piled in, Tanith beaming.

"The old one just up and utterly died on us, and I convinced Ghastly to pool our money and splurge. We've got kids to take care of now. Not a Bentley of course, but we manage." She said grinning. "And by the way, thanks for getting us all to go together, I know I'm a bit of a hardcase."

I laughed. "Yeah, but you're also hyperactive and have the maturity of a two-year-old, so there is that." She giggled and bounced in her seat, then turned on the radio and music filled the van. "Oh, I love this song!" She enthused, turning up the radio as "Girls Power" by KARA pounded out of the speakers.

Tanith of course felt the need to dance to the song as well, the van veering slightly from time to time as the streets blurred by. I held onto the dashboard, remembering there was a reason Ghastly always looked so terrified after riding with Tanith. She laughed and drove like an utter lunatic, but it was good to have the old her back. She managed to park halfway on the sidewalk, but we were happy to go into the club she'd picked out and share appetizers while industrial music boomed and pounded in the background.

When I was at last dropped off at home I headed straight for bed, a very happy Skulduggery joining me. "We men had a lovely time out and Ye Ye will hold dinner until later this evening." He said, snuggling close to me in the darkened bedroom. I realized with a start that I could feel his ribs pressing into me with no suit in between.

He started his happy purring sound then nipped at my neck playfully from behind. I turned to him, enjoying the warmth his bones were radiating back from the close contact and started to stroke his skull, drawing a growl from him. "Mmm, don't you dare stop woman, that feels so wonderful."

"Oh it does, does it?" I asked teasingly.

"Mmm, almost as good as this." He said, then his teeth were on my lips and I wasn't thinking of much of anything else but making that moment last forever.

Wow, shortest case ever. But there shall be more if readers request it.