AN: The Galactica Spellbook belongs to Aqua Turquoise, as do Charlie and by extension, Camden (sort of?), and Serena. Jazz belongs to me, as do the Sands of Time and Ekeko. Thanks for reading. ;D

The morning didn't come. Neither did night. It was still in the late afternoon. Still 3:01. Camden stared blankly at the alarm clock, tracing the glowing digits with his eyes until they blurred. He willed the last number to change, yet it wouldn't. He knew he was only fooling himself. Camden sighed and sat up, looking at his wife, Jazz. She looked to be asleep. He wondered what her last thought was when time froze. Was she thinking about her classes? Her graduation? Or him?

He stroked her head, curling his finger to rake through her long orange hair. He loved her hair. He loved every bit of her. Camden glanced out the door in the direction of the spare bedroom. The guest room had once been intended for a nursery. He and Jazz had long discussions about family and having their little ones running around at some point.

Jazz had always been a perfect planner. She insisted on being at least three steps ahead and had already set up appointments for doctor visits, and parenting classes, and even looked into local daycares. She wanted to wait until after graduation and secure a good job in her field: Neuroscience. She had everything planned up to their due date.

Neither planned for the doctor's response. Camden still didn't fully understand Midgard's modern medicine. He could keep up for the most part, but the technology confused him. They had equipment for everything from performing difficult surgeries to scanning a fetus in a woman's stomach. Camden had been stunned when Jazz showed him a video of her sister-in-law and brother having their ultrasound almost four years ago. The baby inside was pictured as a small light gray mass with a dark background to help contrast it. Camden was excited to see his and Jazz's child appear next on that screen. Sadly, the doctor had run a few tests on both of them. The tests themselves were pretty invasive and embarrassing in Camden's opinion. However, Jazz assured him that future parents needed to learn their best opinions when it came to planning for a baby.

Camden had to agree, she was right.

However, when the doctor sat them down she went over a few things such as blood pressure, hormone levels, etc. Camden couldn't keep track of most of it since in his opinion it didn't tell them anything other than they were exceptionally healthy.

Then her tone changed as she looked directly at Jazz, "I'm very sorry, Mrs. Noel, but your egg count is very low. "What do you mean, how low is it?" Jazz asked, instinctively reaching for her husband's hand.

Doctor White sighed, turning over a sheet and directing their attention to a line chart, "You see, when most women are born we have a set amount of eggs. Somewhere between 1-2 million at the very start. That number declines with age, most women wind up with about 400,000 when they reach puberty. Unlike men though, we don't regenerate our eggs, so the number will continue to decline. " It's here that the doctor grows hesitant, allowing her words to properly sink.

Jazz's eyes begin to grow misty, "H-How many eggs do I have?"

"About four hundred."

"J-Just four hundred?"

Doctor White draws in a harsh breath, her eyes beginning to red as she nods, "I'm afraid so. It's very uncommon for a woman of your age, but it can happen. I'm sorry, but given these numbers, it'll be nearly impossible for you and Charlie to conceive."

"Jazz," He immediately hugged her as she broke down into tears. The doctor gave them a tissue and moved her papers aside. A few minutes pass before Jazz finally started to settle. Camden's heart shattered as the realization hit. He hugged his wife tighter, willing for the pain to go away. "I'm okay," Jazz whimpered, her face flushed. She accepted another tissue from Dr. White and dabbed her eyes. "What are our options?"

"Well since you both want to wait to become parents, I would be careful about the plans you choose. Most would recommend freezing your eggs to use in the future, but there's no guarantee that the eggs will survive. IVF is something you can try, though it's very expensive and it doesn't always work. I think your best bet would be to find a surrogate mother to carry the fetus. We have plenty of wonderful surrogates here who are experienced and have clean backgrounds. If that isn't something you're interested in, then I can direct you to a local adoption agency and we'll go from there."

This news didn't comfort either Jazz or Camden. Camden, himself, wasn't too comfortable with someone else carrying his and Jazz's baby. He didn't know how it would work, but he refused to betray Jazz's trust to be with another woman, even if it were to create their child. He hoped that he was wrong in that assumption and that it wouldn't be so intimate, knowing Midgard's amazing technology.

"I think we need some time to think about it." Jazz said, Camden nodded in agreement. The drive home had been dreadfully quiet, both were unsure of how to address the topic. When they reached their apartment, Jazz's strong demeanor broke, and she started to sob, squeezing the steering wheel. Camden pulled her into his arms and cried too.

For the next few days, Jazz was a zombie. She barely ate and all but refused to leave their bedroom. She slept most of the day and would continuously cry. Camden couldn't blame her, he tried to comfort her as best as he could, yet it didn't feel like he was doing enough. He was her husband, his job was to protect her, yet he couldn't do it right.

After a week, Jazz's mom came to pick her up at Camden's request. He felt Jazz needed her mother's comfort more than his. After they left, Camden returned to the Ever Realm to visit his family. He tried to visit every weekend to catch up with everyone. Yet that day had been a Tuesday, no one was expecting him to show up. Camden went to his parent's apartment, they still lived there happily as an old married couple. Mama and Papa often spent their retirement enjoying the company of one another or their grandkids, three so far. Camden had hoped to give them another one to spoil. Mama and Papa had asked about when he and Jazz were going to have children.

Now he had to break the news that they might not be able to.

His papa, Cedric, had been surprised to find Charlie knocking on their front door. When he saw the state of Camden, Cedric became worried and fussed over his son, "Charlie, what's the matter?" Camden couldn't say anything, he broke down and cried. Cedric hugged him.

Sofia wasn't around, she had been invited by Amber for a girl's trip to visit Hidegard and wouldn't be back until the weekend.

They went inside the apartment and sat at the dinner table, when Camden explained everything to Cedric; he could see the heartbreak reflect in his father's eyes. Camden trembled, staring at his cup of tea. "I don't know what to do, Papa. I don't know how to help her. She's so hurt and I feel like I'm not doing enough." He wanted so badly for this pain to go away, "I know I could never fully understand how she's feeling, but I just want to take her pain away. How do I fix this?"

Cedric rubbed his back, understanding his son's hurt and confusion, "All you can do is be there for her." That was all he said. Cedric never wanted his son or daughter-in-law to ever go through what he and Sofia went through. Realizing that his son would never be able to have biological children broke his heart.

"I don't know if we'll ever have children," Camden whimpered, dropping his head into his hands, "We might not ever be parents."

Cedric continued to rub his back, "I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm truly sorry for you and Jasmine." Camden just cried.

When Camden returned home just a few hours later. Jazz was there waiting. She had been sitting on the couch when he opened the door and stood up to greet him, "Hey."

"Hi."

The door closed behind him and the couple stared at one another. Jazz whimpered and opened her arms, Camden didn't need any more of an invitation, he enveloped her in a big hug, squeezing her tightly to him.

"I'm sorry." Camden gasped and pulled away, confused, "Why are you sorry, my love?" Jazz couldn't look at him, "I've been so upset with what we were told I couldn't get out of my own head. I neglected to see how you were feeling. I'm so sorry I didn't offer you support, Charlie."

"Oh, Jazz," he kissed her, pouring all the love he had for her, "My moon, you have no reason to apologize. We're both hurting. This isn't your fault."

"But it feels like it is," she admitted shamefully, "It feels like my body is betraying me. I feel that I'm not doing enough." Camden almost laughed at the irony of it but caught himself quickly. He took her hands in his, and looked deep into her eyes, "I didn't marry you because you have a womb. I married you because you are the most beautiful, the most wonderful, the most amazing woman I've ever met. And I'm so lucky to call you mine. I'll admit, I can never fully understand how much this hurts, but I promise you're not alone. You're not infertile, Jazz. We are infertile. We are baren. And thankfully we have options. Surrogacy, adoption, IVF. All these things are available to help couples like you and me to fulfill a dream of creating a family."

"Would you be okay if we adopt?"

"Of course, my eldest sisters are adopted. If we decide to adopt, Jazz, I'll love them as my own. Blood is what makes us related, while love makes us a family. Whatever we decide on, know that I'll always support you, no matter what."

She sniffed and cupped his cheek, "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Camden?" He snapped out of his thoughts and looked to see Seren and Charlie standing in the doorway, "We're ready to go if you are."

"Yeah," he nodded, raking his fingers through his hair, "I'm ready." He pulled the blankets back over Jazz again, making sure she was tucked in comfortably. He kissed her cheek, "I'll be back, my moon. I promise." He took in her features once more before leaving with the kids.

There was still no sound to be heard. Nothing changed. The pile of sand was still there, Camden knelt to it, examining it more closely.

"Is there black sand here?" Charlie asked, to which Camden shook his head, "Not for at least a couple of thousand miles or so. The nearest beach is about an hour's drive from here and its sand is far from black." He pinched a bit and rubbed it between the pads of his fingers.

Serena and Charlie watched standing not too far away. It urged them how still the world was now. It felt like they were trapped in a picture book of some kind. Both had a bad feeling which had gotten a little strong since waking up from their naps. Charlie hadn't felt much better, he was still pretty exhausted and Serena felt drained too.

Camden sprinkled the sand back onto its pile and wiped his hand on his pants, "There's no guarantee this has anything to do with what's going on, but we can't rule anything out." He still had that nagging feeling about it. Camden closed his eyes, needing a moment to concentrate, in his mind's eye fragmented memories rolled in across his mind, one after another like crates on a train. He knew he had seen this sand before but where?

"You know this reminds me of the Sands of Time that Thomas brought to school to show everyone in our class." Camden's eyes exploded wide open in shock. Of course! Thomas, his old schoolmate from Hexley Hall. He easily remembered it as it was the final day of their school year. Everyone was asked to bring in something interesting to show to the class. It had to be magic related. Charlie had brought in a Dreaming Daisy, a fun flower that snored. Papa had gotten it as a gift and agreed for Charlie to take it to class.

After presenting it to his peers and earning some excited giggles. Thomas came up, holding a small jar in his hands. "This is a special jar my dad got from one of his adventures. It's from the Sands of Time!" The whole class stared in awe at the black sand that glistened in the light like glitter. Thomas held it up for all to see, making sure everyone had at least a quick glimpse. "It's made in a special realm that's guarded by a giant serpent named Ekeko."

"Ekeko." Camden frowned at the name. In university, they learned more about the snake god. Apparently, he can drink the years of your life to sustain his immortality. Thomas never spoke much about his dad or how the man had managed to enter the sands of time. It was dangerous and illegal. "What happened to Thomas after that?" He looked to his younger self for answers. For Camden, it had been well over fifteen years since he last saw his schoolmate. Thomas never returned to school. That or Camden just continuously missed him. He couldn't quite remember, it was a blurry mess.

Charlie shrugged, "I don't know. He's not been in class since. I think he moved."

That didn't sit right with Camden, but he had no other leads to go by. "If this stuff came from the Sands of Time, then we might have a bigger problem on our hands." He looked to Serena and Charlie, "Both of you need to stay close, don't wander off, and whatever you do, be aware of your surroundings. If you see any more of this stuff tell me." The children nod in understanding.

Camden continued to observe his surroundings, once more nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He decided that their best bet would be to find any clues as to where the sand came from and if Ekeko was somehow involved. From what he remembered reading about the deity, it was a trickster god. Known for its ruthless pranks on man and causing as much chaos as possible. Its venom was painful, able to suck the life right out of you, stealing your mortality but sustaining its immortality. Just thinking about it made him shiver.

He wondered if Ekeko was behind it. It did make some sense in that it would have an unlimited food source, yet if that were the case, why were they free? What would it need from him, his past self, and Serena? It had the chance to freeze everyone else, why not them?

"Look!" Serena yelled, pointing to a dark figure darting across the street. "Let's go!" Camden immediately grabbed their hands as they ran, weaving through cars and hopping onto the sidewalk on the other side. The figure was fast, its black cloak flowed and fluttered behind them. Bits of black sand coming off their body. They darted to another building, hopping onto a metal fire escape ladder and scaling it. "Hurry!" Camden let go of their hands and jumped onto the bars. He climbed as fast as possible, hopping a few bars up in hopes of snagging the cape that hung right above him.

Camden swiped his hand, his middle fingertip grazing the edge of the fabric before the unknown person moved out of his reach, "Dammit," Camden cursed, as he reached the top of the roof. Adrenaline was high, he could hear his blood pumping in his ears. He scanned the open area around him: Nothing. No one was up here besides himself.

Did they jump? Camden threw himself to the edge and looked down. He saw Charlie and Serena waiting down below, looking frightened. "Where are they, did you see them?"

Serena shook her head and called up, "No, they're not down here!"

"Dammit!" He swore again and shoved himself away from the edge. "Where did they go?" He looked to where there was black sand on the ground, a small trail. He followed it to the center of the area. Nothing there but a faint outline of a boot print. Camden placed his own foot against it to measure. It was significantly smaller than his own foot, like a child's. Yet, the person he had chased was a full adult. What happened? The pieces were there, but he couldn't put them together yet. Something was missing.

Camden decided he needed to get back down to his sister and younger self, they shouldn't be alone for too long, especially with an unknown person lurking around. He climbed back down to where Charlie and Serena were waiting. "What happened, did you find them?" Camden shook his head, "No, they disappeared. Whoever they are they left behind some more black sand."

"Does that mean they're from the Sands of Time?" Charlie asked. Camden nodded, "They might be. However, there's still so much we don't know. We need to be careful and vigilant."

"What is the Sands of Time?" Serena asked, feeling left out. "It's a realm that houses all of the time. When you're there you can go to any point in time. Past, present, or future. It's highly illegal to go there, and nearly impossible to leave. Hence why it's illegal. Once you're there, you're not affected by time. A million years could pass by and you wouldn't have aged a day. There's no need for food or water because while you're there, nothing about you changes. Nothing changes."

"But how did Thomas' dad get a jar of it?" Serena asked, "If it's illegal to get there and hard to leave, how did he do it?"

Camden shrugged, "Good question, sadly we don't know. He never returned to school." Thomas wasn't very well known. He had been a shy kid, kept mostly to himself, and didn't interact with anyone in class. They tried to befriend him, but Thomas would shyly explain he was busy and then run off. There was a time when they had gone to the boy's room and found Thomas curled on the floor coughing up blood. He had been so pale with purple veins poking out of his thin skin. Thomas was taken home after that. He was in and out of school randomly. Some weeks he would be in, then he'll be gone for two to three weeks at a time.

Camden had asked about Thomas to the teachers, but they would always dance around his questions and change the subject. After Thomas disappeared for good, the teaching staff acted as though everything was fine. They would brush off his worries and assure him (in hopes to placate him) that Thomas would return eventually, but he needed to be home for family reasons.

Eventually, the subject Thomas dropped it. Midterms came, and then finals, and before he knew it he and Serena had graduated with high marks and were soon selecting their respective universities. Thomas became a distant memory. He hadn't had much of an impact on anyone's life except for when he brought in his jar. That was the only time anyone noticed him. Camden wished he had befriended Thomas, they might have been good pals. Like his Papa and Uncle Greylock.

He took the kids to examine all four corners of the building. There was no sign of the stranger, not even hints of the notorious black sand that they were losing. It was as if they had disappeared entirely. Camden wondered if they even existed. Charlie and Serena saw the figure too, but that didn't mean they were real. They might have been delusional. Camden's instincts told him that they were missing something, something that could help tie everything together.

Camden looked back up at the roof, frowning. Did he miss something while up there? He wondered if there had been a wormhole that the cloaked figure could have jumped through. Did he miss it? "I need to get back up there," he said moving to the metal ladder.

"You're going to leave us again? You said we need to stick together." Charlie argued, and Serena agreed. Splitting apart was probably the worst thing they could do right now. "I need to see if there's something I missed," Camden explained, "You guys can go with me if you want. We can all climb one by one."

"I don't want to climb up there, it looks scary." Charlie went to his sister who hugged him. Serena smiled at him, "It's okay, your big sissy won't let you fall. Camden is right, we need to make sure there isn't anything he missed. If we don't it'll take us longer to get back to Mama and Papa."

Charlie sniffed, "I want Mama." Serena hugged him tight, "I know, I do too."

"Hey," Camden knelt down to their level, "It's going to be alright. You'll see them again, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He followed what he said with motions first by drawing an X across his chest and pretending to stick a treat in his right eye. Charlie giggled, "Okay, I guess I can do it." He wanted to ask if they could teleport, it would be easier. But what if Camden thought he was being a big baby? He didn't want Camden and Serena to think he was just a whiner. He needed to prove he was brave just like them.

"Alright, I'll go first, Charlie you'll be behind me, and Serena you'll be behind Charlie. That way if Charlie needs help, we both are there to help him. Got it?"

"Yep!" The kid exclaimed together excitedly. Charlie felt nervous energy building up in his stomach. His arms wobbled as he grabbed the bars of the ladder, and watched his older self expertly climb up it. "It's okay, Charlie, you got this!" Camden called down. Serena patted his back, "You'll do fine, I'm right behind you."

"Thanks, Sissy." Charlie took a deep breath and started his climb. He fought not to look down. Under him, he could hear Serena get ready to climb too. Charlie's eyes focused solely on Camden's feet. "You're doing great, Charlie, just keep looking up. Don't look down." Serena called up to him. Charlie froze for a split second, his hands tightening around the bars until his knuckles turned white. He forced himself to keep climbing while fighting the urge to look down and see how high he actually was.

Camden climbed over the lip of the roof again and gazed the open area. Nothing out of the ordinary. He returned to the ledge and offered his hand to Charlie, "Okay, come on up. Charlie?" Charlie was holding onto the ladder for dear life, "I don't want to climb anymore!"

"What's the matter?"

"He looked down. I told him not to."

Camden groaned, slapping his forehead, "You never say, 'don't look down' it plants the idea in their brain. Charlie, it's okay, you're almost at the top, just a few more steps." Charlie shook his head, "No, I want to go home, this is scary!"

"Charlie, reach for my hand, just focus on me." Camden stretched down toward Charlie. The youngest of the group whimpered and finally made himself look up at Camden, "I'm scared."

"I know, and that's okay, but standing there isn't going to change anything, you need to keep going. I'm right here, come on up. You can do it, you're scared yes, but you're also brave. I know you are." With Camden's encouragement, Charlie made a large hop, seizing his hand and getting pulled up. He shook with fear, nearly falling to his knees. His future self smiled and clapped his back lightly, "You did well."

"Thank you."

Camden went to help Serena. "Why didn't we teleport?" She asked, to which Camden winced and scratched the back of his head, "Sorry, I'm just so used to not teleporting, I only do so if we're traveling long distances. The Conjuror's Board still is in disagreement about teleporting. And since they're my employers I'm obligated to follow their rules."

"So they still made teleporting illegal? But I thought they were considering against that."

Camden shrugged, "Trust me, I hate it too. It makes life so much more difficult." He stopped and looked around the area, noting the prints still in the ground. He walked towards them and knelt down, with Charlie and Serena kneeling beside him. "Those look like kid's shoes," Charlie noted and glanced at Serena who nodded.

"Yeah," Camden frowned, "The person we chased was an adult, so that's what's got me so confused."

"Maybe they shrunk down?" Serena offered, though she didn't seem to be convinced either. "Shrinking spells can be pretty complicated if you don't know what you're doing. Heck, they are still hard to master when you do know what you're doing. Even so, why would they want to shrink down to the size of a child?"

Camden frowned, his mind reviewing the events that had taken place and the information. Curiously, he glanced at the space above the shoe prints and stared intently. He shifted his head from left to right until he noticed it. A shimmer. Eyes widening, he reached out and pressed his palm onto an invisible surface that shimmered white upon contact. "They ran through a wormhole."

"That's a wormhole?" Serena asked, she reached and touch the thing as well, shivering in disgust. It was dry but felt watery. She immediately yanked her hand back, while Charlie poked at it with his finger, "It feels like slime."

"They often do," He withdrew his wand and aimed it at the spot, "I need you both to stand back. I don't know what's going to come out of there." He waited until they were back a few feet before sending out a blast of powerful magic. It roared against the wormhole, eating away at the seal until it finally opened. The wormhole expanded wide, revealing a world made entirely of black sand, with wide rich purple skies. "The Sands of Time." He felt drained just by looking at it.

Behind him, Charlie and Serena hugged one another in fear. They both whimper, with Charlie burying his face in Serena's dress. Camden looked back and smiled," It's going to be okay. I think it's best for you two to stay here."

"What!" Serena gasped and shook her head, "No, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." He admitted, "But we all know how dangerous Ekeko is. He'll kill us all if given the chance. It's safer if I go in alone."

"B-But what if you die and time is still stuck." Charlie whimpered, tears running down his face. Camden's heart broke, he couldn't make a promise that he might not keep. "I have to at least give it my all." He took a step in, gasping at the strange sensation that flowed from his foot up his leg. It was a sort of pins and needles-feeling that made his leg tremble a little. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. But I won't put you both in danger."

"We're already in danger," Serena snapped, growing furious. Adult or not, she wasn't going to let her little brother sacrifice himself. "We're always in danger. You can't go in by yourselves, Camden, I won't let you."

"I wasn't asking for your permission, Sissy." He stepped in the rest of the way and the wormhole began to close in on itself. "Camden!" Serena and Charlie threw themselves at the portal, bashing at its seal. They could faintly see through it and found Camden stumbling across the sand, the Galactica Spellbook in his hands. "What's he going to do? use it to send Ekeko to another world?" Serena gasped in realization.

"But if he does that, then he won't be able to come back," Charlie yelled, he and Serena screamed at Camden, pounding the seal. Camden stopped at a good distance and turned back to smile at them both, giving them a little wave. "You idiot, don't do this!" Serena took out her wand and blasted the seal with everything she had. It didn't work. She and Charlie crumbled to the ground, sobbing. Both knew that Camden wasn't going to come back.