Chapter 36; Pep talk

— Wanda's POV—

She laid relaxed in bed, knitting with the yarn Jorgen had provided her. Timmy was still sound asleep, curled up on his half of the bed in a cute little ball, all rolled up in the blankets, head nestled against the pillows and clutching a teddy bear she had placed into his arms. Sunlight filtered through the lacey curtains, casting a warm pink glow about the room, and the sound of birdsong outside the window, combined with the water fountain within the garden made for a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere that helped calm her shot nerves and racing thoughts. It had been a long, busy morning, where too much had happened and far too much was learned. Thanks to the way Fey were able to manipulate time, it felt as if the day should already be over, but it was really only the equivalence of roughly 2pm.

With how time was slowed in this room, it would be roughly 18hours before Timmy's next treatment. For now, he was sleeping soundly, but when he awoke, she wanted to have plenty of fun activities planned to keep him preoccupied and happy.

For now, she was doing what she could to keep her own self busy. She had settled on engaging herself in making tiny blankets, miniature pillows and cute little plush toys for the Heart-Soul and wondered if that cute little newborn soul would sleep in a way similar to Timmy once it had them. She couldn't help but think about how adorable it would look, all curled up in its blankets, with a plush toy in its arms.

She hoped the precious little creature would appreciate the gifts she was crafting for it. Jorgen, lacking knowledge in knitting, had hastily chosen random colors - a mix of bright and vivid hues, alongside dark, neutral tones. To further complicate matters, he had gathered several varieties of yarn from cashmere to wool, demonstrating his limited understanding of the craft, as the difference in textures and weight made it hard to combine the yarns. Despite the challenge of working with such mismatched materials, she remained determined to create something that would bring joy to the tiny soul.

'There now. This one is cute.' She thought, looking at the tiny pink teddy bear she had just made, a match to the one in Timmy's arms. She put it down with the pile of little knitted items she had already made. Normally she would just use magic to poof things up, but making gifts by hand really did feel more personal. True, the things she made with magic did look nicer, but somehow she felt that she was able to pour every bit of love she felt into every stich she made by hand.

'Perhaps I ought to try making something for Poof by hand too.' She smiled, enjoying herself as she began to work on crafting another plush toy.

After waking up from her nap, she went to check on the Heart-Soul. Earlier, Nova had mentioned that Souls, especially Heart-Souls, were private creatures. It seemed that the little one had already had enough visitors for now and hadn't interacted with her. It had found refuge in the small popsicle stick outhouse that Cosmo had made. Although it was a silly piece of furniture, it really was the kind of thing her husband would create. The Soul playfully stuck its head through the heart-shaped hole in the outhouse door, waved goodbye, blew a kiss, and disappeared out of sight.

Its actions had been really cute and even though she could not understand soul-speak, she got the sense that its little chimes had translated to 'Not now, tired, need me-time, love you.' She couldn't help but notice that a human's Heart-Soul seemed to act with the same knowledge and sense of self as a newborn fairy baby rather than behave like a human newborn. She wondered if it was normal for it to be so self-aware? No one seemed to question or point out the heart-soul's behavior as strange, so perhaps this behavior was considered normal for a human's Heart-Soul? She wished she knew for certain.

'I'm sure Poof is going to get along with it very well, but I'll have to be careful that he doesn't open the cage, or try to feed it something made out of magic, and especially that he doesn't tell anyone.' She thought, her stomach tightening a little as she considered all the things that could go wrong. If the Anti-Fairies or the Pixies, Norm or any number of the enemies Timmy had found out about his Heart-Soul would the taboo of harming human souls be enough to deter them?

Piper had said something about inviting an expert in souls to come take a look; perhaps she could ask her for advice on keeping a soul safe.

Information about human souls was sparse in Fairy world, and if you went about asking questions on that subject, you were bound to attract the wrong kind of attention.

There were books about the subject, but you had to be a scholar with a certain level of prestige, and have the permission of the fairy council to read them. She had never been too interested in the taboo subject before; but she wanted to know more—and not just because she wanted to keep the Heart-soul safe but because she wanted to know….what would happen to the immortal parts of her boy? Where did the Mind-Soul go to await completion and…would it be possible to go there and visit….? Was it possible to find who the Heart-Soul was reborn as?

She shook her head at herself; really, she shouldn't carry on like that….but how nice would it be if there was a way to visit the souls of humans after they left the human world? Perhaps this soul expert would know of some secret way—or perhaps they would be able to tell her how to find the next person the little heart-soul would be reborn as? Maybe she'd be able to be a godmother to each one of that newborn soul's future lives…?

'Oh, now that's just some wishful thinking on my part.' She scolded herself. 'Besides….the one I really want to hold on to forever is….' She glanced over at Timmy. The bed was extremely large and there was enough room to put a significant amount of space between them, but Timmy kept close to her. She had tried to give him space while she knitted, to not disturb his rest, but he eventually inched closer and closer to her until he was near enough that she could hear the soft gentle sound of his breathing.

….If only they could stay this close, always….to think that someday an impossible to breech distance would open up between them, separating them from each other forever….

'Stop that. You have more important things to focus on.' She scolded herself and placed a hand on his forehead; he still had a fever—Queen Mab's kiss supposedly had the fever linger for three days as her 'nectar' did its thing to him. She felt so disappointed in herself for having failed to protect him from Mab's machinations. She really hoped that it wouldn't impact his life adversely. Maybe Jorgen or the council could help lessen how much it affected him once they could safely bid Fey world adieu. She had the feeling that trying to break Mab's hold over him, whilst the Queen still had the ability to access him, would not go over well. The Queen had only spoke brief words to her, but that was enough for her to know she was entitled, possessive, petty—and far too powerful to risk antagonizing too openly. Unlike Piper, who could take such risks due to how valuable she was to the Queen, she knew she was as insignificant as a piece of lint from Mab's perspective and that she'd have no qualms with stealing Timmy away from her forever if given the chance to do so.

Next time Mab showed her face, she'd do a much better job at keeping Timmy safe, while at the same time keeping her cool enough to not be treated as being 'hysterical and ignorant' as she had been today. Bliss and Ariafern had both seemed to share her perspective on Mab's actions, and Piper had actually really hit the nail on the head perfectly during the little tirade she had gone on whilst administering the incense to Timmy. Perhaps they'd have some advice, if only she could think of a safe and discreet way to question them.

She removed her hand from Timmy's forehead and admired his sleeping face for a moment. He seemed completely relaxed; no furrowing of the brows, or frown, or tears…

She was sad Nova had taken away his dreams as payment for his treatment….but at least it spared Timmy from having the nightmares. It was so pitiful how sometimes he had to endure being bullied both while awake and asleep. Watching him cry in his sleep had always broken both her and Cosmo's hearts. They had gotten in the habit of watching over him when he slept and when it looked like he was having a nightmare, they'd poof in and turn it into a pleasant dream for him.

As much as she hated how Mab had forced her blessings onto Timmy she could not lie to herself about how happy she was about the idea that Timmy could continue to dream of all his memories of their time together even after his memories were erased. Even if when he woke, his adult self just thought it was all flights of fancy…that as he dreamed, he'd be able to remember their time together really was soothing to her heart. She wondered if she'd be able to sneak into those dreams and interact with him there without Jorgen and the council catching on?

Without a doubt, if she were caught, she would be sent to fairy prison for a few years. However, the risk was worth it for her to stay in touch with her sweet boy. Nova had made a promise to let her choose a gift for Timmy once his dreams were returned to him, since his dreams had been seen as an overpayment, so maybe he had some suggestions that would allow them to stay connected using his dreams without being detected by Jorgen or the council?

She just….really never wanted to let go of him.

"Jar-head incoming, Jar-Head incoming,"

She dropped her knitting needles a little startled at the soft voices coming from the doorway; it was Piper and Nova's voice, but it wasn't coming from them, but from the little 'Jorgen' alarm they had sat up by the door. She appreciated the gesture. If Jorgen ended up walking in on the baby-game a second time, she wasn't sure how she would explain it.

She carefully got out of bed as to not disturb Timmy and went over to the door to answer it. To no surprise, Jorgen was there—but he was looking a bit….twitchy?

"Are you…ok?"

"Cuckoos…so many cuckoos!" He took a nearly Crocker-like spasm as he made his way into the room.

"Shh, let's go outside to speak," she whispered, placing a finger to her lips. Timmy was sleeping off his latest treatment, and she wanted to ensure they didn't disturb him. Guiding the jittery Jorgen towards the balcony doors, she felt a sense of relief that he was, at least physically, okay. Ever since their parting when Gunter had shown up, she had been worried about him. Although she had heard that he was okay earlier, her other concerns had prevented her from reacting to the news.

Aside from some scrapes and bruises, he had no severe injuries, and she had a feeling that the mental state he was in may have due to being the bearer of bad news to Piper rather than from the encounter with his father.

In the garden below, she noticed a small table that had been set up. The seats were deliberately placed far apart, indicating that it was not meant for an intimate meal but rather for a professional discussion. Nova had mentioned that the room was enchanted to respond to verbal commands or adapt to different situations. So, was the room suggesting that she should go to the garden for a quick discussion? Or had Nova, aware that Jorgen was on his way to see her, magically moved the table to the garden to provide a private setting away from Timmy?

Well, she was grateful, as Timmy needed his rest and waking up to see Jorgen in a deranged state like this would probably unsettle him. She left a note for Timmy, in case he woke up, and brought the jittery Jorgen down into the garden full of vibrant pink blooms; she'd like to explore the place further with Timmy, as it was very large and they hadn't even seen half of it yet. Finding the Ferris wheel earlier had been quite the surprise, and they had spotted several interesting things from the high vantage point that would be nice to explore.

"Cuckoo…cuckoos…." Jorgen was still shivering even as she helped him sit down and poured him a cup of chamomile tea. The table had an assortment of light refreshments, some finger sandwiches, biscuits, crackers, piping hot bread, various jams and cheeses, along with an assortment of fruits, such as strawberries, kiwis, grapes, and melon slices.

She still found herself wary of any fruits that were part of the meals the Fey provided. Even after she inspected them to verify that they were all normal earth fruit, and knowing that the contract of the room did not allow for Fey Fruit to be brought in, she couldn't help but feel a little discomfort. A single bite of Fey fruit, after all, would make Timmy into a Kinder and trap him in Fey World forever. However, even Jorgen who mistrusted the Fey most of all had said it was safe to eat anything that was in their recovery room, as it was against the Fey contract to lay traps to claim a child within the recovery room, or to use any of the medical treatments or medicines he was being given as a means to steal him.

She did not really understand the details in full, but she knew that for Fey, certain rules—such as abiding by any contracts signed held great power over them. It was also well known that Fey had an aversion to lying and being lied too—but they were tricky enough to know how to lie without lying.

….She had never really studied too much about the Fey. When she got back home she'd have to arm herself with more knowledge as Timmy would have to come back here often for treatment and she never wanted what happened with Mab to happen again.

Perhaps if she had more knowledge, she could have been forewarned about the 'Fey Queen's kiss' and may have been able to prevent it.

"…Are you going to be ok, Jorgen?" She quirked her brow at him as he shook so badly that he was sploshing his tea all over the place. She took notice that the moment the pure white table cloth got stained, it magically cleaned its self. That would be useful to have at home!

"J-just give me a minute." He stuttered out. She decided to help herself to a few of the refreshments as she waited for him to regain his composer. Having been informed that she could eat as much as she wanted without gaining any weight did make it hard to resist indulging, and she had to admit that the Fey had amazing culinary skills.

The smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich felt like it melted in her mouth, and the strawberry jam had just the right balance between sweet and tart; the bread was perfectly fluffy too…

"Mmm, you should help yourself to some of this, Jorgen. It would probably make you feel better." She suggested as she savored her third serving.

"…The Fey can adjust the taste of things depending on who eats it." Jorgen had finally gotten his shaking under control, but he still twitched now and then. "To me, this tea tastes like hot water, and I'm pretty sure the food will taste rotten."

"Is that so?" she repeated, surprised. It seemed rather mean-spirited of Nova to provide Jorgen with a chair for a meal that had been intentionally made unpalatable for him. However, Nova seemed to hold a grudge against Jorgen for whatever had happened to his goddaughter, Julia. She was curious about the story, but at the same time, she felt a sense of fear about delving into the details. Nevertheless, she knew that it wasn't her place to inquire about such matters, just like many other things, that piqued her curiosity.

"—Even if it tasted good, I'm in no mood to eat." Jorgen rubbed his temples. "I can still hear the cuckoos…"

"What about cuckoos?" She tilted her head confused.

"Nova locked me into a room with hundreds of cuckoo clocks that chimed every minute…and then slowed down time so that one hour in the room was one second outside of it…."

She clamped her hands over her mouth in a show of what she hoped looked like distress, but in honesty she was doing her best not to burst into laughter. Since her father-in-law had such animosity towards Jorgen, she would have thought that, if he was going to do something cruel to him, that it would be something not so….silly.

However, Cosmo was the same way. No matter how much he disliked someone, no matter how much he wanted to get revenge on them—his methods were never something that would hurt them—physically or emotionally—but a weird torture like 'cuckoo clock room', that would be something right up Cosmo's ally. It was nice to see signs that having become a Fey hadn't completely erased who Nova had been before, or at least that's what she assumed by these traits he possessed that were similar to Cosmo….

"Oh, go ahead, laugh!" Jorgen wasn't fooled. "Even I'd find it funny if it happened to someone besides me!"

She allowed herself to do so. "Sorry, it's just…that's something I could see Cosmo doing to someone."

"You mean like how he locked Juandissimo Magnifico into a room full of funhouse mirrors that made him look fat?"

"Oh yes! I remember that! He kept trying to interfere with our date and so Cosmo—" She snickered. "Juandissimo was stuck in there for two days!"

Their laughter echoed in the garden. It felt good to share a moment of levity, especially given the seriousness of the overall situation they were in. But as the laughter faded, their thoughts returned to the pressing matters at hand.

"…How did everything go after we were separated?" Jorgen asked, deliberately avoiding mentioning his father.

"…We met Queen Mab." Her shoulders drooped. "….She kissed Timmy…."

"I thought so," Jorgen admitted, surprising her. "Usually if a child isn't snatched up by the Fey before or during the early stages of treatment—I rush them back to fairy world before she can show up. However, sometimes a kid's condition is a little more complicated, or their unable to tolerate the pain of the treatment well enough to manage without the time-slow in the recovery room to give them a respite between treatments….and if they catch Mab's attention, she will show up and make them into one of her worshipers."

"Is there a way to undo it, or lessen it?"

"No; but don't worry…it makes them act a little 'spiritualistic' like one of those new-age types, but nothing that going to make him seem insane or anything like that."

"Oh, thank goodness!" She placed a hand over her heart, relieved. "I was scared he'd become some kind of eccentric that'd be the neighbourhood laughingstock! He's having enough of a hard time without being made act like a weirdo."

"I understand your concern, but besides becoming a little 'granola', it will not interfere too much with his daily life or drastically change his personality. Fortunately, lots of kids around Turner's age experiment with new identities, so any changes in his behaviour won't be viewed as unnatural."

"Still…I hate the idea of any changes being forced on him."

"Well, I understand that, but it'll mostly just be things like being more interested in nature and being more attuned to his environment." Jorgen shrugged; his nonchalant response, rather than make her angry, helped relax her. The way he behaved, like it wasn't that big of a deal, made her feel like maybe she had been overly anxious about things.

"So…he will not start—I dunno, wearing crystals, or talking mumbo-jumbo—joining some sketchy cult or—-"

"No, no, no." Jorgen shook his head, looking almost like he wanted to laugh at her; which did make her a little frustrated, since she had been worrying about this so much ever since Mab had kissed Timmy. "It's not going to do anything like that. Believe it or not, but Mab does have good intentions….just a very bad way of showing them."

"Really?" She had to admit it was a shock to her that Jorgen had defended Queen Mab.

"….She does love children." Jorgen admitted with a sigh, as if he himself hated the idea of defending the Fey Queen. "And she really does want those who grow into adults to live happy lives. Back before the Fey was separated from earth—she made it her self-appointed duty to use her magic to prevent as many miscarriages as possible. She would also leave food for hungry children, toys for sad ones, guided lost children back home, and cured those who were sick."

"I'm surprised. I thought Fey always tried to claim every child they came across."

"Back in those days, children weren't such a rare commodity; they could pick and choose the ones they wanted; and they often only choose either those who were aesthetically pleasing, or those with lovely manners."

"I see…"

So…only the pick of the litter back in those days when the supply of children was ample, while these days they literally took whoever they could get.

"Of course, that's just generally speaking." Jorgen amended. "Even in those days there was Fey that took pity on and had compassion for abandoned or abused children that did not fit the usually 'quality standards' most Fey had, and claimed them thusly. Point I'm trying to make is that Mab had been one of the few Fey that saved or aided children she had no intention of claiming as her own. Even the way she influenced them through her blessings was designed to make them into what she thought was 'kinder, and more empathetic' adults. She also often gave them gifts that helped give them prosperous lives—speaking of which, what gift did she give Turner?"

"She—uh—-increased his creativity…" She fumbled, still surprised at how Jorgen was speaking in Mab's defense.

"That's a common blessing." Jorgen looked relieved that it wasn't something more than that. "His talents in creative means will also have a sharp increase…that will be helpful to Turner's future since with a grade point average of a F, I'd be surprised if he finished high-school."

She ought to be happy that Jorgen hadn't guessed at the possibility of Timmy having received two blessings, but she was irritated by his lack of fate in Timmy's ability.

"Just so you know, Jorgen, I've gotten Timmy's grades up ever since we began working together to overcome his ADHD. It also helps that Crocker isn't his teacher and flinging F's out every second…."

"Fair. Speaking of Crocker, is he still following Turner around?"

She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on just thinking about it. "Like a stalker…."

"Just so you know, if Crocker ever does discover you, I'm not going to count it."

"Really?" She was surprised, but happy. Crocker was getting closer and closer to spotting them with how invasive his more recent attempts at discovering them were. It seemed that no longer having Timmy in his class had made him step up his game.

"Yeah, well, since every fairy in fairy world views him as a joke and lets him carry on for the laughs of watching his insane antics….it seems unfair to punish Turner for something we're not taking very seriously."

"Oh, good. That will be at least one less stress in Timmy's life."

"Still—that does not mean that it's ok to let yourself get caught by him." Jorgen reminded seriously. "Crocker is a crackpot, but if he actually did manage to get you where he wanted—he would hurt you."

"Of course. I'm not going to let my guard down just because he's a kook." She promised; Denzel was her former godchild, but the current Crocker and that sweet boy did not feel like the same person at all…the very idea that she might feel that way about Timmy someday was something that only appeared to her in nightmares.

"So, is that everything that happened?"

"Well, there's this…" She showed her necklace to Jorgen or rather the jewel that was now part of it as she explained how Timmy would be throwing up these awful smelling lumps that had these crystalized emotions in them due to the power and bond imbalance between Cosmo and her.

"Oh, yeah….I know about those things." Jorgen cringed, rolling his eyes. "Stupid Cosmo…"

"Well, I'm not sure it's fair to call Cosmo stupid for this; it's not his fault our magic levels are different and Timmy's bond with me is a little higher because of how much I understand him…" She defended her husband.

"No, no." Jorgen shook his head, correcting her. "Piper probably just did not want to make Turner feel uncomfortable….but for this to happen, the bond Timmy has between you vs Cosmo has to be significantly different."

"What? But Timmy loves Cosmo a lot!" She protested.

"Yes, but it goes two ways, Wanda…." Jorgen released a heavy sigh and activated the memory chip in his wand and a scene appeared that looked like it had occurred when Jorgen had gone to pick up the popsicle stick creations.

"More like Timmy's gone, as soft as mashed potatoes. He's been a real cry baby ever since he started taking that medicine." Cosmo was rolling his eyes. Poof huffed offendedly, giving his father a pout only to have Cosmo defend himself. "I'm not being mean, it's true! Back in the old days, Timmy was like as tough as an uncooked potato, someone said something mean to him and he'd get angry or make a silly wish to get back at them, but now it's 'waaaa waaaa, I need hugs, tell me you love me, waaaa….!'

She found herself grinding her teeth as she felt her face turn hot, her hands balling into fists involuntarily as she listened to Cosmo mockingly imitate Timmy's voice as he fake cried; if she had been there, he would have gotten with in the head with more than a rattle!

"No, be mean to Tim-me!" Poof had cried in protest after hitting his father upside the head with his rattle; his big eyes looked both sad and betrayed and she wished she was there to hold him but even more, she wished she was there to smack her own sense into her husband.

"I'm smacking that insensitive dolt with a frying pan!"

"Going to use the same cast-iron monstrosity as your Nana Cadabra?" Jorgen lifted a brow as he paused the playback.

"Aboustely."

"Don't—he can't afford to lose anymore brain-cells, besides there's more." He resumed the playback, and she watched, seething as the tooth fairy proceeded to lecture Cosmo.

"That's right, Cosmo, you shouldn't say such mean things about your godchild."

"I'm not being mean—! I'm just…confused. Timmy was never the meek or sensitive type. He used to bounce back like a bouncy ball, but now…it's like he became someone else." Cosmo sounded genuinely confused, his expression resembling that of a lost child.

"At his age, things become more perplexing, emotions more complex. What did not hurt as a child can sting more deeply when you're older. Sometimes, enough hurt can change your entire personality."

"A boy like Timmy Turner isn't the type to be defeated. He has a spark in him, and even if it's flickering now, it'll ignite again."

The tooth fairy and Jorgen's explanation had Cosmo lowering his head looking ashamed and somewhat miserable but, most of all, he just seemed to be confused. "I do hate seeing Timmy sad… but lately he's been so delicate. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around him. Wanda's been nurturing, but it feels like the more she coddles him, the weaker he gets."

"Tim-me not weak, just need hugs!" Poof proclaimed in defense of Timmy, looking ready to give his father another smack with his rattle.

"Well, maybe I don't understand. I'm more about fun than I am about comfort."

"I guess Turner's been closer with Wanda."

Cosmo rolled his eyes. "She ought to just poof herself into a security blanket at this point…"

"Ooh! That—! I'll poof myself into a security blanket alright—and securely wrap myself around his neck!"

"Quite." Jorgen hushed her as the video continued to play.

"But….I mean…I get it. Timmy's parents have been very mean lately, and the kids at school have been absolutely horrible. I'm not good with that kind of thing. Actually, I tend to make people feel worse whenever I try to cheer them up. So Wanda really is the only one he has to go to…" Cosmo sighed, looking depressed, and she was reminded of how he had come to her shortly after Timmy's accident and asked if he was a bad godfather, or a useless one. She unclenched her teeth and fists, feeling pity and understanding mixing in with her anger. She was still upset about some of the things he had said, but she could understand how her husband was feeling about how the dynamics in their family had changed so drastically.

"Poof! Poof, poof!" Poof complained about how Timmy had him too, and that his big brother wasn't alone.

"Oh, and you too, Poof. I do love Timmy, and I want to be of help, but…all I can really do anymore is wait around for whenever he feels like playing again." Cosmo had the face of an abandoned puppy.

"I'm sure he will. Just be ready with lots of exciting games for when he's feeling better. I have a feeling that once this rough patch in his life passes, he'll be back to the same mischievous Timmy Turner we all know and love." The tooth fairy reassured and Cosmo perked up a little.

"I will! And it's not like he and I don't do anything together anymore. Wanda hates 80% of the shows Timmy likes, and Poof's too young for 95% of them, so I'm at least still his one and only TV buddy!"

Jorgen ended the playback. "As you can see, Cosmo's feelings of estrangement and his inability to understand why Turner's acting differently, as well as his frustration over all of it is probably lowering the level of their bond down to levels much lower than they would naturally be. It might be beneficial if Cosmo is given something to do besides be his 'tv buddy'….then again, last time you left the boy alone with him, he ended up literally dead."

She groaned, she hardly needed reminding, but she had given Cosmo an entire week alone with their godson exactly because of the distance she saw opening up between them and he still hadn't been able to bond with Timmy—worse, he had gotten angry and became inattentive…and as a result….Timmy died in that accident.

"Timmy and Cosmo used to be two peas in a pod." She stated, trying to hide most of the frustration she felt.

"Or two nuts in a shell."

"…But…Timmy's growing up, he's maturing—his interests and hobbies are changing, that's all natural. We've just never been with a kid long enough to watch them really 'change'. Cosmo doesn't understand it's all part of getting older."

"You're skirting around the issues. It's not his interests changing that he's having a hard time adapting to."

She sighed. "I know…Timmy's been having a very hard time…the stress of junior high, the bullying over his ADHD, his parents' attitude lately…."

"Last years Christmas incident." Jorgen added, and she shuddered.

"Don't even remind me! I don't even want to think about it." She begged. Just thinking about what happened that day made her cry. Not just her—nearly every fairy in fairy world had shed some tears—even the Anti-fairies and Pixies had shown sympathy! "Next time I see Santa, I'm hanging him over the fire instead of my stockings!"

"…And I'm bashing him over the head with a giant novelty candy cane." Jorgen agreed. "But, moving on…Wanda, would you say that Timmy Turner's situation can now be classified as A-Class?"

"…..Don't reassign me." She pleaded. "I know Cosmo and I are C-class fairies, but….Timmy needs me. I'm the one who understands him, I—"

"I'm not going to reassign you." He reassured to her relief. "Wanda, you've always been an A-class fairy. It's Cosmo whose C-class."

"Yes….but…." She sighed. "…My magic is weak, so weak that I was told that without a partner strong enough to make up for it…I wouldn't be able to become a godmother. Without Cosmo's magic…I would never have been able to fulfill my dream of being a godmother…"

"….And yet, in the time of his life when he's most distressed, it's you that are providing Turner the help he needs to get by, not Cosmo."

"Jorgen…."

"Wanda, you might be a bit weaker than other fairies, but unlike most fairies who content themselves with just granting some temporary happiness, you really strive to make positive changes in the child's life, and you do your best to support them when they need it." Jorgen praised and then turned serious again. "But what I said before hasn't changed—don't let Turner get too attached. Once you get him through this rough patch, you need to wean him off his dependence on you. It's not just for your safety, but for his own good—if he can't cope by the time you leave him…it will mean you failed as his godmother, you know that, right?"

"I agree…" She nodded her head to Jorgen's harsh statement. "…That's why I'm doing everything I can to support him and help him grow….to leave enough love in his heart that he'll be able to feel it even when I'm no longer there to provide it. By the time he's eighteen, I know I need to have him ready to stand on his own…I just…don't know if I'll be able to do it. There's so much sadness in his life right now, and surrounded by so many toxic people…I don't see how he can stand on his own, not when they're all there to keep him down."

Jorgen rubbed the back of his neck and started to pretend to be very interested in the surrounding scenery. "….Oh yeah, by the way, I'm thinking of starting a new program….for extreme emergency cases only—I've been thinking…of upping the age limit to 21…"

"What?"

"I mean…there are some parts in the world where that's counted as the age of majority—and kids in really troubled spots may need some additional help in transitioning from kid to adult…" Jorgen seemed embarrassed and the thought occurred to her that maybe this was an idea he might have just came up with. Jorgen, still blushing, tried to put on his usual tough act, pointing a finger at her warningly. "BUT….18 is still when the wishes stop! Magic will only be for emergencies and these additional years will be purely for life-coaching, got it? Failure to comply with that will have you removed, understand?"

"Yes! Thank you!" The happiness she felt at being given a few additional years with Timmy filled her to the point of bursting. The opportunity to make sure that his life was on the right track before she had to leave was pure joy…! It was such a relief that she couldn't hold back the tears and begun crying.

"Hey, hey, stop that." Jorgen shifted around uncomfortably. "Normally I make people cry from fear or pain, not joy—it's weird for me."

"Sorry, it's just—-I was so worried about him. You just know that the Turners are going to kick him out the moment he turns 18, and I was so scared he'd be homeless or stuck working a dead-end job, living in a rat-hole somewhere…"

Or…worse.

"Yeah, well, it'll be your job to make sure that doesn't happen. You'll have those years to get him away from his toxic environment, help him get his life on track and learn to manage with no magic."

"—And I'll give it 200%! No, 1000%! 10,000% , I'll give it a trill—"

"I get it! I get it!" He held up his hands in protest. "Anyway, before I go—is there anything else that happened that we should discuss?"

"….No."

Jorgen raised a brow at her hesitation. She cringed a little and shifted uncomfortably.

"…It's not really related to anything to Timmy. It's just…I was told that Cosmo and I wouldn't have been able to have children naturally."

"Yeah, that is not news to me. Cosmo is from one of the most powerful pure bloodlines…"

"Well, it was news to me!" She retorted.

"Back when fairy babies were still allowed, it was well known that those born with pure blood would probably be too powerful to have children with any fairy with more than three human ancestors. Back in those days, many fairies were obsessed with their heritage due to not wanting to marry a partner that prevented them from having a kid— it was many causing fights and divisions all across fairy world….which is a secondary reason as to why the baby ban was put in place."

"…I see." She loved Cosmo, but she couldn't help but wonder if fairy babies were still legal when they married—would Cosmo have still wanted to be her husband if he knew they wouldn't be able to have kids together? What about her…? She had wanted to be a mother so much, how would she have reacted to the news….? It was scary and unpleasant to think about….

"Luckily, you had Turner to make that wish."

"Actually…I've been wondering about it. If it's an issue that can be resolved just by a godchild making a wish….why had it been such a big issue in the day?"

After all, if a wand was powerful enough to grant it as a wish, certainly fairies could use the same power to get over their magic-level differences.

"You know there is a limiter in place for when a child makes a wish for their godparents, right?"

"Yes, to prevent Wishy-Nixies." She nodded, using the term to describe selfish godparents who would have their godchild make wishes to benefit them. Back when fairies first started god parenting it had been a real problem with some fairies only becoming godparents to 'nick' the wishes from their godchildren.

"Yes, so this limiter can decrease or increase the power of a wish a godchild makes for their godparents' benefit. If the kid is being forced to do it, then it'll turn out poorly….like, for instance, if the god parent tried to make their kid wish them up a new dress…they'll end up with a dress made of rags. On the other hand, if the kid really loved it's fairy and actually wanted to wish them up a new dress, it would turn out to be something really nice."

"So….it would require a god child who really loved its fairies to be able to wish up a baby for a couple who couldn't normally have one?"

Jorgen laughed. "No, not that easy. A fairy baby is a very powerful thing—wishing one up for a couple who normally could have one would require a ton of love on the godchild's part, for a couple that couldn't? We're talking about an impossible amount. That's why I was so negligent about adding the rule to prevent godkids from wishing them up. Most godkids just view their godparents as magical playmates or confidants… that wouldn't be enough love to poof up a baby."

"But—you panicked when you saw Timmy was about to wish for Poof, and….and….it worked!" She was confused.

"Yeah, well, when I saw it was Turner about to wish for the baby, I thought, 'oh crap, of course it would be the one god child in history that loves his godparents enough to make the impossible happen, that would find out I forgot to put that rule in the book.' If any kid was going to succeed in wishing one up, I knew it would be him."

"You mean…." Her head spun. "….The wish only worked because of how much Timmy loves us?"

"Yeah, the council was so certain that Cosmo wouldn't carry to term that they fortunately didn't interfere. Those old geezers were shocked when they found out the wish worked!" Jorgen laughed it off, unaware of how huge an impact this revelation had on her.

That she had only been able to have Poof because Timmy had wished for him had already been a shock enough, but to learn that the wish had only worked because his love had boosted their magic enough to make an actual miracle occur.

….Timmy really was an angel.

Her angel.