Chapter 14: Unwanted advice
—Jorgen POV—
Wanda cautiously opened the door to the recovery room she was staying in after hearing his voice at the door. She relaxed seeing that it was really him and stepped aside to let him in.
As he entered the room, she greeted him with a question, "Is everything alright, Jorgen?" Her night robe draped over her, while her hair was tucked into a nightcap. A sweet aroma of perfumed soap surrounded her, and her skin was still flushed from the hot water. It was understandable she would have wanted a bath after all she had gone through. It appeared that he had arrived just after she had finished unwinding from the treatment.
Lying on his belly on the bed, Timmy called out, "What's my favorite shape?" A board game was set up in front of him, along with plates of sweets for snacking. Timmy also appeared to have just taken a bath, as his hair was still damp and hung a little above his shoulders. The boy was dressed in a robe, quite similar to Wanda's, but with a subtle hint of a different shade of pink. It would be just like Nova have done something sappy like giving them matching outfits.
As he looked around, he finally took notice that the room was overwhelmingly pink. The walls, the curtains, the furniture. He couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the cuteness of the room. The Fey always did a quick scan of the fairy and child's minds to create a room that combined their likes. However, this room seemed to be a bit too much. He couldn't imagine this overly cutesy room spawning from Wanda's mind, let alone Turner's.
"Bermuda Triangle." He answered with the safety word. He was glad that they hadn't forgotten the importance of asking. "But you should have asked before letting me in."
"Whoops, right." Wanda smiled sheepishly. "It's just been a hard day…."
"And the Fey aren't above taking advantage of your mental exhaustion to trick you." He reminded. It surprised him to see how relaxed they both were, considering the circumstances. He knew that time passed differently in that room, and they had roughly six hours to have calmed down. However, none of the children or godparents who had gone through this ordeal before had recovered so quickly from it.
"Anyway, everything is fine." He answered Wanda's earlier question as he approached the bed. It really did seem like they had just been relaxing and playing a game together. Looking closely, he could see a trace of swelling around Timmy's eyes, as well as a few red and purple dots—facial petechiae. He must have been crying excessively, as any child would have been. He wondered how Wanda had calmed him so fast. "I just thought to check in on how you two were recovering."
"Oh, we just took a bath and were enjoying our downtime." Wanda poofed herself back in bed, playing with one of the game pieces with a smile. "Timmy's been really into the eldritch horror board game lately. We just finished setting up for a game."
"It came out of the toy box; it seems whatever toy or game I think of just pops out of it!" Timmy spoke cheerfully, but kept his eyes on the game board, his cheeks tinting pink. He did not blame the kid for being embarrassed and, to be honest, if the situation was different—he probably would have liked to pick on the boy a little over having peed himself.
Not even he would make light of the agony endured by the magic filter cycle, however. Half of the children or god parents who came here for the treatment could not endure it. The god parents ran off, leaving the child having to go through the treatment with a stranger, which of course meant they'd have adverse side effects from it. Or the child would choose to become a kinder instead of finishing the treatments.
He always dreaded visiting the recovery room after the first treatment because it meant he'd have to go through hours of trying to convince a devastated and traumatised fairy and child not to give up on the treatment.
But in this case….
"Your both really just playing a board game?"
"Yup. Timmy and I have our board game nights every Sunday and Friday. Poof finds this game too scary and Cosmo finds it too difficult, so it's a Timmy and me activity." Wanda seemed cheerful about this. Then again, she wasn't the type of fairy many kids played games with. Not that she was bad at games, but if a kid got to choose between her and Cosmo for a playmate, 90% chose the latter.
"No, I meant, I'm surprised you're in a good enough head space to play a game Normally, you godparents are busy trying to calm down hysterical children after that treatment." He remarked, not knowing if he should be impressed or weirded out. "Or I come in here to find them both laying curled on the floor in a fetal position in a puddle of traumatised tears."
Timmy managed a weak laugh. "Well, that pretty much sounds like me when I first woke up. Luckily, I had Wanda to snap me out of it."
"Timmy's a strong little boy; a good cry and hug was all he needed to get back onto his feet."
"—And whatever was in that bath water."
"Tell me about it…." Wanda stretched her limbs. "That was heavenly. It's making me want to try the jacuzzi later."
"Well, you'll have plenty of chances to try it. Dr. Pied is recommending Timmy prolong his stay just for a bit, because of his—" He trailed off, not sure how to put it. Timmy gave him a weak smile.
"It's ok, Wanda told me. One of my souls got evicted from my body when some magic leaked into my heart. Apparently, I was still an old man on the inside and had some kind of heart disease, or something weird like that?
He cast a look at Wanda, personally not thinking it was a good idea to tell him. She shook her head, patting the boy's hand with a smile.
"As I said, Timmy is a strong boy." Wanda repeated with a sense of pride that was a bit too deep for that of a normal godmother. "If you give him enough time to process the situation and let him know that he's not alone to face it, well, he can face anything."
He nodded; it was true, Turner had faced things that would normally break a child. He had even faced the Darkness that had threatened the universe and not only defeated it, but turned it into the Kindness. He had recognized that it hadn't been a violent monster, but a creature despairing out of loneliness.
It was a feat of heroics and true heart. Truly, it had been a pity to erase the event from everyone's memories; including the boy's own. He was the only one in the universe besides the Darkness, AKA the Kindness, who remembered that Timmy Turner had saved the universe.
….He knew it was cruel, but a godchild being put on such a pedestal by the fairies…it could not be allowed.
By erasing those memories, Turner had been declared the "worst god kid ever" according to the fairy council, despite being the savior of the universe. If that whole mess had not happened, then Turner would not now be suffering the repercussions for Cosmo's clumsiness back then! Restoring youth to just the outside, when he got his hands on that green moron….
"Yes, I am confident that Turner can get through this, but there is a matter I want to discuss with the two of you."
Wanda and Timmy exchanged uneasy looks; It seemed they knew what he was talking about.
"Would you care to tell me what's been going on in the Turner house? I certainly did not miss the implications of that exchange you had with Nova earlier."
He also thought about the cloth in his pocket. It was hard evidence that their bond had gotten far too close than what was acceptable for a godparent and godchild relationship. He'd wait, though, to hear what they said before confronting them with it. He wanted to believe Piper was wrong. Wanda would never resort to kidnapping. He wanted to believe in her, so he'd at least listen to her story before dropping any accusations.
Timmy put his head down and glanced at Wanda who encouragingly patted his head.
"Go on Timmy. We both knew we'd have to talk about it someday. Tell Jorgen what's been going on at home, ok Sweetie? Tell him about how your parents have been lately."
"W…well…." Timmy murmured. "I got diagnosed with a learning disability. ADHD, to be precise, but…my parents don't like me naming what it is, they find it…humiliating…."
"They're acting like it's some kind of big shameful secret! They behave like this common problem is something to be embarrassed about!" Wanda ground her teeth, looking frustrated.
"…..It is." Timmy put his head down, looking ashamed of himself. "Even my friends at school make fun of me, and the teachers talk to me like I'm a pre school student…."
"Well, Dimsdale is inhabited by a bunch of mean spirited jerks." Wanda huffed.
"….I'm sure my parents still love me." Timmy mumbled. If you asked him, he would not say that Turner sounded sure of that at all. "…But…they're just really disappointed in me. It's my own fault that they've been a bit mean to me lately."
"It is not." Wanda chided in a tone that suggested they've been through this several times before. "ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It's not something you're at fault over!"
"…My parents say I'm just being lazy. As mom says…if I can pay attention to my video game for hours, I should be able to pay attention in school."
"Their idiots. They did not even bother with a ten-minute google search before making such declarations." Wanda scoffed. "People with ADHD have low dopamine levels, and it's normal for them to develop a hyper-focus on anything that can raise these dopamine levels."
"It sounds like you've read up on the subject." He remarked dryly. He had been aware of Timmy's diagnoses because some of his wishes involved his medication, usually wishing to get it back after some bully threw it into the trash or flushed it down the toilet. To be honest, he knew little about human illnesses and he really had no interest in learning, but he had noticed that since Turner had begun his medication, he had gotten into a lot less trouble.
"I did more than read! I went to support groups, lectures on the subjects, talked with other parents—I did everything his parents should have done." Wanda looked proud of herself and he did not miss the grateful smile that Timmy cast her way.
"If not for Wanda being so supportive, I think might have just given up on my medication and on trying to get better."
"I'm glad she's done her job as your godmother well, but have your parents really done nothing?"
"….Besides, blame me for it? No." Timmy sighed. Wanda took a pitying glance over at her godchild.
"…They've been so terrible to Timmy lately. They not only say hurtful things all the time, but they'll replace his medication with placebo's just to prove their point that 'it's all in his head.' It's as if they think that it's just a game he's playing, an excuse he's making up not to work hard or to not take responsibility for his mistakes."
"….They say I'm doing it on purpose to embarrass them. That I'm making everyone think their bad parents. I try to focus without my medicine, I try to do without it, but I…."
"He shouldn't be made to feel ashamed about taking medication for a condition that's not even his fault—!" Wanda's face turned red in frustration. "I mean, it's not like we're in the middle ages! ADHD should be something perfectly understandable in the modern world! How can they be such ignorant idiots?"
"…. They'll literally go to buy my medicine in disguise." Timmy mumbled, looking depressed. "Their ashamed of me."
"I see…" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. This had gotten awkward really fast….
Wanda gave Timmy a reassuring squeeze. "It's nothing to be ashamed about, sweetie. You take your medication and continue doing those special activities and exercises we learned about, and you'll grow up just fine."
As he watched Turner quietly nod, he could see the trust in his eyes, despite their cloudiness. However, there was something else there that he wished wasn't. Unfortunately, Wanda didn't seem to notice, and simply smiled while patting the boy's arm.
"Children need lots of love and support to grow properly and if no one else will give him what he needs, then I'm prepared to provide all of it myself." She spoke to him, but her eyes lovingly lingered on Timmy. "He's a good boy who deserves so much more love than he's getting."
Timmy's expression of gratitude almost bordered on reverence. "I see," he sighed, finally understanding the situation.
Because of Cosmo's inability to stay undetected, he did not pair the Cosma couple with children who suffered from severe problems. Instead, he preferred to assign godparents who could remain hidden long enough to provide meaningful help to the child.
Caring for a child who was being verbally and emotionally abused by his parents was an unfamiliar experience for Wanda. It was also her first time caring for a child with a medical condition, which his parents refused to help him with and even ostracized him for. For the first time, a child needed her for something much more vital than wishes.
She had taken responsibility for the boy's welfare; and provided not only the help he needed but also the love and affection his friends and family were withholding.
Perhaps it wasn't the wisest decision. Turner's secret wish had revealed something more than the passage of fifty years. It had brought to light the intense emotional dependence Timmy felt towards his god family. The boy had literally chosen fifty years of neglect and abuse rather than let go of them.
The council's true reason for their easy forgiveness was not just because his love for his fairy family was heartwarming but because it was blatantly obvious that in the boy's heart, they were the only real family he had, and that taking them would mean breaking that heart beyond repair.
And now, besides the obsessive need he had already had for them, Wanda had taken it upon herself to satisfy his emotional needs at the point in his life where he had felt even more vulnerable than ever before.
Hopefully, Wanda had a plan in place to prepare him for the inevitable time he'd have to transition to life without his fairies, unless she…. as Piper had suggested…did not actually plan to let him go…
"I see. I'm sorry to hear that your situation has soured so much, Turner." He offered his condolences while hiding his suspicions. "Anyway, as I was saying, it's being recommended that Turner stay here for a little while to monitor his condition."
"I've been thinking the same." Wanda admitted. "This room has medicine that can help ease his pain, and having so much time to rest between treatments will make it much easier for him to endure it. I can't imagine making him go through such agony three times a day with only roughly five hours between each treatment."
"It's been six hours in this room…" Timmy looked at the pair of clocks on the wall. "But only a hour and a half outside…so I still have many hours before I have to go through it again, right?"
"Your bodies are still running on normal time, even if the time in this room is slow." He confirmed. "Your need to eat or sleep will run on normal time, not room time."
"Think of all the extra gaming time I'd have if my bedroom was like this! Opps.." The boy stuck his tongue out a little. "I mean, studying time..." Timmy then turned to Wanda with a playful look. It was so obvious that he was desperate to pretend that the conversation about his parents had not happened. Wanda saw through his act, but played along with the expression of someone use to it. Perhaps this was his standard response whenever his parents' behaviour towards him got discussed.
"So you're alright with staying here for a few days?" He asked, but he knew it wasn't something they could really refuse. Still, the longer they stayed, the more danger they were in of not leaving. Even if Turner's home life had soured, it was still better than ending up trapped in Fey World as one of the Kinder.
"It's what's necessary, but…" Wanda frowned. "I wish I could have said a proper goodbye to Poof. I did not think I'd be leaving for an extended period."
"Can't we bring Poof here?"
"Negative." He denied. "Fey world is not a vacation destination. Only fairies on official business or for medical reasons are permitted to enter this place."
"Then could we send a video recording?" Timmy suggested. "That way, we can at least let Poof and Cosmo know how we're doing."
"Ok." He gave in. "BUT I record it so that I know for sure you're not including any information that you shouldn't."
"You can trust us, we wouldn't—"
"Last time I trusted someone with Fey matters, Turner, they became the head of a child trafficking ring, and I lost over 200 children to the Fey."
Timmy responded by putting a hand over his mouth in an oopsie gesture. Wanda cringed, nodding her head.
"I get your point; and Cosmo, being Nova's son, probably doesn't help."
"Please." He almost snorted. "I can at least trust in Cosmo's stupidity if nothing else; he wouldn't be able to follow in his father's footsteps, even if he wanted to. Nah, them being father and son has nothing to do with anything. I just prefer using every caution possible when dealing with the Fey."
And sometimes that wasn't enough to stop the Fey from getting one over on him…and every failure on his part meant another child lost.
….And he would not let Turner, the boy who saved the universe from the Darkness, become the Fey's plaything.
He also wouldn't allow Wanda's affection for the boy to have her go down the same path as Nova had.
— Wanda POV —
"Hi Poof! Hi Cosmo! Hope you're doing well. I just finished my first treatment here in Fey world. It was painful, but…I'm feeling much better now." Timmy waved at the video camera Jorgen had poofed up. He looked awkward and a bit strained as he tried to smile, no doubt shaken from having to unexpectantly discuss his home situation. It had been a bad time for it. Jorgen really ought to have waited. The poor thing had only just recovered from enduring that agonizing magic-filter-cycle.
"Timmy was a really brave little boy. The treatment was hard on him, but he did his very best." She gave him a cuddle, hoping to make him feel more at ease. She put on a big smile because she knew otherwise, Poof would worry. "He's doing much better now, but because his condition is a little worst then we thought, we're going to need to stay in Fey World for a few days."
"I'm sorry Poof, I know you were looking forward to playing lots." Timmy apologized. "But I promise when I get back we'll play tons!"
He's such a good big brother, she thought appreciatively. "Poof, if you're a good boy while we're gone, when your big brother and I come back, we'll do something special."
She'd think of something fun and exciting that she could do with her two boys. The big fairy festival was coming up on the weekend; she hoped Timmy could attend it. It only happened once every one hundred years, and she'd love for Poof to have some wonderful memories of having spent his very first festival with his big brother. She also wanted Timmy to experience the event. She was sure he'd love it.
"Cosmo, I hope you're not still feeling bad about things…" Despite the severity of the situation and the consequences it bore, Timmy's voice was devoid of grudge or resentment. He reassured his godfather that he was going to be okay and urged him to cheer up and play with Poof lots for him while he was gone. Jorgen raised a brow at this, but she couldn't help but frown. She loved Cosmo dearly, but his jealousy had caused him to neglect Timmy, which resulted in the poor boy's tragic death. Had Timmy not died in that accident, he would have eventually died from his heart due to Cosmo's mistake when he restored his youth two years ago. This error had caused compatibility issues with the revival magic, which was why Timmy needed to undergo such agonizing treatment. Furthermore, Timmy's heart-soul had been forced out of his body, and if it couldn't be recovered, her poor human son would face eventual oblivion.
"We'll be home soon." She spoke without addressing her husband directly; but tried not to make her anger too clear because she did not want to upset Poof.
Timmy smiled and waved both of his hands. "We miss you both! We'll see you soon!"
Jorgen stopped recording and gave Timmy an incredulous look. "Your allowed to be a little angry at Cosmo."
"Cosmo…well, he just made a mistake. That's just how he is. It's ok, it's not like he meant it. I'm not mad. Accidents happen."
Jorgen quirked his brow and gave her a frown, as if to ask her about the strange, unnatural response which, to her, was sadly no longer anything out of the ordinary.
"Wanda, may I have a word with you?" Jorgen nudged his head towards the balcony. Timmy looked at her anxiously. She ruffled his bangs, smiling reassuringly.
"We're just going to be discussing how to recover your heart-soul." She lied; though that was an issue, she did want to discuss with the large fairy.
"Can I listen?"
"You've only just managed to get relaxed. Just take it easy for now and I'll discuss things with you after you've had a good night's sleep."
Timmy frowned, opened his mouth to protest but then seemed to realize that she wasn't being called out to the balcony to actually discuss his soul, so he went quiet and nodded, an anxious expression filtered over his face.
"…Ok. I'll wait."
"That's a good boy." She told him appreciatively and followed Jorgen out onto the balcony. She had known that eventually this was going to happen; from the moment Jorgen had snatched the cloth that bore her and Timmy's matching blood.
—She knew what it meant. She had formed too deep of an attachment to her godchild. Cosmo had repeatedly warned her ever since she and Timmy's relationship had deepened.
'Your loving him too much, Wanda! Jorgen won't stand for it!' Cosmo, usually the air headed one, had been right but…
She had prepared her defense for when this happened. Jorgen was not half as smart as he let on. All you had to do was be careful enough to tell him what he expected to hear or wanted to hear, and that was enough to pull the wool over his eyes.
As she stepped onto the balcony, her focus on the conversation ahead momentarily paused. She was struck by the beauty of the scene before her. Looking up, she was awestruck by the sight of the moon. It glowed with a soft, rosy pink hue. The clouds overhead seemed to twinkle like diamonds, reflecting the moon's light. As she gazed at the stars, each one appeared to emit its own unique halo of shimmering colors. The stars created a breathtaking tapestry in the night sky.
Before her, stretched out for miles, were elegant flower beds that were adorned with every single pink-colored flower that existed in the world. They filled the air with a sweet fragrance. Pink fireflies flickered and danced, and rose-colored butterflies floated around gracefully. The soft fluttering of their wings was barely audible, but it added to the charm of the scene. An elegant little tea table, in the style her mother enjoyed, was set up on the balcony, and the dainty chairs looked tiny and delicate.
It made her remember her own childhood, and the happiness she felt whenever her mother would have tea with her, instead of Blonda. It was rare that it happened, but when it did, it felt even more special because of it. This quality time spent with her mother was still amongst her fondest childhood memories.
Perhaps she should have felt offended that the Fey had copied this tea table from her memory, but all she could think about was how nice it would be to bring Timmy out here and relive those memories, only this time as the mother.
"Wanda, I think you know what I want to talk about." Jorgen leaned against the railing, crossing his arms sternly as she took a seat.
"I know. I've gotten closer to Timmy than what is normal." She admitted, "but…in my defense, I did spend over fifty years with him. I think some attachment beyond the standard is justified."
"Yes, but even so, you still need to remember what your role is."
"Godmother, not mother." She said what she knew he wanted to hear, but the words pricked at her own heart. "I have not forgotten. Children are like hamsters. We love them, we play them, we care for them, all while knowing that the time we spend with them lasts only a short while."
Jorgen nodded, but seemed to wait for her to continue knowing she had more to say.
"I do love Timmy as if he were my own child." She admitted and held up her hand as he opened his mouth. "But I know and accept that as a human, he can't stay with me. I know that someday we will be parted and he will grow up just as any other child would."
"And do you think you can let him go when the time comes?" Jorgen looked doubtful. She smiled; a rehearsed smile she had practiced countless times in the mirror for the inevitable day he questioned her.
"Of course, because, unlike Timmy, my memories will remain. I won't lose him, even if I can't be with him. Any way, I'm a godmother." She proclaimed this. Her voice held pride, but her heart held pain. "It's my greatest joy to see my god kids grow to be happy. I've had many godchildren, but I've never gotten to stay long enough to really feel as if I made a difference. However, Timmy….his time spent with us will be the thing that influences his future. I will really see for the first time just how worthy I am of being a godmother."
"Wanda…"
"Yes, I love Timmy. It will break my heart when the day comes that I have to let go of him, but…" She took a deep breath, focusing on the moon rather than Jorgen, letting the future she wanted for Timmy play out in her mind's eye. "…I want to see that small, helpless boy grow up big and strong. I want to see that child everyone calls stupid and a failure, grow to be successful. That little boy whose parents don't love him enough, I want him to make his own happy, loving family someday."
Jorgen was a big softy when it came to sentimental things, and just as she thought, her words had won him over. He had detected no falsehood because…what she said was no lie.
She wanted to see all those things; but…. she did not want to just observe unseen from the shadows. She wanted to be a part of it.
"I see, Wanda. You're very dedicated to being the best godmother you can, but I hope you know Turner is no ordinary child."
"What do you mean by that?" She questioned, not liking the tone he used. Jorgen's stare flattened. His expression revealed that he felt she should know what he referred to.
"It should go without saying, especially after that secret wish fiasco, that Turner is not mentally or emotionally stable. He already had dependency issues to begin with, and now, when his neediness is at an all-time high, you've placed yourself at the center of that—"
"Stop." She pressed her lips together, squeezing her hands into fists. "Timmy is a kind, sweet boy."
"Yes—a boy now—but in the future, a man, an adult human. You know adults are ruled by greed. As a boy, all he craves is your affection, but in the future what he will want, like all adults, is your magic. You form too strong a bond with him, and he'll turn out to be just like Crocker, obsessed with hunting you down." Jorgen shook his head. "No, worse than Denzil, because Timmy would actually be cunning enough to be successful and we've already seen how easily he breaks through the effects of Forgetacin. It would put you and your family in danger if he is unwilling to let go of you when the time comes."
"Timmy would not—!"
"Mary Alice." Jorgen cut her off with a heated look; throwing the same name in her face as Nova had, when she had said Timmy would never form a magical addiction.
Say what they will, but she knew her Timmy would never turn out like that. He would never grow up to hurt her. Even if his memory of her was muddled and he had no recollection of their love, he was too kind of a boy to want to hurt anyone.
"You can't trust adult humans." Jorgen repeated this point for good measure. "You have Turner form too deep of an attachment and he will seek you out as an adult and it will not be for a hug! Right now, Wanda, you are probably the person he loves the most, and Turner is the type of person who obsesses about his relationships."
"He….!"
"This obsession has even affected several of his wishes." Jorgen cut her off. "Super Bike, whose neediness would not allow Timmy to play with anyone else and who sought to harm him when his affection diverged. Gary, his imaginary friend, whose sense of abandonment caused him to seek revenge. Heck, even his hair became obsessed with being the 'only thing he loved'! and tried to hurt him when its affection was not returned! Do you see the pattern, Wanda?"
"…."
"Becoming the most important person to him, when you know you cannot stay with him, will not end will for you!"
"How—-dare you—!" She clenched her teeth. "You just don't know him like I do."
"Or maybe you're just seeing what you want to see in him; the way Dulcie only saw sweetness in Mary Alice—"
"Dulcie made a mistake." She had not been close to the woman, but she hated to think about the fate that had befallen her. "But I'm not mistaken. Timmy would sooner die than hurt someone he loves. Don't you remember Jorgen how he was willing to sacrifice himself for us in the Hocus Poconos?"
"Look, I know Turner is a good kid…but kids and adults aren't the same." Jorgen's tone became pacifying without losing its severity. "I know Turner, as he is now, would do anything to protect his fairies, but…he will not and cannot stay a child. Even as a child, his dependency and attachment to his relationships caused him to freeze the universe for fifty years!"
"Can he be blamed? You saw how his parents raised him!" She cut Jorgen off, losing her temper. "Eight years of constant surveillance without ever leaving the house; only the three of them with no other contact." She clicked her tongue, wondering why the CPS had never been called. Only in Dimmsdale could this behavior go unreported. "Then one day all that attention vanishes and the parents who always stuck around begin to neglect him. How do you think this would affect a child's mind?"
She paused, waiting for Jorgen to answer, but he did not seem like he knew what to say, so she answered for him.
"They would grow up thinking that loving someone means always being around them, being the only one around them. They would develop an acute fear of abandonment. The poor thing would cling tight to what they have out of fear of not being left alone! So yes, I know Timmy is a little obsessive in his relationships. I'm not clueless! Don't you think I've been taking measures to help him with that?"
"Uh, well…."
"Timmy loves me very much, but—did he cry and whine when I left for a week, taking only Poof with me on my recent visit with my family? No. I am showing him how an actual family behaves." She balled her hands into fists. "The Turner's treated him like a circus animal, made do tricks for a video camera and then dumped once that became boring. Timmy is learning from Cosmo, Poof and I how real family relationships work."
"But you have to admit, you've been indulging him and showing him far more affection than a godmother should."
"Yes, I have." She admitted. "But I have a good reason for that. Godparents are supposed to make miserable children happy, but just granting wishes doesn't always do that. You see…you can't be happy if you don't love yourself, and how can you love yourself if you've never really had anyone to love you? If I can give him the love he needs, he'll finally be able to love himself, and hopefully even when he looses his memories of me, those feelings will remain with him and steer him towards a happy future where the love he wants and needs are possible. He won't seek me out as you fear he will because…he'll already have gotten everything he needs from me to be happy."
…She did not think her own words could hurt her so much.
Jorgen sighed. "I see what you're trying to do, and what you're hoping for. Very well, I'll let you do what you think is best, but if I notice any troubling signs coming from Turner, I will step in. As head fairy, it's my foremost duty to keep the fairies safe."
"Well, you have nothing to worry about because Timmy would never hurt me or any other fairy. Ever."
"You might not believe me, but I too have hope that Turner will turn out differently than most other adults, but hope has a way of letting you down."
"All I care about is not letting Timmy down and on that note, we have something much more important to discuss, like getting his soul back." She forced down her anger and went into details about Jorgen over the theory she and Nova came up with about it being inside the medicine bottle back in her fish bowl.
"I will fetch it; it will need to be examined to make sure it has not been injured or contaminated." Jorgen glanced out at the butterflies flying over the garden. "His soul will look very similar to one of those if it's in good condition, but…."
"But…?"
"…Bringing a child's soul to this place is risky."
"…Is there any way to have it checked and placed back inside of him in fairy world?" She also did not care at all for the idea of bringing Timmy's soul to the Fey.
"Unfortunately messing around with human souls is such a grievous taboo that even half of Fey world won't have anything to do with it. There is no one in fairy world that would touch that with a ten-foot pole. If it gets out to the fairy public that we have Turner's soul—Aye yai yai, that'll be a headache to deal with!"
"Should I come with you to retrieve it?"
"No. Leaving Turner here on his own is too dangerous! The Fey will take full advantage of the opportunity and will make him one of their Kinders."
"…With how certain you are that he'll grow up to be a danger, I'm surprised you'd want to stop them." She couldn't help but remark. He growled at her and seized her by the front of her night-robe.
"Don't get snide with me, Wanda." He warned. "I would never be willing to let the Fey claim any child."
She might have poked a sore spot, she realized as this went beyond his usual anger, and she nodded, apologizing. "Sorry, but…with how much you hate Timmy, it's only fair that I'd think that!"
Jorgen let go of her and rolled his eyes. "I don't hate Turner. I just hate the workload he gives me. Look Wanda, I know as he is right now, that there is no human in the world who loves fairies more than Turner, but to use Nova's gulabi goat as an example—"
"Timmy's not a gulabi goat! Look, I don't know how he'll grow up." She admitted as she cut Jorgen off. "But I do know that Timmy will always be Timmy. He might be selfish sometimes, or fail to think things through, but he has a good, kind heart which not even adulthood will change."
She did not care if Jorgen believed her because she had fate in her own words. She did not know how he'd turn out, but she had no doubt that he'd grow to have the same kind heart as an adult as he did as a child.