© September 2007-2012

Chapter Twenty Five

Previously...

     “I’m not sure I’ll be enjoying anything if Jo won’t speak to me.” Sara pouted. She then remembered that her phone was still off, so she pulled it out her pocket and turned it back on again. It had no sooner gone through its start up screen than she was getting a call from Jo. Sara started grinning as she answered the call.

     “Hi Jo. I’m sorry for what I did to you yesterday; please forgive me for being so foolish.” Sara pleaded down the phone.

     “Finally! Were the hell have you been all afternoon?” Jo’s voice said on the other end.

     “I’ve been training with Tia.” Sara snapped back feeling a little angry with Jo for not even bothering to say she was forgiven.

     “Why did you turn your phone off? And why is Sheana’s off as well?” Jo asked with pain in his voice like something was wrong.

     “Tia didn’t want use distracted while we trained, and I’ve only just remembered it was turned off.” Sara said as she sensed something was wrong. “What’s wrong Jo, why do you sound like you’ve been crying?” Sara asked as she finally got to the others.

     “Where are you now?” Jo asked.

     “I’m still at Tia’s, why?”

     “Can you get Sheana to blink me to you?”

     “Sure, but where are you right now?” Sara asked.

     “I’m in my bedroom at home.” Jo replied.

     “Sheana, can you blink Jo here? I think something is wrong.” Sara said to Sheana as she got up off the floor where she’d been rolling around tickling Jenna.

     “Cool! I’ve wanted to try something anyway.” Sheana said as she touched a finger to Sara’s phone.

    Jo heard Sheana speak on the other end of the phone, just before he saw a blue mist start to come out of his phone as he moved it away from his ear. The blue mist seemed to wrap itself around him and then all of a sudden he was stood in the hallway with Sara and the others all looking at him.

     “What just happened?” Jo asked looking a little freaked out by it.

     “Looks like Sheana reached out and touched someone.” Prue giggled. “Cool trick though.” Prue added looking impressed.

    They all laughed, but stopped when they saw that Jo had tears rolling down his cheeks and his eyes were red from another sort of crying.

     “What’s wrong Jo?” Sara asked as she ran over to him.

     “It’s Mike. He’s dead.” Jo said as he burst into tears again and fell into Sara’s arms.

And now the story continues...

    Sara was too shocked to do anything but hold Jo in her arms, but she did hear a strangled scream from Sheana, and when she turned to take a look, she found Prue holding Sheana in her arms as it looked like she’d fainted from the shock of the news Jo had managed to tell them.

    All the things that had happened the day before all seemed so trivial now. Hypatia being more used to dealing with death than the others took charge and led everyone into the living room and got them all seated before she and Samantha went to make them all a drink.

    Jenna was sobbing her little heart out on Prue’s knee, so Prue couldn’t offer her help, and Sheana was still out cold on a sofa with her head resting in Karen’s lap. Jo was still sobbing as Sara hugged him close to her. Sara had nothing to say that could even start to make Jo feel better about losing his best friend.

    Jo did finally pull himself together enough to sit up and look around the room, and then he gave Sara a sad smile. “I know this seems a bit pointless now Sara, but I’m sorry for storming off, and I can understand the misunderstanding after reading your email.” Jo snuffled.

     “I still shouldn’t have acted like I did though Jo, and for that I am sorry.” Sara said as she got a cuddle from Jo this time. “Can you tell us what happened to Mike?” Sara asked, but wasn’t sure she wanted the details, if Jo had any to tell them that is.

     “He was in town this morning for some reason, probably getting some bits in for when his mum and dad got home. They seem to think he stepped into the road without looking, and he was hit by a lorry.” Jo explained as he started crying again. “The doctors tried to save him, but he was just too badly hurt and he died on the operating table.” Jo got out through the tears.

     “Do his parents know yet?” Karen asked feeling sorry for what Mike’s parents must be going through at that very minute if they did.

     “Yes, it was them that came to my house to let me know what had happened. I can’t stop thinking that he’d still be here if I hadn’t been so pig headed yesterday and...” Jo was sobbing too much again now to carry on.

     “You can’t think like that Jo.” Sara said as she pulled Jo closer for another hug. “I could say it was my fault then, for upsetting you in the first place, but Mike wouldn’t want any of us to feel that way over him, he’d want us to keep our chins up and remember the good times we had together with him and Michelle.” Sara said sounding more forceful than she felt.

    Sheana started to come round and Sara left Jo sat on one sofa and went to sit with her sister, so she could help her mum try and keep Sheana as calm as they could. The last thing they needed was Sheana losing it and doing something crazy with her magic.

     “What happened?” Sheana groaned as she looked up at Sara from where her head was still resting on Karen’s knee.

     “You fainted sis.” Sara said with tears in her eyes.

     “What made me f...” was all Sheana got out before she remembered what Jo had said after she made him appear in the hallway at Hypatia’s. “No! No he can’t be. Please tell me it was just a bad dream I was having. Please tell me that Mike isn’t really gone?” Sheana said as she tried to push Sara away like it would stop it all being real.

    Sara kept hold of Sheana and finally Sheana did stop fighting with her and just clung onto Sara as she sobbed her heart out. Sara let Sheana have a good cry, and then she explained what Jo had told them.

     “I’ll bring him back. I’ll raise him from the dead.” Sheana said with a determined look on her face.

     “You will do no such thing Sheana!” Hypatia said from the doorway holding a tray in her hands as she entered the room and placed it down on the table before going over to look Sheana in the eyes. “Mike deserves better than that, and you know it.

     “But he’s not been dead long, and I’m sure he’ll be almost just like his old self when I’m done.” Sheana argued with Hypatia.

     “He still won’t be Mike though Sheana, you know that deep down. He’d just be a zombie with no mind of his own.” Hypatia pleaded with Sheana to see sense.

     “Mike wouldn’t want to be a zombie Sheana.” Jo said looking worried.

     “I know you’re all right, but I just don’t want to live without him. It hurts too much.” Sheana said as she put her hands to her chest feeling for the hole that was causing her so much pain right now.

    Sara took her over and placed her between her and Jo, so they could all have a group hug. They were soon joined by Jenna, and they all had another sob as they remembered their friend.

    Hypatia and Samantha poured them all a cup of tea out and then they sat in silence for some time as they all remembered their friend. Even though Samantha hadn’t known Mike/Michelle that long, she’d liked the way they could talk about computer problems with ease. Samantha was going to miss her preppy little side kick computer geek.

    Hypatia thought the world was going to miss out on a brilliant mind, and she’d been looking forward to seeing what amazing things Michelle did in the future, but all that was gone now.

    Karen didn’t feel up to driving, so she let Prue drive them all home in Karen’s car. None of them spoke on the way home, they just all looked lost in their own little world as they thought about Mike/Michelle, and how they had made such a large impact in all their lives, even given the short time they had all know each other.

    Prue pulled onto the drive and then hit the brakes hard when the headlights moved across a figure hiding in some bushes to the side of the front door. Prue was scared it might be the men in black.

     “What’s wrong Prue?” Sara asked looking ready for action herself now, as she looked out the car window for trouble.

     “I thought I saw someone hiding in the bushes near the front door.” Prue said just before she used her vampire speed to get out the car and grab them before they could do anything to the others.

     “Stay here why I go and see if Prue needs any help.” Sara told the others as she morphed into her slayer armour and vanished around the side of the house where she’d seen Prue go seconds earlier.

    Sheana never morphed into her armour, but she was ready to help defend the others in the car if she needed to.

    Sara could see Prue holding a figure, but it was dark down the side of the house and she had to wait for Prue to walk back towards her to make out anything else. Sara wasn’t too worried though, as Prue didn’t look to be fighting or struggling with whoever it was. The person looked unconscious as Prue stepped into the lighter part of the alleyway that led to the back of the house.

     “Who is it Prue?” Sara asked.

     “I could tell you, but I think you better see for yourself, because I’m at a loss to explain it.” Prue said as she stepped into the light with Michelle in her arms. “She bumped her head when I scared her just now.” Prue said as she looked down at Michelle with her eyes closed like she was sleeping.

     “Michelle! But how can she still be alive?” Sara said looking confused with it all. “Take her into the house and put her on the sofa, while I go and get the others.” Sara said after she retracted her armour and then opened the front door to let Prue in with Michelle, and then she went to get the others out the car.

     “Is everything alright?” Karen asked when she saw Sara poke her head in the car.

     “Yes, but I need you all to come and see something.” Sara said as she opened the back door to help Sheana and Jenna get out the car. “I know you don’t feel up to it at the minute sis, but I need you to heal someone for me, and you.” Sara added, trying not to grin as she said it.

     “I don’t want to use my magic Sara, not ever again.” Sheana said sounding like her world was over now Mike was gone.

     “I’d hold off on saying stuff like that until you see who I need you to heal sis.” Sara said as she walked Sheana into the living room where Prue was stood over someone laid out on one of the sofas in there.

     “Who’s that?” Sheana asked, not being able to see the persons face, as it was being blocked from view by Prue.

    Rather than answer her question, Prue just stepped to the side and let Sheana see that it was Michelle.

     “Michelle!” Sheana shouted as she dropped to her knees in front of her sleeping girlfriend and started kissing her like she would vanish at any minute. “How can she still be alive if her parents saw Mike’s dead body?” Sheana asked as she ran her hand gently across Michelle’s forehead thinking she was dreaming it all. Sheana was soon healing Michelle’s bump to her head with a blue glow from her hand. Then she sat waiting for Michelle to open her eyes, so they could find out just what had been happening, and who the person was dead in her place.

    It was only a couple of minutes later when Michelle’s eyes fluttered open, but to Sheana and the others it felt like a life time.

     “Hi Sheana.” Michelle smiled, happy to see a friendly face.

     “We all think you’re dead, and the only thing you can say when you wake up is ‘Hi Sheana’.” Jo said sarcastically. “Care to tell us what the hell is going on, and who the dead version of you is?” Jo added.

     “Can you just give me a couple of minutes to say hello to my girlfriend Jo, then I’ll try and answer your questions.” Michelle said just before she took hold of Sheana’s head in both hands and started kissing her.

     “Sure, take all the time you need, just hurry up.” Jo frowned.

     “Don’t be so mean Jo.” Sara said as she poked him in the side with her elbow. “Michelle will tell us what she knows in a minute.” Sara added as they all sat waiting for Michelle and Sheana to finish saying hello to each other.

     “I don’t know their name, but they stole my purse this morning while I was getting some groceries. I chased after them, but lost them in the crowd of people on the high street.” Michelle said as she sat up and pulled Sheana onto the sofa next to her. “I looked everywhere for the guy, but got a shock when I saw him step out of an alley way looking freaked out, well saw myself step out of the alleyway. Well the Mike me that is, I was Michelle still.” Michelle said looking confused.

     “He put your ring on?” Sara asked.

     “Yes he had, but I think the shock was a little too much as he stepped back from a shop window he’d been looking in and ended up on the road just as a lorry was driving up it.” Michelle shuddered as she remembered seeing her own male body being bounced up the road just after the lorry hit it. “I saw myself die, or as good as die looking at the mess the body was in by the time it stopped rolling down the road.” Michelle added as she found it hard to swallow all of a sudden.

     “What happens when the power of the ring wears off and they all see that it wasn’t Mike?” Jo asked as he tried to be logical about it.

     “It won’t wear off.” Sheana pointed out. “The life force left the body while it was in that form, so there is nothing left to change it back.

     “But how can Mike go home then, if everyone can see a dead version of him?” Jo asked.

     “Michelle can never be Mike again, not now his parents have seen him dead.” Sheana explained.

     “Never?” Michelle said looking shocked.

     “No, never. I’m sorry Michelle, but the men in black and all the news papers would have a field day if this got out.” Sara said as she understood what Sheana was trying to say. “Boy comes back from the dead! It would be like the second coming of Christ.” Sara pointed out.

     “So I’m a homeless orphan then?” Michelle said as it looked like she was ready to go into shock. The reality of it all was only just starting to sink in.

     “You are neither homeless nor an orphan Michelle.” Karen said as she sat the other side of her to what Sheana was sat. “You will have a place here with us until you get sick of it and run away to join a circus.” Karen added with a giggle.

     “Thank you Karen.” Michelle said as she broke down in tears and let Karen hug her until she stopped. “Looks like I finally got my wish to stay as Michelle then.” She added once she cried herself out.

     “That’s true sweetie, but I bet you would have been happier doing it with your mum and dad though?” Karen asked as she took a tissue from Sheana and helped Michelle to clean up the little makeup she’d been wearing that had ran down her cheeks.

     “Yes I would have, but I’d over heard my parents talking, and neither one of them really wanted kids to begin with. I think that’s why they were always leaving me to look after myself.” Michelle snuffled.

     “That won’t happen here Michelle, and I want you to treat this place like it’s your own.” Karen smiled. “I know the others will make you feel welcome.” Karen added as she looked at Sheana and Sara.

     “Goodie! A new sister.” Sara grinned as she sat cuddled up to Jo on the other sofa again.

     “But what will I do about school and ID?” Michelle said looking worried again all of a sudden.

     “You sit with Sheana and try to relax, while I go and give Hypatia a call and fill her in on what’s happened, and see if she can offer any advice for us.” Karen got up and left the living room with her purse in her hand as she got her mobile phone out and started to call Hypatia’s number.

     “I’m glad you’re not a zombie Michelle.” Jo said looking happy to be sat across from his best friend, even if he was a girl fulltime now.

     “A zombie?” Michelle asked looking puzzled.

     “I was planning to bring you back to life, but Hypatia talked me out of it. It’s a good job she did, because it wouldn’t have been you that I brought back to life.” Sheana explained.

     “No, it would have been the person that stole my purse.” Michelle complained.

     “I didn’t mean it like that silly.” Sheana giggled. “The body would be lacking a soul.” She pointed out.

     “I’m glad you didn’t have to do it then.” Michelle said with a shudder as she had a vision of her male self wanting to eat all their brains. “I’m sorry if I upset you all, but I couldn’t get my stuff back, and I couldn’t remember any of your numbers.”

     “You should have come to my place sooner Michelle, to stop me worrying about you.” Jo said looking a little upset with Michelle.

     “I was too shocked to do anything for an hour or so after it all happened, and I had no money on me, so I had to walk around to your place, by which point I saw my parent’s car parked outside your house.” Michelle explained. “I had a bad feeling about what they were there for, and I thought if you saw me stood at the door... Well I don’t know what you would have done.” Michelle sighed. “How were they taking the news of my death?” Michelle asked as she looked at Jo. Michelle was finding it a little weird talking about her own death, or the death of her male form.

     “They were taking it pretty hard to tell you the truth man... Sorry.” Jo said as he realised what he’d just said.

     “Don’t worry about it Jo.” Michelle giggled. “It’s going to take some getting used to from my end as well. Even if I did plan on leaving the ring off one day, I just thought I’d have more choice in when it all happened.” Michelle said as she looked to be thinking over her future.

     “Why were you out as Michelle in the first place?” Sheana asked.

     “I just feel more like myself like this, and I know it was going to be tough over the next week having my parents around, so I wanted to make the most of it. I never expected someone to snatch my purse, and then try on the ring.” Michelle sighed as she let her head rest on Sheana’s shoulder. “I found my purse in a bin down the alley I saw... Me come out off, but the other me had empted everything into his own pockets before he slipped the ring on his finger.”

     “And it was the ring that took an hour to let you revert back to your normal self, so even if he took the ring off, he was still stuck with your body and face.” Jo worked out.

     “I’m not saying he deserved to die, but karma can be a real bitch.” Sara said as she thought about the dead boy in the morgue some place. “I wonder who he was, and if anyone will miss him?” Sara added.

    Michelle was soon grinning when Jenna jumped on her knee and started hugging her. “I’s really glad’s you’s still alive’s Shell’s.”

     “So am I Jen Bear.” Michelle smiled as she hugged the little girl. “You will be okay with me stopping here?”

     “Yes, very much.” Jenna giggled as she nodded her head up and down.

    Everyone looked over to the living room door when they saw Karen walk back into the room. The fact she was smiling, and didn’t look worried, helped to put all their minds at ease. They all thought that Hypatia must have had some good ideas for how to deal with the problems facing Michelle.

     “What did Hypatia have to say mum?” Sara asked looking hopeful.

     “She said that things have already been put in place for Michelle, so we’re not to worry, and Michelle will be able to go to school and have ID in her name by Monday.” Karen said as she sat down next to Michelle again and gave her another loving hug as she smiled down at her.

     “Are you saying that Hypatia knew this was going to happen?” Sara asked with anger in her voice.

     “No silly.” Karen said it like Sara was just being silly. “Do you think if Hypatia could see things like that, she wouldn’t try to stop them from happening?”

     “How else could she already have things in place then, if she didn’t already know about it?” Sara asked looking a little too smug with herself for catching her mum out.

     “She has everything in place because of getting the cafe set up.” Karen pointed out the simple reason. “Michelle was going to be the daughter of the cafe’s owners remember? That is why Hypatia will be able to get Michelle into the school, and also sort her out with ID so fast.” Karen added.

     “How will I be able to get myself enrolled in school if I have to play myself and my own mother though?” Michelle said pointing out a small flaw in their plan.

     “I’ll be playing your mother, with a little help from Sheana that is.” Karen said as she looked at Sheana to make sure she didn’t have a problem with it. Sheana just sat grinning, so Karen took that as an okay to carry on with the plan. “Hypatia and I agreed that letting you kids try and sort all this out, could get sticky, so it would be better if a grownup carried out this part of the plan.” Karen explained.

     “When will I be starting at school then?” Michelle asked looking a little nervous about being back at her own school, but as a girl this time.

     “We’ll be going to see the headmaster on Monday morning, and I hope to have you in there by Tuesday.”

     “That fast?” Michelle said looking a little shocked to find out it would all be happening so fast.

     “Yes, Hypatia and I both agreed that getting Michelle into school so soon after Mike’s death will stop anyone thinking the two of you are the same person, and the school will be in to much shock from your death to take much notice of a new girl starting.” Karen gave a worried Michelle another hug as she kissed her on the forehead. Karen always did this to Sandy and Sara when they looked scared, she’d even started doing it to Sheana as well.

     “It’s Jo I feel sorry for in all this right now.” Michelle said after sitting quietly for a couple of minutes. “You’ve got to keep pretending that your best bud is gone.” Michelle added with a heavy sigh.

     “In a way I won’t be pretending anything Michelle. Mike has gone, and I will miss hanging with him at school.” Jo pointed out. “I’m just glad his spirit will live on, even if it is in a girl.” Jo added the word ‘girl’ like it was the worst thing that could have happened to him, but he did start to laugh about it as Sara started poking him with her finger.

     “What’s that suppose to mean?” Sara asked as she kept poking and pinching him. She was grinning as she did it, so no one was worried about her being upset with him for real this time.

    Michelle was giggling as well, as she watched the two of them playing around. Even though part of her life had come to an abrupt end, Michelle felt a sense of relief that she wasn’t starting this new one alone. She’d always felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole with Mike’s parents, but being here with Sara and Sheana felt like home to her, and had since that first time Mike came around and helped with that barbecue just after Sara saved Mike from getting beaten up by Bull and his friends.

    Karen was soon back on her feet when she heard Michelle’s belly start protesting about the lack of food it had received so far that day. “When was the last time you ate Michelle?”

     “This morning before leaving the house to go into town. I had a slice of toast Karen.” Michelle said looking a little worried.

     “I can’t be bothered with all the messing around sorting out a meal now, so I’ll go and order some take out.” Karen said as she went to grab the stack of menus from the kitchen and brought them back for everyone to decide what they wanted. Chinese won out and thirty minutes later they were all sat around the kitchen table eating.

*****

    The Commander was sat behind his desk enjoying a glass of whisky when there was a knock at his door. “Come in!” He shouted just before draining the last drops from the glass.

    Karl entered the room and smiled when he saw the empty glass and the bottle of whisky sat on the table next to it. “Things really that bad sir?”

     “No, just taking a break from all the crap that seems to be happening. Please tell me you have some good news for me, I could use some about now.” The Commander said as he filled his glass up, and then poured a second one he pulled out his desk draw and handed it over to Karl.

     “It’s a bit early yet, but we do have a couple of people of interest we’re taking a closer look at.” Karl said.

     “And who might that be?” The Commander asked.

     “There’s a female gym teacher called Miss Goodblood.” Karl chuckled at the name “She beat Weatherly at badminton, but that could just be that he’s not very good at the sport. He did say things kept happening to him while he was playing the sport though.” Karl pointed out when The Commander didn’t look convinced.

     “And who’s the second one?” The Commander asked, hoping for better Intel on this one.

     “This one’s a student that looked to move faster than should be possible, and it also looked like she was much stronger than the boy she was able to get the better of.” Karl explained.

     “Does she have a name, this student?” The Commander asked.

     “Sara Anne Read.” Karl said after checking his notes again. “The boy she was fighting with looks like he’s her boyfriend, so it may just have been some harmless playing around, but she did just move to the area and start at the school along with her cousin Sheana Read.”

     “Do we have pictures of what they look like?” The Commander asked looking more interested in these two.

     “Yes we do.” Karl said as he handed a file over with pictures of Sara and Sheana in.

     “Neither of them looks like this Slayer or her Witch friend, but they could be using magic to mask their true form, so that’s nothing to go by.” The Commander said more to himself than to Karl. “Did either of them lose any time off just after Spike fort with the slayer that first time?” The Commander asked.

     “No, both girls were at school the next day.” Karl informed The Commander with a doubtful look on his face now.

     “I think it’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s all we have to go on at the minute, so set up a detail to keep an eye on them both and see what they get up to.” The Commander said with a sigh. “We’ll keep an eye on her and see if we can catch this Sara and the Slayer on film at the same time, if we do, then we know she’s not the slayer.” The Commander pointed out.

     “Yes Sir.” Karl said. “We also looked into the trouble in town earlier today, the trouble with the boy getting run over. It looks like a simple case of him not looking where he was going.” Karl said with a heavy sigh.

     “It’s a sad thing for a parent to lose a child at such a young age, but as long as it’s not supernatural, then it’s not for us to look into it.” The Commander said as he picked up his glass and toasted the dead boy.

     “I’ll second that Sir.” Karl said as he picked up his glass and knocked it back and then enjoyed the warm feeling as it went down to his stomach.

     “Do you have any more details on the crystals that Spike stole from the museum the other night?” The Commander asked, trying to get away from the subject of dead teenage boys.

     “No, nothing yet. We can’t even track down who owns the crystals, and they don’t seem too bothered about there loss either.” Karl said with a puzzled look.

     “That’s rich people for you. Probably had no idea what they had in the first place.” The Commander said with a huff.

     “Neither do we.” Karl pointed out.

     “True, but where crystals are involved, you know that magic will play a big part, and I bet Spike is trying to give Drusilla a power boost, so she can take on the Slayers witch the next time they face off against each other.” The Commander edged his bets.

     “I’m beginning to think that maybe we should ease up on trying to track down this Slayer and focus on the demons instead.” Karl said with a nervous edge to his voice, not sure how The Commander was going to take his comment.

     “We can’t have some woman running around doing our job for us Karl, even if she has helped us out a couple of times now.” The Commander said in a calm voice. “If she solves the Spike problem, then I may rethink it, but until He’s dust and those Crystals are back with us, all bets are off.”

     “Yes Sir.” Karl said as he got up and gave The Commander a Salute before leaving the room. Karl walked down the hallway, not happy with how The Commander was so focused on trying to catch this Slayer and her Witch friend. He knew they had no way of holding her, even if they could find out where she hung out when not fighting demons. The other thing bugging Karl was the fact he didn’t get the feeling that this Slayer was evil in anyway, but was just trying to keep the two worlds from crashing into each other. Karl had also noticed that The Commander had become more and more obsessed with getting his hands on supernatural beings and gaining control of their powers.

    The little girl on the run with Prudence, the vampire now running around with the Slayer being a good example of that. Karl thought The Commander would have stopped looking for the little girl, now he had a bigger prize in his sights, but he was still having the tech guys look through hours of video footage looking for any signs of the little girl as well.

    Karl was feeling a little out of the loop at the minute, due to The Commander having closed off a whole section of the base for a special project that he was keeping from Karl and everyone else working in the base. The Commander had said it would help keep things secret if any of the men got taken by Spike again, but Karl had worked with the commander long enough to know that he was working another angle that he didn’t want anyone to question. Karl had also seen a couple of new faces around that looked like they were from the private sector, not the military.

    He was soon walking into command and started setting up the mission to watch the teacher at the school, and also the student and her cousin. He grabbed a couple of the techies to help him get all the details logged into the mission log, ready for him doing the briefings with his teams out in the field on Monday when they got started.

*****

    Sara was in her mum’s car driving home again after dropping Jo off at home. Karen didn’t feel right letting Jo walk home on his own after what had happened with Mike.

    Jo’s mum had run out the house when she saw Karen’s car pull up. “Where have you been Joseph? We never heard you leave the house.” His mum said as she ran up to him and threw her arms around Jo and tried hugging the life out of him.

     “I’m sorry mum, but I wanted to go and let Sara and Sheana know what happened to Mike, rather than let them find out from the news.” Jo said sounding miserable. “Sorry if I scared you.”

     “Thank you for driving him home again.” Jo’s mum said as she looked at Karen over Jo’s shoulder as she hugged him.

     “It was the least I could do after what he had to come and tell my daughters.” Karen said as she placed a hand on Jo’s mum’s shoulder.

     “I’ll see you tomorrow Jo.” Sara said as she stepped over and gave Jo a hug once his mother finally stopped hugging him.

    Jo’s mum wanted to question if it was advisable for him to be going out, but she could see that Jo needed to be with his friends at this time, so she hoped that they could help each other to deal with their loss.

    Sara and Karen got back in the car, but waited for Jo and his mum to enter the house before she finally pulled away and made her way home.

     “I’m glad that things between you and Jo are okay again now sweetie.” Karen said as she drove the car. “He’s nothing like your father was Sara, so you have nothing to worry about, not that he’d be a match for you most the time.” Karen pointed out.

    Sara just groaned at the thought of her next period and the loss of her powers again. She was going to work with Sheana on designing a ring so she can still play the Slayer during those times of the month. She also hoped the next one wouldn’t be as bad either.

    Karen was soon pulling onto the drive back at home, and they got out and went into the house, to the smell of hot chocolate filling the air, so they went to the kitchen and found the others all sat round in there dressing gowns having gotten ready for bed.

     “Sandy still not home yet?” Karen asked as she took her seat at the kitchen table and then picked up the mug of chocolate sat waiting for her.

     “No, but she did say it could be late when she got home.” Prue reminded Karen.

     “I was hoping to have a word with her and ask if Michelle could share her bed until we can get something else sorted out.” Karen said with a sigh.

     “Sheana’s already taken care of that.” Michelle giggled.

     “What did you do?” Karen asked looking worried.

     “I used a little magic to make Sara’s bed a little bigger to fit us all in.” Sheana said looking a little sheepish about it.

     “That’s one way to solve the problem.” Karen giggled. “What are you all planning to do tomorrow then?” Karen asked trying to make more normal chat while they enjoyed their drinks.

     “I was thinking of going to see Susan. I want to see if I can help undo the damage Spike left when he got her to leave all those posters around school.” Sara said as she looked around the table for any objections.

     “I think that’s a good idea sweetie, if you can help her then you should.” Karen said with pride for her daughter and what she was planning to do.

     “I did hear that no one but her mother has been to see here since she was admitted to the hospital.” Michelle said feeling sorry for her, even if Susan had been a bitch to everyone at school, she still deserved better than what she had at the minute.

     “Were you thinking of going out on patrol tonight Sara?” Prue asked.

     “No, not tonight. Michelle doesn’t have access to her computer, and we’d just be walking around blind until we can get something sorted out. I don’t want to go up against Spike and Drusilla until we have everyone back in place again where we need them.”

     “I was thinking of getting Jo to call in and see Mike’s parents and see if he could get them to give him my laptop, then I could carry on helping you patrol.” Michelle offered as an idea to get them back in the know with the men in black and what they were up to.

     “Can’t you use Sara’s computer?” Karen asked, not happy with the idea of sending Jo to Mike’s house.

     “I could blink you over there, so we could make a copy of your computer and then leave that one in its place, so we can then take yours.” Sheana offered as another idea.

     “That would work even better than asking Jo to try and get it.” Karen said.

    Sheana was soon suited up in her witch armour and then she cast a spell that made her and Michelle invisible before they blinked over to Mike’s house. The room was empty, but they could hear sobbing from down the hall, so they both sneaked down to see the figure of Mike’s mum lying on the bed crying as she hugged a picture of her dead son in her hands.

    Sheana had used the same spell she’d used on her and Sara at school on the day Mike was being bulled, so she could see the tears rolling down Michelle’s cheeks. She didn’t think it safe to let Michelle stand there any longer, so she pulled her back down the hallway and set to work making a copy of Mike’s laptop before letting Michelle fire it up and deleting everything to do with the men in black and there computer system. The last thing they needed was either of Mike’s parents finding any of that stuff.

    Once that was all sorted out, Sheana and Michelle blinked home again to let the others know everything had gone just fine. Sheana retracted her armour and then they all got ready for bed. It was too late to go out on patrol, and Sara was tired from having a busy day of training with Hypatia anyway.

 

To Be Continued Next Tuesday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK