She stepped back into their dimension taking Catherine with her.

"Rynn! Behind you!"

She pushed Catherine out of the way, drew her sword and took the head off of anything that dared come near them.

Darkness descended, covering the young slayer. I rushed over and pushed her out of the way, taking the blow meant for her.

The cold steel penetrated my body; my skin became numb and sticky, almost burning. Life drained from me, trickling down my body, soaking my clothes in red warmth.

I faintly heard a scream. Summer! I glanced over and saw her tied to a post, burning. I tried to go to her, only to collapse into oblivion.

"Mom!" Rynn screamed. "No!"

I grabbed Catherine and pulled her behind me, trying to get to Summer. I was too late; I could already smell the sweet sickly stench of burning flesh.

I glanced back around to where my mother fell. Vampire's had surrounded her and were devouring the last of her. I couldn't hold it in any longer, my sickness came forward relieving my body of some of the disgust it felt.

It was time for a retreat. I pulled the young girl all the way out of the battle and into the safety of our meager home.

I sat on the floor and cried.

"What's going on?" She asked.

After a while I looked up at her. "I messed up. I tried to make things right, but now they're even worse."

"What are you?" She asked.

God, I had to laugh at that. I didn't really know. My mom had given me her powers and at least by some grace of God, I still had them. I tried to alter our future but had only made it worse. I must've done or said something wrong because Angelanne didn't seem to exist.

Catherine finely gave up waiting for an answer and sat down on the cot.

I was relieved. I didn't need somebody pushing me for answers that I didn't have. I got up, started pacing the room, talking to myself, trying to establish what I did, what I didn't do and what needed to be done. "Let me see, I told B, check. I saw Kate, check. Gave mom her diary, check. Messed with that chick, Hmmmm, maybe I went too far."

"What went wrong?" The diary! I got up, made my way to another room. I went to the desk, opened up the drawer and there was mom's diary. "Damn! I'll have to take it back!" I flipped through the pages of mom's memories. Things had changed. I concentrated mainly on the relationships, of how my mom felt and last but not least, of why Angelanne was never born. Revelation hit me hard. Damn, sometimes you could get better reception knocking on a brick wall. Angelanne wasn't conceived until I was about two and mom hadn't used all of her senses and gifts yet, as a matter of fact, most of the gifts she never did use.

I sat down and began filling the pages with things that she'd need to know, gifts that she had, things that had to occur, I tried to explain in story form why she needed these things and how important they were to our future.....I only hope that she'll take it to heart...she is after all, my mom, stubborn as she is, you gotta love her.

I heard a faint noise from the other room. "Catherine?" There was no answer. "Catherine?" Still no answer; I walked from the room along the hallway, just barely peering into the room.

"Hey baby." The voice said.

My heart fell!

She smiled big, saying, "come on, give us a kiss."

I eyed the room, checking for alternate exits. I saw Catherine slumped on the floor, it didn't take a genius to know she'd been drained.

"Stay back!" I yelled.

She smiled, still moving closer, still taunting me. "Baby, what's wrong, it's me. Come here: let me make it better. I'm still your mother."

"You're not my mother!" I cried out. "Stay back!"

She changed form in front of my eyes. Nothing could have ever prepared me for this. Her eyes became dark, glaring. Her fangs drug across her lips bringing blood to the surface.

She kept on smiling, circling, edging closer so that I could hear her raspy voice. She kept repeating, "won't live with me, won't live without."

Without warning, she lunged at me, grabbing me. I pushed her off, released my sword and swung, connecting with the thing I use to call mom.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed!

I grabbed my mom's diary and run out into the night.

I didn't know where to go or what to do. All I knew was that something I'd done had made things turn out this way. I thought about Catherine, she's dead in this time, could another slayer be called in hers? Then I got hit with a thought; maybe I'm the one that kidnapped her in the first place.

I walked back to the place of origin, the place where I first stepped through time, replaying over and over in my mind all the events that I had altered. I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. My mom had always told me that I could push people mentally and now I was going to try. I figured I'd start with my mom's fling with Lilah, that could've been why Lilah had Kate killed, maybe I could help alter that, but if not, I had another plan.

I focused, concentrated and pushed the thoughts through time.

Be ready for it, it's coming. Those words came back to me in the form of a bullet, images filled my mind and were gone in a flash.

Talk about fucking deja' vu!

"Are you all right?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I've got to fix a mistake I made, I'll be back." I said.

"You just got back!" Kate stated. "Go, just go, but hurry back, we need you here, ok?"

I nodded a confirmed yes and made my way back across town, up the service elevator and to the apartment door. I knocked.

She answered the door. "Why are you back?" She spat.

I looked at her and sighed. I hated apologies, basically I hated everything that made me seem or feel like a pushover. So I sucked it in and began, "I didn't like the way things were earlier. I just wanted you to know that I'm not sorry for the sex but I am sorry for the pregnant thing, and you don't have to worry, it's taken care of."

She just looked at me blankly.

"You're not pregnant." I stated.

She became pissed saying, "why'd you do that to me? I never did anything to you?"

"I know." I said. "I just needed the information and I went about it the wrong way."

I turned and started to leave and she grabbed my arm restraining me. "I'm still gonna be in trouble." She said.

I touched her hand saying, "I won't tell if you won't."

She nodded as she released my arm. That's that, we had an agreement. Seemed too easy, I mean, a woman of her status, working for the big D, himself, come on, who was I kidding but I had to go on instinct right now.

I turned and gave her a smile as I was leaving. " I really enjoyed, you. See you in my dreams!" She smiled and closed the door.

See you in my dreams? What kind of shit was that? The last thing I wanted was to become some big dork, but hell, things were happening in my life that I never thought would happen in my lifetime. Deep down, I was the same scared kid, only now my actions and reactions would affect my kids and there was no way in hell I would allow them the same insecurities that I grew up with. I'd die and kill first!

I was tired and drained from my release of mental energy. I could only hope that my mom received it and acted upon it.

Next on my list of things to do was get Catherine again.

I focused and stepped through time, crashing down with a bolt of electricity. I came up behind her. I could feel dark's minions moving in. I grabbed her, pulled her into me and stepped back to the place I'd came from with Catherine in tow.

"Do you remember me?" I asked.

She looked up at me. "I'm not sure, I think I dreamed of you."

I smiled. "I'm tired and I need to rest, will you watch over me while a sleep a couple of hours?"

She nodded.

I took us to a place on consecrated ground. It wasn't much, small, dark, wet but the bed was dry and there were small comforts of home and it was safe.

She was so beautiful and lying next to her was more than my body could take. I just couldn't resist the temptation. I moved closer saying, "We may die at any moment and I don't want my life to end without feeling loved."

She didn't say a word so I leaned in and kissed her. She gasped and pulled back saying, "I've never......" I put my finger over her lips, "Shhh....I've never before either." I leaned back in and she allowed me access. I only broke contact long enough to undress her and myself and I couldn't help but smile as I blew out the candle.

I woke up a couple hours later, wrapped only in a sheet. I looked at the younger girl beside me and I sighed heavily. I'd have to take her with me as I tried to make things right, again.

I woke her, told her we needed to go and we did. We hardly spoke on the way but I guess she was dealing the same way I was, silently. After we reached our destination, I explained the situation to her. I guess she'd already seen and lived enough to know that a slayer's life was short and filled with torment because she accepted things easily. She reached over and held my hand and I felt so much better, at least now I knew she didn't hate me for, well, you know, having sex with her.

We readied ourselves and stepped backwards in time. We crashed down just in time to see a figure drawing back to........

"B." I said.

"Faith?" The voice replied.

I smiled. "Kind of, but not quite. I'm here to try and help, so listen, ok?"

She nodded so I continued. "I'm Rynn Lockley, Faith's daughter. She sent me back to try and save us. In the future you are all killed. Mainly you die because you lose touch with each other, blame each other, forget about each other, you see, you and Faith have this bond that you must not break. Your lives and the lives of your children depend on it. Stay in touch with her, her children, whether you're friends or lovers, you must stay together. Who knows one day, you may have her the way that you want, it's never too late. I'll tell you a secret, if you don't stay in her life, she will never find happiness and the last slayer will never be born. Your child, Angelanne, will never be born."

She looked puzzled so I had to give her a little more. "It doesn't matter who's she's with, she'll always love you and there are ways for her to be with you and still keep her responsibilities and obligations. Where there's a will, there's a way."

I took Catherine and stepped forward into another realm, yelling out as we parted, "You're future depends on it!"

Catherine and I arrived back home, consecrated, safe, same dank little hole. I'd somehow lost track of time. I couldn't tell if it had been days or weeks, hours or seconds. I decided against messing with that lawyer this go around and since I'd went back to where I first met B, I'd changed that time line already. I only had two things left to do, see Kate, well I was going back to where and when she died, to stop it and give mom her diary. I wasn't rushing in this time, I was going slowly trying to think things out before I acted upon them, hopefully, that would be enough this time.

I must've lost myself in thought, I was thinking so deeply of the past and of all the terrible things that had befell my family that I was actually jolted when Catherine pulled me back from the confines of my mind.

With adrenaline pumping through my body, I grabbed up my sword and crosses, gave Cat, that's my new nickname for her, a weapon and we stepped backwards into the darkest point of my life, well, my past, now I had my mothers death to deal with also.

We crashed upon them.

Kate was being held down. Vampires had her surrounded and prone, exposing her skin for full on contact of teeth on flesh. And then I saw her, Lilah, she was holding me, forcing me to watch my own mothers death. I was twelve.

The only thing I can think of to describe how I reacted was, I freaked!

I screamed and run into the swarm. I plunged my sharpened crosses into every unhuman thing, dust covered the room, choking and blinding me, what I didn't stake I chopped up into shreds.

Cat went up behind Lilah and grabbed her around the neck, squeezing with one hand and putting the pressure of a blade against her jugular with the other. Lilah let the child go. I watched as the child made it to the safety of her mother's arms. "Where's the other kid?" I screamed.

"She's safe, she's with Faith." Kate yelled back.

I turned back to Lilah, she had pissed me off beyond comprehension. She just stood before me, smiling smugly, so arrogant.

I wanted to snap her neck. I had to think. I knew she was a large part of my mother's life, I gathered that from the diary, just how much I didn't know. What could it hurt to kill her, she'd most likely contributed all she could in the twelve years it took to get to this point. She laughed and I snapped. I grabbed her head with both hands and twisted her neck sideways at a speed and force that denied bodily existence. I felt the snap, the satisfaction, the joy of killing someone so evil. I just hoped this didn't come back and bite me in the ass later.

I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder into a fireman's carry and called out to Catherine. We stepped forward again to our, well my time, taking the body with us for disposal. I couldn't help but find humor in the situation, I mean, come on now, this kind of clean up factor could make me rich! Mom would've gotten the humor of it.

I had one trip left but I had to rest first. I had to go back and give mom her diary. I figured I'd go back to the same place as before, just to see all three of them together again and to access how I'd changed them this time.

After a short nap, I got ready to leave but Cat didn't want to go. I guess we'd gotten closer than I thought. Funny, but I think I loved her.

"You have to go!" I said. "You stay and you'll die!"

"I'm tired." She said.

"It's almost over." I assured her, she finally gave in and we stepped once again through time, for what I hoped would be the last time.

We were sitting in the living room. We, being, me, Kate and B. I couldn't believe it, she just showed up out of the blue. She apologized. I apologized. Kate was Ok with it, seemed like everything was going to be all right after all.

B said she loved me. You know I love her, I always will, but with us, we have this love/hate kind of thing. But just as always, whether we're together or apart, I needed her. So we became friends, friends that shared things, intimate things. We shared a child, although I don't know if she knew. We shared a goal, to rid the world of evil. We shared a love that no one could ever touch and mostly we shared souls, souls so entwined that we would forever be apart of one another.

It was only natural to make her the babies' godmother, a label that she accepted with honor. She knew she had made wrong choices, we all had but it takes a real woman to step back up to the plate, admit it and take another swing...that was B, a real woman. I assured her, she'd always be apart of the children's lives, and I meant it. My only request was that she accept all the children equally, I mean, it was only a matter of time until she understood about Summer, if she didn't already.

Kate was also accepting. I was glad because I wasn't going to settle for anything less. I loved Kate but I wasn't gonna let anybody get in between me and B and I think somehow she knew it. She did happen to mention that it was fine with her as long as we didn't get physical. I just smiled and nodded my head. I could always dream, couldn't I?

I had that old feeling again, déjà vu. I felt a presence. It got louder and brighter. I knew she was coming. I stood up and readied myself for her return. Funny, seemed like I was the only one who remembered we'd already been here, done this.

She stepped through time and I greeted them both with a hug.

"Hey baby, hey Cat." I said.

Rynn smiled real big. "You remember?" She asked.

I just smiled. "You got something for me?" I asked.

She handed me my diary. I took it saying, "I guess I'd better read it, it might've changed some, huh?"

"Yeah and I added a few things." She replied.

"Mom."

"Yeah."

She sighed heavily. "Catherine needs to stay here."

"I know." I replied. "I was hoping you'd realize that."

"We'll train her and protect her." I reassured.

I looked at the young girl. "We've been looking for you for weeks, we're glad you're finally here."

I moved closer to Rynn so that only she could hear me asking, "what did you do to Lilah this time?"

"Nothing, this time. I did kill her but it won't happen for about twelve years."

"Why?" I asked.

"She was responsible for Kate being killed, so I changed it." She said solemnly.

I was kind of relieved but I couldn't help but ask, "so she's not pregnant?"

Rynn laughed. "No, not this time."

I smiled at her. She hugged me and whispered in my ear. "I'm not so sure about Catherine though."

"What?" I said shocked.

She half smiled, backing up. "I couldn't help it!"

"You couldn't help it?" I shot back, louder than I intended.

"What can I say." She said. "I take after you." And with that said, she stepped back into her unsure future.

Now what could I say to that? She had me, completely. I looked over at Kate and B, Catherine and then looked at the babies' lying in the crib. I walked over and looked at Rynn saying, "you and me kid, we're gonna have to have a long talk one of these days."

I laughed.

I drew my weapons, preparing to fight. I was almost there. Touchdown!

"Rynn, behind you!"

I ducked and ran straight to my mother's side, we demolished everything around us.

"Summer, now!" Nothing happened.

I heard a scream and glanced around. There she was, strawberry blonde hair, brown eyes, a slayer from the get go. Sword drawn, stake in hand, fighting with all her might. She made her way to Summer, cut her loose and the two of them killed every vampire around them.

The remaining vamps took off. Mom and I gave chase, pushing them, herding them, driving them like cattle. They were winning the race when out of nowhere came Kate and B.

Kate had mom's crossbow and she took down three vamps. B fought and staked two more. We had the last one surrounded when Summer and Angelanne showed up.

I couldn't help but look at her, trying to figure out just who her other parent was, she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, she had a small stature like B, so I figured, well, that B was the one.

I got brought back to reality with the screaming. I came back just in time to figure out the last vampire was The sire, the sire of all.

"It ends with you!" Mom yelled.

The vampire laughed. "It'll never end, you still don't get it, do you? You are sheep, we have herded you for years. The council, is all powerful and knowing. You, as was your line, were all placed to extinguish our enemy."

Mom was pissed. "Place this!" She yelled. She swung her sword and decapitated him with one swift swing of metal.

We watched his head roll across the ground and turn to dust.

He was right. The council was the original root of all evil. How we'd been led for so many years without suspecting, I don't know.

How many sires had the council created? We had no idea but they'd fall, they'd fall hard. It was predestined. They would lose all in the end to the Trinity.

But that's another story and another time.

Right now all that mattered was that we were all alive and we were a family. You may ask yourself, where's Cat and the baby, well, she had a chance at a normal life and took it, they're well and alive, I look out for them.

As for mom, Kate and B, well that's a secret they'd take to their graves. They all seemed pretty close. It really doesn't matter who's with who, all that matters is that they are all happy. Sometimes I think that they were the original Trinity, but that's just an opinion, what do you think?