The restaurant that Miranda had ultimately chosen for dinner was a family restaurant not far from the neighborhood where Jason and Bethany had bought a home. It was casual enough that they didn't have to dress up, but a step up from fast food and diner fare with an extensive menu that featured everything from burgers to sandwiches to pasta to meat and potatoes, a little reminiscent of good old fashioned home cooking.

The problem of Lyneth's sometimes picky appetite was a problem easily overcome, as well. One empty plate arrived along with everyone else's food, and the beaming toddler got to try a bit of everyone else's dinner - more than enough to fill her up and keep her interested throughout the meal. She had, in her usual fashion, insisted on having Miranda on one side of her, and for some reason, Rhys on the other side, even going to far as to lay down the law and have Bethany opposite. And with those rules laid down, everyone else was left to rearrange themselves as they saw fit, the parents of the precocious nutbag given a meal off, for once.

Was it any surprise that Lyneth had almost immediately pegged the two people in the small group who were most likely to spoil and dote on her" Miranda was in her glory to find herself beside the little imp. Rhys just didn't yet know what he'd gotten himself into or how he'd ended up beside the little girl, but if he and Nat were going to have a daughter of their own in the near future, what better way for him to get acquainted with children" Desmond and Piper sat across from Rhys and Nat, while Jason and Bethany sat across from Miranda and Lyneth, with Rufus at the head of the table.

Of course, Lyneth was in a high chair, putting her at a distinct advantage when it came to Rhys. Which was how he ended up wearing at least one of her fries - she was practicing being a brat these days, and for once, Piper didn't have to even pretend to notice, too far away to do anything about it. Bethany, however, did notice, snickering into her glass as she sipped her water, wondering when Rhys was going to realize he had an interesting amount of mashed fried potato in his hair.

Rhys was so busy moaning over his cheeseburger, which he had declared was the best cheeseburger he'd ever eaten, he didn't notice right away, until caught Bethany snickering at him. "What?" he asked, swallowing a mouthful of his burger. "Do I have ketchup on my chin?"

"Oh, no, no," Beth chuckled. "I'm just admiring your new hair product. Very chic. Just what male fashion needs, huh, Mom?" She flashed a grin across the table to her mother as Lyneth beamed, knowing she'd been caught by the one person at the table who wasn't going to either tell her parents or tell her off.

Rhys was looking very confused, as he glanced to Miranda - whom he'd just met that day, as well as everyone at the table but Nat, Beth, and Jason.

Miranda chuckled and took a little pity on Rhys, gesturing with a hand to indicate that he had something in his hair. "You, um, have a little potato in your hair."

Rhys furrowed his brows as he pushed his fingers through his short-cropped hair to find the mashed potato.

"I can put some ice cream in it when we has dessert, too," Lyneth offered cheekily, waving a slice of garlic bread at him with a grin. "Or get the fairies to make you all pretty with flowers. I bet they could, too."

"Hold it, missy, you are not setting fairies on my new neighbors," Beth warned the little girl, remembering her own first encounter with the wee folk. "Play nice."

"I think there are better places for ice cream, don't you?" Rhys countered, not quite sure what to make of the little bundle of Lyneth. He did not yet know that she was half-Fae, though it was obvious to him that there was something unusual about her. "Fairies?" Rhys smirked. "I'm already pretty," he pointed out without even attempting modesty. "What do you know about fairies?" he asked, curiously.

"They're my friends," the tiny girl informed him simply, pausing to exert a good deal of force into getting some of her milkshake up the straw that was stuck to the bottom of her glass. Disappointed, she pouted, holding the glass out to Miranda. "My drink is broken," she informed the woman expectantly, before resuming her new conversation with Rhys. "And boys can't be pretty, 'cos they're boys! Silly man."

"Then how can fairies make me pretty if boys can't be pretty?" he argued, turning the tables on her and looking more than a little smug about it as he took another bite of his sandwich, not overly concerned about whatever food stuffs were left in his hair.

Miranda took the glass from the little girl and stirred her milkshake until it was mushy enough to work its way through the straw again. "You have to forgive our Lyneth, Rhys," she told the young man amicably. "She's a little precocious."

"They could turn you into a girl," the little girl informed Rhys, just as smug as he was, grinning around her straw as she successfully got a mouthful of the sweet treat, thanks to Miranda's intervention.

Across from her, Beth choked a little on her own food, not quite able now to banish the mental image of Rhys in a dress and heels.

Rhys nearly choked on his burger at the suggestion he be turned into a girl, even in jest.

Miranda wasn't close enough to pat his back, but was observant enough to appreciate a handsome face when she saw one. "I wouldn't by any chance be able to talk you and your lovely wife into doing a little modeling, would I?" she asked, with the sweetest smile.

"Can I do some muddling?" the ever-interested Lyneth piped up before Rhys could answer, distracted from the reply by Beth tapping on the tray of her high chair.

"Eat your dinner, Lynnie," her cousin told her. "You can ask all about muddling when you're finished."

Rhys absorbed all of this quietly but with an open mind. He flicked a brief gaze at Piper and Desmond before turning back to Lyneth. He wasn't sure what the story was behind her parents, but he wasn't stupid. A half-Fae child who was somehow related to a vampire hunter of some sort, but then, they were from Rhy'Din. "People here on Earth," he started, leaning close and lowering his voice. "Humans," he added. "Most of them don't really know about things like Fae or angels."

"Cos they don't believe in magic," Lyneth agreed in a sage tone of voice. "My mummy's Erf is worst, 'cos there isn't any magic at all," she added in a horrified hush. "She had to go to Rhy'Din 'cos uverwise she would of got sick an' dieded instead of making me in her tummy."

"Most of them don't," Rhys agreed. "But some do. The man who raised me did. He took me in and raised me, like your father is doing with you." If it wasn't for the fact that she looked and sounded like a child, he would have sworn he was conversing with a much older, much wiser being. He was a little surprised to hear what she had to tell him about her mother's Earth, but was well versed in the possibility of multiple universes. "It's a good thing she did, then. Rhy'Din is probably the safest place for her and for you."

"An' my daddy is lookin' after her an' Wufust is teachin' him how to go pow and zap, like inna comics, an' I'm gonna be all strong an' stuff when the bad daddy comes back," Lyneth informed Rhys. It might have seemed strange, how much she was trusting him with, but she'd pegged someone else who understood how important secrets were. Besides, it was easier to hear these things coming from her, than from any of the adults at the table.

It took Rhys a few minutes to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but the more Lyneth told him, the more things made sense. The "bad daddy" was obviously Fae, and he knew enough of them to know they were not to be taken lightly. From what she was telling him, it seemed to him that Desmond was in training with Rufus, probably to learn how to deal with Fae in order to protect his wife and child. That seemed logical enough, though he didn't quite understand the other part of what Lyneth was telling him about herself. He did catch the fact that she had said when, not if, as if her Fae father's return was inevitable. And then he suddenly realized what she meant. "You're learning to use magic." It was not a question.

She nodded, beaming cheerfully at him. It seemed patently absurd that this tiny little person was taking on the responsibility of keeping her family safe from the Fae who would come for her eventually, and yet, who else had the power to do it' Sucking ketchup off her fingers, Lyneth turned back to her fries, just a child again to all intents and purposes. A confusing juxtaposition of power and innocence.

He observed her quietly a moment, noting the childlike innocence, alongside the almost age-old wisdom that could be easily missed or misunderstood by anyone not well versed in magic and legend, but Rhys had not only once been an angel and a demon hunter, but was also the Champion of Avalon. He knew some of the truths behind myth and legend and knew this little girl was the real thing. He knew he shouldn't volunteer Avalon's help, but at the same time, the Lady had made him the Champion in part because of his willingness to help those in need. He leaned close, lowering his voice for her ears only, "Lyneth, if you or your family ever needs help, all you need do is ask for it."

She blinked up at him, surprised enough to let the facade of the child slip just for a moment, showing him confirmation of the wisdom in her turquoise eyes. It was just for a moment, her childlike smile retrieved before anyone else could notice it. "T'ank you, Wees."

Rhys wasn't quite sure how they'd get in touch with him or Nat if they were needed, especially if they were off in Avalon at the time, but he'd talk to Rufus about it later and sort it out. There were always ways of summoning those whose help was needed if you couldn't get in touch with them via normal channels. His mouth twitched into a slightly amused smirk as she seemed to become nothing more than an impish and mischievous child, once again. He got the feeling there was a lot more to Lyneth than met the eye. He shrugged a shoulder as if it wasn't really a big deal. "It's what I do. What we do," he corrected himself, with a glance toward Natalya, though he didn't really want to get her involved in anything dangerous.

"When you're not makin' babies." She offered him a charming grin from a mouth overflowing with food, and returned to her meal, secure in the certainty that, whether he knew it or not, Rhys Bristol was now her friend.

Rhys grinned at Lyneth's remark. "Touche," he replied. If she only knew the truth. Maybe she'd find out someday. Maybe he'd even introduce her to the Lady of Avalon someday, but that wasn't going to happen today. It was too soon to make any promises other than that to help. Though he found the little Fae-girl a little perplexing, he had taken an almost instant liking to her. How could he not when he was so much a child at heart himself" Whether Lyneth knew it or not, she had just made an ally in Rhys Bristol and a life-long friend.

Before long, dinner was finished and it was time to order dessert, but before dessert was delivered to their table, Miranda had swapped seats with Rhys. She had overheard a little of the conversation between Rhys and Lyneth, and though she was happy to pretend she didn't know what her husband did for a living, she had a feeling Rhys and Rufus had some things to talk about. Besides, she couldn't wait to chat with the only other pregnant female at the table besides her own daughter, and that was Natalya. "So, tell me, when are you due?" she asked boldly, coming straight to the point, with a warm, motherly smile.

Startled to find herself suddenly the focus of Miranda's attention, having not noticed the rearrangement of people to and from seats around Lyneth, Natalya blinked, her dark eyes wide for a moment before she chuckled softly. It was going to take a while for her to get used to being in social situations without the pressing need to get information out of people. Her hand brushed her bump, neatly concealed tonight beneath a knitted poncho. "Uh, I am due at the end of July," she offered, glancing at Beth as though asking permission to talk to the woman's mother nervously.

Miranda didn't seem to notice the young woman's nervous glance at her daughter. Bethany and Desmond had chatted with her long enough. It was her turn now. "Summer is a lovely time of year to have a baby," Miranda replied back. "You don't get cooped up in the house like you do with a winter baby. Bethany was born in May, so I had all summer to take her out before the weather changed."

Nat smiled faintly, curious enough to ask questions but a little shy of it at the same time. But Miranda was a warm woman, and surprisingly easy to talk to - it was easy to see where Beth had got it from. "I am a little scared," she admitted uncertainly. "I do not know anything about how to be a mother, much less to a daughter."

Miranda smiled, knowing a little secret she was about to share with Natalya that she had learned for herself over the years. "Worrying about being a bad mother proves that you will be a wonderful mother. Believe me, Natalya, so long as you love and care for your children, you will be fine. If you can take care of that one..." she said, with a nod of her head toward Rhys, who seemed like a big kid himself, "you can take of a baby."

She couldn't have offered any better advice than that. Nat's expression relaxed as she followed the nod of Miranda's head to where their husbands were in animated conversation. "He takes care of me," she pointed out, but it seemed that her anxiety had been soothed, at least for now. "Thank you. I know it is not exactly done for a stranger to solicit advice."

"Don't be silly, dear. You're not a stranger. You're one of the family now," Miranda assured her, patting her hand one last time. Whether Natalya knew it or not, she'd just been adopted by the Granger clan via Miranda, just as Liv and Johnny had and anyone else whom Miranda became fond of or deemed worthy.

Further down the table, on the other side of the giggling Lyneth, Rufus and Rhys had fallen into an interestingly professional conversation. It was easier for them to talk, strangely, than it was for others at their first meeting; they had plenty to talk about. "Well, strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to be very hands on at all," Rufus was saying mildly. "But she was thirteen when she was called. I didn't think it fair that she should have to face vampires all alone at that age."

"I don't really understand how they are....chosen," Rhys inquired, choosing to substitute the word chosen for called. Being called implied that the hunter had a choice in what they did, which he knew was not always the case. He had hunted vampires on occasion and they had been the cause of Dylan's death, but demons had always been his particular specialty.

Rufus leaned forward, frowning as he attempted to explain the sacred line of Slayers. "It ....is a result of magic, a very great magic, that was performed long before there was any recorded history," he said thoughtfully. "A girl was chosen from her tribe and imbued with the strength and agility she would need to protect her people against the vampires that stalked them. The spell was done in such a way as to pass on that strength and agility, that preternatural ability, to another girl when the first died, and so on. In the moment one Slayer dies, another girl becomes a Slayer, and the Council of Watchers has to locate her and assign her a Watcher before she, too, is killed."

"So, she has no knowledge who she really is until the Council finds her, or is she prepared from the time of her birth?" Rhys asked further, hoping to wrap his head around it better. The Gates of Hell might be closed, but there were still plenty of nasty things roaming the night, and he had always had a particular grudge against vampires.

"She has no idea, unfortunately," Rufus sighed. It was one of the idiosyncrasies of the spellwork that he despised. "Neither do the Council. If we knew who was going to be tapped next, we would be able to prepare her in advance. But in every generation there are hundreds of potential Slayers born. It is impossible to find the right one until the power is given to her, and then it is a race against time. She's usually in a demon-heavy area, and they're drawn to the power of a Slayer, whatever form their demonic side takes."

"Are we talking Earth or Rhy'Din because things are different here now," Rhys continued, purposely keeping his voice low. These were not things you wanted to share with the general populace or sometimes, even your closest friends and family. There were just some things people were better off not knowing, and this was one of them. He waited for Rufus' response to see just how much the man knew about what had transpired over the last few years, and perhaps more importantly, what the Council of Watchers knew.

"This is on Earth, this Earth in particular," the older man explained. "I do not know how it works on other Earths. I was sent to Rhy'Din because we got wind of problems arising there, along with my Slayer. She's survived a long time, and she has issues with the Council. For the time being, the Council is keeping a guard on vampire activity, but when Lei dies, another girl will be called and I daresay she will remain here for the duration of her ....service."

"Here, on Earth' Not Rhy'Din" Why's that?" he inquired, knowing it was difficult to hunt vampires in a place where they were nearly as commonplace as humans. So long as they didn't hunt innocents, he was willing to let them be, but that didn't mean he had to like them.

"Because Rhy'Din has its own methods of dealing with the supernatural, as I am sure you are aware," Rufus said with a hefty sigh. "Here on Earth, the truth isn't widely known. The human population is in more danger, purely because of that fact."

"One Slayer to hunt all those vampires" No wonder there are so many of them." But then, he'd been one of a kind, too, in a way, with more than his share of responsibility upon his shoulders. "You realize things have changed here," Rhys remarked again, since Rufus had not taken the bait the first time. Rhys still didn't know how much Rufus knew about what had taken place on Earth over the last few years or about his own part in those events. Vampires were not really his forte, though he wasn't opposed to hunting them. He had, however, mentioned demons, and Rhys wondered if the Council knew what the situation was where they were concerned.

"I did assume that something had happened," the Watcher mused, fishing for what that something might have been. He glanced to the other end of the table, where Rhys' wife was laughing over something that had been said to her. "It isn't every day a hunter settles down and starts a family. From what I understand, your people tend to try and put everyone off doing what you do."

Rhys followed the other man's glance toward Natalya and frowned, realizing what he was getting at. It was true he'd been something of a loner for a long time, but meeting Natalya had changed everything. "I tried it that way. It didn't work. She's not a hunter. She's a thief." Rhys wasn't telling Rufus anything he couldn't or wouldn't find out on his own anyway. After all, Nat had already told Beth and Jason as much, if not more. Rhys considered a moment before deciding to go ahead and tell Rufus what he didn't seem to know. Watcher, Slayer, Hunter, Thief, they all had the same goals, after all - to keep humanity safe. "We closed the Gates of Hell," he started. "Which solved the main problem, but created a few others." The main problem being that of Abaddon.

"She has to make the choice," Rufus told him quietly. "And if they can kill her parents, what choice is there?" He met Rhys' gaze head on. "Desmond might well hate me by the time I'm done with him, but he will be able to defend his wife against whatever is thrown at them."

Rhys' gaze drifted to Desmond then at the end of the table, beside Piper, an easy-going smile on his face that seemed to belie the strength and determination hidden behind that gaze. "He'd make a good hunter," Rhys observed casually. "If he wasn't married." He turned back to Rufus before anyone noticed he was watching them. He almost wished he could help in some way, but wasn't really sure how, though he felt this meeting had happened for a reason. He didn't really believe in luck or coincidence. Everything in life happened for a reason, but sorting out the reason was the real challenge.

"He would, but I think he would be a better Watcher, or something in that category," Rufus said mildly. "Research and reference, with a little fighting or hunting thrown in. Something he could do while keeping an eye on his family."

Rhys nodded, realizing Desmond was more like Adam than himself. While Adam was more than capable of hunting and fighting, it was research and investigation that was more his forte. "What about your son-in-law?" Rhys asked, lowering his voice further as Jason and Bethany were close by. "He's not involved in all that, is he?" He assumed Jason and Bethany were just as they seemed and claimed, but he wanted to be sure.

Rufus chuckled at the thought of that, especially given how vehement Jason had been only today on the subject of keeping Bethany safe. "No, not actively involved," he assured Rhys. "He is aware, but not of much. He wants to be more aware, to be taught how he can protect his family from the things that go bump." Kind eyes met Rhys' gaze once again. "I suggested that he should ask you for help with that."

Rhys arched a brow, a little surprised at the man's suggestion, wondering how he came to earn his trust so quickly. Hunters tended to be a suspicious bunch, though he had taken to Jason and Bethany pretty quickly. His gut instinct had told him they were nothing more than they seemed, and that instinct was rarely wrong these days. "What should I be teaching him to protect them from' Are we talking vampires or just monsters in general?"

"Monsters in general," Rufus nodded swiftly, taking a sip from his own cup of coffee as though he had only just remembered it was there. "I can't be of much help in that regard - you have more practical experience to draw upon, and I've seen how you have warded your house. Very discreet, by the way. No one would notice it if they didn't know what they were looking at."

"I can't take the credit there. That was all Nat," Rhys explained, leaving it at that, though he believed that without Nat, he'd be nothing. There was no question in his mind that he'd more than likely be dead by now. Without Nat, there was a good chance that Abaddon would have won, and the world would be a very different place. "She's going to ward their house, the same as ours." He frowned a little, internally debating whether or not their new neighbors were going to be safe living next door. "We debated whether or not to move here. Whether it would be safe. I thought it might be easier to hide in plain sight, but I didn't think about how it might affect those around us."

"I'd say you got lucky moving in next to Beth and Jason," Rufus said, unwittingly reassuring the other man as they talked. "They are aware that not everything is as it seems, and I have to admit, I have not met a more capable couple. Aside from yourself and your wife, of course. Jason is more than capable of protecting my daughter, and she's more than capable of making sure he doesn't die doing it. You got lucky, Rhys. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Now that luck had been mentioned - and more than once - Rhys felt the need to comment on it. After all, one of his closest friends had turned out to be one of the Fates, though he hadn't known it at the time. "I don't believe in luck, Rufus. Too much has happened for me to believe in luck. You can call it whatever you want - fate, destiny, God - but it's not luck."

Rufus met his gaze head-on, his expression calm but serious. "I am the sole guide and guardian to a young woman who has been fighting vampires since she was thirteen years old," he said quietly. "She had no choice in the matter, and she has no future. Most Slayers are dead before they reach eighteen years old. I would rather say it was luck that called her from the hundreds of other potentials out there ....than have to admit that her only destiny is to die."

Rhys often wondered if, somewhere out there, Fate wasn't still spinning the thread of his life on her spindle, watching him from afar. "Some choices are made before you're ever born, whether you're aware of it or not," Rhys pointed out, as was the case with himself, though he couldn't speak for the Slayer. "Everything happens for a reason." Even death, though Rhys did not say that.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," Rufus nodded. "But at a human level, I see no point in giving someone a gift they are expected to die making use of." He shook his head, forcing a faint smile. "This is a little heavy for at the dinner table, isn't it?"

Rhys could have pointed out how he was supposed to have died, to have almost been the sacrificial lamb, in a way. He remembered a nightmare he'd had many years ago as a boy, where he'd been just that. At the time it had terrified him so much that he'd done something stupid and almost gotten himself killed. It had been a warning of some kind, but at the time, he hadn't understood how to interpret it. He stifled a shudder at the memory of that dream, which had someone been triggered by their discussion. "I don't know a lot about Slayers, but I do know that some of us were chosen for a reason."

He nodded his head toward the others in the group, all of whom were innocents, as far as Rhys was concerned, including Lyneth. "They're the reason," he said, meaning not only those at the table, but all of humanity, all those who knew nothing of the darker side of life. "All you can do is make the most of the time you have and hope it's longer than you think." He shook himself out of his deeper, darker thoughts as Rufus tried to lighten the mood. "Sorry. I got a little carried away there."

"Every man has his own thoughts on what it is that rules his life," Rufus shrugged gently. "For myself, I am torn. I look at Miranda and Beth, and I feel blessed. Then I look at Lei, and I know that she's on borrowed time. There's no blessing in that. I would rather flip a coin for luck, than damage my own confidence with a strong belief in destiny. But that doesn't mean I disagree with anyone who doesn't share my view." He took a last sip of his coffee, signaling for the bill as a waiter went by. "Now then ....what would you like to bet me that I don't even get my wallet out before my darling wife comes and steals that bill right out of my hand?"