Bella had been coming to Abby now alone for some time and leaving the children with either Rusty, Mary, or in a very rare case Mina since that woman loved little Danny so much and promised Bella with all her heart she would make certain Danny and Ellie were safe and sound. Bella went skipping through the forest laughing and spinning around trees, hiding from Poe wherever he was above watching out around Abby's house. Sooner or latter thought he bird always found her and would dive down low at her head snapping at her strands of hair and swooping back off towards the distance. When she reached Abby's old shack Bella was laughing and smiling again, a free spirited child meant to do this not be trapped under a roof of gloom and sorrow. She was meant to be free and wild in the woods for Bella was a true child of nature. Walking into the cabin she looked over at the empty rocking chair. The old grey cat had long passed back in spring while Bella was in New York. Bella had lost her son and Abby had lost her beloved friend but Poe was there to make her feel better. Skipping over to the table she saw Abby putting something into a bag. "What are we going to do today?" Like always the young woman was excited to learn about the trade both Druid and Hoodoo in nature.

"Be patient and take this." Abby handed her a beautiful soft blanket from under the table. It was the same rich shade of the cloak Abby had given her. In one of the corners was stitched a perfect D in a beautiful shade of gold string. "He's too large for his old blanket. Don't give it to him before his birthday." Bella smiled and threw her arms around the one eyed crone holding her close in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much it's lovely he'll love it." In two more days Danny was going to be one year old and Bella was going to be heart broken. Since Alex had passed away Bella had been feeling nothing but pain and now that things were starting to return to normal she was feeling her biological clock ticking faster and faster. Mary and Darla were both with child, every time Bella saw them she gave a half smile then tried to hold back her tears thinking she would have been one month ahead of them. Bella was ready to try for a baby despite what the doctors had told her but Henry seemed rather disinterested in her. She didn't want to tell him she wanted a baby because that wasn't the shouldn't be the reason he slept with her. He should sleep with her because he loved her, because he wanted to. Just like they us to before the gun fight happened, before the opium and before she learned the truth about everything. Back when Henry still loved her and found her attractive. When they were crazy about each other. Now she questioned if there was something wrong with her, if she was unattractive or if he just didn't feel the same as he once had. "You know what we have never talked about, you always speak about charms for various things. What about love charms, or spells, or tonics? I'm sure there are plenty of things that help people like you."

Abby was sick of hearing this lately. When last Bella had come over she asked Abby if she was still beautiful or if age was taking away her glamour. Bella worried too much and now she was speaking of making someone love you through a charm or tonic. It was not only immoral but in the end always came back to bite you in the ass. "If he doesn't love you now Bella he never will...If you need proof he loves you then find proof of it but don't force him to want you what sort of marriage is that?" Abby wanted so badly to tell Bella to just leave him again but she never listened. Abby knew Bella loved him but was questionable over Henry. In all honesty the elderly woman felt he had married Bella for her money. There were better men out there.

"Maybe it's me, maybe I have lost my touch." Bella spoke up. There had to be something wrong with her. Perhaps cutting her hair had made her less attractive. Perhaps she was getting too old, maybe becoming a mother had ruined her. Half of Bella's charm had been in the fact you could never truly have her to yourself and she would never settle down. Even worse maybe she lost that spark she use to have. The very reason Cameron long ago called her firefly.

"Well if you lost something I can't help you get it back. I can see you have too many negative feelings and thoughts in your mind and heart. You should go bath them away and return here. Only then can we get to work. I can't have you dragging your negative energy into my home then try to learn ancient and sacred ceremonies only to muck it all up with your personal drama's."

"I'll go then." Bella put the blanket back down and grabbed something like a white sheet before walking out the door. She remained calm as she walked down through the woods and made the trek towards the creek. Now that it was summer the water would not be so cold as it had been when first she had to bath herself in it to start anew as a priestess. With the white sheet draped over her shoulder she ran down to the bank thinking back to a time she had Henry had made love on these banks. Every time she came down here she thought of that day only it was some distance away. Putting down her white dressing she stripped down out of her clothes and laid them out on a rock away from the mud and damp grass. Certain no one was around Bella tip toes over the rocks and slipped into the deeper end of the creek or more so a river from this side. She made sure not to get her hair wet, even though it was short it took forever to dry and when she went home she didn't want it smelling of wild water. Best if it held the pleasant fragrance it now had from her bath oils at home. Bella found she seldom bathed and more so played in the water or swam around though Abby had been correct. When she came here she didn't think about all the bad things in her life but rather watched the animals and nature around her exist without fear of her and it was in a sense perfect harmony.

Garrett's cheek hovered over the water, arm plunging down into the water, fingers curling around slippery stems. Tugging vigorously he pulled the underwater vines up and stripped the leaves from the stalk. He flipped the rest of the specimen over and took a knife from between his teeth and began cutting through the base to keep the bulbous white roots. Liquid secreted from the sheered end and created musty swirls in the water. He stuffed his findings into a small sack which he then threw into his larger shoulder back and trudged on.

His nose wrinkled, a potent itch was forming on the bridge of it from the blades of grass that whipped his face. Misquotes seemed to arise from every disturbed leaf. The sun beat down and with his mucky gloves wiped his auburn curls heavy with perspiration from his eyes. Bending over again, chest submerged in the water he fished around just able to make out the outline of his target beneath the maple pool. Then a shepherd mix bounded past him, splashing his glasses and churning the already stagnate water. Grunting with mild frustration Garrett navigated his hand blindly across the bottom. He stood up straight coming up empty. It was the hottest time of the day and was beginning to enjoy the thought of retreating somewhere in the shade until noon had passed.

His new quadruped companion had circled back around and was licking and chewing at his pockets. He had found the ash colored dog and after asking around town if the animal donned an owner everyone shook their head. Garrett had persuaded the dog to follow him closely with the use of fresh cow hide to chew on. Garrett dug his hand his pocket but before he could toss the contents to his new companion, the canine had his undivided attention on something else now. "Ah-ah. Come 'ere…you leave those frogs alone now." Garrett was beginning to be thankful that he hadn't named this creature. It chased everything that moved or had even had a pulse. It would make work a little more then difficult if the dog continued to harass wild animals.

The dog took a quick whiff to the air before his snout drove down and led him bolting through the brush. "C'mere I say!" shouted Garrett as the dog disappeared through a curtain of reeds. Garrett hauled himself through the knee deep water and grass that tickled the tops of his ears. He heard frantic barking and he burst into the mouth of the river. Garrett stopped short at the sight of the robe-less woman and at the same moment his boot kicked a rock. He stumbled but quickly caught himself on a fallen tree, glasses falling right into the drink.

The incessant barking only grew more hysterical as the excited dog--not much older then a puppy bounded in circles around the woman. The shepherd bounded around the stranger with stiff legs. "Shut-up you dumb mutt! Get over here! NOW!" Garrett was stuck, he would have sprinted over to swat the dog away but he didn't want the woman's suspicions to heighten of any invasion of privacy. He knew the dog was not violent in nature towards people, the dog was naive to all kinds of scents. In addition he couldn't point to the broad side of barn at this point. He stood bowlegged in the river, reluctant to take any steps through the rocky bed. Garrett pulled the cow hide from his pocket and whistled with his two fingers between his lips.

The shrill sound finally caught the dog's attention and it sauntered over with a coy wag of his tail, proud to point out an unforeseen danger. Garrett tossed the cow hide in the general direction of the dog, and the animal hastily snatched the piece of meat from the surface. Garrett turned away from the woman now that the dog had let her be. "Ma'am I sincerely apologize…Are you alright?" There was clear embarrassment in the young man's voice. "I'll be on my way, as you were," he managed to utter. He squatted in the water and with nervously quaking hands felt the stony bottom of the river for his spectacles. A few moments of desperately trying to find them seemed like hours as he struggled to get out of this poor stranger's hair.

Growing impatient he decided he would rather navigate the forest and bustling town virtually blind then face an unhappy woman. "Forget it," he muttered to himself with a dismissive fluke of his hand and started for the opposite direction, face turning a certain shade of red.

Her tranquil vacation from the chaos of the outside world was cut short by, well the outside world. Bella jumped at the sound of footsteps barreling her way and the little puppy burst through the brush. She stood up quickly and made her way towards the bank. Where there was a dog there was a master. The pup raced around her in circle yipping and yapping excitedly. At first Bella was a little bothered by it but after a few laps she couldn't help but laugh. Having puppies herself at home she likely had a little more patience with the furry trouble makers and accepted their behavior more than others did. "Hello there boy where did you come from?" Bella didn't know why she got got a boyish vibe off the dog and thus assumed it was likely a male dog. If it turned out being female she would feel bad for calling it a he. Not much time had passed before the master of the pup came stomping through the bushes as well and tried to get his pups attention. At first the young thing didn't seem to interested in his master and was more excited to just run laps around her barking like she was going to do something exciting at any moment or god forbid dangerous. He tried not to look at her as she stood there naked and dripping wet. It hadn't mattered much to her, Bella wouldn't blush, whores didn't blush and even if she was an ex whore she still had been one. More men had seen her naked and wet than she could count, far more than just her husband or any lover.

Poor thing had dropped his glasses in the river and found it hard to get his dog to come back to him. He hadn't gotten the dog to obey until a shrill whistle ripped through the serene scene. Chaos came to a low when the pup returned to him and Bella got out of the water wrapping the white cloth around her and arranging in in a rather old fashioned Greek styled toga. When the fabric was in place and covering what it needed to Bella clipped it shut with a golden broach and stepped over the slippery rocks closer to him. "I'm so sorry." Bella uttered in her smooth crisp New York accent with perfect pronunciation. As she tried to apologize for surprising him like that he tried to do the same over his dog and the whole event. "Oh that's quite alright. I have dogs myself, pups even like yours only they have far less manners." Gypsy's puppies ran a muck and her son was often a victim of their cross fire from puppy play. Poor Danny didn't even like to be out of her arms now when they were outside. He knew the pups were going to drag him to the ground and wouldn't let him get back up. "Trust me I have dealt with far worse." Even her baby could be a handful at his age.

Bella reached down into the water picking the glasses out from the river and dried them off on her makeshift dress. The train was now soaked from dragging through the water but Bella didn't mind. Getting the glasses back to a satisfactory state Bella grabbed his chin holding him still and slid them back on his face. Even when dealing with people close to her own age if not old Bella had a motherly sort of air about her. "There much better I'm sure and don't feel bad about any of this. It made my days just a little more interesting. Here I thought exciting things didn't happen anymore." Her eyes locked on his, deep warm brown pools earthy and kind. Some said Bella's eyes turned a golden hue in certain light and made her look like a wolf or a tiger, those predatory eyes but in the shade they were a soft brown reflecting that same free spiritness her horse possessed. One of the many fine qualities that made him such an attractive animal and her such a pretty woman.

Now that she had broken the ice and patched up the awkwardness Bella got to her knees and ran a hand over the top of the young dogs head. "And you curious little one. I'm sure your master does not appreciate you running off as adventurous as you may be remember home is the safest place in the world and you are yet one far too young to wander about alone my dear pup. You listen and you listen well he only means good for you." Bella talked to the pup like he was a child. She spent so much time talking to children it was her default. "How old is he? He's so sweet."

Garrett stopped in mid step, guilty of making a hasty getaway. Not sure if he wanted to find out how this would all play out. He stopped when he heard the woman speak an apology. Stunned in a kind of relieved way he turned around staring in her direction with an expression of disbelief. "I don't think anyone accounts for the variable of random dogs or men stumbling from the reeds during a swim," he stated in reproach. "Really? You must have your hands full, I can hardly put up with this one…"

The young botanist's eyebrows rose in mild surprise as the woman's hand held his chin, instinctively shutting his eyes as the glasses slipped onto his ears. "--Uh, thank you. Almost forgot those," he said sheepishly. He pushed the spectacles steady onto the small notch on his nose and gave a polite smile. "Yes, a lot better." Garrett was finally able to get a good look at this woman. He was struck by purposeful mahogany gaze that held him in his spot. With the entitled confidence of her voice combined with her unwavering orbs of brown light he knew that she was one of those people that took every interaction--big or small to heart. He realized he was so absorbed in getting his work done sometimes he didn't appreciate the smaller picture, those intermittent connections with people could be valuable. "Sometimes I think I grow wary with all this excitement that happens to me. I'd be happy to share some of it with you," he mused with a short chuckle.

The dog's slow content wag of its tail increased in rate as the woman's hand stroked the top of its head. The dog excitedly sniffed and nuzzled the arm that stretched towards him. Garrett stood by as the woman spoke softly to the dog as though it were another person, and he found something admirable about that. "I'm guessing by looking at his teeth he's almost one. Yeah he's got a heart of gold and a brain of sticks. I'm hoping I can train him not to chase every poor animal he catches wind of. It's really making my job difficult," he answered, unhitching his belt from his pants and slid it through the dog's collar and synched it to create a make-shift lead in case the dog decided run off again. "Guessing by your astronomical amount of patience I'm assuming you're a mother."