War and Peace and Pancakes

Abandoned

Sammy awoke feeling as if she hadn't slept at all. Their bedroom was bathed in the light of early morning, and as her senses returned to her, Sam involuntarily groped her hand over Urdu's side of the bed, leaving her pained yet unsurprised when she only felt the coldness resulting from the absence of their mate.

Biting back tears, she turned on her side so that she could stare at the empty spot while Timmy wrapped her in his embrace, squeezing her so hard against his chest that she almost lost her breath.

He pressed his face into her neck, breathing in her scent before he whispered quietly, "She didn't come home."

Sam's heart broke at the pain in her vampire's voice. Slowly, she laced her fingers with his and guided his arm from her waist to her face, kissing one of the rose tattoos on his forearm softly.

"Then we'll just have to find her and apologize, Timmy." He nodded against her neck before she added, "Let's...let's just get dressed. Then we can go find her."

Reluctantly, Tim stood. Through their bond, Sam felt his pain, worry, and...exhaustion. Timmy never felt tired before. Without speaking, they both dressed quickly, Timmy donning his typical tactical clothing and strapping on his weapons while Sam threw on a simple black housedress.

When Sam was finished buttoning up the front of her dress, she turned to see Timmy pausing to stare deeply at the swords Urdie had given him, caressing them lovingly before strapping them to his back.

When he was dressed, he turned to her.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked.

Tim nodded, but his expression betrayed his uncertainty. The witch took a shaky breath before asking the question she hadn't been brave enough to ask before, "What if she doesn't want to come home?"

Tim shook his head emphatically, "We will figure this out, sweetheart. We have to."

Shrugging, Sam decided to trust her vampire, and she pulled on her magic, preparing to take them to Urdie's home. Sam had done this a million times before, but this time, when she summoned her power and reached for Urdie's place she felt nothing.

Confused, she closed her eyes and tried harder, concentrating so intently that she felt sweat beading on her forehead. The door was just gone somehow. This wasn't right.

"Sam?" Tim asked, voice ladened with worry.

Sam opened her eyes, "It's not working right, Timmy. I can't find Urdie's world anymore."

Tim frowned, trying to conceal his growing panic, "How is it just gone?"

Sam shook her head, eyes watering. "I...I don't know. I...what's wrong with me, Timmy?"

"It's not your fault, honey. I'm sure-"

Sam wiped her eyes, "Let's go to the inbetween space. Maybe I can find the doorway there."

Timmy was confused, but he nodded as Sam used her magic to take them to the space between worlds. In her peripheral vision, Sam saw her vampire's hands go to his weapons as she searched for any sign of Urdu or the paths she took to find Urdie when she was still learning how to use her magic right.

Still she felt nothing. No doors, no connections. Just vast emptiness.

This was not right. The place had never felt like this before, and Sam knew that something was very, very wrong.

She started to wander off into the darkness when Timmy yelled at her to keep close, promptly jogging to catch up with her.

Sam didn't stop, just continued walking blindly as she spoke. "Timmy, I don't feel anything. I don't know why, but I don't feel any doors, any portals."

He looked at her confused, "So, you can't find her now?"

Sam shook her head, reaching out to her deep feelings to try and get answers. They'd mainly gone silent these days, leaving Sam guideless when she needed them most.

Trying to tramp down her growing alarm, she regarded Timmy as she fought the urge to run blindly. "I can't...someone messed with things. The doors are gone. I can't find her. I-"

In the distance, they both heard a loud, terrifying noise which caused Sammy to stop her blind wandering and move closer to her mate.

Tim's gaze darkened, "Sam, Baltha told us this place wasn't safe, remember?"

Truly crying now, Sam nodded as Tim reached up and rested his hand on one of his swords gazing into the darkness in the direction that the sound had come from, "Then you gotta take us home. We need to think this through, ok?"

Reluctantly, Sam nodded then used her magic to deposit them back in the bedroom. Upon seeing that they were both home safe, Tim's tension lessened slightly, but he still looked just as confused and pained as Sammy felt.

She explained quickly, words coming out panicked, rushed, "Someone destroyed the connections. Didn't want us going back there."

"No," Tim shook his head in disagreement, "No, Urdu wouldn't let that happen."

Still refusing to accept what logic was telling her, Sam replied, "That's right. We can call on her."

Tim looked at her sadly, "I tried that while you were sleeping. I tried her and Baltha and got nothing."

Then it hit Sam. The witch's tears were flowing as the truth of what had happened dawned on her: Urdu knew. Either their demon destroyed the connections herself, or she knew they were going to be cut off from her. Why else would she abandon them when she did?

Which means Urdu let it happen.

"She let it happen, Tim. She wanted to leave us cut off from her."

He narrowed his gaze, "You don't know that. She could have just gotten mad and left not knowing that all those doors were going to be closed."

He was right. He had to be right because the alternative would be the realization that Urdu had knowingly left them with no way to reach her.

She needed her mate. Tim needed their mate. And they both thought that Urdu needed them, too.

Crying, Sam tried to do the only thing she could think of, mentally tug on the tiny connection she'd started to feel with Urdu, the one that wasn't as strong as it should be. Initially, Sam couldn't feel anything, but she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, determined to make this work because it was the only chance she had left.

Whatever was stopping them from feeling each other hurt, and the pain intensified the harder Sam tried to break through it. Jaw set determinedly, Sam pushed through.

She would find Urdu.

Then, out of nowhere and for a very brief moment, the pain fell away and suddenly the witch felt their demon, felt her own consciousness touch the other woman's mind as surely as she could feel her bond with Timmy.

Sam didn't know what she'd been expecting. Urdu's happiness? Her anger?

Still, the witch was entirely unprepared to feel her own consciousness coldly shoved away by the woman she loved, Urdu's efforts hitting Sam with such ferocity that she slammed back into her own mind and literally stumbled and landed on the bed.

Whatever force was keeping her from feeling Urdu's presence fell back into place, and even if Sam could push against it again, she knew her efforts would be pointless.

Their mate didn't want them anymore. She knew that now, and as she collapsed into soul-rending sobs, she couldn't even catch her breath enough to explain it all to Timmy.