Now gathered in the main room, the gods (minus the department heads and their assistants) took the time to discuss what to do.

"We could check the perimeter based on her speed at which she walked here," Huedhaut suggested as he drew out a diagram to explain his plan. "It's possible that her parents are searching for her within this circle."

"But, it's dark now," Dui pointed out. "Unless they managed to get gather a search party together and carry sufficient light, I don't think they'd come here."

"That may be," Huedhaut nodded. "However, when it comes to a child, humans will go to any length to find them." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Still, the possibilities are too vast at this moment in time and there's no way to know for sure if they really are looking."

"And without our abilities, we can't go looking ourselves without some risk," Dui said disappointedly. He stared at the diagram Huedhaut drew and tried to think of what else could be done.

Teorus frowned with worry and rested his head in his hands, elbows propped on the table. Ichthys rubbed his back in support. "Mama is worried for baby, huh?"

"Ikky," Teorus said as he sat up and tilted his head with a sigh. "I'm not her mama..."

"You might as well be," Dui said with a soft smile. "She's really taken to you."

"I may know girls, but a child?" Teorus looked off to the side with concern.

"You are kind of a child, Teo," Ichthys said with a grin.

"Speak for yourself," Huedhaut said. "You did manage to calm the girl, Teo. You and Altair were the first friendly faces she saw." He leaned on the table and steepled his fingers in front of him. "Like any baby animal, she went towards the first safe looking persons she identified with. Granted, if she were a new born, imprinting on her would make things more difficult in returning her to her parents."

"So, what are you saying," Dui asked.

"I'm saying Teorus would be the best candidate to continue handling the child until we can get her home."

Ichthys slapped Teorus on the back with a big grin on his face. "You get to stay as a mama a lil longer, Teo!" He chuckled at the thought.

Teorus was a bit relieved. "I guess so, papa." Ichthys grinned in response.

"You two are just a sterling example of parenthood." Leon so happened to overhear everything and joined the group. He had an amused look on his face as he looked at their progress. "Hued and Dui are right. For now, we just have to keep watch over her and look for the adults that match this girl's parents and hope we can find them soon. The longer she's here, the more likely it is other humans will stumble onto this place."

"If human parents are anything like animal parents," Huedhaut interjected, "They'll stop at nothing to ensure their offspring are safe and sound."

"But, don't animals tend to give up if their offspring don't seem to survive on their own?" Dui had to bring that point up and the room got eerily silent.

Teorus sighed. "Can we not go there? Goldie is with us and we're going to get her home."

A collective nod from all as they continued to think of what to do to find Goldie's parents.

*********************************************

Scorpio was back in his study. Altair brought him the tea he was looking for and continued to work in solitude. The peace was finally soothing his wary body. He hated feeling weak, but it couldn't be helped given that they were on Earth. He had finished his reports and was starting a book he pulled from their library.

The silence was good...until Scorpio started to hear whimpering coming from the room next door. Muttering "I'm going to kill him" as he got up, he tossed the book on his chair and went to see what was going on. Quietly opening the door to the little girl's room, he saw her flailing under the covers like she was fighting someone or something off. His gaze shifted to the side and he heaved a heavy sigh.

Walking over to the child's bed, Scorpio could see she was twisted a bit in the sheets, but otherwise okay minus whatever it was she was dreaming about. Grumbling, he leaned over and adjusted the covers so she was free from them and went to tuck her in.

"Huh?" Something latched onto his hand. A tiny pale pink hand clutched onto his thumb with a grip one wouldn't expect to see in a child as small as Goldie. Scorpio's eyes darted about the room looking for anything that could help him with his predicament. It was late, too, so no one could be heard passing by. Failing to find a way out, Scorpio took a seat on the bed as gently as possible and let the child hold onto his thumb.

Visions of her dreams flashed in his mind. A big dog was barking at her as it chased her down the street. Must be from a memory, Scorpio thought as he continued to view her thoughts. She eventually makes it to her mother's arms, but her mother's face is unseen. She's a gentle soul from what he can tell and loves her child very much. Damn, he thought as he held onto her tiny hand. Show me some more so we can get you outta here...

He gritted his teeth as a painful nightmare flashes in his mind. A shadow appears, black and ominous, the size of a man. Goldie is scared, her tiny heart pounding furiously as she tries to hide from this shade of a character. There are no features other than the evil that Goldie fears from this man. And it is a man because Scorpio can hear her thoughts in this dream. She's cowering under the shrubs in the woods holding her mouth and nose to silence her breathing. "Please go away," she mentally chants as footsteps can he heard. Twigs snap and leaves crunch as the steps get closer and closer to her hiding place. This is more than a dream, Scorpio realizes as the details are too vivid. Unlike the scene with the dog and her mother, this had smells of the woods, the earth underneath where she crouched, the leafy smell of the shrubs she hid under, the breeze that made its way through.

The fear seeping from Goldie is palatable and Scorpio had never felt such fear from a child since he, himself, lost everything when he was once her tender age. While war doesn't happen as much as then, there are more dangerous monsters in the world of today. The footsteps seem to be going away from her. She lets her breath out in a sigh of relief, but the moment is fleeting as the shrub is ripped apart by the monster that chased her down and she's scrambling to escape. Barely making it away, Goldie is running as hard and fast as her tiny legs can take her. Her breath is ragged and she's so very tired. She's been running for a while it seems and she's about to give up when she thinks of her mom and dad and promises to find them again. That promise gave her strength, but it wasn't enough. She's scooped up by the now flying shadow and she's screaming for her life.

Scorpio was shocked back to reality when he realized that the child was actually screaming in her sleep. Automatically, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She clutched onto his shirt as she sobbed into his chest. Scorpio rubbed his hand along her tiny back until she began to quiet down.

"Goldie, what hap-" Teorus and Ichthys had heard the screams. The whole mansion did, in fact, which shouldn't have been possible given how big the place was. The two stopped as soon as they saw the scene before them, a smile on Teorus's lips and a smirk on Ichthys'.

"Not a word," was lowly growled as Scorpio stood up while still holding the sobbing child.

The dynamic duo made zipper motions along their lips as they quietly made their way towards the grumpy god. "What happened," Ichthys whispered as he brushed the hairs away from Goldie's teary eyes.

"I heard this one whimpering through the walls and came to see if I could shut her up," Scorpio said as he averted his eyes.

"Oh, now don't say it like that," Teorus said bashfully. "You came to see if she was okay. Just admit it. No one will care. At least you were here first." Teorus was muchly relieved after hearing that horrible sound come from such an adorable thing.

Ichthys took notice of Scorpio's mood. "What happened," he asked looking very concerned. It wasn't like Scorpio to appear with mixed emotions.

"She grabbed onto my thumb as I was trying to fix the comforter and I saw glimpses of her dreams." Scorpio adjusted his weight as he looked down at the sniffling Goldie. "I took her hand and saw something no one this small should have to experience." From his toen, it sounded as if he had sympathy for the tiny human, even if he didn't look it.

The shifting of Scorpio's weight and the rumbling of his voice woke the tiny human for a few brief moments. Rubbing her eyes, Goldie looked at Teorus and Ichthys. She was greatly confused. Why was the really nice man and the not so nice funny man looking at her? And who was holding her? Looking up, she saw the face of the one person she didn't think would do that. Bur, she wasn't scared at all. Looking into his eyes, she could sense something was different. Whatever it was, she felt really safe in his arms. Smiling softly, the wee child snuggled up to the god's chest and mewed "Meanie Head" in the sweetest tone any of them heard before falling back into a peaceful sleep.

The three gods were surprised, but none more so than the man who held onto the child. Scorpio's cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment, which made the other two giggle with glee. He shushed them with a glare that could kill as he made his way back to the bed and tried to put the girl down. Her grip eventually loosened up from his shirt and Scorpio was able to tuck the girl back in. With great concern on his mind, he walked passed the other two and signaled for them to follow him. A giggle or two may have floated into the air along the way.

*********************************************

They were all gathered in the main room. Altair and Vega brought tea, but had to return to the Heavens to return reports and update the other members of their departments. They were urged not to bring up Goldie if they could help it. The little assistants were uncomfortable with the request, but they also didn't want to see what would happen if the other gods got involved. Dui and Huedhaut sat groggily in their seats and Leon sat legs crossed and head on hand looking rather annoyed he was made to get out of bed.

The mood changed when Scorpio informed him of what he saw in the girl's dream. Everyone was awake and serious now. They may not like humans in varying degrees, but Goldie was special in more ways than one. Scorpio sighed and rubbed the back of his head before continuing. "I think I saw stars in her eyes..."

"I knew there was something special about our lil Goldie," Toerus exclaimed with joy.

"Are you sure," Dui asked. "She was kinda crying a lot and upset..."

"You weren't there," Ichthys said with a grin. "The way she looked at him just now was like a baby cozying up to her papa."

Scorpio coughed in his fist before punching Ichthys on the arm.

"Ow!" Ichthys rubbed his arm with a pout. "Meanie head..." That statement got him and Teorus snickering uncontrollably and Scorpio growled at them.

Sounding tired and annoyed, Leon spoke up. "Enough. If what you say is true, then that means we are bound to protect her. At least until we get her back to her parents." He rubbed his temples as a tension headache was coming on. "This night can't get any longer..." Standing up, he dragged out a heavy sigh and started to head back to his room. "Go back to bed and we can all figure this out when the sun is up." Leon could have said what was really on his mind, but then it might be triggered as a wish and the last thing he wanted to deal with were sappy human parents at his doorstep.

The others were resigned to agree and went back to their rooms. With the knowledge that they might have a reincarnated goddess sleeping in their house, things couldn't get more serious.