It had been just another usual day at O'Dell's Deli. Customers came and went, old friends wandered in to waste an hour or two in a place they considered almost a second home. All but one, whose face was conspicuous by his absence.

Genny leaned outside the back door of the Deli, arms crossed over her chest, enjoying the cooler air. It was closing time, and Mat was with her, waiting for his Sadie to finish fussing and get herself outside so he could take her home. They were talking quietly, watching the ebb and flow of people wander back and forth across the far end of the alley mouth.

"I'm just worried," Genny admitted quietly. "I haven't seen Russ in weeks; I haven't even spoken to him. He's usually always around - even if I don't see him, I know he's there. And now ... he's not."

"I'm sure he's fine," Mat insisted in his cheerful manner, shoving his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall with her. "Sadie says he comes and goes, sometimes for months at a time. He's a wizard, he's gotta be alright, hasn't he? Maybe he wanted to give you and Eli some honeymoon time."

Genny giggled softly, one gloved hand rising to cover her blushing cheek. "You're probably right," she agreed. "I dunno, I just wish he'd let me know that he wasn't going to be about. It's weird, having family again and then having them up and leave."

Mat's smile was perhaps more understanding than she could possibly have hoped for. "I get that," he nodded, blowing out a deep breath. "Don't think I'd know what to do if I lost Sadie now."

There was a moment of silence, as they each contemplated losing what they loved the most. Then Genny huffed out a breath, forcing a small chuckle. "Listen to us, we're the most morbid people in the city right now," she laughed. "Come on in, and -"

Her words trailed off into nothing, her eyes widening as she looked at her friend. Mat, too, was staring at her wide-eyed.

"You feel that?" he asked warily.

Wordlessly, she nodded, her gaze lowering to the cobbles beneath their feet.

Though it could not be seen, the street was shaking, vibrating with the awesome power of some unknown force. The vibrations rose up through the wall of the Deli, setting them both to unsteady shaking on their feet as with the motion came the uncomfortable rise of a low hum, deafening in its inexorable softness.

"What the hell -?" Mat pushed off the wall, and almost fell as theshaking of the street grew in power, knocking him off balance.

Arms outstretched to keep herself upright, Genny could feel terror building up inside her as her eyes lifted to the sky. "What's going on?" she cried in fright. "What is it?"

Screams began to sound from the main Marketplace, overlaid with the sound of many people moving in a rush. And beneath that, the sound of many feet moving in step, of weapons being fired. Some great battle was beginning, unexpected, un-looked for, but upon them, nevertheless.

Genny felt her fear solidify into one horrific thought. Eli! Her husband was out in the Marketplace, buying food for their little apartment over the Deli. He was out there, without her, in the midst of that screaming, deadly rush of people. Without thinking a moment of herself, she began to run, stumbling across the shaking alley toward the street beyond.

"Genny!" Mat lurched after her. Sadie was inside; Sadie was safe enough. Sadie would never forgive him if he let Genny run straight into danger. Though he didn't know the sounds for what they were, he knew nothing good was going to come of them. Staggering, he bounced off a wall and launched himself at the stumbling psychic, grasping her about the waist and swinging her back toward the Deli.

A moment later, a building across the street ahead of them blew apart in an explosion that littered the market with debris and bodies, some living, most dead. And still the screaming continued, still the sounds of a routed people running for their lives filtered through the cloaking, choking dust and debris.

In the alleyway, Mat raised his head cautiously. He was crouched against the wall, Genny tucked securely under the shield of his body where he had pushed her down as brick and stone rained across the market toward them. "Come on," he said harshly. "We have to get back."

"No," Genny shook her head, insistent and shaking with determination. "I'm not going to sit somewhere safely while other people are in danger." While my Eli is out there unprotected.

"Dammit, Genny, look at the Deli!" Mat shouted at her, waving a hand back toward the building where he knew his fiance was still inside. Despite the damage that had been meted out to the surrounding buildings, the Deli remained upright, intact.

"NO!" Dragging herself away from her protective friend, Genny stumbled out onto the street, waving her hands at him. "You go back, I have to find Eli!"

"Dammit, Genny! Genny!" Mat's voice echoed after her as she stumbled over the rubble and debris left behind by the explosion, by the weapons' fire that shot over her head.

Terrified, but stubborn to her last breath, Genny scrambled down a loose pile of rubble, landing on her knees in a fresh pool of blood. Breathless, trying to ignore the seeping of that blood into her gloves and the skirt of her uniform, she peered up and out of her little fox hole, seeking something, anything - a sign that someone else lived and breathed in the war zone that was now the Marketplace.

One thing caught her eye - the Deli. Though the facade was crumbling, the structure was still intact. Even the glass was uncracked, and through it, she could see the pale faces of her friends and colleagues, relieved to see Mat in there, holding onto what looked like a hysterical Sadie. Of all the buildings in this part of the marketplace, it was the only one left mostly whole, and she suddenly knew why.

Russ. He had to have left some residue of protection on the place when he cleansed the apartment above it. Despite her terror, Genny smiled, overwhelmed by the thought that though her grandfather was not there with her, he was still protecting his friends. His family.

((Adapted from Live Play.))

Eli sat behind the wheel of Mat's old truck, driving down the road. He'd picked up the groceries that he and Genny so desperately needed, and now he was on his way to pick up a bottle of wine. The vinyard was a bit of a drive out of town, so when the road rumbled beneath his tires, he thought that he may have hit a pot hole in the road. He shook his head and the world suddenly went black. A voice, powerful and very loud suddenly rang in his ears.

"Eli, take Genny to Kentucky and stay with Dirk and Quinn."

Instinctively his foot went to the brake and slammed down hard. "God, stop!" His hands went to his ears and he sagged back in the driver's seat, moaning with pain. It was several long minutes later before he realized that Russ had sent the message and it was to get Genny out of town.

While there hadn't been anything said to indicate something was wrong, Eli instinctively knew there was. When his vision cleared enough and his head stopped pounding, he pulled the truck around and headed back for Rhydin. In the not so far distance, he could see smoke blocking out the sun. "Oh Jesus, what in the hell?"

Eli drove into the Market and pulled in behind the Deli when another wave of mortarfire washed over the buildings nearby. Leaving the truck running, he jumped down and into the backdoor. "Gennay, where are you? Gennay!?!"

The portal Genny had conjured had closed long ago, and she was still half-conscious and weary from the effort of sending so many through to safety. Mat was sat by the back door of the Deli, braced up against it, while others looked for a way to brace and bar that way into the building as well. It was just as well he recognised the voice of his friend yelling for Genny, or Mat might easily have ended up on his face for the umpteenth time that day.

"Easy, dude!" he yelled, catching at Eli's ankle as the younger man barrelled past. "Help me get the damn door shut before you go running off!" Dragging himself to his feet, keeping a firm hold on Eli, Mat pushed his friend into helping him brace the doorway with the furniture that was brought to them by others who had stayed.

When that was done, he took Eli by the shoulder and nudged him toward the office. "She's fine, just a little worn out from a few magic tricks she pulled earlier. No upsetting her. Or Sadie."

"Don't make me hurt you, man," Eli growled as he was pushed into helping with the blocking of the doorways. The only reason why he helped was because Mat wasn't saying where Genny was. When the furniture was finally in place, he turned to Mat, still angry.

"Where the hell is Gennay?" His blue eyes made the more so from the anger in them. "And what the fuck is happening?" Another mortarshell landed not too far away and Eli nearly lost his feet.

"She's in the office with Sadie," Mat finally offered up the information, grasping Eli to keep him upright as he himself pressed his shoulder against the wall to do the same. "And believe me, you hurting me is the least of my worries after what I've seen today."

Eli barely heard anything more than, "She's in the office" before he took off in a sprint for said office. He came to a sudden halt after throwing the door open, leaving the blinds to swing crazily. "Gennay, oh God!" He went to his knees and he hugged his wife tightly. "I was so worried, Gennay." Leaning back, he used his hands to pat her down, checking for any wounds; but his eyes remained riveted to hers. "You're alright." Finally he smiled and hugged her once more.

While the men were getting reacquinated, in the office itself, Genny was sat in front of the desk, her head down on her hands as she groaned. She had the biggest headache she could possibly have imagined, and worse, she still didn't know where Eli was. "God, Sadie, what if he's dead? What if I ran right past him while I was out there?"

Sadie was doing her best to try to keep Genny calm. It was a struggle, considering that the pain that ripped through her pregnancy swollen stomach had her clutching her apron with white knuckled fists. "He's, oh," she closed her eyes and took in a slow, deep breath, then let it out again. "He's fine, Genny. I'm sure of it. He's a nice guy and bad things don't happen to nice guys."

Genny lifted her head, blinking through the blinding pain in her cranium to look at Sadie as the other woman gasped and paused. "You can't lie to me," she reminded her friend with a wry smile. "I've seen more than my lifetime, remember." She knew what was happening with Sadie, but she didn't dare say anything. Not until someone was around to restrain Mat, anyway.

"Please don't say anyth..." Sadie's plea was cut off by the door banging open and a very distraught and relieved husband came flying in. Sitting back, she lay her hand across her belly. "Your wife's a hero, Eli. She saved a lot of people today." The Hicks had ebbed for the time being and she felt she could relax just a bit better. Her family was safe, all of them, for the time being.

As the door banged open, Genny winced at the loud noise and suddenly found herself enveloped in Eli's arms. She didn't quite know how it was that she knew it was him, but her own arms were quick to curl around his waist, squeezing tightly. As he checked her for wounds, so did she check him. "Oh god, Eli, you're alive, you're safe, oh god ..."

Close on Eli's heels, Mat didn't even pause in the doorway, moving straight to Sadie with a look of panicked concern on his face. "What is it, what's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked her, nudging Eli out of the way so he could help his heavily pregnant fiance relax further into the chair.

"I was going to get some of that wine you like," Eli tried to explain why he was alright. "What the hell is going on out there?" When nudged, he lifted Genny easily and sat in the chair, placing her in his lap. He needed her to be as close as possible. The thought of losing her had frightened him deeply and he still was shivering, despite the heat of the day.

Sadie looked up at Mat and smiled, waving her hand. "I'm alright. Just a little twinge. Dr. Ryan said it would be normal in our last month, remember?" She reached and took Mat's hand into her own. "Mat Junior is perfectly fine, and kicking, too. Feel." Sadie brought his hand to her stomach so he could feel the strong kick that greeted that hand every time it rested upon her belly. "See, everything's alright."

Genny was more than easily pliable in Eli's hands, curling into his lap as he sat down and lowering her head onto his shoulder as her arms looped comfortably about his neck and shoulders. She, like him, needed to be close, needed some of the strength that Eli didn't know he had to calm her after her brush with death that day. She didn't answer his question, still coping with the headache that had come from magically draining herself.

Mat looked up from where he was helping Sadie, and his eyes widened on seeing Eli advancing toward him furiously. "Your wife is a damned hero, you stupid little boy," he shouted back at the infuriated younger man. "Nothing touched her! What good would it have done for me to go and get shot trying to save her from something she didn't need saving from?"

Genny was pulling on Eli, slowing his progress so that he didn't actually reach Mat. "Oh but if it were your precious Sadie, you'd have been out there in seconds flat!" Eli fumed and curled a protective arm around Genny to gently guide her behind him in case Mat wanted to take a crack at him. "No, I don't think you would have. You'd have stayed in here with the women and children, huddled and scared under a God damned table!"

Before Mat could respond to that, Genny had got there first. She ripped off her glove and planted her bare hand squarely in her husband's. In an instant, she had shown him everything that had happened to her while they had been apart, including the moment when Mat had saved her life. Gripping his hand tight enough to give him white knuckles, Genny glared up at her husband. "Stop it," she told him coldly. "Just stop it. This doesn't solve anything."

Eli wasn't expecting that and he nearly went to his knees as his eyes flew wide in sightless terror. He was seeing for himself, first hand, what had exactly happened. "Oh God," he groaned when it was over and removed his hand from Genny's. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he turned and walked back to the office, shoulders slumped. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

Sadie had been watching the altercation and simply shook her head. "Well, now that that's settled, let's get these burgers grilled. We don't have time to waste on this petty stuff." She tried to smile for Mat and reached to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Breathing hard through his nose, Mat turned away as Eli left, fighting to get his own temper back under control. His teeth ground together for a moment, before he forced a smile for Sadie, obeying her gentle order to ignore what had just happened and get on with things.

Left behind, Genny stared after Eli, feeling tears spring into her eyes. She'd been too hard on him, she knew. She'd frightened and shocked him with what had happened. But she couldn't let him split them all down the middle, not when they were under siege. With a shuddering breath, she pressed a hand against her lips to hold in those tears, and followed Eli into the office.

Eli was slumped in the large leather chair that had been Rosie's and now Sadie's. His face was hidden by his hands and his arms were supporting his head by means of elbows to knees. He heard the door open and he looked up. "I'm sorry, Gennay." Getting to his feet, he took a step towards her. It was an uncertain step and he stopped himself from taking anymore. "I am an idiot to think that you can't take care of yourself without me."

She closed the door quietly behind herself, watching him with stricken expression as he apologised. "I didn't mean it," she burst out suddenly, and just as suddenly, the tears were falling. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you, I didn't ..." She rushed forward to wrap her arms around his waist, burying her face against his chest.

"Hey," he curled his arms around her and cradled her head to his shoulder. "Shh, it's alright, Gennay. It's alright. I'm the one who is sorry. You did everything right, I'm just scared for you, that's all. Whatever you want to do is fine by me. Please don't cry anymore, Gennay. Please."

"I was so scared," she whispered against his chest as the water dripped down her cheeks and soaked into his shirt. "I wasn't brave, I was scared and too stubborn to let anyone see it. I wouldn't even have been out there if you'd been here, I love you so much. I was so afraid you'd been hurt."

"You were so brave! Even though you were scared, you stayed out there and looked for me. And you helped all of those people! You call it stubborn, and I call it brave." He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her close. "I love you so much, my Gennay. I'm so proud of how you helped those people."

"What are we going to do?" came the next soft whisper from the tearful woman in his arms. "If anything happens to you, I'll fall apart, I know I will." She shuddered at the thought, squeezing her arms around him warmly as her tears subsided slowly.

Eli really had no answer to that question. In fact, he had been wondering that, himself. "I don't know, Gennay," he sighed. "But whatever we do, from now on, we do it together, ok?" He gently pulled her away from him, only enough to look down into her tear stained eyes.

With his encouragement, she tilted her own head back just far enough to meet his gaze. Sniffing in a most unladylike manner, she swallowed hard and nodded, agreeing to his stipulation. "Together," she repeated thickly. "Whenever we can."

Eli nodded, then lowered his head to seal their promise with a soft kiss. When it was broken, he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "When did you eat last?" His mind was racing, but the grumbling of his stomach said that it had been hours since his last meal. The aroma of the grilling burgers was getting to him now that things were settled.

Her forehead to his, Genny breathed slow and quiet for a long moment, just taking the time to centre herself after her minor upset. At Eli's question, she blinked her eyes open, looking up at him. "I ... I don't know," she confessed. "I don't remember eating today."

Eli nodded slowly, breathing with her to help calm his own frazzled nerves. He knew why he'd been so angry earlier. It wasn't that Mat hasn't gone out there to take the shots for Genny. It was that Eli hadn't been here to go out there and take the shots for Genny. Lifting his chin, he kissed her forehead, then turned, keeping one arm around her shoulders. "Let's try to eat something. We're going to need our strength if we're going to help the others."

"Thank you." It was whispered, tender and fervent, and followed by a slow kiss to his cheek. Whatever came next, whatever this strange, dangerous turn of events brought to their doorstep, she knew now that she wouldn't be plunging into it alone, as she had done that day. Even with Eli at her side, there were still so many all around them whom they may not be able to help. But that didn't mean Genevieve wasn't going to try.