Kermit stood back and watched Savannah as she looked out onto Caine's balcony. Not quite inside or out, she stood framed by the doorway, watching nothing. Her profile was chiseled by her worry. Until this moment, he hadn't taken the time to appreciate what a stunning woman his counterpart had for a wife. Innocent to a point, but for the most part, she was a personification of "woman." Her long hair was the color of summer, of warmth and fresh air. The man in him couldn't deny the perfect design of the rest of her. Savannah Griffin was built around curves. Waves of hair, bosom, slight roll of hips would captivate any man who was breathing. The taste of her lingered in his mouth from the night before. The urge to taste her again was far too strong and he shook himself mentally to break it apart. The false longing faded away and he felt the Universe laughing at him.

The wind blew past her and she hugged herself tightly. Dressed in a thin green silk, Savannah shivered slightly. Even in her strength, she was still vulnerable. Kermit looked into the other room and found Caine still engrossed in preparation. Taking a few steps, he found himself beside her. Lust was gone, all he felt for her now was kindness.

"Cold?" Kermit leaned back against the door frame and focused his shades on Savannah, on another man's wife.

"No, not really." She looked down and began a nervous straightening of her dress.

"If it's not too forward, could I tell you that you look beautiful?"

The nervousness faded away with her smile. "Yes, you may and thank you." Leaning back against her side of the doorway, she said, "It must seem silly, all this primping. This is Kermit's favorite." "Doesn't look like my size. He must be smaller than I thought."

She laughed, a genuine laugh, and nudged him with the toe of her shoe. "Very funny." Savannah looked at him intently. "I just thought, well, Caine said that once we arrive the two of you may have to be drawn to your correct dimension. Maybe this would...oh...this is silly." She shook her head and looked away in embarrassment.

He took her hand and found it trembling. "It's not silly at all. Loving someone enough to do anything to help them could never be silly." Looping her arm through his own, Kermit walked her back into the room. "Jewel is probably going to give him a good shove in your direction, if she hasn't choked him by now."

"Well, I didn't choke you."

"No, you punched me."

"Slapped. There's a difference."

"It did hurt, you know."

"Big baby, if I'd wanted to hurt you there was a .38 over the oven."

Now, it was his turn to laugh. As they walked into the other room, Kermit said, "Anxious as I am to get home, I'm sorry I didn't have time to find out more about my wife."

"I'll always have a soft spot for you, too, Mr. Griffin." Arm in arm, they joined Caine amid the candles and scents of the mystic.

*****

Kermit looked over from the wall he leaned against, watching Caine set up a circle of pillar candles on the hardwood floor. A whiff of sulfur followed by a fresh herbal scent made him glance toward Jewel. She stood at her small altar under the window, fresh scrubbed in her faded denim shirt and jeans, red hair still damp in its usual single plait. "Through a glass darkly," he mumbled, idly watching her hand move to light a second strand of sage and lavender incense, then the two candles on the altar. Soft light flowed over her and into the room as she turned to face him, absently tugging at the little silver pentacle charm nestled in the hollow of her throat. Her look was focused, determined, one that Kermit recognized from his own face. Jewel loved his counterpart as fiercely as he loved his wife and child. Not even fear of death could keep her from trying to bring him back.

"It is time," Caine said softly, inviting his companions to join him with an elegant wave of his hands. Smoothly, he folded his legs beneath him and waited, no hint of urgency betrayed on his serene face. The ritual had taken on a timelessness that he associated with Shambhala. The driving force of twin universes fighting to restore themselves was poised, waiting for the next move. The fate of two men, and all that they held dear, balanced as Kermit lowered himself to the floor. Last to enter, Jewel sank gracefully into tailor seat. The anxiety, the fear, was gone from her spirit, and Caine felt the unfettered flow of her chi waiting for guidance.

He held out the carved ivory globe and her fingertips touched it, the disciplined fire of her chi smoothly joining with the silver stream of his own. Kermit reached out and his tangled emotions jarred the link as he grasped the ivory. Caine channeled the rogue energy into the combined life force he held, letting it eddy until the warmth of Jewel's chi and the calm of his own brought it safely to them. Power coursed through the joined trio, warm and serene and fierce, surging as Caine guided them all. He led as far as he dared, concentrating on the love that bonded these human souls with their lost ones. Those bonds would draw them into Shambhala itself, and determine what they faced there. He could do no more than this.

*****

The shift in reality came in an instant. Caine had focused their energies toward the dreadful ivory globe that had jumbled lives and realities. The forces set loose by the ritual immediately raged into action. Savannah felt the familiar warmth of candles, the solid support of Caine's meditation room fall away leaving her suspended. The hand she had been holding was in motion. Groping frantically she searched the air for a form, a support.

A blinding whiteness covered everything. The brightness screamed loudly, taking over all sound and sight. She could even taste the sharpness of the light as a metallic flavor on her tongue. Her mouth was open, gasping for breath.

Suddenly the hand was back, wrapping around her waist, holding her against a solid man's body. A heaviness tugged at her body, sapping her strength and toppling her to the ground.

"Kermit?" She wasn't sure if the sound escaped into the light as she gave in to the weight of gravity and let go.

*****

"Savannah! Can you hear me?" Kermit laid her body gently on the stark white floor and tried to wake her. Savannah had fallen against him almost immediately as the transition began. Fighting his own dizziness, he'd barely been able to grab her before she fell.

Her chest was rising and falling so she was breathing. That much he could see. Pressing his fingers to her neck, he found a racing pulse. "Caine?! Where the hell are you?!" he yelled out into the billowing whiteness that surrounded them.

Pulling her into his arms, he rubbed her smooth, white cheek with his palm. "Damn, you shouldn't even be here." Kermit smoothed her hair away from her pale forehead. She wasn't well and he knew it. Caine shouldn't have let her do this in her condition. "Come on, lady. I'm not going to face your husband and tell him I let something happen to you."

"Kermit?" Her voice was dreamy and light. Her eyes fluttered open and she pinched them closed against the painful brightness.

"Not yours, but I'll do for a while, won't I?" Kermit helped her to sit up, only to stop as she grabbed him and fell back against his arms. "Just lie still."

"I'm s-sorry," she said, voice trembling. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Don't apologize. You shouldn't have tried this." Kermit felt her body settle and she tried to sit up again.

"I'm fine, just dizzy." The soft voice was gathering substance and she tried to pull herself away from his arms. "Now, we're here. I want to find my husband."

"Sit still." He let her move away, but still stayed close. "Caine first. I want him to check you out."

"Don't be stupid!" Now, her voice had solidified into an annoyed bite, barely muffled by her accent. "I fainted, big deal. Haven't you ever seen a woman faint before? I'm not a cripple." In her anger, Savannah moved to her knees, then was forced to balance both her hands on the floor to steady herself.

Kermit placed both hands on her shoulders. Feeling no resistance, he eased her back to the floor. He wouldn't gloat and humiliate her. "Stay here and be still while I find Caine." Savannah nodded, her eyes still closed against the light, and remained silent as he left her.

*****

The link that connected them jerked hard, once, twice and the smooth flow of their life-forces surged. Rapids drew them headlong, bumping and tumbling until Kermit couldn't feel the floor beneath him, the scents of incense and burning beeswax was gone, and he was alone. A flicker of fear, then a warm touch, young and exhilarated, brushed his mind. It was joined by a calm certainty that could only be Caine, and Kermit realized that he wasn't somehow lost in the whitewater of this journey. They rushed onward, losing and then finding each other, fighting the current when it threatened to drown them. Like the surge of water over a tremendous waterfall, the trio went flying at last, and Kermit landed hard.

Mist eddied around him as he caught his breath, surprised to see that he wasn't really soaked to the skin, bruised to the bone. He rolled over, and caught a flash of deep red blazing through the pale light around him. Jewel. Painfully he crawled to her, found her lying on her side, pale and still. "Jewel! Wake up, dammit! Caine?" He searched, eyes straining for a glimpse of black silk on white, for the shy diffident elder's quiet approach, but there was no sign of him. "Jewel!" He slapped her face lightly, belatedly checking for broken bones, then dodging as she abruptly came to and struck out at him.

"Lemme go!" she snarled, eyes unfocused as she stared blindly at him. "Don' hit me, you sonova...Kermit?" She frowned and he nodded with satisfaction as her dark sapphire eyes cleared to glare at him. "What did you hit me for?"

"Just trying to bring you around, Kiddo. You scared me," he admitted and she winced, as much at the nickname as the memory of their just taken journey.

"Now THAT was a rush." She actually grinned at him, eyes lighting up. "What a ride! But man, that landing's a killer."

"You can have it. Now, we'd better find Caine. You stay put, I'll be right back." He patted her shoulder and she shoved him.

"Stay put? Kermit, do I LOOK like 'the little woman'? I don't stay put. Besides, Caine said he didn't know if he'd be able to enter this time. He doesn't have a need to be here."

"Look, Jewel, please. Just, for once, do as you're told. If we get separated now, we may never find each other, and that trip you enjoyed so much managed to knock you cold. You shouldn't be moving just yet." Bending, he brushed her forehead with his fingertips, and she sighed, giving in and pushing the white lock of hair out of his face.

"Better get going, then. I'll take a few minutes and rest up."

"No more argument? Shambhala really is a place for miracles." In a few steps, Kermit had been swallowed by the whiteness.

After her pledged few minutes, Jewel stood and headed after him into the mist. It was pleasant to walk through, and the light was soothing after she got used to it. When the urgency of her quest faded from her mind, she didn't notice.

Pearl mist faded as the woman moved through it. She had been worried or upset about something sometime but it was gone and she walked without haste or direction. The woman didn't know where she was, or who she was, but she was also unaware of this lack and unconcerned by it. Unconcerned, that is, until a glint of gold caught her eye. Casually, she turned and saw another woman walking out of the swirling mist. The gold was a cascade of blonde curls falling past the shoulders of an elegant green silk dress. Jewel frowned in thought. Calmly, the remembered who and where she was. She knew that hair, had seen the face it framed in a photograph. Deep inside, her emotions surged, jealousy hitting her bloodstream like fine, old brandy.

"Savannah." The name shot out before she thought and emerald eyes regarded her with cool appraisal.

"Jewel."

They stood, warily eyeing each other, each woman burning brightly in the pale dream of Shambhala. Savannah's steady golden warmth contrasted and complimented Jewel's flaming vitality. She was smaller than Jewel would have guessed from the photo. She was also far more beautiful than the black and white picture Kermit had gazed at so longingly. The petite blonde was elegant, lushly feminine, with a core of finely tempered steel evident in her smile and the tilt of her chin. She wanted to conjure a hateful image of Scarlett O'Hara and fancy her a conniving, snotty bitch. Grudgingly, Jewel smiled. She didn't want to like Kermit's wife, the woman he'd spoken of so lovingly, but she knew when to give in gracefully.

Savannah assessed her rival quickly. The obituary newspaper photo had shown a college girl, attractive, perfectly composed in her pearls and dark dress, like most other well to do young women. In the flesh, Jewel was a few inches taller than she, with blue eyes that glowed darkly against her paleness with each shift of emotion. Her thoughts played across her face, shifting features so offbeat that, in motion, she was striking. Savannah had seen stalwart Kermit Griffin mourn the loss of her, felt the depth of his love for this other woman. She was strong, a mighty woman. No helpless female here needing to be rescued. No matter what she expected, Jewel's loving determination reached out to her, another woman with a mission. So, she accepted Jewel's smile with one of her own and held out her hand.

Jewel met her halfway with her own hardened palm. "This isn't really easy, is it?" Their hand mingled, squeezing comfortingly.

"No, sugar, it's not," came the weary reply from Savannah.

*****

"Caine!" Kermit bellowed the word, scanning the blurred mist for some recognizable figure. His gut feeling told him that the second Savannah Griffin could stand, she would be following him.

The trackless landscape unnerved him. There was no form or landmark to direct his search. Only his instincts guided him forward. He called out again, hearing his words echo through the white haze.

He walked on for a few moments then stopped to look backward. Distance meant nothing. Even retracing his steps seemed useless. Kermit held his position, attempting to adjust his perceptions. He was not in control. Accepting that fact might allow him to let whatever force held their fates lead him to the right destination. Letting go was difficult. It flew in the face of every long engrained survival skill that had become part of him.

As he exhaled, the spiritual pull reached out to him, turning him in another direction. The hairs on his neck prickled and he walked toward a dark shape in the distance. The mist thinned as the figure moved in his direction, taking shape and substance.

In a matter of seconds, he stood before his own face, his own body in his own clothing. Silence rattled around the two men as they stood face to face, inspecting on another with brittle intensity.

"How is my wife?"

"She'll be fine in a few minutes," Kermit replied, staring as his own face glared suspiciously back at him.

"She'd better be. Where is she?" The words were barked out angrily, masking the worry behind them.

"Back there," he gestured behind him into the mist. "The trip was a little rough and she was feeling dizzy. Told her to wait for me and I'd get Caine to check her out. I'll take you to her."

The other man smiled oddly, almost laughing as he spoke. "Do you actually think she's still back there waiting for you?"

"No," Kermit answered, shaking his head. "Nor do I expect Jewel to be patiently waiting back at her loft."

"You'd be right, there."

Silence returned as the men fumbled for words. One Kermit broke the barrier. "Jewel will be glad to have you back. I think the cat will, too."

"I'll miss your Kat. Great kid," Kermit said, smiling at the memory of pink pajamas and bedtime story he hoped would fade. "Oh, you might avoid Simms when you get back."

"Curator still pissed?"

"I'm afraid I made it worse."

"Thanks so much."

"You're welcome."

Not knowing how to extend thanks or gratitude, each man awkwardly extended his hand. One brief shake. Quick and to the point. Words would only litter the situation and offer an opportunity for inquiry that neither man desired.

*******

"It's not what I expected, even though Caine told me to expect nothing."

"And accept everything?" Jewel managed a little laugh. "It's nice to know that Caine is himself in either world.

"He's such a dear man. He married Kermit and me, delivered our little girl. I don't know what we would have done without him." Savannah folded arms, setting a smile firmly across her face as she inspected every inch of the woman in her path.

"He's something, all right. If it hadn't been for Caine, Kermit would still be interrogating me back in our...my bedroom." Set and point and without a word, the women decided to stop digging at each other. They were too evenly matched. The psychic tension lifted slightly but hung overhead as memories of the past twenty-four hours swirled around the two women.

Jewel took the lead, breaking the unbearable images both were building of what had happened on the other side with the other woman. "Your little girl, Kermit talked about the two of you all the time." A small peace token from Jewel. "It sounds like you three have a great life."

A hint of mischief lit Savannah's green eyes. "Tell me, sugar, are you really the most courageous, independent, and breathtaking woman he's ever met?" Her soft drawl just missed sarcasm, but Jewel laughed and struck a mock offended pose.

"What, he didn't mention that I was sensational in bed, too? That lousy ingrate!" The red haired woman laughed again, glanced at Savannah conspiratorially. "He can be a little annoying when you aren't in love with him, did you notice?"

Savannah grimaced. "Annoying? I noticed. And our daughter...Kat knew right off, long before I did."

Without discussion, the two women had begun walking again, together.

"My cat, Shade, knew he wasn't her Kermit, but she liked him. Kids and animals, way ahead of us grown ups, huh? Of course, once Kermit realized that something was wrong, he didn't waste any time in letting me know it." Jewel went on to describe her early morning wrestling match with an enraged and confused Kermit Griffin. "I mean, thank goodness I mentioned Caine's name or we'd be there yet. I was honestly afraid, " and she faltered a moment, "afraid that he'd lost it. And then I felt so guilty for thinking that."

Savannah nodded as she listened, understanding as few others could the special requirements of a lasting relationship with the ex mercenary. It was a bond between two very different women, an odd friendship building as Jewel shared their frantic search for the truth

"We had to narrow it down from a few dozen recovered artifacts that Kermit had handled, but that was nothing compared to the waiting. Caine had gone to prepare for the ritual, and I had this man in my home who persisted in looking and sounding like the man I love, while not being him." Jewel trailed off, twisting the silver ring on her right hand. "We just kept snapping at each other. You know Kermit, he'd rather be angry than uncertain, and I'm no better. If I could be mad at him, I wouldn't have time to be scared." Better judgement omitted the momentary lapse between the two of them.

"Did it help?" Savannah asked, knowing the answer already, and Jewel smiled wryly.

"Did it help you? Of course not. I was terrified right up until we began the ceremony itself. I swear, Savannah, as interesting as your Kermit Domesticus is, the thought of never seeing my Kermit again, never touching him, but I guess you know about that too." Jewel caught the slight glance Savannah made toward the ground. Her cheeks were flushed and the blond head turned away for a few seconds. At that moment, she was certain of what had happened. Flooding green jealousy boiled upward only to be slapped back by her own embarrassing memory of wrapping herself around this woman's husband. Sympathy overtook the rage.

The blonde woman nodded, her eyes thoughtful as she looked back at Jewel. "He played it very cool when he woke up in our home, pretending to be my husband, Kat's father. I had no idea that there was a problem, even though Kat was actin' a little strangely toward him. Kermit told me later that he had been to a party the night before, and thought I was a one night stand after too much to drink."

Jewel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Savannah giggled. The sound was soft, and friendly. Like two girlfriends dishing about their boyfriends. "Don't worry, he also said that he was plannin' to 'fess up as soon as he saw you, even though he knew you'd kill him."

The taller woman looked gratified. "Really? That's so sweet. Because I would kill him. Slowly. Painfully. Creatively." She grinned at her companion. "Not that he ever would."

Savannah described her own moment of fear when Kermit finally attacked her, demanding answers to crazy questions. "I know without a doubt that Kermit would never hurt me, or Kat, but just for an instant...I saw a strange man staring through my husband's eyes at me, and I was truly afraid." She shivered, a psychic cold, remembering the cold glare, devoid of love or mercy, Kermit had fastened on her before Caine arrived.

Jewel nodded, understanding completely. After all, she'd seen Savannah's husband looking out of her own lover's eyes.

They walked in silence for a distance until Savannah stopped, looking around at the soft light, down at the eddying mist. "I can't tell if we're making any progress here. We could be going in circles."

The other woman shook her head, an odd expression on her face. "No, we're right. I can feel it. This is how we're meant to go." Her voice was touched with something Savannah associated with Caine.

"How can you be sure?" Kermit's wife persisted, and Jewel shook her head with a rueful smile.

"I don't know, I just am. It's like.. I can feel it. I know it doesn't make sense, Savannah, but what the hell? Nothing here makes sense."

The blonde considered a long moment, and smiled. A smile that hinted of other mysteries that she had trusted, and learned to live with. "I do believe you have a point, sugar. Let's go, then."

The minutes passed by, folding in on each other as they walked. There was no way to gauge distance, no way to mark the time passed, no way to determine success or failure. Jewel took a deep breath, feeling the anticipation and tension wear on her stamina. They had been silent for quite a while, both afraid to ask the questions drumming in their temples.

Jewel's thoughts turned outward in an instant as Savannah, suddenly white, swayed on her feet and stumbled. The taller woman caught one limp arm, eased them both to the ground, mist parting as they sat. Savannah leaned against the shoulder offered for a moment, color slowly returning to her face.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

There was strength in the friendly arm Jewel held her with, concern in wide indigo eyes. "J-just walkin' a little too f-f," Savannah broke off the words, sealing her lips over the stuttering. After a deep breath, she continued, " A little too fast, I think." Each word was uttered carefully, every syllable enunciated perfectly. "Comin' here wasn't easy on me."

"Did it knock you out too? Other than that, I thought it was kind of a rush, but are you sure you're okay?" Jewel scanned the lovely blonde anxiously. She looked fine. There was no visible evidence of the shooting Kermit had described as he suffered in her loft. When Savannah looked her in the eye, she saw the lingering pain and humiliation.

"I'm okay, sugar. Sometimes I have these...spells, I guess you'd call them." She clamped down on the truth, selecting her own word to use instead of "seizures." She hated that word. "I was shot last year."

"I know," Jewel answered. "Kermit told me."

The look in Savannah's eyes sharpened, a brief anger sparking in her eyes. The sparks faded quickly, and she said, "Vanessa once said the trouble with Kermit was that he thought he was the only one allowed to have secrets." "Vanessa?" Jewel sat back on her hands, watching as Savannah reassembled her calm after her body's betrayal.

"Kermit's ex," she answered. "Or, one of his ex's. Number three to be exact." She made the statements with a lighthearted tease.

"You met her? Them? How in the hell?!" The thought of connecting with any of the former Mrs. Griffins had never occurred to her. "You met her?" she repeated in disbelief. Only one of Kermit's ex's had a name in her world -- her own. In spite of better judgement, she had to know more.

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