Hope you enjoy the first chapter of my very first fiction. I have a lot of ideas bouncing around my head and hope you enjoy my twist on things. I've read through all the other wonderful versions and I decided to start mine six months after the last episode ended. I felt the characters needed some space and a chance to cool off a bit before the next heat wave... Well a lot can happen in six months. I mainly focus on the Lucas and Sophia storyline, because, well let's face it, they have the most character growth potential out of all. And yes, ladies, Lucas is a hottie. If only I was 17 again...hum.... Enjoy!

Oh yah, all that disclaimer stuff goes for me too. I don't own Wolf Lake or any of the characters, yada, yada, yada. Now on with the show...

Chapter One: Ciao Papa

Matt Donner sat at his desk at the Wolf Lake Police Station. Just five more minutes and his daughter will call. She called him like clockwork every Monday and Friday at 4:00 p.m. She was his one bright spot on these days, for he missed her terribly. Six months had passed. Six long months without the brightness of her smile. She had surprised him on that summer night when he saw her sitting with tears in her eyes after her date with Scott. He remembered the immediate anger he felt toward the boy, assuming he had caused his sweet Sophia to cry. But she announced that she had changed her mind about going to Florence. She pleaded with him to make a reservation on the next flight out. She said if she didn't get away from Wolf Lake, she would die here.

Matt tried to find out what happened to make her this desperate, he held her and spoke calmly to her, but she wouldn't say. She only said, "It isn't Scott's fault. He did nothing wrong. It's me; I just have to go. Please dad, please." He gave in, of course. He never could deny Sophia anything. At the time, he did want her to go to Florence. He wanted Sophia to have the adventures she always dreamed of. He just wondered why so sudden a change of heart...

The phone rang at the expected time, and the Sheriff woke from his musings. Ordinarily, Sophia's bright, bubbly voice would be on the other end, telling him of the sights she had seen, the new recipe she had learned from Aunt Rosanna, her new friends, how good she was getting at Italian, and the adventures her cousin Paulo would take her on his motorcycle. He would sit, listening to her chirp away like an excited bird. It always made him smile. But today something was different. Sophia did not sound excited, or even happy for that matter. She sounded scared! Matt's instincts immediately shot to alarm. "Sophia! What's wrong honey?"

"Dad... I'm not... feeling well. Things are happening..."

Matt sat up straight. "What things, Sophia?" His face started to burn at the realization starting to form in his mind. It was something he didn't want to hear. He knew Sophia wouldn't say those words like that, if it were just a simple cold or flu. She wouldn't be scared.

"You already know Dad. It's my time."

"No! You can't! This can't be happening!" Matt placed his hand over his eyes, rubbing them as if that would change things. "This can't be happening to you Sophia. Not there. Not in Italy. How can I help you from here? How... "

"Dad, its o.k. Either I survive it or... well you know." Sophia spoke slowly, as if she were very tired, but Matt could hear the fright in her voice. "Uncle Pete knows, Dad. The family knows. They already knew about you. Mom had told them. They were very worried about me, so I told them what was happening. Uncle Pete wants to talk to you. O.K.?"

Oh God! This is a nightmare. His little girl needed him and he couldn't be there with her! "O.K. sweetheart, put him on."

"Hello, Matt?" A heavily accented voice came on the line.

"Pete. I need you to help my daughter. Please... I have some things you need to know... about what will happen."

"Matt, this is very hard, you know? We see Sophia hold her stomach, we see her eyes glow, and we see her nails grow long. She has much pain. Much pain. We want to call a doctor, but Sophia says no. She gets very upset. So we don't call the doctor. We say to call you, but she wait until now! Paulo tries to hold her when she gets pain, but she scratches him, you see? What do we do Matt? We do not like the screams; we want to help her."

"Listen Pete. She's not going to like this but you will need to tie her down to the bed. She won't try to hurt you, but she may hurt herself when she tries to ... to... transform."

Matt was unsure of just how much Pete knew of their kind. His late wife Marie had told him something, but Matt didn't know just how much.

"Oh my god!" Pete muttered. "I don't know... I don't want to hurt her."

"Pete listen carefully. Sophia may be in danger if she doesn't go through with this."

"Yes, she has said. She said she might die Matt. Sometimes when the pain comes, she screams, "I'm a dying! I'm a dying!" It makes us all scared!"

"Pete, you need to tie her down. Then, and this is most important, you need to encourage her to change. You need to tell her it's all right. You need to tell her to let go and accept herself. When she changes, it won't be for long. She'll become Sophia again and will never have to go through that again." Matt felt strange having to explain this to a human, but he knew Pete cared for Sophia, would never betray her. He added anyway, "Pete, you can't tell a doctor. You can't tell anyone. Your family must be silent about this or.... "

Pete sighed, "I know Matt. I know. I love Sophia. I would never betray the daughter of my sister to the authorities. Never. None of us would. Paulo is very protective of his cousin too."

"Can you put Sophia on the phone, one more time?" Matt's voice caught as he felt the implication of those words. Would this be the last time he spoke to her? Would he lose his baby tonight? His instinct was to take the next flight to Florence, but he knew he could never get there in time. It was happening, and it was happening now. "And Pete, call me the minute anything happens. I'll leave my cell on everywhere I go."

"O.K. Matt. I will. Here she is."

"Sweetheart?"

"Hey Dad... I'm so sorry... about this. I know you didn't want me to take after you."

"God sweetie, I just want you to be happy, human or not. Listen, I know you're going to have a rough night. I just want you to know that it's a good thing to embrace your wolf. When you feel it calling, give in to it. Just give in. I know you'll want to fight it, cause it's natural not to want to feel pain, but you have to let go. Do you hear me Sofia? You have to let go!" Matt sounded desperate to give his daughter this advice. He wanted to stay on the phone with her. He wanted to talk her through it. But he knew she would be unable to talk soon. He knew the pain would be too great.

"I'll try my best Dad." She sounded hopeless and forlorn. "Dad... if I don't... if I don't..."

"Sophia! You will. You must. Do you hear me? You must!" Matt desperately grabbed on to the edge of his desk.

"O.K. Dad. I want to say I that I love you. You have been the best Dad and I have always been proud to be your daughter. I love you Dad."

"I love you too Sophia. I'm so lucky to have a daughter like you. I thank the stars each night for the blessing that is you. Come home to me baby. Please come home to me."

There was a pause, as the both of them held on to the phones, lumps of pain swelling their throats, tears streaming down their faces. "Ciao, Papa." And she was gone. The Sheriff held the phone to his ear, listening to the dial tone. A numbness spread over his body, as he slowly lowered the receiver. His shocked eyes slowly turned toward the glass window that separated his office from the rest of the station. It was then that he realized how full the station was. All eyes were turned on him. All showed sympathy and concern. All had heard, he realized that. His kind knew when one of the pack was distressed, extremely distressed. They also had a keen sense of hearing and he knew they had heard his side of the conversation. There was not much privacy in this town. But that was just the way it was.

Matt's gaze went from face to face. There was Kanin, Sherman, and Vivian. There were the station workers and the one other officer. He couldn't face them now. Not now. Matt turned his face into his hands, elbows propped onto the desk, and thought "If Sophia dies, I will ask for death."

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Well, there it is. My first chapter ever! Those of you wondering where Lucas is....well just you wait. Sophia isn't the only one going through changes! Wolf Lake's bad boy has missed her badly. Check out how badly, next time.

I'd love to hear from you! Review me please. I'd love you so...