Author's Note: So we're back to Champions. Um...I don't actually have much to say...this is a two-chapter effort.
Living with it
"Hello?" Kaia pushed open the door and stuck her head in. "Anyone home?"
"Hi, Kaia!" Piper called back. "Come on in!"
Kaia followed her voice to the kitchen and hoisted herself up onto the table. "Hi, Piper."
"Hey. Anything wrong?"
"Nope." Kaia was bouncing in place.
"Okaaaaaaay. Anything right?"
"Yep!" She bounced off the table again and crossed to pick up baby Chris. "My cousin's pregnant!"
"That's so great!" Piper said happily. "Boy or girl?"
"They don't know yet. Alyssa's going for a scan later today. They have a little girl already, though, so I think Cole would like a son."
"They are kind of cute." Piper agreed, smiling at Wyatt.
Kaia bounced Chris. "But then girls are good too. I dunno, I guess it doesn't matter." Catching Piper's look, she laughed and ducked her head. "Sorry, Piper. I'm high, I know. It's just everyone I know either knows already or is Daniel, and he's away, and I'm really excited about this, you know?"
"I can see that." Piper agreed.
"Sorry." Kaia lowered Chris back into the playpen. "There you go. Good boy. Hi, Wyatt! How are you today?" Wyatt held up his toy. "Really? That's lovely. Thank you."
"This isn't the first baby, is it?" Piper asked. "Wasn't there one the first time you were here?"
"Yeah. Same cousins and everything. But I just…I don't know. I really like babies, and I can't have any, so…"
"Oh." Piper straightened up. "Sorry."
"Not an issue. No thank you, Wyatt, you keep it. I don't want it, honestly."
Wyatt stopped offering her the toy and sat down. Piper raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, and a moment later Chris appeared in the doorway.
"Hi." He looked mildly surprised to see Kaia there, though she'd been in and out at random intervals for a while now.
"Chris!" Kaia bounced to her feet, catching his hand and drawing him further into the room. "Alyssa's pregnant! Five months!"
"Good." He obviously knew who Alyssa was, Piper noted, since he didn't ask for clarification. "Sara's still young, though, isn't she?"
And he knew the name of Alyssa's daughter, apparently. When had he gotten so familiar with Kaia's family?
"She's a little older than Wyatt." Kaia was saying. "They're going for the first scan today."
"Boy or girl?"
"They're not fussy." Piper grinned as Kaia launched into her 'boys vs girls' argument again.
"Chris, can you two take the kids into the conservatory for me? I need to finish up in here."
"Sure." Chris scooped up Wyatt and Kaia picked up baby Chris. "Come tell me all about it, Kaia."
"I think I have. But I'll tell you again! Angel threw me out of Wolfram and Hart 'cos no one could get anything done, I was talking too much, and even Lorne was getting tired of hearing me talk about it, even though he's usually so patient. And then I went…" Her voice faded slightly as they went into the conservatory, and Piper smiled and went back to her work.
"And I think Cole wants a boy, but…"
"Kaia?"
Kaia stopped her fourth…possibly sixth…recitation and turned to see Leo behind her. "Yeah, Leo?"
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure…is this a 'rescue Chris before he goes insane' thing?"
Chris startled, looking from her to Leo and back. "I hope not."
"Sorry, Chris." She smiled warmly. "I'm boring, I know."
"It's fine."
She rose and turned to Leo. "OK?"
"Yeah." He left the conservatory, heading for the sitting room, and she followed him obediently.
"What's up?" she asked, settling on the arm of the couch.
"Should I be worried about my son?" Leo asked bluntly.
"Do you mean, your youngest son?" At his nod, she shook her head and continued, "He's not mine, Leo. Not the way Chris and Connor are. You don't need to worry…not that you would have to anyway."
"How is that? If Chris is yours why isn't…"
"Yeah, I'm not sure. I think…" She hesitated. "I don't know this, Leo. I'm only guessing." she warned him.
"All right." Leo said slowly.
"I think Chris became a Champion of mine in response to whatever Wyatt was doing…will be doing. In the future. Except he won't be, now."
Leo puzzled his way through that. "Then why is Chris still a Champion?"
"I don't arrange these things, Leo. Why the sisters and not anyone else? All I know is he is. And your baby isn't." She shrugged.
"And you'd tell me?" Leo pressed.
"I don't remember the last time I lied…yes, Leo. You above everyone have the right to know. If your son…any of them…ever does come to me, you will know. All right? My word."
Leo nodded, and Kaia pushed to her feet. "Is that it?"
"Yeah. Kaia…thanks." She raised an eyebrow questioningly, and he added, softly. "For Chris. He's getting…he's opening up. We all see it."
"I do my best." She grinned and headed back into the conservatory.
Leo followed her, leaning against the door. Kaia flopped down on the floor beside Chris's chair and announced, "It's your turn to talk, Chris. My voice hurts."
"Your voice hurts?" Chris repeated, not quite mocking.
"Well, yeah! I've been talking for hours. Come on, it's your town. You must have something you can talk about."
"I don't." Chris said flatly.
"Afraid of changing the future?" Kaia sighed. "All right, then. Tell the kids a story." She reached out and caught baby Chris, scooping him onto her lap and leaning back comfortably against the chair. "Tell us a story, Chris."
"Story?" Wyatt asked hopefully.
Chris sighed, but Leo had the sense it was mostly for show. "Fine. A story? Hmm. Aladdin?"
"Do we like Aladdin, buachailin?" Kaia asked the child in her lap. Apparently receiving an answer, she looked up and told Chris, "We like Aladdin. Let's go."
"Buachailin?" Chris repeated.
"Oh…little boy, or baby boy. It's getting confusing calling him Chris. You're Chris." Catching his eye, she repeated softly, "You're Chris." Smiling, she added, "Now tell the story already."
Leo turned away, faintly disturbed in a way he couldn't explain.
"Kaia?" Piper leaned in through the door some time later. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"
"If it's not any bother…" Kaia said hesitantly.
"Of course not."
"Can I help, then?" She bounded to her feet, easily lifting baby Chris and lowering him into the playpen.
"If you want."
Kaia glanced back at Chris. "You don't mind, Chris?"
"No. Maybe I can stop telling stories now."
Wyatt looked up. "Story?"
"Sorry, Chris, looks like you're still on duty." Piper said with a grin.
Chris sighed, but he settled back with the kids without complaint and Kaia grinned and followed Piper into the kitchen.
For a while they just worked quietly; Kaia refused any and all requests to actually cook, but she did the prep and clean up without complaint. She was picking up the plates to lay the table when Piper said suddenly, "Kaia, can I ask you something?"
"You and Leo didn't plan it, did you?" Kaia asked suspiciously. Off Piper's look, she added, "Sorry, Piper. Never mind. What would you like to know?"
"When did Chris meet your family?"
Kaia was quiet for a moment. "Um…a few months, I guess. The day I came here to thank you for your help, we started. It was a while before he met everyone, though."
"Why?" Piper asked.
"Can I be really, really honest, Piper?" Kaia asked. "Because I don't want to…to mess things up, or anything."
"Go on." Piper said, leaning against the counter.
"Chris is…I think he's very lonely. And I like him an awful lot, and I want him to have something that isn't…" she gestured. "That isn't this, isn't magic and demons and life or death and the brother who tried to kill him."
Piper winced, and Kaia flinched. "You see? Sorry. I didn't mean…"
"Are you in love with him?" Piper asked. Her voice had gone hard and cold.
Kaia shook her head rapidly. "Not the way you mean, no. I love him, but then I love you guys as well. Piper, I promise."
Piper lowered her head, studying the floor below them, and Kaia took a step towards her, voice low and urgent. "I can't not see him, Piper. If I could, I would, for your peace of mind if nothing else. But I don't…I need this."
"Why?" Piper asked, still not looking up.
Kaia stopped short. "You don't…" Sighing, she started over. "I love my family, Piper. I really do. But they're so…when I'm with them I'm in the middle of everything. And in LA whenever Angel and the others see me they think there's a crises, and Connor's only ever happy when there is a crises, and Daniel in Colorado Springs…I don't get to just sort of be very often."
"Be…" Piper prompted her, looking up finally.
Kaia smiled faintly. "Sitting in there, with Chris and the kids…I almost felt normal. And I'm not strong enough to walk away from that, Piper. I'm sorry." She took a step back. "I won't stay for dinner, thank you. I'll come see you another day, and maybe we can talk about this."
"Kaia…" Piper started.
Kaia took another step back. "Not today, thank you." Half turning, she called over her shoulder, "Chris, I have to go!"
Chris appeared in the doorway. "Why? I thought you were staying for dinner."
"I know. Something came up." She smiled briefly at him. "Don't worry about it. Take me home?"
"Sure." he said slowly, studying her. To Piper, he added, "I'll be back soon."
"Dinner's at half past." Piper said quietly.
"So what happened?" Chris asked.
"It's not important, Chris." She pulled away from him, crossing to stare out the window.
"It is if it made you orb voluntarily. What did Piper say to you?"
"Nothing. She's worried about you." Looking back at him, she added, "it's nothing, honestly."
"What's she worried about?" Chris asked warily.
"She thinks I'm trying to corrupt you, or something. She was very surprised that you knew my family."
"You didn't tell her, did you?" Chris demanded.
"Tell her what?" Kaia asked innocently.
"Kaia…"
"I keep telling you to call me Tara, Chris."
"And I keep telling you I like Kaia better. Did you tell her or not?"
"Not, sweetheart. Your secret's still safe, unless Leo tells her."
"He won't." Chris said absently. "What did he want, anyway?"
"To know if Buachailin was gonna be mine too."
"Bua…and is he?"
"Nope. Just you. Don't ask me why, it's very complicated timeline stuff that I don't really get."
"Really." Chris folded his arms and stared at her.
"Uh-huh. Things like that don't fit in my head. Too complicated for me. I can barely turn on a computer." She glanced up. "Chris, go home. You're going to miss dinner."
Chris nodded slowly. "All right. See you 'round."
"Yup."