Shane's POV

I was a father. Father. Father. That word kept pounding inside my head until I could barely understand what my mind was saying. Father. Father. I jerked when Micheal nudge me. "You okay?" He asked. I nodded before he indicated towards the house. "Eve invited us inside, you coming? Or do you need a few minutes?"

"I'm good," I say rapidly before pushing past him into the house. The interior pretty much looked the same except you could see obvious traces of the children that lived here now. I heard a small gurgle coming from the couch, and as I came closer, I saw the top of a toddler's head. The boy about two stared up at me with Claire's eyes...this had to be Luke...my son. Unlike Carrie, Luke seemed to recognize me as his father because the next thing I knew, he was in my arms hugging my neck.

"Da da," he said happily. "Da da." I could feel Micheal' s presence behind me, and soon Eve's, but all I could focus on was my future son. As unmanly as it was, I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I quickly blinked them away.

"Guess no introductions are needed here," Older Eve finally said. She then focused on Luke. "That's right, da da. That's da da." My arms seemed to be glued to the boy, and only until he wriggled out of them did I let him go.

"What's his full name?" I asked quietly. This was so unreal...it was like I was in that haze from the draug again. Like this was another shattered reality, and truth be told, it could be. This future may never happen, and that boy who I held, and that girl who looked so much like Alyssa may never be mine.

"Luke Franklin Collins," she replied.

"Franklin? As in Frank? My father?" I asked with a little disapproval.

"Claire insisted it was going to be in the name, and at that time you didn't really have much of a choice. She was eight months pregnant, and grumpy as hell." Eve said with a knowing smile. I nod in understandment.

"Gotcha."

"So, while we wait for our Claire to come home, want to hear our wonderful life stories? Or better yet, want to see some moments that you boys skipped over in that time machine of yours?" Eve asked. Micheal and I nodded in unison before we took a seat on the couch. Carrie and Donovan came out of the kitchen just as Eve slipped in a DVD. They took seats on the floor. By the look on their faces, they knew these videos were going to be about them. Luke climbed into Eve's lap as she sat down. The screen flickered a little, and then Claire's face appeared. She was gorgeous. She was smiling as someone's hand was putting make-up on her. Eve was talking in the background.

"You know, Claire, it's not too late to change your mind. We'll all understand if you do." Claire flipped Eve off.

"Like I'd ever do that to Shane," she said. "Besides, even if I did, I don't think that crazy man would be gone from my thoughts until I was dead." You could hear Eve making sounds of agreement.

"True, he's like a little flea. Very hard to get rid of." Eve said as she and Claire burst into laughter. "But no, I'm so happy for the both of you. You two complete each other, anyone can see it." Claire's smile widens.

"I know," she says softly. "I know." The screen then moves on to another scene about Eve and Micheal this time, but I keep replaying the previous scene over and over. It was Claire, my Claire on our wedding day. If only it will really be like that. If only this world, this life I haven't had yet will stay as my future, my reality. If only...

Micheal's POV

I was watching Eve on the screen holding a crying baby. Even at her best attempts, she couldn't seem to make the baby happy. Claire came into the shot, and took the baby from Eve's tiring arms. The baby instantly quieted. Eve hit her forehead in defeat. "Alright," she said in a dreading tone. "I'll stop with my whole wicked/cool goth mom getup. It's obvious my baby doesn't like it." Claire gives Eve a sympathetic look.

"He just isn't you'st to it yet," she says.

"Nope, he's just one smart baby. Everyone should be afraid of Eve," Shane said coming next to Claire before she gave him a light punch in the shoulder.

"Don't say that! Apologize." Shane dramatically rubs his arm before giving out a rushed apology to Eve. I can hear myself laughing from the background.

"Well, we know who wears the pants in that relationship." I say. Everyone breaks into laughter as the scene is cut. We watch several more scenes, some of Claire when she was pregnant others of Eve trying to mother Donovan in failed attempts. The last scene made me heart ache as I watched Shane and I trying to father the children. Apparently, we had lost a bet to the ladies, and had to take care of the children for a whole day without their help. Let's just say it ended with Claire finally coming to the rescue. We looked so happy, and carefree. Like the problems Shane and I face back in our own time never existed. Like Morganville was just another town in this world. Like I wasn't a vampire, or to some, a freak. I was a husband. I was a father. I was a man with no worries. I was...

Shane's POV

We were on our fourth DVD when the door rattled a little, and then opened. Carrie and Luke jumped up before shouting, "Mama's home!" I slowly stood before turning to face Claire. She was bent over, hugging her children, but I could clearly tell it was her, yet older. As she straightened, the differences were obvious. Her hair was much longer than it was in my time while her womanly body features were slightly bigger, and more defined. She looked hot. Her eyes widened as she saw Micheal and I.

"Shit." She uttered before quickly turning to the kids. "Ooppss, Mommy didn't mean to say that. You know that is a very bad word." Carrie nodded, but Luke had other ideas.

"Shit!" He cried with a grin. However it came out sounding more like "Thit!" Claire shook her head slightly before attempting to correct Luke's vocabulary.

"No Luke, that's a bad word. We don't say it ever. Mommy made a mistake," Claire said. Eve laughed.

"Lighten up C, he is Shane's kid. Eventually he'll know a lot more than that."

"I know," Claire said looking exasperated as Luke kept repeating the word. "But I don't want him to know them yet! What would his future pre-school teacher say? Or his other classmate's parents?"

"Point taken," Eve said, still laughing. After another attempt to fix Luke's vocabulary Claire gave up.

"I hope he'll eventually he'll forget, but for now, would you like to explain what's going on?" Micheal and I both looked at Eve.

"You may need to sit for this one, C." She said before nodding to us. Once Claire was seated Micheal and I explained the whole story again. She sat the whole time in silence, however, her face made many different expressions, some I've never seen Claire make before. When we were done, Claire got up, and came over to me.

"I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw my husband this young, but guess I'm still healthy as a whistle." She says lightly as her eyes take me in. "It's...I mean...I-"

"It's weird." Eve's voice cuts into Claire's attempt at forming a sentence. Claire nodded.

"Exactly."

"Is it fixable though? Can you send us back to our own time?" Micheal interjects. "I mean it's great to be in my future, and see you both happy and well, but I think I'd like to experience those video shots we just saw for myself." I agreed. As much as I'd like the future to seem this perfect, I have to take one step at a time from my own world, my real reality. Claire is quiet for a while as she thinks things over. Finally she gives us an answer.

"Yes." I let out a whoop of relief while Micheal grins. Claire hurries to continue on. "I mean I'll need some time though. The machine you speak of that sent you here malfunctioned 12 years ago, and Myrnin hadn't bothered me about it since." Without thinking I wrap my arms around the future Claire, and pull her into a hug.

"As long as you can bring us home Claire, that's all that matters." I whisper into her ear. A moment later she hugs me back.