A/N: Yes, another chapter! I'm that bored! But I'll be busy over the weekend, thank God, so you might actually have to wait two days for an update! gasp But seriously, I'm really into this story, and this chapter was so much fun to write - especially the last section.

Thank you all for the reviews for the prologue! They were awesome! It's so great knowing that people are following the series - and welcome to all new readers!

Chapter 1

Adam held Brock Jr. at arms length, staring at the baby with a mixture of amusement and mild frustration. "Okay, peeing on someone when they're still in their work clothes is not cool."

'Gross," Jake laughed, pointing at the noticeable stain on Adam's jeans. "Just so you know, it looks like you peed yourself."

Glaring at the fourteen-year-old, Adam retorted, "Thanks."

"No problem," Jake replied, taking the baby from Adam's arms and handing him out to Reba. "Here, Mom."

Reba glanced up from the living room table, where she was helping Elizabeth with homework. "Jake, can't you see I'm busy? You know how to change a diaper."

"I also know how to eat green beans, but you don't see me doing that any time soon," Jake said, staring at the baby's bulging diaper with disgust.

"Jake! Change your nephew! Now!"

Frowning, Jake headed upstairs. "Fine." Though there were no more babies living in the house, they were there enough to make Reba keep a changing table in the spare room.

"That was a little harsh," Adam said, regarding the tone his fiancé had used. He knew she was under a lot of stress, but usually she wasn't one to let it bother her.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "That was mean, Grandma."

"I know, I'm sorry," Reba sighed. "I just…you know what, I'll be fine as soon I get a few minutes to myself. Excuse me."

Both grown man and six-year-old watched while Reba got up and went into the kitchen. Looking at Adam with worry on her face, Elizabeth asked, "Is Grandma Reba going to be okay?"

Adam hesitated, not quite sure of the answer to that question himself. He felt he knew Reba well, yet he'd never seen her so on the verge of burnout as she was now. "I don't know, kid. I just don't know," he finally said. "Um…do you need help with your homework?"

"Uh huh. But not now."

Raising an eyebrow, Adam asked, "Why not?"

Elizabeth glanced at the stain on his jeans. "You need to change your pants."

"Oh, right," Adam said. Blushing, he headed up the stairs to change…

And collided with a frazzled Lori Ann.

Lori Ann shrieked, jumping back and wiping her now damp shirt. "I'm sorry, Adam – ew, please tell me that's water."

Noticing that she'd gotten some on her top, Adam just gave her a weak grin. "It's not water."

"Gross, gross, gross, gross…" Lori Ann wailed, her arms moving about in a helpless motion. It was clear that she wanted to wipe the liquid off, but didn't want to touch it.

Adam laughed, unable to hold back his amusement – despite the death glare she was giving him. "Yeah, Brock Jr. had a little accident. So, what were you running downstairs for?"

Glancing around with a nervous energy, Lori Ann pulled Adam into the nearest bedroom, which happened to be Reba's. "Okay, I think I did something I'm starting to regret."

"Lori Ann, take a page from Barbara Jean's book. Having an affair with a married man is never a good idea," Adam teased. He was rewarded with a swift punch in the arm.

"No, you idiot!" Lori Ann exclaimed. She grabbed the star off the bed and held it up to his face.

He stared at it, with not a clue why it should hold any importance. "Lori Ann? Not computing the meaning of the star."

"Didn't Reba tell you?" Lori Ann asked. When he shook his head, she tossed the star back on the bed and sighed. "Okay, you know the whole Terry story, right?"

"Yeah…still not quite believing it, but yeah…"

"Well, that's the star," Lori Ann said in a quiet voice.

Uh oh, Adam thought, now understanding what she was getting at. And if he was right, he was looking at a dead woman walking. From the stories he was told, he knew how furious his fiancé got every time a wish was fulfilled in an unexpected way. His hands folded across his stomach, he felt stating the obvious was necessary. "Reba is going to kill you."

"Maybe she won't," Lori Ann reasoned. But her own downcast eyes betrayed her lack of confidence in the argument. "I mean, the wish was to get her to slow down and enjoy life…"

"She's still going to kill you."

"But I…"

"Kill you dead."

"Maybe if we tell her the right way…"

"If you want, I'll distract her while you climb out a window…"

"Will you stop that?" Lori Ann yelled, smacking his arm again. "It's not helping!"

Rubbing his sore arm, Adam paused to think about the situation they now found themselves in. From what he knew, every wish was fulfilled in crazy, roundabout ways that defied reality. He felt dread rise within him as he began to realize the repercussions this wish would have other than the invoking of Reba's wrath. Although that on its own was enough to justify the panic he felt at the moment. "So…what's going to happen to Reba?"

"I don't know. That's the scary part. It could be anything," Lori Ann explained.

Adam contemplated staying there longer and reassuring her, but in truth there was nothing they could do…except wait. Remembering that he still needed to change his pants, he went over to the closet. "Well, it was nice knowing you. Do you mind?"

"Nope, I'm going to look for a place to hide from Reba. See you."

"Might I suggest Brock and Barbara Jean's house? She never goes there," Adam replied, taking out another pair of pants from the closet.

Lori Ann glared at him for the obvious teasing, but stopped when she began to consider it. "That's actually not a bad idea. Thanks, Adam."

"No problem," Adam chuckled, getting changed after she left and closed the door behind her.

"Now, Henry, you be good," Barbara Jean told her son. She, Brock, and Henry were walking down the street toward Reba's house to visit. As she walked, Barbara Jean pushed a stroller that carried her five-month-old daughter, Savannah. This was one of the adorable blonde baby's first outings.

Her attention on her son, Barbara Jean added, "Reba has been very tired lately and doesn't need you bothering her. You go upstairs and play with Elizabeth as soon as we get there, got it?"

"Yeah, Mom," Henry replied.

Brock glanced at his wife with a raised eyebrow. "Cheyenne's already there? Honey, I don't know about this. If Reba's tired, there's a very good chance that she just wants to be alone."

"That may be, but with the state she's in, she needs her family around her to help her through this time of stress," Barbara Jean replied with conviction. In her mind, it wouldn't do Reba any good to be by herself while she was under so much pressure. "The least we can do is help her with whatever she needs done."

"Wait, I'm going over my ex-wife's house to do her chores? Come on, Barbara Jean, I've been working all day," Brock whined, glancing over his shoulder back at his house, longing in his eyes.

As they walked up the front path, Barbara Jean stopped and glared at him. "You'll have to just grin and bear this, okay? I'm really worried about Reba, and you should be too."

"What? It's that bad?" Brock asked.

Barbara Jean nodded. "Yeah! I called her today, and she seemed like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. None of us have ever seen her like this and…we're scared. Her high blood pressure vanished so suddenly – we're worried that this might bring it back if she keeps going like this."

"Honestly, I was a little worried about her the other day. I did something stupid and she didn't insult me for it," Brock remembered, wrinkling his brow.

"See? Now look happy when we walk in," Barbara Jean sighed. The two had been through a lot over the past year as they attended more marriage counseling and attempted to fix their relationship. All their hard work paid off, since now the two got along better than they ever did. That didn't mean there wasn't the occasional argument, but at least they weren't threatening each other with divorce every week. Letting out a deep breath, Barbara Jean smiled wide as she threw open the door. "Hi, everybody!"

They went in to find Van and Cheyenne on the living room couch, looking stressed themselves. Brock Jr. slept in a carrier next to them while they sifted through mounds of paper and files. Saying quick, preoccupied hello's, they kept their eyes on the paperwork.

"What's going on?" Brock asked while he and Barbara Jean took seats around the frantic couple. Henry did as he was told and went upstairs in search of Elizabeth.

"Chaos, that's what's going on!" Cheyenne exclaimed in a rushed, panicked voice. "I come over to get my kids, and suddenly I'm swamped in real estate papers! All I did was ask Mom if she needed any help, and before I know it, I'm sorting papers into zillions of piles, and I don't even know what any of them mean!"

Van gave them a weak smile. "Cheyenne's had a rough day."

Looking at Van, Brock asked, "So you got sucked into this too?"

"Hey, I did not get 'sucked in.' Mrs. H helped us out a lot over the years, you know? We should return the favor," Van answered, as if insulted. Then he lowered his eyes. "And you know how Mrs. H does that scary death glare thing?"

"Right, gotcha," Barbara Jean replied. She felt bad for the two, but at the same time, Reba had it ten times worse. From what she'd seen over the past few weeks, Cheyenne and Van's task was only one line to cross off on Reba's enormous to-do list.

"So where is Reba?" Brock asked.

Van indicated the stairs with his elbow, since his hands were full of papers. "In her room making phone calls. Last I checked, there was something wrong with the reception hall. She nearly exploded – Adam's up there trying to calm her down."

Flinging her hands out in an angry motion, Cheyenne hissed, "I bet he is, while we're stuck down here going through this –"

"Cheyenne! Babies in the room!" Van interrupted, his patience wearing thin.

Looking through the papers on the table, Barbara Jean asked, "Is there anything we can help with?"

"Yeah. Here," Van said. He split up the papers he'd been holding into two stacks, handing one to Barbara Jean and one to Brock. Then he handed them each a spare accordion folder. "Okay, each folder stands for a current client. All the general papers for the client go in the first section of the folder, while the house flyers labeled with the client's name go in the second."

Barbara Jean and Brock exchanged bewildered glances, then stared at Van. "Huh?"

"That's what I said! Then Mrs. H smacked me upside the head and told me to pay attention," Van muttered.

Further explanation of the task was cut short when Adam came down the stairs, his arms limp at his side and his head down. When he got to the group, he put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead.

"So is Mrs. H feeling better?" Van asked.

Adam picked up his head just enough so that Van could see his glare. "Not really. She just got a call from the bar she's supposed to perform at this weekend. They moved the sound check on her, so now she has to reschedule an open house. As if she didn't have enough to do."

"I'm so worried about her," Barbara Jean said, trying to organize the papers while she spoke. She kept getting confused, though. Between the real estate terms and the sheer amount of papers, it was enough to make her head spin. "Reba needs to slow down somehow."

"I think she will, soon. Whether she wants to or not," Adam replied in a nonchalant manner. Then he straightened up, like he said something he shouldn't have.

The other four stared at him, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" Cheyenne asked.

"Well…" Adam trailed off, then went into an explanation of Lori Ann's wish and their conversation earlier in the day.

"Reba's gonna be mad…"Barbara Jean said, as she and the others sat there in silence for a moment, realizing what was about to happen to their lives once again. But the more Barbara Jean thought about it, she felt some sense of relief for Reba. While these experiences maybe weren't the most convenient, they always helped in the end.

Beep…Beep…Beep.

"Shut up…shut up…shut up…" Reba muttered into her pillow, feeling around on her nightstand for the offending object. "Stupid dang alarm clock…come on, come out with your hands up…"

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Wiping her eyes, Reba forced herself to sit up in bed, which was empty since she vaguely remembered that Adam had gotten up a half-hour ago.. Then she stared in confusion at the empty nightstand. Where did her alarm clock go?

"Oh, right," she said to herself. Last night, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to get up the next morning after the day she had. So she'd thrown her alarm clock under her bed and set it on extra loud. Well, the plan worked…unfortunately. As she was, she wasn't quite sure if she was awake, or having a nightmare that she had to get up.

Then she got out of bed and hit her toe on one of the nightstand's legs.

Beep…Beep…Beep…

"Okay, I think I'm awake now!" Reba said to the alarm clock, hopping on one foot while she tried to reach under the bed. Somehow she managed to whip it out, turn off the alarm for good, and slam it back down on the nightstand. "There, you happy?"

Beep.

"Very funny," Reba snapped. Giving her alarm clock one last wary look, she dragged herself to her closet and took out an outfit for work. She threw the outfit on her bed, still wiping her eyes in a determined attempt to wake herself up. Realizing she was in front of her full length mirror, she stood and faced her reflection while she tried to clear her head.. She sighed as she said to herself in a pitiful whine, "I want to sleep."

"Then sleep. I'll go to work for you."

"Ah!" Wide awake, Reba nearly jumped into the ceiling when her reflection talked back to her. "What the…how the…" Then her eyes widened in understanding as she called upwards, "Terry! You get your butt down here! I don't need this right now!"

"He knows. That's why I'm here. That and Lori Ann's wish for you to relax," the reflection explained, her hand on her hip.

"Lori Ann? B-But how…"

The reflection sighed, as if Reba's incredulous questions bothered her. "The Christmas star, obviously You know, the one you shoved in your closet when you took it down a few days ago. She found it yesterday and wished for you to have more time for yourself."

"Oh my Lord, I'm gonna kill her," Reba seethed, pacing the area in front of the mirror while her reflection remained in her stationary pose. "She knows everything I have to do! Why would she do such a stupid thing? All those wishes do is cause complete and utter chaos!"

"Hey, that's not true and you know it. These wishes help. That's why she did it. Reba…she's worried about you. Your whole family is. You're just too busy to see it."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Reba explained, "But now I have to deal with you, and I just don't have time!"

"Well, that's why I'm here. Terry created me to take over all professional areas of your life – meaning both your real estate and singing career. So that you can focus on your relationship with Adam like you know you want to."

Hesitating, Reba took in all the information. True, it did sound tempting…Shaking her head, she argued, "But I love my jobs! I wouldn't have them if I didn't! And there's also my family too…and what am I saying? You can't do anything! You're one-dimensional!"

"Well she wouldn't be if she just moved like she's supposed to!"

Reba froze. Neither she, nor her reflection had said that. Which meant…"Oh Lord. Not another one!"

"That's right!" The unknown voice exclaimed. Then, her reflection was shoved out of the mirror and into the room, becoming a full bodied Reba clone. While the clone regained her balance, another reflection took her place and said, "That one, always the boss, you know? Anyway, I'm your maternal side. I'm here to do all your baby-sitting for you. And all your housework."

"Wait a second, I love baby-sitting the kids too! Although having someone do the housework might not be so bad…." Reba trailed off.

"See?" the reflection said with a reassuring smile. "I'll do all that for you. Whatever you need, I'm here."

The clone next to her half-raised her hand. "Hey, don't forget about me! You need a day off, you got it. I'll gladly go into the office for you or give any open house. And don't worry – since I'm you, I'll make all the decisions you would make."

Reba glanced between her clone and her reflection, the strangeness of the situation registering in her brain. Putting her head in her hands, she said, "This isn't real. This is a beautiful dream that's going to disappear when my alarm clock goes off."

Her eyes widened when the reflection reached through the mirror and pinched her upper arm. Reba pulled her arm back, rubbing the spot. "Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"To show you that you're not dreaming," the reflection said, as if it should've been obvious. Then she too stepped through the mirror and stood by the other clone. "Now you go back to sleep, Reba. You deserve it."

"Yeah. We'll take care of everything," the first clone assured her.

Reba stared at the two of them, her thoughts tumbling around while she tried to figure out her feelings on the situation. True, it was weird, but…she now had two of her, willing to do whatever she asked of them. This time, I think Terry had the right idea, Reba finally thought with a smile. This could work. And I'm so exhausted…I really don't care if there are any downsides to this. "So…you're going to go to work…and you're going to stay here and take care of my family?"

"Yup," they both replied. In a flash, the first clone was wearing one of Reba's typical work suits, while the second wore jeans and a cotton long-sleeved top.

As they went out the door, Reba shrugged and waved. "Okay then. Have a good day!"

Then, closing the door behind her, she dove into her bed and fell asleep in an instant.