Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions, Warren & Rinsler Productions, NBC Universal, Tailwind Productions, Shaftesbury Films, Wolf Films, Studios USA Television, Universal Network Television and Epitome Pictures. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.

Author's Note: Chapter eleven will pick up three months after Chapter ten left off. That would put us a couple of weeks before Christmas. In those three months, Eddie and Mikki continued their long distance relationship, Casey and Claire's relationship continued to transition from smoldering to red hot to white hot. Raven and Chelsea have been, well, Raven and Chelsea, loving each other with absolute devotion to one another. And Teri?

There is an old saying that goes, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Don't tell that to Teri. She has successfully juggled dating Ashley and Serena while getting closer to both of them. She has been loving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but knows deep down that she has a HUGE decision looming. What is a girl to do?

It is with all of those elements going on that we pickup the story. I have something in mind that I want to do. Please don't kill me but I think it's time. Here is chapter eleven.


Continental Drift

Chapter 11

Manifest Destiny

Three weeks remained before Christmas and there was a buzz in the air. The only holiday that Raven and Chelsea enjoyed more than Thanksgiving, due to the accompanying Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping sales, was Christmas. Both of them loved to decorate and went all out to do so. They scoured every major, and minor, retail store that sold decorations for just the right ones that would set off their apartment.

Before they and all of their friends traveled home for the holidays, the young women decided to throw a Christmas party in their apartment. It wouldn't be anything big, just friends. Eddie was driving up from Philadelphia to join them before flying out to San Francisco with Raven and Chelsea. Mikki would be heading to DC to spend the holidays with her parents. Claire was headed off to Texas while Casey would be heading due north to Toronto. Teri gave thought to tagging along with Claire to the Bennet homestead but decided against it. And despite prodding from her oldest brother, she refused to set foot in her parents' home given her relationship, or lack thereof, with her father.

Raven was particularly happy on this particular December day after being told by Donna Cabonna that she was being considered to accompany Donna as an assistant to next season's Fashion Week in Paris. It was a golden opportunity for the furthering of her career aspirations and she was ready to take full advantage of it. Raven had already called Chelsea with the good news and was looking forward to celebrating with the gorgeous redhead in person.

It was around six in the evening. Chelsea was in the kitchen preparing her favorite fish dish, grilled tilapia, when she heard keys jingling in the lock.

"HO HO HO! Merry Christmas!" The artificially deep and jolly voice of Raven echoed in the apartment as she came in with arms loaded full of bags.

"Oh Santa! What big packages you have?" Chelsea said as she began to unburden Raven of her bags.

"Why don't you come sit on Santa's lap and tell her about it." Raven said, still using her Santa voice.

"You are not gonna make me burn this tilapia!" Chelsea replied.

"Well, in that case…" Raven purred in her normal voice as she slipped her hands around Chelsea's waist. Chelsea instinctively put her hands around Raven's neck with non-stick spatula still in hand. "Let me set something else on fire." They then slowly brought their lips together, melting into a passionate kiss.

As they broke the kiss, Chelsea licked her lips and grinned. "I wish Christmas happened every day."

"Everyday is Christmas with you." Raven said as she planted a soft kiss on Chelsea's lips.

Chelsea sighed lovingly. "I… better turn this fish." Raven nodded as Chelsea turned around and walked back over to the stove. "So when is Donna gonna tell you for sure?"

"Some time next week." Raven responded. "I tell you Chels, this is the chance of a lifetime! AAARRGGHH! I am so excited! And you are so coming with me!"

"Rae! I can't go to Paris! I can't afford it." Chelsea reasoned.

"You said you couldn't go to Las Vegas with me and look what happened." Raven said with confidence. "Where there's Rae, there's a way."

Chelsea chuckled. "I guess I should know that by now, after all these years."

"That's right!" Raven exclaimed. "Paris. Chels, can you imagine it? The Champs- Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, Avenue Montaigne…mmm…" Just then, Raven suddenly stopped talking and put her hand to her stomach.

Chelsea noticed the abrupt halt in the conversation and looked over her shoulder. "Rae? You okay sweetie?"

Raven put one finger up to signal to Chelsea that she needed a minute to collect herself. She had a slightly confused look on her face as she began to speak. "Yeah. Just had a wave of nausea. I'll be okay."

"You're not pregnant are you?" Chelsea joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

Raven glared at Chelsea for a second and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've started holding sperm in your…"

"Ooookay! I get the message. You're not pregnant. Please hold that thought… forever." Chelsea responded. "So what's in the bags?"

"Wrapping paper, bows, name tags and I picked up a few small things to include in people's gifts." Raven said.

"Is… my gift in there?" Chelsea asked expectantly.

"Your gift is securely located at 519 Miranda Place in San Francisco, California. Thank you very much." Raven said.

"You mean you don't trust me?" Chelsea said, pretending to be hurt.

"If you knew your gift was in this apartment, you would tear the place up looking for it." Raven said.

"No I wouldn't!" Chelsea said before relenting. "Okay, I would. But only because that meant that I could give you your gift that much sooner."

"Speaking of which…" Raven started.

"Not until the party." Chelsea said. "Now go wash up. Dinner's almost ready." With that Chelsea turned to finish the salad she was preparing. Raven, however, didn't move. She just stood there looking at Chelsea with an interested look in her eyes. "Rae, don't start. I've got hot food on the stove. I can't play with you right now."

"I just had a mental image of you, an apron, that spatula, black heels, thigh-high stockings with the seam running down the back and nothing else." Raven cooed.

Chelsea froze in place as she allowed the image and the feeling of warmth that accompanied her rise in libido to wash over her. "Go… wash… now or we won't make it to dinner and we have guests coming in three hours." Chelsea ordered, desperately trying to suppress the urge to tackle her lover.

Raven grinned her sexy, satisfied grin. "All right. I'm goin'." Raven turned to walk out when she exclaimed, "OHH…", and then choked it back.

"Rae?"

"I'm alright Chels. My stomach just flipped. That's all. I'm okay." Raven said for the second time in five minutes. "See! All better. Now I'm going to wash up. MMUUAAHH!" Raven assured Chelsea, punctuating her statement by blowing Chelsea a kiss.

That did nothing to assuage the growing sense of worry that was filling Chelsea's gut. Something seemed to be wrong with her Rae. "Baby, please tell me what's wrong with you." Chelsea softly pleaded as she stood alone in the kitchen.

Later that same night...

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the place, Casey and Claire were scurrying to go out post haste. They were headed to Raven's for a party so grand, as the fairest maidens in the concrete land. So they hustled and bustled, avoiding the ice, stirring all the creatures, including the mice. To the store they went, with a fistful of cash, and just a quickly, they were gone in a flash. They dipped down into the subway, with the utmost of care, in the hopes that at the party, their friends would be there. In the subway car, with its whistles and squeaks, Casey turned to Claire, and began to speak.

"I am gonna miss you so much." Casey said in her cute voice.

"I'll miss you too." Claire said. "Don't go further than five feet from your phone. I'm gonna text you and call you a lot."

"And send me naughty pictures of yourself?" Casey asked expectantly.

"Casey! I would never…" The wheels then began turning in Claire's head. "You like that? I mean, you'd want me to do that?"

Casey looked at her younger girlfriend and shrugged, blushing slightly. "I don't know." Casey mumbled. "It'd be kinda hot."

Claire squirmed slightly. "Mmmm. Got me kinda hot thinking about it." Claire said. Her face then lit up with an epiphany. "You know what? We both have web cams."

"I never thought about that." Casey purred, sliding over closer to Claire. "We could put on a show for each other. Damn! Gets me fucking hot thinking about it!" Casey whisper-yelled.

"Casey?" Claire exclaimed, shocked at Casey's liberal use of such blue language.

"I guess you're rubbing off on me." Casey said with an oops-did-I-say-that expression on her face.

"I must really have a potty mouth." Claire said.

"And I love every delectably… dirty… square inch of it." Casey said as she leaned in to kiss Claire.

As they broke the kiss, Claire used her peripheral vision to glance to the side. "You know we have an audience." Claire said referring to the onlookers on their subway car.

"So what? You belong to me." Casey whispered with a smirk.

"I belong to you. Really?" Claire grinned as she leaned in to kiss Casey again. Moments later, she pulled back with a satisfied grin on her face that was quickly replaced by a scowl and a wince.

"Claire? You okay?"

"Yeah." Claire said as she rubbed her stomach. "Must've been something I ate." The train slowed to a stop at Raven and Chelsea's stop and Claire and Casey gathered their bags and exited onto the platform.

Eddie and Mikki were about open the door to walk across to Raven and Chelsea's when Mikki leaned in and softly kissed Eddie on the lips igniting an impromptu make out session. This happened frequently in the three months that they dated. They alternated weekends visiting one another. One of them would make an innocent comment, body movement or gesture that would set the other one off. They were squarely in the middle of the lust phase of their relationship and Mikki, for one, was thoroughly enjoying it.

"Ed…" Mikki struggled to say as they feverishly kissed one another. "We… have… to go…"

"I know." Eddie eked out as they continued to kiss.

"I'm… serious…" Mikki said letting out a sexy chuckle from her throat.

"Me too. I'm… seriously about… to unzip these jeans." Eddie said as he fumbled for the zipper of Mikki's jeans.

"Eddie, I promise…" Mikki finally managed to put some distance between them. "The second that party is over, you can have all of this." Mikki purred waving her hand up and down in front of her voluptuous six-foot frame.

"Okay. Down boy!" Eddie said, looking down at then tent that formed in the front of his jeans.

Mikki's laugh exploded from her face as she dropped her head to catch herself. She lifted her head. "Here. You've got some lip gloss…" Mikki used her thumb to wipe the excess lip gloss from Eddie's mouth. "You need a minute for Eddie, Jr. to calm down?"

"HA! Eddie, Jr. That's cute. Very witty. I'm just gonna sit down over here for a minute." Eddie said as he crossed the living room to sit on the sofa. Mikki eyed him for a moment before slowly walking over toward him, making sure she had extra sway in her hips when she did. "STOP! Don't come any closer." Eddie's order was unheeded. "We have to go." Mikki stopped directly in front of Eddie and began gyrating, moving her body to non-existent music. "You are an evil person."

"You bring it out in me." Mikki cooed. "And speaking of bringing things out…"

"What about us having to go?" Eddie asked.

"Being fashionably late won't kill us. Will it?" Mikki asked as she sat down next to Eddie.

"Depends on whether or not you act on what I think I see in your eyes." Eddie said.

"I won't kill you. I'll just make you limp a little." Mikki purred.

"I can live with that." Eddie said as they re-engaged each other for a quickie before the party.

A little after seven the doorbell rang signaling the arrival of the first guests. Raven and Chelsea walked out of the bedroom into the living room and gave each other a once over.

"Damn baby, you look amazing." Raven said. Chelsea smiled and blushed. Chelsea's ensemble was reminiscent of the 1980's but was perfect on her. She wore a form fitting, off-the-shoulder winter white cashmere dress with a huge fold over ribbed collar. Using one of the colors of the season, she accented her dress with green accessories and heels. This choice played perfectly against her red hair. "So tell me… how do I look?" Raven asked, stealing the signature line from the Style Network show of the same name.

"Like a present that I want to unwrap, like, now." Chelsea purred. Off the shoulder seemed to be the thing to do in the Baxter-Daniels apartment as Raven was resplendent in a red velvet, off-the-shoulder pants suit that hugged every curve Raven possessed, black beaded necklace, dangling black earrings and a pair of killer black patent leather boots. Her finishing touch was a sprig of holly that she placed in her upswept hair.

"Let's just send everybody home." Raven returned Chelsea's purr with one of her own. The door bell rang again, snapping out of their lusting. "COMING!"

"I wish." Chelsea muttered under her breath just before the door opened.

Raven flung the door open and shouted "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" without regard to who was on the other side.

"Merry Christmas to you, lookin' like the sexiest Santa I've ever seen." Teri said as she eyed Raven. Teri was about to step across the threshold when Raven stopped her and pointed above her head to the sprig of mistletoe that hung was thumbtacked to the wall. Teri had to crane her neck to see it. Teri looked at Raven then at Chelsea for approval.

"Merry Christmas Teri. Have a ball." Chelsea said.

"C'mere you." Teri said playfully to Raven before taking the raven-haired beauty into her arms and planting a kiss on her lips that lingered for several seconds before the kiss was broken and two heads were spinning.

"Wow!" Raven exclaimed incredulously. "I… uh…" Raven then suddenly scooped Teri off her feet and headed for the bedroom. "Bye Chels. It's been fun."

"Bye Chelsea!" Teri waved and smiled as she was carried down the hallway.

"Ha Ha, very funny guys." Chelsea deadpanned with a smile. She was expecting Raven to stop and turn around so they could share a good laugh but Raven kept walking. "Okay guys! Funny joke!" Chelsea was then startled when the bedroom door slammed. "Guys." Chelsea whispered. "RAVEN! TERI!" Nothing but silence came from the bedroom. "IF I HAVE TO COME BACK THERE…"

"You'll have to stay back here with us!" Raven loudly purred through the door.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?" Chelsea yelled, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor as she headed for the closed bedroom door. Her march to the door was interrupted by the door bell. "YOU'RE LUCKY KELLY AND LISA…" Chelsea said. "SAVED BY THE BELL!"

Teri and Raven came out of the room laughing as Chelsea shot them a mock dirty look and answered the door.

"Merry Christmas!" Claire and Casey exclaimed with smiles beaming.

"Merry Christmas to you…" Chelsea leaned in and gave Claire a peck on the cheek. "And you." Chelsea did the same to Casey.

"On the cheek?" Casey pouted. "There goes my Christmas wish!"

"What has gotten into you?" Claire asked incredulously.

"You, obviously." Raven joked.

"Far be it from me to disappoint my public. Come here." Chelsea said as she grabbed Casey by the arm and melodramatically dipped her before planting a big kiss on her to the cheers and catcalls of everyone assembled. Just then, Eddie and Mikki walked in.

"What are y'all, swingers now?" Eddie exclaimed as he stood hand-in-hand with Mikki at the front door.

"No. But you're about to be." Teri said, pointing to the mistletoe above their heads. "GET 'EM GIRLS!"

Teri, Claire, Casey, Raven and Chelsea rushed Eddie and Mikki and began peppering them with kisses on their cheeks as Eddie began playfully sinking to his knees, pulling Mikki down with him, both of them laughing.

"THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Eddie exclaimed just before Teri called them off.

"Alright! That's enough! Let 'em up! It's Christmas!" Teri said. "And they should be given the chance to see their families. I guess."

Mikki stood up, smoothing her top down. "Keep that up and I might have switch teams!" Mikki said with a smile.

"Oooh! I get first dibs!" Teri said.

Mikki playfully walked up to Teri and caressed her cheek. "I promise." Mikki purred.

"Alright, that's enough!" Eddie said. "You, go over there…" He said to Teri. "And you, give me some sugar." He said to Mikki who was more than willing to oblige him with a kiss. "Here Rae. I brought some Christmas music."

"Thank you very much." Raven said as she took the CD's from him and walked over to the player to start one.

This Christmas, originally by Donnie Hathaway, this version sung by The Temptations

Hang all the mistletoe
I'm gonna get to know you better, yeah
This Christmas
And as we trim the tree
How much fun it's gonna be together, yeah ha
This Christmas

Fireside is blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas, will be yeah
A very special Christmas, for me yeah

"I love this song!" Casey exclaimed. "The Temptations are awesome!"

"YOU listen to The Temptations?" Raven asked. "You don't strike me as a Motown type of girl."

"She's got Motown's Greatest Hits on her iPod." Claire said.

Eddie leaned over to Raven and whispered something in her ear to which she nodded and smiled. Raven turned down the CD player and nodded at Eddie.

"Well, any true fan of Motown would know this one…" Eddie said. Raven then started making percussion noises with her mouth. Eddie then added a baseline that is known by Motown fans the world over. It was the baseline to the Temptations' hit Papa Was a Rolling Stone.

"Oh, okay! A test! I gotcha!" Casey said. "Well, I don't know too many of the words. All I know is…" Casey then, to everyone's surprise, launched headlong into the song.

It was the third of September.
That day I'll always remember, yes I will.
'Cause that was the day that my daddy died.

Claire picked up where Casey left off…

I never got a chance to see him.
Never heard nothing but bad things about him.
Mama, I'm depending on you to tell me the truth.

Raven then took over…

And Mama just hung her head and said "Son"
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.

Chelsea added the high part. And when he died! Back to Raven… All he left us was alone.

Everyone chimed in at this point…

Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE.

Mikki was about to start the second verse when for the second time that day, Claire felt a sudden wave of nausea overtake her. Everyone did not immediately notice . It wasn't until Casey noticed that she didn't hear Claire singing that she looked over and saw her girlfriend with a queasy look on her face.

"Claire?" Casey said causing everyone to stop singing. "Honey, are you sick again?"

"I… just need a little air is all." Claire said.

"Come on." Casey stood up with her to walk her over to the window.

"I'll get her some water." Raven said. She stood up and began walking to the kitchen when she stopped in the middle of the floor and doubled over.

"Rae!" Chelsea ran over to her side. "What the hell is going on?" Chelsea looked at Raven and then over at Casey who returned the look of disbelief and concern.

"My… stomach just flipped again." Raven said.

"Come sit down." Chelsea said, ushering Raven over to the dining room table. "Eddie, get me two cans of ginger ale out of the fridge and two spoons. Teri, grab the bottle of Pepto out of the bathroom." Chelsea ordered.

"Come on Mikki." Eddie said softly to Mikki as they got up and went to the kitchen. Teri nodded and went to the bathroom.

"How long has she felt like this?" Chelsea asked Casey.

"It started on the way over here. How about Rae?" Casey asked.

"About an hour or so ago." Chelsea responded. She looked back at Raven who was looking at her with a smile on her face. Chelsea returned the smile. As she was smiling at Raven she saw a look wash over Raven's face that she hadn't seen in nearly two years. She watched in amazement for roughly twenty-five seconds until Raven snapped out of her trance. "Rae!" Chelsea whisper-yelled as she looked over her shoulder. Casey was busy tending to Claire and didn't notice them. Chelsea leaned in closer to Raven. "Did you just have a vision?"

Raven had an incredulous look on her face. "For the first time in like two years." Raven answered as she stared off into the distance.

"What was it?" Chelsea asked.

"I have to talk to Claire." Raven said as she turned to look at her ex-girfriend. "Chels…" Raven said as she turned her attention back to Chelsea, cupping her face. "I promise I'll tell you, but I have to talk to Claire first."

"Was she in your vision?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah." Raven answered. She then dropped her head briefly and then lifted it. "I have to tell her my secret."

"Rae?" Chelsea started.

"Please trust me. I love you." Raven said. "I'll be right back." Raven then leaned in and softly kissed Chelsea on the lips. Raven made her way over to Claire and Casey just as Eddie, Mikki and Teri came back into the living room. "Claire? I need to talk to you for a minute… in private." Raven said.

Claire nodded and kissed Casey softly before following Raven down the hallway into the bedroom. Everyone watched them as they disappeared into the bedroom and behind the closing door.

"What's that all about Chels?" Casey asked.

Chelsea looked at Casey, then at the bedroom door. "I wish I knew, Case. I wish I knew."

Raven moved to the middle of the bedroom she shared with Chelsea and turned to face Claire.

"What's on your mind?" Claire said.

"I have something to tell you and I have a feeling that it might have to do with us getting sick out there." Raven said with trepidation.

"You didn't give me an STD or anything, did you?" Claire joked.

"I'm serious." Raven said with a serious look on her face. "Answer your phone. Your father is about to call you."

"What?" Claire said. "How could you know that…" Claire's sentence was cut off by the ringing of the cell phone in her pocket.

"I get a little ill and you call my father?" Claire exclaimed.

"I was in the room with you the whole time. Nobody called him." Raven said calmly.

"Then how…"

"Just answer it."

Claire looked at Raven with a skeptical eye as she answered the phone. "Hi Dad!" She said, looking Raven in the eyes.

"Hey Claire Bear. How are you?" Noah Bennet said to his daughter.

"I'm okay. How are Mom and Lyle?" She asked.

"They're fine. I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me."

"Okay Dad."

"Have you felt… funny in the last 24 hours?"

"As… a matter of fact… I… have been nauseous for the last couple of hours."

"Claire, can you catch an earlier flight home?"

"I don't know. Dad, what's wrong?"

"I'll explain it when you get here."

"Does it have to do with my nausea?"

"Yes it does."

"Dad, Raven was nauseous at the same time I was."

There was several seconds of silence on the phone before Noah spoke again.

"At the exact same time?"

"Yeah." Claire said. It was then that the light clicked on in her head. "Dad, does that mean…"

"Bring her with you."

"What?"

"I want you and Raven on that plane tomorrow."

"But Dad! She's flying home to San Francisco in a couple of days!"

"Claire, you need to trust me on this. For her sake, she needs to be on that plane with you. Now please, do as I say and bring her with you."

"Okay. I will." Claire paused. "See you tomorrow."

"Claire?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Dad. Bye." With that Claire hung up the phone.

Claire stared at Raven incredulously for several moments as she tried to take in the conversation she had just had with her father.

"He wants me to come to Texas with you." Raven said matter-of-factly.

Claire looked at Raven with a quiet intensity as she slowly closed the distance between them. She stopped about eight inches from Raven's nose.

"Is there something about you that I should know?" Claire asked ominously.

"You know everything there is to know about me… except for one thing." Raven said as she dropped her head. She then slowly lifted her head and looked Claire straight in the eye. "I… am… a psychic."

Claire took a step back. Raven's eye glistened with tears ready to fall. She turned and went over to the vanity to sit. Claire stood and watched as Raven dabbed her eyes. She made her way over to Raven and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How long…"

Raven cut Claire's question off. "All my life." Claire nodded. "I kept it from you because I didn't want you to think I was some kind of freak." Claire nodded and smiled. "Only my parents, my brother, my grandma Viv, the people at the Sleevemore Institute and Eddie and Chelsea know. And now you."

"Trust me. I would not have thought you were a freak." Claire said.

"What could be more freaky that a psychic?" Raven asked sarcastically.

Claire looked at Raven and cocked her head to one side. "Promise me you won't make a sound."

Raven furrowed her brow in confusion but agreed. "Okay, I won't."

Claire then looked around the room and spotted the object that she wanted. She walked across the room and retrieved it, bringing it back over to the vanity. She knelt down beside Raven. "Remember, not a sound. Okay?" Raven nodded. Claire then opened the pair of scissors, exposing the blades, and drew one of them diagonally across her arm. Bright crimson blood oozed from the four-inch long cut. Raven's lungs filled with air for a blood-curdling scream when Claire quickly covered her mouth. "I'm okay. Just watch."

Just after she said that, Raven saw the most incredible sight of her life. The four-inch gash in Claire's arm began to heal before her eyes. In a matter of seconds, it was completely gone. Claire uncovered Raven's mouth as it fell open in shock. Raven's eyes stretched wide open as if she were having a vision.

Claire looked directly into the hazel eyes that she once swooned for. "There's one thing you need to know about me too."


HOLY CRAP! Yes, I went there! To those of you that don't like Heroes, I'm sorry. To those of you that do like Heroes, Yay you! I will promise you this going forward… no one gets killed a la Heroes, the story will not get completely ridiculous from this point forward, you will get Teri-Serena-Ashley resolution and things end up turning out just fine. Stick with me. The roller coaster ride is not over yet. PLEASE REVIEW.