Time Swap

Disclaimer: I don't own the shows!

A/N:

Chapter 37 (Funeral)

The feared day had arrived, Amy Duncan passed away in the same spot she'd been resting in ever since she'd been shot. October 18th, 2012. Funeral services were being held on the 21st, after church. Charlie saw her many times in the passing days, albeit the apparent danger. Her mom and dad had them traveling in underground tunnels from the Finster's and the Deville's homes where they'd been staying. Nothing had been seen or heard regarding the bad man, she was beginning to think that Jonathan had moved on.

The weeks had gone by slowly, but she had lots of fun with everyone and was beginning to feel like family. She sat between Angelica and Harold, eyeing the casket up front, it was the second funeral in a month she'd been to, and she didn't like it. She was oddly okay with it though, having been prepared for Amy to pass.

In the same pew, Teddy sat beside Angelica on the right and was holding on to Toby. He was happy to not be clutched by his mom, but at the same time, depressed that she was gone. Charlie had done her best to help him cope and be prepared, but she was no miracle worker. Time was the only healer of losing a mother. PJ and Gabe were sitting beside Teddy. It had been determined that PJ would take care of the house until Teddy and Angelica went to college. In which case he'd have to rent a small apartment and deal with Gabe.

"I can't believe she's gone," Toby murmured. Angelica let her eyes drift over to him, he was gazing somberly at the casket. His sad eyes unbelieving and skeptical. "I know I complained a lot, being cradled about like some sort of security blanket, as you call it…but…she was my mom." He was now officially adopted by Teddy, who recently began working full time at the same supermarket that Alice Wartheimer was a manager of. Angelica had officially readopted and taken custody of Charlie. There were still some forms left to deal with apparently, but for the most part, everything was finished. "What am I supposed to do, Charlie? I guess we're still related in a way, I mean…I don't know, I'm very confused."

"I know," She whispered in return. She was confused as well, but at the same time, she understood the situation. "Things are going to work out for us, Toby."

"It's easy to say, but not easy to believe. I guess I want things to be the way they used to be. It's not worth it though, changing the past." She chuckled slightly and agreed, there was no sense in worrying about the past when the future was coming. "I don't know if I can do it, what you do, trusting. Having faith things will work and just trusting whatever comes your way."

"Me? No, I'm more scared than anyone. I trust Mom and Dad to take care of me, but I'm still scared." She looked over her shoulder and smiled at her birth father three pews back. Things had become a tiny bit more pleasant with him, Angelica still didn't trust him enough with visitation rights, but they'd already signed all the papers for child support at least. "The way I see it Toby, I got two moms and two dads. Although Teddy's more an aunt for me, I guess, she and Momma are going to be roommates on college."

"How's that going to work? I mean, what was it you were saying…babies in a dorm thing?"

"Room, Toby, dorm room. Apparently, from what I understand Momma saying, there are campus apartments large enough for the four of us. Because Daddy and Momma aren't married yet, they can't share an apartment for some reason."

"Charlie, you realize that I still don't understand everything you say, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Just wanted you to know, you use big words. Most of the time…I just carry on as if I understand you." Well, this was still good as far as she was concerned. Quite simply, she still enjoyed the conversations, and perhaps being the only girl her age to teach a small several months old baby some big words.

"Good, because I want your first word to be 'Charlie'."

"Hah! That'll be the day!"

"We will see, young 'padawan', we will see."

"What?"

"Nothing." She went to see Harold's relatives recently, Spencer came over after asking Harold and Angelica, and brought a Star Wars movie. It wasn't anything worth educating Toby on. "Hey Toby, I think one day you should fly a rocket into the skies." He raised an eyebrow and tore his gaze from the casket to stare at her.

"Uh…why?"

"Because, you can say hi to Amy." He hummed as she leaned back and grinned brightly. "Momma said that the stars in the sky are like the people who love us looking down and watching over us. Amy's bound to be up there, watching us." Toby started to smile and gazed upwards. Charlie felt a warm feeling sweeping over her, it was nice to be able to help Toby calm down and relax. He was going to need a lot of relaxation, she knew. "Now let's be quiet before the grownups start looking at us like we're crazy."

"Yeah. I agree."

Charlie looked around the small area, still with a heavy heart. It didn't seem fair that she had to lose both her adoptive parents, but that was the way the world worked it seemed. The evil people out there always had to ruin things for the good people.

It still concerned her that she'd not heard about Jonathan in quite some time, she couldn't help but think he may be nearby and hiding somewhere. She couldn't shake the feeling, but tried not to think of it too much because they were at a funeral. She wasn't too interested in what the preacher was saying, but she didn't want to interrupt with her own fears that the man could be nearby.

Everyone here was dressed in black, so it was hard to make heads or tails from anyone. In the back of the room was a man in a black tuxedo and a top hat. His head was bowed and his chin had some blonde stubble to it. She couldn't see him too well, but at the very least, she didn't recognize him. Perhaps, it was simple paranoia. She turned around and looked up to her parents, smiling as she slid comfortably back into her seat. They had their arms around her shoulders, it all felt very protective to her.

The service was moved to the cemetery where everyone stood in a shaded area as the casket hovered over an empty hole beside a freshly buried hole. It was good, at least, that Amy and Bob had passed so close together. That way, they didn't have to be separated for long. She found ironic their gravesite. The cemetery was across the street from one of the tallest buildings in the city.

MegaCorp. The building where her grandmother had worked all her life. Angelica pointed it out to her the last time they visited the cemetery. She thought it was funny that it overlooked the graves of Bob and Amy, as if watching over them. "They'll rest easy here." Her grandmother and grandfather weren't buried far from this area either. It was practically sacred ground. The devil himself would choke if he walked around here.

Jonathan hurt too many.

She slowly made her way over to Spencer, everyone was chatting about Amy's life and remembering her fondly. This was good, no one should cry over her, Amy wouldn't have wanted that. Instead, she was being celebrated the way she always said she wanted to be.

"Spencer?" He looked down at her with a subtle smile and bent down to one knee. "Why did you come to the funeral?" She didn't want it to sound hurtful, and was upset that it was, but Spencer still maintained a smile. It was nice that he never asked her to call him 'dad', he wasn't anywhere near that point just yet. She could feel Angelica and Harold watching her from a safe distance, that was fine, she understood their protectiveness.

"Because, I knew Mr. and Mrs. Duncan. Whether or not I've made my mistakes in life, and I know I've hurt them in the same ways I've hurt your mom and Teddy, I did care for them. I respected them. I respect your mother and I respect Teddy, and so, I came."

"Well thank you. I think A-mom would be happy that you came, and I think Momma's okay with it." He smiled at her and slowly nodded his head, looking up only when the preacher began to speak. Everyone turned towards the man and watched in silence as the casket began to lower.

She looked among the people here but didn't see the strange man anywhere. The man played in her mind, she thought she recalled a sinister smirk upon his face. Towards the end of the service the man had his fingertips pressed together in front of his face, he was wearing two black gloves, which was strange enough.

Charlie looked towards the gates of the cemetery, where straight across the street was the big MegaCorp building. She took a deep breath and started to turn, stopping only when she heard something rustling near the gates. When she turned back around, she saw a small rabbit jumping from the bushes. Her heart lifted up and she began to forget where she was.

"Bunny…" She knew better than to go after it, but it was tempting. The rabbit was gazing at her, and it wasn't too far away. It was a cute little snowball rabbit and its twitching nose was simply beckoning her to move towards it. In the back of her mind, she could hear someone telling her not to go towards it. Danger ahead.'

What would it hurt to pet the little thing? She slowly moved towards the rabbit, smiling as it perked its ears up and stretched forward. As she reached her hand out, the rabbit sniffed it. She began patting its head, listening as her mother's voice beckoned her to return to the group. She turned back and smiled at everybody.

Then they froze, everyone shocked and frightened. What was going on? She turned her head back in time to see the strange man jump from the bushes, his top hat gone.

Jonathan!

Her mouth opened as the man grabbed her up and darted for the building across the street. "Charlie!" Angelica cried. "My baby!" She looked over Jonathan's shoulder to see Spencer and Harold start running after him, but Harold had to stop and console Angelica, who was now at her knees.

"Set her down!" Spencer exclaimed angrily, charging across the street. "Get back here!"

On the day of Amy's funeral, it's a sad day, but even worse, Jonathan now has Charlie. Spencer, so full of anger, is in pursuit. Get him Spencer, get him!