As Leo held Samantha against his chest, rocking her gently, he noticed how small she felt. She curled herself against him, tucking her head under his chin, and she fit so perfectly into the shape of his body--as if somehow she became a part of him. Without really thinking, Leo kissed the top of her head and tightened his hold on her, hoping that through his strength he could stop her limbs from shaking.

Leo glanced over at Piper who was sitting nearby on the edge of their bed, watching and wishing that she could do more. Neither of them really knew what to do, or how to be the parents this girl had known for the fifteen- odd years of her life. All they could hope was that all the comfort and support they could give her would be enough.

"I'm sorry." Samantha's murmured apology was muffled by Leo's shirt.

"You're sorry?" Leo asked, and Sam nodded into his shoulder. "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry I freaked out," Samantha said more clearly as she sat up, pressing her still-trembling arms closer against her body.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Piper assured her.

"You've experienced things that we can't even fathom," Leo continued. "It's natural that those experiences would affect your reactions to people and things in this time, even though they might not be what you expect."

"I have no idea what happened to bring you here," Piper lied--she did have an inkling. "But I'm sure that coming here must have been very difficult for you to do."

"Doesn't feel like it was that difficult," Sam admitted softly. "It feels like I took the easy way out--like I'm being selfish."

Piper exhaled audibly as she searched for the right thing to say. "I think I have an idea of what you're going through and, believe me, what you're doing is not selfish. It's human."

Piper could remember how persistently she tried to bring Prue back. If she could have gone back in time to save her, she would have in a heartbeat. But she wasn't meant to save her sister despite all of the magic at her disposal, which made Piper believe that Samantha was meant to change something about the present or else she wouldn't be there. Magic always happened for a reason.

"Still, I shouldn't have freaked out like that. I should know that things are different now." Samantha's mouth twitched in a nervous smile. "I'm just having a little trouble adjusting. I keep expecting you to know about things that have happened--or are going to happen--and act like you did--or do--when I was--or will be--" Sam's face screwed up as she struggled with what tense to use.

"It's okay. I think we understand what you mean," Piper reassured her.

"Good, because I don't think I could repeat myself."

"But, Sam, you need to know that Phoebe won't hurt you." When Piper spoke her sister's name, fear flashed in Samantha's eyes, but only for an instant. "No matter whoever, or whatever, she becomes in the future, right now she's a good witch, and she wouldn't harm you."

"I mean, you said it yourself: we're all different from who we will become," Leo added.

Samantha nodded absently as she tried to convince herself of what her parents were saying. They were different; they were still her parents, but something seemed to be missing from both of them.

Her gaze slowly began to wander from Piper's face to linger on her stomach. "So," she began shyly, "is that...me?"

Piper's hands moved reflexively to rest on her belly. "Uh, yeah," she said glancing down. "I guess so."

After hesitating a few moments, Sam asked, "Do you mind if I...?" She trailed off as she extended a hand towards Piper.

"Why not. Complete strangers have been touching my stomach, so I think it would be okay if you did."

Rising from the floor, Samantha sat next to Piper on the bed and reached out an unsteady hand, placing it gently on Piper's tummy.

As soon as Samantha touched her, Piper felt a strange sensation run through her body, which made her flinch only seconds before Sam jumped in surprise.

"Did you feel that?" Piper looked to Sam, who nodded bewilderedly in response.

"Feel what?" Leo asked moving closer to his wife. "Piper, are you--"

"I'm fine, Leo. It's just--my body, it feels like it's...humming."

"Humming?" Leo repeated in confusion.

"I feel something too," Samantha added, her eyes widening in astonishment. "Except it feels like more of a pull."

Piper placed one of her hands on top of Sam's. She felt as though electricity was running through her, slowly growing stronger the longer Sam touched her. "It must be your powers," Piper said quietly.

"My powers?"

"The baby. She has, well, you have... Your powers--" Piper stumbled over the correct phrasing and motioned for Leo to help.

"Because the baby is you in the present, it has your powers, which is why you can't use them," Leo explained.

"But your powers must recognize you or something," Piper suggested. "Maybe they're trying to make a connection."

"Uh huh." Samantha raised an eyebrow skeptically, the strangeness of the situation finally occurring to her. "This is weird," she stated, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms protectively over her stomach.

"Tell me about it." Piper shifted awkwardly as the foreign sensation began to fade and she was left feeling somewhat empty.

Heaving a sigh, Leo rose from the floor to sit next to Piper, who placed a hand on his knee. Leo could sense in that simple gesture that Piper was experiencing the same emotions as he.

Part of him still couldn't reconcile that this girl, this young woman was the daughter that he had yet to even see. He wanted to ask her a thousand questions--if she was happy, if she was miserable, if she would change anything about her life--but he also feared her answers too much to ask them. But even if he could bring himself to ask her those things, Leo knew that he would only be avoiding the inevitable. No matter how much time they spent trying not to address why Samantha had traveled back in time, she still had something that she needed to accomplish.