EPILOGUE

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Is humanity something far away?

If I want to be humane, then humanity has already been attained

-Confucius

"What I don't understand," Piper said. "Is if Cole essentially disappeared after 1906, then why do I still remember him?"

Leo straightened his corner of the sheet and tucked it under the mattress. "Separate quantum realities." At his wife's blank stare, he clarified. "As soon as Paige arrived in the past, she created a parallel timeline. Her quantum signature is still tied to her place of origin so that's why she was able to come back here and drag Cole through. But somewhere out there there's an alternate universe where he vanished completely."

"God, I hate time travel." Piper sat on the newly made bed and frowned. "And since when did you get so knowledgeable about this quantum whatever business?"

Leo coughed, coloring slightly. "I borrowed a book on theoretical physics from Paige."

"Theoretical physics and Paige. Whoever thought those words would be used in the same sentence?"

"A lot has changed."

"Truer words have never been spoken." He placed an arm around her and she leaned into his shoulder. "What did the Elders think about it anyway?"

"They aren't happy-"

"So what else is new?"

"-but there isn't anything they can do about it. The temporal ward Gertrude Mayweather created is pretty impressive. No one's getting past it." He paused, then asked, "How's Phoebe dealing?"

"She isn't. I don't think she's spoken to Paige in a week."

"Ouch. Do you think things would improve if we found someplace else for Cole to stay?"

"And kick him out into a world he's a century out of date for? I have my issues but I don't think I'm that vindictive."

Leo rubbed her shoulder. "So how are you dealing?"

Piper sighed. "It's weird. I know what he's capable of and I know how badly he's hurt this family. And it's not like he's suddenly stopped being a half-demon. That'll always make him dangerous."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

"And what a nice butt you do have, honey."

"Piper."

"Sorry. Buuut, I don't know, he's not the same. For one thing, he's polite. Like, scary polite. He keeps calling me Mrs. Halliwell and asking if someone in my 'delicate condition' should get more help around the house."

Leo chuckled. "Welcome to the world of nineteenth-century etiquette."

"The rest of the time he just wanders around looking like a kicked puppy. Which is not at all the natural order of things." She sighed. "He's a kid, Leo. I couldn't even serve him at P3. How am I supposed to hate someone for something they haven't done yet? Or, well, they have, but definitely not from their point of view. Did I mention I hate time travel?"

"Once or twice."

"I guess what I'm saying is I don't know what to do."

"You'll figure something out." He kissed her on the forehead. "You always do."

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Some things never changed.

She found him sitting on the steps across from his father's tomb. He'd borrowed clothes from Leo, a pair of khakis and white oxford shirt that hung loosely on a frame not yet filled out. Over top, he wore his frock coat, one the few things remaining with him that he could claim as his own.

"Hey," Paige said.

"How did you find me?" Cole asked.

She smiled as she took a seat next to him. "Easy. You always come here when you want to sulk."

"How did you – I do not sulk."

"Sure you don't. This why you're using this unseasonably sunny day to sit in a drafty mausoleum."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I belong here, don't I?"

"Not unless you're dead."

"Your sister said I was."

"Yeah, about Phoebe. Don't mind her. She just had some issues with the other you. She'll come around."

Cole snorted. "She's furious with you, too."

"More than a little," Paige admitted. "But, hey, I'm her sister. She's gotta forgive me eventually."

The silence stretched out between them. Paige felt no need to rush the dialogue. Cole would speak when he was ready.

"This is the only place I know," he murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"It's the only thing that's the same. Everything else is gone. I don't know this city anymore."

"I can sympathize." At his tilt of the head, she said, "I've lived in San Francisco my entire life. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to ask you directions to my own house?"

His mouth twitched slightly. "Yes."

"Gee, thanks." She turned more serious. "We haven't given up, you know. We might still be able to get through Gertrude's block."

"I know." His smile turned sad. "But you're probably not going to, are you?"

"Maybe not. So what? So things didn't go as planned. Why not use this opportunity? You've – you've got a chance here. Not a second one, a – a first one to see this whole wide world, possibilities you never even thought of before. Why not seize it for all it's worth?"

"And if I just make the same mistakes as before?"

"Then you do and that's that but at least it'll be you making them. Like I told you, it's all about choice. And you can either choose to go out and enjoy this extremely fine day or you can choose to stay here, alone, with a bunch of dead people. Me?" She rose. "I choose to take a little drive over to Golden Gate Park so that I can have a picnic lunch."

She was halfway out the door when he called to her. She couldn't help a grin as she turned. He stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.

"Wait. I'll go with you."

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END PARALLEL INTERSECTIONS

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YIN AND YANG:

Acknowledgements and historical notes

Thanks to Val. Self-declared fangirl and all-around groovy beta.

Thanks to Mandolin. Fellow lover of funky crossovers and also a groovy beta.

Thanks to Jaina. It's done. Stop bugging me about it.

Thanks to all my reviewers. The feedback was wonderful and really did help keep me going. Me and my newly inflated ego appreciate it.

This was an incredibly difficult story to write, not the least of which was the historical aspect. Strictly speaking, someone like Abelone was unlikely to exist during the period in question. Her parents wouldn't have been allowed to marry due to anti-miscegenation laws. Her education would have been at a Chinese-only school and the chances of her being allowed to get a job outside of Chinatown are questionable. And though the practice was starting to fall out of favor, she probably would have been foot-bound at a young age.

The segregation and racism did exist, probably in an even more blatant form than portrayed here. The Geary Act, originally passed in 1882 and renewed indefinitely in 1904, prevented any Chinese from immigrating legally to the United States and those already here were barred from naturalized citizenship (meaning Ru probably came to California before the ban but would have been disenfranchised once he remained). Several political movements in San Francisco, including the Sandlotters and The Japanese-Korean Exclusion League, were founded purely on anti-Asian platforms and sought to bar any Asian immigrant from finding work outside of Chinatown or Japantown.

With the usual economic opportunities barred to them, many Chinese turned to less-legal and more lucrative trades in smuggling immigrants, prostitution and drug trafficking. Reaching nearly Mafia-like proportions, the Chinese tongs probably could have given Al Capone a run for his money.

Things did get better. The Geary Act was finally rescinded in 1943. Laws barring interracial marriage were overturned. And though the 1906 earthquake and fire were devastating, they did finally force San Francisco politicians to acknowledge the important business base the Chinese community provided and permit them to rebuild better housing and developments in the same area where the first Chinatown burnt.

This isn't the whole story, of course. For that, you'd need someone who knows a lot more about American history than I do. But if you're interested in this time period, I highly recommend the following websites (substituting "." where every "dot" is, for ff.net formatting shall not defeat me!):

For San Francisco history and culture, check out the Museum of the City of San Francisco, an excellent collection of primary and secondary sources. www dot sfmuseum dot org

www dot costumes dot org/classes/fashiondress/TurnoftheCentury dot htm provided great examples of historical clothing. Gertrude's black and grey reform dress and the aesthetic dress worn by Abelone at the dinner party can be found by scrolling down the page.

Also for clothing, the Charles Worth collection at the Museum of the City of New York inspired both Paige's and Gertrude's evening wear. You can see the dresses by following the Collections link at www dot mcny dot org/

One lesson learned over the course of this story is that figuring out the mechanics of time travel is a pain in the butt. But if you're possessed by the urge to use it in a story (to which I say "No! For the sake of your sanity and all that's good and true, don't do it!"), I suggest using freespace dot virgin dot net/steve dot preston/. There's a Doctor Who bias there, but it's got a pretty good explanation of time travel for the layperson.

Okay, folks, that's all for the history lesson. Class dismissed.

-Irena