Chapter 18

Two distinct orbs materialized in the Kent kitchen.

The first was the familiar column of electric blue, drifting from some point near the ceiling to the floor, and solidifying into three forms: Chris, Clark, and Piper.

The other was different. Rather than a column of blue lights, the lights arrived like a swarm, a billion powder-blue fireflies, buzzing around madly. The air jingled as the lights gathered together and solidified into the forms of Paige and Phoebe.

"Whoa," Paige gasped. "That first step was a doozy." And her legs gave out.

Luckily, Phoebe was there to catch her. "Hey there, sis. Take it easy."

At the same time, Piper moaned and staggered to one side.

"Mom!" Chris exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Piper assured him. "Just pregnant. Dizzy spells come with the territory.

"Oh." Glancing down at her stomach, Chris winced. "Sorry about that."

Grinning, Piper patted his arm. "Hey, save the apologies for something that's actually your fault, like the first time I get called to your school to meet with the principal. Because I have the strongest feeling that is definitely in my future."

Chris shrugged and graced her with an innocent smile. "You never know."

On the other side of the room, Phoebe gave Paige a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Paige leaned against the counter and waved one hand in front of her face. "But Chris was right about it being harder to orb here. I feel like I just ran a marathon."

"Well, do you need to lie down? Do you want some water?"

In the meantime, Clark was looking back and forth between the two pairs, like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Okay!" he said loud enough to get their attention. "Can someone please explain…anything to me?" He gave Chris and Piper a pleading look. "How can you be his mother? You don't look old enough to be…Well, you do look old enough to be his older sister. But not his mother."

The Halliwells traded uneasy looks back and forth, and Clark wondered if they were communicating telepathically or something. All things considered, it didn't seem out of the question.

Finally, Chris said, "It's a long and complicated story."

Clark folded his arms stubbornly. "We've got plenty of time. And I'd really like to know what's going on here."

"So would we."

Five startled faces turned towards the kitchen door.

Jonathan and Martha Kent were standing in the entryway, dressed in their best semi-formal, "going out" clothes. And looking at the occupants of the kitchen like they were escapees from Belle Reve.


The Kents and Halliwell's were sitting around the kitchen table. And Chris tried to explain his family life in a way that didn't sound completely crazy. Well, no crazier than it actually was. Which was pretty crazy.

Martha Kent looked calm. Too calm. All the color had drained from her face, and she hadn't made a sound since Chris started talking.

Jonathan Kent looked…Well, he looked angry. Like he didn't want to believe what he was being told, but he couldn't help it, which didn't make him happy.

Finally, there was Clark. Only an hour earlier, he was freaking out. But, now, he seemed excited. He was hanging on every word Chris said. And, if it was possible for his eyes to get any wider, Chris couldn't see how.

"So," Clark began, gaze darting from one Halliwell to the next. "you're…witches?"

"Yep!" Phoebe happily confirmed. "Magic-wielding, spell-casting, potion-making, good—just so we're clear—witches."

"Who fight demons?"

"Yeah, we fight demons," Paige confirmed. "But you don't have to worry. According to our sources, this dimension is demon-free."

"That's good to know," Jonathan grumbled sarcastically.

"Jonathan," his wife chided.

Glancing at Piper, Jonathan stubbornly continued, "And you're Chris's mother. Which shouldn't be possible because he can't be more than 8 or 9 years younger than you. But it is possible, because Chris is from the future."

"Pretty much." Piper gave him a sympathetic look. "Believe me, I know how this sounds. I live with it every day, and I still can't believe it sometimes."

"Uh huh," Jonathan intoned. Sighing, he rubbed his hand across his eyes. "And I thought nothing could surprise me anymore."

"Well," Martha chimed in, her voice unnaturally chipper. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"You too," Phoebe said with a cheerful grin.

"And thank you for what you did for Chris," Piper added. "The past few days, I've been so worried about him. Where he was sleeping. What he was eating. It's nice to know he had someone here willing to help him." And she reached over to tuck Chris's hair behind his ear. But she didn't stop there. Once she started, she couldn't seem to stop trying to finger-comb his messy hair into some kind of order. And, since it seemed to be making her happy, Chris didn't want to make a big deal about it. Plus, before his little journey through time, it had been a while since anyone had fawned over him like this. Well, in anything other than the slightly creepy, come-join-me-on-the-dark-side kind of way Wyatt had perfected.

"We were more than happy to give Chris a place to stay," Martha said. "In fact, we've enjoyed having him here."

They talked for a little while longer; it was obvious the Kents want answers to the questions buzzing around in their heads. But, soon, conversation was hampered by the yawns going around the table.

"Maybe we should all turn in," Jonathan said as he glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. Well, later."

"I don't know why I'm so tired," Phoebe said. "It's still day back home."

"Then again," Piper said, "we really haven't slept much the last few days."

"I sure wouldn't mind catching a few Zs," Paige agreed. "That orb really took a lot out of me. Orbing to the North Pole didn't wear me out this much."

As the Kents turned to stare at her, she shrugged. "It's a long…"

"…and complicated story." Clark smiled. "You guys seem to have a lot of those."

Chris rolled his eyes. "And now you know what it was like growing up in my house."


"So, this is where you've been staying the past week?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Chris said as he looked around the guestroom. "Believe me, I know how lucky I was to find the Kents. If I hadn't, I don't know what I would've done."

When Piper didn't say anything, Chris glanced at her. He was surprised to find her watching him with teary eyes.

"Mom?"

"I was so worried about you," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "And I missed you."

Chris smiled. He'd missed this hug so much. Especially after going more than six years without it. "I missed you too, Mom."

After a moment, Piper pulled back. "But we're still going to talk. I've just decided to wait until we get home, because I'm pretty sure your father will want to get in on the action, too."

"Ah, man," Chris groaned, putting one hand over his face.

Just then, Martha Kent walked into the room.

"Here we are," she held up a nightgown. "Piper, you can sleep in this."

Piper eyed it doubtfully. "Well, thanks. But I don't know if I'll be able to get all of me into it."

"Oh, it should fit," Martha assured her. "It's a maternity nightgown. I bought it last year for when I…" She hesitated for a moment, a deep sadness flashing across her face. "Um, like I said, it should fit."

Chris studied the older woman, wondering what had caused that moment of sorrow. Of grief. Wondering why she'd bought a maternity nightgown that, as far as he could see, had never been worn. And, as his mind put the pieces together, his heart clenched with sympathy.

Piper must have seen the same thing he did. There was a kind smile on her lips as she accepted the nightgown. "Thank you."

Martha returned the smile with one that was slightly shaky. Which turned into a worried frown when Piper winced and rubbed the side of her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked.

"Oh, yeah. It's just Baby Chris giving my kidney a good kick."

"Baby…" Martha began, frowning in confusion. A second later, she gasped and looked down at Piper's stomach. "Oh, my God. That's…That's Chris!"

"Yep. My precious little bundle of joy." And she grinned at Chris, knowing how he felt about his baby-self being called a 'bundle of joy', 'sweetie pie' or, thanks to Phoebe, 'snuggle bunny'.

"This is incredible," Martha gasped. "I mean, I know you said Chris was from the future. But I was so amazed by that that I didn't put the pieces together until now."

"Yeah, it's pretty mind-blowing," Piper agreed. "I still have a hard time believing it. On the other hand, it sort of eases my mind. I don't have to worry about whether my baby will have ten fingers and ten toes, or if he'll be okay. I've already seen that he grows up to be healthy, handsome, slightly neurotic, and a little too brave for his own good."

At the (mostly) flattering words, Chris blushed to the roots of his hair. Especially when Martha gave him one of those 'what a sweet boy' looks she usually reserved for Clark.

"Of course," Piper continued, "I also know he's going to be a handful."

"Oh, I can guarantee it," Martha said. "As much as I loved Clark, he certainly kept me on my toes."

"I know. In fact, I already have a little boy at home. Wyatt's almost two, and I have a hard time keeping up with him."

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but what they say about the terrible two's is true. I remember once, when Clark…"

Soon, they were so busy discussing the trials and tribulations of raising children, they seemed to forget Chris was there. As the two women sat on the bed, Martha described one of pre-school Clark's antics. Glad his mom didn't have any embarrassing childhood stories to tell about him—yet—Chris smiled and eased out of the room.


Clark knocked on the door to his bedroom.

"Come in," a female voice called.

Opening the door, Clark found Paige sitting on the bed, while Phoebe was looking out the window.

"My mom said you can wear these to sleep in." He put two nightgowns on the dresser.

"Aw, thanks," Phoebe said, giving him a bright smile.

"And, if you need anything else, let us know."

"We will," Paige said, giving him a reserved smile. "Goodnight, Clark."

"Goodnight."

His task complete, Clark left the room, closing the door behind him. He was just about to walk away when he heard Paige say, "You know, there's something weird about this family."

Catching his breath, Clark paused. With all the explanations flying around tonight, all the talk of witches and magic, the Kents hadn't gotten around to telling their own secrets. When he thought about it, Clark was surprised to realize he didn't mind them knowing. After all, they had secrets, too. Still, he was curious about how much they might figure out on their own.

"They seem like your normal, average family unit to me," he heard Phoebe say.

"Exactly. And how many normal, average people would react to what they told us as easily as they did."

"Well, Chris has been living here for almost a week, so maybe they've gotten used to the strange and bizarre."

"Maybe," Paige reluctantly agreed. But there was still doubt in her voice.

"Would you look at this place," Phoebe said, obviously still looking out the window. "I'm a city girl at heart, but I wouldn't mind getting a few weeks of R and R in a place like this. And that Clark Kent isn't bad on the eyes, either."

As he realized what she meant, Clark's could feel the heat of embarrassment crawling up his neck. Oh, man.

"Phoebe. He's way too young for you to be thinking the thoughts you're obviously thinking."

"What? Who says I'm thinking anything. Besides, there's no harm in just thinking, right? And, I mean, those shoulders. Did you, or did you not, see how broad his shoulders are? It's too bad he was wearing that baggy shirt. I'd kill to see…"

Half afraid to hear how Phoebe might finish that sentence, Clark hurried down the hall.

(TO BE CONTINUED)