"I just want to see if everything went okay," Piper insisted, not pausing as she set up the candles, "I have to know if my babies will be alright, Paige."
Paige threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to get anywhere now that Piper had dug her heels in.
"You know you'll have to spill after. I've got babies too!"
"Ye-ah. Shoo! I want to be done before Leo gets back with Christopher."
Piper spoke the spell she'd written especially for this purpose, and promptly fell heavily upon the prearranged plumped up pillows, her consciousness travelling to where she wished.
"Wow. This is weird." Piper span around, recognising the voice as her own.
"I second that…. you're, me?"
"In about twenty or so years, yes." Piper, future Piper, smiled warmly; more wrinkles lined her face but they were not lines of worry and despair, they creased the edges of her eyes that had seen and been part of much laughter, "Now if I remember rightly you'll want to see them all?"
Time-travelling Piper could barely contain her desperation. How much longer was her future-self going to make her wait? Although… twenty years on, that would mean -
"I didn't die… I won't die?"
"I was wondering how long it'd take for that to click. Chris was fourteen two months ago, so we will die, just at our proper time. Chris didn't just save Wyatt, he saved the future."
Future-Her led the way, sneaking out of the attic and edging down the even more creaky stairs to stop in a bedroom that was defiantly hers and Leo's. Pictures covered the nightstands and dressing table and chest of drawers, even the walls had not escaped and the nursery was now once again a closet.
"Don't change their names." she stated quietly, a gentle trace of humour in her voice, "You'll think about it, and you'll want to, but don't."
"What about Chris?" Piper thought about her baby, who was out with his daddy when she left -his name was just one thing they had considered.
"He lied, his name was never Christopher Perry," Future-Her laughed, stifling it behind a hand, "Ask him what it really is and you'll know why."
"Christopher Leo." Piper shook her head in something between dismay and amusement, then, "They do get on now, right?"
"We couldn't ask for a better father to our kids. He didn't want to take any chances. Every game, every play, every recital, every birthday, every little thing -Leo's there. For all of them."
"What about Caden?"
"She's a handful, but she's six and they all were at that age. She always is. When you have her, try not to worry so much -I swear most of these grey hairs are from six years ago."
Anxiety laced through her veins at the comment, "What happened?"
"There'll be a complication or three, and she'll be early, and her first name will be Leo's idea, and her second name,"
"Will be mine. I've already decided since Phoebe and Paige are going to take Melinda, Charlotte, Prudence and Patty,"
"And what have you decided?"
"Alexandra?"
Future-Her laughed again, "I always did have good taste. You will get one name, by the way."
"Warren?"
"My my, I really am smart!"
"For Ryan," Piper nodded knowingly, "But I count seven baby pictures there though; I thought we only had six?"
Future-Her fingered the edge of a metallic photo frame, a large smile filling her features. "And we don't -didn't… you know what I mean. None of them were planned as such, and you should remember that, we just, had them."
"Am I allowed to see them?"
Future-Her led Piper out of the bedroom and past a number of closed doors, other bedrooms, and a partially open one that led to somewhere new. Somewhere that didn't exist in Piper's time.
"Where does that lead?"
"Ssh!" They halted and quickly hid in the bathroom, which was thankfully not in use. "I can't tell you things like that. And please bear in mind the words of your, of our spell. Only I can see you, but our children share our blood in a sense: they'll be able to hear or sense you to some degree. So be. Quiet."
"Oh. Right. Oops."
"Hmm."
Piper kept her mouth shut from then on, hands shaking and feet quaking; noises soon filtered into her hearing. No screams. No crying, happy voices. Laughing.
Wyatt, Ryan and one of her twins, Brennan? Were laying with another boy, who had to be Nathan, in an odd tangle of legs and bodies on the floor. Ben and Chris sat atop laughing whilst Juliette and Mel tickled the boy's feet closest to them. Leo watched on, along with Jason, with unhidden amusement.
Jason? So Phoebe and Jason really would get back together?
Who was missing? Future-Her must have read her confused expression because she nodded to the kitchen and found a few others -Imy and Evelyn cooking with Paige and Phoebe (Piper couldn't believe the latter even knew where the saucepans were.)
That left Richard, Danielle and Caden unaccounted for.
Sounds of high-pitched giggling tore through the open back door.
Future-Her exchanged a few words with her Also-Future-Sisters and led the way into the now much extended garden.
Danielle, Caden, Richard and three other children were playing soccer, or rather, were kicking the ball about madly and screeching every other second.
More children?
Piper peered as close as she dared. Two boys and a girl. One of the boys was all Richard, so that was self-explanatory. The other two… Piper had the gut feeling the other boy was hers, and the girl Phoebe's. Three little unknowns, beautiful gifts of a perfect future.
They were all alive. They were all safe. Piper felt the weight in her heart lift and her shoulders able to relax much more than they'd been able to for months out of mind -since she learnt of what the future held.
"Goodbye. And remember to take every opportunity. Quit being scared of change!"
She heard Future-Her's distant farewell and knew that, since her heart's quest was completed the spell would bring her back. Returning her to where she belonged.
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Author's Note: ok so i got a little sidetracked... but here it is! because of work and the greenday concert 28 will probably be up on MONDAY. :D happy reviewing :D anyway. bit mushy. last chapter will be 28. might right a sequel/prequel or something to explain some bits, not sure. any suggestions?
Review Thank You's and Replies: Sparkling Cherries: sorry about the lil delay!
Night-Owl123: yup closing it is...
bunn2007: yep. done and dusted.
Shakai: you can't see, but i shuddered at the idea of writing a Mary-Sue by accident lol. You like Caden? Not to M-S'ish? If so, my job is done :D I just needed a lil girl to give to Piper and i thought Chris could have a littlest sister lol.
Avius: aaaah stay... would be so cute, and so complicated lol. mayb in another story?
