After tallying up all the scores the fate of the story has moved on. Sorry, it took so long. Life has just gotten in the way of it all.

-

"So how long have you known Chris?" Piper asked nonchalantly.

Every five seconds she looked over at the girl sitting at the table in their solarium. She was an individual. She could tell that right on the spot. Jade's long red and black hair was placed up in a bun with some loose hark red strands falling into her face. The way she smiled every once in a while as well as she added small remarks about the house showed how well her own parents had brought her up modestly with etiquette. The instant that Piper had realized that she was there for Chris she had pulled her into the house to satisfy her curiosity. Piper had coincidentally made a special batch of her delicious chocolate chip cookies that day that she had mixed with some vanilla ice cream. So, as she had learned more about Jade she had made her a special plate of dessert as a reward for her answers since Chris didn't seem to be up to par talking wise.

Now, as Piper sat comfortably in her chair, she and a very polite Jade were gobbling up that very dessert at that precise moment.

It wasn't every day her son had some girl following him home to visit him. It happened to Wyatt constantly but not to Chris yet. Chris was always so stuck in the whole world of witchcraft to really ever bring a girl home let alone know what to say to one. Piper had to admit that she had only herself to blame for that one. She had raised him the best she could, but she had never been able to provide him with the normal life. So, she didn't doubt how hard it would be wondering when the next time a demon would attack instead of figuring out exactly the right thing to say to some girl that he liked.

She had been normal for twenty some odd years in her life and as soon as she had been thrown back into the normality with visiting her friends again even she had come up blank. Really, what could you say that wouldn't endanger yourself as well as your family and not come off sounding completely insane when all you did all night and day was fight to save the fate of the world? Her days consisted of making sure her club stayed open, that there was food on the table, and that her family was free of demons.

Sometimes she wished that she could say something about her life to her friends without having to endanger them or else have them consulting the nearest loony bin because of it. Just once she would like to kick up her feet and say 'I am so happy that I got to kill that gagnor demon before lunch.' Of course, she could easily say those things with her family, but not with anyone else.

So, after having a long week at work and then coming home to find Chris in some newfound angst it was only nice to find someone normal to talk with. It was just an added bonus that that normality came from a girl who was there to see Chris.

Jade was nice and normal. She was human. She had no idea what she had been getting herself into as well as what she had been risking when she had entered the Manor, but if anything happened Piper would save her. It was her job and she did it well. Also, she wasn't about to let the first girl who had taken a direct move to come to her home to see Chris die before she got to see her son happy.

"Well, actually. Today." Jade answered her with a small nervous giggle as she spooned up some ice cream off of her plate.

"Today? Really? He must have left an impression."

"A lasting impression like you wouldn't believe," Jade responded with a curt nod of her head.

"I see." Piper replied with a knowing smile and watched Jade out of the corner of her eye. "So, how long have you lived in San Francisco?"

"Oh, about two days. We just moved over here from the east coast." Jade replied and took a gulp of milk.

"Why'd you move?" Piper asked her as she poured them both more milk.

"Thanks. Uh, well. My mom and dad thought a change in scenery would be good for me."

"And San Francisco was the best they could do?" Piper joked good naturedly.

Jade smiled, "I guess so cause here I am sitting in your house eating all of your snacks and waiting to see if Chris is feeling any better."

"He wasn't feeling good?" Piper asked instantly in motherly mode as worry spread throughout her system.

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Jade asked as she looked up from her glass of milk. "He collapsed in history class."

"What?" Piper asked instantly. Her voice rose higher then before.

"Uh, maybe this was a bad time to come by. " Jade replied as she realized how quickly Piper could lose it when it came to one of her sons being hurt. She quickly got up out of her seat as her faced paled.

Piper knew instantly that she may have went a little far in her overreacting of the situation. Jade had no idea what it could imply to be sick in this family. It could anything from supernatural to just regular common illness and Chris being Chris he wouldn't tell her because he didn't want to worry her. Which always seemed to end up worrying her even more then it would have if he had mentioned it in the first place so she really hated it when he did that.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just I get worried about him so easily and he never tells me anything." Piper told Jade instantly with a wave of her hand.

"It's okay." Jade replied, but she didn't sit back down. She just stood there for a moment bouncing on the balls of her feet as she tried to decide her next course of action.

"Will he be angry at me if you talk to him about it?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, no. No, don't worry about that." Piper reassured her.

"Well, are you sure? Cause if he knows that I came to his house after knowing him for like five seconds and then I go and tell his mother he's sick when he obviously doesn't want you to be.. Worried about it wouldn't that make him a little angry?" Jade asked.

"You know what? I won't tell him."

"Yeah, he's not stupid. He'll figure it out."

"Not if you aren't here when I ask him," Piper instantly retorted as she made hermind up. She was going to win both sides. First, she was going to see what was wrong with Chris and why he thought it was the right time to be keeping secrets from her. Second, she was going to do Jade a little favor.

"But I am here."

Piper smiled, "I have an idea. Today is the day we have our big family dinner. My oldest son is out with some friends so there'll be room at the table. How about you come over around say 5 and I'll invite you to dinner formally then. I can make sure he's fine before that so he won't figure out you came by beforehand and we'll play it off as a stroke of fate. Then, after dinner you two can talk all you want."

"Sounds like a plan." Jade replied. "I feel like I should shake your hand or something."

"Only if we made a deal." Piper replied. "Five then?"

"I'll be here." Jade replied as she started back towards the front door.

"See you then." Piper called out after her as she took both their plates towards the kitchen to wash them so that there wasn't any evidence of Jade being there. As she did, a large smile consumed her face as she hummed along to one of the songs on the radio. She had a feeling that it was going to be a good day after all.