AT BIANCA'S (PHOEBE'S DAUGHTER / ACROSS THE STREET):
"Are they out?" Sam asked smiling.
"Almost all of them. Kai is wide awake" Bianca led the way to the living room where they were camping out amongst blankets and cushions. Meghan and Julian were passed out on the couch, wrapped in their blankies. Angie and Melinda were sleeping next to each other on some cushions on the floor. Jackson, Bianca's boyfriend, was cradling Kai sitting on the floor next to the girls.
"That was fast" said Jackson sounding disappointed. Wyatt and Sam stared at Bianca.
"You're a natural" said Wyatt hugging his wife, a sly smile on the corner of his mouth.
"OK. So, want me to help you with them?" Bianca tried to end the third degree. She had still not talked to her boyfriend about her pregnancy. Their smile grew as they succeeded in making her nervous. Jackson stood up and handed Kai to his parents, kissing his tiny head goodbye.
"Thank you"
"Our pleasure" said Jackson. Wyatt and Sam smiled at Bianca once again and then orbed back home along with their kids.
"Jackson?" said Bianca suddenly nervous. It was time. A few weeks longer and she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore anyway. "What if… hypothetically… I was…" she choked.
"Pregnant?" completed Jackson. Bianca nodded nervously. He smiled taking her hands and biting his lip excitedly. "Are you pregnant?" he looked into her eyes. She nodded again, vigorously, as the truth was finally out there. "I wanna show you something" he held her hand, leading her towards the desk in the corner of the room. He opened the bottom drawer and took out a tiny gift box. "Open it" he told her as he handed her the present.
Bianca couldn't help but smile as she pulled on the ribbon, taking the lid off slowly, her hands slightly shaking. She dug thru strings of paper and pulled out a tiny chef's hat. Her eyes filled with tears as she held it.
"I've known for a couple weeks now"
"How?" Bianca smiled thru tears.
"Doctor's office called the house, cause you wouldn't answer your cell to change the time for the prenatal appointment at the end of the month"
"Are you OK with it?"
"That same day… I went out and got this" he said taking the tiny chef's hat, putting it on his head. "What do you think?" Bianca hugged and kissed him, finally feeling relieved.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew?"
"I wanted you to tell me about it when you were ready"
"So… are we doing this?" she asked hopefully.
"Only if that's what you want" said Jackson gulping as his hands rested on her hips. "If it's not, we can wait" Bianca hugged him tighter, her eyes falling on little Melinda who stirred in her sleep.
NEXT DAY, SATURDAY AFTERNOON…
"Wow" Wyatt stopped in awe, contemplating his wife. "Sure you wanna waste that look in a muggle crowd?" he smiled, his eyes scanning her from head to toe.
"Well, thank you, kind sir" she walked towards him in a would-be provocative manner. His hands finding their way down her lower back as she kissed him softly on the lips, her hands running up and down his back, giving him a pleasant uneasiness. "Not so bad yourself" she said as her hands ran farther down his back.
"You look beautiful" he tried clearing his throat as his body tingled at her touch.
"Dad texted me a few minutes ago" she slapped his behind playfully and walked back to the vanity, sitting down to do her make-up. "He really wants us there"
"Why the urgency all of a sudden?" said Wyatt following her. He stood behind her and started massaging her shoulders.
"Don't know. But he did reassure me he would have his bedroom locked so we could orb there safely"
"My, my… we should be so honored"
"Indeed. We should be honored we get to sneak in through the back door so nobody can see us coming, like the little dirty secret we all are" she said applying blush. "Our own little dungeon"
"I thought it was his bedroom" Wyatt said playfully.
"Not funny, mister" Wyatt kissed the top of her head.
"I know, I know"
"You think the kids are still ready?" asked Sam doing her lips last.
"Well, they were before I left the room. But they've had several minutes without supervision, so… hard to tell"
"Oh well, let's do a quick check up. See if we need to do some damage control" she said quickly putting the cap on her lipstick before getting up. Wyatt held her by the waist and started kissing her neck.
"Aren't we… a little… early…?" he smiled between kisses.
"Nice try, mister" said Sam taking his head in her arms and kissing him square on the lips. "Come on" she led him out of the room as Wyatt let out a disappointed grunt.
"Hey" Chris greeted them as they climbed down the stairs. There was a moment of absolute silence between them before Wyatt spoke, tonelessly so.
"Hey" his presence somehow felt like an imposition now and it bothered him enormously. "I take it mom told you about her little incident" Sam walked past him towards the kids, without so much as a smile for her brother.
"What's going on, Wyatt?" Chris asked earnestly.
"I would say nothing (he stepped on the word) but then I don't know how many times we'd need to say it before you people believe us"
"You people? That who we are now?"
"What do you want, Chris?"
"What happened last night? Why would you shock mom and dad?"
"What? Was that what happened? Good to know" he laughed mocking his words.
"It's not funny"
"OK" Wyatt said back to pocker face. "Mom got angry cause we helped her out…" Chris was about to interrupt but he went on. "Our way and when she tried reaching for me in a sulk, my shield simply repelled her"
"You threw her against the wall!"
"That's quite a stretch. Sam caught them midair before they were harmed. Like I told them… and now I tell you… It was only a reflex" Chris stared at his big brother.
"We're all set" said Sam holding the diaper bag and walking to his side. "By any chance, did Piper mention how dishware kept blowing near her from her anger or did she leave that part out?"
"That doesn't justify…" Chris began his rant, but was again cut off by Wyatt.
"As much as we'd like to stay and discuss this for the umpteenth time, we do have somewhere to be, so… if you'll excuse us" they orbed to Samuel's house in Seattle. Chris looked around not sure what the next step would be. He took a couple steps back and sat on the edge of the couch imagining the worst-case scenarios, troubled by how his brother had retaliated against their parents, however unintentional. Whatever was wrong, it was certainly escalating fast and they still were no closer to getting a clue of what it was.
AT SAMUEL'S (SAM'S DAD)…
Once they were out in the yard, where the other guests were scattered about at the multiple tables, they set up camp (play pen, carrier, etc) on the back corner of the yard.
"We barely made the cut, huh?" Sam sulked at her father, who was kneeling by his grandkids. "A little farther out and we would be trespassing the neighbors" Samuel gave ger a meaningful look.
"Oh, honey. I just thought that this would be the least exposed spot for you and the kids if anything… out of the ordinary happened"
"Sorry to break it to you, dad. We aren't ordinary and neither are my children"
"I know. You are extraordinary" Sam's resentment faded away at his words. "and you certainly do not need my protection, but I just wanted you to feel you are in a safe place" he came to hug his daughter now. Wyatt smiled at her, pleased at his words as well.
"Oh, you're here!" said Dr. Lockhart smiling widely, waving at them.
"Alika, come some hi" said Samuel excitedly. She ran over to them. Sam was prepared to shake her hand when she was eagerly embraced by the doctor, who flinched a second after holding her.
"Man, you're freezing!" Dr. Lockhart laughed, rubbing the sides of her arms. Sam kept smiling awkwardly as she kept hoping she would let go of her. Her temperature still dropping, trying to repel her.
"I think you just caught her off guard, honey" said Samuel pulling her away from his daughter. It amazed her and Wyatt how much and how quickly he got things without any explanation from them. Impressive for a mortal, they both thought.
"So, Alika, huh?"
"Yes. I'm sorry we haven't had the time to talk properly, but hopefully that'll change soon"
"How do you mean?"
"Umh… honey, could you tell Dr. Kauffman about the cell phone" said Samuel clearly trying to lure them off topic, but also eyeing a new party guest coming out the back door, cell phone at hand.
"What about the phones?" asked Wyatt as Dr. Lockhart walked fast towards the oncoming doctor.
"As an extra precaution we asked the guests to leave them in a box near the front door. They can use the home line if they need to or go talk in the front yard, just not back here to avoid exposure risks"
"Wow, what did you tell them?"
"Told them, it would be a strictly fun-zone" Samuel smiled.
"Wow, I'm impressed. Wonder how long that's gonna last" she said sarcastically.
"They're all doctors, so… not very" he laughed nervously. "But hopefully this area will be cell phone free, even if my guests end up hogging the front yard away from the party" he turned to the children playing in the pen. "Can't do much to protect them, but that doesn't mean I won't try" he turned to smile at his daughter now. "Want some fruit punch? Maybe a beer?"
"Some punch'll be nice, dad"
"No beer for the kids though, cause their driving gets seriously impaired" said Wyatt handing Samuel three sippy cups. Samuel chuckled as he took them walking away to get them drinks. "It's strange, isn't it?"
"Kinda. He seems to be the only one who doesn't seem to think we should hide ourselves"
"He is actually aware it's the rest of the world who are dangerous" Wyatt spoke their minds. They sat down staring at the party guests. After a few moments, it was Dr. Lockhart who came carrying a loaded tray.
"Here's the punch and some snacks" she placed a platter with cut up fruit on their table, the kids saw it and immediately walked to the edge of the pen. Wyatt took a few apple slices and handed them out to the expecting toddlers. "Sorry. Doctors party, only healthy snacks"
"No problem. Really. It's very similar to the snacks at home" said Sam a lot friendlier than she had been when they first got there.
"Glad to hear it"
"Say, Doc… Alika, what did you mean earlier?"
"I think your father should be the one to clear that out for you guys. Let me know if you need anything else" she walked away smiling.
"What's with the mystery all of a sudden?" said an exasperated Sam.
"Bits me, but he's doing alright for a mortal" she sighed. "He's learned a lot about our world even though he lives nowhere near us"
"You're right" she agreed placing her head on his shoulder.
Party was lively enough. People were talking happily, finding whatever they were saying apparently hilarious, judging for the sudden outbursts of laughter. Wyatt and Sam felt at ease, like nothing wrong could happen here and even if it could, it wouldn't be that bad; which was an odd thought considering they were surrounded by nothing but mortals. The only magical source to tap from in an emergency was their own, which felt right. It felt like it was supposed to be that way if they were ever gonna be safe.
On the opposite side of the backyard, close to the back door, sat an inconspicuous doctor who kept throwing glances at the pair. Funnily enough, he wasn't talking to any of his colleagues and every time somebody came near him, they remembered they were actually heading the other way. This particular "doctor" was very much enjoying Wyatt and Sam's thoughts, but thought that maybe they could do with just a little nudge deeper into the dark.
