Disclaimer: I don't own.

Epilogue

Sixteen years later

"YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

That was how the residents of the Stone-Anderson household was awaken that Saturday morning. 32-year-old Walt Stone sat up sleepily, rubbing his eyes. His wife, 32-year-old Jaz Stone, née Anderson, was covering her head with her pillow. Walt smiled.

"I'm guessing it's my turn to control them," he muttered to her.

"Duh. I let you sleep in last time while I controlled them," came her muffled and annoyed reply. He smiled again and rolled out of bed, slipping on the amulet that kept him alive, and walking to his 9-year-old daughter's room.

When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of his daughter, Jade Stone, running after his 10-year-old son, Jesse Stone, who was running away from her. Walt's eldest son, 11-year-old Brian Stone, was on the floor, laughing.

"Dad, protect me from Jade!" Jesse hid behind his father, his brown eyes filled with fear.

"Come back here, Jesse Stone!" Jade yelled. Brian, finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, grabbed his younger sister around her waist. Her blond hair flew as she tried to squirm out of her brother's grasp. "Let me go, Brian!"

"Sis, calm down," he whispered.

"No!"

"What is going on here?" Walt demanded. Brian's bright blue eyes, so much like his mother's, met his father's eyes.

"Um, well, you see, Jesse put a snake shabti in Jade's bed, and...well..." Brian shifted uncomfortably. Jade glared at Jesse, who was hiding behind his dad.

"You know I have snake-phobia!" Jade yelled at Jesse.

"Technically, the proper name is—"

"I don't care about its proper name! You know I'm afraid of them!"

"Jade." Walt stepped forward and took Jade into his arms, his brown eyes meeting identical ones. "Would it calm you down if I told you that Jesse is grounded for a week?"

"Dad!" Jesse protested, putting his hands on top of his buzz-cut dark brown hair, his tanned skin completely pale.

"Yes." Jade smirked. "Ground him for a week without video games or seeing his precious Ruby."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"Did I say she was?"

"..."

Brian laughed, and Walt had to fight back a smile. "OK. He will only see her when she visits. But other than that, he can't visit her or contact her. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Dad!" Jesse protested, glaring at his tanned skin sister, who smiled angelically at him and skipped back to her bed.

Brian checked the watch and yawned, patting his hair, identical to his brother's. "I'm going to go back to bed...it's only 7 AM." Yawning, the African American waved and left his sister's room.

Jesse sent Jade one final glare and stormed out of the room. Jade got under her covers and yawned, her eyes closing. Smiling, Walt went back his room, where Jaz was fast asleep, breathing in and out, as if in pattern.

Walt yawned and crawled in next to her.

###

"Do you think she's dead?"

"No."

"Come on, we've poked her a million times. She has to be dead."

Groaning, Jaz cracked an eyelid open, staring at her kids looking down at her, and Jesse's finger ready to poke his mother...again.

"What is it?" she groaned, burying her face under the pillow.

"Mom, our friends are coming soon." Jade poked her stomach. "Mom, it's almost noon."

"Noon?" Jaz sat up, her eyes wide in alarm.

"Yep," Brian said, popping the "p".

"OK, the three of you, leave. Your dad and I will be down in a sec." Jaz rubbed her eyes, and her kids, nodding, walking out of the room. Jaz turned to her husband and did the only thing logical.

She poked him.

Unlike herself, Walt was a light sleeper, so it was no surprise that he opened his eyes immediately, his eyes landing on the poker. "What, Jaz?"

"Almost noon. The Kanes are gonna be arriving soon, so get out of bed, will you?" Jaz rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom for a shower.

Twenty minutes later, the Stones were all ready. The kids had forced their mother to watch Wizards of Waverly Place with them (not that Jaz minded—she loves Wizards of Waverly Place, especially since it has Selena Gomez) while their father made barbecue.

The bell rang. Jaz reluctantly stood up and answered, and five kids immediately entered, yelling, "Hi, Aunt Jaz!"

Jaz rolled her eyes and smiled at the sixth and final kid. "Hi, Timmy."

8-year-old Timothy "Timmy" Kane stared at his "aunt" while wide startling amber eyes. "Hi, Aunt Jaz," he said in a shy voice. He smiled at her slightly and entered.

Zia Kane, née Rashid, smiled sheepishly at her best friend. "Sorry about my kids. They were very excited to see your kids, and, well..." She shrugged. Jaz laughed.

"It's fine, Z. My kids were poking me for about half an hour for me to get up and get ready."

Sadie Kane grimaced. "At least they were only poking you, Jaz. My kids unleashed a bunch of angry skeletons at me because I absolutely refused to get out of bed."

"You got to admit that was pretty funny," Anubis pointed out, fighting back a smirk. Sadie glared at him.

"Come on, let's get inside and not let poor Walt be overwhelmed with nine kids."

So the four magicians and god entered the house, and here is what they saw.

11-year-old Diana Kane was laughing her head off as her twin sister, 11-year-old Janice "Janie" Kane, and Brian were wrestling on the floor.

10-year-old Julius Kane II and Jesse were talking and snickering.

9-year-old Ruby Kane was shaking her head as her cousin, 9-year-old Adrian Kane, tried to get Jade off his back.

In fact, the only kid who wasn't going crazy was Timmy, who was calmly watching TV.

"GUYS, DO YOU WANT BARBECUE OR NOT?" Walt yelled from the patio. All the kids ran outside, the adults following, laughing.

###

That night, when Walt crawled into bed next to his wife, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against his chest. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Do you remember that, sixteen years ago, we were just some thieves in ripped up jeans trying to save the world?"

Jaz nodded. "Remember that I was hopelessly in love with you and you were too blind to notice?"

Walt chuckled. "And then the day Sadie chose Anubis...I went to you for comfort...and you comforted me pretty darn well."

Jaz giggled and nuzzled his neck. "I love you, Walt."

"I love you too, Jaz." Walt pulled her close, and his last thought before he fell asleep was, Jaz, I know I can run into your arms when my world is crashing all around my feet, breathless.

*::*::*

Replies to reviewers:

To Broadway4eva: To know why the slight mentions of Jarter—read FlameTamer16's profile, and go to her stories she's working on.

To HuntressofArtemis101: Hey, Jaz is a great character. And the reason the Jaz inside of me is falling in love with Carter is because of a certain RP...but if I owned the Kane Chronicles, she wouldn't leave. She's a great character.

To FlameTamer16: Glad I took away part of your hatred for Jalt. And thanks! I always liked Jaz because, really, how many blond cheerleaders are as nice as Jaz? And I totally agree: SHANIA FTW! *high-fives*

Jalt's kids:

Brian Stone: 11-year-old son of Walter and Jasmine Stone. Older brother of Jesse and Jade Stone. Buzz-cut dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and coffee-bean skin. Charm maker.

Jesse Stone: 10-year-old son of Walter and Jasmine Stone. Younger brother of Brian Stone and older brother of Jade Stone. Buzz-cut dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin. Wind elementalist.

Jade Stone: 9-year-old daughter of Walter and Jasmine Stone. Younger sister of Brian and Jesse Stone. Short blond hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin. Healer.

Zarter's kids:

Diana Kane: 11-year-old daughter of Carter and Zia Kane. Older twin sister of Janice "Janie" Kane and older sister of Adrian and Timothy "Timmy" Kane. Short black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and caramel skin. Water elementalist.

Janice "Janie" Kane: 11-year-old daughter of Carter and Zia Kane. Younger twin sister of Diana Kane and older sister of Adrian and Timothy "Timmy" Kane. Short black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and caramel skin. Charm maker.

Adrian Kane: 9-year-old son of Carter and Zia Kane. Younger brother of Diana and Janice "Janie" Kane and older brother of Timothy "Timmy" Kane. Curly brown hair, startling amber eyes, and mocha skin. Animal charmer.

Timothy "Timmy" Kane: 8-year-old son of Carter and Zia Kane. Younger brother of Diana, Janice "Janie", and Adrian Kane. Curly brown hair, startling amber eyes, and mocha skin. Healer.

Sanubis's kids:

Julius Kane II: 10-year-old son of Sadie Kane and Anubis. Older brother of Ruby Kane. Tousled black hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin. Necromancer.

Ruby Kane: 9-year-old daughter of Sadie Kane and Anubis. Younger sister of Julius Kane II. Long caramel skin, chocolate brown eyes, and tanned skin. Diviner.