Two Years Later

Rachael Myers stood on the front step of the small house she and Eric had lived in for nearly eight years and watched her two children play quietly in the yard, Lauren taking every preventable measure to make sure her baby brother didn't get hurt as he tried to run through the grass. Rachael's body tensed when the one and a half year old stumbled and fell, tears welling up in his eyes, but Lauren was at his side in an instant, pressing her small hands over where it hurt and singing him the nursery rhyme that their mother sang to them before bed. In a few seconds he was up and running again, as if he'd never fallen at all. Rachael shook her head, how Lauren managed to dry his tears that fast always baffled her, but she managed it time and time again.

Finally one of the few black SUVs pulled into her driveway and she smiled brightly, waving at the driver who grinned back as two kids tore out of the back seat and ran to their cousin to play. Jen got Ashlynn out of the car and watched her run out to play with the older kids as Rachael came up next to her, leaning on the vehicle.

"How did it go?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Really well." Jen smiled brightly. The two years she'd been living in their time was doing wonders for her. Her skin was clear and soft looking; eyes bright and her hair had grown longer, almost challenging Rachael's in length by now. "They're all for it." She smiled and glanced down at her left hand.

"Congratulations." Rachael hugged her tightly before taking Jen's left hand in hers. "I must say, my brother has very good taste in jewelry." She grinned at Jen who blushed.

"I almost feel guilty for being so happy to be engaged to him." She admitted, hugging her arms around her. Rachael frowned briefly and motioned for Jen to follow her into the house. Inside Jen kept her eye out on the window while Rachael poured two tall glasses of sweetened iced tea.

"You shouldn't feel bad about being happy." She finally said. "I don't know how she knew, but I know Courtney knew about you and the feelings between you and Wes." She sat on the front porch, Jen sitting quietly next to her. "But she also knew that Wes did love her, and was married to her, you were a thousand years away, there was no competition."

"She knew we were from the future?" Jen asked with surprise.

"Wes let it slip once, but I'm entirely sure she was much more relaxed about you after that. Because she knew you had no say in what was going to happen with his life. As far as she was concerned, he was hers, and you were just a dream for him." Rachael sipped the tea thoughtfully. "She was a very calm influence for him, but I'm sure she'd want him to be happy."

"He wanted to respect her." Jen commented. "Which is why he waited almost two years to even think about having a relationship with me, and I respect that."

"Contrary to popular opinion Wes is a pretty sensitive guy, but don't tell him I said that." Rachael laughed, her eyes glued to the playing children, Lauren was currently chasing Chris, aiming to hit him for something he'd done to her. "But I know they love you." She gestured to the kids.

Jen smiled happily. "I know, I feel like they're mine, Ashlynn calls me 'Mama'." Rachael smiled softly.

"The other two will come around, especially Miranda, she doesn't remember her mom as much, but Chris will be harder. I guess boys are much more attached to their moms than girls when they're younger." Rachael reasoned as she opened her arms to her son toddling toward her, a small flower grasped in his little fist. He pressed it into her hand and she thanked him, kissing him on the forehead before he turned to play with his sister again.

"Jake looks just like Eric." Jen smiled watching the little boy leave. "Then again, you both have dark features, it could be you." She laughed and Rachael joined in nodding.

"Always a possibility, but I'd like to think he looks like Eric." She smiled at her son before looking back to Jen. "By the way, he's been rooting for you two since you got here."

"Really?" Jen asked with slight surprise, but she was getting used to the more mellow Eric that Rachael had seemed to create. She'd gotten to know him a lot better in the past two years, and watching him with his kids and their cousins made her rethink her previous opinion of him. Even after seeing him and Rachael argue, they were still a good couple, very loving at times, although they still butted heads. "Are you sure he didn't just want to get you back? I seem to remember somebody being conceived shortly after I got here." She looked at Rachael who blushed.

"Ok maybe that's more of the reason, but still, we're happy for you." She knocked her shoulders into Jen's who laughed, her head ducking down and then out at the kids, standing up instantly.

"Where are Chris and Lauren?" Rachael stood up and looked for her little raven haired daughter but didn't see her anywhere.

"Lauren!" She called out but silence met her yell. Only slightly worried at this point, Rachael walked around the back of the house while Jen went to the two year olds and now six year old Miranda, none of whom knew where the other two were. Rachael kept yelling until she heard Lauren call back, and then broke into a run to where they were. "Lauren!" She yelled into the small forest behind the house. It wasn't a big forest by far, probably only a mile through it you got to the highway, but that was just more of a reason to keep her daughter away from it.

"Mom!" She shouted back and Rachael got to them, seeing the two kids huddled at the bottom of a pretty large rock. Chris' face was stained with tears and he was holding himself away from his leg. Horror struck the core of her body as she saw the white bone sticking out of his skin and she knelt next to him.

"I fell off the rock." He managed to say and Lauren touched his arm.

"Lauren go tell Jen to call your Dad." Rachael instructed immediately. "Run." Lauren nodded and sprinted out of the woods and up to the house. "Ok, just relax." She said soothingly and pressed her finger to the skin surrounding the bone. Chris yelled in pain and Rachael flew backwards from an unknown force and hit a nearby tree hard, her back and head getting most of the blow.

The next thing she was aware of was Eric touching her face and earnestly asking her to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw several paramedics helping Chris into an ambulance, fear radiating through him as he looked directly at her. Rachael felt the back of her head and brought her hand to her face, relieved there was no blood there.

"It looks like you just have a concussion." Eric cupped her chin and she looked into his eyes and winced.

"How is Chris?" She asked, her voice coming out much weaker than she expected.

"He's really freaked out and won't tell us what happened." Eric helped her to her feet and led her to another ambulance where a paramedic checked her eyes and reflexes. He released her to Eric after a few minutes, with the caution to keep her relaxed but she wasn't allowed to fall asleep. Instead of going inside, Eric took Miranda, Ashlynn, Lauren and Jake over to their neighbor where the now teenaged Alice gladly brought them home to babysit them while their parents went to the hospital. Enroute, Eric tried to get some answers again, utterly confused as to what happened. "Rachael, what happened in there?"

It took a minute before she answered. "I don't know." She whispered. "I remember touching his leg, and then I was airborne and struck the tree. Next thing I remember is you waking me up." Eric was silent. What do you say in a time like this where you have no idea why your nephew did something that hurt your wife and the kid was scared to death to tell anyone. In the waiting room of the emergency room the four adults sat together, Rachael keeping herself upright as best she could, but gave in and leaned against Eric's shoulder. He would try to wake her up every few minutes and eventually went to get coffee for her, Wes taking the seat next to his sister.

"Rachael, I…"

"It's not your fault Wes." She interrupted him, shaking her head. "He did something he couldn't control, but I didn't see what it was." She frowned. "Only he can tell us." Wes nodded and hugged her carefully, backing away so she could accept the coffee from her husband. After about an hour they were allowed over to Chris' bed post surgery for his broken leg. The boy looked exhausted, even his clear purple eyes looked dull and tired, but they lit with fear when his family came in.

"Hey buddy." Wes went over to him and sat next to him. Chris didn't look at him, his eyes were glued to his Aunt Rachael who smiled and sat on the other side.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me." She took his hand in hers. "It was an accident, and accidents happen." He nodded, but tears were falling down his face, but he wiped them away before they got anywhere.

"It hurt when you touched it." He sniffed. "And I wanted you to stop, then this thing came up between me and it hit you. I didn't mean to, honest." He insisted.

"We believe you." Wes grinned and touched his son's head. "What did the thing look like?" He pressed.

"It was blue and bright." Chris' eyebrows knit together. "It came from me." He whispered, fear radiating through him. "It took a while before it went away." He rubbed his eyes with the hand without the IV drip and Eric touched Rachael's back.

"Fell better little man." He held out his fist to the boy who grinned and bumped it with his own.

"Thanks Uncle Eric." Chris smiled and looked at Jen who came over and hugged him tightly. "Bye Jen." He grinned and looked at her hand where the engagement ring sat. Wes' heart swelled happily at the look. His son was thrilled that he was getting a Step-Mom, he was a few years older and understood death a little better, and Jen had been around for years. Eric, Jen, and Rachael left the hospital for their house to get the kids some dinner and to bed, as it was getting late.

The next morning Rachael brought Lauren and Jake to the mansion to see Chris and give him the treats they'd gotten. Wes now owned the mansion, given to him when their father decided to move permanently to the East Coast, somewhere in Boston for his business. So now Wes, and soon Jen, owned the house and lived there with the three children and Rachael was there frequently with the kids for play dates and Eric joined for dinner at least once a week.

Lauren ran up to his bedroom with the candies and plastic power ranger figures, from the newest team, Jungle Fury in Ocean Bluff. "Hey." She greeted and happily threw the stuff on the bed.

"Hey." Chris mumbled, trying not to look at her.

"Are you sad you hit my mom?" Lauren asked bluntly.

"It was an accident!" Chris insisted. "I didn't mean too I couldn't control it!"

"I know." She shrugged and Chris stared until she explained. "I can do something weird too." She whispered and placed her hands over the cast on her cousin's foot. A soft gently white aura seemed to radiate around her hands, as she had her eyes closed, completely focused on what she was doing. After at least a minute she stopped and the light went away.

"What did you do?" Chris started at her.

"I healed your leg." Lauren whispered back, her eyes darting toward the door to where her mother would soon come in.

"How?" Chris whispered back, moving his leg in the cast in surprise. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"I don't know, I figured out I could do it when Jake fell once." Lauren confided in her cousin. "His knee was all scraped up, but I put my hands on it and the scrapes were gone. I washed the blood off and never told my mom." Chris looked fascinated and less concerned, but the two women standing just outside the door were looking at one another with stunned looks on their faces. Jen made to enter the room, but Rachael stopped as Lauren continued. "And last night, when Mom hugged me good night I tried to heal her concussion and I think I did."

"Whoa." Chris said in awe of his cousin before admitting something else to his cousin. "I've done it before I think." He frowned, "I was scared, and it was just there, and then it was gone again."

"What do you think it is?" Lauren whispered, curious awe more present in her voice than fear.

"I don't know." Chris shrugged his shoulders. "But I really want this cast off." He scratched his leg and moved his foot inside the cast.

"Then we'll take it off." Rachael finally spoke, surprising the two eight year olds. She and Jen came into the room and she pulled her daughter into her arms. "You should have told me something was happening." She hugged her and Lauren embraced her back.

"I was scared." The little girl mumbled and Chris nodded fervently as Jen sat next to him. "I just wanted to help."

"Thank you, baby." Rachael kissed her forehead and then looked at her. "How do you do it?" Lauren shrugged.

"I don't know, I just concentrate on making it go back to normal and it just does." She shrugged. "Healing scratches and stuff is easier, but if I focus I can do other stuff." Rachael and Jen exchanged glances and then looked back to the kids. "Are we weird?"

"No." Rachael hugged Lauren tightly, laughing. "You're just a little different, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Evening

"She healed his leg?" Eric's voice was completely shocked as he repeated what his wife had just told him. "With her bare hands." Rachael nodded, touching his arm to make him keep his voice down. "How can she possibly do that?"

"I don't know." Rachael shook her head. "But I've been thinking a lot about it and I have a theory."

"I'd love to hear it." Eric sat back in his chair in disbelief, staring at the cup of coffee he'd barely touched since Rachael had poured it. Before they'd gotten married he'd have a beer or two after work, but with a little kid in the house, coffee was a little more practical, and he didn't honestly miss it.

"SPD." She said simply. "That thing that hit us while we were there, it only makes sense, it did something to me or you or both of us that gave our child this, this... power." She said the word carefully, unsure of what to call the strange phenomenon.

"Another reason to not trust them." Eric frowned, shaking his head as he leaned forward onto the small kitchen table. After a few moments of silence passed before he spoke again. "Do you think the other kids are affected to?"

"Probably." Rachael shrugged. "Leo and Karone have kids now, Andros and Ashley have three, I don't know about Danny or Tanya." She frowned.

"Me either." Eric leaned back. "I could ask Wes to get in contact with them."

"Can't you call Taylor about Danny?"

Her simple question nearly knocked Eric off his seat. Rachael, his wife, was asking him to call Taylor, a girl he'd dated before they'd gotten married years ago. He gaped for a moment, unable to form a sentence that was intelligent enough to explain why he definitely did not want to call Taylor. By the time he'd formed a half sentence, Rachael was standing and grabbing his hand, bringing him to his feet so she could hug him properly standing up.

"I love you so much." She whispered in his ear, laughing lightly. "That was a pretty good reaction for the ex thing."

"Rachael, I went out with her twice and that was that." He shook his head. "I'm entirely sure I don't even have her number anymore."

"Better answer." Rachael grinned and pulled on the collar of his shirt so he'd lean over and kiss her. "But it does interfere with this, we need to ask them."

"Can't you call Bronwyn?" Eric asked with exasperation and Rachael's face flew into excited realization as she pulled herself from him and ran into their bedroom. He looked curiously after her, but she returned in a few minutes with a small black object in her hands. It looked like a cell phone, but way more high tech than anything he'd ever seen before. It had several buttons on it that she started pressing in rapid succession. "Rachael?" He finally asked.

"I can go see Bronwyn." She looked up at him with a smile. "I'm allowed to go to Millennium City for emergencies and I think this counts." Eric nodded and relaxed as she finished typing on the small device. "I'll be back as soon as I can, if Jake wakes up give him the blue blanket and he'll be fine."

"I know, they're my kids too remember?" He teased her and she kissed him again.

"Bye." She disappeared out the door and seconds later a blue light shone into the house but vanished a few seconds later.