Someone Else's Happy Ending, Epilogue

Streamers... balloons... plates... cutlery... napkins... What am I missing? I look around the room and survey my work. Today is Cheyenne's third birthday and I want it to be slightly more than perfect. Even if everyone keeps telling me that's not possible. "The cake! Oh my God, I forgot the cake! Draco!"

"Relax, love. I picked it up this morning. It was my one task, remember?" I sigh in relief.

"What else am I missing?" Just then Cheyenne enters the room. Soaking wet. "Cheyenne! Why are you wet?" She looks down at herself as if she wasn't soaking wet and dripping water all over my floors.

"Um, Cindy asked me to play." I keep my thoughts about Cindy to myself. She's 5 a little troublemaker.

"Did you tell Cindy that your party starts soon and you needed to stay dry?" She nods slowly.

"She said she wouldn't be my friend." Draco chuckles as he exits the room. I give his back a dirty look before leading Cheyenne up to the bathroom.

"Haven't I told you that if someone says stuff like that they're not really a good friend anyway?" I undress her and dry her off. "Come on, let's find something else for you to wear." She hops off to her room and I follow along behind. Not for the first time I wish we had a bigger place. Especially with the news I have for Draco later.

"Mommy, can I wear this?" She holds up a pair of shorts.

"No, it's too cold for shorts. How about the nice outfit you got from Grandma and Grandpa Leed for Christmas?" She makes a face and I can't help but laugh. "Oh come on, it's not that bad." I look around in her closet. "How about the dress auntie Phoebe gave you?"

"Yes! That one!" I look for some clean tights and a pair of shoes that match and get her dressed. She races downstairs before I can brush her hair. I grab her brush and I head downstairs to see if I can find her.

"Draco, where'd she go?"

"Basement." I head down and find her hiding in her play tent.

"Cheyenne, your hair needs brushed. Come here."

"Nooo. I don't want to."

"Well then we'll just have to cut your hair." This always wins with her. She's got my thick red hair but won't let me cut it, and it tangles easily. If she wasn't so insistent on keeping it long I would have cut it a long time ago. I brush it out and braid it so she doesn't get it in her food.

Once I'm done that I go back upstairs and go look for Draco. He's in the kitchen setting out the cups. Cups I forgot the cups. "Do you know if your mother's coming?"

"She owled this morning and said she'd make it if she could. A friend of hers is throwing a lunch party." I sigh. Draco and his mother haven't been on the best of terms lately. He won't tell me why and I've stopped bothering him about it. I wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his back. He turns around and hugs me, laying his chin on my head. I'm about to lean up and kiss him when the kitchen door opens.

"Bell, where do you want these gifts?" I turn around to see Phoebe carrying 3 gift bags, with Gabe following carrying two.

"Haven't I told you to stop buying her so much stuff? She's spoiled enough as it is." She ignores me as she sets the gift bags on the present table.

"Nothing is too good for my little girl. Where is she? I haven't seen her in weeks." I shake my head and rest my back against Draco's chest.

"Down in the basement. She's been talking nonstop about you for the past month." Phoebe disappears into the basement. "Would you like a drink, Gabe?"

"Nope, I'm fine, thanks." Just then I hear car doors slam outside. I look out the window to see my horde of a family exiting their cars. I chuckle and wonder if they planned to all arrive at the same time.

**

The party was a complete success. Cheyenne's passed out in her room and Draco and I are sharing a nice quiet evening alone. "Where are going to put all this stuff?" I chuckle and look around the room. She got a ton of toys.

"We could always get a bigger place."

"Oh Bell, we've talked about this."

"I know we have. But Cheyenne hasn't started school yet, neither of us like this neighbourhood, and it's just too small." He hugs me closer to him.

"Well see. Maybe in a year or two when we're more financially stable." I sigh.

"I think we might need to a little sooner than that."

"Why? You know something I don't?" I turn my head and look up at him.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He chuckles down at me.

"Oh? Do tell."

"I'm pregnant, Draco. We're having twins."

Mind Over Matter, Chapter 20

I stare down at Zee, who's looking up at me as if I'm a ghost. "What the hell are you?" He repeats his question, but somehow I can't answer him. As soon as I was standing there, I'm back outside. I can hear Jackson calling my name.

"Gemma? Wake up." I open my eyes and look around. "Gemma?" My head is cradled in his arm and I'm almost laying on him. I move to sit up but fall back because it feels like my skull is being cracked open. I grab my head and scream.

"What did you do to her?!"

"I didn't do anything. After you left she collapsed."

"Nice try, buddy. She just appeared in front of me upstairs." I try to tell them to stop it, but I can barely follow their conversation, let alone yell at them for it.

"I told you, I didn't do anything. And besides, we can figure out what happened later. Right now we should be worrying about Gem. She's in pain."

"Where? What do we do?" I don't get to hear the answer because I pass out.

Gemma? Can you hear me?

I thought it, but that can't be right, because why would I ask myself if I can hear me?

My head hurts.

I know, shhh.

Am I dying?

No. Quiet now, shhh.

I frown, this is all too weird.

"What's going on?"

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?" I open my eyes to see everyone looking down at me, even Will. I wonder what I'm doing laying on the ground with everyone staring at me. Scratch that, laying on someone's lap against someone's chest. I don't have to look to know who it is.

"What happened? Why's everyone outside?" Zee looks at me oddly.

"You don't remember?"

"Not really. Why, what happened?" Zee looks over my shoulder at Jackson. I go to sit but I'm pushed back down against Jackson's chest. I glare at Zee. "I am capable of sitting on my own, you know. I've been doing it for years."

"The last time you tried to sit, you grabbed your head, screaming." My eyebrows scrunch together.

"I did? What exactly happened?" I convince them I'm well enough to sit on my own, but Jackson sits very close to me, 'just in case'. Everyone else sits around in a sort of semi circle. "Just tell me already."

"What's the last thing you remember?" I roll my eyes but think back.

"The last thing I remember was.. talking to Jackson."

"You don't remember almost kissing him?" My head spins around so I'm looking at Jackson.

"What?! I almost kissed you?"

"Well, we almost kissed eachother, if you want to get technical." I feel like hitting him, so I turn my attention back to Zee.

"What happened then?"

"I walked out here just in time to stop it."

"That's it? Why'd I pass out?"

"You didn't let him finish, darling." I throw Jackson a glare for the pet name.

"I don't really know what happened then. I got up to the second floor and you were just there, right in front of me. Except not, really, I don't know. I could see through you. Then you disappeared. I came back down here to hear you screaming and grabbing your head. Then you passed out." I look over at Jackson.

"What happened?"

"After he left, you collapsed. A few seconds later you woke back up, and then what Zed said."

"Zee."

"Shut up, both of you." I rub my temple. I can feel a headache coming on.

"I could feel the pain you were in. It's no wonder you passed out." I shake my head.

"None of this makes any sense." Tessa talks for the first time.

"Yes it does. I mean, I've read of this sort of thing happening." Zee, Will and I look at her. Jackson nods his head, as if what Tessa's thinking confirms something.

"That makes perfect sense, especially coupled with what I've read."

"Stop it! What makes sense?" Tessa glances at Jackson before answering me.

"You probably astral projected."

"What's that?"

"It's where your conscious mind takes shape outside of your body." There's silence after that.

"It would explain why I couldn't hear you after you collapsed. Your body was here but your mind wasn't."

"What happened right before that?"

"You said you wanted to go after him, but you wanted to stay here with me." Tessa talks before I can.

"It seems like your desire to be in two places at once brought this on." Will finally speaks.

"Can you do it again?" Zee rolls his eyes.

"And risk her in pain like that again? I don't think so, idiot." Will shrugs.

"Just a thought." I kick my foot out and it hits his knee, leaving a green smudge from my sneaker. He wipes it off and stands up, going back inside.

"Are you feeling okay, Gemma?" I look at Tessa and smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She squeezes my knee and gets up, going back inside as well.

"Well, I'll just let you two pick up where you left off." I kick out at Zee and hit his hand. "Ow."

"Just stop it, okay? I don't even remember that happening, so just stop it." I look at Jackson. "Both of you."

"What did I do?" Zee snorts and stands up.

"What didn't you do." He leaves before I can think of something to say. I move away from the wall and glare at Jackson.

"That's not nice, you know."

"I never said I was nice." I roll my eyes.

"Try it sometime. It won't kill you." He winks at me.

"As far as you know." I roll my eyes again, stand up and go back inside.