The war of words between Merlin, Lilith, Circe, and Baba continued over the next week. Both sides appeared to dig their heals in on who was to blame. The only thing the two sides could agree on though was that their children were idiots. With Kellie “joyous” news now out an agreement was reached, Merlin and Kellie would be attending Thanksgiving at Liliths house.
Kellies home has been quiet since Kellies announcement, much to her chagrin. Kellie had hoped Merlin would have some sort of reaction, yell at her, say how disappointed he was. Instead the ancient wizard was quiet, barely acknowledging Kellie. As a result Kellie was feeling depressed as she now dressed for Thanksgiving dinner. The teen had decided on a pretty, yet conservative dress for the event with a pair of heels. As she brushed her hair back and fixed a pendent around her neck she had to admit she looked stunning. Descending the stairs she could see Merlin waiting for her, a sullen look on his face. “How do I look Dad,” she smiled, trying to gain a reaction from him.
Merlin gazed at his daughter with glazed over eyes, the sad look plastered on his face. “Very nice,” he said quietly. “Now come along, I said we would arrive by one.” Kellie sighed, nodding her head as the two exited the home. As the two now teleported in front of Jacks home Kellie took a deep breath. “You ready,” she asked. Merlin said nothing simply walking towards the door before knocking. Lilith now opened the door, frowning at Kellie and Merlin.
“Welcome,” she grumbled. “Please come in, dinner should be ready in an hour.” Merlin nodded as he gazed at the recently repaired home. “Your home appears quite lovely,” he said stoically. “No thanks to you,” Lilith muttered. Merlin nodded, handing Lilith a couple of pies. “I brought desert,” he stated. “Pumpkin and apple. Sorry about your home, I lost my temper.”
Lilith raised an eyebrow before sighing. “It’s understandable,” she sighed. “Our children have been....quite disappointing.” Kellie winced at the remark, usually Merlin would jump to her defense. Looking at her father though she could see the disappointment in his eyes, he had nothing to say to defend her. As the two now followed Lilith into the parlor they could see Baba and Circe sitting down with Jack. Jack, dressed in a dark blue button down, tie, and khakis, appeared to be receiving just as severe a reprimand as Kellie. The teen only brightened as Kellie now entered the room. “Wow Kellie you look great,” he said.
“And that is the reason we find ourselves in this situation,” Lilith grumbled as she now glared at her son. “Now everyone sit. Dinner should be ready.”
Kellie took her sit quietly, staring around the table at the four powerful sorcerers and Jack. It was almost surreal that she should find herself in this situation. As her mind wondered she began to think not only about her daughters but what the future held for this future child. Is this the future she would now have? Awkward family gatherings surrounded by demons, witches, and wizards. What would happen in the years to come?
“Lilith, Circe, Baba,” Merlin stated. “I thank you for inviting us into your home for the evening. It is quite generous of you to invite my daughter and I to break bread with you on this day.”
“We appreciate that Merlin,” Baba smiled. “But let us be honest. With what these two have done, I believe that we have many more of these events in the future.”
“Baba speaks the truth,” Circe stated. “The child growing in girls womb is connected to us all. We all have a stake in how it is raised.”
“And we expect to be part of the child’s life,” Lilith frowned, glaring at both Kellie and Merlin. “This child is connected to both the light and the darkness. Perhaps, it is the very balance we have been striving to create. We expect...no demand that this child be trained by us.”
“So the child is to be trained in the magical arts,” Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow. “To be honest I had not even considered this. Perhaps we should begin to try and hash this out over dinner.” Kellie rolled her eyes as she now watched the four wizards discuss the magical training of her future child. All she wanted was to eat and try and forget. Instead she was having not only her life, but her future child’s life planned. Looking across the table she could see Jack beckoning her to follow him. Nodding she now slowly stood, thankful that the adults seemed far to preoccupied to notice Jack and Kellie leave,
Following Jack onto the front porch, Kellie shivered at the chill in the air. “Here,” Jack offered as he conjured a sweater for Kellie to wear. “Thanks,” she smiled, drawing the sweater around her. Sighing she now gazed out towards the street, leaning against the railing.
“So have you told Katie yet,” Jack asked.
Kellie shook her head no as she now looked towards Jack. “No,” she said. “What about Ann? Have you been to the other timeline connected to this one?”
“Not yet,” Jack said. “Our kids are going to kill us for this huh?”
“Probably,” Kellie chuckled. “But no more than those four. Can you believe they’re already planning this ones future? I mean I can’t be more than what? Maybe a month and a half along.”
“Mom and Circe have always been ambitious,” Jack chuckled. “Guess that means we’re off the hook then. No more having to worry about being the standard bearers for light and darkness.”
Kellie raised an eyebrow, causing Jack to sigh. “Yeah figured we weren’t off the hook that easily,” he sighed.
The two teens now sat in awkward silence as they now thought of their future and the future of their child. “Hey Kellie,” he said quietly. “Listen, I...I want to be their this time. Not like with Katie or even Ann. I want to be around, help take care of you and the baby. I want to be a real father this time.”
Kellie looked at Jack a sad smile crossing her face as she stared at him, “ Okay,” she said, “I like that idea. AlthOugh just the record, we’re still not a couple. Parents yes, a couple no chance.”
“Fine by me,” Jack smiled. “Besides, there’s a real hot cheerleader I wanted to ask out this weekend.”
“Like you have a chance,” Kellie chuckled as she playfully pushed the young warlock. As the two teens smiled and talked they realized that while they may never be able to get along or even be together, they were going to be forever connected. For that reason alone they needed to make things work between them,