David paces the length of my Mother's living room.

The rest of us (Charlotte, Eva, Porter and my Mother) stare at the girl. She's sitting in a grey, upholstered chair that my Mother hates. None of us move, save for David. We sit across from her, all staring. She moves uncomfortably.

David stops, "So...you traveled back in time? Is that possible?" He asks as his eyes land on me.

I shrug and look to my Mother.

"There are theories. My Mother's grimoire details how she was able to reach into time and space and—"

David's gaze snaps to her, "How do even know you're real? Or you're really our daughter?" He asks.

"The minute Perry told us about this, I warded the house." Mom says softly, "If she was something evil, she would have set off the wards."

"And I can feel it...can't you?" I ask.

"Yes. That's not possible. It's not! For more reasons than one." David says with a bewildered expression. He sighs, "So, who's your mother? Do you have a mother?"

She looks between us and surmises that it's alright to speak, "Well, neither of you liked it when I called you Mom." Her eyes land on me, "But if I had to choose..."

Porter chortles and I throw him a death glare. He stifles himself a cough.

"Okay—"

"Prudence."

"Prudence?" I wonder. I ignore my curiosity, "Prudence, exactly how were you born? And why did you come here?"

"The old fashioned way." She frowns, "I guess the old fashioned way for you guys isn't really old. In fact it's kind of future stuff, I guess. It's funny because you're not the first to have done it but it's rare. You did it three times."

I watch her ramble and I see myself in her. It's oddly satisfying.

"Magic? That's fascinating." Eva smiles, "Was he pregnant?"

"Eva!" I warn.

"Oh, come on! We all know that David isn't the one that would have gotten preggo."

"She's got a point." Porter smirks, "So, Prudence, exactly how did my little brother and little brother-in-law do this?"

"It's funny that you ask. You created the spell." She beams at him before her eyes find my mother, "Nana Penny, I haven't seen you in ages. It's so great to see you."

My Mother smiles, "You're beautiful. It's uncanny."

Our attention is called as Peyton cries. Prudence stands, flustering us. She pauses before continuing to Peyton's playpen. Her eyes light as she sees Peyton.

"Hecate! Aunt Peyton? She's so small." She gushes. Peyton giggles at her. She turns to us again, "I—It's odd to see you all so young. I know you have a lot of questions but I can't tell you too much. There's things that I cannot explain. Most of them happened before I was born or while I was a baby."

"What happened?" I ask.

"That probably falls under 'cannot tell you for risk of changing the future', is that right?" Charlotte asks.

"Correct-a-mundo, Aunt Charlotte."

"Aunt? That's kind of cool."

"Okay, is everyone really stoned? This is ridiculous! There's no way my daughter from the future came here and less of a chance that we have a daughter. Magic or no magic—" David takes a deep breath. I stand and move to him. I put my hand on his shoulder and he sighs, "My head really hurts. Like, really."

I pat his shoulder, "Join the club." I turn to Prudence, "I saw it. It's unnerving and comfortable at the same time. I don't think you'd risk coming here unless something was wrong. Prue, I really need you to tell me."

Prue turns from me and her eyes fall on Peyton. She clears her throat, "You're the most power witch in history. There'll never be anyone like you again. Our family continues to produce powerful witches, some being close to you but never any that surpass you. It makes you a target. Luckily, by the time I will be born, you'll have accept your role as protector of the world." She turns to us with a sad smile, "Doesn't make for a sunny childhood. There was a lot of loss. I always knew that you were powerful and that you had commitments."

"Why do I feel a but?" I ask.

"You missed a lot. You were the leader and gatekeeper of our world. A supernatural magnet." She laughs, "I didn't come here to air out my grievances. You were the best father you could be. Both of you. You protected us and cared for us."

"What happened, Prue?" David asks.

"You fail. Having children was a distraction. Having a family...it wasn't...and you were distracted. The greatest witch of our time, the gatekeeper and the Bastion, gone in seconds. For us. I came here to see you. I came here to change it. Or maybe change everything."

"You have siblings?" I ask.

"You didn't do this more than once, but you did have three of us at once."

"Can you please get back to the part where he fails to save us?" Eva asks, "Is this—is this something that can be fixed? This sounds like you're trying to prevent you."

"I am. I'm here to convince you not to do this. Not to have us or, at the very least, get married. I love you, Dad, but there's something more important than us."

"Okay, I want to make something clear right now." I say angrily, "You will never be a mistake nor will you be a hindrance. None of you! This family saved me. If I failed, it was because I wasn't good enough. At more than one thing, it appears."

"Dad—"

"We all need to sleep on this. We need to pick this up in the morning." Mother says as she stands, "Prudence, you will stay in Perry's old room."

"No, she'll stay with us." I snap.

"Where? You have a sofa and a bed." Porter reasons, "We have a whole room for her."

"Fine but I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Deal." Porter nods.

"It'll be like a family sleep-over!"

I look to David, "You can go home."

"You really think I'm going to go home? Not a chance. I'll stay with the both of you." David says as he massages his temples, "Sleep now, please."

-

I awake early and move to the kitchen.

I attempt to make some kind of edible food. The smell of the food brings David, Porter and Mother down to the kitchen. The three marvel at what a bad cook I am. I relinquish the cooking to Porter.

My Mother insists that we, as Prue's parents, go up and talk to her. David is reluctant but agrees nonetheless. We both make it up the stairs and stand outside the room. Neither one of us makes a single move until a crashing noise spurred us into action.

The door flies open and we move into the room. Prudence stands and looks at us with a magic eight ball in her hands. She gently sits it on a pedestal I made for my pet egg in sixth grade.

"We—uh, we thought—" David stammers.

"It's retro." Prudence says awkwardly. It's unbelievable how like me she is. She smiles, "It's weird to see you speechless Dad."

"Which Dad?"

"Both." She laughs.

We laugh with her.

"I have a lot of questions. None of them logical. But Perry's not wrong. The moment I saw you, something flipped. It's scary. I'm not too fond of magic." David stammers, "But I want to apologize. I shouldn't have been so grouchy."

"You know something weird. I smelled the burning and knew Dad was cooking." Prudence smiles. I frown as David laughs. I elbow him. Prudence continues, "You were always a horrible cook. It's about the only thing you weren't good at."

"Don't I know it." David smirks.

I gasp, "Our daughter is right there!" I look to Prudence, "Sorry, your father's an ass."

"Don't I know it." Prudence jokes.

"Prue—"

Prudence interrupts, "Seeing you young and in love makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"Look, I'm going to be honest," I say with more confidence than usual, "There's nothing you can say to make me doubt my relationship with David. He's my soulmate. A few years, maybe even months ago, I would have taken this as a sign to run away. That's not me."

"I know."

"Then why did you come?" David asks.

"To show myself that it was all worth it." Prudence says sadly, "I need to know you, the person you were before all of that."

"I'm just a guy." I say softly, "I'm not this gatekeeper. Not really. It's why I don't understand whatever future you're from. It sounds like I got lost in it. It's not me."

"Yet."

I look down at the floor. I feel guilty. The truth is, I didn't think I'd have a child, less three. I never thought I'd become the gatekeeper, not really. I notice that she hasn't said very much about David.

"What do you want to know?" David asks.

"How did you become that man? The man who was self-sacrificing and brave and...cold."

The words cut through me. It's as if I'm reliving the event through her words, though I haven't lived them yet. David notices.

"Can we cut down on that?" He asks.

Prudence looks between us, "I didn't mean—you gave us so much and you were the best father you could be. But your 'calling' came before us. It had to I guess. You did it for us. Dad, or David, always said that. He said that you were keeping the world safe so the boogeyman couldn't get us. It took a while before I fully realized what was out there." She is less sure.

"Are you a witch?" David asks.

"Yes." She says simply.

David frowns, "What about your siblings? Are they witches?" He asks.

"We all have both in us. The rules changed with us." Prudence's eyes widen, "We...we're both."

"That's not possible. You can't be a witch and werewolf." I say carefully, "I guess it's theoretically not possible for you to be here."

Prudence laughs, "We have different amounts in us. I have heightened senses, I move faster than most and I have Dad's temper." She laughs.

I don't know which she's talking about but my questions are answered as she smiles to David. David smirks.

"I don't know if I can tell you much more. My brother is also more witch than werewolf, though he's a shapeshifter. It's a learned discipline but he was very good at it and learned it faster than any of us." Prudence explains, "The youngest, if you count the succession of birth, is more werewolf than witch. Magic is harder for her. It's kind of funny."

"Clearly." I nod, "So, I've been thinking. You seem to be happiest with Porter and Peyton. Why?"

"They taught us most of the defensive spells and were the source of our magic training."

"I didn't train you?" I ask.

"You had little patience. You taught us powerful spells and offensive spells. Porter taught us more about the rituals and lore of witchcraft, as well as other supernatural. Besides witchcraft, he was the best at Fairy lore."

I chortle, "Of course he was." I stare at her, "It's uncanny how much you look like me and David. I just—I'm not wrapping my head around this. I have kids and I'm a horrible parent. I put you guys second to a calling I never wanted." I say with confusion.

"The gate's closed." David frowns, "Unless it isn't. It isn't, is it?"

Prudence shakes her head.

"You asked about uncle Port? We bonded over being the eldest sibling. It's a thing that you never understood." Prue frowned, "We used to butt heads, a lot, actually. He always said it was because I was like you."

"I can see that." David smiles. I elbow him, causing him to groan.

"Is it enough to say that I won't let that future happen? I don't really understand it happened."

"And you won't until it happens. The single event that sent you to the realization." Prue frowns, "Me being here means that it'll happen sooner than it did. It also means that nothing has changed."

Her words are truer than I'd like to admit. I take a deep breath and move out of the room. Once I'm outside the room, I push myself against the wall and take a deep breath. I feel as if I'm having an anxiety attack. I feel as if the world is falling away from me and I'm sweating and I can't breathe. I'm so lost in the feeling that I don't feel the door shut behind me. I can't hear anything. I feel hands wrap around me and I breathe out.

"I've been so in my own head that I haven't asked how you were doing with this." David frowns, "Are you okay?"

"No. My daughter traveled to the past to tell me what a shitty Dad I'll be. It's not even a question. Knowing this didn't make a lick of difference." I open my eyes and see him stand beside me, his arms around me. I stare at him with a bewildered expression, "What happens? What's so bad that I turn into the person she describes?"

"Maybe I die."

I shake my head.

"She doesn't mention me often. She says that Porter and Peyton taught her all this stuff but there was no mention of it." David says softly, "It's a real possible. It's the only thing that makes sense right now."

"Maybe I lose control again. It doesn't pan out that you die. I wouldn't have been able to have them without you."

"Maybe I die before you realize you're pregnant. That is so weird to say."

"Right! This is a weird situation. Male pregnancy. Not looking forward to that."

David chuckles, "Yeah, I'm glad you'll be doing that. I think we should use a condom from now on."

"Safe sex with the husband? I'm not sure that's how this works." I say quickly, "She said Porter makes a spell. He obviously hasn't yet. So I think we're safe until he does that."

"Raw dog?"

"You're so gross." I snap.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asks, "Listen, whatever she's saying doesn't sound anything like you. And even if she's right, you have time to change it. I'd say about twenty five years."

"See! This is why gay guys should not have kids, or at least not naturally."

"I still love you, even if you trapped me with triplets." He laughs.

"Douche."