Darren liquefied and flung himself around Ex, telling him "I'm going too love!!"

Bill heads out to the balcony taking off at top speed.

>> to Bella Hunting>>

(next morning)

Rodger wasn't as rested as he might have liked to be, but he rarely was, these days with all the nightmares.

Still, he got up on time, washed up, got some street clothes on, had a bite of breakfast - instant oatmeal - and got together props and trinkets for the party. Non-toxic, soap-based face paints, balloons for twisting, juggling rings, various small props and a few household items that could be used for improv skits. He pondered what might be suitable for 'prizes' to hand out to kids if he ran any games, but found that he was pretty much out of the sort of trinket he would normally have given out, and he didn't want to hand out Tootsie rolls or the like.

Slipping into the bathroom with a hand-held pump, he took care of the ticklish operation of changing into his body's clown mode, his form as Clumsy Charlie. Hopefully, that would be the sole usage of his powers for the entire time.

  Lin was waiting for him nice and early, and she knocked politely on the door.

Brenda answered the door, "Hello Lin, will you come in?" she greeted Meg's Mom cheerfully. In the background, Harold could be seen with a bowl of cereal and a spoon, along with a box of Captain Crunch partially visible.

  Lin came in, smiling, and said "So have you heard the latest news?  Apparently Bill and Darren have a daughter."

Brenda blinked. "Bill and Darren who?" Her fickle telepathy hadn't given any hints, and she wasn't sure who Lin might be referring to.

  Lin nodded, and said "Bill and Darren, Meg's friends?  The two of them seem to have a daughter named Bella Masters.  Shocked all of the kids last night."

Brenda blinked. "But they aren't even adults yet. How could they adopt a child? I don't think social services lets gay couples adopt to begin with..." Brenda paused, thinking this over. Something was very, very strange here and she wasn't getting it.

In the meantime, Rodger came out of the bathroom in his clown costume and (apparent) makeup. "Hello Lin. I almost have everything together."

  Lin shook her head, and told Brenda "Oh, she's not adopted.  She's  their genetic child.  You can tell just by looking at her."  She touched a mirror, and the image of Bella Masters appeared in the glass.

"Genetic...?" Both of the Eskin parents looked at the mirror. Brenda's eyes practically bugged out and Rodger had a look of consternation.

"Lin... how is that possible? She's as old as they are, plus they're both boys!" Brenda asked in disbelief.

"How in Heaven's name does someone have 3 parents without them knowing they had a kid?" Rodger burst out, his angelic resonance momentarily taking the forefront as a burst of intuition. His eyes were a murky sapphire blue for a few seconds.

  Lin replied "The magic of recombinant DNA, clearly.  Full explanations have not yet been made public."

"This is very confusing," Brenda said, her fingers playing with a lock of her hair. "How do you throw a baby shower when the baby is already a teenager, if not in her twenties? Diantha is hard enough to wrap my mind around, now this."

  Lin shook her head, and said "I didn't press for explanations, there was a bit of confusion and mess involved last night.  I haven't heard the full outcome.  Rodger, if you are ready?  Have anything else you need to pick up?"

"Let me grab my bag..." the clown said, and he hurried to pick up what he'd packed, along with a small tank of helium. Returning to Lin, Rodger glanced at his bag, then back at her. "I'm ready to go."

"Take care, honey," Brenda told him. No farewell kiss, since she assumed he was in makeup.

  Lin smiled, and told Brenda "I'll bring him back physically intact.  I can't promise the four year olds won't drive him nuts however.  But I think that's a professional hazard for clowns."  With a wink, she offered her hand to Rodger.

He juggled around the bag and tank, getting the tank under the arm holding his bag so that he had a free hand, which he took Lin's with.

  They teleported.  Reappearing in a small dance studio somewhere that had been decorated in bright streamers of crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Definitely a birthday party for a small child.  There was a  table set up for presents, and another one that already held a cake (with a clown-puppy) and some vegetable and fruit snacks ready for the kids.  Several small children (ranging from three to six) were over in one corner hotly debating if a Tyrannosaurus Rex would eat a cement mixing truck or if a postosuchus was a meaner hunter.

-----> to Kattakara Birthday Party

  Bella settled lightly down on the balcony to Bill and Darren's apartment, and she said teasingly "Dad-E, Mom taught me how to cook!  She said I had to learn in self defense!"

Bill landed beside Bella laughing. "That sounds like something she'd say she's had to witness firsthand. I could ruin a cup of ramen!" He opened the door and head home.

  Bella giggled, and said "Well, I've been the one doing most of the cooking when we weren't eating with Mom since I was about seven.  Mom taught me from the start how to cook.  I was a precocious thing, you know."

Ex smiled as he shifted to Bill as he made his way inside. "Good at least you didn't have to deal with our awful cooking much. Are you a hero? Back in your time I mean/"

  Bella giggled, and said "Sort of.  You weren't too thrilled with me about it, but because I can timejump?  I'd pull a sneaky on you.  I wouldn't actually DO anything myself, except call the cops.  But I had to go where I could legitimately witness it.  So I did a lot of sneaking out and calling 911 from public pay phones and cell phones.  So I was sort of heroing, and sort of not."

Bill nodded turning off the t.v., which had been going this whole time, before taking a seat on the couch. "Your free to keep doing that, or you can come with me when a crisis pops up. I only ask you don't go out without telling us."