The door opened and a face peered out at the two heavily pregnant young woman on the stoop. It was a man and, at first, Jonni did not recognize him. It was most definitely not her father. Dad was a beefy guy in his mid-forties with salt-and-pepper hair. This guy was younger, much younger, barely out of highschool if Jonni had to guess. He had intense blue eyes and the build of a champion swimmer or possibly track star. There was something almost familiar about him as if he were some distant relation Jonni had never met. The stranger's blue eyes and dark brown hair definitely favored her mother's side of the family.
That was when Jonni realized it really was her mother. DeMorrell had changed her with a wish from the stone shortly after accquiring it. An experiment, he had explained. His promise to return Jonni's family back to normal she now knew to be a lie. It was plain from the look on his face that the man who used to be her mother didn't immediately recognize Jonni. Would it just be better to play this off as a wrong address and just walk away?
"Can I help you?" The young man's voice was not unusually deep, but it seemed positively gravelly compared with the musical alto Jonni had associated with Mom for all of her life.
"Uh, well," Jonni stammered. A quick glance in Nora's direction revealed no help coming soon. The look of confusion and almost recognition was probably similar to Jonni's, except Nora hadn't yet figured out who the man in the doorway really was. Nora/Grandpa had been locked in DeMorrell's dungeon when her daughter had become her son. In fact, how did Nora even remember Mom if she wasn't there to hear DeMorrell's wish?
"Jonni?" The young man swallowed hard. His voice dropped to a raspy whisper, one pinprick tear began to well up in the corner of one eye, "Is it you? Oh my God, Jonni!"
Long, lean arms shot out to grab Jonni and pull her into a crushing hug that hinted at the strength within. It was an awkward, embarassing reunion, especially for Jonni. She wasn't accustomed to having the still unfamiliar obstructions of her swollen breasts and belly mashed up against another person. Worse, her masculinized mother covered Jonni's face in kisses, the stubble on his cheek rubbing against the softtness of her own uncomfortably. The only other man to have ever held her this closely was DeMorrell and Jonni felt almost on the verge of panic. Gently placing her palms against Mom's muscular chest she pushed away and created breathing space between them.
"Mom, it's okay. I'm fine. Stop," Jonni smiled, amused by the hectic mixture of excitement and worry on display.
"You're okay? No you aren't! You're pregnant!" Mom made a cupping motion indicating a basketball sized object near his own stomach even as he looked at hers in consternation, "That sick old bastard DeMorrell! He did this to you didn't he?"
"Mom, shh, please! We can talk about it inside," Jonni rolled her eyes toward "Nora" as if she were being embarassed by the young man's violent outburst, "I brought - - Nora, my friend."
Jonni's mother/father/whatever looked over her shoulder at the other arrival as if seeing her for the first time. His eyes briefly widened at her obvious beauty, but his nostrils flared with indignation when he saw she was also pregnant. Mom couldn't have already made some connection here, that DeMorrell is the father of both babies, could she? I mean, Mom was never slow on the uptake, but... The young man, this stranger that was at once familiar and yet completely unknown, met Jonni's eyes. The anger in his own softened. He shrugged and then smiled, "Well, I guess you better come in then. We obviously have a lot to talk about."
