Like last time, not much (and a lot) has changed

It was after 10:00am when Hunter finally awoke. He'd never been an 'early bird' and after his long nap in the afternoon and even later chat with Tyler he didn't get to bed until after 2:00am. Sunlight shone in through the bedroom window right into his eyes and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fall back asleep. The room was too brightly lit and grudgingly he sat up in bed. He had 'morning wood', but he wasn't horny and his bladder told him it needed release so he made his way across the hall into the bathroom.

There, he had to wait for his erection to die down before he relieved himself, his attention perked up as he found his cock to be more than twice its previous size. If he'd had to 'go number two' his cock-head would have been submerged in toilet water! Momentarily confused he remembered the latter part of his alteration made in the middle of the night and realization dawned on him. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, "Mom's a fucking Size Queen!"

A dull throb ached in his head a moment later; he winced and waited for the sensation to pass. It wasn't as terrible as his previous ones, and if that was the worst it got he figured he would be fine. Hunter proceeded to shower, brush his teeth, and take care of the rest of his morning routine. He wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed his pajamas. The moment he stepped out the door he ran into his Uncle Bruce, his grandparent's fifth child, and he clutched his head in pain. His grandparents only had four kids, but now he remembered them with six. Bruce was his age and sadly suffered both 'Hapsburg Jaw' and hemophilia, while his aunt Pamela was the same age as Elle, Kitty, Candy and Abby and had scoliosis.

"Hunter?" Bruce asked concerned "are you still not feeling well?" The words were, as always, difficult for him to speak but he had managed admirably.

"M-must be..." Hunter muttered and excused himself quickly before rushing back into his bedroom. With the door shut, and some privacy he began freaking out.

"Holy shit, Holy Shit, Holy Goddamn Fucking Shit!" Hunter's eyes were wide and both of his hands clasped the sides of his temples. Bruce and Pam both had such unfortunate health issues all their lives. Lives that hadn't existed before last night. Was he responsible? Had he done this last night? He must have hadn't he? His first change had created people, he second must have too. But how? Why? And why did they have health issues? Nothing in the family history should have changed; his grandfather passed away at the same point in all three timelines. Bruce and Pam had been so young when their dad died it was truly tragic they'd had grown up without him.

"What if grandpa wasn't their dad?..." he wondered.

At a point near hyperventilating, Hunter sat down on his bed and caught his breath. Last night he'd only been thinking of himself and Tyler, but there was another person that would have been affected by the change too.

"Uncle Terry..." he whispered.

He knew in his gut that was it, he'd never suspected before now. No one in the family had. his Uncle Terry and his grandmother had hooked up, at least twice! Bruce and Pam were their kids, and their kids were unhealthy. And it was Hunter's fault. He knew it was his responsibility to fix it, and knew just how to do so. All it would take was a sentence.

"In my family children born of **** don't have birth defects. If they would be, instead they're born with the magical affinity."

Another wave rippled out from him and disappeared through the room's walls. Hunter rose, dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt, before he tentatively opened the door to his room. He walked down the hall towards the downstairs living room and found no one there. No sounds came from either the theater room or the game room. The kids play-pit was empty, as was the upstairs kitchen and living room.

"Where is everyone?" Hunter wondered.

No sooner had the words formed in his mind than he heard Angela ascend the steps, following him from downstairs.

"Hunter!" she exclaimed in a quiet tone and gave him a quick hug hello "You're finally awake!"

"Uh... yeah, I guess I slept in a little." He said and rubbed the back of his neck while Angela nodded her head and gave him a look that said Duh. "So where is everyone?"

She moved past him, into the kitchen and he followed. "Most everyone got up early to go skiing. There'd been some discussion about waking you up to ask you if you wanted to go but Mom shut them down and told them not to disturb you." she said and opened the fridge. "As it is, Grandma and Uncle Terry disappeared pretty much the moment everyone was out the door. I think she asked him to fix some pluming in the master's bathroom, but that was hours ago. I'm not sure how long it takes to fix a leaky faucet but I guess it's a big job."

Two minutes ago Hunter wouldn't have doubted her for a second. But now he had his own ideas of what those two could be doing behind closed doors and he most certainly didn't want to confirm them.

Angela rummaged in the fridge for a while before she settled on some lunch meats, condiments, sliced vegetables and some cheese. Then she moved to the pantry and continued. "Aunt Rachel just put Claire down for an afternoon nap and then went for one herself. And I finally managed to get Sam to fall asleep, so I think I'll do the same once I get something to eat." She emerged from the pantry and set about making a sandwich while she finished "And Mom's around here somewhere."

At the mention of his mother, Hunter felt his pulse quicken for a moment. "Cool. I guess I'll get something to eat too then go say hi. I didn't really get a chance to see anyone yesterday."

Angela had finished spreading mayonnaise onto a slice of bread when she put her knife down and fixed Hunter with a stare. "Hunter... Jus-" she paused and thought about her words, "Be careful."

"Around Mom!?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Angela said simply.

"Why?"

His older sister let out a sigh, "You might not know, because you haven't been home, but ever since you left for college Mom's changed. She gets irritated and snaps at small inconsequential things. It's like she's perpetually frustrated by something." Angela bit her lip and Hunter guessed that she was debating with herself if she should continue. "Things have really deteriorated between Mom and Dad. They don't sleep in the same room anymore, they barely talk and when they do they fight. All. The. Time. It's why he's not here."

Hunter winced and remembered his dad hadn't met him at the door when he arrived, nor had David half-carried his son downstairs to his room. Instead Gunner had been the one to do that. Farther back previous return trips home changed too, he now remember things being civil but cool. There was no warmth at home anymore. Denise and David kept up appearances, but things were tense between them.

"Mom's even been looking to purchase property out of state. I think they may be looking at separating." Angela finally finished.

Hunter felt like a bomb had just been dropped on him. "What the fuck!? How? Why?" His mind raced.

Angela gave him a sympathetic smile, and reached over to take his hand in hers, "I'm sorry to drop this on you, but I thought you should know, and be prepared."

Hunter gently squeezed his sister's fingers, "Thanks Ange. Do we know what happened?"

Angela shrugged, "Not really. It's just after you left for college Mom started getting irritable and passive aggressive over everything. So don't be surprised if she snaps at you over nothing. It's pretty par-for-the-course now."

Hunter nodded despondent, "Thanks for the heads-up I guess."

"No problem." she said as she finished making her sandwich. "Now either make something to eat or go bug someone else. I'm hungry." The last was said with her trademark good humor and Hunter laughed.