2011 Authors Note:
It has probably been years since any one read this story - but in response to some confused reviewers, and to emphasize what is written below - this story is Part III of a trilogy, the order of which is:
Part I - Opening Up the Can of Worms
Part II - Letting the Cat Out of the Bag
Part III - Spilling the Beans.
You need to read the first 2 stories for things to make sense!
A/n: I'd like to say that this could be read as a stand alone story, but reading this without having first read 'Letting the Cat Out of the Bag' or 'Opening up the Can of Worms', renders most of it nonsensical.
I wasn't too sure about writing a sequel to 'Letting the Cat…', I'm still not, so please be kind.
Spilling the Beans
Chapter 1: From Lost to the River
(De perdidos al rio)
June 2007
There was no denying that Rosie Halliwell was a pretty baby. Her bouncing black curls, pink cheeks and bright blue eyes meant that at the ripe old age of 18 months she new how to 'work' a room , casting all adults under her bewitching spell. It came as a surprise therefore, to find that on this particular day, those assembled in the manor parlour were not hypnotised by her every move, but rather, it was her older cousin Ben who found himself the focus of attention. She wrinkled up her tiny nose, following her parents gaze, toward the 5 year old.
Ben sat on the edge of the sofa, his shoulders sagging, an expression of worry on his face, looking very much as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"It's okay Ben, we'll hear from them soon" Piper assured him.
He sighed, and for a second he looked so much like a little old man that Paige nearly burst out laughing.
"When your Daddy rings, we'll all orb over there" She explained gently for the umpteenth time.
Ben merely nodded. Being the only son of a demon and a witch, he was used to either mummy or daddy disappearing for short periods time while they went and fought demons, but never both of them at the same time, one of them always stayed with him. Until now that was.
"I still don't get what all this fuss is about" Poppy, sprawled in an over stuffed armchair, was busy replenishing the black nail polish on her left hand.
"He's only little, have some patience" Kyle told her, in no mood for his eldest daughters attitude.
"Why is anybody worrying? We all know it's going to be a girl, 6lb 1 0z, called Paloma ." Chris poured half a bag of crisps into his mouth.
"Paloma?" Paige questioned
"Yeah, it's Spanish for 'Dove', traditionally symbols of peace and all that jazz" he explained.
"You never know, it could be different this time round." Leo said
"Wanna bet? 50 bucks says that I'm right."
"Yeah? Well 50 bucks says.."
"There will be no betting, wagering or gambling on the life of my new niece" Piper interrupted.
"Which proves that you think I'm right and it is a girl"
"actually" Ben spoke up "It's going to be a Bastard"
Poppy's bottle of nail polish hit the floor breaking the shocked silence of the room, followed almost immediately by the sound of Chris choking on his crisps, he began coughing violently to the extent that Leo was forced to hit him on the back. "what?" he spluttered.
"A Bastard" Ben repeated calmly.
"Honey where did you here that?" Paige asked.
"At Lewis' house. I said that Mummy and Daddy were going to get married after the baby was born so that Mummy could wear her nice dress, and his older brother said that the baby would be a Bastard. What is a Bastard?"
"well, it's a .." Chris began
"Shouldn't you be in lectures?" Piper changed subject."I'm not paying all that money in college tuition for you to be standing around the house doing nothing"
"It's reading week"
"well then, shouldn't you be reading?"
"mum! No one actually reads in reading week"
" I did.."
A snort came from Poppys direction.
"Did you say something?" Paige challenged her daughter.
"No"
"Good" Paige's eyes narrowed, taking in her daughters' appearance. "I sincerely hope that is not the new top I bought you the other week"
"so what if it is?" came the reply
"well I distinctly remember paying 20$ for a top with a front, back, and ah yes sleeves" she indicated the arms of the black cotton top which now had a series of holes running down them.
"so I modified it"
"Modified it? You've hacked large chunks out of it. Modifying something implies that you are making it better, in what possible way does that make it look better?"
"don't worry Aunt Paige" Chris called "she's going for homeless person chic, it's all the rage amongst teenagers"
"Ever since you turned 20, you've been the biggest pain in the a.."
"Hey guys" Cole shimmered in. "It's all over"
"Daddy!" Ben ran toward him
"Benny Boy" he swung his son round "come meet your little sister"
Chris raised his eyebrows, giving his mother an ' I told you so' smile.
'alright' she said' let's save the self congratulatory speeches for later shall we? We've got a niece to meet. Paige and I will orb over with Cole and Ben, the rest of you can follow, Leo you can take my car"
"Car? What's this about a car?" Chris puzzled
"we are not all orbing in en masse, It's a hospital it's a public place people will notice" Piper told him, Paige nodding in agreement, handing Rosie over to Kyle.
"toodles" Paige called before orbing the pair of them up and out.
20 minutes later
"Christopher, hurry up, it doesn't even take your mother this long to get ready" Leo shouted from the driveway, tapping his foot impatiently, Kyle, Poppy and Rosie had already gone on ahead.
Leo sighed, noticing the new neighbours had come out of the house opposite, he turned and gave them a friendly wave.
"It's not my fault Wyatt lost one of his trainers" Chris grumbled stepping outside with a brother in each hand.
"Never mind that" Leo told him, his attention diverted back to his sons, "Get in, other wise Paloma will already have celebrated her first birthday by the time we see her"
Maybe it was because he was distracted that Leo didn't notice that the new neighbours didn't return his wave. Maybe it was because he was in a rush that Leo didn't realise that the pair of them were staring at him so intently that their gaze almost bore holes into his back. Maybe it was because Leo was too busy listening to Chris that he didn't hear one of them make a phone call, a phone call that would later unintentionally disrupt the peace that had fallen over the Halliwell manor…
XXX
TBC – mainly scene setting – more action to come.
