Disclaimer I don't Owen them they are the property of Aaron Spelling and Constance Burge. I just borrow them for your enjoyment and my writing addiction. As well I take no credit for A Christmas Carol. That was written by Charles Dickens, I just borrowed parts of it to fill in blanks...
The fire crackled softly, warming the Manor and those that resided inside its walls. A bowl of popcorn nestled safely on the lap of the middle occupant of the couch, as they listened to the classic they had been reading in the family every Christmas Eve for generations, and would for generations to come. It was always the tradition that the oldest of the family would read it to the younger ones.
"At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat.
"You'll want all day tomorrow, I suppose?'' said Scrooge.
"If quite convenient, Sir.''
"It's not convenient,'' said Scrooge, "and it's not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you'd think yourself ill-used, I'll be bound?''
The clerk smiled faintly.
"And yet,'' said Scrooge, "you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for no work.''
The clerk observed that it was only once a year.
" poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!'' said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. "But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning!''
Another log was tossed gently and quietly on the fire, not breaking a word as the tale continued to be told.
The cellar-door flew open with a booming sound, and then he heard the noise much louder, on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight towards his door.
"It's humbug still!'' said Scrooge. "I won't believe it.''
His colour changed though, when, without a pause, it came on through the heavy door, and passed into the room before his eyes. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried, I know him! Marley's Ghost!' and fell again.
"Ok pause." Piper said as she untangled herself from the couch
"Piper, you can't pause a reading of the classic." Prue replied to her younger sister.
"I can if we want hot chocolate." She said with a smile as she started for the kitchen.
Prue looked down at Phoebe who just shrugged her shoulders, before getting up and following her sisters.
"Phoebe what are you doing?" Pipers voice of concern reaching her as she stretched a bit further
"Getting the special mugs." she said from atop the stool, "We can't have Christmas Eve without the book and the mugs." She replied with a smirk
"You are gonna break your neck." She laughed knowing what the mugs meant to the youngest.
"Nope." But as the words left her mouth she felt the stool beneath her sway slightly. "Piper?" But before her older sister could even react, the stool slipped from under her, sending her crashing to the floor.
"Phoebe!" her call was out of fear for her sister who lay unmoving on the floor.
Prue ran in from the living room when she heard the crash and Piper yelling. She quietly slide in beside Piper, reaching down feeling for a pulse, "She's out cold. Let's move her to the couch." between them they guided her gently onto the couch, as Piper ran and got a cool wet cloth.
--- ----
Her mind drifted back and forth of memories of Christmas's past. The presents under the tree. Grams stuffing, Pipers baking. The magic and the sparkle of the lights her and Prue had put up. Friends and family gathered near.
A sudden bright light filled her mind and was gone. Though lifting the fog from her mind as she fluttered her eyes open.
"She's coming around."
The voice reaching the back of her mind.
"Phoebe, come on sweetie."
She forced her eyes open as the figure beside her came slowly into focus.
"You hit your head honey, just relax." Prue's voice was calm and caring.
"Mum?" her voice weak.
"It's ok honey. You fell and hit your head hard. You gave us all a good scare." She helped shift her daughter up to a sitting position.
"Here Phoebs have some water." Piper handed her a glass of water, as she sat on the couch next to her baby sister.
Her mind was fuzzy as to what had happened but it was slowly coming back. The last thing she recalled was reaching for their mugs for hot chocolate, and some one reading a Christmas carol, but it was only half a picture. "I don't." she closed her eyes trying to remember what happened
"You were reaching for your sisters and your mugs when the stool tipped over." Gram's voice came from the direction of the kitchen as she placed another cool cloth on her granddaughters' head. "Rest now my darling, everything will be ok."
Phoebe tilted her head back against the couch and let the coolness of the wet cloth relive some of the ache in her head.
She had faded voices in her head. Piper telling her to be careful as she stretched further up, but then the stool she was on slipped under her and she fell, but something was nagging her at the back of her mind. She didn't know what it was as she closed her eyes.
"Maybe we should take you down to the hospital sweetie. That was quite the hit you took."
"No I'm ok Mum, I just need some rest, more of the story and some of Pipers hot chocolate. Can't have Christmas Eve without those can we." She shifted her weight and rested her head on her mothers' lap taking comfort there.
"Ok then. Where were we?" Grams lifted up the book as Phoebe looked around. Prue was snuggled on the chair with Andy holding her as Piper sat on the floor in front of the fireplace with her boyfriend of two years, his name for the moment escaped her, but she knew it would come back.
Grams read as she had ever year. Though each one could almost read it without the book. Having heard it many times before.
"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?'' asked Scrooge.
"I am!'' The voice was soft and gentle. Singularly low, as if instead of being so close beside him, it were at a distance.
"Who, and what are you?'' Scrooge demanded.
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.''
"Long past?'' inquired Scrooge: observant of its dwarfish stature.
"No. Your past.''
Perhaps, Scrooge could not have told anybody why, if anybody could have asked him; but he had a special desire to see the Spirit in his cap; and begged him to be covered.
"What!'' exclaimed the Ghost, "would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give? Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow!''
Scrooge reverently disclaimed all intention to offend or any knowledge of having wilfully bonneted the Spirit at any period of his life. He then made bold to inquire what business brought him there.
"Your welfare!'' said the Ghost.
Phoebe looked around the room around her still. Faces and voices of the years gone by. Andy back from Portland where he became a police officer and was now engaged to Prue. Piper with Jeremy, yes that was his name, but as she looked at him she felt a shiver. Her grandmothers voice a distant echo as she tried to think of what it was about Pipers boyfriend.
"Belle,'' said the husband, turning to his wife with a smile, "I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon.''
"Who was it?''
"Guess!''
"How can I? Tut, don't I know.'' she added in the same breath, laughing as he laughed.
"Mr. Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge it was. I passed his office window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle inside, I could scarcely help seeing him. His partner lies upon the point of death, I hear; and there he sat alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe.''
"Spirit!'' said Scrooge in a broken voice, "remove me from this place.''
"I told you these were shadows of the things that have been,'' said the Ghost. That "they are what they are, do not blame me!''
"Remove me!'' Scrooge exclaimed, "I cannot bear it!''
He turned upon the Ghost, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face, in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him, wrestled with it.
"Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!''
In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head.
The Spirit dropped beneath it, so that the extinguisher covered its whole form; but though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground.
He was conscious of being exhausted, and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness; and, further, of being in his own bedroom. He gave the cap a parting squeeze, in which his hand relaxed; and had barely time to reel to bed, before he sank into a heavy sleep.
The remainder of the night was the same. As Grams closed the book ending yet another family tradition as the clock struck midnight. Phoebe always wondered how Grams did it. Every year there were different interruptions through the night and tonight was no different. But she always managed to end the book just as the grandfather clock started its countdown into another Christmas.
Phoebe woke the next day knowing it was Christmas morning, but the throbbing in her head still pounded. Maybe I should have gone to the hospital. She thought to herself as she looked up after the knock on her door.
"Hey Phoebs, you coming? Usually you're the first one downstairs." Piper moved and sat on the edge of Phoebes bed.
"Um, yeah, just tired I guess."
Piper looked at her sister knowingly. "And a headache. You should have let Prue take you to the hospital last night. You were out of it for quite awhile sis."
"I'm ok. As long as there are lots of presents under the tree for me." She replied looking at her sister before she tackled Piper on her bed. "Last one down is a reindeer food." Her laughed echoed through the Manor as she knew it always did this time of year.
Phoebe rounded the corner and saw her mother starring out the large window of the Manor. She seemed distant; quiet.
Coming up behind her, Phoebe wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Merry Christmas Mum."
Patty turned and pulled her baby tight, "Merry Christmas baby." She answered as she placed a kiss on the top of her forehead. "Well let's get everything ready for when Prue and Andy come over."
"Come over?"
"Yeah remember they got a place across down together? How hard did you hit your head last night sweetie" Patty placed her hand on her daughters forehead fearing something else was wrong.
"And Piper and Jeremy?"
"Honey you know they are talking about getting a place together. Soon it will just be Grams, you and me. Can you handle that?" Patty took Phoebes chin in her hand and looked into her eyes. She feared one day they would all discover their powers, before her and her Mother had found a way to stop Nicolas. Even now she wished her Mother would unbind them and tell them their true destiny. She knew they could use the help of the Charmed Ones. Demons were winning battles on all fronts.
"Yeah, that's cool with me." She said as she leaned into her mother's hug. But in the back of her mind something was nagging her, a dream or something, she wasn't sure what it was.