Author's notes: It's just another silly story about the chaos and misunderstandings that ensued at one of the Halliwell Halloween celebrations. In this story, Wyatt is about twenty-two and Chris is twenty. Magic has little to no role to play in this story despite several references to the fact that the Halliwells are powerful witches. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much I did writing it.
I'm rating this story as M just to be on the safer side but it really falls somewhere in between T and M.
Summary: This is by no means a typical Halloween celebration at the Halliwell household. How many costume parties start with teenage pregnancies, eavesdropping and end in a knockout punch? Surprisingly many, as a matter of fact…
Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of its characters except the ones I make up. I do not intend to make profit out of this story.
An Atypical Halliwell Halloween
It was the day before halloween.
"We should have a theme, something like Greek gods of Olympus. Dad can be Zeus as he used to have lightening bolts, uncle Coop will, of course be Eros the Greek god of love, you my dear little brother could be Apollo, the god of light, Junior could be Hermes and I'll be Ares, the god of war!" Wyatt declared enthusiastically. Chris and Junior rolled their eyes.
"Now granted that I'm the only one with a body that looks anything like a Greek god but I guess all of you can wear one of those fake muscle suits…" Wyatt's monolog was interrupted by his little brother.
"I have already decided that I'm going to be Harry Potter. I have the robes I have to wear when at teach at the magic school. And my hair's always messy. All I have to do is put on some round glasses and paint a scar on my forehead and I'm done," Chris declared.
"I'm going to be Draco Malfoy. I'm already blond and Chris has a spare set of robes I can borrow. So I'm covered," Junior declared.
"You're the most uninspired bunch I've ever seen. Come on kit and Odie; show some creativity," Wyatt urged.
"Your Olympus theme is not going to happen, Wyatt. So forget about it," was Chris's only reply.
"You're no fun," Wyatt said pouting like a toddler. The next moment his eyes brightened up.
"May be I can be Tarzan and Carver can be the beast-master," the twice blessed said smiling wickedly.
"Why do I get the feeling that you just want to show off your muscles and you want Carver to do the same? I don't think Carv is an exhibitionist like you, Wy," noted Prue, who had just entered the kitchen.
"I just want him to loose some of his inhibitions," Wyatt answered innocently.
"You're making him loose more than his inhibitions," Junior muttered under his breath.
"If you're referring to loosing his virginity, that ship has sailed a long time ago, believe me," Wyatt said with a sly smile.
"Dignity! I was referring to loosing his dignity! This is a perfect example of over sharing, Wyatt. We do not need to know when you and/or your boyfriend lost your respective virginities," Junior said grimacing.
"I don't know why and how Carver puts up with you. Some day he's going to come to his senses and dump your sorry ass," Chris muttered.
"Carver loves my sorry…" Wyatt's inappropriate comment was cut short by Chris.
"Again! Over sharing," the half elder stopped his big brother.
"But honestly; I was presently surprised when I met Carv. Usually, Wyatt's choice in partners leaves much to be desired," Junior commented. Wyatt narrowed his eyes and was about to say something infinitely unfortunate when his little brother stopped him again.
"Don't you have to help Prue with her fall shopping?" Chris asked innocently, knowing well that Wyatt will see through this trick. It was a well-established fact that Prue, like her mother Phoebe, was addicted to shopping. She would usually kidnap one of her cousins to 'help' her when she went on one of her shopping sprees. The only part her unwilling companions had to play was that of a mule carrying all the heavy bags. Prue's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
"That's right. You've been avoiding my calls for three days, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell. Now that I've finally gotten hold of you, today's the day we do all my fall shopping," Prue declared and dragged Wyatt with her towards the door. Wyatt gave Chris a betrayed look before reluctantly following his little cousin with an expression not unlike that of a man being let to the gallows.
"Alright. Now that those two chatterboxes are gone, we need to talk. I hope you haven't invited Rupert to the party," Chris said to Junior.
"Rupert's not in town, so no, he won't be there. Why do you ask?" Junior asked curiously.
"I've invited Olivia. You do know they broke up, don't you?" Chris asked in return. Junior nodded affirmative. Sensing that there was more to the situation than Chris was letting on, he watched his cousin's mannerisms carefully.
"What is it?" Junior asked when it became clear that Chris wasn't about to say anything else.
"It's not my place to say," was Chris's curt response. Henry Jr. rolled his eyes.
"Olivia and Rupert are both my close friends. I'm going to find out whatever it is anyway. Might as well tell me now," he said raising his eyebrows and shrugging.
"I don't know all the details but apparently Olivia asked Rupert to clear out some space in his closet for her stuff. She interpreted his reluctance as fear of commitment. The very next day, they broke up," Chris answered reluctantly. Looking at Chris's face Junior knew there was more to it than that. And then it came to him as a thunderclap.
"Rupert's gay isn't he?" Junior asked carefully observing Chris's reaction. Chris was startled for just a moment before he schooled his features.
"I always suspected as much. So, let me get this straight. Olivia asked Rupert to clear out his closet and he did so by coming out of it?" Junior asked barely controlling an amused smile. Chris stared at him disbelievingly.
"You can show a little more sensitivity, Odie. Olivia was so mad at him; she hid a dead fish in his car. It took him two days to finally find it. His car still stinks like hell," Chris said grimacing as he remembered being subjected to that smell.
"But Olivia is a sweetheart. She's not the kind of person to…" Junior began but was interrupted by Chris.
"You have to promise that you'll keep this between us. But Olivia's pregnant. That's why she was so mad," the half elder said matter-of-factly. Junior's jaw dropped to the floor.
"How the hell did you know?" Junior asked once he found his voice.
"She wanted to know if there was a magical way to 'turn' Rupert in the book of shadows. I told her that she should let Rupert be himself and that she should move on with her life and she kind of blurted out that she was pregnant with his child," The half elder answered.
"Poor Olivia. I wonder how her parents will react when they find out," Prue said as she straightened her crown. It took a lot of searching but she had finally found the snake emblem crown to go with the Cleopatra outfit she was wearing. It was slightly bigger than her size and kept leaning to one side whenever she tilted her head. Chris, who had just heard her casual comment, was startled.
"What are you talking about?" he asked his cousin with a bit of suspicion.
"I'm sure you know about her situation. Didn't she ask you for help?" Prue said a bit curious.
"Damn it Odie! You just couldn't shut your yap could you?" Chris cursed under his breath. But Prue, being a shrewd girl, knew something was off about Chris's reaction. After all, it was not a secret that Olivia was failing in biology and Chris was a genius when it came to the subject. It only made sense that Olivia would ask for the half elder's help. But why would Chris ask Junior to keep this a secret? She decided to pretend to know more than she actually did.
"It's not like she could have kept this a secret for too long," Prue decided to take a shot in the dark.
"She still has time. If she decides to keep the baby, it probably won't be till the second trimester before she starts to show," Chris blurted out not realizing Prue had been fishing for information. The half cupid's eyes widened imperceptibly. Chris would have noticed it if he'd been facing his cousin.
"Right, so what's she planning to do?" Prue asked recovering from surprise quickly.
"Her first brilliant idea was to magically turn him straight. For some crazy reason, she thought mom and the aunts must have tried something to turn Wyatt, when he first came out. Which makes no sense because mom and the aunts never had a problem with Wyatt's sexuality. And even if they had tried to magically turn him straight, it clearly didn't work. And she got mad at me when I told her that it was impossible and unethical to force someone to be someone they're not…" Chris stopped abruptly as he turned around and noticed the surprise in Prue's eyes.
"You didn't know… Did you?" He asked in a low growl. Prue smirked and shook her head.
"I didn't; but now I do. I also gathered that the father of her child is gay. Is that why Rupert broke up with her? She cheated on him? You might as well tell me who the father is, Chrissie," Prue said shrugging as if she didn't care whether or not Chris gave her the answer. Chris frowned at her. His expression clearly asking, 'Do you think I'm an idiot?' Prue smirked in response. After all Chris was the one who had let the cat out of the bag.
"I'm not saying another word," Chris huffed before rushing out of the kitchen to join the party. But Prue was Phoebe's daughter and just as curious. If Chris wouldn't give her the answers she wanted, she was going to do some detective work herself. She had gathered as much that Junior somehow knew. She also knew that the father was gay and certainly not Wyatt. The only other openly gay guy in their clique was Carver, Wyatt's boyfriend. It had to be him, she thought. It was then that she noticed Junior talking to Carver and decided to pay them a visit.
"Thanks for paying my phone bill. I promise I'll pay you back," Carver said to Junior. Ever since his parents had disowned him for being gay, Carver had taken up a job as Piper's assistant at her restaurant. Although the Halliwell matriarch paid her employees fairly, Carver often found it difficult to make ends meet. Once again he had allowed his only credit card to be maxed out and couldn't pay his cellphone bill. Junior worked part-time at his aunt's restaurant as a busboy and had generously offered to bail out his friend in his time of need.
"It's not a problem Carv. I'm glad I could help. But you need to be more careful. It goes on your credit history, you know?" Junior said patting Carver's arm reassuringly. Neither of them noticed Prue approaching from behind. Unfortunately, she had missed the part of their conversation that made it clear that they were talking about Carver's credit history.
"I don't know how I could be so thoughtless. I knew I should have had more control but… God, how could I be so stupid? I hope my careless actions haven't already ruined my future," Carver certainly sounded like he was regretting what he did. Prue's nostrils flared. She never thought a decent guy like Carver could be so selfish. He was only worried about his own future rather than that of his baby's.
"What's done is done. I did some research and I think you can still get out of this problem relatively unscathed if you're careful," Junior was telling his friend. At that very moment Prue was so furious that she wanted to wring both their necks. Not realizing that the two were talking about credit card debts and delinquent payments, Prue had become certain that Carver had cheated on her sweet and goofy older cousin and gotten a girl, her friend Olivia, pregnant. To make things worse, this pretty looking weasel was trying to shed his responsibilities. She had to tell Wyatt. He deserved to know what was going on behind his back. Making up her mind, Prue went looking for Wyatt. Of course, she missed the part of Carver and junior's conversation where Junior advised his friend to talk to his aunt Piper about his financial difficulties.
"I really need to talk to you about Carver," Prue insisted. But as soon as she mentioned his boyfriend's name, Wyatt got a goofy smile on his face and a far away look in his eyes. He was dressed like Julius Cesar and was holding a fake golden goblet that was filled with beer instead of wine. He gulped down what was left of his drink and stared at Carver. It didn't take a genius to realize that her cousin's mind was already in the gutter. She really didn't want to know what the twice blessed was thinking about. It was her third failed attempt to get Wyatt alone long enough to inform him of his lover's indiscretions. Wyatt had probably had a few too many beers and being a funny drunk, he was about to do something wildly inappropriate and just as entertaining. There was no way Prue was going to get his undivided attention long enough to say what she had to say. Reluctantly, she decided to wait for the next day when her big cousin was a bit more sober.
"Why the long face? Something troubling you?" she heard Carver's gentle voice. How could someone with such an angelic voice be so selfish and inconsiderate? May be he wasn't. May be he was just confused and needed a push in the right direction. After all she had known him to be one of the good guys for a long time. Prue decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"It's nothing. Just thinking about a friend of mine. She just found out that she's pregnant," Prue said trying to judge Carver's reaction while trying to be as discrete as possible. The last thing she wanted was to invoke a knee-jerk reaction from Carver. The telepath on the other hand felt extremely uncomfortable. After year's of dealing with his own little brother Evan's "friend's problems", Carver knew very well that 'my friend is in trouble' was a code for 'I'm in trouble'. Which could only mean one thing, Prue was pregnant.
"Ah hmm," he said cautiously, not really knowing how to react.
"I mean, I've known the father of her child for a while and he really doesn't seem to be the type of guy who would abandon his unborn child. But he's not responding well to the news," Prue continued in an emotionally charged voice.
"Does her family know?" Carver asked knowing that none of the Halliwells knew that Prue was pregnant. He wasn't sure if he'll be able to keep this a secret from his boyfriend. His eyes unwittingly drifted to Wyatt who was, by now, very drunk and singing obnoxiously loudly.
"No! Of course not!" Prue exclaimed, thinking it would scare him away from his responsibility to Olivia and their child if he thought her family was already involved. Carver wasn't sure exactly what Prue expected from him. He could talk to Dan. He was sure if Prue were pregnant, Dan would be the father. Prue would never cheat on her boyfriend, he was sure of that.
"I'm sure it'll work out. May be your 'friend' just needs to have an open and honest conversation with the father of 'her' child," Carver tried a generic answer.
Unbeknownst to the two, this particular conversation was being overheard by Sherman, one of Chris's friends from magic school. Sherman had been in love with Prue for a long time but never found the courage to actually ask her out on a date. Just like Carver, he had assumed that Prue's 'friend who is pregnant' was in fact a cry for help. He was a good guy at heart and wanted to help the girl of his dream. He began looking for Dan, who he assumed, was the father of her child.
"You! How could you do this? You don't deserve to be her boyfriend. You need to take your responsibilities seriously," Sherman's angry rant only added to Dan's alcohol induced confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dan almost slurred while trying to put one arm around Wyatt's shoulders. The cape of his Dracula costume was in the way and he managed to knock Wyatt's half filled goblet from his hands. The twice blessed scowled at his best friend.
"How do you expect her to do it all on her own?" Sherman asked incredulously. A spark of recognition lit in Dan's eyes. Of course, Sherman must be talking about Prue's upcoming thanks giving shopping spree. Dan was now sure that Sherman was a fool with a bleeding heart whose good judgment was clouded by his unrequited feelings for Prue. The half demon was well aware of Sherman's feelings but knowing he wasn't really Prue's type, never really considered him a threat.
"Listen. I love her. I really do. But if you expect me to be a mule and carry her burden around for the rest of our life, that's not going to happen. She'll have to find some other sucker to do that. May be you'll fit the bill perfectly. Why don't you go and offer her your services?" Dan said shooing the guy away. Had he not been drunk, he would have thought twice before saying what he said. If Prue had heard him being such a jackass, she would certainly have kicked him where it really, really hurt. The speech had a similar effect on Sherman. He was furious. He wondered how come Wyatt let his friend talk about his cousin in this manner. He realized in a moment that Wyatt wasn't in fact there. After Dan had knocked the goblet from his hands, Wyatt had gone to refill it.
"I will defend her honor. You will not talk about her in this manner. Prepare to fight," Sherman challenged the half demon, brandishing the wooden stakes he was carrying as part of his vampire hunter costume. Considering his rival was dressed as a vampire; that was only appropriate.
"Ha!" Dan cackled, looking at Sherman's slight build and nerdy disposition as opposed to his solid muscular build. Despite the fact that he was quite drunk, the half demon knew he was perfectly capable of defeating this scrawny boy. But at the same time, Dan admired the boy's courage. It took guts to challenge someone twice your size. With some effort, the half demon controlled his amused laughter and decided to give the boy a graceful way out.
"Look buddy, I'm in no mood to fight right now. I'm not sure what I ever do to you to make you so mad at me but if I have offended you in some way; I assure you that it wasn't intentional. Let bygones be bygones, shall we?" The half demon said offering a hand. Sherman wasn't expecting this. He expected Dan to get all macho and punch the daylights out of him. He wasn't delusional. He knew he didn't stand a chance if Dan had accepted his challenge. But he had to do it for his dream-girl. He could never have considered himself worthy of her affections if he had acted like a coward. Sherman was too stunned to react quickly. Dan chuckled and patted the boy on the back before walking away.
"Prue, we need to talk," Sherman said as he approached the half cupid near the manor entrance. He gently held her hand and led her outside into the garden to get some privacy. Being a half cupid and an empath, she knew well that Sherman had feelings for her. Prue liked boys with a bit of 'bad boy' reputation. And a certain half demon fit the bill perfectly. Sherman was all around good guy, a perfect boy scout, and quite frankly, a bit boring. That was the reason she tried her best to keep things strictly platonic between them. She didn't want to give him mixed signals and then inevitably break his heart. She could feel his emotional turmoil. He had a sense of honor and duty coupled with a little bit of excitement. She knew exactly where this was going; he was going to propose to her. And it made her incredibly sad that she had to break his kind heart. One thing she couldn't figure out was that what had brought on this sudden sense of being a knight in shining armor. Her suspicious were confirmed when Sherman knelt down on one knee.
"I know you're in a difficult situation. Teenage pregnancy and responsibilities of raising a baby alone can be daunting…." Sherman was still talking but Prue had stopped listening after hearing the words 'teenage pregnancy'. Sherman thought she was pregnant. Where in the world would he get such a crazy idea? That was the reason he had finally gathered the courage to admit his feelings. He must have overheard her chat with Carver and misunderstood. That was the only possible explanation.
"But you don't have to do it alone. Even if he won't do right by you and take responsibility, you can trust that I'll always be there for you. I'll be the best father to your child and a loving husband to you. And don't get me wrong; I'm not doing this out of pity. I know you're a strong girl capable of doing anything you want on your own. I've always had feelings for you. I really do love you. Prudence Paige Halliwell, will you marry me?" Sherman asked with an incredibly hopeful look in his eyes. His last question had brought Prue out of her reverie. She exhaled deeply. She had to clear Sherman's misconception about her being with a child. It was incredibly sweet of him but he was doing it for the wrong reasons. And it was up to her to let him down as gently as possible. She knelt down to his level and took in a deep breath before beginning to explain.
What she didn't realize was that Rudy, one of Wyatt's charges, had heard Sherman's speech and was on his way to Wyatt to inform him that his little cousin was pregnant.
"What? You really think Prue's pregnant? How the hell would you know?" Wyatt almost yelled at his charge. Rudy narrated the whole incident with Sherman and his marriage proposal. Wyatt, being more or less drunk, had yelled so loudly that Phoebe, who was just entering the kitchen through the back door, heard him loud and clear. Her baby girl was pregnant? She couldn't believe it. She had to talk to the sisters.
Meanwhile, Wyatt went to find Prue.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Was Wyatt's first question. Prue was confused; having no idea what Wyatt was so worked up about. She had just done talking to Sherman, assuring him that she wasn't pregnant and that although she appreciated the gesture, she couldn't marry him. It wouldn't be fair to either of them. Sherman, now feeling embarrassed about his earlier outburst, had left the party shortly after.
"What are you talking about?" Prue asked cautiously.
"The baby. I'm talking about the baby," Wyatt said, agitated. Prue could feel the anxiety and agitation Wyatt was experiencing. He must have somehow found out about Carver's baby.
"Now, Wyatt, you cannot be mad at Carver. I know he didn't mean to hurt you like this. I'm sure it was a mistake…" she left her sentence incomplete as she felt he worry Wyatt was feeling turn into rage.
"Oh o. You didn't know Carver was the father, did you?" Prue asked apprehensively. Wyatt only glared at her before stalking off angrily, looking for his (ex?) boyfriend.
Meanwhile in the attic, Phoebe had filled her sisters in on her daughter's situation.
"Do you think any of out children know?" Paige asked. The next generation of Halliwells was a close-knit group. It was clear from their extravagant phone bills. Reese, Phoebe's son and Paige's twins, Penny and Patty were currently on a camping trip with grandpa Victor and they called Chris and Junior constantly. With their sibling bond coupled with white-lighter senses, Chris and Wyatt knew exactly what the other was thinking, saying and in general feeling at all the time. If one of the cousins was in trouble, they must all know.
"I'm sure some of them know, especially Chris. Being a half elder, he's particularly good at sensing us. He can sense tiny changes in magical signature brought on by pregnancy. Don't you remember? He had sensed something was different about Paige when she was pregnant with the twins. He was too young to recognize what the change meant but he sensed it nonetheless. He might have known before Prue did," Piper explained her theory.
"Well, what're we waiting for? Lets ask him," Paige proposed.
"Chris, sweetie, could you come here a sec?" Chris heard Piper's deceptively sweet call. He orbed in instantly. Glancing at her face, he knew well that he was in trouble, for some reason he couldn't think of.
"Yeees?" He asked cautiously as he entered the attic.
"Chris you, Wyatt and your cousins are blessed with an incredible sense of loyalty towards each other. And it's a good thing; don't get me wrong. But you need to understand that we're not the enemy here. We're on your side. We want what's best for all of you," Leo had switched to his white-lighter mode before his impatient wife scolded his equally short-tempered son and the conversation turned into a yelling match between mother and son. Chris was really confused, as he had no idea where his father was going with this speech; especially when he delved into the fragile nature of trust and the intricacies of parent child relationships.
"Dad, please. Is there a point to this conversation, somewhere, looming on the horizon?" the half elder asked irritated.
"Do you know something about Prue that we don't?" Piper went straight to the point.
Ah. That's what this is about, Chris thought. Phoebe had somehow found out about the fact that Prue wanted to be an artist instead of a doctor like Phoebe always wanted her to be.
"Prue's a free spirit. You cannot really expect her to be a good little soldier and do everything you expect of her. You guys should know better than that. And may be she'll make some mistakes and face the consequences. You cannot expect to control every aspect of her life like this," Chris said shrugging. Prue had a right to choose her own career, no matter what Phoebe expected of her. Piper was speechless. She couldn't imagine how her sweet little peanut had grown up to be this apparently dry and frigid young man.
"How can you say that? There are two lives at stake here," Paige managed to say. Having no idea that the sisters thought that Prue was pregnant, Chris raised his eyebrows in confusion. Then it dawned in him. They were probably talking about Dan.
"He's a tough soul. He'll be alright," the half elder said shrugging.
"It's a boy," Phoebe muttered but Chris didn't hear her.
"How could you possibly be so sure?" Leo asked his son.
"He's a half demon. Their kind is tough. He'll be OK," Chris answered carelessly, not realizing the effect this declaration had on Phoebe.
"You mean one quarter demon?" Paige asked hopefully. Dan was half demon. If he were the father of Prue's child, the child would be one-quarter demon.
"No; he's a half demon. What's wrong with you all?" Chris asked now thoroughly irritated. Phoebe gasped imperceptibly and was about to faint when they heard a loud crash downstairs. Sensing there was some commotion going on in the conservatory, Chris rushed downstairs.
"How could you? You not only cheated on me but you did it with my little cousin," Wyatt would have clutched a handful of Carver's collar, had he been wearing a shirt. Alas, his Tarzan costume didn't include a shirt and Wyatt resorted to yelling into his boyfriend's face.
"What the hell are you talking about? Reese and Junior are like my brothers. You have a sick, sick mind, Wyatt," Carver yelled back, now clearly getting angry himself.
"Not them. I'm talking about Prue. You got her pregnant," Wyatt yelled back.
"You're pregnant?" Junior asked his cousin incredulously.
"Wyatt, you idiot. I'm not the one who's pregnant. Olivia is. And Carver's the father," Prue blurted out before engaging her brain.
"I'm not the father! Where would you get a crazy idea like that? I've never even been near any girl's… girly parts," Carver said grimacing a little at the thought.
"Oh thank you so much Prudence! This is just perfect. First my boyfriend tells me he's gay and now you declare to the whole world that I'm pregnant. This is just a freaking dream come true for me isn't it?" Olivia said sarcastically. Chris, who had just returned from the attic after hearing the commotion downstairs, stepped towards her to offer support. But the girl stopped him with one lethal glare.
"You! You simply couldn't shut your yap could you? You had to tell everyone…" Chris heard Olivia's voice before he felt a sudden dizzying sensation followed by a sharp pain in his nose. Next thing he remembered was the floor of the conservatory rapidly approaching his face.
Olivia had stormed out of the manor without bothering to acknowledge any one present in the room after punching Chris in the nose. After this little drama, the party was pretty much over. It was too awkward for any of the guests to remain there any more and have any kind of fun. After all the misunderstandings were cleared, the Halliwells had a good laugh at themselves. Well, at least those who weren't currently knocked out or groveling in front of their lovers had a good laugh anyway.
"Dude, you were knocked out by a girl!" Junior said in an amused voice as soon as he saw Chris had come around.
"She's got a deceptively mean left hook. And it wasn't even my fault," Chris exclaimed.
"Well, look at the silver lining in all of this fiasco," Junior said thoughtfully.
"What silver lining? The party was pretty much ruined. Carver is furious at Wyatt, Olivia punched me and Rupert probably would have too, if he were here. To top it all of nicely, I probably have gained reputation as a blabbermouth. If there is a silver lining, I fail to see it," Chris said scowling.
"Well, at least I wasn't the one to spill the beans. That's something," Junior said smirking. Chris only rolled his eyes.
That's all folks!
Kindly read and review.