Title: You're a What !
Category: Charmed/Highlander crossover
Rating: T
Disclaimer: The characters and concepts from Charmed belong to Constance M. Burge and Spelling Television Inc. The characters and concepts from Highlander: The Series belong to Gaumont Television, Davis Panzer Productions Inc. and Rysher Entertainment. Everything is made up.
Author Notes:
1) This story takes place somewhere in the second half of the second season of Charmed after Prue quits Buckland's and somewhere in the second half of the fifth season of Highlander.
2) This story is the third in a trilogy and is the sequel to The Trouble with Secrets.
Summary: Would you like some coffee with those revelations?
Chapter 1
Phoebe Halliwell sat on the hard chair trying to get comfortable but had little success. Sitting next to her were Duncan MacLeod and Richie Ryan. The trio were waiting for her sisters who were being tended to by the clinic's doctor.
"Are you sure we shouldn't take them to the hospital?" Duncan asked again.
"It's okay," she reassured him. "We've been here before. Trust me."
The dim fluorescent light above them flickered tauntingly making the pale grey walls even more dispiriting. Phoebe knew that the 24-hour medical clinic was situated in a rather unsavory part of town, but the treatment was good, and more importantly, few questions were asked of the patients. She shifted again and recalled the events that led up to this point.
Phoebe and her sisters were lured into a deadly trap by a warlock named Fenella. During the fight Prue and Piper were injured, and Richie was killed. After Phoebe vanquished Fenella, a man who knew the warlock tried to kill her with a sword. She was saved when Duncan blocked a decapitating stroke. The two men engaged in a fatal duel that ended with her friend beheading his opponent. Then Phoebe watched as one of the most bizarre scenes she had ever witnessed in her life unfolded before her.
A maelstrom appeared out of nowhere centering on Duncan who was bombarded by bolts of energy. He absorbed the assault like a lightning rod. When the cyclone dissipated, Duncan went with Phoebe to help her sisters.
When she told the others that Richie was dead, Phoebe was surprised when Duncan didn't express the grief and anger she had expected. Instead, he wore a stony look of grim resignation and foreboding. Piper's startled gasp drew her attention away from Duncan and onto Richie who was alive and breathing. Phoebe and her sisters watched in stunned amazement as Duncan helped Richie into a sitting position.
"We have to talk," Duncan said as Piper began to sway on her feet, "but not before we go to the hospital. Piper definitely needs stitches, and Prue should be checked out as well. Phoebe, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," she said still trying to accept Richie's miraculous recovery.
"No hospital," Piper said determinedly.
"But, Piper..." Duncan began.
"No hospital," she repeated with conviction.
"What about the medical clinic?" Phoebe suggested.
"Okay," Piper conceded.
"Why not the hospital?" Duncan insisted
"Because the last time I was in the hospital, they called in the Center for Disease Control," Piper complained.
"And because hospitals tend to ask a lot of questions," Prue said pointedly. "The clinic will be fine."
"I'll drive Prue and Piper in the SUV," Phoebe said. "You two follow."
The small group slowly made their way back to P3. Duncan carried Piper while Phoebe and Richie helped Prue. The caravan of vehicles drove off to the clinic. When they finally reached their destination, one look at the men's faces told the Halliwells that they didn't approved.
"You want to be treated here?" Duncan asked incredulously as he gestured to the shabby brick building that housed the clinic.
"I know it's not the best neighbourhood," Phoebe said, "and the clinic doesn't look like much, but the doctors are good. Besides, you are not going to be able to convince them to go to the hospital."
"No hospital," Piper repeated petulantly.
"Fine," Duncan said clearly far from satisfied.
The exhausted group entered the clinic to find it empty of people except for the staff. Prue and Piper were taken into the examination rooms while the others were left in the reception area.
The trio had been waiting for about an hour. The youngest Halliwell shifted in her seat yet again and raised a hand to stifle a yawn. The adrenaline that pumped through her for most of the night was draining fast.
Her gaze turned to Richie whose legs were stretched out before him. His arms were crossed and resting on his chest, which rose in a slow rhythm as he dozed lightly. He had changed out of his charred and bloody shirt and into the t-shirt he had worn at the gym earlier. Phoebe couldn't quite believe that he was still breathing when by all rights he should be dead. She saw the smoldering wound that resulted when Richie was hit in the chest by one of the warlock's lightning bolts. No human could have survived that kind of assault. Yet here he was softly snoring beside her.
Phoebe switched her gaze to Duncan who must have decided that, if he stared down the hall that lead to the examination rooms long enough, the sheer power of his will would make her sisters come out.
What had happened to her handsome friend also defied rational explanation. The electrical storm he survived probably would have vapourized a normal person. Still, another mystery her mind couldn't unravel at the moment. The appearance of a fatigued doctor and two weary witches caused the trio to stand.
"Is everything alright?" Phoebe asked worriedly.
"They're a bit banged up, and the cut required a few stitches," the doctor explained, "but both women can go home."
Thank God for a witch's constitution, Phoebe thought remembering what Leo once said about their bodies being adapted in order to handle their powers. As a result, the Halliwells were rather resilient.
The bedraggled group thanked the doctor and exited the clinic. They gathered next to their vehicles.
"Think your car will be safe at P3, Prue?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah," she answered with a small yawn.
"Phoebe, are you okay to drive?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," she replied as she unlocked the SUV doors.
"Then go home, and get some rest, and we'll deal with everything tomorrow. Richie and I will follow you to make sure you get there safely."
"Duncan, we'll be fine," Phoebe protested.
"Just humor us, okay?" Richie said.
"Okay," she replied not having the strength to argue.
Everyone piled into their respective vehicles and drove to the Halliwell manor like a parade. Once home, the women paused at the foot of the driveway as the men got out of their cars.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Duncan asked the Halliwells.
"I swear, Duncan, if you ask that one more time, I'm going to deck you," Prue threatened.
"Okay, okay," Duncan replied holding his hands up.
"This discussion can wait until tomorrow," Piper said yawning.
"Why don't you two come by around 3:00," Phoebe suggested. "We can have our talk then."
Duncan and Richie looked at their friends then at each other. "Sounds good."
"Thank you for saving my life," Piper said to Richie softly.
"What are friends for?" Richie replied giving her a gentle hug.
"And thank you for saving my life," Phoebe said to Duncan.
"It was my pleasure," Duncan answered giving her a quick hug. "Now get some sleep."
"Good night," the Halliwells called out to their departing friends. The men smiled, waved and drove off.
Phoebe let out an exasperated sigh as she kicked off her blanket. She had been tossed and turned for the past half hour. Her mind kept replaying the night's events, and when she wasn't doing that, she was hypothesizing as to what Richie and Duncan were. Giving up trying to force the rest that kept eluding her, she laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Well, if I can't sleep, I might as well check the "Book of Shadows" and see if I can figure out what's going on, Phoebe thought climbing out of bed. She tiptoed down the hall cringing as she stepped on that one squeaky board Leo could never quite fix. She quietly checked on her sisters and was relieved to find them both sleeping soundly. Creeping up the stairs that led to the attic, she took the "Book of Shadows" off its pedestal and made her way back to her room.
After getting settled in her bed, Phoebe began flipping through the large heirloom. Someone ought to make an index or at least a table of contents, she thought frustratedly.
This is interesting, she thought stopping at an illustration that resembled the vortex that the warlock had conjured. Apparently, it led to Limbo, a space between dimensions from which there was no escape. And I sent her there, Phoebe thought with an uneasy feeling. Boy, I hope the book is right, or we're going to have one pissed off warlock on our hands.
She continued flipping through the hefty tome looking for some explanations. Twenty minutes later she fell asleep with the book open beside her.