5.01: Welcome To Our World
Act I
*Manor, parlor*
"Get him!" Paige shouted to Phoebe, as Phoebe levitated to avoid a fireball thrown by their latest attacker, Gorvon. Gorvon had surprise-attacked them just a little while ago, almost killing Paige when he shimmered in and launched a fireball at her.
Ever since a few months ago, when they had killed the Source, well Sources of All Evil, demons and warlocks had been attacking, trying to kill them and become the next Source. Phoebe and Paige tried to do the fighting themselves so Piper could rest and her unborn child would not be harmed. Piper helped every so often, when she was not tired from orbing unwillingly. Orbing was the power her child would have, and while it was in the womb, Piper got a taste of the power as well.
On this particular day, Piper was at her doctor's office with Leo, having herself checked out as she did every week these days because of all the risks she took as a Charmed One.
"Fireball!" Paige called, and the fireball aimed for them materialized in her hand. She threw it at the demon, but he dodged it, and their dining room table exploded in a heap of flames and wood debris. Paige and Phoebe stood side by side and read the spell Phoebe had written:
"Forces from where this demon dwells
Send this evil one back to hell!"
The demon screamed as he erupted into flames and exploded, leaving a burn mark on the carpet. Paige sighed in exasperation as she mumbled the vanishing spell to erase the mark, and then went over to Phoebe, who was sitting on the couch, examining a bruise on her hip. Paige gathered up some of the debris from the destroyed table, and put it in a garbage bag. She then concentrated, orbing the bag to the trash bin in the basement.
"Whoo!" Phoebe said, standing up. Paige examined Phoebe's bruise, worried. There was a glimmer of light, and Leo orbed in, holding Piper in his arms. Piper took one look around and gasped, an expression of shock appearing.
"What the hell happened here?" she asked. "I leave the house as a peaceful place and I come back to a war zone? Did another demon come to get his ass kicked?"
"He came, he saw, and we vanquished!" Phoebe said, smiling. Piper noticed Phoebe's bruise and frowned.
"So, what happened at Dr. Harris' office?" Paige asked Piper, as they cleaned up the remains of the table.
"Everything's fine, thank goodness! No baby troubles here," Piper said.
"So, no hocus pocus by the little one? Oh," Paige said, glancing at Phoebe, who looked down at her feet, a reminiscent look on her face.
The reason for Phoebe's sadness was this: She had been, shall we say, impregnated by Cole, who turned out to be the Source. After they had vanquished him, a task that had taken its toll on all of them, Phoebe began experiencing technical difficulties with the fetus growing inside of her. It took control over her at times, nearly killing Paige. In the end, through a long and too detailed to explain ordeal, the baby died, as well as the Seer, who served every Source, mostly because she was addicted to power.
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry!" Paige said, rushing over to hug her sister. Phoebe looked up and gave Paige a weak smile. Then she stood up and walked towards the stairs to their bedrooms, lost in her thoughts.
*Manor, upstairs hallway*
When she got to the top of the steps, she looked over to a nearby table, where a photo of her and Cole sat, waiting to be gotten rid of, as she had done to all of his stuff. She wiped a tear from her eye, and looked forward. She was not about to let Cole ruin her life – again.
*Manor, Kitchen*
Meanwhile, Piper and Leo were talking about Phoebe and her troubles. Piper was also cleaning up from their dinner.
"She's lost so much, Leo, and especially with Cole," Piper said, staring out the window by the kitchen sink, mindlessly washing the dishes. "She met Cole and they fell in love, but then she found out who he really was – a powerful demon sent to kill us. Then she faked his vanquishing just to save their love. She hid it from us a long time, and that was so hard on her! When she finally told us, our reaction, especially Prue's, tore her apart!" Piper gave a frustrated sigh and turned to face Leo.
"Then, a while later, Cole went undercover to find out some very important information concerning the Brotherhood, and he ended up returning to his evil ways! He became good again, due to Phoebe's quick thinking and a potion she used to reverse the effects of the Dark Magic. Just a few months ago, he lost his powers, then he became the Source, and Phoebe became his Queen, for god sakes!"
"But, Piper, sweetie," Leo started, coming over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Don't worry about all of that. That was the past. This is the present."
Piper smiled, but suddenly doubled over in pain. Leo gave her a concerned look, and called for Phoebe and Paige. Paige orbed down from her bedroom after a minute, and Phoebe ran down the stairs, nearly falling as she hopped down them two at a time.
"Is it time, Leo?" Paige asked, as Piper moaned in pain. Paige could see sweat beads on Piper's forehead, and she felt much pity for her oldest sister.
"I'll orb her to the hospital, you follow in Paige's car, we don't all want to orb in together," Leo said, carefully lifting his wife into his arms and orbing out. Paige glanced at Phoebe, who gave her the same look. They held hands, and Paige orbed to the hospital.
Act II
*Hospital, main corridor*
"My name is Leo Wyatt, and this is my wife Piper, who's in labor, as you can see," Leo said hurriedly to the receptionist. She wrote some things down on a clipboard, and Leo secretly hoped that they wouldn't need any information about her, or him, for that matter. She then paged a nurse to take Piper to the obstetrics ward. Phoebe and Paige ran into the hospital a second later, and they ran to catch up with the two.
"Leo? Where are you?" Piper groggily called out, and he grasped her hand, running alongside the gurney she was on. The nurse wheeled her into a room and helped her to get comfortable on the bed, then left, saying she would be back later to draw some blood and do an ultrasound.
Paige, who had been watching Piper moan in pain, was aching with pity, and she ran into the bathroom, suddenly sparking an idea. She closed her eyes and concentrated, orbing into the attic back at the manor.
*Manor, Attic*
Paige ran over to the Book and leafed through its worn pages carefully, until she eventually came to the spell she was looking for, A Spell to Ease Pain. Paige memorized the spell carefully, then she orbed back into the bathroom.
*Hospital, Bathroom*
Little did she know that a nurse had gone into the bathroom to wash her hands, and before Paige had time to orb back out, the nurse glanced up into the mirror, saw Paige and screamed. Phoebe, hearing the sound, opened the door and saw Paige, who gave her an 'I didn't know she was in here!' look. Piper, though in pain, gestured and the room froze.
"What just happened?" Phoebe asked, angrily eyeing Paige.
"I went to the Manor – I orbed there. I wanted to help Piper, so I found a spell to ease pain. If I knew how to sense for people, I would have done that! But I don't, so I didn't," Paige said defensively.
"Okay, we'll figure this out later, just get back where you were so I can unfreeze the room! I'm in labor, ya know!" Piper said, and Paige and Phoebe did as she told them. The instant time unfroze, Leo slammed the door to the room shut, and the girls used a spell to erase the nurse's memory of Paige's magical mishap.
Piper's doctor, Dr. Harris, came in to check up on her, while Phoebe and Paige played cards. They sat there, playing cards... waiting... and waiting... finally, the time came for Piper to deliver. Paige took pictures, while Phoebe and Leo held Piper's hands, encouraging her. Truthfully, they were holding Piper's hands so she, in her pain, didn't accidentally freeze or blow up anyone.
"Oh, look, it's a head! I see the head!" Paige exclaimed, grinning. The sound of crying soon filled the room, and Dr. Harris held up the baby for all to see. Piper's sweat-streaked face soon was stained with tears of joy and elation, and Leo smiled the proud grin of a father.
"It's a girl!" Dr. Harris said, smiling. The baby looked into his eyes, gave a small whimper that sounded also like a giggle, and orbed! Piper gasped, and so did her sisters. The doctor and assisting nurses looked to Piper, questioning looks on their faces. Piper gave a weak laugh, and then glanced at Leo.
"I'll find her, don't worry," he said, and orbed out.
"Mrs. Wyatt," the doctor said, approaching her bedside cautiously. "Do you know what just happened?"
Before she could answer, Leo orbed back in, carrying the baby. The doctor looked back and forth from Piper, to Leo, then back to Piper. All Piper could do was smile at the doctor, glancing Leo's way once again.
"Uh, Dr. Harris, we'll tell you the truth, but you have to keep it a secret," Leo said, and at that Paige and Phoebe gave him wide-eyed looks. Leo sighed.
"I'm an angel, and so are Piper and her sisters. Piper, her sisters, and I took human form to come to Earth. Piper was pregnant when," he paused for dramatic effect, "when she died, and she carried the baby with her to heaven. Her sisters died with her, in a tragic and horrifying car accident a few months ago in Virginia."
The doctor fumbled with his glasses, and Leo prayed that his made-up story would satisfy his curiosity. Dr. Harris looked at Leo, then Piper, then her sisters, then at the baby, who was sleeping soundly in a magic-proof bassinet Leo had retrieved from the attic in the Manor. As the Halliwells and Leo waited for his reaction, as well as the reactions of the nurses, the doctor fainted.
"Uh-oh," Piper said, and Leo went to make sure he was okay.
Act III
*Hospital*
As Leo cared for the shocked and fearful doctor, Piper and her sisters gazed at Piper's newborn baby girl.
"Hi, baby!" Phoebe cooed softly. "I'm your Auntie Phoebe, and this here is Auntie Paige!" Paige smiled warmly at the little one. She really, truly felt like a part of the family, now that she was an Aunt. Suddenly, Leo glanced heavenward.
"Oh, god almighty, can't they leave us alone for one damn day?" Piper said, then covered her mouth and glanced at the baby, who they'd decided to name Melinda Prudence, after Melinda Warren, their great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, and Prue, Piper and Phoebe's sister, who had died over a year ago.
"They want to meet Melinda, so I'm to orb Up There with her. It will only take a little bit, I promise," Leo said, picking up Melinda and kissing his wife on the cheek. Then he glanced heavenward and orbed.
*Up There*
Leo orbed up to the elders, gently cradling Melinda in his arms. "Up There" was a very quiet, beautiful place. It was all white, and there was really no end to it. The floor was simply made of fluffy clouds, through which the Earth was visible.
"Leo Wyatt, come forward!" the head Elder commanded, and Leo cautiously approached their dwelling. The head Elder took Melinda into his arms and rocked her back and forth.
"Leo, she's an angel, a true angel," he said. "We have decided to hold a ceremonial celebration, to make up for all of the trouble we caused you and Piper." Leo smiled, as the Elders fawned over the baby. Melinda looked at the head Elder and giggled. "Leo, we're happy for you and Piper. We thought the pairing would not work out, but you have proved us wrong."
*Manor, Night*
Leo had arrived back home with Melinda around dinnertime. Piper already had dinner prepared for the night she went to the hospital unexpectedly, so that's what they ate. Piper was on the couch in the living room, resting. Phoebe looked over to the sound-asleep Piper and smiled.
"Piper finally got her wish," she said to Paige. "A few months ago, she was told that she couldn't have children, and now she has the prettiest, most darling baby I've ever seen. Okay, except for me when I was a baby."
"The Elders are having a ceremonial celebration for Melinda, and for Piper and Leo," Paige said, smiling. "Speaking of that, are They coming down here, or are we going to Them?"
Phoebe pondered the question for a moment. They normally would not be allowed to go Up There, but she did not think that They would come down to Earth, so she really wasn't sure. In response, she shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not really sure, but let's go to sleep and worry about that tomorrow, okay?" she said, standing up and yawning. Paige stood up next to her and they locked arms, walking upstairs together.
*Manor, Next Day*
Leo, Phoebe, Piper, and Paige sat in the kitchen. Piper was nursing baby Melinda, while the rest were eating breakfast.
"The Elders say we should be Up There at," Leo checked his watch, "oh, in two hours. They said to be prompt, and that Melinda and Piper should each wear all white."
"Wow, specific ones, aren't They?" Piper said, rocking Melinda back and forth in her arms. Leo smiled at her, and then kissed her and Melinda.
After they had eaten a quick but hearty breakfast, they all got dressed, and Piper dressed Melinda in a beautiful velvet-white dress that Phoebe had dug up from their trunk of old clothes from their childhood days. Then they all orbed Up There, where they were taken to the Elders.
Act IV
*Up There*
The place where the celebration was to be held was decorated with bright white lights and other festive decorations, all white. Leo introduced and presented them to each of the Elders, but when he introduced Paige, they gave her a funny look.
"You are Paige, the daughter of the Charmed Ones' mother and her Whitelighter?" the head Elder said with surprise. Paige nodded, keeping her confidence. The Elders gave her a look of disapproval, and then focused on Melinda.
Paige kept her cool, but inside she was fuming. How dare They judge her like that? She may not have been born of out of legal means, but she was a person! The next thing she knew, she was walking up to the head Elder and staring him in the face.
"How dare you judge me by who and where I came from. Judge me by the fact that I'm a Charmed One, and judge me by who I am as a person! God, and you're supposed to be angelic?" she said to him, staring him in the face. He gasped in surprise, and Leo grabbed Paige by the arm and pulled her back.
"Uh, she didn't mean that, sir. She was just a little overactive from the, uh, recent events," he said, pulling her back, towards the entrance to their dwelling.
"Like hell I didn't mean it!" she shouted, and then Leo put his hand over her mouth. She still said many things, but they came out muffled. Phoebe and Piper glared at her, knowing full well what she was saying, and they were VERY glad that she could not be understood. Piper took Melinda into her arms, and they all orbed back to the Manor.
*Manor, Parlor*
Paige was sitting on the couch, listening to Phoebe yell at her. Phoebe thought she was paying attention, but she wasn't really. Instead, she was thinking about what had just happened, and how she wished she wasn't ½ Whitelighter.
"What you did was so risky it's not even funny!" Phoebe said, as Piper fed Melinda. Leo had gone back Up There to apologize to Them for Paige's behavior, since she wouldn't do it herself. "They could have taken away your powers for that outburst! Just look at what They put Piper and Leo through! You acted in an extremely irresponsible manner."
"Phoebe, I hate when people judge others by their background. I'm a social worker, so that's where I got most of that belief. I just don't understand why They said that stuff! I hate Them for it! And in case you think you understand, you don't. Your father wasn't a Whitelighter, so They didn't have to go through all that "Whitelighters and Witches Don't Mix" crap! God, I just don't get it," Paige said, and with that, she stormed up to her room.
Phoebe watched Paige go upstairs, a look of concern on her face. They had a lot to talk to her about. A lot.
*Manor Paige's Bedroom*
Paige sat on her bed, crying. She knew that Piper and Phoebe weren't very happy with what she'd done, but they didn't understand. They never could. She felt like some kind of fluke – a person who shouldn't have existed.
"Paige, can we come in?" Phoebe's voice filtered through the door.
"Go away!" Paige shouted tearfully.
Too late, we're coming in!" Piper said, and Paige's door exploded, showering her with debris. Paige's jaw dropped in surprise, and she turned to face them.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"We want to apologize, Paige. We were wrong in yelling at you like that," Phoebe said, sitting next to her. Paige jumped up and walked over to her window.
"You guys think that you know everything, that just because you've been 'Charmed' longer than I have. Well, newsflash: you don't know me. You don't realize that I've always felt like I was born illegally, okay," Paige said, bursting into another round of tears. Piper and Phoebe went over to her and they each gave her a hug.
"We want you. We know that it was destiny that brought you here, and it was destiny that brought us together," Piper said. at that, Paige stopped crying and looked at each of her sisters.
"You mean it?" she asked. A part of her believed them, but a part of her still was unsure. Piper and Phoebe nodded, and Paige smiled, her doubts disappearing instantly.
"And right now, your destiny is to have some hot chocolate with us, come on," Phoebe said, putting her arm around Paige's shoulders. The three of them walked out of Paige's bedroom together. Without warning, Phoebe tickled Paige's stomach, and Paige giggled, reaching over to tickle Piper's back. Before long, the three were laughing as they made their way downstairs...
*Manor, view from window*
As the three walked towards the kitchen, still laughing and being, well, sisters, Leo watched them through the window, smiling. Then he looked heavenward and orbed...
THE END