"So last night I was doing my precalc homework. I tell you, those teachers
are out to get us!" Portia said as she walked to school.
"Oh, P, you're so smart, you make me ill!" Skylar exclaimed.
"I love you too, Sky."
"Hey, did you guys hear Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane fighting last night? Obviously someone isn't happy under the covers!" Wyatt said, purposely being dirty.
Portia elbowed him, "That's so disgusting, but what were they fighting about since I can't hear from across the street!"
"I don't know, that's why I asked. Anyways, could you help me with my geometry homework? It's proofs again."
"Yeah, just bring your book to lunch."
"P, tonight will you help me with my chemistry too? I have to do a lab write-up for tomorrow." Sky asked her cousin.
"Yeah, but don't forget your lab book this time.
Wyatt then spoke, "Don't you ever have any homework...ever?"
"Yeah, but I do a lot of it in Honors English. That class is so boring, all we do is read books and do dumb projects, so I just hide my text books in my lap and do the homework that way. Except precalc, that requires way too much thinking for English class...Oh, you just reminded me! I have a French presentation today!"
"P, why do you even bother with that class? You speak fluent French." Wyatt saw no point in taking something that you already knew.
"Because it's good practice and sometimes I get to teach the class. I don't want to be a teacher, but it's good public speaking practice."
Skylar saw her chance to be a smart ass, "Portia, why are you so perfect?"
"It's a curse really, it is." The three cousins laughed. From outside they looked like the normal high school sophomores. Wyatt was fair-haired and blue eyed, and was a pacifist like his dad. More than anything, he enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend, Sarah. Skylar also had light blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was dark from tanning. She had a great figure and was dating the high school quarterback, Colton. Portia, the bookworm of the bunch, was the dark-haired vixen of the pair. A carbon copy of her Aunt Phoebe with thick brown hair like her Aunt Piper. Her eyes were full of determination, but the girl that was head of her class also had certain gentleness behind those dark brown eyes.
Though they looked like normal teens, they all packed some serious powers. After all, they were the children of the Charmed Ones. But that was a family secret that was known by all the demons in the underworld. Outside of immediate family and a very close family friend, no one knew that they were witches.
As they rounded the corner, their school came into sight. "Well, another fun day at school," Skylar complained. "I can't wait!"
"Just think, only two and a half more years. You'll get through it somehow," Portia, joked.
"Okay, Miss Smarty Pants. I'll see you guys at lunch."
"Bye!" Portia and Wyatt answered in unison. Phoebe and Piper sat sipping some tea in the Halliwell sitting room. Phoebe's five year old daughter Aislinn played with her cousin, Piper's four year old daughter Melinda.
"Melly!" Aislinn whined. "Come over here!"
"No, Aisi!"
"Come on, girls," Phoebe started, "play nice." She took another sip of tea and continued the conversation she was having with Piper. "They're getting so big."
"I know, all the kids are."
"It seems like only yesterday..."
"Look at you, Pheebs, the reminiscent mommy. It's got to happen some time, at least we can be here for them."
"True. I'm so proud of Sky. She's so well adjusted and does good in school."
"She gets more and more like you everyday, too."
"You think so? Grams always hoped that I'd have a daughter just like me. I guess I do."
"Yeah," Piper said remembering the countless times that Phoebe would get in trouble and Grams would say that. "But you've changed a lot. Wyatt is so much like Leo. He's a pacifist. I always see him calming the girls down."
"They do butt heads sometimes, but Portia is a big help to both of our kids. She's like a genius! I always hear them asking her for help. And the funny thing is that she'll help them, but she never gives them the answers. Sky hates that!"
"They tease each other all the time," Piper said smiling.
"So did we, if you remember."
"Pheebs, I've been thinking about that warlock that's after Wyatt. The one Chris always brings up...it's just weird that he hasn't struck yet."
"Well, maybe he's given up," Phoebe said hopefully. If only they knew how wrong they were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Chris toddled around the simulated penthouse. "Mommy!" He cried as he ran over and grabbed the Oracle's skirt.
She bent over and picked him up and he smiled at her. Four years of being a mother had softened her unbiased heart, but the blackness of her deeds had at the same time hardened her heart in other ways. "Oh, little Christopher. If only your future were clear to me, but all I see are clouds. This worries me, my young one. Are you to betray me and join your true mother...or will your fate be decided in death?" she put him down and he went to play with his toys.
"What if my powers are failing? This will not please the Master at all. He may dispose of me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Portia sat in her English class with her physics book in her lap. Not many kids in her grade were able to take physics. It was a class full of high school juniors and seniors. But she had taken biology during the summer at a local community college and had not only received credit in high school, but college credit as well. Chemistry was easy, as was physics. A lot of math questions.
"Force=Mass x Acceleration. M=12, F=38," she quickly thought to herself and then neatly wrote on her paper.
"38=12x, so 38/12=12/12x/ x=3.2."
She had just finished her first problem when the teacher started talking. "Class, if I could have your attention, please. From now on, you will have a new classmate. This is Brant Walsh, and he's just moved here from England."
"Hiya," Brant said in his gently English accent. Portia immediately lost all interest in her physics. This boy at the front of the classroom was extremely handsome with dirty blonde hair and gentle brown eyes.
The teacher scanned the room and saw Portia staring at him. "Portia, would you please show Brant around today, and help him get to his classes?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Fine, there's a seat next to her, Brant." The teacher handed him a book and as he walked down the aisle to his seat, he got a good look at Portia. He thought she was gorgeous.
"Hi, I'm Brant Walsh."
"Portia Tomasi, it's nice to meet you." "Every good evil plan needs distractions. That boy will be a distraction to the young witch, and the other girl is too socially bound to cause me trouble. The parents many are hard to distract, but some minor demon can take care of that for me. And the boy's confidence will fall when he is under...Lasher's spell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Sky, Wyatt," Portia said as she approached the lunch table where her cousins were sitting. "Guys, this is Brant Walsh. He's from England. These are my cousins Skylar and Wyatt."
"Please to make you acquaintance," Brant said formally.
"Nice to meet you too," Skylar said to him.
"P, you going to help me?" Wyatt said pushing his geometry book in front of her.
"Yeah. And Brant, this is Wyatt's girlfriend, Sarah."
"Hi," Wyatt opened his book to the page his work was on.
"Okay, this is the stuff that I get stuck on." Portia read and wrote a few laws and theories on his paper.
"These are all the things that you need to do to get the answers. I wrote down the steps and the laws that you need. All you have to do is set the stuff up and put the laws in the proper order."
"Thanks, P."
"Not a problem." They all ate their lunches and chatted. The bell rang and they went their separate ways. "So, Brant, what class do you have?"
"Physics...boring stuff."
"Me too! That's great that I know someone in there. Come on."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrice sat in her office on the phone, the same way she spent most of her days. This time she was talking to her company's Italian counterpart. Her expression said it all, the conversation at the other end of the line was far from stimulating. Occasionally she'd answer with a "Si" or a "Non," but that was it.
Her mind wandered to her daughter. Portia was so pretty. She had grown into a beautiful, polite, and smart young woman. Her grades reflected her work ethic. School came first. All her classes were advanced for her grade. Despite the difficulty, she still managed to get straight A's and be head of her class. No one ever had to tell her to do her homework. By the time Patrice arrived at home at night it was already done. She spent her extra time in the kitchen. She had gotten her Aunt Piper's gift for the culinary arts. And Portia was becoming quite the chef. But cooking was a hobby. School was her job.
Finally, the man at the other end began to end the conversation. "Arriverderci," she said into the receiver and hung up. The four teens met up after school. "P, I have a history test to make up," Wyatt told her.
"Yeah, and I have to meet with my lab group. Sarah's in it, so do you mind walking home alone?"
"I think I'll be fine."
"Okay, bye." The three of them left.
Portia started down the trek home and was about 50 feet down the sidewalk when a limo pulled up next to her. "Portia, would you like a ride?" It was Brant.
"Yeah, that would be great." The limo stopped and she got in. "Thanks a lot. The others had stuff to do."
"No trouble, where to?"
"1329 Prescott Street. I'm meeting Sky there to help her with her homework. I live across the street."
"That's cool that you live close."
"Well, my mom and her sisters are really close so we're constantly spending time together."
"My family has never been like that. My dad's a Lord, 41st in line to the throne. That makes me 42nd."
"Wow. So when do you get your title?"
"When I turn 18."
"That's a lot of responsibility." The limo pulled up in front of the Halliwell Manor. As Portia climbed out, Brant grabbed her hand.
"Portia, I was wondering, if maybe you would like to go out with me on Friday night?"
"That would be fun. Yeah, I'd like to."
"How about seven?"
"Yeah." The entire Halliwell family sat in the living room. Aislinn, Melinda, Skylar, Portia, Wyatt and Sarah lay on the floor. In front of Sky was her chemistry book and Portia had her precalc book and graphing calculator.
Piper had her legs draped over Leo's legs. He had taken the night off to be with his family. As had John. He sat next to Patrice with his hand on her thigh. Paige sat next to Prue and Bane. Phoebe and Jason sat in chair adjacent to the sofa.
"So kids, how was school today?" Jason asked.
"Boring!" Skylar quickly answered as Portia rolled her eyes at her cousin. "But Portia has a new boyfriend."
"I so don't! No, he's just a friend. His name is Brant and he just moved here from England. He's really nice."
"And he's the son of a Lord! Plus he's absolutely gorgeous."
"Yeah. And he asked me out!"
"On a date!" Patrice said surprised.
"Yeah, mom, that's what guys usually ask girls on." She returned her focus to her work.
"Are we going to meet him?" An eager Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, he's picking me up here tomorrow night."
"That's so great. I'm glad for you, P."
"Thanks." Once again she went back to her work.
Prue looked at Portia. "Hun, can't you just take a break and spend some time with your family?"
"Yeah, I'm experiencing brain drain anyways." She closed her book and looked over at Wyatt and Sarah. His fingers were intertwined in hers. Maybe she could have a relationship like that with Brant..."How about we play some charades." "Lasher, the boy is your target. His name is Wyatt."
"Wyatt...what an unusual name. I can assure you that my plan will not fail. The only thing that will fail is his trust in those he holds dear."
"Excellent, I want his fears to overcome him, choke out all the hope he has."
"As you wish, Ix..."
"Do NOT speak my name. It is not your place."
"Yes, Master."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, Sky, I'm so incredibly nervous," Portia said as she pulled her dress over her head. She was done up like a 1940's woman. Her dress was navy blue and tight with a swing skirt. Even her hose were old fashioned. "Are my seams straight?" she asked Sky about her panty hose.
"Yeah. You shouldn't be nervous. You're drop dead gorgeous. Brant is so lucky."
"Just like Cole is lucky. Oh, I hope I look alright." She bent forward and put on her lip liner and then a dark burgundy lipstick that went well with her tanned skin. Her dark brown locks were pulled up into a twist with ringlets falling around her face. She looked angelic, living up to her whitelighter half. "He said we're going to go dancing. I think I'll take him to P3. Aunt Piper is having a 40's night with a swing band. That should be a lot of fun."
"Yeah. I'll be having fun of my own. Cole's coming over. My mom acts so weird around him, and she always calls him Colton. I was going to ask, but I figured it was nothing."
"I say ask her, can't do any harm." She checked herself once more and then slipped on her shoes. "Brant's going to be here soon, so I'm going to go down and save him from the family. Have fun tonight."
"I will, you have fun too."
With that, Portia elegantly made her way out of Sky's room and to the stairs. Sarah's hand lay on Wyatt's chest. They were laying on the sofa in the Halliwell living room. Around them, the adults were bustling around getting ready for dinner. Piper was in the kitchen cooking, Prue was coordinating, Phoebe was playing with the little ones, Paige was setting the table, and Patrice was on her cell phone talking in Japanese to someone from work. The men were all arguing about football.
Portia snuck down the stairs and stood in the foyer. From the door she could see Brant's limo pull up. He got out and walked up to the door. He knocked and Portia opened it. "Hi, Brant."
"Oh my, you are a vision."
"Really?"
"Yes," he reached for her hand when the entire Halliwell clan came to join them.
"Brant, I'd like to you meet my family. Most important, this is my mom, Patrice and my dad, John. And then my Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane, my Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo and Melinda, Wyatt's little sister. Then there's my Aunt Phoebe, Uncle Jason and Sky's sister Aislinn and my Aunt Paige."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Brant Walsh."
"Don't worry; you'll get to know who's who eventually. Oh, Aunt Piper, is it okay if we come and dance at the club tonight after dinner?"
"Yeah, just let me know when you get there. Freddy'll let you in."
"Thanks."
"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Tomasi, what time would you like Portia home this evening?"
Both Patrice and John were surprised that he asked. "Wow, ummm, have her home by midnight."
"As you wish. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you all. Have a nice night."
"You too." "Lazerus, come forth!" the warlock called starting the spell.
An undulating cloud of ominous black smoke appeared on an elevated platform. Slowly the cloud gave way and a man in a brown bowler and a matching brown suit appeared.
At his full height he rose to at least seven feet tall. Immediately he began chanting in Latin. The warlock repeated the English counterpart.
"Secret fears
Locked deep inside
Bottled up over many years
Will now come to rise.
Others will not see them
Revealed in your eyes alone
Let them overcome you
Slow at the start
So they drive all goodness
From your heart."
A cloud of pure white smoke appeared, but the thick black smoke from Lazerus surrounded it and snuffed it out. "It is done!" Brant took Portia to Chez Richards, a new gourmet restaurant that had opened downtown. The interior was chic, clearly art deco French. After ordering, they had some time to chitchat.
"So, Brant. What's your family like?"
"Well, my dad is a Lord. We moved here because he was in desperate need for a change. See, my mum died two years ago, and living in the same house that she died in has been hard on him. They were together since prep school."
"How did she die?"
"She had breast cancer and it spread. She was sick for a long time. I remember nights when she was at home and I could hear her throwing up in the bathroom. My dad would say, 'Anne, is there anything I can do?' But there wasn't."
"I'm so sorry." She reached for his hand, but stopped herself.
"But that's all about me. What about you? Who's the very beautiful girl behind that huge family?"
"It's a long story. My mom and my Aunt Paige are twins. They were given up for adoption because my grandmother had an affair. So my mom grew up with a French family. She met my dad after she graduated from college and then they had me before they got married. It was after high school that my mom found out she was adopted and after my dad left us, she moved around. When I was ten we moved here and my mom found the Halliwells...right across the street."
"That's quite a story. Much more interesting than mine."
The food arrived and it was delicious. Clearly the restaurant was holding up its reputation. After dinner, they headed to P3. "Portia's date is very very cute," Phoebe said with an edge of excitement in her voice. She was happy for Portia.
"Yes, and he's a gentleman. That is what I like," Patrice added.
"He was probably raised that way, being a future Lord and all. I think she's done well." Prue took a dish from Paige who was washing dishes.
Paige smiled smugly. "There's nothing like a cute rich guy to make a young girls heart flutter." Paige handed a dish to Phoebe as Piper added another pot to the pile.
"She's been raised properly, but we can be glad she's not like Phoebe."
"And what do you mean by that?" Phoebe said.
"I just mean that she doesn't have as much fun as you do on the first date."
"Hey, I'm a married woman. I'm not like that anymore."
"Pheebes, have you talked to Skylar about Colton? I overheard her talking to Portia. She knows that you don't especially like her boyfriend," Prue said making a point.
"It's not that I don't like him, it's just that I still remember what Cole was like and every time I hear her say Cole it brings back bad memories."
"I think that maybe if you told her, she'd understand," Patrice said. "I know that talking to your daughter allows for more openness. I found that out the hard way."
"I'll tell her...tomorrow."
"Well, I have to go to the club. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Piper grabbed her keys and headed out the back door. Wyatt had been laying on the couch with Sarah since dinner ended. Skylar and Colton had just joined them. They were watching old reruns of "Friends."
They all started to laugh, but a sharp shooting pain in his chest interrupted Wyatt's laughter. He quickly sat up and covered his heart. "Wyatt, what's wrong?" Sarah asked.
"I'm alright. I just got this pain in my chest. It's gone now," he lied, laying back down.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He rubbed his hand over the spot again. "This is weird. I hope I'm not having a heart attack at 15. It's probably indigestion. I'll be fine in a little while...but what if Sarah leaves and I never see her again? Where did that come from?"
He relaxed..."Will this pain never stop?" After dinner Brant and Portia headed to P3. Freddy, the bouncer, let them in right away. Making her way down the steps holding Brant's hand, Portia spotted her Aunt Piper cleaning the bar down. After telling her Aunt that they were there, they went to a private table in the back.
The band was a Glen Miller revival playing a variety of tunes. "Come on," Portia said grabbing Brant's hand. "You know how to swing, right?"
"Yeah." They stepped onto the dance floor, just as Moonlight Serenade started. "Well, slow dancing is just as fun. You seem to be a good dancer," Portia said to him.
"I've had ballroom lessons since I was six. I can do a mean waltz."
Portia laughed aloud. "I love to waltz. My favorite waltz is the Sleeping Beauty Waltz."
"That's mine too. Portia, I've quite enjoyed this evening. Would you like to go out again?"
"Yes."
"Would tomorrow night be too soon?"
"Not soon enough." He pulled her closer to him and she wrapped her slender arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his navy blue suit. The next morning, Portia bounded down the stairs at her own house. "Good morning mom!"
"Morning, sunny. You certainly are in a pleasant mood this morning."
"Oh, why wouldn't I be! I'm alive, the sun is shining and life is beautiful."
"You had a good time on your date last night?"
"Oh the most wonderful! Brant is a perfect gentleman, and an excellent date. Oh mom, I like him so much."
"Is my little bookworm falling in love?"
"Possibly. Of course, I'll be sensible about it. I won't make any rash decisions and I will be careful about my x-factor."
"Well, at least you don't use your magic when you're bored."
"No, Wyatt broke me of that. He kicked my desk so hard one day; I was sore for a week. But anyways, we have another date tonight."
"That's good. He seems like a nice boy. Mais, ma petite chou, fais attention!"
"Je sais maman. Je vais chez Wyatt. A bientot!"
"Au revoir." Portia grabbed a banana and headed out the front door. "That girl."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Melinda, you can't hit daddy like that!" Piper said scolding her little girl for just giving Leo a large knot on his head.
"She didn't mean it, honey. She was just playing, weren't ya M.P?" Leo always called her M.P, short for her full name, Melinda Prudence.
"Yeah, mommy. Me just playing."
Leo quickly scooped her up and did superman with her. Piper smiled at them and went back into the sunroom. While she was away, Wyatt had come down to do his homework.
"Hey, mom," he said looking up from his chemistry book.
"Hi honey. How's the studying going?"
"Okay, but who uses the knowledge of hot to build atomic models in the real world?"
"Chemists."
"Not my career goal. Oh, hey. Later Sarah's..."
"Coming over," Piper said innocently finishing his sentence.
His friendly expression quickly turned to anger. "What, now you don't like my girlfriend" He too was surprised at his response. "Where did that come from? I didn't' mean that at all, mom."
"Is something wrong?"
"Not that I know of." The pain in his chest intensified and another attack spewed from his mouth. "Dad likes Mel so much more than me, doesn't he? Look at them, he never played with me like that...no one ever did. But then, he was never around for me, now was he?"
"Wyatt, your dad loves you very much. There are no favorites here. We love you both equally. What's gotten into you?"
"Geez mom, you make it so obvious. You're trying to take me to a shrink. Well, I won't let you!" Grabbing his books he hurried out of the sunroom and up the stairs. Piper could hear his door slam from downstairs.
Leo walked into the room with Melinda sitting on his foot. "What just happened in here?"
"Exactly what I'd like to know. He just started hurling accusations at me."
"Do you want me to check with the other elders? It could be something magical."
"Or it could be a stage he's going through. But if it continues, definitely."
"Daddy!" Melinda shouted from her perch on the top of his foot. "Play!"
"Alright, I'm being paged. Come on M.P!" He picked her up and blew a raspberry on her belly. "The boy is starting to crumble. Oracle, can you turn him?"
"Master, you must allow time for the spell to ingrain itself in his soul. A few more family encounters should make him ripe for the picking."
"Oracle, you are a great asset to me. The boy will be mine!" He laughed and it resonated through the caves hollow chamber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrice and John sat on the sofa in their house. Portia had returned a few minutes ago with her precalc book that she had left over at the Manor. Now she was up in her room studying and preparing for her date.
"It's so quiet. Portia used to be louder," Patrice commented. The silence was a little eerie for her.
"No, you're just used to being at the Manor."
"Portia did used to be louder. She's spent almost the entire day in her room."
"She doing her work, like usual. That's what Saturdays are for...according to her at least," John reminded his wife. "Honey, you seem stressed. Is everything alright?"
"Work is stressful. We have this big merger going on. I'm lucky I haven't had to travel."
"Well, I'm just glad you're right here," he said pulling her into his chest and holding her. He gently kissed her forehead and then her cheeks, and then her lips.
"You're so good to me, good for me. I don't rightly know what I'd do without you."
"Oh, P, you're so smart, you make me ill!" Skylar exclaimed.
"I love you too, Sky."
"Hey, did you guys hear Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane fighting last night? Obviously someone isn't happy under the covers!" Wyatt said, purposely being dirty.
Portia elbowed him, "That's so disgusting, but what were they fighting about since I can't hear from across the street!"
"I don't know, that's why I asked. Anyways, could you help me with my geometry homework? It's proofs again."
"Yeah, just bring your book to lunch."
"P, tonight will you help me with my chemistry too? I have to do a lab write-up for tomorrow." Sky asked her cousin.
"Yeah, but don't forget your lab book this time.
Wyatt then spoke, "Don't you ever have any homework...ever?"
"Yeah, but I do a lot of it in Honors English. That class is so boring, all we do is read books and do dumb projects, so I just hide my text books in my lap and do the homework that way. Except precalc, that requires way too much thinking for English class...Oh, you just reminded me! I have a French presentation today!"
"P, why do you even bother with that class? You speak fluent French." Wyatt saw no point in taking something that you already knew.
"Because it's good practice and sometimes I get to teach the class. I don't want to be a teacher, but it's good public speaking practice."
Skylar saw her chance to be a smart ass, "Portia, why are you so perfect?"
"It's a curse really, it is." The three cousins laughed. From outside they looked like the normal high school sophomores. Wyatt was fair-haired and blue eyed, and was a pacifist like his dad. More than anything, he enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend, Sarah. Skylar also had light blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was dark from tanning. She had a great figure and was dating the high school quarterback, Colton. Portia, the bookworm of the bunch, was the dark-haired vixen of the pair. A carbon copy of her Aunt Phoebe with thick brown hair like her Aunt Piper. Her eyes were full of determination, but the girl that was head of her class also had certain gentleness behind those dark brown eyes.
Though they looked like normal teens, they all packed some serious powers. After all, they were the children of the Charmed Ones. But that was a family secret that was known by all the demons in the underworld. Outside of immediate family and a very close family friend, no one knew that they were witches.
As they rounded the corner, their school came into sight. "Well, another fun day at school," Skylar complained. "I can't wait!"
"Just think, only two and a half more years. You'll get through it somehow," Portia, joked.
"Okay, Miss Smarty Pants. I'll see you guys at lunch."
"Bye!" Portia and Wyatt answered in unison. Phoebe and Piper sat sipping some tea in the Halliwell sitting room. Phoebe's five year old daughter Aislinn played with her cousin, Piper's four year old daughter Melinda.
"Melly!" Aislinn whined. "Come over here!"
"No, Aisi!"
"Come on, girls," Phoebe started, "play nice." She took another sip of tea and continued the conversation she was having with Piper. "They're getting so big."
"I know, all the kids are."
"It seems like only yesterday..."
"Look at you, Pheebs, the reminiscent mommy. It's got to happen some time, at least we can be here for them."
"True. I'm so proud of Sky. She's so well adjusted and does good in school."
"She gets more and more like you everyday, too."
"You think so? Grams always hoped that I'd have a daughter just like me. I guess I do."
"Yeah," Piper said remembering the countless times that Phoebe would get in trouble and Grams would say that. "But you've changed a lot. Wyatt is so much like Leo. He's a pacifist. I always see him calming the girls down."
"They do butt heads sometimes, but Portia is a big help to both of our kids. She's like a genius! I always hear them asking her for help. And the funny thing is that she'll help them, but she never gives them the answers. Sky hates that!"
"They tease each other all the time," Piper said smiling.
"So did we, if you remember."
"Pheebs, I've been thinking about that warlock that's after Wyatt. The one Chris always brings up...it's just weird that he hasn't struck yet."
"Well, maybe he's given up," Phoebe said hopefully. If only they knew how wrong they were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Chris toddled around the simulated penthouse. "Mommy!" He cried as he ran over and grabbed the Oracle's skirt.
She bent over and picked him up and he smiled at her. Four years of being a mother had softened her unbiased heart, but the blackness of her deeds had at the same time hardened her heart in other ways. "Oh, little Christopher. If only your future were clear to me, but all I see are clouds. This worries me, my young one. Are you to betray me and join your true mother...or will your fate be decided in death?" she put him down and he went to play with his toys.
"What if my powers are failing? This will not please the Master at all. He may dispose of me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Portia sat in her English class with her physics book in her lap. Not many kids in her grade were able to take physics. It was a class full of high school juniors and seniors. But she had taken biology during the summer at a local community college and had not only received credit in high school, but college credit as well. Chemistry was easy, as was physics. A lot of math questions.
"Force=Mass x Acceleration. M=12, F=38," she quickly thought to herself and then neatly wrote on her paper.
"38=12x, so 38/12=12/12x/ x=3.2."
She had just finished her first problem when the teacher started talking. "Class, if I could have your attention, please. From now on, you will have a new classmate. This is Brant Walsh, and he's just moved here from England."
"Hiya," Brant said in his gently English accent. Portia immediately lost all interest in her physics. This boy at the front of the classroom was extremely handsome with dirty blonde hair and gentle brown eyes.
The teacher scanned the room and saw Portia staring at him. "Portia, would you please show Brant around today, and help him get to his classes?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Fine, there's a seat next to her, Brant." The teacher handed him a book and as he walked down the aisle to his seat, he got a good look at Portia. He thought she was gorgeous.
"Hi, I'm Brant Walsh."
"Portia Tomasi, it's nice to meet you." "Every good evil plan needs distractions. That boy will be a distraction to the young witch, and the other girl is too socially bound to cause me trouble. The parents many are hard to distract, but some minor demon can take care of that for me. And the boy's confidence will fall when he is under...Lasher's spell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Sky, Wyatt," Portia said as she approached the lunch table where her cousins were sitting. "Guys, this is Brant Walsh. He's from England. These are my cousins Skylar and Wyatt."
"Please to make you acquaintance," Brant said formally.
"Nice to meet you too," Skylar said to him.
"P, you going to help me?" Wyatt said pushing his geometry book in front of her.
"Yeah. And Brant, this is Wyatt's girlfriend, Sarah."
"Hi," Wyatt opened his book to the page his work was on.
"Okay, this is the stuff that I get stuck on." Portia read and wrote a few laws and theories on his paper.
"These are all the things that you need to do to get the answers. I wrote down the steps and the laws that you need. All you have to do is set the stuff up and put the laws in the proper order."
"Thanks, P."
"Not a problem." They all ate their lunches and chatted. The bell rang and they went their separate ways. "So, Brant, what class do you have?"
"Physics...boring stuff."
"Me too! That's great that I know someone in there. Come on."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrice sat in her office on the phone, the same way she spent most of her days. This time she was talking to her company's Italian counterpart. Her expression said it all, the conversation at the other end of the line was far from stimulating. Occasionally she'd answer with a "Si" or a "Non," but that was it.
Her mind wandered to her daughter. Portia was so pretty. She had grown into a beautiful, polite, and smart young woman. Her grades reflected her work ethic. School came first. All her classes were advanced for her grade. Despite the difficulty, she still managed to get straight A's and be head of her class. No one ever had to tell her to do her homework. By the time Patrice arrived at home at night it was already done. She spent her extra time in the kitchen. She had gotten her Aunt Piper's gift for the culinary arts. And Portia was becoming quite the chef. But cooking was a hobby. School was her job.
Finally, the man at the other end began to end the conversation. "Arriverderci," she said into the receiver and hung up. The four teens met up after school. "P, I have a history test to make up," Wyatt told her.
"Yeah, and I have to meet with my lab group. Sarah's in it, so do you mind walking home alone?"
"I think I'll be fine."
"Okay, bye." The three of them left.
Portia started down the trek home and was about 50 feet down the sidewalk when a limo pulled up next to her. "Portia, would you like a ride?" It was Brant.
"Yeah, that would be great." The limo stopped and she got in. "Thanks a lot. The others had stuff to do."
"No trouble, where to?"
"1329 Prescott Street. I'm meeting Sky there to help her with her homework. I live across the street."
"That's cool that you live close."
"Well, my mom and her sisters are really close so we're constantly spending time together."
"My family has never been like that. My dad's a Lord, 41st in line to the throne. That makes me 42nd."
"Wow. So when do you get your title?"
"When I turn 18."
"That's a lot of responsibility." The limo pulled up in front of the Halliwell Manor. As Portia climbed out, Brant grabbed her hand.
"Portia, I was wondering, if maybe you would like to go out with me on Friday night?"
"That would be fun. Yeah, I'd like to."
"How about seven?"
"Yeah." The entire Halliwell family sat in the living room. Aislinn, Melinda, Skylar, Portia, Wyatt and Sarah lay on the floor. In front of Sky was her chemistry book and Portia had her precalc book and graphing calculator.
Piper had her legs draped over Leo's legs. He had taken the night off to be with his family. As had John. He sat next to Patrice with his hand on her thigh. Paige sat next to Prue and Bane. Phoebe and Jason sat in chair adjacent to the sofa.
"So kids, how was school today?" Jason asked.
"Boring!" Skylar quickly answered as Portia rolled her eyes at her cousin. "But Portia has a new boyfriend."
"I so don't! No, he's just a friend. His name is Brant and he just moved here from England. He's really nice."
"And he's the son of a Lord! Plus he's absolutely gorgeous."
"Yeah. And he asked me out!"
"On a date!" Patrice said surprised.
"Yeah, mom, that's what guys usually ask girls on." She returned her focus to her work.
"Are we going to meet him?" An eager Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, he's picking me up here tomorrow night."
"That's so great. I'm glad for you, P."
"Thanks." Once again she went back to her work.
Prue looked at Portia. "Hun, can't you just take a break and spend some time with your family?"
"Yeah, I'm experiencing brain drain anyways." She closed her book and looked over at Wyatt and Sarah. His fingers were intertwined in hers. Maybe she could have a relationship like that with Brant..."How about we play some charades." "Lasher, the boy is your target. His name is Wyatt."
"Wyatt...what an unusual name. I can assure you that my plan will not fail. The only thing that will fail is his trust in those he holds dear."
"Excellent, I want his fears to overcome him, choke out all the hope he has."
"As you wish, Ix..."
"Do NOT speak my name. It is not your place."
"Yes, Master."
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"Oh, Sky, I'm so incredibly nervous," Portia said as she pulled her dress over her head. She was done up like a 1940's woman. Her dress was navy blue and tight with a swing skirt. Even her hose were old fashioned. "Are my seams straight?" she asked Sky about her panty hose.
"Yeah. You shouldn't be nervous. You're drop dead gorgeous. Brant is so lucky."
"Just like Cole is lucky. Oh, I hope I look alright." She bent forward and put on her lip liner and then a dark burgundy lipstick that went well with her tanned skin. Her dark brown locks were pulled up into a twist with ringlets falling around her face. She looked angelic, living up to her whitelighter half. "He said we're going to go dancing. I think I'll take him to P3. Aunt Piper is having a 40's night with a swing band. That should be a lot of fun."
"Yeah. I'll be having fun of my own. Cole's coming over. My mom acts so weird around him, and she always calls him Colton. I was going to ask, but I figured it was nothing."
"I say ask her, can't do any harm." She checked herself once more and then slipped on her shoes. "Brant's going to be here soon, so I'm going to go down and save him from the family. Have fun tonight."
"I will, you have fun too."
With that, Portia elegantly made her way out of Sky's room and to the stairs. Sarah's hand lay on Wyatt's chest. They were laying on the sofa in the Halliwell living room. Around them, the adults were bustling around getting ready for dinner. Piper was in the kitchen cooking, Prue was coordinating, Phoebe was playing with the little ones, Paige was setting the table, and Patrice was on her cell phone talking in Japanese to someone from work. The men were all arguing about football.
Portia snuck down the stairs and stood in the foyer. From the door she could see Brant's limo pull up. He got out and walked up to the door. He knocked and Portia opened it. "Hi, Brant."
"Oh my, you are a vision."
"Really?"
"Yes," he reached for her hand when the entire Halliwell clan came to join them.
"Brant, I'd like to you meet my family. Most important, this is my mom, Patrice and my dad, John. And then my Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane, my Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo and Melinda, Wyatt's little sister. Then there's my Aunt Phoebe, Uncle Jason and Sky's sister Aislinn and my Aunt Paige."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Brant Walsh."
"Don't worry; you'll get to know who's who eventually. Oh, Aunt Piper, is it okay if we come and dance at the club tonight after dinner?"
"Yeah, just let me know when you get there. Freddy'll let you in."
"Thanks."
"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Tomasi, what time would you like Portia home this evening?"
Both Patrice and John were surprised that he asked. "Wow, ummm, have her home by midnight."
"As you wish. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you all. Have a nice night."
"You too." "Lazerus, come forth!" the warlock called starting the spell.
An undulating cloud of ominous black smoke appeared on an elevated platform. Slowly the cloud gave way and a man in a brown bowler and a matching brown suit appeared.
At his full height he rose to at least seven feet tall. Immediately he began chanting in Latin. The warlock repeated the English counterpart.
"Secret fears
Locked deep inside
Bottled up over many years
Will now come to rise.
Others will not see them
Revealed in your eyes alone
Let them overcome you
Slow at the start
So they drive all goodness
From your heart."
A cloud of pure white smoke appeared, but the thick black smoke from Lazerus surrounded it and snuffed it out. "It is done!" Brant took Portia to Chez Richards, a new gourmet restaurant that had opened downtown. The interior was chic, clearly art deco French. After ordering, they had some time to chitchat.
"So, Brant. What's your family like?"
"Well, my dad is a Lord. We moved here because he was in desperate need for a change. See, my mum died two years ago, and living in the same house that she died in has been hard on him. They were together since prep school."
"How did she die?"
"She had breast cancer and it spread. She was sick for a long time. I remember nights when she was at home and I could hear her throwing up in the bathroom. My dad would say, 'Anne, is there anything I can do?' But there wasn't."
"I'm so sorry." She reached for his hand, but stopped herself.
"But that's all about me. What about you? Who's the very beautiful girl behind that huge family?"
"It's a long story. My mom and my Aunt Paige are twins. They were given up for adoption because my grandmother had an affair. So my mom grew up with a French family. She met my dad after she graduated from college and then they had me before they got married. It was after high school that my mom found out she was adopted and after my dad left us, she moved around. When I was ten we moved here and my mom found the Halliwells...right across the street."
"That's quite a story. Much more interesting than mine."
The food arrived and it was delicious. Clearly the restaurant was holding up its reputation. After dinner, they headed to P3. "Portia's date is very very cute," Phoebe said with an edge of excitement in her voice. She was happy for Portia.
"Yes, and he's a gentleman. That is what I like," Patrice added.
"He was probably raised that way, being a future Lord and all. I think she's done well." Prue took a dish from Paige who was washing dishes.
Paige smiled smugly. "There's nothing like a cute rich guy to make a young girls heart flutter." Paige handed a dish to Phoebe as Piper added another pot to the pile.
"She's been raised properly, but we can be glad she's not like Phoebe."
"And what do you mean by that?" Phoebe said.
"I just mean that she doesn't have as much fun as you do on the first date."
"Hey, I'm a married woman. I'm not like that anymore."
"Pheebes, have you talked to Skylar about Colton? I overheard her talking to Portia. She knows that you don't especially like her boyfriend," Prue said making a point.
"It's not that I don't like him, it's just that I still remember what Cole was like and every time I hear her say Cole it brings back bad memories."
"I think that maybe if you told her, she'd understand," Patrice said. "I know that talking to your daughter allows for more openness. I found that out the hard way."
"I'll tell her...tomorrow."
"Well, I have to go to the club. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Piper grabbed her keys and headed out the back door. Wyatt had been laying on the couch with Sarah since dinner ended. Skylar and Colton had just joined them. They were watching old reruns of "Friends."
They all started to laugh, but a sharp shooting pain in his chest interrupted Wyatt's laughter. He quickly sat up and covered his heart. "Wyatt, what's wrong?" Sarah asked.
"I'm alright. I just got this pain in my chest. It's gone now," he lied, laying back down.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He rubbed his hand over the spot again. "This is weird. I hope I'm not having a heart attack at 15. It's probably indigestion. I'll be fine in a little while...but what if Sarah leaves and I never see her again? Where did that come from?"
He relaxed..."Will this pain never stop?" After dinner Brant and Portia headed to P3. Freddy, the bouncer, let them in right away. Making her way down the steps holding Brant's hand, Portia spotted her Aunt Piper cleaning the bar down. After telling her Aunt that they were there, they went to a private table in the back.
The band was a Glen Miller revival playing a variety of tunes. "Come on," Portia said grabbing Brant's hand. "You know how to swing, right?"
"Yeah." They stepped onto the dance floor, just as Moonlight Serenade started. "Well, slow dancing is just as fun. You seem to be a good dancer," Portia said to him.
"I've had ballroom lessons since I was six. I can do a mean waltz."
Portia laughed aloud. "I love to waltz. My favorite waltz is the Sleeping Beauty Waltz."
"That's mine too. Portia, I've quite enjoyed this evening. Would you like to go out again?"
"Yes."
"Would tomorrow night be too soon?"
"Not soon enough." He pulled her closer to him and she wrapped her slender arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his navy blue suit. The next morning, Portia bounded down the stairs at her own house. "Good morning mom!"
"Morning, sunny. You certainly are in a pleasant mood this morning."
"Oh, why wouldn't I be! I'm alive, the sun is shining and life is beautiful."
"You had a good time on your date last night?"
"Oh the most wonderful! Brant is a perfect gentleman, and an excellent date. Oh mom, I like him so much."
"Is my little bookworm falling in love?"
"Possibly. Of course, I'll be sensible about it. I won't make any rash decisions and I will be careful about my x-factor."
"Well, at least you don't use your magic when you're bored."
"No, Wyatt broke me of that. He kicked my desk so hard one day; I was sore for a week. But anyways, we have another date tonight."
"That's good. He seems like a nice boy. Mais, ma petite chou, fais attention!"
"Je sais maman. Je vais chez Wyatt. A bientot!"
"Au revoir." Portia grabbed a banana and headed out the front door. "That girl."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Melinda, you can't hit daddy like that!" Piper said scolding her little girl for just giving Leo a large knot on his head.
"She didn't mean it, honey. She was just playing, weren't ya M.P?" Leo always called her M.P, short for her full name, Melinda Prudence.
"Yeah, mommy. Me just playing."
Leo quickly scooped her up and did superman with her. Piper smiled at them and went back into the sunroom. While she was away, Wyatt had come down to do his homework.
"Hey, mom," he said looking up from his chemistry book.
"Hi honey. How's the studying going?"
"Okay, but who uses the knowledge of hot to build atomic models in the real world?"
"Chemists."
"Not my career goal. Oh, hey. Later Sarah's..."
"Coming over," Piper said innocently finishing his sentence.
His friendly expression quickly turned to anger. "What, now you don't like my girlfriend" He too was surprised at his response. "Where did that come from? I didn't' mean that at all, mom."
"Is something wrong?"
"Not that I know of." The pain in his chest intensified and another attack spewed from his mouth. "Dad likes Mel so much more than me, doesn't he? Look at them, he never played with me like that...no one ever did. But then, he was never around for me, now was he?"
"Wyatt, your dad loves you very much. There are no favorites here. We love you both equally. What's gotten into you?"
"Geez mom, you make it so obvious. You're trying to take me to a shrink. Well, I won't let you!" Grabbing his books he hurried out of the sunroom and up the stairs. Piper could hear his door slam from downstairs.
Leo walked into the room with Melinda sitting on his foot. "What just happened in here?"
"Exactly what I'd like to know. He just started hurling accusations at me."
"Do you want me to check with the other elders? It could be something magical."
"Or it could be a stage he's going through. But if it continues, definitely."
"Daddy!" Melinda shouted from her perch on the top of his foot. "Play!"
"Alright, I'm being paged. Come on M.P!" He picked her up and blew a raspberry on her belly. "The boy is starting to crumble. Oracle, can you turn him?"
"Master, you must allow time for the spell to ingrain itself in his soul. A few more family encounters should make him ripe for the picking."
"Oracle, you are a great asset to me. The boy will be mine!" He laughed and it resonated through the caves hollow chamber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrice and John sat on the sofa in their house. Portia had returned a few minutes ago with her precalc book that she had left over at the Manor. Now she was up in her room studying and preparing for her date.
"It's so quiet. Portia used to be louder," Patrice commented. The silence was a little eerie for her.
"No, you're just used to being at the Manor."
"Portia did used to be louder. She's spent almost the entire day in her room."
"She doing her work, like usual. That's what Saturdays are for...according to her at least," John reminded his wife. "Honey, you seem stressed. Is everything alright?"
"Work is stressful. We have this big merger going on. I'm lucky I haven't had to travel."
"Well, I'm just glad you're right here," he said pulling her into his chest and holding her. He gently kissed her forehead and then her cheeks, and then her lips.
"You're so good to me, good for me. I don't rightly know what I'd do without you."