Charmed
Season 4, Episode 3
"The Normal Life"
By P3Nathan
It was 10.30pm and Piper Halliwell sat up on top of her bed covers, writing in her diary. The young witch looked troubled and not just because her husband had been called by a panicked charge moments earlier. She jotted down her feelings in the small notebook, having neglected her writing for at least a couple of months:
'Not really sure where to begin. I wish I was a better diary keeper, but I guess I only feel the urge to write in it at times like this; times when I'm feeling kind of lost. I'll start on a positive; we got Phoebe back. At least I think we did. She was held by The Source and she hasn't really spoken about what happened down there. She seems fine physically, as far as we can tell. Emotionally… well that's another story. I guess it's still early; I should give her more time. It's just as if a light in her has gone out.'
Piper sighed, brushing her long brown hair away from her face. She looked towards the ceiling for a moment and thought before continuing to write:
'As for me… honestly, I'm struggling a little. I can't tell my sisters with everything they're going through; I guess that's why I'm writing it in here. It pales in comparison to what Phoebe has suffered and Prue has been doing better since we got her back, but her anger hasn't settled yet, so I don't want to add any stress.
'A few weeks ago, I died. Leo told me. Apparently I was shot by some random nut-job. Time was reset shortly after and that's how Phoebe ended up stuck in the Underworld. It's weird, because I don't remember anything about it, but it's been weighing on me ever since I found out. It's not the first time I've died, but this one is harder to process for some reason. Leo has been very attentive, which is sweet, but also really bizarre when I think of why that is.
'If I hadn't been killed, would Phoebe have taken The Source's offer? Did I fail them? Prue and Phoebe have always been the super witches; sometimes I wonder if they'd be better off without me. I think back to before all this started; before we discovered our destiny and I'm not sure I even recognise that person anymore.
'Actually no, scratch that. I recognise her; it's the "me" now that I'm not sure about. I want to be her again, but how can I be after everything we've been through? With all this magic and horror and pain and death; how can she still survive? I wish I was normal again. Sometimes I feel like I just don't belong in this world.'
Piper let go of the pen, allowing it to fall onto her lap. The offload of emotion was rather tiring. She didn't necessarily feel better, but she thought that perhaps she'd sleep a little easier having put the words to paper. She shut the book, thereby closing the issue for the night and laid back on her bed. She closed her eyes, hoping that her dreams would bring comfort rather than further anxieties.
Phoebe Halliwell got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. It was the latest in a succession of restless nights. She thought that once she got back from the Underworld that she'd have no trouble sleeping; back in her comfy bed. However, it seemed her desire to be back to normality in the comforts of home didn't quite match her body's internal clock and processes. She found herself wide awake through the night and often falling asleep on the sofa during the day time. It didn't really help matters that she was keeping her bedroom light on; not quite ready to be in the dark again yet.
In the bathroom, she went to the sink to wash her hands. She looked in the mirror at her haunted-looking expression and weary eyes. As she looked down and saw the sink filling with water, her mind suddenly flashed and the sink turned into the dirty bowl of water on the floor of her prison. She looked around and found herself back in the cell. Her heartbeat began to race; pounding so hard she thought she might be sick from the sensation. She ran towards the stone walls and bashed her hand against them; she did the same with the steel door.
"Prue!" she called frantically. "Piper!"
Phoebe let out a scream and huddled in the corner. She held her head in her arms, whimpering and shaking.
"Phoebe?" Prue's voice echoed.
Phoebe looked up and saw her oldest sister kneeling down in front of her, looking deeply concerned. Phoebe struggled to catch her breath as she realised she was back in the bathroom and looked around at what she'd done.
Piper ran into the bathroom soon after, shocked to see the mirror smashed and various bath products thrown and spilled around the room. She joined her sisters down on the floor in the corner.
"Am I here?" Phoebe choked through the tears. "I'm definitely here?"
"You're here, baby," Prue crooned before promising, "We won't let them take you again."
"Oh, honey." Piper gently took hold of her little sister's hands. They were bleeding badly, but Phoebe hadn't even felt it in the midst of her episode. "I think we have a first-aid kit in here somewhere."
"I'm sorry," Phoebe cried.
Prue shook her head as tears formed behind her eyes. She held her sister tightly, feeling her quivering in her arms. She pulled Piper into her embrace as well. "We're going to be okay. I promise."
In the mausoleum, The Source of All Evil stood waiting patiently. Wearing the body of Cole Turner was quite an adjustment; hardly as intimidating as his usual appearance, but the joy of hiding in plain sight right in front of the Halliwell sisters made it more than worth it.
Two red eyes shimmered in prior to the rest of Klea's body. She bowed, holding a box in her hands.
She handed the old wooden box over to him. "Here is what you asked for, my liege."
"Thank you, Klea. I am trusting you to take care of matters while I am up here." He smiled at the box. "With this, I may not need to spend too long with the Charmed Ones."
"Are you targeting the middle-sister this time?"
"Yes," he replied. "Her soul is filled with wanting. Playing on that should be easy. You are dismissed, " and Klea shimmered out.
The Source stroked the box lid. His hand, or rather Cole's hand, suddenly began to shift from normal flesh colour, to the deep red of Belthazor's skin.
The Source smirked. "Oh, Belthazor, you really think you can fight through me, even with your demonic form? Foolish boy."
His hand went back to normal.
"Allow me to make you a deal." The Source lay the box down for a moment and held out his hand. In his palm, a glowing white sphere appeared in a burst of flames. "Your father; safe and sound. All being well, you can have him back once this is all over. Keep annoying me with that faint little voice of yours and I will send him to Charon. I'm sure she can find a suitable hell for him to spend eternity."
The soul disappeared; The Source had made his point.
"Now, let's make the most of our time together, shall we?" He picked up the box and flamed out.
(Opening Credits)
Piper washed her hair in the shower. She had just finished tidying the bathroom so allowed herself a little longer than usual. She closed her eyes and allowed the warm water to splash on her face; imagining the droplets washing away her worries.
If only.
She took a bar of soap and began to clean her body; cocooning herself in a veil of soapy lather. She held the soap to her chest and stopped suddenly. She thought she felt something. She put the soap down and used her hand to check. She brushed her palm over smooth skin until she felt something odd. She felt a small lump just between her breast and underarm.
For a moment, Piper felt her heart jump into her throat. She washed the area, thinking that maybe she hadn't been hygienic enough and it was just a big zit. Right, that must've been it; nothing to worry about. It'd probably be gone by the next morning.
Piper went downstairs to see Prue in the kitchen.
"Morning," Prue greeted, holding a plate of toast.
"Morning. How's Phoebe?" Piper asked, begging for a distraction from her current source of anxiety.
"Sleeping." The eldest sister took a bite of her breakfast before continuing. "Think it took her all night to calm down. I was going to reschedule my photo shoot and stay with her, but she insisted that I don't."
Piper sat down. "Well, Cole will be back soon, won't he?"
"Hm," Prue shrugged.
"What?" Piper raised her eyebrow.
Prue sat beside Piper. "It's just Cole seems to have handled it extremely well, don't you think? I mean look at how Phoebe is, and then look at him."
"Well, Prue, Cole knows the Underworld, and I daresay he's used to some of the worst demonic horrors given what The Book of Shadows says about him." She then theorized, "By this point he's probably hardened to it to an extent."
"I guess. Maybe I'm just looking for somewhere to put my frustration; I wish I could do more for Phoebe, but I feel pretty powerless."
Prue sighed. "Still…I think I'll keep an eye on him so long as he's around."
"Probably wise," Piper nodded. There was no denying that when it came to Cole, 'better safe than sorry' was a good motto to live by.
Prue looked at her watch. "I'd better go. You off to the club?"
Piper thought for a second as she saw Phoebe's laptop on the table. "Um, yeah, I might just run a few errands first."
Prue kissed her sister's cheek. "Okay, see you later. Love you."
"Love you too."
As soon as Prue had gone, Piper switched on Phoebe's laptop. As it loaded, she dialed a number into her cell phone.
"Hey Leo, are you at P3? Okay, I'll be a little later than I expected, apparently the traffic is really bad. No, you don't need to orb me; it's fine. You just do what you can; I'll be there as soon as possible. Okay, bye."
She began typing on the laptop and searching the internet. She started with "lump near breast" and was overwhelmed with thousands of support sites. She began to feel sick with worry, but decided to focus on the note that said it could just be a "benign cyst".
Either way, it suggested she make a doctor's appointment, so she got back on the phone and did just that. Appointment made, she continued searching; clicking from site to site through various links. She quickly realised that this probably wasn't the best idea. Words and phrases popped out to her and seared themselves into her mind: "malignant", "chemotherapy", "radiotherapy", "side effects", "surgery", "hair loss", "infertility."
She quickly switched the laptop off before any more terrible words or images could imprint on her. She sat in silence for a moment. 'It's probably just a 'benign cyst', I don't feel ill,' she thought. 'Go to work; there's no point staying here and worrying.'
Piper made her way to P3. The journey there was weird; different. She did it near enough every day, but suddenly the world through her car windscreen seemed rather surreal and dreamlike. She was welcomed by her smiling husband behind the bar.
"Hey, everything is sorted for tonight's band," he chirped. "So no need to worry about anything."
Piper smiled, overwhelmed by her love for him. "Thanks, honey. I don't know what I'd do without you. How was your charge last night?"
"I managed to calm her down and help clean up the mess; it was just a bit of power drama. She just recently found out that she's a witch and she has the power to shoot lava from her hands when she's stressed… so property damage is a pretty regular thing at the moment. You know what that's like."
Piper thought of all the objects around the house that had fallen victim to her explosion power. "I sure do."
Leo looked at Piper and sensed something wasn't quite right. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You seem a little spaced. Something on your mind?"
Piper took a minute to figure out how to verbalise her concerns. "Well, on the way over here I was thinking… before time was reset, I was dead. As in: no healing, no heartbeat, soul has left the building, right?"
Leo winced a little thinking back to it. Part of him wished he could've joined Piper and Prue in forgetting the whole ordeal, but then he wouldn't have been able to fix the damage that could still occur. He nodded. "Right."
"Well, does that mean that Death will come back for me? When it's your time, you can't escape it, we've learned that. So, if I died and you fixed it…"
Leo interrupted: "Whoa, wait, no. Piper, resetting time changes the circumstances. Like when you've dealt with time loops in the past. Resetting the events means that the slate should be more or less clean."
Piper paused for a moment. "Should?"
"What?"
"The slate 'should' be clean, but that means it might not be?"
Leo shook his head, concerned and disturbed at what his wife was trying to say.
Before the conversation could continue, a blonde woman in her early thirties walked down the stairs to the club. [Portrayed by Monica Potter]
"Sorry, we're closed" Leo told her.
"I'm here to see Piper Halliwell; it's important."
Piper turned around. "That's me. How can I help you?"
The woman looked like she meant business. "I'm Sinead. Sinead Griffiths."
Piper felt a chill as the name rang a bell in her mind and she thought back to the innocent they had recently lost. "Griffiths. You're Doctor Griffiths'…"
"Sister" she completed.
"I… I'm so sorry for your loss," Piper stuttered. She was so tempted to freeze her, but then what? Run away? Disappearing into thin air right in front of an innocent would be a great way to end up exposed all over again!
"Hmm, about that," Sinead began; her tone suggesting that she didn't buy into the authenticity of Piper's attempt at condolence. "I couldn't help but wonder why he was at your house. Dedicated as he was, the hospital seemed to keep him a little too busy for him to be making house calls in the middle of the day."
"Um, well… I had a personal health issue that I was told he might be able to help with, um…"
Sinead grew impatient with Piper's stammering. "You know he did research in his spare time? He was so excited about it. He kept the details to himself; didn't want to jinx anything; but it seemed like he thought he was on the verge of some sort of huge medical discovery."
Leo nodded, figuring that Griffiths was indeed about to make such a discovery and that was probably why he had become a target for evil. "It sounds like he was a good man," he said sincerely; sadly thinking back to his failed attempt to heal the doctor.
"He was," Sinead responded, teary eyed. "Then he was found brutally murdered in your home."
"We were knocked unconscious… and what happened to him, you can't possibly think that we…" Piper pleaded.
"Oh, I don't think you killed him. He was thrown like a rag doll according to the autopsy; hit by a huge amount of force. But I do think you know more than you're admitting," and she looked Piper right in the eyes.
Piper silently gulped. She wondered if it was really obvious how nervous she was; whether her forehead was sweating.
"And that's why I'll be keeping a close eye on the investigation; making sure a fire stays lit underneath the detectives. I've heard about you and your family, Ms. Halliwell, and I can assure you; this won't be another unsolved case."
With that, Sinead stormed back up the stairs.
"Wow, she was intense," Leo commented. "Not that I can blame her." That's when he looked at his wife more closely. "Piper, are you okay?"
Piper didn't move. Leo came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Talk to me."
Piper felt a heaviness on her heart and mind. "It's just one thing after another. I keep waiting for being a witch to get easier…" She sighed. "When can we have a little peace?"
At the Manor, The Source let himself through the front door. He held the box close to his chest as he looked around to see if anyone was nearby. He kneeled down on the floor and placed the box in front of him. He slowly opened to lid to reveal a large spider. It had strange markings that sparkled slightly, suggesting that the creature wasn't of this world. The Source smiled as it scuttled around the box and watched as it freed itself. It climbed quickly up the wall and onto the ceiling; heading towards the staircase.
Phoebe opened her eyes and squinted at the midday light. Her unconventional sleeping pattern had taken a toll on her body and she somehow felt more worn out for having slept through half the day. She looked at her bandaged hands and suddenly remembered the bathroom incident. For a moment she thought it had been a bad dream. She knew that the difficulty she was having separating her imagination from reality probably wasn't a good sign, but she felt too lethargic to worry about it too much. She smiled a little as her boyfriend walked into the bedroom; blissfully unaware of what evil was actually entering her personal space.
"Hey," she said softly. "Where've you been?"
"I thought it'd be better if I stayed away just to make sure no bounty hunters were coming after me," The Source lied. "It seems like we're okay for now."
"Good," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Because I could really do with you being here."
The Source sat beside her and brushed her arm and then stroked her hair. "I'm here," and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going anywhere."
It was odd. As Phoebe led within Cole's arms, she felt a great hopelessness within her. However, the way Phoebe had been feeling generally, she didn't think much of it.
Piper entered the Manor looking like she was about to cry. She was soaked, with huge red stains on her clothes. Prue followed in soon after, carrying a large back containing her photography equipment.
"Hey, you have to see some of these photos; I got some really great…whoa" Prue stopped as she saw the state her sister was in. "What happened; are you okay?"
"Doctor Griffith's sister showed up at P3," Piper started griping. "She looked about one step away from leaving a horse's head in my bed."
"So she tried to drown you?" Prue asked, half-joking.
"No, I got so stressed out that I blew up a bunch of wine bottles… the really expensive ones by the way - not the cheap stuff," she ranted. "And of course they had to be red!"
"Okay, okay, sweetie, breathe. I'll call Darryl, see if he knows anything about the sister. We'll deal, okay?"
Piper nodded, clearly unconvinced. "I'm going to change."
Prue watched as her sister ran upstairs. She sighed; she wished so much that she could make her sisters' worries disappear, but she knew that despite all the power she had, it wasn't going to be that easy.
Piper felt a little better after she had cleaned herself up. In order to get the strong smell of wine off her, she had her second shower of the day. She looked in the mirror as she blow-dried her hair. The noise meant that she didn't hear the huge spider's rapid steps, scuttling across her dresser. It moved towards Piper's left arm, which was resting on the surface as she dried her hair with the right. The creature was cautious, as if to make sure she didn't have too much time to react. It gently approached her arm; revealed a nasty couple of fangs and bit into her. Piper dropped the blow drier and instantly flopped over the dresser, unconscious.
Piper woke up in bed, her alarm clock ringing beside her. She knocked it off and turned to see Leo still asleep. She was confused - hadn't she just been doing something? Everything felt a little hazy. She looked around at her bedroom. Was it her bedroom? It wasn't the Manor house she had grown up in. It was decidedly more modern-looking, while still maintaining quite a cozy, homey feel.
She rubbed her eyes. She felt odd; maybe she'd been having weird dreams.
Piper nearly jumped out of her skin as her bedroom door swung open and a little girl, who couldn't have been older than four or five, came running in excitedly. She jumped up onto the end of the bed and bounced on her knees.
"Mommy, Daddy, get up, get up. It's Mommy's birthday!" the girl announced; her little pig tails jumping up and down with her.
Leo woke up and smiled at her. "Do you want to go and get Mommy her present?"
The girl's eyes widened with excitement and she ran straight back out of the room.
Both Piper and Leo laughed.
Leo kissed Piper. "Happy birthday. You make a wish?"
Piper smiled. "Just all of this."
Prue and Leo sat either side of an unconscious Piper, who they had managed to get into bed with the combined efforts of Leo's orbing and Prue's telekinesis.
"Try again," Prue insisted.
Leo held his hands over Piper and the golden light of his healing power emerged. He waited patiently and hopefully for Piper's body to react at least a little, but nothing changed. "Still nothing, but I can feel something when I try to heal her; it's like something is draining her energy."
Prue was worried. She took hold of her sister's hand and noticed something unusual. On her sister's wrist was a strange tattoo. It was shaped like a spider. Prue pointed out the mark to Leo. "What the hell is this?"
Leo looked puzzled. "She didn't say anything about getting a new tattoo."
'She wouldn't,' Prue thought. 'Piper can't stand spiders."
Phoebe and Cole walked into the room. "How is she?" Phoebe asked, concerned. "Any change?"
Prue shook her head. "No, nothing."
The Source stood behind Phoebe and tried very hard not to smirk. He still occasionally had to remind himself that he had a face people could actually see now. Things were so much easier when his face was hidden in his cowl. But this was so much more fun.
Prue stood up. "We found some sort of spider symbol on her wrist. Can you sit with her; I'm going to look for it in The Book."
Phoebe nodded as she took Prue's place sitting close to their sister. "Of course."
Piper was in the kitchen of her stylish home, preparing food with her little girl beside her.
"Okay, Melinda," she instructed, "you just give that a good stir."
Melinda was happy to oblige, enthusiastically stirring the mixture.
Leo came in. "I told you I could get people from the restaurant to take care of that, you shouldn't be cooking on your birthday."
"But Mommy likes to cook," Melinda chirped, "and I get to be her assistant!"
Piper smiled, "That's right, I couldn't do it without my trusted sous-chef." She turned to look at Leo. "So it's just the closest friends and family, right?"
Leo nodded. "Right. Your mom and dad, your sisters, Grams and Darryl."
"Sounds perfect."
Prue stood in front of The Book of Shadows, having discovered a page decorated in an art deco style with spider imagery. She grabbed The Book and took it back to Piper's bedroom.
"I found something," she told them. "There were only two entries that involved spiders. The other was Arachne and, well, nobody has actually been turned into a spider, so I doubt that's relevant."
"So what is it we're dealing with?" Phoebe wanted to know.
Prue placed The Book opened on the end of Piper's bed. "They're called Dream Weavers."
"Dream Weavers?" Leo repeated.
"Yeah, don't let the cute name fool you, they're nasty little critters," and Prue skimmed The Book entry again.
Phoebe looked at Cole. "You heard of them?"
The Source shook his head. "Hm? No, I'm afraid not."
Prue read aloud: "Dream Weavers target people who aren't happy with their own lives. Once they've bitten the target, they become a part of them; turning into that tattoo…"
Phoebe backed away from the mark on Piper's arm, suddenly worried that the tattoo would jump out at her.
Prue continued reading: "The victim falls into a deep sleep and they experience a dream of a life that they desire. Piper has twenty-four hours to reject the fantasy."
"Or…" Leo pushed.
Prue reluctantly finished. "Or… the creature will devour her soul."
"Well, Piper will know it's a dream, right?" Phoebe wagered.
"Not necessarily," and Prue imparted the knowledge she'd gained by reading the rest of the entry. "That's why these things are so dangerous. The magic of the Dream Weaver makes the fantasy as vivid as anything and it also seriously dampens memories of her real life," and she rolled her eyes. "The Book says she will have access to her real life somewhere in the fantasy, but it doesn't elaborate."
"What about the awakening spell?" Phoebe suggested.
Leo shook his head. "We won't be able to force her to wake up. Maybe we can find a way to help her, but she'll have to choose real life."" Leo reached out to hold his wife's hand. "This is her battle."
In the fantasy, Piper got dressed in her bedroom. She put on a strapless black dress and wore her hair down. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, excited to see her family and friends. As she applied some lipstick, she noticed a small brown box in the mirror. She couldn't recall what was inside it and for some reason she was overwhelmed with a sudden curiosity. She turned around and looked at the box. She slowly approached it, but as she got closer and closer the feeling changed from curiosity to utter dread. She fought through the feeling at first, but as she got very close to it, every fibre of her being told her not to open the lid. Just as she was about to turn away from the box, she heard the doorbell ring anyway.
Piper ran downstairs and opened the door and was thrilled to see her first couple of guests had arrived. It was her parents, Patty and Victor; happily married and ready to celebrate their daughter's birthday. The couple embraced Piper and she glowed in the warmth of their love.
Leo finished healing Phoebe's hands.
"Thanks. I'm just going to get a glass of water, anyone want anything?" Phoebe offered the bedroom of worried faces.
"No," Prue answered. "Thanks, honey," and watched Phoebe leave.
Leo immediately went back to holding Piper's hand. "It's weird, earlier today, Piper was talking to me about what happened before time reset."
"What about it?" The Source asked, his interest piqued.
"She was talking about death. How she died. It's as if she was expecting something bad to happen"
Prue laid a hand on Leo's shoulder. "We'll get her back. We still have plenty of time."
"I dunno," The Source began wishfully thinking. "Visions of a perfect life? That can't be easy to turn down."
Prue looked at Cole and The Source became nervous as he could practically see the lightbulb over her head.
"Visions! That's it!" Prue shouted. "I have an idea…" but suddenly Prue didn't look as confident.
Leo immediately noticed. "You don't look too happy about it."
"Well, it pretty much relies entirely on Phoebe and that's a lot of pressure to put on her," Prue explained. Little did she realise, Phoebe had re-entered the room.
"That's okay," Phoebe reassured her sister. "If there's a way I can help Piper, I'll do it. What's the plan?"
Prue smiled. She should've known better than to underestimate the inner strength of her baby sister.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you…"
Everyone around the dining table of Piper's home was singing to her. Piper had a grin the size of Texas across her face as she listened to them. Around the table sat Melinda, Leo, Prue, Phoebe, Patty, Victor, Penny and Darryl. A cake sat in the centre of the table, covered with lit candles, and as the serenade came to a close, Piper blew out the candles to rounds of applause.
"Yay," Melinda cheered. "Cake time!"
Leo giggled, "Okay, come help Daddy cut a really big piece for Mommy."
Melinda ran over to Leo's side and held onto his hands as he cut the cake.
"Very impressive cake, Grams," Prue complimented.
"Thank you, although Patty did assist," Penny had to admit.
Patty laughed. "Right, emphasis on 'assist', I'm afraid the culinary gene skipped a generation." She winked at Piper, beaming with pride.
"Don't sell yourself short, sweetie, nobody will ever beat your pancakes and waffles," and Victor kissed her on the cheek.
Phoebe turned to Piper. "How is the restaurant doing?"
"Oh, it's perfect," Piper smiled. "A lot of hard work obviously, but I have a great team and I'm living my dream." She smiled as Melinda placed a slice of cake in front of her. "Thank you, angel; that looks delicious."
"I'm glad it's worked out so well for you, darling." Penny raised her glass.
Darryl, reaching for his own glass, knocked over a wine glass and it spilled onto the table. "Aw, sorry. My bad."
Piper got out of her seat. "Don't worry about it, it's…" Her expression glazed over a little as she looked at the wine stain on the table cloth.
"You okay?" Leo asked.
Piper snapped out if it. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a weird sense of déjà vu. I'll get something to clean it up."
Phoebe knelt at Piper's side, while Prue knelt at the other.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're planning," The Source pouted, sensing that the sisters were indeed onto something.
"You know that Phoebe has made psychic links before," Prue reminded Cole. "There was this thing with a succubus and you know about the whole Bo thing last year."
"Right," The Source lied.
Prue continued, now talking to Phoebe. "You could see what they saw; feel what they felt. So maybe you can get into Piper's mind and remind her of what she needs to fight for."
Phoebe looked nervous. "I'll try, but I've never linked with someone on command before, just taken advantage when it's happened unintentionally."
"I know," and Prue looked at their sleeping sister. "But I'm hoping the sisterly connection you already have might compensate for that."
Phoebe nodded. She took Piper's hand and clasped hers around it. She closed her eyes and focused on her love for her sister and all the good they'd done together. She attempted to reach out with her mind and hoped for the best.
Piper stood in the kitchen and rooted through the cupboards for something to clean up the wine stain and hopefully salvage the tablecloth, a wedding present from her parents. She could hear the chatting and the laughing from the dining room and was eager to get back.
She suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She felt strange; a vibration in her head.
She shook it off and didn't think anything of it.
But then she felt it again, this time more intense and she gasped as images flashed through her mind.
She saw a photo of herself with her sisters, standing close together. She saw herself with them, hand in hand, surrounded by a tornado and fighting off a knife-wielding warlock. She saw herself with Leo; she was wearing a wedding dress, as he threw a shower of sparkling golden lights into the air.
She doubled over as the images ceased. All the images brought Piper an intense feeling of déjà vu; but surely that couldn't have been real. She must have had an instant moment of insanity. Yet, despite all of her doubts, she suddenly remembered that brown box in her room and the urge to open it bubbled inside her again.
"Piper, you okay?" Leo called from the dining room.
"Yeah, fine," she responded. "Just going to get something from my bedroom. I'll just be a second."
Prue watched as Phoebe let go of Piper's hand. Phoebe looked uncertain. "Any luck?" she hopefully asked.
"I'm not sure," Phoebe admitted. "I felt a connection, but I'm not certain I got through."
The Source smirked.
Leo frowned.
"Okay, well maybe give it a moment." Prue remained optimistic.
Phoebe wasn't satisfied. "No."
Prue looked at her expression. "Huh?"
Phoebe looked Prue in the eye, determined. "I can do better," and she took Piper's hand once again, but this time, she also took Prue's hand.
Back in her fantasy world, Piper walked upstairs and entered her bedroom. The box was still there; exactly where she had spotted it before and once again the feeling of curiosity was overwhelming. She got closer and closer to the box and yet again, the closer she got, the more the fear set in. She came so close, her fingertips very nearly touching the lid, but the dread in her heart was just too much. She backed away and sighed, disappointed in herself. She turned around and was about to walk back downstairs to the party when her mind was flooded with more visions.
This time, she saw faces that seemed familiar.
She saw her old friend Brittany being attacked by an ancient-looking demonic man with glowing red eyes; and then suddenly the scene flashed to Brittany on her wedding day, her smile lighting up the room.
She then saw Maggie Murphy about to jump off a building, while a bald, suited man whispered dark thoughts behind her; this flashed to show Maggie caring for elderly residents in a care home and opening up a counselling centre.
Her mind flashed with several faces, of people saved by The Charmed Ones. She was seeing lives that would have otherwise been cut short. She was seeing the good and the happiness. The vision ended and Piper stood astonished as her true life came back into her memory.
"Phoebe?" She thought that must have been where the vision came from. Not only had the images been transmitted to her successfully, so had the sentiment behind them. Piper knew what she had to do.
She turned back around and was about to force herself to open the box when a little voice came up behind her.
"Mommy, are you coming back downstairs?"
Piper looked at the little girl and her heart broke.
Phoebe opened her eyes and let go of her sisters.
"How about that time?" Prue asked expectantly.
Phoebe smiled. "Yep, that time I definitely got through."
The Source scowled as Prue and Leo grinned.
Phoebe looked at Piper. "Just hope it was enough."
Piper stood before her little girl. "Sweetie, I'm not going to be able to finish the party."
Melinda looked disappointed. "What do you mean? Why not?"
Piper steadied herself, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Because there's somewhere I need to be. A job I need to do."
Melinda looked more upset. "Did we not make the party nice enough for you, Mommy?"
Piper got a little choked up by her sad voice and knelt down to her level. "You made it absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for a nicer party. You made me so proud."
"Then why not stay?"
A tear rolled down Piper's cheek. "Because now I have to be the Mommy you deserve… and that means helping to fight for a better world. As hard as it might be; it's for a world where you can grow up happy and safe."
"I don't understand," the little girl sobbed.
"Oh, sweetheart, I guess I only just worked it out myself," and she kissed Melinda on the cheek.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Piper nodded. "Now that I'm ready to fight for my dreams, you can count on it."
Piper got up and walked determinedly towards the box. She felt the same emotions as before, but this time she moved so fast that she didn't allow it time to slow her down. She flung the box lid open and out of it burst a veil of blackness that surrounded her. She looked around. Everything had gone, the room, Melinda.
She was in utter darkness.
She felt the dread she had felt before and remembered everything in her life that caused her such anxiety. She sighed.
But then Piper noticed something. She looked up and saw that countless stars were glimmering above her. Each tiny light made her feel a little bit better in the darkness until eventually the blackness that surrounded her wasn't so scary anymore.
She smiled, finally acknowledging the amount of love and support she had in her real life.
Piper sprung up in her bed and gasped loudly. Everyone around her looked elated; especially because The Source had left the room earlier.
"You did it!" Phoebe cheered.
Piper looked at her arm as the tattoo began to glow and flicker. It turned back into the Dream Weaver's solid form and jumped to the wall. It was about to scuttle towards the window, but Piper threw out her hand. The creature let out a screech as it burst into a cloud of black particles.
Piper smirked. "Never thought I'd miss being able to do that."
"Nice aim," Prue smiled before pointing out, "You didn't even singe the wall."
The three sisters hugged and Leo embraced his wife immediately after.
"So glad you're back" Leo fawned.
Piper kissed him. "Me too."
In the bathroom, The Source looked at two disembodied red eyes floating in the mirror. "The Dream Weaver failed, I'm afraid I'll be a while longer."
Klea's voice echoed from the mirror. "I'm sorry to hear about the setback, my liege."
"No need to worry. I had hoped targeting the middle sister in her current predicament might speed things along, but my work on the youngest is still in progress. Keep me updated on any going-ons below."
Piper sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee on the table in front of her.
Leo joined her. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay. That was all pretty freaky, but I'm alright. Heck, I think it did me a favour in the long run."
"Really, how so?"
"Well…" Piper took a sip of her coffee and cringed as she realised it had gone cold.
Leo started to get up. "Oh, I'll brew a new pot."
"Wait," Piper stopped him. "I want to try something." She focused on the coffee cup and held her hands over the liquid. The coffee gently bubbled and steam rose from the cup. Piper smiled, pleased with herself.
"Hey, it didn't explode"
Piper smiled at him. "I think I can control it now… just needed to stop fighting against myself."
Leo looked perplexed.
"I saw the entry for that disgusting spider thing in The Book," Piper started. "It said it targets people who aren't happy with their lives…"
"Well I know you've been stressed with everything that's happened recently, can hardly blame you."
"It's not just that. See, for a long time I've equated a normal life with a perfect life. I've been so wrapped up in pushing against the magic and the demons that I forgot about all the normal problems that normal people have to deal with."
Piper looked down and sighed, preparing herself. "Recently I found a very harsh reminder of that."
Leo looked worried. "Okay."
Piper took his hand. "I don't want anyone else to hear about this until I hear some definite answers. It might be nothing."
"Alright…" Leo gulped.
"I found a lump, so I made a doctor's appointment. I know it's scary, but I'm going to try and think positively. I looked online and it said that…"
Leo sat and listened to his wife. He tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible while his heart dropped. He held Piper's hand tighter than before.
He wasn't about to let go any time soon.