A Witch's Carol
Chapter 4
"Hello Piper." Andy Trudeau smiled towards Piper as if he had not died 10 years ago.
"Andy! How…what…?" Piper stuttered but could not get the words out.
"I'm your Ghost of Christmas Future," Andy held his hands up to stop Piper from trying to talk, "Prue convinced the Elders to send me. I guess she figured I'd be able to get through to you."
"You don't need to, I get it. I've been selfish. I need to change."
"I don't think you do yet," Andy shook his head, "You see, you want to change because you don't want this Christmas to turn out how you've just seen it. You want to change it for selfish reasons, its not because you want it to change for everyone else."
"Of course I do!" Piper exclaimed at Andy, shocked at what he was telling her.
"Piper, I know you better than you think I do. I have been watching over you."
Hearing that, Piper's curiosity peaked; "Watching me?"
"Well, more like your boys. I shouldn't be letting you know this, and you definitely can't tell them, but I'm their Whitelighter. I will be to a few of Paige's and Phoebe's children too once their born, but for now its just Wyatt and Chris."
"You became a Whitelighter!"
"That was why Prue could never summon me from the afterlife. I wasn't there," Andy grinned a boyish grin as he held out his hand, "Anyway, I have to show you what the future holds for you. Take my hand."
"Are we orbing?"
"No, I've been given a special way of teleporting you for the time-travel. Just take my hand."
Nervously, Piper took Andy's hand and then felt herself being transported through time. It felt a little similar to the way Nathalie had transported her but much safer. She was with someone she could trust.
Before she knew it, Piper found herself in a dark alleyway, the sound of a busy road at one end of the alleyway and the sound of shouting and screaming at the other. Andy pulled her towards the shouting, and that was when she saw her two sons all grown up and fighting demons together. That sight worried and upset her, the demon truce was not going to last for too long. Eventually, her two boys would have to fight demons. Nathalie was definitely right, both would need to practise their powers.
"Chris, watch out!" Wyatt shouted out towards his brother, who was on the opposite side of the alleyway to him. Wyatt quickly orbed out and then back in, in front of Chris, as a fireball flew through the air towards him. Piper could only watch as the fireball hit Wyatt's chest, causing him to fly backwards through the air, taking Chris down with him. The two hit a wall hard.
The demon that had thrown the fireball simply laughed at the two brothers and made his way over to the innocent that he had been after in the first place.
Chris pushed his brother from him, rolling him over so he could examine the wound.
"Wyatt!" Chris shook his brother but there was no point, even now Piper realised that Wyatt's eyes were wide open and lifeless, "Wyatt!"
"No!" Piper covered her mouth with her hands, tears falling down her cheeks as she realised her older son had been killed, "Call for help Chris!"
"There's no point," Andy shook his head. Piper was about to question him but he stopped her, "Just watch."
Chris could simply watch as the demon killed his innocent and then grabbed Wyatt's shoulders and orbed the two of them out. Piper felt herself being teleported, as if she was connected to Chris' orbing. She soon realised that Andy had obviously transported them both at the same time to where Chris was orbing Wyatt.
He brought him to an apartment, it was bare, as if they had just barely enough money to live.
"Aunt Paige!" Chris called out, up towards the ceiling, constantly checking on Wyatt. Tears were falling down his cheeks, "Aunt Paige, please, just this once answer me. Wyatt needs help! Hen! Holly! Someone!" Nobody showed up to Chris' calls. Chris crumbled into sobs as he tried in vain to stop the blood from spilling from the burn wound on Wyatt's chest, "Why did you orb in front of me? At least you can heal! I can't do anything and our family don't listen to our calls, you know that!"
"What do you mean?" Piper looked to Andy, shocked at what she had just heard.
"The truce ended," Andy shrugged his shoulders, "You, Phoebe and Paige wanted nothing to do with demons though, you all had your own lives. In fact, the three of you never talk anymore. Paige and Henry live in Phoenix now, Paige got a job as a Social Worker there. She always blamed you and Phoebe for making her give that up. They have three children of their own though. Henry Jnr, and their twins, Holly and Hope. Phoebe and Coop are off around the world all the time, their columns are known worldwide now. They have three girls now, but all three are in boarding school, their powers bound. They have no knowledge of the magical world, Phoebe didn't want that for her girls, she wanted them to have a life," Piper simply looked to Andy in shock, she could not believe her ears, "I can show you if you don't believe me."
"No," Piper shook her head, "What about Leo and myself?"
"You wanted nothing to do with magic either. They did and you cast them out. No help with money, no help with any demons. You spend more time looking after the daughter you and Leo eventually have."
"I have a daughter?"
"In all of that, you pick out the fact that you have a daughter?" Andy shook his head with a scoff, "Prue was right, this will be hard." Without another word, Andy grabbed Piper's hand roughly and transported her from the dank apartment back to her own home.
The Manor was done up just how she had it now, except pictures had been removed and replaced. The ones of her and her sisters not longer hung on the walls, the ones of her two boys no longer stood on the mantelpiece. It was as if she had removed everyone from her life that she wanted nothing to do with.
"This is all your fault, Piper!" Leo's voice called out from the kitchen as Piper watched herself walking out and towards the living room. She looked older though, her hair was a grey colour, her eyes were dark with black rings underneath them. Leo soon followed, his hair a salt and pepper colour and just like her, his eyes had dark circles underneath them, "You wanted a normal life and look what's happened. Wyatt is dead!"
"How is this all my fault, Leo? I wasn't the only one who wanted a normal life."
"Yes you were!" Leo shouted back, "I tried to help the boys when I could but you wouldn't let me! You forbid me! They were doing a job that needed you and your sisters, they were fighting a demon that took the Charmed Ones to vanquish and if cost Wyatt his life. Your selfishness has lost us our child, I've lost a son because of you."
Piper could just watch has she heard the argument between the future Piper and Leo. She was shocked at what she was hearing. Part of her wanted to believe that she would never do that, but she knew how much she loved having no demons or magic in her life. There was a possibility.
"I'm leaving, Piper, I can't do this anymore."
"You can't leave, Leo!" the future Piper shouted back at her husband.
"I can, and I am doing," Leo shook his head, "The Elders offered me my wings back so that I could help other witches and potential Whitelighters, so that's what I'm doing. I can be there for Chris then, if he ever needs me, it better than sitting here not being able to do anything."
The scenery changed before Piper could see anymore, however it only changed slightly. Her and Andy remained in the Manor, yet she watched the dining room as her future self set Christmas dinner up.
"They come and see me at Christmas though."
"Keep watching." Andy sighed.
The phone rang and future Piper made her way to it, answering the call.
"Hello?" there was a pause while neither Piper or Andy could hear what was being said on the other end, "Oh, Pru! What are you doing calling, sweetie, I thought you'd be on your way over now," there was another pause, "You're not coming? Why not?" … "You're in New York? When did you go to New York?" … "Last week with Tyler. Oh, right," Piper heard the disappointment in her future self's voice and she could not blame her, by the sounds of things, her daughter had just decided to leave for Christmas with some boy named Tyler, "Well, come and see me when you get back. Bye."
Future Piper hung up the telephone and walked toward the table. She sat down at one of the two places set. This was the first time Piper realised that there were only two places set for the Christmas dinner.
"Merry Christmas to me again." Future Piper sighed, place her arm on the table and her head on her hand. Piper guessed this was not the way she wanted to spend Christmas.
"You selfishness rubbed off on your daughter," Andy explained to her, "She decided that she wanted to spend Christmas in New York with her current boyfriend."
"This isn't the first time it's happened, is it?" When Piper saw Andy shake his head, she sighed, she realised now that she was going to end up an extremely lonely and bitter old woman. Not the future that she saw just two years ago during the battle against Billie and Christy.
Piper felt herself being transported once again, this time to a graveyard. It took no guesses for Piper to realise why she was here. She looked at the headstone and sure enough it read her name.
"I've not even been buried in the family crypt." Andy simply looked at Piper and then looked towards the coffin that laid by the headstone. Piper took the hint and watched. A loan vicar stood at the foot of the coffin, conducting a normal ceremony that only three people had decided to attend. One was Leo, but he seemed to be there just for show. The others were a woman in her twenties with long brown hair and beautiful green eyes. In the woman's arms was a baby who couldn't be more than a few months old.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The Vicar finished the ceremony and looked towards the three people who had turned up.
"Are we done?" the woman looked to the Vicar, who nodded his head. The woman sighed with relief and looked to Leo, "Great, I've got to go Dad. Ashley needs changing and I need to see Charlie. I guess I'll see you at the next death."
With that the woman walked away. The woman that Piper had now guessed was her daughter. Leo looked to the Vicar after watching the woman walk away. He had hardly changed from when Piper last saw him when he was arguing with her future self. He really had taken his wings back.
"Thank you for that. I guess no matter how angry I am at her, I still had to give her a proper burial. At least she can't haunt me now."
Piper turned to Andy in shock at the way that her life had ended. Her husband had left her and obviously still disliked her for the death of Wyatt, her daughter cared more about herself and the next boy that came into her life, Chris had not even bothered to show, that was if Chris was still alive and her sisters had just not bothered to show. They were probably living their own lives.
"I can't have this happen. I need to change this!"
"You can change this Piper," Andy explained to her, "I will be simply to change this, but it can only be you that does."
"Send me back, please. Then I can change it all!"
Andy nodded his head with a small smile and placed his hand on Piper's forehead. The next thing Piper knew, it was Christmas Morning and she was lying in her own bed, next to her mortal husband who was sleeping soundly. It was still dark outside but Piper knew that it would only take time for her two boys to run into the bedroom.
"Leo?" Piper looked at him, hoping that everything had come to an end, "Leo, wake up!" Piper shook her sleeping husband awake, "Leo!"
"I know its Christmas, Piper, but I was more expecting the boys to come in and jump on the bed." Leo moaned, sleepingly, not bothering to open his eyes.
"I want to go and wake them up!" Piper told her husband.
"What?" Leo now opened his eyes and looked at his wife as if she had fallen and bumped her head, "Piper, why do you want to wake them up. We've had less than five hours sleep. Today is going to be a long day!"
"I know, but its worth it. It's Christmas."
Now Leo was wide awake. He sat up and stared at Piper; "You never care that it's Christmas. What's going on, Piper?"
"I guess you could say I've had a bit of an awakening. Please, Leo, I need to do this. I need to start making changes."
Rather than arguing with his wife, Leo agreed and climbed out of bed. Silently he was happy that she seemed to care more about the boys' excitement about Christmas rather than her own need for sleep. This was how a mother was supposed to be.