My Charmed Life
Ch. 4 – Hell Hath No Fury
This is the true recounting of my life
My fingers twitched uncontrollably; a new sensation filled my body as white droplets hovered down from the sky. My vision extended no further than the tip of my hat before it was bombarded by an intangible wall of frost. Every step I took awarded me another twinge of deathly cold across my exposed face, and it was beautiful.
Winter in Germany was my favorite time of year. The snow coated the trees in a soft sheet of protection; the fog blocked unwanted intruders from entering Mother Nature's sacred forests; and the cold kept the rest of the world inside by their cozy fires. Not I though; I wandered the icy streets and rolled in the frozen water. I danced in the forests and climbed the threes, and it was beautiful.
It was much the opposite in California. It was so much warmer in California, so very few people holed up inside by the fire. There were few forests in general, as we were in Southern California, and it never snowed. It almost did one year; we got down to the temperature that would have been required for snow, but we lacked the clouds to drop it on us. Finally, my brothers and their friends were always outside, so I holed myself up inside. That is, of course, until I met Timmy. He showed me the joys of California in the winter. He took me to a place called the Dana Point Harbor, and I immediately fell in love with it. There was a jetty that shot out from the shore, and we'd often walk down that to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen; the sun touched the water ever so gingerly and a beam of red shot across the ocean. The clouds turned a myriad of neon red colors. The water crashed against the jetty, but we didn't care; within a moment we were completely drenched, and we merely laughed at each other. Then we kissed.
That was the first night I gave myself to him, but I want to be clear. The purpose of this story is not to share my sexual life with you, and so I will not go into any more detail than that on the topic of sex.
That was also the first night he told me that he loved me, and everything else melted away as I fell asleep in his arms. The next day Timmy came out to his family, and they accepted him with ease. In fact, they offered to let me move in with them because they knew how the neighborhood children were treating me. Of course, I had to say no because I couldn't explain to my parents that I was moving in with my boyfriend when I was sixteen, so I would just stay over as much as I could get away with, and we would do nonsensical things together. It was hardly ever sex; neither of us felt a need for physical intimacy, rather we would play video games, or go out, or just lie together and watch the clouds melt into stars that then melted back into the sun.
The day Timmy came out to the public was the happiest day of my life. My brother and his friends were bullying me just after school like they always did, and Timmy got between us and told them to knock it off. They couldn't keep quiet anymore; my brother asked why he defended me so adamantly, and Timmy professed his love for me in the middle of the school yard. My brother and his friends looked on with such disgust, but a teacher was headed our way, so they left us alone. Timmy helped me to my feet and kissed me passionately for everyone to see. My parents received a phone call from the school, as we did live in a very unaccepting town, and I was told not to come home, which I was very okay with. I stayed in Timmy's house for the next week, and then my parents allowed me to come home, much against my will, but there was really no choice in the matter. Eventually they warmed up to the idea of having a gay son, but it was easier for them when I was single.
We had assimilated Paige to the idea of being a witch, and I warned her against taking the book out of the house, as it seemed beneficial to everyone to skip that fiasco, not that I was incredibly successful, but I tried. Prue had warmed up to me first, as it was her life that I saved, and Piper started treating me like she was my mother, which I was okay with. Of course, at this point in the story the sisters knew my entire story, where I've only shared a small portion of it thus far, so they may make references to things you don't quite yet understand; that being said, I didn't have a very good mother in the real world, so it was nice to have someone care about me. Phoebe hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of me being in their lives yet; she was grateful that I saved Prue, but she didn't like messing with the timeline like I had. I tried to explain that I didn't mean to, but she was still wary to take any of my advice, and she was the one to most often shut me up when I started talking about the future. She wanted nothing to do with it, which I found odd given her power and her character in the show, but I didn't question her.
Piper had gone on that super witch mode that she was in, in the show. I confronted her about it in the attic one day when she was scrying for evil in San Francisco, "Why are you so adamant to hunt down the demons?"
"They get to hunt us down," She said, "Why can't I hunt them down for a change? Besides, I figure the sooner I get rid of the demons, the sooner I can live my normal life."
"I never understood why you were so passionate about being normal," I said as I sat down on a chair across the table from her, "don't you like being a witch? I mean look at all the good you do."
"Yeah," She sighed, "I like it, but look at everything I've had to give up for it. Look at everything I'm still giving up for it!"
"That's fair," I said, "but should you really be dragging Cole and Phoebe along all the time?"
"Well I can't vanquish all the demons by myself," She said, "Every now and again I need some back up fire power," Then she eyed me, "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"Yes," I smiled, "so are you going to do any research on the next demon you're gonna fight?"
"Nope," She said simply, "I'm going to find it and kill it."
"How?" I asked.
"I'll blow it up," She said matter-of-factly.
"You're sure of your powers now then?" I asked.
"Well then I'll freeze it and Cole can shoot an energy ball at it," Piper said.
"And if it's an upper level demon that Cole can't defeat?" I asked.
"Then we'll figure it out then," Piper said annoyed, "Why are you badgering me about this?"
"Don't you answer that," Phoebe said as she entered the attic, "what are you doing, missy?" She said to Piper.
"I'm scrying for evil," Piper answered.
"And the crystal hasn't dropped yet," I marveled, "Curious seeing as how much evil there is in the San Francisco area."
"Piper," Phoebe pleaded, "stop."
"No," Piper said, "I'm going to either get rid of all the demons in San Francisco, or I'm going to send them a message that says 'leave us alone,' it's really up to them which conclusion we reach."
"That was eloquently expressed," I applauded.
Piper smiled at me, "How goes the job hunt?" Piper asked, mostly to divert Phoebe.
"It's difficult," I said, "ya know, not having a recognized identity to the federal government."
"I actually might be able to help with that," Phoebe said, "but that's totally beside the point," She turned back on Piper, "You can't just go after all the evil in San Francisco. Cole and I have lives too, and we won't be able to help you every time."
"Then I'll go by myself," Piper said simply.
"You most certainly will not," I said, "I'll go with you."
"Not a chance," Piper shot, "you're just a kid."
"I don't 'baa,'" I said defensively, and they both gave me a curious look, "and I'm eighteen, and I know more about the witchy world than either of you. If anyone should go with you, it's me; I have almost every vanquishing spell you guys have ever used, or ever will use, memorized. Sure it may not vanquish everything we come up against, but it will at least send them fleeing long enough for us to get to your sisters and set things right, as I already proved when I personally said the Shax vanquishing spell."
They both stared at me for a long moment, then Phoebe said, "He makes a good point."
"Yeah," Piper said in a more defeated tone, "well then there, I'll have a walking Book of Shadows with me."
"Unless we run into something that you didn't face in the show," I pointed out.
"Right," Piper's eye twitched, "in which case I'll blow it up."
"And if it doesn't blow up?" Phoebe asked.
"Why are you guys teaming up on me?" Piper asked, then the crystal dropped, "Oh! Look at that, evil! Gotta go!" She picked up the map and stormed out of the attic.
I rose to my feet and Phoebe motioned for me to stop, "I'll take care of it."
"No," I said defiantly, "I'm coming this time."
"You're not really in a position to make demands," Phoebe said.
"And you don't have enough time to argue," I returned as Piper shouted for Phoebe to hurry up.
Phoebe frowned at me, "Fine."
We got into the car, and Cole and Piper were already in the front seats. Piper looked at me with an expression of "no," but I reminded her: "Walking Book of Shadows," and she nodded, and Cole took off before we had our seat belts on.
"Turn right here!" Piper shouted.
"Where's Leo?" I asked Phoebe.
"He's still convening with the Elders over your arrival and the mess you've made," Phoebe said as Piper ordered a left turn.
"You're most welcome for that, by the way," I mumbled.
"Look," Phoebe said, "it's not that I'm not grateful that you saved my sister, I am, but we've already learned the consequences of messing with time, and I don't want to go back to that."
"Do you mean when you were sent to the future?" I asked.
"No," Phoebe answered, "we learned our lesson about punishing people with that. I'm talking about when Prue was killed by the Dragon Warlock, I'm talking about when we went back in time beacause Mom blessed a ring to protect a warlock from our powers, and I'm talking about when a warlock came back from the future to kill off an entire crew of scientists that discovered a vaccine to kill of his entire mutated species."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," I said, "but didn't all of those times end up being good for you?"
"In the end, yes," Phoebe said, "but we've learned time and time again that you don't mess with the future or the past. You never know what you could be altering."
"Turn left here!" Piper demanded, she and Cole were arguing about something else in the front seat. It had to do with Piper's insane notion to hunt down all the demons of San Francisco (I could tell from their thoughts).
"Alright," I said, "I will try my hardest not to alter anything else," I turned away from her, "but I still want to help you guys. I can't do anything else here."
"That's fine," Phoebe conceded, "but no more hints of the future, no matter how helpful you think you're being."
I looked back at Phoebe, "Agreed," and we shook on it, "besides, with Prue still alive and Paige being a witchlighter still, I don't know for sure what will be happening differently from the show."
"That's good," Phoebe smiled as the car came to a sudden stop. We were in an alley and there was a tall man that was clearly the demon, holding up a mortal by the neck.
Piper got out of the car, "Hey! Tall dark and creepy!" She shouted and he turned around. She flashed her hands at him and he turned a terrible shade of red before he started morphing between larger and smaller.
"He's gonna blow!" Cole shouted, and he, Phoebe, and I ducked into the car. The demon exploded and covered Piper and the car in green goop.
She got into the car and smiled, "Next!" Cole gave an exasperated look to Phoebe, and we went home so Piper could scry for more evil. When we arrived at the manor, Prue was coming down the stairs with Paige, "Hey," Piper grinned at her, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know," Paige said, "Just on my lunch break, and I thought I'd stop by."
"So I was showing her the book," Prue smiled.
"It's still there, right?" I asked Paige suspiciously.
"Yes, Dad," She rolled her eyes at me.
"Just checking," I said, but I touched on her thoughts anyway. She was definitely telling the truth. With that, Piper nodded and headed up the stairs.
"Where ya going?" Prue asked.
"To the attic to scry," Piper answered, but she didn't stop moving.
"Why is Piper scrying?" Prue asked.
"What's scrying?" Paige asked.
"Oh, honey," Phoebe said to Paige, "Why don't you swing by after work, and I can help you with that," Paige nodded, and she left.
"And Piper?" Prue asked with a little concern.
"Oh," Phoebe groaned, "I really don't want to worry you with this. You have have so much to do already."
"Okay," Prue flared her eyes, "but now you have me worried, what's going on?"
"I'm going to go check on Piper," I said, and Cole nodded and followed me up to the attic. Piper was scrying already, and I walked up and put my hand on her shoulder, "Piper, what's this all really about? You kind of appear to be having a nervous breakdown."
"Not to mention, you're trying to get all of us killed," Cole added aggressively.
"Cole," I hissed at him, "not helpful."
He scrunched up his nose, but he took a step back. Piper looked up at me, "What is the problem with getting a little proactive?"
"A little proactive isn't a problem," I said, "but parading around San Francisco half cocked and blind is a problem. What if you scry for evil, and it happens to be the Source? You can't freeze him, and he regenerates when you blow him up. He will kill you if you don't have your sisters with you."
"I have Phoebe," Piper argued, "and Cole."
"Two witches and a half a demon does not the power of three make," I said, knowing full well that it wouldn't make a difference coming from me if it didn't make a difference when Phoebe said it.
"No," Piper said, "but we have the power to fight off anything we come across."
"You don't, though," I said, "I only gave one example of an evil that could kill you. There are plenty of others out there that you can't even imagine yet. You can't just charge into the horde head first."
"Why not? The demons do it to us," Piper said.
"And how does that always end?" I asked. That gave Piper pause, and then Leo orbed in.
"Hey guys," He sighed at us, "could you give us a minute?"
"Sure," Cole grunted, "maybe you can talk some sense into her," I shook my head, and then Cole and I left the attic.
"You know," I mused at Cole as we descended the stairs, "you are a very angry individual."
"I'm really not," Cole mumbled.
"I know," I said, "you're just worried. I get that."
"Good," Cole said, "at least someone does."
I smiled at Cole, "Don't worry, I understand you very well. You were actually my 'Charmed crush' back in my world."
"Was I really?" Cole grinned back at me, "I'm so flattered."
"I'm glad," I laughed as we got to the front room.
"How'd it go?" Phoebe asked.
"Not well," I said, "she's still scrying, or she was when I left the room. Who knows if Leo can talk her out of this."
"I think it's going to take a mighty event to get her back to normal," Phoebe said.
"Well hopefully we can avoid the one that happened in my world," I said, and Phoebe gave me a sideways glance, "Don't worry, I'll keep it to myself. Where'd Prue go?"
"She was called by the agency," Phoebe said, "She's a busy one."
"I'm glad she's embracing the photographer in her," I said, "She really enjoys it."
Piper came stomping down the stairs with her map in hand, "Come on, we've got work to do!"
"Piper," Phoebe groaned, "Piper, Cole and I do not support you in this. If you insist on going through with it, you're going in alone."
Piper paused and looked at her for a moment, then she nodded, "Mkay, I'll see you at home," She said.
"Oh, I told you that wouldn't work," Phoebe slapped Cole's stomach, and we headed out to the car.
We arrived outside a warehouse that I recognized immediately.
"Oh no," I mumbled to myself as everyone got out of the car. Phoebe gave me a concerned look.
"So where is it?" She asked.
Then we heard a man yelling inside. Piper shouted, "Stand back!" Cole moved like he was going to conjure an energy ball, but Piper froze him, "Crap…" She mumbled.
"Uhh," Phoebe said, "Piper!"
"Yeah, I see!" Piper groaned. She removed her jacket, loosened her arms, and flashed her hands at the warehouse door again. It blew up, Piper gave a triumphant laugh, and a man came running out. He was followed closely by the three Furies, as I had expected, "Oh no ya don't!" Piper shouted at them. She waved her hands at them, but nothing happened to them; the man who was running away was frozen, "Th-th-they're immune to my freeze! Phoebe!"
"Unfortunately Cole is not!" Phoebe shouted, "Piper blow them up!"
"No, Piper don't!" I shouted. The Furies all turned on me, "Uh-oh."
The Furies jumped at me, and one of them breathed in me before Phoebe levitated over and kicked her off of me. Cole unfroze as they were going to attack Phoebe, and he shot an energy ball and killed one of them. The other two hissedand smoked out. The man unfroze and ran away, and Cole looked at me with alarm when I started hacking up a lung.
"Jeremy!" Phoebe ran to my side, "are you okay?"
I held up my finger and coughed up as much of the smoke as I could, "I think so," I wheezed.
Cole eyed me suspiciously, and I can only assume how worried I looked. Piper walked over to me, and the pair of them helped me into the car. Cole drove us home so that Piper could check the book, but Cole tried to explain to her that they were the Furies.
"Like Greek mythology Furies? Dog faced women from Hell?" Piper asked.
"Modern day knock-offs," Cole said, "but the idea's the same."
"Doesn't that make them good?" Phoebe asked as I coughed again. At this point I knew I was infected, but for whatever reason I couldn't tell them. I understood why Cole didn't tell them that Piper was infected in the show – to teach her the consequences of her mad hunting, but would he really let me suffer to teach her a lesson?
"No," Cole answered Phoebe, "they don't differentiate between a petty thief and a murderer. Anyone that commits an evil act, no matter how big or how small, is one of their targets," Yes. Yes he would let me suffer to teach her a lesson.
"Well let's get to the book so we can vanquish their sorry asses!" Piper said. I coughed again, "Are you okay, honey?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.
"I knew we shouldn't have brought you," Piper shook her head.
"Oh not now, honey," Phoebe said.
Previously, it had amused me how often the sisters said "honey," but now it was starting to get on my nerves. I kept myself from yelling at them, but I felt a burning rage in my chest that had no reason being there, and now I was worried because the way they cured Piper of being a Fury was helping her deal with her "unexpressed" rage; I wasn't sure how they might help me. They'd have to vanquish me.
When we got back to the house, that scumbag guy from Paige's work was lying on the couch, and Leo, Paige, and Prue were standing in the hall waiting for us. Paige's boobs were thrice their normal size, and Prue did not look pleased at all.
"What the hell happened here?" Piper asked.
"Paige stole the Book of Shadows," Prue said.
"You did what!?" Cole, Piper, and Phoebe asked.
"I just wanted to help my friend," Paige said defensively; she tried to cover her boobs.
Phoebe walked up to her slowly and opened her sweater, "Uh-huh," She muttered, and then she looked at the man on the couch.
"You stole our family heritage so that you could perform magical plastic surgery!?" Piper shouted.
"No!" Paige said quickly, "I was trying to teach him a lesson because he's such a sleaze bag, and this-"
"Is the back fire," Phoebe sighed.
"Back fire?" Paige asked.
"Yeah," Piper said with an insane flair of her eyes, "When you cast a spell for personal gain there's always a magical back fire!"
"You stupid bitch!" I shouted, and I backhanded Paige across with my left hand; she stumbled back a step.
"Jeremy!?" Prue asked. I coughed.
"How could you be so infernally ignorant!? You didn't even bother asking for help?" I yelled at Paige. She took a step back, and she looked absolutely horrified.
The sisters all looked at me for a moment, "What's with him?" Prue asked Phoebe as they stepped between Paige and me.
"I don't know," Phoebe said with concern, "Alright, you two," She pointed to Piper and Prue, "deal with her," She pointed at Paige.
"But-" Piper tried to argue.
"No buts!" Phoebe shouted, "Jeremy, come with me to check the book."
I felt an unbearable rage at being told what to do, but the logical me really wanted to help her figure out what happened to me, and then the man started waking up.
"What the," He asked, "Where-" Then he saw Paige and her boobs, "Well hell-o."
I punched him square in the jaw. He fell over the couch, and I started walking around the couch, "Jeremy!" Piper shouted.
"Leave him alone," Cole said grimly from the back, "He's becoming a Fury."
"What!?" Phoebe asked.
I smiled at Cole as I noticed my claws had grown in, "You knew this would happen. Why didn't you tell them before?"
"It wouldn't have made a difference," Cole said, "and you know that."
"No," I said, "neither of us do," The man stood up and got ready to fight me.
"Alright, Skippy," He said, "Let's dance."
I used his thoughts to know where he'd swing first; I dodged and kneed him in the groin. I moved to stomp on his face, and Cole shot a light energy ball at me.
"Cole!" Leo exclaimed.
"What you want me to let him kill him?" Cole asked.
"That wasn't very nice," I said to Cole.
"Jeremy, come back to us," Phoebe said, "We can help you."
"No one can help me," I said. I felt a tear forming in my eye, "Not anymore."
The other Furies smoked in around me, "No!" Piper yelled. She flashed her hands, but nothing happened because they were immune to her powers. They grabbed me and we smoked out.
"Welcome to our circle," One of the Furies said to me, "Our newest kin."
I smiled. The Furies started painting my face as part of my "initiation," and they took my clothes off and gave me a red loin cloth. They chanted something before introducing themselves to me. The one with the dark hair was called Mira, and the one with brown hair was called Pela.
"I am Jeremy," I said gravely; my face betrayed no emotion.
"To be fully initiated," Pela said, "you must have your first kill."
Then I felt Cole in the Halliwell Manor, and I heard the girls chanting. I cocked my head curiously, "I know where evil dwells," I said, "but we cannot strike there without caution."
"Where?" Mira asked.
"The Halliwell Manor," I said simply.
"The Charmed Ones?" Pela asked, "But they are the most powerful force of good. What evil dwells with them?"
"The once youngest of them beds a demon," I explained, "He has a hundred years of evil behind him."
"Such high goals," Pela smiled, "Perhaps someone smaller might be a better target."
"No," I said quickly, "I know how the Charmed Ones work. I know how to beat them."
"How could you know that?" Mira asked.
"For eleven years I've studied them," I said, "I know them."
"They've only been Charmed for four years," Mira argued.
"No," I said, "they've been Charmed their whole lives, they just didn't know until four years ago, but I have known their whole lives," Technically, it wasn't a lie, "and I know how the bond works. We can take out their demon, and the Charmed Ones all at once."
"Why would we take down the Charmed Ones?" Mira asked, "They have done nothing evil."
"They will," I said.
"Let us do it," Pela said.
"What?" Mira asked.
"Let us see what he's capable of," Pela responded, "if he truly knows the Charmed Ones so well, we can't lose."
"And if he doesn't?" Mira asked.
"Then we leave him for them to vanquish," Pela said simply.
"Agreed," I growled.
"Then what is the plan?" Mira asked.
"One of you must go in first," I said, "and create a diversion. The other two of us will strike while they're distracted and take down the eldest sister; she's the biggest threat. The demon will be distracted by the cries of his hundred years of torment, and we'll move on to Piper; her powers do not affect Furies, so she won't be a threat to us. Phoebe has no dangerous active power, and Paige is new to the craft, so after Piper we smoke the demon, then we move to Phoebe when she's in mourning, and finally Paige."
"It actually sounds like a good plan," Mira said in amazement.
"It truly does," Pela grinned, "Mira will be the decoy."
"Why me?" Mira asked.
"Because I am the leader, and I'll need Jeremy to fight with me," Pela said.
Mira frowned, but she bowed her head and smoked out. Pela looked me over with delight, "Come," She commanded, and we smoked out moments after Mira. We smoked in behind Prue. Pela roundhouse kicked her in the back, and she hit her head on the staircase and fell unconscious. Piper shouted and flicked her hands at Pela, but nothing happened. Pela pounced at her, and Cole shot an energy ball at her; she was vanquished. I didn't see Mira, and it was vastly apparent to me that she had been vanquished already.
"Jeremy," Piper said with her hands up, "this isn't you. You're a good witch, remember? I couldn't freeze you."
"I thought he was-" Paige whispered to Phoebe.
Phoebe waved her hands at Paige, "Hush you," She hissed back.
"Jeremy," Piper cooed, "you're not angry at us; you don't want to fight us."
I backed away as Piper took a step toward me, "No…" I pleaded.
"Your anger is from your world," Piper said as Cole helped Prue to her feet.
"And there's nothing we can do to change it," Phoebe said suddenly, and a look of understanding came over Prue's face as well.
"We are so sorry," Prue said, "but we can't fix your past."
"No…" I repeated, and tears started forming in my eyes. I put my hands to my head and started shaking my head, as I backed up to the wall.
"But I can make you a promise," Piper said with such conviction that it earned her curious looks from her sisters and Cole, "I will do everything, everything, in my power to keep you from having to return to that Hell. You will never see your brother again, you will never go back to that place; I will fight the Elders with all of my might, I will fight everyone who says otherwise, to keep you here."
I could feel tears forming in my eyes as I watched Piper walking toward me, "How can you promise that?" My voice cracked, "You don't have the power to promise that."
Leo orbed in at that moment, "Actually she does," He said.
"What?" I whimpered, as I felt hope stirring in the pit of my stomach.
"Yeah," Phoebe said, "what?"
"The Elders have agreed that it is up to the Charmed Ones where your fate lies," Leo explained, "as they are the only ones with the power to send you back to your world."
"See?" Piper said as she took another step toward me, "My sisters wouldn't dare fight me on this."
"She's right," Prue said.
"My vote would be to keep you here," Paige smiled.
Phoebe hesitated, but then she shrugged, "May as well keep it unanimous," She smiled at me, "You're here to stay."
I started crying, "I," I muttered as I felt the power of the Fury leave me, and I could once again hear the sisters' thoughts, "I don't…"
Piper pulled me into a hug, "I know, honey," I laughed through my tears at her using the word "honey" again. Prue, Phoebe, and Paige joined us in a group hug, and I felt happy like I hadn't felt happy in two years. I felt loved like I had never felt loved before, "This is your home now, and I will always protect you."
I cried myself to sleep that night; I didn't know this then, but later Piper told me she stayed up and watched me from the stairs. The next day I woke before anyone else. I wandered groggily into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. A few moments later I heard the shower upstairs start; I guessed it was Prue, as she was always the first one up. I drank my coffee and sulked over the events of the day before. I kind of thought once I joined this world I'd eventually be demonized, but I never imagined the amount of absolute hatred you feel when you become a demon. I'd never felt such a strong emotion before, save for when I loved Timmy, and that was such a good feeling that when I felt that entire amount of feeling but as hatred, I felt like I wanted to stop living. I wanted them to vanquish me. I was thankful that they didn't now, but at the time it was just unbearable; then they promised to keep me here. I smiled absently, for I'd never have to go home. I'd never have to see those monsters again.
I was halfway through my coffee when Piper walked in, "Oh," I said surprised, "I thought you were Prue."
Piper smiled at me, "I know we're sisters, but I was growing to think at least you could tell us apart."
I smiled at her, "Good morning, Piper."
"Good morning, honey," Piper said, "How are you feeling?" She asked as she pulled down a cookie sheet and started pulling supplies to make cookies out of the refrigerator.
"Better," I said, "I'm so sorry," I said suddenly.
"Honey," Piper came around the counter and pulled me into a hug, and I started crying again, "Oh honey, shh. It's okay, we've all been demons before, and we've all tried to kill each other. Well, except for Paige, but she'll catch up."
I laughed, "I know," I sniffed, "I'm just not used to this."
"Well it has to be a culture shock for sure," Piper said, and we pulled out of the hug; she looked at me.
"That's not what I mean," I looked away. I was never very good at eye contact.
"Then what do you mean?" Piper asked, trying to catch my eyes again.
"People being nice to me," I said, "People caring about me; I'm not used to people truly wanting me around."
Piper nodded, "I see," She said as she moved back to the cookie makings, "Well get used to it because I refuse to send you home, and if it takes the Power of Three, then you know as well as I that they'll never have it."
I wiped my nose on my sleeve, "Thank you," I smiled, "so how bad was I?"
"Oh I've seen worse," Piper smiled.
"I've been worse," Phoebe yawned as she came into the room, "Where's Prue?"
"That's what I asked," I smiled at Phoebe.
"Look," Phoebe said seriously as she sat next to me, "I don't like the idea of messing with time and altering reality," She said and Piper started mixing supplies, "but you did save Prue's life, and you do make a valid point about basically memorizing the Book of Shadows."
"I think you may have lost me," I said.
"Yeah," Phoebe said, "I'm not really all that great at the whole apologizing thing."
"I know," I smiled, "It's okay, you acted rationally. I totally understand the trepidation to affect the future again."
"Good," Phoebe said, "because if we're going to be living together indefinitely, then you and I need to be able to get along."
"I think we'll get along just fine," I said.
"And us?" Prue asked as she came into the room.
"I assumed we were already fine," I said.
"Good," Prue smiled. Piper put her first batch in the oven, "Ooo cookies."
"They're for Paige," Piper said.
"Oh?" Prue asked.
"Yeah," Piper said, "I was kind of hard on her during my rampage, and I should apologize, and I figured Jeremy could come along as well."
"Yeah," I side-smiled, "I hit her good didn't I?" Piper smiled.
"That's big of you," Phoebe said.
"It was supposed to be your idea," I nudged Phoebe.
"Oh," She said, "Well then you're welcome," She said to the two of us.
Piper smiled at her, "Supposed to be doesn't mean it was."
"No, but I'm gonna still take credit for it," Phoebe said in that silly baby voice she often does. Piper smacked her with the spatula, "Ow!" Phoebe laughed. Then Prue laughed. Then Piper laughed. Then I laughed.