Author: Escargoat
Rating: Why don't we go FRM – I'm going to be on the borderline of FRT, and I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Part: (4/?)
Season: Season 8 AU
Disclaimer: I don't own. I'm making no money. Rights go to whole bunch of people such as the (now defunct) WB, TNT, the CW, Spelling Productions, and others. I'm not any of those people.
A/N: I had not intended to use Henry quite so much in this fic when I conceptualized it, but what can I say?
I also decided to start to move the story ahead a bit. I didn't really feel like giving Billie more "screen" time for the whole trial bit.
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Henry stared intently at Phoebe. "I mean it. You need to take them."
Phoebe shook her head.
"Phoebe…" Henry trailed off angrily.
"Paige gave them to you. Her will stated what she wanted to go to me."
"I'm not a witch."
"No, but that doesn't mean that you aren't going to be a target from demons. I can make my own potions Henry. You can't."
Victor laughed at the two of the unexpectedly.
"What?" Phoebe inquired.
"I can't forget the look on that guy's face when he read that Paige wanted all her potions to go to her husband."
Phoebe smiled slightly. Whether it was because of the memory or the fact that her father had laughed, she did not know.
"I going to have to buy a house," she fretted suddenly.
"You shouldn't rush into something like that Phoebe," her father cautioned.
"I know, but I can't keep the boys with me in my apartment. I'm not going to have the room."
"They can stay here with me for as long as they need, or you can get a bigger apartment," Victor reasoned.
"Yeah, but you told me that Chris is developing his powers. It's a lot easier to hide magical abilities when the kids are orbing between floors of your house then it is when they orb into Mrs. Johnson's on the floor below you."
"Wyatt hasn't done anything magical since, well…"
"I know, but the boys are still going to be great big magical targets. You know? I can't ignore that the odds are very good that some evil may come attack them. And it's easier to fix the demon vanquish spot on the rug in your home instead of explaining to the landlord what exactly that burn spot is. That's why Piper wanted to boy to go to me. I'm the one best equipped to protect them now that Paige is gone."
"Is that why she stated that she wanted the boys to live with Paige before you or me?" Victor questioned.
"Dad, don't feel upset. We agreed that if Piper and Leo were both gone, Paige would be better able to protect the boys. She had an active power, and she loves them as much I do. Loved, I mean."
"Loves," Henry commented.
"You could always build another house on the land you already own," Victor pointed out after realizing that Phoebe had her mind set.
"I'm pretty sure every demon in the Underworld has that address. I want the boys to be safe both from demons and reporters."
Victor unconsciously looked over at the blinking light on his answering machine.
"Dad, we can't let anything happen to those boys. I, I can't lose another member of my family. I don't have much left."
"I know it's a drastic step that I shouldn't be taking. I mean, I gave Piper the lecture about this kind of thing after Prue died, but I have to do what is best for Wyatt and Chris."
Henry cleared his throat. "I know that I wasn't family very long before Paige," Henry stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, "before Paige died. But, I want to help in any way possible. I think Paige would want that."
"Thank you," was all Phoebe had to reply.
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"He asked you to what?!" Victor's voice boomed through Phoebe's recently purchased house.
Phoebe sighed and wished that her father had waited a little while longer before bringing Coop's name up. She had hoped for a rather peaceful day of unpacking boxes. It had taken a few months to find the right house and get the financing in place. Now Victor was helping his remaining daughter and two grandsons move in.
"Coop asked me to marry him. I told him to go away. I loved him, but marriage that quickly?"
"Well, I'm glad you said 'no.' You deserve better."
Phoebe snorted in an unflattering way. "You're my father. You have to say things like that."
"It's true. I didn't like the guy. I didn't like him one bit."
"Didn't like who?" Henry asked as he maneuvered one of the heavier boxes in the door.
"Coop," Phoebe informed him.
"Oh."
"Ugly bitch," Victor's voice ground out.
"Excuse me?" Phoebe asked in a shocked voice.
Victor looked surprised. "I didn't realize I said that out loud."
Roughly, he shoved a piece of newspaper at Phoebe. Billie's picture started up at her.
"It was wrapped around one of the vases in this box."
Phoebe crumpled the paper back up. "I can't believe I didn't notice when I was packing."
"Well, it isn't like you needed to read the papers to know what's going on," Henry pointed out.
Phoebe moaned slightly, "Don't remind me. I'm trying to think positive thoughts. Testifying about My sister's deaths wasn't something I'd ever put on my to-do list."
"I still think that something magical was behind that trial. It moved too fast," Victor commented.
"Well, you'll get no argument from me there. I'm just glad that they found her guilty, and that she didn't use her powers to sway the jury."
"How do you know she didn't use her powers? She helped kill two people, and she only gets twenty years, with the possibility of parole," Victor pointed out.
"I don't, okay. But maybe she was just convincing that her sister mislead her. I don't know."
"Maybe we should just find a new topic. We've all been through this several times," Henry pointed out.
"Well on the plus side, I start work again next week. It'll be nice to start getting my paycheck again. Although, with a room full of reporters nearby, I'm probably going to have to put a barricade up," Phoebe half joked.
"Well, circulation will probably go up for the first week of you being back. That will probably make your boss happy," Victor commented.
"Yeah, well I'm just hoping that it stays that way. I mean, I'm not sure all that publicity is going to help me in the long run."
"You'll be fine," her father assured her.
Phoebe nodded her thanks and bent to pick up another box. "I don't remember this one," she commented with a puzzled frown.
"Oh, you might not. It was in the storage facility that Piper was renting. I just took everything out of there when I was on my way over. Piper mentioned that she put some old household supplies in there. I thought they might be useful here so you didn't have to buy new. Besides, I thought it would be a way to bring your sisters with you."
Phoebe smiled softly. "Thanks Dad."
Eagerly she opened the box. She froze. There was a teddy bear at the top of the box, and it wasn't Wyatt's.
"Something wrong?" Henry asked.
"No, nothing," she replied after a few seconds.
The day was going so well that she did not want to bring the mood down. She could just rifle through the box and then inconspicuously hide it again. Gently, she fingered the bow that was tied around the bear's neck. The bow was blue. Blue like the eyes of the man who had bought it for their unborn child…
Phoebe yanked the bear out and threw into the hall closet. Today, this week, hell this year was not the year to be thinking of crazy demon exes. If she wanted pain, she could focus on her sister's deaths. Hastily, she rummaged through the remaining contents of the box. Oddly enough, there were some magical supplies at the bottom. Grudgingly, she pulled them out. She had not been able to save much from the exploded contents of the manor, and they might help should she need them.
"Magic stuff?" Victor questioned as he looked over Phoebe's shoulder.
"Yeah. I can probably use it seems how I haven't had time to replenish my stockpiles."
"Why stockpile at all? Demons haven't even attacked since before Paige died," Henry commented.
Phoebe looked at Henry and then at her father. "Tell me he did not just say that."
Victor sighed and shook his head.
"What?" Henry asked.
"I'll go get the boys," was all Victor said as he went into the next room where they were playing.
"What?" Henry asked again.
The sound of breaking glass answered him.
"Phoebe!" Victor shouted.
Grabbing her purse, Phoebe ran into what would soon be her living room.
"Give me the boy," the demon ground out as he lunged at Victor.
When he stumbled out of the path of the demon, the attacked kept going right towards the boys. Wyatt lifted his hands up. Nothing happened.
"No!" Phoebe screamed as she reached into her purse and threw a potion. Thankfully, the demon ignited in flames and was vanquished.
Victor stared at his eldest grandson. "He didn't bubble? Why didn't he bubble?"
Phoebe stared in horror at her nephews. "I don't know."
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A few hours later, the boys were in bed. Henry, Phoebe and Victor sat around her new kitchen table.
"I can't believe Wyatt's powers are gone. I mean, he used to be able to conjure dragons," Phoebe moaned as she stared into her coffee cup.
"Maybe it isn't all bad. I mean he's mortal now right? Being mortal isn't bad," Henry pointed out.
"It isn't bad when you don't have demons running after you trying to kill you," Phoebe corrected.
"Maybe he's just scared of using them," Victor suggested.
"No, Dad, what you said about having to have Chris orb Wyatt back? I think that Wyatt had his powers stripped. Maybe they were even eaten by us summoning the Hollow somehow. I don't know. I just know that without his shield both Wyatt and Chris are in a lot more danger."