A Charmed Story - Part Twelve:
A Halliwell Christmas Carol
Chapter 4
After Chris and Bianca had finally returned, Victor wanted to go back to the manor, but the couple invited him to stay a little longer, to have a drink and some chat. So they sat down in the living room, drank some tea and were talking lively while Hope slept deeply in her room.
"You really did a great job with this play, honey," Bianca agreed with Victor, "you really can be proud of that. So stop saying that it 'wasn't that much'!!"
Chris grinned: "Ok, ok... It was a hell lot of work, but it was worth it... satisfied?"
Bianca nodded and went over to him, to sit on his lap. "I love you, baby..." she whispered to his ear and kissed him deeply.
"Hey, we have a guest..." Chris complained, when they separated again. Then he turned blushing to his grandpa and smiled shyly: "Sorry..."
Victor grinned: "Don't worry... actually I'm very happy to see you both like this... after all that you told me, I am happy that YOU are happy."
All three chuckled about that. Then they turned their discussion back to the upcoming days.
"Piper will have a lot of work with that dinner, this year... how many people will be there? ...Ten? Fifteen?" Victor asked.
"The last time I counted it had been eleven, fourteen with the kids... but who knows what else happens until tomorrow..." Chris joked.
"Yeah but don't worry," Bianca added, "I will help her, and Chris also as long as Hope will let him..."
"Oh... Don't worry about that. I still know how to take care of a small child," Victor said smiling, and suddenly remembering how small Piper had been at that age...
"I would never doubt that," Bianca said and then stood up. "I'm going to the kitchen, do you want something?" she asked pointing at his empty cup.
"Oh no, thanks." Bianca nodded and went to the door.
"Hey... why don't you ask me if I want something?" Chris pouted.
His wife turned around and grinned: "Because I know what you want..." Then she entered the kitchen.
Victor grinned at his grandson: "You are a lucky man, do you know that... you have a wonderful family here..."
Chris smiled back at him: "Yeah, I know..." And while he said that, he thought about all the good things which happened to him in the past months... no, in the past one and a half year. His life wasn't perfect of course, but he wouldn't want it any other way...
Victor observed him a moment, thinking back to their earlier conversation. He was still curious what all this angel stuff was about. And he could tell that something was bothering Chris. Victor had the feeling that his grandson wasn't as happy as he seemed to be. So he sighed and said: "Chris, if you want to continue our earlier discussion, then..."
"No," the Elder-witch interrupted him a little too quick, "there is nothing more to talk about."
Victor could tell it was a lie. He wanted to add something more, when suddenly bluish orbing lights filled the room, startling him. But Chris got up to his feet, already knowing who it was, and patted his grandfather's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. Then he went over to pick up his little brother who had just materialized.
"Hey Wyatt," he said to the sleepy boy, "shouldn't you be in bed? It's already late?"
At that moment Bianca returned with a glass of water and a cup of Chris's favorite tea. She nearly dropped both when she saw who was visiting them. "I'm calling Piper," she said then, after the first shock.
Meanwhile Wyatt yawned. "So why aren't you sleeping?" Chris asked again.
Victor watched with amazement how obviously good Chris was at handling children. But then he turned worried when he heard the boy's answer.
"Christopher crying... can't sleep..." Wyatt mumbled sleepy.
Chris frowned: "Did anything happen?" But the boy shook his head.
Meanwhile Bianca talked to Leo on the phone: "Yeah, Leo it's m... Ye... Yes Le... Yes... He's here! Yeah, he's here... he said Christopher was crying? ... Oh... oh-ohhhh... Yeah I see... Well he can sleep here, that's no problem... Yeah, alright... See you... Good night..." Then she hung up the phone.
"What happened?" both men asked at the same time.
Bianca smiled: "Seems mini-you is getting his first teeth... he's screaming since half an hour already... And before you ask, Leo just complained about that Piper wouldn't let him help the boy..." And when she saw the looks of confusion she added: "...what I perfectly understand. At least that's something every child has to go through...That's something natural."
Chris shook his head, while Victor grinned: "She's just like your mother..."
Chris nodded: "Yeah... too bad!" Bianca stuck out her tongue to him, but he ignored her. Instead he turned to his grandpa. "It seems our meeting is over now... Wyatt should sleep and all we have is this sofa so..."
"Don't worry, Chris, I understand... And I guess I'm more needed at home anyway... because I know an old medicine for that problem..." He winked at him. Chris nodded.
"Ok," Bianca stepped to his side and took his arm, "I'll shimmer you home and by the way I'll grab some things for our new guest..."
Victor agreed. Then he said good night to Chris and Wyatt, before both disappeared.
Chris sighed a little sad about that sudden end of this nice evening. "Are you angry at me?" Wyatt asked looking at him with now wide opened eyes.
Chris turned to him frowning. Then he smiled. "Of course not," he said, while he sat down his brother on the sofa, "I told you that you're always welcome here, whenever you want." Wyatt nodded while Chris gapped a blanket and tucked his brother in this improvised bed. "Now sleep ok?"
Wyatt nodded again, and moments later he was deeply asleep.
& & & & &
"Hey," Victor said when he entered the nursery. Christopher was still screaming in Piper's arms, while Leo sat in the chair and rubbed his temples.
Bianca followed right after the man and went over to the sideboard. "I just pick up some clothes for Wyatt for tomorrow morning..." she said, "we'll bring him back after breakfast."
Piper and Leo nodded and after another 'good night' the Phoenix shimmered back home.
Victor meanwhile observed the frustrated and tired parents for a moment, then smiled.
"What?" Piper asked.
Her father shook his head: "This reminds me so much of the time, when you and your sisters had been so small like that!" Then he went over and took the boy from Pipers arms. "Alright Christopher... Now let's see if we can calm you down..."
"Dad I don't..." Piper said, while the boy was still screaming, his face red from the effort.
"Piper," Victor said calmly. "I managed to calm you and your sisters down, when you got your first teeth and I think I still have the right feeling for doing that again... Just my special recipe for calming down someone... Trust me it'll work..."
Piper frowned: "Ok... So what is it?"
Victor grinned: "Ahhh... no. This secret is only passed on from man to man..." He winked at Leo who couldn't help smiling. Then he turned to Piper again: "So... would you leave us alone now, so that I can show your husband how to do it?" His daughter frowned, still suspicious, but then left the room and closed the door.
"Alright... What is that secret?" Leo asked as he walked over to his father in law.
Victor still grinned: "Whisky..."
"WHAT??" Leo exclaimed shocked.
But the old man gestured for him to calm down: "It had been the seventies and Patty and I... well, we were young... AND NO, you shall not make your son drunk..."
"But..."
"But at least Piper left, so you can do your job and help him..." Victor explained his plan.
Leo smiled: "That's very creative Victor." Then he held out his hands over his son to lessen the pain.
"Well Leo, if you want... I don't mind if you call me Dad..." Victor offered while he observed how the little boy calmed down.
The Elder was surprised by that offer. He and Victor had been never really close. That only changed after Chris's marriage. Since that time they kind of grew together. Leo smiled warmly: "It's a pleasure... Dad."
Five minutes later Christopher was asleep again and Leo and Victor left quietly his room.
"So?" Piper asked, standing in the hallway. "How did you do that?"
Victor and Leo just grinned at each other. Then the latter turned to his wife: "Dad's family secret... only for male members, remember?"
Piper was a little startled. "Dad?" she asked her husband surprised and then smiled: "That's good..."
Leo put his arms around her and pulled her close to give her a kiss. "I think we should go to bed now," he stated. And without turning around he said: "Good night Dad..." Then he orbed himself and his wife back to bed.
Victor chuckled as they disappeared. 'Really the best Christmas in a very long time...' he thought. And humming 'Jingle Bells' he went over to his room...
& & & & &
"YEAH!!" Cole raised his fists to the air.
"Shhhhhhh..." Phoebe placed her finger on his lips, "or he will wake up again."
Cole looked at her with a fearful look: "Oh God... please no..."
Phoebe grinned, he was so cute. Then she kissed him again. "You know..." she said between kiss and kiss, "when we... have... our own... you'll... have to... deal with... that... too..."
Cole backed away a little to look her into the eyes. "You sure that it is a good idea to talk like this, right now?" he asked trying to sound serious, but failed miserable.
Phoebe slapped him on his chest. "Cole Halliwell, that's not fair!"
Her husband couldn't help laughing. Phoebe turned over to sit on him and tickled him so that he laughed even more. "Pheebs..." he gasped between the laughter, "I need... please... air... breath..."
Phoebe smiled at him, lovingly. Then she bent down to him. They looked into each other eyes for what seemed an eternity.
"I love you," Cole said and pulled a streak out of her face.
"I love you, too," she replied and then they shared a passionate kiss.
& & & & &
"Why didn't you let me talk to him a little?" Annie asked, while her mother tucked her into her bed.
The woman sighed. She didn't know what to do. On one hand she wasn't sure about what had happened; if things had been like she thought she had seen. Everything had been going so fast. The lights of the car, and then that man pushing them down… Yeah, she thought there had been a light before he was there... but it could have been a reflection or something, because she only saw it from the corner of her eye.
On the other hand this was kind of familiar to her, it reminded her a lot of Annie's father, Danny. But she wasn't even sure if that had been real.
And those colors her daughter seemed to see... God, she was worried to death about that. She didn't know what Annie meant exactly by those words, because she had seen nothing like that. With her husband, she had seen them, those 'angel-lights' how he had called it, but not with this man... She wished she and her husband hadn't talked about that so often to their daughter... before he died.
She sighed frustrated. Before Danny had died everything was so bright, so wonderful, so fascinating. But now she was afraid of all that. She was afraid that someday someone will take her daughter away like they took away the man she loved so much.
That's why on one hand she wished, that they had never met that kind man, even if he had saved their lives. But on the other hand... could they escape that? At least her daughter had it in her blood, hadn't she?
But Annie was still waiting for an answer: "Baby... it's already late, you have to sleep now, or otherwise Santa will not bring you any gift..."
"But mom," the girl complained.
Her mother sighed: "I told you, if he's your angel, you'll see him again... Just like you did today." Annie smiled and nodded. The woman smiled back at her child, but inside she desperately hoped she would be wrong. Because all she wanted for her daughter was a normal life.
& & & & &
After Bianca had returned, she and Chris went to bed, too. After that long day, the Phoenix fell asleep within a couple of minutes. But Chris couldn't rest, his mind couldn't rest.
With a sigh he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. 'What the hell is all this angel stuff about,' he thought. He shook his head and while he did so, his eyes fell on the sword which was still placed in the corner, next to their wardrobe. He sighed again deeply, because again he wondered how he should ever deal with all that... Wasn't being a witch already enough? Did he really have to become an Elder and the headmaster of a whole school...? And that damned sword. Why had it to be his...? And now he should also be an angel for a girl he never saw before... whatever that meant exactly. He rubbed his temples. That was all too much... He turned around a little to look at his wife. "And I also need time for you and Hope," he whispered.
Then Chris shook his head again and stood up. He walked over to the sword and sat down on the ground in front of it, watching it. Since the day he got back from the Middle Age, since that day he had pulled it out of the stone, to prove his words to his family, he hadn't touched it anymore.
To be honest, he was a little afraid of it. The power he felt scared him and he still was afraid to end up like his brother did... once... in another life.
Slowly he raised his hand to touch the handle. But when his fingertips made contact he suddenly wasn't in his bedroom anymore. No... He was at the lake, the stone and sword still in front of him. And also Vivienne.
"Why are you afraid Chris?" she asked him.
Chris blinked once, twice... "What is this? A dream?"
"Not really," the Dame of the Lake answered.
Chris frowned. He could feel the grass under his bare legs, but how could he get to this place. This couldn't be real, could it? "But you're dead, aren't you?" he asked.
The woman nodded: "Still I'm kind of bound to the sword, same as you."
"So... why am I here?" the Elder-witch asked confused.
The woman smiled and knelt down next to him. Looking into his eyes, she answered: "Because you need me."
For a moment none of them spoke any word. Then Vivienne started again: "Chris, I know you're scared. I can feel it. But there is no need to. Excalibur belongs to you. You're meant to have it."
"I know," Chris muttered.
"Then, why are you afraid?"
Chris grimaced: "You haven't lived my life... so how could you understand?"
Vivienne nodded: "Maybe... But you did. You know how the sword is acting in the wrong hands... and you know that your hands are the right ones... So why are you afraid?" And with the last words she grabbed Chris's right hand and took it to the sword, made him hold the handle tight in his hand.
Chris was shocked for a moment when his skin made contact with the cold metal. Then he felt the power again, streaming through him. It was exciting and scaring at the same time. But how strong this power was, how strong the feelings were he felt from that, all that felt good, positive.
Vivienne slowly took her hand away from his. "Does that feel wrong?" she asked with a smile.
Chris shook his head as he pulled his hand back: "No... it doesn't."
"So you see... there's nothing to be afraid of," she smiled again at him and he nodded.
"But what about the rest? ... Excalibur isn't the only thing I have to take care of in my life. What if all that is too much to handle?"
Vivienne smiled: "One step after another Chris. Just take one step and then think about the next one."
"Chris?" Bianca asked suddenly.
The Elder-witch turned around and was back in his room, sitting on the ground in front of the stone.
"What are you doing there, baby?" his wife asked confused and sleepy.
"Did I wake you up?" he asked back and stood up.
"No... I just noticed you weren't next to me, and then I saw you sitting there... is something wrong?"
Chris smiled. Of course he had never left his room. He knew it... This had to have been a kind of vision, he was sure, even if it had seemed damn real. "No... don't worry... everything is fine," he said and then crawled into the bed again, pulling his wife close into his arms.
"You're worried about that girl..." Bianca stated.
Chris nodded: "But tomorrow is still early enough to deal with that. I guess for a start I'll call her and ask if she got home safely..." He sighed wondering if that was a good idea, to call her on Christmas Eve. But then he turned to his wife, looking into her eyes: "Now I just want to sleep... here... with you, the most perfect woman in the whole world, lying in my arms." He smiled and kissed her nose.
Bianca smiled sleepy and mumbled something that sounded like "love you." Then she fell asleep again. Chris looked at her for a little while and then he drifted of to dreamland, too.
& & & & &
The huge red demon was lying in his bed, staring into the darkness of the stony ceiling. It was far beyond midnight, but still he wasn't able to rest. He felt so sorry for his friend, and he felt the need to cheer him up.
Julian wanted to visit his family that day, like every year... but they had kicked him out. They had sensed his dark side and therefore kicked him out. "How could they..." Belthazor mumbled. He couldn't understand that those people, his parents and siblings, didn't see what he was able to see... That Julian was a very fine person, with a huge feeling of justice. But his family only saw what Zankou had done to him. Only his old grandmother had invited him for a diner on Christmas Eve, just for the two of them. Belthazor shook his head, at least one person, who was able to open her eyes and see.
He sighed again. He knew that Julian missed all that Christmas-stuff. After all, he was still human. Belthazor rose, shaking his head. He had to do something.
Determined he went over into their computer-room. There was a telephone, connected to the world of the mortals, mainly for Julian's internet-connection. Then he took out a flyer he found a few days ago and dialed the number.
He heard it ringing... once... twice...
"Halliwell..." mumbled a sleepy voice on the other end of the line.
"Cole?" Belthazor asked.
It took a moment, then came the answer: "You?? How did you get this number...??"
"You're flyer. 'Need a lawyer in a very 'special' case? Then call Cole Halliwell...' Found it down here in a bar," the source explained.
"Yeah, but there I also wrote, that the office is open not before January 2nd, and surely not in the middle of the night... You nearly woke up Phoebe..."
Belthazor grinned, but said: "I'm sorry... but I needed to call you without Julian noticing it... I need your help."
"My help?" Cole asked still sleepy but with a tone of disbelieve.
"You know it's about Julian..." Belthazor said and then explained all that happened.
"And now?" Cole asked when he had finished.
"I thought I give him the Christmas he deserves... But I can hardly go up there and buy a tree and decoration and all that stuff, you know... I guess I would scare the people a little," the source replied grinning.
Cole sighed: "So I shall buy you a tree - as if that was the easiest thing ON Christmas Eve - and all the other things and bring them down to you?"
Belthazor smiled: "Yeah, I hope that you would be so kind... I mean..."
"Yeah, yeah..." Cole interrupted him. "I see what I can do..."
"Ok," Belthazor replied, and his voice sounded kind of happy, "Julian will be away tomorrow from 8 pm to about 11 pm... So it would be the best to bring the things around that time... So that I can surprise him."
Cole sighed again. "Surprise?? Ok... if you want it like that... But now let me go back to sleep... Bye."
"Good night, Cole."
"Yeah... dito." And with that, Belthazor heard that connection broke.
The source smiled while he hung up the phone and went back to his room. That was the best idea he ever had, and Julian would be happy.
(Chapter 4 written by Chrissy.W.x)