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CHAPTER 12

Ancient History

Piper Halliwell had always felt most at peace in the kitchen. It didn't really matter what she was doing in there, just that she was surrounded by the familiar space that she had spent so much time in during her childhood. Even at a tender age, her gifts in the kitchen were clear, and her grandmother had encouraged her to practice and improve her natural talent for cooking, and as a witch, her ability to whip up some of the most powerful potions to have ever been brewed.

However, at this particular point in time, the woman was not brewing a lethal concoction, but rather a healing one– tea. Once she had checked on Wyatt to make sure he was okay, and had sent Paige to check with the Elders about Chris' new power, Piper had cleaned up the kitchen, sending her nieces and nephews elsewhere to play. Once things were satisfactorily tidy in her domain, the eldest Charmed One had put on the kettle. It was habit. When things were hard, she and her sisters had chamomile tea and it soothed their nerves. She, Prue and Phoebe had picked up the habit from Grams. Paige had gotten it from them years later.

Piper smiled to herself as she thought about her youngest sister. She had certainly grown up a lot. From an ignorant witch with a bad habit of sucking on lollipops all the time, her baby sister had changed to a confident, creative witchlighter that could teach even her a thing or two now and then. Paige had even taught the boys how to be whitelighters. Leo had tried, but there was only so much he could teach with mere words, while her sister could teach through example. Piper imagined Paige would someday teach her own little Prairie the ropes. She was a good mother, an amazing witch, and an even better sister. Piper was extremely proud of Paige.

She was equally proud of Phoebe. Even after everything she had been through, Phoebe still somehow managed to keep her head up and do what was best for her girls. She managed to keep a smile on her face so that her children wouldn't see how hurt she really was. She even managed to keep up a friendly front with Coop for their sake. She refused to let their divorce in any way harm her daughters. However, Piper could see plain as day that her sister was hurting, still heartbroken after being betrayed by Love himself. She would do anything to see Phoebe happy, to see her eyes light up and hear her genuinely laugh again. As it was, all Piper could do was love her sister and be there for her when she was needed.

As she placed the tea bag in her water filled cup, the witch's thoughts turned to a different sister. Even after all these years, Piper still missed Prue. While Phoebe was in New York, Piper and her big sister often spent cold winter nights curled up in the livingroom with warm cups of tea talking about their days. Piper would trade just about anything in the world to hear that voice now, even for a minute. She missed Prue's confidence and strength, her ability to know exactly what to do in any given situation and to take whatever action needed to accomplish her goal. Sometimes Piper saw some of her big sister in her youngest son. The two shared the same kind of fiery determination. Piper just wished they would have had the chance to meet.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Phoebe asked from the doorway.

The older sister turned to look at the younger, her eyes a little watery from her last thoughts. She quickly wiped at her eyes, and gave a small smile. "Us. How much we've changed and been through." She lowered her head, "Prue."

Phoebe came the rest of the way into the kitchen and hugged her sister from behind. "I miss her too."

"I just wonder what she's thinking, if she watches us from up there."

"Of course she watches over us," Phoebe answered. "She's probably losing her mind not being in control all the time, and having to sit on the side lines while we face demons like Ryak."

As an afterthought, "I bet she would have found a way to kick his ass, powers or no powers."

Piper chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Sounds about right."

"So, what made you start down memory lane?"

The older sister gestured over to the kettle. "Tea. Our little tradition."

"Ooh, can I have a cup please? Maybe that will finally vanquish this stupid headache."

"Vanquish?" Piper asked, eyebrow quirked.

Phoebe waved her off. "You know what I meant." She glanced around the kitchen, "Where did the kids go?"

"I shooed them out, so I could clean. I think Henry and Leo took them out for ice cream a little while ago though."

"Those two guys are just too sweet."

As she reached up in the cupboard for another cup, Piper asked, "Weren't you going to nap?"

"I was, but then Chris and Paige interrupted."

Piper frowned as she poured the hot water into her sister's cup then added the tea bag "What do you mean? How did they interrupt?"

"Chris accidentally orbed into Paige," she answered. A frown creased her brow, "You know, it was kinda weird actually. I mean, not only is Chris normally cautious about orbing, so it was weird he was in such a hurry he didn't sense first, but Paige flipped out on him about it."

"That doesn't sound like her. She normally caters to Chris."

Piper handed her sister the cup of tea and gestured for her to take a seat at the table. Once Phoebe settled into a chair, her older sister sat down across from her.

Phoebe blew on the tea to cool it off a little, a puff of steam floating away as she did. "Like I said before, it was weird. Even more weird was that she started chasing Shadow. I don't know what that dog did to her, but Paige seemed really really mad."

"Maybe he peed in her shoes."

"Maybe, but that still doesn't explain why she was so hard on Chris, especially considering the kid has had a pretty rough day."

"Speaking of which, I wonder what Paige found out when she talked to the Elders about his new power." Piper opened her mouth to call for her baby sister when a column of bright blue and white lights sifted down through the ceiling taking the form of the youngest Charmed One. "Well, speak of the sister."

Paige saw the two cups and asked, "Tea?"

"Water's on the stove," Piper answered.

The witchlighter immediately headed over to the cabinet and got down a cup, which she promptly filled. Her herbal remedy in hand, Paige joined her sisters at the table and the three shared a smile. It had been a long time since they had all been together like this, just the three of them and their tea.

"So?" Phoebe asked.

"You aren't gonna like it." Paige let out a breath. "It has nothing to do with the Elders. They actually didn't know anything about his visions. They were surprised when I told them. What they do know is that it isn't a new power. Chris only has the ones we already know about."

"Great, so we have no idea how or why my son is getting those awful memories."

Phoebe reached over and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Hey, we'll figure this out, okay? The answer has got to be somewhere, sweetie, and I promise we'll find it."

Paige nodded and was about to second that when she noticed a certain black fur ball enter the kitchen, his limp worse. She glared at the dog, "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Why do you hate the dog?" Phoebe asked. "He seems so sweet."

"He's not," Paige dead panned, her eyes never leaving the dog, who was looking pleadingly at Piper. Off the questioning looks her sisters were shooting her, and remembering her promise to Chris, "He-uh- chewed up my favorite pair of shoes."

"I'll buy you a new pair," Piper offered.

Paige shook her head, "Nah, that's– " she abruptly stopped then finished, "– ok, sure."

The dog blew air out its nose seemingly in her direction.

She scrunched up her face at him in retaliation.

Phoebe suddenly wondered, "Has the dog had anything to eat since he's been here?"

"Chris," Piper called.

The sound of running feet on the stairs immediately followed the call, then a moment later the teenager poked his head into the kitchen. "Hey, Mom, what is it?"

"Have you fed your dog yet?"

Chris glanced over at the animal and a guilty look passed across his face. "No, I guess I forgot."

Paige unsympathetically remarked, "Oh gee, isn't that just awful."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea.

"With all the Ryak business we didn't have a chance to buy dog food," Piper realized. "What are we gonna feed him?"

Chris opened the fridge and spotted a couple of slices of leftover pizza. Apparently his uncle Henry had ordered some too. The teen could tell because Henry was the only one in the family besides himself that liked black olives and Canadian bacon. He grabbed a slice for himself out of the box and took a huge bite before he noticed the doggy glare he was receiving. He rolled his eyes and took out another slice and tossed it to the pooch.

"Chris, human food is bad for dogs, especially ham," Phoebe warned.

"He'll be fine," Chris answered.

Black olives? Disgusting. The dog daintily began picking off the black olives from the pizza, effectively tearing off pieces of cheese and meat with them just to avoid the little black dots he found. Once all traces of olive were gone, Shadow devoured his slice.

Piper raised an eyebrow, "Apparently Shadow doesn't like black olives. What kind of a dog is that picky? Most dogs drink out of the toilet for God's sake."

"Dogs are extremely intelligent, Piper. Sometimes they have their own tastes. That's why they seem so human." Phoebe smiled, "I think it's cute."

"You would," Paige remarked under her breath.

Chris shot her a look and tossed his pet another slice while taking the last one for himself. "We can pick up dog food tomorrow, Mom. For now he can just eat what we eat."

Dog food? I'm not eating that.

"What am I supposed to tell them, Cole? My dog thinks he's too good for dog food because he used to be the ADA?"

The dog let out a deep throated growl.

"Ok, then. You can ask your dad if he can pick some up in the morning."

Chris gave a brief nod before noticing that each of the women was holding a steaming drink in her hands. "Chamomile?"

"Yup," his mother answered. "Want a cup?"

"I'll pass thanks."

"So, Chris," Phoebe began, a big smile sweeping across her face, "who was the girl on the phone?"

The teenager took the last bite of his second slice of pizza before shrugging nonchalantly. "Just a girl I know."

"And. . ." his aunt pressed.

"Come on, Mister, spill it," Paige added. "You know we're just gonna keep bugging you till you tell us, so you might as well save yourself the aggravation."

Chris looked to his mother for help, but she more than even her sisters wanted to know who was the strange girl that had called their home asking for her baby boy. She just gave him a you're-on-your-own look.

Even the dog had looked up at his owner, seemingly as curious as the three women at the table.

"Her name is Lydia Nicolie, and I met her at the vet's office. We're going out on a date."

Instead of being bombarded by a ton of questions about who she was, what she looked like, what they had said, and any number of other inquiries the young man had expected, he instead got silence.

"What? No inquisition?"

Piper snapped to first, "Did you say, Nicolie?"

"Yeah, so?" Chris' face suddenly fell. "She's a demon isn't she? Why are all the girls I go out with demons?"

Phoebe laughed, "You get it from your mom."

Piper rolled her eyes, "One warlock and I'm branded for life." She turned to her son, "And for the record, no she's not. However, we did know two women by the name Nicolie. One of them was named Lydia actually."

"They were gypsies we helped back when your mom was pregnant with Wyatt. Ava, Lydia's niece, actually taught Phoebe and me how to be midwives." Paige suddenly got struck with a thought, "Hey, do you think this Lydia might be named after that Lydia?"

"It's possible," Phoebe replied.

I knew that symbol looked familiar. It's the evil eye, a powerful necklace guarded by those gypsies. Mention the necklace.

"If it helps, she was wearing a necklace with an eye in a circle. She got pretty defensive when I asked her about it."

"That's the evil eye," Piper explained. "It's a very powerful necklace that the Nicolie family has been protecting for generations. Lydia might have sensed that you were magical and got worried when you started asking about the necklace."

"Makes sense."

Wyatt walked into the kitchen, "Hey what are you guys talking about?"

"My date."

Wyatt laughed, "That's a good one. Now, seriously, what were you talking about?"

Chris glared at his older brother, and opted to ignore his insult by replying, "Apparently mom and the aunts knew my date's mom."

"Oh how's that?"

"She was a gypsy and taught the aunts how to deliver you."

"I see."

Paige's husband Henry came in a moment later interrupting the two boys' conversation. "Hey we're back." He looked over to his spouse, " Prairie is tuckered out from the long day. We should probably head back home and put her to bed."

"Ok, be there in a sec." She finished what little remained of her tea before saying a quick goodbye to both of her sisters and heading out to follow her husband, pausing only once to shoot Chris a warning look, before adding, "Be careful with that dog. He's a trouble maker."

"Sure, Aunt Paige."

Phoebe glanced at the clock, "It's late. I should get the girls to bed." She took her's and her sisters' cups to the sink, rinsing them out. Then, she gave a quick hug goodnight to her older sister and another to her nephews before slipping out of the kitchen.

"Anyway, Chris, I actually came down to ask if you wanted to shoot some hoops with me," Wyatt picked up. "It's been a while since I kicked your butt."

"You mean since I kicked your butt. What was the score last time? 34-22?"

The Twice Blessed folded his arms over his chest and shook his head, a smug smile gracing his lips. "In your dreams maybe, but in real life you've never beaten me little brother."

Chris grinned, "You must be delusional, Wy. I always win. Guess I'm going to have to make it an extra humiliating defeat for you this time so you'll remember who's the basketball king around here once and for all."

The mother rolled her eyes at her children's playful jabs at one another. "Just not too late you two. Last time you decided to have a night game I woke up at three to find you guys still at it. It's a school night, so 11:30 at the latest, got it?"

Both boys nodded before taking off to start their brotherly bonding session.

Piper shook her head and was about to go find her husband when she noticed the dog looking up at her. She grinned, "Still hungry, huh?"

The dog gave a little whine and scratched at the fridge with his paw.

"Wow, your last owner must have trained you awfully well."

Opening up the fridge and looking around, Piper was just to grab for the bowl of grapes when the animal stuck his nose into the refrigerator and started sniffing around the container of leftover lasagna.

"Oh, you want the good stuff do you?" Piper asked grinning. "A dog with taste it seems. Well, I don't think so buddy. Simple food is probably better for animals, and I refuse to be responsible for killing another of Chris' pets."

A soft whine started from the animal and he started pushing at the container with his nose.

Having too big a heart to be unaffected by the whimpers of a sweet little puppy, Piper grabbed the container out and placed a piece of lasagna onto a plate and leaned against the counter, watching the animal eat.

It was strange. The dog pulled the top layer of cheese of the square, then promptly ate the next layer. Then, he ate the meat and tomato sauce off the noodle before eating the noodle itself. He repeated this with the next layer of lasagna. Finally, when all the layers of noodle and meat had been consumed separately, he took the top layer of cheese he had previously consumed and ate it in one big bite.

Piper was dumbfounded. It was one thing for a dog to be a picky eater, but it was an entirely different matter to have a special way of eating something. It was like a ritual. What was more eery was that the eldest Charmed One had seen this pattern completed in the same manner once before. Cole used to eat his lasagna that way. It had driven her crazy. Come to think of it, Cole used to pick the olives off and out of everything too. . .

The witch shook her head. She wasn't sure where such thoughts had come from. She hadn't thought about Cole in years. Not since he had helped reunite her with Leo really. So, why was she reminded of him so strongly now? Food was her passion, and she always paid attention to how people ate her works of culinary art. The dog and Cole had the exact same way of eating her lasagna.

"Ok, I'm losing my mind. It's just a coincidence" Piper forced herself to stop analyzing it. It was no big deal. Cole was dead, and this was just a dog. Her son's dog no less. "Being a witch has really made me paranoid."

Shadow tilted his head to the side, looking up at her with a big dumb doggy smile.

"Hey, Piper," Leo asked as he strolled into the kitchen, "Do you really think it's a good idea to let the boys start a game this late?"

The words effectively snapped the woman out of her ponderings. Once she had figured out what it was he had asked she waved him off, "Don't worry so much, Leo. I told them 11:30, but let's face it, they're old enough to stay up pretty much as late as they want. Heck, Wyatt's eighteen already." Piper pulled a face, "My baby is eighteen. Wow do I feel old."

"Well," Leo smiled seductively wrapping his arms around her, "you still look as young and beautiful as the day we met."

He bent his head to kiss her, and her arms immediately wrapped around him in turn. As things heated up between the couple, Piper's thoughts completely drifted away from the eery feeling she had felt to desire for her partner. The dog took the opportunity to slink out of the kitchen unnoticed, relieved to be able to keep his secret safe for a little while longer.

Unfortunately, time was running out for Shadow. He just didn't know it yet.

tbc. . .