Disclaimer: Not mine; only oc's and plot belong to me.
HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU!! Last chapter was the most reviews for any chapter in Redemption. You guys rock!! NOt only does this story have the most hits for any single story I have, but it is nearly the most reviewed, too (it will definitely beat out my other story, so keep up the reviews!)
Family Tree:
Patience(No one)Simms -- Hope--Tyler Simms
Violet (Paul) Parry --Peony--Pogue Parry
Hannah (Chase-sort of) Putnam--Isabel and Chase-- Chase Putnam
Faith (Tyler) Garwin -- no kids-- Reid Garwin
Abigail Danvers (Reid) --no kids-- Caleb Danvers
Chapter 32: It Begins ...
"How did this happen?" Tyler asked. It seemed surreal that in the last 8 hours no one was maimed, the house was still standing, and they hadn't had to Use or lock up anyone.
Kate was thinking along the same lines. The last 8 hours seemed to have been an eternity; the Sons bickered, taunted, argued, jibed, and every other malicious act she couldn't think of to name. Yet they hadn't Used and they were all still alive. And she noticed how somehow—she was pretty sure it was unconscious act—Reid and Tyler would side with Chase on issues.
And Chase had no problem changing the twins' diapers or feeding them.
She totally believed in miracles now.
"Tyler, can you get the paper?" Kate asked, remembering it was still on the porch from earlier that morning. She saw the mischievous grin on Chase's face and worried about what it could mean.
Tyler, who was closest to the door, reached the door but when he reached for the handle, he was sent flying back 20 feet and landed halfway up the grand staircase. Chase started laughing making the other Sons glare. "Did you do that?" Pogue demanded his eyes flaring.
"Hell no! Have you seen me Use at all?" Chase demanded, all laughter gone.
"Boys!" Sarah yelled, again. "Chase hasn't Used at all, okay?" she said turning on Pogue. It seemed surreal she was defending Chase. "But you knew something was up!" she turned and yelled at him. She was frazzled and desiring a nap or just five minutes to herself.
"Patience has us on time-out," Chase drawled. "Don't you think she would have realized that there are 5 Sons with Power here? Give the woman some credit. I should know, I lived with her for 11 years."
"So she locked us in?" Tyler asked, coming down the stairs.
"I think I can break it."
Chase put a hand on Pogue's shoulder. "Even if Patience didn't specifically say to not Use, I wouldn't try," he cautioned. "I don't care what happens to you if you do," he explained, "but Patience will be pissed if you do. You haven't seen her upset," he clarified.
Isabel stirred in the playpen she and baby Chase were napping in. Chase went over to check on her. "He isn't being bad," Kate said cautiously. "I mean, does anyone have a bad vibe?" she had to believe that the sisters had cured him of the power-mad urges and that he was just naturally arrogant.
The Sons shook their head; they didn't have the bad he's-trying-to-kill-us vibe either. Peony started to cry, and to everyone's shock, Pogue scooped her up from her crib and grabbed a bottle for her, seeming to keep a wide berth with Chase. "I don't think he wants him near his niece, aw," Kate grinned, hearts practically shining in her eyes over her boyfriend.
"Okay, well, now we know we are really stuck here," Caleb pointed out. "Lets make dinner, I'm starving," he decided. It would give them something to do to keep their minds busy.
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Faith's eyes fluttered open and she stretched like a cat. With a sigh she rolled over to find Tyler had snuck up to her bed and she grinned. Oh boy, if I live through this, he will kill me for not telling him, she thought sadly. They had finally worked passed the Reid Revelations Fiasco, and she knew by not telling him this it would ruin whatever they had built. "Forgive me," she whispered then kissed his temple to wake him up. She continued kissing down his cheek to his jaw, and although he didn't open his eyes she knew he had woken up. "Morning sunshine, the earth says hello!" she teased repeating the Johnny Depp line.
He laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to him. "I am so happy to finally see you awake."
"Ah, things go that badly?" she asked. Her tone was light but she was worried.
"We are all alive and in one piece," he assured her. "You could have warned me we were locked in, though."
"Are you okay?" she asked cupping his face.
"No permanent damage, but who knew Simms could pack such a punch?"
"You tried the door," Faith guessed. She languidly kissed his lips. "Let's not tell the others we are awake yet," she whispered. She wanted a few stolen moments with him before everything went to hell. She knew down the hall Abigail would agree with her.
She was worried that after this they wouldn't be together, regardless if she lived or died.
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"We should go down now," Abigail laughed. She indeed did have the same idea as Faith. "They have to know by now we are awake."
"Another hour wouldn't hurt anyone," Reid teased. She ran her hand through his hair and sighed. She would give anything for another hour, but didn't share that.
"No, we need to go down now. While I am all glad that we are all still alive and no one is hurt, things need to be explained I'm sure."
"Fine, I'll admit to being curious," he grinned. "Alright, you're right, any longer and Caleb will probably knock down your door demanding answers."
They walked down to the family parlor to find everyone else was also walking in. "Well, we are all awake then," Patience said. She had already spent her morning with Hope, taking her to the park and an early breakfast before tearily dropping her off with Christiana Simms. She wanted nothing more than to be able to pick her up that afternoon, but knew that if something should go wrong, she could trust Christiana with her most precious possession. And because she knew that, Violet, Paul, and Hannah trusted her with theirs.
Please we can all pick them up this afternoon she prayed.
"You already took them?" Faith asked surprised. "I didn't get to say goodbye!" she said practically hysterical and hugged Abigail. Abigail whispered something in her ear no one else heard.
"What is going on?" Caleb finally asked.
"Okay, we think we know what we are doing," Violet said, mentally adding an I hope so. The sisters all seemed to line up in a semi circle together on one side of the room facing the Sons, Kate, and Sarah. "Chase," Violet said, hugging him. "I am so glad you are back. I am so sorry we didn't do this sooner," she added. He was like the annoying little brother that she loved for so long. And because she loved him as such, she had to tell him. "Chase and Isabel are yours," she whispered in his ear.
He hugged her tighter to say thanks for finally confirming it since Hannah had somehow managed to avoid him all morning.
Patience was the next to hug him. He was the little brother that she had lost only to find again. Like Hannah, Faith, and Abigail, he was another sibling-yet-child to her. Her maternal instincts had always made her want to care for him. "Good job on the door, Pats," he grinned, making her laugh.
"I have gotten better since the last time I had to give you a time out," she grinned. Faith and Abigail practically rugby tackled him as they threw themselves at him, hugging him and kissing his cheeks. "Ace!" They both yelled happily and babbled on and on. Sarah and Kate, who had seen the home videos, knew it looked like old times with them. "Abs, you surprised me with your boyfriend," Chase teased. "I thought you wanted some nice quiet boring guy?" he teased making her stick her tongue out at him.
"No, you always said I was boring," she reminded him.
"No, I said you were more boring than Fae," he reminded, making Faith laugh. "Whatever happens, Ace, don't forget us," Faith said. She was laughing but her eyes were somber with that statement.
They stepped back, all instinctively knowing that Hannah and Chase's reunion would be different, but for the sake of what they had to do next, it couldn't happen yet, no matter how much Hannah wanted it otherwise. "Okay, like Vi said, we think we know what we are doing," Patience said. The Sons looked to her for an explanation. Sometime they had grabbed hands to form a chain and link together with their Power surfacing. Their eyes were white and flaring gold, but otherwise they looked normal.
"There is a choice," Patience continued and Abigail took that as her cue. Her Power began to flare up, wrapping around her like nothing she had ever done before. She pulled everything she had ever had and used it to cocoon herself in the Power. It was soft and sweet but demanding. She didn't have time for the gentleness of it or the sweet rapture that always accompanied it, though. She concentrated on pulling every last drop of Power she had and directing the Power of her sisters in what they hoped would be the last stand of the Coven.
She hoped it didn't turn into the Alamo.
Reid jumped up seeing her struggling against it but Chase and Caleb held him back. He was too concerned to even realize the two oldest Sons were holding him back and working together; all he could see was Abigail seemingly suffocating from her Power. He didn't know any of them had that much control, let alone that much power to control. Even though his heart had stopped beating because of fear for her, a part of him was in awe of how beautiful, and how angelic it all made her look as the early morning sun shined in behind her.
"A choice," Patience repeated from the other end of the chain, her own Power flaring dangerously as it joined with Abigail's and the other's in the spell they were starting. A part of her, that motherly instinct that even now couldn't be put out, flared at the shame of using Chase as a catalyst but none of them could think of any other way. She looked straight into Chase's eyes pulling him from looking at Hannah. "Power," she said meaning all of theirs, "or Hannah."
The easy way or the hard way, the Daughters all thought.
"WHAT?" every Son yelled shocked.
"Hannah or Power," Patience repeated patiently.
Chase looked at Hannah with a questioning look. Over the past 2 years he had changed so much, so many times, he had long forgotten who he was. It was always about obsession—Hannah, the Power, revenge. But he had always jealously guarded over the first obsession he had.
He wondered how Hannah could think he would not pick her. "Power?"
The hard way, was the only thought the girls could have in the heartbeat before the spell took shape. The Sons watched open mouthed as tendrils of Power and Fog ensnared each of the girls and Paul.
Everything happened at once, but seemingly in slow motion so that every detail would be remembered by all of them for the rest of their lives. Abigail let out a blood curling scream of agony, doubling over and clutching her stomach and pulling out her hair. She seemed to drop to her knees in pain but disappeared before she could touch the floor.
Faith saw the pain Abigail was in and screamed in fury at the injustice of it, light flashing everywhere as every candle and the fireplace erupted with rolling flames of fire. The room was engulfed in flames before she also disappeared, taking the flames with her.
Hannah looked at Chase with such fear and longing that Chase couldn't breath. He tried to reach out to her but she sobbed as she disappeared into the fog, realizing he was saved in Abigail's premonition of the future because he chose his future as a Son over their future together.
Violet reached out to Paul who was standing behind her, trying to both grab him as he was reaching for her and push him away in one final attempt to save him. Their fingertips were just out of reach, a look of agony at not being able to touch one last time, as they were pulled into the fog and disappeared.
Patience looked so helpless, something she had never felt in all her years, at the thought of losing everything, and everyone she had ever loved. The last thing whispered from her lips as she faded away, as if in prayer it would solidify her in her memory, was Hope.
They were all gone.
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I have to admit that this is one of my FAVORITE chapters! I am eager to hear what everyone else thinks!
Special thanks to TaylorAlexandra, MischiefLover, MoonWolfRunner, gxaxbxbxy, SexyOne, Lexi Aduial Elen, a.sam, heartbreakerginny, susangel, Rukie,and anangelwithnoname. I am soooo glad that Chase being back has made everyone besides me happy!