A/N:
Thank you for the reviews.
LauratheChef: You will see, he he he.
Chapter 52
Cauldron bubble
"Chris!" Piper yelled as she shot up from bed. Leo and Wyatt were by her side while she was resting or unconscious, they were not sure.
"Its ok baby he is fine," Leo said softly while holding her hand. She looked around the room and little Chris was sitting at the end of the bed holding a stuffed dragon that Wyatt conjured for him.
"Look mommy, look what Wy made for me," he said and she immediately reached and grabbed him. She pulled him in for a very long and satisfying hug. The tears flowed freely as little Chris was hugging her back.
"You ok?" Leo asks while rubbing her back.
"Much better now," she replied while looking at the stuffed Dragon that was a miniature version of her when she was changed.
"He wouldn't sleep without it," Wyatt said as Piper looked up at him.
"Unfortunately couldn't get rid of the tail," Leo said and Piper's eyes went wide as she looked behind her and both Leo and Wyatt laughed.
"Cute," she said and got up while still holding Chris.
"Mommy now that your better, can I go to the teller?" Chris asks and Piper was not about to let go of him.
"Hay I just got you back, so you stay with me until you're 50," she said while heading into the kitchen.
"I can take him and that would be odd," Wyatt said.
"No he and you stay with me and Leo got it," Piper said while Leo was holding little Wyatt.
"Mom I understand, I have kids too but-,"
"No buts, that is final," she said.
"You know Mel is there working on potions," Wyatt said as for some reason he too wanted to hear the rest of the story.
"I thought she could not do potions?" Leo asks as little Wyatt orbed the stuffed Dragon to him which of course did not make Chris happy.
"No Wy its mine," he said while stretching out his little hands and Piper immediately had a flashback. She held him even tighter as her breathing intensified.
"Piper," Leo said noticing.
"I'm fine and Leo is right she can't make them or they will not work," Piper said while calming down as Wyatt took the stuff Dragon and gave it back to Chris.
"She is just putting the ingredients together and then Vela is doing the rest. Mel is being like you and will not let her out of her site," Wyatt said.
"Can I mom?" Little Chris asks again and his big green eyes looked up at her.
"Ok just let me get something to drink," she replied.
"Me too," Little Wyatt said after Piper got some water.
The sun was making the jars reflect light everywhere in the potions room in the back of the library. The jars were filled with a variety of creepy, slightly disgusting and just oddities.
"I need a flea's leg," Mel said while reading out of a old book. Vela looked up at the jars and saw a label high up that said flea. She let out a heavy sigh as she pondered how to retrieve it.
"Why couldn't it be on the bottom shelf," she said and started to climb the old wooden planks that held hundreds of jars.
"Statistically everything you want always seems out of reach, at least that's how we perceive it. Floyd even did a entire study of the percentages that encompass that distorted reality and there is a latter to the right," Mel said as the thought of her daughter causing the entire wall of jars to come crashing down was unpleasant considering what they were filled with.
"You could have just said the latter thing first," Vela said as she gave her mother a look and then went to get it.
"Than you would have not learned some interesting information," Mel said as Piper came in while holding little Chris's hand.
"Little star," Chris said as he saw his pet. The little dog ran over to him and Chris had to hand his stuffed Dragon to Piper so he could pet him.
"Perfect likeness," Mel said while looking at it.
"Leo told me why you guys were there on the way over here, Mel that was a little crazy but thank you," Piper said and smiled warmly at her.
"Ok here is your flea's leg," Vela said as she put the large jar on the table.
"Sweetie why don't you go to the teller where your brother and daddy are," Piper said once she got a good look at what was in the jar.
"Ok by Mel by Vela," he said and Piper handed him his stuffed Dragon as him and little star went off into the other room. Once her son was clear she walked over to look at the very large flea. It was the size of a rat.
"That is a flea?" Piper asks as she wrinkled her face while looking at the jar.
"The insects here are at least 50 times bigger, but on the bright side there's not that many of them," Mel replied as she opened the jar that was filled with something very similar to formaldehyde.
"What else do you need before I vomit?" Vela asks and could see her daughter was slightly pale.
"Nothing, go and listen to the story I know you want too," Mel said and let her daughter be free of this duty for now.
"By grandma, oh sorry," she said as she has never called her Piper.
"Its okay sweetie, I like it," Piper said as Vela left. Piper looked down at the book Mel was using as a guide to make more powerful potions. "Need any help?"
"Sure if you don't mind cutting legs off of insects?" Mel asks and handed her a knife.
"After all the potions I've made over the years, this will be interesting," Piper replied and took it. She took in a deep breath and cut off one of its legs. "This thing would eat little star," she said and handed it to Mel whom put it into a cauldron.
"It could try," Mel said.
"What is it with that story anyway, the kids were never that excited when I would read to them?" Piper asks as Mel walked over to the wall of jars.
"Its part of their power, most tellers have really good voices, like silver tongs and they calm people or take them back to their innocence," Mel replied as she pulled down a jar and placed it on the table. Piper moved back quickly once she saw what it was. A bee's Stinger that was as large as her arm.
"Its dead you know," Mel said.
"I'm allergic to bees and especially the Stinger," Piper replied.
"I think the large gaping hole would be more of a problem then its poison and its just the Stinger part, the rest is up there," Mel said and Piper looked up. There it was, something that was her nemesis at childhood and the reason she had to carry syringes everywhere she went. She shivered a bit as it was bigger than she was.
"Did I ever say I hate this place," Piper said.
"A few times. Oh could you stir this or something, it will not activate with me," Mel said and Piper walked around the table as Mel opened the jar and pulled out the large Stinger. She then put it in the cauldron and Piper began to stir.
"Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!" Piper said.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble," Mel continued.
"Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake," Piper said while stirring and it began to bubble.
"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog," Mel said while smiling. It was like old times before everything went bad.
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing," Piper said and looked at her daughter. This is what she has always dreamed of, being next to her while she learned the craft. They both continued reciting Macbeth's famous part.
Chris came into the living room as Bianca was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Wow you actually get reception here?" he asks and sat down next to her.
"Its a fascinating documentary," she replied.
"You hate those," he said and started rubbing her leg," You know the house is empty, just the two of us," he said.
"But I am watching this," she said and kept her eyes on the TV.
"Its about insects, you hate those too," he said while looking at the screen.
"But these are not ordinary insects, they dig in and take over the body's of other insects. Take over their minds," she said and seemed to like what she was seeing.
"That's creepy, interesting, but creepy. You rather do this instead of making love?" he asks and kissed her neck.
"Well I just have put so much time into this, hate to walk away from it now. Maybe when this is over," she replied and Chris has never known her to turn down his advances, unless she had a headache or something else but not something like this.
"But the house will be full again and then we have to be quiet, because our room is next to mom and dads," he said but she was continuing to be fixated on the TV. "Bianca are you ok?" he asks.
"Yes I am fine, just really interested in this," she replied and patted his leg while smiling at him.
"Guess I will go see what everyone else is doing or take a cold shower," he said and got up.
"Ok dear," she said and he hesitated for a moment before going to look for his cousins.
Down in the armory Trinity was going through an old box labeled science projects. "Considering who this belongs to, you may want to back up," Prudence said.
"Oh come on its when she was like six or seven, she was not an evil scientist then," Trinity said and showed her doubt of the earlier comment by creating distance with her arms as she opened the dusty old box.
"So Melinda teleported all this stuff here and made some of this stuff?" Astra asks while picking somethings off of the table.
"Yeah she's kind of a genius but don't tell her I said that," Prudence replied.
"Oh my god its a lie detector," Trinity said as she pulled out a object the size of a cigar box.
"That's not new those have been around for a while, why would she redo it?" Trinity asks as she blow off some of the dust.
"Probably because this kills you if you lie or zaps you," Prudence replied.
"She does like the zapping," Trinity said and pressed her lips together.
"No we are not turning this on," Prudence said knowing that look.
"Why, have something to hide?"
"We all do, that is not the point".
"I am curious to see how it works," Astra said as she sat down next to them.
"Okay but if any of you end up in a million pieces, its not my fault," Prudence said and Trinity found a switch to turn it on.
"Who goes first?" Trinity asks.
"I will," Astra replied.
"Do you have a crush on Wyatt?" Prudence asks and Trinity almost choked.
"What?" Astra stalled.
"Empathy so I can tell when your around him," Prudence replied.
"No that's ridiculous, he is married," Astra said and the device beeped.
"Looks like your out of a job," Trinity said while smiling at ladybug.
"It's okay you don't remember the dark future so we will let this slide." Prudence said.
"And we will not tell," Trinity added as Chris came into the room.
"There you guys are," he said and they stood up with the device behind them.
"Hay how is Piper?" Astra asks.
"Fine, so what devilish deed are you guys up too?" he asks and the all looked like a dear in headlights. "Just kidding," he said
"Hay do you still streak?" Trinity asks.
"What?" he said confused.
"When you were little you like to take your clothing off and run around. Drive Piper nuts she had to always carry clothing," Trinity replied.
"No," he said and the machine beeped. "What was that?" he asks.
"Nothing, just her technology that goes off on occasion," Prudence replied and it went off again. "See."
"You know I am from the good future, so I probably only did that when I was in yours," he said and the machine went off again. The three women had to keep themselves from laughing.
"Right I sometimes forget," Trinity said and it beeped.
"That is annoying," he said and started looking around.
"Did you need something from us?" Prudence asks.
"Nope just bored and curious," he replied and they all turned around waiting for it to beeped but it did not.
"If you have any questions about this stuff, all you have to do is ask. A very over exuberant hologram will tell you everything." Trinity said.
"I guess I'm just trying to understand how technology could even compete with magic, I mean magic is limitless," he said.
"She's held her own," Prudence said.
"No I know its just, I know how powerful Wyatt is and if he was evil it would be worse," he said.
"Trust me Mel has been having issues with some of her technology here, this place does weird things to it, but when the war happens, you will see just how she can fight," Trinity said.
"You guys are protective of her arnt you?" he asks.
"She was damned no matter what she did. Because we are magical or Wiccan, we have rules that we can not break, like harm none or humans kind of thing. You know what I am talking about. Mel is mortal and she was always put in positions that would dam anyone's soul and she did it to protect us or the resistance," Prudence replied.
"Like what happened when we were first attacked at the house back in our world," he said.
"Exactly, Chris she doesn't like to kill people,(beep) most of the time," Trinity said as the machine went off at the first part of the statement. "She was just always put in those predicaments," she finished.
"And you guys never were?" he asks.
"Of course we were but the consequences to us are immediate. If we kill a human with our powers, we become demons," Prudence replied.
"So Mel pays for it later, like her soul," he said getting frustrated at how unfair that was.
"Yeah oh that is the theory anyway," Trinity replied.
"That's bullshit, if she was defending someone's life then it should not matter," he said.
"Sometimes she crossed the line between protecting and revenge, she has some anger issues," Prudence said.
"Is she always so difficult to get close too?" he asks.
"No," Trinity replied and the machine beeped. "Yes, but once she trust you she will go to hell for you."
"Then I need to get her to trust me and she will not go to hell for anyone," Chris said and went to the elevator.
"He is right that thing is annoying," Astra said while looking at the device.
"Oh by the way I figured out that is a lie detector," he said as the elevator doors closed.
To be continued...
