Chapter 11
Double the trouble
It was the first of May in mid-afternoon. Paige was in her office at work filling out some paperwork she needed to turn in by the end of the day. A knock sounded at the closed door and Leo walked in. Paige glanced up at him for a quick second before turning her focus back on her paperwork. "Sorry, Leo. Now is not a good time." Leo didn't respond but he approached her desk. "I just have a favor to ask and you don't have to do it now." Paige looked up at him impatiently but listened to what he wanted from her. "Classes at magic school are still so short, we need more students." Paige shrugged and replied, "I don't work there anymore so it's not really my problem. Sorry, Leo but I'm swamped here." Leo didn't budge. "You have a way with people. You can make parents less hesitant to sign up their kids." Paige tossed down her pen realizing her brother-in-law wasn't going anywhere until she agreed to help. "I thought it was mandatory?" A car alarm sounded from outside. "Yes, but only for those living in this realm, which really isn't all that many." Paige leaned forward in her chair. "Okay, I will find some time, but I'm not promising results." Satisfied enough, Leo backed off and headed for the door before turning around. "Can I help you with that? It'll get done twice as fast." Paige shook her head. "This is sensitive information. I can't let you see it." Leo nodded and walked out of Paige's office. Paige sighed and rubbed her tense neck. She could go into labor any minute now, she was swamped at work, and now she had to recruit kids for magic school? Was she ever going to get a break?
Holding onto Wyatt's hand, Piper arrived at the daycare at magic school where she was picking up Chris and Melinda. Melinda had been a fussy baby from the day she had entered the world and being now almost two months old had made no change in that department. So, when Leo finally agreed to send Melinda to daycare along with Chris during the day, she was all for it.
Piper opened the door and she and Wyatt walked in. The sound of children laughing, yelling, and crying immediately filled the air. Children running all over the place or playing with the toys. A few toddlers were levitated in the air in sitting positions. A few chairs were knocked over by energetic toddlers rushing past them. A tower of blocks came crashing down causing one boy to lash out in anger and another to burst into tears. Then there was Chris. Stationed over by the cradles where a few babies lay, starring down at his baby sister who, unlike the sleeping babies, was screaming her head off. The teacher came over and took Melinda into her arms, she rocked her in an attempt to settle her down as she had previously tried feeding and changing her. Chris looked up at his teachers and burst into tears. He did not like people taking his sister out of his line of view. Piper and Wyatt walked over to them. Wyatt attempted to hug his brother because he didn't like hearing him cry but Chris pushed him away. The teacher smiled at Piper out of relief and handed her the fussy baby.
Piper returned home with a tantruming two-year-old, a crying infant, and a sulking four-year-old who had hurt feelings from multiple rejected hugs. Leo approached her and Piper happily handed the baby over to him. He planted a kiss on Piper's lips and a kiss on Melinda's head. Wyatt orbed up to his bedroom and Chris hit his mother's leg. She glared down at him with "the look." Chris didn't care, he kept screaming angrily. "Why did we want three kids?" Piper asked her husband in a sharp tone. Her arms were crossed at her chest, hands clenched, a frown on her face. Leo looked down at his crying daughter and could not come up with the answer. All he could think to say was, "well we didn't exactly plan Chris or Melinda." Piper rolled her eyes. "And they're our problem children." Leo started pacing around the room, rocking his daughter in his arms at the same time. "She's just a little baby. She'll grow out of it." Melinda started settling down slowly until she completely stopped crying and fell asleep. "There, you see? She just needs some extra patience and love." He placed her down in the living room playpen carefully. "And what about Chris's obsession with her?" Her foot tapped lightly on the ground, her arms still folded her at her chest. "It's' just a phase, and look, he's all calm now." Piper looked over at Chris who now sat happily by the couch playing with a toy snake. Leo looked down at the watch on his left wrist. "Billie should be done with class any minute now. I can have her come over and help out." Piper shook her head. "It's not fair on her to watch our kids all the time. She's not a nanny. Especially now that she's not living with us anymore." It had been a whole week since Billie had moved back to her apartment. "We could hire the elf nanny back," Leo suggested. Piper let out a sharp laugh. "What? she was great with Wyatt," Leo pointed out. "Yea, but her personality though, eesh." "She's not that bad, Piper. She takes care of kids well and isn't that what matters?"
Henry had recently made a comment to Phoebe about how she couldn't know for sure she was pregnant right now as she hadn't seen the exact timeline in her premonition. Paige had given him a look and had tried to ensure Phoebe she was currently pregnant, but Phoebe was no longer certain she was. Coop, on the other hand, did believe his wife was pregnant with their first child together. He had tried pointing out to Phoebe that the premonition happened while she was being sick, had pointed out she had other pregnancy symptoms and reminded her of what her mother had told her last Christmas about looking forward to the month of March. Phoebe argued that her mother hadn't specifically said March of 2007 and therefore she could have meant a future month of March. Coop didn't believe Patty would have mentioned it if she hadn't meant the nearest March, which was two months ago when Phoebe had the premonition. So, he suggested she get a test done at the maternity clinic, which Phoebe was hesitant about because of her past trauma with her first pregnancy, more specifically the premonition she had had about her baby being stolen by the seer at the hospital after his birth. However, Phoebe realized she had pushed Paige to see a doctor just like Piper had, so who was she to say no herself? Besides, when Paige finally did go to the doctor, she found out she was pregnant with twins!
Phoebe looked around the doctor's office. The walls and floor painted white, there was a spider in the top left corner. At the back of the room, there was a closed window showing off a view of the parking lot. Phoebe could see the blue 2006 Acura RSX she owned. It had taken her forever to save up the money to afford that thing. Piper and Paige had both chipped in. In front of the window stood a brown desk. A computer sat in one corner with the mouses in front, a pencil holder filled with pens and pencils stood next to it. The doctor had some files in the middle of the desk. A photo of a small boy with a golden retriever puppy, probably the doctor's son and pet, rested on the top right side of the desk. Coop seated next to her, their hands entwined.
She took in quick breaths, kept crossing and uncrossing her legs. The slightest sound and her eyes would dart over to the closed door. Coop kept glancing over at her, he knew how much Phoebe craved to have a child and also knew how devastated she'd be if it turned out she wasn't pregnant after believing for two months that she was. He tried a few things to help calm her. He stroked her hair, tightly held her hand, whispered unimportant small talk about the weather and the local news. Phoebe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to calm herself, then almost jumped out of her seat when the door opened and the doctor came in. She held her breath, straightened herself up, and muttered the word please under her breath. Coop took in some deep breaths, held strong eye contact with the doctor, and a jolt rushed through his body. He wanted this child very much too, more than he had said out loud.
"Good news. You are pregnant, Pheobe. Congratulations."
"I am?" Phoebe asked sounding very relieved.
"Yes, you are." Phoebe sighed happily.
"Nervous were you?"
"Very, you don't understand how much we've been wanting a child," Coop replied, speaking for him and Phoebe.
"Phoebe, you will be nine weeks pregnant on the eighth. Your due date is November eighth, 2007."
"Okay, good to know. And there's only one in here?" Phoebe asked jokingly, placing her hand on her stomach.
"Her sister is pregnant with twins, and it was unexpected news," Coop explained. The doctor laughed.
"Yes, there is only one. Congratulations to the both of you on your future child."
Coop beamed into the manor's living room with Phoebe to find themselves alone. Phoebe walked through the hall and into the kitchen. It was almost four so it was odd to not see Piper starting the evening meal but rather Billie instead. Wyatt and Chris were coloring at the table unaware Phoebe was there. Billie had Melinda in a baby carrier strapped onto her chest and back. She was standing at the counter chopping carrots. She looked up as Phoebe came in. "I'm making stew, are staying for dinner?" Phoebe shook her head. "You shouldn't cook with Melinda there, accidents could happen quickly." "Don't worry, I'll put her in the playpen when I get around to the hot parts." Phoebe nodded trusting Billie. "Where are Piper and Leo?" Phoebe asked. Coop came around and approached the boys to say hello. "Piper sent Leo to the elders. Piper's in the attic." Phoebe nodded and Coop came over. "I can look after the baby." Billie nodded and Coop slipped Melinda out of the carrier as Billie unstrapped it from herself. "I'm a college student and a witch, and somehow I became a nanny of three kids overnight," Billie commented as Coop began pacing around the room to keep Melinda asleep. "I'm sorry, Billie. I wish Paige and I could help out more but we've both been swamped at work. It'll be even harder once the twins get here," Phoebe said. "Maybe I should just drop out of school and open a daycare." Phoebe patted Billie's shoulder. "I can take over if you want." Billie shook her head. "I was only kidding. I really don't mind looking after the kids...when they're being good. I don't know how to handle them when they're misbehaving. I'm not a mom and I know nothing about kids." Phoebe knew Billie would never complain about looking after the kids because she was determined to prove herself and wanted to be seen as useful in hopes that would motivate the charmed ones to keep her around. Little did she know she didn't have to try so hard, they already knew the value she held, and they saw her as family.
Phoebe made her way into the attic as Coop stayed downstairs to watch over the children while Billie continued cooking the evening meal. Piper was very concentrated on the pages in the book of shadows. Phoebe approached her sister and asked what was going on. "A witch is dead, a young one, maybe sixteen. I got there a second too late, but the witch who did it, she was so familiar." Phoebe walked behind the stand where the book of shadows lay and looked down at the pages as her sister flipped through them. "One we've faced before?" Piper nodded. "Has to be." "Is that why you sent Leo to the elders?" Again, Piper nodded. Just as Phoebe said his name, Leo orbed in, in a swirl of blue lights. The sisters looked up at him. "We've got a problem."
Paige was still in her office working on a mountain of paperwork when Piper and Phoebe came barging through the door. She looked up and rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. "Now what?" She asked, slightly agitated. "Neena escaped." Paige looked at Piper confused. "Oh, right, let me try that again. Neena, the first witch, used to be good but is now bad. She was imprisoned by Melinda Warren and now she's free and she killed a teenage witch." Paige tossed down her pencil and jumped up from her chair. "Okay, so what's the plan?" Her sisters remained quiet and looked at each other with uncertainty. "You don't have a plan?" Piper and Phoebe shook their heads. Paige sighed and slumped back down into her chair. "If I don't finish this paperwork I'm going to have to come in tomorrow on my day off. So let me get back to work and you can come get me once you've figured out a plan." Her sisters nodded and turned to leave but then Phoebe turned back. "Leo said it's now imperative you get the kids to magic school, as many as you can." Paige sighed and banged her head down on her desk. "Can you get Billie to do that? Or one of the husbands? Why can't Leo just take care of that." Piper now turned around.
"Billie is busy looking after the kids. Leo is helping at magic school already. Do you really want Henry involved in this?" Paige thought it over. "I mean, he wouldn't be in danger, would he? He'd just be leading some children to magic school. Sure he needs magic to summon the door, but Coop can help with that." Her sisters didn't know what to say but they didn't think it was a good idea to let Henry get involved. "Henry and Coop can take care of those kids. I will finish my stuff here, you two figure out a plan, and why is Billie raising your kids?" Piper crossed her arms and looked quite annoyed. "She is not! She is babysitting." "I mean, she has been doing the morning routine and evening routine since she's moved out pretty much, even before then," Phoebe pointed out. Piper didn't say anything but she stormed out of the office. Phoebe looked over at Paige who shrugged.
After receiving their instructions, Coop and Henry arrived at a nice-looking home and knocked on the door. A man answered not a moment later. "I'm Henry Mitchell, this is Coop, we are here on behalf of the elders." Henry was very proud to have been entrusted with this task. The man scratched his head. "I was under the impression that one of the charmed ones would be paying us a visit and not until the fall." Henry took a step forward. "That would be my wife. She is unavailable but if you need confirmation I'd be happy to give her a call." The man looked at them and shrugged. He stepped aside to let them in. He led them into the living room where his wife and a teenage girl sat. The young girl was watching some show on the television and her mother reading a book. Both looked up when the men came into the room. The woman put down the book and gave the girl a look telling her to turn off the television, which she did with a touch of attitude.
"Honey, this is Herny Mitchell, husband of a charmed one, and this is Coop."
"Also a husband of a charmed one," Coop added.
"This is my wife Marie, and our daughter Marissa."
"I thought Marissa wasn't going to the school until this fall?" Marie recalled.
"Plans have changed. There is a new threat and it had been decided all mortal realm kids with magical blood will be moved this Friday," Henry explained.
"That's only in three days," Marie pointed out.
"I know, and we are sorry for the inconvenience," Coop apologized.
"Who will be moving the children?" The man asked.
"Leo Wyatt and the charmed ones, they are the most trustworthy and everyone recognizes their names and faces," Coop answered.
Wyatt and Chris were arguing at the table over who had the biggest glass of milk when both glasses were the same size. That's right, Billie had given them milk in actual glasses not knowing Wyatt should be drinking his milk in a plastic cup and Chris in a sippy cup. Billie was ignoring the boys' argument as she attempted to get the nipple of the pink baby bottle into the screaming baby's mouth. She hadn't fed her on time and now Melinda was upset and refusing the bottle. Billie paced around the room with her, trying to settle her down with no luck, and the boys arguing in the background didn't help the situation.
"I have the biggest glass," Wyatt said.
"No me, me," Chris argued.
"No, you don't. I do."
"No, me."
Chris reached for his glass of milk and Wyatt glared at it. Without meaning to, Wyatt sent it flying across the room using only his mind. It smashed into the wall and shattered, the milk splatting out in all directions. The noise scared the baby who now screamed louder in response and Billie almost screamed herself. She hurried over to the boys. "What happened!" Chris was crying over losing his glass of milk and also because some of the milk had landed on his skin and he didn't want to be wet. "He threw my milk," Chris sobbed. "I didn't mean to," Wyatt whined. "What do you mean you didn't mean to? How do you pick up a glass and throw it at the wall by accident?" Melinda's screams continued as did Chris's crying. "I did it with my head, I didn't know I could do that." Billie sighed. "Wyatt, have you ever done this before?" Wyatt shook his head.
The door to magic school opened and Leo walked through. "DADDY!" Wyatt shouted. He ran over and Leo bent down to give him a hug. He then looked at the crying toddler, screaming baby, the wall dripping milk, the shattered glass on the floor, and then at Billie. "Wyatt just received the power of telekinesis, Chris is crying because that is his milk on the wall, and Melinda is refusing to eat." Leo nodded as he processed this information. He reached for the baby and Billie happily handed her over. "Piper can calm her down enough to eat. Can you clean up the mess please, and boys, I want both of you upstairs in your room." Wyatt orbed out first and then Chris. Billie went over to the sink and retrieved the wet cloth hanging from the tap.
"Sorry about this, Billie. I know how the kids can get."
"Don't worry about it," Billie replied.
"You can head up to the attic."
"What about the mess?"
"Don't worry about it. It's not your job. The witch hunt is."
Phoebe and Piper stood in the attic frustrated as neither had come up with a good plan. "We just don't have enough information. We don't know what she wants or if she's working alone. Maybe the witch she killed was just a coincidence," Phoebe pointed out. Piper shrugged as Billie joined them. Phoebe quickly gave her the recap. "I agree we shouldn't just jump right in. Maybe wait it out a few days, keep tabs on her, figure out what she's up to." Piper looked over at Phoebe for her opinion. "Maybe Billie has a point." Piper sighed and thought it over. "I suppose that's the best we can do right now, but if we see she's going to attack someone we jump into action, plan or not. Besides, we can't really stop her correctly without Paige's help, and right now she really shouldn't be fighting until the twins are born, which will be any day now." The others agreed.
It had been a long day. Piper walked into her sons' room, catching their attention. "Okay, let's get out our jammies." The boys looked at her confused. "Where's Billie?" Wyatt asked his mother. "She's at home, honey." "But she didn't put us to bed." These words hit Piper hard. Her sister was right. Billie had been raising the boys, even Wyatt had recognized that, and now he was confused about why his actual mother was getting him ready for bed instead of the family friend. Piper didn't respond to Wyatt and walked over to Wyatt's dresser. She absentmindedly pulled out a pajama top and bottoms that didn't match in the slightest and handed them to her four-year-old. Wyatt took them without complaint and started to undress out of the outfit he'd been wearing all day. Piper crossed the room without a second thought and pulled out a random pajama top and jogging pants and seated herself on the ground. She called over her toddler who waddled over to her. "That's yucky," he said. "I don't wear that." Piper gave him a stern look and Chris quickly changed his mind. He held up his arms and his mother pulled off his brown shirt, replacing it with the green monster's ink jammie shirt. She did the same with his bottoms.
Piper got up, took her toddler's hand, and led over to his bed. Chris could recognize it was not the night to piss off his mother and cooperated. This was unlike him at bedtime. He climbed into bed and his mother leaned in for a hug and kiss before tucking him in. As his brother got his hugs and kisses, Wyatt climbed up the ladder and laid down on his mattress waiting for his mom to tuck him in. (Even though Melinda was now sleeping in her own room since Billie wasn't living with them anymore, Leo and Piper hadn't gotten around to separating the bunks and weren't sure if they were going too. Wyatt liked sleeping higher up and the boys weren't having conflicts over sharing the bunk bed.) Piper leaned over the top bunk which wasn't very high up since it was a toddler-sized bunkbed. Wyatt gave her a hug and she kissed his cheek, then tucked him in. She walked toward the door and turned around. "Night boys, love you." "Good night, mommy. Love you," the boys replied. Piper smiled sweetly and turned the light off before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
Piper walked into the nursery where Leo was attempting to change a crying baby's diaper. "What is wrong with her? Wyatt and Chris weren't like this, not this bad." Leo turned to look at his wife, one hand placed down on the baby's stomach. "I'm starting to think something is wrong with her." Piper approached him and looked at their daughter. "Magical or mortal?" She asked. To this question, Leo shrugged. "I think we should take her to a doctor, in the magic realm just in case it's magical." Piper continued to look at her daughter as she thought about it. Maybe it would be a good idea to get her checked out, just to be on the safe side. She looked at her husband and nodded to say she agreed.
Wyatt awoke in the middle of the night needing to use the washroom. He climbed down the ladder and made his way out of the room he and his little brother shared. As he passed his sister's bedroom, he saw a figure leaning over the crib. He paused and examined the figure. It seemed unfamiliar and it didn't sit right with him. He sounded the demon alarm, orbed into his sister's room in front of the crib, and activated his shield, covering himself and the entire crib where his sister lay with the protection of his force field. The figure disappeared and Wyatt's parents ran into Melinda's bedroom. "He was right there," Wyatt told his mother. Chris, having been awoken by the alarm, orbed in and entered the force field, he checked on his screeching sister through the bars of her crib. "Who was here?" Piper asked. "A bad man. He was right here. I saw him, mommy, I promise I'm not lying." Piper nodded and approached her three children. "Okay, I believe you." She turned to look at Leo. "You think it was Neena?" Leo shook his head. "Coming after a three-month-old? She doesn't even have powers aside from her orb shield, which she didn't activate since she was sleeping until the alarm woke her." This didn't sit right with Piper, if it wasn't Neena, then who the hell was it? Leo looked at the corner of the room. "We'll install some security cameras in here and in the boys' room," he suggested. "Yeah, okay."
Seven-thirty in the morning and Paige was putting on her shoes. Henry came over to her holding his morning cup of coffee. "I thought it was your day off?" He let a yawn as Paige finished tieing her shoe and looked up at him. "It is. While you and Coop run around informing parents their children are being moved this Friday, I still have to recruit some kids from the magic realm. I thought I'd grab a good cup of coffee beforehand." Henry nodded and kissed his wife's lips. Without another word from either of them, Paige orbed out of the apartment.
Billie dropped by the manor and danced into the kitchen feeling confident today she could handle the kids without problems. Wyatt and Chris were already seated at the table having bowls of cheerios and milk. Melinda was asleep in the living room playpen, and Piper was cleaning the counters while Leo was washing the dishes. "Morning," Billie sang. the adults and children turned to her. Wyatt and Chris both climbed off their chairs and ran over to Billie for a hug. "What can I help with?" Billie asked. She led the boys back over to the chairs, helping Chris climb up onto his. "Nothing. I'm going to drop off Wyatt at daycare before heading off to P3 for my meeting with the band that's playing tonight. Leo has to go to magic school anyway, so he's going to drop Chris and Melinda off at the nursery there." Billie looked confused. "You don't need my help with the kids?" Leo shook his head. "Boys are dressed, lunches are packed, Melinda's dressed and has been changed and bathed." Billie looked at the boys and now had no clue what to do with her morning before her classes started. "Okay then, I guess I'll just do the pick-ups, as usual, is there Neena work to be done?" Piper shook her head. "Phoebe has the day off, she's on Neena watch. Paige is recruiting today, she insisted she could handle it on her own." Billie now looked completely lost on how to spend her day. Though it was nice to know she didn't have to spend the day on kid duty.
"Oh, there is one thing you can do," Leo recalled.
"What is it?" Billie asked.
"We had an incident last night. Wyatt swears he saw a demon in the nursery. Can you check the security footage from the cameras we installed?
"Sure."
Walking away from a small coffee house, Paige was worrying over if she had remembered to pack her hospital bag. Her attention was caught by a group of teenage boys pushing around another teenage boy. Her husband popped into her head and at first, she was just going to ignore the boys thinking, "boys will be boys," but then decided she didn't feel good about ignoring some kid getting pushed around. It did sound as though it wasn't playful. She changed direction and was walking towards the boys when suddenly the bullies were trapped in blocks of ice, leaving just the boy that was being picked on. Paige stopped in her tracks and looked at the boy. Once he noticed her, he started running. Paige sighed and dumped the rest of her coffee into a nearby trash can. She located the boy again easily and orbed in front of him after checking the coast was clear and cloaking the ice sculptures. The teenage boy looked very startled.
"No use running. You won't get far," Paige warned.
"Who are you?" The boy asked.
"I'm Paige Matthews, I'm a charmed one."
"A charmed one? What the hell does that mean?"
"You've never heard of us? What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you? You wanna hook up or something?"
"Excuse me? I am a grown woman and I am married."
The boy laughed. "What's your name?" Paige asked again. The boy looked her up and down before answering. "Brent." A few cars went by. "How old are you?" The boy laughed again. "What's it to you?" Slightly annoyed but staying calm, Paige asked him for his age a second time. He shared that he was about to turn eighteen. He was barely still young enough to go to magic school.
"How long have you had your powers? I assume not long since you used magic in public which you can't do."
"What powers?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw you use them and you barely budged when you saw me orb right in front of you. So your obviously a witch."
Brent was silent, he didn't want to talk. Paige could sense he hadn't had his magic long and probably didn't even know he was a witch. He laughed uncomfortably. "look, lady. Whatever you are. I'm not one of you, so just back off." Paige nodded and stepped aside, freeing his path. He was obviously going to need some to open up to her before she could even start helping him. Brent watched her cautiously before running off, and he kept looking back at her until she was out of sight. Paige sighed and went to deal with the frozen teenagers.
May seventh had started off with the usual morning, with Henry and Paige getting ready for work. Herny was thinking about this naive girl who was hanging around with the wrong crowd wanting to fit in and shoplifting to do it. Paige was worrying about Brent, she had attempted a few times since their first meeting to connect with him but he wouldn't talk. He was an ass too and was starting to think Paige was obsessed with him. At the front door, Henry and Paige shared a kiss then parted ways. Normally, Henry would drive Paige to work since they only had one car, but Paige wanted to attempt talking to Brent again before heading for the office.
Paige stood in the parking lot waving to her husband as he drove off. "Awe isn't that sweet. You sure do love him." Not recognizing the voice, Paige cautiously turned around. She recognized the woman from her picture. Dark-skinned, brown hair and brown eyes, a sinister smile. "Neena," she said, she took a few steps back but tried not to show any fear. "So, you know who I am, good. I also know who you are. Paige Matthews." Paige took another few steps backward. "Ah yes, Paige Matthews. Charmed one. Social worker. Part witch, part white-lighter. Married to a mortal, pregnant with two daughters." Paige looked around for any object she could use to defend herself but there was nothing aside from a few cars that were much too heavy for her to orb. "What do you want?" Paige asked. "Something very rare, something only you have." Neena looked down at Paige's stomach. "Twin witches, those are rare. A white-lighter child, even rarer, and extremely hard to find. Twins who are both witch and white-lighter, well, yours are the first to be born. That makes them quite special in more ways than one." Paige took another step back. "They haven't been born yet," Paige said. "Not yet, but by the end of the hour." Neena hit Paige with a blast of red light knocking her on the ground in agony. She tried to call for Leo but she couldn't muster the words. Her insides felt as though they were burning.
That's when Piper came out of nowhere and blew Neena up. She knew it hadn't gotten rid of her but it bought them some time. Paige continued to scream in horrifying pain. Piper rushed over to her and dropped down to her knees. She called out for Leo who orbed to her straight away and dropped down to his knees. He held his hand above Paige's stomach and attempted to heal her but it wasn't working. "I can't heal her...because she's not injured. She's in labor." Piper went into full panic mood. "Get her to the hospital now! I'll call Henry and Phoebe and Billie, just go!" Leo nodded and took Paige's hand. He orbed out with her.
Paige screamed in pain as doctors gathered around her. Henry frantically paced the room worried out of his mind. Phoebe held onto Paige'ss hand. Leo and Coop were looking after Leo's children back at the manor. There was no time for a c-section and the doctors gave a warning one twin may not survive and Paige's life was also at stake. This only caused Henry more worry and stress and Phoebe's eyes were watering. Paige turned to Piper and through the screams managed to say, "she wants them! You have to protect them." Piper nodded. "GO!" Paige screamed. Piper jumped up from her chair and booked it out of the room. Henry ran out after her.
"Piper, how are you going to stop her from taking my daughters?"
"Don't worry about it. She is not getting her hands on those babies."
"Piper."
"Yea?"
"Make her pay."
Wyatt and Chris were at the kitchen table coloring on white sheets of printer paper. It was a weekday but Leo had wanted the kids home to spend some time with them. Billie was in the living room holding baby Melinda in her arms having just managed to get her down for a nap. Piper burst in through the front door. The loud noise scared the baby, waking her up and making her start crying. Leo and Coop ran in knowing something must be wrong. "That bitch is after the twins. You two get all the kids to magic school. Billie, you're coming with me."
It was the end of the hour. Henry and Paige each held one tiny little baby in their arms. Paige seated upon the gurney, and Herny standing up. "The one you have was born first, so she's Kat," Paige decided. Henry nodded in agreement and moved a little closer to his wife and other daughter. Phoebe sat next to Paige on a chair. "Then this little angel is Tamora," he whispered. Paige nodded in response and chuckled softly. "I can't believe we're parents," she said. Phoebe leaned over slightly. "Think I can have a turn." Paige nodded with a warm smile and placed the sleeping baby in Phoebe's arms. Phoebe looked down at her niece and was about to comment on her patch of red hair when Piper and Billie came into the room. Their clothes, arms, hands, and necks covered in blood. "Babies are safe?" Piper asked. Henry and Paige both nodded. "Bitch got away but she got a good ass-kicking. She'll be laying low for a while," Piper stated. "You two took her on without a plan or knowing how powerful she is?" Henry asked. Piper nodded. "Can we have a minute alone with the babies?" Henry then asked. Phoebe, Piper, and Billie nodded and left the room, closing the door behind them.
After cleaning up at the manor, Billie and Piper along with Phoebe were orbed back to the hospital by Leo who joined them shortly. Melinda and her brothers were still at magic school and Coop beamed in seconds after Leo. Henry emerged from the delivery room. "You can all come in now." He led them into the room. They gathered around the gurney. Paige was holding both of her daughters, one in each arm. "We have decided on middle names," Paige said. She looked at the baby on her right arm. "This is Tamora Piper Mitchell, and this is Katalina Billie Mitchell. Named after the two heroes who saved them from being abducted by an evil witch, at least for today." Piper and Billie both chuckled. Piper took Tamora into her arms and Billie took Kat into hers. A tear leaked down from Billie's eye. She really was a part of the family now.
"Colour code them, you know with socks or something. Like one twin always has pink socks and the other always has purple." Piper suggested.
Henry and Paige agreed and Henry opened the bag he had packed and pulled out pink socks, then they put them on Kat's tiny feet. Then they put purple socks on Tamora's tiny feet. For the next hour Phoebe, Piper, and Henry took turns holding the twins. "Leo, go get the boys," Paige said. "Are you sure, Wyatt isn't very fond of babies." Paige laughed softly and nodded to say she was sure. Leo orbed out and came back with not only the boys but also Darryl and Sheila. The sisters were surprised Darryl and Sheila had agreed to being orbed to the hospital.
"Hey boys come here," Paige called over Wyatt and Chris.
"Meet your new baby cousins, this is Kat and Tamora."
"Hi babies," Wyatt said while Chris said nothing and just kissed them instead
"Darryl, Sheila, would you like to hold them," Paige offered
They nodded and took the twins into their arms, it reminded them of when they held their boys when they were newborns. After a few minutes, Sheila gave Kat to Leo to hold and Darryl gave Tamora to Coop to hold.
It was the next dayHenry and Leo tended to the twins while Paige received envelopes from everyone. Paige curiously opened the envelope that had "To Paige and Henry from Leo and Piper" written on the front and pulled out three twenty-dollar bills.
"Oh Piper you shouldn't have, are you sure we want to give us all this money," Paige said
"I'm sure, it's just a little something to start you and Henry off with the twins," Piper replied and Paige hugged her.
Paige then opened the second envelope that had "To my sister and nieces, from Auntie Phoebe and uncle Coop," and pulled out a small card business people give you with contact information, this one belonged to a lady who ran a mommy and twin group.
"It's a group my co-worker told me about, you can go in with the twins every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday until they're three, it's a class where you're taught how to handle situations with twins," Phoebe explained
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver, I have no idea what I'm doing," Paige said giggling as she Hugged Phoebe and Coop.
"This one is from me and Chris," Wyatt said as he handed Paige a lumpy envelope.
Paige opened the envelope and pulled out a badly folded piece of paper. Paige unfolded it and smiled as she looked at it, it was a drawing of the whole family the boys had drawn. Paige hugged the boys and thanked them after she brought them into the kitchen where they saw her put the drawing on the fridge. This made the boys feel all proud of themselves and happy that Page liked it.
Wyatt hadn't been able to sleep well since the night he saw the figure in his sister's nursery. Though he didn't particularly like his baby sister he didn't want any harm to come to her. It was around three in the morning on May tenth, and Wyatt snuck out of his bedroom and into the nursery. The figure was there. "GO AWAY!" He shouted. The figure turned to him and started walking towards him. Right before the figure could reach him, Wyatt activated his orb shield and the figure went flying across the room, and through a window, as it shattered. That noise woke everyone in the manor. Melinda started bawling. Chris orbed in and went straight to her crib, peering at her through the bars. "It's okay baby," he said to her. Leo and Piper came running in. Piper gasped at the broken window. "I sent the bad man flying," Wyatt shared, all proud of himself. "Did you see his face?" Leo asked him as Piper took Melinda from the crib. Chris started crying as he always did when Melinda left his eye line. PIper knelled down so Chris could see his baby sister again, he planted a kiss on her forehead. Melinda settled down. Wyatt nodded.
Leo took Melinda and Piper brought her son up to the attic. She lifted him up into her arms and opened the book of shadows. She flipped through until Wyatt told her to stop. He pointed at what he saw as a scary bad man. "It's a sleep demon," Piper said. She looked at her son. "Don't worry about him. He's easy to vanquish." Wyatt smiled and asked, "can I vanquish the bad man?" The piper looked back at the book of shadows and read the description of the sleep demon. Prays on children mostly causing them nightmares. Only children can see them.
"Yes, Wyatt. You can vanquish the bad man."
While Chris went back to sleep, Leo and Piper waited with Wyatt outside the nursery. They had planted a kitchen knife on the dresser for Wyatt to stab the demon with. They waited. It took an hour before the sleep demon came back and approached the crib. Using his new power of telekinesis, Wyatt simply made the knife fly towards the demon, stabbing him in the stomach. The demon screamed out angrily and burst into ashes that disappeared as they touched the ground. "Good job, buddy. You protected your baby sister. That was so awesome," Piper praised him. Wyatt smiled at his parents. "I think I like the baby," he said. Piper smiled warmly and Wyatt gave both of his parents a big hug.
Meanwhile, things weren't going great at Paige's house. They had been discharged from the hospital the night before. The twins took turns needing something, when Paige or Henry took care of one the other was fine, then just as they were starting to doze off the other decided to start crying. This happened all night long, the next day the only one who wasn't exhausted was Phoebe and Coop that was going to change once their baby was born.
The next morning Paige and Piper met up at the coffee shop with the babies. Neither of them were in a very talkative mood and they were both yawing like there was no tomorrow."So when one twin wants something the other one is fine, but as soon as we go to bed that twin decides to need something, after all, I swear they're doing this on purpose," Paige complained as she took a big sip of her coffee. "Well Wyatt has developed Prue's power, can already tell it's going to be trouble, although Wyatt did use it to save Melinda from a sleep demon. She's been so quiet since then. I guess that was the problem." Paige's face lit up as she came up with the craziest idea.
"You know what, let's switch lives, you and Leo go stay at my place for a week and live with the devil twins, Henry and I will live at the manor for a week and live life with the boys and Melinda," Paige suggested. "That could be interesting, you know Phoebe's been complaining about how we have all the fun while she still has to wait 7 months," Piper said. "Yeah she should be at home right now, Phoebe Halliwell," Paige called out, at her command, Phoebe orbed into the chair next to them looking confused.
"Ok sis here's the deal, you want to experience life as a mother, and we have an Idea," Paige explained
"That's right, you and Coop will stay at Paige's house with the twins for a whole week, While Paige and Henry battle my life for a week, as for Leo and I, and we'll be living your life at your house," Piper explained.
"You're crazy you know that, let's do it Paige orb us home to tell the husbands," Phoebe agreed.
It started the next day at five in the morning. Coop beamed into Henry and Paige's apartment with Phoebe. They shared a quick hello before Paige orbed to Piper's with Henry. Coop went to check on the babies in the nursery while Phoebe unpacked her luggage in Henry and Paige's bedroom. Two sleeping infants, what an easy to start. He left the room and joined Phoebe in the bedroom. "They're asleep. They look so peaceful," Coop commented. The sound of an infant crying started. "Spoke too soon, or you jinked it," Phoebe remarked. She walked out of the bedroom wanting to take the first shift. She had adored looking after Wyatt, then Chris, then Melinda. She entered the nursery and took Kat from the crib. Henry and Paige hadn't left instructions as they hadn't made a routine with the twins yet. Phoebe figured she was hungry and placed her back down in the crib. She made her way to the kitchen to make her a bottle.
Melinda had just woken up, and according to the schedule Piper had given her, Melinda needed to be changed and wouldn't go back to sleep if she wasn't. Paige removed the infant from the crib and carried her over to the changing table. She placed her down carefully unbuttoned the bottom of her pink onesie. The baby started crying and wiggling around. This made the task more difficult. She unlatched the diaper and almost threw up at the stench. Melinda continued to scream as her aunt removed her dirty diaper and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. She looked around for a fresh diaper but there wasn't one on the shelf under the changing table. She was going to call out to her husband but then decided to just orb a diaper to herself. Chris entered the room just then.
"You did magic."
"Yes, I did."
"Personal gain."
"You are just like your mother."
Chris waddled into the room and attempted to climb the changing table to reach his sister. Paige told him no and pulled him off. The toddler dramatically fell to the ground and started a complete meltdown. This woke up Wyatt who thought the crying meant a demon and he sounded the alarm. Henry came to see what was going on. Two screaming kids and one demon alarm going off. "Okay, can you take the boys away? Why are they even up at half-past five!" Henry took the hands of the boys and had to drag them out of the room because they did not want to cooperate. Paige closed the door, keeping one hand on the baby, and turned her focus back on Melinda. She wiped the baby's butt with a baby wipe and arranged the fresh diaper onto the baby. Since the baby was being so fussy, she decided not to dress her straight away.
Phoebe carried the bottle of formula back to the nursery and picked Tamora up. She plopped the bottle into Kat's mouth and sat with her on the rocking chair. Tamora was still asleep in her crib being just a peaceful beautiful angel. Twenty minutes passed before Kat finished with her bottle and Phoebe placed her back into the crib. She was about to head out of the room with Tamora started crying. Phoebe headed to the kitchen to prepare a second bottle.
At six, the boys weren't waiting for their breakfast anymore. They were now seated at the table demanding it by banging their fists on the table and yelling. Henry was rushing around the kitchen finding it ridiculous hard it was to prepare four pieces of peanut butter toast and two glasses of milk. In the living room, Paige was managing just fine at feeding Melinda her morning bottle. Henry served the boys. Chris looked at his brother's toast and started crying. "What?" Henry asked. "He has more peanut butter." Henry looked at species of toast. "No, he doesn't." Chris nodded and orbed one of Wyatt's species of toast onto his plate. Wyatt orbed it back onto his own plate but also orbed all of Chris's milk into his glass as payback. Paige came into the kitchen.
"Auntie Paige, Wyatt stole my milk," Chris snitched
"Chris started it when he stole my toast," Wyatt whined.
As Paige was about to speak, Chris orbed Wyatt's milk into his sippy cup, so Wyatt used his new power to make the cap on the sippy cup fly off as Chris tipped it over to drink, which caused all the mil to spill on him. Just When Chris was about to orb Paige's cold coffee over his brother's head, Paige interfered "Cold forgotten coffee" she said waving her hand to the floor so that it landed there instead of on Wyatt.
"Okay boys, it's time to stop, finish eating," Paige told them.
The boys obeyed and just when Paige thought herself 'this is too easy" Chris orbed four glasses worth of milk on Paige's head. Paige gave Melinda to Henry and waved her hand at Chris angrily saying "Room." Chris was then orbed to his room and Wyatt just kept eating knowing it was not time to test Auntie Paige. As a reward for listening, Paige let Wyatt have some ice cream, what she didn't know was that he kept orbing more in his bowl every time he finished, but Henry soon caught on. Henry took it away from him, so Wyatt used his new power to make the bowl fly out of Henry's hands crashing onto the floor in little pieces. Henry jumped back to avoid being stabbed by the glass.
Paige orbed Wyatt to his room for a time out too, and she then orbed the broken glass into the garbage can. Paige notices a small cut from the glass on Henry's foot so healed it for him. She decided to then go check on Melinda while Henry cleaned up the mess. Paige was still soaking wet. She walked into the living room to find her three-month-old niece levitating above the playpen. She quickly collected her. That's when she really realized why Piper was so happy and willing to let Billie take over whenever possible.
At bedtime, the boys kept orbing their beds into Melinda's room no matter how many times Paige orbed them back to their own room. Finally, Paige gave up and ticked the boys in bed in Melinda's room. After hugs and kisses, Wyatt turned on his shield to protect himself and his siblings from any unwanted demons. Paige tuned out the light and closed the door then made her way to the book of shadows to look up any dream demons. Paige didn't find anything and soon Henry called for her saying Wyatt wouldn't let him take Melinda who needed a change.
Meanwhile, at Paige's house, Phoebe and Coop weren't having much luck either with the twins. They had managed to take care of Kat, but Tamora had refused a bottle. So they thought she wasn't hungry, put the girls in their cribs, and tried to go to bed, but just as they got in bed Tamora started crying. Phoebe tried giving a bottle and Tamora drank with no hesitation. Then when Phoebe crawled back into bed she and her husband drifted off to sleep, only to be woken 20 m minutes later. Coop got up this time, changed Tamora's diaper checked Kat's then when back to bed, as soon as he got in bed, Kat started crying again, so Phoebe got up and it turned out she needed a diaper change.
All night long as Piper and Leo slept soundly in the quiet of Phoebe and Coops home, Phoebe and Coop struggled with the twins, and Paige and Henry kept running into problems, Wyatt refused to take down his shield and used his power to move Paige out of the room, and when she orbed in the nursery, Chris just orbed her back out. The only time they allowed her to take her was when she was hungry, that's the only time they also got to change her diapers too.
Everyone had learned, Phoebe learned not to complain. Phoebe learned that motherhood isn't always about precious moments and baby pictures. Paige learned not to complain about what she has because some parents have it worse, and Piper and Leo learned that they really missed the kids when they were away, even with all the crazy that comes with them, they were happy to be home.
(I really wanted to write the scene where Piper and Billie kicked the witch's butt but I don't know the first thing about writing action/fighting scenes. I tried and I was very disappointed I could not accomplish it. Maybe in the future, I will learn. Also, don't forget to check out my profile for the link to the character's wikkia pages. I worked hard on those and made them for you guys.)