Chapter 17: Pre-Witched
April 1, 2002
Buffy and Faith stood in the shower in their bathroom, doing more than just actually taking a shower. It was while they were in the midst of a passionate kiss that a knock came at the bathroom door.
Buffy let out a sigh as she and Faith broke the kiss and looked at the door that cracked open just a tiny bit.
"Buffy?" came Dawn's voice from the other side of the door. "Do you have any lip gloss I can borrow. I'm out."
"On my vanity, Dawn," said Buffy.
"Thanks, Buffy," said Dawn as she closed the door.
Buffy looked back at Faith. "Now, where were we?" she asked. She kissed Faith again only to be interrupted a second time by another knock.
"What is it this time, Dawn?" called Buffy a tad bit angrily.
The door opened a crack and Prue stuck her head in. "Don't take that tone with me or your sister, Buffy," she said.
"Sorry, mom," said Buffy.
"Sorry to interrupt, whatever you two are doing. But have you happened to have seen my keys?" asked Prue.
"Sorry, mom, I haven't."
"And before you ask, Prue. I haven't either," added Faith.
Prue closed the door behind her as she left.
Buffy sighed. "I love my family. Especially after what they have done for both of us. But this just makes me wonder if we shouldn't get our own place after the wedding."
"Not that I don't think that wouldn't be a wonderful idea," said Faith. "But can we afford that? The gallery has only been open for two months. It's only now beginning to turn a profit. Also, there is…" She motioned toward the necklace that laid on the counter by the shower stall. "Do you think the powers that gives you will work if you aren't here? There could be ramifications to that. Especially when demons now know you are Prue's adopted daughter."
Buffy sighed. "Maybe your right."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Across town a witch is knelt in front of her altar, chanting, while five candles floated around her.
"Oh!" she said as her cat startled her. "Shadow. You gave me a fright, little one. You know better than to interrupt me during ritual. Now go. Go." As the cat walked away, she returned to chanting. The chanting didn't last long as the cat jumped up on the bar and knocked off a bottle. "What on earth are you doing?" She watched as her cat knocked another bottle off and hissed at her. "Shadow? Don't do this. Please." The cat pushed a bottle full of black liquid closer to the edge of the bar. "No!"
The cat pushed the bottle off with its paw and it smashed on the floor. It jumped down into the liquid as mist surrounded it. When the mist disappeared, the cat had transformed into a man.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he asked as she screamed and disappeared.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Back at the manor Buffy and Faith sat at the kitchen counter eating breakfast while Prue, Phoebe and Leo sat at the table reading different sections of the newspaper.
"Flakes," said Phoebe as Leo passed her the corn flakes.
"Ugh, the Warriors," said Prue.
"Pathetic defense," said Phoebe.
"Someone pass the, uh..." said Leo.
"Yeah, I got it," Phoebe interrupted. "Hey, Buffy is it possible to catch a ride? Mamma needs a new pair of shoes."
"Sure," said Buffy. "Need to pick up some stuff for the wedding anyways."
Phoebe noticed Prue giving her a look that said, your shoe shopping with what money? She sighed, "I know, limited funds. I'll limit my shopping to window, I promise."
"I will gladly trade somebody for the opinion page," Prue said.
"Leo and I are moving," Piper said as everyone looked at her. "Thinking of moving, out of the manor. Um, milk?"
Buffy and Faith glanced at each other. Apparently, they hadn't been the only ones to have the discussion about moving out. "Faith and I had a similar conversation this morning," admitted Buffy.
"Excuse me?" said Prue as she looked between her sister and daughter.
"Wait a minute," said Phoebe. "Life altering plans cannot be squeezed in between 'pass the newspaper' and 'who ate the Special K?'."
"Okay, look, we all knew this would happen sooner or later," said Piper. "It's just sooner. Well, actually, it's later because I've been married for weeks and we're still living in a bedroom with the wallpaper I picked out when I was nine. Not to mention the bathroom sharing and the family breakfasts."
"Not to mention the bathroom barging," added Buffy. "Faith and I were having a little romantic shower this morning when first Dawn and then you mom decided to have a peak in."
"And the whole saving the world on a weekly basis thing," said Prue. "I mean, Buffy, Piper, we don't live here just for sentimental value, alright. We live here because we're the strongest here. All of us."
"Right, I know. Leo, a little assist?" said Piper.
"Well, there have been times when you've handled things on your own, I mean, without Piper," offered Leo.
"Like when I went to Hawaii or when I went away with Leo and everything was fine," said Piper.
"Do I get to kick them first?" Phoebe asked her eldest sister.
"Everything was not fine, Piper, alright," said Prue. "The charmed gig is all about being a trio, alright. Without you..."
"Well, you'd still have her," Leo offered. "We wouldn't be moving far."
"The same would go for Faith and I," said Buffy.
"I think Buffy and I both agree we would be close enough but far enough so we can have our own lives," said Piper. "We all knew this would happen, we're just the one that are saying it first. We can't live together forever."
"Right, and we also cannot ignore the responsibility that we inherited from and to our family," said Prue.
"I have my own objections to Buffy and I moving out," said Faith. "But think about it. Piper now as two families. And Buffy will have two families after the wedding."
"Also," added Piper. "Wasn't it you, Miss Phoebe, who moved to New York three years ago?
"No, no, that doesn't count," said Phoebe. "That was before the whole destiny thing kicked in. We didn't get our powers until six months after Grams died. Speaking of, what do you think she would say if she knew you two and Buffy were even considering this?"
Buffy and Piper sighed as they got up and left the kitchen.
"You said you had your own objections, Faith," said Prue.
"There is the money thing, the gallery is only now beginning to turn a profit. So, it's like can we afford to move out. Then there is Buffy's amulet. Will the powers that it gives her still work if she isn't living here?"
"Leo?" said Prue as she looked at the Whitelighter.
"The powers should continue to be held by the amulet as long as the power of three is not broken," he said. "If the power of three is broken, then Buffy loses the powers given to her by the amulet till the power of three is reformed."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Two hours later Phoebe and Buffy were at a shoe store trying on shoes.
Phoebe handed a pair she had just tried on back to the salesman. "They're just out of my price range," she said.
"But they're…" said the salesman.
"Perfect, I know. And I'm sure all these will be perfect too," said Phoebe as she handed back more shoes. The salesman turned and walked away.
"Aunt Phoebe," said Buffy as Phoebe looked at her. "Choose one. I'll pay for it. Consider it my gift for one of my bridesmaids."
Unlike at Piper's wedding where Buffy along with Prue, Dawn and Phoebe was a maid of honor. She had named only one person as her maid of honor, Dawn. Prue, Piper and Phoebe were her bridesmaids.
Phoebe looked at Buffy and smiled as she picked up a shoe. "Can I see this one?" she asked as a man walked up behind her and Buffy. He took the shoe and threw it away. She and Buffy turned to look at him. "Or not."
"Those were so last season," he said.
Phoebe and Buffy swung and he blocked their blows before flipping one and then the other over. He then levitated them in the air.
"Whoa, down boy," Phoebe said as he let her and Buffy fall to the floor. "Whoa, who'd you steal that power from?"
"That's for me to know and you to find …" he said as Buffy spun into a roundhouse kick knocking him backwards over a chair.
"I hear spikes are making a comeback," said Phoebe as she threw a high heeled shoe at him nailing him in the forehead, vanquishing him.
"That felt a little too easy," said Buffy.
Phoebe nodded in agreement, especially when that was Buffy's first warlock vanquish.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Across town Faith, Piper and Leo walked out of a store carrying a pile of flattened boxes.
"I think we got too many boxes," said Piper.
"No, we didn't," said Leo. "After all, if Buffy and Faith are to move out after the wedding. They will need boxes as well."
"While you put to rest one of my objections, Leo," said Faith. "I still am not sure about the money situation."
It was then that a man walked up to them and sent Piper flying up into the air. She froze him and she landed on the ground.
Faith reach into a boot and pulled out a knife and thrust out stabbing the obvious warlock vanquishing him.
"You okay?" Leo asked as his wife.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Thirty minutes later Buffy and Phoebe walked into the Manor carrying shoe boxes.
"Hi, what happened to the window when you're shopping?" Prue asked as she walked out of the living room.
"I bought them," said Buffy. "That said though we fought a..."
"…warlock," Piper said as she and Faith walked in behind Buffy and Phoebe, "appeared out of nowhere, Faith vanquished him."
"Wait, you too?" said Phoebe shocked.
"Uh, me three," said Prue. "Warlock attacked me in the attic."
"Did we miss a convention?" Piper wondered.
"Well, if so Buffy and I got the runt," said Phoebe. "Bad teeth, funky clothes and way easy to kill."
"Black hair?" Faith asked.
"Bad breath?" added Prue.
"You two know him?" asked Buffy.
"Uh, I think I vanquished him," said Prue.
It was at that moment the warlock appeared. "Care to try again?" he asked. He made Buffy and Faith fly up into the corner of the room. Phoebe stabbed the warlock in the back with the tip of an umbrella vanquishing him for the fourth time that day.
"Okay, so that does it," Phoebe said as Buffy and Faith fell to the floor.
"Again?" said Piper.
"Buffy and I were saying earlier that was just too easy," said Phoebe. "Does anyone else think that was weird? Like he wasn't even trying?"
"Almost as if he wasn't even interested," said Piper.
"What do you think he was up to?" asked Faith.
"Or is up to?" Phoebe asked. "How do we know he's really gone?"
"We don't," said Prue. "But we all have vanquished him once each today."
"And?" said Buffy.
"Well, what if he can't be vanquished?" suggested Prue.
A few minutes later they were in the attic looking through the Book of Shadows.
"Ahh, we're gonna vanquish… all the live…" Phoebe sang as Prue looked at her just as the pages of the Book of Shadows flip by themselves. It stopped on a page. "Whoa."
"Okay," said Prue.
Piper smiled as she looked at the ceiling. "Thanks Grams."
"It's so weird that we listed to her more now than when she was alive," said Phoebe.
"How to perform a Séance. A ceremony to contact the dead," said Buffy as she read from the Book.
"But the guy we're dealing with won't die," said Piper confused. "So that's not going to help."
"Grams must be very, very, very confused," said Prue as she closed the Book, which reopened to the page for the séance.
"Very testy also. Hmm," said Phoebe. "Okay, we're going to need six candles white and purple, some burnings, cinnamon, frankincense, and sandalwood. Piper, you want to grab the white cloth?"
Prue and Phoebe move over to a trunk and searched in it for the needed items.
Buffy and Piper walk over to another trunk and they searched through it.
"You know, this trunk would go great at the foot of our bed," Buffy said as she looked at Faith.
"Yeah, you are so not taking that, okay?" said Prue looking at Buffy. "It holds all of our ritual stuff."
Buffy looked toward her mother and sighed. "If Faith and I do move out. I just want something to remember this place by," she said as Piper picked up a bottle.
"How about this?" Piper suggested. "Something to bring a piece of Grams to Buffy's place."
"Okay," said Prue. "Can we try to contact the dead now, please?"
A few moments later the fine of them had everything set up and were sitting around a table.
"You know," said Piper. "This would be a good test to see if Buffy is a progenitor."
Prue nodded. "Alright," she said as she looked at her daughter. "The show is yours."
Buffy smiled and nodded. "Beloved unknown spirit," she chanted. "We seek your guidance; we ask you to commune with us and move among us." She repeated the chant a second time before a woman appeared in the circle of candles.
"Forgive me, but why…?" she asked.
"We don't know," said Phoebe.
"We were told in a roundabout sort of way that you might be able to help us," said Piper.
"Are you witches?" asked the woman.
"Well I'm a …" started Buffy.
"A progenitor," the woman said.
"And a Slayer," said Buffy before motioning toward Faith. "This is my girlfriend who is also a Slayer." She then motioned toward Prue, Piper and Phoebe. "And my mom and aunts are …"
"The three sister witches, the Charmed Ones," said the woman nodding.
"And you were a witch?" asked Faith.
"I-I was," she said. "I'm sorry, this is so new. I haven't exactly figured it all out yet."
"We think that we're against an evil that can't be killed," said Prue. "We've nixed him four times but…"
"And since you're the only one that answered our call…" added Phoebe.
"The spirits must think I know who you're up against," the woman realized. "You said you've killed him four times?"
"Yeah," said Buffy. "Aunt Phoebe did it twice. Mom did it once and Faith did it once."
"And it's like he just keeps on coming back for more," added Prue. "Like he…"
"Wants to die," the woman said.
"Do you know who he is?" Piper asked.
"He was my familiar," she answered. "A feline I called Shadow. He's a warlock now. What a familiar becomes when he betrays his witch."
"That must be why we can't kill him," said Prue.
"Because a cat has nine lives," said Faith nodding in understanding.
"So, if we kill him five more times he should be gone though, right?" Piper asked.
"No, that's exactly what you can't do," the woman answered. "See, once a familiar becomes a warlock, they have until the next new moon to purge itself of its new life. If it succeeds, it becomes immortal. If it fails, it returns to its animal state for eternity. Shadow was a cat. So, it has to shed all nine of its familiar lives."
"So why bother us? Why not just jump in front of nine buses?" asked Phoebe.
"You're kidding, right?" said Buffy. It was as plain to her as the nose on her face. "Faced with the Charmed Ones and two Slayers. We're the ones strong enough to kill him."
"And he knew where to find us," added Piper. "What, are we like in the Warlocks Guide of San Francisco?"
"Possibly," said Buffy. She knew Piper was joking but at the same time the forces of darkness had to know where they lived after all. It was the same when she lived in Sunnydale. She had always wondered how many times her mother had replaced furniture in the furniture because a demon broke in breaking something.
"Okay, so this should be a piece of cake," said Phoebe. "All we have to do is make sure we don't kill this guy five more times before the next full moon."
"That's two days, no problem," said Piper.
"I'm sorry, this just seems so callous," said Prue looking at the woman. "I mean, you just lost your life and we're treating you like 411."
"It's okay. It's just, I'm at peace now," the woman told them. "The ones I loved…When someone's taken from you, suddenly there are no goodbyes."
"We know," said Buffy as she looked at Faith, Prue, Piper and Phoebe knowingly.
Faith, Prue, Piper and Phoebe looked back at Buffy and nodded in agreement. They all had lost someone they loved. For Faith it had been her watcher, Diana. For Prue, Piper and Phoebe it had been first their mother and then Grams. For Buffy it had been her mother, Joyce. For Dawn, it had been both Joyce and Buffy herself. Dawn was the only one of them to get someone back that they loved.
"At its core, evil exists for one reason, to spread loss," said the woman. "Be careful not to lose each other. Take care and blessed be." As she disappeared, Piper blew out the candles.
"Excuse us," said Buffy as she got up and pulled Faith out of the attic and downstairs. "We're not leaving."
Faith nodded in understanding; Buffy didn't want to lose anyone else.
"Is everything okay?" said Prue's voice from above them.
Faith and Buffy turned and saw Prue, Piper and Phoebe coming down the stairs.
"We're not leaving," said Buffy. "Maybe someday Faith and I will be ready to move out. But I am done with losing people I love." She walked to the Charmed Ones and hugged each in turn.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later that evening Dawn walked into the kitchen to make some popcorn, for the movie everyone was watching, when she noticed the lights were out. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" she called over her shoulder. She turned on the kitchen lights as the warlock attacked her. He threw her over the table. She kicked him and he fell on a knife vanquishing him.
Buffy, Faith, Piper, Phoebe and Prue raced into the kitchen at the sounds of fighting.
"What happened?" Piper asked.
"A warlock attacked me," said Dawn as she noticed everyone's looks. "Let me guess was probably the one you all filled me in on. Sorry."
"It's okay," said Prue as they made their way back towards the living room. "Now you know what he looks like. That said I've been thinking. I'm pretty sure he won't actually hurt us. I mean he needs us."
"I see where your going, mom," said Buffy. "Taking out enough of us insures he becomes a cat again. He isn't going to want to do that."
"We're assuming that he's smart enough to know this," said Phoebe. "I mean, what if he should kill us and we just sit there and watch it happen?"
"Yeah, well, what other choice do we have?" Prue asked. "I mean, we kill him four more times, he wins, becomes more powerful than we can handle. Either way we lose."
"I vote for not losing at all," said Dawn as they noticed the boxes at the base of the stairs holding Piper's things.
"Wow!" said Phoebe.
"Uh, yeah, sorry. I'll get all that stuff out of the way as soon as…" said Piper.
"You're really doing this, huh?" Phoebe asked looking at her middle sister.
"Yeah. You know, we have lived apart before," said Piper.
"Our lives were apart, Piper. It's different now," said Prue. "I just think that we need to talk this through, that way we all know exactly what the consequences are for all of us; Buffy, Faith and Dawn included.
"Ooh, saved by the meow," said Phoebe as their cat, Kit, meowed. "You know, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at Kit quite in the same way. Or get undressed in front of him for that matter."
"Ditto," agreed Buffy.
"You guys are right, we should talk this through," said Piper as she headed for the door.
April 2, 2002
Dawn, Buffy, Faith, Piper, Prue and Phoebe sat at an outdoor café.
"You know, just because I'm moving out doesn't mean we still can't do this," said Piper.
"What?" asked Phoebe. "Mainline caffeine while waxing on warlock issues?"
"No, hangout," answered Piper. "You know, I don't want to be one of those old married lepers that nobody thinks is fun anymore."
"You've never been fun, Piper," Prue told her middle sister.
"Mom speak for yourself," said Dawn. "Since I've known Aunt Piper. She has always been fun to be around."
"I have to agree with Dawn," said Buffy.
"Anyways," said Prue. "You know, the life changes from the move will work itself out, it's the supernatural ones we're concerned about."
"But we get attacked separately all the time," said Piper. "Like yesterday, and we just came together and sorted it out then."
The warlock appeared at the table next to them. "You know, you girls are getting harder and harder to find," he said. "I was beginning to think you were trying to avoid me."
"Wow, you've been thinking," said Prue. "That's a pretty big step for a warlock. Ugh, god, I am so sorry, that was awfully catty of me, wasn't it?"
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to go 'whoo, they did research' and run away?" he asked.
"Might be a good idea," suggested Phoebe.
"Or what?" he asked. "You'll kill me?"
"No, actually, we'll do worse. We won't touch you," said Dawn.
"Look at that. You all think you have this one figured out," he said. "Well, let me tell you all something." He grabbed a woman who walked past. "You'll dance if you don't notice death."
The warlock stabbed the woman in the back as Piper froze everyone.
Buffy with a flick of her wrist used the exploding power the necklace gave her and vanquished him.
"Oh my god," said Phoebe as the woman fell to the ground.
"Call 911," shouted Prue when Piper unfroze everyone.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later back at the Manor in the kitchen Buffy and Piper were making a potion as Dawn, Phoebe and Prue watched.
"That girl. There's just no reason," said Phoebe. "I got used to there being a reason, you know, an explanation. But she didn't even..."
"Stand a chance," said Buffy. "There was a reason, Aunt Phoebe, he was sending a message."
"Yeah, and we got it loud and clear," said Piper. "But there's nothing we can do that we haven't already done."
"So, what, he just keeps killing until we kill him?" asked Dawn.
"Which is exactly what he wants," Piper said with a sigh.
"Exactly what we can't do," said Prue. "Uh, is that a potion?"
"I wish," said Buffy. "Aunt Piper is pretty much keeping herself busy by teaching me."
"I wouldn't know where to begin anyways," said Piper. "Buffy and I are improvising. But all we've come up with is mud."
"So how do we kill a warlock we know we shouldn't be killing?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, we've only got three more chances to figure that out," said Prue.
In the living room Faith found the warlock sitting on the couch. "What does a fella have to do to get killed around here?" he asked.
"Not going to happen," said Faith.
"Hmm, I could sever a head. Only take a second," he said as he stood up.
"Don't even think about it," she told him as she followed him into the foyer.
"Come on, time's wasting," he told Faith. "You know, I'm just going to keep on killing. And the next one won't go so fast. The next one I'll saver. You're telling me all you and the witches are going to do is stand back and watch? How many people have to die before you or they do what I ask?"
"None," said Faith as she pulled out her knife from her boot and stabbed him vanquishing him. She turned and walked into the kitchen. "Sorry, guys. He's down another life. He was threatening more innocent lives."
"It's alright, Faith," said Prue. "We would have probably done the same thing. So he's only got two more lives left now.
"And we've only got one option," said Piper.
"But we already looked in the Book," said Dawn.
"We look again," said Prue. "No more pussy-footing around."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later in the attic the warlock was back yelling at them as Dawn vanquished him again.
"Well, that's number eight," said Prue.
"One life to live," said Piper.
"I think I have an idea," said Buffy as they all turned and looked at her. "He's been cheating death eight times. He's only felt an abridged version. Believe me when I say the real thing is painful. What if we showed him what it felt like to feel what I've felt when I died for Dawn, and then magnify it nine times."
"Then he would feel the pain of nine deaths and it actually might be enough to kill him. I like it," Piper said as she smiled at her niece.
"Well, we've only got one shot. Any other ideas?" Prue asked as Faith, Phoebe, Piper and Dawn shook their heads. "Then let's do it."
Later in the living room Prue and Faith waited as Dawn and Phoebe came down the stairs.
"Spell?" Prue asked.
"Dawn wrote a good one for her first time," said Phoebe as she looked at her niece with pride. It was then that Buffy and Piper came from the kitchen. "Potion?"
"Check!" said Piper. "Sharp painful implement?"
Faith held up her knife. "Five by five."
"So, what is our level of confidence in this plan?" Piper asked.
"Well, on a scale from one to ten, ten being we whip ass, one being he laughs at us while we're on fire and naked..." said Buffy.
"Maybe you should lie to me," Piper suggested to her niece just as the warlock burst in.
"Hello, ladies," he said. "Hmm, I love the smell of defeat in the evening."
"Yeah, can we just get this over with, please?" Prue asked.
"Oh, it's fine when you want to have coffee, but when I want to exchange pleasantries, you're in a hurry to kill me," he said. "Where are your manners?"
"We lost them when that girl lost her life," said Dawn.
"And who's fault is that?" he asked. "Wait a minute, do you think I'm an idiot? You've got something up your sleeve."
Phoebe looked at Faith, her sisters and her nieces. All five of them were where tank tops just like herself. She looked back at the warlock. "Hello? Sleeveless."
"You know the moment that I gain immortality, I'm coming back here to mangle your pretty little faces," he said.
"You want to die or not?" Piper asked.
"Do it."
"Alrighty then. Ready?" Prue said as Faith threw her knife. "Now!"
Buffy flicked her wrist freezing him as Piper threw the potion at him.
"Nine times this evil's cheated death, felt no pain and kept his breath, this warlock standing in our midst, let him feel what he has missed," chanted Buffy, Dawn, Prue, Piper and Phoebe as black ghostly shadows float around him.
"No! No! No!" he said as he unfroze. He exploded and was vanquished again.
"Okay, was that for good?" asked Phoebe.
"Well, if it wasn't, he's really going to miss his ear because it looks like part of its dripping off the clock," said Dawn.
"Um, ninth time's the charm," said Phoebe. "That was definitely different, he's gone for good."
"And yet somehow, we're still here, still together," said Piper.
"Not for long," said Phoebe looking at her middle sister. "Is there anything special you want to do on your last night here?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess, can I have a couple of minutes alone?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, uh, we'll be upstairs if you, you know," said Prue as she, Faith, Dawn, Buffy and Phoebe went upstairs.
Piper sat down and pulled a small bottle out of a box. She noticed a note stuck to the bottom of it. She got out and walked outside to her car where Leo was loading the last of their things.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Am I that obvious?" Piper wondered.
"No, I'm just incredibly perceptive," he said. "You want to pull up a tailgate?"
"Um, something just doesn't feel right," said Piper as they sat on the tailgate of her Jeep. "I mean, I know this stuff has to happen and I want it to happen, it's just that when Prue, Phoebe and I moved back in together, it made us sisters again. Then when Buffy and Dawn moved in, it made us a family. And I don't think we're ready to test that yet. And then there's this." She handed Leo the note. "I think we both know what those ingredients would do to us. And the fact that Grams was willing to keep us from being witches, to keep us together. Well, that should mean something shouldn't it? Are you going to hate me?"
"Not if we can talk Buffy and Faith into helping move everything back in," he said as she hugged him.
April 3, 2002
Prue and Phoebe sat on the couch in the living room as Piper walked past.
"Hey, can we talk to you for a second?" asked Prue. "It's kind of important."
"Sure," said Piper as she sat down next to her sisters. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's, um, it's just we're more than excited that you and Leo decided to move back in..." said Phoebe. "Um, we sort of have to ask you to move back out again."
"Of your room. And into mine," said Prue. "I mean, it is twice as big. The only other room that size is Buffy and Faith's. And you like they are now twice the people."
"Really?" Piper asked.
Prue nodded. "Really."
Piper smiled. "That would be great," she said she hugged her older sister. "That would be so great."
"Hey, you know what?" Phoebe asked. "I deserve hugs too because I'm moving all of my stuff out of your bathroom so you and Leo could do the..."
Piper smiled. "That would be really great."
"See?" Prue said. "It will just be like having your own place."
"Yeah, only with your sisters and one of your nieces right down the hall, and the other niece downstairs," said Phoebe.
"Yeah, I mean, I know we can't be together forever," said Prue.
"But it feels good that forever isn't today," said Piper.
April 4, 2002
Buffy was doing her makeup in her bedroom when she noticed two women she instantly recognized in the mirror. She spun in shock and looked at Patty Halliwell and Joyce Summers. "Mom? Grandma Patty?" she said breathless.
"Like with Piper, we were allowed down for your wedding, Buffy," said Joyce as Buffy stood up and ran into her arms. When she stepped back Patty hugged the young woman.
A knock came at the door and they turned and saw Dawn who was just as shocked as Buffy at what she saw.
"Mom!" Dawn said as she ran into Joyce's arms.
"Oh, my little pum'kin belly," said Joyce as she hugged her adopted daughter. She stepped back as Patty too hugged Dawn. "Oh, you both are so beautiful." She looked at her eldest daughter. "I'm proud of you, Buffy."
"You know how I said I had a premonition of the day Piper would get married?" Patty asked as Buffy nodded. "It was not the first that Phoebe gave me. It was actually the third. In the second one, I saw you Buffy on a day still in the future. A day when you and Faith were married and on your knee was your daughter and around you, Faith and your daughter were those you loved; your family. And I knew without a doubt you would be alright. That everything you have gone through to this point would turn out alright."
Buffy wiped a tear from her face as she hugged Patty.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Upstairs Grams was standing (or floating?) behind the altar, and Faith stood in front of it. Victor stood to the side with Leo and Cole. On either side of Victor stood Patty and Joyce.
"Bridesmaids!" Grams called as Prue, Piper and Phoebe walked in and took their places. She waved her hand and a CD began to play.
Dawn walked in with Buffy and led her sister to the altar. She then moved beside Prue, Piper and Phoebe.
Grams cleared her throat. "We are gathered here today to unite two souls as one. Do you, Faith Lehane, and Payson "Buffy" Halliwell, join us here of your own free will to acknowledge the eternal bond shared by both of you."
"I do," said Faith and Buffy.
"You may face each other, join hands," Grams said as Buffy and Faith turned to face each other. "Uh, Faith, you may recite your vows."
"Buffy, from the moment I realized, when I was still in prison, that I loved you. I knew in my heart that we'd make it here," said Faith. "I promise to love and respect you from this point forward as your partner, as my wife, my lover, my friend, and my soul mate. All I am is yours."
"Buffy..."
"Faith, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me," Buffy said. "After everything my life has thrown at me, I was afraid that this was too good to be true, that maybe I didn't deserve someone so pure and beautiful and loving as you are. But here we are surrounded by the people that I love the most and I feel so proud, and so blessed to be your wife. Faith, I was born to love you and I always will."
"Here before witnesses, Faith and Buffy have sworn their vows towards each other. With this cord, I bind them to those vows," Grams said as she telekinetically made a rope loosely tie Faith and Buffy's hand together.
"Heart to thee, body to thee, always and forever, so mote it be," said Faith and Buffy.
"So, mote it be," everyone echoed.