Author's Note: Reviews are borked again. You can review and I will see them in my email (if they are long enough they will get truncated though). But they won't appear on the site till its fixed again.
Also on Halloween, I may end up skipping it with a mention of it in a subsequent chapter. As in the episode I wanted something that would appeal to Paige the way the red dress was to appeal to Angel. Glinda's dress, from the Wizard of Oz, could be a possibility but I don't know why Buffy would think it would please Paige.
Chapter 30: Death Becomes Them Part 1
Piper and Leo walked through the front door of the manor with Chris and Wyatt. They were immediately followed by Buffy and Dawn carrying grocery bags. The sisters had been visiting the Halliwells and Leo for two days and Piper had wanted to cook them a welcome dinner that evening combined with Chris's first birthday party. They didn't get a chance to finish the entire shopping trip when Paige had called and informed them that a demon had attacked Phoebe and killed Phoebe's friend.
"Hello! We're home!" Piper shouted before turning to look at Leo, Buffy and Dawn. "Traffic was horrible. We should've been home an hour ago."
Buffy glared at her father. "And I at least could have been if dad had let me orb," she said as Piper closed the door.
"Buffy," Leo said with a sigh. "Piper did want a normal life. What I am afraid that means we give up the cosmic taxi."
"Well, that doesn't mean I gave up the right to complain about it," Piper said as they headed for the dining room. "Phoebe! Paige!"
"Where do you want all these?" Dawn asked.
"Put the party supplies on the table, the food in the kitchen," Piper said. "Though I'm not even really sure we're gonna need the party supplies."
"Why not?" Buffy asked. She had been excited to celebrate her youngest half-brother's birthday.
"Well, I don't know if it's right to give Chris a birthday party when Phoebe's friend was just killed," Piper told her step-daughter.
"Well, we can't put everything on hold every time a demon attacks," Leo said.
Piper sighed. "Yeah."
Just then Paige came down the stairs as Dawn walked into the kitchen to put away the groceries.
"Hey," Paige said as she kissed Buffy, who sat the party supplies on the table, before turning to Leo and Piper. "You guys are just getting home now?
"We started back when you called, but the freeway was a nightmare," Piper said. "How's Phoebe?"
"Not so good," Paige replied as Leo followed Dawn into the kitchen intent on helping her with the groceries.
"Is she upstairs?" Piper wondered.
Paige shook her head. "No, she's at the morgue. I thought she said you knew."
"How would I know? I haven't talked to her," Piper replied.
"Dawn, Dad and I can vouch for that," Buffy told Paige as she, Piper and Paige headed for the conservatory.
"I'm kind of worried about Phoebe," Paige said as Piper put Chris into a playpen.
"Why?" Buffy wondered.
"Well, I mean …" Paige said as she glanced at Buffy.
"You mean what?" Piper question when she noticed her baby sister hesitate.
"I know we've seen a lot of death," Paige said. She noticed that Buffy let out a sigh and she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "But she's taking this one particularly hard. I was just talking to her on the phone, and she thinks she's, uh, cursed."
"Oh, that's silly," Piper replied.
"Is it," Buffy said as Piper walked over to check on Wyatt, who was playing with his toys. "Especially given what happened just a couple weeks ago when Dawn and I returned home from seeing Hank." While she still considered Hank her father. It was simpler to refer to him in the third person when talking to Piper, Phoebe or Paige since they all knew that Leo was her biological father.
"Buffy," Piper sighed. "That wasn't your fault.
"I know," Buffy replied. "But I can see why Phoebe would think she's cursed."
"I think if we can figure out why this guy was killed, maybe we can prove to her that she isn't," Paige said.
"Did you find anything out at magic school?" Leo asked as he and Dawn returned from the kitchen.
Paige shook her head. "No, and I'm not gonna be able to go back there, either. I have to go meet Joanna."
"Joanna?" Buffy asked.
"I thought I told you, Buffy. Joanna's my new charge. She's a whitelighter to be. She doesn't know magic exists yet, and thinks we're just friends. But the Elders are really worried about her, you know, kind of falling off the path, so I'm just gonna be there to guide her in the right direction. Don't worry I'm not going to fall for her, you already stole my heart."
Buffy blushed and kissed Paige.
"Then you should go," Leo said. "The Elders wouldn't worry unless they had a reason. Besides, Piper, Buffy, Dawn and I are here. We can help Phoebe."
"What about the welcome dinner for Buffy and Dawn and Chris' party?" Paige wondered.
"Uh, I think we're gonna have to postpone it," Piper said.
"What?" Leo and Buffy said simultaneously. "No."
"I have to agree," Dawn said. "From what I know of you guys I don't think Phoebe would not want you to do that."
"Dawn's right," Paige agreed.
"I know, but –" Piper started to object.
Paige shook her head. "No, look. We can make this work. I know we can. You keep planning that party. I'm gonna go meet my charge for a pep talk. By the time Phoebe's back, I'll be home. We can do this."
"I agree," Buffy said. "Besides I want to celebrate my brother's first birthday. I already missed Wyatt's." She turned to Paige. "I want to meet this new charge, if its okay. Maybe see what I'm in for someday down the road."
"Sure," Paige said as she took Buffy's hand and orbed out.
"Mommy wants to teach you a new word," Piper said as she leaned down next to Wyatt. "It's called denial."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Let's hurry up and get out of here," Darryl Morris, an Inspector for the San Francisco P.D. and a friend of the Halliwells, said as he and Phoebe walked down the hallway toward the Morgue. "Sheridan's already suspicious enough."
Phoebe sighed. "Darryl, I can't really worry about her right now."
"Maybe you should worry," Darryl told her. "You know, that memory dust won't matter anymore if this keeps up. She's linked you to way too many murders. It's getting harder and harder to cover."
"I know, and I'm sorry about that, but she's got nothing," Phoebe said. "She's going off a hunch."
"But if we accidentally trigger her memories, then everything comes back. Then that's it, it's over. For all of us."
"Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing," she replied.
Darryl frowned as he glanced at Phoebe. "What do you mean by that?"
Phoebe shook her head. "Nothing," she said as they entered the Morgue.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Darryl asked as they moved beside a table holding a body inside a black body bag.
Phoebe sighed, not really sure if she was ready, but she knew she had to be sure of what happened. "Yeah. I mean, I have to figure out what happened."
Darryl unzipped the body bag and opened it for Phoebe to look at the body held in the bag.
"Oh, God," she said.
"Maybe we should go," Darryl suggested.
Phoebe shook her head, she couldn't go, not yet. "No. Ahem ... I have to do this," she said as she laid her hand over the body's hands.
"It looks like somebody was trying to send a message," Darryl said looking at the corpse.
"What?" Phoebe said as she yanked her hands back away from the body. "Why would you say that?"
"It's vicious, it's calculated," he told her. "I see this all the time. It's like he makes you think twice when you see him. Maybe that's the point." He glanced at Phoebe and saw her shaking her head. "Do demons send messages like this?"
"Well, if it is a message, it's obviously for me. I gotta go," Phoebe said as she quickly turned and left the room heading for a phone.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy smiled at Joanna as they waited for Paige to return from her phone call with Phoebe.
"So how long have you two been dating?" Joanna asked.
"A few months," Buffy said. She and Paige had of course lied and said Buffy was actually eighteen not sixteen and a half. "It was love at first sight. But you couldn't tell that from my first impression."
"What was your first impression?"
"I thought she was beautiful in an annoying sort of way," Buffy said as she and Joanna laughed just as Paige returned.
"Phoebe alright?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah," Paige said as she sat next to Buffy. She looked to Joanna "Sorry, that was my sister. Might have to cut this a little short."
"Oh, that's okay," Joanna said. "Karl didn't really want me coming out tonight anyway."
"Oh, you're still seeing him?" Paige asked.
"I know what you're going to say, Paige, but he's a good guy. I swear."
Paige sighed. "I'm just worried about you, that's all, 'cause, honestly, I kind of get a little bit of a ... bad vibe from him."
"It's better to pay attention to Paige's vibes," Buffy said. "They have a tendency to be proven accurate. Of course I'm a little biased here."
"You don't know him like I do, Paige," Joanna said with a nod towards Buffy to acknowledge the thoughtful comment.
"I just know you've had a tough time lately, and I don't want to see you get hurt by this guy," Paige replied.
"I won't. I promise," Joanna said. "Trust me, he's the only thing that's really good in my life right now. Well, other than you, of course. And I hope you too, Buffy."
"Well, thank you," Paige and Buffy said.
"No, really, you've been such a good friend to me, Paige," Joanna said. "And if your girlfriend is anything like you I'm sure she will be. Anyways I don't know what I would've done without you the last few weeks."
"Weeks?" Buffy asked. Why hadn't Paige told her that Joanna had been her charge for a few weeks now?
Paige glanced at Buffy and let out an almost inaudible sigh. She would have some explaining to do later she was sure. She looked back at Joanna. "Sweetie, here's the thing. You have an amazing future ahead of you. You're just gonna have to have a little faith. "
Just then Karl walked up to them and smiled at Joanna. "Joanna," he said before looking at Paige and Buffy, or rather just Paige and glared at her. "I thought I told you I didn't want you hanging out with her."
"What are you doing here?" Paige wondered.
"Getting her away from you," Karl replied.
Joanna sighed. "Karl, don't be rude."
"Well, she's been trying to get between us from day one," Karl said. "I know she has. Look, come on. Let's get out of here."
"I'll be right there," Joanna said as Karl left. "He probably just had a bad day, that's all."
Paige sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is. You know, you don't have to go with him."
"I'll be fine. I promise. I'll call you later, okay?" Joanna replied. "It was nice meeting you, Buffy." She turned and followed Karl out the door.
"You're worried, I can see it in your face, Paige," Buffy said.
"Yes," Paige replied. "I also owe you an apology. I meant to tell you. But the prophecy distracted me, Buffy. Your dying distracted me. I would have told you back then."
"I know," Buffy said as she leaned in and kissed Paige. "Let's get out of her. We don't want to hang around any longer than we have to. Don't want Piper losing the liquor license."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later back at the Manor Phoebe tossed and turned as she slept. She rolled over and opened to her eyes as she came awake. She saw her friend, who should have been dead in the bed with her, his eyes open and staring at her. She screamed as she leapt out of bed.
"It was your fault," he said as he got up. "I died because of you. Now I'm gonna make you pay!" He pushed her up against a wall.
Phoebe in turned pushed what had been her friend away and ran for her bedroom door, opening it she darted out into the hall running smack dab into Piper, Buffy and Leo.
"Phoebe, what—what is it?!" Piper asked as Phoebe moved behind Leo.
"Something has her spooked," Buffy said as she moved toward Phoebe's bedroom door.
"He was trying to kill me!" Phoebe said as Buffy turned on her bedroom lights.
Buffy looked around and saw no evidence that Phoebe's friend had even been there.
"Who?" Leo asked from beside Buffy.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Moments later Piper carried a tray of mugs into the living room. She handed one to Phoebe, who was telling what happened in her room. She proceeded to hand the others to Paige, Buffy and Dawn.
"I'm telling you, he was there," Phoebe said. "And he blamed me for letting him die."
"And you're sure you didn't just dream this?" Paige asked as Piper sat down on the sofa.
"Yeah, I'm sure. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, it's a valid question considering Buffy, Leo and I didn't see anybody in your room," Piper said.
"That doesn't mean he wasn't there," Phoebe said.
"Paige, you remember how while my powers were bound, that the Slayer found a way to utilize my latent premonition power to its advantage," Buffy said. "Could that happen here?"
"It might," Paige said. "But it also could be Phoebe's subconscious," she looked at her middle sister, "because you have been feeling really guilty lately."
Phoebe sighed. "It wasn't a premonition. I know what those feel like. And it definitely wasn't a dream."
Just at the moment Leo came down the stairs carrying the Book of Shadows. "She might be right. I found something on the undead here in the Book. Let me rephrase that. More on a type of zombie, since the vampires that Buffy fights are also considered undead," he said as he sat next to Piper. "According to the Book, demonic alchemists have the ability to control the undead, but lack the power to bring them back to life. They need an upper-level demon for that."
"So we're looking for two demons?" Dawn asked.
Phoebe sighed. "Which means Tim will be back because he wants to make me pay. Who knows? Maybe I deserve it," she said as she put her mug aside on the coffee table near her.
"Phoebe, you can't think like that," Dawn said. "If demons are behind this and they're controlling your friend, Tim, they're just trying to freak you out."
"She's right you know," Piper agreed.
"Well, obviously, it's working," Phoebe replied.
"Which is exactly why you need to get back to business as usual before you drive yourself crazy," Piper told her. "Why don't you go to work?"
Phoebe shook her head. "I don't wanna go to work."
"Might not be such a bad idea. It's a public place. Nobody's gonna attack you there," Leo suggested.
"I can go with you," Dawn suggested. "If you feel that would be better. Besides it could be a learning experience. I've been thinking of getting into journalism in college anyways as it could help Buffy."
"How so," Buffy wondered.
"I might be able to find out about demon and vampire attacks before they wind up on the front page," Dawn said. "Think about it. If we had known about the van accident in which the Annointed One was created in we could have gotten to the morgue sooner before he had risen."
"Also," Paige said turning the topic back to Phoebe going into work. "As soon as we come up with some sort of plan, Buffy or I'll come get you."
"Come on, you're not doing anybody any good like this," Piper said. "Just get up and go to work."
Phoebe sighed. "Okay. But if you find the alchemist, you have to come get me," she said as she and Dawn left.
Just then Paige's cell phone went off and she checked the caller I.D. "It's Joanna," she turned and walked out of the room as she answered her cell.
"Now can we cancel Chris' party?" Piper suggested. "Before any walking dead crash it?"
"I guess we have to," Leo said with a sigh.
"Hey," Buffy said as Leo and Piper looked at her. "Can I offer a compromise? I missed Wyatt's first birthday since I didn't know about you guys then. I don't want to miss Chris's also. Instead of cancelling it, we postpone it. After all is said and done I would still like to celebrate at least one of my brother's first birthdays."
Leo looked to Piper and smiled. "I think Buffy has a good idea. Once the deal with these demons are dealt with. We should, if not for Chris himself, then at least for Buffy. She has after all never witnessed a first for either of her brothers."
"Alright," Piper agreed. "Once everything is done."
"She just got in a big fight with her boyfriend," Paige said as she returned. "She's really upset. I have to go."
"A lover's spat?" Piper asked. "Is that really something her Whitelighter needs to deal with, especially right now?"
"What if it were me and Paige?" Buffy asked. "And we were in the middle of all this. Wouldn't you stop for a moment to help us work through it."
"Of course," Piper said. "But that's …"
"It's no different," Buffy said.
"It's her boyfriend," Paige said. "I get a really bad vibe from him. I feel like he's gonna hurt her."
"Then you should go," Piper said.
"You want me to come with you?" Buffy asked Paige.
"No," Paige said. "With Dawn with Phoebe. I think, as your Whitelighter, you need to be here helping Piper."
"Alright," Buffy said as Paige left.
Piper nodded. "We should call Morris and make sure that Tim's," she said calling Phoebe's friend by his name, "body is still in the morgue ... or not."
