A/N: And it's... finished. School starts back on Tuesday, so I reached my goal. It was finished in time. Plot holes, mistakes and all taken into consideration, I think I learnt a fair bit from writing this story. 8 months. It has taken 8 months to get from start to finish, in what turned out to be far longer then it ever should have been. Nevertheless though, thank you to all the people who have read and reviewed this story, it is truly interesting to hear everyone's opinions. A few specifics though, Siamese, thank you for pointing that out. You're totally right, Cole's eyes are blue, and not brown, even I should have known that... Julian McMahon is adorable. I guess I wasn't thinking too well when I wrote the chapter out. Secondly, I would like to thank Kafi for listening to me whine on and on about how the story wasn't going anywhere, and for reading over a couple of chapters for me. As for your question... well, I'm afraid I didn't end up answering it in this chapter, I totally forgot and now I can't find anywhere to insert it. Cole turned up because of parental instinct. Yes. You've heard stories before, I'm sure, of parents just 'knowing' when their children are in grave danger. Do I need to explain further? Heh, I'll see you at school Kafi. Eeee. Hm, who else, oh, thank you Trisha, your review really made my day. Yes, I have to agree, I would like to see the Charmed writers listen to input and ideas from all the Charmed fans out there. And to everyone else, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! Oh, and as for 'Divinus', sorry if I got the Latin wrong, I was using an online translater.
Just this one last time, on with Baby From The Clouds!
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Kaitlyn struggled against the silver shackles that bound her to the wall. However, try as she might, she couldn't pull her arms free. Frustration was mounting up in her mind, and in her annoyance she gave a sharp jerk against her bonds. This only resulted in being flung back into the wall once more. Kaitlyn sighed.
The little girl still stood across the room, although she appeared somewhat spaced out – almost as if she were in a trance. Her eyes had clouded over, and her deep breathing indicated that perhaps she was asleep.
Kaitlyn let out a frustrated moan, and she pulled hard against her bonds once more, but this only caused her more pain, and in the end forced her to stop.
The little girl shook her head suddenly, and blinked a couple of times, before fixing her gaze on Kaitlyn.
'You know, Aunt Prue says that if you focus on your family, you can call them here,' said the little girl timidly. Kaitlyn looked back at her for a moment.
'Focus on my family?' Kaitlyn echoed, her face showing her puzzlement.
'Yes. Close your eyes,' said the girl, waiting patiently for Kaitlyn to follow. 'Now picture your family. Picture Piper, as clear as you can, try to see her face, every detail, and every colour. And then too, if you can, try and picture Phoebe and Paige. Can you see them?'
Kaitlyn's brows furrowed in her concentration. Her reply seemed hesitant.
'Yes…'
'Okay. Now call to them, bring them here. Show them the way.'
The seconds seemed to draw out into minutes as Kaitlyn concentrated, and after quite a few minutes she opened her eyes again.
'This isn't working,' grumbled Kaitlyn.
'Keep concentrating,' chided the girl. 'It's the only way it is ever going to work.'
Kaitlyn looked like she was going to reply with some sort of reason why she shouldn't, but seemed to think better of it, and duly obeyed. This time she succeeded in her efforts.
Soft chiming sounded throughout the cave, as a whirl of white orbs appeared, spinning and intertwining with each other like an intricate spider's web, until Paige, Piper and Phoebe took form. All three sisters looked stunned.
'What happened?' choked Piper, immediately moving towards Melinda. Paige strode towards Kaitlyn, and Phoebe rushed to Bekky's side.
'Paige, we need your healing powers,' said Piper firmly.
'In a moment,' responded Paige, her attention still fixed on Kaitlyn. 'Shackles,' she called, her crystal clear voice echoing through the cave. The shackles orbed out, before orbing back into Paige's hands. Paige gave them a look of disgust, before dropping them on the ground and turning her concentration to Melinda and Bekky, leaving Kaitlyn to nurse sore wrists. Both Phoebe and Piper rose to give Paige the space she needed. Paige quickly assessed the damage, deciding Bekky needed the more immediate attention.
Suddenly, Phoebe let out a strangled cry, and both Paige and Piper averted their gaze to the source of their sister's pain. Across the room, pooled in his own blood, lay Cole. Deathly pale, his body seemed to shudder with each unsteady breath.
'No…' choked Phoebe, her voice wavering as she rushed to her husband's side. 'No… Cole… no baby, hang on baby… Paige will help…' But even Phoebe knew there was no meaning to her words. Paige had never fully been able to heal Cole; in the past she had always required assistance before, assistance that was no longer around. Piper crossed to her sister's side, and put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder. Phoebe let out another strangled cry, abruptly jerking away from the touch.
'Oh… Merlin…' Paige managed, as she stood up, finished healing Melinda and Bekky, both of whom were still unconscious, just not bleeding to death anymore. 'Piper… I can't…' whispered Paige, as she knelt beside Cole and raised her hands over his wounds. Her healing glow illuminated momentarily from her hands, before it faded and died.
Phoebe let loose an anguished sob, drawing away from her husband and her sisters. She was going to loose him, after all they had been through, the thought seemed so remote that she'd never before dwelt on the possibility of her husband's death before. Piper glanced worriedly between Phoebe's terrified expression, and Paige hovering over Cole's motionless form on the ground. Finally, Piper did the only thing left to do.
'Leo! Leooo! Get your butt down here!' hollered Piper.
'Piper, he won't hear you from –'
'Leo! Now! Bitch of the Halliwell household is calling! Leooo!'
Phoebe gazed on through tear-streaked vision at her sister. Cole was going to die, and Piper was caught up in calling Leo? Phoebe knew that Leo wouldn't hear them – they were in the Underworld, from the looks of things! How was he going to hear Piper from Up There?
Piper's pleas were becoming desperate now.
'Leo! I'm so sorry… Leooo! Please! I love you! We need help… please… Leo… I love you…' Piper trailed off into silence, bringing her hands up to her face to hide her tears from view.
Phoebe turned her gaze back to Cole and Paige, noticing that the rise and fall of Cole's ribcage had ceased. Paige seemed to notice this too, and reached a hand up to check for a pulse. Paige drew in a sharp breath, her eyes coming up to meet Phoebe's.
The words that slipped through Paige's lips merely confirmed what Phoebe already knew in her heart.
'He's gone.'
Phoebe dropped to her knees, and buried her face in her hands. She could feel the sobs coming freely, but made no move to stop them. Piper peered fearfully through her fingers at Cole's lifeless form.
'Leooooo!' cried Piper, as sobs overtook her controlled demeanor.
Paige lowered her gaze to the floor. She had just started to reprimand herself for failing her family, sternly telling herself that she had failed them all, when a sparkle of blue orbs seemed to appear next to Piper. Paige looked up, and found her gaze locked with Leo's. No words were spoken as he dropped down beside her and lifted his hands over Cole. Paige quickly put her hands alongside her brother-in-law's hands, and closed her eyes as the faintest trickle of hope surged through her veins.
Sure enough, as Paige opened her eyes, she found a bright and vibrant glow shining over Cole's body. The glow seemed to spread; spiraling out over his body, until with a sharp jerk Cole's eyes shot open and he took a breath.
The relief seemed to overwhelm Paige at that moment, and she watched with something akin to joy as Cole sucked in more air, his startling blue-eyed gaze locking with Paige's. She could see the fear in them, and as the glow faded she found herself pulling Cole up into a tight embrace.
'You're alive,' murmured Paige. 'Gosh, I don't think I have ever been so relieved to see you before.' She glanced over to Phoebe, whom was watching with astonishment. 'Though, there's someone else who needs you right now.' Cole turned to follow Paige's gaze. As their eyes met, Phoebe practically threw herself at Cole, and he once more found himself in a tight hug.
Leo stood and turned to Piper, embracing the crying woman without a second thought. She clung to him, blinking away tears of sadness, regret and relief.
'Shh, baby,' murmured Leo. 'It's okay now. Everything is going to be okay.'
Paige, feeling a little out of place, crossed the room towards the children once more. The sight of one individual, however, stopped her in her tracks.
'Sophie…?' whispered Paige, her voice suddenly hoarse. Sophie rose her gaze to meet that of her mother's.
'Hi mum,' greeted Sophie. Leo, Piper, Phoebe and Cole turned to gape at the supposedly dead child.
'What…? How…?' asked Paige, somewhat at a loss for words.
'I'm an illusion,' replied Sophie calmly. 'This is my main power. Aunt Prue taught me how to control it.'
Paige opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She repeated this little sequence several times.
'Why…?' whispered Paige finally, reaching a hand out tentatively to the illusion. Sophie smiled sadly, reaching her hand up to her mothers. As their hands met, Sophie's fingers partially disappeared into Paige's hand, and Paige shivered as it sent chills up her spine.
'Ivy needed me,' explained Sophie quietly, though her voice still sounded loud through the otherwise silent room. 'I was part of the prophecy – I had a destiny to fulfill.'
'So… so it's true?' asked Piper. She was still clinging to Leo, but she had managed to get her emotions in check once more. 'You… all of you…' she was referring to the five children in the room now, 'you're The Star of Ivy?'
Sophie nodded.
Kaitlyn helped her cousin, Bekky – whom had just woken up – to her feet. Together they roused Melinda, and all three moved to stand with their family.
'The prophecy was true,' murmured Phoebe, cuddling back into the warm embrace of her husband. 'How did Prue know about it though? And, well, I don't understand. What exactly happened here?'
'Ben was evil,' mumbled Kaitlyn. 'Or at least, she thought he was. She tried to make Ben kill me – she said he had to in order to embrace his destiny.'
'She?' questioned Piper. 'Who is she?'
'The Seer,' answered Cole grimly. There was a collective gasp from the Halliwell sisters and their Whitelighter.
'I thought she was dead?' asked Phoebe.
'Apparently not,' responded Cole. 'She appeared very much alive and well.'
Piper laughed.
'What?' questioned Phoebe.
'The Seer. The clue was right under my nose, I knew she was involved in this all along!' Piper exclaimed, glancing at the bewildered looks on her family's faces. 'Ben told me, the day that I met him. He told me he had seen us vanquishing Cole, back when he was the Source. On further questioning Ben revealed that his mother's name was Divinus, although he was raised by Serenity.'
'So?' asked Paige, not catching on.
'Divinus. It's a Latin word – it means Seer.'
'Oh.'
'The Seer was trying to turn them evil,' whispered Phoebe as she caught on. 'She would have covered the world in shadow if she had succeeded. The prophecy – 'The world hangs in the balance – waiting for the answer.' The scales would have been favouring evil something terrible if her idea had gone according to plan. Though how would The Star of Ivy have been evil if she had killed Kaitlyn?' questioned Phoebe.
'Born of the dead,' Sophie supplied. 'Aunt Prue says that because Kaitlyn is her child, Kaitlyn can't be killed through a mortal wound.'
'What?' asked Kaitlyn, confusion shining in her eyes.
'Sweetie…' started Piper, 'I'm not your real mum. I'm your auntie.'
'Then…?'
'Prue is your mum. Do you remember how I told you she died a couple of years before Melinda was born?' Kaitlyn nodded. 'Well… she contacted me years later, to tell me that she was expecting. But because she's a ghost, she couldn't raise you. So she asked me to raise you, instead. She asked me to take care of you.'
'Oh… can I meet her?' asked Kaitlyn, looking a little dazed.
'Uh, sweetie, that's not so easy –' Piper was cut off abruptly, as the air next to Sophie flickered.
'Not so easy, eh?' questioned Prue, once her Astral form had stabilized. She smirked mischievously at Piper, before fixing her attention on her daughter. 'Hello, sweetheart.'
'Mum…?'
'Uhuh,' answered Prue, smiling softly.
'Ow, my head. Oh, what happened?' questioned Ben groggily as his eyes fluttered open and he pulled himself into a sitting position. 'Uh…'
Before anyone could say a word, Piper had lunged at the child.
'You son of a bastard! You nearly got my niece killed!' yelled Piper, momentarily enraged.
'Uh Piper… stop.'
'What, Cole?' Piper still had her attention fixed on Ben, but she was listening none-the-less.
'You just called me a bastard,' said Cole dryly, a small smile playing across his lips.
'I… wait – what?!' Piper whirled around, demanding an explanation.
'He's my son. He's your nephew.'
'Huh?'
Several sets of eyes turned to look at Cole questioningly.
'You heard me. Phoebe and I have a son.'
'We do?' asked Phoebe, the words slipping from her lips before she could stop them. She looked astonished.
'When we were in control of the Underworld…' Cole whispered, bringing back painful memories. 'You might have seen the baby blow himself and the Seer to smithereens, but as you've seen tonight the Seer was as alive as you or me, and apparently so is the baby.'
'How…?'
'Serenity,' said Prue. 'The Shrock's are neither good nor evil. They are a neutral force of magic. About the time that I discovered I was pregnant, the Shrock's uncovered the prophecy – The Star of Ivy. They realized that the fifth point of the star had already been vanquished, but being a neutral source of magic and all, they had the power to resurrect the Seer. She was under their control until the baby was born, but then she escaped. That put all the children in danger.
'The Shrock's tried to take Kaitlyn from you, Piper, because Kaitlyn was the most powerful of Ivy. She has the power to call on The Star of Ivy, no matter where they all are. I objected to putting her in their care, so in turn they tried to trick you in to handing her over. Ben was in their care at that time – in fact, he has been all his life so far, and after Kaitlyn slipped through their grasp, they decided that perhaps you could raise her properly – keep her safe.
'When the time came, Ben was brought up to the surface with the hopes that he could unite The Star of Ivy. That's how he met Kaitlyn. What the Shrock's didn't count on, though, was the Seer interfering. I think they underestimated her. But, Phoebe's right, if the Seer had succeeded then darkness would consume the world. It would be a one-way roller coaster to Hell.'
'But they're safe now,' continued Leo. 'The Star of Ivy is safe from the Seer, and the world is safe. They've made their decision, and it's one that can't be reversed.'
'And what's more,' said Prue, 'is that we're a family again. All of us.'
The words truly seemed to hit Bekky then, and a smile spread across her face. She had a family now, a real family. People who would support each other, people that would love each other, and people who would always be there. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.
'I've got a brother!' squealed Bekky, in a way that sounded rather childish for a child of fourteen years. She threw herself at a dumbfounded Ben, and began to tickle the child mercilessly. 'Hullo little brother!'
Ben cried out in surprise before bursting into peals of tortured laughter, much to the amusement of all present. This was his family, and no matter how long it took to get used to them, instinct told Ben that everything was right now. It felt right.
'The Star of Ivy,' murmured Paige, a contented smile playing across her pale features, 'I think I like the sound of that.'
And although it would take them days, weeks, months or maybe even years to repair the damage that had torn their family apart, and rebuild the trust that once kept the family close, each member of the family was willing to put in the time and effort it took – each family member was willing to try. For now, however, each family member was just content in knowing that they were together once more, and as long as they had each other, that was all that really mattered.
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End
Just this one last time, please review and tell me what you think of the story!
