Title: Like Mother, Like…
Disclaimers: Passions does not belong to me, these are not my characters, yada yada yada.
Rating: Probably PG-13, so we'll go with that.
Storyline Setting: I started this story the week of 8/4-8/8, so it branches off roughly from there, with the exception being that Charity did not have to promise to stay away from Miguel in order to save the baby. Importantly, the most recent conversations between Kay and Tabitha did not take place.
A/N: Although this story, to the best of my knowledge, does fit into the backstory that we've seen on the show, with minor stretches, it does directly contradict what we learn in Hidden Passions. However, since the show itself seems to have no problem ignoring the continuity of its much-touted book, particularly in the case of Eve's past, I don't see why I should be compelled to stick to it.
A/N 2: For any readers of my other, major story Changes, who might be reading this, I'd just like to say that no, I have not abandoned it. At some point, though I cannot guarantee when, it will be finished. Thanks for your patience. Now, on with this story…
Kay smiled serenely as she looked into her daughter's gorgeous blue eyes, so like her own, and yet possessing an innocence that she herself would never be able to lay claim to again.
"Really now, Kay," Tabitha clucked disapprovingly, disrupting Kay's reverie. The two of them were seated at Tabitha's kitchen table, each holding their respective offspring. "You don't have to watch her like a hawk 24/7. The girl's not going to vanish into thin air the second you take your eyes off of her."
"I realize that, Tabitha, but sometimes I don't really believe it. After all, it's a miracle that Maria isn't…," and Kay's voice trailed off. Even two months after that awful night, she couldn't bring herself to say it, as a small, childish part of her still believed that speaking the thing you feared most could really make it happen. Of course, in Harmony, she reflected, such a possibility wasn't really all that far off-base.
"That's alright, you don't have to say it," the witch replied softly, once again feeling an unwelcome surge of sympathy for the girl. Really now, Tabitha Lennox, she thought crossly to herself, it won't do to go and get soft on the brat now. Who knows what trouble you could get yourself into, and you've got your own child to think about.
Tabitha's baby chose that moment to give a loud burp, thereby causing a jet of green fire to travel across the room and scorch the kitchen floor tile, and witch and erstwhile apprentice to jump, startled, out of their chairs. "Geez, Tabitha!" Kay shrieked, "isn't there any way to stop her doing that? My daughter could've easily been caught in the way of that and gotten burnt to a crisp!"
"I'm sorry Kay, but you know as well as I do how unpredictable babies can be."
Kay was about to reply cattily that at least her child hasn't tried to kill anybody yet, but thought better of it and checked her tongue at the last second. After all, Tabitha was being really nice to her, and she and Maria didn't have anywhere else to go, as much as she wanted to get her baby safely away from Tabitha's hellspawn.
Instead, Kay distractedly got out of her chair and wandered over to the window, where she looked on longingly at her old house. "I wonder what's going on over there," she murmured softly.
"You could always go and find out for yourself," the (much) older woman offered pointedly, sick of Kay's increasingly chronic tendency to sit around and speculate about the goings on at her old home.
Kay laughed sharply, and a little of her old viciousness crept back into her demeanor. "Yeah, right. Because being in the same house with Charity, a sister who was so worried about my baby that she went out and found "a great new career opportunity" while my daughter was dying, and a mother who can't stand to look at me sounds like so much fun. She hates me, Tabitha, and she has ever since I started to pose a threat to her precious Charity. I bet Mom was just like her, too, a little ray of saintly sunshine, and that's why she can't stand me."
Rising to join Kay, Tabitha stifled a small giggle. "I wouldn't be too sure of that," she intoned in a slightly singsong voice.
The teen glanced over at her mentor, her eyes betraying a genuine curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing," the witch said hastily. "Nothing at all. Anyways, we've got more important things to discuss right now than Grace Bennett. You haven't been studying the Craft lately, which is fine for now, since you've been on a maternity leave of sorts. But I'm afraid our Friends in the Basement are starting to get impatient for you to get back to work on your apprenticeship, and the sooner the better."
Startled, Kay backed away quickly, eyeing her sort-of friend as if she had just tried to do her bodily harm. "Oh, no, Tabitha, I know I ended up not confessing everything at the hospital, but that was just because I got angry at everyone fawning over Charity, as usual. I'm not going to mess with any of that…stuff ever again," she insisted with a shiver.
Tabitha blinked incredulously. "But, don't you want to get Miguel away from Charity?"
"Let's put it this way: if he showed up right now with a ring, I wouldn't say no, but I've finally accepted that it's just not going to happen. He's made it clear over and over that he still wants to be with Charity, and there's just nothing else I can do. And you know what?" Kay asked, smiling almost blissfully as she cradled her daughter, "I'm not nearly as devastated about it as I thought I'd be. I guess he's not the most important person in my life anymore. Besides, I want to set a good example for Maria, so no more messing with the dark forces for me."
Tabitha sighed resignedly. "I'm afraid it's really not that easy, child."
"Of course it is," Kay asserted defensively, though she was starting to act visibly nervous. "I'm quitting, and that's all there is to it."
Tabitha couldn't quite believe what she was hearing; for
such a bright girl, Kay really could be incredibly dense sometimes. It must be her father's influence. "You made a pact with the forces of Evil, and
that's with a capital 'E'! You can't
just say you're quitting, pick up your marbles, and go home! You've signed a contract, and you'd better
not break it—or else."
"Or else what?
What'll they do, kill me?"
"No, my best guess is that first they'll kill your baby, slowly, while you're forced to watch, and then they'll kill you," Tabitha replied matter-of-factly.
Gasping in horror, Kay instinctively drew an oblivious Maria in closer to her. "A-are you threatening us, Tabitha?"
Tabitha's face softened, and she looked at her young charge with a great deal of pity, duly mixed with empathy. She still remembered all too well what it was like to fear for the life of someone she loved more than life itself, the one person she'd been willing to defy her bosses for. "No, Kay, I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you. If you don't do everything I say, both of your lives will be worth less than nothing. Now, knowing that, you can listen to me, or you can try your luck with them. It's your choice."
Knowing she'd been soundly defeated, Kay hung her head in resignation. "Alright, fine, what do you want me to do?"
Tabitha smiled, and tried her best to sound upbeat. "Good, I'm glad to see that you're finally talking sensibly. Why don't you look in the Spells of Pain book until you find a potion for puss-filled boils on the feet. It'll be good practice for you: it's not difficult to brew, and you can try it on whomever you like—other than me, of course. I'll be out for a walk with Endora, but I should be back in time to help you test it."
*****
Kay cursed under her breath as she sat on the living room couch, book in hand and Maria sleeping peacefully in her cradle. Her mind only partially on her task while her eyes listlessly skimmed the pages, she contemplated her predicament.
Well, she was really, truly trapped now. God, she'd been stupid, thinking she could dabble in whatever she wanted and then just walk away whenever she'd had enough. If only there was some way she could just snap her fingers and make it like none of this ever happened, but she guessed like it was finally time to give up such childish fantasies. Kay figured she must be truly damned to Hell now. Well, she could face that fate on her own account; she'd casually resigned herself to it often enough in the past. It was her daughter that she was worried about: she couldn't let her grow up around such evil influences, and yet she couldn't bring herself to face the prospect of giving up the only bright spot left in her life. I really am horrible, she thought bitterly. I can't give this racket up, and I can't even send my daughter far away from it. Maybe my mother is right about despising me. She never would have let herself get mixed up in anything like this.
As she continued leafing fruitlessly through the ancient pages, Kay began to hope that she wouldn't be able to find the desired spell. She was getting sick of causing pain to everybody around her, and was finding it to be decidedly unsatisfactory (though she still had to guiltily stifle a giggle as she imagined Charity hopping up and down frantically as her simpering little face twisted itself into a mask of comical anguish).
Just as she was about to give up, Kay happened upon a passage which managed to perk her interest in spite of herself. Under the chapter entitled Memory Charms were a very interesting pair of spells. The first was located underneath the heading Incantation for the Restoration of a Memory Lost. "Interesting!" Kay exclaimed, though softly so as not to wake the baby, "All these amnesiacs wandering around town and Tabitha's got the cure right here. It's kinda funny, actually." Making a mental note, as such a spell would inevitably prove to be useful at some point around these parts, Kay continued reading.
The second proved to be even more intriguing. Called (rather lamely, in Kay's opinion) A Charm For Gaining Entry Into Another's Mind, it provided access into a person's memory, not as they consciously remember it, faded and inaccurate, but as the past had actually happened. Now that could turn out to be really interesting. I could find out anything about anybody I wanted to! Kay thought, appeasing her slightly guilty conscience with the rationalization that, if she had no choice about doing witchcraft, she might as well have some fun with it.
Eagerly, Kay read through the list of ingredients, and instructions. Every item she'd need was readily available in Tabitha's supply, and the spell surprisingly enough didn't look especially difficult to perform. She could try it this afternoon, as a matter of fact—all she had to do was to figure out whose memory she was going to essentially "hack" into. Problem was, very few people she knew had any secrets, or if they did, she was positive that they wouldn't interest her in the least. As she thought about it, though, one possibility gradually became more and more attractive.
Her mother. Kay had to admit that she, like the rest of her family, had always been highly curious about Grace Bennett's life before the fire. Now, she had the chance to actually find out! Of course, it wasn't liked she cared about her mother anymore, so nothing she might find out would actually matter to her. And yet, on the other hand, she might surprise herself and actually discover something interesting after all, maybe even something she'd be able to use to her advantage at some point in the future. What's more, Kay didn't see why the charm couldn't be used on Grace: based on the book's description of the precise magical mechanics, the fact that she had amnesia shouldn't keep the spell from working.
"I'll do it," Kay finally decided, and excitedly went back into the kitchen in order to perform the spell.
*****
After having assembled and applied all of the necessary herbs and potions and thrown them into the trainer cauldron that Tabitha had given her for her birthday, Kay was finally ready for the final ingredient: an item belonging to her mother. Kay was stalled for a minute, as she really didn't want to try her luck sneaking into the house to find something, and didn't have any of her mother's belongings with her. Just as she was starting to become frustrated, though, Kay had a sudden moment of inspiration, and took a peak into Tabitha's refrigerator. Sure enough, on the bottom shelf sat a moldy old tomato soup cake that her mother must have sent over at least three months ago. It was just like her mother, too: all these years and she couldn't remember (or, more probably, didn't care) that Kay had always hated the disgusting excuse for a dessert.
"Hmm, I wonder why Tabitha didn't just throw it away," Kay mused as she gingerly removed the cake from the fridge. "Well, in case she needed it for something, too, I'll just cut off a slice and use that."
And so Kay did, and dropped the smallish slice into the cauldron, which then emitted pinkish sparks and fumes for a good two or three minutes.
"Geez," Kay coughed and sputtered, "that junk's even more toxic than I thought." After the potion had finally started to settle down, Kay stirred the concoction three and a half times counter-clockwise as she recited the given incantation, and demanded to be shown her mother as a teenager. For a long second afterwards it seemed as though nothing had happened, when suddenly Kay's stomach gave a sickening lurch and the world collapsed.