Coven
" ....cross now the great divide," Piper finished, and stepped back. Light swirled within the circle, coalescing into a woman's image.
Piper's dark eyes narrowed. "Aunt Gail?" Her tone was sharp. "I was trying to reach Grams--what--"
Gail Johnson, Piper's great-aunt, looked at the Charmed One thoughtfully.
She tilted her head, listening to something Piper couldn't hear. "Penny is... rather busy at the moment," she said. "But if the Elders sent me to you, that must mean I can answer whatever you need to ask. What is it, honey?"
"Honey?"
"You have a right to be angry about what I tried to do to you," the spirit acknowledged. "But that's not what's on your mind. Something to do with...the baby? This isn't just normal first-time mother jitters."
Piper stiffened. "Can you tell what I'm thinking?"
"That was part of my powers. It's not as strong or reliable anymore," Gail said. "Comes and goes. Well, I am one of Melinda's descendants too," she pointed out. "Her granddaughter Cassandra had five children-- the Halliwells are Melinda's direct descendants, not the only ones. Nor the only witches."
"That's what I need to know about."
"Your family background?"
Piper hesitated. Gail smiled sadly. "I can't do anything to hurt you now, even if I did want to. And for what it's worth, I am sorry. I shouldn't have let my fear get ahold of me like that. Well, leave that for now. Penny had a copy of the family tree, dating back to Melinda Warren's birth. She kept it with this old photo album....both should be in the Manor somewhere. The cousins are listed there too. We've all had to try to be discreet...so there isn't as much contact between the families as one might think. Wasn't even when the blood ties were closer. Usually it was the crones--the oldest women in each family--who had the lines of communication. The addresses and phone numbers for the three 'branch families' would be with the genealogy records."
"I think I've seen that.Grams never talked much about them." Piper nodded. "I...think that answers most of what I need to know. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Oh-- ah, I should get back. Someone's looking for me."
"Tell Prue I love her?" Piper blurted.
"Sure . Blessed be, Piper."
"T-to you, too, Aunt Gail..." but the spirit had already vanished.
Piper extinguished the candles.
After a quick breakfast, she returned to the attic to hunt through the assorted piles of old clothing, books, and antiques. It took her most of an hour to locate the family tree.
She took the book and photo album down to the kitchen.
"Hey, whatcha' doing?"
Piper jumped, startled. "Paige, I didn't hear you come in-- Is it lunchtime already?" She glanced up at the clock.
"Nearly," her sister replied.
"I was looking at our family tree, and some old pictures from Grams' time. Mom's in here too, Dad-- your father too...."
"My father was Jason Matthews, Piper," Paige interrupted gently, with a firm undertone to her words. Piper felt herself turn an unattractive shade of tomato red. "I--"
"It's okay. I understood what you meant. I'm not mad, it's just... it takes more than sperm to make a man a father. At least that's what I believe. "
Piper searched for words. "Your parents must have been wonderful people-- knowing you, tells me that. I didn't mean you should put anyone else in their place. And...you shouldn't feel you can't talk about them either. About your life before you met us. You know, I don't think you've ever even told us what their names were. Jason, and...?"
" Savannah."
"Oh, that is a beautiful name!"
Paige smiled. "She grew up in Atlanta. Dad used to tease her, call her 'Scarlett', or 'his southern belle'...They met when she was a student at Stanford. She got her degree in art there. She was the one who taught me to draw, when I was little. Some kids had bedtime stories, I had crayons and chalk. "
"Do....you ever think about wanting a family of your own?"
Paige gave her older sister a long look. Piper could almost see Paige thinking, trying to figure out where this conversation was headed. "Sometimes. I haven't met a man I'd want to spend my whole life with, and being a single mother...if it happened, I wouldn't refuse to have the baby, or give her up, but I'd just as soon not be in that situation. Now especially. What, are you playing matchmaker? Please don't," she added, shuddering. "Me and blind dates-- not a place I want to go again."
"Yes and no."
"What yes and no? You sound like a politician," Paige complained, grinning as she said it.
"I...asked Leo to look in on some of our more distant cousins. Melinda Warren--our family's founder-- had only one daughter, but her daughter had several children. Most of them inherited the magic too. Cassandra--Melinda's granddaughter-- married another witch. So the abilities didn't die out. If any of the younger members of the other families-- Morgan, O' Healy, and Baxter-- seem like they're trustworthy, and they're interested, I...was thinking of asking them to come to San Francisco for a while."
"For like a family reunion, Wicca style?"
"Witch style. For something a little more permanent...if everyone agrees. I've been reading our family's stories. Til Mom was born, our ancestors always tried to have more than one child, and usually married witches, or at least mortals who knew the score. It's how they were able to fight demons and warlocks and--deal , everything, while bringing up families. It was never just the parents who had to handle all of it, siblings and cousins and in-laws were there. Grams only had one sister, though, and their parents died when they were teenagers. Then she only had one child. So that 'support network' did a fadeout. I'd like to get back in touch with some of these people. Not like there haven't been times when we could really have used some help, even when the three of us were together. And I want to talk to some of the practitioners here in San Francisco, the solitaries. See if any of them have suggestions on how I handle stuff like work and --gahh--doctor's appointments with a baby that's leaking magic. They'd benefit from help from other witches, they're the most vulnerable when demons are out for blood." Piper shivered, remembering some of the deaths she'd seen over the past four years.
"No argument there. You've seriously thought this out, huh? You want to be our coven's -- what is it, 'high priestess'?"
"That's something Wicca-- the modern version-- came up with. Witchcraft, the tradition we're using, goes back centuries, 'Wicca' was only founded about sixty years ago. High Priestess Piper. Right."
"I guess I still don't get the difference," Paige said.
" Leo and I are going to visit some of the locals when he gets back. Why don't you come with us and find out?"
"You're on! Oh-- Can I drive?"
"Magic does not equal miracles, Paige," Piper said.
* * * Phoebe and Leo returned home later that afternoon. Piper and Paige had spent the day together. They'd had lunch, which Paige fixed-- "you've done enough work for one day, and even I can't screw up vegetable soup and sandwiches all that badly." Leo orbed into the kitchen. Piper and Paige were watching a documentary featuring dolphins and sharks.
"...but doesn't it sound exciting?"
"Piper, I go out weekly fighting the forces of evil. I don't also need the
stimulation of getting into a tank with animals that consider me their version of potato chips."
"How'd it go?" Piper asked her husband.
"The O'Healys send their regards. I don't think any of them can be spared from El Paso right now, Piper. Siobhan's the elder, and her grandson's wife is expecting their second child. She's having a bad time. He won't leave her, neither will Siobhan or Maeve--that's Siobhan's daughter, and a healer. She--Siobhan-- said once the baby's born and they know both of them are okay, she'll be happy to come, but that's at least three more months. The Baxters..." Leo scowled. "Their Whitelighter could use a lesson in manners."
"What's wrong?"
"It's not important." He shook himself. "Just some people who have been around for a couple centuries and still haven't learned to mind their own business. I spoke with Thomas Baxter. The youngest children-- Poppy and Dylan, they're twins-- are fifteen now. Thomas wants to get them out of New York for a while...seems Poppy does have powers, including telekinesis, and she's having a hard time getting a handle on it. Making it worse is the fact that Karen--Thomas' wife-- is mortal and has no idea he's a witch, much less that their twins are. Their oldest, Jon, apparently hasn't inherited."
"Bring them here," Piper said at once.
"Um. I already did," Leo admitted sheepishly.
Piper glanced around. "Where...?"
The hardcover book Leo was carrying slid out from between his fingers, morphing into a skinny, blond-haired, green-eyed boy.
"Dylan?" Piper guessed.
He nodded, tugging at his jacket. "P-p-pleased to meet you, ma'am. My sister's here, yeah," he added. "She's invisible."
"Pleased to meet you, too. Poppy, we like to be able to see our guests, so if you'd come out for now....."
"I can't!" a girl's voice exploded. She sounded completely out of patience. "DYLAN--"
"I don't know how I did it, Poppy--I'm trying, honest!"
Phoebe, Piper, and Paige gazed at the spot where the voice was coming from. "May you live in interesting times," Piper murmured, and went to get the Book of Shadows.
" ....cross now the great divide," Piper finished, and stepped back. Light swirled within the circle, coalescing into a woman's image.
Piper's dark eyes narrowed. "Aunt Gail?" Her tone was sharp. "I was trying to reach Grams--what--"
Gail Johnson, Piper's great-aunt, looked at the Charmed One thoughtfully.
She tilted her head, listening to something Piper couldn't hear. "Penny is... rather busy at the moment," she said. "But if the Elders sent me to you, that must mean I can answer whatever you need to ask. What is it, honey?"
"Honey?"
"You have a right to be angry about what I tried to do to you," the spirit acknowledged. "But that's not what's on your mind. Something to do with...the baby? This isn't just normal first-time mother jitters."
Piper stiffened. "Can you tell what I'm thinking?"
"That was part of my powers. It's not as strong or reliable anymore," Gail said. "Comes and goes. Well, I am one of Melinda's descendants too," she pointed out. "Her granddaughter Cassandra had five children-- the Halliwells are Melinda's direct descendants, not the only ones. Nor the only witches."
"That's what I need to know about."
"Your family background?"
Piper hesitated. Gail smiled sadly. "I can't do anything to hurt you now, even if I did want to. And for what it's worth, I am sorry. I shouldn't have let my fear get ahold of me like that. Well, leave that for now. Penny had a copy of the family tree, dating back to Melinda Warren's birth. She kept it with this old photo album....both should be in the Manor somewhere. The cousins are listed there too. We've all had to try to be discreet...so there isn't as much contact between the families as one might think. Wasn't even when the blood ties were closer. Usually it was the crones--the oldest women in each family--who had the lines of communication. The addresses and phone numbers for the three 'branch families' would be with the genealogy records."
"I think I've seen that.Grams never talked much about them." Piper nodded. "I...think that answers most of what I need to know. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Oh-- ah, I should get back. Someone's looking for me."
"Tell Prue I love her?" Piper blurted.
"Sure . Blessed be, Piper."
"T-to you, too, Aunt Gail..." but the spirit had already vanished.
Piper extinguished the candles.
After a quick breakfast, she returned to the attic to hunt through the assorted piles of old clothing, books, and antiques. It took her most of an hour to locate the family tree.
She took the book and photo album down to the kitchen.
"Hey, whatcha' doing?"
Piper jumped, startled. "Paige, I didn't hear you come in-- Is it lunchtime already?" She glanced up at the clock.
"Nearly," her sister replied.
"I was looking at our family tree, and some old pictures from Grams' time. Mom's in here too, Dad-- your father too...."
"My father was Jason Matthews, Piper," Paige interrupted gently, with a firm undertone to her words. Piper felt herself turn an unattractive shade of tomato red. "I--"
"It's okay. I understood what you meant. I'm not mad, it's just... it takes more than sperm to make a man a father. At least that's what I believe. "
Piper searched for words. "Your parents must have been wonderful people-- knowing you, tells me that. I didn't mean you should put anyone else in their place. And...you shouldn't feel you can't talk about them either. About your life before you met us. You know, I don't think you've ever even told us what their names were. Jason, and...?"
" Savannah."
"Oh, that is a beautiful name!"
Paige smiled. "She grew up in Atlanta. Dad used to tease her, call her 'Scarlett', or 'his southern belle'...They met when she was a student at Stanford. She got her degree in art there. She was the one who taught me to draw, when I was little. Some kids had bedtime stories, I had crayons and chalk. "
"Do....you ever think about wanting a family of your own?"
Paige gave her older sister a long look. Piper could almost see Paige thinking, trying to figure out where this conversation was headed. "Sometimes. I haven't met a man I'd want to spend my whole life with, and being a single mother...if it happened, I wouldn't refuse to have the baby, or give her up, but I'd just as soon not be in that situation. Now especially. What, are you playing matchmaker? Please don't," she added, shuddering. "Me and blind dates-- not a place I want to go again."
"Yes and no."
"What yes and no? You sound like a politician," Paige complained, grinning as she said it.
"I...asked Leo to look in on some of our more distant cousins. Melinda Warren--our family's founder-- had only one daughter, but her daughter had several children. Most of them inherited the magic too. Cassandra--Melinda's granddaughter-- married another witch. So the abilities didn't die out. If any of the younger members of the other families-- Morgan, O' Healy, and Baxter-- seem like they're trustworthy, and they're interested, I...was thinking of asking them to come to San Francisco for a while."
"For like a family reunion, Wicca style?"
"Witch style. For something a little more permanent...if everyone agrees. I've been reading our family's stories. Til Mom was born, our ancestors always tried to have more than one child, and usually married witches, or at least mortals who knew the score. It's how they were able to fight demons and warlocks and--deal , everything, while bringing up families. It was never just the parents who had to handle all of it, siblings and cousins and in-laws were there. Grams only had one sister, though, and their parents died when they were teenagers. Then she only had one child. So that 'support network' did a fadeout. I'd like to get back in touch with some of these people. Not like there haven't been times when we could really have used some help, even when the three of us were together. And I want to talk to some of the practitioners here in San Francisco, the solitaries. See if any of them have suggestions on how I handle stuff like work and --gahh--doctor's appointments with a baby that's leaking magic. They'd benefit from help from other witches, they're the most vulnerable when demons are out for blood." Piper shivered, remembering some of the deaths she'd seen over the past four years.
"No argument there. You've seriously thought this out, huh? You want to be our coven's -- what is it, 'high priestess'?"
"That's something Wicca-- the modern version-- came up with. Witchcraft, the tradition we're using, goes back centuries, 'Wicca' was only founded about sixty years ago. High Priestess Piper. Right."
"I guess I still don't get the difference," Paige said.
" Leo and I are going to visit some of the locals when he gets back. Why don't you come with us and find out?"
"You're on! Oh-- Can I drive?"
"Magic does not equal miracles, Paige," Piper said.
* * * Phoebe and Leo returned home later that afternoon. Piper and Paige had spent the day together. They'd had lunch, which Paige fixed-- "you've done enough work for one day, and even I can't screw up vegetable soup and sandwiches all that badly." Leo orbed into the kitchen. Piper and Paige were watching a documentary featuring dolphins and sharks.
"...but doesn't it sound exciting?"
"Piper, I go out weekly fighting the forces of evil. I don't also need the
stimulation of getting into a tank with animals that consider me their version of potato chips."
"How'd it go?" Piper asked her husband.
"The O'Healys send their regards. I don't think any of them can be spared from El Paso right now, Piper. Siobhan's the elder, and her grandson's wife is expecting their second child. She's having a bad time. He won't leave her, neither will Siobhan or Maeve--that's Siobhan's daughter, and a healer. She--Siobhan-- said once the baby's born and they know both of them are okay, she'll be happy to come, but that's at least three more months. The Baxters..." Leo scowled. "Their Whitelighter could use a lesson in manners."
"What's wrong?"
"It's not important." He shook himself. "Just some people who have been around for a couple centuries and still haven't learned to mind their own business. I spoke with Thomas Baxter. The youngest children-- Poppy and Dylan, they're twins-- are fifteen now. Thomas wants to get them out of New York for a while...seems Poppy does have powers, including telekinesis, and she's having a hard time getting a handle on it. Making it worse is the fact that Karen--Thomas' wife-- is mortal and has no idea he's a witch, much less that their twins are. Their oldest, Jon, apparently hasn't inherited."
"Bring them here," Piper said at once.
"Um. I already did," Leo admitted sheepishly.
Piper glanced around. "Where...?"
The hardcover book Leo was carrying slid out from between his fingers, morphing into a skinny, blond-haired, green-eyed boy.
"Dylan?" Piper guessed.
He nodded, tugging at his jacket. "P-p-pleased to meet you, ma'am. My sister's here, yeah," he added. "She's invisible."
"Pleased to meet you, too. Poppy, we like to be able to see our guests, so if you'd come out for now....."
"I can't!" a girl's voice exploded. She sounded completely out of patience. "DYLAN--"
"I don't know how I did it, Poppy--I'm trying, honest!"
Phoebe, Piper, and Paige gazed at the spot where the voice was coming from. "May you live in interesting times," Piper murmured, and went to get the Book of Shadows.