Disclaimer: characters off Charmed belong to whoever it is owns that show. Linna, Kyra and Pira are mine (Although I stole Linna's name from Bubblegum Crisis). I'm not sure who's Melinda's is.
Authors note: Sorry, lost interest for a while, not to mention couldn't think of anything to write. Anyway, if anyone is still reviewing, please give me suggestions. I am without the show at the moment, meaning my main source of inspiration is not there. And yes, I know this story is very AU but I started writing it when I thought Piper was pregnant with Melinda, and I had no idea about Wyatt. I can't really change it now.
Oh, and the terrible mutilation of the English language spoken by the little kids is my version of how toddlers speak.
CHAPTER 3 "No!" Melinda Halliwell shouted. "Jo-Jo is my teddy. You can't have him!" Mel's cousin Kyra had, in typical 3- year- old fashion decided she liked a toy and therefore it was now hers. Unfortunately that toy happened to be Melinda's favourite teddy, Jo-Jo.
Melinda suddenly screamed, and let go of the bear. Her mother came running. "Sweetie, what's the matter?" Piper asked worriedly. Her daughter pointed at the wall in front of her.
"Sp-sp-spider!" Melinda cried. She had a huge fear of spiders. Kyra just stood there, clutching Jo-Jo and looking smug. Piper looked at the wall, but there was nothing there.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Piper groaned. Her young niece just couldn't seem to realise that she wasn't allowed to use her powers except with permission.
"Kyra, what's the rule about your powers?" She asked calmly.
"No s'posed to be used for personal gain, and no s'posed to use 'm on my own" the three year old pouted.
Piper smiled at her. "Right Kiddo, so give Melly back her bear, okay?" She stood there until her niece sulkily did so.
"And now" she declared, "I think it's somebody's nap time"
Kyra stuck out her bottom lip in a familiar look. Piper winced. It looked like the house was going to be hit with another tantrum wave. The child's empathy meant that any extreme emotions she had were projected. Tantrums tended to affect the house like a small earthquake.
"Oh fine, take Jo-Jo" Mel said, thrusting the teddy at her cousin. "But you gotta give him back later"
Kyra smiled happily and allowed Piper to carry her upstairs. Once she got her way all was fine.
Piper rolled her eyes. If everyone kept giving into Kyra for fear of her tantrums the child was going to end up extremely spoilt. She was going to have to have a word with Paige about that.
"Thank you sweetie" Piper said to her young daughter when she returned from settling Kyra, "That was very grown up of you"
"She better give him back" Melinda told her mother.
"Don't worry, she will" Piper reassured her.
Just then the front door was pushed open loudly. "We're back" Phoebe called.
"Hi Phoebs" Piper called in return.
Linna, the youngest of the children came toddling in. She held up her arms to her cousin. "Up!" she demanded.
Melinda smiled at her and scooped the two-year-old up. Linna was her favourite cousin. Kyra was annoying and Pira was mean. But her youngest cousin was nice.
Phoebe walked into the room. "Hey Piper, hey Melly" she greeted.
Mel smiled up at her aunt. "Hi aunty Phoebe" she replied.
Phoebe looked quizzically at her sister. "Where's Pira?" she asked.
Piper sighed. "In her room. She was fighting with Mel again," she said. The two cousins had never got along too well. And it had been getting steadily worse as the two of them got older.
Phoebe groaned. "Again? What is the matter with that kid recently? She's so... violent."
"I know!" Mel piped up. "It's 'cause no-one likes her at school. They all laugh at her and say she's weird"
The two women exchanged a look. "Sweetie, why didn't you tell us before?" Piper asked.
"You didn't ask" Mel told her. "Plus, don't like Pira."
"Melinda!" Piper exclaimed. "You shouldn't say thing like that about your cousin"
"It's the truth" Mel shrugged.
The two adults shared another look. The rift between the cousins was getting serious. The power of The Four would not work unless all of them got along. Same as the Power Of Three didn't work well when the sisters weren't getting along.
"You want me to go speak to her?" Phoebe asked. She loved her eldest sisters daughter, like all of them, and she knew what a rift in the family could cause. Until the discovery of the Book, it had meant that she had hardly any contact with her sisters. She didn't want Prue's daughter to have to live with that pain.
"If you don't mind. Otherwise Leo can talk with her when he gets back" Piper said gratefully.
Phoebe walked upstairs to Pira's room. "Hey Pira" she greeted.
The door swung shut in her face. Obviously the kid didn't want to talk.
"Pira, don't use your powers unless it's necessary" Phoebe called through the door.
"Was necessary," the voice answered her.
"Pira, open the door"
"Nope. Don't wanna talk to no-one"
At that moment Leo orbed in. He put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder and she jumped in shock.
"Leo, don't sneak up on me like that" she said, sighing in relief that it wasn't some demon attacking.
"Sorry Phoebs" Leo said, laughing at her.
He turned to the door. "Hey Pira, you said you didn't want to talk to no-one, didn't you?" he asked.
"Uh-huh" came Pira's voice, sounding a little wary. She knew her Uncle Leo well enough to know that he had a follow up to his comment.
"Well, that means you do want to talk to someone kid, so open the door" Leo told her. "By hand" he added quickly.
The door soon opened and Pira popped her head out, looking sulky. "You tricked me" she accused her uncle.
"Yep, but it worked, didn't it?" Leo grinned at her.
She scowled at him, but it lacked any venom. Pira never could stay mad at Leo for very long.
Phoebe smiled. The interaction between the two was quite sweet. Ever since she had been a baby Leo had had the closest bond with Leo. Perhaps she remembered on some level his being the one who had brought her here. Perhaps she thought of him as a sort of substitute father.
"I'll leave you two alone," Phoebe said, taking her leave. She thought it was best to let Leo handle this.
"Okay Pira, what's been going on?" Leo asked, walking into her room and sitting on the bed. "You should tell us if something's happening to you at school."
Pira scowled again. "Melinda told that people have been mean, didn't she?" she demanded. "She said she wouldn't"
Leo smiled gently. "Your cousin was right to tell us you were being picked on," he told Pira. "I just wish you'd told us yourself"
He was worried about his niece. It had to be hard on the kid, growing up without her parents, but still seeing her mother once a year. She couldn't completely adjust to life without parents because of that.
But to take that visit away from Prue, it would kill her, metaphorically speaking. Leo had spoken to her and he knew how much she cherished those visits, she looked forward to seeing her daughter in real.
Prue always watched down on Pira, as did Andy, but it wasn't the same. He couldn't bring himself to request that the yearly visits stop, to allow Pira to cope with life as a normal child who has been orphaned.
"They say I'm weird cause I don't have parents," Pira blurted. "They say that it's not normal living in the same place as your cousin. They pick on Mel sometimes too, cause she's my cousin"
Leo's heart went out to the child. She was obviously miserable at being branded weird.
"Is that why you and Mel have been fighting so much lately?" he asked.
Pira nodded. "Yep" she said. "She says that it's all my fault that people don't like her, then I say it's not my fault that mommy and daddy are dead. Then she starts crying and says I'm mean."
Leo looked up in amazement. "What?! You mean you haven't been doing anything to make your cousin cry? She just gets upset because the kids don't always be nice?"
Pira nodded again. "Uh-huh" she said. "Then someone comes running and sends me up here 'cause I made Mel cry. But it's not my fault. And it's not fair." She started to sob a little.
"Nobody here likes me but you, uncle Leo" she said, a little tearfully.
"Hey, sweetie, that's not true" Leo said, gathering the child in his arms. "All your aunts and your cousins love you just as much as I do, you know that."
"Then why they always telling me off?" Pira asked plaintively. "Half the time I haven't done nothing."
"Anything, you mean" Leo corrected. "Remember how I tricked you earlier because you used the wrong word?"
She grinned at him, the tears banished for now, "Okay, half the time I haven't done ANYTHING. Happy now?"
Leo smiled at her. "Always. Just as long as you are," he told her.
Authors note: I do mean to build the bond between Leo and Pira up. Just because he has a strong bond with his niece doesn't mean that he doesn't have one with his daughter. And the unfriendliness between Pira and Mel is purposeful as well. Both of these will be important later on, when the true plot develops.
Authors note: Sorry, lost interest for a while, not to mention couldn't think of anything to write. Anyway, if anyone is still reviewing, please give me suggestions. I am without the show at the moment, meaning my main source of inspiration is not there. And yes, I know this story is very AU but I started writing it when I thought Piper was pregnant with Melinda, and I had no idea about Wyatt. I can't really change it now.
Oh, and the terrible mutilation of the English language spoken by the little kids is my version of how toddlers speak.
CHAPTER 3 "No!" Melinda Halliwell shouted. "Jo-Jo is my teddy. You can't have him!" Mel's cousin Kyra had, in typical 3- year- old fashion decided she liked a toy and therefore it was now hers. Unfortunately that toy happened to be Melinda's favourite teddy, Jo-Jo.
Melinda suddenly screamed, and let go of the bear. Her mother came running. "Sweetie, what's the matter?" Piper asked worriedly. Her daughter pointed at the wall in front of her.
"Sp-sp-spider!" Melinda cried. She had a huge fear of spiders. Kyra just stood there, clutching Jo-Jo and looking smug. Piper looked at the wall, but there was nothing there.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Piper groaned. Her young niece just couldn't seem to realise that she wasn't allowed to use her powers except with permission.
"Kyra, what's the rule about your powers?" She asked calmly.
"No s'posed to be used for personal gain, and no s'posed to use 'm on my own" the three year old pouted.
Piper smiled at her. "Right Kiddo, so give Melly back her bear, okay?" She stood there until her niece sulkily did so.
"And now" she declared, "I think it's somebody's nap time"
Kyra stuck out her bottom lip in a familiar look. Piper winced. It looked like the house was going to be hit with another tantrum wave. The child's empathy meant that any extreme emotions she had were projected. Tantrums tended to affect the house like a small earthquake.
"Oh fine, take Jo-Jo" Mel said, thrusting the teddy at her cousin. "But you gotta give him back later"
Kyra smiled happily and allowed Piper to carry her upstairs. Once she got her way all was fine.
Piper rolled her eyes. If everyone kept giving into Kyra for fear of her tantrums the child was going to end up extremely spoilt. She was going to have to have a word with Paige about that.
"Thank you sweetie" Piper said to her young daughter when she returned from settling Kyra, "That was very grown up of you"
"She better give him back" Melinda told her mother.
"Don't worry, she will" Piper reassured her.
Just then the front door was pushed open loudly. "We're back" Phoebe called.
"Hi Phoebs" Piper called in return.
Linna, the youngest of the children came toddling in. She held up her arms to her cousin. "Up!" she demanded.
Melinda smiled at her and scooped the two-year-old up. Linna was her favourite cousin. Kyra was annoying and Pira was mean. But her youngest cousin was nice.
Phoebe walked into the room. "Hey Piper, hey Melly" she greeted.
Mel smiled up at her aunt. "Hi aunty Phoebe" she replied.
Phoebe looked quizzically at her sister. "Where's Pira?" she asked.
Piper sighed. "In her room. She was fighting with Mel again," she said. The two cousins had never got along too well. And it had been getting steadily worse as the two of them got older.
Phoebe groaned. "Again? What is the matter with that kid recently? She's so... violent."
"I know!" Mel piped up. "It's 'cause no-one likes her at school. They all laugh at her and say she's weird"
The two women exchanged a look. "Sweetie, why didn't you tell us before?" Piper asked.
"You didn't ask" Mel told her. "Plus, don't like Pira."
"Melinda!" Piper exclaimed. "You shouldn't say thing like that about your cousin"
"It's the truth" Mel shrugged.
The two adults shared another look. The rift between the cousins was getting serious. The power of The Four would not work unless all of them got along. Same as the Power Of Three didn't work well when the sisters weren't getting along.
"You want me to go speak to her?" Phoebe asked. She loved her eldest sisters daughter, like all of them, and she knew what a rift in the family could cause. Until the discovery of the Book, it had meant that she had hardly any contact with her sisters. She didn't want Prue's daughter to have to live with that pain.
"If you don't mind. Otherwise Leo can talk with her when he gets back" Piper said gratefully.
Phoebe walked upstairs to Pira's room. "Hey Pira" she greeted.
The door swung shut in her face. Obviously the kid didn't want to talk.
"Pira, don't use your powers unless it's necessary" Phoebe called through the door.
"Was necessary," the voice answered her.
"Pira, open the door"
"Nope. Don't wanna talk to no-one"
At that moment Leo orbed in. He put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder and she jumped in shock.
"Leo, don't sneak up on me like that" she said, sighing in relief that it wasn't some demon attacking.
"Sorry Phoebs" Leo said, laughing at her.
He turned to the door. "Hey Pira, you said you didn't want to talk to no-one, didn't you?" he asked.
"Uh-huh" came Pira's voice, sounding a little wary. She knew her Uncle Leo well enough to know that he had a follow up to his comment.
"Well, that means you do want to talk to someone kid, so open the door" Leo told her. "By hand" he added quickly.
The door soon opened and Pira popped her head out, looking sulky. "You tricked me" she accused her uncle.
"Yep, but it worked, didn't it?" Leo grinned at her.
She scowled at him, but it lacked any venom. Pira never could stay mad at Leo for very long.
Phoebe smiled. The interaction between the two was quite sweet. Ever since she had been a baby Leo had had the closest bond with Leo. Perhaps she remembered on some level his being the one who had brought her here. Perhaps she thought of him as a sort of substitute father.
"I'll leave you two alone," Phoebe said, taking her leave. She thought it was best to let Leo handle this.
"Okay Pira, what's been going on?" Leo asked, walking into her room and sitting on the bed. "You should tell us if something's happening to you at school."
Pira scowled again. "Melinda told that people have been mean, didn't she?" she demanded. "She said she wouldn't"
Leo smiled gently. "Your cousin was right to tell us you were being picked on," he told Pira. "I just wish you'd told us yourself"
He was worried about his niece. It had to be hard on the kid, growing up without her parents, but still seeing her mother once a year. She couldn't completely adjust to life without parents because of that.
But to take that visit away from Prue, it would kill her, metaphorically speaking. Leo had spoken to her and he knew how much she cherished those visits, she looked forward to seeing her daughter in real.
Prue always watched down on Pira, as did Andy, but it wasn't the same. He couldn't bring himself to request that the yearly visits stop, to allow Pira to cope with life as a normal child who has been orphaned.
"They say I'm weird cause I don't have parents," Pira blurted. "They say that it's not normal living in the same place as your cousin. They pick on Mel sometimes too, cause she's my cousin"
Leo's heart went out to the child. She was obviously miserable at being branded weird.
"Is that why you and Mel have been fighting so much lately?" he asked.
Pira nodded. "Yep" she said. "She says that it's all my fault that people don't like her, then I say it's not my fault that mommy and daddy are dead. Then she starts crying and says I'm mean."
Leo looked up in amazement. "What?! You mean you haven't been doing anything to make your cousin cry? She just gets upset because the kids don't always be nice?"
Pira nodded again. "Uh-huh" she said. "Then someone comes running and sends me up here 'cause I made Mel cry. But it's not my fault. And it's not fair." She started to sob a little.
"Nobody here likes me but you, uncle Leo" she said, a little tearfully.
"Hey, sweetie, that's not true" Leo said, gathering the child in his arms. "All your aunts and your cousins love you just as much as I do, you know that."
"Then why they always telling me off?" Pira asked plaintively. "Half the time I haven't done nothing."
"Anything, you mean" Leo corrected. "Remember how I tricked you earlier because you used the wrong word?"
She grinned at him, the tears banished for now, "Okay, half the time I haven't done ANYTHING. Happy now?"
Leo smiled at her. "Always. Just as long as you are," he told her.
Authors note: I do mean to build the bond between Leo and Pira up. Just because he has a strong bond with his niece doesn't mean that he doesn't have one with his daughter. And the unfriendliness between Pira and Mel is purposeful as well. Both of these will be important later on, when the true plot develops.