Thanks for the kind reviews! Here comes the second chapter...


II. Time for school


Leo was the first to get up that morning. In fact, one might say that he hadn't slept at all; he had kept twisting around, trying to avoid the thought of what might happen if... As the first rays of sunshine entered their room, he tried to get out of bed, and woke up Piper in the process.

"Good morning honey..." said Piper sleepily. "What time is it?"

"It's 5:30 baby... Go back to sleep..."

"And what are you doing up at 5:30 in the morning?"

"Charges, you know..." he tried to lie. What could he say, that he was scared to death at the thought of his son going to kindergarten?

Piper saw through this, though. "And why aren't you orbing straight out?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. After all, she knew the state Leo was in; his twisting around had kept her from sleeping as well.

Leo smiled sheepishly. "I love you, baby" he said and kissed her.

"And, you are still terrified at the thought of Wyatt going to kindergarten. Honey, we have been over this so many times... and we have talked to him at least six times. He is a smart and responsible kid; he will not expose himself. There is no reason be afraid."

"You tell that to him," said Leo, as he saw Wyatt who entered their room and hurried into their bed, between his parents.

"Wyatt, darling, what are you doing up so early in the morning?" asked Piper.

"Mommy, I don't want to go to school..."

"Baby, it is going to be very nice, you will meet other kids, make friends... And you will have a wonderful teacher, Mrs Smith, who will take very good care of all of you."

"Will you be there too, mommy?"

"I will bring you there, but no, moms don't stay at school, baby. But you will have such a good time that you will not know I am gone, and then auntie Paige is going to pick you up in the afternoon..."

"I don't want to go without you..."

"You will like it honey, I promise..." Piper said, as she rocked her son back to sleep.

"Well, I guess that gives our son the first important lesson of his school life" said Leo.

"And that would be?"

"There's no use arguing with moms..."

"You keep that in mind..." she said, as she gave him a sweet smile.


Later that same morning, Piper and Wyatt arrived at Woods. Even though she tried to hide it, Piper was anxious how Wyatt was going to react. To her relief, he seemed so enthusiastic when he saw the other children, he pulled his hand from hers trying to run away from her, to them.

"Just wait a bit, baby" she said. "First we are going to meet your teacher." She looked around, and after a few moments she saw Mrs Smith standing at the entrance of the building.

"Good morning Mrs Smith; this is Wyatt Matthew Halliwell."

"Hello Mrs Halliwell. Good morning Wyatt; nice to meet you." She said, as she lowered to his level to offer him a handshake. "I am Mrs Smith; I am going to be your teacher for this year."

"Good morning Mrs Smith" said a rather shy Wyatt.

"Why don't you take him over there with the other children, Mrs Halliwell?"

"Sure Mrs Smith, thank you," said Piper. They approached the group of playing children, and again Wyatt tried to hurry to them.

"So, I'll leave you here to play, Wyatt. Auntie Paige is going to pick you up at 4 in the afternoon. Just remember, be a good kid, be careful..." she lowered to him... "and no magic" she whispered in his ear.

"I love you, mommy" said Wyatt.

"I love you too, baby" said a rather worried Piper. She knew that Leo had just cause to worry. But, seeing a happy Wyatt joining the rest of the playing children she felt that it was worth the risk. She only wanted her son to have a normal childhood.

When leaving, she she took a look at other parents bringing children to the kindergarten. She remembered Leo's words "his schoolmates will be spoiled rich kids..." She caught a glimpse of two beautiful young women, both looking around thirty, both accompanying their five-year olds. The taller one, a dark-haired boy with green eyes, gained Piper's attention at once: he seemed to have the confidence of Denis the menace. The other one was a rather shy little girl, that looked up to the boy with enthusiasm.

Piper looked at the woman that was accompanying the boy, as she kissed the little one goodbye: "Now, Ben, be a good boy..." and then she whispered something in his ear. Piper smiled at the sight. The two women watched Ben and the little girl joining their classmates, and then headed towards Piper.

"First time for you too..." said Piper.

"Yes... and he can be trouble," smiled the woman that was accompanying them. "I can only pray that the school is still in place when I come to pick him up. How about yours?"

"Oh, Wyatt is a relatively quiet kid... but you know, at this age they can all be trouble. By the way, I am Piper Halliwell."

"Daniella, Daniella Parker," said the young woman. Piper got a more careful look at her: a dark-haired, rather tall young woman with green eyes, wearing something that could be a designer suit – it certainly looked expensive. Rather friendly, yet still distant. Piper shook off the thought – her many years of experience in witchcraft had made her constantly suspicious, even where she obviously didn't need to be. "Nice to meet you, Piper."

"And I am Alice Jones", said the blond woman with the girl. Piper couldn't help thinking that she was impressive; she had a wonderful face, that was complimented by two large brown eyes. If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, thought Piper, then she has a very good heart. "I am Kate's mother."

"Nice to meet you," said Piper. It was indeed nice to meet someone outside the magical circles. It had been so long... and she wanted so badly to have a life outside the magical world.

"So, I'll see you around, I guess..." said Daniella. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you, you too," said Piper, as she took one last look at the women. She couldn't help thinking that Daniella seemed familiar, but then, she smiled at her own stupidity. With all those people she met every night at P3, the odds were that she had met her or someone else who looked like her... And, could possibly Wyatt's school life offer her as well a glimpse of normal life? Just meet and talk to some normal people?

Piper tried to shook off that thought. So many years of living as a witch, and, deep inside, she still wished for a normal life. A life she knew she would never have. But, even the illusion of it was so tempting...