FOUR

Piper looked at the clock for the hundredth time. There was tension in the Halliwell Manor. Everything was ready. Wyatt was inside the protective shielding that had once held the Source captive. His force shield wasn't up but that would be an automatic reaction when The First arrived.

Phoebe and Paige stood in the living room near Wyatt's playpen. Each held their vial of the explosive potion Piper had brewed. They were ready for any attack that might come. Leo and Chris were also in the living room. Their roles were simple. Leo would provide any healing that might be necessary. Chris was ready to grab Wyatt and orb him away in an instant if things didn't go as planned.

Giles and Willow stood at the top of the stairs waiting. Buffy stood near the front door, Angel close by. Spike was across the foyer standing by the kitchen door. They had no idea how The First would attempt to get to Wyatt. But there was no way to get to him without going past at least one of the defenders.

Piper was so nervous her hands were starting to sweat. She had never been so anxious. She had fought demons before, powerful ones. But this time was different. If they failed, her son would pay the price for that failure. She was prepared to die if need be to stop the evil from taking her son. And she knew that every other person in the manor would also never stop fighting as long as they had breath in them.

She looked at the clock again. 12:03. It seemed as if she had been standing there for hours. It had only been thirteen minutes. Still there was no sign of The First. Piper couldn't understand why it had not come. This was the time when it would be at it's strongest. The time when it was more assured of success than any other time.

12:04. The manor was quiet. Piper could hear her own heartbeat. It seemed to be rapid. Her breathing was in short breaths. And she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. This was different from most of their battles. Usually they were in combat so fast they barely had time to think. This time it seemed they had nothing but time.

12:05. Why wasn't The First here yet? Its power would soon begin to wane. If it didn't attack soon, every minute that went by made it less likely that it would succeed. Piper couldn't believe it had just suddenly decided not to attack. The opportunities like this were so rare it wouldn't waste even a single one. So why wasn't it here all ready?

12:10. Still the defenders waited for the attack. And still no attack came. Midnight had come and gone without so much as a peep from their adversary. Piper looked at the others in the manor. The looks on their faces told her they were thinking the same thing she was. They had miscalculated.

"Well, I'm through waiting," said Piper when the clock struck 12:12. "If it was coming it would have been here by now. We can't stand around here all night waiting for it to show up. We'll just have to refigure this."

"At least Wyatt is safe," said Paige, picking up one of the crystals and deactivating the shield around him. "And he didn't even have to use his force shield. But it doesn't make sense that The First wouldn't attack when it was at it's strongest."

"Whatever happened," said Angel, "there's probably something we missed. Something that would give us a better idea of when it's going to attack."

"You think it's still going to attack?" asked Phoebe, moving up next to Piper. "Maybe it learned we were ready for it and decided not to. From what Chris said, we weren't prepared the first time around. And we all know our actions affect future events. Maybe our being ready has changed things."

"I doubt it," said Chris. "The First wouldn't pass up an opportunity to take on corporeal form. Once in that form it's power would be incredible. And knowing the power that Wyatt has the lure to take over his body would be almost irresistible to it. I think Angel is right. We've overlooked something."

"Well, whatever it is," said Giles, coming down the stairs with Willow, "we've certainly miscalculated. It's all ready 12:15 and still nothing. I'll go through my references again on The First."

"I'll help," said Willow. "I think I was about to fall asleep up there. I never knew how boring it could be to just wait for a fight that never comes."

"We still have grown up Wyatt to worry about," said Spike. "He's celebrating tonight but he could be back here tomorrow. Any ideas what we're going to do about him?"

"I'm still working on that," said Piper. "But maybe this has changed him, too. Maybe because The First didn't get to Wyatt tonight it will change the grown up Wyatt back to what he was supposed to be. We might not have to worry about him at all."

"Not right away," said Chris. "Until Wyatt returns to the future any changes we make here won't affect him."

"My, my, my," said a voice from next to the playpen. "Philosophical discussions at this time? I would have thought you would have been more of a challenge than that."

Everyone turned to see Leo standing next to the playpen. He was leaning on the edge of the playpen smiling at everyone. Except that he was also standing next to Piper. Two Leo Wyatt's in the same room.

"What's going on?" Piper asked.

"It's The First," said Buffy, moving up next to Piper. "I told you it could take the form of anyone who's died."

"Correct," said The First. "And since you have to die to become a White Lighter, hubby qualifies. Oh, but then, you do, too, don't you."

They all watched as the Leo next to the playpen suddenly changed into Piper. They had become so involved in their conversation of what had gone wrong that none of them were standing next to the playpen. Only The First stood next to the playpen ready to possess the small child inside.