A/N: Thank you everyone,
for your reviews. Keep them coming please... They're what encouraged me to
write another chapter so quickly. I hope you like it!
I'd especially like to thank Rose Madder and Pipper43 for bothering to sign in to
review, and for their kind comments. Rose, I hope this answers at least one of
your questions.
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Chapter 2: Reunion
While the Source was ranting and raving in the Underworld about his daughter's
apparent disappearance from his realm, a beautiful young woman flamed just a
few meters away from the Haliwell manor.
She appeared to be no more than sixteen and she carried a backpack. The girl
stood in front of the manor for a while, looking at the old house
apprehensively.
A
myriad of emotions flashed across her face. Fear, pain and hope, were but a few
of them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. When
she opened them again, all one could see in their unfathomable depths was pure
determination, and the infamous Haliwell stubbornness.
Slowly and purposefully she walked up the steps to the front door. With a hand
that shook slightly, she rang the doorbell and stood perfectly still, her fists
clenched, nervously waiting to see what the fates had in store for her.
.
Meanwhile, inside the manor, the Haliwells and Leo were gathered in the kitchen
around the breakfast-laden table.
"'Morning people!" yelled Phoebe above the noise as she breezed into
the busy room.
A chorus of 'good mornings' was heard as Phoebe sat herself down on one of the
many chairs around the table.
"I'm off to work..." said Paige pushing her chair away from the
table.
"Have a good one, sweetie!" wished Piper over a cup of steaming tea,
even as the youngest Charmed One was still gathering her things together. Paige
left the kitchen with a piece of toast still in her hand, waving it around in a
cheerful goodbye.
"And how's my favourite nephew doing these
days?" Phoebe asked Wyatt as she leaned across the table for a piece of
toast of her own.
"Aunt Phoebe, I'm your only nephew!" a 15-year-old Wyatt said,
rolling his eyes at his aunt.
"Okay, so how's my only nephew
doing, then?" she corrected herself laughingly. "I hear your first
football game's coming up and that you're putting loads of extra practice time
for it."
"Well, I am quarterback, aunt Phoebe," he replied bursting with pride, unable to
resist the wide grin that suddenly split his face in two.
It
was the beginning of the school year and football tryouts were held only a week
ago. Wyatt had been ecstatic to learn that he had managed to beat many other
boys older than him to secure the much coveted position of quarterback on the
school football team.
"You'll do great, I'm sure," offered Phoebe in turn.
"Of course he will," agreed Leo with a smug smile that burst with
fatherly pride, "he's his father's son!"
"Mine too, last time I checked," added Piper, an amused expression on
her face.
There was nothing unusual about this morning. And that's the way the Haliwells
liked it! As the most powerful witches in the world, they had enough excitement
in their lives to be pleased by the simple, mundane things in life.
But
sometimes life has a funny way of turning and twisting to bring you face to
face with things you could have never imagined.
The
doorbell rang.
Strangely enough there was no ominous sound to it. No haunting echo. It was the
same bell that had always sounded at the Haliwell manor. But on this day, the
ringing of the manor's bell signaled the end of an era for the Haliwells, and
the beginning of another. Their lives were about to be changed forever...
"I'll get it!" yelled Paige in the living room, who had finally
managed to locate her keys between the couch cushions, and who was already on
her way out.
The door opened to reveal a slender young woman with brown eyes and cinnamon
hair. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a red shirt and carried a
backpack. The girl stood still and simply stared at Paige. For a while she
seemed to be at a loss of what to say.
She
nervously passed her hand through her hair and bit her lip before she managed
to say, "Good morning. Is Ms Phoebe Haliwell here, please?"
"Yes she is, come in."
Paige took one look at the girl before her and decided to stay and find out
what she wanted before leaving for work. Her curiosity was piqued.
"Phoebe!!!" she yelled, "there's someone here to see you!"
Phoebe entered the living room followed by the rest of the Haliwell household.
Piper was on her way to take Wyatt to school and Leo wanted to say goodbye
before orbing back to "Elderland" as Piper and her sisters called it.
Being
an Elder was demanding, and hardly a 9 to 5 job, but Leo tried to
spend as much time as possible with his family. It was the least he could do
after the Chris fiasco.
The girl's eyes focused on a second pair of eyes as big and as intense as her
own.
"Hi, I'm Phoebe, how can I help you?"
Phoebe was puzzled by the girl that stood stiffly before her. There was
something very familiar about her, yet she was sure she had never seen her
before in her life.
The girl stood frozen, her eyes fixed on the mother she had never known.
"I'm Talia," she managed, "I'm your daughter."