CHILD OF THE WHITELIGHTER
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Charmed characters, although it would be nice to own Leo. (wink wink) The characters Caiti, her friends, and her mother Jeanne are my own creation; please don't use them without asking me first.
A/N: This chapter is rated PG for language.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"What is it Leo?" Piper asked. "You don't have to go back up do you?"
"No, it's not that. But it's something you need to know, that you need to hear from me and me only."
"Ok," said Piper slowly and a bit worriedly. "What is it? What is it that you have to tell me that no one else can?"
"You have to promise me that no matter what I tell you, you won't be mad, and that you'll remember that it was before I knew you."
"Whatever it is Leo, I'm sure I won't get pissed off."
"Well, the thing is-" But before he could say anything, he noticed a familiar figure sitting with Phoebe. "Cole? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Came back to see Caiti sing, and to see Phoebe. Caiti and her friends put a protection spell on me that only works if I'm good. If I go bad, the spell goes kaput and so do I, in a big way. And judging by the fact that I'm still here, I guess it's safe to say that I've changed."
"OK, screw the updates, what were you gonna tell Piper?" Phoebe asked. Paige just looked at Leo, knowing full well what he was going to tell Piper. "Let him talk Phoebe," Paige said calmly. "I think it's something she needs to know now. Right Leo?"
"Right," Leo agreed. "Piper, I'm going to tell you something that you will probably not believe, but you'll have to trust me on it. OK?" Piper nodded, and Leo continued. "Right after your mother was killed and Paige's father disappeared, I went to the elders and asked for reassignment, seeing as you were safe with Grams. The elders got angry with me, and they clipped my wings. After they clipped my wings, I went to Connecticut where I met and fell in love with a young woman named Jeanne, Jeanne Dorian." Leo paused, and Piper and Phoebe gasped with realization. "Jeanne was married at the time, and I was working as a handyman at their house. The last day I worked there, Jeanne was home alone, and I had just finished setting a door on its hinges. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, if I was thinking at all, but I kissed her. Naturally, she slapped me hard on the face. But then, she kissed me, and the next thing I knew, well.....you get the idea. Afterwards, I kissed her goodbye and left the house. As soon as I left the house, I felt a burst of energy course through me, and I realized that I had been given my powers back, and that I didn't know what I was doing outside the house. I orbed back to San Francisco, and that's how it happened. Apparently, Jeanne and her husband announced her pregnancy a few months later, and Caiti must have been born later that year. Piper, I swear to God that I never remembered a thing after that, and that I never had any feelings for Jeanne. And that's the God-honest truth."
Suddenly, Leo felt a slap come to him from the left side of his face. As he rubbed his face with his hand, he saw Caiti looking at him with a kind of god-awful look of rage and pain on her face. "You bastard!" Caiti screamed. Finally regaining her thoughts, Piper froze the club so that no one would notice the argument. "You bastard son of a bitch!" Caiti screamed again, and tried to slap him again, but this time Piper and Phoebe, who grabbed her arms to hold her back, hindered her efforts. "Caiti, calm down!" Piper said. "I won't calm down!" Caiti screamed. "How dare you!" she said, pointing at Leo angrily. "How dare you stand here and say that you never felt anything for my mother! You used her! You freaking used her! You don't care about her, and you damn sure don't care about me!" With that Caiti broke free from Piper and Phoebe's grasp and ran up the stairs and out the club doors. "I'll go talk to her," said Cole, and he ran out of the club after her. Leo watched Cole run after Caiti and sat down, feeling more horrible than he had ever felt before. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, it had begun to rain. Caiti ran out of the doors of P3, sat down on the curb, and began to cry. "Why did I trust him?" Caiti said out loud. "Why did I think that he'd give a damn about me now, after all these years? I'm so stupid." "You're not stupid," said a voice from behind her. Caiti turned around and saw Cole standing behind her. "Can I have a seat here?" he asked. "Sure, why not," Caiti said, wiping a tear away with her sleeve. "I know what you're thinking right now, but I can tell you, it's not true," Cole said. "Leo does give a damn about you, and if you had seen his face after you ran out like that, it would have been obvious." Caiti looked at Cole with shock written on her face. "He cares? But what about- " "Piper?" Cole said. "She cares too. She was telling Leo how she didn't care about his past, but that he said what he said about your mom the wrong way." "Yeah, he did say it the wrong way," said Caiti. "And I'm sorry it sounded like I never gave a damn about you or your mom," said Leo, who had orbed in behind them. He whispered something to Cole, and Cole went back inside. Leo sat down next to Caiti on the sidewalk, now wet from the rain. "But you have to believe me when I say that I do care about you," he said, brushing a tear off of Caiti's face. "And I want to be a part of your life, if you'll let me." "And me too," said Piper. "And me," said Paige. "And me," said Phoebe. "Me too," said Chris. "Where did you guys come from?" asked Caiti. "We came outside when Cole came back in," said Piper, who then sat down on Caiti's other side. "I want you to be a part of the family. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not shocked, but I understand what you're feeling, and what happened with your mom and Leo. Would you be willing to forgive your father if it meant being a part of the family?" Caiti nodded, and suddenly, in a flash of white and blue orbs, her mother appeared in front of them all. "Mom, what are you doing here?" Caiti asked. "I thought you weren't feeling well." "I had to come after you found out the truth. Now that Piper and the others have accepted you as part of the family, you have a choice to make. Your father is needed up in Heaven, seeing as he's an elder and they need his help, meaning that he'd have to leave Piper, Wyatt, and you behind. Since you've been accepted, I'm not needed here anymore. Do you know what you have to do Caiti?" "I have to choose between you or Dad, don't I?" "No, you have to choose between wrong and right, what you believe in your heart is the right thing to do." "If you go away, will I be able to see you again?" Caiti asked. Jeanne smiled sadly at her daughter and reached out to touch her face. "No," Caiti whispered. "No. You can't mean it, you can't. It's not possible. I need you." "No, Caiti, you don't. Not anymore. You have a family now, and I'm not needed. Now it's time to make your decision. I know this is hard baby, but you have to do it." Caiti looked at her mother with tears in her eyes. She knew what she had to do. "I was lucky enough to have you for 18 years of my life. Wyatt has never had that long of a time with both of his parents. I want to give him a chance to have what I had: a real family, with a mom and a dad. I don't want to do this, but I know it's the right thing. I know it's what you'd want me to do. So I'm giving you up, Mom, because if I don't, I'll be begrudging my baby half-brother something that he hasn't had yet, and that's not right." Jeanne looked at her daughter and said, "I knew you'd do the right thing. It's almost time for me to go, baby girl, so give me a hug." Tears began to fall down Caiti's face as she hugged her mother one last time. "Be the strong girl I know you can be baby. Don't forget how much I love you, and be good for your father and Piper." Jeanne smiled at her daughter for the last time, and as she smiled, white and blue orbs surrounded her. As she began to disappear, Caiti screamed, "Mom, don't leave me!" over and over again. Finally, Jeanne was gone, and Caiti broke down completely into tears. Caiti began to crumple to the ground, and as she fell, Leo caught hold of her, and when they reached the pavement, he held his daughter while she cried until she could cry no more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Heaven, Jeanne could see her daughter on the pavement, in her father's arms, crying in the rain for her. A lone tear ran down her cheek, and she turned away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't worry Caiti," Leo said as he held the crying girl in his arms. "Piper and I will take good care of you, we promise. Do you want to go back inside to get warm?" Caiti nodded and stood up. Leo put his arm around her shoulder, and walked her back into the club, the rest of the group following behind them.
(sniff sniff) that was so beautiful! so, the next question is, will Chris and Caiti get together? you'll have to wait till next chapter to find out!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Charmed characters, although it would be nice to own Leo. (wink wink) The characters Caiti, her friends, and her mother Jeanne are my own creation; please don't use them without asking me first.
A/N: This chapter is rated PG for language.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"What is it Leo?" Piper asked. "You don't have to go back up do you?"
"No, it's not that. But it's something you need to know, that you need to hear from me and me only."
"Ok," said Piper slowly and a bit worriedly. "What is it? What is it that you have to tell me that no one else can?"
"You have to promise me that no matter what I tell you, you won't be mad, and that you'll remember that it was before I knew you."
"Whatever it is Leo, I'm sure I won't get pissed off."
"Well, the thing is-" But before he could say anything, he noticed a familiar figure sitting with Phoebe. "Cole? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Came back to see Caiti sing, and to see Phoebe. Caiti and her friends put a protection spell on me that only works if I'm good. If I go bad, the spell goes kaput and so do I, in a big way. And judging by the fact that I'm still here, I guess it's safe to say that I've changed."
"OK, screw the updates, what were you gonna tell Piper?" Phoebe asked. Paige just looked at Leo, knowing full well what he was going to tell Piper. "Let him talk Phoebe," Paige said calmly. "I think it's something she needs to know now. Right Leo?"
"Right," Leo agreed. "Piper, I'm going to tell you something that you will probably not believe, but you'll have to trust me on it. OK?" Piper nodded, and Leo continued. "Right after your mother was killed and Paige's father disappeared, I went to the elders and asked for reassignment, seeing as you were safe with Grams. The elders got angry with me, and they clipped my wings. After they clipped my wings, I went to Connecticut where I met and fell in love with a young woman named Jeanne, Jeanne Dorian." Leo paused, and Piper and Phoebe gasped with realization. "Jeanne was married at the time, and I was working as a handyman at their house. The last day I worked there, Jeanne was home alone, and I had just finished setting a door on its hinges. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, if I was thinking at all, but I kissed her. Naturally, she slapped me hard on the face. But then, she kissed me, and the next thing I knew, well.....you get the idea. Afterwards, I kissed her goodbye and left the house. As soon as I left the house, I felt a burst of energy course through me, and I realized that I had been given my powers back, and that I didn't know what I was doing outside the house. I orbed back to San Francisco, and that's how it happened. Apparently, Jeanne and her husband announced her pregnancy a few months later, and Caiti must have been born later that year. Piper, I swear to God that I never remembered a thing after that, and that I never had any feelings for Jeanne. And that's the God-honest truth."
Suddenly, Leo felt a slap come to him from the left side of his face. As he rubbed his face with his hand, he saw Caiti looking at him with a kind of god-awful look of rage and pain on her face. "You bastard!" Caiti screamed. Finally regaining her thoughts, Piper froze the club so that no one would notice the argument. "You bastard son of a bitch!" Caiti screamed again, and tried to slap him again, but this time Piper and Phoebe, who grabbed her arms to hold her back, hindered her efforts. "Caiti, calm down!" Piper said. "I won't calm down!" Caiti screamed. "How dare you!" she said, pointing at Leo angrily. "How dare you stand here and say that you never felt anything for my mother! You used her! You freaking used her! You don't care about her, and you damn sure don't care about me!" With that Caiti broke free from Piper and Phoebe's grasp and ran up the stairs and out the club doors. "I'll go talk to her," said Cole, and he ran out of the club after her. Leo watched Cole run after Caiti and sat down, feeling more horrible than he had ever felt before. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, it had begun to rain. Caiti ran out of the doors of P3, sat down on the curb, and began to cry. "Why did I trust him?" Caiti said out loud. "Why did I think that he'd give a damn about me now, after all these years? I'm so stupid." "You're not stupid," said a voice from behind her. Caiti turned around and saw Cole standing behind her. "Can I have a seat here?" he asked. "Sure, why not," Caiti said, wiping a tear away with her sleeve. "I know what you're thinking right now, but I can tell you, it's not true," Cole said. "Leo does give a damn about you, and if you had seen his face after you ran out like that, it would have been obvious." Caiti looked at Cole with shock written on her face. "He cares? But what about- " "Piper?" Cole said. "She cares too. She was telling Leo how she didn't care about his past, but that he said what he said about your mom the wrong way." "Yeah, he did say it the wrong way," said Caiti. "And I'm sorry it sounded like I never gave a damn about you or your mom," said Leo, who had orbed in behind them. He whispered something to Cole, and Cole went back inside. Leo sat down next to Caiti on the sidewalk, now wet from the rain. "But you have to believe me when I say that I do care about you," he said, brushing a tear off of Caiti's face. "And I want to be a part of your life, if you'll let me." "And me too," said Piper. "And me," said Paige. "And me," said Phoebe. "Me too," said Chris. "Where did you guys come from?" asked Caiti. "We came outside when Cole came back in," said Piper, who then sat down on Caiti's other side. "I want you to be a part of the family. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not shocked, but I understand what you're feeling, and what happened with your mom and Leo. Would you be willing to forgive your father if it meant being a part of the family?" Caiti nodded, and suddenly, in a flash of white and blue orbs, her mother appeared in front of them all. "Mom, what are you doing here?" Caiti asked. "I thought you weren't feeling well." "I had to come after you found out the truth. Now that Piper and the others have accepted you as part of the family, you have a choice to make. Your father is needed up in Heaven, seeing as he's an elder and they need his help, meaning that he'd have to leave Piper, Wyatt, and you behind. Since you've been accepted, I'm not needed here anymore. Do you know what you have to do Caiti?" "I have to choose between you or Dad, don't I?" "No, you have to choose between wrong and right, what you believe in your heart is the right thing to do." "If you go away, will I be able to see you again?" Caiti asked. Jeanne smiled sadly at her daughter and reached out to touch her face. "No," Caiti whispered. "No. You can't mean it, you can't. It's not possible. I need you." "No, Caiti, you don't. Not anymore. You have a family now, and I'm not needed. Now it's time to make your decision. I know this is hard baby, but you have to do it." Caiti looked at her mother with tears in her eyes. She knew what she had to do. "I was lucky enough to have you for 18 years of my life. Wyatt has never had that long of a time with both of his parents. I want to give him a chance to have what I had: a real family, with a mom and a dad. I don't want to do this, but I know it's the right thing. I know it's what you'd want me to do. So I'm giving you up, Mom, because if I don't, I'll be begrudging my baby half-brother something that he hasn't had yet, and that's not right." Jeanne looked at her daughter and said, "I knew you'd do the right thing. It's almost time for me to go, baby girl, so give me a hug." Tears began to fall down Caiti's face as she hugged her mother one last time. "Be the strong girl I know you can be baby. Don't forget how much I love you, and be good for your father and Piper." Jeanne smiled at her daughter for the last time, and as she smiled, white and blue orbs surrounded her. As she began to disappear, Caiti screamed, "Mom, don't leave me!" over and over again. Finally, Jeanne was gone, and Caiti broke down completely into tears. Caiti began to crumple to the ground, and as she fell, Leo caught hold of her, and when they reached the pavement, he held his daughter while she cried until she could cry no more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Heaven, Jeanne could see her daughter on the pavement, in her father's arms, crying in the rain for her. A lone tear ran down her cheek, and she turned away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't worry Caiti," Leo said as he held the crying girl in his arms. "Piper and I will take good care of you, we promise. Do you want to go back inside to get warm?" Caiti nodded and stood up. Leo put his arm around her shoulder, and walked her back into the club, the rest of the group following behind them.
(sniff sniff) that was so beautiful! so, the next question is, will Chris and Caiti get together? you'll have to wait till next chapter to find out!