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. I also would like to add that I do not own the song "There You'll Be", Faith Hill and Diane Warren own the song.
A/N: This chapter is rated PG for language. Review Replies:
cricketlover- yes, I do update fast, don't I? and it has kept me up till 2 in the morning eastern time for the last 3 days, but i can't disappoint the readers. i'm glad you like how i fixed the whole elder thing. took me a while to figure out what i was going to do, but i did it! be sure to keep reading! it will definitely get more interesting, especially now that Caiti's part of the family.
Katriona- i'll try double spacing, but i don't know if it will make any difference. i honestly have been trying to make it easier to read, but i guess that fanfiction.net changes it when i upload it, because when i type it, it's got the spacing. it's the damndest thing, isn't it? anyways, i apologize in advance if it doesn't have the spacing up this time.
LOTRgurl- thank you! glad you still enjoy the story. not bad for something I came up with in the space of 30 minutes one night before bed, huh? and don't worry, it will get more interesting.
dream clouds- thank you, and i will keep writing. it's fun making these characters do what i want, since i don't own Charmed and never will, especially bringing back Cole, who i can't believe what the writers of the show got rid of!
CHAPTER NINE
The walk back inside the club seemed like it took hours to Caiti, when really it took only a few minutes. She was dazed, and it showed. "I'll never see her again," Caiti thought. "I know I did the right thing, but at what price?" When they reached their booth, they found the band members waiting for them. Janna and Serena stood up and hugged Caiti saying, "You did the right thing, you did the right thing." over and over again, trying to comfort their friend. Mike and Jacob patted her shoulders. Then, looking at the rest of the group, they went to another booth near the stage to talk. Caiti sat down in the empty booth and, putting her head on the table, began to cry again. Piper sat down next to her and tried to comfort her, while Chris went over to the bar to get her a drink. By the time Chris returned, Caiti was sitting up and talking to Piper about her decision.
"I know I did the right thing, Piper," she was saying. "So why do I feel horrible? I shouldn't feel this way, should I?"
"It's perfectly OK to feel sad about losing your mom that way," Piper said. "But think about what you've done for me and Wyatt, as well as yourself. You gave your little brother the best gift he could receive: his father, and you should never regret your decision for a moment."
"I don't regret my decision," Caiti said, wiping a tear away. "But I feel like my feeling horribly sad about giving up Mom is selfish, and I know Mom would hate that."
"It's not selfish at all," Leo said, sitting down on Caiti's other side. "I felt the same way when I couldn't heal Prue. But I eventually found out that even though I wanted to save Prue, I couldn't have. There wouldn't have been enough time to heal them both."
"Who was Prue?" Caiti asked, turning to Piper. "Was she another sister?"
"Yes," Piper said sadly. "She was the oldest. After she died, we found Paige, and having her around helped us get over our grief a little at a time, which is what we intend to do for you."
"Here," Chris said, handing Caiti the drink. "I thought you might want one."
Caiti took the drink, looked at it, and smiled. "A Shirley Temple," she said. "How did you know?"
"Took a random guess," said Chris. "Guess I got it right, seeing as you're smiling again."
"Yeah, you did get it right," said Caiti with a grin. "Thanks." Caiti took a sip of her drink and smiled again. "This is good. Best one I've had in a while."
Meanwhile, Piper had unfrozen the club, and the band had taken the stage again. Jacob went up to the microphone, and said, "This next song is for Caiti's mom Jeanne. We'll miss her, the only person that didn't call the cops on us for disturbing the peace when we practiced." Caiti laughed when she heard that, and when asked if it was true, confirmed it, recounting the time when, back in Pennsylvania, her next door neighbor had called the cops on the band, sending the boys running down the street trying to carry the drum set and keyboard. The band then started to play "I'll Be Missing You," the tribute P. Diddy had done for Notorious B.I.G. When they finished, Caiti stood up and clapped, and the rest of the club followed suit. Then Caiti turned to Leo and Piper and said, "Now it's my turn." Leo nodded, and Piper said, "Go on," as Caiti made her way to the stage.
"I would also like to dedicated the next song to my mother. She was always there for me, in good times and bad, and she'll be with me forever in my heart, if not in person." She turned to Jacob, and asked, "Do you still remember how to play 'There You'll Be'?" Jacob nodded and played the opening notes. Caiti looked out at the crowd nervously, and seeing her father, mouthed the words "I can't do it, I can't." Then, as if it were magic, she heard her mother saying, "Yes, you can. Don't be nervous Caiti." When I think back on these times
And the dreams we left behind
I'll be glad 'cause I was blessed
To get to have you in my life When I think back on these days
I'll look and see your face
You were right there for me In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be
And everywhere I am there you'll be Well, you showed me how it feels
To have the sky within my reach
And I always will remember all the strength you gave to me
Your love made me make it through
Oh, I owe so much to you
You were right there for me In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be Cause I always saw in you my life, my strength
And I want to thank you now for all the ways
You were right there for me
You were right there for me
Always In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be
And everywhere I am there you'll be There you'll be
As Caiti finished the song, she dropped her head down close to her chest so no one could see her crying. When she looked up, Phoebe, Paige, Piper, Cole, Chris, and her father had stood up and begun to clap. The audience followed, and Jacob whispered to Caiti, "There you go. You've just gotten your first standing ovation. Congrats, Caiti." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caiti and the band finished the last song in their set, and took their bows, leaving the stage as the people filed out of the club. Leo hugged Caiti, saying, "That was wonderful Caiti. You sang beautifully." "Yeah," said Chris, giving Caiti a little peck on the cheek. "You were awesome." "Never better," said Cole. "That last song was great," said Phoebe. "Yeah, what was it called?" asked Paige. "It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember the name." "The song was 'White Rabbit'," Caiti said. "And it was originally done by the Jefferson Airplane in the '60s." "Well," said Piper. "If we're all ready, let's go home. Caiti?" "Yeah?" Caiti asked. "You coming?" Piper asked. "You got room?" "Yeah, we've got plenty of room." Caiti smiled. "Then I'm ready." She joined her father and new stepmother, and left the club with her new family. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, the rain had stopped, and to Caiti's surprise, there in the parking lot was her van, clouds and all. Caiti looked at the night sky, at one bright star in particular, and said, "Thanks Mom."
well, that's the end of chapter 9! but don't worry, there's more to come! questions, comments, complaints? review and tell me!
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. I also would like to add that I do not own the song "There You'll Be", Faith Hill and Diane Warren own the song.
A/N: This chapter is rated PG for language. Review Replies:
cricketlover- yes, I do update fast, don't I? and it has kept me up till 2 in the morning eastern time for the last 3 days, but i can't disappoint the readers. i'm glad you like how i fixed the whole elder thing. took me a while to figure out what i was going to do, but i did it! be sure to keep reading! it will definitely get more interesting, especially now that Caiti's part of the family.
Katriona- i'll try double spacing, but i don't know if it will make any difference. i honestly have been trying to make it easier to read, but i guess that fanfiction.net changes it when i upload it, because when i type it, it's got the spacing. it's the damndest thing, isn't it? anyways, i apologize in advance if it doesn't have the spacing up this time.
LOTRgurl- thank you! glad you still enjoy the story. not bad for something I came up with in the space of 30 minutes one night before bed, huh? and don't worry, it will get more interesting.
dream clouds- thank you, and i will keep writing. it's fun making these characters do what i want, since i don't own Charmed and never will, especially bringing back Cole, who i can't believe what the writers of the show got rid of!
CHAPTER NINE
The walk back inside the club seemed like it took hours to Caiti, when really it took only a few minutes. She was dazed, and it showed. "I'll never see her again," Caiti thought. "I know I did the right thing, but at what price?" When they reached their booth, they found the band members waiting for them. Janna and Serena stood up and hugged Caiti saying, "You did the right thing, you did the right thing." over and over again, trying to comfort their friend. Mike and Jacob patted her shoulders. Then, looking at the rest of the group, they went to another booth near the stage to talk. Caiti sat down in the empty booth and, putting her head on the table, began to cry again. Piper sat down next to her and tried to comfort her, while Chris went over to the bar to get her a drink. By the time Chris returned, Caiti was sitting up and talking to Piper about her decision.
"I know I did the right thing, Piper," she was saying. "So why do I feel horrible? I shouldn't feel this way, should I?"
"It's perfectly OK to feel sad about losing your mom that way," Piper said. "But think about what you've done for me and Wyatt, as well as yourself. You gave your little brother the best gift he could receive: his father, and you should never regret your decision for a moment."
"I don't regret my decision," Caiti said, wiping a tear away. "But I feel like my feeling horribly sad about giving up Mom is selfish, and I know Mom would hate that."
"It's not selfish at all," Leo said, sitting down on Caiti's other side. "I felt the same way when I couldn't heal Prue. But I eventually found out that even though I wanted to save Prue, I couldn't have. There wouldn't have been enough time to heal them both."
"Who was Prue?" Caiti asked, turning to Piper. "Was she another sister?"
"Yes," Piper said sadly. "She was the oldest. After she died, we found Paige, and having her around helped us get over our grief a little at a time, which is what we intend to do for you."
"Here," Chris said, handing Caiti the drink. "I thought you might want one."
Caiti took the drink, looked at it, and smiled. "A Shirley Temple," she said. "How did you know?"
"Took a random guess," said Chris. "Guess I got it right, seeing as you're smiling again."
"Yeah, you did get it right," said Caiti with a grin. "Thanks." Caiti took a sip of her drink and smiled again. "This is good. Best one I've had in a while."
Meanwhile, Piper had unfrozen the club, and the band had taken the stage again. Jacob went up to the microphone, and said, "This next song is for Caiti's mom Jeanne. We'll miss her, the only person that didn't call the cops on us for disturbing the peace when we practiced." Caiti laughed when she heard that, and when asked if it was true, confirmed it, recounting the time when, back in Pennsylvania, her next door neighbor had called the cops on the band, sending the boys running down the street trying to carry the drum set and keyboard. The band then started to play "I'll Be Missing You," the tribute P. Diddy had done for Notorious B.I.G. When they finished, Caiti stood up and clapped, and the rest of the club followed suit. Then Caiti turned to Leo and Piper and said, "Now it's my turn." Leo nodded, and Piper said, "Go on," as Caiti made her way to the stage.
"I would also like to dedicated the next song to my mother. She was always there for me, in good times and bad, and she'll be with me forever in my heart, if not in person." She turned to Jacob, and asked, "Do you still remember how to play 'There You'll Be'?" Jacob nodded and played the opening notes. Caiti looked out at the crowd nervously, and seeing her father, mouthed the words "I can't do it, I can't." Then, as if it were magic, she heard her mother saying, "Yes, you can. Don't be nervous Caiti." When I think back on these times
And the dreams we left behind
I'll be glad 'cause I was blessed
To get to have you in my life When I think back on these days
I'll look and see your face
You were right there for me In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be
And everywhere I am there you'll be Well, you showed me how it feels
To have the sky within my reach
And I always will remember all the strength you gave to me
Your love made me make it through
Oh, I owe so much to you
You were right there for me In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be Cause I always saw in you my life, my strength
And I want to thank you now for all the ways
You were right there for me
You were right there for me
Always In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart there'll always be a place for you, for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am there you'll be
And everywhere I am there you'll be There you'll be
As Caiti finished the song, she dropped her head down close to her chest so no one could see her crying. When she looked up, Phoebe, Paige, Piper, Cole, Chris, and her father had stood up and begun to clap. The audience followed, and Jacob whispered to Caiti, "There you go. You've just gotten your first standing ovation. Congrats, Caiti." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caiti and the band finished the last song in their set, and took their bows, leaving the stage as the people filed out of the club. Leo hugged Caiti, saying, "That was wonderful Caiti. You sang beautifully." "Yeah," said Chris, giving Caiti a little peck on the cheek. "You were awesome." "Never better," said Cole. "That last song was great," said Phoebe. "Yeah, what was it called?" asked Paige. "It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember the name." "The song was 'White Rabbit'," Caiti said. "And it was originally done by the Jefferson Airplane in the '60s." "Well," said Piper. "If we're all ready, let's go home. Caiti?" "Yeah?" Caiti asked. "You coming?" Piper asked. "You got room?" "Yeah, we've got plenty of room." Caiti smiled. "Then I'm ready." She joined her father and new stepmother, and left the club with her new family. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, the rain had stopped, and to Caiti's surprise, there in the parking lot was her van, clouds and all. Caiti looked at the night sky, at one bright star in particular, and said, "Thanks Mom."
well, that's the end of chapter 9! but don't worry, there's more to come! questions, comments, complaints? review and tell me!