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.
Review Replies:
cricketlover- guilty as charged! i am an Orlando Bloom fan. i thought it would be cool to have something in so it wouldn't be too easy for Caiti to guess that Piper knew that she liked Chris. also, the grandmother they are talking about at the end is Caiti's maternal grandmother, who is Slovakian and married to a Syrian, Caiti's grandfather. you will find out later that Caiti's gotten a lot of trouble from kids because of her heritage, and that her father's death isn't the only reason they had to move. yeah, Chris did do something naughty on the show last night, but all the Drew Fuller fans in the world are probably so happy that he was pantsless that they don't care what he did to get that way. and when you think about it, Wyatt was a bit naughty himself! did you see the way he laughed at the dragon? anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. also, about Caiti's chest pains, they're from when she got shot by the darklighter. the wound was pretty deep, and even though she was healed, it still hurts her a bit. this chapter is going to be a bit more interesting, i promise. keep reading, reviewing, and enjoying!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The rest of Caiti's days in the house passed quickly. Every day, Chris was there, and his presence helped Caiti pass the time. Then one morning, Caiti woke up on the couch, and for the first time in 4 days, she didn't have any chest pains. Caiti ran upstairs to her room, threw open her bedroom door and screamed "I'm cured!" Phoebe, whom Caiti had passed on her joyous run up the stairs, smiled and said, "We're in for it now." "What do you mean?" Paige, who had orbed in behind Phoebe, asked. "We have a healthy teenager in the house now," Phoebe explained, "We'll never have a quiet moment in this house again." Piper and Leo walked out of their bedroom in time to hear Phoebe's comment, and Piper said, "When have we ever had a quiet moment in this house?" "It's going to be louder now," Paige said, "Caiti's better." "I thought she'd be better in a few more days," said Leo, "But obviously she gets stronger faster than most people." At that moment, Caiti came out of her room dressed in black jeans and a Beatles T-shirt and said, "Whatever peace and quiet you had is gone now," with a grin, "I'm gonna go downstairs for breakfast." With that, she orbed downstairs to the kitchen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Caiti reached the kitchen, she found Cole sitting at the table with the newspaper, sections of which were strewn over the table. Caiti began to look through them and asked, "Where are the Comics?" Cole picked up a section that had fallen on the floor and handed it to Caiti. "Thanks," she said, and sat down at the table. Her eyes fell on a column at the bottom of the page, and she exclaimed, "Hey! I didn't know Phoebe had her own column in the paper! Cool!" Caiti began to read Phoebe's column, forgetting the comics for a moment, nodding her head after reading Phoebe's answers to each letter, finally returning to the comics after she finished reading the last reply. By the time Paige, Piper, Leo, and Phoebe came downstairs to the kitchen, Caiti had finished Baby Blues, Dilbert, Andy Capp, Beetle Bailey and all her other favorites, and was giggling like a madwoman at Classic Peanuts. Paige gave her a weird look and asked Cole, "What's gotten into her?" "Classic Peanuts," Cole replied, going over to see which one it was, "And apparently, it's one with PigPen." "Hahahahaha," Caiti laughed, "After all that work, he's dirty again! He's like a freaking MagneDuster for dirt! Hahahahaha!" "I don't think I saw that one," Leo said, "Can I see it?" Caiti nodded and handed her father the paper, still laughing. Leo read the comic strip, which showed PigPen once again cleaning himself up, and then walking out the door, only to be bombarded with a cloud of dirt and dust, and grinning, handed the paper back to Caiti. "Where's Chris?" Caiti asked, taking the comics. "He's still at home, asleep," Leo said, "The elders gave him the message that you were OK, so he stayed at home." "That works," said Caiti, and returned to giggling at Classic Peanuts.
"OK," Piper said, taking the comics away from Caiti and beginning to make breakfast, "I think you've had enough comics for today." Caiti handed her the paper and said, "Maybe you're right." "Besides," said Piper, "If you're going to help out at the daycare, what kind of an example are you going to set for the little kids if you're laughing like a maniac?" "Oh, believe me," Caiti said, "That was not me laughing like a maniac. Put me in a room with a TV that's playing 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and then you'll see me laugh like a maniac. Gets me every time. It's my one weakness," she said with a grin. "Well," said Paige with a grin, "Guess we know what not to rent the next time we get movies." "OK everyone!" Piper said, "Breakfast!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When everyone had finished breakfast, they all went off to their jobs for the day, Cole, Phoebe, and Paige to their offices, Leo to wherever the elders sent him for the day, and Piper and Caiti to the daycare center with Wyatt. Before they got inside the club/daycare center, Caiti's cell phone rung. "Hello?" she asked. "Hey," Chris said, "Heard you were feeling better." "Who told you?" Caiti asked, knowing full well what Chris would say. "A little elder told me," Chris replied, "So, I was wondering, would you be up for that date tonight?" "Yeah, I would," Caiti said, "Where are we going?" "Well, I figured we'd go out for dinner, then come back to my place and watch a movie," he replied. "Are we really going to watch a movie, or is this just a way to get a make out session from me?" Caiti asked. Chris laughed and said, "Well, I don't think 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' is make-out-movie material." "Just checking," Caiti said, "So, what time should I be ready by?" "How about 7:00? Is that good for you?" Chris asked. "It's good for me," Caiti said, "See you then. Bye." "Bye," Chris said, and then hung up. Caiti hung up her cell phone and smiled. Piper looked at her and said, "I guess you have a date for tonight? Is it with Chris?" Caiti grinned slyly and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" before walking into the club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before long, the daycare center had filled up with kids, and Caiti had her hands full immediately. Piper had put her to work watching the youngest kids, something that Caiti fully enjoyed and did without complaining or whining. The parents who came in to drop off their kids were amazed at how well she was able to handle all the babies that were crawling over her. Caiti spent the day reading stories, changing diapers, giving bottles, and then rocking the babies to sleep at naptime. Finally, when the last baby was asleep, Caiti was able to take a break. She went over to the bar, where she found Piper and her father talking. "Hi Dad," Caiti said, taking a seat at the bar and putting her head down on her arms, "When'd you get here?" "A few seconds ago," Leo replied, "I hear you've been busy. Did the kids wear you out?" Caiti laughed ruefully and said, "Would I be sitting here with my head on my arms if they didn't?" before putting her head down on her arms again. "I thought so," Leo said, "Well, maybe you should relax while the babies are asleep." Caiti picked her head up and gave Leo a dirty look before putting her head down again. "I think she was," Piper said. Then the silence was broken by a baby's cry. Caiti picked her head up and said, "Well, back to work," before returning to the baby area. "I guess I'll be going now," Leo said to Piper, and with that he orbed out. Piper looked at Caiti, who was playing peek-a-boo with one of the babies, and went back to the other children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the end of the day, Caiti was worn out from the babies, but she still managed enough strength to orb herself home. When she reached the living room where Paige, Phoebe, and Cole were sitting, she went to the couch and practically passed out. "Tough day?" Cole asked. "I'd forgotten how much energy those babies have," Caiti said, "The last time I was taking care of that many babies, I was doing it to earn a Girl Scout badge." Just then, Piper walked into the room with Wyatt, who promptly orbed onto Caiti and said, "Caici play!" "No, Wyatt," Piper said, coming over to take Wyatt off of Caiti, "Caiti's tired." Caiti sat up and said, "It's cool, Piper. I can make some time for my little brother." "Are you sure?" Piper asked, "You look really tired." "Well, if I don't start moving around now, I'll be asleep on the couch when my date gets here, and then I won't be able to go," Caiti said, "And playing with an 11 month old is the perfect way to get moving." "Seems logical," said Cole, which promptly sent Caiti into a small fit of giggles. "What's so funny?" Phoebe asked. "Your boyfriend just talked like Spock," Caiti said. Before Cole or Phoebe could respond, Wyatt tugged on Caiti's jeans and said, "Caici play! Caici play!" again. "Well," said Caiti, picking Wyatt up, "Duty calls." As Caiti walked out of the room carrying Wyatt, Phoebe asked "Wait a minute, who are you going out with?" Caiti smiled and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Before Phoebe could respond again, Caiti walked out of the room with Wyatt. As she walked away, Cole, Phoebe, Paige, and Piper could here her say, "So little man, what do you want to play?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caiti was sitting on the floor with Wyatt, who was playing a toy piano rather noisily, but having the time of his life nonetheless. Suddenly Wyatt stopped playing and turned the piano in Caiti's direction and said "Caici play pano!" "OK," said Caiti, "If you really want me too. Now, what should I play?" "Giccy Mouse! Giccy Mouse!" Wyatt said happily. "OK," Caiti said, "Mickey Mouse it is!" Caiti turned the piano all the way around until the keys faced her, and began playing the "Mickey Mouse Club March" for her little brother, who giggled and screamed "Caici play Giccy Mouse!" at the top of his lungs, so loudly in fact that Leo orbed in to see what was going on. Kneeling beside Wyatt he asked, "What are you so happy about little man?" Wyatt pointed at Caiti and said yet again, "Caici play Giccy Mouse!" "She's playing Mickey Mouse! You like Mickey Mouse, don't you Wyatt?" Leo asked. Wyatt nodded as Caiti finished the song and looked up to see her father standing there. "I can take him now," Leo said as Caiti stood up, "You have to get ready for your date. By the way, who's the lucky guy?" "You'll find out," Caiti said, and orbed upstairs to get ready. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Caiti orbed back downstairs half an hour later, she was wearing a black skirt and a red boatneck top, stockings, calf-length boots, and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The others were all waiting in the living room, and looked up when Caiti walked into the room. She did a model turn and said, "What do you think? Good enough for a first date?" They all nodded their heads in approval, and Paige said, "Your guy's going to drop dead when he sees you. Or maybe he won't, if your going out with who I think you are." Just then the doorbell rang and as Caiti went to answer it she turned to Paige and said, "I will not dignify that with a response." Caiti opened the door and there was Chris, holding a red rose. Chris gave the rose to Caiti and said, "You look great." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Paige heard Chris' voice, she said, "I knew it!" to the others and ran to the entrance to the living room to eavesdrop, followed close behind by Piper, Phoebe, Cole, and Leo, who, upon seeing Chris standing in the doorway, got an angry look on his face. Chris, who had been talking to Caiti, happened to look up as the rest of the group filed into the hallway and said, "Don't worry Leo, I'll have her back before dawn, at the earliest." Caiti turned around and said, "Dad!" in a tone conveying the additional message, "Get out of here!" "Well," Leo said, trying his best not to throw Chris out of the house, "You two have a great time." Caiti smiled and gave Leo a hug and whispered, "Don't worry, I don't think the elders will be as pissed off this time," to him, but loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, before going out the door with Chris. "She might be right about that you know," said Piper. Leo looked out the window at Caiti and Chris, who were driving off in Chris' new Mustang and said, "I hope you're right."
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.
Review Replies:
cricketlover- guilty as charged! i am an Orlando Bloom fan. i thought it would be cool to have something in so it wouldn't be too easy for Caiti to guess that Piper knew that she liked Chris. also, the grandmother they are talking about at the end is Caiti's maternal grandmother, who is Slovakian and married to a Syrian, Caiti's grandfather. you will find out later that Caiti's gotten a lot of trouble from kids because of her heritage, and that her father's death isn't the only reason they had to move. yeah, Chris did do something naughty on the show last night, but all the Drew Fuller fans in the world are probably so happy that he was pantsless that they don't care what he did to get that way. and when you think about it, Wyatt was a bit naughty himself! did you see the way he laughed at the dragon? anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. also, about Caiti's chest pains, they're from when she got shot by the darklighter. the wound was pretty deep, and even though she was healed, it still hurts her a bit. this chapter is going to be a bit more interesting, i promise. keep reading, reviewing, and enjoying!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The rest of Caiti's days in the house passed quickly. Every day, Chris was there, and his presence helped Caiti pass the time. Then one morning, Caiti woke up on the couch, and for the first time in 4 days, she didn't have any chest pains. Caiti ran upstairs to her room, threw open her bedroom door and screamed "I'm cured!" Phoebe, whom Caiti had passed on her joyous run up the stairs, smiled and said, "We're in for it now." "What do you mean?" Paige, who had orbed in behind Phoebe, asked. "We have a healthy teenager in the house now," Phoebe explained, "We'll never have a quiet moment in this house again." Piper and Leo walked out of their bedroom in time to hear Phoebe's comment, and Piper said, "When have we ever had a quiet moment in this house?" "It's going to be louder now," Paige said, "Caiti's better." "I thought she'd be better in a few more days," said Leo, "But obviously she gets stronger faster than most people." At that moment, Caiti came out of her room dressed in black jeans and a Beatles T-shirt and said, "Whatever peace and quiet you had is gone now," with a grin, "I'm gonna go downstairs for breakfast." With that, she orbed downstairs to the kitchen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Caiti reached the kitchen, she found Cole sitting at the table with the newspaper, sections of which were strewn over the table. Caiti began to look through them and asked, "Where are the Comics?" Cole picked up a section that had fallen on the floor and handed it to Caiti. "Thanks," she said, and sat down at the table. Her eyes fell on a column at the bottom of the page, and she exclaimed, "Hey! I didn't know Phoebe had her own column in the paper! Cool!" Caiti began to read Phoebe's column, forgetting the comics for a moment, nodding her head after reading Phoebe's answers to each letter, finally returning to the comics after she finished reading the last reply. By the time Paige, Piper, Leo, and Phoebe came downstairs to the kitchen, Caiti had finished Baby Blues, Dilbert, Andy Capp, Beetle Bailey and all her other favorites, and was giggling like a madwoman at Classic Peanuts. Paige gave her a weird look and asked Cole, "What's gotten into her?" "Classic Peanuts," Cole replied, going over to see which one it was, "And apparently, it's one with PigPen." "Hahahahaha," Caiti laughed, "After all that work, he's dirty again! He's like a freaking MagneDuster for dirt! Hahahahaha!" "I don't think I saw that one," Leo said, "Can I see it?" Caiti nodded and handed her father the paper, still laughing. Leo read the comic strip, which showed PigPen once again cleaning himself up, and then walking out the door, only to be bombarded with a cloud of dirt and dust, and grinning, handed the paper back to Caiti. "Where's Chris?" Caiti asked, taking the comics. "He's still at home, asleep," Leo said, "The elders gave him the message that you were OK, so he stayed at home." "That works," said Caiti, and returned to giggling at Classic Peanuts.
"OK," Piper said, taking the comics away from Caiti and beginning to make breakfast, "I think you've had enough comics for today." Caiti handed her the paper and said, "Maybe you're right." "Besides," said Piper, "If you're going to help out at the daycare, what kind of an example are you going to set for the little kids if you're laughing like a maniac?" "Oh, believe me," Caiti said, "That was not me laughing like a maniac. Put me in a room with a TV that's playing 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and then you'll see me laugh like a maniac. Gets me every time. It's my one weakness," she said with a grin. "Well," said Paige with a grin, "Guess we know what not to rent the next time we get movies." "OK everyone!" Piper said, "Breakfast!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When everyone had finished breakfast, they all went off to their jobs for the day, Cole, Phoebe, and Paige to their offices, Leo to wherever the elders sent him for the day, and Piper and Caiti to the daycare center with Wyatt. Before they got inside the club/daycare center, Caiti's cell phone rung. "Hello?" she asked. "Hey," Chris said, "Heard you were feeling better." "Who told you?" Caiti asked, knowing full well what Chris would say. "A little elder told me," Chris replied, "So, I was wondering, would you be up for that date tonight?" "Yeah, I would," Caiti said, "Where are we going?" "Well, I figured we'd go out for dinner, then come back to my place and watch a movie," he replied. "Are we really going to watch a movie, or is this just a way to get a make out session from me?" Caiti asked. Chris laughed and said, "Well, I don't think 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' is make-out-movie material." "Just checking," Caiti said, "So, what time should I be ready by?" "How about 7:00? Is that good for you?" Chris asked. "It's good for me," Caiti said, "See you then. Bye." "Bye," Chris said, and then hung up. Caiti hung up her cell phone and smiled. Piper looked at her and said, "I guess you have a date for tonight? Is it with Chris?" Caiti grinned slyly and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" before walking into the club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before long, the daycare center had filled up with kids, and Caiti had her hands full immediately. Piper had put her to work watching the youngest kids, something that Caiti fully enjoyed and did without complaining or whining. The parents who came in to drop off their kids were amazed at how well she was able to handle all the babies that were crawling over her. Caiti spent the day reading stories, changing diapers, giving bottles, and then rocking the babies to sleep at naptime. Finally, when the last baby was asleep, Caiti was able to take a break. She went over to the bar, where she found Piper and her father talking. "Hi Dad," Caiti said, taking a seat at the bar and putting her head down on her arms, "When'd you get here?" "A few seconds ago," Leo replied, "I hear you've been busy. Did the kids wear you out?" Caiti laughed ruefully and said, "Would I be sitting here with my head on my arms if they didn't?" before putting her head down on her arms again. "I thought so," Leo said, "Well, maybe you should relax while the babies are asleep." Caiti picked her head up and gave Leo a dirty look before putting her head down again. "I think she was," Piper said. Then the silence was broken by a baby's cry. Caiti picked her head up and said, "Well, back to work," before returning to the baby area. "I guess I'll be going now," Leo said to Piper, and with that he orbed out. Piper looked at Caiti, who was playing peek-a-boo with one of the babies, and went back to the other children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the end of the day, Caiti was worn out from the babies, but she still managed enough strength to orb herself home. When she reached the living room where Paige, Phoebe, and Cole were sitting, she went to the couch and practically passed out. "Tough day?" Cole asked. "I'd forgotten how much energy those babies have," Caiti said, "The last time I was taking care of that many babies, I was doing it to earn a Girl Scout badge." Just then, Piper walked into the room with Wyatt, who promptly orbed onto Caiti and said, "Caici play!" "No, Wyatt," Piper said, coming over to take Wyatt off of Caiti, "Caiti's tired." Caiti sat up and said, "It's cool, Piper. I can make some time for my little brother." "Are you sure?" Piper asked, "You look really tired." "Well, if I don't start moving around now, I'll be asleep on the couch when my date gets here, and then I won't be able to go," Caiti said, "And playing with an 11 month old is the perfect way to get moving." "Seems logical," said Cole, which promptly sent Caiti into a small fit of giggles. "What's so funny?" Phoebe asked. "Your boyfriend just talked like Spock," Caiti said. Before Cole or Phoebe could respond, Wyatt tugged on Caiti's jeans and said, "Caici play! Caici play!" again. "Well," said Caiti, picking Wyatt up, "Duty calls." As Caiti walked out of the room carrying Wyatt, Phoebe asked "Wait a minute, who are you going out with?" Caiti smiled and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Before Phoebe could respond again, Caiti walked out of the room with Wyatt. As she walked away, Cole, Phoebe, Paige, and Piper could here her say, "So little man, what do you want to play?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caiti was sitting on the floor with Wyatt, who was playing a toy piano rather noisily, but having the time of his life nonetheless. Suddenly Wyatt stopped playing and turned the piano in Caiti's direction and said "Caici play pano!" "OK," said Caiti, "If you really want me too. Now, what should I play?" "Giccy Mouse! Giccy Mouse!" Wyatt said happily. "OK," Caiti said, "Mickey Mouse it is!" Caiti turned the piano all the way around until the keys faced her, and began playing the "Mickey Mouse Club March" for her little brother, who giggled and screamed "Caici play Giccy Mouse!" at the top of his lungs, so loudly in fact that Leo orbed in to see what was going on. Kneeling beside Wyatt he asked, "What are you so happy about little man?" Wyatt pointed at Caiti and said yet again, "Caici play Giccy Mouse!" "She's playing Mickey Mouse! You like Mickey Mouse, don't you Wyatt?" Leo asked. Wyatt nodded as Caiti finished the song and looked up to see her father standing there. "I can take him now," Leo said as Caiti stood up, "You have to get ready for your date. By the way, who's the lucky guy?" "You'll find out," Caiti said, and orbed upstairs to get ready. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Caiti orbed back downstairs half an hour later, she was wearing a black skirt and a red boatneck top, stockings, calf-length boots, and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The others were all waiting in the living room, and looked up when Caiti walked into the room. She did a model turn and said, "What do you think? Good enough for a first date?" They all nodded their heads in approval, and Paige said, "Your guy's going to drop dead when he sees you. Or maybe he won't, if your going out with who I think you are." Just then the doorbell rang and as Caiti went to answer it she turned to Paige and said, "I will not dignify that with a response." Caiti opened the door and there was Chris, holding a red rose. Chris gave the rose to Caiti and said, "You look great." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Paige heard Chris' voice, she said, "I knew it!" to the others and ran to the entrance to the living room to eavesdrop, followed close behind by Piper, Phoebe, Cole, and Leo, who, upon seeing Chris standing in the doorway, got an angry look on his face. Chris, who had been talking to Caiti, happened to look up as the rest of the group filed into the hallway and said, "Don't worry Leo, I'll have her back before dawn, at the earliest." Caiti turned around and said, "Dad!" in a tone conveying the additional message, "Get out of here!" "Well," Leo said, trying his best not to throw Chris out of the house, "You two have a great time." Caiti smiled and gave Leo a hug and whispered, "Don't worry, I don't think the elders will be as pissed off this time," to him, but loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, before going out the door with Chris. "She might be right about that you know," said Piper. Leo looked out the window at Caiti and Chris, who were driving off in Chris' new Mustang and said, "I hope you're right."