Author's Note: I am so sorry that I haven't updated this story in soooo
long. The good news is that there are only a few more chapters and they
are all finished and the fic is over. I hope you all enjoy my ending.
Please, read and review!
Chapter Twelve: Sisterly Help and an Unreachable Room
Piper sat inside a car that had been left in the club parking lot. The door had luckily been unlocked, but the keys were gone. Seated behind the wheel, Piper tried to remember everything the Phoebe had taught her about hot-wiring a car so that she could drive it. Knowing that no one would come for her if she called, Piper decided that it would be best if she went back to the Manor herself. Sure, she could have taken the bus, but she figured that a car would be easier. But, there was only one little problem:
She couldn't drive.
"How sad am I?" she asked herself. "I am sixteen, the age where everyone is getting their license and is driving and I don't even know how to start a car. Okay, well, starting a car is something that I am good at, but actually driving..."
Finally having Phoebe's lessons return to her, Piper got the car started and took a deep breath as she prepared to exit the club parking lot. Piper tried to clear her mind, she needed to be absolutely focused when she drove, but there were too many things that were going through her head. She needed to get to the Manor so that she could help Leo and her sisters get Wyatt back, she had to prove to them that she wasn't useless.
Pulling out into the street, Piper watched for the cars and found them zooming in front of her, not allowing her out onto the street. Closing her eyes, she threw out her hands and waited to hear a crash of metal, but as she opened them, she found that she had successfully frozen the street. Taking her time, Piper pulled out and drove down to a red light, where she stopped and unfroze the street.
"At least I have that power down," she said.
But driving with actual cars around her was harder and scarier than she thought. Her heart was racing and she couldn't for the life of her figure out how to get home. The club was in a different part of town than she had remembered and she felt as of she was going in circles until she saw familiar street names.
"Finally," Piper sighed.
That, of course, was before she saw the red pick-up truck headed her way. She tried freezing the truck, but it wasn't working. Piper also tried to swerve out of the way, but the driver of the truck was obviously drunk and would swerve in her direction. As a last resort, Piper called out for her sister, thinking that Leo may not help her being preoccupied with their son.
"Paige!" Piper screamed. She called again, just as the truck was swerving into her lane. "Paige!"
There was a swirl of blue and whites lights in the front seat of the car and they left revealing a stunned Paige. Her eyes wide, she took the steering wheel in her hands and jerked it to the side, moving the car out of the truck's destructive path. The car crashed into the curb and the two women were jolted forwards and then fell back into their seats with a thud.
Taking Piper's hand, Paige orbed the two out of the car and into the kitchen of the Manor. Each stood at the counter, leaning on it for support as they tried to collect themselves from what had recently occurred. Taking a deep breath, Piper broke their silence.
"Thanks for saving me...again."
Paige looked up. "Mind telling me what happened?"
"I was trying to get back to the Manor."
"Leo said that he left you at the club so that you would be safe. Why didn't you listen to him?"
Piper turned away from her sister. She really wanted to tell her the truth, but she was almost embarrassed.
"Piper, talk to me," Paige said.
"I wanted to help. I know you all think I can't, but I know I can and I wanted to come back so that I could go with you and get my son back."
Paige sighed and looked at Piper. "I know you want to help, but really Piper...I listened to you the last time and look where it got us? That annilla took Wyatt because you couldn't protect him. If we brought you with us we would just be putting you in danger. I can't let you come with us."
"Where are Leo and Phoebe?"
Paige nodded her head toward the doorway behind Piper. "In the foyer waiting for me. Listen, they think you are still at the club, so I should really be getting you back there..."
"But?"
"But I am going to leave you here." Paige took a deep breath. "Don't make me regret my decision. I know you want to help, Piper, I really do. So, if you want to help you will stay here and try not to do anything magical. Got it?"
Piper bobbed her head. Smiling, Paige nodded and headed out of the kitchen and into the foyer where Leo and Phoebe were patiently waiting.
"What was it?" Phoebe asked, tucking potions into a bag that hung at her side.
Paige looked up, here eyes wide as she tried to think of an excuse that did not involve Piper. "Magic School. Some kid was terrorizing the teachers and I needed to orb over there to straighten it out. All fixed now."
"I hope it was nothing like the last time," Phoebe said, laughing a bit. "No one conjured any story-book creatures that could, oh, cut off a person's head?"
Paige shook her head. "It was nothing really. So, ready to go and get Wyatt?"
"If those annillas have hurt him," Leo's voice trailed off as he thought of his son in danger.
"Leo, don't worry," Paige said. "He may be a little kid, but he can still protect himself."
"You're right." Taking Phoebe and Paige's hand, Leo concentrated on the location the map had given them on the whereabouts of both Wyatt and the annillas and orbed out of the Manor.
The three landed in what looked like the inside of a darkened cave. Searching high and low, not one of them could find a door or opening that would lead them to where the annillas could be hiding Wyatt. Leo reached out with his whitelighter powers, but he could not sense his son. Phoebe and Paige walked along the rock walls of the cave and Phoebe stopped when she thought she heard a noise coming from the other side.
"Over here!" she shouted, as she pressed her hear closer to the rock. "I hear something...almost like there is another room on the other side of this wall."
Leo moved to her side and felt his hand along the wall. There would be no getting around it, only by orbing could he get to the other side, but when he tried his orbs bounced back and he landed with a thud on the sandy floor of the cave.
"How the hell do I get on the other side?" he asked, angrily.
"I hear him!" Paige exclaimed, standing a ways from Phoebe. "Wyatt's on the other side...but how are we going to get to him?"
Leo gently pushed Paige aside as he placed his ear on the wall to listen. He could hear his son calling out for his parents and begging the annillas to let him go. Wyatt was afraid and Leo could hear it in his voice. "I don't know how we are supposed to get to him, but we have to try. I have to save him."
Chapter Twelve: Sisterly Help and an Unreachable Room
Piper sat inside a car that had been left in the club parking lot. The door had luckily been unlocked, but the keys were gone. Seated behind the wheel, Piper tried to remember everything the Phoebe had taught her about hot-wiring a car so that she could drive it. Knowing that no one would come for her if she called, Piper decided that it would be best if she went back to the Manor herself. Sure, she could have taken the bus, but she figured that a car would be easier. But, there was only one little problem:
She couldn't drive.
"How sad am I?" she asked herself. "I am sixteen, the age where everyone is getting their license and is driving and I don't even know how to start a car. Okay, well, starting a car is something that I am good at, but actually driving..."
Finally having Phoebe's lessons return to her, Piper got the car started and took a deep breath as she prepared to exit the club parking lot. Piper tried to clear her mind, she needed to be absolutely focused when she drove, but there were too many things that were going through her head. She needed to get to the Manor so that she could help Leo and her sisters get Wyatt back, she had to prove to them that she wasn't useless.
Pulling out into the street, Piper watched for the cars and found them zooming in front of her, not allowing her out onto the street. Closing her eyes, she threw out her hands and waited to hear a crash of metal, but as she opened them, she found that she had successfully frozen the street. Taking her time, Piper pulled out and drove down to a red light, where she stopped and unfroze the street.
"At least I have that power down," she said.
But driving with actual cars around her was harder and scarier than she thought. Her heart was racing and she couldn't for the life of her figure out how to get home. The club was in a different part of town than she had remembered and she felt as of she was going in circles until she saw familiar street names.
"Finally," Piper sighed.
That, of course, was before she saw the red pick-up truck headed her way. She tried freezing the truck, but it wasn't working. Piper also tried to swerve out of the way, but the driver of the truck was obviously drunk and would swerve in her direction. As a last resort, Piper called out for her sister, thinking that Leo may not help her being preoccupied with their son.
"Paige!" Piper screamed. She called again, just as the truck was swerving into her lane. "Paige!"
There was a swirl of blue and whites lights in the front seat of the car and they left revealing a stunned Paige. Her eyes wide, she took the steering wheel in her hands and jerked it to the side, moving the car out of the truck's destructive path. The car crashed into the curb and the two women were jolted forwards and then fell back into their seats with a thud.
Taking Piper's hand, Paige orbed the two out of the car and into the kitchen of the Manor. Each stood at the counter, leaning on it for support as they tried to collect themselves from what had recently occurred. Taking a deep breath, Piper broke their silence.
"Thanks for saving me...again."
Paige looked up. "Mind telling me what happened?"
"I was trying to get back to the Manor."
"Leo said that he left you at the club so that you would be safe. Why didn't you listen to him?"
Piper turned away from her sister. She really wanted to tell her the truth, but she was almost embarrassed.
"Piper, talk to me," Paige said.
"I wanted to help. I know you all think I can't, but I know I can and I wanted to come back so that I could go with you and get my son back."
Paige sighed and looked at Piper. "I know you want to help, but really Piper...I listened to you the last time and look where it got us? That annilla took Wyatt because you couldn't protect him. If we brought you with us we would just be putting you in danger. I can't let you come with us."
"Where are Leo and Phoebe?"
Paige nodded her head toward the doorway behind Piper. "In the foyer waiting for me. Listen, they think you are still at the club, so I should really be getting you back there..."
"But?"
"But I am going to leave you here." Paige took a deep breath. "Don't make me regret my decision. I know you want to help, Piper, I really do. So, if you want to help you will stay here and try not to do anything magical. Got it?"
Piper bobbed her head. Smiling, Paige nodded and headed out of the kitchen and into the foyer where Leo and Phoebe were patiently waiting.
"What was it?" Phoebe asked, tucking potions into a bag that hung at her side.
Paige looked up, here eyes wide as she tried to think of an excuse that did not involve Piper. "Magic School. Some kid was terrorizing the teachers and I needed to orb over there to straighten it out. All fixed now."
"I hope it was nothing like the last time," Phoebe said, laughing a bit. "No one conjured any story-book creatures that could, oh, cut off a person's head?"
Paige shook her head. "It was nothing really. So, ready to go and get Wyatt?"
"If those annillas have hurt him," Leo's voice trailed off as he thought of his son in danger.
"Leo, don't worry," Paige said. "He may be a little kid, but he can still protect himself."
"You're right." Taking Phoebe and Paige's hand, Leo concentrated on the location the map had given them on the whereabouts of both Wyatt and the annillas and orbed out of the Manor.
The three landed in what looked like the inside of a darkened cave. Searching high and low, not one of them could find a door or opening that would lead them to where the annillas could be hiding Wyatt. Leo reached out with his whitelighter powers, but he could not sense his son. Phoebe and Paige walked along the rock walls of the cave and Phoebe stopped when she thought she heard a noise coming from the other side.
"Over here!" she shouted, as she pressed her hear closer to the rock. "I hear something...almost like there is another room on the other side of this wall."
Leo moved to her side and felt his hand along the wall. There would be no getting around it, only by orbing could he get to the other side, but when he tried his orbs bounced back and he landed with a thud on the sandy floor of the cave.
"How the hell do I get on the other side?" he asked, angrily.
"I hear him!" Paige exclaimed, standing a ways from Phoebe. "Wyatt's on the other side...but how are we going to get to him?"
Leo gently pushed Paige aside as he placed his ear on the wall to listen. He could hear his son calling out for his parents and begging the annillas to let him go. Wyatt was afraid and Leo could hear it in his voice. "I don't know how we are supposed to get to him, but we have to try. I have to save him."