AN: Remember, the time in the present, Chris is just over two months old.
Chapter 2 (present):
.......
When I saw the break of day
I wish that I could fly away
Instead of kneeling in the sand
Catching teardrops in my hand
.......
Piper was standing by the stove, nervously making pancakes for her and her sisters to eat for breakfast. She had already fed Wyatt and Chris, and they were playing in the playpen. Her mind should have been on her cooking, but it kept wondering to one person. Leo. He was still an Elder. He had filed a resignation, but, as usual, the Elders took forever deciding. Which meant that Piper couldn't get back together with him yet. Not only she couldn't, but she wouldn't. Even though he wanted to quit, that didn't mean the Elders would except it. Piper didn't want to set herself up for another heartbreak. She had almost died of a broken heart when Leo first became an Elder.
But, that didn't stop her from doing what she had done the night before. She had slept with Leo, again. It was the second time the two had slept together since the divorce. The last time, Leo had been dying, but this time, it just HAPPENED. Phoebe and Paige had both been on dates, so Piper had been home alone with the two boys. She had just put them to bed, when Leo came down to visit them. The rest was just a blur to Piper, everything had happened so fast. At one moment, she and Leo had just looked into each others eyes, the next, she had woken up in the middle of the night, with Leo lying in her bed beside her. Her waking up had woken him up, and he had left hurriedly, both of them stammering as he got dressed and orbed out. 'Did he regret it?' Piper wondered as she was cooking her specialty pancakes. 'Did he not want to do it? Does he love me any more?'
Piper's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming into the kitchen. Piper looked up and saw Phoebe, one eye closed, and her other half open. "Ugh." Phoebe grunted, before grabbing the nearest cup of coffee. "Good morning to you, too." Piper said sarcastically. "You're right, it is a good morning!" Paige said cheerily as she walked into the kitchen, a grin on her face. "Someone had a good time last night." Piper said, noticing the certain glow on her face. "So did I." Phoebe said, the caffeine beginning to enter her system. 'And so did I.' Piper thought. 'But I shouldn't have.' she added to herself, thinking about it.
"So, now that you know our nights, how was yours, Piper?" Paige asked. "I put the kids to bed, then went to bed myself. You know, the work at the club has tired me out, as well as Chris." Piper said. She wasn't exactly lying. That was how she had felt originally. Paige eyed her sister suspiciously, sensing that what she said wasn't exactly true. Piper noticed, and quickly changed the subject. "So, don't you two have work?" Piper asked. "I'm starting my new temp at ten." Paige said. "Yeah, and I don't have to go to the paper until ten, either. I got my advice column done early, for once." Phoebe said. "The demons have been laying off lately, haven't they?" Piper said. "Yeah, we've only had one attack since Chris was born." Paige said, giving a plate to Piper. Piper took her younger sister's hint, and put a few of the finished pancakes on the plate. "Thanks, sis!" Paige said, sitting at the table.
Phoebe looked up. "Where are my favorite nephews?" she asked, looking around. She had noticed the absence of noise in the room. "They're playing in their playpen in the next room." Piper said, sitting down with her pancakes, and handing Phoebe hers. "Oh, okay." Phoebe said, picking up the day's copy of The Bay Mirror. "You read your own paper?" Paige asked. "Yeah, of course I do. I just skip over the Ask Phoebe section, since I already know what it says." Phoebe said, looking at the headline. "Aw, dammit!" she said, looking at it. "What?" her two sister asked, bewildered. "So much for being demon-free." she said, and showed the front page to her sisters. 'Sixth Murder of a Serial Killer' the headline read. The first paragraph of the article read:
Early this morning, a body was found by the headquarters of this very newspaper. The victim was Sharon Taylor. The other victims have been Jasmine Utamyaki, found outside the nightclub P3, Joyce Kennedy, found outside the law firm of Jerico and Mistletoe, Denny MacKlintok, found outside Bob's Supermarket, Neptunne Lazinski, found outside Blue Harrison's Music Store, and Samuel Hiredit, found outside Taylor's Tailoring. These murders are believed to be the work of a serial killer due to similarities in the deaths. All the victims were stabbed in the chest from behind, and killed on a full moon. They also all had the same occult symbol carved onto their chests.
"Creepy, ain't it?." Phoebe asked after the sisters had finished. "I completely agree. I remember when that body was found outside P3. It was a nightmare." Piper said, getting a headache just thinking about it. "You guys." Paige said, a look of shock on her face. "What?" "The law firm, music store, supermarket, and tailoring were places I've temped." Paige said. "And it's the newspaper I work at." Phoebe said, eyes widening. "And my nightclub." Piper said.
Phoebe looked down the few paragraphs, and found what she was looking for. "The rest of the article and a picture of the symbol can be found on page 10A." she read, and flipped to the page, her sisters looking over her shoulder. Sure enough, on page 10A, there was a medium-sized picture of the symbol. The girls gasped. It was the triquetra. "Oh my God." Paige whispered. "Who would use the triquetra for evil? I mean, it's the sign of us, the sign of good witches, the Charmed Ones, the power of three." Phoebe said. "I don't know, but this definitely proved that this is demonic, and related to us in some way." Piper said. She then groaned. "Oh, great! Another demon who wants to kill us." Piper added. "You're probably right, Piper. But what I'm concerned about is why Daryll hasn't contacted us about it yet." Paige said. Just a few weeks ago, the girls had saved Sheila from a random demon attack, so Daryll had decided to help them again. That was the only demon attack they'd had in a while.
Just then, two things happened. The doorbell rang, and Chris began crying in the other room. "So much for Daryll not coming." Paige said, as she and Phoebe headed towards the door. Piper was going to check on her sons.
.......
"Hey, Daryll!" Phoebe greeted as she opened the door. "Hey girls." he returned the greeting. "Daryll, why don't you come in?" Paige invited, pulling Phoebe out of the way.
When the three were settled in the conservatory, Daryll asked "Where's Piper?" "I'm right here." came a call from the doorway. The three looked over and saw Piper, carrying a giggling Chris. "He just wanted me to hold him." Piper replied, sitting on the couch next to Phoebe. "So, are you here about the article in the paper?" Paige asked, getting right to the point. "Yes, I am." Daryll said. "How did you know about that?" "We DO read the paper, Daryll. We're not that weird." Phoebe replied with a chuckle. "Okay, well, one of those knife-thingies was left at the most recent scene." Daryll said, pulling an atheme out from his pocket, in a neat little plastic bag. "Yup, definitely demonic." Phoebe said, taking the knife from Daryll.
"So, should I tell the guys to lay off the case?" Daryll asked. "Yeah, Daryll." Piper said. "We know that the demon or warlock or whatever it is, is after us, so we can handle it." Piper said, a flare of anger coming up inside her. 'Just when our lives were going well.' she thought. "But, if the guys don't lay off, could you bring any other evidence to us, Daryll?" Phoebe asked. "I never know what might trigger a premonition." "Okay." Daryll said, getting up. He was almost out of the room when he stopped, and turned around. "Would pictures help?" he asked. "Of what? The victims?" Paige asked disgustedly. She didn't really know if she wanted to see what the new force of evil was capable of. "The victims, the weapon, the crime scenes, all evidence, and all the things the photographer is required to take pictures of." Daryll said, pulling a manila folder out of his coat pocket. "You know, Daryll, I think that might just help." Phoebe said, taking the folder. "Well, thank you girls." Daryll said, and headed out the door.
Paige then glanced at the newly-fixed grandfather clock in the hallway, and gasped. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "What?" Phoebe asked. "I just saw what time it is!" Paige yelled, heading toward the door. "I am SO gonna be late for my temp!" she yelled, and ran out the door. "Oh, no! I'm supposed to be at work the same time she is!" Phoebe yelled, and ran to the door. "Pheebs, keys!" Piper yelled after her sisters. 'I'd like to see Phoebe start without them.' Piper thought with a chuckle. "Oh, thanks!" Phoebe said, running back in and taking her keys off the table. "Bye, Piper! By Chrissy!" Phoebe yelled as she jetted away.
"Your Auntie Phoebe is silly. You know that, right?" Piper cooed to little Chris. He gave a little giggle. "I see you do." she said.
.......
It was about two hours later, and Piper was exhausted. 'Taking care of two kids is tough.' she thought as she walked into the conservatory. She had been playing with Wyatt and Chris ever since her sisters left, and she had just finished putting them down for naps. She put the baby monitor on the table, and got settled on the couch. 'Oh, what to do now?' she thought, then smiled. 'I'll read my book. It always helps me relax.' she thought, and picked up her current reading book, POPPED by Carol Higgins Clark. It was the sixth book in a mystery series that she liked. It was an easy read, but it always helped her relax. Well, almost always.
This time, her thought kept drifting back to the attacks that she would start investigating as soon as her sisters got home. 'Why did a demon have to attack NOW?!?" Piper wondered. 'I mean, I have a big gig this weekend! Matchbox 20 is coming to play at P3!' Piper thought. 'But, the damn demon had to come and ruin my blissful week!' She felt a surge of anger rush through her, and, suddenly, her book went up in flames.
.......
AN: I know, this chapter is a lot shorter than the last one, but less stuff had to be in this! Well, um, the clip at the beginning is from DON'T KNOW WHY by Nora Jones. Please review!
Chapter 2 (present):
.......
When I saw the break of day
I wish that I could fly away
Instead of kneeling in the sand
Catching teardrops in my hand
.......
Piper was standing by the stove, nervously making pancakes for her and her sisters to eat for breakfast. She had already fed Wyatt and Chris, and they were playing in the playpen. Her mind should have been on her cooking, but it kept wondering to one person. Leo. He was still an Elder. He had filed a resignation, but, as usual, the Elders took forever deciding. Which meant that Piper couldn't get back together with him yet. Not only she couldn't, but she wouldn't. Even though he wanted to quit, that didn't mean the Elders would except it. Piper didn't want to set herself up for another heartbreak. She had almost died of a broken heart when Leo first became an Elder.
But, that didn't stop her from doing what she had done the night before. She had slept with Leo, again. It was the second time the two had slept together since the divorce. The last time, Leo had been dying, but this time, it just HAPPENED. Phoebe and Paige had both been on dates, so Piper had been home alone with the two boys. She had just put them to bed, when Leo came down to visit them. The rest was just a blur to Piper, everything had happened so fast. At one moment, she and Leo had just looked into each others eyes, the next, she had woken up in the middle of the night, with Leo lying in her bed beside her. Her waking up had woken him up, and he had left hurriedly, both of them stammering as he got dressed and orbed out. 'Did he regret it?' Piper wondered as she was cooking her specialty pancakes. 'Did he not want to do it? Does he love me any more?'
Piper's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming into the kitchen. Piper looked up and saw Phoebe, one eye closed, and her other half open. "Ugh." Phoebe grunted, before grabbing the nearest cup of coffee. "Good morning to you, too." Piper said sarcastically. "You're right, it is a good morning!" Paige said cheerily as she walked into the kitchen, a grin on her face. "Someone had a good time last night." Piper said, noticing the certain glow on her face. "So did I." Phoebe said, the caffeine beginning to enter her system. 'And so did I.' Piper thought. 'But I shouldn't have.' she added to herself, thinking about it.
"So, now that you know our nights, how was yours, Piper?" Paige asked. "I put the kids to bed, then went to bed myself. You know, the work at the club has tired me out, as well as Chris." Piper said. She wasn't exactly lying. That was how she had felt originally. Paige eyed her sister suspiciously, sensing that what she said wasn't exactly true. Piper noticed, and quickly changed the subject. "So, don't you two have work?" Piper asked. "I'm starting my new temp at ten." Paige said. "Yeah, and I don't have to go to the paper until ten, either. I got my advice column done early, for once." Phoebe said. "The demons have been laying off lately, haven't they?" Piper said. "Yeah, we've only had one attack since Chris was born." Paige said, giving a plate to Piper. Piper took her younger sister's hint, and put a few of the finished pancakes on the plate. "Thanks, sis!" Paige said, sitting at the table.
Phoebe looked up. "Where are my favorite nephews?" she asked, looking around. She had noticed the absence of noise in the room. "They're playing in their playpen in the next room." Piper said, sitting down with her pancakes, and handing Phoebe hers. "Oh, okay." Phoebe said, picking up the day's copy of The Bay Mirror. "You read your own paper?" Paige asked. "Yeah, of course I do. I just skip over the Ask Phoebe section, since I already know what it says." Phoebe said, looking at the headline. "Aw, dammit!" she said, looking at it. "What?" her two sister asked, bewildered. "So much for being demon-free." she said, and showed the front page to her sisters. 'Sixth Murder of a Serial Killer' the headline read. The first paragraph of the article read:
Early this morning, a body was found by the headquarters of this very newspaper. The victim was Sharon Taylor. The other victims have been Jasmine Utamyaki, found outside the nightclub P3, Joyce Kennedy, found outside the law firm of Jerico and Mistletoe, Denny MacKlintok, found outside Bob's Supermarket, Neptunne Lazinski, found outside Blue Harrison's Music Store, and Samuel Hiredit, found outside Taylor's Tailoring. These murders are believed to be the work of a serial killer due to similarities in the deaths. All the victims were stabbed in the chest from behind, and killed on a full moon. They also all had the same occult symbol carved onto their chests.
"Creepy, ain't it?." Phoebe asked after the sisters had finished. "I completely agree. I remember when that body was found outside P3. It was a nightmare." Piper said, getting a headache just thinking about it. "You guys." Paige said, a look of shock on her face. "What?" "The law firm, music store, supermarket, and tailoring were places I've temped." Paige said. "And it's the newspaper I work at." Phoebe said, eyes widening. "And my nightclub." Piper said.
Phoebe looked down the few paragraphs, and found what she was looking for. "The rest of the article and a picture of the symbol can be found on page 10A." she read, and flipped to the page, her sisters looking over her shoulder. Sure enough, on page 10A, there was a medium-sized picture of the symbol. The girls gasped. It was the triquetra. "Oh my God." Paige whispered. "Who would use the triquetra for evil? I mean, it's the sign of us, the sign of good witches, the Charmed Ones, the power of three." Phoebe said. "I don't know, but this definitely proved that this is demonic, and related to us in some way." Piper said. She then groaned. "Oh, great! Another demon who wants to kill us." Piper added. "You're probably right, Piper. But what I'm concerned about is why Daryll hasn't contacted us about it yet." Paige said. Just a few weeks ago, the girls had saved Sheila from a random demon attack, so Daryll had decided to help them again. That was the only demon attack they'd had in a while.
Just then, two things happened. The doorbell rang, and Chris began crying in the other room. "So much for Daryll not coming." Paige said, as she and Phoebe headed towards the door. Piper was going to check on her sons.
.......
"Hey, Daryll!" Phoebe greeted as she opened the door. "Hey girls." he returned the greeting. "Daryll, why don't you come in?" Paige invited, pulling Phoebe out of the way.
When the three were settled in the conservatory, Daryll asked "Where's Piper?" "I'm right here." came a call from the doorway. The three looked over and saw Piper, carrying a giggling Chris. "He just wanted me to hold him." Piper replied, sitting on the couch next to Phoebe. "So, are you here about the article in the paper?" Paige asked, getting right to the point. "Yes, I am." Daryll said. "How did you know about that?" "We DO read the paper, Daryll. We're not that weird." Phoebe replied with a chuckle. "Okay, well, one of those knife-thingies was left at the most recent scene." Daryll said, pulling an atheme out from his pocket, in a neat little plastic bag. "Yup, definitely demonic." Phoebe said, taking the knife from Daryll.
"So, should I tell the guys to lay off the case?" Daryll asked. "Yeah, Daryll." Piper said. "We know that the demon or warlock or whatever it is, is after us, so we can handle it." Piper said, a flare of anger coming up inside her. 'Just when our lives were going well.' she thought. "But, if the guys don't lay off, could you bring any other evidence to us, Daryll?" Phoebe asked. "I never know what might trigger a premonition." "Okay." Daryll said, getting up. He was almost out of the room when he stopped, and turned around. "Would pictures help?" he asked. "Of what? The victims?" Paige asked disgustedly. She didn't really know if she wanted to see what the new force of evil was capable of. "The victims, the weapon, the crime scenes, all evidence, and all the things the photographer is required to take pictures of." Daryll said, pulling a manila folder out of his coat pocket. "You know, Daryll, I think that might just help." Phoebe said, taking the folder. "Well, thank you girls." Daryll said, and headed out the door.
Paige then glanced at the newly-fixed grandfather clock in the hallway, and gasped. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "What?" Phoebe asked. "I just saw what time it is!" Paige yelled, heading toward the door. "I am SO gonna be late for my temp!" she yelled, and ran out the door. "Oh, no! I'm supposed to be at work the same time she is!" Phoebe yelled, and ran to the door. "Pheebs, keys!" Piper yelled after her sisters. 'I'd like to see Phoebe start without them.' Piper thought with a chuckle. "Oh, thanks!" Phoebe said, running back in and taking her keys off the table. "Bye, Piper! By Chrissy!" Phoebe yelled as she jetted away.
"Your Auntie Phoebe is silly. You know that, right?" Piper cooed to little Chris. He gave a little giggle. "I see you do." she said.
.......
It was about two hours later, and Piper was exhausted. 'Taking care of two kids is tough.' she thought as she walked into the conservatory. She had been playing with Wyatt and Chris ever since her sisters left, and she had just finished putting them down for naps. She put the baby monitor on the table, and got settled on the couch. 'Oh, what to do now?' she thought, then smiled. 'I'll read my book. It always helps me relax.' she thought, and picked up her current reading book, POPPED by Carol Higgins Clark. It was the sixth book in a mystery series that she liked. It was an easy read, but it always helped her relax. Well, almost always.
This time, her thought kept drifting back to the attacks that she would start investigating as soon as her sisters got home. 'Why did a demon have to attack NOW?!?" Piper wondered. 'I mean, I have a big gig this weekend! Matchbox 20 is coming to play at P3!' Piper thought. 'But, the damn demon had to come and ruin my blissful week!' She felt a surge of anger rush through her, and, suddenly, her book went up in flames.
.......
AN: I know, this chapter is a lot shorter than the last one, but less stuff had to be in this! Well, um, the clip at the beginning is from DON'T KNOW WHY by Nora Jones. Please review!