Piper bathed Wyatt and left him playing in her room while she went to
clean up herself and change in the bathroom. Chloe was walking down the
hall, looking for Chris, and poked her head in the room. "Hey, Wyatt," she
smiled and walked over to him. He was busy building a tower of blocks. He
was so sweet, so innocent, how did he change? "Do you have any secrets
you're willing to share?" she asked, crawling on the floor over to him, and
sitting next to his tower. "Do you mind if I put my hand on your face, you
cute thing?" Wyatt sat down in her lap as if he knew what she was asking,
and Chloe began to read him. There was nothing there, no evil, nefarious
demon with a subplot to brainwash Wyatt. "I don't get it, little man. I
just don't get it." She picked Wyatt back up, out of her lap and kissed
him. He walked over to his shelf and picked up Good Night, Moon and took
it back over to Chloe. "I would be honored to read to you," she grinned
opening the book and beginning.
Piper came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel, and entered her room. Wyatt was levitating his blocks for Chloe who was lying on her stomach in front of him, grinning with pride, and telling him what a good job he was doing. Wyatt giggled. Piper beamed. "He doesn't do that for everyone," she commented entering the room, "He's showing off for you."
"Hi, Piper. I didn't hear you come in," Chloe sat up.
"No, that's ok," Piper took a seat in the rocking chair behind Wyatt. On the table next to her was a collection of family pictures. There was one of Piper, Leo, and Wyatt; all three sisters; Chris; and Victor, Phoebe, Piper and Wyatt. Chloe didn't recognize Victor.
"Who is the man in the picture with you, Phoebe, and Wyatt?" she asked.
"Oh, this?" Piper responded picking up the picture, "That's my dad. This was on Wyatt's first birthday a few weeks ago. It's three generations in one picture, we had to take it," she said handing it to Chloe.
Chloe quickly saw an image of the four of them enjoying cake and ice cream at the party and smiled. "Are you close?"
"We are now. He wasn't around when I was growing up," Piper took the picture back from Chloe.
"I completely understand. My dad wasn't around either. He disappeared when I was five," Chloe looked down at her hands, avoiding Piper's eyes.
"My dad left us when I was five, too," Piper tried to make a connection with the distant young woman.
"My dad didn't leave. He was taken. And it was my fault," Chloe got up and walked over to the window seat, sitting with her legs bent up under her chin. Piper looked at her. The story was bringing out the little girl in Chloe that was in desperate need of her father.
Piper got up and walked over to the window seat with Chloe, "You never told us how it happened."
Chloe wiped her eyes. Just thinking about it always made her cry. Then she began her story, "I was my dad's little princess. He bought me this plastic crown with a big fake pink jewel in it that I would always wear when he would read to me. And once a week was 'daddy's night' when he would cook me dinner, bathe me, and put me to bed," Chloe blinked away a tear. "But that all changed when I was five. I had been going to the Magic School for kindergarten. And I got sick. I don't mean like a common cold kind of sick. I mean I had some mystical, magical, supernatural virus that was next to impossible to get rid of."
"Did my sons get it, too?" Piper interrupted.
"Chris did, Wyatt didn't," Chloe answered, "now that I think about it, Wyatt was the only one of us who didn't get it."
"Us?" Piper was puzzled.
"Twice blessed kids. Kids who had one magical being for one parent and a different kind as another," Chloe's lips curled into a smile.
"There are more?" Piper asked emphatically.
"Oh yeah! You started quite a trend, Piper," Chloe winked patting Piper's pregnant belly.
"Leave it to me to start a trend like that. I'm quite the rule breaker," she winked back.
"So because I was sick," Chloe continued, "my parents brought me home. Every time I sneezed I would shimmer out. At first, I wouldn't go anywhere, just shimmer out and back in the same place. Then my parents started finding me in other rooms of the house. But that wasn't the bad part. I started shimmering out of the house to places around town—and ultimately other planes. To this day, I don't know how I did that. I don't have the power now to shimmer between planes and dimensions. It is far too advanced for me. The only thing I can figure is that it was part of Batterak's plan. Whoever conjured this virus had the idea that the kids would teleport themselves to Batterak somehow. But when I did, he got a bigger prize than he ever expected—and more power than any twice blessed kid could offer him. He got my dad, an Avatar. And perhaps the most powerful Avatar of them all. My dad offered himself in exchange for me, and the other kids Batterak had collected—he naturally accepted. We were all released," a tear rolled down Chloe's cheek, "but I lost my dad," she cried. Piper's maternal instincts consumed her and she cradled Chloe's head to her chest as she cried. "That's part of why it's so hard for me to see how Chris treats Leo. He's not around for him in the physical sense, but he is still there. I haven't seen my dad in any kind of tangible form since I was five. He has the power to haunt my dreams. And I can talk to him there, but it's not the same. It's not the same as being able to have your dad take you in his arms and hug you."
Now Piper was crying, "Oh, sweetie. It is not your fault. Don't you ever think it was your fault. He did what he had to do to save you and the other kids. And now we are going to save your dad and vanquish Batterak's sorry ass, I promise you."
*I hope you still feel that way when you find out who he is,* Chloe thought as she motioned for a box of tissues off the changing table startling Piper.
"How did you just do that?" Piper sat up and looked Chloe in the eye.
"Um... telekinesis," she meekly responded offering Piper a tissue from the box.
Piper looked at her for a couple more seconds, took a couple of the tissues Chloe was offering her, blew her nose, and stood up. "So you have powers you haven't told us about?" Chloe nodded her head. "Do you mind telling me about them now?" Piper sat on the bed across from Chloe.
Chloe motioned for the door to close as Piper continued to glare at her. "I have telekinesis, shimmering, fire or energy ball throwing, and telepathy. But that's all I swear."
Piper stood up angry, "Don't swear, it's not polite," she pointed a finger at Chloe who felt like she was talking to her mother, "Why haven't you told us?"
"I felt I needed to keep it a secret. There's a lot of stuff I need to keep a secret," Chloe frowned. "It's for your protection just as much as it is for mine."
"I am pregnant with my twenty-three year old son, from the future, who is walking around my house and talking to people! I think I can handle knowing what your powers are," Piper scolded. Chloe rolled her eyes, "Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady!" Piper was getting louder.
"Please, I didn't do it to upset you, Piper, honest," Chloe stood up and walked over to her.
Piper looked in her eyes and couldn't stay mad. She had seen this girl's heart as she talked about her father. She knew from the experience of not having her own father around, and seeing how not having Leo around affected Chris, that Chloe had been through too much to have Piper scold her right now. Her grimace softened, "I forgive you," she hugged Chloe. "So, can you explain this telepathy power to me? Is it like having premonitions? Or empathy?"
Chloe took Piper's arm as they sat back on the bed. Wyatt climbed up on the bed with them, having finished building his block tower, and into his mother's lap. "Yes and No," Chloe answered. "It's like having premonitions in that I see visions, images. But they are images of the past not the future. It's like being able to flip back in a book to read the pages that have already been written. I understand situations and people better—and can maybe change the future knowing that information. I can also project these visions and images to other people when I touch them. Let me demonstrate. Do you mind?" Piper shook her head no. Chloe took Piper's hand in one hand and placed her other hand on Piper's cheek. She closed her eyes and Piper mirrored her. Then Piper saw an image of Chloe walking down the hall and entering her bedroom. She saw Wyatt on the floor and began to play with him. They built a tower, read a book, and the image ended with Wyatt floating his blocks for Chloe as Piper entered the room. Both Chloe and Piper opened their eyes and smiled. Chloe continued to explain, "And it's not like empathy because I don't feel another person's emotions, but I can read their mind if I want to when I touch them," off Piper's frantic look Chloe added, "but only if I want to. Every time I touch you, I don't read your mind. No need to panic."
"That's quite a handy set of powers you have there, Miss Chloe," Piper complimented rising from the bed and taking Wyatt to the changing table.
Chloe watched Piper change Wyatt's diaper and as Wyatt floated a stuffed animal to him. And then she remembered, "I do have another power I forgot to mention," Piper turned back to her in anticipation, "I can levitate." Piper's eyes sparked with realization—Chloe had psychic powers and could levitate. She was more than a friend of Chris's from the future, she was family.
Piper came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel, and entered her room. Wyatt was levitating his blocks for Chloe who was lying on her stomach in front of him, grinning with pride, and telling him what a good job he was doing. Wyatt giggled. Piper beamed. "He doesn't do that for everyone," she commented entering the room, "He's showing off for you."
"Hi, Piper. I didn't hear you come in," Chloe sat up.
"No, that's ok," Piper took a seat in the rocking chair behind Wyatt. On the table next to her was a collection of family pictures. There was one of Piper, Leo, and Wyatt; all three sisters; Chris; and Victor, Phoebe, Piper and Wyatt. Chloe didn't recognize Victor.
"Who is the man in the picture with you, Phoebe, and Wyatt?" she asked.
"Oh, this?" Piper responded picking up the picture, "That's my dad. This was on Wyatt's first birthday a few weeks ago. It's three generations in one picture, we had to take it," she said handing it to Chloe.
Chloe quickly saw an image of the four of them enjoying cake and ice cream at the party and smiled. "Are you close?"
"We are now. He wasn't around when I was growing up," Piper took the picture back from Chloe.
"I completely understand. My dad wasn't around either. He disappeared when I was five," Chloe looked down at her hands, avoiding Piper's eyes.
"My dad left us when I was five, too," Piper tried to make a connection with the distant young woman.
"My dad didn't leave. He was taken. And it was my fault," Chloe got up and walked over to the window seat, sitting with her legs bent up under her chin. Piper looked at her. The story was bringing out the little girl in Chloe that was in desperate need of her father.
Piper got up and walked over to the window seat with Chloe, "You never told us how it happened."
Chloe wiped her eyes. Just thinking about it always made her cry. Then she began her story, "I was my dad's little princess. He bought me this plastic crown with a big fake pink jewel in it that I would always wear when he would read to me. And once a week was 'daddy's night' when he would cook me dinner, bathe me, and put me to bed," Chloe blinked away a tear. "But that all changed when I was five. I had been going to the Magic School for kindergarten. And I got sick. I don't mean like a common cold kind of sick. I mean I had some mystical, magical, supernatural virus that was next to impossible to get rid of."
"Did my sons get it, too?" Piper interrupted.
"Chris did, Wyatt didn't," Chloe answered, "now that I think about it, Wyatt was the only one of us who didn't get it."
"Us?" Piper was puzzled.
"Twice blessed kids. Kids who had one magical being for one parent and a different kind as another," Chloe's lips curled into a smile.
"There are more?" Piper asked emphatically.
"Oh yeah! You started quite a trend, Piper," Chloe winked patting Piper's pregnant belly.
"Leave it to me to start a trend like that. I'm quite the rule breaker," she winked back.
"So because I was sick," Chloe continued, "my parents brought me home. Every time I sneezed I would shimmer out. At first, I wouldn't go anywhere, just shimmer out and back in the same place. Then my parents started finding me in other rooms of the house. But that wasn't the bad part. I started shimmering out of the house to places around town—and ultimately other planes. To this day, I don't know how I did that. I don't have the power now to shimmer between planes and dimensions. It is far too advanced for me. The only thing I can figure is that it was part of Batterak's plan. Whoever conjured this virus had the idea that the kids would teleport themselves to Batterak somehow. But when I did, he got a bigger prize than he ever expected—and more power than any twice blessed kid could offer him. He got my dad, an Avatar. And perhaps the most powerful Avatar of them all. My dad offered himself in exchange for me, and the other kids Batterak had collected—he naturally accepted. We were all released," a tear rolled down Chloe's cheek, "but I lost my dad," she cried. Piper's maternal instincts consumed her and she cradled Chloe's head to her chest as she cried. "That's part of why it's so hard for me to see how Chris treats Leo. He's not around for him in the physical sense, but he is still there. I haven't seen my dad in any kind of tangible form since I was five. He has the power to haunt my dreams. And I can talk to him there, but it's not the same. It's not the same as being able to have your dad take you in his arms and hug you."
Now Piper was crying, "Oh, sweetie. It is not your fault. Don't you ever think it was your fault. He did what he had to do to save you and the other kids. And now we are going to save your dad and vanquish Batterak's sorry ass, I promise you."
*I hope you still feel that way when you find out who he is,* Chloe thought as she motioned for a box of tissues off the changing table startling Piper.
"How did you just do that?" Piper sat up and looked Chloe in the eye.
"Um... telekinesis," she meekly responded offering Piper a tissue from the box.
Piper looked at her for a couple more seconds, took a couple of the tissues Chloe was offering her, blew her nose, and stood up. "So you have powers you haven't told us about?" Chloe nodded her head. "Do you mind telling me about them now?" Piper sat on the bed across from Chloe.
Chloe motioned for the door to close as Piper continued to glare at her. "I have telekinesis, shimmering, fire or energy ball throwing, and telepathy. But that's all I swear."
Piper stood up angry, "Don't swear, it's not polite," she pointed a finger at Chloe who felt like she was talking to her mother, "Why haven't you told us?"
"I felt I needed to keep it a secret. There's a lot of stuff I need to keep a secret," Chloe frowned. "It's for your protection just as much as it is for mine."
"I am pregnant with my twenty-three year old son, from the future, who is walking around my house and talking to people! I think I can handle knowing what your powers are," Piper scolded. Chloe rolled her eyes, "Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady!" Piper was getting louder.
"Please, I didn't do it to upset you, Piper, honest," Chloe stood up and walked over to her.
Piper looked in her eyes and couldn't stay mad. She had seen this girl's heart as she talked about her father. She knew from the experience of not having her own father around, and seeing how not having Leo around affected Chris, that Chloe had been through too much to have Piper scold her right now. Her grimace softened, "I forgive you," she hugged Chloe. "So, can you explain this telepathy power to me? Is it like having premonitions? Or empathy?"
Chloe took Piper's arm as they sat back on the bed. Wyatt climbed up on the bed with them, having finished building his block tower, and into his mother's lap. "Yes and No," Chloe answered. "It's like having premonitions in that I see visions, images. But they are images of the past not the future. It's like being able to flip back in a book to read the pages that have already been written. I understand situations and people better—and can maybe change the future knowing that information. I can also project these visions and images to other people when I touch them. Let me demonstrate. Do you mind?" Piper shook her head no. Chloe took Piper's hand in one hand and placed her other hand on Piper's cheek. She closed her eyes and Piper mirrored her. Then Piper saw an image of Chloe walking down the hall and entering her bedroom. She saw Wyatt on the floor and began to play with him. They built a tower, read a book, and the image ended with Wyatt floating his blocks for Chloe as Piper entered the room. Both Chloe and Piper opened their eyes and smiled. Chloe continued to explain, "And it's not like empathy because I don't feel another person's emotions, but I can read their mind if I want to when I touch them," off Piper's frantic look Chloe added, "but only if I want to. Every time I touch you, I don't read your mind. No need to panic."
"That's quite a handy set of powers you have there, Miss Chloe," Piper complimented rising from the bed and taking Wyatt to the changing table.
Chloe watched Piper change Wyatt's diaper and as Wyatt floated a stuffed animal to him. And then she remembered, "I do have another power I forgot to mention," Piper turned back to her in anticipation, "I can levitate." Piper's eyes sparked with realization—Chloe had psychic powers and could levitate. She was more than a friend of Chris's from the future, she was family.