Buck woke up the next morning lying in a bed that wasn't his own, in a room he didn't recognize. He looked about him, confused and trying to work out how he'd got there. He didn't remember much about the night before and didn't even remember going to bed in the room.
"Hey, my bed soft enough for ya?" asked a man with shoulder-length medium brown hair, standing beside the bed.
"Your bed?" asked Buck, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Yeah, they all decided you could sleep in MY bed," said Vin, with slight anger in his voice.
Buck put his hand to his now-throbbing head. "How much did I drink last night?"
"Enough ta drown in I reckon. Had ta orb ya back here b'fore ya collapsed."
"That wasn't a dream then?"
"Buck, you better get up or you'll be late for work," warned JD, as he walked into the room in only his pants; then opened a closet.
"Oh, sh..." cursed Buck, noticing the time on the wall-clock.
"Better watch yer words, Pal - Ma an' Pa can hear yer every word and they ain't too keen on cursin'," warned Vin, before Buck could complete his sentence.
"But they're dead ain't they?"
"They're watchin' us from heaven an' I don't want ta upset them."
"I'll have to miss breakfast. You got anything for my head?" asked Buck, starting to recall dancing at the club and flirting with a few women, including the pretty waitress called Inez, although he could recall her resisting his advances.
"Sure," said Vin, then put a hand palm outward in front of Buck's forehead. A bright yellow glow came out of Vin's hand, and Buck felt his headache dissipating.
"Thanks, that's magic," said Buck, then realized the double meaning and chuckled.
"It's nice to hear you laughing," said Josiah cheerfully, as he walked into the bedroom wearing a navy suit complete with matching tie.
"I had a good time last night, thanks."
"When you're in the magic business, you can't just walk around mourning lost loved-ones all the time. We've all lost someone we love in this family and we know we have to get on with our lives. That doesn't mean we don't miss them though - because we do." Josiah's voice lowered on the last three words - Gloria and Terrence had been very loving parents, even more loving than his real ones before his mother had died. Then the man felt a supportive grip on his shoulder.
"None of us will ever stop mourning the deaths of those we've loved and lost - but we can work our damned hardest to stop more being lost," said Chris sombrely, still touching his older brother's shoulder in support. Chris missed Gloria and Terrence a lot as well. The two oldest missed them the most as they had been with the Potters the longest.
"I have to get going..." Buck started to say, but was cut off when a mass of white orbs appeared in the room.
A man with dark-brown hair appeared when the orbs had vanished and stepped forward. "Buck, there's no need for you to go to work at the law-firm anymore. No-one there remembers you, and Mr. Anderson never worked there."
"What?" Buck couldn't believe what he was hearing - if what the man said was true, then there must have been some magic used to wipe people's memories at the company. Buck was slowly believing in magical happenings and beings, but it still seemed slightly unreal to him.
"I WAS Mr. Anderson, but really I'm a Whitelighter and my name is Andrew Jameson. I was only at the company to watch out for you, but I wasn't allowed to tell you of your true destiny. I was your father's Whitelighter, so I owed it to him to watch out for you. I wasn't able to heal your father as he was already dead when I got there, and I can't restore life to the dead. I have since seen your father and he doesn't blame me for what happened, as neither of us were expecting that demon to attack him. I would've become your Whitelighter."
"What do you mean 'would've become mine'?" asked Buck; noticing that all the brothers had left the room by then. Buck didn't mind being left alone with Andrew though; he felt safe with the man and could only sense good in him.
"I've been re-assigned now. The Elders would prefer that Nathan be your Whitelighter, now that you're friends with the Potter witches."
"I'd like you as my Whitelighter since you was Dad's," said Buck, remembering how good and kind-hearted his father had been and how honored he'd be to have his dad's Whitelighter working for him.
"The Elders' decision is final, I'm sorry. I would've been proud to be the Whitelighter to the son of such a courageous and selfless witch. I am allowed to come and check on you occasionally though," said Andrew. "How are you coping with things, Buck?" Andrew looked into Buck's eyes as if he could find an answer there. It must be a lot for Buck to cope with, especially because he'd lost his mother as well.
"I'm not sure, but I am starting to believe in stuff I never imagined was real. I never believed in demons before, but seeing that purple one convinced me. I feel much happier now I've killed the guy who got dad."
"Buck, I have to go now. There's someone else who wants to see you. When I'm able to, I will be watching you to see how you're doing. Be careful," said Andrew, then the white orbs reappeared and took him away.
"Bye Andrew, and thanks." Buck felt grateful to the man for looking out for him at work - maybe the demon might've attacked if Andrew hadn't been there. Everything seemed to be making sense to Buck, even if it did sound slightly far-fetched.
"Buck, turn around and let me see you," said a soft male voice that sounded vaguely familiar to the young man.
Buck obeyed and stood looking in shock at the solid form of his father. "Dad? But h-how?"
"I'm a ghost, Buck - sometimes ghosts are allowed to leave the spirit plane for a while. There are also spells to call ghosts to your plane, but they should only be used if it's really necessary."
Buck walked nervously to his father and his father wrapped his arms around his son in a hug. Buck found himself at a loss for words - he was so happy to see his father again - even if he was only a ghost.
Buck's father then let go of his son to address him. "I've been watching you for a long time, and I feel bad that I couldn't help you become a witch sooner. You have a lot to learn and the Potters' sons are the best teachers for you. I am hopeful they will let you stay here for a while - you are vulnerable to evil until you have learned to properly control your powers."
"I think I'm getting better with the transformation one, but that's the only power I know of - do I have others?" asked Buck - it hadn't escaped his notice that his father had said 'powers', meaning he must have more than one.
"There is another power very different from the first, but you won't be able to use it until you are more experienced with magic. You need to practise changing your shape, so that you only use it when necessary and not by accident. It could prove fatal if you change shape by accident at a critical time," explained Buck's father.
"I remember Mom saying I have my great-grandpa's powers. What powers do you have?"
"When I was alive, I could move objects in my line of vision with my mind. I only received my powers about twenty years ago and I too was very sceptical when I was first told about the existence of real magic. After I became a witch, I saved a lot of innocents and killed even more demons - for all this I gained a good reputation in the Wiccan world and made a great many friends. You must carry on the work which I started - there is still a lot of evil in the world."
"I promise I will, Dad," vowed Buck; he hadn't known that his dad had been such a hero - now it was up to him to carry on his father's work.
"Thank you for vanquishing the demon that killed me - I feel more at peace now that justice has been served. I see you doing a lot of good in the future, so long as you listen to what you are told and don't stray from your path. I have to go now. Farewell Buck," said Mr. Wilmington, who was then enveloped by a mass of yellow orbs that took him back to the spirit plane.
Buck walked out of the room to find the brothers and to start being a proper male witch - he would do his best for his parents. He believed that they really were watching him from the spirit plane and would be watching his every move. He would make them proud like he had always striven to do when they were alive. Buck couldn't wait to start saving innocents - he couldn't imagine a more worthwhile job to have - even if he wouldn't get paid for it, he suspected. He'd have to find a new job to earn money when he wasn't saving innocents and vanquishing demons.
The End - except for the last chapter that is like the epilogue.