Hey, I'm back. Trying to update sooner.
Paige Halliwell- Thanks. Sorry, I wasn't sure how to spell it so I just went with the "spell it like it sounds" approach.
The-Cheese-Fairy- Thanks, thanks, and thanks, for all of your reviews ;) I originally made Frisco like 17, but I decided that I wanted him with Paige, so I changed it. It's a combination of all of my favorite elements of a story, family reunions, boyfriends, a little tension and trouble... My one thing that drives me nuts, it's Autum, without the 'n'. That's how my name is spelled and everyone gets it wrong, it drives me crazy. Don't worry bout it, though.
So anyways, now that I'm done babbling, here's the next chapter...
"What took you guys so long?" Phoebe asked as soon as Frisco and Paige reappeared. She was moving quickly towards them, but stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw the position that they were in.
"Sorry, we had to do a little fighting. Did you guys happen to get any new powers?" Paige asked as Frisco let her down from his hold.
"No? Why, did you?" Prue asked.
"Yeah, actually, I did. I can heal and some other weird orb thing." she replied.
"Hey, that's not fair! I want new powers!" Phoebe yelled at the ceiling. As if the Elders had heard her call, an orange light came down and hit her. She stumbled backwards.
"Whoa, Pheebs are you okay?" Piper asked, catching her.
"Yeah. Hey can I get some instructions now?" Phoebe asked. Leo orbed down.
"You've just received the power of telepathy. You can now speak to anyone you want through your mind." Leo informed her.
"Am I doomed to crappy powers forever?" Phoebe asked. Leo shrugged.
"No wait. This might be useful. If we have to do any recon, you can talk to us without making any noise." Prue said.
"Paige, you've also received new powers." Leo said, directing his attention towards her.
"Yeah, I know." she said.
"No, I mean besides your healing and unconnective orbing." he said.
"That's what you call that? You guys are lame." Paige said. Leo glared.
"You can also throw orb balls. It's like an energy ball, but it's made of orbs." Leo said.
"Ugh, I hate you." Phoebe said bitterly.
"Yeah, what's with the sudden power boost for Paige?" Piper asked.
"The Elders felt that she would need more for the upcoming battles." Leo explained. He looked at the ceiling. "Gotta go." he said, kissing Piper and orbing out.
"So, did we make any progress while Frisco and I were gone. And where are Cole and Andy?" Paige asked.
"Yes, and in the kitchen." Phoebe said, instantly lighting up at the mention of her boyfriend.
"And what about my brothers and sisters?" Frisco asked, searching for them.
"We sent them to bed. They were looking kind of tired." Piper said.
"Yeah, that was Piper's idea. She went into full on 'Mom Mode'." Prue said.
"I did not!" Piper protested.
"Don't worry honey, you'll make a great mom some day." Patty said, coming in from the kitchen.
"Hey mom!" Paige said, hugging her mom again.
"Hello darling, glad to see you made it back okay." Patty replied.
"So, what progress have we made?" Frisco asked.
"Well, we have all of our magical friends out searching for more recruits. We've got some inspiration from the Muses which resulted in about ten spells from Pheebs, twenty potions from Piper, and thirty or so divisionary war and spy tactics from yours truly." Prue replied.
"Excellent." Paige said.
"So what now?" Frisco asked.
"Well, we wait for our, or your, house guests to report back and then we figure out where to go next. Until then, you can do whatever you want, just make sure your somewhere that you can orb without being seen." Prue said.
"Man, if we pull this off, the Elders owe us big time." Phoebe said.
"Yeah, unlimited and uninterrupted time with my husband." Piper said.
"A month's vacation." Paige said.
"Forget a month, I want a year." Prue said.
"Unlimited spells and potions, personal gain free." Paige said.
"How did I know that was going to come out of your mouth?" Prue asked. Paige smiled and shrugged.
"Well, if I have some down time, then I'm going to the beach, again." Paige said.
"Oh, good idea!" Prue said.
"Wait, I thought you hated the beach." Phoebe said, looking at Prue questioningly.
"Well first of all, the reason I hate the beach is because that's where we went right after Mom's funeral," Prue started. Patty looked at her daughter sympathetically. "and since she's here right now, it's not so bad. Also, Andy will be there and it's impossible to hate something when your boyfriend's there." she finished and she ran into the kitchen to get Andy. Phoebe giggled and ran after her to get Cole.
"Hey, no fair. Leo!" Piper yelled. Leo orbed down.
"Yes, honey." Leo said.
"Come on, we're going to the beach." Piper said. Leo looked at her.
"Don't argue. We have a break and we're all going. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with your wife." Paige said. Leo looked at his wife's pleading face. He smiled.
"Thanks!" Piper exclaimed and she kissed him.
"You coming Frisco?" Paige asked, turning to him. She was very eager to spend some more time with him above the surface in a not so dangerous atmosphere.
"Yeah, just let me go wake up my brothers and sisters. Are we gonna be in the same spot that we were before?" he asked. "Okay, then I'll meet you there." he said with a smile. He quickly kissed Paige and ran upstairs, leaving her bewildered, but smiling.
"Okay, let's go." Phoebe said as she entered the room with Prue, Cole, and Andy.
"Take us there, sis." Prue said as she grabbed onto Paige, while still holding Andy's hand. Piper held onto Leo and Phoebe to Cole. They all orbed and shimmered out. When they reappeared, they were on a secluded part of the beach where no one else was.
"Ugh, we forgot a blanket." Phoebe complained. Paige crinkled her face up in thought.
"Uh oh, I know that look. What are you thinking?" Piper asked. Paige smiled.
"Well, my powers have been advancing." Paige pointed out.
"So…" Phoebe asked.
"So maybe I can orb a whole bunch of specific things to me." Paige finished.
"Paige, I really don't-" Leo started. Paige put her hand up.
"Just don't. We're on break for once; you're here with your wife and sister-in-laws. Don't try so hard to ruin it." she said. Leo looked from his wife to Phoebe to Prue and finally to Paige and fell silent. "Good." Paige nodded. She held out her hands and concentrated. "Blankets, basket, bread, lunchmeat, drinks, Piper's bathing suit, Phoebe's bathing suit, Prue's bathing suit, Leo's bathing suit, Cole's bathing suit, Andy's bathing suit, and my bathing suit." she called. A large ball of orbs appeared and grew larger before becoming solid and dropping Paige's arms. She stumbled backwards and her sisters caught her.
"Geez Paige, that is one kick ass power you have there!" Phoebe exclaimed as they sorted through the stuff Paige had orbed.
"Leo, Cole, Andy turn around." Piper instructed as she and her sisters began removing their clothes. They turned around and waited for the sisters to change. When they finally signaled to them that it was okay, they turned around to see four beautiful women standing there. Piper lifted Leo's chin to draw his attention from the lower areas of her and her sister's bodies. Her sisters giggled and she glared at them, Leo looking guilty. Paige spread out the blanket and put the food in the basket. They all sat down on it, Cole sitting behind Phoebe, Andy sitting behind Prue, and Leo behind Piper. Paige sat alone, but she knew that her new beau would be there any minute. As if on cue, Frisco orbed in right behind Paige, wrapping his arms around her.
"Sorry I'm late, it takes a while to get the members of the O'Reilly family up. They don't like to be awaken." he whispered in her ear. She smiled and snuggled closer into his embrace. His siblings had orbed in and were now setting up their blankets as all seven of them couldn't fit on one. Autum was watching Frisco and Paige whisper and giggle as young couples often do. She wasn't jealous, just cautious. Tristan tapped her on the shoulder.
"You okay?" she asked. Autum nodded absent mindedly, still watching her brother and Paige closely. Tristan picked up the untrusting vibes and put her hands on Autum's shoulders. "Just let 'em go. They're happy beyond belief, trust me." she said. Autum looked at her sister and knew she wasn't lying. They sat down next to each other on the blanket.
"Wow, this is… words can't describe how awesome this is." Phoebe said. Her sisters' nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, but unfortunately when we get back-" Prue started.
"Ah, no! Don't even say it." Piper said, putting her hand up. Prue smiled and lay back in Andy's arms. Phoebe and Piper followed suit, falling back into their respective boyfriend and husband's arms, but Paige and Frisco got up to go frolic in the water. Her sisters smiled and shook their heads.
"Can you tell she's the youngest?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, but then again, once the youngest, always the youngest." Prue said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Phoebe asked.
"She means that you'll be down there with Cole soon enough." Piper answered. Phoebe looked back at Cole and smiled.
Meanwhile, Autum had been watching Frisco and Paige like a hawk ever since they had sat down on the blanket. Her eyes followed each and every movement they made. Her gaze followed them the whole way down the beach and into the water and she watched them splash and play and much to her dismay, kiss.
"What do you think her problem is?" Lyra asked Tristan quietly.
"She's just being the overprotective twin… triplet, whatever." Tristan answered.
"Well I'm his triplet too, but I don't care if he and Paige are together." Lyra said, still confused.
"Yeah, but you know how she is." Bailey cut in.
"She was always like that, even when she was alive." Tanner said.
"She always will be." Payton said.
"She probably raises hell 'Up There' whenever something goes wrong." Tara said with a smile.
"I heard that, thanks." Autum said, still keeping her eyes on her brother and his new girlfriend. Her siblings giggled.
"Lighten up, Aut! Look at your brother. He's the happiest he's been since you and Mom and Dad died." Lyra said. Tristan nodded. Autum sighed and slowly averted her eyes to look at her siblings. They smiled at her and gave her a big group hug.
Meanwhile, Paige and Frisco were having a great time in the water. They had started a little game to see which one could get the other down first. They were staring other down and circling one another. Paige suddenly launched herself at Frisco. He had sensed her move and put his arms up to catch her, but her weight pushed them both under the water. They came up in each others arms and shared another kiss, as this had been about their tenth since they got to the beach (A/N: Can you tell I'm a hopeless romantic? Paige just needs one of those fluffy cute relationships).
"I'm hungry." Paige suddenly announced.
"Hmm, I agree." Frisco said.
"Race ya!" Paige said and she made a dash for the blanket. Frisco ran after her and tackled her just before she reached the blanket, laughing and squealing.
"Whoa, whoa!" Phoebe yelled, shielding her face as sand shot up at them.
"Sorry." Paige apologized as Frisco let her up and they sat on the blanket.
"Do you remember when we were like that in high school?" Prue asked Andy. He smiled.
"I remember a lot of things about when we were in high school." he said. Prue smacked his arm and he laughed. After Paige and Frisco had finished eating, they laid back down on the blanket and relaxed. Autum decided that this was her chance and she got up, despite the protests from her other siblings.
"Um, Paige?" she asked. Paige looked up. "Can I talk to you for a sec."
"Sure!" Paige said and she got up, taking Autum's arm. "Let's take a walk." They walked down the beach and turned to walk along the shoreline. "So what's up?" Paige asked after a while.
"Frisco likes you. It's no secret. Anyone can see it, just like anyone can see how much you like him. He's also my brother and because he's my triplet, I feel an especially strong bond to him. He's young and stupid and he'll fall in love with the first pretty girl he sees that happens to show an interest in him too, and that just happens to be you." Autum said. Paige just looked at her. "I like you Paige, you're good for him. As Lyra pointed out, he's the happiest he's ever been since Mom and Dad died."
"And you." Paige pointed out.
"I guess. Look Paige, I wish the best for you. I really do. I have nothing against you and him together. I guess my thing just is, that I'm so used to protecting them and looking after them that it's hard to let them go. When I died, I tried so hard to come back because I didn't know what to do when I wasn't there to protect them. But they got on just fine. I realize now, being here with them, that they don't need me to protect them. But that doesn't mean I can't try. So here it is, Paige, the sisterly threat: if you hurt my brother, in any way, I will haunt you. My siblings will worse things to you than any demon ever could." she finished. Paige thought for a minute and let everything sink in.
"With all due respect, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about that. I won't hurt him. Ever. And you're right, I like him a lot. I kind of even love him. It's the strongest feeling I've had for a guy since... well, ever. I don't plan on destroying that and I hope he doesn't either." Paige said. Autum looked her in the eye, staring her down. She had a way of knowing if someone was telling the truth by doing that. Paige held her ground and stared back, knowing that this was essential in having Autum and the rest of Frisco's siblings trust her. Finally Autum smiled, showing her approval. Paige let out the breath that she had been holding.
"Sorry if I made you nervous." Autum said.
"I understand. Having three other sisters, I know how it is to test the significant other to make sure that they're okay. Leo, Cole, and Andy all went through the test, believe me." Paige replied. They laughed and made their way back. Paige repositioned herself in Frisco's arms and they spent the rest of the day relaxing with friends and family, with many tensions released on both sides. They finally returned when Grams and Patty called them back to the O'Reilly mansion, with news from the creatures sent on recruiting duty. They gathered up their stuff and orbed back, happy to finally have had a day of rest and relaxation.
So there you go! My next chapter down. I hope you like it. Sorry if it was a little boring. I just felt like they needed a 'normal day'. It's back to the dirty demon fighting next chapter. Keep those reviews coming! Haha, taking Cheese Fairy's tactic. If you hadn't read it, I highly recommend her story: A Life Of Magic. It's good. So anyways, I guess I'm done. I know the story line seems to be dragging a little bit, but I just didn't want to bring it to an end too quickly. I need your opinions, though. Should I completely end the story and round everything up, or should I kind of leave some things undone and write a sequel? I could do it either way. Let me know. Till next time...
Aut
