Charmed: Tangled Webs

Chapter 7: Charming the Household

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or anything associated with it. I do own the plot of this story and the Original Characters.

Daemon's Point of View

I was exceedingly tired when I finally went downstairs to talk to my sister.

"Well?" Mr. Jessup demanded once I entered the room.

"She should be fine." I said, dropping onto the couch. "She calmed down once she got to destroy something."

"That's a relief." Mr. Dean said. "Thank you…Daemon."

I smiled slightly at his hesitation. "Well-I like Ava." I said. "I don't know why—but I'm pretty sure that I would miss her if she fell."

Mr. Jessup chuckled. "That's not too much of a surprise. Ava has that effect on a lot of people."

"What's wrong with her?" I asked them.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Jessup asked me.

"At first I thought that Ava was possessed." I said. "But she isn't. Her power carries a trace of demonic magic. It felt familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"So what's wrong with her?"

The two gentlemen looked at each other.

"It's not so much that there's something wrong with her." Mr. Jessup said after a few minuets. "It's more that she doesn't like facing that part of herself. Ava believes that if she were to embrace the demonic traces in her nature, that they would consume her. There is no known case of someone being half-demon and still being what would be considered Good by most people."

I nodded. "So she's afraid of being consumed?"

"I'd say cautious." Mr. Dean said. "What did you mean by 'she calmed down once she got to destroy something'?"

"She almost pulled the headboard apart and when I tried to hold her wrists down there was a power flare." I explained. "The chest of drawers is matchsticks. But after the flare she passed out. You might want to go check on that bodyguard."

"Shit." Mr. Jessup ran out of the room.

Charlotte walked into the room with a tea tray. "How is she?" she asked.

"Asleep." I said.

"And the wounds?" she carefully set the tray on a low table. Pouring a cup she added two sugar cubes and stirred it until the cubes dissolved. Seamlessly she handed it to her father.

"Thank you Lottie." Mr. Dean said.

"You're welcome Dad." She said. "Would you like some tea Daemon?"

"Do you have an green tea?" I asked.

"Of course." Charlotte smiled as she turned back to the tea tray. I noticed that there was a second teapot on the tray. Pouring the tea into another cup she handed it to me. "You don't take honey do you?"

"No." I smiled blowing on it.

Charlotte poured herself a cup of tea and added a splash of milk as well as three sugar cubes. "Where's Bane?"

"He went to go check on Hong-Anh." Mr. Dean said. "Daemon hinted that she might be hurt."

"Not on purpose." I quickly reassured Charlotte. "Ava had a power surge and Hong-Anh got caught in it. So did your chest of drawers. Sorry."

"Are they ok?" Charlotte asked. "Ava and Hong-Anh-forget about the chest of drawers."

"I think that Ava will be ok and the human bodyguard just bumped her head. I'm sure that she's had worse."

Charlotte nodded. "She has. What about this power surge?"

"That's what we were talking about Lottie." Mr. Dean said. "Daemon wants to know more about Ava's power surge."

"Well Ava…" she shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Has issues. She's half afraid of her demonic side and half scared because she likes the feeling that her power gives her."

"I see." I sipped my tea. "If she keeps running from her demonic magic-she'll eventually lose herself to it completely. Her only hope lies in finding a balance between her demonic powers and her wiccan powers."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mr. Dean asked.

"I told you," I replied. "I like Ava. Besides, I know what she's going through. Having her powers at war inside of her. Frankly-I find it amazing that she is able to use her wiccan powers at all."

"What was it like for you?" the kindness in Charlotte's voice nearly killed me.

I stood up and went to a window. "I spent years-even before I became corporeal feeling as though I was being torn apart." I said. "It nearly drove me mad."

"You look nearly as exhausted as we are." Charlotte said.

"Lottie's right." Mr. Dean stood up, walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You should get some rest."

"What about Ava?" I asked.

There was a pause and I could sense Mr. Dean turn his head to look at Charlotte. "I assume that the girls have a way to contact you."

"They do." I nodded.

"If there's any change in Ava's condition, then Lottie will contact you." Mr. Dean said. "You can also check on her if you feel the need to."

"Thank you Mr. Dean." I said. "It really means a lot to me."

"You helped us save a member of the family, Daemon." He said. "I figure that we at least owe you the benefit of the doubt."

I couldn't help smiling. "I'll go and get some rest." I nodded. "I'll come back in two days if I don't hear from you sooner. If that's all right with you."

They both nodded. I flamed out.