SEVEN

"Hi," Darren said. "I know I was supposed to call. But it's such a beautiful day I thought maybe a ride through the park would be better."

"Darren," Piper said, handing Wyatt to Chris. If she needed to use her powers she wanted both hands free. And Wyatt out of the way. "How did you get my address?"

"From the phonebook," Darren said, the smile fading. "I'm sorry if I've come at a bad time. I just thought that after last night I needed to make it up to you."

"Oh, okay," said Piper, not sure what to say. "Well, uh, these are my sisters, Phoebe and Paige. And this is Chris, a friend of the family."

"And who's the little one?" Darren asked.

"Oh, uh, that would be Wyatt," Piper said. "He's, uh, my son."

"Your son?" Darren questioned. "You never mentioned a son."

"Yeah, well, I was waiting for the right time," Piper said.

"Well, he's adorable," said Darren. "So, are you going to ask me in or not?"

"Not," Chris said before anyone could answer.

"I see," said Darren. "Piper, if I've done something I'm sorry. Everything seemed to be going so well and I just thought..."

His voice trailed off suddenly as he got a perplexed look on his face.

"What's the matter?" Piper asked uneasily.

"Does he do that much?" Darren asked pointing at Wyatt.

They all looked at Wyatt to see him orbing his eyes. The same thing he had done recently to try and scare off most of Pipers' dates.

"Wyatt, stop that," Piper said, taking her son from Chris.

"Wait a second," Darren said. "You have a son. A son who can orb his eyes."

Suddenly Darren broke out in a fit of laughter. It subsided quickly and he wiped a couple of tears from his eyes.

"Something funny?" Phoebe asked.

"More than you know," Darren said. "You're the Charmed Ones. Piper has told me so little about her family I never would have guessed."

"You know who we are?" Paige asked. "Not surprising, really. I guess most warlocks know who we are."

"Warlock?" Darren questioned. "Is that what you think I am?"

"How do you explain this?" Chris said, holding up the athame he had found in Darren's apartment. "You seem to have a number of them. Not to mention you seem to figure prominently into quite a large number of murders and disappearances. Both here in San Francisco and back in Maryland."

"I see you've been checking me out," Darren said. "If I can come in for a minute I think I can clear this whole misunderstanding up."

"Come in and do what?" Phoebe questioned. "If you know who we are then you must also know you won't get away with whatever you have planned. We've dealt with warlocks before."

"I'm very aware of that," Darren said. "Please. It will take only a minute. And I'm pretty sure you don't want me doing it out here. Where all the neighbors can see."

"Just remember," Piper said, "we know how to handle your kind. Try anything funny and you won't live long enough to finish it."

Smiling Darren followed them into the living room. The sisters took up defensive postures around him while Chris stood in the back holding Wyatt.

"You're right, Piper," Darren said. "This is a beautiful house."

"Enough chit chat," Piper said. "You said you had something to say. Well, say it."

"Actually," said Darren, "more like something to show you. Keith."

"Your cohort?" questioned Paige. "He won't be able to help you here."

"Please, just wait," said Darren. "Keith, it's okay. I need you down here right now."

Suddenly a figure began to orb into the living room next to Darren. As the figure orbed in, Leo came walking out of he kitchen.

"What's going on?" he asked.

No one spoke. The figured finished orbing and Keith stood next to Darren a perplexed look on his face.

"Darren, are you sure it was such a good idea to," he began. Then he noticed Leo standing behind the group. "Leo? What are you doing here?"

"Keith," said Leo. "I could ask you the same thing." He turned to Piper who had a perplexed look on her face. "What's going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Piper said.

"As I said," said Darren, "I think I can clear up this little misunderstanding. I'd like you all to meet Keith Spencer. My Whitelighter."

"Leo?" Keith questioned again. "Well, if you're here then that must mean... That means that Piper and her sisters are... And the child is... Oh my God. You're the Charmed Ones."

Suddenly Keith started laughing. Darren just stood smiling at the group as they all watched in total amazement without any idea of what was going on.