A/N (which I promise is shorter than the last one) I had actually wanted to have you guys figure this out from the context of the story as it progressed, but I decided that it would be better if I told you guys outright: Tyler is not an abusive husband. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, I have to say that I agree with Shel in that I seriously cannot imagine Phoebe in an abusive relationship; the circumstances would simply not fit. Secondly, like Scary Miss Mary said, the abusive husband deal (with or without Jason) has been done before, and I'd like to try something a bit different. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly; failed marriages are not always the result of an abusive husband. There are many, more commonplace and more subtle ways to break up a couple; the abusive husband, though popular in stories, is the extreme.

Also, to a comment from Shel about the tub not clogging up sooner; the ring is magical, remember? ;-)

So, now that we're all clear; Chapter One!

Twice Cursed
Chapter One

"Hey Paige, have you seen Chris' bib anywhere?" called Piper from the kitchen to the living room.

"No," Paige yelled back. "Do you want me to help you look for it?"

"I was thinking you could call for it instead," Piper shouted.

Paige got up from her seat in front of the TV and walked over to the kitchen. "You know we can't use our magic for our own purposes," she pretended to admonish her oldest sister.

"Don't you use that teacher voice of yours on me, missy," answered Piper, managing to grin even as she whisked around the kitchen, preparing apple sauce for Chris as he banged his small fists on his high chair. "Besides, it would hardly count as personal gain if it takes time away from demon-hunting. If Chris gets completely covered in apple sauce—which will happen—then I'll have to take the time to clean him. And that time will take away precious minutes from blowing up various evil creatures."

"Y'know, having that bib really won't matter," Paige commented amusedly. "Because bibs can't prevent babies from getting food in their hair."

Piper threw up her hands. "It doesn't hurt to try."

The two sisters heard a clatter at the steps and they both peeked out of the kitchen to see their sister bounding down the steps, practically bursting from happiness. "Phoebe?" Piper tried.

Phoebe noticed them and beamed. "Tyler said he was sorry," she said. "I'm gonna go back now." She ran up to her sisters, pulled them into a big hug, and kissed both of them on the cheek. "Thanks a lot you guys." Then, without missing a beat, she ran to the door and hurried outside.

Paige and Piper stood still for a few seconds, then exchanged dark looks before heading back to the kitchen with a lot less exuberance.

Piper reached for the apple sauce and started to feed Chris. He took in one spoonful and promptly spat it out again, nearly soiling his clothes in the process. Paige sighed and held out her hand. A light blue bib with a yellow duck on it appeared amidst bright blue lights, and she handed it without a word to Piper. Piper nodded in thanks and after sternly telling her son that spitting out food was bad, continued to coax Chris into actually swallowing the food.

Paige watched Chris eat, a gloomy expression set on her face. "Tyler Murray," she said, the distaste clear in her mouth. "What a freaking—" she caught herself just in time, glancing nervously at Chris. One look at Piper's face however told her that she agreed with the sentiment.

"Remember when we thought he was half-way decent?"

"Yeah, well, that was before they got engaged," Paige muttered.

"What number was he again?"

"Well, let's see. After Jason, and minus all the one-night stands that we don't know about, there was Leslie, then Louis, Matt, Kyle, Sylvester, Gabriel, Nathan, Thomas—"

"No, Thomas was before Nathan. Remember? He was over for her birthday. Blonde, birthmark on his left arm—?"

"Oh, you're right. After Nathan was...John. Then that brief thing with Omar, then Doug, then—Tyler." Paige shook her head and started to rearrange the spices on the counter to keep her hands busy. Honestly, she and Piper didn't really care what Tyler was like, just as long as Phoebe decided to settle down and take a breather from her dating spree. But they never expected them to get married only after a month of knowing each other.

"We should've tried to stop the wedding from happening," said Piper half-heartedly, even while knowing that they wouldn't have. All they wanted was to have Phoebe happy—and there was no chance now of that ever happening while she keeps being with him. "At least we convinced her to not tell him about us being witches," she said.

"And thank God for that," Paige spat. "Knowing the greaseball businessman that he is, he'd probably sell us out to the highest bidder." Paige sighed and put the pepper shaker she was holding in her hands down. "You know, I almost miss Cole." Paige paused slightly when Piper sent her a clear be-careful-for-what-you-wish-for look. "But I'm serious! At least we knew he loved her. Tyler is just your average, ordinary piece of scum."

"Well, he's dead," Piper said darkly. "It took two tries, but he's dead." She fed Chris another spoonful which he dutifully swallowed, his big eyes following Paige's progress as she paced the kitchen. Suddenly, he gurgled in his throat and pointed toward the living room.

Piper and Paige looked at each other in surprise and a bit of fear, and then turned around to face the newcomer...

"Leo," said Piper with a small exclamation of relief. From behind them, Chris made another gurgle, then sounded.

"Da!"

"Chris!" exclaimed Leo with a huge smile on his face. He lifted his youngest son from his high chair and lifted him slightly. Chris cried in delight, and Leo lowered his son to a more secure position in the crook of his arm. "You're getting bigger day by day," Leo cooed at him. Then he turned to Piper. "Wyatt's playing in the den with that small stuffed horse that Phoebe gave him, he adores it," he informed his wife.

"Yeah, speaking of Phoebe, did you find out what was the whole bathtub thing was about?" Paige asked.

"Yes, I did," Leo said hesitantly. "There was a lot of hair clogging it, but that wasn't the problem that started it. It was this." He held the ring delicately between his two fingers, careful to not slip it on accidentally.

Piper was the first to respond. "Isn't that...Gram's ring? The cursed one that Cole gave Phoebe?" she asked, a bit doubtfully. "What was it doing in the bathtub drain?"

"Never got the chance to ask," Leo answered. "She didn't even see what it was—she got a call from Tyler first." He looked at the ring. "It's not tarnished or faded at all," he commented. "Guess that goes to show the curse is still very much intact."

Paige reached over and plucked the ring from Leo, wanting to see it for herself. She couldn't quite believe... "Well, when we asked her about it right after she got freed of the curse, all she said was that she had gotten rid of it, right? Which I guess means that she threw it down the drain. But...how could've it stayed there for so long and not have it clog up sooner?"

Piper, in turn, took the ring from her as well and peered closely at it. She tilted the ring slightly to the light and saw the same inscription she did years ago, burned into the cursed ring by their grandmother.

To gain another, to lose oneself.

Piper sighed and placed the ring in the palm of her husband's hand. "Are you going to give it to her?"

Leo closed his hand upon the ring, then opened his hand again. "I should, shouldn't I? I mean, it is technically hers, after all. She has a right, but I really don't feel like inflicting any more pain on her."

Phoebe's two sisters agreed, nodding sadly and silently. Yet Paige looked up, a spark of an idea in her eye. "But you know," she said reasonably, "maybe the ring will help her realize what a bad relationship she's in."

"Or," rebutted Piper, just as reasonably, "She'll just sink into a deeper depression with the realization that her love life is always screwed up."

The three of them were quiet for a beat, before Leo spoke up. "Both of you are right, of course," Leo said heavily. "If I find the right moment to give it to her, I will. If I don't..." he shrugged. "I don't want to be the cause of any more unneeded sorrow."

They all acquiesced and broke off to attend to their various jobs around the house, Leo taking great care to put the ring firmly in his jeans pocket. Even as he orbed to another one of his charges, however, the ring glowed slightly and moved itself—right onto the bedspread of the middle Halliwell sister.