The Second First Born

N.B.I hope you're in it for the long haul! Please R&R! Also, disclaimer. I don't own Charmed, the show or any of the original characters.

Piper stood by the doorway, looking at a teenage girl, with long, chocolate brown hair, and deep green eyes, as she sat, inspecting her fingernails. Her features were familiar...comfortably so. If only she could remember where from...
'Stop staring...you're making me nervous,' Laura said, with a grin on her face. Piper folded her arms over a very swollen stomach, 'Who are you?'

Laura looked her in the eye, her gaze was piercing. 'I thought that 'Aunt Piper' would have given you the general idea...' Piper raised an eyebrow, 'You can stop with all the smart-ass crap...neice or no.'
Laura smiled, 'You know, you're taking this very well...'

'If you were me, nothing would surprise you,' Piper explained.
Laura fixed her again with a determined stare, 'And you can stop with all the cryptic crap. I think...you know more about me than you're letting on.'
Piper frowned a little, 'So what if I do..?'
Laura stood up and started pacing,'We didn't get off on exactly the right foot, did we?' Piper snorted.

Laura looked at her, and held out a hand, 'My name is Laura Halliwell. I'm...'
Piper cut in, 'Phoebe's daughter.'
Laura looked stunned, 'Is it that obvious?'
Piper laughed, 'No...I should have been expecting a little visit,'

Laura looked a little awkward, 'Look, about Chris...I didn't mean it, all the stuff I said...'
Piper put up a hand, 'Well, you're allowed to be a little mad. So wait, Bianca...black leather catsuit, bad highlights, kinda tacky...right?'
Laura's eyes widened, 'You've met?'
Piper nodded, 'In a manner of speaking. She tried to cut my throat.'

Laura grinned, 'Been there, done that,' she looked upset, 'I just hope I wasn't too much of a bitch. It's just...Chris is my whole family. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead nearly killed me...' Piper was surprised at the change in this cocky and confident girl, as soon as Chris was mentioned. 'Well, despite upsetting Chris in the first two minutes of you being here, I'd say that you come over a lot better than Chris did.'

Laura's attention was caught by bright blue orbs congregating in the corner. Her expression was anxious as she waited to see if it was Chris, but breathed a sigh of disappointment when she saw it was Leo.
'Piper, thank god…' Leo began, but he trailed off as he saw Laura. He gave her a look, and then whispered behind his hand to Piper, 'Innocent?'

Laura snorted, 'I'm anything but innocent, Leo.' Leo looked off-put by this remark. He pointed at her, 'How does she…who…?'
'Long story,' said Piper, 'What's up?'
Leo gave Laura one last suspicious look. She gave him a grin and waggled her fingers at him.
Piper nodded, showing that it was okay to talk in front of her.
Leo touched her arm and led her over to the other side of the attic, 'Piper, Phoebe's missing.'

Laura leapt up from the window seat, 'What!'
Piper looked at Leo, her brown eyes full of concern. 'What…what do you mean, missing?'
'I mean, I can't sense her. I can't find her anywhere,' Leo said.
Piper said, 'But why would you be trying to sense her anyway?'

Leo shrugged, 'I like to check up on you guys now and then, especially Phoebe, as she doesn't have her powers.'
Piper started pacing, 'I shouldn't have let her go out on her own, this is all my fault…' Leo went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes, 'Hey, listen. You can't keep Phoebe wrapped up in cotton wool, you should know that by now. It's not your fault. And,' he added, 'we're gonna find her, okay?'

Piper nodded, reassured. At that moment, Paige orbed into the room, and like Leo, doubled back when she saw Laura.
She looked questioningly at Piper, 'Innocent?' Laura, however, didn't seem to be listening, as she walked towards Leo, 'Okay, tell me all the facts. When was the last time you sensed her? Oh, god, maybe she's…'

Piper turned to her, 'No, use your head. If…if that was the case, then you wouldn't be here.'
Leo's brow was furrowed in confusion. 'Who are you?' he asked.
Laura sighed. She held out her hand to Leo, 'Hi, Laura Halliwell, seventeen, second generation, NOT an innocent, any questions? No? Good, okay lets get back to the issue here people…'

Paige cut in, 'Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Can we back up a little in here? You're Laura…?'
'…Halliwell,' finished Laura.
'Second…?' asked Paige.
'…Generation,' said Laura.
'My head hurts,' Paige complained.

'Yeah, mine too, but she's right, we have to focus,' said Piper, 'for a start, I think we need all the help we can get. Chris!' She waited for a few seconds, before calling again, 'Chris!' After the fifth attempt, Paige started looking concerned, 'Should we be worried?' she asked.
Piper shook her head, 'No, he's probably just sulking. Chris! Listen to me, we need your help. Phoebe needs your help. So you can orb your butt over here, understand?'

Paige raised her eyebrows and leaned towards Leo. She mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, 'Hormones?' Leo shrugged. Piper turned around and waved a hand at them, 'You bet your ass it's hormones. My philosophy is, you got 'em, you use 'em. Chris!'
Paige went over to Piper, 'Easy there, tiger. In the very unlikely event that you have forgotten, you are seven months pregnant. Look, go check on Wyatt and try to relax. We'll deal with this.'

Piper looked at Paige in disbelief. 'Relax? Relax, she says! My little sister is missing and you want me to relax?'
Paige looked at her, pleadingly.
Piper sighed, 'Okay, I'll go and check on Wyatt, but I will NOT relax!' With that, she stormed out of the attic, her high-heeled boots making hollow clunking noises as she stepped.

Paige pulled a face, 'Was it something I said?' Leo smirked, slightly.
Laura piped up, 'Could we do something to help my mom, please?' Paige looked a little puzzled, 'Mom?'
Laura started towards The Book of Shadows, 'Yeah…Phoebe, my mom.'
There came a yell from downstairs. Leo and Paige looked at each other for a split second. Leo said, 'Piper…' before taking off down the stairs, closely followed by Paige.

They thundered into Wyatt's bedroom, but withdrew a little as they saw a giant of a demon, towering over Piper and Wyatt. An electric blue force field separated the demon from mother and son. The demon wore a long black cloak, and across his chalk white face, he bore a black marking. His watery red eyes were fiercely fixed on the force field.

An atheme appeared in his hand, and he brandished it. Paige called, 'Atheme!' The small, silver coloured blade orbed into her hand. She threw it at the demon, who had turned as she called. As the atheme spun through the air, time seemed to slow as the demon raised his hand, so that his palm was facing Paige.
The atheme rebounded off his hand, back towards Paige. Paige cringed, but the blade never struck. She looked up, and she saw that the blade had stopped in mid-air, inches from her chest.

Leo tackled the demon to the ground. Paige looked over at Piper, 'Thanks,' she said. Piper shook her head, 'I didn't do anything!' The demon threw Leo across the room, and he crashed into the wall. The demon stood, and drew himself up to full height. Suddenly, the atheme turned, and was sent, straight at the demon.

Caught unawares, the blade sank into the demon's chest. He looked down and stepped backwards in shock. He howled in pain, and there was a sudden upsurge as the demon exploded.

Clouds of dust were sent everywhere. Paige coughed as she waved her arms around, trying to disperse ash that was flying around. She stood on her tiptoes and looked over at Piper, 'What was that?'