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 stirred the contents of the pot. The aroma that came off the simmering potion made her feel faint, and slightly sick.
She checked the Book for any other ingredients that she would need. Powdered Caraway seeds were atop of the list, and she strained for the pestle and mortar. A hand passed it to her across the counter.

She looked up and saw Leo. 'Thanks,' she said, softly. She added the seeds, and started to crush them. She put them in the pot, and then replaced the lid. She walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. Leo sat opposite, 'So much for you having to relax, huh?'
Piper nodded, 'Yeah, I didn't really expect there to be much chance of that anyway. This is my life we're talking about…'

Leo said, 'What about Paige and Laura?'
Piper looked at her watch, 'Well, they've been gone for over an hour, and I'm starting to get really worried. Would have thought they would have been back by now.'
Leo said, 'Laura seems smart enough, and we know what Paige can do. They'll be fine.'
Piper didn't look convinced, 'Well, if they aren't back within the hour, I'll go after them myself.'

Leo looked troubled, 'I don't think…'
Piper gave him a look, 'Leo, I really need your support right now, more than I need your judgement.'
Leo looked her straight in the eye and placed a hand over hers, 'Piper, what I said…when I told you I still loved you…it wasn't just in passing. I meant it, which means that I can't just let it go…'

Piper looked down, 'I can't think about that right now. I have to concentrate on my sisters, Chris and Wyatt. Then, maybe I can think about you.' She hauled herself up and walked towards the kitchen door. She turned and said, 'The potion will be done in about five minutes, so I'll need you to turn off the heat,' before walking out of the room, with Leo staring after her.

Paige could hear somebody calling her name. She wanted to see who it was, they might need help, but she felt distrustful, more so than she had ever done in her life. What did they want from her? It was probably a trap…Laura. She knew there was something about her that wasn't right. She suddenly felt the feeling lessen…

'Hey, are you okay?' Shock numbed her senses and she looked around bewildered. She could see faces, concerned looking faces staring back at her.

She didn't understand why they were looking at her; she was fine. She remembered that it was Friday, and she had to get home.

She strained to remember where she was. She could see light, people and a busy road. What was she doing on the sidewalk?

She felt a hand on her arm, lifting her up, supporting her.
Everything suddenly just clicked and came into focus.

She saw the truck veer toward them and the car swerved. Her mom screamed…
Paige sobbed as she saw the car in flames before her…

Phoebe shook herself as she sat up. It was pitch black, and she couldn't see a thing.
'Prue?' she called. She was sure that she hadn't imagined it, imagined her. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and groped about for something, anything. Her hand brushed against stone, and she grasped the jagged edges of a wall face. Her arms shook and she felt weak, but she gritted her teeth and pulled herself up. She felt smothered, as though the cloying darkness was suffocating her.

She stepped forwards, cautiously. Her movements seemed stiff, forced and each footfall made her think that she was falling. She stopped for a second, and did nothing but remember. She had almost forgotten how much it had hurt, how much she cried. She didn't know how long she had sat with Piper that night; holding each other…

Laura heard a voice, distant and echoing. She tried to pull away from the memories that were replaying over and over inside her mind, but it felt as though they were heavy; like carrying a weight...

She jumped backwards, still screaming. She stumbled and fell over, but she carried on scrambling. By now she was sobbing, calling out, 'Mom...Piper...Paige...!'

She heard a noise on the stairs, and her head spun around, 'Chris!' she sobbed, but she was unable to say more. It felt as though someone was squeezing her throat, rendering her dumb.

She felt Chris put his arms around her, 'What's the matter?' he asked, urgently. She said nothing, but looked fearfully at the kitchen doorway, which had been plunged into shadow once more.

Chris followed her gaze, and slowly stood up, 'What is it? Is there a spider or something?' he asked. It was true, of all the things to be afraid of, she couldn't stand spiders. But now, she knew that spiders were the least of their worries…

Chris looked at her expression. She was frozen in fear, and staring intently at the doorway, as thought expecting something to emerge from the shadows.
He took a deep breath. He had to be brave, look out for Laura whenever he could.

He walked slowly into the kitchen and looked around.
The milky moonlight light that shone through the gap in the curtains cast an eerie glow about the room. He could see something on the floor…a huddled figure. He walked over to the light, and switched it on…

Lazarus Demons, Scavenger Demons, Muses. Chris flicked over every page…nothing. Piper walked into the attic, 'Found anything?'
Chris shook his head, 'This book needs indexing, seriously. There's nothing in here that tells me how to get my powers back. The only thing I can think of is if I get the atheme back. But even then, there's no guarantee that it'll still contain my powers.'

Piper said, 'We could summon the demon that took it…'
Chris said, 'Can you say, long shot?'
Piper said, 'No, it just might work. With a spell of course…'
Leo entered the room, 'The potion's done,'.
Piper turned to him, 'Good timing. We have a plan,' she stated.
Leo asked, 'What kind of plan?'