Chapter 4: Hospital Checkup
"What's wrong with her?" Leo asked the doctor for about the tenth time. He turned to look at Leo.
"Calm down, Leo," Dr. Wartburg told him. "Actually let me examine her peacefully for a few minutes. Why don't you go down the hall and buy a soda and get Piper here a bottle of water. She really needs to stay hydrated right now."
"I am thirsty," Piper added.
"Alright," Leo said reluctantly. "I'll be right back, sweetie." Piper nodded her head. Leo left the room and started walking down the hallway.
Dr. Wartburg then started to examine Piper. First he listened to her heart. He told her to take deep breaths and to release them. Then he took her blood pressure. Under his breath, he muttered 'normal'. He examined her throat, ears, nose, and eyes next.
"I'm going to have to draw some blood and run tests," he said. "I'll get a nurse to do so. At home, be sure to keep hydrated as I said before. Also, take some vitamins. This could be nothing more than a common cold or flu. If you experience any more symptoms, please tell me at your next appointment, which I'm arranging for the 24 at the clinic. If you do get too bad, do come back to the hospital again. Until the blood results come back, I'm just going to advise you to take Sudafed or any other over-the-counter medicines." He got up off his chair and opened the door. "Get better soon."
"Thank you, doctor," Piper said. A few minutes later, the nurse came in to draw her blood.
"This will only hurt for a moment," she reassured.
"Oh, it's okay," Piper said. "I'm not ten anymore. I used to run out of the room screaming at the sight of needles."
"My son is the same way," the nurse said as she drew Piper's blood. Leo then walked in. At the sight of the nurse drawing Piper's blood, he got an exclaimed look on his face. The nurse pulled the needle out and put everything back down on the tray. "I'll see you later." She opened the door and left. Piper got up and put on her jacket.
"How could you let her do that?" Leo asked once she was out.
"What?" Piper asked.
"Take your blood. Remember what happened the last time when a doctor had a hold of your blood?"
"Leo, don't be such a worrywart," Piper said. "It's okay. They're only doing a few tests on it. They're not doing a medical study on it like Dr. Williamson did. Stop worrying so much. You're getting too paranoid."
"I'm sorry, Piper," Leo said, suddenly turning soft. "I've been under a lot of stress lately."
"Yes, I know," Piper said. "Can we get home? I'm starting to feel dizzy." Leo was about to say something. "Don't even say it. We're going home. This isn't a major symptom so I don't need to go running back to the doctor."
"Fine," he said. "Let's go."
"This is so amazing. I still can't believe it." Darlene kept rambling. "Ever since I got my power, I had to keep myself secluded from other people. I never could tell anyone about me. And now I can."
"Let's go get something to eat," Paige said. "Fighting demons gets me hungry."
"So, do you fight demons often?" Darlene asked as they walked towards Paige's car. Paige smiled to herself.
"More than you can imagine," she answered.
"That was an awesome power you had there. I wish I had something more than my aura viewing. It gets a little boring at times."
"Don't be in too big of a hurry to get an active power. Once you do, it can be hard to control. Personally, mine wasn't, but from what my sister, Piper has told me about when she first got hers', it was hell. Another thing, more and more demons and warlocks will be after your powers if you get stronger ones. That's just something to keep in mind."
"I'd love to be able to fight back though," Darlene said. They then emerged out of the alley and onto a crowded sidewalk. "All I can do is see my enemy and hope I have a potion ready." Several people gave her a puzzled look. Paige gasped.
"Video games," Paige said. People rolled their eyes and walked on. Paige turned to Darlene. "You have to keep your powers more of a secret than that. You almost exposed yourself."
"Sorry," Darlene said. Once to the car, Paige started to feel around her pockets.
"Just wait," she said. "I think I dropped my keys in the alley somewhere. Wait here. I'll be right back." Paige ran off to find her keys. "Hmm, where could I have dropped them?" She had no idea that the invisible demon was approaching her.
"Paige, look out!" Darlene yelled from a ways away. Paige looked up and felt a massive swing send her flying into a wall. "Paige!" Darlene ran over to her. She grabbed a metal pole to protect herself with.
"That's not gonna help you," the demon said, becoming visible.
"This will," Paige said, grabbing onto her and orbing away.
"Damn it," he said.
"Why do you want that power so bad anyways?" Rindo asked, becoming visible as well. "It's just a lousy little one. You should be after something much bigger, like molecular combustion or that telekinetic orbing."
"I'm only after aura viewing so that I can see my own invisible enemies. They've been plaguing me for some time now. I need a defense against them. I stole invisibility from one of them, but it's not enough. Once I have aura viewing, I will begin starting to get bigger powers." He paused for a moment. "What about you? Why don't you attack the Charmed Ones yourself? You're practically invincible, right?"
"Because I don't want them aware that I am still alive," Rindo answered. "Last time they found out, my plans were foiled by Tempus. I'm not going to let this happen again."
"Why isn't there anything here?" Phoebe asked, closing the Book. Wyatt looked at her and babbled some incoherent words. Phoebe looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks for your input." Suddenly, Paige and Darlene orbed in, causing Phoebe to let out a scream.
"Calm down, Phoebe," Paige said. "It's only us."
"Us? Who's she?"
"She's my charge, Darlene," Paige said. "There's a demon after her powers. I need to use the Book." Phoebe moved out of the way as Paige opened the Book. "Darlene, keep a lookout for that demon."
"Need any help?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't think so," Paige said. "We can handle it." Phoebe nodded her head and walked towards the door. Downstairs, they heard Piper and Leo come in. Phoebe ran down the stairs to greet them.
"Just the person I wanted to see," Phoebe said to Piper.
"Not now, Phoebe," Piper and Leo said simultaneously. Phoebe frowned.
"My stomach has gotten worse since we left the hospital. I need to lay down."
"We'll talk later then," Phoebe said. She then turned to Leo. "Are you at least going to help me?"
"I don't really know what I could do, but I'll do what I can."
"Leo!" Paige yelled from the attic. He and Phoebe went upstairs to see what she wanted. "Finally," Paige said once they got up there.
"What do you want?" he asked. Then he turned his attention to Darlene. "Who's she?"
"She's my charge and a demon's after her."
"Paige, the whole point of being a whitelighter is for you to guide your charges, not bring them home for protection."
"What did you expect me to do?"
"Never mind that now. What demon's after her?"
"Just an ordinary lower-level demon is after her powers. His name is Farkal. The thing is, I can't figure out why."
"What other reason is there?" Phoebe asked. "You just said yourself that it wants her powers."
"Yeah, but her powers are…" She looked at Darlene.
"Weak," Darlene finished. Paige nodded her head.
"Well, there must be some reason he wants them," Leo said. "Some strategic value to them. What are they?"
"Aura viewing," Paige said. Leo thought for a moment.
"You're right," he said. "What demon would want that?"
"You lost me," Phoebe said. "What's aura viewing?"
"It's the power to view things that you can't see with the naked eye," Leo said. "You can also see people's auras."
"Meaning?"
"Everyone has their own auric color," Darlene said. "It changes from time to time, but there are certain colors like red, which means the person is full of vitality, blue, which means loving and caring, and a wide array of colors."
"That's amazing," Phoebe said. "It's like taking my empathy to a whole new level."
"We need to find out about this demon, not about auric colors," Paige announced.
"Right," Phoebe said. "I'll take the boys downstairs and check on Piper." She picked them up and walked for the door. Suddenly she stopped. "Someone's in here."
"Darlene," Paige said. "Do you see anyone?" She looked around. She frantically pointed to a running, red figure.
"There!" she yelled. Paige looked to where she was pointing.
"Couch!" she shouted, orbing the couch in front of the demon, forcing him to trip over it and fall. He became visible. He formed an energy ball and threw it at Paige. She ducked out of the way. Phoebe, who had just set the boys down, ran at Farkal and kicked him onto the couch.
"Paige, get Darlene out of here," Phoebe said.
"No," Darlene said. "I'm a witch too. This is my fight."
"She's right," Leo said. "She's meant to vanquish this particular demon."
"How do we know that demons isn't meant to vanquish her?" Paige asked. Leo didn't have an answer for that.
"At least get Wyatt and Chris out of here," Phoebe said. Leo quickly picked them out and ran out of the room.
"Athame!" Paige yelled, orbing a ritual knife at the demon's chest. It plunged into his chest. They expected him to go up in flames, but instead, he took the knife out and threw it on the floor. Realizing his new power from Rindo, he smiled.
"He should be vanquished," Phoebe said. "He's a lower-level demon."
"Not anymore," he said, throwing an energy ball in her direction. Piper, groggy looking, walked into the room.
"Can't a woman get some sleep around here?" she asked, flicking her hands to blow the demon up. Nothing happened. She looked down at her hands for a moment, and then looked up with a fearful look on her face as an energy ball hit her.