Chapter Twelve
Monday 1:50 AM
"I think I stopped the bleeding," said a kneeling Paige, when Piper made it back into the room.
"That's great. For a while there, I didn't think we could get in contact with the nymphs long enough for them to give us a drop of spring water," she said as she sat down on the sofa. Being pregnant tended to tire someone out, regardless of how powerful the baby would be when it grew up.
"Yeah, we were lucky that they didn't go running off into the woods again," said Phoebe, who stopped going through the Book, yet again, and went to go sit down next to her older sister. "Word got around fast when that demon attacked those nymphs we helped. All of them are kind of shying away from anyone who isn't, literally, naturally magical."
"By the way, do we still have enough of the potions you made? I know you had to split the drop between the burn, cut, and broken bone potions, but I want to make sure we have some left over just in case he needs more...or, you know, if...when we get attacked again and one of us is left dying," Piper said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, we have more. If you use a rag and wipe it on, you use less of it," answered Paige. "Most of its down in the kitchen though," she said sheepishly. "I kinda wanted to get him the potions as soon as possible so I only got a few vials and of them and left the rest in the pots. I promise, I'll clean them up before I go to bed."
"Nah, it's okay. Just leave them overnight. I'll do it in the morning. Don't worry about it."
Phoebe slightly jumped. "Wow, Piper. That's so...uncharacteristically non- anal retentive/obsessive compulsive/mature/human of you." Phoebe's eyes narrowed. "You didn't get hit in the head with one of those flying books earlier, did you?"
Piper glared. "No, I did not." Her features softened after a while. "Though, thank you for being concerned. I guess I'm just tired," she said, sighing. "Being pregnant with the man-boy from the future, who is now our whitelighter, as well as my son, while dealing with his issues and, now, apparently the issues of the future, as well as his ex lying formerly battered across from me, while he's technically not even born yet, is just a little too much, a little too weird, if that's even possible for us."
Phoebe cooed and then spoke with fake sympathy. "Not in this family."
"Yeah...uh...that's kinda what I wanted to talk about," said Paige quietly, as she crossed the room from where she laid down the boy on the other couch. "What I'm worried about."
"What? That nothing's too weird for this family?" asked Phoebe, her eyes furrowing as her face took a confused look.
Piper couldn't hold back a chuckle as Paige's eyes almost rolled out of her head. "No, dumbass, I was talking about the flying books," she said as she glared at Phoebe. Her face took on a concerned look as she thought about what happened. "What made Chris snap like that?"
Phoebe couldn't decide between laughing or glaring at being called a dumbass—she knew she had her moments—but her expression changed when she saw where her sister was going with this. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never seen him like that before..."
"What? You mean you weren't there when he beat Leo into a bloody pulp?" Paige asked with a sarcastic smile.
"No, dumbass," Phoebe answered, elated that she could throw it back. "What I meant was, I never saw him that mad before, but the thing is...I could have sworn I felt emotions coming off of him. You know, like actual emotions."
"Yeah, ha ha, Phoebe. So Chris is human. Surprise! We already knew that. He is my son," Piper said, looking at her sister as if she were crazy.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that...I've never really felt anything from him at all...ever," Phoebe said shifting her head to look at both of her sisters. "Except that time with Bianca, and I don't even want to think about what that means."
Paige remained silent and looked at Phoebe. She was off in la-la land again. When she finally noticed that both Paige and Piper were looking at her, she coughed and shifted in her seat.
"Well?" asked Paige.
"Well, what?" answered Phoebe, getting very nervous now.
Paige rolled her eyes. "What did you get off of him? What was he feeling?"
"Oh," she answered. "I don't know. It was all kind of muddled up. I think I felt...anger, fear, definite paranoia," she tilted her head a little to emphasize her point, but she quickly sobered up. "But...now that I think about it, I'm almost certain that I felt...pain...a lot of it actually. I think...mostly, I think that that little show he put up was really just a shield. It's like he's trying to hide what he really feels, and he's really afraid of anyone finding out. What's worse is, I don't think even he wants to realize just how hurt he really is, either."
"I think you're right," said Piper, surprising both her sisters into looking at her. "I think that that was just an act; that he was just performing so he wouldn't have to deal with his feelings, and I think that because...especially because...I remember feeling like that." Piper's voice was sad, yet her eyes stayed dry, the nights of thinking, helping her to not get upset whenever she thought about it. "When Leo showed up again, when we were in Valhalla, I just remember feeling really, really mad, but, deep down...I think I was just...hiding? It was like I was looking for another way to get past my feelings at that point. I just...didn't want to deal with it, and getting angry at him was just the easier thing to do. And now...for Chris...I mean, even if the guy cheated on him...and—even if it did seem like he loved Bianca a lot—it's obvious he loved this Brett guy first," Piper paused to look at her sisters. "And...if the look on Chris' face earlier, before we found out anything about Brett, when we first found Brett here alone with him, says anything about his feelings at all, I think...I know that Chris still loves him."
A silence filled the room after Piper's revelation.
"Well, I hope you're right about this hiding thing because I was seconds away from smacking him over the head," Paige half joked, still remembering her nephew little episode.
Phoebe moaned and sighed. "Oh, Paige."
A yelp of disbelief arose from the youngest sister. "What? I just think that, no matter how mad you are, just because someone cheated you, does not mean that you get permission to beat them to a bloody pulp. Besides, I saw you trying to stop him, too."
"Um, excuse me. This coming from the girl who put her cheating ex in jail," Phoebe said with a small smirk on her lips. "And, secondly, yeah. I tried to stop him, not maim him."
"Well, that first thing was different," insisted Paige. "Nate could have exposed us as witches. I was merely trying to save us from a Salem flashback. Bastard priests, evil witch hunters, stake burnings, and all."
Phoebe and Piper winced.
"What?" Paige asked.
"Nothing. We'll tell you some other time," said Piper hurriedly while Phoebe just smiled.
"What now?" asked Paige.
"Nothing. It's just...since when were you against the Salem Witch Hunt?" asked Phoebe.
"Oh...well...since I was little. I couldn't explain it. I just thought that that was mean. I mean, it's not like I though witches were real, it's just that, I thought that those people should at least have had a fair trial," answered Paige while she slightly shook her head.
"You too, huh?" asked Phoebe in a teasing tone. "Prue, Piper, and I really didn't like the subject either growing up. We all just thought that it was because Grams always hated it, but, then again, we didn't know about her growing up."
"We didn't know a lot of things growing up," Piper said sardonically. "It sure would have helped us a lot more if she kept us in at least some stuff," she said as she looked at Paige.
"Yeah, but I'm kind of glad she didn't," said Phoebe. "Otherwise, Paige may not be the way she is now, and that would just be a shame...I think."
"Ha, ha," said Paige sarcastically, "but, yeah, I know what you mean. I'm glad we turned out like this, too," said Paige after slightly shoving Phoebe.
Another silence washed over the room.
"So, uh, maybe we should talk about Brett and those de—"Paige tried.
"No," Piper cuttin her off. "No talking about demons or evil or bizarre twenty-year-olds from the future tonight," she elaborated, obviously tired. "Not until morning, when everything just tends to make a little more sense."
Yet another silenced drowned out the other sounds of the room, until someone was brave enough to break it.
"So, uh, this 'Brett and Chris' thing...in other words..." Paige paused while her sisters turned to look at her, "...not good?"
Piper sighed. "Seriously 'not good.' You do remember Bianca, don't you? After her, he was so..." she stopped to make compacting—almost strangling—gestures with her hands, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips in a firm scowl, "...when she was here, and at least with her, he had some sort of closure, and was more or less fine after a while. As far as we know, those two," she said as she gestured to indicate the unconscious body on the other couch, "could still be waiting for a conclusion of some sort...or at least Chris might." She stopped to sigh. "This could really break him right now. I mean, he, as an individual, made a lot of progress since we found out he was part of the family. I mean, he didn't always come to me with his problems, but...at least he called me 'Mom.' I...I don't think I could go back to just being 'Piper,'" she said as her eyes started to water. "I just...I don't want to lose him."
"Oh, honey," cooed Phoebe as she stretched over to hug her sister, while Paige merely sat down on the arm of the sofa and patted her shoulder. "Chris loves you. I'm sure of it. He'll probably feel bad, but I doubt that he'll give that up now."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's just going through a hard time right now. I mean, if Chris got engaged to Bianca, then they must have been together for a while. He probably got over most of whatever he had with Brett," added Paige.
"Thanks you guys, and nice try Paige," added Piper, eyes sad, but desperately trying for gratitude, while she began to stand up, "but Phoebe's the empath, and if she thinks that she felt something off him more than when she felt something when he was unconscious while Bianca was here, chances are, he's probably carrying a hell of a lot more issues, and I don't think we should ignore that." Piper gave them a stern look. "Promise me you guys will keep an eye on them?"
"Of course, sweetie," answered Phoebe. "Although, I would like to know where you're going. I mean, we just found out that your son is, at least, bisexual. This could be like, the most normal drama that this house has seen over the last century. You'd think you'd want to talk about it...or, you know, make a mental list of jokes for tomorrow, because this is just too juicy to not make fun of," she added with a forced laugh almost escaping her lips.
Piper glared. "That's my son you're talking about. It's not nice to make fun of him because of his sexual preference..." she paused, "...while he's not here, because where would be the fun in that?" she asked, smiling awkwardly. "But, no. I'll have to pass. Besides, I figure, they must have been happy for a very long time before breaking up, otherwise, why would either of them be hurting so bad, right? If he was happy, then more power to him." she answered innocently. "Or it could be that I don't want to think about any other alternatives right now, especially because I can already feel my brain shutting down, and would rather believe that nice little illusion, rather than deal with reality...at least for now," she continued brightly. "So, now, I'm going to say goodnight to Chris, bottle up the rest of my emotions because I don't think I can handle them right now, and go to sleep." She rubbed her stomach. "This is one energy- sucking baby, so if you'll excuse me," she said, trying to smile warmly, but only succeeded in making it look worse, and began walking out. "Don't stay up too long. You have work tomorrow."
Paige winced when she saw Piper's fake smile and desperately tried to keep up the levity Piper started for all their sakes. She knew that none of them would be sleeping well tonight. "First of all, why did you have to remind us? Second, where do we put him?" she asked as she gestured to the sleeping figure on the sofa. "What if a demon attacks? And, third, you know where Chris is?" she asked, perplexed. "I've been trying to sense him for hours."
Piper, half way down the stairs, yelled back. "Put him in Chris' bedroom, since I don't think he's coming back home tonight, anyway. The alarms Chris put up should keep him safe. As for Chris...well, he's miserable, lonely, and, more importantly, wants to feel better. Where do you think he went?" Paige shook her head in response. "As for reminding you...because it's fun." Paige and Phoebe hear a door open and shut after a muddled "goodnight."
"P3?" asked Paige, dejectedly.
"You know it," answered Phoebe, feeling morose, and showing it.
"Well, I guess goodnight then," Paige said, hugging her sister. "Oh wait. Brett'll need some clothes. Um...should we go shopping tomorrow?"
"Yeah, why not?" answered Phoebe, attempting nonchalance and failing. "If he's going to be staying here, he might as well be an excuse for new shoes."
"Right. I'll go with you," Paige said as she hugged her sister, trying to give as well as receive as much comfort from the physical embrace as possible before orbing with the other boy to Chris' abandoned bedroom. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Phoebe yelled to the scattering as she walked across the room, turned off the light, and closed the door.
With that, three sisters laid down in their beds, struggling for sleep that would not come in the wake of their feelings of misery and helplessness.
Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.
Monday 1:50 AM
"I think I stopped the bleeding," said a kneeling Paige, when Piper made it back into the room.
"That's great. For a while there, I didn't think we could get in contact with the nymphs long enough for them to give us a drop of spring water," she said as she sat down on the sofa. Being pregnant tended to tire someone out, regardless of how powerful the baby would be when it grew up.
"Yeah, we were lucky that they didn't go running off into the woods again," said Phoebe, who stopped going through the Book, yet again, and went to go sit down next to her older sister. "Word got around fast when that demon attacked those nymphs we helped. All of them are kind of shying away from anyone who isn't, literally, naturally magical."
"By the way, do we still have enough of the potions you made? I know you had to split the drop between the burn, cut, and broken bone potions, but I want to make sure we have some left over just in case he needs more...or, you know, if...when we get attacked again and one of us is left dying," Piper said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, we have more. If you use a rag and wipe it on, you use less of it," answered Paige. "Most of its down in the kitchen though," she said sheepishly. "I kinda wanted to get him the potions as soon as possible so I only got a few vials and of them and left the rest in the pots. I promise, I'll clean them up before I go to bed."
"Nah, it's okay. Just leave them overnight. I'll do it in the morning. Don't worry about it."
Phoebe slightly jumped. "Wow, Piper. That's so...uncharacteristically non- anal retentive/obsessive compulsive/mature/human of you." Phoebe's eyes narrowed. "You didn't get hit in the head with one of those flying books earlier, did you?"
Piper glared. "No, I did not." Her features softened after a while. "Though, thank you for being concerned. I guess I'm just tired," she said, sighing. "Being pregnant with the man-boy from the future, who is now our whitelighter, as well as my son, while dealing with his issues and, now, apparently the issues of the future, as well as his ex lying formerly battered across from me, while he's technically not even born yet, is just a little too much, a little too weird, if that's even possible for us."
Phoebe cooed and then spoke with fake sympathy. "Not in this family."
"Yeah...uh...that's kinda what I wanted to talk about," said Paige quietly, as she crossed the room from where she laid down the boy on the other couch. "What I'm worried about."
"What? That nothing's too weird for this family?" asked Phoebe, her eyes furrowing as her face took a confused look.
Piper couldn't hold back a chuckle as Paige's eyes almost rolled out of her head. "No, dumbass, I was talking about the flying books," she said as she glared at Phoebe. Her face took on a concerned look as she thought about what happened. "What made Chris snap like that?"
Phoebe couldn't decide between laughing or glaring at being called a dumbass—she knew she had her moments—but her expression changed when she saw where her sister was going with this. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never seen him like that before..."
"What? You mean you weren't there when he beat Leo into a bloody pulp?" Paige asked with a sarcastic smile.
"No, dumbass," Phoebe answered, elated that she could throw it back. "What I meant was, I never saw him that mad before, but the thing is...I could have sworn I felt emotions coming off of him. You know, like actual emotions."
"Yeah, ha ha, Phoebe. So Chris is human. Surprise! We already knew that. He is my son," Piper said, looking at her sister as if she were crazy.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that...I've never really felt anything from him at all...ever," Phoebe said shifting her head to look at both of her sisters. "Except that time with Bianca, and I don't even want to think about what that means."
Paige remained silent and looked at Phoebe. She was off in la-la land again. When she finally noticed that both Paige and Piper were looking at her, she coughed and shifted in her seat.
"Well?" asked Paige.
"Well, what?" answered Phoebe, getting very nervous now.
Paige rolled her eyes. "What did you get off of him? What was he feeling?"
"Oh," she answered. "I don't know. It was all kind of muddled up. I think I felt...anger, fear, definite paranoia," she tilted her head a little to emphasize her point, but she quickly sobered up. "But...now that I think about it, I'm almost certain that I felt...pain...a lot of it actually. I think...mostly, I think that that little show he put up was really just a shield. It's like he's trying to hide what he really feels, and he's really afraid of anyone finding out. What's worse is, I don't think even he wants to realize just how hurt he really is, either."
"I think you're right," said Piper, surprising both her sisters into looking at her. "I think that that was just an act; that he was just performing so he wouldn't have to deal with his feelings, and I think that because...especially because...I remember feeling like that." Piper's voice was sad, yet her eyes stayed dry, the nights of thinking, helping her to not get upset whenever she thought about it. "When Leo showed up again, when we were in Valhalla, I just remember feeling really, really mad, but, deep down...I think I was just...hiding? It was like I was looking for another way to get past my feelings at that point. I just...didn't want to deal with it, and getting angry at him was just the easier thing to do. And now...for Chris...I mean, even if the guy cheated on him...and—even if it did seem like he loved Bianca a lot—it's obvious he loved this Brett guy first," Piper paused to look at her sisters. "And...if the look on Chris' face earlier, before we found out anything about Brett, when we first found Brett here alone with him, says anything about his feelings at all, I think...I know that Chris still loves him."
A silence filled the room after Piper's revelation.
"Well, I hope you're right about this hiding thing because I was seconds away from smacking him over the head," Paige half joked, still remembering her nephew little episode.
Phoebe moaned and sighed. "Oh, Paige."
A yelp of disbelief arose from the youngest sister. "What? I just think that, no matter how mad you are, just because someone cheated you, does not mean that you get permission to beat them to a bloody pulp. Besides, I saw you trying to stop him, too."
"Um, excuse me. This coming from the girl who put her cheating ex in jail," Phoebe said with a small smirk on her lips. "And, secondly, yeah. I tried to stop him, not maim him."
"Well, that first thing was different," insisted Paige. "Nate could have exposed us as witches. I was merely trying to save us from a Salem flashback. Bastard priests, evil witch hunters, stake burnings, and all."
Phoebe and Piper winced.
"What?" Paige asked.
"Nothing. We'll tell you some other time," said Piper hurriedly while Phoebe just smiled.
"What now?" asked Paige.
"Nothing. It's just...since when were you against the Salem Witch Hunt?" asked Phoebe.
"Oh...well...since I was little. I couldn't explain it. I just thought that that was mean. I mean, it's not like I though witches were real, it's just that, I thought that those people should at least have had a fair trial," answered Paige while she slightly shook her head.
"You too, huh?" asked Phoebe in a teasing tone. "Prue, Piper, and I really didn't like the subject either growing up. We all just thought that it was because Grams always hated it, but, then again, we didn't know about her growing up."
"We didn't know a lot of things growing up," Piper said sardonically. "It sure would have helped us a lot more if she kept us in at least some stuff," she said as she looked at Paige.
"Yeah, but I'm kind of glad she didn't," said Phoebe. "Otherwise, Paige may not be the way she is now, and that would just be a shame...I think."
"Ha, ha," said Paige sarcastically, "but, yeah, I know what you mean. I'm glad we turned out like this, too," said Paige after slightly shoving Phoebe.
Another silence washed over the room.
"So, uh, maybe we should talk about Brett and those de—"Paige tried.
"No," Piper cuttin her off. "No talking about demons or evil or bizarre twenty-year-olds from the future tonight," she elaborated, obviously tired. "Not until morning, when everything just tends to make a little more sense."
Yet another silenced drowned out the other sounds of the room, until someone was brave enough to break it.
"So, uh, this 'Brett and Chris' thing...in other words..." Paige paused while her sisters turned to look at her, "...not good?"
Piper sighed. "Seriously 'not good.' You do remember Bianca, don't you? After her, he was so..." she stopped to make compacting—almost strangling—gestures with her hands, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips in a firm scowl, "...when she was here, and at least with her, he had some sort of closure, and was more or less fine after a while. As far as we know, those two," she said as she gestured to indicate the unconscious body on the other couch, "could still be waiting for a conclusion of some sort...or at least Chris might." She stopped to sigh. "This could really break him right now. I mean, he, as an individual, made a lot of progress since we found out he was part of the family. I mean, he didn't always come to me with his problems, but...at least he called me 'Mom.' I...I don't think I could go back to just being 'Piper,'" she said as her eyes started to water. "I just...I don't want to lose him."
"Oh, honey," cooed Phoebe as she stretched over to hug her sister, while Paige merely sat down on the arm of the sofa and patted her shoulder. "Chris loves you. I'm sure of it. He'll probably feel bad, but I doubt that he'll give that up now."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's just going through a hard time right now. I mean, if Chris got engaged to Bianca, then they must have been together for a while. He probably got over most of whatever he had with Brett," added Paige.
"Thanks you guys, and nice try Paige," added Piper, eyes sad, but desperately trying for gratitude, while she began to stand up, "but Phoebe's the empath, and if she thinks that she felt something off him more than when she felt something when he was unconscious while Bianca was here, chances are, he's probably carrying a hell of a lot more issues, and I don't think we should ignore that." Piper gave them a stern look. "Promise me you guys will keep an eye on them?"
"Of course, sweetie," answered Phoebe. "Although, I would like to know where you're going. I mean, we just found out that your son is, at least, bisexual. This could be like, the most normal drama that this house has seen over the last century. You'd think you'd want to talk about it...or, you know, make a mental list of jokes for tomorrow, because this is just too juicy to not make fun of," she added with a forced laugh almost escaping her lips.
Piper glared. "That's my son you're talking about. It's not nice to make fun of him because of his sexual preference..." she paused, "...while he's not here, because where would be the fun in that?" she asked, smiling awkwardly. "But, no. I'll have to pass. Besides, I figure, they must have been happy for a very long time before breaking up, otherwise, why would either of them be hurting so bad, right? If he was happy, then more power to him." she answered innocently. "Or it could be that I don't want to think about any other alternatives right now, especially because I can already feel my brain shutting down, and would rather believe that nice little illusion, rather than deal with reality...at least for now," she continued brightly. "So, now, I'm going to say goodnight to Chris, bottle up the rest of my emotions because I don't think I can handle them right now, and go to sleep." She rubbed her stomach. "This is one energy- sucking baby, so if you'll excuse me," she said, trying to smile warmly, but only succeeded in making it look worse, and began walking out. "Don't stay up too long. You have work tomorrow."
Paige winced when she saw Piper's fake smile and desperately tried to keep up the levity Piper started for all their sakes. She knew that none of them would be sleeping well tonight. "First of all, why did you have to remind us? Second, where do we put him?" she asked as she gestured to the sleeping figure on the sofa. "What if a demon attacks? And, third, you know where Chris is?" she asked, perplexed. "I've been trying to sense him for hours."
Piper, half way down the stairs, yelled back. "Put him in Chris' bedroom, since I don't think he's coming back home tonight, anyway. The alarms Chris put up should keep him safe. As for Chris...well, he's miserable, lonely, and, more importantly, wants to feel better. Where do you think he went?" Paige shook her head in response. "As for reminding you...because it's fun." Paige and Phoebe hear a door open and shut after a muddled "goodnight."
"P3?" asked Paige, dejectedly.
"You know it," answered Phoebe, feeling morose, and showing it.
"Well, I guess goodnight then," Paige said, hugging her sister. "Oh wait. Brett'll need some clothes. Um...should we go shopping tomorrow?"
"Yeah, why not?" answered Phoebe, attempting nonchalance and failing. "If he's going to be staying here, he might as well be an excuse for new shoes."
"Right. I'll go with you," Paige said as she hugged her sister, trying to give as well as receive as much comfort from the physical embrace as possible before orbing with the other boy to Chris' abandoned bedroom. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Phoebe yelled to the scattering as she walked across the room, turned off the light, and closed the door.
With that, three sisters laid down in their beds, struggling for sleep that would not come in the wake of their feelings of misery and helplessness.
Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.