As Chris and Emily rematerialized in the middle of the Halliwell kitchen, the woman drew a few deep breaths and attempted to steady herself on a nearby counter. Chris could tell that his appearance at the Hughes residence had given Mrs. Hughes quite a shock…but he had also come to the logical conclusion that the woman was probably a witch.
Her surprise had come from seeing him at the house…not from his teleporting them across the city.
She had seen magic before…
"Okay." Emily began quietly, slowly looking up at the young man. "I want more of an explanation. Where is Jenny? What is going on? And…are you a whitelighter?"
Yep.
That confirmed it.
If she knew what a whitelighter was, then she obviously knew all about magic.
Chris smiled slightly. "Mrs. Hughes, I'm sorry that I had to intrude like that, but I did not really have much of a choice." He paused and decided that it would just be best to explain everything the best he could. "First of all, Jenny will be fine…she's just a little stressed out at the moment. That's why I brought you here…we thought that it would be best if you were here when she wakes up."
"Wakes up?" Emily questioned, her eyes growing wide with fear.
Chris tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. She had a bit of a panic attack- which is understandable, considering the circumstances-" He trailed off and looked over at Mrs. Hughes. The woman did not look reassured in the least. But that was understandable…this entire night must have been very nerve wracking for her…and now she was being faced with an awful lot of new information. Chris sighed. "My dad doesn't think it's anything serious." He continued. "And he knows what he's talking about because…well…he's a whitelighter."
"Oh." Emily replied, the surprise evident on her face. "So you're…"
"Part whitelighter, part witch." Chris cut in with a slight smile. "But I guess that's fairly obvious right now, isn't it?"
Emily's eyes darted towards the feathered wings which now protruded from the young mans back.
She nodded slowly.
Felling embarrassed about his appearance for the hundredth time that night, Chris shifted uncomfortably under her gaze before continuing. "Have you been watching the news tonight?"
"Yes…" she replied, a note of anxiety still evident in her voice.
"Well," he continued with a heavy sigh. "Then you know what's been going on with all of the demons. As far as we can tell, some really powerful demon cast a spell that has reverted every magical being into their original form... There was a slight…issue…at the dance. Basically a demon was revealed there and terrorized the student's for a bit- everyone was fine- but that broke up the dance and most of the student's fled, including Jenny. I found her behind the school a few hours later…"
Chris looked up at Mrs. Hughes, who was still leaning on the counter fore support. Almost all of the colour had drained from her face and he had a suspicion that she knew what was coming next.
"She was fine." He said, looking back down at the wooden floor. "Except…"
"She had wings too." Mrs. Hughes cut in before the boy could finish with his explanation.
Chris' heart beat increased slightly and he could hardly keep the smile off of his face. He knew that they were in a rather serious situation, but what Emily had just said confirmed that Jenny was at least part whitelighter… like him. Despite all of the night's horrible events he was ecstatic to have finally found the one thing he had thought was impossible…
A girl he could share everything with.
A girl who could understand him completely.
There was a slight pause before the woman gave a loud sigh and continued to speak. "This spell…" she began, her voice quiet. "The one that has affected the demons…it has affected other magical beings too. Like whitelighters…and part whitelighters…" She trailed off and her eyes locked once again on Chris. "I never knew that there were others like Jenny…I thought she was alone…"
"So, you know that Jenny is part whitelighter too?" Chris questioned, wanting some final conformation.
"Of course." Mrs. Hughes replied. "Take me to her…I'll explain everything."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How do we know that we can trust you?" Cole asked, his eyes narrowed as he gazed down at the new arrival.
Demetrius remained calm under his stare and merely shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have time to prove myself to you." He replied. "But I assure you that we both want the same thing; the good Halliwell's dead. With my help, you cannot fail."
Cole nodded, obviously convinced of the truth in the demons words.
"What about Piper?" Phoebe cut in standing up from the stone she had been seated on with her daughter. "I don't want Piper hurt."
The demon turned to the witch and looked thoughtful for several seconds before continuing in the same calm voice. "Fine. I can still get what I want without killing her. Paige's death will be enough to break the power of three…and the other whitelighters shall sufficiently prove my power."
Phoebe hesitated, her eyes locked piercingly on Demetrius. Something still did not feel right about this…if Piper was hurt, she didn't know what she would do…but, on the other hand, his power would be beneficial to their mission.
"Alright." She said quietly. "But if you hurt her, then I will vanquish you."
Her tone was dark and menacing but the demon did not even flinch. "Very well." He replied dismissively. "Now, I see that you have begun to gather supplies." He glanced over at the darklighter bow Mel was currently holding. "But we will need more for this to be a success. I do not want to leave any room for error."
The other three nodded in agreement.
"If we are well equipped, we should be able to kill them easily…The spell will have affected them both mentally and physically. They will give us little resistance. They will not want to fight." He gave a cool laugh. "That is their major downfall...their kind lacks the desire to fight. They are useless fools."
Mel felt a strange wave of anger flow through her and she suddenly had the urge to tackle the demon to the floor. That was her family he was insulting. Chris was not a useless fool…he was her cousin…her blood. The boy who had been with her through all of her ups and downs…who had protected her…
He mind battled with itself as more conflicting feelings welled inside of her. They were going to kill him…she was going to help…
She wanted him dead…she wanted to be free of him…and yet, it still brought her pain.
He was good, she was evil. It was her duty to eliminate him…and Leo, Wyatt and Paige…
She didn't care for them any more, did she?
No.
She was a demon. She cared for no one…
A sudden thought struck her as she continued to stare at Demetrius. "You cast the spell, didn't you?" she asked, causing everyone else to look in her direction.
The demon faltered for a brief second before walking over towards the girl, his calm façade back in place. "And what gave you that idea?" he asked, his yellow eyes darkening slightly.
"You know all about it." Mel began defiantly starring back at him. "You know the effects, and you were ready for all of us to come straight to you so that you could draw us under your power."
He gave another cool laugh. "I'll admit that I am glad to see my fellow demons back where they belong, but I suggest you come up with a bit more evidence before you make such accusations." Demetrius paused and slowly brought his hand up towards her face. "Don't worry your pretty little head about such things." He whispered as caressed her cheek.
Mel jerked back and glared. "Get away from me." She hissed.
Demetrius showed no signs of movement until a red hand clapped down firmly on his shoulder and pulled him back. Cole had come up behind him, teeth barred and looking ready to attack. "Touch my daughter again and you'll be sorry." He growled his tone deadly.
The demon took a few steps away and gave them all a smug smile. "Very well. Let's finish gathering what we need. Then, we can finally give the whitelighters what they deserve…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mrs. Hughes gave a slight gasp and rushed to Jenny's side as soon as she and Chris walked into the Manor's living room.
Piper and Leo were still there, situated on the other couch and they both looked up at Chris for some explanation as he walked towards them.
"That's Jenny's mom." He said quietly addressing his parents. "Emily Hughes."
"Did you scare her? What did she say about Jenny?" Leo asked, glancing over at the mother who was now too concerned about her daughter's well being to hear them. Ever since the girl had arrived, he had been anxious to figure out what was going on. If Jenny really was part-whitelighter, then the elders were certainly not aware of it.
Chris shook his head slowly. "No, she wasn't too surprised." He began. "I think she's a witch, and she confirmed that Jenny is part whitelighter. We didn't really get much further than that."
Leo nodded, his face expressing his confusion. How could this have happened? How could Mrs. Hughes have kept it a secret for so long?
Brushing a few strands of blonde hair off of her daughter's forehead, Emily turned to the Halliwell's and gave a loud sigh. "I promised Chris an explanation." She said quietly, glancing back down at the unconscious Jenny. "I'm sure you'd all like one."
"Only if you want to give it." Piper replied, giving the woman a warm smile. She understood how hard it must be for her to see her daughter in such a state. She had felt the same pain and fear every time her sons had been hurt by one demonic force or another. "I'm Piper Halliwell." She said, shaking the other woman's hand. "And this is my husband, Leo."
Emily weakly retuned her smile. "You must be Chris' parents." She noted glancing between them. "He looks so much like you both." Her eyes landed on Leo. "And he mentioned that his father was the whitelighter."
"Yep." Piper replied. "I'm the witch, he's the whitelighter…obviously." She smirked and brushed her hand across Leo's white feathered wings. He glared at her with mock annoyance.
Mrs. Hughes' smile faded as she watched the two interact. She could sense so much love between them, and she could not suppress her growing envy. Why were they allowed to be happy when she wasn't?
They were allowed to be together…they were allowed to raise their son together…
It didn't seem fair.
"Alright." She began, her tone clipped. She wanted to get the explanation out of the way as quickly as possible. "I guess I should start at the beginning. First of all, I'm a witch with the power of Thermokinesis- which basically means that I have control over temperature."
The Halliwell's nodded, none surprised by this revelation, and she continued. "I grew up in New York City with a great family- my parent's were witches too- and I couldn't have asked for more." She paused slightly and tried to push back the lump beginning to form in her throat. She missed them all so dearly- it had been so long… "When I was twenty five, I got a job as a secretary at a nearby law firm…and that was when I met
Sean. He said he was there to do a few repairs around the office…I thought he was just your everyday average human…and I fell for him."
Emily felt her body begin to shake slightly as she forced herself to recall those distant memories she had worked so hard to suppress. He had been so wonderful…so sweet and kind…perfect. She had never loved another like she had loved him…
"He wasn't human though…I caught him orbing into a supply closet one afternoon and I could hardly believe what I had seen. He was a whitelighter- my whitelighter- and that meant that we could never be together."
Piper grabbed her husbands hand as she absorbed what the woman had said. It was all so familiar- it sounded exactly like what she had gone through with Leo. She had fallen for him…thought he was normal…only to find out that being with the man she loved was almost impossible because of what he was. She didn't want to think about her life without him, and from the sounds of it, Emily had been forced to face that reality…
"But by then, it was already too late." Emily continued, her voice a whisper. The tears were beginning to well in her eyes. "I…I was pregnant…with Jenny…and before I even had a chance to tell him, he was forced to leave me. Forever. The elders suspected that there was something between us, and they took Sean away from me…" she trailed off and glanced back up at the couple before her. They both had looks of sympathy on their faces…she knew that they understood…they had been there…
The only difference was, they had managed to over come it.
She hadn't…
Emily tenderly placed a hand on top of Jenny's and looked down at her daughter's peaceful features. She could never regret her time with Sean…it had brought her the most precious gift of all…her own little angel. But she still wished that it hadn't had to end.
"I was so afraid that they would take my baby that I left my family-left my old life- and moved here. I bound her powers as soon as she was born, and never told her about her true heritage…she has no idea…" She paused. "I never saw Sean again…I did my best to raise Jenny on my own."
Silence hung in the air as all present thought over what she had said.
Piper was feeling choked up herself. She couldn't imagine being in Emily's situation…having to lave everything behind…having to do everything herself…keeping the past hidden from her children…
It must have been awful.
"Oh, Emily." The charmed one whispered, placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that…"
Emily shrugged and wiped a stray tear off of her cheek. "What's done is done." She replied, not wanting to wallow in self pity any longer. "What about you?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What's your story?"
Piper and Leo exchanged a brief glance. "It's complicated…" Piper began. "Cliff notes version; we fell in love- I didn't know he was a whitelighter at the time…I found out eventually, and I thought it would have to end, but after a lot of fighting with the elders we finally managed to convince them to let us stay together…" She felt horribly guilty; she had been able to keep her love and Emily hadn't.
"And they allowed you to have a son." Emily commented, her voice somewhat sceptical as she looked over at Chris. "They know about him?"
Piper hesitated, not wanting to make the woman feel any worse.
"Yes. They know about Chris." Leo said, giving Piper's hand a reassuring squeeze. "And…" but before he could finish, a new swirl of blue orbs appeared in the centre of the room, redirecting all of their attention. Right on cue, Wyatt appeared, looking excited, and he quickly turned towards his parents.
"Mom, Dad." He began, slightly out of breath. "Aunt Paige and I think we my have found a way to summon the demon with out the power of three. Come up stairs- we want to show it to you. We need to…" he stopped mid sentence as he caught sight of the new arrival in the room. He shot his family an inquisitive look before smiling broadly at Emily and extending his hand for her to shake. "Hi. I'm Wyatt." He said, a little too cheerfully.
Emily frowned slightly and did not return the young man's gesture. "Two sons." She said grimly. "They let you have two sons. How nice for you."
She was obviously resentful- and understandably so. She had been forced to hide for the past seventeen years because of her affair with a whitelighter…and yet this family of witches and whitelighters had been allowed to stay together. To be happy…
"Wyatt, honey." Piper said, breaking through the tension that was beginning to build. "Let's go up to the attic, you can explain there."
Wyatt nodded and orbed himself and his mother out of the room, followed closely by Leo who muttered something about wanting to approve the spell.
When the last of the orbs had dissipated, Emily turned to Chris. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I didn't mean to be rude…it's just…"
"It's okay. I understand, Mrs. Hughes." Chris replied, trying to sound reassuring. "If you like, I can go too…if you want some time alone with Jenny…"
"No. Don't leave." Emily said quickly, smiling up at the boy. "I think that she's going to wake up soon…she'll want you here too. She cares about you quite a bit, you know."
There was a slight pause.
"I know." Chris said quietly, looking down at the floor and blushing slightly. "I care about her too."
When he looked up again, he was surprised to see that Mrs. Hughes was now grinning broadly, despite the fact that her eyes were still cloudy with tears. "I'm glad to hear it." She said, looking back over at Jenny. "My angel deserves an angel."
Before another word could be exchanged between them, a quiet groan escaped Jenny's lips and both rushed instantly back to her side. She stirred slightly and her eyes began to flutter open.
"Mom?" she whispered, as the world came slowly back into focus. "Chris? What's going on? I was having the strangest dream…"
She shut her eyes again and drew in several deep breaths.
"Are you okay, honey?" Emily asked, taking her daughter's hand.
"Yes." Jenny replied opening her eyes again and slowly pulling herself into a sitting position. "I don't know what happened…I must have been dreaming…" she turned her head and took her first good look at Chris since her revival. The colour that had returned to her cheeks instantly drained. "I…I wasn't dreaming." She whispered, her eyes growing wide. "It was real…you're an angel…"
Chris nodded. "Yes. And so are you."
Jenny opened and closed her mouth several times- obviously too much in shock to say anything more. Looking around frantically, she caught sight of a nearby mirror and instantly walked over too it as quickly as her shaking legs could carry her. Chris and Emily said nothing, knowing that it was best for her to come to terms with the situation on her own.
She stood, starring at her reflection in the mirror, frozen with astonishment. "It's real." She muttered to herself several times. "It's real." It was beginning to sink in now, and although her head was still spinning with confusion, she finally allowed herself to believe what was right in front of her.
After almost a minute, she turned back towards the other two, and looked between them. Neither one shared her shock…they both knew what was going on…she wanted to know too…
"What happened to me?" she asked, her voice still weak.
"Nothing bad, honey." Her mother assured her. "It's a spell. We'll fix it." She paused and exchanged a glance with Chris. "I'm so sorry that I had to hide this from you for so long…but there was no other way…" she swallowed hard before continuing. "I know this will be hard to believe but, I'm a witch…and your father was a whitelighter…an angel. That's why this is happening to you…"
"The spell…" Chris added helpfully. "It revels magical being for what they are."
Jenny hesitated, trying to take it all in. It was almost too much to handle. Magic existed…witches existed…angels existed…and she was one…
"Oh." She replied, still full of questions.
"I'll explain it all honey." Emily said. "After we sort this mess out. Chris' family is magical too, and they're trying to find a way to fix the situation." She paused. "I'll go get you something water…you look like you need some…" And with that, she went back into the kitchen.
Chris could sense that the woman just needed a few seconds alone to cope with all that was happening. She was pretty freaked out herself and it was hard for her to keep up a calm façade for her daughter.
He watched as Jenny turned back to the mirror for a few seconds before walking slowly in his direction. She stopped inches away from him, her blue eyes full of such worry and confusion. He wanted to help her…he wanted to make it all go away…
But he knew that he couldn't. She would just have to deal with this new reality she had been given…all he could do was be there when she needed him. Help her to understand…
He couldn't imagine what she must be going through right now. It had been enough of a shock for him to find out that being a whitelighter involved more than just powers…that it involved a physical aspect as well…but at least he already knew all about magic. He had been raised around it. Accepted it…
Jenny had been hit with it all at once…
"I always knew that you were special." She said suddenly, breaking him away from his thoughts. "But I never expected this."
Chris smiled slightly. "Same to you." He replied. "I wish I had known sooner…" The boy trailed off as he felt her hand brush across his arm. Her beautiful sent overwhelmed his senses and his body shivered at her slight touch…she was so close… it was so hard to fight off his raging hormones…
He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted to hold her in his arms…tell her that everything would be okay…
She was so perfect.
She everything he had always dreamed of, but hadn't thought possible…
Her hand moved from his arm and circled around his back…her fingers brushed the soft feathers of his heavenly wings…she smiled her beautiful sweet smile.
"You're the most handsome angel I have ever seen." she said quietly, the smile still across her face.
He laughed at her comment as he laced his arm slowly around her waist. "And you're the most beautiful angel I've ever seen." He replied, the amusement dancing in his emerald eyes.
They drew closer and closer together- neither one able to resist the magnetic pull between them.
Yes…
This was the way things were meant to be…
Their lips finally touched, breaching the gap between them, and they shared one perfect, heavenly kiss…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Piper stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of what was taking place in the next room. She was heading to the kitchen for a few supplies, but she did not want to interrupt what she knew was about to come…
Jenny had woken up…and she and Chris stood alone in the living room…only inches apart. Piper's heart beat quickened and the tears formed in her eyes as she watched them exchange whispers before leaning together for a gentle kiss. The sight almost took her breath away.
Her little boy….
Sharing a kiss with another just as perfect as himself. As they drew apart she could almost hear the faint hum of a harp as the heavens rejoiced.
She was sure that a more beautiful moment could not have existed.
Wiping away a stray tear, she noticed Emily, frozen mid stride on her way out of the kitchen.
She had seen it too…
She had been just as over whelmed.
Piper caught the other woman's eye and the two mothers exchanged a watery smile, happy to see their little angels together at last.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/NPhew. Sorry for another long wait. But don't expect anymore for awhile. I'm so behind on my actual work because of these stupid stories, lol. Must get something done. Hope you liked it! Yes, it was cheesy…but I assure you that the next chapter has all the action:) Hmm. I really wish I was Jenny right now (and I wish that this story was actually happening.) lol, I should have named her Leigh instead!
Please review!
Miss Poisonous- Thanks for the review! Glad you like it. The 'showdown' is coming up! And sure, you can have Wyatt- just as long as I can have Chris ;)
Alyssa Halliwell- Thanks.
phoebe turner- sorry for the wait. Thanks again.
Phoenix5143- hope you enjoyed even more touching moments! Thanks for the feed back!
chattypandagurl- well, now you have Emily's reaction:) Thanks so much for all of the compliments! They made me smile.
The-Cheese-Fairy- yes. Rain is not so fun. It's been raining here for three days! Ick. Glad you like the story so far!
IcantthinkofaFnick-Thank you!