(Excerpt from Chapter 7…Chris discovers Jenny hiding in the tree's behind the school…)
"Beautiful?" she whispered, still with confusion. "Chris, I have wings…something is seriously wrong with me, I need to get home…"
Still unable to take his eyes off of her, Chris carefully removed his father's big brown coat and let it drop to the leafy floor…
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Chapter 20 "Time out"
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Darryl and DJ followed Inspector Jameson back into the main room of the crowded police station. They had managed to distract him with a painfully slow investigation of the back of the high school, but after almost an hour and a half it was clear that they could not keep dragging the process out without arousing more suspicion.
Jameson had grown irritable and annoyed as the father and son team insisted on looking at every possible inch of the grounds, even after it became apparent that there was no evidence to be found. In all of their searching the only thing that they had discovered was a worn brown coat…nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing that could give them any new leads.
Melinda was still the most promising suspect, and the two could only hope that the Halliwell's were almost ready to set things right…
Their stalling could not hold out much longer.
"Would you like some coffee inspector?" DJ asked eagerly, searching his mind for any way to buy them precious seconds. "You're looking a bit tired."
The inspector shook his head. "No thank you." He replied shortly. "And the only reason I'm tired is because the two of you dragged me around that school yard. We're still no further ahead then we were before…"
"We just have to think positively here." Darryl cut in nervously as he took a seat at his paper covered desk. Jameson and DJ sat on the two smaller chairs in front of it. "We have the jacket." He said, pointing at the garment in the older mans hand. "That could have belonged to the perpetrator. We should definitely look into it."
Inspector Jameson rolled his eyes. "According to the witness accounts, the perpetrator was a girl…this is clearly a man's jacket." He stated with annoyance and he began to half heartedly scrutinize the item.
DJ and Darryl exchanged a glance, both knowing how close the man was to heading over to the manor…he was growing wise to their games…
Their time was running out.
"Just as I thought." Jameson stated after another few seconds of looking over the jacket. He hastily placed it on the table and pointed out a small white name tag to his colleagues. "Right there…" he began. "The tag says Leo Wyatt…and that is most certainly not a girl's name."
Both father and son froze in shock as they looked down at the coat…Leo's coat…
They had no idea how it could have possibly ended up behind the school, but this most certainly was not a good discovery. The inspector obviously did not realize the significance at the moment…but if he figured out that both Leo Wyatt and Melinda Turner lived at 1329 Prescott Street then he would be at the manor as fast as he possibly could…this was simply too much evidence to deny.
"It's probably unrelated then." Darryl managed to choke out, hoping that he had at least sounded calm.
Unfortunately, his acting skills had never been spectacular- especially in highly stressful situations- and Jameson easily noticed the sudden panic in his voice.
The inspector looked up at him, and an inquisitive expression crossed his face. "It may be worth checking into…" he muttered, pulling a small computing device out of his pocket. "I mean, it can't hurt. I'll just look up the name…see if there could be any possible connections…"
Darryl's heart beat increased rapidly as he watched the man begin to type in the name into the portable police database…his head was screaming for him to take action, but his body was too stunned to move…
He was going to figure it out…he was going to trace everything to the Halliwell's…
Years of careful protecting were all about to go down the drain…
"No!" Darryl exclaimed, his body suddenly filled with a jolt of nervous energy...
"Wh-" the other inspector began to question, but before the first word could fully form another officer burst into the room, diverting all of their attentions.
"Inspectors!"
Darryl gave a heavy sigh- overjoyed by the new officer's perfect timing.
This was just the distraction they needed…whatever the young man wanted to tell them seemed urgent, judging by the expression on his face, and Darryl hoped that this would by them at least another few minutes.
"Yes, what is it Morgan?" Inspector Jameson asked, placing down his device and looking up at the new arrival.
"I just finished talking with a man that came by earlier…" the young officer began as he pulled a small round object out of his pocket. "You know, the one that delivered the home video that- supposedly- contained footage of two angels. You were the one that talked to him this morning, right Inspector Morris?"
Darryl felt his body seize up with tension once again.
His relief had been premature…
He knew exactly what footage officer Morgan was talking about…it was the footage of Wyatt and Chris…the footage he and DJ had tried to hide…
How had things managed to spiral so suddenly out of control?
"I…I don't recall." Darryl replied, trying unsuccessfully to appear confused. "I hardly think…"
"It doesn't matter." The young man cut in with a shrug. "The guy said that the first disk was a copy- so he dropped of the original- he thinks it might be better quality. He said he was going to send it to the news station, but first he wanted to make sure that we had the best possible evidence…"
Darryl could hardly breathe as he absorbed that the man had said. The world around him began to spin. This was bad…really bad…
Now there was evidence against Mel, Leo and the boys…there was no way he could cover this up…
He had failed- for the first time, the situation was utterly hopeless.
He had let down his long time friends…the women he had always thought of as his sisters…
Piper was going to kill him…
She would be devastated…
The thought broke his heart.
"Okay, let's see this footage then." Inspector Jameson said as he inserted the disk into the nearest computer…it was clear that he did not think much of it at the moment, but DJ and Darryl knew exactly how significant this footage really was.
Both of the Morris' were frozen…shocked by the sudden accumulation of evidence against their friends…
The room continued to spin, and it took all of Darryl's strength to remain upright…
The tape played…
He couldn't stop it…he had failed …
"No." he choked again, his shaking hand reaching to turn off the computer. "No."
But it was already too late…enough of the footage had been shown…and Inspector Jameson had made one very important observation.
"The coat." Jameson muttered his blue eyes suddenly wide. His mind was racing so fast that he hardly noticed his colleague's weak attempt to shut off the screen. "The coat…"
Darryl could hardly breathe.
"The brown haired angel was wearing this coat…" he continued, looking down at the item in his hand.
He was right…the coat in his hand was clearly the same one Chris had been wearing in the video to cover his wings…
Before either of the Morris' was able to stop him Jameson's hand shot out for his computing device and he frantically typed in the name on the coat once again.
Seconds later, he received his shocking results.
Leo Wyatt. The small screen read. 1329 Prescott St. San Francisco CA.
"The owner of this coat lives at the same address as Melinda Turner." Inspector Jameson stated, clearly stunned by the revelation. "And one of the angels was wearing it…"
"Are you saying that the demon girl from the dance is connected to the angels on the video?" officer Morgan asked, almost as dumbstruck as Jameson.
"It makes perfect sense." Jameson muttered back, his mind racing as he thought over all of the evidence he had accumulated over the past day. "That blue light thing one of the angels did on the video…the witness statements from the school said that the demon girl blew a boy up into blue lights…and according to Jake the boy may have been her cousin. I didn't believe it at first, but…" he paused and looked over at the frozen computer screen. "It must be true…somehow."
There was a slight pause as all in the room tried to absorb the new revelation.
"So…" Morgan bean again. "You think that at least one of the angels is a cousin of the demon from the high school?"
Jameson hesitated, evidently finding this entire situation hard to believe. He had never been a man to believe in nonsense like magic and angels…but he had seen a lot over the last twenty hours…and it was becoming harder and harder to label all of the days events as an elaborate hoax. "He did the blue light thing…" he said, the excitement growing in his voice as he contemplated the great discovery he may have just made. "And he was wearing a coat that can be traced to her address…"
"That's crazy!" DJ cut in, his mind searching frantically for any way to avert possible disaster. "They're can't be a connection. It's impossible."
Jameson turned abruptly to face the Morris', his eyes clouded over with suspicion. He was clearly not amused by their attempts to stifle his big breakthrough. "The two of you have been trying to sabotage my investigation all day." He stated angrily as he stood up and began to pull on his own jacket. "I'm beginning to think that my initial assessment was correct; you both know something that you don't want me to find out. You're trying to keep me away from 1329 Prescott Street."
Father and son said nothing.
They couldn't.
They were still in shock…still unsure…and Jameson had figured them out.
"Well, I've had enough of your games." The inspector continued as he took a few quick strides towards the only door in the room. "Morgan-" he said, turning to the newly arrived officer. "Get as many people together as you can and send them out to the back parking lot. We may need back up. And get some of those tranq darts too…we don't know what we're up against…but if I'm right, this isn't going to be an easy fight."
The younger man scurried out and Jameson bean to follow, a confidant swagger in his step. As he reached the door way, he turned back to face his other two colleagues. "You're not going to slow me down this time." He stated with a slight smirk. "I know I'm on to something."
And with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him with a resounding slam.
The noise echoed in Darryl's head as he sat frozen in his chair. He could scarcely believe all that had taken place over the last few minutes. It had been so sudden. So quick. And even after all these years, he had been caught off guard.
He had thought that they had been leading him off the trail…when in reality, their fruitless investigation had provided the exact evidence the inspector needed to justify his trip to the manor.
Darryl's heart pounded rapidly as the truth began to fully sink in. Going to the school had only made things worse. The coat…the tape…
Jameson had pieced it all together. He had figured it out. And now, it was too late to do anything about it…too late to protect his dearest friends…
As far as he could tell, the spell was still in place, and now a large proportion of the SFPD was about to show up on the Halliwell's front porch, looking for answers…looking for Mel…and Wyatt and Chris…
"Did that just happen?" DJ whispered his brown eyes wide as he turned to face his father.
Darryl hesitated.
His body shook.
He didn't want to believe it.
"Yes." He stated. "We have to warn them…"
His hand shot out for the phone and he quickly dialled the Halliwell's number.
This was his one final chance…he needed to tell them to get out of the house…it was their only hope…
They needed to hide…
He brought the phone up to his ear and listened.
It rang once.
"Come on, pick up." He muttered.
It rang twice.
"Please pick up."
Three times…
And then suddenly…it went dead. The long steady beep echoed in his ear and he felt the last glimmer of hop leave him.
"It's not working." He whispered fearfully. "It's not working."
His eyes met DJ's for a brief second before the boy jumped up and bolted across the room for the door.
Maybe if they could some how beat Jameson and the others to the manor, things would be okay…
They had to at least try.
DJ's hand grasped the silver knob and he yanked at the door.
His heart instantly sank.
"It's locked." He stated, turning back to face his father. "They've locked us in."
Scarcely able to believe it, Darryl got up to try for himself, only to find that DJ had been correct. They were trapped in the room. The Halliwell's were in danger…and there was nothing they could to warn them…
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"Ring."
The sound of the phone echoed through the living room of the manor, instantly snapping Wyatt, Chris, Mel and Jenny away from their deep concentration. Mel's emotional outpouring had inspired them all too truly focus, and it was finally beginning to seem that they might manage to come up with a proper incantation.
"Damn it." Wyatt muttered, throwing his pen down on the table in frustration. "I almost had this one finished. Stupid phone."
Looking equally annoyed, Chris glanced up at his brother. "You gonna get it?" he asked as the phone rang again.
Wyatt looked over at the device with piercing blue eyes as he contemplated his response. "Sure." He muttered, raising his hands slightly. "I'll get it…."
The witch-whitelighter made a subtle flicking gesture, and, just as it completed its third ring, the phone burst into a thousand plastic shards.
Satisfied that the room was quiet once again, Wyatt picked up his pen and gave a dramatic sigh of relief. "Much better." He stated as he snuggled back down into his position on the couch.
"Aunt Piper is going to kill you for that." Mel stated, looking over at her moody cousin. "You probably busted up the whole phone line."
He shrugged, obviously unconcerned. "Dad can fix it later. Right now the only thing I care about is coming up with a good spell…and I don't want it to distract me again."
Mel shook her head in disbelief before returning to her work in blissful silence. Truth be told she was somewhat thankful that Wyatt had eliminated one of the possible distractions in the room…she too was on the verge of coming up with a good spell, and she didn't want to loose focus again.
Her red hand hovered over the paper. Her pen was poised to write.
All she needed were a few more words…
"Back…" she muttered, biting her lip lightly as she searched for the perfect closing word. "Track…sack…"
She noticed Wyatt shoot her a slight look of annoyance, but she didn't care…
She was so close…
"Attack!" She said gleefully after another few seconds of silence. The others looked over at her with mild curiosity, and the young demoness began to scratch down her final line.
"Perfect." She said, looking up at them, a grin across her face. "It's not my best work…but I think it will do."
Rather then risk reading the spell out loud she passed it around to the others for their approval.
For the first time that day, she felt as if there might actually be some hope…
Maybe they really would meet the deadline…
Maybe things would be okay…
Wyatt's eyes scanned it quickly and he looked up at his cousin, the relief evident on his face. "Not bad." He stated. "Better then mine."
She gave a slight chuckle of satisfaction and quickly stood up from her chair to stretch her cramped limbs. "I think it will work." She said, a hint of her old confidence appearing in her voice. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll take Jenny's earlier advice and get a few minutes of fresh air…I think I deserve it."
"Agreed." Chris cut in as he too finished looking over the spell. "I think you may have just saved us all…the only think left to do now, is find the demon…"
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"What about this one?" Emily asked, looking up towards Piper who continued to leaf slowly through the Book of Shadows. The other witch had come up to the attic to help Leo look through the demonic encyclopaedia's for any possible leads, and so far, their combined efforts were yet to come up with anything substantial.
"Kieran Demons." She read slowly as she scanned the entry. "It says they're known for morphing into many different forms…maybe they figured out a way to spread their morphing power to effect others."
Leo looked pensive for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No." he began, glancing up from his own book. "We've dealt with them before…they're not powerful enough-or smart enough- to do something like this."
Piper nodded in agreement, and with a quiet sigh, Emily turned back to her reading.
Yesterday, she had been relieved and even happy to be thrown back into the life of magic she had once known so well…to be among fellow witches again…but today, after hours of hopeless searching, she was beginning to wish that she had never been given the opportunity to reconnect with her magical past. She had always been a person that loved adventure…and she grown to miss it over the years…but today had reminded her that being a witch wasn't just about exciting vanquishes…It was much more complicated then that.
She knew all too well that magic could ruin people's lives…
It could tear families apart…it had almost broken apart the Halliwell's last night…and it had taken her away from her true love…
But, she reminded herself…it could be good too.
Emily's mind fluttered briefly to thoughts of her daughter- the one magical gift she could never regret. Jenny had taken this entire situation surprisingly well…sure, she had been a bit quieter, and a bit more shaken up then usual…but overall she was impressed by her daughter's ability to say calm after having such a huge and shocking truth placed before her. She supposed that Chris was partially to thank for that…he had been nothing but supportive the entire time…carefully explaining what a whitelighter was…what it meant…and, as much as it pained Emily to see her sweet, gentle little girl growing up, she couldn't be happier about her daughter's growing relationship with such a caring young man.
"Wait a second…." Piper's voice broke her away from her thoughts, and she looked over at the other witch curiously. "I just thought of something."
"What?" Leo asked, suddenly perplexed.
Piper smiled slightly and glanced over at her husband. "We're so stupid Leo." She began, the excitement building in her voice. "We're freaking out about reversing the spell…but even if we don't, you can all just glamour into human form. Why the hell didn't I think of this before?"
Leo looked suddenly down at the floor to avoid his wife's gaze…he hated to take away her excitement, but he knew that he had little choice. "Er…" he began hesitantly. "That won't work."
"What? Why?" Piper asked, her happiness instantly fading. She knew from his tone that he wasn't lying, and she felt her hopes die out again.
Leo sighed. "Because." He began again, knowing she wouldn't like the answer. "What you see every day is a glamour. Thank about it…this spell forces us to reveal our true forms…and this is it…" he said, gesturing to himself and fluttering his white feathered wings slightly for emphasis.
"Explain." Piper stated coolly, folding her arms across her chest and narrowing her brown eyes.
The whitelighter winced, knowing full well that if this crisis ever ended, he would be getting a serious lecture for withholding information. "Well…when whitelighters are reborn, this is what we look like. But obviously we couldn't blend in too well down here if we walked around with our wings…so that's why we're given the power to glamour. When ever we come down to earth, we make ourselves appear human so we're not found out. We stay in human form up there most of the time too…but technically, this is what's natural."
"If that's' true then how come the boys weren't born with their wings?" Piper asked, less then pleased with his answer. "Doesn't it take time to learn how to glamour? Surely they didn't learn how to do it in the womb…"
He sighed again before continuing. "I suspect that because they were born in the earthly realm, the glamour automatically activated- as a precautionary device. If they had been born 'up there' I'm guessing they would have- er- come out with wings."
Piper drew a deep breath and steadied herself on the podium. Seeing her husband and sons under the spell was strange enough…to think that the form she saw them in everyday was merely a disguise was very hard to digest.
"Look honey, I'm sorry." Leo said, his green eyes pleading. "I should have told you…I never thought…"
"You're right, you should have told me." Piper snapped, sounding somewhat harsher then she had intended. "It would have been nice to know that I was, in fact, giving birth to cherubs."
Leo frowned slightly. "I don't think the boys would appreciate being called cherubs." He muttered.
The charmed one was about to reply when she suddenly remembered that Emily was still in the room with them. "We'll talk about this later." She sated brusquely, giving her husband one of her trademark annoyed looks before returning to the book. "So…the bottom line is, you can't glamour into human form…and we still need to figure out how to reverse this."
"Right." Leo replied, drawing in a calming breath. "The spell has inhibited our ability to glamour so that we're forced into exposure."
Piper gave an annoyed groan and forced herself to look back down at the book, while Emily began to survey the whitelighter in fascination. There were so many things she wanted to know…so many things Sean had never had time to tell her…
"So…" she began hesitantly. "Does that mean that when a whitelighter get's their wings clipped, they literally get their wings clipped? I always thought that was just figurative."
The man laughed slightly, amused by her wide eyed curiosity. "Yes…it's literal. And it hurts a bit too. Trust me, I've had my wings clipped twice…"
Before Emily could question him further, two new figures shimmered into the room, their arms heaping with colourful bottles of potions.
"Phoebe, Cole." Piper greeted shortly, scarcely looking up from the book. "Done with the potions?"
Phoebe nodded and she placed her supply on the nearest table. "I think so." She said, sounding quite a bit more upbeat then she had during her last trip to the attic. "Paige is cleaning up…and we figured we'd bring the stuff up here."
"Yep." Cole agreed. "I think this is about the best we can do. We're running low on ingredients."
Leo looked over at the now potion filled table and smiled up at the demon. "Looks good to me." He said, thankful that the new arrivals had directed the attention off of him. "I'm impressed."
"Yeah," Emily agreed, "That's quite a hefty supply."
"Let's just hope it works against whatever we're up against." Cole replied. "Do we know what we're up against yet…?"
Piper sighed and finally looked up from the worn old tome. "Not really." She began grimly. "We haven't been having much luck…"
Cole nodded with understanding as he placed a comforting arm around his wife. He could sense Phoebe's disappointment…they had both been hoping that Piper and Leo had managed to make a breakthrough. "That's alright." He said, trying to smile reassuringly at his sister in law. "We still have time. I've been trying to think if I know any demons capable of this. Not many can cast spells…it's a pretty rare thing down there…but I know it's possible. I'm trying to remember if I've met any that could…"
"Tell me if you come up with anything." Piper replied. "Why don't you help look through the encyclopaedia's maybe it will help jog your memory?"
Agreeing that that was probably a good course of action, Cole took a seat on the floor near Leo's pile of books and grabbed the one on top. Sighing quietly and trying to mask her disappointment, Phoebe walked over to join her husband. Before she could sit down, however, a small brown object sticking out from underneath the couch caught her attention.
Stepping over to it, Phoebe bent down to see a discarded darklighter arrow lying amongst the dust on the attic floor. It must have been missed during last nights clean up.
There had been so many fired during the attack…
She shuddered slightly as she tried to push the horrible memory quickly out of her mind.
"What's there Pheebs?" Piper asked, noticing that her sister had become suddenly side tracked.
"Darklighter arrow." She replied, feeling Leo flinch beside her as the word left her mouth. "Don't worry; I'll get rid of it…"
She reached out for it, and as soon as her fingers brushed the smooth surface, she felt a familiar sensation over come her, and she was pulled into a premonition…
She and her sisters stood in the attic; armed with potions…five demons shimmered into the room…all looking fierce…ready to kill…
The one in the middle raised a deadly bow and turned towards Paige…his finger slowly pressed down on the trigger and…
Phoebe gave a slight gasp as the vision abruptly ended and she was pulled back into the reality of the attic.
"Did you see something?" Cole asked from behind her as he rushed to her side to help her stand back up. "What was it?"
"A premonition." She replied, her mind playing the images over in her head… "I saw demons…here. It was another attack…"
"Do you think they were the demons we're looking for…the ones that cast the spell?" Piper inquired the hope evident in her voice.
Phoebe nodded. "It must be…I hardly ever get premonitions that don't pertain to our current missions. And there was something about it…one of the demons…the one in the middle…"
Her mind was spinning as she tried to figure out why that particular figure had triggered something in the back of her mind.
"What about him?" Cole coaxed, knowing his wife was close to giving him the information they needed.
There was a long pause as all present waited, hoping that this was exactly the break they had been waiting for.
"I remember!" Phoebe gasped suddenly, the demons face now clear in her head. "I've seen one of them before…yesterday…"
She turned quickly to face Cole. "Remember when we were about to come here with Demetrius?" she asked excitedly. "But before we could shimmer out another demon came in…wanting to tell Demetrius something…?"
Cole closed his eyes briefly as he tried to remember.
"It was him!" Phoebe continued her heart racing. "He had budging yellow eyes…sort of tanish skin…"
Cole nodded quickly as his wife's words began to trigger his memory. He could see it now…he could remember the scene… "He called Demetrius master." He said quietly as it came flooding back. "They must have been working together. Which would explain why Demetrius knew so much about the spell…and why killing him didn't reverse it. He was responsible for the plan, but he had another demon cast it for him…"
Nodding enthusiastically, and feeling as if there was an end in sight, Phoebe bolted over to the book and began flipping the pages until she found exactly what she needed. "There he is." She said, a smile forming across her face as she looked down at the old tome. "We've finally found him…"
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A/N I shall leave you there for now. Sorry, it took longer then I thought to update. I revised this chapter many times…and I did get distracted along the way…plus I needed to study a bit. So, I'm sorry, but I hope you liked it.
Yes, the cops are on their way, Darryl and DJ are trapped (for now)…and in case it wasn't clear, it was the Morris' calling when Wyatt blew up the phone, lol. Bad Wyatt. But…on the bright side, Mel has a decent spell…and Phoebe had figured out who the demon is (more about that later)…what will happen next? Will they reverse it before the cops arrive…or will more complications come their way first…muhahaha, stay tuned to find out;)
Hope the cop part was okay...and that you remembered all of the little details that I pulled together. I like mentioning things and then making them important chapters later...but sometimes I worry that readers will forget what I'm talking about (thus I included the bit from chapter seven at the beginning…where Chris drops his fathers coat behind the school…thought people might not remember.)
PLEASE REVIEW!
foureverCharmed- Glad you liked the Piper/Leo part. I was actually a bit worried that that scene didn't come out right. Thanks for reassuring me.
Miss Poisonous- Still a long review! Wow! So happy you enjoyed it. And I do agree with you about Jenny…I just hope she doesn't seem too Mary-Sue. But Mel is obviously more important…and I like her much better too. Still commending Darryl and DJ after this chapter? lol. And yes, Jake is a complete and utter jackass. Now on to the most important stuff…shirtless Wyatt! No worries, I have a sick mind too…I rented 'Latter Days' this weekend just to see Wes take off his shirt…many many times, lol. I still love Drew more…but Wes has the worlds best abs. Whoot. I'm glad you liked my little dedication…I can't thank you enough for you're wonderful reviews…but I figure I can at least try. Thanks again!
ilovedrew88- Thanks for the review! But sadly it looks as if our cop friends have failed…so sad.
Phoenix5143- I agree, happy ending are nothing without suffering first. This may not seem happy right now…and I hope you don't think less of me for putting them through even more hell…but I assure you this is the last big complication. And I am a firm believer in happy endings…just trust me on that one. I have it all worked out;) I hope they start having fun soon enough…and I hope you don't hate the story!
C.Charmed24/7- Glad you love it. And no worries…they're on the demon trail now…
Alyssa Halliwell- Thanks again! So happy you enjoyed it.
phoebe turner- lol, I'm beginning to fell like it will never end…but I do think I have an end in sight. Sadly, if all goes to plan there are about 3 chapters left after this…
The-Cheese-Fairy- Adored the P/L, eh? Okay good…I was actually really worried about that scene…I don't think I'm too good at P/L stuff, but I try;) Glad you enjoyed all of my characterizations.
charmed1s-halliwells- Sorry to keep you waiting. As I've said…school/exams has been killing me recently. Don't want to ruin it…but let's just say I really really like happy endings…even though it may not see to be heading that way now;) No worries.
IcantthinkofaFnick- You know, I'm really liking Mel and DJ too…at first it was just going to end with Wyatt's comments, but I've decided to explore the possiblilites some more. I've got another scence planned for (hopefully) the next chapter…and if I ever decide to write a sequel I'd love to focus it on them. Glad you enjoyed the P/L too!
Charmedtomeetyou- Aww, thanks for the compliment! Hope you liked the parts about the kids!