A/N: Again, big thank you's to everyone who reviewed. I tried to answer everyone, hopefully I didn't miss any. I also want to apologize for the spotty updates lately. Life has been total craziness, and I promise, I will try to get back to my normal schedule of updating every week day.
This chapter is mostly filler, I apologize for that, but the story is winding down, and I needed a chapter to connect the last one and the next one. Probably only 2 chapters left!
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Phyra ran into Chris' room, knowing instinctively that's where he was orbing. She watched in fascination as blue and silver lights showered down and Chris and Wyatt appeared, with Chris holding a naked newborn against his chest.
"You did it!" she squealed happily as soon as the orbs cleared. "PAISLEY!" she screamed as loud as she could through the doorway. Phiona blinked and started to wail at the unexpected loud noise.
"Phyra!" Chris hissed, rocking Phiona gently to calm her. "Don't yell around her. She's a tough cookie, but she's had a hard day!"
"Oops. Sorry! Can I hold her?" Phyra asked anxiously. "I mean, you have to change anyway, right?"
Chris scowled. Somehow the baby felt right in his arms, even with the smell of urine and the feel of the cold, wet cotton molding to his chest. He looked at Phyra's excited face and nodded. "Make sure you hold her head."
"Duh, Chris. I'm thirteen, I have held babies before." Chris settled Phiona in her arms gently, and Phyra started cooing in baby talk to her. Chris shook his head, and glanced at Wyatt. They shared a smile of amusement. There was nothing quite as comical as watching a woman hold someone else's baby for the first time. It was as if all babies were magical and somehow cast a spell on women to instantly think they were the most adorable, lovable creature on earth.
Chris walked to his closet as he grabbed another shirt, peeling off the wet one. He grimaced as the odor still clung to his skin. He started to walk to the bathroom and then thought better of it. Personal gain, be damned. In the past couple of days he'd gotten rid of enough evil he deserved to use a little magic for himself. He orbed into the bathroom with a grin. His grin dissolved instantly as he heard the shower running, and the sounds of sobs coming from behind the frosted glass door.
"Paisley?" he asked softly, barely audible over the sound of the running water.
"Chris? What the hell are you doing in here? Did you orb here again, I swear this time I'm telling Aunt Piper! Why aren't you finding her, Chris? Where is she?" her voice rose from sobbing to screaming.
"Honey, honey, relax. We got her. Phy tried to tell you, but you must not have heard her over the shower. We have her. She's in my room. Phiona's okay, Pais. She's perfect." Chris spoke again over the shower, careful to keep his back to the shower. The last thing he wanted to see was his cousin naked. He'd rather face thirty to one demon odds than see that.
"What! Oh my God!" The water shut off abruptly. The door started to slide open, but Chris grabbed it quickly.
"Hang on. Just let me get out of here first, okay? No need to scar Chris for life." He half-joked as he orbed away as fast as he'd appeared back to his room. "Yo! Prepare for take-over guys. I just ran into Paisley. She should be appearing any second." He announced as his orbs dissolved. He stared at the scene in front of him. Phyra was gone, and Wyatt was standing over Phiona, blowing bubbles on her belly as he wrapped one of Chris' clean t-shirts around her bottom in a make-shift diaper.
Wyatt looked up at him, a bit embarrassed to be caught playing with the baby so obviously. "Hey Chris. Hope you don't mind, but we borrowed a shirt. She peed again on Phy, so I decided to use a little creative damage control."
Chris snorted. "Well, I hope Paisley has diapers around here somewhere. I'm running out of clothes!"
"Where is sh…Phiona!" Paisley breathed as she ran into Chris' room. She was wearing her bathrobe, bunny slippers and had a towel wrapped around her hair. "Oh, my baby. My beautiful little angel." She rushed over to pick her up, holding her close to her heart as she rocked her and hugged her close. She breathed in the scent of her baby, and smoothed a hand over her fuzz covered head. She kissed the top of her head, and went back to rocking her. She cleared her throat huskily, and whispered. "My angel, you'll be safe forever. I promise, this will never happen again. Those nasty old demons won't ever touch you again." She looked up at Wyatt, with misty eyes. "Can you go find Ryan? I want him to see his baby girl." Wyatt nodded, closed his eyes for a second, sensing for Ryan, and orbed away. He was back in just a few seconds with Ryan in tow.
"Oh, My God! Pai… is that? Did they? Is she?" Ryan couldn't finish a sentence as he stared at Paisley holding a tiny baby to her chest.
"Ry, this is your daughter, Phiona Angelyn Halliwell." Paisley's eyes were full of unshed tears as she walked over to her boyfriend and laid their daughter in his arms.
"She…She's beautiful, Pai. Absolutely perfect." Ryan stared down into the face of his daughter, and was stunned by how much he could already tell about her. She was as pretty as her mom and grandma, and as smart as anything. Most of all, he knew that she already had him wrapped tight around her tiny little finger.
Paisley watched them for a second and was distracted by the sound of footsteps. Chris and Wyatt were both leaving. "Wait!" she cried out. "Wait."
"We weren't going far. We just thought we'd give you guys a little privacy before the Halliwell circus starts." Wyatt explained gently.
"No, that's okay. I mean, I understand. But listen. Thank you. You'll never know…just, thank you for getting her back for me. Both of you, I'll never forget this, I swear."
Chris opened his arms, and folded her into a hug. "It's nothing. You're family, and so is Phiona. Family comes first, you know that. We'd never let anything happen to your baby. Its part of our legacy, you know. We're the most powerful of all the kids, it automatically makes us the protectors."
Wyatt tapped her on the head lightly, bringing her face in line with his. "Furthermore, we'd never want to be anything but. Seriously, I mean, what's the point of having powers and protecting innocents when you can't protect the ones you love? Phiona is every bit as much ours as she is yours. Just like you, Patience, Pey & Phy are way more than just our cousins. We all know that. We always have, right? The four of you ground the two of us, and keep us human. We super charge you guys. It's all a give and take. Let's just say I love you, and keep it at that, okay?"
Paisley gave him a grin. "I love and let's keep it at that." She ignored his groan at her corniness and hugged him tightly too. "Seriously though. I mean it. Thank you."
Ryan finally spoke. "Yeah, me too. Thanks. You could have killed me when Paisley made her announcement, but instead you accepted me as a part of her. Then you put your lives and your futures on the line to save our daughter. Thank you isn't enough, but it's all we have to say."
Chris shook his head fondly. "Thank you is enough. And just so you know, the only reason we didn't kill you, was that stress is hard on a pregnancy. But trust me, if you ever make her cry or do either of them wrong, well, you better weld that baby to your body permanently, because that's the only thing that will save you." Wyatt nodded in total agreement. "Now, we're going to get out of here. I figure we can probably hold off the circus for about ten minutes. I suggest you guys use them wisely." Chris grinned and he and Wyatt walked out, shutting the door quietly behind them.
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"Chris! Wyatt! You're back!"
"What happened?"
"Where's Phiona?"
"Did you vanquish the Trefidor?"
"Where's your shirt?"
"How much longer before you bring this damned Seer to the Elder's, Chris? She is getting on my last nerve!"
Chris and Wyatt stood in shock at the verbal assault of questions that hit them as they walked into the kitchen. Piper's last question rang out the loudest.
"Okay, everyone relax. Phiona is safe and home. She's upstairs with Paisley and Ryan. Freeze, Aunt Phoebe. We promised them about 10 minutes alone first. Just wait, and give them time together, okay?" Wyatt halted his aunt quickly as she started to run out of the kitchen.
"The Trefidor's are history. We got them all. They got greedy and took the bait I offered." Chris explained smugly.
"What about the almighty demon over here? I'm sick of her whining, Chris! Either get her out of here, or I swear, I'm blowing her up!" Piper snapped. She was happy the baby was back, but her biggest problem was the whiny Seer snottily demanding that she needed Dijon mustard on her sandwich, not yellow, Maple cured ham instead of boiled and multi grain bread instead of wheat. Who knew demons were so damn picky.
"No, mom. Don't. I'll bring her back as soon as I can get a shirt on. The baby peed on me after the demon fight. Stop laughing!" Chris ordered, seeing his parents and Aunts all fight to keep from bursting out in laughter.
"Why didn't you just grab a shirt on your way out of your room?" Leo asked, barely managing to stifle his laughter.
"Because Wyatt used my last clean shirt I've got here as a diaper for the baby." Chris responded sullenly. At this, they couldn't hold back anymore, and broke out in laughter.
"Okay, then you're excused from Seer sitting. Wyatt, bring her to the Elders." Piper ordered.
"But Mom," he started to protest.
"NOW, MISTER!" she roared.
Wyatt grumbled a little, but did as ordered.
Piper turned to Chris then. "You look tired, hon. I think you should rest for a little while. You've had a hard week, you know. Besides, you want to be well-rested for the wedding, right?"
Chris stifled a yawn as he lied through his teeth. "Nah, I'm good, Mom. I'm gonna orb home and get some clean clothes. Then I'll bring Maya and Abby over here so they can see the baby too."
Piper nodded, believing him automatically. "All right, peanut. Listen, don't forget about the rehearsal later. We all have to be at Yummies by 7:00. And Chris," she added when he'd started to orb. "Try not to let your good clothes get ruined by anything this time."
"Geez, Mom, it was one time. It's not my fault that demons can tell when we're having a special occasion! I still say they attacked me and ruined my suit that time." Chris grinned at the memory.
He had been eight years old, and his Aunt Paige and Uncle Jax were getting married. Before their rehearsal dinner, Piper had dressed both he and Wyatt in fancy gray suits with crisp white shirts and ties. They both had hated them on sight. In retaliation for the suits, they had purposely summoned a demon to get their clothes dirty, so they could go in jeans. When they ran in to Piper to tell her about the demon attack, the whole plan backfired, as she made them wear their tuxes instead. It seemed that Leo had been watching the entire thing from 'Up There' and watched them carry out their well executed plan.
"Right, sure, I believe you." Piper said with an answering grin of her own.
Chris flashed another quick grin at her, and orbed away.
As quickly as his orbs cleared another set appeared. Piper grinned. Chris was always forgetting something then orbing back in two seconds later. "What did you forget this time, Chris?" she called over her shoulder.
"Uh, Piper, that's not Chris." Paige whispered.