Hello there and a Merry Christmas to you! Thanks for the reviews. Of course, I don't expect any of you to be reading this during the festive season, but, as I said in a previous chapter, my mum is dying to read it and I thought it would be nice if I could have it finished so I could give her a copy for Christmas! Hah. And well… the end is nigh. The end is also pretty suck-tastic. There are some parts of this chapter that I'm actually quite fond of, and others I don't really like. Please forgive the crap ending to such a long journey. I've left a bigger A/N at the end. I look foreward to your kind reviews. And now I'm going to completely cack myself as I wait for your opinions. I've never finished anything in my life, so this is a huge milestone for me as a writer. Again, happy holidays!
Chapter33- Accepting the Inevitable.
Iain Anderson sat in an unusual silence at the dining table of the Halliwell Manor. His broad shoulders, which were usually held back in a very masculine pride, slumped forward lazily. Next to his hand, which was clutching tightly to a large, black, leather wallet, resided a half empty mug of coffee. His glazed eyes did not even flutter when the middle Charmed One entered the room. Apparently the Nauctater was not even aware that Phoebe had arrived.
"What's this?" Phoebe asked with a grin, gazing at the photograph which Iain had been fixated on in his wallet. Iain looked ready to have a heart attack as he gave a startled jump. He had really been transfixed by the picture which Phoebe was now examining. Staring at her from the polaroid were a pair of huge, inquisitive blue eyes, which held the same air of mischievous glee all 'Anderson eyes' seemed to hold. A large pair of circular glasses, which appeared to be falling down the young boy's freckled, button nose, framed his eyes and accentuated his jaw line. Also aiding in this was his wild red hair which stuck up at odd angles everywhere. Accompanied with broad grin which revealed a missing front tooth, the boy, who appeared to be sitting on the raised end of a seesaw, was the epitome of cuteness. "Cute kid,"
"It runs in the family." Iain replied arrogantly.
"Who is he?" Phoebe enquired as Iain turned to face her, still clutching the wallet in his scarred hand. "Cousin? Nephew?"
Iain's brow furrowed at Phoebe's suggestions, but a proud smile soon replaced his almost offended expression. "He's my boy." The Nauctater said, "My son."
It took a great effort for Phoebe not to spit out the water she had just sipped. Her eyes widened and a small choking sound was emitted from her throat. When Iain squinted his eyes at her again, she tried with all her might to remove her shocked expression from her face, but she could not seem to make her eyebrows drop. Iain had a son! She had only known him a week, but in that time he had never spoken of any family; He wore no ring on his finger; He just didn't seem like the fatherly type. Phoebe had, in fact, been highly amused by his irresponsibility, and lust for life. To find out that he had a son was a slight shock to the middle charmed one.
"Your son?" She enquired, trying to sound inquisitive rather than surprised, and failing miserably.
Iain, apparently, did not notice Phoebe's shock. His blue eyes had fallen back onto the picture and a bittersweet smile passed his lips. "Yeah." He said, "Craig…" He stopped for a moment and his smile sank.
Phoebe placed a hand on Iain's shoulder and an enquiring look appeared on his face. "How old is he?" She asked.
"Six when this was taken." Iain told her, perking up a little, "Of course, he's fourteen now. Too cool for his old dad." He snorted a laugh, and Phoebe smiled in return. This was probably the first time since his arrival that she had even had a proper conversation with Mark's older brother. And unusually for the inquisitive Phoebe, she knew nothing about him.
"Where is he now?" She asked.
"Back home… in Scotland." Iain shifted uncomfortably in the chair, and as Phoebe opened her mouth to ask about Craig's mother, the Nauctater continued, sensing the question which was coming. "With his mother."
"Your wife?"
"Ex wife." He replied bluntly, emphasising the 'ex' with all of his power as a look of what appeared to be hatred washed over him. "Ex." He repeated.
It was at this point that Phoebe decided to change the subject. As much as she wanted to get to know her new friend, there were some things you did not delve in to. "So…" She began, drumming her fingers on the bottle of water she held, searching her head for something to ask him. "…Do you like cheese?"
The sullen expression which looked very out of place on Iain's face was quickly replaced with one of genuine amusement. "I love cheese!" He boomed.
As the two's laughter died out, the discussion was given no opportunity to go further. Both Phoebe and Iain's eyes were drawn to the corner of the room where a small cloud of blue and white lights was forming into the figures of the two Anderson girls. Rachael clutched onto Laura's hand tightly, her usually pale skin a shade paler than was normal. Laura, however, looked unperturbed.
"Where's your Mom and Aunt Piper?" Phoebe asked her nieces, picking Rachael up and sitting her on her lap. Laura casually sauntered over to her Uncle Iain and placed her elbow on his knee, leaning on him as she said with a roll of her eyes, which made her likeness to Paige immense.
"Another demon attacked." She informed her Aunt, nonchalantly.
Before Phoebe or Iain had time to react to the statement which Laura had just made, however, yet another cluster of orbs had appeared in the kitchen. It quickly formed the two women in question: Paige was smiling down at her son, who was resting on her hip, but there was am anger hidden in her doe brown eyes which was very apparent. Next to her, Piper stood with her lips pursed and her arms folded tightly across her chest. She was not amused. In her right hand she clutched what looked like the remainders of an item of clothing. However, it was hard to tell what the smoking, black, crisp, fabric had been.
"This is getting awfully expensive!" She exclaimed in frustration.
xxxxx
Later that evening, the Charmed Ones and their children sat together in the attic of the Manor, engrossed in conversation about the demon problem which had been causing them so much stress. Though the kids sat on the floor playing with various different toys, their mothers did not share the same happy looks. Piper had resorted to pacing the attic's wooden floorboards, her long hair- not holding its usual natural shine, and static from the amount of times she had run her fingers through it- flew behind her as she plodded back and forth across the hardwood floor, her footsteps making a steady drumming pattern. Paige, as she had learned to do over the years when there was a crisis situation, was standing at the small circular table in the corner, throwing various ingredients into a small wok, hoping to produce some sort of defensive potion. Even after everything, her sisters had helped her to realise that the only way to resolve a magical problem was with magic. And finally, Phoebe stood at the attics most prominent feature: the wooden podium in the centre of the room which held the infamous Book of Shadows. Since the vast numbers of demon attacks had started, she was sure she and her sisters had received more paper-cuts than anyone in the world from flipping through this book, but still her hands frantically turned the aging pages.
"I just don't get it!" Piper exclaimed in frustration, clenching her fists to prevent accidentally sparking her explosive power. "The last Source didn't send this many demons after us." She took an exasperated seat on the old couch and placed her head in her hands, letting her hair fall limply over her face.
"But didn't Leo say that The Source isn't necessarily sending them? There's a very likely chance that they're coming after us because they want to impress the new Source." Phoebe said, not lifting her gaze from the ancient tome of a book.
"Okay Phoebs," Paige began, moving towards her sister, "Enough Book of Shadows for one night. I swear you've read that thing so many times in the past few weeks that you can probably recite the whole thing to me!" She snatched the book from under her sister's nose and gave Phoebe a gentle shove in the direction of the potion pot. "Job switch."
"Oh all right!" Phoebe complied, shuffling towards the cauldron where Paige had just stood, which seemed to be bubbling without any source of heat underneath it. "But I was just repeating what Leo told us."
"Where is Leo anyway?" The youngest sister asked, turning to face Piper.
"The elders called him up there a while ago… come to think about it, he's been up there way too long." She rose to her feet again and paced towards her sisters, "Leo!" She boomed skywards.
In just a matter of seconds a flurry of blue and white lights had formed the angelic face of her husband. Just one look at him was enough to momentarily put a smile on the eldest Charmed One's face.
"Hi," She greeted, slipping her arm gently around his waist as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead, "Where've you been?"
"The elders called an emergency meeting." He told her, "Regarding our situation."
"And- well there isn't really much point in asking this because it's the Elders we're talking about, but did they reach any solutions?"
"Actually yeah." This settled the room into silence. Even the children were quiet now, and all eyes rested on Leo, urging him to continue. "They've assigned the kids new whitelighters so that I can help you fight off the demons."
"What?" Piper and Paige gasped at the same time. Phoebe, however, looked to be finding the Elders' plan quite interesting.
"Why can't Sam do it?" Paige enquired.
"Because they want to give each respective family their own whitelighter." Leo explained, "To be fair that's how it works with every other magical family."
"Cool," Phoebe replied, "Sounds good to me! We need all the help we can get, I say!"
"…I guess." Paige finally agreed.
"So when do we get to meet them?" Piper asked, confirming that she too was warming to the idea.
"Actually…" Leo trailed off as his gaze turned towards the ceiling and he let out a loud whistle.
Moments later, a cluster of orbs had begun forming in the room, and soon it formed three whitelighters- a man and two women. Paige's eyes were immediately drawn to the smaller of the two females. She stood at the same height as the youngest Charmed One, but the fact that her slightly oversized jeans trailed on the floor, accentuated her lack of height. She was incredibly slender. Contrasting with the bagginess of her trousers, her torso was dressed in a very tight, fitted, black blouse, with sleeves which came only down to her elbow. It was adorned with magenta pinstripes, and it fastened with four, large, lime-green buttons. Her outfit made her look as though she belonged in a pre-teen female punk band. Her face, however, did not. Her long, auburn hair fell in perfect waves around her smiling face, and her blemish-free skin was covered in thousands of constellations of freckles. Her nose was slightly upturned but accompanied by her grin, which revealed a mouthful of crooked teeth, it created a childish innocence about the woman. Her hazel coloured eyes were gleaming with happiness, and were scanning the room with excitement. Clearly she was excited about the prospect of being whitelighter to a Halliwell child.
Beside her, the second female whitelighter stood. Her long, incredibly dark hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail revealing her slightly large ears. She, too, wore a smile, but hers was not nearly as obvious; her large lips looked almost like they were not used to smiling. Her nose contained a small bump in the middle, but it went almost unnoticed, as her gorgeous brown eyes drew attention away from it. The contrast in appearance between the two female whitelighters was immense. This woman towered over her companions, standing at at least five foot ten. Of course, this could have been aided by the woman's footwear: just looking at the pointed toes and three inch heals made Piper's feet hurt. The dark brown leather of the boots stretched up her slim legs stopping just below her knees, where they were met by the frayed edge of a camel-coloured skirt. The soft, suede material clung flawlessly to the woman's thighs, but gave a distinct kick at the bottom, making its shape somewhat resemble a church bell. Her choice in top was also a huge contrast with the other female: she wore a very conservative, cream blouse, with a slightly flowery pattern expertly embroidered into the front using black thread. It hugged her hourglass figure perfectly, but was buttoned all the way to the neck, revealing absolutely no flesh. Her posture was very different too. Her shoulders were held high and her back straight; immediately The Charmed Ones could see that the two females came from very different time periods.
The third whitelighter- the only male of the group- had nothing incredibly defining about his appearance. He dressed in tight, black-denim jeans which flared slightly over the top of his green- so dark that they were almost black- Dr Martin boots. He seemed to have quite a muscular physique, but it was hidden beneath a loose white shirt and brown leather jacket. His broad jaw was covered in a thick layer of stubble, and his blonde sideburns stretched all the way to his jaw line. His face was not the handsomest the Charmed Ones had ever laid eyes on, but it was not unpleasant to look at. His nose was broad and slightly off centre, and his cheekbones were so high that his grey eyes were almost slanted. His smile, however, was bigger than either of his female colleagues.
"Guys," Leo addressed the kids, drawing the Halliwell sisters' attention from the three new arrivals and onto their own whitelighter. "Meet your new whitelighters."
"I'm Derek." With a rasping, English accent, the male enthusiastically introduced himself. He took a step forward, and with a sturdy grip, shook the hand of each Charmed One in turn. If first impressions meant anything, he was certainly making a good one.
"Jessica." The tall female followed Derek's lead. Her accent was not noticeably different, but her voice was almost emotionless.
"Nice to meet you…" Paige replied, giving her sisters a sideways glance.
"You too." And still no emotion. She seemed nice enough, but Jessica was not proving to have the same charming effect as Derek.
"And this," Leo signalled towards the final whitelighter, "Is Allison."
"Dude!" She addressed Leo, almost offended, "I'm capable of introducing myself! Allison O'Neil." The petite female turned to the Charmed Ones and offered her hand, but found the witch nearest to her laughing too hard to accept her introduction. "What did I say?" She asked, confused.
"Leo!" Piper giggled, "Dude?" And she continued to laugh. Apparently she did not see her husband as a 'dude' of any sort.
"Yeah," Allison agreed with a small laugh, "I get your point."
Taking a deep breath, Piper's laughter subsided and she offered her hand to the whitelighter who was patiently waiting to shake it. "Piper," She said, still grinning, and giving her husband an amused smile.
"Allison O'Neil." The whitelighter repeated from before, "I'll be Prudence, Andrew and Amy's whitelighter from now until… well forever I guess."
"Great!" Piper, for once, seemed pleased with a decision made by the elders.
"What's great?" Iain, who had apparently entered the attic some time during the introductions, asked. "Oh, that I'm here!" He gave the Charmed Ones a cheeky smile and approached the large group of people. "Iain Anderson," He said with a grin. He bowed his head and took Jessica's hand, giving it a small kiss, causing the woman to flush.
"Iain!" Paige snapped, slapping her brother in law on the arm; she glared at him, but apparently his name aroused curiosity amongst the whitelighters.
"…You're Warren's guider?" The male asked, his accent again making the three witches grin.
"I certainly am!" Iain replied, "I take it your whitelighter to Laura and Rachael?"
"Got it in one, mate." The two men moved to shake hands, but a confused Paige moved forward, stopping the formal introduction.
"Whoa, wait. What?" She turned her back on the redheaded Nauctater and turned to face the man who had just made himself known as her daughter's guardian angel. "Why the hell does Warren not have a whitelighter?"
Derek's already narrow eyes squinted in confusion as he looked to Leo for help. "I thought she knew…?" He whispered, as if expecting Paige not to here.
"Knew what?" The youngest Charmed One snapped. She followed Derek's gaze to Leo, who was biting down uncomfortably on his lip. "Leo!" She went to take a step towards her sister's husband, but a sturdy grip on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to face Iain, and slapped his hand away from her. Paige threw her hands upwards and twitched her neck sideway as if urging one of her brother in laws to explain the question which was now prominent in her mind.
"Calm down, Paigey." Iain said, smirking uncomfortably, "It's nothing awful."
"Why then?"
"Well…" He smiled at his nephew who was sitting on the floor, absentmindedly playing with a piece of tinsel, left over from the Christmas celebrations. "Nauctaters don't have whitelighters."
"Oh…" Paige bit down on her lip as pink slowly began to creep up her neck and into her cheeks. She knew she had overreacted. But curiosity still did not leave her. "Why not?"
"Well, why do you think I'm here?" Iain smiled pointing at himself with his thumbs, "Nauctaters are guided by other Nauctaters." He gave a beaming smile, but Paige did not look reassured. "I was, Doug was, Mark was; and look how we turned out!"
"Oh God…" Paige gawped sarcastically. She turned on her heal and scooped Warren into her arms. "My baby is going to turn into a raving lunatic."
"He might," Iain replied, "But that'll come from your side of the family." He poked out his tongue and nudged Warren under the chin. "And I'm sure the girls are in perfectly capable hands too."
"You're bloomin' right!" Derek grinned, and he gave Laura and Rachael a small wave.
Phoebe smiled at both her sisters, and turned to address the only remaining whitelighter. "So that leaves you for-"
"Melinda-Jayne." Jessica interrupted.
Phoebe blinked a few times in disbelief, and offence. She found herself suddenly envying her sister's children's whitelighters, and looked to her daughter's apologetically. She did not like Jessica. At all. But then her dislike was replaced by panic and confusion- the same emotions she knew her younger sister had just been feeling.
"Just MJ?" She asked urgently, "Not Charlotte?"
"Not that I was informed of."
"But…why?"
The tall woman's stern appearance suddenly disappeared, as a puzzled expression spread across her pretty face. "I…don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Phoebe pushed past her sisters who were still conversing with their children's respective whitelighters and lifted a startled Charlotte off of the ground. She placed her youngest daughter on her hip and ran a concerned hand through Charlie's soft brown hair. "Find out!" She snapped, causing the little girl in her arms to give a shocked yelp.
"Yeah…" Jessica's gaze settled on Leo and her eyes narrowed. Apparently she did not like being out of the loop.
"Don't look at me!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands forward in defence, "I'm as clueless as you!"
"Well I guess that cuts this meeting short." Derek whispered, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Allison and Jessica nodded in agreement.
"Before we go," Allison began, turning from the children and back to their mothers, "We've been asked to tell you to gather here tomorrow at noon." She turned to Phoebe, "And make sure Melinda-Jayne's father is here too."
Sensing the question that was coming, Jessica continued, avoiding the piercing gaze of Phoebe, "The Elders want to give you a gift."
"Well it better be a damned good one! And it had better include a damned good explanation as to why only one of my daughters has a whitelighter!"
xxxxx
As they had been asked to, The Charmed Ones, their children and Cole gathered in the attic. Iain had decided that since he had only been with the group for a short period of time, he would not accept the gift which he had not earned, and no matter how much Paige insisted, he refused. Resuming the activities they had taken up the previous evening, they waited impatiently for the whitelighters to arrive. It had been twenty long minutes before any sign of orbs had even made a presence, but this had turned out to be only Leo.
"Jessica, Derek and Allison are going to meet you there." Was the first thing he told them.
"Meet us where?" Piper asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Leo replied sincerely, looking very apologetic, "I can't tell you." And before anyone could respond, a horrible lurching sensation met the Halliwell family's stomachs as they were snatched from the room they were standing in.
Piper felt her feet make contact with the ground, but she kept her eyes firmly closed. Her blood was boiling, and her frustration with the elders had reached its peak: they interrupt her cooking, they thrust three new faces into her life, just when it had gotten complicated enough, they avoid every question she asks them, and now they transport her to a place she doesn't even know! What the hell were they playing at?
Unintentionally she clenched her fists, tightening her grip on Andy's hand. When he gave a small yelp of pain, and attempted to tug his hand from the grasp of his mothers, Piper opened her eyes in panic.
"I'm sorry baby, Mommy just… whoa."
Piper suddenly found herself unable to string two words together. For a moment, the intense bright light of wherever they Halliwells had been transported to had blinded her, but now that her surroundings had become clear, she had been rendered speechless. Every ounce of anger she had been feeling drained from her system and it was almost as if the beauty of this place had wiped all emotions, other than awe, from her.
She was standing ankle deep in crisp, white, powdery snow. It wasn't until that moment that she had even realised the damp chill creeping up the legs of her jeans, or the cold moisture slowly seeping through her suede shoes, let alone the frosty, cold air which was beginning to prickle her skin.
They were standing in some sort of forest clearing. All around her a thick blanket of bright white glistened, reflecting the sun's afternoon light. Various species of tree weaved together. The dark grey of their trunks was such a contrast to the snow which surrounded them that it was almost as if someone had placed a dark throw over the snowy blanket. The cool white powder also clung to the branches like a child to its mother's hand. The angelic white of them, gracefully entwining with one another above the dark, silvery trunks, created the effect of layers in the distant landscape, but up close it just created such a tremendous beauty that Piper could not keep her eyes off of it.
It was a fascinating and tremendous sight to behold. Even the smallest, most spindly branches sported a coat of the intricately formed snowflakes. In some places they sat in clusters, in others only a thin veil was visible, but this was what created the splendour of it.
"Wow" Piper heard a gasp from behind her. Apparently Phoebe was equally as awed as she was.
The middle Charmed One let her hands fall limply to her sides, letting her grasp on Charlotte disappear. Wherever the elders had transported them, gratefulness had now replaced the annoyance Phoebe had been feeling previously. For as long as she had lived Phoebe had longed to see snow like this. Sure, when she had been in New York it had snowed, and heck, San Francisco rarely got a brief shower, but this landscape was immense.
Only three feet from where she stood, what should have been a stream had iced over. The narrow winding ice path shimmered as it reflected the sun's freezing glare. Delicate flowing swirls formed the beautifully complex patterns on the waters frozen surface, and the tracks of where a small animal of some sort had taken advantage of the solid water were still visible. Phoebe's smile grew as her amazed eyes followed the paw prints off of the river, and she continued to find amazingly unnatural beauty in the wintry paradise, as the footsteps only disappeared when they rounded one of the frost covered bushes.
"Mommy?" Came Charlotte's almost panicked voice, and Phoebe felt a gentle tug on the damp leg of her, brown cord flares, interrupting her viewing of this tremendous place.
It took a moment for Phoebe to regain her composure. She had become so enticed by her surroundings that the noise of everything around her had become hazy and distant. When it eventually dawned on her that Charlotte was attempting to gain her attention, she quickly spun to face her daughter's direction. However, even more quickly, she regretted her decision to do so.
"HAH!" Paige's mocking voice rang out excitedly as the snowball she had thrown towards her sister slammed off Phoebe's forehead. Her laughter echoed through the clearing, making her enjoyment seem only more prominent, and when it was joined by the amused laughter of the children, the forest's atmosphere became wonderfully happy.
Paige had always loved snow: The crisp, clean, cold air, and the crunch beneath her feet; catching the snowflakes on her tongue and brushing it from her eyelashes; making snow angels, and arguing over who got to put the carrot on the snowman's face; it was the one kind of weather that never failed to make her grin. Her surroundings now were the most beautiful she had ever seen though. The bright, vibrant blue of the sky seemed almost out of place, but it added to what was making her jaw drop. There didn't seem to be a single cloud nearby, yet at least seven inches of snow had freshly fallen.
When she had been young, Paige's adoptive parents, and her Aunt and Uncle had taken her every year to spend Christmas in their Canadian ski lodge. And every year she would beat them all in a snowball fight. Apparently she had not lost her aim, nor her serving arm.
"Paige!" Phoebe had scalded heatedly, but she had soon been laughing herself.
Much to the youngest Charmed One's delight, it was only a matter of seconds before everyone had joined in. Of course Amy and Warren, being to small to even stand in the snow, remained in their respective strollers, squealing in delight as the their mothers pelted their other aunt with balls of icy cold snow.
"Hey, come on!" Phoebe protested, ducking from the path of yet another snowball. "I'm outnumbered!"
"And you throw like a girl!" Piper replied, laughing at Phoebe's failed attempt to hit her.
"I am a-" She was cut off by yet another snowball, but this time one which had been launched by her ex. "Ow!" she yelped. "Oho! You're against me now too, huh!" Cole just responded with a guilty chortle.
"I choose my team wisely." Cole said, grinning, and throwing another snowball towards the witch, whose temper was gradually rising.
"This is so unfair!" Phoebe whined, darting behind a tree to shield herself from another attack of icy cold spheres. In aggravation, the middle Charmed One turned and kicked the trunk of the great oak. Too preoccupied by the intense pain which had began rocketing through her foot, she did not notice the heavy pile of snow which was now falling from the tree, having been loosened by her act of annoyance.
Soon, the middle Charmed One soon found herself buried in a mound of freezing cold snow. Her utter humiliation only grew as the laughter of her sisters and Cole met her ears. The three in question could now barely stand from laughter. Paige's hands rested on Piper's shoulders to keep her upright, and the eldest Charmed One had linked arms with the tall dark and handsome lawyer next to her. Even though they had no idea where they were, they had not had this much fun in a long time.
Beside them, Laura was giving a similar flamboyant laugh. The eldest Anderson child was grinning menacingly at her sister, two large snowballs clutched in her purpling hands. Rachael did not look as amused. Her red hair was already full of white powder from where Laura had hit her with snowballs, and her lips were pursed in determination to get her sister back. It seemed, however, that every time she had a direct aim on her sister, Laura would freeze the snowballs in mid flight, and push them to the floor.
"No fair!" The younger sister yelled, scowling, but a wicked smile was soon beginning to play at the corners of her frowning lips. As Laura opened her mouth to respond to her sister's comment, still moving towards her at a rapid pace, Rachael's left hand flew forward and a stream of ice shot from her fingertips. When Laura's foot landed on the now icy ground, and she suddenly came hurtling to the floor, sliding down the slope of ice which her sister had created, it was Rachael's triumphant laughter which was heard. However, she had not anticipated her sister sliding towards her. Before Rachael even had time to react, Laura had knocked into her, causing her to join her sister sitting in the cold white powder, and both Anderson girls sat at the foot of the large pine tree, covered in snow, and roaring with amused laughter.
A few yards from Laura and Rachael, Prue and Andy were finding fun in a less offensive method of playing with snow. Together, they were rolling a large snowball across the snowy ground, grinning as it increased in size. Already the sphere of snow reached Andy's waist, but he still continued to help his sister create the base of a snowman.
Charlotte and Melinda Jayne had also taken amusement in snowball throwing, but not at each other. After seeing what had happened to their mother, both girls had decided to give Piper, Paige and Cole a taste of their own medicine. Of course, being only two and four, the girls had trouble forming snowballs which actually managed to hit their targets, but nonetheless, everyone was having fun.
The happy ringing of Paige's laughter cut off suddenly, but nobody else seemed to have noticed the fiery sphere which was now reflecting orange in the youngest Charmed One's eyes. She dropped the snowballs which she had been forming in he hands, and her lips pursed tightly. This type of ball was not in the rules.
Fireball!" Paige's voice- a mix of panic and frustration- echoed though the clearing. She threw her hand forward, directing the fiery sphere away from her, but her attempt to redirect it proved futile. "Fireball!" She yelled again. Still nothing. Her powers were not working.
xxxxx
Iain's wild mess of red hair was very noticeable against the mint green of the paint in the hallway of the Halliwell manor. He sat wit his back against wall, staring in contemplation at the staircase in front of him. He had pulled his knees close to his chest, enabling them to act as a rest for his elbows. His hands clasped together in front of his face, and his strong arms, revealed by the black tank-top he wore, looked only more muscular, due to his tense posture. Since the Halliwells had left and Leo had been called 'up there' by the Elders, he had walked up and down those stairs so many times that he knew by heart that the third stair from the bottom had a hollow creak if you stood on its centre, and the top stair had a loose floorboard. Yet no matter how many times he ascended the staircase, he had never brought himself to actually open the door which led into the attic.
It was not as if he had not entered the attic on many occasions since arriving in San Francisco. Hell, it was the first place he had stepped foot in. But now that he was alone, with such an opportune moment to look through the Halliwell Book of Shadows, it was different. That book held so much information about the Halliwell family and the opponents they had battled over the years, but he could not manage to rid himself of the horrible feeling that he was betraying his own family- particularly his late younger brother.
"Bloody hell," He grumbled, rising to his feet again. Apparently there was something more important than Mark on his mind. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs for what felt like the millionth time, carefully avoiding the creaking stair and the loose floorboard. It was ridiculous that in all his years as a Nauctater, this small, battered, wooden door was one of the hardest obstacles he had faced.
But his hand grasped the door handle firmly. The cold of the metal against his clammy palms sent a chill down his spine, but he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, ignoring the feeling of guilt in his stomach. "Sorry Mark." He whispered, pushing the door ajar, "It's for Craig's sake." And then he stepped inside the dark room.
xxxxx
The reflection of the fireball in the youngest Charmed One's eyes grew to a striking orange flare as the sphere of orange flames slammed into her chest Pain rocketed through her suddenly limp body as she was flung through the air at a tremendous force. When her body collided with a large cluster of trees, what had just been hilariously funny was not at all amusing. An avalanche of perishing snow cascaded from the trees' many branches, burying the injured Charmed One underneath.
"Mommy!" Laura and Rachael screamed, leaping to their feet and charging across the stormy sea of snow to where their mother lay. At the same time, Warren's deafening screams rang out through the clearing.
"Why the hell did you not freeze it?" Phoebe snapped at her older sister, torn between going to help her nieces retrieve their mother from her icy tomb, or turning to fight whatever it was that had injured Paige.
"I tried!" Piper replied angrily. "My powers aren't working!"
It was then that Phoebe noticed her sister was rapidly flicking her wrists in the direction of where the fireball had come from. She turned on her heals and was met by the maliciously sneering face of a monstrous demon.
His lack of height was compensated by his huge physique. Though it was more obesity than muscle which made him so large, his appearance was enough to stir vomit in the Charmed Ones' stomachs. His skin was a vilely pale shade of olive green, and his horribly large head, which appeared to have at least six chins, was root to a disgusting mane of greasy and matted grey hair. The wicked grin on his face revealed that he was completely toothless. He was undoubtedly the most disturbingly ugly demon they had ever encountered. And due to their powerless circumstances, and the fact they were down a sister, panic was becoming more prominent.
"MJ!" Piper suddenly yelled, as she realised her niece- who wore a very determined expression- was approaching the demon. But then another realisation washed over her: Laura and Rachael had been using their powers earlier- the kids still had their powers. Apparently the Elders so-called 'gift' involved the children vanquishing a demon.
Apparently Phoebe had met the same realisation, as she was now ordering Prue to heal her Aunt Paige. Piper suspected it would be a hard task to pry Laura and Rachael from their mother and convince them to aid in the vanquish, which they would undoubtedly be needed for as their powers were two of the strongest. But she was wrong. The moment a golden glow had began emitting from Prudence's hands; both Anderson girls rose defiantly and marched towards the demon. At the same time, Piper dashed forward to retrieve Amy and Warren's strollers to safety, whilst Phoebe remained glued to the spot, eyes fixed on the children in fear of what was going to happen to them, and Cole ran to Paige's side.
The demon still wore a smirk on his beady-eyed face, and he had formed two large fireballs in his palms. "Little children?" he sneered, his voice barely understandable due to the heavy amounts of saliva he emitted as he spoke.
"Big fat demon?" MJ countered, forming her own fireballs- one was sickly neon yellow, the other a familiar orange.
"I hate children." The demon continued. He raised his arm, which produced the horrifying smell of aging perspiration, and released his first attack. It flew at an unexpectedly rapid pace towards Andrew, who had been standing at Melinda-Jayne's side. In his panic, Andrew did not think to use his telekinetic powers, but thankfully the arrival of his older cousin prevented him being injured.
"Hey!" Laura spat viciously as she activated her most advanced power and froze the fireball in mid air, "Leave him alone!" She then turned towards the vile demon, not allowing her fear to show, and thrust her wrists forward, thus putting her molecular acceleration into action. It did not have much effect though. It hit his left elbow, causing his arm to go limp and the fireball in his hand to extinguish, but the demon seemed unfazed.
MJ, having seen Laura's almost useless attempt to hurt the demon, took it up herself to try. First she released her fireball, aiming directly for his face. She grinned as it hit its target. He let out a roar of pain and stumbled backwards, leaving MJ with enough time to release her sphere of temporal stasis. This hit his knee, but when he moved it to stop himself from falling backwards, it became apparent that it was not going to work.
In his frustration and pain, the demon formed another pair of fireballs and threw them towards the gathering of children. This time, however, Andy had been prepared. He waved his arm, redirecting one of the fireballs- which had been heading straight for Charlotte- back at their rival, and a toothy grin spread across his face as the demon fell to the floor.
"Laura! Look out!" Paige, who was apparently now healed, screeched. Her eldest child had been too preoccupied by Andy's success to even notice that the second fireball had been hurtling towards her.
"FIREBALL!" Fortunately, Prue was now able to help. Her remarkably loud voice called for the destructive ball, and in a twinkle of blue and white lights, it disappeared and reappeared behind the horrifyingly obese evil being. Much to the eldest cousin's delight, this rendered the demon unconscious.
The chorus of cheers from the children rang through the clearing, but the Charmed Ones remained in a stunned silence. Paige and Cole approached Piper and Phoebe, all four wearing mixed expressions of shock, relief and anger. Their children- not one over the age of six- had just overpowered a demon without the aid of an adult. And still there was no sign of any whitelighters.
Amy and Warren's respective mother's lifted them from their strollers as they approached their other children, and Cole and Phoebe exchanged an astounded look- both unable to believe the courage their daughter had shown in the face of danger. Their jaws dropped even further when they looked up to see the unconscious demon, now encased in a cave of ice which Rachael had provided for it, dissolve in front of her eyes.
"What the-"
"Did you see me Mommy?" Prue asked, beaming with pride, cutting off her Aunt's question.
"Yes, and I'm so proud of you!" Piper decided to leave her bewildered questions until after she had congratulated her children. She stretched her free arm out and pulled both Prue and Andy into a loving hug, so that all three of her children were in her arms. "All of you."
Paige did not even need to speak to enable her daughters to feel her pride. Both Laura and Rachael had leapt into her arms the moment they had seen her, but Paige had turned her head so that none of her three children had seen the tears which had formed in her eyes.
Phoebe was the last to envelope her children in her arms, but when she did it held no less love or pride. "Well done, babies." She whispered softly.
Cole, however, although immensely proud of his daughter, was more disturbed by the fact that the demon had disappeared from plain sight. He had lowered himself to his knees and was running a cold hand over the snow where the demon had just lain. It made no sense. Demons did not just disappear like that.
"Uh, you guys?" He asked slowly, "What happened to the great oaf?"
"I think we can answer that." A familiar English accent cut through the crisp air. Apparently the whitelighters had arrived.
"Go for it." Replied a very agitated Piper. The Charmed Ones and their children all looked expectantly at the three figures who had apparently just orbed in.
"Well this-" Allison signalled with her hand to the wintry surroundings, "is your gift."
"A snowy clearing in the middle of nowhere?" Paige asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Actually it's usually only snowy until February." Jessica told her, "And I think you'll find Yosemite National Park isn't really the middle of nowhere."
"Yosemite?" Piper questioned, "The Elders are giving us Yosemite! Don't you think somebody will notice?"
"Actually you just get this clearing." Derek explained, "They've magically sealed it so that demons can't find it and mortals don't even see it." He grinned, "It's a place where you can practice your magic and train your powers in peace."
"What?" Phoebe, slightly bewildered, asked.
"Why?" Paige continued.
"If it's magically protected how did the demon get here?" Cole asked, moving back towards the Halliwells. "And what was the significance of me being here?"
"And why didn't our powers work!"
"Okay," it was Allison who spoke this time, "Because of the new Source, the Elders think it would be best if you guys allowed yourselves and the kids to develop your powers. The only way to do that without you being spotted is to magically protect a piece of land, far enough away from civilisation so that you aren't easily revealed, where you can freely practice magic. Cole, you're here because they believe you have played a large part in the children's upbringing and you deserve to see this place."
"Right…" Piper looked like she was quite fond of the idea, but she was still not very happy. "But what about our powers, and how did the demon get in?"
"The Elders momentarily took your powers and summoned the demon."
"They what?" Paige snarled.
"It was to test the children's abilities." Jessica replied, as if it had been perfectly clear. "The Elders needed to know what they were capable of."
"By putting their lives in danger!" Cole snapped.
"We were on hand to heal any casualties." The tall female whitelighter said firmly.
"But you were prepared to let Paige bleed to death?"
""Look." Derek stepped forward so that the bickering would stop, "It's hard to explain, but I promise you the plan was fool proof. Why don't we all calm down and take a moment to explore?"
Piper gave an aggravated sigh, but gave in to the whitelighter's request. "Okay…" She grumbled turning towards her sisters.
"You know," Paige whispered to her, "If it wasn't for that accent he would so not be likeable!"
xxxxx
The attic was unusually quiet. Iain was suddenly very conscious of his own heavy footsteps on the wooden floor as he made his way to the centre of the room. But it was too late to turn back now. He had to do this. He had to do it for Craig.
Though it stood only feet from the six foot four Nauctater, the wooden podium looked so far away. He was having difficulty convincing his feet to move forward, but his heart was urging him to approach it quickly. He was torn, but his long passed father had always told him to follow his heart, and that was something he had always stood by. He was going to gather all the information from the book that he could manage.
And then he was face to face with it. His midnight blue eyes traced the triquetra on the front of the worn, green cover more times than he could count, before he raised his arms ready to open the ancient tome. He took a large gulp of air and shook the mass of ginger hair out off of his face, and then he moved his arms towards the Book of Shadows.
Next thing Iain Anderson knew, he was letting out a surprised and frustrated yelp. "What the hell?" He seethed, bringing a fist down hard onto the wooden podium. "No bloody way!" The book had jumped from his grasp.
xxxxx
That evening, Paige silently crept through her darkened apartment, with her sleeping son in her arms. She ran her fingers through his thick curls and gave a melancholy smile. He really was more like his father than he would ever know.
She took her elbow and gently pushed the nursery door open, preparing to lay Warren in his crib before she too retired for the night. The sorrowful smile she wore, however, soon turned into one of adoration and pride. Instead of going to sleep in their own beds as Paige had thought, Laura and Rachael slept huddled together beneath the lime green covers of the nursery's spare bed. They looked so peaceful. She always found it slightly amusing when anyone called them angels, but that is what they were. There had been a time when Paige had never even dreamed of having children; she had been an irresponsible, fun-loving and carefree young woman, swept suddenly into the world of magic by the sisters she never knew she had. But now, after everything that had happened in the last seven and a half years, her children meant more to her than anything in the world. The days events had made her realise how much her daughters had grown since Mark's death. Watching them come face to face with the demon in Yosemite had struck something inside her.
She gave Warren a kiss on his soft, rosy cheek and blinked back a tear. Her baby was yet to experience the real danger of magic, even though before he had even been conceived he had caused what was perhaps the biggest uproar the underworld had ever seen.
Turning to give her daughters a goodnight kiss and straighten out the covers they slept under, Paige found herself unable to hold back the tears any longer. Twelve months ago, Mark would have been by her side, arm around her waist and a cheeky grin spread across his handsome face. But he was not here now. And Paige found herself feeling incredibly guilty as her eyes settled on Rachael and Laura. They had grown so much in the past year, and not just in height: their powers, their knowledge, their appreciation of family and their understanding of the world around them. And they had grown without a father.
It was a horrible realisation to come to. She had managed for a year without him, and she had done it brilliantly. Laura was now at school, thoroughly enjoying her education; Rachael's sorrow had taught her how to face her enemies with the utmost bravery; and little Warren had survived his first Christmas being the perfect angel. As much as she hated to think about it, she did not need Mark any more.
Wiping her eyes, she slipped out of the room and quickly into her own across the hallway. There she was greeted by a large portrait photograph of her and Mark's wedding day. More tears spilled over her eyelids, but she gave the picture a broad grin.
"I'll always love you, you know that Mark?" She whispered, running her hand over the soft canvas. "But I think I need to live my life now."
She gave a large sniff and her right hand moved quickly across to her left, where she clutched her wedding ring tightly. She couldn't stop her tears. She felt guilty. But she felt unusually happy too. She would never experience the love she and Mark had shared with anyone else, and he would hold a special place in her heart forever. But it was time to move on.
Little did she know, an event which was waiting in the near future was going to make moving on prove harder than she knew…
The End
AN- AAAAAHHHHHHH! Okay, you think I'm really sad- especially since that chapter was a load of crap- but I am sooo excited! I finally finished something! For the first time ever+does little Christmas jig+
I'm going to take this moment to say a huge thank you to all those who have stuck with the story, reading and reviewing- and those who just read. It means a lot to me that you take time out of your busy schedules to read my work. I wish I could hug you all! Haha.
And also to say, never fear for there will be a sequel! Hah. Of course, you'll all hate me when I tell you this next part- it won't be posted until February. +hides+ You have to understand that being a senior means I have a hell of a lot of work to do and February sees my preliminary examinations. Once they're over the sequel, "Will it Set Them Free?" shall be posted. Of course, to keep you on your toes and still baring with me, in the time between now and February I plan on posting a Paige/Mark oneshot, which will tell the story of the night he proposed to her.
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you continue reading when I post the sequel.
Laur x