A/N: See, I told you I'd update quickly:) Enjoy...

Mediatorsk: My loyal reviewer... thanks for coming back! Have fun in Canada!

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"She is a good witch! She is a Halliwell! And she deserves to be buried as a Halliwell!" Phoebe screamed at Mark. By now, she was furious with him.

"She's also my wife. And I want her buried on my family plot," Mark retorted.

"Why? Why?" Phoebe asked, her voice breaking. She was trying not to cry. "Paige loved being a witch. She was as devoted to the craft as she was to her kids, and she deserves to be honored for that. Dammit, Paige gave her life for this, and not burying her with her mother and sisters and grandmother is just disgracing her memory!"

"That's exactly it," Mark said. "She was killed through witchcraft, her sisters were killed through witchcraft, her mother was killed through witchcraft, and I don't want my children to be next. They have to know what their mother was like aside from this whole 'Charmed' thing."

"So, what, you just want them to forget about it?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

"Exactly. I don't want them to die too. They're better off as normal children."

"You can't deny who they are," Phoebe said angrily. "They have powers! You can't just pretend those don't exist! Things are gonna come after them, that's just how it is. It's their destiny! Everything happens for a reason."

"It's not fair for them to be fighting for their lives everyday at five years old." With that, Mark turned down the hallway and started up the stairs. Phoebe looked over at Pam, who was curled up on the couch and wearing a very depressed expression. She didn't have to turned her head to look back, for she'd been watching the argument since it began.

"I've lost all respect for that man," Phoebe sighed. She went upstairs.

………………………………………………

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked as she saw Mark standing by the Book of Shadows.

"I'm saving my kids," he replied, brushing past Phoebe as he left the room. Phoebe walked over to the book and read the title at the top of the page. 'To Bind.' She looked at it open-mouthed and then chased after Mark, who had already retrieved Stella and Andy from their room.

"You can't do that," Phoebe said, pointed to the attic stairs. Mark knew what she was referring to.

"But you can," he replied. "And you're going to."

"Bind their powers?" Phoebe exclaimed in disbelief. "I can't do that. I won't do that!"

"Phoebe, these are my children, not yours. If I don't want them to be witches, then it's my say. Not yours. What are you anyway, their half-aunt?"

"Insulting me isn't going to get me any closer to reading that," Phoebe seethed. "I am a witch. You are not. They are. That gives me more say than the average half-aunt," she snapped.

"Well, unless you think that's going to work on a judge, you don't have custody here. It's my call. Bind their powers."

"Doing that will just make things worse!" Phoebe stressed. "This whole household is targeted for attack! Powers or no powers, Wyatt's gonna send someone. And turning Stella and Andy into mortals isn't gonna improve their chances of survival any time soon."

"It will if I leave," Mark replied.

"What?"

"First thing after the funeral, we're gone. I'm getting my own place and raising these kids far away from any magical influence."

"What if I don't bind their powers?" Phoebe asked defiantly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Doesn't matter. We're going. And if they're still witches when we go, you can bet that you'll never get to see them again," Mark threatened.

Phoebe couldn't believe how he had turned from a loving, family-friendly guy to someone so hateful. She still debated refusing, but she knew that those children would indeed be safer if they were far off of Wyatt's radar. She had to lose them to save them. A tear fell from her eye as she stroked Stella's hair. That little girl and her brother were Phoebe's only remind of Paige.

"Follow me."

Up in the attic, everyone gathered around the podium.

"What are we doing, Aunt Phoebe?" Andy asked. It pained Phoebe to have to lie to them.

"Nothing. It's just a little game. Come here." She held their hands and took a deep breath before beginning the spell. "I take your hands in mine, and with this string, I shall entwine, your powers I forever bind… from now until the end of time."

It had been hard, but it was done.

"Thank you for cooperating," Mark said nastily as he led his newly mortal children out of the attic.

……………………………………………

Phoebe plopped down next to Pam on the couch, wearing the same depressed and hopeless expression as her daughter. They stared aimlessly at Price Is Right reruns on the TV.

"What happened?" Pam asked. All she could read from her mother's thoughts was that she was very angry at Mark.

"He made me bind their powers," Phoebe said helplessly.

"What? Whose?"

"Stella and Andy's," she replied. "He doesn't want them to be involved in witchcraft whatsoever."

"Well, that's gonna be a little hard…"

"They're moving."

"What?"

"Right after the funeral. But of course, we can't have a funeral until we agree on where the deceased is to be buried…" Phoebe sighed. "This family's falling apart."