Disclaimer:

All characters from BtVS, Angel, and Charmed are the property of Joss Whedon and Aaron Spelling, respectively.

Summary:

AU Crossover between the Charmed and Buffy-verses. Xander spends the day with the boys. Piper goes to visit with Willow and discovers something she didn't know about Xander. The boys discover magic is a very smelly business.

Author's Note:

Please read and review.

Chapter 24 – Fudge and Pigs Feet

Part One

Xander was at the manor alone with the boys. Paige and Leo had gone off doing, well, whatever white lighters did. Xander still wasn't sure. He'd been one now for a little under a year. Maybe one day he'd get used to it. But not yet. Phoebe had gone to work. Apparently her boss was a bit of a tyrant. From the way they talked about this Elsa or whatever her name was, she was the reincarnation of Principal Snyder. And, Piper had gone off to see Willow.

Xander was still surprised when she had told him her plans. She was genuinely worried about Will. That made him really happy. Will needed friends. She had a tendency to bottle everything up inside and this had always worried him. Piper had seen that, he was glad. Part of it, he thought, was that Piper understood what Will was feeling. After all, they were both parents of magical beings. Not just witches. Both sets of kids had more than just witchcraft to contend with. Part demon, part white lighter, mixed with the wicca had made them a completely different kettle of fish. He wouldn't be surprised that they would be capable of so much more than their parents.

Piper had understood this. She understood the worry that Willow would be going through. To know that your child has some stupid destiny was important. So, Xander had nearly told Leo to shove it when he ordered him not to tell Willow or Cole what they had found out from Them. Then Piper told Xander to calm down. He smiled as he remembered.

FLASHBACK

"Now, listen, Leo..." Xander threatened, moving into Leo's face.

"Xander, calm down!" Piper interjected. "Leo just wants you to take some time. We need to think about all this. Right, honey?"

Leo looked like he was considering her words. He nodded.

"It's not like we think she's a threat. After all, she saved us and the Book. We just need all the facts. I think we have time. It sounds like this oracle thing doesn't really come into its own until at least puberty. Is that right, Leo? Or did I misunderstand?"

"No, honey. That's right. Although, we're still not really sure why the Goddess intervened at this early age with her. It's supposed to be a very intense experience. But, I just know this because of the histories. It hasn't happened for at least 2,000 years. The last one... well, it ended badly. Really before it could every begin.."

Xander had looked up sharply at this. Was Buffy in danger? Well, more danger than normal?

"See, Xander, so I think you should just agree to take some time. At least promise that you'll tell Leo before you tell anyone else. How about that Leo?" Leo nodded slowly. "See? Xander, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. Besides, Mrs. Turner probably could use some breathing time after this last week. After dealing with Phoebe, her dark alter-ego, Cole being blown up, and her daughter going on a walkabout, she'll probably want some serious spa time."

Xander had chuckled at that. She was right there. Willow's large brain was probably in worry overdrive by now. So, he'd nodded in agreement. Maybe he shouldn't just orb off. They were right. They probably had at least a few years before everything hit the fan – he hoped.

END FLASHBACK

He'd been upset at the time. Worried about Willow. Worried about little Buffy. Big Buffy wasn't in town anymore to help out. She'd left the day before little Buffy had gone all Slayer-y. He smiled as he thought of that. That was who she had reminded him when she had insisted that she had to give thanks to the Goddess. Not that Buffy had ever done that. No, it was more the way she had held herself. The way she talked to the girls. It actually disturbed him. He didn't want her to have to deal with this ... crap.

FLASHBACK

Then, Leo and Paige had left. Piper had this rather conspiratorial smile on her face. "Well." She'd said. "It's about time. I thought those Elders would never summon him."

Xander had been confused. How had she arranged that? Then she laughed. "You look like I arranged that! No, I just knew it'd happen. I've never had a day go by that Those People don't grab my husband away. Now, I'm going to go visit Mrs. Turner."

"WHAT!" Xander screamed. What the hell is this gal up to? I thought Phoebe was the crazy one? "What the hell are you talking about? You said we needed to--"

"Xander, calm down, calm down. I don't want the Elders to get wind of this. And, they will, if you start getting hot under the collar." She grabbed her purse and keys and turned back to him. "You don't think that I want her in the dark. And I didn't promise not to tell her, now did I? I just want to make sure she's alright. She's been through a lot. I also don't want her to make the same mistakes I did with Chris. Plus, I like her. I'd like to have a friend that understands about motherhood and witchcraft."

END FLASHBACK

And, so she had gone. So, Xander was left alone with the boys. Which was good. He really needed to focus on them. Especially on Chris. There was the matter of his powers to deal with. He had done something special that day he'd confronted Wyatt. He needed to figure out what he had done. He had used powers that hadn't appeared in the Halliwell family before. And that concerned Them. They wanted to know what had happened. So do I, Xander thought, so do I.

Part Two

Willow wiped the tears from her eyes as she opened the door. She had been crying since Cole had left for work. He hadn't wanted to go, but she'd made him. Neither one of them was going to do the children any good if they hovered. Not that she was doing any better. However, she was always at home. The children would've noticed something was up if Cole stayed home. The doorbell rang for a third time before Willow opened it. There standing on the doorstop with a large basket was a smiling Piper Halliwell.

Huh? "Mrs. Halliwell? What do you want?"

Piper cringed. Of course, Willow really had no reason to trust her. Piper put on her best smile and just dove right on in. "Piper, please. I thought you might not feel like cooking today, so I made a meat pie that Cole always told me was his favorite. I also brought a sweet potato dish, some tarts, as well as a pan of fudge."

Willow just stared in disbelief. She'd made all that? Willow stepped back allowing the crazed chef to enter. Piper smiled as she walked back in. She walked into the living room and placed her basket on a coffee table. The room didn't look much different than the last time she'd been here. Except that a lot of kleenex had been gone through since the last time. Waste paper baskets were filled to overflowing. She sat down and smiled at her hostess.

Willow, for her part, was still dazed. She watched as the other woman reached inside the basket. She pulled out a large thermos and a couple of cups. Then she pulled out a large pan of what looked like fudge. Finally, she pulled out – a fresh box of kleenex. It was too much. She collapsed into tears once again. Piper came to her side and just held onto her. The poor woman. She didn't know if she'd have handled it any better. But, she didn't need to be alone.

"Cole shouldn't have left you like this. You needed him--" she started but Willow interrupted her.

"No! No, I made Cole go. I didn't want the children to think that something was wrong. Well, something is wrong, but they don't need to know that. Not that they don't already know, really after last night. Of course they know something is wrong. But they don't need to feel it is wronger than it really is. So, I told Cole to go. And---"

Piper started to giggle. She didn't mean to. She really didn't think there was someone on this earth that could make less sense than Paige. Boy did this girl babble well. Maybe I shouldn't give her any coffee.

"Oh! Sorry! That's the true me. Babbling Willow. I'm surprised Xander didn't warn you. But, maybe.."

"No, Willow, it's alright. I just want you to know that we can be friends. We have a lot in common. We're both witches. We're both moms. We both have special children. We could start a support group of wiccan mothers with children by non-mortals. Hmmm... WMWCBNM... could use a different acronym, I suppose." She paused as Willow giggled and dried her eyes. "And, as for all the food, I always cook when I need to think, or when I'm upset, or when... Well, I just cook period."

Willow laughed. That'd be nice. She'd like a friend. Buffy didn't live here. "Thanks, Piper. I'd like that."

"Good. Now how about some fudge?" Piper handed the tray of fudge and poured out the coffee she had brought. Now how should she talk about what Leo had told them? She didn't want to do this the wrong way. Might as well just dive in. "I also wanted to let you know what Leo found out from the Elders."

Willow looked up suddenly in the middle of eating fudge. What's this? What do the Elders want with her? She looked into Piper's eyes warily. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Willow, calm down. One of the things you have to know about white lighters is that they have to report things. When something like this happens, they go orbing off. This is one of the things that Elders want to know about. It's not that they're going to take action, they just want to be ready."

Willow still wasn't sure. It still sounded sort of... well, underhanded. She was damned if any watchers council in heaven was going to interfere with her daughter. They? Piper had said they! Was she including-- "Xander! Did he go orbing off too?"

Piper took a deep breath. "Yeah, he did. I think he did it more to find out what's what. He doesn't seem to really like the Elders. He always refers to them as Them – with a Capital 'T'. Anyway, I think he just wanted to get information. He was going to orb off here first thing, but I talked him out of it." She held her hand as she heard Willow gasp in outrage. "Now, Willow, I did that for a reason. Leo made Xander promise not to tell. He didn't ask me not to. So, if Leo doesn't think Xander is going to talk to you, he won't have to tell the Elders anything. What Leo doesn't know, the Elders don't know. Okay?"

Piper took another sip of her coffee as she watched Willow process that information. After seeing dark Willow earlier in the week, she never wanted to go through that again. However, she really did like Willow. They seemed to have a lot in common. It would be nice to have someone to talk to that she thought would really understand her. Sometimes she thought her sisters lived on a different planet than her.

"Okay. I understand." Willow sighed as she, too, took another sip of coffee. She reached for a second piece of fudge and popped it into her mouth. "So, I want to know two things. What the hell did those boys upstairs say."

"And two?" Piper asked curiously.

"Will you give me the recipe for this fudge?"

Part Three

Xander and the boys had brought the Book down to the kitchen. He was being very naughty. But, he really thought they should practice basic wiccan stuff. So, he was having them whip up potions. Nothing really dangerous, just stuff you could test out. Wyatt could read a little so he was just standing by while they did things.

"Now we need some pigs' feet..." Wyatt was reading.

"Ick!" Chris yelled. "We don't have any pigs. And I don't think I want to chop 'em off anyway. That's cruel. White witchies aren't supposed to be cruel."

"Quite right, Chris." Xander praised. "However, I think your mom probably gets the pigs feet already bottled without the body. You just need to search the pantry."

Chris still thought it was gross. Why? Why do good witches use anything where an animal was killed or hurt to get it? It just didn't seem right...

"Found it!" Wyatt was proudly holding up a large jar with what looked like little feet.

"I'm not touching 'em!" Chris proclaimed. "They're just gross!"

Xander nodded. They did look really gross. He wouldn't want to touch them either. He nodded to Wyatt. "That's okay, Chris. You don't have to – this time. Wyatt, why don't use the tongs to place them in the potion. Were they the last ingredient?"

Wyatt nodded happily. He really liked this better – a whole lot better than the powers thing. The powers he just had. He was born with them. He didn't ask for them, he didn't think he even really wanted them. But this potions stuff. This was thinking stuff. This was stuff he had to learn. It just seemed it meant more to be able to do something he learned to, rather than something he just did because he was born that way.

He opened the jar. A kind of medicine-y, sour smell came up out of the jar. Chris was right! It was really gross. I'm glad Xander told me to use the tongs. I really, really don't want to touch them. He put the tongs in the jar carefully and started to pull out one of the pigs feet. Oh no! It's caught on one of the others! What am I going to do? He started to think frantically. I really don't want to clean pigs feet off of the kitchen floor. He looked around for something but... Suddenly, Chris moved and held onto the jar. Wyatt smiled widely at his little brother.

"Ick! They stink too! Why would you want those in a potion? Do the demons go away 'cause they don't like your smell? Wyatt don't you dare drip pig ick on me!"

Wyatt nodded and finally managed to extract the pigs foot. He dropped it into the potion fixings that was already simmering. POOF! A cloud of greenish smoke erupted from the potion. Now what? Wyatt thought.

Chris coughed and gagged. "Ick! Is that all we get – a stinky green cloud?"

"Really! All that trouble." Wyatt was coughing too as he was struggling to put the lid back on the jar of pigs feet.

"Now, now, boys. I think it worked. We just need to drain the juice from the potion into bottles for future use. If you'd read the book here, boys, it tells you exactly what it's for." Xander explained calmly, pointing at the book. "Though, I do agree with you. My best friend when I was in school was a witch. I was forever asking her if she could do magic without making everything so stinky."

The boys turned and looked at him. "Was there?"

Xander shook his head sadly. "Sorry, boys, but the price you pay for magic is a bad smell."

The boys groaned as they started to fill up the potion bottles. Wyatt looked at the Book while passing to get more bottles. The title said To Vanquish Grimloks. Complete with picture. They were big, blue and ugly. They sort of looked like if you mixed the Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine with a wrestler from the WWF. Maybe I'll ask mom later if she'd ever fought one. "Wyatt!" Chris yelled. "More bottles!"

"Please, Chris, we're all in the kitchen together – you don't need to scream." Xander sighed.

Part Four

Willow and Piper were happily ensconced in the breakfast nook in one of the window seats. They had put Piper's basket of goodies away and were sipping at the coffee. Piper had been in lust over Willow's custom made pantry and had told her she'd love to have one like that. That's when Willow just smiled and dropped her bombshell. Xander had made it! He had been a carpenter and had worked in the industry while he was mortal! She couldn't believe it. If she played her cards right, that could really work out for them. I'll be nice to him forever. Yes, yes, yes. Hmm. Maybe I should tell Paige to sleep with him. He looks like he likes her. Ooh! The possibilities!

"I can see you liked that little tidbit of information." Willow mused out loud.

"Oh! Oh, yes! It's just you don't know how much money I've given to carpenters since I became a witch. Well, carpenters and plumbers, electricians, glaziers – oh! If you knew how glazier has been milking me dry!"

Willow giggled. "Well, I don't know about electric work. But I do know that Xan can do basic plumbing and a little glazier work – nothing fancy."

Piper started jumping in her seat. Oh, my god! It's like Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, and your birthday all rolled up in one! Willow started giggling some more. She shook her head in disbelief. Poor Xander. He doesn't know what he's in for.

"Poor Xan. I hope you won't overwork him."

"Oh! Oh, no. But I will start being very, very nice." She laughed. She looked at Willow. She was a lot more at ease now. But, she still looked troubled. "Maybe I should tell you what the Elders said."

Willow came much more serious. "Yes, yes, I want to know. Cole already told me somethings that he learned through his own research last night. But I'd like to hear their side, too."

Interesting, she thought. Cole found something out. I wonder if it's the same? "That's interesting. I wonder if... never mind. The Elders say she's something that's only born every two to three thousand years. They... witches born to this... are known as oracles or also as Voce di Reina. Voice of the Lady. The last one was born in Pompeii, Italy. Apparently she died the day the volcano erupted. She was only eight years old at the time."

"Hmm. Interesting. Cole didn't tell me about that one. He did talk about one that had lived in the British Isles. She was supposed to be the source of the Lady of the Lake legend. There was also one during something he called the War of the Hollow."

"The Hollow! Yes, of course, that would be a time you'd want one. The Elders said they're brought forth in times of great stress and trial for the magical community. Usually, when there's a power struggle or an imbalance in the forces of good and evil. The Hollow was a... thing... it was created by wizards. It absorbed any magic directed at it."

"Created, huh?" Willow thought out loud. "Have you ever noticed how people create the stupidest things? Nuclear weapons, super diseases, Barney, bell bottom pants..."

Piper giggled. "Frilly maternity wear. I mean, honestly, it's so hard to vanquish a demon when he's laughing at you."

Willow snorted, "Yeah I can see that. Anything else you find out?"

"Yes, apparently, the Goddess' power in her won't become completely realized until sometime after she reaches puberty. There's a ritual she'll undergo on Beltane when the Goddess tells her it's time. In fact, Leo said that it was quite unusual for the Goddess to speak to her at this early age. Until that point, she could be in danger from others that want to use the latent power for their own ends. Not just demons either. He said things about other power bases other than the Underworld." Piper looked at Willow and shrugged. "I didn't ask. I guess I didn't really want to know about other power bases. Right now, she can access these powers, but doesn't know how yet. At her full powers, she'll be immune from magical attack. However, the Elders are worried..."

"About?" Willow asked concerned.

"Okay. The thing is an oracle has never – never – been evil. They've died at an early age. They've gone insane." Piper cringed at Willow's expression. She hadn't meant to say that part. "Sorry, Willow, I didn't want to say that part. The thing is they've never been corrupted. But, they've never – as far as the Elders know – they've never been part demon before either. That's what's worrying them."

"What will they do?"

"Now?" Piper asked. "I don't think they'll do anything now. I think they're just going to watch. The oracle is too important for them to make a rash decision. At least that's the impression I got."

Willow nodded trying to take it all in. Combined with what Cole told her she felt a lot better about it all. "Good. I just hope that there's nothing They didn't tell Leo."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if there's something they didn't want to say to Xander, they might tell it to Leo later."

Piper looked up quite alert at that. After Gideon, she really didn't trust the Elders. Hell, she didn't trust them before. "Don't worry, Willow. Anything Leo knows, I'll find out – then you'll find out." She reached over and clasped Willow's hands in friendship.

Part Five

They were finally done in the kitchen. They'd cleaned it up and sprayed disinfectant – a lot of disinfectant – throughout the rather stinky room. Chris had thought nothing would work. But, Xander had bought a special spray bottle made just for witches. Huh! Wyatt thought. Trust witches to need their own special stuff to clean up. Imagine how stinky it is to make that.

Now they were in the basement practicing. Xander was trying to get Chris to repeat what he had done the day he'd stood up to Wyatt. Now, Wyatt didn't really feel like going through that again. But, if Xander had said it would be okay, he was willing to try. The problem was Chris didn't really know what he had done.

"Xander!" Chris cried, disgusted and just plain tired of trying. "Can we stop? Please! I just don't know what I did!"

"Chris, please. It was a power that nobody had ever seen before. They want to know what you really did." Xander pleaded. He knew that Chris was getting tired. Hell, so was he, but he needed to at least try.

"But, I don't remember. I'm only 4! Can't we wait 'till I'm older. I'm sure it'll happen again and I'll remember how to do it next time!"

"Maybe he's just like momma. She can blow stuff up. Isn't that what he did? He blew my force field up!" Wyatt grasped onto the explanation desperately. He wanted to stop too. He was getting a little hungry and he was hoping he could talk Xander into getting them hot dogs. Momma was a good cook, but she made everything too fancy.

Xander looked at them, considering that. I suppose that could be it. But can you blow up light or energy or whatever that shield is made of? Could Piper do that? Maybe... what would Willow do? Let's see. She'd do an experiment and maybe have Piper test the... what was that called in science class again? Theory? No. It started with an H. Huh. I'll ask Willow next time I see her.

"Okay, boys. I'll talk to your momma about this later. Are you boys hungry? I could scrounge up some leftovers."

The boys exchanged a look and jumped up and down in jubilation. YAY! We're done! Wyatt looked up at Xander and decided to try his luck. "Hot dogs! Please! I'd like hot dogs!"

"Me, too! Me, too! Please!" Chris thought that sounded great. Much better than that funny noodles and meat dish momma made.

Xander laughed and the three of them orbed off.

--Part Six--

The three of them were back in the kitchen sharing a large banana split they had picked up at the Baskin-Robbins. They were telling funny stories and jokes. Xander was a lot of fun. He could do all sorts of funny things and he was great at making funny voices.

"So, there we were in the attic. Giles said this fear demon was being summoned. We had to stop him. So, Buffy smashed the symbol."

"Yay!" Chris cried, but quieted down when he saw Xander shaking his head.

"Why not?" Wyatt asked.

"Because that was the way to summon it completely. The mark on the floor started to glow and there he was!"

The boys eyes grew wide at that. "What happened next?"

"It started yelling at us: Fear me, fear me!"

"Weren't you scared?" Chris asked in awe. Boy, his white lighter is really brave. He was fighting demons while he was still human.

"Well not really. Since he was only four inches tall, the screams came out more like a squeak."

The boys looked at each other. Who ever heard of a four-inch tall demon? "Not really?"

"Yeah, really. Willow even thought he was kind of cute. However, Giles said when it came to demons, a slayer's duty was clear. So, Buffy squashed it with her foot."

"Oooh! Bet it made a mess." Chris wrinkled his nose.

"Well, I do think Buffy got new shoes. The funny thing was, later, Giles looked at his book and translated the caption under Gachnar's picture. Know what it said?"

Xander looked at the boys while they shook their heads. "Shown actual size."

Xander and the boys laughed at the funny story, while they finished their banana split. They looked up when they heard a crash. Xander ran out to the living room to see what was going on. Leo and Paige had orbed back only to be attacked by two very large demons.

"Grimloks!" He heard Wyatt cry out from beside him. Before he could stop him, Wyatt grabbed a bottle of the newly made potion, handing a second bottle to his brother. "Here, Chris! The Book said you just have to splash it on them!"

"Wyatt, no!" Xander cried, lunging forward to stop the boys. However, the boys dove under his reach and ran into the living room.

Chris was wrinkling his nose. Ick! The demons smell worse than the potion. He ran at the one that was hurting Aunt Paige and kicked it so it would turn around. He then splashed it directly in the face. Meanwhile, Wyatt had splashed the other demon that was hovering his poppa. Good! Got him! The potion started to work. The demons started to disappear, almost melt, really, in a smelly green cloud.

"We did it! We did it!" Wyatt cried out as he hugged his brother.

"Yay!" Chris yelled. I just wish magic didn't smell so bad.