OK we've had a bit of time jump here guys.
Chapter 24 - More Surprises
The last nine months have been hectic. I guess magic doesn't come with materninty leave.
Saying that, I'm glad we didn't give our powers up.
To be fair, we havn't had any BIG magical problems ... I suppose ... We tried to focus on making our bedroom closet a nursery, helping Prue - her and Andy are together, but she's reluctant to get serious - and de-demoning Cole. There were demons too, of course. Nothing much.
You know, Sea Hags, Sirens, Evil Witches and corrupted fairy tales, saving Gypsies' eyes, time traveling, witch doctors and their hexes, saving the sandman - well, trying to ...
My favourite had to be fighting the demon that killed mum. Yeah, that was great. Issues all round. Fears, memories - Paige's dad.
Yeah, that was a great family moment.
Something along the lines of; "you can't just appear after all this time and expect me to welcome you with open arms!" and "I'm your father, and I hate that I failed you, but I was hurting."
Yeah.
And now ... In San Fransico hospital, hooked up to machines - I thought I'd seen enough of them - being told that all of this has resulted in a blood pressure condition - Toxaemia - which , let me get this right - "resticts blood flow and food and oxygen to the placenta, and can result in a small baby, premature delivery or it can lead to other complications.
And it's all my fault.
"Anybody home!" Leo called as the two of us walked back into the manor a few days later.
"Hello!" I called.
"Welcome home, honey!" Phoebe said, running downstairs with Prue, Paige and Cole behind her. "Or should I say your highness? Because from now on we are your loyal subjects." She told me, hugging me.
"We even turned your bedroom into a royal throne room." Paige said, and she and Prue hugged me too. Cole - who was holding Patty - just kinda smiled and waved his hand a little. I guess he's not a hugsy person.
"Let me take you there now, my queen." Leo smiled. They were all so sweet. But I don't deserve any of this.
"Alright, knock it off before I cut your heads off. I don't want any special treatment." I told them.
"Piper, we love you, let us love you." Phoebe said slowly.
"Yeah, I mean, as your sisters - and your midwives," Oh yeah, did I mention that? Yeah, not allowed a real doctor. Sisters training as midwifes. Fun. "... we feel it's our duty to provide you with solitude and serenity and..."
Paige stopped as a goose squawked and three golden geese walked into the living room.
"A gaggle of geese." I finished.
"I thought you guys were gonna get rid of those." Leo said. The geese are a magical baby gift. Yep. It's not good enough that my powers have been off, I was trying to fight demons when I couldn't see my toes anymore and I have this stupid blood pressure condition, the entire magical world decides to send me magical objects to stress me even more.
"You said you were gonna ask the Elders on magical gift return policies." Prue replied.
"Okay, you guys, it's fine, everything's fine. It's not gonna bother me, I'm not gonna let anything bother me for the sake of my daughter." I told them.
"Come on, I'll take you upstairs." Leo nodded.
"We'll get the geese." Cole said, looking at them with dislike and handing Patty to Leo.
"Piper, try to relax." Leo was saying as we walked back into our bedroom. Honestly, all I did was go down for some food and they acted like I tried to go bungy jumping or something.
"Relax." I repeated. "Everybody keeps telling me to relax, like it's something you do. Like, like switching off a light."
"You need to learn how to do it, Piper, if you're gonna get your blood pressure under control." He said gently. I hate that. How can I shout and scream and rage when he's being so nice?
"My blood pressure would not be a problem if we had been seeing a doctor like we were supposed to." I replied.
"I knew that was coming. Come on, sit down." He went to help me onto the bed, but I pushed him away and climbed on it, shooting him daggers.
"Don't treat me like a baby factory, I can sit myself down." I told him. "All these fears about a magical baby and don't let the doctors find out and we'll buy a birthing ball and Paige and Phoebe will be midwives. And you know what? We were wrong." I said. Avioding his gaze, I looked over at Patty, who was laid on her bed asleep.
"How can you say that?"
"Because somehow in the middle of all this we forgot the most important thing of all. What's best for the baby." I know that wasn't completly true, but I was feeling guilty.
"Well, that's not fair. A lot of people decide to have babies at home."
"Uh huh, maybe so but I was not one of them. And this baby is not even out of the womb yet and I'm already screwing up as a mother."
"You're haven't screwed up." Leo tried to assure me. Gonna take more than that.
"Yes, I did, Leo, I did. I have a disease that is threatening our baby and I could've avoided it if I had just trusted my instincts."
"Well, what are your instincts telling you now?" He asked. I thought about it.
"To have this baby in a hospital." I admitted.
"Okay, I'll make arrangements today." He said.
"Oh, really. And what happens when she's delivered in swaddling orbs?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"We'll deal with it then. From now on I want you to feel safe and secure, okay?" He kisses my forehead and leans back knocking over a side table and all the stuff on it. I raised my hand to freeze. "No magic! No magic! No magic! It's just too much stress on your body."
"Like that mess on the floor's not gonna stress me out?"
"Well, I'll clean it up." He replied as the phone rang.
A panicked voice asked for Leo.
"Uh ... sure." I handed it over. "One of your charges ... since went to they use the phone?"
"Since I've been ignoring them to spend more time with my lovely wife." He replied. "Excuse me. Hello?" He turned away and walked out of the room.
I sighed.
Relax.
I don't do relaxing. I do stressing.
The doorbell interrupted my thoughts and hour or so later. Leo went downstairs a while ago to help my sisters "run down the geese." Yeah. Like I believe that. I think it was a demon. But they obviously got him, I can hear them talking.
The doorbell rang again.
"Somebody get that!" I called.
Oh, right, it'll be dad.
Do you think I'm allowed downstairs? Screw it. I'm off.
"Hey, dad!" I said brightly walking down the stairs. Strange. An oldish woman is stood with Phoebe.
"Hey, Piper!" He hugged me. "Oh, I heard the news. You shouldn't be on your feet." I rolled my eyes.
"Dad's got some news of his own." Prue told me.
"Gently though, dad, we don't want her to drop that calf right there on the stairs." Phoebe said, a fake smile plastered on her face. Uh-oh.
"Piper, I want you to meet Doris, my new bride."
What!
"Yeah." Phoebe exhaled, that fake smile still in place.
Doris walked over to me. I put on a fake smile too. It seems to be the theme of the day.
"Hello, Piper."
"Hi, hi, uh, Doris. W-w-welcome to the family, I guess." I stammered.
"I know it's kinda sudden but sometimes when life drops a peach at your feet, you've gotta stop and make some cobbler." Dad smiled.
"That is always my motto, isn't that funny?" Paige said, standing with her back to the closet door. Something's going on, I know it.
"Uh, uh, apparently they met on a singles cruise. Did you know dad goes on singles cruises?" Phoebe asked me.
"Oh, it was like in the movies. Our eyes met across the buffet bar, your dad's so handsome and, well, I told him, don't eat the rolls, you know, too much processed flour." Doris told me.
Sounds romantic. Not.
"Anyway, we stayed up all night long talking, and by the morning we just knew."
"Mmm, she devastates me." Dad said. I am very very grossed out here.
Okay, I put away the uni... Cycle." Leo said loudly, walking in.
"What unicycle?" I asked.
"It's a baby gift. Hey, Victor."
"Leo."
"Hello, I'm Doris." She shook his hand. "I'm your new mother-in-law."
"Oh, hi, I guess I missed a lot, didn't I?" Hey, what do you know? Another fake smile.
"Okay, now that we've all met, maybe the two lucky newlyweds should check into the hotel because it's really crazy here and then we'll call you..." Phoebe said.
"Oh-oh, no. We're not going anywhere." Doris said quickly.
"You're not?" I said. Oops. I sounded disappointed. Well, I was, but that's not the point.
"No," Doris beamed. "I used to volunteer at the hospital. We can stay and help take care of you."
"You can?" Ha. I'm a good actress. Kinda.
"I look forward to some real mother-daughter bonding." She smiled.
"You do, huh?"
The doorbell rings.
"Oh." Prue said, turning around. "That could be Andy. Did I remember to cancel our date?" She asked Paige, who shrugged.
"Well, you know, now that we've figured out you're staying here, let's get Piper off her feet, shall we?" Phoebe said brightly.
"You can't leave me alone with her." I hissed to Phoebe.
"Yeah, yeah, we have to. Because what if it's another magical baby gift?" She whispered.
"Come on, upstairs." Leo said. Reluctantly, I let him lead me upstairs. Dad and Doris followed. Great. Just great.
"There's my granddaughter!" Dad cried - waking Patty up, of course. Way to go, Dad.
She fell asleep again pretty quickly, adn I laid her in my bed.
"I knew this gift basket would come in handy. And lucky for you I am always ready for emergencies." Doris told me. I forced a smile.
"You should've seen our first date." Dad smiled.
"Oh, your father spilled steak sauce all down the front of his shirt." Doris said. Why do I want to know this?
"And Doris pulls out a bottle of stain remover from her purse." Dad continued.
"Of course I licked it off your chin first." Dad said. I turned away as they kissed. I don't like this. Not at all.
"Oh, that's so ..." The words 'disgusting', and 'disturbing', come to mind. "...sweet." Yeah. Sure it is." Leo walks past my room carrying some tubs.
"Hi, honey, what are you doing?" I said loudly.
Leo came back and stood at the door, looking awkward.
"Uh, I'm just taking Paige some spices. She's gonna make a homeopathic remedy to help you relax. See ya." And he ducked away before I could stop him.
"Homeopathic medicine? You're into homeopathic medicine? I knew I was gonna love this family. This is unbelievable. My first husband passed away a couple of years ago, heart attack. And the first thing I did when we got home from the cruise is put your father on a low fat, high fibre diet." Doris beamed.
"And a monthly colonic." Dad added.
I turned my head again, fighting the urge to puke and saw Phoebe and Prue walking past. Something is definetly going on.
"Hi, hi, come sit, talk with us, please." I said.
"Oh, I can't, I have a big meeting at work. Do you have any hairspray I could borrow?" Phoebe said, as the two of them walked into the room.
"You have hairspray." I said, as Prue leaned over to Patty, who was stirring. However, she rolled over and went back to sleep.
"Yeah, but - uh - hers is non-aerosol and it's a really big meeting, so she needs aerosol for that super firm hold, you know." Prue said quickly.
"Check my bathroom."
"Oh, honey, you know what? There's no cheese knife here. Would you mind going downstairs and getting it." Doris said to Dad.
"Absolutely, baby doll."
He kissed her - Prue and I shot each other looks - and walked out, as Phoebe walked back in with the hairspray.
"Uh, girls? I just wanted to let you know how I feel about your father. I, I just feel so lucky. He's the most special man I've ever met." Doris said to us.
"Thank you." I replied. What else could I say? She seems harmless enough. Even if dad and her are a bit ... ew ...
"That's the sweetest thing you could ever say to us." Phoebe said.
"It means a lot." Prue nodded.
"Well, it's true, you know. He's so, he's so kind and he's so sensitive. And, oh, he's the most exciting lover. Oh! I mean, girlfriends, he can go all night. I'm not kidding."
Doris squeals.We faked smiles. Bad, bad thoughts.
"Did ya hear? Gotta go to that meeting." Phoebe said, through cleched teeth.
"Gotta help Paige." Prue said.
"Don't leave me." I hissed.
They did.
Damn.
I was eating a craker, trying not to listen to Dad and Doris. Really, they are too gross.
"Okay, the last question is, what is your lover's favourite article of clothing? Hm. Oh, it has to be your grey cardigan. Am I right?" They're doing some magazine quiz. I've heard some pretty disturbing stuff. Ew. Ew, ew, ew.
"As always, baby doll."
Another kiss. What is it with them!"
I laid in bed and got under the covers, cuddled up to Patty, trying to block them out.
"Okay, that's nineteen out of twenty. That makes our romance rating jalapeno hot." Doris beamed.
No kidding. Ew.
Dad growls and Doris giggles. Prue, Phoebe, Paige and Leo walked past.
"Hey! Somebody get in here!" I demanded. They all stopped, then my sisters hurried off and Leo walked in.
"Hi. I may be stuck in bed but I am not stuck on stupid. I know that something's going on." I told him.
"Well, you wanted a doctor and she told you to relax, so, relax." Leo said.
"Mmm, how can I relax when I know that you're hiding something from me? All the strange noises and weird behaviour. Why don't you just tell me what's going on?" I asked, trying to keep my vioce down. And failing, probably.
"Okay, um..." He turned to dad and Doris. "I'm sorry, you guys, we need a moment, a magical moment."
"Oh." Doris smiled.
"Oh, alright, then." They got up and walked out, finally. Leo closed the door.
"Okay, uh, well, it's really nothing to worry about. Magic has disappeared from the world and Prue, Phoebe and Paige went to have a summit meeting with evil so they can fix it. See? Nothing to worry about."
Really.
"I see. Okay, I am not gonna get upset about this. I am just gonna blow you to pieces." I saiud angrily, flicking my hands out. Then I felt a weird sensation, followed by realisation, and fear.
Uh-oh.
"See, I tried to tell you." Leo said, oblivious.
"Oh, no!" I cried.
"Listen, I-I'm sure it's nothing. Your sisters ..."
"Leo, no. My water just broke." I gasped.
"What are we doing? Why are we sitting here? We need to go to the hospital now." I said frantically. This can't be happening. It can't be.
"You need to relax. Your water broke, it's no need to panic." Leo said. Not very convincing.
"No, you are wrong. My due date is six weeks away. This baby is not ready to come out. Please, take me to the hospital."
"Okay, okay."
"I just got off the phone with your doctor and she said don't move until she gets here." Doris said, walking back in.
"She's coming here?" I asked, unsure what to think and feel.
"She's on her way now."
"There. See? Everything's gonna be okay." Dad told me.
"I need Prue, Phoebe and Paige, they've trained so hard for this, they should be here now." I said quickly.
"I called Phoebe's cell phone, there was no answer." Leo told me.
"Ugh." Was all I could manage.
"Well, can't you just, you know, pop over there and get them in that special way you do?" Dad hinted.
"Kinda got a problem with that right now."
"Ooh! Oh my god, contraction." I cried.
"Okay, okay, just breathe. Piper needs all the love and support we can give her right now, Leo. Go and get her sisters." Doris said.
"Please." I begged. Leo kisses me on my forehead and leaves. "Okay, it's over, okay." I breathed.
"Now, the doctor said I need to keep you warm, so I'm gonna change all the sheets and all these wet blankets, alright?" Doris smiled. She and Dad walked out of the room.
Oh, no. This is early. Six weeks early. (Why do they tell you it's nine months when it's ten?)
I got changed as quickly as I could.
"Alrighty, then." Doris said, coming back in alone.
"Where's dad?"
"Oh, he decided to go with Leo. Oh, but don't worry, you still have family here." She assured me.
Great.
Half an hour later, I finally heard footsteps outside my door.
"Finally, Leo..." That's not Leo. Some old man is in my doorway. "Who are you?"
"I'm here for your baby."
I looked at Doris. She was smiling.
She's in on it, isn't she?
Oh, no.
My breath became ragged as I panicked. They can't have my baby, I wont let them.
"It'd be easier if you'd just relax, Piper." He told me, putting a medical kit on the bed. "Breathe deeply... and push." He closed the door.
I'm doomed.
"She's fully effaced and dilated, Cronyn. It won't be long now." Doris said. Oh, no. Hold in there, baby, come on.
"You can't have my baby, I won't- Aahh!" Another contaction. Let's face it, I'm in no condition to fight.
A loud nieghing sound reached us. What the ...?
"What was that?" Cronyn asked.
"The witches?" Doris suggested.
It happened again. Cronyn picked up a knife.
"You stay here." He said to Dorris, waling out.
"Where is my father? What did you do to him?" I asked Doris.
"Shh, don't worry about such things. Child birth is painful enough." She told me.
Patty woke up, and looked around at us. She'd slept through the whole thing. What if they hurt her?
"Patty ..." I said weakly. I held my breath as Doris turned. But she didn't say anything. Just smiled at me.
"If you do anything to my baby, I will kill you. I will hunt you and kill you. Even if it means coming back from the dead and don't think I won't find a way to do that." I told her, clutching Patty.
"We're not going to hurt your baby, Piper. We're going to raise her as our own. She's going to be a powerful leader, a great force of evil. You should be proud, very proud."
She turns away and squeezes the cloth into a bowl. Suddenly hit with an idea, I reached over and grabbed a vase of flowers off the side table. Smashing it over Doris' head, I knocked her unconscious.I struggled out of bed.
"Come on, baby."
I struggled to the stiars, clutching Patty's hand.
"Be brave, baby. Stay close to mummy, OK?" I said quietly. "There's bad people in the house ..."
I got near the bottom, but as a contraction ripped thorugh me I fell to the floor.
Cronyn walked into view. "Stupid witch. You could've killed the both of you." He told me.
Doris runs down the stairs holding the back of her head.
"Ohh, she caught me off guard." I pulled Patty towards me, trying to hide her behind me, although I knew they had no interest in her.
"Just get down here." Cronyn snapped.
"Get away from me!" I spat.
"Her contractions are less than a minute apart." Doris told him.
"Oh, god, please not now." I begged.
My sisters walked round the corner, clutching a little bag adn a piece of paper. Where's Leo?
"Step aside, bitch!" Phoebe said loudly.
"Yeah, that's our job." Paige agreed.
"Patty. Get Patty." I pleaded to my sisters. Paige called her name, and Patty appeared in her arms. She handed her over to Cole. "Call Leo." She hissed. Cole ducked out of sight, Phoebe pushing him a little. He's mortal now. He could get killed.
Cronyn holds the knife up against my neck.
"Move, even breathe and she's dead." He announced.
"Vanquish him." I said.
"Your sister will die."
"You can still save the baby." I pleaded.
"Oh my god." Paige whispered.
"I'm warning you." Cronyn said.
"Kill ... him." I stammered. I could hardly breath. "Prue ..."
"How can I?" Prue whispered.
"Do it!" I cried. The knife tightened.
"But I..." Prue said weakly.
"We can't." Phoebe whispered.
"Phoebe, if you love me, you will send this crazy bastard straight to hell." I said.
Dad came flying out of nowhere, knocking Cronyn away from me.
"Now!" Paige yelled.
"Beast of legend, myth and lore, give my words the power to soar, and kill this evil evermore." They resited.
Cronyn and Doris run for the door, and are vanquished before they can get there. Something in the closet exploded and disappearred.
"Is everybody okay?" Paige asked. Cole walked back round, still holding Patty.
"I feel like I'm dying." I cried.
"Baby's coming, baby's coming!" Phoebe announced.
She laid some pillows and blankets on the dining room table, as Prue and Paige helped me forward.
"Leo ..." I said weakly. Prue and Paige heaved me onto the table.
"Okay, you're doing great, sweetie. Yes, you are. Let's see what we have here." Phoebe said, pulling up my nightgown. "Oh! I see a head of hair."
I started to cry.
"You do?" I murmured.
Leo finally ran through the front door.
"What'd I miss?" He cried.
"A lot!"
"Victor needs help. Here, try this." Paige said, throwing him the little bag.
"Okay, breathe. Keep breathing, keep breathing." Prue told me. She and Paige were by my side, rubbing my arm.
"It's okay. Breathe, just breathe." Paige whispered.
"Very good. Okay, relax, relax, you're okay." Phoebe said tearfully. Relax. Now, or all times, they expect me to relax!
"Dad?" I said, seeing him out of the corner of my eye.
"Yeah, honey?"
"I'm sorry about your demon wife." I said, tears streaming down my face.
"Oh, hush. Don't think about that." Dad replied.
"Leo? I need you ..." I cried. He walked over, put his arm round me.
"I'm right here, baby." He said.
"Okay. You okay? You're alright. Okay. You're doing great, you're doing great. Push, okay? Last push." Phoebe said. I tried.
"I can't." I wept.
"You have to. A big one. Big one! Push!" Phoebe encoraged me.
"You can do it." Leo told me.
"I can't." Patty was a ceaserian. I've never done this before. I can't.
"You can, you can." Paige told me.
"Yes, you can." Prue said.
"Okay, push. Push. Come on, push!"
I'm trying!
I squeezed the edge of the table. It didn't help.
A blue light shines down on us.
"Oh, I guess magic's coming back." Paige said.
"Here we go, here we go." Phoebe said. I vried out again. "Oh, I see a shoulder. Oh, and another shoulder. And an arm."
She reached to grab the baby.
"Oh, and something else, something else." She picks up scissors from the medical kit and cuts the umbilical cord. She picks the baby up - it's glowing in orbing lights.
"Hi, baby. Hi."
No cries. I can't hear the cries.
Phoebe grabbed a suction and cleared the baby's mouth.
The baby cries. Thank god.
She held the bundle up to show us. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Oh. Is that what I think it is?" Paige asked.
"Uh, if you're referring to Mr. Winkie between the legs, yes." She wrapped him up.
"You mean, I got a boy?" Leo beamed.
"Here you go, mama." Phoebe whispereed, handing my son to me.
I didn't feel disapointed. I wanted that little girl so much, but ... all I feel is this overwelming love. It doesn't matter if I have a boy or a girl.
He's my baby.
"Hi. Hi, little guy, what are you doing? Look what we did."
"I see." Leo said, leaning over. Cole must have given him Patty, Leo was now leaning her over.
"Your little brother." Prue said to her.
"It's a miracle." Paige said. She was crying too.
"A little miracle." I agreed.
"He's beautiful." Cole said quietly, his arm around Phoebe.
"You are safe, you are loved, and you are wise." I smiled down at him. "How ya doing?"
I know some of you wanted Piper to have a daughter, but I'm kind attached to Wyatt and Chris to be honest. As for that little girl in the future ... well, watch this space ... lol ...
I didn't put the bit about the dark hair and Paige asking if she expected a blonde though. AS. Because I put in Morality bites that it was blonde, and B cos Wyatt is blonde. Yeah. Just a little info there.