Chapter 30: A Witch's Tail Part 3

September 23, 2002 – Monday

Under The Sea

Phoebe swam around the bottom of the ocean looking for shiny and pretty things. She spotted a pretty pink shell. After picking it up she swam off to take it to the rest of her stash.

Halliwell Manor

Buffy and Dawn sat opposite of Piper and Paige as they awaited Leo and Faith to return from trying to catch Phoebe.

"Leo, Aunt Faith, the Persian." Piper yelled at her husband and aunt when they orbed in soaking wet. She motioned toward the rug in question that the pair stood on.

Leo and Faith looked down and saw they were on the rug and quickly stepped off it. "We found Phoebe," Leo said.

"You both did?" Buffy asked looking between her son-in-law and sister-in-law. "Well, why didn't one of you bring her?"

"She's too fast, even for a Slayer," Faith said, guiltily.

"And slippery," Leo added just as guiltily as Faith.

Paige sighed. "It's official," she told her family. "Phoebe's on the run."

"On the swim, technically," Leo corrected.

"Well, what the heck's she swimming from?" Piper wondered. She had yet to be informed about Cole. "She's got billboards, TV interviews, she got her divorce, she should be loving life."

Paige sighed looking at Dawn and Buffy, "That's right, you don't know."

"I don't know what?" Piper asked.

"Well, Mom and I didn't want to make you or Aunt Dawn mad, you know, you both getting so panicky and all," Paige admitted.

"Yes, we've established," Dawn bit out in anger, "Piper and I were spineless cowards in the face of evil." She glanced at Piper. "Sorry."

"I know," Piper returned. She looked back at her sister and mother. "Now, what don't Aunt Dawn and I know?" she asked.

Buffy sighed. "Cole's back," she said as Piper and Dawn started to panic. She reached across and took her sister's hand in her own in comfort.

"What?" Leo was clearly surprised by the information as he asked, "Why don't I know about this?"

"Well Phoebe told me and Paige confidentially," Buffy replied.

"Yes, but I'm yours, Piper and Paige's Whitelighter," Leo argued. "And of course you had a duty to pass this information on to Faith since she is Dawn's. You both had a duty to let us know this sort of thing."

"L," Faith said shaking her head. "One thing I learned from B and Dawn over the years. Is that family comes first. They had a greater duty to their family."

"Faith, he's the former Source of all evil." Leo argued as he looked at the brunette Slayer. "This is not something they should be swept under the rug.

"Buffy," Dawn croaked out just as Piper fell off the couch onto the floor.

Leo and Faith rushed over to their respective wives. "Take a deep breath," they said as Leo helped Piper onto the couch. "Take a deep breath, take a deep breath."

"Does he want mine and Aunt Dawn's babies?" Piper asked still very much panicking.

Dawn nodded. "W—what P—Piper s—said," she stuttered.

"Oh, no," Paige said looking between Dawn and Piper. "Of course not. He's in love, he wants Phoebe back,"

"Hey, that's it," Leo said as an idea formed in his head. "If Cole and Phoebe declare their love..." Leo said.

"L," Faith said shaking her head. Even she had seen that Cole's love was not the answer to the problem.

"Cole's love is the problem, not the solution," Paige interrupted her aunt with an apologetic glance at Faith.

"Paige, I know you hate Cole..." Piper said.

"Yeah, I do, I loathe and despise him, but that's not the point," Paige admitted. "Mylie said that mermaids are cold hearted, maybe that's why my spell turned Phoebe into a mermaid in the first place."

"Wait a minute," Dawn said shaking her head, "we're talking about Phoebe here. Since when did Phoebe become cold-hearted?"

"Well, maybe she's been in the deep freeze ever since Cole came back," Faith suggested with a shrug.

"So where do we go next?" Leo wondered looking around at his family.

Paige shrugged as she looked toward her mother. "Mom and I have no idea," she replied. "Book of Shadows, library of congress, internet. Anywhere we can to get rid of Phoebe's tail."

Sea Hag's Cavern

Necron zapped in to the cavern looking for the sea hag. "Hag?" he called out as he walked around. "I want my eternal life. Or your life, it's your choice." It was then that he saw a pile of dust on the floor where the sea hag had been vanquished. As he waved his hand the dust blew away revealing the auger shell. He bent down and picked it up with a smirk.

It was then that Phoebe returned to the cavern. She placed the shell with the rest of the shells she had collected. "Who are you?" she asked when Necron noticed her and walked over to her.

"You have something I want," Necron told her.

"They're all yours," Phoebe yelled as she picked up the collection of shells and threw them at him before diving under the water.

Necron threw lightning at Phoebe, hitting her in the tail as she swam out of the cavern bleeding from the wound.

September 24, 2002 – Tuesday

Halliwell Manor

Buffy sat in the kitchen listening to Paige's half of a phone conversation.

"I am so sorry I am missing work, Mr. Cowan. I—I it's just my sister, she's had a fishing accident," she explained. She paused to listen to her boss ask if she was grateful for the promotion. "Of course I'm grateful for the promotion, of course I am. And I'm going to prove to you how grateful I am as soon as I get there and... Mr. Cowan?" She sighed as she put the cordless phone back down on its base just as Leo and Faith orbed in.

"Leo? Faith?" Buffy said spotting her son-in-law and sister-in-law.

Faith sighed. "We lost Phoebe," she said.

"You lost Phoebe?" Buffy asked skeptically.

"Yeah, somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico," Leo replied guiltily. "We were tracking her and, she's getting harder to sense. I think the mermaid in her is starting to take over."

Buffy sighed as she looked at her daughter as Paige sat down next to her. "Paige and I'll just have to find a way to turn her back," she told Faith and Leo. Her eyes travel over the stack of books on the table. As Patty she knew research was a part of being a witch and she did it. As Buffy she always hated it. She wondered if the reason she hated it as Buffy was because of Patty having to do it.

"Look through these books," Paige placed a book in front of her as Dawn walked in.

"B, have you and Paige been working on this all night?" Faith asked knowing her sister Slayer wouldn't likely rest much till Phoebe was safe and sound back at home.

"Yeah," Buffy sighed. "I even called Giles. No luck he doesn't know how to turn her back."

Leo nodded as he and Faith sat across from Buffy and Paige. "What have you two learned so far?" he asked.

"We've learned that mermaids are cold blooded," Paige said as she began listing items, "they like shiny baubles, sea chanteys are the only songs they know. And my adoption file is short one document."

"You lost me with that last one," Leo admitted looking at his sister-in-law.

Paige sighed. "Leo, Mom, Aunt Faith, it's my first day as a social worker," she reminded them, "and I'm already screwing up and failing big time. This kid's adoption is going to fall apart without me."

"Well, you can't let that happen," Buffy instructed her daughter.

Paige smiled at her mother, thinking that Buffy was giving her permission to use magic to solve her problem. "I'm so glad you agree, Mom. I was thinking I can just cast a spell from here and create a file..."

Leo: shook his head. "That's not what Buffy meant." He looked at Buffy. "Right?" Buffy nodded as he looked back at Paige. "Go to work."

"But what about..." Paige said.

"But what about what?" Faith asked agreeing with Leo and Buffy. "You're just an orb away."

"You sure you three can handle this alone?" Paige asked looking between the three of them.

"We're not alone, we have Piper and Dawn," Buffy answered.

"Piper and Aunt Dawn," Paige sighed. "Okay, I don't know if it's because their afraid of the demons or they hold guilt over Phoebe, but neither of them are doing so well. I had to come down here to get any work done at all."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked suddenly worried.

"Go up the attic and see for yourself, Mom," Paige instructed.

"Bad?" Faith asked her niece.

"Go up to the attic," Paige instructed again.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy, Faith and Leo stepped into the attic where they found Dawn and Piper sitting on the floor in the corner of the room opposite where Buffy's bed used to be, scribbling words on the wall with chalk.

"No, Aunt Dawn," Piper said as she rubbed a word that Dawn had written out with her hand.

"Honey," Leo said as he and Faith walked over to their respective wives.

"Babe," Faith said as she knelt down next to Dawn. "It's okay," she said as she gently touched Dawn's arm.

"Let go of me, Faith," Dawn said with a glare at her wife. "Piper and I are almost done."

"Dawn, Piper, you both need to take a break." Buffy said, concerned as she looked around the attic.

Piper shook her head. "We just need one more verse," she disagreed.

"Piper, Dawn, this is not helping Phoebe," Faith told both her wife and niece.

Piper sighed. "Aunt Faith, Mom, Leo, I'm scared."

"So am I," Dawn whispered softly.

"We know," Buffy said as she knelt between her sister and daughter.

Piper shook her head. "No, you don't, Mom. Aunt Dawn and I are scared all of the time."

"Piper, Dawn," Leo said looking at the mothers-to-be, "you both are pregnant. Your hormones and adrenaline are running very high. It's okay to be afraid."

Dawn shook her head with a resigned sigh. "No, it's not. Did you see what our fear did to Phoebe?" she asked.

"We're supposed to be stronger than ever now that we're pregnant," Piper added, "for our daughters and our sisters and yes even for my mother. It's my job to take care of this family."

Buffy sighed as she wrapped an arm each around Dawn and Piper. "Sometimes it's this family's job to take care of you. Sometimes it's my job as your mother. Piper." She looked at her sister. "And as your sister, Dawn." She turned her attention to address both her sister and daughter. "And it is Leo and Faith's jobs as your respective spouses."

"What do we do?" Dawn asked her sister.

"You need to figure out what's behind your fear," Leo answered before Buffy had a chance to.

"Okay," Piper said glancing at her husband, "well, therapy takes years and Phoebe needs us now." Piper said.

"The only way you can help Phoebe is by removing your fear," Leo instructed the two mothers-to-be.

"What did you say?" Dawn wondered looking a the Whitelighter.

"I said you need to remove your fear," Leo repeated, "and Buffy, Faith and I can help you do that."

Piper smiled at her husband. "I think you just did," she said as she and Dawn stood up. "Right now we just need some time to figure this out, alone."

Buffy watched Faith and Leo leave the attic and then turned back to look at Dawn and Piper. "Dawn, Piper," she said, a worried tone in her voice.

"It's okay, Buffy," Dawn said as she hugged her sister.

"Aunt Dawn's right," Piper agreed.

"If you're sure," Buffy said looking between the two women.

Dawn glanced at Piper who nodded. "We are, Buffy," she said addressing her sister.

Dawn and Piper watched as Buffy followed Faith and Leo out of the attic and they turned to the only blank wall in the attic left to them, the corner that had once held Buffy's bed. They sat down on the floor and on the wall Piper wrote, Fearless.

San Francisco Docks

Phoebe sat on the edge of the dock, breathing heavily, touching the bleeding gash in her tail. It was then that she heard voices coming toward her and dove into the water.

South Bay Social Services

Paige walked across the room as her body Mr. Cowan followed. "So how is your sister doing after the fishing accident?" he asked.

Paige sighed. "Oh, we're not sure, we haven't found her yet."

Mr. Cowan looked at Paige in surprise. "What is she, lost at sea?"

Paige nodded. "You could say that."

"But—but Paige," he said as they stopped walking.

"Look, Mr. Cowan," she said as she turned to look at her boss. "I may be stubborn at times and late to work often and I don't always know when to shut up like right now, but trust me, even if I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me, so if you'll excuse me I have an adoption to save."

"You forgot insolent," Mr. Cowan admitted looking at Paige, "you're very insolent."

Paige nodded in agreement. "You're right. Can I go now?"

"Don't make me regret giving you this promotion, Paige," he told her as Paige nodded. He turned and walked off as Cole approached Paige.

"Wait, before you say anything," Cole said looking at Paige.

"Not to say, do, because I'm about to orb your family jewels far, far away," Paige threatened.

Cole grimaced. "Yeah, that would hurt, but I'm sure you don't want to use your powers in front of all these people, do you?"

Paige sighed knowing he was right. "What do you want?" she asked.

Cole smiled. " I want to prove that I've changed. Not just to Phoebe but to you, Dawn, Faith, Buffy and Piper as well," he said.

Mr. Cowan returned carrying a file. "Copies of the adoption application and the police clearances," he told Paige handing her the file. "Fax them ASAP. It might sway the agency's decision."

"I'm familiar with family law, maybe I could do some good here?" Cole asked drawing Mr. Cowan's attention.

Mr. Cowan frowned. "Didn't we fire you?" he asked.

Cole shook his head. "Actually, I quit," he corrected. "But now I'm a partner at Jackman, Carter and Kline."

"So what are you doing here?" Mr. Cowan asked in surprise. He wouldn't have expected to see a lawyer for such a prestigious firm in his office.

"I came to help Paige," Cole told the man as he put his hand on Paige's shoulder.

Paige pulled away from her former brother-in-law. "Who doesn't want or need his help."

Mr. Cowan looked at Paige pointedly. "A good social worker knows when to use outside resources. They don't get much better than Jackman, Carter and Kline." He turned and walked away again.

"Well, you heard him," Cole told her with a smile, "they don't get much better than me, so let me help you. It won't be any trouble at all."

Paige glared at the demon. "No, trouble? You've been nothing but trouble. Phoebe was finally happy and now you're back and suddenly she's a..."

"Yellowtail?" said as woman as she delivered Paige her lunch. "Your usual lunch order."

Paige looked at the lunch with disgust. "Ugh, no fish, not now, not ever," she said as she raced into another room.

"Uh, Phoebe's a what?" Cole asked as he followed Paige.

She pulled him into the photocopying room. "You wanna know what Phoebe is? She's a mermaid. Do you wanna know why?" Paige questioned.

Cole frowned. "I'm sorry, did you say mermaid?"

Paige nodded. "Yeah, gills, fins, scales and all."

"Well, you can fix that, right?" Cole asked with a tone of worry.

Paige sighed. "No, Cole, we can't fix that because she wants to be a mermaid because you broke her heart."

Cole sighed as he looked down at his hands. "I never meant to hurt her," he admitted.

"You didn't mean to do a lot of things but they happened," Paige told him. "You are a one man death squad. Bodies, blood and pain follow you wherever you go."

"Well, there may be some truth to that but it's in my past," he admitted looking back up at Paige. "I came back to make up..."

"Make up for it?" Paige scoffed. "Do you want to make up for it? Go to Tibet, join a monastery, pray for absolution, but don't put your guilt on us."

"You don't understand. I love..." Cole started trying to explain that he still loved Phoebe.

"Love Phoebe?" Paige chuckled as if what Cole had said was a big joke. "Uh, what is it with you guys, like it's all about you and your feelings."

"What about Phoebe's feelings?" he asked. "She still loves me."

Paige shook her head. "Wrong," she countered. "She doesn't love you. She thinks you're an evil freak with super powers from hell and battery acid for blood. She doesn't love you, she wishes you'd stayed dead."

"She told you this?" he asked, he hoped it wasn't true.

"Told me?" Paige rolled her eyes. "She didn't have to tell me, she's a mermaid. Her body erupted in scales. She had to turn into a fish to get away from you, do you get it now? Listen, the only way you can help us get our sister back is for you to disappear forever."

Halliwell Manor

Piper and Dawn stood in the attic looking at the spell they had written on the wall. "Locked in, boxed in, full of fear my panic grows manic till I can't hear, in need of reprieve so that I can breathe, remove my fear please make it leave," they chanted as they glowed. They turned and looked in the nearby mirror and smiled.

Fishing Boat

Three fishermen pulled a large net full of fish out of the water. They tipped it into a large wooden box and Phoebe fell into it. The fishermen looked at each other and then at her. "What the hell?" asked one of them.

As Phoebe woke and saw she was surrounded she lashed out with her tail and hit one of the men. "Watch it," said the fisherman she hit as he tried to grab her.

"Get your filthy ugly meat hooks off of me," Phoebe ordered.

"Cop the mouth on her," the first fishermen said as he and his partners laughed.

"All I care about is the tail," said the third fisherman.

"How much do you think the tabloids would pay to see this?" asked the first one looking at his partners.

"I don't know about you guys but I don't want to spend the rest of my life on that boat. Maybe we should be thinking bigger than the tabloids here," said the second fisherman.

"Bigger?" said the third fisherman.

"Yeah," the second fisherman explained. "We bring her in like this, sure, we'll get a small fee, but mostly we'd just get credit for finding her. On the other hand if we say we found her dead, we could sell the body for a fortune."

It was then that Necron zapped onto the boat. "Sorry, her life belongs to me," he told the fishermen.

The second fisherman grabbed a fishing spear and threw it at Necron. The spear pierced Necron's neck and the wall of the boat behind him. Necron moves forward pulling his neck off the spear. He smirked as the wound healed itself. He threw lightning at the fisherman killing them as they turned to dust. He then turned toward Phoebe and smiled. "Mermaids are such poor, defenseless creatures," he told her. "I almost feel pity."

"Pity this," Phoebe said as she hit him with her tail and pulled on a rope. A large heavy hook hit Necron and knocked him over the side of the boat. "AUNT FAITH!" she called out. "I'm ready to go home now."

Faith orbed in and smiled at her niece. "About time, Phoebe," she said as Necron zapped back onto the boat. She grabbed her niece's hand and orbed out with her.

"No!" Necron shouted in anger. He held out his arm and two crows appeared on a nearby beam. "Go. Find the mermaid." He watched as the crows flew up into the air to find Phoebe.

Halliwell Manor

Leo knelt next to Phoebe, who laid on the living room couch. He was dabbing at her wound and tending to her as best he could since he was unable to heal her since she was still a mermaid.

"Ouch," she cried, glaring at her brother-in-law.

Leo looked up at Faith and Buffy and sighed before turning his attention back to Phoebe. "Sorry, I was a medic, not a vet," he apologized.

Paige walked into the room from the kitchen, she held a jug of water and a cup. "Here's your water," she said as she poured a cup of water and handed it to Phoebe. She then set the jug down beside her sister.

"Oh," Phoebe said as she slurped down the water.

"Manners, young lady," Buffy scolded her middle daughter.

"Ugh, could use a little salt," Phoebe said, ignoring her mother who, along with Faith, had been watching Leo tend to her since Faith had returned with her.

"That's about all I can do for you," Leo reluctantly admitted as he stood up.

"Okay, well, good enough," Phoebe said looking at the three people who could orb. "Will one of you orb me back to the ocean please."

"Wait, isn't there a demon after you?" Paige asked.

"Demon?" Piper asked as she and Dawn came down the stairs. "Did somebody say demon?"

"Yeah, one chased Phoebe back home," Buffy told her eldest daughter.

Dawn smiled at her middle niece. "Well, that was nice of it, welcome home."

"This isn't my home anymore," Phoebe retorted.

"So, what about this demon?" Piper wondered looking at her youngest sister, aunt and mother. "Where is it? Aunt Dawn and I would like to thank it and then kill it."

Paige glanced at Leo, Buffy and Faith and then back at Dawn and Piper. "Are you both okay?" she asked.

"Never better, right, Piper?" Dawn asked glancing at her eldest niece.

"Right, Aunt Dawn," Piper answered. "Ready to face my fears. So, uh, what does this demon look like?"

"Tall, dark and skeletal," Phoebe said describing the demon. "Shoots electricity."

Buffy frowned recognizing the description of the demon.

"Paige, we need the Book Of Shadows, can you orb it down here?" Piper asked glancing at the sister in question.

"You want her to use magic for household chores?" Buffy asked shocked that Piper would even consider using their powers for personal gain.

"I thought you had a total fear of personal gain?" Paige said.

"Ah, see, there's that word again, fear," Dawn admitted. "It's very debilitating. Just do as Piper asked."

Paige looked to Buffy who nodded. "Book of Shadows," she called out and the Book of Shadows orbed into her hands. She handed the book to Piper.

"Okay, um, I told you everything I know. Can I go home now?" Phoebe asked.

"Phoebe Johanna Halliwell," Buffy admonished her daughter. "you are home," she nearly screamed.

"And you're insane if you think that I am going to take you anywhere," Faith admitted.

"Same here," Paige agreed.

"Aunt Faith, Mom, Paige, just relax," Piper instructed the three of them. "Everything will be fine."

"Glad you two are so calm," Leo said with a glance at Buffy, Faith and Paige. "Why are you so calm?" he asked, skeptical at why the mothers-to-be were so calm.

Dawn smiled. "Well, Piper and I just did as you suggested and now we feel fine," she replied. "So can we save Phoebe?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, in her opinion she didn't need saving. "Okay, you guys, I don't need saving," she told them as she reached for the jug of water. "Okay, all I need are my sea friends and little shiny objects and to lay on a rock and to comb out my hair. I need water."

Piper stopped on a page she was sure was Phoebe's demon. She showed the book to her sister. "That him?"

Phoebe looked at the page and nodded. "Yeah, that's him," she replied as she drank straight from the jug.

Buffy stood up and moved beside Piper. She looked at the page, she had been right. She knew she had recognized the description of the demon. Two of Patty's ancestors had gone up against the demon and died in the process.

Leo moved beside Piper and Buffy and looked at the book. "Necron..." he read. "A skeletal being that hovers between life and death. Has the power to incinerate any living..."

Yada, yada, yada," Piper interrupted her husband.

"No wonder he's after Phoebe," Faith admitted.

"Yeah," Paige agreed with her aunt's train of thought. "If mermaids are immortal and he's stuck between life and death, then immortality would place him squarely in the life column."

"Well, he cannot have my immortality," Phoebe countered looking at her family. In particular Leo, Faith and Paige. "Will someone please get me back to the ocean before I suffocate. I need the water!"

Buffy sighed as she looked at Paige. "Why don't we take her upstairs."

"Good idea, mom," Paige said as she and Buffy took Phoebe upstairs. As Buffy held Phoebe in her arms, Paige filled the tub with water.

"You are holding me hostage!" Phoebe said as Buffy set her into the tub.

"Not that I ever expected to say it but, yep, looks like it." Buffy answered.

"Look, I am not a common goldfish," Phoebe reminded them. "I cannot ignore the call of the sea."

"Well, the call of the common bathtub is just going to have to do," Paige said as Phoebe flicked water at her and Buffy.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Is there a vanquish?" Faith asked looking at her wife and niece.

"I can come up with something," Piper returned.

Dawn glanced at Piper and smiled an idea coming to her mind. "I will meet you upstairs," she told Piper who nodded. She walked out of the room as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "Hello this is Dawn Summers-Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell's assistant," she told them. "Yes, uhm, Phoebe would like to know if Nancy would be interested in moving the interview to today."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The sound of an explosion brought everyone to the attic where they found Piper working on a potion.

"What is going on?" Paige asked, clearly concerned. "Are you okay?"

Piper nodded. "Minor setback, it's fine."

"Minor setback?" Buffy said as she grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the small fire. "The room is on fire."

"Besides you're supposed to be figuring out a way to vanquish Necron, not yourself," Paige added.

"Oh, come on, we weren't using any of this junk anyway," Piper retorted. "Where's the fish girl?"

"She's downstairs cooling off in the tub," Buffy answered. "What are you mixing up here anyway?"

"Oh, a little burdock root and, uh, some eye of newt," Piper admitted.

"What?" Buffy said shocked that her daughter would even mix those two things together. "Piper Penelope Halliwell, you are never ever supposed to mix those two things together. That is a volatile combination."

Dawn smirked. "Well, Necron's a serious threat, we need a serious potion," she told them siding with her eldest niece.

"Did you know in the book there's a witches be warned on skeletal beings?" Piper added. "The last two that vanquished him, actually the only two that vanquished him, died in the process."

Buffy nodded. "Yes I did, because I wrote it," she said as Dawn, Faith, Piper and Paige looked at her. "They would be your great, great grandmother and her sister. They were the two you and Prue were named after, Piper"

"Great, so the rate Piper is going she'll be number three," Paige said with an exasperated sigh. She looked at her sister. "You know, you ought to be more careful."

"Hey, a good plan violently executed this week is better than a perfect plan executed next week," Dawn quoted with a smirk. "That's Patton."

"Why are you quoting Patton?" Buffy asked her sister.

"So I figure if I just double the burdock root..." Piper told them as she bent down to pick up a potion ingredient.

"Ay, no touch," Paige admonished her sister. She then looked at Dawn. "And don't think about it Aunt Dawn. I don't want either of you or my unborn nieces around that." Piper sighed just as the doorbell rang. "Neither of you should be inhaling all this smoke when you both are pregnant anyway."

"Ah, Paige, you are such a worry wart," Piper said with roll of her eyes.

"So are you, Buffy," Dawn added.

"Dawn," Buffy shook her head as she looked at her baby sister. "As your older sister it is my job to worry about you." She then looked at Piper. "Just as it is my job, as your mother, Piper, to worry about you."

"What happened?" Leo asked as he walked into the attic.

"We were just getting ready to kick some demon ass," Piper told him as she hit Leo on the rear. "That's what we do, right?"

As the doorbell rang again Dawn smiled. "I'll get it, it's probably Phoebe's interview," she said excitedly.

"Well, send them away!" Paige called after Dawn as she walked down the stairs to answer the door followed by Piper. She looked at Leo and Faith. "Don't look at me, their you're wives."

"Does it seem like they overcame their fear a little quickly to you?" Faith asked looking at her sister Slayer.

"It does a little, yeah," Buffy agreed. "You think they wrote a spell?"

"It would make sense," Leo replied. "How else could they have gotten rid of their fear so fast?"

"Let's see if we can find it," Buffy suggested as they began to search the attic.

"Magical help?" Paige scoffed. "Neither Aunt Dawn or Piper would ever do that."

It was Faith who found the spell. "Well you would be wrong, Paige," she sighed as she looked at the Fearless spell on the wall. "B, L…" she said drawing their attention. "They wrote a fearless spell."

"Paige!" they heard Phoebe's voice call from the second floor bathroom. "Mom! Aunt Faith!"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Dawn led Piper, Nancy O'Dell and her camera crew into the bathroom. "Gosh, I am so sorry," Nancy said in clear surprise. "Your sister said we were doing the interview in the bathroom."

Phoebe looked at Dawn with a roll of her eyes. "Well, that should've been your first clue that Dawn sprang from the shallower end of the gene pool."

"Hey, I resent that," Dawn objected.

"Oh, come on, Phoebe, you wanted fame," Piper said knowing exactly what Dawn had called Nancy for. "Go ahead and grab it. Carpe diem."

Phoebe sighed. "Don't you mention carp around me, please."

"I am doing you a favor," Dawn said looking at her niece. "People will think you're bold and daring. What's better than a celebrity who wants to do an interview in the nude?"

"I can be just as fascinating with my clothes on in a TV studio, thank you," Phoebe said sarcastically.

"Well, actually, you can't," Nancy retorted. "My show is called, 'At Home With Nancy O'Dell'."

Piper smiled. "See? Fabulous," she said as Phoebe lay there in awe. "Fire away." She turned and followed Dawn out of the bathroom closing the door behind them.

"Piper, Au…Dawn," Phoebe called after her sister and aunt.