Chapter three

Just their luck part 2

The cozy small bedroom barely lit by the sunlight shining through the thin pink curtains. Grey scribbles done by pencil on the right wall. An adorable outfit folded on the dresser top waiting to be worn. A grey comforter half off the bed with a brown teddy bear about to slip down. A little foot jerked and down went Teddy. Pink pajama bottoms rolled up to the knees, and a hint of a back showing. The tip of a thumb barely touching the soft bottom lip. Soft gentle breaths of air was the only sound in the room. Tangled brown hair resting on the pillow.

The door opened slowly causing a creaking sound but the child remained undisturbed. Piper stood in the doorway looking over at the small bundle of joy with a warm smile on her face. (Having been told she couldn't get pregnant, Piper had believed her wish of motherhood wouldn't be fulfilled but then came Wyatt and next Chris. She hadn't expected to have a second child let alone a third but she was so glad she did. Melinda was adorable and funny, everything she said and did made others laugh. She loved to laugh too, she laughed over everything and got excited so easily. She was such a joy to have in the family.) She stayed in the doorway not wanting to wake her little girl as she looked so peaceful asleep. Soon, she was joined by Leo who wrapped his arms around her stomach as he looked over at their little girl too. "Four already," Leo whispered. "I know. All the kids are growing too fast." Leo nodded in response and neither of them said another word.

The next room wasn't at all as quiet and peaceful. Tamora had gotten too much sleep and was bouncing around the room and jumping onto the beds. Kat hadn't gotten enough sleep and was in a foul mood. She was yelling at her sister to stop jumping on her bed and didn't want her on her side of the room but Tamora didn't care. Little Henry was in the room as well and was jumping on Tamora's bed until his sister accidentally knocked him off. She felt bad as little Henry started to cry but not bad enough to comfort him or check if he was okay. Kat put her attention on her brother as she started shouting at him to "stop being a baby and grow up." Having heard all the commotion, Piper came in to investigate while Leo finally woke Melinda. "Okay, what happened to Henry?" She asked. She was ignored by Tamora who was still jumping on her bed, by Kat who wouldn't stop screaming at her brother, and by Henry who was too worked up to explain what had happened. Piper sighed and did her best to keep her temper under control. She grabbed Tamora by the waist and pulled Kat by the arm, she took the girls out of the room then returned to collect Henry. Comforting Henry in her arms, Piper walked back into the hall to speak with the twins. "Okay, Kat, you start. What happened," Piper asked calmly. "Henry was crying like a baby." "Okay, why was Henry crying?" Kat shrugged in response. "Fine. Tamora, do you know why your brother was crying?" Tamora nodded. "I pushed him off my bed...but it was an accident." "An accident?" Tamora nodded to confirm. "Yes. He was jumping and I jumped on the bed and pushed him off...by accident." Piper nodded and dismissed the twins, sending them downstairs to have breakfast.

PJ was sitting in bed watching her mother change Parker's diaper when she suddenly gasped and her eyes turned white. Phoebe turned her head towards her waiting, and a few seconds later it was over. "What did you see?" Phoebe asked her. "Wyatt and Chris are in trouble, mommy." Phoebe left Parker butt-naked and went to sit on PJ's bed. "Tell me what you saw." PJ thought back and ended up shrugging. "I saw them having a lot of accidents but |I don't know why." Phoebe nodded and held out her hands, PJ knew what this meant and placed her hands on her mother's. Phoebe was seer too, which meant PJ could share her premonition with her. Parker found her used diaper next to her fresh one and decided to put the used one on her head and carry the fresh one right out of the bedroom.

Andy was walking out of Payton's room with the almost eleven-month-old in his arms when they spotted Parker heading for the stairs with a diaper on her head and a diaper in her hand. Payton started laughing at her cousin while Andy hurried over to the mere toddler and took her hand to lead her away from the stairs where the baby gate had been carelessly left open. He found it very odd Parker would be left unsupervised when her mother was very protective of her and her dad wouldn't leave her on her own either. He led her back into her bedroom where he saw Phoebe in the process of receiving her daughter's premonition. Phoebe's eyes turned from white back to brown and she looked over at Andy. "Sorry to interrupt, I caught this little one making a break for the stairs." PJ turned and when she saw her sister she burst out laughing which caused Payton to start laughing again. Phoebe rose from her daughter's bed and walked over to Andy and scooped up her daughter, she removed the dirty diaper from her head as she said, "thanks, Andy. I should have kept a better eye on her." "Well, no harm done," Andy said in reply. Phoebe looked at her baby. "You put poop in your hair, you silly girl. Bath time it is." PJ perked up and asked, "me too?" Phoebe turned her head to look at her and nodded. PJ screamed happily and beamed herself to the bathroom. Andy chuckled and walked out of the room with Payton still in his arms.

When Phoebe arrived into the kitchen with her two daughters, the rest of the family were already seated at the table and having french toast and milk or juice for breakfast. PJ seated herself in her unusual chair next to her father and Phoebe placed Parker in her high chair next to Payton before taking her usual seat on Coop's left. Phoebe picked up her fork and knife as Coop poured some maple syrup onto PJ's pancakes. Payton and Parker were devouring their pancakes and getting everything within reach sticky with the maple syrup. Tamora talking to the air about pigs while Kat sat there refusing her breakfast because...the pancakes weren't squishy enough. Henry was drinking from his sippy-cup while the older boys were in conversation with Melinda about her party happening later that day. Chris reached for his green plastic cup and accidentally knocked over Kat's cup. The apple juice spilled out onto the table unnoticed by the adults but not by Kat. "Ooops, sorry." His apology wasn't accepted and in retaliation, Kat took his cup and threw it across the table, milk flying out everywhere and the cup hitting Piper right in the face. "Hey! I said I was sorry, it was just an accident!" Shouted Chris. Piper slowly rose from her chair. "Kat...did you throw that cup at me?" She asked, calmly but firmly. "It wasn't supposed to hit you, not my fault you have a big head." Paige jumped from her chair and shouted her daughter's name. The entire table went silent, even the babies were watching the scene unfold. "Kat, that is not how to speak to grownups. You say you're sorry right now!" Paige ordered. Kat looked her mother right in the eye and said, "I'm not sorry." "Say...your...sorry." "Make me." Paige slammed a hand down on the table, scaring a few of the kids. The other adults didn't dare to speak, even to help Paige deal with the situation. "SAY YOUR SORRY!" Again, Kat refused. "Fine. No party, no toys, and no TV for the whole day. You can just sit in the time-out room, that should give you plenty of time to think and fix your attitude problem." "I...don't...care." Without another word, Paige approached her daughter, took her arm, pulled her off her chair, and dragged her out of the kitchen.

"I said I was sorry," said Chris.

"I know honey," Piper replied.

"Are you okay, mommy?" Asked Melinda.

"Yes, baby, thanks for asking."

"I'm sorry about this, Piper. The twins have really gotten out of hand," Adult Henry apologised.

"It's okay. I have my own challenging kid, so I know what it's like."

"Come on, little witchling, let's get you dressed," Leo said as he got up.

"Not you, daddy. I want Wyatt."

"Oh. Wyatt, looks like you've been chosen."

"No problem, come on, Mellie."

In Melinda's bedroom, Wyatt completely missed the dress Leo had placed on the dresser and pulled out a different dress from the closet. "No, silly, not that dress," Melinda laughed. "Oh. What dress did you want to wear?" Melinda pointed over to her dresser and Wyatt retrieved the dress and matching shoes. "Right, how silly of me. How can you have a Minnie mouse birthday party without the correct dress." "You can't." "Okay, arms up." (It was Melinda's fourth birthday and her Minnie mouse themed party was going to start that afternoon. )

In the kitchen, Payton was the last one to finish breakfast, and failed to get her mother's attention by pulling her hair. In a second attempt, Payton orbed her pancake on Prue's head. "Payton! Again? That's the tenth time this week," Prue said as the syrup dripped down her face. "In all fairness, she did try to get your attention by pulling your hair," Phoebe pointed out. "She did? I'm sorry baby girl," Prue said as Andy orbed the mess off of her. Prue lifted her into her arms for a snuggle. "Why are you so distracted this week?" Piper asked. "My boss called, I guess the elders did some magic to make him think he sent me out of town for all these years on a project." Prue explained. "Really, I thought they had already made him think you quit?" Phoebe recalled. "Yeah, I may have spoken to the Elders," Said Andy. "Now he wants me to come back to work and give him that project, the problem is I wasn't doing a project, I was dead," Prue finished. "I can bring it up with the elders, they made that story, they can change it...again," Andy offered. "Thanks honey, and this time make sure they chose something I don't have to show for," Prue stated. Andy kissed Prue and then kissed his daughter and orbed up to the elders.

A few minutes went by before Andy returned home. "Okay, honey, now your boss thinks you were out of work because of family and personal issues, and then Payton arrived," Andy said. "However he thinks you did take some photos while you were off, so here the elders made you some to give to your boss," Andy said and handed Prue some pictures that were created by magic. "Thanks, I'll call him back and let him know I'll start work tomorrow," Prue said. "Really, are you sure you're ready to work?" Andy asked. "Well Payton is almost a year old, I think I'm ready," Prue decided. "Who's going to look after the children?" Leo asked. "Maybe I can make a deal with the Cupids to put off my duties for now. Billie's done college and just quit her job at the cafe. We could pay her to be the kids' nanny, she's great with kids," Coop suggested. "I don't know. Billie's a great friend but she has her own life now," Phoebe pointed out. "All the kids are in daycare or school anyway, and on the weekends there's usually one or two of us at home, the housework would get behind but…" Henry started to say as he entered the room. "Henry's right, we won't need anyone until the summer. Even then, a bunch of the kids will be at magic camp during most of the day. I'm sure Billie wouldn't mind helping, and Sheila's a stay-at-home mom, she's offered to babysit for us multiple times, plus dad could help, Phoebe stated. "I guess we'll figure it out when summer comes around," Piper stated.

The party started around one that afternoon and a bunch of kids from daycare were in attendance. Melinda has also asked for her teacher Mrs. Grace to attend the party, and so Piper had given Mrs. Grace the invite, and Mrs. Grace wasn't going to give up the opportunity to visit the home and family belonging to her four biggest troublemakers. She didn't understand how such a sweet little boy, meaning Henry Junior, could be being raised by the same parents as the terrible two. Victor, Billie, Darryl, and Sheila also came to the party, but Darryl and Sheila's boys had decided to skip the party since they were much older than the birthday girl.

"So how's it going with the twins?" Sheila asked.

"To be honest, not great. They are way out of line," Paige admitted.

"So, um, who's kids are who? Mrs. Grace asked.

"Wyatt and Chris, the older boys, are mine and Leo's, so is Melinda," Piper informed.

"PJ's mine and that little girl, Parker, is mine too. You know my husband, Coop. He does most of the drop off and pick ups," Phoebe added.

"The twins belong to us, so does little Henry," Paige told her.

"And Payton's mine. She's the baby over by the lamp. She's mine and Andy's only kid but we plan on adding another at some point," Prue shared.

"And you all live here together?"

"Yes, there's three floors of bedrooms, plus this floor, the basement, and attic," Andy explained.

"Wyatt and Chris share a room, Melinda has her own, and the twins share, they're all on the same floor," Piper added.

"PJ and Parker share a room too, and the other two kids have their own rooms," Phoebe said.

"Okay, and you all raise the kids together?"

"For the most part. We like to leave discipline for the actual parents if they're home, and big decisions are always made by the actual parents," Piper explained

"But we often take care of each other's kids, it really just depends on who's available and who needs what," Phoebe added.

Piper watched Melinda and noticed Melinda played with a little girl named Allie more than the other children. "Hey Sheila, Melinda seems to be playing with that little girl more than the other children, could It be that they are best friends?" Piper asked curiously. "Could be, though Melinda is a bit young to have a best friend," Sheila responded. "Melinda does play with Allie quite a bit at daycare, but she mostly plays with PJ and the twins," Mrs. Grace reported. Melinda suddenly looked towards the window and said, "Jack's here." Mrs. Grace looked confused as she looked at the window too only to see the curtains closed. How did Melinda know someone was here if she couldn't see through the window? Yet, sure enough the doorbell rang. Mrs. Grace simply shrugged it off even though it made no sense.

During the beginning of the party, Kat refused to share too because she was in a mood. Henry put Kat down for a nap and Phoebe turned on Melinda's favourite Minnie mouse episode. Coop and Andy also had put Parker and Payton down for naps. While the children were occupied with the TV and the adults were talking among themselves, Piper ordered a pizza, which is what Melinda had asked for. When the pizza arrived, the guests were seated at the table or in the living room and the pizza was served. Melinda sat at the table between Allie and her other friend Amanda. Kat, Payton and Parker were up from their naps and were eating at the table as well. Like on all birthdays when everyone was finished eating, Piper and Leo brought out the cake and sang happy birthday while they carried the cake over to Melinda. Melinda blew out her candles and the cake was served and eaten. Then it was present time and eventually the party was over.

That evening, as the younger kids were getting ready for bed, Tamora declared that she was no longer sharing her room and to be sure she was heard, she orbed her sister's bed into Melinda's room. Melinda, of course, was beyond excited to have a sleepover with her cousin even though they lived together and could have sleepovers whenever they wanted. Paige was in her daughters' bedroom trying to get to the bottom of this. Tamora and Kat had never had issues with sharing a room before. "I don't want to share my room anymore," Tamora whined. "Why not?" Paige asked her. "I just don't want to." "For no reason? Or did Kat do something to make you mad or sad?" Tamora shook her head. "This is my room. Why do I have to share everything?" Paige sighed and seated Tamora on her bed, and seated herself next to her. "We have a big family and some of us have to share our room. I share my room with daddy, Wyatt shares with Chris, and PJ shares with Parker." "Kat can share with Melinda." "True, but isn't it nice having a roommate?" Tamora shook her head stubbornly. "Wouldn't you miss Kat if she moved in with Melinda?" Again, Tamora shook her head. "Well, Kat can sleep in Melinda's room tonight, and we'll see how you feel in the morning."

When Phoebe left her daughter's room, Parker started screaming on the top of her lungs. She had started doing this after being put to bed a few days prior. PJ sat up in bed and looked over at her sister. "Can you please stop?" She asked. Parker didn't listen and PJ placed her hands on her ears. "Parker, please be quiet. I'm sleeping." Parker wouldn't stop screaming. "Just because you're a baby doesn't mean you have to cry like one."

A few minutes went by before PJ had had enough and beamed her baby sister into Payton's crib. Parker's screaming woke up Payton who had just fallen asleep. Now both babies were crying and Andy came in to see why Payton had woken up. Assuming Parker had beamed herself into Payton's crib, Andy took her out and soothed her by rubbing her back. Once she was asleep, he orbed her back into her own bed and then soothed his own daughter back to sleep. Andy sighed in relief and left the room...and PJ beamed her sleeping sister back into Payton's crib not wanting to share a room with a baby anymore.

The sun had woken up. Parker was in an irritable mood and ignored Payton's attempts to catch her attention while they munched on dried cheerios in their high chairs. Andy and Coop had just left the manor to start their magical work days and Leo was getting himself ready for his workday. (He taught at magic school.) The other adults were gathered around the table drinking their coffee. Melinda and Kat were giggling over something they insisted was a secret between them, and Tamora was watching them jealous as she wasn't involved with this secret and they wouldn't let her in on it. Little Henry was still half asleep and had barely touched his cereal while PJ was wide awake and almost finished her bowl of cereal. Chris had gotten up early which was very unlike him and he was full of energy, which again wasn't like him in the mornings as he was normally tired and refused to get out of bed.

"Chris?"

"Yea, mom?"

"Was Wyatt still asleep when you came down?"

"Yep."

"Hmm, that's not like him. He's usually one of the first kids up," Leo pointed out.

"I know. I'm gonna go check on him. Maybe he's not feeling well," Piper thought.

Piper entered the bedroom her two sons shared and found her eldest child still asleep in his bed. His blanket and pillow on the ground. She approached the bed and gently woke him by shaking his shoulder. Slowly, Wyatt's blue eyes opened. "Mom?" He mumbled in confusion. "Hey, honey. Are you feeling okay?" Wyatt nodded as he said, "I think so," and sat himself up. He took a second to wake before confirming he was indeed feeling fine. "I thought you might be sick, you slept in." Wyatt yawned and crawled out of bed. "I guess I was really tired," he said. "Oh. So tired you slept through your alarm?" Wyatt merely shrugged in response. "Did you not sleep well?" Wyatt shook his head in reply. "Weird dreams. A wizard was after me, and there were leprechauns...I was trying to save them."

Piper jumped up from the bed in alarm, PJ had seen a wizard and leprechauns in her premonition about Wyatt and Chris. Did Wyatt have a premonition in his sleep? He wasn't a seer like Phoebe and PJ. "Wyatt, did you have a premonition while you were sleeping?" Piper asked. "No, he didn't," PJ's voice said from the doorway. Piper and Wyatt looked over to her. "I gave it to him while he was sleeping." "Sweetie, you can only share your premonitions with your mommy because you two have the same power. Wyatt doesn't have that power." Yet, PJ shook her head and insisted it had been her doing. "You can project your premonitions onto others?" Piper asked. She was shocked. Phoebe had been having premonitions for almost thirteen years and couldn't project her premonitions on those who couldn't also see into the future and/or past, and PJ was able to after only a year? "Only when they are sleeping," PJ informed. "PJ, how long have you been able to do this?" Piper asked her, but PJ shrugged. "I don't remember." "Okay. PJ, tonight, I need you to give me the premonition about Wyatt and Chris while I'm sleeping. It's very important so do you very best to not forget, okay?" PJ nodded and Phoebe was then heard calling for her from the stairs.

Chris had left the house only a minute before his brother and arrived at the stop just as the big yellow bus came to a stop. The doors opened and Chris mounted the bus, his brother's pleas for the bus to wait for him could be heard from down the street. Chris sat down and the doors closed which worried Chris. He quickly looked out his window and was barely able to see his brother running as the bus started. "NO! Wait!" Chris shouted. Yet, the driver did not listen and the bus started rolling away. "Wait! My brother! My brother isn't on the bus yet! Look, he's coming, please stop the bus!" The driver didn't care and the bus disappeared from Wyatt's sight.

Piper's attention went over to the door as it opened and Wyatt came through. "Wyatt, you're gonna miss your bus, hurry up." Wyatt put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor. "You missed the bus?" Asked Piper, Wyatt nodded in response. "Where's your brother?" "On the bus. I think I heard him shout at the driver to wait for me." Piper nodded to herself and escorted her son out of the manor as she said, "I'll drop you off."

Piper and Wyatt entered Mr. Andrew's classroom and all eyes turned to them. "Sorry Wyatt's late. He missed the bus, my fault, and we ran into some traffic." Wyatt's friends were waving at him and he waved back in response. "It happens. We were just starting the lesson, you didn't miss anything," said Mr. Andrews. Wyatt nodded and gave his mom a quick hug before taking his seat. "We're starting with English today, you'll need your textbook. Page 80," his teacher informed him. Wyatt nodded as Piper left the classroom and he took out his textbook and turned to the correct page. Piper, meanwhile, dropped by Chris's classroom and knocked on the open door, catching the attention of everyone in this room. "Sorry to interrupt. I just need a quick word with my son." Mrs. Cannon nodded and looked towards Chris. "Go on, we'll wait for you." Chris left his desk and joined his mother outside the classroom. "I just wanted to know what happened with the bus." "I told the driver to wait for him but he didn't listen. I'm sorry." "You have no reason to be sorry, you did nothing wrong, in-fact you tried to help." Piper patted his shoulder and sent him back to class. Before leaving the elementary school, Piper paid the principal a visit.

"How can I help you, Mrs. Halliwell?"

"I'm not sure you can. There was an issue this morning with the bus."

"What kind of issue?"

"Well, Chris told the bus driver to wait for Wyatt who was just running up to the bus, and the driver didn't bother to wait."

"Hmm, I see. Is this the first time?"

"Yes, but my boys have never been late getting to the stop before."

"I will speak with Chris and with Wyatt, and then see what I can do."

"Thank you. I wouldn't usually complain but even with so many adults in the house, we all have jobs to get to in the mornings. We can't afford for the boys to miss the bus."

"I understand."

Prue knocked on her boss's office door and waited for him to welcome her in. "Miss. Halliwell, it's good to have you back," her boss said. He stood up with an outstretched hand. Prue shook his hand as he said, "actually, its' Mrs. Halliwell now I'm married but I kept my name." "Oh, congratulations." "Thanks." "Now, do you have that assignment for me?" "Of course," Prue stated. She handed him the envelope in her hand. Her heart started racing a little as her boss opened the envelope. She watched him intensely as he examined the photos. After a moment he placed them down on his desk and looked up at her. "Excellent work as expected. Did you enjoy your trip?" "Yes, sir. Afterall, I did come back married with a baby." A second went by where she regretted saying this. Was it inappropriate to talk about her personal life with her boss? Yet, her boss simply laughed it off taking it as a joke. "Well, I hope you didn't plan on having an easy day. I've got a big assignment for you to jump back into work with." Prue laughed in response and her boss handed her a file. "Oh, and I do hope all is well with your family." "My family?" "Yes, your sister was greatly ill, that's why you took the time off, and then you took the trip to visit your ailing grandmother. So I do hope, all is well now." "My sister's doing great, grandma passed." ''Yeah, thirteen years ago," she said in her head. "Oh, I'm sorry," her boss replied, "but it's nice to hear your sister is well now."

On St. Patty's day, Billie was up in the attic looking through the book of shadows with Piper. There was a potion Billie needed to make. They came across the page of the wizard who had cursed the twins the previous St. Patty's day. "I never noticed this necklace before," Piper stated. "I've seen it before in this book," Billie said. She carefully flipped the pages. "Here it is, the necklace of luck," Billie pointed out. "You're right, this necklace contains luck that gives the user luck, if it breaks any magic he or she has done will be erased," Piper read out loud. "That's good news, the boys were just cursed the same way the twins were," Leo said as he entered the attic. "That's not possible, Leo. That curse only works on twins because of their connection to each other," Piper reminded him. "How about for brothers who've always been close?" Leo asked. Piper flipped back to the page on the wizard and read the information about him. Piper looked up at Leo and nodded to let him know it was possible.

"What's going on?" Billie asked.

"PJ's premonition, she showed it to me a few weeks ago. The boys are cursed, while one has good luck the other has bad luck."

"Stay here, I'll orb to the cave and look for it," Paige said and orbed out.

"I'll go with her," Leo said and orbed out.

Piper and Billie waited around for Leo and Paige to return. When they did return, Paige held up her hand to reveal a green gem on a silver chain. Without warning Paige threw the necklace out the window. The adults ran to the window and looked down, they spotted the gem broken in two. "Well, that takes care of that," stated Paige. Paige filled Henry in on what had happened, Leo began his search for the wizard behind Wyatt and Chris's luck curse, and Piper helped Billie make that potion she needed. When Leo orbed back to the living room he wasn't alone, the wizard had followed him. Leo didn't have time to call for Piper and her sisters, so Wyatt, Chris and Melinda used their power of three to vanquish him, using a simple vanquishing spell that works on most demons.

"Thanks kids," Leo thanked and hugged his children.

"No problem daddy, that was fun," Melinda stated.

"Looks like those magic lessons paid off," Piper said as she and the other adults came into the room.

"Okay, let's go save those leprechauns," Wyatt stated.