Visions
Author's Disclaimer: The only thing I own are the ideas, characters, and concepts not cannon to the original Charmed series. Everything belongs to the producers, creators, and other persons entitled by law.
Author's Note: I began this story several years ago and I never saw it to fruition. I found myself recently attracted back to it with the 20th anniversary of Charmed just occurring. I hope you enjoy this story.
Summary: The children of The Charmed Ones face the trials and tribulations of adulthood, magic, and a new threat on the horizon.
Chapter 8: Regardless
The witches sat comfortably in the living room of Chris and Bianca Halliwell. Chris and Bianca were sitting on a loveseat and had just finished explaining their idea to the family. As Chris wrapped up their idea, he gestured to the room of witches, "Any questions?"
A flurry of voices started to reach over one another with ideas, questions, and concerns. No one voice taking center stage as they started to fight with one another.
"One at a time," Chris argued with his frenzied family but it fell on deaf ears.
"I think this is the most ludicrous idea I have ever heard of," Wyatt Halliwell said to his brother and sister-in-law. His blonde hair longer than it had been in sometime and dark circles under his eyes. He was tired from a special assignment with the Elders and had dodged work responsibilities to be at this meeting. Internally, he felt the struggle between family and duty but this one time family had won out.
Everyone seemed to stop talking. Tamora, who was wedged between Henry and Wyatt, looked to him. The expression on her equally exhausted face imploring him to continue his thought.
"I think we should not mess with magic if we aren't entirely sure this is a solution," he said firmly.
"All due respect," Bianca countered, "but I am the expert on Phoenix magic and I believe that this is our best bet." She tucked a loose strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.
"I think Wyatt may be right on this one," Melinda joined in taking side with her eldest brother. "I am concerned of what could happen," she said quietly.
"Of course you're on his side," Chris muttered under his breath and only Parker could hear him as she was next to him, perched on the loveseat. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I agree with Chris and Bianca. I think it's worth a chance," Peyton offered with Parker nodding her agreement.
"So it's Wyatt and Melinda with reservations. Chris and Bianca have Peyton and Parker's support so where does everyone else stand on this issue?" Tamora asked as she uncrossed her legs and shifted her position on the arm chair she was seated in.
"What are you thinking?" Parker asked.
"I think we have nothing left to lose at this point," Tamora replied rather sullenly; a desperation was in her to save her sister.
"So now it's 5 to 2," Chris said with a slight smile.
"This isn't a voting matter," Wyatt countered angrily. "We have to be pragmatic. This is our cousin's life stake!"
"We are well aware of what is at stake," Chris replied defiantly.
"I think we are being short sided in our attempt to save Kat. This has to be planned out and thought through. Let me consult the Elders," Wyatt implored.
"So they can say no? Or better yet that they have no idea?" Peyton interjected.
"The Elders are our guides. They are the keepers of good magic and will be able to help us!" Wyatt said tersely.
"Wyatt, you know that I agree with you on the validity of the Elders and their role in magic but this is my sister we are talking about. We have to do what is best," Tamora said. She looked uncomfortable; for the first time in her life she was questioning the Elders and what they stood for internally and she was having a hard time reconciling it.
"We have to ask PJ her thoughts. I can call her?" Parker suggested as her sister was home with the baby and much to her own annoyance could not make the meeting.
"Do that," Wyatt directed. Parker nodded and walked away from the living room.
"PJ will side with us," Bianca said to no one in particular.
"Naturally," Melinda replied in a casual, almost cold, tone. Bianca shot an annoyed glare at Melinda.
Henry sat quietly in an arm chair twirling a pen in his left hand as his journal sat closed on his thigh. He was watching his family starting to unravel around him and could not bring himself to offer an opinion. There was a rising anger and annoyance in him as he sat frustrated by the antics.
"Henry? What are your thoughts?" Tamora asked him quietly as Wyatt and Chris began another tirade against each other's thoughts. Her eyes held a sisterly compassion for her youngest sibling and only brother.
"I think either way we are at a loss," he said despondently. Tamora stared at him incredulously.
"Have you foreseen the probabilities of what can happen?" She pressed on.
He turned to face her and leaned close to her so only she can hear, "I can't foresee anything. I have been trying for days and I cannot call a vision forth."
She looked taken aback, "What do you mean you haven't been able to call a vision forth? When was the last time that even happened?"
Henry pursed his lips and thought about it for a moment, "I can't recall. Ever since I learned to call a vision, it has worked. Something or someone is blocking me. I think it is all related though—the coordinated attack, the premonition in my dream, Kat's current condition. It's all linked and without my power I cannot draw any conclusions. Whatever we are up against is more powerful than any upper level demon we have encountered." His face contorted into one of anguish, concern, and sadness all at once.
Tamora stared deeply into her brother's eyes and took his tan features. She had never seen a look like this on his face. She can recall the certainty that Henry developed as his power grew and he pushed its limits. She had a pit in her stomach at the thought that her brother, who can see the future on command, cannot see what was to come. She knew early on that her brother would not grow into any whitelighter abilities. Their shared mortal bloodline was too strong and by the time he was born it had taken a hold of his genes. In fact, she was surprised he even developed powers.
Her mind drifted to a conversation she had overheard her mother and aunts having when she was twelve and Henry was ten. He had just developed his premonition power and the family stunned. It was the realization that he had his powers all along and they failed to recognize his dreams both nocturnal and day dreams as something supernatural. They thought it was his over active imagination. It was magic all along. The belief in their mother and aunts ideology that their kids would inherit their own powers was dispelled early on as each cousin came into their own and mostly because of the result of inter-magical breeding but the thought that premonition would pass to a male of the family was equally astounding. She knew Warren lore better than most from her days in magic school and other than Melinda Warren and her aunt, Phoebe, no other Warren line witch wielded the power.
She had known all along but never said it aloud that even though she, Wyatt, Chris and PJ had the strongest set of powers among them—it was Henry that was strongest of them all. He had a resiliency about him—true grit—that made him strong in mind and power. She knew it may have had a lot to do with his struggle to accept his sexuality but deep down he was a gifted witch and his true strength was often overlooked. She felt guilty that they all—herself included—treated him like a supernatural yellow pages instead of playing to his strengths.
"What do you suppose we do?" She asked quietly; her eyes flickering to the loud voices erupting on the other side of the living room. Bianca was now standing in Wyatt's face with her finger pointed. He had his arms crossed and a blank stare on his face as his sister-in-law berated him. Melinda was talking fast and hurriedly with Chris and Peyton.
"Honestly, I think we should just go with it and see what happens. If anything, Bianca will have her powers back and we can use the extra magical muscle because we may need it," Henry said to his older sister and she reached over to him and squeezed his forearm.
"I agree," she smiled.
The two turned away from each and looked at their cousins before them. They were all talking animatedly with one another. Tamora placed her fingers in her mouth and with a sharp whistle she called their attention towards her and her brother.
"What the f-," Peyton stared to say before cutting herself off, "That was obnoxious."
"You all are talking over one another like a group of barbarians. We need to be decisive now in our approach to this demonic threat. Henry and I have spoken and we have decided that we should move forward with the plan as is," Tamora said definitively.
Everyone stared back at her.
"Oh, so now you all are quiet," she lamented casually.
Chris started to speak but Wyatt put his hand up and took over the conversation before his brother could, "As the oldest and more experienced witch in this family, I cannot caution you enough with how bad of an idea this could be."
Tamora glared at him dangerously. Peyton's eyes perked up as she could feel the swell of anger rising in Tamora's chest. If there was something Tamora did not like, it was being told what to do.
"Wyatt, you may be the oldest but you are not the wisest," she replied sharply.
"Tamora, you're being overly sensitive. I don't think this is the best idea," Wyatt pressed on.
"Because you didn't think of it?" Chris replied mockingly.
Wyatt shot him an evil look and smiled a white toothy grin as he repeated back the words in a mocking way. Chris's face turned red and he was angry at the mimic.
"Sensitive, Wyatt? I will show you sensitive," Tamora raised her voice and stood tall in the living room. Her brown eyes flickering with unbridled anger.
Henry watched as an anger consumed his sister. Tamora always had an aggressive side to her but often kept her emotions in check when magic and strategy were involved. She was open minded and kept a calm cool collectedness about her. The Tamora Mitchell before him was not the sister he was use to; he liked it.
Wyatt moved towards Tamora and Henry instinctively stood up and took a place beside his sister, "Wyatt, back down."
Everyone in the room was taken aback by Henry's practical snarl to Wyatt; his cousin, best friend and confidant.
"We have an obligation to Kat. She is your cousin and our sister. The Elders are not a part of my equation. I understand that as a whitelighter you are to report to them but you are not our whitelighter. You are a witch—a member of this family. Take your job out of it and focus on our family. Kat is unconscious as a result of a calculated demonic attack on our family. I had that premonition in my dream for a reason and I have learned that not all premonitions are meant to be avoided but sometimes we have to allow the future to play out just as it is supposed to. Kat is my sister. She is Tamora's twin sister. We have the final say on what we do as siblings. We are going with Bianca's plan of attack and we will, as we always do, adjust and move forward the best way we know how."
Chris had a smug look on his face as Henry finished his diatribe. Bianca sat quietly and watched the young witch exert a dominance she had not seen him before. Peyton and Melinda also watched admirably as their cousin led the charge; however, Melinda felt a slight alienation in the way he addressed Wyatt.
Wyatt, on the other hand, stood quietly looking into the eyes of his cousin. He was equally annoyed, pissed, and proud of his cousin. He said nothing to Henry and as he was formulating what he wanted to say, Parker came back into the room and tucking her cell phone into her jeans pocket.
"PJ is on board with Bianca's idea. I also think she just wants to fight," She said hurriedly before noticing the obvious tension building in the living room, "What did I miss?"
"You missed our cousin here laying down the law," Peyton replied gesturing towards Henry. Parker's eyes widened as she looked at Henry standing before Wyatt. Both were equally as tall but Henry's stature was more intimidating from his years of working out and athletics.
"Oh," Parker mustered and took her seat on the corner of the loveseat that Chris and Bianca sat in.
"I think we have consensus," Henry said to his cousin's face. "We move forward."
Wyatt let out a deep breath and shook his head. He said nothing as he orbed out of the room all together.
"He is such as ass sometimes," Tamora remarked as she took her seat and Henry shook his head and sat next to her.
"He comes from a good place," Henry lamented while hoping his dominance does not damage his close relationship with his cousin and closest confidant.
"So what is the plan now?" Peyton said breaking a few moments of awkward silence.
"I think we need to move forward with the spell to unbind my powers and then I can properly prepare for the spell," Bianca spoke.
"How long will it take to prep?" Melinda asked.
Bianca thought to herself before for a moment before answering, "If we unbind tomorrow evening, I should be ready two days later. The issue is once I have my powers back I have to regain some control. It's been a few years, I don't know how rusty I will be."
"Then let's plan on Friday night. That gives us some time to prepare ourselves for what is to come. We will also need to get into the hospital undetected to perform the ritual, no?" Chris stated.
"We can use a simple cloaking spell," Peyton said.
"Do we call Alex and tell him we are planning to do this?" Parker asked innocently.
"No," Henry said, "Alex is not in the right head space to be involved. I can have Nate distract him. The two have a good enough relationship that it wouldn't seem too weird."
Tamora shot him a surprised look, "Since when does your boyfriend and our brother-in-law have a relationship?" She was confused as to her knowledge no one had a good relationship with her anti-magic, moody, witch of a brother-in-law. She was not so sure that Kat had a good relationship with him.
"Well they watch sports together all the time at Thanksgiving so?" Henry replied and Tamora rolled her eyes.
"I thought Nate only watched the sports because you and Alex watched them?"
Henry glared at his older sister as she saw through his noble attempts to create a diversion, "I am pulling at straws, Tam. Unless you have another idea?"
Her ears perked up and was about to speak but was interrupted by Henry, "An idea that does not involved using magic on Alex."
She shrugged her shoulders, "Then I am fresh out of ideas." Everyone chuckled.
"He can either go out with Nate or he can go on baby duty with PJ. That's the two options we have here." Henry stated.
"Then going out with Henry it is." Parker said definitively as Henry and Tamora looked over to her.
"What? We want to distract him not punish him," she replied.
"PJ should be there for the spell though. I will need to draw as much as power as I can." Bianca said as she was still thinking about what to do about the spell and ritual she was to perform in several days.
"Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo can watch the baby," Parker said. "Mom went back on her book tour so they're our only option. I am sure Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry aren't in the mindset to watch the baby."
"Do we tell Mom and Dad what we are planning?" Henry asked his sister.
"I think we have to. I can tell them if you want," Tamora offered and Henry nodded.
"I think we need to tell everyone," Chris said. "I know they have retired but they need to know what is happening with this."
"I will call my Mom and maybe you can tell yours?" Parker said to her older cousin.
The room sat in silence once more. Henry finally broke the silence, "So we are doing this? Bianca is becoming a witch again and we are going to perform a ritual to save Kat from whatever condition she is in and then what?"
"We move forward and adjust as we always do," Peyton said optimistically. Everyone looked at her incredulously.
"What? Henry can say it and we all believe it but I say it and you look at me like I am a demon?"
"You are not known to be so optimistic," Parker reasoned with her sister and received a middle finger in reply.
"I need a drink," Melinda said and left the living room to find a bottle of wine. Bianca called after her retreating back, "There's a white in the fridge and bring me a glass!"
Chris turned to look at her.
"What? We rarely agree on things," Bianca shrugged with a smirk.
Tamora and Henry appeared in a swirl of blue orbs into his living room. The two released each other's hands from the tight grip required for such travel and Henry nodded to his sister, "Thanks for the ride home."
She smiled kindly to her brother, "No worries. Is Nate home?" Her eyes wandering the darkened living room.
Henry glanced at his watch on his right wrist and noted that it was well after eleven.
"He is probably asleep. He had to teach late and with the stress of everything he has not been sleeping."
"Have you been sleeping?" Henry looked at his sister as she posed her question. He grimaced and grabbed a bottle of water from his kitchen. He gestured to his sister and she shook her said no.
He took his seat opposite her in the living room, "Have you been sleeping?"
"No." It was a quick and definitive answer.
"Tam, what's going on?" He asked as he tried to remember the last time he and Tamora had a conversation that was not focused on magical strategy. There have been several recently but none of merit or depth.
"I keep trying to remember what death feels like and I can't," she said sullenly.
Henry looked at her empathetically. He can notice that her body was tense; she looked haggard and tired. She was not herself. He was concerned.
"What do you mean?" He took a small sip of water from the bottle in his hand.
"I cannot remember what death feels like. I keep thinking that if Kat dies, I won't know how to feel," she spoke quietly; her eyes avoiding his.
"Kat is not going to die. We have to say it with a level of certainty as if it's a spell we are casting," Henry implored his sister, "and we have to be confident in ourselves as witches and as a family to pull her through."
"I know that, Henry. I just don't know how to feel," Tamora said sternly.
"Remember when Grandpa Victor died?" Henry asked as she turned away from his words as if they were offensive. Their maternal step-grandfather, Victor Bennett, was a doting figure in their childhood until his untimely death due to illness twelve years earlier. He had never treated the Mitchell brood differently than their cousins; his biological grandchildren. He was a constant figure of laughs, candy, and sometimes a relief from the stress of their home life. Tamora was especially close to him.
She nodded her head as tears started to form in her eyes, "Yes, I remember him dying but I don't remember what I felt. That's my problem. Am I immune to death?"
"No one person is immune from death, Tam. I think you have always processed things differently. Don't take offense but I think you're a little colder than the rest of us. You don't put much stock in emotions," Henry said to his sister gently and unsure of her reaction.
She didn't flinch at the analysis. Instead, she turned to face him, "I think my belief in magic and what is real is too strong to give credit to such feelings. I'm afraid that losing Kat will break me."
"And when she dies be it soon or when we are much older, it will break you regardless. She is our sister. She is your twin. If you don't break than I will be very concerned about you. We have each other right now and we have Mom and Dad but we will get through this."
Henry got up from his seat and moved closer to her. She moved over just a bit to make room on the couch for his larger frame and instead he put his muscled arm around her petite frame and pulled her into a half-hug. Her head nestled on his neck where it meets his shoulder and she shuddered a sob.
"Remember when I came out to you and Kat?" In-between a small sob, she nodded her remembrance.
Henry remembered the moment some odd years earlier when he sat his sisters down in his childhood bedroom and told him that he was gay. He felt such fear as to their response but he needed them to know the truth about him and his relationship with Nate. The fear he felt then was more powerful than any fear that permeated his spirit before. He was surprised by their warm and kind response; but he was especially in awe of Tamora, who shed her colder, rational demeanor.
"You told me that we are Mitchells and we stand with each other regardless," Henry whispered. She felt another sob; heavier and more emotional than the last.
"We are Mitchells and we will stand with each other regardless. We got this, sister. I got you."
And the two sat quietly and cried.
End of Chapter 8.
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Thank you for your patience as I continue to develop this story and rewrite it many times before finalizing its direction.