Disclaimer: Still don't own Charmed.
A/n: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. As promised, here's chapter seven, posted right around midnight. Expect chapter eight sometime tomorrow afternoon.
Katie
Setting: November/December 2006
Coming Home
"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."
-Maya Angelou
Seven: In Which Piper Explains Herself
Piper watched the emotions run through Mariella's wizened face: frank disbelief; anger; pity; sadness; and then settling on anger again. "I can't believe you would say something like that to me," she said. The anger was close to the surface and Piper could tell that the older woman would have liked to slap her. She still might. "Do you think this is funny? Is this a joke to you?"
"No," said Piper softly. "I told you that it's crazy."
"Of course it's crazy!" said Mariella. "And it's horrid! I confessed something to you and you take advantage of me! How dare you!"
"Please," said Piper, reaching out a placating hand and then withdrawing it quickly. "I'm not lying. Your brother died in World War II at the battle of Guadalcanal, right? You didn't mention anything about that. How would I know? He was born on May eleventh in 1924. Right before he left for the war he married a woman named Lillian."
"How do you know all of that?" asked Mariella. She had begun to cry and Piper felt horrifically guilty. She should never have come here. All she had accomplished was bringing up personal demons for a generous old woman. For Leo's sister. Oh God. What was Leo going to do when he got here?
"I told you," said Piper. "I'm married to your brother. My Leo is the same Leo that died in 1942."
"That's not possible," said Mariella. "Are you telling me you married a dead man?"
"Yes—No—It's complicated."
"Explain it," said Mariella. "Explain it right this instant."
Piper sighed. "After Leo died, he kind of became a…well, a guardian angel."
"A guardian angel?" said Mariella, the disbelief flaring back to the surface. "Of course."
"They're called Whitelighters," said Piper, and then she quickly added, "I know this is crazy, but it's all true. Whitelighters protect people. Specifically," she paused and sighed loudly. "Specifically witches. Which is how I met Leo. I'm a witch."
Mariella shook her head. "Get out of my house," she hissed. "Just get out, right now. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense."
"It's true," said Piper. "Watch." She picked up the flower arrangement in the center of the table and threw it into the air, freezing it before a drop of water could spill. Mariella stared at it, open mouthed, and then reached out a tentative hand to touch it.
"How?" she whispered. "How did you do that?"
"Magic," said Piper. The sick feeling that she got whenever she had to explain what she was to a mortal flared once again. She still believed that her world would come crashing down again whenever she confessed the truth. "Magic is what brought me to Leo, even though he died so long ago."
Mariella wiped her eyes with her hands, shaking slightly. Piper turned and plucked the flowers from midair, giving Mariella a moment to compose herself. Already the anger that had palpably filled the room seemed to dissipate, but Piper still felt tense.
Before either woman could say another word, there was a loud knock at the front door. Piper bit her lip, still unprepared for the storm that was about to begin. For the first time in a long time, she had no idea how Leo would react to the situation.
"I can't do this," said Mariella. "I can't… He can't…"
"I'll get the door," said Piper. "Just wait here."
Piper headed for the front door, completely unsure of what to say or do. Every question she had ever had about Leo's past was coming back to her. She hadn't even known that he had a sister. How could this possibly end well?
Opening the door, Piper couldn't even muster a smile at the sight of Leo, Phoebe and Coop. "We have to talk," she said to Leo immediately. "Right now."
"What's going on?" asked Leo, stepping into the house. He sounded concerned for her; worried. Little did he know. She pulled him near the stairs, a little away from Phoebe and Coop.
"You never told me you had a sister," said Piper quietly.
Leo looked flustered. For a moment, she thought he was going to be defensive, as he usually was when she asked about his past, but then the real meaning of her words seemed to dawn on him. "How do you know I had a sister?" he asked.
"Because," said Piper, quite aware of Phoebe and Coop's curious looks, "she's here."
"What?" asked Leo.
"She's here. She's Paige's grandmother. And she knows. I told her about you. About us."
"What?"
"I had to, Leo. What should I have done? Just let you walk in and let her see you for the first time in sixty-five years?"
"Piper!"
"She's in the kitchen, Leo."
Leo shook his head, glancing over Piper's head down the hall, as though Mariella would suddenly appear. "I need to get out of here," he said, and to Piper's shock, he actually turned to leave. She grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"You're not going anywhere!" she said. "You can't just run away from this!"
"Don't yell at me," said Leo, pulling away from her. "You have no idea. I can't do this."
"Piper," said Phoebe tentatively. "What's going on?"
Piper glared at Phoebe, not really cross at her sister, but desperate to make Phoebe stay quiet. This wasn't about their family. This wasn't even really about her and Leo. This was all about Leo and his sister.
"You can't leave, Leo," said Piper more calmly. "It's not fair to you or to her. You were obviously brought together for a reason."
"Don't," said Leo. "Don't do that to me."
Piper felt foolish and useless, but she also felt determined to somehow get through to her husband. And she would not let him leave this house, even if she had to keep him there by force. She'd freeze him if she had to.
As it turned out, she didn't have to. Before she could do anything, there were footsteps behind them and Leo stood motionless, almost as if she had frozen him. Piper turned around, though she knew that Mariella was standing there, and then stepped to Leo's side, placing a comforting hand on his arm.
"Hi," said Phoebe, stepping forward towards Mariella and extending her hand. She had to be quite aware of the strange tension in the air; Mariella had not taken her eyes off of Leo and vice versa. After a second, Phoebe seemed to realize that Mariella was not even aware of her presence, and she stepped back.
"Leo," whispered Mariella. She had placed a hand on the railing of the staircase and this seemed to be the only thing holding her up.
"Hi Ella," said Leo.
Piper took a deep breath and patted Leo's arm, then stepped away from him. She grabbed Phoebe's arm and dragged her from the hall, Coop following behind like a puppy. "What is going on?" asked Phoebe the second they were in the living room.
"That's Leo's sister," said Piper.
"What?" said Phoebe and Coop in unison.
"Paige's grandmother is Leo's sister," said Piper.
"Did you know?" asked Phoebe.
"Of course not," said Piper. "I didn't even know Leo had a sister. You know him. He never talks about the past."
"Wow," said Coop. "This is… That's… Wow."
"Does Paige know?" asked Phoebe.
"Not yet," said Piper. "At least, not for sure. When we got here and Mariella heard the boys' names and Leo's she reacted so strangely. And I told Paige that something was going on. I told her that something was up. That Mariella must have known Leo. But I had no idea that she was his sister."
Phoebe glanced towards the hall and Piper got the distinct impression that Phoebe wanted to eavesdrop. She didn't however, and Piper felt ambivalent; relieved because Phoebe was going to give them privacy and annoyed because she too wanted to know what was going on.
"What is Leo going to do?" asked Phoebe.
Piper shrugged. She honestly had no idea.