Chapter 3
As Alicia and Chris walked into the kitchen, her eyes involuntarily rested on Wyatt. A few months ago she could've sworn he wanted to be with her, but just as she had allowed herself to believe it, he backed off. She smiled as his eyes met hers, filling with concern as he noticed the bruise on her face. Later, she mouthed. Chris prepared to tell everyone about their newest discovery, just as Phoebe's head hit the table.
"Natalie? What are you..." Piper trailed off as the Charmed ones exchanged a look. SHE was the Elder assigned to them? Wait, she was...an Elder?
"Piper, Leo, Phoebe. Paige...I don't believe we've met. And these are your families? Blessed Be," she said with a nod in the general direction of the rest of the group.
"Now then," she continued, "My role here is simple. I am an observer."
"Yeah, we've heard that one before," interrupted Phoebe.
My purpose is to determine the pros and cons of the Elders allowing the rules to be broken once again. I will judge fairly, of course; I feel I must tell you, however, that I did not approve the first time, and I still am unable to see how the romantic pairing of a whitelighter and a charge is beneficial to either..." Natalie was interrupted again as the youngest Halliwells, 9-year-old twins Prue and Penny, came running into the kitchen.
"Uncle Leo, can we play video games upstairs?"
"Of course you can. Do you know how to hook them up?" Leo smiled at them; he loved having kids around.
"Yeah," Prue said, "but they're in the closet, and it's dark in there, and Riley said that a demon came out of his closet last week..."
Chris glared at Phoebe's 12-year-old from across the room. "You don't have to be worried just because Riley is. He used to think his Teddy Bear was alive."
Penny giggled. "Yeah, but still...it is pretty dark up there..."
"You know, that used to be my room...I'm pretty sure I put a spell on the closet so nothing could live there...but let's go check it out, just in case, ok?" Wyatt held out his hands, and the three of them orbed upstairs.
"Awww," Paige sighed, as her nephew once again appeared in the kitchen.
"A spell on your closet, huh?" Alicia rolled her eyes and grinned at Mel and Henry Jr.
"What? Chris did it too, things used to bang on our closet doors sometimes, so we wrote a spell to keep magical creatures out..." Wyatt stopped, seeing looks on his cousins' faces. "What?"
"Um, well...that was us..." Mel said, cracking up, "We used to orb/heart into your closets to scare you...sorry?"
The rest of the family was doing their best to hide their smiles, while Natalie looked horrified.
"I see you have passed on your blatant disregard for the rules of magic to the rest of your family. And Leo, I thought at least you would have better prepared them for this. I see that my theory was correct - your unions have brought about powerful witches, but irresponsible ones with no magical discipline."
Paige snickered, and Leo rolled his eyes. All of a sudden, Wyatt winced, and his hand flew to his head. "What the hell -- it's like I have 10 more voices in my head!"
Natalie smiled sweetly, "Actually, it's three more voices. I thought you were ready to take on a few more charges. You'll link to their information shortly."
Wyatt closed his eyes as the familiar sensation hit him. Ok...Mudama Ibo, Africa, Male, future whitelighter...Brendan Dearden, Ireland, Male, Witch...Alicia...what? "Um, why is Alicia my charge?"
"Your WHAT?" Alicia laughed. "No way. I'm not a witch. Or a future whitelighter. So...sorry, but no. There's no way."
Natalie stared at them both, "Are you insinuating that the Elders have made a mistake?"
"Well, no..." Alicia tried to backpeddle, "...just that maybe Mr. Twice-Blessed here is mistaken..." She shot Wyatt a look as she bit her lip. "Right?"
The older Halliwell fought back a grin and shook his head. "Nope. Sorry."
Natalie pursed her lips as she continued, "And do you already know the rest of your new charges?"
"No."
"Well, you should go introduce yourself then. Why don't you take Christopher along, just in case you need him. Good luck!" Natalie waved him off, and the boys disappeared.
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About an hour later, Wyatt and Chris entered the manor only to hear raised voices in the conservatory.
"Any feelings you have for Wyatt must take a backseat to the safety of all his charges. The sarcasm and 'witty banter' have to stop. You must speak to your whitelighter in a more respectful manner!"
"Oh, for God's sake Natalie, BACK OFF!"
I most certainly will NOT back off, Piper. They may be friends, but he is, FIRST AND FOREMOST, her whitelighter, and the Twice-Blessed, and as such, commands a certain degree of reverence!"
"REVERENCE??? Please tell me you're joking. She's joking, right?" Alicia shot a look to Piper and Coop as Paige and Mel watched from the couch.
"No, I am not. You are his charge," Natalie spat out. "You must obey his guidance, and expect that he not show up for every little problem."
"Accept guidance? Sure. Obey? I'm thinking no. Not so much. And I don't call him every time I have a problem. For example, I'm having a MAJOR problem right now, but am I yelling for Wyatt OR Chris? No. I. Am. Not. Instead, I am sitting here, listening to you, as respectfully as I can manage." Alicia snapped as she inspected her fingernails. Who the hell was Natalie to interfere in whatever it was that she felt for Wyatt?
Wyatt shot Chris a look, and, trying to conceal their laughter, they headed into the conservatory.
"Sooo...how's it going in here?" Chris asked his mom, trying not to smile.
"Oh, we were just discussing Alicia's 'lack of reverence' when addressing her oh-so-famous whitelighter."
"Alicia, Mel, you ready to go? The mall closes in two hours," Phoebe popped her head into the room. "I'm just gonna grab my purse!"
The girls said a quick goodbye and started out of the room, but Alicia paused as she passed Wyatt and Natalie.
"Goodbye Natalie," she said, and turning to Wyatt, she bowed her head slightly. "Blessed One..."
He bit his lip, trying to conceal a smile. Piper snorted from across the room.
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Two days later:
The Halliwells gathered in the kitchen, waiting for Chris and Leo to start the campfire in the backyard. Prue, Penny, and Riley were chasing each other around the garden as Alicia and Mel watched.
"I'm gonna get a blanket from the laundry room," Alicia said, shivering. "You want anything?"
Mel shook her head.
Alicia jogged into the house, and shook her head at what she was hearing.
"...has your relationship changed any in the last couple of days?" Natalie grilled Wyatt as Henry, Jr. sat on the counter, observing. How the Twice-Blessed was avoiding stuffing her into the oven, he had no idea.
"Does it matter?" Wyatt sighed, exasperated. Does she ever shut up?
"Well, I just want to be sure that there has been no inappropriate behavior..." Natalie's lecture was interrupted as a demon shimmered in. Alicia chuckled at the look of relief that washed over her friend's face.
"Duck!" Henry, Jr. yelled, and Alicia dropped to the floor as Natalie orbed out of the way of a fireball. Wyatt turned to blow him up, but paused as he saw the demon reach for Alicia.
"I don't think so, buddy. Either way you're gonna die -- you even breathe on her, you die slowly and painfully."
The demon hesitated for a split second, but it was enough time for Alicia to grab his leg and pull him to the floor, Wyatt blowing him up on the way down.
"Nice," Henry, Jr. commented. "Marshmallow?" he held out the bag to Natalie with a smile.
"You hesitated," Natalie said to Wyatt. "He reached for her, and you hesitated..."
"Oh, come on." Alicia broke in, "I'm fine. Not a scratch."
"Sure, this time," the elder commented dryly. "This is why whitelighters are forbidden to date their charges!"
And there it is, Wyatt thought.
Alicia took one look at Wyatt's unsure expression and turned on Natalie.
"Look. You have made your opinion crystal clear, but I really don't give a rat's ass how you feel about the possibility of Wyatt and I being together. Whether or not he kissed me this morning? None of your business. You wanna give him 30 new charges to 'prove' that I can't handle him orbing of to wherever 24 hours a day? Ok by me, but he's probably going to have something to say about it. You think that Piper and Leo shouldn't have been allowed to get married, have kids...whatever. Kind of a moot point now, don't you think? I don't pretend to know what goes on in your head, but I grew up around this family. I spend weekends here when my parents are out of town. I've been here for demon-infested dinners and interrupted kisses, and if you're trying to make me think twice about a relationship with Wyatt, you're gonna have to do better than that," Alicia said with a wink, grabbing the blanket as she walked out the back door. Wyatt, Henry Jr., and Natalie's jaws hit the floor.
"Okaaay...I gotta say, Wy, I totally love her...so if you're not gonna..." said Henry Jr., as Wyatt slapped the back of his head and followed her out the door shaking his head.
Wyatt took a second to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he scanned the yard for her. After a second, he spotted her heading for the swing by the garden and smiled as he saw her curl up under the blanket and close her eyes.
"She loves you, you know..." Coop had been watching his nephew most of the evening, and decided to give him a little nudge in the right direction.
"Hmmm?" Wyatt was lost in thought, and didn't quite catch what his uncle was saying.
"He said, she loves you," Henry joined in, sharing a look with his brother-in-law.
"And you obviously want to be over there with her right now, so why aren't you?"
"She's exhausted, Uncle Coop, the last thing she needs is more talking."
"So don't talk," Henry slyly suggested.
"Uncle Henry!!!"
"I'm just sayin'..."
"He's right, kiddo...sort of. Just sit with her. Be there in case she wants to talk to you. Trust me."
Wyatt sighed, running a hand through his blond curls. Here goes...
You ok?
Yeah, bro. I'm fine.
Liar.
Shut up.
What's the problem? A few days ago you couldn't keep your hands off her! Is Natalie getting to you? We could always try and vanquish her...
Haha. I just don't wanna mess this up...I love her. And it scares the shit out of me.
Hmmm...me too. You're in love with her. Miracle of miracles.
I'll say it again...shut up.
Chris caught his eye across the yard. No snappy comeback? You're in big trouble.
Wyatt leaned over her, tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear and whispered, "Hey there. You ok?"
"Spectacular."
"Uh-huh. Want some company?"
"Sure." Alicia sat up to make room for Wyatt on the swing. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just wanted to check on you. That was quite a performance you gave in the kitchen..."
"Enjoyed that, did ya?"
You defending me? You have no idea...
"I did, as a matter of fact. And so did Henry. I believe his exact words were ' I gotta say, Wy, I totally love her.' " Wyatt chuckled remembering the look on his face.
"Hey!" She poked him with her elbow. "Is it really so hard to believe? I'm totally loveable..." She shot him a grin, and started to get up, but the look on Wyatt's face stopped her. "What?"