3 months later
Reese flipped to the next page of her book and sighed, absently taking a sip of her coffee and trying to drown out the bustle of the city around her. The cafe was small and warm though Reese had preferred to sit outside in the fresh air and enjoy the feel of the sun against her back as she read.
"Reese?" Reese looked up at the sweet female voice calling her name and saw Bianca smiling down at her. She tried to smile back but found it hard to be sincere, not finding it particularly easy to be around her ex-fiancé's girlfriend. It all sounded utterly strange and felt just as wrong as it always had, though time had helped Reese begin to assemble some form of a life. She had a job working as a photographer for a small magazine in the city and had begun to rent a loft not far away from the coffee shop she was currently sitting in. Reese was as determined as ever to continue her martial arts training and had begun spending three nights a week practising her Kodo and Karate.
"Hi." Reese finally greeted, trying her hardest to smile.
"Can I sit?" Bianca enquired and Reese nodded, watching as she pulled out a chair and sat, draping her bag over the arm and sitting back with a sigh.
"Do you want a coffee?" Reese asked, trying to make conversation but Bianca shook her head and smiled in thanks.
"No thanks, I was just passing by and saw you sitting here and thought I'd say hi." Bianca explained and Reese nodded again, feeling the tugging of pain at the back of her head, its dull throb new and unrelenting.
"So how is everything going? Melinda told me you found a loft just outside of the city." Bianca began, her voice happy and carefree, clearly not realising just how hard this was on Reese. Because she knew why Bianca was happy and what that meant for herself.
"Uh, yeah. Wyatt helped me move in a few weeks ago. It's pretty cosy but I like it that way." Reese replied, her mind clouding over momentarily as memories tried to pry there way to the front of her mind, images and figures, all blurred and disfigured. Something was tugging at her sub conscious, forcing her to remember just what was missing but it was just out of reach. The throbbing in her temple grew and she let out a groan despite herself and bent her head before clutching at it with her palm.
"Reese, is everything okay?" Bianca asked, her tone sounding genuinely worried and Reese looked up and gave her a reassuring smile before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a migraine."
Bianca's brows drew near though and her eyes grew dark as she said, "Reese, your bleeding."
Bianca gestured to her nose and Reese wiped at it with the back of her hand, streaking the cuff of her shirt with blood. A sudden pang of fear enveloped her and she stumbled out of her seat and grabbed her book and her bag.
"I've gotta go." She muttered, not looking up and disappearing down the street as quickly as she could. Bianca stared after her with hard eyes.
Yelling and childlike laughter rang happily through the Halliwell manor as the sound of small footsteps echoed through the front room, a three year old boy with shaggy brown hair giggling and running away from his cousin with an excited shriek. He let out a surprised 'oof!' as he collided with a pair of long legs and when he looked up he saw disapproving yet amused eyes staring back at him.
"Hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?" Chris asked, placing his large hand over the boy's mop of shaggy hair as his cousin stopped upon seeing him and smiled innocently up at his Uncle.
"Michael's a demon!" The boy said with a toothy grin, clearly amused by their game. Chris couldn't help but smile down at the green eyed boy before shaking his head.
"Patrick Wyatt Halliwell, what have I told you about running in the house!?" Reese scolded, making her way into the front room, a baby girl on her hip, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and staring down at Patrick and Michael curiously.
"Sorry Mom." Patrick said with a pout before wrapping his arms around Chris' leg and hiding behind him.
"So you should be. You woke up Melinda." Reese said, walking over to Chris who kissed Melinda on the head lovingly and took her into his arms.
"Hey bumblebee." He greeted with a smile, bouncing her up and down as Patrick stopped hiding behind Chris' leg and came to stand in front of his Mom who had crouched down to his level.
"I sorry for waking M'Linda up." Patrick apologised, sticking his thumb in his mouth. Reese smiled and put out her arms, wrapping her son in a protective hug.
"It's okay, honey. Mommy loves you very much." Reese said, kissing her son's hair before turning to Michael.
"Sweety, your Dad's in the kitchen helping Grandma cook. Can you go give them a hand?" She asked and Michael smiled and nodded, turning and sprinting for the kitchen.
"You really think it's a good idea that Wyatt teaches him to cook?" Chris asked, an amused smirk on his face as he continued to bounce baby Melinda in his arms as she made soft cooing noises, her eyes wide and curious, taking everything in.
"Anything for some peace and quiet." Reese said with a smile, pulling Patrick into her arms and kissing Chris lovingly.
"I love you." He whispered against her lips and Reese smiled again before replying, "I love you too."
Reese woke up suddenly, her head still throbbing and the doona tucked up to her chin as nausea filled her stomach. She groaned and looked up, realising Wyatt was hovering above her and had most likely woken her up.
"Wy, what are you doing here?" Reese mumbled, propping herself up on her elbows and rubbing her aching temple.
"Uh, you and I were suppose to go to Phoebe and Coop's for dinner. When you never showed I got worried and came here." Wyatt explained as Reese tried to sit up, wincing as her head throbbed phenomenally.
"Hey, you don't look so good." He added, his brows furrowing in concern at the pale quality of Reese's face and the pain in her eyes. He pressed a gentle hand against her forehead and she groaned.
"Just a migraine." Reese muttered though her head flared up with pain again as voices filled her mind.
"You shouldn't be here!" Barbas snarled, turning to face the woman before him. Her face was merely a blur to Reese even as she tried with all her power to see who the woman was.
"I wanted to make sure your plan had worked." She snapped back.
"Go now, foolish girl. They're coming! I can't have them destroy this for me." Barbas ordered and she disappeared.
"Reese? Reese!" Wyatt grasped Reese's shoulders tightly as she groaned, her eyes rolling back and blood dripping from her nose. He let his gentle healing glow envelope her but it had no effect.
"We need to get you to a hospital." Wyatt said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and lifting her from the bed and into his arms.
"No, Wyatt, wait..." Reese mumbled, grabbing his shoulder as she tried to focus.
"There was someone else there the night Barbas killed me. A woman." She explained as pain enveloped her head once more.
"What?" Wyatt stopped momentarily and stared down at Reese in disbelief.
"Wyatt, I need to know who... Take me to Phoebe." She said in a rush and Wyatt didn't protest, only nodded simply and orbed them into Phoebe and Coop's home.
"Phoebe? Coop?" Wyatt called out, laying Reese down on the couch and stroking her hair softly as another wave of pain coursed through her temple. She heard gentle footsteps padding down the stairs before both Phoebe and Coop were kneeling beside Reese, their expressions worried and confused.
"Wyatt, honey, what happened?" Phoebe asked, noticing the drying blood coming from Reese's nose and the considerable amount of pain she was in.
"I think she's having a vision. Her memories are trying to push to the surface. She asked me to bring her here." Wyatt blurted out all at once as Reese mumbled in her daze, her eyes glazed and unseeing.
"Can you help her?" Coop asked softly, taking his wife's hand and she nodded slowly before taking her hands and placing them one on either side of Reese's temples and closing her eyes.
"You shouldn't be here!" Barbas snarled, turning to face the woman before him. Her face was now as clear as day and she curled up the corners of her full lips and stared down at the witch at Barbas' feet, spluttering and dying in a pathetic heap.
"I wanted to make sure your plan had worked." She snapped back, her dark eyes blazing with impatience.
"Go now, foolish girl. They're coming! I can't have them destroy this for me." Barbas ordered and the woman took one last look at Reese, her eyes closed and her chest still before she disappeared in a swirl of particles.
Phoebe took in a startled breath and opened her eyes, her whole body frozen and shaking as Reese suddenly sat bolt upright on the couch, her eyes petrified and filled with anger, before her lips turned downward into a deep frown as a fiery hate consumed her heart.
"Bianca." She snarled.
Finally the truth is revealed! Please review, I really appreciate everyone's kind words, it really makes writing this story all the more enjoyable :)
More to come soon!
alae-megallen