Little Witch
Chapter Two
Piper listened with shock as Prue told them of her crime. She couldn't help but glance at Pheobe - her sister - as she heard than not only had Prue, her other sister, but also Cole, Pheobe's lover, had betrayed her. Then she glanced at Pippa, the result of that betrayal. Bile rose in Piper's throat as she looked at the girl. She resembled Prue with a stunning clarity.
"Okay. Sixteen years ago, I had a...I guess you could call it a relationship...with Cole Turner."
"But he's a demon!" Leo objected. Pheobe winced and Paige shushed him as Prue went on.
"Well, against all odds, we had a child. Half Halliwell, half demon. I knew about Paige - our illegitimate sister - and decided to give the baby to her, to not tell anyone about my fling with Cole or the fact that the baby was the youngest Halliwell child. But, apparently, Cole has found the baby - Pippa. Paige says he threatened to take her by force if she didn't give her up willingly. The only way she escaped was by orbing out of the alley Cole had cornered her in." They all turned to look at Paige, who was gripping the girl's shoulders and looking stoic. "When she orbed," Prue went on, "she went back to the apartment to get the girl and bring her to us. Back when Pippa was born, Paige had promised me that she'd keep her a secret unless she was in very serious danger. Now she is, and I'm sorry I never told you, and you have every right to shun me and replace me with Paige. But please, I beg of you, make sure that Pippa stays safe for me. If not for me, then for her. She's your niece."
Piper saw Pheobe swallow. She was clearly having trouble grasping all of this, and Piper couldn't blame her. She had two sons of her own - Chris and Wyatt - but then again, Chris and Wyatt weren't half-demons. They were half-Whitelighters, Leo's sons.
"I'll keep her safe from Cole," Paige said, breaking the line of silence that had followed Prue's unbelievable tale. She looked at her half-sister gratefully.
Observing the girl - Pippa - Pheobe swallowed again. "I'll take care of her too." Her voice was cracking and Piper gave her sister a you-don't-need-to-do-this look. Pheobe replied with a yes-I-do-actually look. Pippa looked confused and was looking up at Paige for some reassurance. It's understandable, Piper decided, that she'd look to Paige for reassurance. After all, she had thought Paige was her mother for the last sixteen years of her life.
Leo agreed to watch over the girl too, and then there was just Piper. "Fine, I'll watch over your stupid kid," she muttered. Pippa hissed and threw a fireball after her aunt, which Piper dodged. She was about to retaliate to the ungrateful teen (she reminded Piper of Prue at that age) when Wyatt walked in just then.