Disclaimer: If I owned Charmed, I'd be a lot happier than I am.
Ch. 13:
Piper walked out of the kitchen with a towel in her hand.
"This is gonna be a little cold." She told the Beast.
She put it on his back and check the wound.
"The bleeding's not stopping." She said. "You should come home with me, and we can do more there."
"No, I can't." he replied.
"If you're worried about my sisters-" Piper said.
"It's not your sisters I'm worried about." He told her. "It's the Manticores. They'll be looking for me there. They'll be looking for him there."
"But you don't understand." She protested. "We have somebody who can heal you once we turn you back into-"
"You can't turn me back." The Beast interrupted. "No one can. Not unless I die."
He stood up and moved away, but Piper but a hand on his arm to stop him. The Beast glanced at her hand before looking back at her.
"You can't run forever, you know." She told him. "Not for long. Not with that. And who's gonna save him when you're dead?"
"You have a way with words, you know that?" he asked.
"I ad-lib a lot." She replied.
Suddenly, Paige and Phoebe orbed in, with Meredith stepping out of the shadows behind them.
"Piper, duck!" Phoebe yelled.
They threw potion vials at the Beast, but Piper blew the out of the air.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
A couple of Manticores shimmered in.
"Take her!" Meredith yelled. "I'll cover your escape."
The Manticores attacked the Beast, pushing Piper towards Paige and Phoebe before focusing on the Beast.
"Let's get her out of here." Phoebe agreed.
"No!" Piper said. "Wait!"
Paige quickly orbed herself and her sisters away and Meredith followed a second later.
When they arrived in the front hall, Piper was panicking.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.
"Saving your live." Paige replied.
"No, no, no." Piper insisted. "You don't understand. We have to go back. Hurry."
Paige orbed them back and Meredith followed with a sigh.
When they arrived back, everything was quite. The Manticores and the baby were gone and the Beast lay on the floor, beaten and broken.
"Oh, no." Piper said.
She rushed forward and knelt next to him. As she looked at him, he took a weak breath and suddenly transformed back into a man.
Paige, Phoebe, and Meredith stared at him, completely stunned.
Paige orbed her sisters and the man home, with Meredith following in the shadows.
"Leo, we need you!" Piper called as they laid the man out on the sofa.
Leo and Chris orbed in.
"Hurry." Piper told him. "He's dying."
"Who is he?" Leo asked as he rushed forward.
"The Beast." Piper replied. "Heal. Heal. Hurry."
Leo put his hands over the man and began to heal him.
"Where's the baby?" Chris asked.
"Manticores have him." Paige replied.
"Oh, so the plan worked." He said happily.
"Yeah." Phoebe replied. "A little too well."
Meredith walked over to Chris and slapped him upside the head.
"What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing the spot where she hit him.
"I told you we were missing something." She replied smugly. "Now we have to go get him back."
"What?" he shouted.
"Paige, will you go fill up some potion vials, please?" Piper asked.
"Yeah." Paige replied, walking out.
"Lots of 'em." Piper called after her.
"Hold up, are you serious?" Chris demanded. "You finally get rid of the demon child and now you want to risk your lives trying to get it back?"
"He's not a demon child." The man said, sitting up.
"He's your son." Meredith said, smiling sadly. "Am I right?"
He nodded.
"How are you feeling?" Piper asked him. "Are you all right?"
"I can't believe I'm human again." He said, amazed.
"Aren't you glad you didn't kill me now?" Piper asked.
"Not funny." Leo told her. "I don't think that's funny."
"Agreed." Chris and Meredith said at the same moment.
"Oh, what?" Phoebe said, looking at the three of them. "Are you three on, like, the same team now?" She turned to the man. "We're gonna get your baby back. I promise."
"Do we not have a say in this?" Chris asked.
"I don't even let you have a say in what movie we watch most of the time." Meredith told him. "What makes you think you're going to have any say in this?"
"One thing you gotta learn about being their Whitelighter is once they make up their mind, that's it." Leo told him. "Besides, I'm a father first."
He glanced at the man and they had a moment of understanding.
"So we're gonna have to separate the baby before we attack." Phoebe said. "You know that, right?"
"Why?" the man asked.
"Well, because the potion vanquishes Manticores." Piper said gently. "And…your son is half Manticore."
The Manticores slept in a group around the baby, who was wide awake.
A little ways away, Paige, Piper, Phoebe, and Meredith walked out of the shadows behind a large rock.
"Okay, that was weird." Paige said.
"No, orbing is weird." Meredith whispered back.
"See him?" Piper interrupted, pointing.
"Let's just hope he sees you before they see us." Phoebe said.
"Should I just orb the baby to us?" Paige asked.
"No, he'll probably just shimmer back." Piper replied.
"I could Shadow Walk to him." Meredith suggested.
"They're too close together." Piper replied. "I've got an idea, though."
"Hurry." Phoebe said to Paige, motioning for some vials. "Hurry."
Paige dug in her bag and pulled out the glass bottles, handing them to Piper, Phoebe, and Meredith.
"Thanks." Piper said before turning back to the baby. "Hi!"
The baby squealed and cooed.
"Watch!" Piper told him softly.
She covered her eyes and started to play hide and seek, just like she had with Wyatt.
"Peek-a-boo!" she called. "You can do it. Come on. Come on."
The Manticores began to stir as she covered her eyes and tried again.
"Peek-a-boo!" she called softly.
The Manticores were awake now. They got to their feet and began tasting the air.
"Come on." Piper said. "You can do it."
She covered her eyes and the baby disappeared.
The Manticores looked for the baby as Paige, Phoebe, Piper, and Meredith stood up. They spotted the women and sped towards them. Phoebe and Piper threw their vials and hit the Manticores, vanquishing them.
More Manticores sped towards them, but they all threw their potions. A little while later, after all the Manticores were gone, the baby reappeared.
"You're okay." Piper said, rushing to him. "Hi!" She picked him up. "Good job!"
"So much for nature being more important than nurture." Paige said.
They all smiled.
The man leaned over the playpen and watched his son play with Wyatt. Behind him, Piper walked up, pushing a stroller with a package on it.
"Here are some clothes and a stroller." Piper told him.
"Sure you don't mind?" he asked.
"No, not at all." She replied. "Wyatt has outgrown it all, and I don't see myself having more kids anytime soon, so enjoy."
"Thanks…" he told her. "Uh, for everything. I just-I wish there was something I could do for you."
"Well, you could tell us your name." Paige said, joining them.
"Sorry?" he asked.
"I mean, unless you prefer being called 'The Beast'?" she asked, smiling.
"Derek." He said, laughing. "My name's Derek."
"It's nice to meet you, Derek." Piper told him.
"What's his name?" Paige asked, looking at the baby.
"I-I never gave him one." Derek told her. "Actually, I never-I never had the chance."
"Well, now you do." Piper said.
"Well, I guess I should be going." He said. "That is if I can pry him away from Wyatt."
"Yeah, good luck." Piper said, chuckling.
The baby shimmered out of the playpen and into the stroller, making his father smile.
"That is cute." Paige said as the phone began to ring. "I'll get it."
She left Piper and Derek alone with the children.
"Uh, you know, if you ever need us to bind his powers…" Piper told him.
"No." he said immediately. "I mean, thanks. That's really sweet, but it's not necessary. He's a good boy, so…it's just up to me to make sure he stays that way."
"In that case, he's in good hands." Piper said, smiling. "Well, take care."
"You, too." Derek replied.
Piper watched as he pushed his son out of the room.
Paige walked in to the room, holding the phone and groaning. She looked sheepish when Piper looked at her.
"What?" her older sister demanded. "What'd you do?"
"I kinda forgot to reverse the spell I put on Darryl." Paige said, wincing.
Darryl sat in a ruined office. The door was broken, along with the file cabinet. Darryl pulled the phone away from his ear and the handset broke in half. He carefully reached over and gently tried to set it back in the receiver. Instead, the entire desk collapsed.
"Paige!" he yelled.
The Bay Mirror was closing as Phoebe walked through the bullpen. At first, she headed towards her office before turning and walking towards Jason's. She leaned against his door frame, looking at the dark, empty office.
There was a noise behind her and she turned to see Jason himself.
"Hi." She said awkwardly.
"Hi." He replied.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I-I thought you were on a plane."
"I canceled the flight." He replied. "I mean, it is my plane."
"What about the winery?" she asked.
"It'll be there in the morning." Jason replied. "I, uh, just wasn't sure whether you would be. I didn't want to take the risk."
"Really?" Phoebe asked.
"Really." He replied.
They started to walk towards each other.
"You were right." He told her. "I was-I was running, but not for the reason that you think. I am not afraid of how I feel about you. It doesn't scare me one bit."
"Then why?" she asked, puzzled.
"It's…a little unnerving to have somebody tell you how you feel all the time." He answered. "Before you know it yourself."
"I know." Phoebe said. "I'm sorry."
"You do that a lot, too." Jason told her. "You're very intuitive. It's, uh, it's pretty amazing, actually. It's a real gift."
"Yeah, well, sometimes it can be a curse, too." Phoebe replied.
"Tell me about it." He said, smiling. "Look, all I'm saying is that I'd like to be able to express my feelings if that's all right with you?"
"It's perfectly okay." Phoebe replied.
"Good." Jason said.
Phoebe smiled and stepped into his arms.
"So…." Phoebe said. "While we're on the subject…how do you feel about me?"
"I love you, too." Jason told her.
He leaned down and kissed her.
Chris found Meredith in the attic, nursing a cup of hot tea.
"Chamomile?" he guessed, sitting next to her.
"I don't know what it is," Meredith said, "but Piper still makes the best tea."
Chris chuckled as he pulled her feet up so they were across his lap.
"You were right." He told her. "I shouldn't have been so quick to want to vanquish him."
"Yeah, well I shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss your worries about his affect on Wyatt." Meredith admitted. "Even if you were wrong."
"I think there was an apology in there somewhere." Chris said.
Meredith laughed.
"Am I interrupting?"
They looked up to see Piper standing in the door.
"No, not at all." Meredith said, pulling her legs under her.
"I just had a question." She said, walking over to them. "Jenny was your daughter, wasn't she, Chris?"
Meredith, who had just taken a sip, choked.
"What makes you say that?" Chris asked warily as Meredith coughed.
"Earlier, I heard you say that you lost her too." Piper told him. "And then Meredith referred to her as 'ours'."
Meredith and Chris exchanged a look. Finally, Chris shrugged and Meredith sighed.
"Yes." Meredith replied. "Chris was Jenny's father. Outside of the two of us, and now you, no one know that."
"Okay." Piper replied, nodding. "There's something else I need to tell you."
"What?" Chris asked.
"When you told us how you wound up with us, we decided to look into where little you is now." Piper told Meredith.
"What?" Meredith asked, shocked. "Why?"
"Because more happened when you were a child then you told us." Piper replied. "Because you're a powerfully magical witch and you should be protected."
"But, how can you possibly know that I can be trusted?" Meredith asked. "I could be evil and you could be bringing me into your home."
"You could be, but I don't think so." Piper replied. "Evil can't love, and, no matter what, anyone can see that you loved Jenny. Plus, the Elders think it's a good idea."
"See, now I'm not so sure." Meredith said, making Chris laugh.
"Paige registered as a Foster Parent after we met Tyler." Piper told them.
"The Firestarter, right?" Chris asked.
"Yeah." Piper replied. "We've been trying to get a hold of your case worker in New York, but we're running into difficulties, but we'll make it happen."
"Piper…" Meredith said. "I don't know what to say."
"I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't be surprised." Piper said.
Meredith hesitated before getting up and wrapping Piper in a tight hug.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Piper smiled and returned the hug.
"You're welcome." She told the younger woman.
When Meredith pulled away, her eyes were bright.
"Don't worry about Wyatt tonight." She told Piper. "I'll take care of him."
"You don't have to." Piper told her.
"Oh, yes, I do." Meredith said, walking backwards to the door. "From what I heard, I was not a fun toddler. I'm just starting to make up for it now."
She turned and walked out.
"Thank you." Chris said softly.
"Do you love her?" Piper asked him.
"I did once." He told her. "But things went wrong. I need to trust her again before I love her again."
Piper nodded.
"Get some rest, Chris." She said, walking out.
Chris smiled before orbing out.
A/N: Let me know what you guys think.
Abbey