Chapter Three
Wyatt lay snoring on one of the couches in front of the TV, the screen blaring out the news. His head lolled backwards over the cushions, and his feet sprawled in front of him, posing a threat to anyone crossing the room. His face was peaceful and serene, as it always was when asleep. Watching him, it would be hard to believe that the most powerful human in the world lay right there, looking every bit the lazy college student.
Suddenly, with a loud snort, Wyatt jerked awake. He looked around the room blearily, before blinking slowly. He'd fallen asleep again. It wasn't surprising, considering how late he'd been out hunting demons. Of course, that was all Chris's fault. He wouldn't have been so late if Chris would just agree to go hunting with him instead of studying. Really, the way the young man buried himself into his books, one would think he'd drown.
Wyatt rubbed at his eyes, pulling the skin around them mercilessly, before standing up and stretching. He refused to lie on the couch all day. If he needed to sleep, he'd go upstairs and nap in his bed.
Hearing some noise in the kitchen, he walked there quietly, still not completely awake yet. It was probably his mother, cooking up some of her masterpieces.
Wyatt stepped into the overheated kitchen and smiled. He was right; it was his mother making that noise. Her back was turned to him as she mixed something in a bowl; her long hair was hanging loose. Streaks of gray ran through the beautiful dark curtain. Piper had aged gracefully, and was still a very attractive woman. Her hair, which was usually straight, still shone brightly, almost as bright as her eyes, and her lean body stayed that way because of the great deal of exercise she did. The whole family was fit, in fact. With danger around every corner, they had to be. Even though Piper was nearing the age when most women would sit around and expect some grandchildren to come soon, she could still beat up a demon any day of the week.
"Hey, Mom," Wyatt said to Piper.
Piper gasped and jerked around, one hand protectively cradling the bowl she'd been mixing in, the other raised in her attacking stance.
Wyatt raised his hands. He was about to erect his shield when his mom lowered her hand and looked at him apologetically.
"Sorry, Wyatt, but you know better than to scare me," she chided him, as she grabbed the spoon she'd been using before and continued mixing.
Wyatt lowered his hands, and smiled. "Sorry, Mom," he said, before leaning against the counter and watching Piper continue her cooking. "Where is everyone?" he asked, even though he assumed the answer to his question was the usual one.
"Your father and Melinda went to Magic School already, and Chris wanted to get in some extra studying at the library," she said, not looking up at her son.
Wyatt sighed. Yes, he had assumed correctly. Leo still taught at the Magic School, having taken charge of it quite a while ago, and was now currently teaching his daughter. Melinda had been attending the school ever since she was very young, just like her brothers. Their parents had agreed that an education in magic was vital to every Halliwell. However, she'd been there longer than both boys, preferring to spend her middle and high school years there as well, instead of just her elementary. She was a hard worker, but not as much as Chris. Chris seemed to spend every single moment studying, although, he didn't study magic. In fact, the subject seemed to irritate him. Oh, he'd do it well enough, but he never seemed to be interested in it. Now that he was in college, he didn't even have time for it anymore. He was taking several classes, trying to do his best in the normal, day-to-day, subjects, instead of the supernatural ones.
Wyatt rolled his eyes as he thought about his little brother. They had used to be inseparable before, now it seemed that they kept seeing each other less and less. Of course, that was mostly because of Chris's insistence that college was a vital part of a normal life, and that doing well was important. Wyatt was in college as well, but he never took it that seriously. In fact, he was only majoring in one subject, while Chris was majoring in at least three, which was insane, in Wyatt's opinion.
"What are you cooking?" Wyatt asked his mom. Piper made the most delicious food ever, surpassing even the best five-star chefs.
"I thought I'd make some mango and coconut mousse," she said, not pausing in her mixing. "Your dad loves it," she added.
Not too long after she'd had Melinda, Piper had finally achieved her dream of opening a restaurant. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. Piper worked hard at it, and the whole family took shifts there, besides the usual staff. Some days, such as today, Piper was even able to stay at home and manage the restaurant from there. She loved her little place, and was happiest when she was working in the kitchens, but managing a restaurant was difficult, and sometimes very demanding. At least she got the occasional breaks.
Wyatt smiled at his mother, and sneaked his finger into a nearby bowl. Piper nearly slapped his hand away, but instead, decided to pretend that she hadn't seen anything. She missed her sons, who were turning into young men, and the childish act pleased her, making her feel like Wyatt was ten years old again.
Going along with the pretending, Wyatt waited until his mother was looking away before he put his mousse-covered finger into his mouth. The mousse was warm, not having been put in the freezer yet, but it was still good.
A noise alerted him to look around, and he turned only to duck an energy ball headed straight at him. Piper yelled as the ball hit the wall nearby, and dropped her bowl. Wyatt effectively eliminated the demon using the power he'd inherited from his mother.
"You ok?" he called to Piper, not taking his eyes away from his surroundings.
"Just dandy," she said, upset that a demon had to come and ruin what had been a beautiful morning.
Wyatt straightened up, and looked over at his mother, who was crestfallen at the amount of the slippery yellow substance on the floor.
"I had just cleaned that," she muttered, frustrated.
Wyatt had just opened his mouth to reply when his mother yelled, spying something right behind him. She raised her hands and blew up another demon, who had been about to destroy more of her once-pristine kitchen.
Soon, it turned into a full-out battle. More demons kept shimmering in, but they were quickly gotten rid of by the two witches. Wyatt and Piper blew up demons left and right as more of them arrived.
Then, almost as suddenly as it had started, the fight ended. Piper gazed around the kitchen, wishing that she could just clean this all up by magic, as Wyatt's brow furrowed. It was unlike demons to attack them in their own home, unless they were really strong, and these hadn't been particularly powerful.
"That was weird," he said to himself, as he began to walk out of the room.
"Wait right there, mister," his mother scolded. "You're not leaving me to clean this all up by myself."
Wyatt sighed and turned around to look Piper in the face. "Mom, a bunch of demons just attacked us. Don't you think that gets a higher priority than the kitchen?" His mother would never change.
Piper thought for a second, then nodded. "You're right, demons top kitchen." She began to follow her son, when she returned and put the mousse that had survived into the fridge. Then, she finally followed her son out of the room, heading to the attic.
(A/N) I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, and especially the appearance of Wyatt! I promise Chris will appear in the very next chapter, so keep an eye out for it. I promise it will be a very very exciting chapter, and you guys will love it.
Anyway, I wanted to mention that I took a bit of liberty with the kids' schooling. I just decided that it made sense that Piper and Leo would send their kids to magic school to learn to control their powers while young, and later let them into a regular school. Of course, I am the author of this story, so it's ok to fix some things, but I just thought I'd let you know that it isn't exactly canon.
Also, I want to thank the one marvelous person who reviewed the last chapter: Charrmed. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review.
To the rest of you guys, enjoy this chapter, please continue reading, review if you can (reviews make me super extremely happy), and I'll see you next week with the next chapter. It might be a little late, posted on Saturday instead of Friday, 'cause I'm going to be on a plane that day, but I'll get it up as soon as I possibly can. Anyway, see ya! Enjoy!