Family Reunions
The Halliwell sisters were confused.
"I fell asleep, woke up, and suddenly it's Thursday." Prue said as they met in the landing first thing in the morning.
"I don't feel so good." Phoebe said, rubbing her head while Piper scratched her arm.
"What's the matter with you?" Bella asked but Piper just shrugged.
"I don't know I itch everywhere."
"It looks like the time Prue got poison ivy." Phoebe commented.
Piper frowned. "But Prue got poison ivy at camp and-" Before Piper could finish what she was trying to say the doorbell rang.
The sisters share another confused look before heading downstairs.
When Piper opened the door, Dan was standing there with a huge smile on his face, holding a tray with bowls and cereal.
"You don't look hungry, you look confused, and you're contagious." Dan said, his smile fading.
"Dan, what are you..."
"Breakfast. You, me, here, remember?" he tried, looking put out.
"Uh, everythings a little hazy this morning." Piper told him, frowning as she tried to remember but came up with nothing.
"Well, is there anything I can do?" Dan asked not noticing when Piper's eyes widened when Leo orbed into the gap between the door and the wall.
"You can hold that thought." Piper said before freezing Dan and closing the door.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked making Piper frown.
"What are you doing here? I live here." She said before she glared. "What, are you checking up on me and Dan? I thought we talked about this!"
Leo rolled his eyes. "It has nothing to do with him. Why aren't you up at the lake?"
"What lake?" Phoebe asked as she, Prue and Bella walked into the hall.
"Look, nobody has shut down the camp, so the kids are on their way there now." Leo explained but the sisters still look confused and Leo soon understood why. "He did it, didn't he?"
"Did what?" Prue asked.
"Who did what? Who's he?" Bella asked.
"Sam, used a power, sort of like a supernatural mickey. He must of gotten it from-"
"Mom..." Prue whispered frowning.
Leo smiled. "Good, it's fading. Now, concentrate. It's sort of like remembering a dream. Okay, the lake, the demon, Sam..."
"Sam...why would he do this to us?" Bella asked once they remembered everything.
"To keep history from repeating itself." Leo told her.
"Oh!" Piper exclaimed when she remembered Dan. "Just a sec, you guys scoot. Go, go, go." She said. Her sisters rolled their eyes at her before walking into the livingroom and Leo stood back behind the door. Piper threw him one last glare before opening the front door and unfreezing Dan. "Dan, I know we said we'd do this this morning, but I'm really not feeling upto it."
"Well, I'll cook while you scratch." Dan offered and Piper was tempted but knew she had stuff to do.
"I can't, there's just some stuff, family stuff going on."
Dan smiled. "Say no more, I completely understand."
"I'd kiss you but-"
"You're contagious. Tomorrow. I'm just glad you can tell me things."
"Well, I feel like I can tell you everything." Piper said, with a not forced smile as Dan left. She closed the door with a sigh. "Except there's a demon."
"And you're a witch." Leo said and Piper looked at him blankly. He shot her an apologetic look. "Sorry, that was-"
"The truth." Piper whispered sadly as her sisters came back into the hall.
"We should get dressed." Phoebe said.
"The only place you'll be going, contagious girl, is back to bed." Prue said firmly.
"But-"
"But nothing. You just look in the Book of Shadows for this things Achilles heel."
"But what if there isn't one?"
"Then we're screwed."
"How are we doing in the plan part?" Bella asked when the got out of the car.
"I think that I just got one." Prue said.
"I love when you take charge." Phoebe said and Bella scoffed.
"On demon hunting; yes. On eveything else; no." Bella said and Prue threw her a mock glare before turning serious.
"Okay, you know that powder that Sam used on us? Maybe we should use it on the kids. Make them temporarily forget that they want to go in the water."
"And that'll keep them safe untill we find out how to dehydrate this bastard." Phoebe said and Bella nodded.
"Perfect."
"Oh!" Phoebe exclaimed when she saw the kids playing by the water. "Pre-pubescent demon food."
"Okay, you two go and keep them out of the water. Tell them anything. I'll deal with Sam."
"I knew I should've given you a stronger dose." Sam said, looking away from the axe he had been sharpening and up at Prue.
"Not only did you put my sister and me in danger but you risked innocents lives. How could you?" Prue asked.
"I did what I had to do to protect you and your sisters."
"Not that. This. All these years. How could you just sit here and watch them die? People that you were meant to protect."
"Well, in case you didn't get the memo, I'm not one of the good guys anymore."
"Part of you is. Part of you will always be."
Sam frowned at her. "I've done nothing but make your life difficult. What makes you so sure?"
"Because you saved me. You still have Whitelighter instincts Sam. You may have clipped your wings but this still gets to you, it matters."
"Only two things matter to me. I was stupid enough to leave the first and the other was taken away from me sixteen years ago."
"Then we have something in common." Prue said in agreement to the last.
"You think I choose to stay here, to watch? That, that I'd get my kicks this way? I've been waiting for you!" He told her, making her frown.
"Why?"
"I knew you'd come and I had to be here to stop you. To save you."
"Because you couldn't save mom." Prue whispered. "Sam, I need the powder and I'm going to need for you to tell me how mom was going to vanquish this thing, because I know that you know even though you wasn't her whitelighter anymore. If you're gonna defeat your demons, Sam, then you're gonna have to help us defeat the one out there. We need your help."
Sam looked at her for a second before getting up, walking over to a set of drawers and pulling out the bad full of powder.
He looked at her. "I'll try to face mine. Question is, can you face yours?"
"I can't find anything." Leo sighed as Piper came over to him carrying a washing basket.
"Well, then you don't have to stay with me. Looks of sympathy are not part of your job description." Piper said, trying to act casual.
"No."
"Um, why didn't your healing touch work? I mean, what, you can save a life but you can't cure poison ivy?"
"It's not really upto me. I can only heal when they allowe me to, when I'm meant to."
Piper frowned. "Well, why weren't you meant to help me? Why wouldn't I be meant to help my sisters?"
Leo shrugged. "There's always a reason. Maybe you're meant to be here."
Piper sighed as she started going through the washing, only stopping when she found a stack of letters.
"Dear Sam." She read. "Leo."
"What is it?"
"Letter's that mom wrote to Sam. I must've forgotten about them because of the powder." Piper said before opening the top letter. "Dear Sam. Where are you? It's been two weeks since you were last here and I wonder are you alright? Do they have you guiding someone? And I wonder when they will send you back to San Francisco. To me." She read and they were silent in shock.
"Is this a-"
"Love letter..."
"Okay, how about Red Rover?" Phoebe tried while Bella watched in amusement.
"BOOO!" They kids yelled.
"Alright, alright, how about Thumbs up, seven up?"
"BOOO!"
"Ohhh! Lanyards?" Phoebe tried again.
"Boo." Bella muttered.
"This sucks, we wanna go swimming!" One of the kids yelled and the other cheered in agreement.
Phoebe looked over at Bella who just shrugged.
"Ohh, shh, shhh." Prue said when she walked into the cabin and the kids soon went silent.
"You know, we could've done that." Bella said and Phoebe shot her a look.
"We?" she asked but Bella just smirked. "Did you get the powder?"
"Oh, I got rather more." Prue said just before Sam walked in. Phoebe glared while Bella looked indifferent, not holding anything against him.
"You didn't have to bring him." Phoebe said.
"Yes I did." Prue said, sighing as her phone rang.
"Okay, you go deal with that, we'll take care of these." Bella said and Prue nodded before leaving.
"Again, we?" Phoebe said and Bella rolled her eyes at her. Phoebe took a hand full of the powder, blowing it over the children. "Okay, now remember kids, on your ay to bed, water bad, land good, water bad, land good."
Bella smirked as she watched her sister, not noticing Sam watching her with a small smile on his face.
Piper and Leo were still sat in the kitchen, reading the letters.
"Sam, yes you were clear. My eyes were open to difficulties, the risks, but my answer is the same as it was when you were still here with me. No one understands me the way you do, no one can." Piper read.
"What I wouldn't give for what other people consider ordinary. A conversation that gets finished, a night spent uninterupted. A night spent with you." Leo read quietly.
"It's like I could've written these." Piper whispered making Leo's heart lift.
"I wish you had."
"What would it have changed? Looks like this one is about the water demon. You can't be with me up at the lake. This demon is too strong and I can't risk loosing you, not for myself or for others you protect. They must as always come first. You know I'd never face a demon if I didn't think I'd be home in time for dinner to see my girls, to see you. She never came home. When did this happen? Where was dad? What happened to Bella's dad?" Piper said in confusion.
"I think this letter answers that question." Leo said in shock as he handed Piper another letter. Piper frowned at him, not understanding what could've shocked him so much but when she read the letter herself her eyes widened.
"It's time Sam. We need to know, how was mom going to vanquish it?" Prue asked.
"I don't know, I failed, I lost her. Isn't that enough?" Sam sighed sadly but before Prue could say anything else Leo and Piper orbed in next to them.
"What are you doing here?" Bella asked.
"He loved her." Piper blurted out and Sam's eyes widened.
"What? Who loved who? What is she talking about?" Prue asked confused.
"Sam. We found the letters, Sam." Leo said and Sam sighed.
"Patty and I-"
"Fell in love." Piper said.
"In the letters she told you to stay away. Not to go to the lake." Leo said, speaking to Sam.
"But I did, I wouldn't have for anyone else. But I should've followed the rules, not fallen in love. I never would've been there. I never would've distracted her and she never would've died."
"You loved her and you blame yourself." Phoebe whispered.
"Do you blame me? Everyday I wake up and just for a second, just for a second I think maybe it didn't happen. Yes, I blame myself." Sam said while Piper's eyes wandered onto Bella.
Bella was, once again, confused. When she was younger she had thought her parents had such a great relationship, that they were together untill the day she died and then he found Renee, who he loved just as much. Of course, as she grew up she realised that it probably didn't happen that way but she still thought her dad was with her mom before she died. Had they broken up and her dad had never told her?
"There's one other thing." Piper said, her eyes still on Bella.
"What?" Prue asked.
"No." Sam whispered. "Please don't, she'll hate me."
"She deserves to know." Leo said.
"Tell her." Piper insisted but he shook his head, all the time muttering 'I can't' over and over again. "Tell her or I will."
Sam looked over at Bella who was frowned before looking back at Piper sadly. Piper sighed before looking at her baby sister. "He's your dad, Bells."
Bella stared at her for a second before shaking her head.
"No he isn't. My dad was called Charlie Swan, he wasn't a whitelighter, he-"
"He clipped his wings because your mom found out she was pregnant with you." Leo interupted. "Then your mom changed his appearance. The Elders don't watch over ex-whitelighters they would've never realised it was him. Their plan was for your mom to raise you with your sisters and for him to visit but...then your mom died and your dad took you."
"I tried moving on." Sam said, looking over at Bella pleadingly. "I found Renee and we were a family...but I missed Patty."
Bella was shaking her head with a frown on her face still not wanting to believe it.
"When I told you that I was leaving you asked me to stay. You thought it was your fault, you told me you'd tidy your room. That you wouldn't fall over and break things and you'll get better grades at school." Sam said with tears in his eyes as he remembered.
Bella finally looked up at Sam and his heart broke at the look of betrayal on her face.
"You just left! You never tried to call or even bother to write a letter! I still thought that it was my fault that you left! I waited by the front door for months, waiting for you to come back and tell me that it was a mistake! And you've been here all this time, only an hour drive away?" Bella yelled at him, years of bottled anger and resentment aimed at her long lost father all coming out.
"Bella, now really isn't the time. We have to see past our emotions to deal with this." Prue said calmly.
"Sam, what did she do?" Phoebe asked.
Sam took a deep breath, holding back tears. "I didn't see it happen. I tried to warn her and she froze me."
"Why?" Leo asked.
"Because she was trying to protect him." Piper whispered, knowing she would've done the same.
"Protecting was supposed to be my job. I couldn't help her, I don't know how I can help you, I didn't see what happened."
"I know someone who can see everything." Prue said and Phoebe's eyes widened but Prue turned to Bella.
"What?" Bella asked in disbelief. "You tiptoe around the subject of mom, you deny looking like her, you can't even go to the end of the dock because you're afraid to walk in her footsteps and now you want me to relive her last moments? How is that fair? Why does it have to be me?"
"Bella, I'm asking you to end this." Prue said firmly, looking deep into Bella's eyes.
Bella took a breath as she walked towards Sam, refusing to look at him while Sam silently begged for her to. Bella placed her hands in Sam's before she was pulled into the premonition.
Patty was running down the dock. She grabbed a power cable and looks towards the water waiting.
"Patty, look out!" Sam yelled as he ran down the beach towards her. Patty dropped the power cable and froze him, when she turned around the demon was behind her. The demon threw itself at her, entering her.
When Bella came out of the premoition she was sobbing, Sam holding onto her tightly as if he was afraid to let her go.
"Did you see her?" Piper asked quietly and Bella pushed away from Sam quickly.
"It entered her and drowned her from the inside." Bella told them, trying to stop her tears.
"Bella, in your vision, what was mom doing?" Prue asked.
"She was using something on the dock. I think it was a power cable."
"Makes sense, electricity is the only thing that seperates water particles." Piper said, clearing her throat.
"So, what do we do different?" Phoebe asked.
"Maybe nothing. Sam, would mom's plan worked if she finished it?"
"Absolutely."
"But you said her power, my power, doesn't work against the demon." Piper pointed out.
"So that's it. We use mom's plan with one difference. The witch at the end of the dock is not gonna be the one with the power to freeze." Bella said.
"It's going to be me." Prue said firmly.
"Are you ready?" Bella asked as Prue stared at the dock.
"Yeah."
"You don't have to do this." Sam said quietly.
"Yes I do."
"Just focus on the demon, not what it's about." Phoebe told her.
"Right."
"Forgot how good this feels." Sam muttered as Prue started walking towards the start of the dock.
"Really? How's it feel to be mortal?" Leo asked and Sam looked at him.
"Why do you want to know?" he asked but Leo didn't reply, just glanced at Piper who refused to meet his gaze. Sam smiled, like mother like daughter. He took a deep breath before walking over to Prue. "Let's go face our demons." He said before they started walking down to the end.
"Okay, you in the water. I know that you've been waiting for this. For me. Well, here I am, so come and get me. You took what matters most to me and as long as I live, you will never kill again." Prue whispered as she stared at the water, the power cables in her hands.
"Prue, behind you!" Bella yelled and Prue turned quickly to see the water demon rising out of the water.
The demon threw itself at her and she quickly held up the cable. Sam turned the power on and the demon slowly disappeared as it hit the power cables. Prue held her hands up, her heart in her throat, untill the demon was gone.
"It's gone." Phoebe whispered.
Prue sighed as she walked into her office the next morning to find Jack sitting at her desk.
"Um, I have something to say, okay. I have worked at Bucklands for a year and a half and in that time I have survived take overs, near bankruptcy, and superiors from hell who have tried to kill me. So, whatever it is that you're planning to do or already done, nothing and I mean nothing will surprise me." She said and he smiled.
"I just need you to sign this. It's the confirmation sheet on the Fugimotto sale." He said, holding up a sheet of paper.
Prue looked at him in surprise. "You listed me as the sales agent."
Jack shrugged. "It was your deal wasn't it?"
"You covered for me, I'm surprised. So, um, what do you say as a thank you, I take you to dinner?"
"But wouldn't that be breaking one of Prue Halliwell's rules of etiquette?"
"I've decided that even though mixing business with pleasure can have its very nasty consequences, it can also bear some fruitful rewards."
"Um, so, what's it gonna be? Nasty or fruitful?"
Prue smirked. "Well, that depends on how you do at dinner."
"Atleast fighting this demon came with a consolation prize. I mean, it didn't bring mom back but it brought her closer." Phoebe said with a smile as she stuck the letters into a photo album. "And it gave Bells her dad back."
"Don't let her hear that." Piper said warningly.
"She locked herself in the car straight after the demon was vanquished...don't you think she overreacted a little? He's still her dad."
"And he left her. Bella was always a daddy's girl and he just disappeared. She's hurt and betrayed and I think she has every right to be." Piper said and Phoebe sighed.
"She and Prue are too alike." She said and Piper smirked, knowing it was right.
"It's a good idea, Pheebs. Making a journal out of mom's letters."
"Yeah, not as good as the real thing though."
"Nothing is." Piper said before noticing Leo orb in near the kitchen. He guestered for her to follow him before heading into the kitchen. "Um, tea. You want some tea? I'm gonna go get some."
"Sure." Phoebe said, not taking her eyes off the album.
Piper quickly got up and walked to the kitchen, trying not to look to anxious.
"I don't want to interrupt." Leo said quietly.
"I think I can steep and talk at the same time. Do you want any?"
"It's just this, this whole situation you know, Sam, your mom, those letters. He loved her, like I love you."
"Leo, we've been through this before, we both know how we feel, but there are things, people involved now."
"Can you tell Dan the truth, Piper?"
Piper sighed. "That's between him and me. You and I have a job to do and I thought that we agreed to try and put that first."
"So did Sam and you mom, look at that outcome."
"You're leaving aren't you? For good this time." Piper said blankly, not sure how she was meant to feel about it.
"I don't know. But I do know we have to stop working together because I can't stop loving you. Which means I can't do my job."
"And I can't do mine. I don't know how to say goodbye."
"Don't." Leo whispered before orbing away.
Piper stood staring at the spot he had been before jumping when there was a knock at the back door. Piper frowned as she opened the door but smiled when she saw Dan standing there holding another tray.
"Dan, what are you doing at the back door?"
"Well, when I knock on the front door I never seem to make it through the thresh hold. Hungry?" he asked with a smile before noticing that she wasn't herself. "Are you okay?"
"I am just...I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I mean, you can tell me."
"I know, I'm just not very hungry."
"Come on, give it a try." Dan said, flashing her a charming smile and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
"Hello?" Bella said as she put the phone to her ear, she got no reply. "Hello?" she tried again but all she could hear was echoes. As she listened harder she could hear that the person on the other end was at an airport.
"Sam?" Bella whispered. "Is that you?"
Sam obviously didn't know what to say because it was still silent and part of Bella hoped he would just say something.
"Dad." She whispered before sighing when Sam hung up.
I know it wasn't as dramatic as the original but I wanted Sam to stay alive (for reasons that you will one day find out). Hope you enjoyed it.
R&R