My first update of 2012 - Happy New Year everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)
Old McPiper
"Look Tessa, I know what you've been through has been really hard but the only way that we can help you is if you tell us what happened." Phoebe said as the four of them walked into the hall way.
Tessa sighed. "There's no way that you'd understand."
"Try us." Bella said softly.
"It just sounds crazy and you'll think that I'm - "
"Very brave for facing whatever it is." Phoebe interupted firmly.
"You remember that spell that we showed you in class? Well, it worked. Not liked it helped us meet guys, it helped us make guys out of animals." Tessa explained.
Prue raised an eyebrow. "And you did this from the spell in that book?"
"Yeah, and we even played back the tape that we were recording in class so we could here your corrections for the spell." Bella and Prue turned to look at Phoebe after Tessa said this and she looked away sheepishly. "But before we had a chance to chant the new version, there they were."
"Do you know what these men want from you?" The four turned towards the stairs to see Joey walked towards them, looking curious.
"I don't know. Maybe it's our fault because we tried to make them into something they're not."
"You shouldn't blame yourself." Bella told her. "It's them who's done this, not you."
"We're gonna fix this. First we have to fix you. I'll be right back." Phoebe said before walking into the kitchen, muttering to herself. "If I were hydrogen peroxide, where would I be?"
She was gone for less than a minute before Bella saw the broken window in the door. "Prue." She whispered and Prue froze.
"Phoebe?"
"Where do we keep the hydrogen peroxide?" Phoebe called back before letting out a loud scream. Prue, Bella, Joey and Tessa ran into the kitchen to see Phoebe lying on the floor, pushing a man who had a pig face off her.
"Oh my gosh." Tessa gasped. "He was one of them, except he didn't look like that."
"The spell must be wearing off." Joey said as he helped Phoebe to her feet.
Phoebe sighed. "They're starting to look and act more like animals."
"Alright, look, they have killed one of their own, there's no telling what they're gonna do or what they already have done to your friends." Prue said calmly to Tessa who looked ready to faint.
"Do you know what they want?" Bella asked.
"Phoebe." Tessa said simply and all eyes turned to the girl who looked confused.
"Me? Why do they want me for?"
"They're having fun and they wanna stay this way and Andrea told them that you'd be able to help them."
"Where are they now?" Phoebe asked and Tessa shrugged before pausing when she looked at the fridge.
"There." She said, pulling off the flier for P4. "That's where I think they'll be."
"Piper's gonna love this." Bella said sarcastically.
Prue sighed. "We'd better get going then."
"Can I come?" Joey asked hopefull.
"Erm...Joey...maybe it'll be better if you stay here." Phoebe said carefully and Joey looked down in disappointment.
"Sure." He grumbled, obviously not happy with this idea.
"Prue, the place is full of snakes." Piper said down the phone. "How am I suppose to pick out the right one? ... Did I mention I have dinner plans with Dan? ... Okay, you're five minutes away? ... Okay, as fast as you can would be good." She sighed as she hung up and Leo looked up at her.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Of course not. Prue, Bella and Phoebe have found a problem. Two of them actually and they're bringing their dates here."
"On the night when you have a date of your own, huh?" Leo said dryly.
Piper tried to ignore her ex's tone. "Just ear mark anyone looking for Phoebe."
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know if Phoebe Halliwell is anywhere around here, would you?" Ethan asked, leaning against the bar, and Piper and Leo shared a glance.
"She should be here any minute and if you'd sit down over there and don't move you'd have a perfect view." Piper said, a forced smile on her face and he shrugged before doing just that.
"You think he's..."
"Could be."
"Let me help."
Piper hesitated. "No, Leo, thank you, but now that you've lost your wings, I'm... I don't want you to get hurt."
Leo looked away from her before frowning when he saw Dan walked down the stairs. He walked away quickly, getting sick of how many times he had to see Piper loved up with Dan.
"Hey. Will you be my valentine?" Dan asked, flashing her a charming smile and she smiled back.
"I hope so. Especially after..."
"Today. Well, tonight's tonight. So let's get started."
She sighed. "Um...about that."
Dan smile faded into a sour expression. "You're kidding. Just tell me you're kidding."
"What?"
"Wait, let me guess, it's something with your sisters, or maybe you'll be vague and just say something important's come up, or my favourite of all time - it's a matter of life and death."
"Actually, what I was going to say, if you would let me, is that I'm running a little late and could you please wait for me at the bar!" Piper snapped before storming off.
"Hi guys." Leo said when he saw Prue, Phoebe, Bella and Tessa. "Piper's stressing in the alcove."
"Tessa, Leo, Leo, Tessa. Can you watch her for us for a little while please?" Phoebe asked, looking down at the pen and paper in her hand. Leo nodded.
"Yeah, sure."
"Phoebe, how are you doing with the spell?" Bella asked.
Phoebe sighed heavily. "It'd be coming a lot better if I could get my hands on a pinch of the salt of life."
"We got the salt of margaritas." Leo said and she shrugged.
"I'll take it." She said before she, Prue and Bella walked over to the alcove.
"So, who are you?" Tessa asked Leo once they were gone.
"I'm...uh...just a friend."
"Hey, how's my stressed out sister and her something?" Prue asked when they walked through the curtains to see Piper pacing.
Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, we've moved past something and straight into everything. The view sucks, I don't recommend it. How goes the battle plan?"
"We couldn't find anything in the Book of Shadows."
"Which makes sense because the animen or whatever were created by careless magic, not supernatural evil." Bella pointed out.
"So where does that leave us?" Piper asked with a frown.
"In the hands of our spellbinding sister who's writing a little hocus pocus to turn these men back into animals before they get completely out of control." Prue said.
"Easier said than done. I do not work well under pressure." Phoebe said as she continued to scribble down the spell on the note pad.
"Any sign of him?" Prue asked, ignoring Phoebe's comment.
"Well, I've been watching that one who came in looking for Phoebe but he doesn't seem so creepy." Piper said, nodding over to him. To her surprise, when her sisters looked over at Ethan, they smiled.
"Yeah, the only magic Phoebe wants to work on him is personal. That's her date." Bella said, throwing a teasing smile at Phoebe who just rolled her eyes.
Piper flushed. "Oh. Why do we seem to have a habit of gathering our men at the scene of the supernatural smack down?"
"It's part of our charm." Phoebe shrugged.
"Hey ladies." Darryl said, appearing next to them.
"Hey, Darryl. Please tell me you're here for a nice romantic evening with your wife." Piper said pleadingly but Darryl shook his head.
"No, that'd be what I'm late for."
Piper scoffed bitterly. "Join the club."
"I'm here as a friend. It's not my case but there's been a string of violent crimes in the campus, to your neighbourhood, all the way here to the parking lot. A man's stolen car is parked outside and a couple of units are on their way so..."
"Thanks for the heads up." Prue said gratefully.
Piper let out another sigh. "I'll warn security." She said as Leo and Tessa walked over to them, Leo handing Phoebe the salt.
She smiled up at him. "Oh, thanks Leo."
"Uh...Tessa says Andrea and Brooke aren't here."
"But they are." Tessa said nervously, her voice shaking as she looked back at the two men who were staring at Phoebe.
"Phoebe, so nice to smell you." One of them said but was barely hearable over the loud music.
"He just spotted me." Phoebe said, avoiding his gaze.
"Okay, how are we doing on that spell?" Prue asked quickly, closing the curtain.
"You know, you keep throwing this 'we' word around and I don't see you doing anything." Phoebe frowned.
"Wait." Darryl said, getting out his gun.
"Darryl!" Bella tried to stop him but Darryl was already making his way over to the men. Bella began to panic before she suddenly astral prokecting in front of the officer. He stopped, looking down at her wide eyed. "Darryl, wait!"
"Make us human. By the time we find your friends, they'll be dead." The snake told Bella coldly, making her freeze.
"Okay. 'Something wicked in our midst, in human form these spirits dwell...'" Phoebe said and Bella quickly astral projected back into her own body. "'Make them animals sayth the spell.'"
"Phoebe, they hid the girls. We need to keep them human until we find out where they are." Bella said as soon as the dizziness disappeared.
Phoebe noticed how quiet it had gone and peered out of the curtains, only to gasp and push them shut again.
"Okay, what's going on?" Prue asked warily.
"Um...the good news is the spell works." Phoebe tried to keep the panic out of her voice but judging by her sisters expressions she wasn't doing a very good job.
"And the bad news?"
"The spell worked on everyone."
Prue, Piper and Bella shared a glance before opening the curtain to see for themself. P4 was now full of animals.
"I don't have a permit for this kind of party."
"Old McPiper had a farm." Piper sang as she and Prue put the rabbit and snake in boxes before frowning when she heard a moo. "Was that a moo? Phoebe, fix this."
"Rome was not built in a day, Piper." Phoebe said casually and Piper glared at her.
"Yeah, but my club was ruined in a blink of an eye!"
"At least we don't have to try and figure out what species our innocence are." Bella pointed out before an argument could break out.
"Yeah, but if Tessa's right and they're not here, then what?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, before you said the spell, the snake said that if we don't make them human then the girls will die."
Piper bit her lip. "Okay, so how much time do we have?"
"Tessa said the spell lasts for twenty-four hours and they cast it at midnight, so - "
"That's in thirty-five minutes."
"Didn't Morris say something about the man's stolen car parked somewhere outside?" Prue asked thoughtfully and Piper nodded.
"Yeah, followed by the police who are on their way here right now."
Phoebe sighed sadly. "Okay, you know, I made this mess, let me clean it up. You guys have to find Brooke and Andrea because if my premonition was right - "
"As they always are." Bella interupted.
"And they probably were both bitten by that snake, which means that if they don't get medical attention they could die."
"Alright, we'll go try find something in the car, a hint that will lead us to them." Prue said after a second of silence (minus the animal noises).
"Okay, you two, you try and turn this room back and we will try to find the girls and - " Piper said but paused when a monkey kissed Phoebe on the cheek. She frowned at it as if it had personally offended her. "Go kiss someone else."
"Let's take these guys with us, make sure they don't turn human." Prue said and they picked up the boxes.
"Are you sure we've got the right ones?" Piper asked.
"Well, yeah, it was the only rabbit and snake next to each other."
"And the only two who put up a fight." Bella added as Prue and Piper started for the door...with the animals following.
"Whoa, they're fleeing. Piper, how about a little supernatural choral?" Phoebe asked quickly before relaxing when her sister froze the animals. "Okay, I would like you all to know that I'm vegetarian, okay. I have never eaten any of you." Phoebe said to the animals once Prue and Piper had gone.
"I cannot say the same." Bella said before looking innocently at Phoebe when she glared at her. "What?"
"Why do I have to carry the poisonous snake?" Prue moaned as they walked into the parking lot.
"Because you're the oldest." Piper said, as if it were obvious.
"So?"
"So you've lived a full life."
Prue stopped. "Wait, you think that's the car over there?" she asked, nodding over to the car a few feet away.
"What, you want me to ask him?" Piper asked, shaking the box, and Prue rolled her eyes.
"You know what? You're a smart ass. Come on, we don't have much time." Prue said before they walked over to the car, placing the boxes on the ground.
"Oh great." Bella muttered when the animal's unfroze. She tried to freeze them but, as usual, when she needed her powers most they decided they weren't going to work for her. She sighed.
"That's really annoying." Phoebe told her.
"Tell me about it."
"No!" Phoebe yelled suddenly, making Bella jump. She turned to see a dog eating Phoebe's herbs. "Bad dog. Icksnay on icklingay. Alright, you know what? Nobody bothers the witch, okay. If we all remain calm, I will have everything under control and back to normal, alright?"
"Are you expecting them to actually answer?"
"Nothing. Now what?" Piper asked after they were done searching the car.
"Trunk." Prue said, using her powers to open it before feeling sick at the sight in front of her. "Oh my God."
Piper moved closer to the unconscious Andrea and Brooke. "They have a pulse. It's still there but it's faint and we need to get them to the hospital now."
"Alright."
Piper suddenly let out a yelp as she was grabbed from behind. Prue turned quickly to see the snake holding onto Piper tightly and the rabbit coming her way.
"Piss off, Thumper!" She hissed angrily, throwing him backwards into a pile of boxes. She started to panic when she saw that the snake was trying to bite Piper.
"What's happening?" Piper asked, struggling against the snake's grip.
"They've reversed the spell. It must of worked on all the animals. Piper, hold on." She threw both the snake and Piper backwards into a wall.
He instantly let go off her but tried to get her again almost as quickly. She grabbed a long piece of wood and wacked him between the legs.
"How does it feel to be a man now?" she asked before punching him in the face, knocking him out. The rabbit ran over to Prue and Piper and was about to scratch them when Piper froze him. "What do you say we wake up Dr. Poison here and move him... move, uh, Thumper there right into his fangs."
But Prue shook her head. "I've got a better idea. Come on."
The snake glared angrily at the smug Halliwell sisters as he was put into the cop car.
"At least we're human for good now." The rabbit said and the snake turned his glare onto him instead.
"Shut up!"
"So it looks like they got what they wanted. They get to be treated like humans." Prue said as they watched the car drive off."
"And caged like them too." Bella smiled as Darryl walked over to them.
"You four sure are rewritting my book on public service." He sighed.
"So the girls are gonna be okay?" Piper asked concerned.
Darryl nodded. "Yeah. They're on their way to the hospital. I think you found them just in time. How did... I'm not even gonna ask."
"Remember when our biggest concern on valentines day was who to spend it with?" Prue said dryly.
Piper scoffed. "Still is."
"Yeah, maybe for you. I was dateless tonight."
"Speaking of dates - don't I have one in there?" Phoebe smiled widely before walking back into the club.
"See ya." Bella said, walking over to Prue's car.
"I'd have thought that you wanted to stay at the club." Prue frowned and Bella shook her head.
"I can't leave Joey on his own."
"You know, I never knew how exhausting not having a job could be." Prue sighed and Piper raised an eyebrow.
"Table four needs to be bust." She told her older sister.
Prue just rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm serious. No, it's like having a job just sort of made this whole charmed thing less stressful. It gave me something else to worry about."
"So the Prue of old wins out after all."
"I like being busy."
"And why mess with a good thing?"
"Yeah, I just need to find something that I love getting busy at."
"Speaking of getting busy, check out our little sister." Piper smirked, nodding over to Phoebe who was dancing very closely to Ethan and Prue pulled a face.
"Oh, my. Just hope she doesn't do eighties dancing. I'm ready to go home. Bye." She said, giving Piper one last hug before leaving the club.
Bella sighed as she walked further into the manor before freezing when she saw Joey standing by the table, looking quite proud of himself. He had set up the table for two and there was a present next to Bella's plate.
Joey watched as she looked torn between horror and amusement and started to wonder whether this was such a good idea. He chickened out. "I...erm...had nothing to do so I thought we'll have dinner. It doesn't mean anything." Joey said, trying to shrug it off while unknowingly hurting Bella. "Just two friends having dinner and I got you a present because I missed your birthday."
Bella forced a smile on her face. "Thanks." She muttered, taking off her coat before sitting down. "You know, you didn't have to get me anything."
"Well, actually, it was thanks to Prue." Joey scratched the back of his kneck as Bella opened the box to find her mother's necklace, the one she'd always loved as a little girl. Her smile became more real as she looked back up at her ex.
"Thank you."
Joey blushed before shrugging. He walked around to her and helped her put the necklace on before stepping back as if burnt. "I'll...er...go and check on the dinner." He practically ran from the room, leaving Bella watched after him in confusion.
"You're not a beck and call kind of girl, I get that." Dan said.
Piper watched him carefully. "I have a job that takes time, a family that takes time and making you and me work is gonna take time. I need to know that you're willing to deal with it with me."
"You know I am. As long as you realize who I am. Sometimes I get jealous. I wonder where you are, who you're with and that's me. You can't make me something I'm not. Work with me, yes but change me." He shook his head.
"Relationships are hard work."
"Especially on an empty stomach. Do you think we can talk about this over dinner?"
Piper smiled widely at him. "Magic words." They started for the stairs when Piper suddenly remembered that she was forgetting something. "Oh, I forgot my purse. I'll meet you outside."
She walked back to the alcove and picked up her purse, noticing that there was a card sticking out of it.
She opened it and her heart lifted when she saw that it was the same card she had seen at the shop earlier that day;
Piper, when we first met you thought I was just a handyman. Well, I'm just a handyman again. The same guy you fell in love with. The same guy who fell in love with you. For who you are, not who I think you are. Remember that and know that I'm not giving up.
She looked up at Leo who was on the other side of the club. He looked back curiously before smiling when she started walking towards him. He put down the rag he had been holding before joining her in the middle and leaning down to kiss her.
Piper suddenly snapped back into reality. She had not moved. She felt really bad - for one because it hadn't happened and for another because she wished it had. She shook her head and looked over at Leo. He was looking at her curiously again and she knew how easy it would be to play along with the day dream. To walk over to him and kiss him for real.
She just smiled and he smiled back.
R&R