A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay! It's been hectic!
RandyOrtonxWifexx: Glad you're enjoying!
Anouki90: Glad you're enjoying!
lizardmomma: Glad you're enjoying!
CharmedOpal: Haha, good!
So some updates:
I'm basically preparing to wrap this fanfic up soon. That could man anywhere from 3-7 more chapters, though. This makes me really sad, because this is the last of my old fics that I will be wrapping up, and then I'll get to start posting my first new fanfic is over five years! So, sad but exciting!
I'm working on a new fic. Yay! It's called Anywhere But Here and it's awesome! I'm so proud of it!
And finally, CharmedOpal and I are attempting to co-write a new, awesome fanfic! We're just working out some kinks with who is writing it and how we are posting it, but I'll keep everyone updated as it progresses!
So, read, enjoy, and please review!
...
It had been several months since the cousins had lost their mothers. Six months, to be exact, since they had lost their mothers and become the Power of Four, and roughly nine months since Prue had first died, setting off the chain of events that led to Paige and Rebecca finding their family.
It had been a rough road, and the cousins were still reeling from it all. Every day, they tried to come up with new ideas, theories, and leads that would help them bring Piper, Phoebe, and Paige back.
Corrine had come to terms with the idea that Prue would not be allowed to come back.
Well, she told her cousins she had come to terms with it.
Inside, she ached.
She sat up at night, her mind wandering. She pictured Piper, Phoebe, and Paige coming back. She pictured the looks on her cousins' faces, their joy and tears of happiness.
She saw herself, standing in the corner, watching their reunion.
She shook the thoughts off, and went back to what she was doing: flipping through the pages in the Book of Shadows.
The cousins had become experts – more or less – at hunting demons. They certainly still had their faults and weaknesses, but they had gotten pretty good at it in the last few months.
They had especially gotten good at living together. Things had run smoothly in the mornings, with Corrine making breakfast while Melinda, Katelyn, and Rebecca got up and ready for school. They had learned to fake Piper, Phoebe, and Paige's signatures, and so far, the world was none the wiser. No one knew of the early demise of the Halliwell Sisters. No one could know.
Thankfully, it was summer now, and the cousins didn't have to worry about school again for another few months. For now, they could concentrate on refining their Wiccan skills and continue researching how to bring the Charmed Ones back from the dead.
...
"Morning," Katelyn said cheerfully to Corrine, as she made her way to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.
"Aren't you cheerful?" Corrine asked curiously, sipping coffee from what was her second cup. "It's summer and you're up early... And you're cheerful. What's up?"
Katelyn shrugged, sipping her coffee. "It's a beautiful morning. No demons have attacked in, like, a month. Excuse me for being happy about waking up to a normal morning."
"What's normal about this morning?" Melinda asked, as she and Rebecca joined the elder Halliwell cousins in the kitchen. Melinda, at least, looked groggy and Katelyn looked slightly rumpled, like she had been tossing and turning all night.
"I don't know," Corrine replied in between bites of toast. "I was just asking Katelyn that. She's too cheerful today."
Katelyn scoffed. "Seriously? In this house, being cheerful is, like, a disease, I guess." She rolled her eyes.
"No, okay, it's not," Corrine countered. "But when we get happy and hopeful, bad things happen. Please don't jinx us."
Katelyn laughed into her coffee. "How can things get worse than they already are?"
Corrine, Melinda, and Rebecca exchanged terrified looks.
"Seriously, you're like a horror movie cliché right now," Rebecca said, shaking her head. "Do you want to get us attacked?"
Katelyn's mouth dropped open. She set her coffee down on the table. "You three are way too paranoid! Seriously!"
"Nope," Melinda replied. "Not paranoid, just cautious."
Conversation slowed while they sat around eating breakfast. One by one, they left the table to dress. By the time all four of them had showered, dressed, and made their way back downstairs, an hour and a half had passed. They reconvened in the living room.
"So does anyone have any plans today?" Corrine asked, settling onto the couch.
Everyone shrugged.
"Lazy summer days," Katelyn replied with a grin.
"Well, I need to go check on P3," Melinda replied with a sigh.
They were all silent; Melinda's words a reminder that Piper wasn't around to keep her club thriving. Melinda had managed to convince Piper's employees that Piper was visiting a sick relative, and that she had been put in charge until her mother's return. It had not been easy, and it had been aided with a spell that could be labeled as personal gain, but the cousins didn't care; they had to keep their lives going, keep everyone ignorant of their current living situation. That had required a spell. If the Powers That Be wanted to challenge them, so be it.
"How is the club doing?" Corrine asked hesitantly.
Melinda looked away, shrugging. "I'm doing the best I can, but Piper needs to come home... The club needs her." She sniffled, and what she didn't say out loud was, she needed her mother. Bad.
"I'll come with you," Corrine said softly.
Melinda nodded.
"Well, Rebecca and I can do chores around the house," Katelyn offered, trying to be helpful. Rebecca nodded in agreement.
"Great," Corrine said, smiling. "So, we'll plan on maybe having lunch together? It's..." She paused, frowning at the grandfather clock. The hands weren't moving.
"Melinda... did you freeze the grandfather clock?"
Melinda frowned. "No..."
"I did."
The cousins jumped up, turning their attention in the direction of the speaker.
Corrine forced her cousins to move behind her, blocking them from whoever the man before them was.
He smiled cheerfully.
"Hello there," he said brightly, a soft British accent making his voice sound melodic.
"You know, most demons know by now not to mess with us," Melinda said menacingly, narrowing her eyes.
The man laughed, shaking his head. "Oh no, I'm not a demon. I'm the Angel of Destiny." He paused and shrugged. "Well, one of."
The cousins exchanged confused frowns.
"An Angel of Destiny? Seriously? And what makes you think we'd believe that?" Katelyn scoffed.
The Angel of Destiny smiled patiently. "Because, it's true," he said simply. He turned his attention to Rebecca. "Ask your Whitelighter to go check with the Elders, if you'd like to be certain. But I can assure you, I am who I say I am."
"Whitelighter?" Rebecca said, eyes wide. "No... I'm definitely not a Whitelighter. I have Whitelighter powers, but.. I'm more of a witch, honestly," she babbled.
The Angel of Destiny looked at her, amused. "Anywho," he began, "I have come to you with a mission, if you will. An offer, really."
Corrine narrowed her eyes. "What kind of offer?" She was suspicious, and she refused to take this joker seriously until someone she trusted said otherwise.
The Angel of Destiny waves his arm, and, in a shower of golden lights, Leo appeared beside him, looking dazed and confused.
"The kind," the Angel of Destiny said, "Where you get The Charmed Ones and their Whitelighter back."