A/N: Thanks for the reviews. And thanks to my awesome beta: Leeese!

Disclaimer: Don't own OTH

Chapter Twenty One

Death Takes a Holiday

The next day, Nathan showed Haley the genie lamp. She examined it in amazement. She couldn't believe that she was really holding a lamp that had a genie in it. "Wow, I didn't realize that these things actually existed," she told him. "Does he really grant you three wishes?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes and I'm going to use my third wish to wish him free," he told her. "After all, he is a prisoner too. He deserves to be free just as much as you do. I just hope that he can help us with Lucas first."

"Well, there is one way to find out," Haley replied as she started to hand the lamp over to her husband. However, he stopped her. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Why don't you go first?" Nathan asked her.

Haley gave him a comforting smile. "I have you. What else would I wish for?"

Nathan knew that she had a point. "Let's see if Skills can find Lucas then," he replied before he gently took it from Haley. He then rubbed the lamp and smoke began to come out of the lamp before it formed into Skills. They exchanged smiles as Skills noticed Haley. Nathan then did the introductions. "Skills, I would like you to meet my wife, Haley. Haley, this is Skills."

Skills was impressed. "I guess this means that you don't need to check up on her anymore, does it?"

Nathan laughed. "No, it doesn't. But I still need your help." Skills was ready to listen and obey his command. "Victoria thinks that Charlene has frozen Lucas and hidden him somewhere. Do you think that you could find him and bring his tank here?"

Skills immediately protested. "I told you, Nate. I don't deal with evil witches," he told him. "You're going to have to find some other way."

"Charlene is already after us. So it won't matter when you bring Lucas here," Nathan pointed out. "Besides, I thought you would want to see Lucas again."

Skills knew that he was right. "Ok then. Make your wish."

Nathan was about to respond when Haley spoke up. "Wait a minute, do we have any idea how to get Lucas out of his frozen state?"

That hadn't even crossed Nathan's mind until she mentioned it. He thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, I think that the Scott family magic will be powerful enough to unfreeze him."

"You have to be sure, Nate. Things will go wrong if you mess up," Skills said.

Nathan gave him a look. "I'm not a beginner, Skills. I know the risks," he replied as they heard a knock at the front door. "Can you get that, Hales?" he asked her. "It should be my parents and Lily. I told them that it was safe for them to come to the cabin."

Haley nodded as she walked into the foyer. She opened the door and was relieved when she saw that it was them. Even though she was safe with Nathan, she still had that fear that Brooke would come for her again. "You're just in time. We were just about to start," Haley told them as they stepped into the cabin.

"Skills, it's nice to see you again," Karen said as they followed Haley into the living room.

Skills gave her a smile. "It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Scott."

"Mom, once I wish Lucas's tank here, how do you propose we get him out of it?" Nathan asked.

"We use our love for him, of course," Karen said. "After all, true love breaks any curse or spell."

"What if his tank is magic proof?" Nathan asked her. Now that they were putting a plan in action about Lucas's rescue, he wanted to look at it from every angle. He didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," Karen assured him. "Now let's get started. We have no time to lose."

Nathan knew that she was right. He then turned to Skills and spoke. "I wish that Lucas would be brought here."

Skills nodded. "Your wish is my command," he replied before he snapped his fingers.

Everyone was amazed when a frozen tank appeared in front of them. Karen gently peeked over the case and saw that it was indeed Lucas inside it. She tried not to get too emotional, but she couldn't help it. "I can't believe that he has been alive all these years and I never knew it."

"None of us did," Dan replied gently.

"But I'm a member of the Witches Council. I'm supposed to be on top of everything that goes on in the magical world," Karen exclaimed. "How can I keep our world safe if I'm not doing my job?"

"You were doing your job," Nathan assured her. "It's just that Charlene was good in covering up her tracks about faking Lucas's death."

Dan nodded in agreement. "Speaking of Lucas, we should get him out of that tank. Haley, why don't you find some towels or blankets? Lucas will be freezing once we get him out of there."

Haley obediently dashed off. As she gathered blankets from the hall closet, she could hear the Scott family in the next room. She couldn't help but listen as they got frustrated with their efforts to break Lucas out from his prison. She waited until they tried one last time before walking back into the room with the blankets. She saw that the Scott family was standing around Lucas's tank in a circle.

Karen frowned as she looked at Lucas's tank. "I don't understand it. True love has always worked before."

"Maybe it's not our love that will break the spell. Maybe it's his true love for Brooke," Lily suggested.

"But the problem is that his true love is an evil witch now," Nathan said as he frowned. "And Charlene knows that. Something else has to break the spell."

"What about Haley?" Lily asked them. "Doesn't she have powers? Isn't she part of the Scott family too?"

"But she doesn't even know him, does she?" Skills asked them.

"It doesn't matter if she does or not. She is part of our family now. Therefore, she can help us," Karen replied. "And it's worth a try. Haley, are you willing to help us?"

Haley nodded. "Of course I will," she replied as she took Nathan's hand and joined the circle. "What do I have to do?"

"All you have to do is close your eyes and concentrate," Karen replied as she closed her eyes. Haley and the rest of the Scott family did the same. Skills was the only one who saw the tank glow. He watched as the tank opened and Lucas floated out of it. The tank then burst into a thousand of different pieces before he gently floated onto the floor.

Everyone then opened their eyes and quickly sprung into action. Nathan bent down next to him to try and resuscitate him while Karen and Lily tried to warm him up with the blankets. Everyone held their breaths as they waited anxiously for Lucas to take a breath. After a few agonizing moments, they heard a gasp and then cough from him. They sighed in relief as Lucas looked up at his family. "What happened?" he groaned as Nathan and Dan slowly helped him up. "Where am I?" he asked as he looked around the living room. He then noticed Haley. "Who are you?"

Nathan smiled proudly as he made the introductions. "Lucas, I'd like you to meet Haley, my wife." Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's a long story. I'm not sure you would want to hear it."

Lucas frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it involves Brooke Davis," Haley replied as Lucas turned to her, interested to hear her tale.

Meanwhile, Charlene was walking up onto the front porch of a house and knocked on the door. She waited impatiently until the owner was able to come and answer the door. Finally, the door was pulled open. She glared at the person as she walked past them and into the foyer. "What the hell took you so long? We have a major problem."

"So your plan in getting Haley back on our side isn't working? What did you expect after she had met the Scotts?" the man asked her. Charlene was about to respond when the man didn't let her. "Or fell in love with Nathan Scott? It's like Deb and Keith all over again."

Charlene was finally able to speak. "Don't pin this on me, Cooper Lee," she exclaimed angrily. "If you would have discovered her affair with Keith Durham before she got pregnant, none of this would have happened."

Cooper couldn't believe that she was blaming him. "You were the one who assigned her to torture him in the first place," he pointed out as he glared back at her. "But she always was the black sheep of the family. It's not like we could really stop her." Charlene knew that was true. He then changed the subject. "So what is the problem now?" he asked her curious to know what the problem was this time.

"If it's not enough that Haley has escaped again, but now my most prized possession is missing," Charlene told him. Cooper frowned. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Scott family had managed to find him and bring him back to their house. They always were nosy when it came to other people's business. I just wish that it wasn't mine."

Cooper then raised his eyebrows. "So I assume you're here to ask your dear old brother if he has a back-up plan, right?" he asked her. Charlene didn't answer as her brother continued. "Because you are out of ideas and don't really want that prophecy to come true."

Charlene gave him a look. "Of course I don't want that prophecy to come true. If that happens, our entire reputation will be ruined. Our family won't be feared anymore." She then noticed how calm her brother was. "I don't see why you aren't more worried about this. After all, Haley knows about you."

"Because I still have faith that we will get a chance to rule over the magical world," Cooper replied.

Charlene raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Faith? Have you gone soft, brother? Faith is for stupid mortals."

Cooper just laughed as he said, "You need to relax more."

Charlene wasn't amused. "I'm sorry, but I've been too busy chasing after our niece to do that. Maybe you ought to try."

Cooper just shrugged. "You just need to continue with your plan of killing the rest of the members of the Witches Council."

Charlene shook her head. "It's not going to work now. Ever since the attack on Miranda and Ellie, Ellie has been guarded. I wouldn't be able to get near her. And I can forget about Karen and Victoria. They have been busy at the Scott house. Actually, most of their coven has since they've been preparing for the big battle for Halloween night."

Cooper then thought for a moment. "You do realize that the prophecy was talking about just Brooke and Haley, right?"

Charlene nodded as she started to understand what her brother was trying to say. "Cooper, you are a genius. I'll gather the girls and tell them that our battle will start tonight. Would you care to join us?"

"I'd love to," Cooper replied. "Don't worry, Charlene. Haley will join her family soon. And then nothing will stop us from taking over the magical world, nothing."