Chapter 34: Still Charmed & Kicking Part 1

Buffy stood beside Victor as they talked to the mourners that had come to pay their respects to Piper, Phoebe and Paige. She looked over at her sister and mother who stood before a table for Piper.

"I really appreciate you saying that," Victor said to a man who stood in front of him and Buffy. "Means a lot that you guys came by. Thank you so much."

"Victor," another man said.

"Hey," Victor said as he shook the man's hand. "Thank you for coming by, I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you."

Victor looked to Buffy and smiled. Even though she physically wasn't his granddaughter, since she was Leo's daughter. He had come in the space of a week to think of her as such.

"Pretty good turn-out, huh?" said woman as she walked up to Victor and Buffy.

Buffy sighed as she glanced at the woman and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Mom?"

"Yes," Piper replied.

"I can't believe how many leprechauns are at my urn," a woman said as she walked up to them.

"Paige?" Victor asked.

"No, I'm Phoebe, Dad," Phoebe said.

"They always had the hots for ya," Piper told Phoebe about the leprechauns.

"It's kind of creepy, but I guess you can't be too picky when you're dead," Phoebe replied.

Victor sighed. "Hey, you guys are driving me crazy, you know that?"

"Keep your voice down, will ya?" Piper said as she looked at her father and step-daughter. "And you both need to look a little more bereaved, like Joyce and Dawn are. Agent Keyes is watching."

"For mom and Dawn," Buffy said. "It's because they don't know yet. I didn't get around to telling them before they heard on the news you guys were dead. I'll tell them later after everyone leaves."

"Regardless," Phoebe said, "he'll never figure us out. How could he?"

"Hey, I still can't figure it out," Victor said as he looked to Buffy. "How can you?"

"Their voices, the glamour doesn't change how they sound just how they look," Buffy replied.

"Anyways," Piper said, "at least we're alive, and, more importantly, free."

"Yeah, but do you have to keep changing your looks all the time?" Victor asked. "I mean, just pick one and stick with it, would you?"

"Why?" Phoebe wondered. "It's fun."

Piper sighed as she looked at Buffy. "Poor Paige. Other than Xander, Willow, you, your mom and Dawn there haven't been a lot of people at her urn."

"I know," Buffy said with a sigh. "I wonder where she is. Have either of you seen her?"

"Excuse me."

Buffy frowned as she watched Janice Dickinson walk toward Paige's urn. Her Whitelighter senses were telling her that was Paige.

"Excuse me," Janice said as she pushed her way between a man and a woman in the foyer. She sauntered past Buffy, Phoebe, Victor and Piper.

"Whoa," Phoebe said. "What's Janice Dickinson doing here?"

Janice walked up to Paige's table. "Oh, Paige."

"Because it's not Janice Dickinson," Buffy said. She moved over to Janice. "Can I see you for a moment, Ms. Dickinson, in private?"

"Excuse me!" Janice said as Buffy led her into the kitchen. "What are you doing?! What is the meaning of this? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Paige," Buffy said Piper and Phoebe joined her and Janice. "Dispel the glamour. You can't fool me remember. While you hid yourself from the Elders, you didn't hide yourself from me, your girlfriend, remember?"

Janice sighed. "Oh, all right then. Fine," she said as white orb lights swirled around her to reveal Paige as more white orb lights swirled around Phoebe and Piper to reveal their real appearances. "No offense to you, your mom, Xander, Dawn or Willow, but I needed more people to cry at my funeral, didn't I?"

"We were supposed to keep a low profile," Piper said. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I obviously spent too much time in the magical world because only my girlfriend, my charges and Willow and Xander seemed to care that I'm dead. Even Giles didn't show up."

"Giles sent the flowers," Buffy said. "He's in England giving a report to the Council. That's why he couldn't make it."

"There was also your friend Glenn," Piper said.

"Yeah," Phoebe said in agreement, "Glenn was at your urn, and Ruthy our neighbor."

Piper shook her head. "No, she was just going to get coffee."

"Oh, really?" Phoebe said surprised.

Paige sighed. "My point exactly."

Just then, a man walked into the kitchen.

Phoebe gasped as he looked at them. "Oh, my God."

"We can explain. It's, um ..." Paige said.

Buffy laughed. "It's just dad."

White orb light surround the man to reveal Leo.

Phoebe let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, you scared me. I thought we were busted."

"Well, you are gonna be if you don't change back," Leo said. "What are you doing?"

"Paige," Buffy said, "is having an identity crisis."

"Oh, so it's okay for Piper to change your father into –" Paige said before frowning. "Buffy, I need you to check on your mom and Dawn."

"Why?" Piper wondered.

"Someone is calling for me," Paige said.

"Okay I'll be right back," Buffy said as she walked back into the conservatory and over to her mom and Dawn. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are either of you calling for Paige?"

"What?" Dawn practically shouted as several people looked at her.

"Dawn, lower you voice," Buffy whispered. "Paige is alive, okay. So are Piper, Phoebe and Leo. I didn't get a chance to tell either of you before you got here. And before either of you say anything this is their way of quitting. Now the reason I asked is because Paige said she was getting a call from someone."

"No," Joyce said, "since both of us believed Paige was dead till this moment, we had no reason to be calling for her."

"Okay," Buffy said as she returned to the kitchen followed by Joyce and Dawn.

Dawn smiled and hugged Paige.

"Finally told them," Buffy said.

"I'm not going to say anything about quitting," Joyce said. "Since when Paige found us; I had long since quit and mine, Buffy and Dawn's powers were bound. Paige, neither Dawn nor I were calling for you."

"So," Paige said with a sigh. "Who could it be?"

"Does that mean the Elders know she's alive?" Phoebe wondered.

"No, they can't," Piper said. "We cloaked ourselves from them."

"It could be a new charge," Leo said. "You know, a connection to one's Whitelighter is automatic, just like it was when Paige became Buffy and Dawn's."

Paige rolled her eyes.

"Okay, well, just ignore it," Piper said.

"Easy for you to say," Paige said. "You are not half Whitelighter, okay? Maybe it's one of the mourners."

Piper shook her head vigorously.

"Could be a demon out there," Paige said as she was about to rush toward the door.

"Paige," Buffy said grabbing her girlfriend's arm. "I think I would have sensed a demon if there was one."

"It makes sense though, doesn't it?" Paige asked. "I mean, they'd probably want to find out if we're really dead."

"It shouldn't matter," Joyce said. "You quit, if you really want a life without demons. You need to quit looking for demons."

"She's right," Piper agreed. "You're just gonna have to forget about it."

"Not so easy with the jingle jangle," Paige said with a sigh.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the sitting room Paul Haas walked up to Victor. "You must be devastated, Mr. Bennett," he said.

"Yeah," Victor replied.

"Especially considering how it happened. Was there ever an official cause of death?"

"Excuse me?" Victor said as a frown found its way to his face.

"Uh," Paul Haas said with a smile. "Forgive me for prying. It's just that the news always made it sound so mysterious. And with no remains ..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't get your name."

"Haas," Paul Haas said. "Paul Haas."

"And you knew my daughters how?" Victor asked. He knew that while Paige was not biologically his, he had come in the last three years to love her as if she were.

"By reputation. Tell me, did the police ever find your son-in-law by any chance? Leo?"

Victor shook his head. "No, they think he died in the accident as well."

"And now you have to raise those boys all by yourself ..." Paul Haas said as Victor nodded, "… in this huge house. If you find that you need to sell it, though, let me know. I'd be glad to help." He gave Victor a business card.

"You're a real estate agent?" Victor asked glancing at the card.

"I specialize in the moving of problem properties," Paul Haas answered. "You know, where people have died. Buyers tend to be a little queasy."

"First off," Victor answered, "the house, the club as well as the guardianship of my grandsons is held in trust for my granddaughter for when she turns eighteen in a year and a half. Second of all … Get out." He gave Paul Haas back the card.

"Again ... my condolences," Paul Haas said and he turned and walked away.

Victor sighed heavily and shook his head.

An hour later after all the mourners had left Wyatt could be heard crying.

"It's okay, sweetie," Piper said as she walked over to Wyatt. "Mommy's right here."

Wyatt looked sadly at Piper not recognizing her as she knelt down next to him.

"Wyatt, honey, what's the matter?" Piper asked.

"Mom," Buffy said as Joyce smiled at her, "he doesn't know it's you."

"Buffy's, right," Victor said in agreement as Piper stood up.

"It's okay, buddy, all right?" Leo said as he, Paige and Dawn walked over. Both he and Paige had dispelled their glamours. "Daddy's here, okay? We're all here."

White orb lights swirled around Piper and Phoebe as they dispelled their glamours.

"Mama," Wyatt said as he finally recognized Piper.

"Okay? See?" Leo said.

"Poor little guy," Phoebe said. "He's confused."

"He doesn't know what's going on," Joyce said, "neither does Chris."

"All this changing makes them nervous, I think," Victor added.

"Yeah, maybe you guys didn't exactly think this thing through," Dawn suggested.

"We didn't have time to think it through," Piper said with a sigh.

"Well, it's too late to go back now, so what do we do?" Leo asked.

"I believe there is a spell in the Book," Joyce said. "That may just solve this problem." She led them up to the attic.

Phoebe walked over to a trunk and pulled out the Book. She handed it to Joyce who set it on the pedestal.

Piper sighed. "Joyce, the more magic we use ..."

"I know," Joyce replied, "the bigger the chance demons will find out you are still alive. But I think this is a case of you need this spell to solve your problem of not being recognized by your own sons, let alone the rest of your family."

"Why?" Leo asked. "What'll it do?"

"End your confusion. All you will need to do is come up with one look, one disguise that you want to project to the rest of the world."

"You mean like a permanent permanent one?" Paige asked.

Joyce nodded. "Exactly."

"Now, how is that gonna end the confusion, especially for the boys?" Victor wondered.

"The way the spell is worded only family will see their true appearance," Joyce said. "Dawn and I will be the only ones in this room excluded from that. Buffy being Leo's daughter would still qualify."

"You and Dawn are considered family, Joyce," Piper said.

"Piper is right, Joyce," Leo said. "You are family."

"Okay," Joyce said as she looked to the sisters. "Do you have a look in mind?"

Paige closed her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, you know what?" Piper said. "Nothing flashy, either."

"Okay, ready?" Joyce asked. She turned the book to face the sisters. "One of you has to read it."

"I call upon the ancient powers," Phoebe chanted as she read from the Book, "to mask us now and in future hours. Hide us well and thoroughly, but not from those we call family."

Paige looked at her hands wondering if it worked.

"Well, anything happen?" Victor asked.

"Do we look the same?" Phoebe wondered.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah."

"Maybe it didn't work," Leo said.

Joyce smiled as she motioned toward the mirror. "The only way to tell is to see what is reflected. If it worked the glamour that anyone not in this room and not called family will see what is reflected in the mirror."

Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Piper turned and looked at their reflection in the mirror, seeing that the spell had indeed worked.

"It definitely worked," Phoebe said.

"Oh, my goodness, is that me?" Paige asked.

"Is it the you that you envisioned?" Joyce asked.

Paige nodded as she glanced at Piper. "Hey, I thought you said no flash!"

"It was the first look that came to mind," Piper said as they looked at the blonde woman that was Piper's reflection.

"I like it," Leo said.

"I like Paige's," Buffy said as she moved over to Paige and wrapped her arms around her.

"You know, this just might work," Piper said.

Suddenly Paige frowned.

"Paige?" Buffy said.

"Someone is calling for me again," Paige said. "Do you think this means something bad is gonna

happen?"