Hi so here is another chapter, I hope you enjoy this one and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later. There are only six more chapters left of this story but there are more Charmed stories coming so please stay tuned.
And I want to thank you all for your patience in waiting for this chapter, there has been a lot of personal issues going on recently, hopefully they have now been resolved.
There is now only six more chapters left and these will bring us to the end of Season 7 and one episode of Season 8 (ish). I don't intend to go much into the Billie/Christie thing because I didn't like it at all and Season 8 wasn't the same as the other brilliant Seasons but I will touch on Forever Charmed a little.
Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine just this story.
Please Read and Review .
And thank you all for sticking with this story through the hard times, I appreciate that I have been a bit absent recently but rest assured I am back and so is this story.
Again in case it wasn't made clear in earlier episodes I DESPISE THE ELDERS. There were moments where I legit rooted for the Avatars. At least until...well...Anyway I always wanted the sisters to take on the Elders and finally they did in Season 7 a little.
Mother Of Invention
Chapter 24-To Much Of A Good Thing
The battle lines between the Elders and the Charmed Ones become more drawn as Leo struggles. Paige goes to the Doctor to check on somethings.
"Well you gotta give me credit, when I get pregnant strange shit happens. I always thought it would be like the last time but no! This time I turn into a wild dog and try to maim every Elder in sight and why are we at my Doctors?"
"To see if the whole turning into a pack of wild dogs thing did any damage and you know I am right to check this out. Now come on and get undressed before Piper does her nut in."
"You know she was kinda hard—"
"If you say she was kinda hard on the Elders Aunt Phoebe even I will scream. I don't think Aunt Piper was hard on them enough."
Paige sighed, Phoebe sighed. Neither one of them were big fans of the Elders but Piper was so far down the line of not a big fan that it was borderline hatred. The fact that Leo had killed one had been a shock but as Billie cleaning up their little PMS (sans Phoebe) fiasco the morning after when she had been told, had pointed out it was a miracle Piper had not blown one up.
However annoyed they were as Phoebe kept pointing out they needed the Elders to do their job. There was a new power apparently on the horizon that even Zankou was aware off and it was enough to make him nervous and if something was strong enough to make the original demon of the underworld nervous then Paige took that warning on board more so than anyone else. Considering Leo was now seeing floaty little heads and hearing voices it was very clear that soon something was wrong, very, very wrong.
But they still needed the Elders.
Piper on the other hand did not think so, last night she had plonked herself down on the couch in magic school and said if Leo was not returned to them they could clean up their own messes.
"And let us be clear" she had said every inch the stern mother. "No vanquishing, no demons, no powers. I don't care if the entire fairy population is being wiped out and they show up on my doorstep destitute I will not help them. And when the magical community calls you and comes to you and asks their Whitelighters why the Power of Three will no longer help the magical community you can tell them why. See how long the fate of the world rests in your hands then. Seriously…if I put together a spell to resurrected the Titan's in order to get my husband back then I will. If people have to die to get him back then I will write Death a note apologising for the overtime today. I don't care if there is a que to find you all and the apocalypse is nigh I will have Zankou go down to the Underworld and then them that it is a free for all with my blessing and I personally think that you will last five seconds before you come begging for our help. And the answer will be. No."
It had been impressive.
And it had been true.
"We do all need a vacation" Paige had piped up. "I was thinking the tropics. I hear that Barbados is lovely this time of year?"
Orion the head Elder looked between the three of them, four if you counted Billie as if trying to find a link. When his eyes flitted to her daughter Billie raised an eyebrow in a pointed hack she had inherited from her mother (and Paige was damn proud of that, thank you very much) and said.
"Not a chance. I stand with my Mom and I'm of a delicate age where my magic can go either way"
Funnily enough they got Leo back after that.
And no Elder could dare to cross their threshold.
It was rather peaceful.
"I don't think the bluff was smart" Phoebe said her belly straining over her coat. "I mean what if they had called it?"
"Barbados with Zankou"
"And I want to go to France"
"Ha!"
"Mom!"
"Honey I don't like the idea of you in the house alone considering what could happen, think how much I want you in another country! Not just another country but in another continent. Besides…you are not visiting Europe before I do that is a standardized rule"
Billie had pouted but that had been the end of that. Now Paige just had to make sure she didn't go and hit Zankou up for the same agreement because her partner spoilt their daughter rotten and more to the point probably didn't think Europe was that big of an issue when one was used to slumming it through the Underworld.
Phoebe got changed for her scan which went swimmingly. She was adamant that she didn't want to know the sex but it was clear that the latest round of magical issues had not caused any damage but there was a reason why Paige had insisted that they come here. She had muttered something about getting coffee and peppermint tea and slipped out the room letting Billie help Phoebe with getting dressed and she walked down the hallway to her own Doctor's office.
"Doctor Cagney?"
Doctor Cagney was a very imposing woman who kind of acted like her cop counterpart on TV Paige thought. Paige liked her because she didn't bullshit and that right now was what she needed.
"Paige"
"Any—"
"I went through all your tests and your bloodwork Paige, I went through your chart from when you had Billie…I could chastise you about what little healthcare you got back then but considering the state some teenage mothers come into this hospital with I will brush that aside for now. All in all if you are planning to have a child with the same father as your daughter as you have indicated there is nothing that should stop it from happening. All in all everything looks natural"
"Thank you" Paige said and then she ducked out into the hallway and went to find the coffee her mind spinning.
It was not that she had thought about getting pregnant again, it was not that she was pregnant again. It was that she had wondered about it. It wasn't totally Zankou. There was something about seeing little Wyatt and Chris that made her yearn for a chance to do it again herself. She had been so young the first time, so young and so inexperienced and not in the best place to have a child and yet somehow her child had grown into this amazing young woman who had taken more than her fair share of demons on, fought them and won. And now she was stable, in a stable relationship and had money in the bank and a power behind her then why shouldn't she try and do it again?
It was half fantasy and half real thought. Several things got in the way when she sat and thought about it.
First and foremost she didn't know what Zankou thought about having more children. If there was ever going to be a major snag in the plan that was it. The pain of losing, and more to the point how he had lost his first two children still wore on him, she could see it deep into the groves on his face and in the way he still looked at Billie as if he was half expecting her to disappear. She could see it on the two days of the year he didn't come to see her preferring to spend time in his underground lair. She knew that it was a terrible thing and he was the one who fully admitted that Billie was a mistake. So how he was going to feel about the fact that she wanted another child she did not know.
The second was the Elders. She knew that they were a threat now on the horizon. Gideon had ripped open a divide that everyone had pretended wasn't there and now it was gaping wide for the entire magical community to see and she knew that even if her sisters and Leo didn't want to admit it, she knew and Cole knew and Zankou knew that factions were being formed when and if this new power came for them. She did not know what was going to be said if she got pregnant with the original demon through choice rather by accident.
It was all going to be a shit show.
But at least the option was there.
Well…that was what she told herself.
"You seem…off"
"I'm fine"
"No your not…is it still…the…curse?"
"You mean period?"
"In my day we did not refer to it in such crass terms"
Paige opened her mouth to point out in his day people used chickens for money but then she propped herself on her elbow to stare at him.
"Can I ask something?"
"Of course"
"Do you…I mean…have you ever thought about having anymore children?"
There was a pause and she was aware that Zankou had gone very, very still
"Are you saying?"
"NO. I just…I was wondering…because you see…I have. I know the age gap would be huge but I…I was wondering, I see Wyatt and Chris and I think it might be nice to do it again with a bit more stability under my belt. I am just ending my twenties, I am nearing my thirties and that's the time for most mortal woman to think about it. I have a kid whose inches away from college and I don't know…I just…if I am going to do it it's now or never and I would like to do it with you"
Zankou said nothing and then suddenly he was out of bed putting on his boots and his dressing gown though why he needed his boots she didn't know. She pushed herself up and stared at him wordlessly.
"I need to go"
"You can say no if you don't want to do it"
"I need to go Paige. It's not…it's not you it's me"
"Oh God now you really are the human cliché. If you don't want a baby then don't have a baby, say it for Christ's sake"
"I DON'T KNOW" he roared and the blast of magic that came out of him sent the entire house rocking and shaking. She pushed herself up as there was the sound of running feet.
"Fuck"
"It's okay"
The door slammed open and Piper tumbled into the room Cole behind her and Zankou was gone.
She flopped back down onto the bed staring up at the ceiling and she blew out a puff of air.
Guess she had her answer then.
"What the hell just happened?" Piper asked.
"What did he do?" was Cole's question.
"Mom are you okay?"
That was Billie and it took Paige a second to realise that she was going to have to answer even though she felt close to tears by it all.
"I am fine darling" she said tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Aha?"
"Cole I am fine honest I just…your father and I have had a bit of a fight"
Cole snorted but padded back to Phoebe and the warmth of the bed.
"A fight?"
"A normal fight Piper, not one that can turn him against us, honestly it's fine"
Piper raised an eyebrow and then huffed angrily. Paige heard Chris crying from the nursery and she heard rather than watched her sister stomp off to deal with him. Leo as usual was nowhere to be found.
"Momma?"
"I'm fine darling, we just had a fight, he'll come back."
"You want some cocoa?"
Paige didn't think that what she wanted could be fixed with cocoa but suddenly she wanted to be alone even if it was for the tiniest of moments.
"White one with cream and marshmallows. And if you can find a Tom Cruise movie to fall asleep too that would be fantastic"
"On it" Billie said glad to have something to do. Paige turned and stared out the window where the moon once full and blue was now wanning and fading from sight.
She should have known by now she mused. Things always went bad when they seemed to good to be true. To much of a good thing. And the Charmed Ones were supposed to make sure the world had good things. Never themselves. Wasn't that the whole point of it all?
Didn't stop it hurting though.
Nope. It didn't stop it hurting at all.
I tend to do a mass update around the holidays so the next chapter will be after this one. '
Next Chapter-Cole goes searching for Zankou when it becomes apparent that the New Power is going for Leo. It turns into a conversation that the half demon and the original demon do not want.