Chapter 109: A Witch's Tail Pt. 1
Buffy, Piper and Phoebe are walking up the stairs.
"Okay, Piper, I can't be late getting to the office today. I have a radio interview with those morning guys, Pip and Skeeter." Phoebe says.
Piper nods, "That's Skip and Peter." They walk into the hallway. "Could you forget about your advice column for two seconds? Come see where we're putting the nursery."
Buffy rolls her eyes, "She means her nursery. No one's building me a nursery."
"You're putting it in your closet. I've seen your closet, there's a lot of shoes, honey." Phoebe says. "No offense Buffy but where would we put a nursery in your room. Piper had two walk in closets."
Piper shakes her head, "No, not anymore."
Buffy sighs, "I guess. It would just be nice is all."
They walk into Piper's room and into the emptied out closet.
"Look, it's perfect." Piper says.
Leo is there making a hole in the wall to fit a window.
"It's a little cramped though, don't you think?" Phoebe asks.
"That's why I'm adding a window to bring in the light and create a sense of space." Leo says.
They walk back into the bedroom.
"Aww, you guys are very cute but why are you doing all of this now? I mean, both yours and Buffy's due dates are not for months." Phoebe says.
"Well, demon activity has been light, so it's a good time to get ahead." Piper says before looking at Buffy. "Buffy don't worry once Leo is done with the nursery he said he would build you a crib and a changing table for your room."
"You did, Leo?" Buffy asks.
Leo pokes his head out of the nursery, "Yes I did Buffy. It's my gift to you."
"Thanks." Buffy says, smiling.
"Speaking of ahead, I can't believe you guys didn't notice my billboards down town." Phoebe says.
"Oh, honey, of course we noticed them. You can see them from a passing 747." Piper says as they laugh.
"We would've told you how proud we are of you, but you never slow down to give us a chance." Leo says.
"Yeah Pheebs." Buffy says.
"Well, you know, nothing perks up a girl's career like sending her husband straight to hell. Okay, well, I've seen the nursery and it's absolutely beautiful but I really have to go to that interview." Phoebe says.
"Uh, honey, I know your work is very important to you but guess what? Buffy and I are having a baby." Piper says.
Phoebe smiles, "Aw, I know."
"Yeah, so how about you take a couple of minutes to be Aunt Phoebe." Piper says.
"Oh my god, you are so right. I'm so sorry. Okay, what do you need?" Phoebe asks.
"An opinion. We we're thinking..." Buffy says.
Paige orbs in. "Positions! Bogey in three, two, one..." Suddenly, a demon wearing no shirt and a black and white mask appears. He blows a dart at Paige with a blowgun and she ducks. The dart hits a teddy bear and its head shrinks. Buffy, Piper and Phoebe gasp. Piper blows up the demon and vanquishes him. "So much for the theory that Borneo demons are impervious to magical powers. I can't wait to tell the local witch doctors."
"Okay, excuse me, can we refrain from blowing up demons in the nursery?" Leo says.
"Oh, honey, it was just one." Piper says.
Leo sighs, "Piper, you're going to be a mom and an aunt, you need to start thinking about the safety of our daughter and Buffy's." He looks to Paige. "And you, you're getting so caught up with this magical kick, I mean, look at your hair. It's so red from the potion you blew up last night."
"Do you have any idea how much this would cost in the salon?" Paige asks.
"I love your new 'do, honey, I think you look beautiful." Phoebe says as she gives Paige a quick hug. "Okay, bye."
"Thank you." Paige says.
"Honey, sweets, toots... I appreciate that you're very concerned but Buffy and I are still witches and Buffy's still a Slayer on top of that and we do still have innocents to protect and demons to fight. We can't just crawl in a hole." Piper says.
Buffy nods, "Piper's right, Leo."
Later in Piper's room, Buffy and Piper are sitting on the bed sorting through some boxes. Leo is in the closet sanding down the window frame.
"Leo, I can't believe you found all of our baby stuff." Piper says.
"Yeah where did you find mine? I didn't know mom had saved any. I know I didn't bring it with me." Buffy says.
"Grams was a bit of a pack rat." Leo says.
"Actually Buffy," Piper says. "Remember when we packed you up for the move? We only brought the essentials remember?" Buffy nods. "Some other stuff like this has been up in the attic waiting for you.
"Wow, Piper. I don't know what to say." Buffy says.
"You can thank Prue. She knew you would want the stuff. So she went back to San Francisco and had Mr. Thomas open the house and allow her to get some more stuff out. Picture albums, your baby stuff, a few mementos. The rest of the stuff is all waiting in the attic." Piper says as she pulls out a pink album. "Baby book. My baby book." She opens it up. "Oh, look how squishy I was."
Leo nods, "You were so adorable."
"Leo, you can't even see the picture." Piper says.
Buffy sighs, "You look so cute."
"Well, I'm your Whitelighter. I've been watching you ever since you were a baby." Leo says.
"Uh-huh, yeah, see that's too creepy to think about. I never knew that mom kept a baby book for me." Piper says before looking at Buffy, "What's wrong?"
"Well, why not? I mean, you started one for our daughter. I always thought you and your mum were a lot alike." Leo says as he picks up the window and tries to get it up to the frame.
Buffy shakes her head, "Nothing. Just a reminder of the fact that I missed out on so much of you guys growing up."
"It's strange to think that she went through everything I'm going through right now. I don't think you ever really know how much your mother loves you until you become one yourself." Piper says before she looks at Buffy, "Honey what happened between Aunt Joyce and Grams won't happen with us."
Buffy nods, "I know."
Leo drops the window frame and he groans in pain. "Ow!"
"Oh, are you okay?" Piper asks.
Leo nods, "Yeah."
"Here, um, why don't you let us help you?" Buffy asks as Piper nods in agreement.
"No, it's heavy." Leo says.
Buffy and Piper walks over to him, still holding the album.
"Well, see, that's kind of why we wanted to help you with it." Piper says.
"Piper… Buffy, when are you two gonna accept the fact that you both are pregnant?" Leo asks.
"When are you gonna stop being so overprotective?" Piper asks.
Leo sighs, "Look, all I'm suggesting is that you both slow down."
"Okay, Leo, Neither Buffy nor I are going to be one of those women that sits on their ass and eats Bonbons throughout their whole pregnancy. That's just not the woman you married and that's not who your sister-in-law is either. Besides, generations of Halliwell women raised perfectly normal children before us. They all got through it and so will we."
Leo shakes his head, "Not all of them."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy asks.
Leo sighs, "How far along in Piper's baby book have you gotten?" Piper flips through the rest of the book and the pages are blank. "There was no one there to finish it after your mother died."
"Oh." Piper says.
"Like I said, you are a lot like your mother. She was careless too. She thought she was invincible. She was wrong." Leo says. "And despite that I hate saying it Buffy, you're just like your mom also. She too thought she was invincible. She died fighting a demon just like Patty did."
Buffy and Piper look at each other. Neither of them had known exactly how Joyce had died. Buffy had come home and found her mother laying on the floor her eyes staring off into space.
Later Phoebe has returned from work with Mylie. Mylie is sitting on the couch in the living room while Phoebe dries Mylie's legs with a hair dryer.
Paige walks in the foyer through the front door and puts her bag and umbrella away. "Okay, I just cut work on the day of my big promotion and sped through a rainstorm to get here, what is the 9..." She walks into the living room. "…11?"
"Phoebe found a mermaid." Leo says.
"Actually, she found me. On the way to a very important court date, I might add." Phoebe says.
"Hi, I'm Mylie." Mylie says as she shakes Paige's hand. "You must be Paige. You have a very big underwater fan base."
"You're a mermaid? You guys actually exist?" Paige asks.
"Uh, excuse me. When you said, uh, sea hag, did you mean like old woman hag or evil magic hag? Because see, I'm not really in the battle mood today." Piper says.
"Neither am I to tell the truth." Buffy says.
"Uh, she's kinda both." Mylie says.
Piper sighs, "Uh-huh."
"Forget that. What's life like under the sea? Does your skin get wrinkly? Does algae pose as a personal hygiene problem." Paige says.
"Okay, guys, why don't we let her up for a little air." Leo says.
"No, it's okay, I don't mind. Actually, there's nothing like being a mermaid. Swim in the open sea all day, explore endless wonders, it's pure freedom." Mylie says.
"Sounds like heaven. I'm sure you want to get back. I can drop you off at the beach on my way..." Phoebe says.
"Wait, you don't understand. It was a great life. For the first few hundred years." Mylie says.
"Mermaids are immortal." Leo says.
Mylie nods, "Yeah, we can spend eternity at sea. Because our hearts are, well, some say are as cold as the water. But sometimes a mermaid gets lonely and her heart warms and she wants more."
"Is that what happened to you?" Paige asks.
"Mm-hmm. The ocean's floor is littered with bones of mortals who died for love. I had to know why." Mylie says.
"Now these bones, um, could they be bones of mortals that perhaps the sea hag killed?" Buffy asks.
"Buffy." Paige says.
"What?" Buffy asks.
"So you said you wanted to feel love, is that why you went to see the sea hag?" Leo asks.
Mylie nods, "Yes. If a mortal professes his love to a mermaid, she becomes human. The sea hag agreed to give me legs but if I didn't find love before her deadline I would have to give her my immortality."
"All that for a guy? Boy, did you get taken for a ride." Phoebe says.
Paige sighs, "Phoebe."
"What?" Phoebe says.
"But I did find love, I-I mean I think I did. But I might be dead before I get to find out for sure. Craig's getting on a plane to New York soon." Mylie says.
"Oh, no-no-no, this is good. Because all we gotta do is find the fish lover, get him to spill his guts and then we don't have to face the sea hag." Piper says
"Piper!" Paige says.
"What?" Piper asks.
Paige sighs, "If your boyfriend's love can make you human why don't you just tell him you're a mermaid?"
"You mean, that I'm a genetic freak with a fish tail coated in glandular slime?" Mylie asks.
"She raises a good point." Leo says.
Phoebe nods, "Yeah."
"You may be half fish, but you're still a woman and women, you know they generally know when a man's in love even before he does." Paige says.
"Oh, puh-lease! If I wrote that slop in my column I'd be driven out of town." Phoebe says.
"Okay, that is it. Can I see you three in the kitchen?" Paige says as she, Buffy, Piper and Phoebe go into the kitchen. "Okay, what is going on with you guys?"
"I'm sorry, like you need a man to be complete. That kind of thinking dates back to the days we all had tails." Phoebe says.
"Maybe Phoebe's right, maybe we just throw the mermaid back into the ocean and we keep the manor a hag-free zone." Piper says.
"I'm in agreement with Piper here." Buffy says.
"Who are you people and what have you done with my sisters?" Paige says, turning to look at Phoebe. "Let's start with you. What is going on in that head of yours?"
"I keep thinking about the court date I'm missing." Phoebe says.
"Okay, so you're dumping all over our innocent?" Paige asks.
Phoebe sighs, "I don't mean to be. Paige, I've been fighting so hard to get my life back. If Cole shows up and we're still married, then it was all for nothing. I need my freedom."
"Okay, fine. Go meet the judge, just hurry back and we'll deal with Mylie." Paige says.
Phoebe walks out of the kitchen as Leo walks in.
"Where's she going? Everything okay?" Leo asks.
Paige nods, "Yeah, Buffy, Piper and I were just about to discuss how best to vanquish the sea hag."
Buffy shakes her head, "No, you said we were gonna deal with Mylie, you didn't say anything about doing anything with the sea hag."
"Yeah that was what you said." Piper says.
"What is up with you two and these demon avoidance issues you suddenly got?" Paige asks.
"I think if we can protect Mylie and avoid a run-in with the sea hag, I'm all for that." Leo says.
"What is going on with everybody? We're talking about the sea hag, the mysterious monster of the deep blue sea, the one who's name strikes fear in the hearts of sailors everywhere." Paige says.
"Okay, somebody's been watching way too much discovery channel." Piper says.
"You're probably right but she's an interesting evil specimen. She reminds me of this water demon that I read in the book. She kills in the most fascinating way." Paige says.
"Paige." Buffy and Piper says.
"What?" Paige asks.
"We know how it kills." Buffy says.
"What'd I say?" Paige asks.
"It killed mom." Piper says.
"It's okay, you didn't know." Leo says.
"I believe Piper and I are in agreement that we don't see any sense in going up against a demon like this if we don't have to." Buffy says as Piper nod in agreement.
Paige sighs, "Okay, maybe we can get Craig to confess his love for Mylie. I'll ask her what flight he's on and maybe I can stop him from getting on that plane. But if it doesn't work we're gonna have to come up with a plan B to vanquish the sea hag."
Piper nods, "We know, Buffy and I will check both Books.
Paige leaves the kitchen.
"Are you two okay?" Leo asks.
"Yeah." Buffy and Piper says.
Later Buffy, Piper, Leo and Mylie are there watching the weather report on TV.
Piper lowers the volume. "Now the book says that the sea hag has power over her natural environment, would that be, like, rainstorms?"
Mylie nods, "Yeah. Rainstorms, hurricanes..."
"Hurricanes?" Buffy and Piper asks.
Mylie nods, "Even tidal waves."
"Leo, she said tidal waves. How far do tidal waves travel?" Buffy asks.
"Excuse us." Leo says as he, Piper and Buffy move away from Mylie. "What's gotten into you two?"
"I don't know, I just don't feel like myself." Piper says.
"Same here." Buffy says.
Leo sighs, "Well, our job is to keep the innocent calm. Do you think you two can do that while I go talk to the Elders and see if they can help us control the sea hag?"
Piper nods, "Sure."
Leo orbs out. The front door opens and Paige and Craig walk in. They walk into the living room.
Craig smiles, "Hey."
"You came." Mylie says.
Craig nods, "Yeah, Paige told me your life was in danger. What's going on?"
"I really need to know how you feel about me." Mylie says.
Craig sighs, "I can't believe we're back on this. What, are you two in on this joke or what?"
"It's no joke, you have to tell her how you feel about her, her life depends on it." Paige says.
"What is this? The delusional girls club? Come on." Craig says. "Tell me what's happening."
"I can't." Mylie says.
"You can't? You yank me out of a business meeting, your friend ambushed me at the airport, I miss my plane and you can't tell me why?" Craig says.
"No." Mylie says.
"Okay, buddy, look. You obviously wouldn't be here if you didn't care, so why don't you just tell her that you love her for crying out loud." Piper says.
"Piper, relax." Paige says.
"What?" Piper asks.
"If he does not do this then we've gotta fight the evil-" Buffy says as Paige stops her. "Person."
"You know what, I'm outta here." Craig says as he starts to leave.
"Craig wait. You wanna know what I'm hiding from you? Okay." Mylie says.
Mylie takes the flowers out of a vase and sits on the couch.
"Mylie? No, don't!" Piper says.
Mylie tips the vase water onto her legs and her legs turn into a mermaid tail. "Please don't be afraid. It's still me."
Craig backs away, frightened. "What are you? Geez." He races out the door.
A gust of wind blows in the living room and the sea hag appears.
"Did you find a vanquishing spell?" Paige asks as Buffy and Piper starts to back away. "Piper, freeze her."
Piper tries to freeze the sea hag but nothing happens. A water ball forms in the sea hag's hand. "I can't."
The sea hag throws the water ball at Paige and Paige is surrounded by a tunnel of water. The sea hag throws another ball at Buffy and she flames out. The sea hag throws another water ball at Piper and Piper ducks behind the couch. The water ball hits the wall. The sea hag turns to Mylie.
"Piper!" Mylie says as Piper stays behind the couch, frightened. Buffy equally frightened has flamed in upstairs in the attic. "Piper, help me! Piper! Help!"
Piper hears a splash of water and Paige coughing. She comes out from behind the couch.
Paige is standing there, soaking wet. "What happened to you? Where's Buffy?"
Later in the conservatory Phoebe has returned home and Buffy is back downstairs.
"She took our innocent? How could you let that happen?" Phoebe says.
"I don't know. I think I had a panic attack. I couldn't breathe or move." Piper says.
"I think I had a similar reaction I flamed out and up to the attic and Paige had to almost literally drag me back downstairs." Buffy says.
"Okay, but she took our innocent." Phoebe says.
"Let's give Piper and Buffy a break, okay." Leo says.
Piper shakes her head, "No, she's right, we froze up, Mylie's gone and it's mine and Buffy's fault."
Leo shakes his head, "No, it's not your fault. It's both Buffy and your hormones. Both of your maternal instincts are kicking in."
"More like taking over." Paige says.
Leo sighs, "It's natural for a mother to feel protective of her baby."
"But they've been handling demons ever since they got pregnant. Why the sudden change today?" Phoebe says.
"I don't think either of us knows, we just, we don't." Buffy says as Piper nods in agreement.
Paige sighs, "Let's just focus on finding Mylie. What did you get on the sea hag?"
"There's a vanquishing spell, power of three, I, I have it somewhere." Piper says.
"Okay, what about a location? Did the book say where we can find her?" Paige asks.
Buffy and Piper shrugs.
"The Elders say she keeps a cavern on a remote island. She keeps it hidden with charms and spells. The only way to track her is with a mermaid." Leo says.
"Well, unfortunately we're fresh out of those." Phoebe says.
"Okay, yeah, well, where were you when this all went down?" Buffy asks.
"I had my own demon to deal with." Phoebe says.
"The good news is, is that the sea hag can't steal Mylie's immortality unless she's willing to give it up." Paige says.
"Which could be any minute." Leo says.
"True, if she gives up hope, she might wanna die." Paige says.
Leo nods, "Alright, I'll find Craig, we may need him."
"Try the airport, he was headed to New York." Paige says.
Leo orbs out.
"Buffy and I'll try to locate the sea hag." Piper says.
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry, I might've been pushing too hard. Why don't you both let me and Paige worry about the sea hag?" Phoebe says.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, 'cause we've got to..."
"Rest. If not for both of your sakes then for my nieces. All this stress can't be good." Phoebe says.
Paige nods, "She's right."
Buffy and Piper lay down on the couches.
In the Attic Phoebe is reading through a spell Paige has written as Paige is pacing up and down. "This is really good. Adding Eastern thinking to Western wicca." Paige's phone rings. "It should definitely break through the sea hag's protective charms. Are you gonna answer your phone?"
Paige shakes her head, "Uh, no, it's my boss. I've been gone all afternoon."
"Okay, then can we turn it off?" Phoebe asks.
"Do you think it's possible to get promoted and fired on the same day?" Paige asks.
"Paige, please, just turn off the phone." Phoebe says.
"You know, maybe in our new destiny this job just isn't meant to be." Paige says.
Phoebe sighs, "Okay." She grabs the phone and slams it on the table.
"Okay, interesting. Phoebe?" Paige says.
"Mm." Phoebe says.
"What is going on?" Paige asks.
"He's back." Phoebe says.
"Who?" Paige asks.
Phoebe sighs, "Cole."
Paige frowns, "What?"
Phoebe pulls the letter opener out of her purse and shows Paige. The tip of it has been eaten away from acid. "This is his blood. Blood is not supposed to do that."
"You stabbed him?" Paige asks.
Phoebe nods, "Yeah."
"Good." Paige says.
"He wants me back. He wants me back and I just wanna run. As fast and far as I can. I swear, if I had your power, Paige, I would orb myself to a rock in the middle of the sea. He has put me through so much and I just, I don't want to go through it again." Phoebe says.
Paige sighs, "Okay, running is not the answer. Don't give him that power over you. You have built a great life for yourself."
"That doesn't matter. I'm too tired to fight him. And I don't even know if I could. He's got all these new demonic powers now." Phoebe says.
"You know what? Turn your anger towards the sea hag. After we deal with her, I'll test Cole's blood and come up with a magic way to keep him from you, okay?" Paige says.
"Okay. Thank you. Let's see if this spell that you wrote works. I will go find Piper and Buffy." Phoebe says.
Paige sighs, "Oh, Piper and Buffy. I'm kinda worried about them. They picked maybe the worst time to come up with a massive demon phobia. You think they're gonna be okay to take on the sea hag?"
"Well, I think pregnancy is an emotional time and anything can happen." Phoebe says.
Buffy and Piper walks in.
"We'll be fine. Okay, let's go, we've got a job to do." Piper says.
"You sure you two are up to it?" Paige asks
"Well, Piper at least doesn't have a choice. It's a power of three spell, right? One, two, three." Buffy says pointing at Piper, Phoebe and Paige.
"Should we wait for Leo to find Craig before we go?" Phoebe asks.
Piper shakes her head, "No, Mylie needs us now."
Phoebe hands them each a piece of paper.
"Okay, if the spell works, it should take us straight to the sea hag." Paige says.
"Powers of the witches rise, find the hag who speaks in lies, balance chakras focus chi, lead us through the cruel cruel sea." Buffy, Piper, Phoebe and Paige says.
Nothing happens but then suddenly Phoebe falls to the floor. "Whoo!"
Buffy, Piper and Paige look down to find Phoebe turned into a mermaid.
"Oh." Paige says.
Later at the beach Buffy flames in while Piper, Phoebe and Paige orb in.
Phoebe falls into the water. "Hey!"
"Sorry, couldn't hold you." Paige says.
Phoebe tries to get up.
"Phoebe, you can't stand, you don't have legs." Piper says.
"Okay, well, why me?" Phoebe says as she throws a little tantrum. "Why did I get the tail? We all said the spell together!"
"Maybe because you're the best swimmer?" Buffy says.
"Yeah, at the Y! But this is the ocean! It is very cold and I am allergic to shellfish!" Phoebe says.
Piper shakes her head, "Okay, forget that. Do you sense the sea hag? Is she close?"
"How should I know?" Phoebe asks.
"Well, maybe if you put your head underwater." Piper says.
Phoebe frowns, "And get my hair wet?"
"Phoebe, you're a mermaid." Buffy says.
Paige nods, "You should be able to sense the sea hag. My spell worked but not the way I envisioned it."
Phoebe holds her nose and dives underwater.
Leo orbs in. "I found Craig. He was on a plane on his way to New York. Why am I standing in the ocean?"
"Phoebe's a mermaid." Piper says.
"Oh. Well, that would explain it." Leo says.
Phoebe pokes out of the water. "Whoo! Dive in! The water's great."
"Phoebe, get back here this instant!" Buffy says.
Phoebe dives back under and pops back up next to them in a second flat.
"The call of the sea's intense. Just like Mylie said it was." Phoebe says.
"Well, ignore it. Did you find the sea hag?" Piper asks.
"Now that you mention it there was a stench under the water." Phoebe says.
"That could be the sewage treatment plant." Leo says.
"We'll take our chances, follow the stench." Buffy says.
"How?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy shrugs, "I don't know. Get in touch with your inner fish. And then when you find the cavern, call for Leo and we will orb and flame there."
"Okay." Phoebe says and dives back in the water and swims away.
"That's actually the most fun I've seen Phoebe have since Cole died." Paige says.
"Which time?" Leo asks.
"Good point. Okay, you guys ready? T-minus sea hag and counting. Piper… Buffy, have either of you got the power of three spell?" Paige says. "Piper… Buffy, are you two okay?"
"I'm fine. Everything's under control." Piper says.
"Yeah I'm good." Buffy says.
"She's calling. Let's go." Leo says.
"Come on, come on, let's go." Paige says.
Piper, Paige, Leo and Buffy join hands and start to orb out. Buffy and Piper lets go of their hands and Leo and Paige orb out without them. They lean against a rock, frightened.
In the sea hag's cavern Leo and Paige orb in.
"Where's Buffy and Piper?" Phoebe asks.
"Piper let go of my hand." Paige says.
"Buffy let go of mine." Leo says.
The sea hag throws a waterball at Paige and she ducks.
"Enough with the water. Shell!" Paige says.
The shell orbs into Paige's hand. It reveals a bloody spot on Mylie's chest. The sea hag flicks her arm and seaweed appears tightly around Paige. Paige drops the shell into the water. Phoebe dives down to get it. Leo grabs a sword and swings it at the sea hag. She disappears and reappears and throws a waterball at Leo. He is surrounded by a tunnel of water. Phoebe jumps out of the water and throws the auger shell at the sea hag. It attaches itself to her and she screams. She turns into a pile of dust. The tunnel of water disappears from Leo and Paige frees herself from the seaweed.
"Is everyone okay?" Phoebe asks.
Paige nods, "Yeah."
Leo goes over to Mylie. "No, she's dying."
"Can you heal her?" Phoebe asks.
Leo tries to heal Mylie but it doesn't work. "It's no use, she's not human."
"No, not yet. Get Craig, hurry." Paige says.
Leo orbs out.
"She should've stayed in the water. She could've avoided all of this." Phoebe says.
"Can we stay positive please?" Paige asks.
Moments later Leo orbs in with Craig.
"Get your hands off me!" Craig says as he looks around. "What, what just happened? Where am I?"
"Somewhere off the north Atlantic would be my gut instinct." Phoebe says.
"How... What... Who are you people?" Craig says.
"Witch." Paige says.
"Angel." Leo says.
"Mermaid." Phoebe says.
"Don't you mean witch?" Paige asks.
Craig looks at Mylie lying unconscious.
"I know this is hard to accept, but all that matters is she's dying and you can help her." Leo says.
"What can I do?" Craig asks.
"Tell her how you feel. Your love can save her." Paige says.
"My love? How can I love her? I mean, look at her. She's got a..." Craig says.
"Really beautiful heart." Leo says.
"Now you know what she is, but who she is, you've always known that." Phoebe says.
"I do love you..." Craig says.
Mylie turns human as Leo quickly takes off his coat and hands it to Craig. Craig covers Mylie's naked body as Leo heals Mylie and she wakes up. She sees Craig and smiles and they kiss.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Mylie says.
"Okay, I hate to cut this short but I can sense Piper and Buffy's panic and I think we should get back to them and let them know that everything's alright." Leo says as Paige and Leo walk over to Phoebe. "Phoebe, take my hand, I'll orb you back."
Phoebe shakes her head, "Nope, I'm staying in the ocean."
"Okay, just meet us back at the beach. You swim so fast you'll probably beat us there anyway." Paige says.
"No, I'm staying in the ocean, I'm not going back." Phoebe says.
"I don't understand." Paige says.
"Paige, it's everything that Mylie said it was. It's complete freedom." Phoebe says.
"The call of the sea. It'll turn her heart cold if she lets it." Mylie says.
"Okay, Phoebe, get out of the water." Leo says.
Phoebe backs away. "No."
"Phoebe, take my hand." Paige says.
"No!" Phoebe says.
"Phoebe, fight it!" Paige says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "I don't wanna fight it. I just wanna be free." She turns and swims away.)
"Phoebe!" Paige says.
Author's Note: I have been trying to find a way of making season five finale work. Seven BTVS Episode go together. And 4 Charmed Episode go together. Tough Love through The Gift are one right after another. They leave off where the other began. Bargaining Pt. 1 & 2 and Afterlife are one right after another. For Charmed you have Oh My Goddess Pt. 1 and 2 and then you have Vallholley of the Dolls Pt. 1 and 2. Both the BTVS season six premiere and Charmed season premiere are resolutions for the season five finales.
There is only a handful of ways of doing this. Oh My Goddess and Vallholley of the Dolls back to back and Tough Love through After Life back to back.
Or separate the episode. Do say Oh My Goddess and then Tough Love through Afterlife and then do Vallholley of the Dolls. Problem with this scenario is Piper would not be grieving during the time Buffy is dead as she would be as Paige said, in Vallholley of the Dolls, getting increasingly chipper.
I can't really put Oh My Goddess and Vallholley of the Dolls between The Gift and Bargaining. Well I guess I could if I really wanted to. It's just Buffy would not be in those four episodes. It would just be Dawn, Piper, Phoebe and Paige.
That leaves either Oh My Goddess and Vallholley of the Dolls either before or after the BTVS episodes. In the end I'm putting them after. So what you got is this Tough Love through The Gift (BTVS Season Five Finale), then Loss (an amalgamation of several different episodes detailing Buffy's funeral) then Bargaining Pt. 1 and 2 and Afterlife (BTVS Season 6 premiere) before doing Oh My Goddess (Charmed Season Five Finale) and Vallholley of the Dolls (Charmed Season Six Premiere)