Author's Note: I'm back with the next chapter. Also, sorry for the long stretch but my busy schedule has made it difficult for me to find time to continue writing. Unfortunately, we all know that other priorities come first in life but I will continue to write and post this story as my free time permits. I fully intend to stick with it until its end but I can't stick to any specific schedules for posting right now. Once again, I apologize for that inconvenience and I hope you don't lose interest.
Anyway, allow me to offer a quick thanks to all my reviewers from the last chapter. Without further delay, here is the next chapter to Revelations of the Ultimate Kind.
Chapter 24: A Little Chaos Always Hurts
Sound. Where was it? Nowhere. At least, it seemed to be virtually stagnant as far as Paige was concerned. That's what it felt like to be standing in the middle of the attic during the current moment while she assessed the pending situation. Paige's gaze shifted between her sisters and back to her parents.
After the initial surprise, everyone stood silently. Piper and Phoebe felt puzzled. Not that they didn't enjoy seeing their mother, but unannounced visitations from the afterlife weren't exactly bringing the most positive outlooks these days.
Patty slowly made her way in the direction of her eldest daughter. "Prue," she whispered and in a swift motion engulfed her in her arms.
Prue felt the heavy emotion coming from the other woman. Conflicted feelings arose within her but at the same time she felt at peace. Suddenly, most of the memories came flooding back. There were memories of a childhood spent without her mom, serving as a surrogate mother to Piper and Phoebe while growing up, all the moments she longed for her mother to be a part of her life, sharing moments in time with Patty as a Charmed One, and finally the deal made with Gideon.
"Mom!" Prue exclaimed. Tears surfaced of their own volition. She tightened the embrace.
Gently, Patty pulled back and cupped the sides of her daughter's face. She smiled with tears still glistening in her eyes. "It's so good to have you back home. I'm so sorry," her voice cracked during the apology.
"So am I," Prue admitted with pain hidden behind her eyes.
"I know," Patty uttered with a faint smile and a slight nod of her head.
Patty pulled back. They silently understood each other. Both felt responsible for the pain caused to the others who stood inside the attic alongside them but Prue wasn't about to blame her mother for something she willingly agreed to, even if she had gone along with it to protect her sisters. And in truth, she actually preferred her sisters to blame her rather than their mother because even if Patty hadn't given her consent to the decision, Prue knew herself well enough to conclude she would have done it anyway.
All three of the other sisters stood watching the emotional scene with apparent interest. Sam smiled sadly before sighing but was avoiding eye contact. However, his reaction did not go unnoticed by the sisters and Piper turned to look at Phoebe who in return gave her a slight shrug to signal she was just as confused about Sam's presence as Piper was.
"Uh, mom?" Piper finally addressed their mother. "Not that it isn't good to see you, but what are you doing here?" She looked over towards Sam. "Sam?"
Piper still felt conflicted that her mother had supported the idea of keeping them in the dark about Prue. It hurt to find out that just a few simple words of honesty could have ended so much pain and suffering. She was tempted to confront her mother about it but she knew it was neither the time nor place for it. Billie's life was at stake.
Patty sighed. Before continuing, she looked between all four daughters. She turned to Sam and gently reached out for his hand, needing every ounce of support she could to get her through this. Sam responded by squeezing her hand.
"Mom?" Phoebe pushed. Her empathy was definitely picking up on something and she wasn't so sure she was going to like it.
"Well," Patty began tentatively. "It's no secret that you girls have been kept in the dark about alot. And I realize that most of it seems pretty unfair. For all of you in different ways," she looked to each daughter. "But, please, we want you to understand that none of it was ever done with the intention to hurt any of you."
"Mom, listen," Phoebe put up her hand. "During the past weeks, we've encountered enough drama and secrets to last us our lifetimes. Whatever needs to be said please just come out and say it so we can deal with it."
Piper fell silent and folded her arms.
Patty nodded her head. "I know and I'm sorry about all that. All that your Grams and I ever wanted to do was keep you girls safe." She paused, took a deep breath, and looked to Sam. He nodded for her to continue. "Which is why Sam and I agreed that it would be better for nobody to know that he was Prue's father."
Paige let out a deep breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. In that moment, she watched looks of shock register on the faces of everybody else who was on the receiving end of the secret.
X
As they orbed in under the blue sky and bright sun, Billie immediately squinted her eyes. She had been inside the dark underworld cavern for days and her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the bright light.
"Hey, are you okay?" JD inquired as he reached a hand out to steady her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute," answered Billie. She bent over, her hands resting against her knees. Slowly, she focused and looked around at the familiar surroundings.
JD followed her gaze. "So," he began. "Why did you want to come here? What is this place?" he finally asked.
At the last minute, Billie had insisted that they change their destination from the manor to this backyard. Why? He still had no clue. He watched as Billie began walking in the direction of a big tree and he followed closely behind her.
"Because there's something important I need to find and bring back with me," she explained as she reached her destination. She stopped at the tree and bent down in front of the trunk. She ran her hands on top of the hard ground covered with grass. "Damn it. I guess digging with my hands is out of the question."
JD shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand. What are you looking for?"
Billie stood back up. Without answering his question, she began looking around for any signs of something that could be of assistance.
"If only we had a shovel," she mumbled just loud enough for JD to overhear.
"A shovel?" he questioned. "Billie, where are we?"
"I used to live here," she looked over at him. "When my sister disappeared and before my parents were killed. But before my sister was kidnapped, we buried something in the ground and it's very important I find it. I have to get it back to the Charmed Ones. They need it to constitute the Ultimate Power."
"Oh," JD nodded.
Billie looked around once again until her attention landed on the double doors leading into the basement of the house. "There!" she announced and pointed at the same time.
"Billie, wait!" JD shouted out as Billie ran towards the cellar entrance without hesitation.
Quickly, he ran to catch up with her.
X
Patty and Sam watched a variety of emotions pass over the faces of the sisters.
Paige felt a surge of relief pass through her. Finally, she didn't have to carry the weight of being the only one to know that secret. Quickly, she turned her attention over to Prue who just stood in place with what Paige would describe as a blank expression. Next, she glanced over at Piper and Phoebe.
"Excuse me?" Phoebe laughed, putting an end to the silence. "Are you trying to say that Sam is Prue's real father? No way," the denial hit her hard.
Patty was waiting on a reaction from Prue.
"I mean, what about dad?" Phoebe argued.
"Victor knows the truth," Patty admitted to Phoebe. "He did from the very beginning. Shortly after Sam and I separated to keep Prue safe, I met Victor. Your father," she nodded between Piper and Phoebe. "He was a good man. When I met him and told him, he was supportive. I was grateful to find somebody like him. I couldn't have Sam there."
"Couldn't?" Phoebe pushed.
"Yes, couldn't," Patty confirmed. "The Elders found out about our relationship when I became pregnant with Prue. The only way to keep Prue was to make an agreement with them. We both agreed to part ways and never see each other again."
Phoebe huffed with disgust. "Uh, yeah, an arrangement you obviously broke otherwise none of us would be standing here looking at Paige right now," she waved her hand to gesture towards her sister.
"Phoebe," Prue scolded. She had caught Paige flinch.
"Look, it's not a dig at Paige or anything but the fact is that mom didn't just risk you when she had her. How about what that could have meant for us?" she defended as she made reference to both her and Piper.
Paige got defensive. "Um, how about the Power of Three for the last five years?" she rolled her eyes.
"Paige, that's not what I meant," Phoebe sighed. "But those rules existed for a reason and breaking them put us at risk. It's just the truth."
"I see," Paige folded her arms. "But when Piper and Leo broke those rules, I guess then it was perfectly okay to put everyone at risk."
"Whoa!" Piper put up her hands. "Don't drag me into this."
Paige sighed and sent Piper an apologetic look.
Prue closed her eyes at the mounting tension growing in the attic. "Phoebe, just stop it," she instructed.
"No, Prue, I won't stop it!" Phoebe directed her frustration over to Prue. "We have enough to deal with right now. The Triad is coming after us. How many more times are we going to have to halt everything to deal with another family secret jumping back at us from the afterlife?"
"Um guys?" Piper lifted her finger attempting to break up the impending argument about to erupt any second now. She was ignored.
"And we are dealing with it," Prue stressed. "Wasn't that the whole point of this little magical get together?"
"Give me a break, Prue," Phoebe counterd. "You're not dealing, you're just trying to avoid this. Are you honestly going to stand there and pretend you're fine with it?"
"No, but I can't believe you're going to stand over there and play it off like this secret actually has anything to do with you!" Prue's voice rose in anger.
Prue was trying to absorb the truth regarding her parentage but she couldn't shoulder anymore guilt right now concerning what her and Paige's birth could have possibily meant for the other two sisters. She remembered the forbidden rule pertaining to whitelighters and their charges and had witnessed the struggles that Piper and Leo had gone through in order to be together.
"Oh please. Like you're in any position to be talking about secrets," Phoebe retorted. "How many years was it before you popped back up in our lives again?"
"Well, apparently not enough!" Prue countered back.
Patty heaved a sigh of guilt. She looked to Sam who only looked back with his own forlorn expression. "Girls?" she tried interjecting.
Her plea went ignored.
Paige began to fidget nervously as she watched the growing argument fester between both her sisters. She had a good hunch that she was now a witness to one of the infamous Prue/Phoebe showdowns from the past. The Halliwell life before she had entered the picture and if Phoebe's comebacks were any indication, she was definitely harboring buried resentment at Prue's decision to fake her death inspite of her claims of wanting to just move forward with the future.
"Hey, guys, can you stop?" Paige tried to protest. "Before one of you says something you'll definitely regret later. This isn't getting us anywhere."
Phoebe turned to Paige. "Well, fine, Paige. Then you can tell Prue for me that the door is right over there," she nodded at the attic door, "and that there's another one downstairs. She doesn't have to let them hit her on the way out!"
Phoebe gave Prue a snide smile and Prue was about to retort when the attempt was suddenly cut off by an unexpected participant.
"HEY!" came the loud masculine voice over the sisters.
Finally, the intervention was successful. All the sisters remained silent and focused their attention on the man standing beside their mother. Their mother's expression appeared defeated.
"If there's anyone in this room any of you should be directing your anger at, it's at the two people standing right here," Sam announced, indicating himself and Patty. "We broke the rules, we kept the secrets, and our actions created the circumstances that led to some other things none of you should have had to go through. But don't turn on each other, not now. You're still sisters. Life and time are too precious to waste. Believe us, we know," he glanced over at Patty.
The four sisters were in a somber mood.
"Is that why you and dad broke up?" Phoebe broke the silence. Her mind had been spinning with assumptions since the revelation had been revealed.
A questioning look crossed Patty's face. "Is what the reason we broke up?"
Phoebe shook her head. "Because Sam was Prue's father," she tried to clarify. "You said you weren't supposed to see Sam ever again because of Prue. Before he left us, Dad was raising Prue. You and Dad separated."
"Phoebe, your father and I had other problems. They were problems that had nothing to do with Sam," Patty stressed to her daughter.
"But he found out, right?" Phoebe pushed.
Patty was observing a sudden protective nature arising out of Phoebe for her father. Perhaps, it was a result of recent years where Victor had spent making up for lost time, which was a good thing. In addition to her passing, it had been extra hard on her daughters to grow up without a father too.
"Phoebe," Patty hesitated. "I know you love your father."
Phoebe averted her gaze.
"Finding out the identity of Sam never effected how he felt about you girls," Patty tried to reassure all of them. Including Prue," she looked to her daughter. "He considered you his daughter just as much as your sisters."
"But he still left anyway," Phoebe mumbled.
Patty approached her daughter and reached for her hands. "Phoebe, I know you want answers that will make perfect sense but I just can't give that to you. The truth is your father and I, Sam," she nodded over at him, "we weren't perfect. We made our share of mistakes and we have our own regrets. Sometimes we did what we thought was for the best when maybe it wasn't. And for that, I'm sorry."
Prue had zoned out. Sam, their mother's former whitelighter, was her father. And Victor? The man she spent so many years of her life resenting? She had suppressed her feelings and pretended not to give a damn about him. Well, it turned out that he never really owed her anything to begin with.
"Prue?" Patty tried to grab her daughter's attention.
Prue didn't respond. Instead, her mind drifted into the past and the memories that came along with it.
(Memory Flashback #1)
"Prudence, please eat your breakfast," came the stern reprimand from Grams. "You're going to be late for school."
Eight-year old Prue fiddled with her toast, dropping it back on her plate before bringing her hand up to rub at her tired eyes. "I don't want to go to school today. I'm tired," she complained.
Penny was in the process of clearing the breakfast plates of her two youngest granddaughters who were sitting at the kitchen table. After emptying the discarded food into the trash basket and placing the dishes into the sink, she looked over at her oldest granddaughter. She knew that Prue hadn't been sleeping well since Patty's passing which was completely understandable. Her nightmares had been ongoing for six months and it was interfering with her granddaughter's sleep.
"Prue, honey, you can try and take a nap when you get home. You can't miss another day of school," Grams sighed.
"But the baby won't stop crying when I sleep," pleaded Prue. "I think she's sad about mommy too. When the bad dreams come, I just tell her to go away from me but she doesn't so she gets scared like me."
Grams furrowed her brows in a worrisome fashion. "The baby, Prue?" she questioned.
Was her granddaughter sensing the baby Patty gave away? She didn't even know how that would be possible. The girls had their powers bound.
(Memory Flashback #2)
Young Prue and Piper stood at the edge of the river bank, throwing pebbles into the steady flow of passing water.
"Look daddy, I can see a fishy!" announced Prue in an excited manner, while pointing in the same direction she had been throwing rocks.
Four-year old Piper squatted down on her legs in order to get a closer look. "It's orange," her childish laugh came out.
Victor, who had taken the two girls camping for the weekend, bent down to see what had his two daughters so excited. Phoebe, the baby, was home with Patty for the weekend because she was teething and was experiencing a fever.
"Wow, look at that," replied Victor with a wide smile.
"He's swimming away," Prue sadly noted.
Prue swung her arm around her father's neck as she stood to the side of him. Victor held her close to him as she bent over and kissed his cheek.
(Memory Flashback Ends)
Prue couldn't explain why those particular memories resurfaced. What she could recall was that prior to feeling abandoned, Victor had been her father. He knew all along that he wasn't her real father but decided to keep it a secret too. Then there was Paige. A new sister she apparently always shared some kind of bond with but a sister who was still practically a stranger. Piper and Phoebe had the past five years to get to know her.
"Prue, you've been quiet about this," Patty tried to grab her daughter's attention a second time. "Is there anything you want to say?"
"It's alright to be upset with us," added Sam.
Their voices broke her train of thought. Prue lifted her eyes to meet with theirs. "Is there anything I want to say?" she shook her head incredulously. "Yeah. Piper where's that spell?" her focus shifted over to her sister.
Piper questioned Prue with her eyes.
"The spell?" Prue repeated. "The one to call a lost witch? We need to try again."
"Prue?" Patty pleaded.
"I really don't know what you expect me to say," Prue turned back on her mother. "Either of you," she shrugged looking between both Patty and Sam. "We don't have time for this anyway because Billie's life is on the line. So if you'll excuse us, we have work to do," she walked over towards Piper and the Book of Shadows.
"Right, the spell," Piper sighed. Pulling the Book of Shadows towards her, she looked for the other spell Prue had suggested before their visitors had arrived. "Phoebe, Paige?" she called out for them. "We need to do this now."
Piper knew her sister was avoiding the entire revelation but quickly decided it wasn't her place to say anything. However, the new revelation appeared to provide a better understanding. As an Elder, Gideon must have known the truth about Prue and then used it to his advantage to make Grams and their mother fall in line. Somehow, he had discovered Paige's existence and then used it to blackmail them into achieving his goal which was the obliteration of the Ultimate Power. Her stare landed directly on Prue, who pulled the Book of Shadows closer to skim over the spell.
Paige took one last glance in the direction of her parents.
With forlorn expressions, Patty and Same gave a weak smile and bid their daughter farewell before disappearing from the attic in white orbs.
The four sisters were left huddled together preparing to recite the spell.
X
Billie and JD entered the dark basement step by step until they reached the bottom cemented floor.
The cold draft caused Billie to shudder but she continued to make her way through the underground compartment. From the two small windows, rays from the sun cast a small amount of light into the shadowy atmosphere providing a dimly lit effect. JD walked ahead of her but after she walked between two wooden posts connected to the basement ceiling, she made a face while pushing aside cobwebs that immediately stuck to her hands.
"Ew, gross," she announced, rubbing her hands against her jeans. "I hate spiders."
Suddenly, something caught JD's attention. "Hey, over here."
In the side corner of a wall, a shovel was indeed hidden within the shadows. As JD approached, he also took notice of some leftover boxes, an old toolbox set that had tools scattered across the floor, and finally what appeared to be some type of gardening equipment. He grabbed for the shovel and brought it in front of him.
"We're in luck," he smiled.
Billie reached out for it. "Yeah. I only packed whatever was inside the house. I didn't get the chance to clean out the basement so I was hoping it was still down here. This other stuff belonged to my dad. My mom used to plant flower beds in front of our house."
"Sorry," JD offered. He heard the wistful tone but Billie was quick to recover her composure in front of him.
"Nothing to be sorry about," she sighed. "But, c'mon. Let's get to work. There's no time to be strolling down memory lane," she turned around to head back in the direction of the backyard.
JD followed Billie back outside and when they reached the tree, Billie slammed the shovel against the solid ground with very little results. She attempted the same unsuccessful feat a couple more times before JD stepped forward and offered to take over.
"Here, let me," he offered as he extended his hand for the shovel.
"I can do it!" Billie persisted in a stubborn manner. However, each additional attempt was only met with more failure. "Damn it," she cursed to herself before finally giving up. She blew a piece of hair away from her mouth.
JD smiled at what appeared to be her petulant nature. "Can I give it a try?"
Reluctantly, Billie handed over the shovel. She watched as he placed all his strength into slamming his foot down on the shovel as it finally pierced the surface of the dirt ground. In a playful manner, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"I so loosened that dirt for you," she gave him a faint smile.
JD smiled while scooping piles of dirt. "Sure."
However, their playful banter was short-lived when Billie suddenly found herself encompassed within a flash of bright lights. Instantly, she was gone. JD, witnessing the event, immediately threw the shovel to the ground in a panic.
"Billie!"
X
All four of the sisters made a conscious decision to momentarily block out the events from moments before.
"I hope this works, guys," Phoebe closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
All the sisters began to recite.
"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies. Come to us we call you near, come to us and settle here."
The four sisters felt the familiar breeze that would sometimes accompany the spell and almost instantly a young women appeared in bright lights, standing before them. As the lights faded away, they were able to identity the person brought to them.
"Oh my god, Billie!" Phoebe called out. She released a deep sigh of relief and ran over to pull her into a hug. "Thank god you're okay."
Paige followed closely behind. "Yeah, we were worried," she added. "We know you said you needed some space but you haven't been to class in a week. I saw your roommate and she said you haven't been back to your room and when I couldn't sense you ..." but Paige's rambling was cut short by Billie.
"Guys!" Billie shouted, putting her hands up in the air. "Look, I'm really sorry you were worried but believe me when I say that everything is far from okay," she paused to take a deep breath before finishing. "I was in the Underworld. That darklighter that's been going around killing off whitelighters cut a deal with the Triad."
"What?" Piper stepped forward with Prue to join the others.
"Yeah, he kidnapped me from the dorm and brought me to them. But JD found me. That's how I got away," Billie elaborated.
"Wait, how did JD find you?" Paige inquired.
Billie sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Long story but the darklighter isn't the worst of the news."
"He isn't?" Piper's eyes bulged, preparing herself for what was obviously going to be some pretty bad news. "So before you continue, on a scale of one to ten, how shocked should a I prepare myself to be?" she tried joking.
"I don't know. Is there a thirteen anywhere on that scale?" Billie shrugged.
"Billie," Prue interjected. "Just spill it!" Her witch status may have only been restored days ago but the suspense was still getting to her.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Gideon's alive," Billie bit down on her lip.
Billie was met with four speechless Charmed Ones and their blank stares.
"Guys. Did you hear what I said? Gideon is still alive. He's the unknown Triad member you've been trying to figure out," Billie shared.
"No, we heard you," Phoebe nodded. She turned to widen her eyes at her sisters.
"I think we're still trying to figure out if you really went to the Underworld or if you just bumped your head and paid a visit to the afterlife," Paige tried to joke.
Billie gave her an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry," Paige scrunched up her nose. "Bad joke. But I really am glad you're okay."
Billie smiled back.
Piper was still in denial. "Billie, Gideon died because Leo killed him. I know that for a fact. Although, I suppose the Underworld would be a more appropriate setting for his soul considering everything he did," she thought about it.
"Did you say he's a Triad?" Prue furrowed her brows.
"Yes. He's one of them. I have no idea how but he is," Billie nodded.
"Now how in the hell did that go and happen?" Piper let loose. "It was bad enough we had to take him on as an Elder but now we have to face him as the source of an unvanquishable evil too?" she waved her hands around.
"Unbelievable," Phoebe muttered.
"I think he also has these magical stones or whatever that are helping him out," Billie remembered to share. "Maybe that's how that darklighter has been able to use powers he shouldn't even have."
Prue listened intently. "Stones? What kind of stones?" she asked. "And how do you know that?"
"Because he used them on me," Billie explained. "The power some how kept me restrained. I heard them called Victorian or Vicerian or something like that. And they're pretty powerful whatever they are. They were able to block any of my magic from getting through."
The four sisters looked between each other unsure of what this all meant.
"Billie, how do we know it's the same Gideon?" Piper interrogated. She was hoping maybe the same name was just a coincidence.
"Well, brown hair, matching goatee," Billie began to describe. "Whiny voice," she nodded dramatically. "And except for the new shiny black robe, I'm willing to bet he hasn't changed all that much. Oh, that and the fact that he admitted to being an Elder," she smiled at the sisters. "So I don't know. What do you think?"
Ok, so small glimmer of hope dashed, thought Piper. It made sense. It fit with the entire picture. Molly's abduction over a year ago, how the Triad knew where to find Prue, and the Triad coming after the Ultimate Power.
"How is he even back?" Paige looked at Piper and Phoebe.
"I don't know," Piper shook her head. "I just don't know."
"Leo killed Gideon?" Prue inquired. She heard Piper's admisson seconds before and was curious about what had happened.
"It happened in the Underworld after Gideon kidnapped Wyatt," Piper turned to Prue. "Gideon was going to kill him and he had Barbas helping him. So Leo glamoured into Barbas, tricked Gideon so he could save Wyatt but Leo ended up killing Gideon in the process."
"Barbas?" Prue was a little stunned. "As in the demon of fear?"
Paige sighed. "Yup. The one and only." Sensing where her sister's thoughts would be, she beat her to the punch. "Another story for another time."
Prue nodded her head.
"You know what?" Phoebe brought her hand to her forehead. "Who cares how he's back. He's back. It's Gideon, former Elder turned Triad demon coming to a vanquish near you. The end."
Billie felt bad she wasn't even done. "There's more."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Good gravy! Shouldn't there be a limit on how much bad news a person is allowed to receive in one day? Jeez."
Phoebe nodded. "Just lay it on us."
"Gideon and the Triad have some plan to get rid of the kids," Billie revealed. "Apparently, they brought me there in the hopes that you guys would come looking for me. But it was all supposed to be some elaborate trap to get you but to leave the kids alone. There was something mentioned about a box but I didn't hear too much about what that meant."
Panic suddenly seized Piper. "Wyatt," she muttered under her breath.
Phoebe watched Piper suddenly turn around going into immediate search of her purse and car keys. Upon finding her purse, she reached inside grabbing for the keys. By now, she had the attention of all her sisters.
"Wait, Piper, where are you going?" Phoebe called out as Piper headed for the attic door.
Piper halted her steps before exiting and turned back around. "To dad's. He shouldn't be left alone with the kids, it's too dangerous. I'm just going to pick them up. I'll be right back, I promise," she reassured them.
"Piper, dad's not going to let anything happen to them," Phoebe argued. "And Wyatt knows how to protect himself."
"Maybe. But what about Chris and Molly?" Piper challenged. "They're not as advanced in using their powers the same way Wyatt is with his. Besides, Gideon already got to Wyatt once before. He's probably the one behind Molly's kidnapping last year. I'm not going to take any chances."
Prue felt her own worry about Molly gnaw at her. "I agree. I think the kids should be here with us until it's safe."
"Safe?" Phoebe laughed. "Prue, it's never going to be safe. In case you didn't get the memo, we're the Charmed Ones. There's going to be times that we're just going to have to trust that the kids will be okay even if we can't always be there with them. And that means putting some faith into the people around us. Like dad."
Paige added her own small tidbit into the mix. "You mean, Charmed Ones turned Ultimate Power," she quickly corrected just barely underneath her breath. Billie, who had been standing on the sidelines listening, was the only one to acknowledge it.
"Uh, yeah. By the way, speaking of that ..." Billie attempted to interject but was cut off by Prue's quick retort thrown back at Phoebe.
"Okay. Well, then what I meant to say was until it's safer," Prue bobbed her head back at her sister.
Phoebe became defensive. "No, what you meant to say was that you don't think dad can be trusted to keep them safe. Oh, but wait a minute, I forgot," she continued snidely. "He's not your father so it really doesn't matter to you. Congratulations, Prue. You finally have a real reason to kick him out of your life for good!"
Billie looked over at Prue. What did I miss while I was gone, she wondered.
"Stop!" Piper shouted across the attic. "Can we not do this, please?" she begged. "All of this is hard enough without turning on each other. So, look. I'm going to go get the kids and bring them back here because I agree with Prue on this. And Phoebe, no offense, but you're not a mother yet so I don't think you quite understand. This has absolutely nothing to do with dad," she stressed, glancing at Prue.
Prue returned a faint smile, grateful for the small show of support. Phoebe's words had stung and she was a little taken aback by the recent backlash.
"Wait, but I'm not finished yet, " came Billie's objection.
Piper sighed. "Billie, just finish telling them everything and fill me in on the rest when I get back," she suggested. "And guys? Try to keep the fighting to a minimum." She huffed and exited the attic in a hurry.
Phoebe turned to Prue. "Prue, look, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean that about dad."
Prue nodded accepting her apology.
"It's just that with everything going on lately. Finding out about Billie, then you, and now Coop," Phoebe opened up.
"What about Coop?" Paige inserted.
"Some things about his past are coming out and a few things about it are bothering me," Phoebe admitted to her sisters. "But I can fill you guys in more later." Phoebe turned to address her niece. "What else was there to tell us?"
Blue and white orbs suddenly appeared before Billie had to chance to answer. JD materialized before them.
"Billie, thank god!" he sighed with relief. "I saw you disappear but I wasn't sure ..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Billie immediately stepped forward grabbing the piece of paper held within his hands. Turning around to address the remaining Charmed Ones, she held out the piece of paper in front of them to see.
"This is the last thing I needed to tell you!"
X
Piper drove down the busy San Francisco streets completely lost in thought.
She was dreading a confrontation with Gideon. Suddenly feeling very anxious, she reached out in search of her cell phone. She pulled it out from her purse sitting on the passenger's seat side. After coming to a stop for a red light at the intersection, she quickly dialed Victor's number from the contact list.
"Dad? Hey, it's me. Yeah, I'm on my way to pick up the kids right now. I should be there in about five minutes or so," she informed him. "And there's a few things I wanted to talk to you about before I leave," she added as an afterthought.
Unfortunately, in Piper's momentary distraction, the car speeding and swerving from the left side went completely unnoticed by her as she put her foot to the gas when the light turned green. Piper ended the phone call and at the same exact time the car went to cross the intersection, a black SUV smashed into her and sent glass shattering everywhere. The force of the impact was so strong that it had lifted Piper's car from the ground, sending it rolling across the freeway landing upside down.
Everything went completely black for Piper.
To Be Continued: My schedule is very hectic but I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as I can. Sorry about the long delays. Coming Up: Piper's life hangs in the balance, Leo and Coop are summoned away, Billie returns to the manor, and the sisters struggle to come to terms with the future.