Charming the Halliwells 106
Charming the Halliwells
All rights to the Halliwells and Charmed go to The Wb and Aaron Spelling.
This is a spin-off of his creation, of which we're all thankful for. Please
Do not plagiarize or anything. LOVE YA
Tosh, the receptionist, looked up as I came in. At around four months, I felt absolutely drained most of the time. The morning sickness lessened and I was doing much better with the pains of pregnancy. And the weird cravings. Like salt on ice cream or sugar on my cheeseburgers. At first, it weirded me out and really the only person I had to confer with was Bianca, but she was having normal cravings like pickled French fries. Chris was horrified. The sisters were ecstatic. It was all very jubilant...except for I hadn't really seen my husband in a couple of months. The news of twins hit us in different ways. Of course, we were both happy...and nervous, what with a toddler and two infants on the way, but I knew the dangers of the pregnancy and I opted to try and relax and find anything on the demon that I could possible end happily ever after. Whatever the case, I was standing in front of Tosh, who beamed up at me. She was exceptionally kind and fond of me, from what I could gather. She was a young girl, maybe twenty, and very beautiful with a maroon bob and scarlet lipstick. Her tanned skin was natural, Sunkist, and I'd always found her attractive, though I never worried about her and Wyatt. I think she's a lesbian. I'd never have thought if it weren't for her random thoughts.
"Drake, how are you?" Tosh smiled. I took notice of her teeth, her exceptional teeth. She looked like she just walked out off the runway of some super trendy fashion show.
I smiled, "I'm great! I love that top." I said quickly.
She looked down at her risqué top and smiled to me. The top was cut out above the breasts in an introverted triangle.
"Is my husband in?" I asked.
"Yeah, he went into a meeting about an hour ago. He should be out soon." Tosh said quickly, "His office is free."
"Thanks. We should have lunch one day...when the slave driver's not carrying a whip." I smirked as I walked to his office.
The office was more than finished and it was white marble now. His chairs were white leather and his rather large desk was a mix between the two. The room was white and I couldn't help but find this ironic. I sat at his desk and pulled up the screen on his large PC screen. I smiled. He wanted this to be perfect. He's a perfectionist. It was beautiful. I wondered what Lenny and Alanna's offices looked like. The PC screen brought up a picture of Wyatt, Peyton and I. I chuckled at the screen as he, Alanna, and Lenny walked in.
"Hey babe!" He said as they stopped, "What are you doing here?"
"Hi, babe," I mocked him, looking to his colleagues, "Hi Lenny, hi Alanna. How'd the meeting go?"
"Great." Lennix smiled. He paused and looked at me with a tilted head, "Are you glowing?"
"Yeah, something's different about him." Alanna smiled, "I like it."
"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked, "Is it Peyton? Is it—Are you okay?"
"Can you guys give us a second?" I asked.
"Sure." Lenny said as he and Alanna waved and left.
Wyatt watched them leave and turned to me with a weak smile. You know, the kind that doesn't go all the way up to his eyes.
"We need to talk." I said seriously.
Chapter 106: All Hans On Deck
"Can we make it fast? I've got about three appointments, I'm helping with scheduling a few classes at Magic School, my charges are going insane and—"
"You're avoiding me." I frowned.
"Drake." Wyatt sighed.
"I—" I burped up bubbles but continued, "Seriously? I'm the one who throws himself into his work. Not you."
Wyatt folded his arms against his chest, "Honey, when I get home, you can psychoanalyze me." He said quickly, "But right now, can we—"
"That's the thing, you're never home!" I said louder than I wanted. I looked away from him, "If you say it's hormones I swear I'll make you cluck like a chicken." I frowned.
"What do you want me to say?" Wyatt asked, "I have to work. I have to make money so that we can support the twins...If both of us are working and so are our families, we're going to need to hire a nanny and they aren't cheap and then there's food and formula and...we haven't even gotten to the nursery!" I walked over and wrapped my arms around him, "I wanted to be a dad again, but twins caught me by surprise. And what about you? You almost died with one baby. How in the Hell are you going to deliver two?"
I stepped back and nodded, "You think I'm not afraid too? Wyatt, I'm "King Freak-Out", remember. I just...I know we can do this. Henry and Paige did it."
"Paige is a super whitelighter."
"And you're the most powerful magical being on Earth." I said, "And Henry was a mortal. We already have a leg up on them."
Wyatt chuckled, "You're right." He smiled.
"And if we just lucked out on Matt, we didn't on Peyton. She's alive and healthy and..."
"Yes, but now there are two." Wyatt said exasperated. He put his hands on his face, "Whatever I do, I'm not going to be perfect at something. If I'm superdad, I can't be superhubby. And vice versa. And what about—"
"Stop it!" I frowned. I was near tears but I couldn't control myself, "You're seriously freaking me out! We both asked for this. We both wanted this and no, it's not the way we wanted, but we are blessed with two of the thing we wanted most. Wyatt, you are an excellent husband and an excellent father and nothing in this world can change that. You remember what I asked you on our wedding day?"
"Which time?" Wyatt smirked. I chuckled and he nodded, "Take this risk with you. There's so much that can go wrong."
"You're right." I said simply, "But there's so much that can go right, too."
"I want you to rest. I don't want repeats of last time and you promise me that even after the babies come, you'll tell me when you're overloaded." Wyatt said quickly.
"Ditto." I said quickly, "You big, dumb guy! You really had me worried."
Wyatt nodded and wiped a tear from my eye, "I'm sorry. Twins...ever since Ava said twins...I just—I don't know. It freaked me out." He said, "Paige had twins, but I never thought I would."
"It was quite a shock to me too." I chuckled, "But we've taken on doppelgangers and sources and my parents—" he laughed, "I'm more worried about the dog getting ticks and spreading them to my newborns."
"I almost forgot we have a dog...what the Hell did we name it?" Wyatt contemplated, "You don't seem nearly as nervous. What's your secret?"
"Warren's dead. My parents are dead. But I did save people. I saved Peyton. I birthed Matt, who saved me." I said quickly, "I've failed, we all have, but we've won so much more. I remember thinking to myself that I would never be a father again. I'd have to adopt or something like that, which isn't bad...but after birthing Peyton and Matthew...I need these babies. I need a reason to get my shit together. I've been so intent on killing and destroying and revenge that—I almost lost myself."
"You don't want to kill the hunters anymore?" Wyatt asked.
"Not as much as I want these babies and this family. I'm going to give these kids the life I didn't have. The life you had." I nodded, "And to do that, I need to be there."
"These babies did all that for you?" Wyatt asked.
"Didn't they for you? You were right about my grief. But if I didn't have the grief or something else to focus on...I probably would have found the strength in you and Peyton and—they brought me there so much faster." I smiled.
"You never gave yourself enough credit. None of us did." Wyatt said, hugging me, "I have to tell you something. Something I did."
I pulled away from him, "What did you do?" I asked.
"Your doppelganger...He didn't just die." Wyatt looked at me with anxiety, "I killed him with my powers. I couldn't let him live."
I was floored for a second, not sure what to think. I searched his face, trying to come to some point of realization. It was so long ago. He'd carried guilt for so long over this. I let out a giggle and he looked at me as if I were going insane. I looked back up at him and just let out a full-on laugh.
"I didn't know what he'd done for you. All I knew is that he'd hurt you. He'd hurt all of us." Wyatt said. His tone and struggle caused my heart to break a little, "I would never hurt you. Never. But I couldn't let him live."
I embraced him once more, "Big, dumb guy." I said, "He would have hurt you. He would have killed you."
Wyatt nodded. I broke apart from him and looked away, towards the clock.
"You've got appointments, Mr. Halliwell." I smiled.
Wyatt smiled, "So do you, Mr. Halliwell. Have you eaten? I don't know if I can make lunch but I—"
"I'm having lunch with Chris and after that I'm meeting Bianca to look at baby stuff." I said quickly.
"Oh." Wyatt said, obviously let down, "How about dinner? Paris? Rome? India, maybe?"
"If you come home, I'll cook." I smiled. His eyes went wide, "Fine, I'll order out and me, you and Peyton can have a family dinner. Just us."
"Okay. Make sure you eat, though." Wyatt said, kissing me on the head, "I want this pregnancy to go as smooth as possible."
I stood there, smiling.
"You could stay. We could have sexy time." Wyatt smirked, "I miss our sexy time."
"Bet on it. But Chris'll throw a hissy." I smirked.
Wyatt nodded, "I really don't want that." He said, "Have fun."
-
Chris and I had a nice lunch and talked before making it back to the Manor. Bianca came around the corner, five months pregnant and smiled at us. I couldn't help but remark at how far we'd all come. No jealousy from Bianca or Wyatt. No mixed signals between Chris and I. Besides the big, hulking demon running around, life was more than bearable. I was sure that if I kept moving, the bloating and headaches and backaches and all the other symptoms would lessen. This being Bianca's first real pregnancy, it hit her harder. You could see her little pudgy belly. I frowned at the fact that mine was bigger. I figured that the twins had something to do with it. It still eluded me that I was actually having twins. Something told me that the twins would be the last babies we'd have and I'm okay with it. God answered my prayers and I was content with three. Anymore and my head might spin around and pop off.
Chris walked over to Bianca and snuggled her, "Hey baby, how are you guys today?" he pecked her on the forehead.
"Fine. Still a little sick, but..." She paused, "What are you wearing?"
Chris shook his head, "Nothing unusual." He frowned.
"Your aftershave! It's making me..." Before either of us could say anything, Bianca ran away to the bathroom, leaving us to stare at each other.
"My aftershave made her sick?" Chris asked, puzzled.
I smiled and looked away.
"You too?"
"Not really. Not a lot." He stared at me, "Kind of."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Chris asked, amused. He nodded, "Because you're Drake. How are you feeling? I mean, you don't feel like...last time, do you?"
"A little. The regular stuff, but nothing close to losing me and the baby." I said quickly. His face was still worried, "Chris, stop. If I felt even the least bit sick, beyond the twin thing, I would definitely say something."
Chris nodded, "Good." He said quickly. His eyes snapped to me, "Charge. Can you tell Biana—"
"Sure. We're going on this shopping thing, so she won't miss you too much." I smiled, watching orb away. I turned as Bianca came back in the room, looking around, "He had a whitelighter-thing to do."
Bianca nodded woozily, "Ugh, how did you do this? How are you doing this? The morning sickness alone..."
I shrugged, "Barely." I nodded.
"Are you in the least bit scared? You're going to give birth to twins." Bianca said, on the verge of tears.
"Oh, honey." I said hugging her, "You cannot be afraid of having this baby! Dude, you're already raising a great kid."
"You were raising him first." Bianca said, "We got lucky."
"Stop it. Matthew loves you guys." I said quickly, "And this baby is going to adore you. No matter what happens, our babies will be cousins and we'll be aunts and uncles."
Bianca and I parted and she looked to me, "Damn hormones." She frowned, "I miss Matthew."
"Well, let's go and see him." I smiled.
Suddenly, Wyatt orbed in.
"Hey, I thought you had appointments?" I asked.
"I finished them early." Wyatt said quickly. He stood, smiling at me, "I was thinking that maybe I could take my husband shopping."
I smiled, but then frowned, "I was going to go with..."
"No! I'll go with Chris, besides I want to practice with Matthew and Peyton." Bianca smiled, "Have fun." She disappeared.
"Anybody going to tell her that she already has a child?" Wyatt asked, amused at her. He looked to me, "What?"
"What about the money and your business?" I asked.
Wyatt sighed, "Look, I'm afraid. But that was no reason to cut you and the rest of the family out. I isolated myself and that's not right." He apologized, "Do you accept my apology?"
"I don't know. I mean...I am bitchy when I'm pregnant, I might need some more incentive."
Wyatt smirked and walked over, putting his arm around me, "How about I help with the nursery, buying things, and taking you to New York."
"To get baby stuff? Do you know how expensive those stores are? And most of their stuff sucks." I smiled, "Besides, I was thinking of some other type of incentive."
Wyatt smiled and smacked my ass, "Oh. Well, that's even better." His face became pure pleasure before scrunching into confusion, "Holy crap. We don't have a nursery! For Matt and Peyton, we had a nursery way earlier than this. And Chris isn't going to be able to help, neither is War—" he paused.
I broke away and took a step back, thinking about Warren. It wasn't the first time in months I had thought about him but it had never occurred to me just how much he wouldn't ever experience. He wouldn't have a baby or get married. He'd never be here anymore.
"I'm sorry." Wyatt said quickly. I could tell that the sentence hurt him too, but only after he'd said it, "Doesn't seem real, huh? Life went on."
I was quiet before finally speaking, "Strange." I said simply.
The front door to the Manor opened and Melinda pushed herself through, throwing her bag to the floor. She looked at Wyatt and I and huffed, walking to the sitting room. Wyatt and I looked to each other and followed her. When we got to the room, we found her sitting with her head in her hands.
"Long day, sis?" Wyatt asked with a smile.
I elbowed him, "What's wrong?" I asked.
"I helped out our wacky cousins with a demon problem and it took me all night, then I had to go cook for a party and when I finally got time to myself, a charge called me." Melinda said, "I think I liked it better when you were the Charmed One."
"Not going to happen." Wyatt said quickly, "So I suggest you find a way to deal with it, little sis."
"Wyatt!" I said angrily.
Melinda brought her head up and nodded to us, "He's right. If the women who came before me could do it, I can do it too." She said, "I think I'll go and lie down."
She stood and walked out of the room.
I turned to Wyatt, "Look, I know I got pretty pissed, but you're not just a dad, you're a father of three now. You're carrying two." He said, "And there is no way I'm letting you be Charmed again."
"Letting me?" I asked.
Wyatt flinched, "Not what I meant."
"I'll do what I want. And being harsh with Melinda isn't going to help the Power of Three. It's not going to help your relationship with her in general." I frowned.
"Melinda's an adult now." Wyatt frowned. He nodded, "She's my little sister and I'll protect her but I can't always be there. I have a family now, too."
"I think maybe all of you are spread too thin." I said quickly, "I think maybe you need to start prioritizing according to your life and not what you think life should be."
Wyatt looked at me, confused, "And what exactly are you saying?" he asked, "If you're suggesting I neglect you, the babies or any—"
"I'm not! I just need you to know your limits. For as long as you've known me, you've looked at me like this thing you've had to protect. I'm not nearly that." I said quickly, "You are my best friend, so don't underestimate me."
"I don't! I'm not!" Wyatt said with exasperation, "Look, I know you're a powerful person, but right now, as much as you don't want to admit it, you're vulnerable."
"My babies have shields."
"What about hormones? Mood swings? What about your health state?" Wyatt asked, "Can the babies' shields protect you from that?"
I nodded, "Maybe but I'm a bit slower and more...fragile, but you're not going to be the one saving me and not in reverse, you're crazy."
"Finally," We both looked back to the kitchen to see Piper, "An argument I can get behind. It only took you, what, twenty years?"
"You agree with me?" I asked somewhat surprised.
"Yes."
"Mom!" Wyatt protested.
"And I also agree with Wyatt." Piper said quickly.
We stared at her in confusion but Wyatt came to it before me.
"Drake's vulnerable and Wyatt, you need to accept that even you have limits." Piper said, heading to the stairs, "You guys aren't doing this alone. Not the twins, not the demon fighting...but that also means being there for others." She said, ascending the stairs.
"Mom's right." Wyatt sighed, "But what kind of husband would I be if I can't protect you."
"A human one." I said, "I think we both have this superiority complex going on."
"How precious."
We turned to see the hunters Hans and Kim standing in the Solarium. My question would have been how they got in undetected. Hans looked to be wasting away so much that he was just skin and bone. His eyes were peaked and bloodshot. Kim seemed to be the only reason he was standing. This didn't stop her from aiming a gun at us.
"See what magic does? It kills." Kim said angrily.
"Dark magic. He has to undo it. It's draining his life." I frowned, "We're not the criminals here...you are."
"That's what you really think, isn't it?" Kim scoffed. She let him fall, "I hope the demon kills you. Only then will I kill Hans."
"You would kill Hans?" Wyatt asked with shock, "You would murder him?"
"Only after he does what I need him to do." Kim said, "I'll use him to destroy you and take away all the magic from the world, like the world should be."
"I'm almost tired of talking." I said angrily. My hands were curled into tight fists and before Wyatt could calm me Kim was taken off her feet and thrown through the glass door and down the stairs. My eyes widened at the scene and snapped onto Melinda as she came down the stairs.
"That's for my cousin!" Melinda said angrily. Her face was full of anger and a little shocked.
"We need to undo the spell on Hans." I said quickly.
"I'll get him." Melinda said walking towards him.
As Melinda got closer, static began to crack in front of her before an explosion threw her backwards against the wall! The demon, Birnaz appeared in front of Hans, who was still weakly looking at the floor. Birnaz watched us, waiting for us to move. Wyatt began towards Melinda but he stopped at the sound of gunshots. A bloody Kim had gotten to her feet and was now firing at the monster, which was stupid. It must have been an attempt get to Hans and leave. Birnaz turned angrily and threw his hand up, causing a giant fireball to shoot from his hand engulf Kim. Her death was soundless, though she squirmed and squealed in view before turning to nothing more than ash. In the confusion, Wyatt had gotten Melinda and moved away, towards me. Birnaz grabbed Hans and disappeared in a static explosion that shattered every window in the Solarium. I had somehow shielded myself with my powers, just as Wyatt had. I looked over to see Melinda barely breathing.
I quickly made my way over to him, "What's wrong with her? Did you..."
"It's not physical." Wyatt panicked, "We need to get her upstairs and get some potions."
"You're scaring me." I said, staring back and forth between them, "What's—"
"You need to get your Book." Wyatt said, picking her up, "And we need it now."
I nodded and headed home to get it. I felt something wrong. I thought about penetrating his mind, find out what it is, but I was worried about what I would find. I just did as I was told for the first time and left.
-
When I got back to the Manor, I walked into the attic to find Wyatt, his parents, his brother and Bianca, and the sisters. They immediately turned to me and I could see the worry on their faces. Melinda lay on the sofa while Piper stood at her side with Phoebe and Paige at the book. Chris, Bianca, and Wyatt stood in the center of the room. Wyatt looked at me, trying to calm me with a smile. I sat Grimoire on the potions table and walked over to Melinda, bending down to see that she was still breathing.
I looked to Leo and Piper, "You all know what's happening, don't you?" I asked.
Wyatt looked to his parents, then to me, "Yeah. It's a mystical disease. A curse. His dark energy is toxic and it's killing her." He explained.
"What can we do?" I asked.
"You don't worry, we're going to save our daughter." Piper said quickly. Her face worried me more than her tone, "It's going to be alright."
Phoebe flinched and looked at me, "This isn't your fault." She said quickly, "Don't make this about you. It's not—"
"This family was great before I brought the darkness in here. I'm going to find out how to undo this. Mel doesn't deserve this." I frowned. Within seconds, I was on my feet and walking over to the book. I picked it up and swept out of the room with it, heading down the second floor hall when I felt someone behind me.
Chris grabbed my arm and turned me to him, "Don't do something stupid." He said angrily.
"After I fix this, I'm going to destroy this book." I said angrily.
"Are you sure that's the right thing?"
"Of course. This book is nothing but darkness." I frowned, "I think if I kill Hans, everything will go back to normal."
"That's really what you think?" Chris asked, "And you think Wyatt's going to let you do that? And what about your babies!"
"I'm not going to die." I said quickly.
"That sounds just like Warren and Aunt Prue." Chris said folding his arms, "Do you think we're not all going to do anything we can to save my sister? We do this together."
I nodded, "You're right. You are...but—"
"No. I can't take another funeral." Chris said with a swift, sad tone.
"You're my best friend, would I lie to you?" I asked.
Chris stared at me.
"We need to find Hans. We find him and it all falls into place." I said quickly.
Chris held out his hand, "Together?" he asked.
I nodded, "Together." I said quickly.
He led me back into the attic. I almost fell into the trap I always did, the kind that got Warren killed before.