A Halliwell Christmas Carol

[Esmeralda]

Note from Es: I can't take any credit for this one, but it's a very special one because as it's author, Justro, explains, it's a special present just for me and my friend, Vicki. We celebrate Christmas both in December and in July. We celebrate it in July because we're so busy in December we really don't get a chance to do what we enjoy doing--watching Christmas videos! And that way we don't have to wait a full six months til the next Christmas!

When Justro found out about this, she got such a kick out of the idea, that she decided to give us a present--this story, which we took turns reading before we ate our Christmas-in-July dinner. Thank God--we howled so hard, I'm not sure if we would've kept our dinner down if we'd eaten first!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! Do NOT read after you've eaten!

Even though it is now December rather than July, I still think you guys might enjoy reading this retelling of A Christmas Carol--absolutely the best Charmed Christmas fic I've ever read--maybe the best Charmed fic I've ever read....

Oh, a side not. This fic started as part of a spamming contest.... So if some of the stuff is repeated, that's why...

Title:Halliwell Christmas Carol
Author: Justro
Season: 6,
Genre: dramedy -- I think?
Rating: UK: 12,
Main Characters: sisters, leo, chris, um...family members and various demons
Brief Summary/Synopsis: The Halliwell family meets Dickens...(well, no not literally!)

A Halliwell Christmas Carol
Written by Justro
Based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

With a special apology to Charles Dickens! The subject matter was inspired by Es - who told me how she and her best friend , Vicki celebrate Christmas in both December and July.

In the meantime, no Charmed character belongs to me. If they did, and I did such horrible twisted things to them, I think the tv executives would put a restraining order on me!

CHAPTER ONE

Phoebe sighed and smiled to herself excitedly. ‘What a cool idea this is’, she giggled. ‘It’s going to be so much fun!’ She sniffed as the smell of pine wafted through the room as she looked up at the tall fir tree. It was so big it filled the bay window. She consulted her list, checking off what she’d already completed:
1 Tree - check
2 Lights - check
3 Decorations - check
4 Tinsel - check
5 Presents ( Me. Piper. Paige. Leo. Chris. Wyatt. Maybe Grams) The Grams had been scored out and then reinstated. - check
6 Food

Before heading to the kitchen to work on the food, she had to switch on the lights and stand back to admire her work. The lights flickered and then sparkled into life. Phoebe clapped her hands and danced a little. ‘Beautiful!’ she cried. ‘Shiny! Oh, they are all going to love this SO much!’

She turned to the piles of gifts that were arranged around the base of the tree and spread over the floor by the bay window. Each was carefully wrapped, bow and gift tag dangling. By the chimney hung a series of Christmas stockings – some looking a little old and threadbare in places, some looking new. She didn’t want to upset anyone, so Prue’s had been left in the box. She’d bought new ones for Paige and Chris and Leo and Wyatt and even stitched the names on them herself..

Phoebe couldn’t help herself, she was SO excited–she’d pulled off the surprise of all surprises and nothing could go wrong! The house was filled with the sound of Phoebe singing:

‘O Christmas tree.
O Christmas tree.
How lovely are thy branches…’

Phoebe suddenly became aware of a noise outside in the hallway. ‘Oh, no!’ she thought. ‘ Not a demon! Not here! Not now! This is really going to spoil the surprise!’. Cautiously she crossed the room and peered round the doorway.

‘PHOEBE!’

Paige was standing behind her.

‘Phoebe jumped. ‘Don’t do that!’ she stammered at her sister. ‘You scared me half to death!’.

‘I just orbed in!’ said Paige ‘and just as well, by the looks of it! What on earth are you up to?’.

‘I was checking the hallway – I heard a noise!’ Phoebe tried to explain.

Paige rolled her eyes. ‘That was me and that’s not what I mean! What I meant was… What on earth are you doing in here? What are you doing with a tree? Lights? Baubles?’

Phoebe looked at the floor. ‘You weren’t supposed to see it till it was finished’ she muttered.

‘Wasn’t supposed to see what this it was finished?’ Paige put her hands on her hips and looked cross, ‘Phoebe! What are you up to? Are you possessed again?’.

Phoebe pouted. ‘I just….just…’

Paige tapped her foot. ‘Yes…?’

‘I just wanted to have Christmas!’, Phoebe blurted out.

‘Christmas?’ Paige looked incredulous. ‘CHRISTMAS? Are you NUTS?’

‘It’s not just for me’ Phoebe wailed ‘it’s for Wyatt! He’d like it, too! And we’ve never had a Christmas together. It’s time we did! It’s a bonding thing!. Look, Paige, I even have a list. It’s all set up as a surprise. I wanted to do it for us as a family, and have it all ready when you came home’.

Paige looked at Phoebe’s excited face. She looked so happy. Paige looked at the huge, glittering tree. She looked at the list Phoebe handed her. ‘Food?’ she asked.

Phoebe nodded.

‘Decorations?’

Phoebe nodded again.

‘Presents?’

Phoebe nodded and pointed to a pile of boxes at the side of the room. Paige peered over at them and noticed how many of them had her name on them.

‘Ok', sighed Paige, swayed by the glitter and pile of presents. ‘We’ll do it. But…you know Piper will have a fit!’.

‘Yes’ Phoebe admitted. ‘It’s why I wanted to have it all done before she got home. And I can if you’ll help, especially if you do the food. And maybe you could go out and buy some gifts for everyone. And get them wrapped’.

‘Why on earth didn’t you use magic?“ Paige asked. “It would be so much easier’.

‘Personal gain,’. Phoebe replied. ‘ and also–I wanted it to be as normal as possible. To give Piper a normal family experience’.

Paige ignored her misgivings on the idea. She was too excited seeing the pile of gifts with her name on it. ‘Ok’ she said. ‘I’ll sort out the food and try to take care of my gifts.’ And she headed to the kitchen.

Phoebe continued with her decorating. She was just putting the finishing touches to the tree when she heard voices. Worried it might be Piper back early, she went to see who it was. She was almost hit by Chris and Paige orbing into the room from the kitchen.

‘Quick’ hissed Paige. ‘She’s coming! I got the food done, but couldn’t get at my presents.

‘How do you know she‘s coming?’ Phoebe wanted to know.

Chris stood in shocked amazement, gazing at the tree. ‘WOW’ he finally managed to say.

‘Chris orbed home ahead of Piper and Wyatt to check that there were no demons here’, Paige explained. ‘He found me instead’.

‘It’s HUGE’ Chris finally manage to gasp. He was still gazing at the tree. ‘Mom is SO going to go nuts’. He noticed Phoebe’s list that she was clutching in her hand.

It now read:
1 Tree - check
2 Lights - check
3 Decorations - check
4 Tinsel - check
5 Presents ( Me. Piper. Paige. Leo. Chris. Wyatt. Maybe Grams) The ‘Grams’ had been scored out and then reinstated and scored out again. After all, what on earth do you buy a dead, but now ghostly grandmother? – check . ‘AND PAIGE’S’ had been added.
6 Food – Check - PAIGE TO FIX’


‘Food?’ asked Chris. ‘Presents?’

‘Uh huh’ Both Paige and Phoebe, nodded their heads.

‘This doesn’t sound so bad.’ Chris said. ‘I’m sure we can win Mom over’.

Just then, they all heard a noise in the hallway. ‘Will someone help me with the buggy?’ Piper screamed from the hall.

'I’ll go’ said Chris. ‘You finish here, and I’ll distract her’.

Paige and Phoebe had just finished ensuring the room looked as festive as possible when Piper stormed in. ‘Chris – will you STOP trying to keep me out of MY living room! If it’s a demon, I’ll deal with it! If you’ve made a mess, I’ll make you tidy it! By HAND, not magic!’.

Piper opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks. Her jaw dropped. ‘What…what the…?’. She stammered. She shook her head. It had to be an illusion. She closed her eyes and opened them. That huge thing was still there, and she got ready to blast it.

“No!” screamed Phoebe. “It‘s not demonic. It‘s supposed to be here!”

“No it doesn’t!’ Piper screamed back. ‘How did it get in my living room? Who put it there? And most important of all WHY WOULD SOMEONE PUT IT THERE?’

No one answered, so again Piper tried. ‘Someone tell me right now. How did this monstrous tree get into MY living room? What is going on? Who did this?’

Phoebe and Paige raised their hands.

‘You?’ Piper screeched. ‘What do you think you’re doing? Can’t a girl have one day of a normal life around here?’.

‘But that’s what I’m trying to do’, Phoebe braved the onslaught of Piper’s anger ‘give you a normal day’.

‘With a huge decorated freakin‘ TREE?’. If Piper’s voice screeched any higher it would have broken glass.

‘It’s for Christmas…’ offered Paige.

‘We thought it’d be a nice family bonding thing’ Phoebe tried to explain. She ducked behind Chris in case Piper’s temper got the better of her hands.

‘CHRISTMAS?’ Piper shrieked like a banshee. She glared at her sisters. If looks could kill, Paige and Phoebe would have been grease marks on the floor. She drew a deep breath and began to rant. She counted off on her fingers:

1. We’re Wiccans. Have you ever wondered why we DON’T celebrate Christmas? Not everyone does! We don’t!
2. Do you know how much these blasted trees shed their needles? And how sharp they are? It’s a safety hazard with kids around! Kids like Wyatt!
3. Do you know how hard it is to clean up the dropped needles and the oozy tree resin? It sticks everywhere! It takes specialist cleaning fluids!

Piper drew breath. ‘And fourthly’ she shouted… ‘fourthly its JULY! No one has Christmas in July!’ She paused. ‘Those boxes…are they presents?’ she enquired.

Paige and Phoebe nodded.

Piper narrowed her eyes. ‘Are some of those presents for me?’ she asked.

Paige and Phoebe nodded again.

‘So, it’s Christmas? In July? With gifts? And food?’ Piper asked hesitantly.

‘Yes’ said Phoebe and Paige.

‘And..this is so we can be normal?’ Piper asked, scratching her head.

‘Yes’ the two sisters replied.

“Well, you should have said so’, Piper smiled. ‘We’ll open the gifts after dinner’.


Piper insisted everyone dressed for Christmas dinner. Even Wyatt looked adorable in a green-and-red festive-looking cotton outfit. Candles were lit; the table set. Piper also insisted on using the best china and silverware. She still had deep misgivings about the whole idea of the Christmas-in-July party, but the idea of the gifts won her over. After all, she needed cheering up. What with all the recent happenings – Leo being an Elder, disappearing, coming back, still being an Elder, Chris who was once just a nuisance actually her son, getting pregnant in an alleyway with Chris, AND now feeling as big as an elephant due to give birth even though she still wasn‘t due for a few more months! She did need cheering up. And she realized Phoebe and Paige were just trying to help. She just couldn’t help those cranky hormones.

They sat down to dinner in their finery. Paige brought out the feast she had prepared. Chris and Phoebe helped lay it all on the table.

‘Did you remember to tell Leo?’ Piper asked Chris

‘Do we have to include him?‘ Chris asked, making a face. Despite all of their efforts, Chris still couldn‘t forgive Leo for whatever Leo had done in the future, the something the too-secretive half-whitelighter still refused to tell anyone.

Piper glared at her future son. ‘Oh, I must’ve forgot!’ said Chris and he orbed out to find Leo. As they waited for his return, Piper looked around the table. ‘You know,’ she told her sisters, ‘ This all looks lovely. But this is the sort of time that demons normally strike’.


The three sisters stopped and looked at each other, holding their breaths.

Nothing happened.

Moments later, Chris and Leo orbed in. ‘Wow!’ exclaimed Leo, looking admiringly at the tree and the dinner.

They all sat down to eat.


Meanwhile, in the kitchen, two small, greenish lights appeared. The tiny glow slowly metamorphosised into a solid forms. Two tiny demons appeared on the kitchen counter.

‘Is this wise?’ asked one.

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine. The neurotic one hasn’t been in here this evening.’, said the other. ‘All we have to do is get E to join us and we can paralyse the Charmed Ones, with no danger to ourselves!’

The two demons smiled at each other. Anyone looking closely at them would have noticed that they were virtually identical. A third glowing light appeared, and slowly solidified in front of them.

‘Sam! Ella!’ it said. ‘What are we doing here? It’s too dangerous!’.

‘Ecoli!’, the Ella part of Sam’n’Ella rushed to hug the newly arrived demon.

‘It’s fine’, said Sam. ‘The Charmed Ones are far too busy celebrating Christmas. The ditzy one has been cooking, the neurotic one is relaxing. And who cares what the slutty one is doing! It’s time we put into action the most audacious plan for removing the Charmed Ones that the demonic world has ever seen! And once WE have their powers, all demon kind will bow to US!’.

‘Christmas? In July?’ Ecoli shook his head. ‘The weird ways of these Charmed Ones never fail to astound me.’ He chuckled. ‘Now how are we going to do it?’.

Ella nodded towards a gravy boat on the counter. ‘The clumsy, ditzy one forgot the gravy. All we have to do is infect it’.

The three demons smiled. It was perfect. It was safe and there was no way it would endanger themselves. Which was even better! These weren’t just ‘lower-level’ demons, these were ‘sewer-level’ demons. Tiny, and with barely any powers, they were often the butt of jokes from even the most lowest-caste demon.

Sam’n’Ella were twins - gastric demons, with the power of creating fevers, loose bowel movements and projectile vomiting. Ecoli was a Feculence demon. He had the power of festering, intestinal cramps and diarrhoea. Together, they’d hung out in fast-food outlets and unhygienic kitchens, spreading misery in a small, but deeply personal way, on their innocent victims. They frequently affected demons, too, since they were tired of being picked on.

When they were lucky to really infect someone, the weakened victim would often be willing to sell their soul to them, just so they could get to leave the bathroom. The innocent soul could then be sold to the highest bidder. It wasn’t an elegant or salubrious lifestyle, but they did their best to get by in the world.

Now it looked like they had a golden opportunity to put into action something that they had only ever dared dream about – or at least, whisper about, in case a higher-level demon heard them! But if it worked, they’d never be laughed at again!

In the dining room, much chattering and laughter surrounded the dinner table, as plates were passed round and Leo carved the turkey.

‘Help yourself to vegetables’ said Paige, ‘oh, and there’s gravy too!’. She looked for the gravy boat. ‘Oh, it’s in the kitchen’ she said.’ I must have forgotten it’

‘I’ll get it’ said Chris.

‘Quick’ cried Ella, as they hurried into the gravy boat, ‘I hear footsteps’.

A few seconds later, Chris walked into the kitchen and picked up the gravy boat. Back at the table, Piper looked at the gravy and then at her full plate. ‘Needs to be stirred’ she pronounced, ‘but overall, the whole meal looks great, Paige’, and she poured a liberal portion of gravy on the food her plate. ‘Who wants it next?’

‘Me!’ Chris and Paige both shouted, and Paige orbed the gravy boat away from Chris as he grabbed it. But she miscalculated the gravy boat’s landing on the table and the gravy spilled everywhere, dripping onto the floor.

‘Drat!’ she cried ‘That was all I made!’.

Piper raised an eyebrow. ‘I hope you’re going to clean that up’; she remarked ‘Gravy stains are sticky, slimy and can damage the wood!’.

Once the meal was over, they gathered around the tree to open gifts. Now Piper and Leo and Chris all felt bad about not having gotten anything for everyone else. So did Paige, who wished she‘d come home earlier, so she could‘ve, but knew she only had time to work on the dinner. But Phoebe reminded them that she hadn’t given them any warning and that if they really enjoyed that, maybe they could give her extra presents in December, when they’d celebrate Christmas at the right time. The others agreed, so Phoebe put on the Santa hat she’d bought for herself and began passing out presents. Everyone had fun opening, oohing and aahing over all of Phoebe’s choices. Phoebe simply enjoyed watching them, especially Piper and Wyatt. Even Chris enjoyed his gifts. For the first time since they met him, he didn't complain once. It was all turning out exactly the way Phoebe had hoped it would.

Piper’s tummy was beginning to bother her a little, but being pregnant, she was used to that. She didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s good time after all the work Phoebe and Paige had put into it, so she simply ignored it, telling herself that she really shouldn’t have had that third helping.

Afterwards they all gathered in the living room and watched the Christmas DVD Phoebe had bought for the occasion. It was Mickey’s Christmas Carol, starring Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, one Wyatt enjoyed thoroughly and everyone else enjoyed watching him.

Once it finished, they were going to watch another one, but by then their huge meal was starting to affect everyone and after thanking Phoebe profusely for the wonderful evening, one none of them would ever forget, they all sang Christmas carols as they headed up to bed.


An hour or so later, Piper woke. She felt really groggy and strange. Her stomach lurched. ‘Dammit’ she cursed inwardly, ‘I knew I shouldn’t have had that extra portion of pie. Or the triple helping of turkey’. She waddled her way to the bathroom. The room was fuzzy, but she didn’t want to turn the lights on and wake everyone, so she felt her way along the walls to the bathroom door. Her head began to pound, and she just managed to make it to the bathroom before vomiting.

‘Aw crap!’ she muttered, trying to pull herself up from the floor by leaning on the sink. She turned on the taps to splash her face. ‘Why is it so hot in here?’ she wondered. Her poor head throbbed and her stomach lurched again. She made it onto the toilet, and wondered if she could throw up in the sink simultaneously.

‘Why am I getting morning sickness in the middle of the night? ‘ she wondered. ‘It must be the festive food! Paige should’ve known better than to make all of that rich food when I’m pregnant! Christmas! Bah, humbug!’


Just when Piper didn’t think things could get worse, she heard the doorbell ring.

‘Who can that be at this time of night?’ She wondered. It rang again, more insistently. ‘Can someone get that?’ She called. Silence, and then, more doorbell ringing. ‘Can someone please answer the door? I’m answering a call of nature here!’ she shouted , ‘a rather urgent call of nature!’

Hearing no one answer her, or any movement at all, she resigned herself to having to answer the door herself. The bell now sounded like it was continuously being rung. Hauling herself up, she wobbled her way to the hall and down the stairs, hanging onto the banister. ‘I’m coming’ she snapped at the door, tempted to wave her hands and blow the door up instead of opening it – but she needed both hands to hold on the banister.

Having reached the bottom of the stairs, she reached for the door and threw it open.

The ringing stopped.

‘What do you wan…’ Piper’s question addressed nothing. No one stood at the door.

‘Piii.iippp…errrrr’ whispered a voice.

She turned round.

Nothing. No-one.

‘Piiiippppppeeeerrrrrrrr’

‘Who is this? What do you want?' Piper snapped ‘Show yourself or I’ll…I’ll…vomit on you!’

‘Piiippppeeerrrrrrr’

Piper felt her knees buckle as the need to vomit hit her again. As she hit the floor, she noticed that either Phoebe or Paige had stuck a large holly wreath on the door. ‘Nice holly’ she thought, ‘Pity about Wyatt and the poisonous berries. Urrrrrrrghghghghghghgh’.

She lay beside the door, feeling dreadful and worrying about the mess she was making.

Piiiipppppeeeeerrrrr! I bringggggg you a waaarrrrnnninnnnnnnngggg’

‘Uhhhh?’ Piper groggily peered at the door, which seemed to be where the voice was coming from. She noticed the holly wreath looked a bit more familiar. In fact. the more she looked at it, the more it looked like a face. A familiar face. She peered some more, through the dizziness and fog of her fevered mind. ‘I’m seeing things’, she thought ‘I’m either going mad or I’m delirious. Or maybe it’s crankier-than-usual hormones’.

The face in the wreath spoke again.

‘Do you not know me?’ it said ‘Piiipppeerrrr!’

Piper squinted up at the wreath. ‘Cole?’ she hesitantly asked ‘Cole, is that you?’.

You guys know what to do if you want more!

[Esmeralda]

Chapter Two

The face in the wreath sighed a mournful sigh. ‘You do know me’, Cole said. ‘Piper, I bring you a warning’.

‘No, no, hang on’ Piper objected. She felt dreadful, and she did not feel able to cope with talking holly wreaths, especially ones that appeared to be haunted by her ex-brother-in-law- ex-Source-ex-unvanquishable-half-demon. ‘Why would you be appearing to me? That makes no sense! Besides, I’m ill!’.

‘I bring you a warning Pipppppperrrrrrrrr’ Cole gloomily uttered the words, ending with another big sigh.

Piper sat up, annoyed now. ‘No’ she told him firmly. 'You bring Phoebe a warning! Not me! Phoebe. She’s the one you married! She’s the one you’re obsessed with! Now, go haunt her and leave me alone to..to….get back to the bathroom! And no more bell-ringing!’ And with that, she hauled herself to her feet, and marched as steadily as she could back into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Making her way upstairs again, she clutched onto the banister as the world moved around her. It was the worst seasick feeling she’d ever felt, and that included when she had had Arroyo fever. She got to the toilet just in time. With her head in the bowl she heard a rustle and clanking noise behind her. ‘Leo, is that you? Please can you heal me?’ she pleaded ‘I feel like I’m dying! I don’t care if it’s personal gain or not!’.

‘Ppppiiiiiippppeeeerrrrrr’

Piper closed her eyes and rested her head against the cool tiles of the bathroom wall. ‘Not this again,’she muttered. She turned round. Cole – or the apparition of Cole – was standing in front of her, dressed in a sharp suit, neat tie and clean shirt. He was draped in chains, which clanked with every movement.

‘A warning, Piiipeerrr!’ he began again.

‘Look. Just go away. I don’t need this! I’m ill!’. Piper started to snap at him, but it came out as a whimper. ‘It’s not me you want anyway. It’s Phoebe! Second door on the left – you know where her room is! Now leave me alone!’.

‘My message is for YOU, Piiipeerr’, Cole sighed, moaned and clanked his chains.

Piper clutched her throbbing head – the clanking noise made it ache more if such a thing was possible. ‘Will you stop with the noise? Please!’ she begged Cole ‘Why are you wearing those chains anyway? Oh my head’ she clutched her tummy ‘My tummy! Eeeuurrrghghghhg’.

‘These are the chains of guilt and remorse’ he sighed gloomily and clanked a bit more. ‘I am condemned to wear them for all eternity, as a constant reminder of the innocent lives I took as a demon, and as a reminder of the innocents I could have helped save when I had powers and was supposed to be good’ Cole passed her a washcloth soaked in cold water. ‘I have a message for you, Piper’ he whispered in her ear ‘Accept your destiny as a witch! Use your powers for good and start helping innocents again!’

Piper raised her head from the toilet bowl. ‘I’m throwing my guts up and you’re here lecturing me – wait – daring to lecture ME about saving innocents?’. She managed a glare. ‘How dare you, Cole! I’ve saved more innocents than you’ve had..’ she paused. She wanted to say ‘hot dinners’ but the mere thought of the word ‘dinner’ made her queasy again. Besides, Cole was an 100-something-year-old demon, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t have had more of. ‘Um…evil , source- possessed, devil babies’ she finished feebly, but knowing that this had only happened once.

Cole smirked. ‘Well, that’s true, but I’ve only fathered one of those’ he said, clanking as he replied. ‘I’ll agree that you’ve saved more than one innocent.’ He leaned towards her, his face looming large. ‘But how many have you saved since your son came back from the future? You haven’t done anything but concentrate on finding out who turned your other son evil. You haven’t worried about others outside your own family at all! You have powers. You are a Charmed One. You should be saving many more innocents! It is your destiny!’.

‘Can’t I have at least a speck of a normal life?’ Piper asked. “Is that too much to ask for?’

‘Piper Halliwell’, he boomed ‘ You will never have a normal life. You are a WITCH!’.

Piper gagged a little at just the thought of never having a normal life. And that just made her sick again.

Once she raised her head from the toilet, Cole leaned in towards her again. ‘Tonight you will be visited by three more ghosts’ he whispered.

‘“I would really rather not.’ Piper groaned. ‘Can’t they come when I feel better?’.

‘Expect the first tomorrow when the clock tolls one; the second on the stroke of two and the third at three o’clock’. Cole warned, clanking around.

“Can’t I have all three at once and get it over with?” groaned Piper from the floor.

“Expect the first at one!” cried Cole ‘Heed my words! And give my love to Phoebe!’, and with much clanking and clinking, Cole disappeared.

‘Just what I need’. muttered Piper, head down the toilet again.

Suddenly she found herself opening her eyes, sobbing on the bathroom floor. She couldn’t understand why Leo hadn’t come to help her, or why all the disturbances hadn’t woken anyone else up. She felt worse than ever and decided that she was too ill to even think about cleaning up the mess in the bathroom.

She heard a muffled ‘Bong’ of the grandfather clock. What was it that ghostly Cole had said? ‘Expect the first tonight when the clock tolls one’.

Wait, it couldn’t have been a real ghost. Piper shrugged. She’d met ghosts before and she knew a real one when she saw one! ‘I must be running a fever’, she decided. ‘Leo!’ she called, ‘Leo?’.

A bright light appeared behind the shower doors. ‘Leo?’ asked Piper, squinting her eyes at the brightness of it. The lights appeared to coalesce into a human form behind the shower. ‘Oh, thank goodness’, whispered Piper, relieved that Leo had arrived at last.

The shower door opened and out stepped a young woman, dressed in a black silk dress, with short skirt slit at the side and a pair of stylish heels. Diamond earings hung from her ears, her black hair was cut in a glossy bob and in her hand she held a branch of holly.

Piper gasped. ‘Prue?’ she asked in amazement ‘Prue? Is that really you?’.

The woman looked down at her and smiled. ‘Got it in one, Piper’. She looked around the bathroom, ‘Look at the state of this place! Look at the state of you!’.

Piper groaned on the floor. ‘I know, I know…but I’m ill, pregnant….’ She paused. ‘You can’t be the ghost Cole told me about?’

“I am.” Prue looked directly at her “I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.”

‘Oh, bah, freakin’ humbug!’. Piper retorted. ‘Look Prue, I’m happy to see you, but really – I’m not in a fit state to be talking to Ghosts – sister or not – and I’m not interested in talking about Christmas! Not in the middle of freakin’ July! Why are you here anyway?’.

She felt Prue suddenly beside her on the floor. ‘Tonight I am the Spirit of Christmas Past, Piper. Your past! I’m here for your own good. If I play this part well, I might just get to come down for the real Christmas! So let’s see what we can learn, together.’ Prue stood up. ‘Snap out of it, Piper and let's go’.

‘But..but…’Piper wailed ‘I’m not well. I can’t leave Wyatt in the middle of the night! Come back later when I feel better; I think sleep would be best for me right now. And…’.

Prue silenced her with a look. ‘Take my hand’ she commanded.

Piper gave in and took her hand. Prue waved her holly branch and a thick fog enveloped them and Piper felt as if she were flying. Prue waved her holly branch and the fog began to dissolve, leaving the two standing by a Christmas tree, much like the one currently standing in the bay window of the manor.

Piper looked around in astonishment. ‘It’s the manor – when we were kids!’ she cried gleefully. ‘Prue – look!’, and she ran to where wrapped gifts lay in a heap at the side of the tree. Stockings were hung by the chimney with care, each with a name embroidered on them - ‘Prue’, ‘Piper’ and ‘Phoebe’.

‘Do you recognise this?’ asked Prue.

‘Oh yes’ cried Piper, but then her excitement suddenly gave way to sadness. ‘This is the first Christmas without Mom!’. She looked at Prue, tears springing to her eyes. ‘Why have you brought me here? I’ve got enough troubles in my life without bringing back bad memories!’ She glared at Prue. ‘Just seeing you is bad enough – do you know how long it's taken me to be able to deal with being without you?’

Piper was about to launch into a full-scale whine-a-thon when she heard the noise of sobbing. ‘Who is that?’ she asked.

‘Let’s find out,’. Prue suggested and she led Piper through to the kitchen where they found Grams comforting a young child.

‘Here’s some hot chocolate, and a hanky’ said Grams to the sobbing Piper, wiping away her tears.

‘Cinnamon, no marshmallow’ sobbed young Piper, followed by a wail ‘ I miss her so much, Grams, I want her back!’.

‘Now, sweetie’, said Grams softly, cuddling the child as she sat on the countertop. ‘Mommy has had to go, but you’ve got your sisters and me. And we’ll all make things as good as we can – as normal as we can! . And it’s Christmas, Piper, such a happy time. Your Mom always loved Christmas’. She kissed young Piper’s head as the child snuggled into her shoulder.

Piper looked at Prue. ‘She’s right, you know. Mom did love Christmas. Just like Dad did when he was around. I’m guessing that he’s the one who made sure we celebrated, even though Mom was Wiccan. Even after he was gone, she made sure we celebrated it every year. And after she was gone, then Grams made sure that we had happy ones.’

‘I remember sneaking down the stairs, watching her make those stockings for us’ Prue smiled back ‘She sat up late one Christmas Eve, sewing our names on them, trying to finish it all in time’.

There was a noise in the hallway. Grams stood up. ‘Stay here and drink your hot chocolate’ she instructed the young girl, and she went out to the hallway.

‘What’s happening?’ whispered Piper to Prue , ‘I don’t remember this’.

‘Let’s see’ said Prue, and they followed Grams out to the hallway.

Grams stood with her back to them, facing an ugly, wizened, bright blue demon. ‘Give them to me’ it was growling at Grams.

Piper instinctively threw up her hands to freeze or explode him.

‘It won’t work’ Prue warned Piper. ‘These are but shadows of what was. They cannot hear or see us, and we cannot influence them’.

‘No!’ replied Grams firmly ‘They may have lost their mother, but they won’t be losing anything else! Besides, they have no powers now’. She sighed. ‘And it’s Christmas!’

‘Foolish old witch!’ the demon snarled, ‘Christmas has no meaning for demons! And I mean to acquire those powers!’.

‘What kind of demon is it?’ hissed Piper to Prue.

‘It’s an Eb’nezer Demon – has the power to acquire and then hoard powers. They don’t really like to use them though, just…..keep them’. Prue looked at her sister ‘They’re odd little demons. Never really achieve much despite acquiring power after power’.

Grams sighed. ‘I didn’t want to have to vanquish anything on Christmas Eve and risk upsetting the girls’.

‘Give me their powers and you won't have to!’ snarled the demon

Grams glared and raised her arms as she began to chant:

'Even though it’s Christmas night,
Make this demon leave my sight’

And with a wave of her hands, the demon disappeared, leaving nothing but a bad smell.

‘Graaaaaaaaaaaams’ a wail came from the kitchen.

‘I’m coming dear’, Grams called back, running back into the kitchen.

Prue and Piper watched her go. ‘I don’t remember that’ Piper said slowly.

‘Oh, she was always vanquishing demons and defending innocents when we were kids’, Prue informed her. ‘We just didn’t notice. She was careful to ensure we had as normal a life as we could, considering we had no mother or father, and lived with our grandmother.. Grams saw to it that we ate well, went to school, had friends and all the time she was out there, protecting us, protecting innocents, doing her best to defend the world against evil’.

Piper looked at the floor.

‘And she did it without any help‘ Prue continued relentlessly. ‘She had no angelic husband. No sisters that she could call upon. She could only share some of her duties with her coven’.

Piper looked defiantly at Prue. ‘I do my best’ she began. ‘It’s so hard running a business and having kids and magical duties. And Leo’s away so much and I have to do it all myself….’.

Prue put her hands on her hips as she rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, boo hoo hoo!’ she snarked. “Let’s all feel sorry for poor, poor, pitiful Piper! You have staff who help manage P3. You have sisters who help with magical duties. You have an angelic husband who supports and guides you. P3’s doing well enough that you can afford to employ help if you needed it to help clean the manor or cook the food – but honestly, you don’t, as you prefer to whine about it!’.

‘I don’t WHINE!’ Piper whined. ‘I just want a normal life…’.

‘Forget it, Piper!’ Prue shook her head in resignation ‘You’ve never had a normal life! Ever! You’re a witch, born of witches and your destiny is Charmed! You pretend you want ‘normal’ but I don’t see you giving up your powers or trying to bind your son’s powers, the way Grams binded ours so we could have as normal of a childhood as witches could have! You marry the most unnormal man there could possibly be -- one who‘s already dead! And then you pretend to want a normal life!" Prue shook her head in disbelief. "You’ve never been ordinary, Piper, and never will be! Face up to it!’. As she was speaking, Prue became brighter and brighter till Piper had to close her eyes. ‘Truth will out, Piper, truth will out.’

And then there was silence.

Piper opened her eyes to find herself back on the floor of the bathroom, all alone, with a towel scrunched up in her hand. She dropped the towel with disgust at herself, and the mess around her, and shook her head, muttering, “A nightmare! A horrible nightmare!”

Slowly she climbed to her feet, and berated herself, “Stupid girl! Getting yourself all worked up over nothing! Imagine seeing Prue As if Prue would ever have been snarky to me! It is all in my imagination! Imagine thinking Prue could possibly be the Ghost of Christmas Past in the middle of July! That‘s what I get for watching that movie with Wyatt!”

Piper pulled herself up and crawled into the bedroom where Leo was sleeping. “Let me sleep in peace!”she pleaded with no one in particular and as she closed her eyes, again she prayed for peace and soothing sleep, with no bathroom or ghostly visits.

BONG!

Piper sat straight up as she heard the clock strike the hour. She’d lain in bed, worn out and exhausted and yet unable to sleep, feeling all alone despite a slumbering Leo next to her.

BONG!

Piper waited, holding her breath, anticipating the second ghost. And yet…nothing. She counted a full ten, waiting for either another bong or a ghostly visit, but she was both surprised and relieved to find herself still alone except for a still-slumbering Leo.

“Two,” she mused. “Well, Cole, where is this second ghost? You did say at the stroke of two! Bah, humbug! I knew it!” and Piper smiled to herself “Well, mistaken in death,” as she lay back down on his bed, “as you were in life, Cole. I knew it was my mind playing tricks, I should never have trusted you.” and she plumped her pillow and lay down, preparing for a nice, long, and hopefully restful sleep with no more disturbances.

‘PIPER HALLIWELL!”

Piper’s eyes popped opened as she sat up and looked around. Again she heard her name called, and when she looked around, she saw a bright light shining from beneath the door leading into the hall, a light that grew until it made the entire door glow.

Piper got up and slowly walked to the door and began to open it when the voice boomed, ‘COME IN, PIPER HALLIWELL!”

In terror, she staggered back to her bed and climbed under the covers, and snuggled into Leo’s back. She began shaking her slumbering husband frantically.‘Wake up Leo, wake up, please!’

“COME HERE, PIPER HALLIWELL! I AM WAITING FOR YOU! OR SHALL I COME IN THERE AND GET YOU?!”

“I’m coming!” wailed Piper. . ‘Leo – can’t you hear this noise?’ She shook Leo, but he didn’t wake, merely rolled over in his sleep.

I’m coming!” Piper staggered to the door although she was afraid of what could try to come and get in, ‘I’m really not well, I truly need my sleep without all of these disturbances!’. she gasped, partly in fear and partly in annoyance.

As she reached the door, the voice cried out, “I AM THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT. COME IN, PIPER, HALLIWELL AND KNOW ME BETTER!”

She opened the door and again found a dazzling light. All she could do was think, ‘Oh, no, not again! Prue. Leave me alone! Cole. Leave me alone!’

“WELCOME, PIPER HALLIWELL! IS IT TOO BRIGHT FOR YOU?”

‘You’re damn right it is!’ Piper snapped. ‘Look, I’m pregnant and I’m sick. I already have a terrible headache without your bright light and blaring voice. I’ve been throwing up all night.. Is it too much to ask if I can get a decent night’s sleep?’.

She peered out into the hallway, as the light dimmed. It was no longer the hallway she recognized. Then she saw the Ghost of Christmas Present and gasped in surprise and recognition.

It wasn’t Cole.

It wasn’t Prue.

It was…

Wanna guess who it is?? Wanna *know* who it is?? You know what do to!

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER THREE

Darryl.

Well, it was Lieutenant Darryl Morris and yet not a Darryl she knew. He smiled at her and boomed, ‘WELCOME PIPER, COME AND KNOW ME AND HUMANITY BETTER!’

‘Can we postpone this? And please stop shouting!,’ Piper was feeling sick again. ‘I’m not really fit for company, far less meeting humanity or any more ghosts!’. She looked at Darryl again. ‘Besides, you’re not a ghost! You‘re Darryl and unlike Cole or Prue, you’re not even dead! You’re just not entirely happy with us or talking to us much’.

Warming to a theme, Piper began to nag. ‘Honestly, Darryl, you know what our life is like! You shouldn’t be sulking! And you should know better than to turn up here at this time of night, pretending to be a ghost! Do you know how easily I could’ve accidentally vanquished you?’.

The Ghost looked slightly taken aback. ‘PIPER HALLIWELL,’ he then paused and reduce the volume. ‘I may look like the Darryl Morris who you know, but I only take his form so I will seem more familiar to you. I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, but you may call me Darryl.

"Every Christmas, my brother spirits and I visit this puny little planet, to spread some happiness and to remove as many as we can of the causes of human misery, which is why I have come to see you!

"We take on the form of people who care for humanity and visit those who don’t. My fellow spirits warned me how snippy and bad-tempered you could be, and I found it hard to believe you could be so horrible! I see now that they understated the truth!’.

Piper was outraged. ‘Snippy?’ she yelled ‘Bad-tempered? Horrible?’ She glared at Darryl the Ghost. ‘How can you say that? I’m the head of the Charmed Ones! I’ve done more for people than you can ever know. I’m full of compassion and tolerance. I’m the pin-up girl for sympathy, consideration and generosity!’. She paused, ‘I mean..have you met my sisters? Compared with them, I’m the sweet-natured one!’.

‘Compassion? Generosity?’ Darryl the Ghost roared with laughter. ‘That may have been true at one point, a long time ago, before you were married, before you lost your older sister and took on that role of the leader. Now look at your life!’

Piper drew herself up to face the ghost. ‘If you had as hard a life as I had, faced constant danger and possible death, not to mention trying to have a normal life – you’d be fed up and grumpy, too, sometimes! It’s just that sometimes my own life takes priority!’.

Piper was angry now, angry as well as feeling sick. ‘And if you’re the Ghost of Christmas Present, what are you doing here anyway?. It’s not really Christmas! It’s freakin' July!’.

Darryl the Ghost looked at her. ‘We Spirits of Christmas do not give only one day of our year. We Spirits of Christmas have compassion, sympathy and goodwill for humankind all the days of the year. We live the whole 365 days, even if we Spirits of Christmas Present spend but one day upon your planet. Since your sister decided to celebrate Christmas here in this place for the first time in many years, I was allowed to come. Piper Halliwell, you have chosen to turn your heart and mind away from your destiny. You no longer choose to help those you were chosen to help. You choose only to help your own family. Therefore, you shall come with me and learn about those who you have turned your back on’.

‘Oh, no!’ said Piper, nervously backing away from Darryl the Ghost, who had approached her waving a holly branch. ‘I’m a pregnant lady. I shouldn’t be going anywhere but my bed right now’ She nodded towards the holly branch. ‘And besides, how do I know you’re licensed to fly that thing?’.

Darryl the Ghost merely smiled at Piper and took hold of her hand and waved the holly branch.

‘Oh, don’t you dare take me anywhere!’ Piper began, but it was too late.

Scenes appeared before Piper – some she recognized, but they were over in a flash. They showed examples of magic in the everyday lives of people – people inspired by muses, children and fairies, luck bestowed by leprechauns, chance meetings of love engineered by cupids – all of these things demonstrating to Piper the wonder of magic at work. And in every place that Darryl showed her, he encouraged more magic – simple, helpful kind magic - that cheered people by giving them more color, more hope in their lives.

‘What’s the point of this?’ asked Piper ‘This is just everyday sort of stuff.’

Darryl the Ghost smiled. ‘And do you do this everyday sort of stuff?’.he asked.

‘Of course not!’ Piper retorted, ‘It’s far too time-consuming and inconvenient. And it’s stuff any magical being can do. I’m a Charmed One. I do much more important work like demon-fighting. There are plenty of other supernatural beings to bring a bit of magic into peoples’ lives! ’.

‘Let’s see then’. the ghost said. ‘Let’s see why I chose Darryl Morris, who’s not even magical, as my form. He does magic, too‘.

The ghost waved the holly branch again. A different set of scenarios opened up before them:

Several of the scenes showed Darryl himself, risking his life in everyday situations; doing his policework saving people, rescuing people, trying to create order on the streets, as well as the magical threats he’d confronted with the sisters, sometimes unwillingly.

This was followed by other scenes that showed situations around the world, where people confronted danger and evil – some demonic and some human evils, but all without the help of magic. The image of the people suffering, terrified by both demonic and human evil, was too much for Piper.

‘What’s this ?’ cried Piper. ‘What's this got to do with me? Some of these people aren’t even in the United States, never mind San Francisco! Why should I help them?’. She turned away from Darryl the Ghost. ‘Is it too much to ask that I can have a normal life?’ she moaned.

‘You aren’t normal’ he pointed out. ‘You have powers, a great gift to enable you to do great good. But you choose to only use them to protect your own family’.

‘But I can’t help everyone!’ she whined. ‘Its not fair…I just want a normal family!’.

Darryl the Ghost leaned closer to her. ‘But you don’t, Piper. You’ve had options. You’d hate life without your powers now and you know it. They are as much a part of you as breathing. The Angel of Destiny gave you a choice. You chose to keep them’.

‘But why show me things I can do nothing about?’ she whined.

‘But you can’, replied Darryl the Ghost. ‘You can do some good every single day, whether magically or not’.

‘But these people – they’ve nothing to do with me!’ insisted Piper ‘and why should I be bothered with the little demons anymore? Chris told us that a demon is going to turn Wyatt evil. That’s the only demons who concern me, the ones who might hurt Wyatt or Chris after he‘s born! And as for people in trouble or need? Well, I can’t do anything about that! I’m too busy protecting the Twice-Blessed Child, as is my duty as his mother!’.

Darryl the Ghost suddenly grew larger. He appeared to tower over her, and Piper felt herself cower. ‘THESE PEOPLE’ he roared ‘THESE INNOCENTS - SUFFER ON A DAILY BASIS! YOU MAY NOT SEE THEM, BUT THEY ARE THERE. SCARED, LONELY, HELPLESS, SUFFERING AND DYING!’ He pointed a finger at Piper. ‘THEY ARE AS MUCH YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A CHARMED ONE AS YOUR OWN FAMILY, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN SAN FRANCISCO! THEY ARE ALL PART OF HUMANKIND! PROTECTING THEM IS YOUR DUTY AS A CHARMED ONE’.

Suddenly they heard chimes. Darryl the Ghost smiled. “The time has come for me to leave you, Piper Halliwell’.

“Leave me?” Piper felt confused, alone and scared. ‘Leave me here?”

“Oh, yes!” Darryl the Ghost grinned at her.

“Well...you can’t!’ she demanded ‘Take me back to my bed!”.

Darryl the Ghost shook his head, laughing. “It is much too late for that!”

“It’s cold,” pleaded Piper. “This place is strange. Don’t leave me. I’m not well! Please!”

Darryl the Ghost just laughed as once more bright light shone, forcing Piper to close her eyes. When she opened them, the Darryl-Ghost was gone and she was totally alone. In a dark, gloomy, dank place that was unrecognizable. And despite it being the middle of the summer, the howling wind was so bitingly cold that she shivered in her light nightgown.

“Darryl?” she cried.

“Darrrrrrrryl!” her voice echoed back.

‘Cole?”

“Coooooooole”.

“Prue?”

“Pruuuuuuuuuuue”.

“Ghosts?”

“Ghooooooooosts”.

“Leo!”

“Leoooooooooo".

“Anyone?’.

But no one appeared, not even a ghost. Only Piper’s own voice answered back. "Anyyyyyyyyyyone" mocked the echo.

“Come back!”she shouted.

“Back! Back! Back!”

“I want to go home! I want to talk!”

“Talk! Talk! Talk!” and the echo seemed to taunt her.

Besides the echo, she was only answered by dripping water and the cold, whistling wind.

“Perhaps I have made a mistake here and there,” she admitted to herself. ‘ I-I-I’m a reasonable person. I can manage to think of others besides just my own family! I’ve listened and I’ve learned, honest!”.

Only silence answered her.

“Have pity on me! Don’t leave me!”

But again only the dripping water and the whistling wind answered.

Piper sat down in despair. “What have I done to be abandoned like this? Leo, LEO?”

But Leo didn't appear.


Just then, she heard the clock began tolling. She remembered that Cole had forecasted that the third Ghost would arrive when the clock struck three. She remembered the movie she had watched with Wyatt and knew that the next ghost would be The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, the ghost that scared Scrooge the most. She always thought that was simply a story, but tonight was proving that it wasn’t, that it was real, even if it was the middle of July!

Thinking of Prue as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Darryl as the Ghost of Christmas Present, she wondered who would this last ghost be? Who or what would it be? Would it help her or harm her? She looked around her as the last bell struck. Then she saw it.

A tall, thin, solemn-looking figure, draped and hooded; a cloud of doom and gloom appearing to surround it.

INTERLUDE

For all of those who wondered why Leo wasn't responding

Leo had felt Piper move out of the bed as she got up to use the bathroom. Tired by the evenings festivities, he’d fallen back asleep. But now suddenly something woke him a few moments later – a feeling he recognized. One of his charges needed him. And not just one of his charges--his love!.

‘Piper!’ he thought immediately. ‘Where are you, Piper?’ he shouted. Seeing her not lying next to him, he leapt out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

Piper lay on the floor, unconscious. Instinctively, Leo went to heal her, but then realized that this was potentially not a magical illness and even as an Elder he was not allowed to heal injuries not caused by magic -- he could have his wings clipped and his soul recycled. It was obvious that Piper had been very sick. Grabbing a wet towel, he sat on the floor, cradling Piper in his arms as he kissed and mopped her hot face. ‘Phoebe!’ he yelled. ‘Paige!’

The sisters ran in. Chris, who was had been too tired after the festivities to orb back to P3 and was simply sleeping in the attic, orbed in. ‘What’s going on? What’s wrong - oh!’, they gasped as they saw Piper in Leo’s arms.

‘Heal her!’demanded Phoebe, ‘What are you waiting for?’.

‘I can’t if it's not a magical illness, remember?’ whispered Leo as he cradled his sick wife’s head.

‘Should I call for a doctor or orb her straight to the hospital?’ asked Paige.

‘What can have caused it?’ asked Chris, looking at the mess.

Phoebe recognized the mess, having made such a mess before herself. ‘It looks like food poisoning’.

'Oh, no!' cried Paige, tears in her eyes'.

Leo looked up. ‘But we all ate the same thing!’.

Paige puzzled. ‘We did…and all of us are ok. Most of us even had double or triple helpings!’.

‘Wait’ cried Chris as it hit him, ‘The only thing that Mom had that we didn’t was…the gravy!’.

‘That’s right!’ cried Phoebe. ‘You two had an orbing accident with it!’.

’I’ll orb to the kitchen and see if there’s any left in the gravy boat,‘ Paige decided. ‘If I can get a sample, the doctor might be able to tell if that’s what’s caused this and give her antibiotics’. And she disappeared in a flurry of lights.

‘Wait’ cried Phoebe, but it was too late. ‘I put the dishes in the dishwasher’ she grimaced. ‘there won’t be any samples left!’.

‘I’ll go tell her’ said Chris. ‘You stay here and help Leo’. And he orbed out to tell Paige.

‘What can I do to help?’ Phoebe asked Leo.

‘She’s burning up’, he replied quietly. deeply worried, ‘I’m going to at least bring her back to bed. Would you mind cleaning up in here? We’ll get her to a doctor as soon as we can’.


‘Paige’ called Chris as he orbed into the kitchen. She was standing crying over the clean dishes in the dishwasher. ‘Oh – you found them’, he said ‘Phoebe said that she’d put them in the dishwasher’.

‘What will we do?’ wailed Paige.

‘We’ll just get her to a doctor.’Chris reassured his aunt. ‘They’ll be able to fix it. Don’t feel bad. It was a terrific meal! Mom will be fine!’. His reassurance covered up his own concern. He’d never seen his mother so pale, clammy and yet burning up with a fever.

‘Wait!’. Paige paused in her tears. ‘The floor! Did anyone clean that?’.

‘What do you think?’ asked Chris with a roll of his eye, ‘Can you imagine Mom leaving a stain like that for a moment longer than necessary?’.

‘Yes, but it was Phoebe who cleaned it up!’ cried Paige. ‘Piper can barely bend over, she’s gotten so big! Phoebe’s not the best at housework!’

They ran into the dining room to check the floor.

A strange glow marked the spot where the gravy had splashed. ‘Whoa!’ gasped Chris ‘Look at that!’.

They peered at it. ‘I’ve never seen gravy glow like that!’, said Paige.

‘Me neither’, agreed Chris, puzzled. He held his head suddenly. ‘Ouch!’ he said ‘where did this come from?’.

‘What?’

Chris suddenly fell over. ‘Eurhghgg’ he groaned. ‘I feel awful’

Paige stared at him, horrified. She realized that he was beginning to look rather fuzzy round the edges. ‘You can’t have food poisoning too! It can’t hit you that quickly!’.

She reached out to touch him, but she had problems actually gripping him. ‘Chris?’ Panicked, she tried to hug him, but his body appeared to flicker from solid to nebulous.


Upstairs, Piper was growing weaker. ‘I’m going to have to orb her to the hospital’, Leo told Phoebe. ‘Not just for her, but for the baby!’.

Meanwhile, Sam’n’Ella and Ecoli were feasting on Piper’s strength, enjoying a banquet more tasty than the ones the Halliwell had enjoyed. The demons hadn’t realized at first that she was pregnant but were slowly working their way towards draining the baby’s strength and powers too.

‘This is fabulous’, cried Ella as she devoured more of Piper’s magic, ‘And we have the baby for dessert!’

Ecoli chuckled nastily. ‘We’ll have the powers of one Charmed One – the one who they count as their leader! Once she’s gone, the others will fall to us easily! They’ll be so busy mourning her death, they won’t even notice us sneaking up on them!’.

Didn't Justro do an absolutely fantastic job with this or what?? Also, any ideas 1) how they'll get out of this and 2) who the third ghost will be? You know what to do if you want to find out...

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER FOUR

The Spirit wore a deep garment, which concealed its face and form, and revealed nothing, only two tiny pricks of bright light for eyes shining within the darkness of what should have been its face. The light glowed with an unholy intensity. Although it was tall and stately, its mysterious presence filled Piper with a solemn dread. The intimidating figure neither spoke nor moved.

“Are you the third ghost that Cole mentioned would visit me?” Piper asked timorously.

The upper portion of the garment contracted for an instant, as if the figure had nodded its head.

“You are about to show me the shadows of things that have not yet happened, but will happen in the future. Is that right?”

This time the figure only stood there, unmoving.

“Um’, Piper’s voice quavered. ‘You really don’t need to. I’m scared enough and I’ve learned enough already. I just need to go back to bed and get better and I’ll rethink what we do as Charmed Ones’.

The Spirit merely stood there.

“Won’t you say something? Anything?’ Piper found the silence of the figure more menacing than any amount of Cole’s chain-clanking or Prue’s snarkiness or Darryl the Ghost’s fierce compassion.

The figure suddenly put an arm around Piper and pointed off into the distance.

“Oh, okay’, Piper trembled in fear ‘We’ll go over there’, She was terrified by the presence of this fearful figure, and the vague weight of its arm around her made her shiver and the hairs on her arm stand up.

As they began to walk, there was a bright flash of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Piper closed her eyes against the brightness. When she opened them she was standing on a piece of desolate, uninhabited ground. Around her some trees swayed in the wind, but everything she could see looked grey and tumbledown, in ruins.

There was another flash of lightning, and the skyline lit up. Just for a second, Piper thought she could see the Golden Gate bridge, but all she could distinguish were pieces of broken, twisted metal, sticking up out of the water. When she looked around she could see buildings, smashed and incomplete.

To her horror, she realized where she was, in the future. She was in Golden Gate Park and the derelict buildings were all that was left of San Francisco.

‘What has happened?’ she cried ‘Who did this to the world? Has there been an earthquake? A tidal wave? A terror attack?’. She clutched the Ghost’s arm and gazed up at it. ‘Please – tell me! Is my family okay? What has happened?’. She felt tears on her face and realized she was crying at the destruction of the city she knew and loved.

There was another bright flash of lightning and another loud clap of thunder, and this time, when Piper opened her eyes, she was in the midst of a crowd. Despite the rain and gloomy skies, people were queuing to get in through a doorway. ‘Oh!’ she gasped in amazement, looking around her.

What had once been a smart street with beautiful period houses was now an empty space littered with ruins. The only house she could see standing in the entire neighborhood was the one in front of her, Halliwell Manor.

‘Ghost – Spirit – what is going on?’ She tugged at the ghost’s arm and pleaded with it. ‘Please – tell me this isn’t the future where Phoebe is burned at the stake!’.

Her tears became sobs, as she moved forward with the crowd into the manor, with the silent spirit beside her. ‘Why won’t you speak to me? Just explain this to me? Is this another personal-gain consequence? Did demons do this? Tell me!’.


Meanwhile, a perky tour guide was giving her introductory spiel about fire exits and various magical precautions. Despite her misgivings and general unhappiness, Piper listened. ‘I don’t understand’ she thought as she listened to the warnings about the use of magic, ‘since when could magic not be used in the manor?’.

The tour guide continued ‘Around here you'll notice just a few of the many mythological creatures the legendary sisters transformed into in their demon-fighting heyday. Notice Phoebe’s mermaid outfit and superhero outfits on the right. Actually, The Charmed Ones, with both Prue and Paige as part of the trio, were responsible for well over a thousand demon vanquishes before they were finally vanquished themselves. First Prue, then Piper. And Phoebe in the Power Struggles. Even now it is hard to imagine her as a traitor. Paige, of course, was last – her shrine is over in the living room. Now, the time is twenty-five years ago. Imagine yourselves standing here on this floor when The Charmed Ones were reborn’.

A holograph appeared in the centre of the room of Piper, Phoebe and Paige where the Power of Three was reconstituted again.

Holograph Paige: ‘Okay, what was that?’

Holograph Leo: ‘ I think that means you're supposed to be here’

‘I remember this!’ Piper smiled for the first time since she had met the Ghost from the Future.

Suddenly, Holograph Shax barged through the door and knocked the holograph sisters down.

The crowd and Piper gasped. Just as Holograph Piper was about to try to blast him, the tour guide turned off the holograph.

‘Power Struggles?’ Piper wondered. ‘Please’, she asked her ghostly companion. ‘When is this? What is she talking about? I can’t imagine Phoebe being a traitor!’

The Ghost said nothing, but merely pointed to the living room.

The perky tour guide carried on her spiel for the tour group, ‘Okay, let's head over to the kitchen where many of the sisters' classic potions were brewed. That, of course, was where Piper ruled. Some of those potions are now available for purchase in the gift shop on the way out. Of course, the attic was the preferred spot for potion-making, principally because that's where they kept the famed Book of Shadows. Which is where we're headed next. A little background on the Halliwell Manor itself, it was actually...’

As the group disappeared into the kitchen, Piper gazed round the living room. Her living room – the one she knew and loved and had lived in all her life. It was more or less the same, only large informative panels decorated the room. There was a shrine to Paige at one side.

‘Can I read the panels, Ghost?’ asked Piper, and without waiting, she walked over to the nearest one and she began to read:

‘Halliwell Manor Museum’

The manor was built in 2024 and stands as a permanent monument to the Halliwell family. Even Phoebe, despite her traitorous ways, is honored here for the work she did as a Charmed One.’

‘But this is only 20 or so years into my future’, Piper mused as she looked around, ‘Where are Wyatt and Chris? Why is there no mention of them? Or Leo?’

She looked around the room, hoping to find a mention of why Phoebe had been a traitor and then noticed a floor plan. Walking over to it, she saw that marked on it were shrines to Prue and to herself. It was an eerie sensation. Then she noticed a panel by Paige’s shrine and crossed to read it:

'Paige Matthews'

After the death of Piper Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell joined forces with demonkind, in an effort to destroy the Savior, the Chosen One. Paige Matthews discovered this plot and bravely turned her own half-sister over to the Savior.

As punishment for her treachery, Phoebe Halliwell was executed; and the Chosen One decreed that the execution would be publicly available to all beings, in all worlds. Every channel broadcasted the execution of this traitor. Anyone who refused to watch quickly followed her in death.

Thanks to Paige Matthews' bravery, as a result of the capture and execution of the traitor, a truce was signed between the human and demonic worlds, which keeps the balance of the world as it is today, under the auspices of the Chosen One, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, Savior.

‘I can’t believe this!’ Piper began crying again. ‘How could this happen? They can’t mean my Wyatt! They can't!’ She looked up at the Ghostly figure ‘Why – how – is this happening? Show me!’.

There was another bright flash of lightning and another loud clap of thunder. When Piper opened her eyes, she saw a number of scenes unfolding in front of her, as if she was watching a movie.

She watched as she saw herself and her family playing, continuing to use magic in their everyday lives for their own, small benefits, ignoring demon attacks on others. She saw the multiple uses of magic as an everyday resource for her and her family, and concentrating on only protecting their own family from demon attacks, especially protecting Wyatt. She also watched as the family laughed whenever either Wyatt or Chris used their own magic for personal gain.

She saw herself defending her sons against an attack of multiple demons – saw herself mortally injured, and dying.

She watched as Leo orbed in to save her, but arriving too late. She watched as Wyatt tried to bring her back to life - and Leo, despite his grief, trying to reason with his son and stop him from his impossible task.

Piper screamed as in his grief-stricken rage, Wyatt directed his anger at his father and used his awesome powers as the Twice-Blessed Child to totally obliterate Leo.

Then she gasped in horror as she watched Wyatt go mad with grief and power, stalking the world, hunting down demons, sometimes with Chris, but mostly alone.

She watched as Phoebe and Paige tried to control their nephew, tried to keep him calm, and hunted for the only person they thought could control Wyatt--Leo--not knowing what their nephew had done to their whitelighter.

Tears rolled down Piper’s cheeks as she watched Phoebe finally figure out that Wyatt had finally gone too far and was no longer motivated by a quest for revenge but a thirst for power. This led her to also discover what had happened to Leo.

Piper watched as Phoebe tried to warn Paige, who refused to believe that their sweet Wyatt would possibly do such a thing to Leo.

She watched as Phoebe tried to make a demonic alliance to stop Wyatt, but when she tried to talk Paige into joining them, Paige betrayed her.

Tears now flooded Piper's cheeks as she watched Wyatt capture Phoebe by using Chris as bait – and executing her – slowly and painfully - while Paige and Chris were forced to watch in anguish.

She watched as Paige finally realized the truth and sneakily tried to kill Wyatt using all her powers in a desperate attempt to save the world from his madness, but failing and being vanquished herself.

Worst of all, she had to watch Wyatt accuse his own brother Chris of murdering Paige and as penalty, imprisoned him permanently so that he would never be able to go back to the past and warn the sisters of what was to come.

All of this unfolded before Piper in a fast-forward sequence that although may have been but a few moments, felt like an eternity to her.

Piper could barely take this all in. She fell to floor weeping, her desperate sobs wracking her body, ‘I can’t endure this!' She looked up at her silent companion. 'Say it’s not true! I can't be the demon who turns Wyatt evil! I can't! I won't! I'll change! I promise I'll change! Please! I’ve seen enough –take me home! Please! This is torture!’.

Suddenly the ghost began to laugh, evil laughter that scratched across Piper's heart like fingernails against a chalkboard. Reaching up, it pushed back its hood to reveal a face that made her scream, 'NO'!

The final chapter is next! You know what to do if you want to see if and how this all works out!

[Esmeralda]

Note from Justro: Don't hate me! I had actually planned two other people to be this ghost - and then, when I wrote it - this name just fitted right in. So it was as much a surpise to me as it was to anyone else.

CHAPTER FIVE

The face that stared back at Piper was familiar as well as familial. She screamed again, as the hand of her adult son, Wyatt reached from the robe and shoved her into the black pit that had opened up, a smirk on his face.

‘NO!’ she screamed as she fell in the chasm. And as she fell, the light around her grew brighter and brighter while she could hear the sarcastic, evil laugh of her older son.

.........................................

‘Leo, Phoebe!’ Paige shouted ‘Chris is disappearing!’

Not knowing what to do, she orbed Chris and herself to the now crowded bedroom. Leo had been about to orb out with Piper’s unconscious body when he’d heard Paige’s shout.

‘Look!’ she cried, pointing to a now unconscious and semi-transparent Chris. ‘ And the spot where the gravy landed on the floor is glowing!’.

‘Glowing?’ Phoebe looked confused. ‘Since when does gravy glow’?

‘We’ll go check it and then go to the hospital. Chris is being affected as the baby is affected by the illness,’ Leo explained, and they all orbed to the dining room.

Phoebe looked at the glowing stain on the floor. ‘Piper wasn’t kidding about gravy stains!’ she gasped, ‘ She’s gonna be so mad at me for not cleaning it properly!’.

Leo considered the luminous mark. ‘I don’t think that’s an infection,’ he said. ‘ I think its demonic!’.

‘Demonic gravy?’, gasped Paige and Phoebe in shock, followed by ‘If it’s demonic , you can heal her!’.

Leo knelt by Piper and held his hands over her. A white glow beamed from his hands. ‘If I heal her, Chris will heal too’. They watched as the white light began to envelope Piper’s body, concentrating on her tummy.

‘Look at Chris!’ cried Paige, as he began to solidify again.


Piper felt herself falling into bright light. Expecting to land with a crash at any second, she felt confused when she heard voices calling her. She opened her eyes and looked around.

‘What is going on?’ she began, confused by the concerned faces around her. All she could see was Leo, Phoebe, Paige and Chris bent over her, looking worried. With Leo’s help she sat up. She reached up and touched all of them, ensuring that they were all real.

‘You’re all here?’ she asked repeatedly ‘I’m really alive and awake and there’s no ghosts! It’s still July but it’s still not Christmas?’.They all reassured her that she’d just been the victim of a nasty bout of demonic food-poisoning -possession. ‘I’ve been having the weirdest dream’, she said. ‘Well, maybe it was a dream and maybe not, but all I know is it taught me a lot. I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now I want to kick some demon ass!’.

Taking charge, she called to her sisters ‘We need a potion, and a spell. We’re doing this job thoroughly!’

Paige ran to the kitchen to quickly throw a potion together. Phoebe set to work on a spell, while Piper took Leo and Chris aside.

‘One thing we must instill into Wyatt and Chris as they are growing up is ‘No using magic for personal gain’ and ‘Innocents come first’, she told them firmly. ‘And we have to instill it by doing so ourselves! We must set the best example we possibly can!’

When they were ready, they gathered around the stain on the floor. Sam’n’Ella , and Ecoli were still there, having been thrown out of Piper’s body by Leo’s healing. They were still reeling from having tasted so much power and the chance of obtaining a Charmed One’s soul, plus a magical baby.

‘We’ll try again’, said Sam.

And soon’, agreed Ella, with a nasty sneer.

Above the miniscule demons, the sisters gathered round. Paige held the potion, ready to throw. It had everything in it she thought appropriate:

1. blood cleansing bladderwrack,
2. some newt's tongue,
3. mind-clearing rosemary
4. and some Diar-eze she’d found in the kitchen cabinet. She’d figured it wouldn’t do any harm!

Piper handed out copies of the spell she’d written and the sisters held hands and began to chant :

Little demons with no name
That slime and ooze and cause such pain
Be vanquished now; remove this stain
But ensure we do it for no personal gain

Paige threw the potion on the stain on the floor. The feculence and gastric demons writhed in pain, and rose from the floor in their real forms – giant, sludgy amorphous blobs. ‘Eeurghhhhhhhhhh’ they wailed, the way demons generally did when vanquished.

Phoebe wrinkled her nose. ‘What was that last line about?’she asked Piper.

‘I’ll tell you in the morning’, said Piper. ‘I’m too tired right now. But I’ll tell you this. I promise, we’ll have Christmas, a real Christmas – but at the right time of year! With a very special guest! And, guaranteed absolutely no gravy!’.


THE END