Chapter 55: The Unsinkable Ms. Matthews

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

Wyatt stood over the crib, watching his son. Wyatt felt such pride watching his son wiggle around in the crib. He had created this life and he'd been watching him, silently, holding him and talking to him. Wyatt missed his life here, how it felt to be with his family and have the love of his life beside him. He missed the warmth that came with love and everything that meant. There was a quick pace of footsteps and Wyatt became invisible.

"Hello." Drake said into the air, looking around the crib. Drake could feel something, someone, but couldn't see anyone. He walked to the crib and looked down at his son, pulling the covers back over him. Wyatt stood behind him, wanting to reach out and touch him, to hold him, to kiss him, but he moved back and let the notion go, orbing away, "Hello?" Drake said to himself. Again, he was alone.

-           

"Pandora, isn't this something you should, I don't know, ask your mom about?" Chris asked, standing in front of the coffee pot.

"Come on, Chris, I'm trying to keep this from my parents." Pandora said, "And my sister and it's not easy with the connection we have."

"I'm swamped." Chris sighed, "Besides, I really think you need your parents."

"When did you get so old?" Pandora asked.

Chris frowned, "Hey! I'm not old. I just..."

"Whatever Chris, I've got to go to school. Thanks a lot." Pandora said angrily leaving.

As she swept by me and the baby, I took note of her speed, "She's not happy." I said, "Everybody loves the baby."

"She wants our help." Chris said.

"Oh yeah, on what?" I asked.

"Pandora fell in love." Chris sighed.

I nodded, "Okay, what's the problem?" I asked.

"She thinks she might be pregnant." Chris said.

"And she needed our help for that?" I asked.

"Her dad doesn't approve of the guy and she's scared." Chris said, "She wants us to take her to the doctor."

"And you just let her leave?" I asked, "Chris, what's gotten into you? Your heart is in deep freeze lately."

"I'm busy." Chris said.

"You know, I talked to Bianca. She called, said when she calls you it goes straight to voicemail." I said, "You're avoiding her."

"Is your brother still here?" Chris asked, sipping coffee.

I sighed, "Chris..."

"Okay, I'll try and help Pandora, but if Aunt Paige finds out, she'll kill me." He said.

"Thanks." I said, "But I think I'll help her with this. You just try and give Bianca another chance, please?"

"Why do you care if I date her again?" Chris asked.

"I love you, Chris." I said, "I can see you're hurting and I think it's time for us all to try and move on."

Chris nodded, looking into his cup, "I'm gonna go." He said, sitting his cup down on the counter and kissing baby Matthew on the forehead and leaving.

I looked down at my baby, "He loves her." I said quickly, "They just need some help."

-           

I walked through the hallways of the same high school I had when I was younger, holding my baby in the carrier. There were odd stares and rightly so. I mean I was the only adult cruising the hallways with a baby. I was looking for Pandora or Patty. Either twin would do. I even looked for one of Phoebe's, but as far as I could see there were no Halliwells in the Hall. I was about to go to the front office when I bumped into Penny, Phoebe's middle child.

"Hey, Drake, what're you doing here?" Penny asked.

"Trying to find your cousin, Pandora." I said.

"Pandora's skipping gym with her boyfriend, Dan." Penny explained.

"Oh really? Any idea where they are?" I asked.

-           

Chris was taking inventory, counting every single thing in the inventory. Drake was so out of line, or at least he would be if he weren't family. His situation wasn't exactly ideal! But he didn't know about it. That was the major difference between their situation. Wyatt was a puss and Drake was a father. Bianca was a mystery. What did she want with him? To string him along again? To play with his emotions and pull at his heartstrings? Chris was older now and he knew what to expect.

"Chris." Bianca said, appearing from nowhere.

Chris jumped, looking around to make sure no one saw, "Bianca!" he said.

"Everybody's somewhere else." She said quickly, "Did you get my messages?"

"Yeah, I did." Chris sighed, "Listen, Bianca, I just need some time."

"You need time? I'm not asking you to date me, I just want to help you get through this." Bianca said.

"Get throu..." Chris found the answer, "Oh, yeah, Wyatt..."

Bianca looked at him strangely.

"Thanks, but my family's got that pretty much under control." Chris said, "People that love me."

"I love you." Bianca said.

"Unconditionally." Chris said, "Without conditions."

Bianca nodded, "So, we can't even be friends?" she asked.

"I don't think so." Chris said, "You broke my heart."

"I know I made a mistake. I walked away from you and pushed you away when all I wanted was you! I'm trying to make up for it, but you're not letting me." Bianca said, her heart where everyone could see, "It think we're made for each other."

Chris looked at her, then away, "I have stuff to do." He said.

"Chris, I'm not giving up on us." Bianca said, "Call me when you're ready."

-           

"Glen!" Paige said, walking over and hugging him. Glen Belland and his wife Jessica were in town and they had come to meet Paige and her husband, Henry. Paige was so excited to see Glen, because he was, after all, her oldest friend. Before she had her sisters, she had him. They had lost touch for so long, but now that he was back in town, things could get back to the way they were before, best friends. Henry wasn't threatened at all, which made Paige so happy and even Jessica seemed to be smiling as they hugged. The two couples took their seats and sat down, just taking in each other for a while, then they began talking about their lives so far. Glen revealed that he had two sons and a daughter. Paige revealed that she had two daughters and a son. The night was going so well and Paige was so happy, usually a demon would attack or something, but that was in the old days.

-           

I walked around a corner, carrying Matthew's seat. I should have brought his stroller! I kept having the feeling that I was being watched, like someone was right next to me but when I looked, there was no one there. I felt annoyed by it. I was walking when a guy blew past the baby and I. I walked faster and heard crying. I walked around the corner to see Pandora sitting on a stone bench, crying. All I could see was Pandora, the little girl she had been, crying on the bench. I walked over and sat beside her, putting my arm around her shoulder. She didn't stop crying, nor did she look at me.

"What're you doing here?" She said between sobs.

"I came here to...was that the boy?" I asked.

"Yeah." Pandora said, "I told him that I was probably pregnant and he...he..." and she burst into another sob.

I hugged her closer, "Pandie, it's all going to be alright." I said, "Right now, I just need you to pee on this stick."

Pandora looked at me, "I already tried, I need to go to the doctor." She said.

"Well, let's go." I said.

"Really?" Pandora asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

-           

Pandora and I walked into the house to see Chris, Paige, and three strangers sitting in the living room. I entered slowly, not taking my eyes off them. I walked over to Paige and let Matthew's carrier hit the floor. Paige beamed up at me and Chris was grinning. The older man was Paige's age and quite a fox, the woman, his wife, was beautiful too, and his...son? Was super cute.

"Drake!" Paige said, gesturing to the people, "Pandora?"

"I just came to see the book." Pandora said, passing them all and going upstairs.

Paige smirked, "That's my daughter." She beamed, "And this is my other nephew, Drake, and his son, Matthew."

"Hi." I said.

"Hi." They replied back.

"Drake, this is Glen Bellad, his wife Jessica, and his son, Seann." Paige smiled.

Seann was...good googly moogly! He favored that actor, Travis Van Winkle. He was tall and had his mother's blonde hair and his father's eyes. Seann greeted me with a strong handshake and I just stared for a second.

Suddenly, Paige's phone rang and she walked a few feet away.

"...Yeah, Henry...she what? She skipped school? An..."

But I had my baby and was already on my way to the attic. Once I got there, Paige orbed in front of me.

"You have some major explaining to do." Paige said.

"Guess I should go." Pandora said.

"You stay right there!" Paige barked, "Did you take her out of school?"

I pulled the baby up, "Technically, no." I said.

"Don't you lie to me!" Paige yelled.

"He's not lying, I was already skipping." Pandora said.

Paige looked from me to her, "You...were skipping?" she asked.

"I know I..." I started.

"You know what, you're a new parent, so I won't hold this bone head move against you. But you should have known better." Paige frowned.

"Mom, don't be mad, he was just helping me." Pandora said.

"Helping you with what?" Paige asked.

Pandora was silent for a minute.

"With what, Pandora!" Paige persisted.

"She thought she was pregnant." Chris said, walking into the room.

Paige looked from us to her, then sat down in a chair, "And..."

"She's not." I said.

Paige nodded, "Pandora, go home." She said.

"But mom..." Pandora said.

"Go, now!" Paige shouted.

Pandora looked to be near tears, then orbed away.

Paige stood, "How could you?" she asked.

"Would you rather she turned to someone else?" I asked.

"Yes," Paige said, "I would rather she turn to me! You should have told me right when she asked!"

"Paige..." Chris said.

"You two should know better." Paige said.

"It wasn't him. He wanted to tell you everything, but I just wanted to help." I said.

"Well, next time, tell me first!" Paige said, blowing past me.

"Wow. That was the chilliest I've ever felt." I said, trying to move my stiffened body.

"You did the right thing." Chris said, "You were right."

"Then why do I feel so wrong?" I asked, "God, Chris, what if it was Matthew? Would...Wyatt has to be looking down at me and cringing."

"No, you're doing a pretty good job." Chris said.

"What happens when Matt gets older and starts to use his powers more? I mean, yesterday, he orbed into my room after I put him in his crib. How am I going to send him to his room when he can orb?" I asked.

"Mom did it." Chris said, "And it worked."

"I feel like I'm letting Wyatt down." I said quickly.

"There's something I've got to tell you." Chris said.

"There's something I have to do first, will you watch Matthew?" I asked.

Chris sighed, "Of course." He said.

I handed Matthew to him and walked away, "I'll be back in a few." I said.

"I'm not keeping your secret Wyatt." Chris said, playing with the baby.

Wyatt orbed in, "You were going to tell him?" he asked.

"I am going to tell him." Chris said, "Either I will or you will."

"You're really going to do this?" Wyatt asked.

"Here, hold your son." Chris said, handing him the baby.

-           

"Henry, she thought she was pregnant! And she went to someone else, who was not us!" Paige sighed, sitting down on the couch, "What are we doing wrong?"

"Paige, we're doing the best we can." Henry said.

"Henry turned out good, so is Patty...what's happening to this family?" Paige asked.

"I'm gonna kill this kid!" Henry said angrily.

"And the worst part is that she didn't come to me! Me! I help people every day!" Paige said, "Drake and Chris helped."

"Paige, at least she felt like she could go to them." Henry said.

Paige stared at him.

"That's not excusing them, I'm just saying, would you rather they went to someone else?" Henry asked.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Henry said, walking over and opening the door, "Drake, hi."

I flashed Pandora's backpack, "Pandora forgot her backpack." I said.

"Come in." Henry said, taking the backpack.

"How's Pandora?" I asked.

"Grounded." Henry said.

"You're not mad at me?" I asked.

"I'm thankful that you would help." Henry said, "But..."

"But we're her parents! You should have told us the minute she came to you." Paige said, walking over to us.

"What was I supposed to do? She came to me in confidence! Paige, when any one of us didn't want Piper to know something, you or Phoebe helped us!" I frowned, "Paige, I'm trying so hard to do the right things, the things Wyatt would do. The things you wish I would do! But I'm only human and when she came to me...It was a problem I could actually solve. If my child comes to you or Pandora or Patty or whoever...I just needed to be able to fix something."

"What if she would have been pregnant?" Paige asked.

I looked down, "I don't know." I said.

Paige sighed and hugged me, "I'm sorry, thank you for taking her to the doctor and just being there for her." She said.

I sighed, "I...Tell her I...I have to get back to Matthew." I frowned.

"Give him a kiss for us." Paige smiled.

"Paige, I was listening outside the door," I said quickly, "And you and Henry are great parents. I do remember hearing something. You raise your kids to be good people, but in the end, they're going to be what they're going to be. The only thing you can do is love them." I said, leaving.

-           

I walked through the dark house, trying to find Chris and my baby. I heard Matthew whining a little, then he stopped. I raced upstairs and into my bedroom to see where he was, but I didn't see anything.

"Chris!" I called, "Chris!"

"He..." I turned to see Wyatt, "...Went on a date."

I just stared at Wyatt for a second, not realizing that Matthew had been in his crib the whole time. A surge of emotion went through me, electrified me! I felt shock and happiness...and my heart beat out of my chest!

"I...umm, I've been watching. You're doing so great! The Elders..." Wyatt stammered.

"Elders?" I asked, "You're not dead?"

"No, I..."

I raised my hand and blew him into a million orbs.