Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.


Just A Day
by Freaky Fan

4:30 AM

She snatched the alarm clock from the bedside stand, giving it a good shake as she stared at it in disbelief. There had to be something wrong with the damned thing. The red digital numbers were telling her only fifteen minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it. But that wasn’t possible. It felt like she had been laying there for an eternity, not a mere quarter of an hour. She gave the machine a not so gentle smack for good measure, but it didn’t accomplish anything. The red zero at the end flipped mockingly to a one. Yet another minute gone in her seemingly endless night. She growled as she tossed the thing back on the stand.

Seth would be getting the biggest kick out of this if he was around. But he wasn’t. He was in San Jose helping out a former colleague who had decided to open a clinic similar to his own. A small smile graced her features at the thought. If there was one thing he loved nearly as much as her and Tricia it was his clinic. And it was good for him to get away now and then. All work and no play made Seth a very tired man.

Her smile quickly faded. She wouldn’t be having this problem if he was there. He had a way of holding her that made the rest of the world fade away. No witchy problems or endless photo shoots or even thoughts of her sisters could invade their time together. She just laid with him, completely at peace. Safe in the love they shared. And she always slept like a baby.

Baby. Her thoughts turned to Tricia. It was hard to believe that her little girl was nearly a year old already. It seemed like only yesterday she had been a tiny bundle of wrinkles, just the right size to fit in the crook of your elbow. Now she was crawling and pulling herself up to things. In no time she would be walking. Especially if Rion and Phoebe had their way. One of them was always holding her hands, a twinkle in their eye as she took clumsy step after clumsy little step. And the jabbering. She was never silent for more than a few minutes unless she was eating or sleeping.

She turned her head to look at the empty crib. Even her daughter was MIA tonight. Rion had volunteered to quiet her down when she woke up at two, fussing from the pain her newest teeth were giving her. And in true Rion fashion she had never brought her back. She would probably find the two of them on the couch in the morning, Tricia cuddled against her sister’s chest as they both slept away.

She threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Why wait? Retrieving her daughter and shooing her little sister back to bed would take up a good fifteen minutes. And afterward she could watch Tricia sleep.

She padded soundlessly down the stairs, proud of herself for finally finding something to keep her busy for a little while. It wasn’t like she didn’t know why she was having such a restless night. She would rather have a candle lit dinner with the Source than admit it, but she was nervous. Extremely nervous.

415 had decided to start running articles on its employees. And since she was one of their most popular photographers, they had asked her to be the first. Why wouldn’t they? She was happily married with a beautiful little girl and a loving family. At least that’s what she hoped whoever they sent to interview her would concentrate on. But she had a bad feeling there would be question after question about why she and her three sisters still lived in the same house together. Or worse yet, why her name kept coming up in unsolved police cases.

She was so deep in thought that she nearly barreled over Piper, who was standing in the doorway to the living room.

“Pi…”
“Shh….” The middle Halliwell turned quickly, the index finger of her left hand against her lips. “They’ll hear you.”
Prue frowned. “Who?”
“Them.”

Piper pointed into the living room. Rion was kneeling in front of the couch, looking toward Phoebe, who had her nose buried in the drawer of the stereo stand. Tricia could be heard but not seen from her seat somewhere on the couch. It broke Prue’s heart to hear that she was still fussing.

“What are they doing?”
Piper shook her head. “I’m not quite sure. I came down to get a drink and found them like this. Thought it would be interesting to see what they were up to.”

“Found it!” Phoebe’s voice held a triumphant tone as she held something up in her hand.
“Finally.” Rion looked relieved. “Do you think this will work?”
Phoebe shrugged as she started messing with the stereo. “It‘s not like I‘ve had much experience in nieces who won‘t stop crying. But what can it hurt to try?”
“True.” Rion made a stay motion with her hand as she went to join Phoebe.
“Ready?”
Rion nodded. “Hit it.”

Phoebe pushed the play button on the tape deck. There was a couple of seconds of static before the fast paced tune of ‘Witch Doctor’ filled the room.

“Pheebs!”
“Sorry!” Phoebe quickly hit the stop button. “I must have it on the wrong side.” She opened the deck, flipped the tape and shut it again in one fluid movement. “All right. Here we go again.”

‘Wee-ooh wim-o-weh. Wee-ooh wim-o-weh.’

Piper stifled a laugh as her sisters joined the group on the tape in singing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’

“In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.” Rion took the first line.
Phoebe quickly picked up the next. “Near the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.”

Prue put her own hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as her little sisters started swinging their hips and throwing their hands from one side to the other like hoola dancers through the chorus.

“Near the village, the peaceful village, the lion sleeps tonight.” Phoebe took the first line this time.
“Near the village, the qu….”

Rion turned as the tape suddenly started going incredibly fast. “What’s up with the Alvin and the Chipmunks imitation?”
“I have no idea.” Phoebe turned back to the stereo. “We haven’t used this thing in ages.” She hit the stop button twice. The music stopped, but the deck didn’t pop open. “Great. I think it’s trying to eat the tape.”
“Here, I’ll help.” Rion managed to pry the deck open, but the tape wouldn’t budge. “Damn….”
Phoebe grinned. “There’s five more dollars for Tricia. I don’t know who owes her more. You or Piper.”
“Shut up.” Rion gave her a playful swat with one hand as she continued to pull at the tape with the other. “This thing is really stuck.”
“Here.” Phoebe put her hand over her sister’s and have a mighty tug.

Much to everyone’s surprise the tape snapped, throwing both of them off balance. Phoebe fell on her butt while Rion stumbled backward, tripping over the coffee table before she could regain her footing. The sound of Tricia giggling filled the air as Rion landed in a heap in front of the couch.

“Hey….” Phoebe looked at her niece as she stood back up. “It worked! She stopped crying!”
“Yeah.” Rion smiled as she used the couch to pull herself into a standing position.

“Who wouldn’t laugh at that piss poor Three Stooges imitation?”

They both looked toward the doorway when they heard Piper’s voice.

“That’s funny.” Prue laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of Lucy and Ethel.”

“Hardy har har.” Phoebe plucked Tricia, who was all smiles now, off the couch. “What are you two doing up?”
“We heard there was a good floor show in town and decided to check it out.” Piper smiled as she walked toward them. “I could use an act like yours at the club.” She made a face at Tricia as she put her finger in her niece’s hand.
“Funny, Piper. Very funny.” Rion looked to her oldest sister. “What about you? Still stressing about tomorrow?”
“No.” Prue tried to sound convincing but ended up sighing. “Yes.”

“Well don’t.” Phoebe handed the baby to Piper and went to Prue. “Everything will be fine. It’s only an interview.”
“I know. It’s just….”
“You’ll do great.” Piper went to join them.
“Yeah.” Rion followed Piper. “And we all promise to be on our best behavior.”
Prue rolled her eyes. “Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”

Phoebe chuckled. “Maybe a nice hot cup of late night, early morning tea would work better.” She put her arm around Prue’s waist as they started toward the kitchen. “Who’s joining us?”
“Me.” Piper answered. “I couldn’t sleep now if I wanted to. Not after seeing you two playing Abbott and Costello.”
“Enough, Piper.” Rion fell into step next to her as they followed Phoebe and Prue.
“Do you two know that whole ‘Who’s on first’ routine?”
“You’re so lucky you have Little P right now.”
“Ew! I’m scared!”
Tricia let out a high pitched squeal.

Prue couldn’t help but smile at their bickering. Some quality time with her sisters was just what the doctor ordered. Even if it was at five o’clock in the morning.

7:30 AM

He joined her at the closet, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “It doesn’t matter what you pick. You’ll look beautiful.”
She smiled at their reflection in the mirror on the closet door. “Ya think?”
“Nope.” He kissed her neck. “I know.”
“OK.” She turned in his arms as the kiss started to become something more. “None of that this morning. I’m too tired.”
“Hey, you’re the one who never came back to bed last night.”
“We had a teething emergency. What was I supposed to do?”
“It didn’t sound like much of a teething emergency when I heard the four of you laughing in the kitchen.” He grinned at the shocked expression on her face. “You’re not the only one who can get up in the middle of the night, you know.”
“Yeah, just remember that a few months from now.”

He pulled her to him again. “Did you tell them?”
She laid her head on his chest. “No.”
“Why not? You know they’ll be excited.”
“I know. It just….” She shrugged. “It’s not something I can just blurt out.”
“Sure it is.” He held her at arm’s length with one hand as he gripped her chin with the other. “Say it with me….” He moved her chin as he spoke, making it look like she was talking. “I’m….”
“Stop it!” She chuckled as she slapped his hand away. “I’m perfectly capable of saying it. I DID tell you.”
“I know, which kind of surprised me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I live in a house with you and your three sisters. I’m usually low man on the totem pole when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“You are not.”
He gave her a look.
“All right, maybe you are. But this is different.”
“How?” He put his hand on her cheek. “It’s a baby, honey. Not the plague. They‘re going to be ecstatic.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“Well you can’t say I didn’t try to get you to tell them, AGAIN. You know I won’t say anything, but eventually they’re going to find out. Hopefully before you start to show.”

She reached down and picked up a shoe, throwing it at him as he beat a hasty retreat, laughing the whole time. She turned back to the mirror and stood in profile, putting her hand on her stomach.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll tell them when it’s the right time.”

*************

“Will someone remind me not to fall asleep after three cups of chamomile tea ever again?”
Piper grinned as her baby sister stumbled into the kitchen. “Nightmare?”
“More like the weirdest dream known to man.” Phoebe grabbed Prue’s coffee cup, laying claim to it as she sat down next to her big sister at the table. “We were all on the Family Feud.”
Prue looked up from the cereal she was feeding Tricia. “What?”
Phoebe nodded. “I know. That’s what I thought.”
“Wait a minute….” Piper spoke as she crossed the room to join them, fresh croissants on the plate in her hand. “Family Feud as in THE Family Feud?”
“Yep.” Phoebe nodded. “Guys against girls.”
Piper sat down across from them. “What guys and what girls?”
“Me, you, Prue, Rion and Mom.” Phoebe picked up one of the croissants and started buttering it as she talked. “Against Victor, Seth, Darryl, Leo and Cole.”
Prue used a towel to wipe off Tricia’s face before giving her a rattle to chew on. “Why do those teams scare me?”
“Because they should.” Piper looked at Phoebe. “So, who was the host?”
“Grams.”

Prue chocked on the bite of roll in her mouth. “Grams?!”
Phoebe nodded again. “Uh huh. Dressed in a suit with the slicked back hair and everything.”
“OK.” Piper made a face. “That scares me even more than the teams.”
“It gets even better.”
Prue looked doubtful. “How can it get better than that?”
“Should I let you think about that statement for a second?”
Piper reached across the table and smacked her. “No. You can’t say ‘it gets even better’ and leave it like that.”
“Oh, all right. Every single answer on the survey was….”

Phoebe paused for dramatic effect.

“Sex.”
Prue’s mouth dropped open. “No way!”
Phoebe giggled. “Yes way. And every time one of us said it, Grams would get all mad and say that was no way for a young woman to answer. And she would glare at the guys if they said it.”
“What about Mom?”
“She said it was about time she reintroduced that word into her vocabulary.”

Tricia smiled and threw the rattle at her mother as the three of them cracked up.

“Hey.” Phoebe suddenly looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Rion?”
Prue shrugged as she handed the rattle back to Tricia. “I haven’t seen her.”
“She said she had something to take care of.” Piper felt her sister’s looking at her and frowned. “What?”
“Rion has a real knack for getting herself into trouble when she ventures outside this house alone, that’s what.” Phoebe put down her croissant.
“Oh, relax. She can take care of herself.” Piper took one of the rolls for herself. “Now, let’s hear a little bit more about this dream….”

*************

“Hey.”

Victor looked up when he heard the voice. He knew the comment probably wasn’t directed at him considering there were at least twenty other people in the direct vicinity of the coffee stand, but it never hurt to….

All thought ceased when he saw who was standing not five feet away, two coffee cups already in hand. “Hey yourself.”

Rion smiled as he walked toward her. “Two creams and a sugar. Just the way you like it.”
Victor accepted the proffered cup. “How did you know that?”
“I paid attention last time you were at the Manor.”
“Very observant.” Victor took a sip. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m not sure about the pleasure part, but I thought maybe you would like an escort to work.”
“Why?” Victor’s face fell. “Is there something going on I should know about? Are your sisters and Tricia all right?”
“Calm down.” Rion looked at the people around them. “There’s nothing going on. I just thought it would be nice if we could spend some time together.”
Victor looked confused. “We as in me and you?”
“Yep.” Rion nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and I realized that I can’t live my life stuck in the past anymore. I need to concentrate on the future instead. And….” She shrugged. “I thought maybe you would want to be a part of that.”
“You thought right.” Victor gave her a fatherly look. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
“I know.” Rion swallowed hard. “And I’m sorry. I haven’t exactly make things easy on you.”
“Why should you? I haven’t been the easiest guy to get along with.”

“You know, I think we can save this particular conversation for another time.” Rion linked arms with him as she started to walk away. “I thought maybe we would start with something a little more basic. Like do you prefer to be called Dad, Daddy, Papa?”
Victor smiled. “Any of the above.”
“Then Victor it is.” Rion waited a second to look up at him, her blue eyes shining. “Just kidding. How about if we start out with Dad? See how that goes?”
Victor tried to hide the tears forming in his eyes. “Sounds great to me.” He covered by asking a question of his own. "So which do you prefer? Kitten, princess, angel?"
"You better stick with Rion. Those others are liable to get your ass kicked."
Victor laughed. "Rion it is then."

9:05 AM

Cole started refolding the paper as he took the last swig from his third cup of coffee. He owed his new found love for the beverage to Rion. When she tried and failed for the thousandth time to get him to drink milk during one of their all night cookie binges, she turned to what she called the next best thing. He had tried not to like it, he really had. But there was bound to be something in the mortal realm that caught his attention besides Phoebe.

He put his cup in the sink as he started out of the room. This was his favorite time of the day. Phoebe and her sisters had already eaten breakfast and were off doing their things. If Leo wasn’t busy with some kind of Whitelighter business, he would be fixing something in the house. Seth was usually at the clinic. And Darryl…. Well, he did whatever it was an ex-cop did to keep himself busy. In other words, he had the kitchen all to himself. And after years of chaos in the underworld, a little peace and quiet was always appreciated. But too much of a good thing was too much of a good thing. So after reading the business section of the paper, he always went to see what everyone else was doing.

“No, that’s not a problem.”

His ears perked up when he heard Darryl’s voice.

“No, really. It’s not a problem. I can be there in about twenty minutes.”

He grinned as he walked into the living room. Darryl was pacing around, a slight blush on his cheeks as he talked into his cell phone. Cole had only seen one person have that kind of effect on him. Rion.

“Yeah, like I said. Twenty minutes.”

Darryl wasn’t exactly the kind of guy he would have picked for her, but Rion was her own woman. She could have been engaged to the Source himself if it made her happy. All right, maybe not the Source, but her happiness was all that mattered to him.

“See you then.” Darryl closed his cell phone, doing a double take when he realized he was no longer alone. “Cole. How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long.”
“Look, uh…. I have somewhere I need to be.” Darryl gestured with the cell phone in his hand. “An old buddy from the force needs my help. Would you mind telling Rion I won’t be able to go shopping with her and Piper later?” He clapped Cole on the shoulder before he could answer. “Thanks. You’re a pal.”

Cole’s grin disappeared the instant Darryl turned to walk away. Normally what humans did was of no concern to him. He was above all that. But Darryl was different. Anything he did could effect Rion. And anyone who hurt Rion….

He didn’t finish the thought as he shimmered, determined to follow Darryl and find out what was going on.

*************

Rion was too lost in thought to notice Darryl’s car drive past the cab carrying her home. She had told Victor she was more than capable of finding her way home, but he had insisted on putting her in a cab.

The thought brought a smile to her face. She had been afraid her decision to go and see Victor would be a waste of time. He had