Chapter 134

Piper tossed an ingredient into the potions pot in Phoebe's kitchen. Grams watched from across the table saying, "That's not nearly enough. Here, let me do it." She pushed Piper away from the pot and stood next to Paige.

"Wha…. I think I know how to do it, after all this time." Piper said as Grams added a touch more ingredients to the pot.

"It's Billie and Christy, they're not demons." Paige said.

"Well, they might as well be, from everything you've told me, which means we can't take any chances." Grams put the dish down and started stirring the pot. She looked at the Book and sighed with wonder and pride. "Oh, I can't get over how big this Book has gotten, hmm, I'm so proud of you girls."

"Then why don't you let me stir?" Piper grumbled. There was a knock at the door.

"Uh, Piper, why don't you get that?"

"Paige, why don't you get that?" Piper said.

"Buffy, why don't you get that?" Paige said, watching Grams.

"Great! Now you pull the littlest sister card on me." Buffy grumbled as she stood up from sitting with her daughter on the couch. "Oh, no. I'm only 6 and a half months pregnant and talking with my daughter from the future." Buffy opened the door to find Henry.

"Hey Buffy." Henry said.

Buffy grumbled at him and turned away. "Paige! It's your husband at the door." She walked away.

"Hey!" Paige said, walking over.

"Did I do something wrong?" Henry glanced at Buffy.

"Oh, no…. hormones. What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? I'm looking for my wife. She didn't come home last night. Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm ok. Of course I'm ok. I mean, we weren't ok, ok. But now we're ok…. and I think in the future we're gonna be…. I think we're gonna be more than ok."

Henry stared at her. "Ok."

Grams leaned over to Buffy. "Don't tell me she marries a Whitelighter, too."

"Worse." Buffy said. "A mortal."

"Oh, good God, uh. Didn't I teach you girls anything?"

"Hey, what can I say, there's always 'Uncle Coop'." Buffy motioned to the bedroom.

Grams looked at Alex. "I don't want to hear any of this 'I married a whitelighter' stuff from you."

"Don't worry, Grams. I'm dating another witch." Alex looked at mom. "He's a total dreamboat. He just can't seem to get daddy's approval."

Buffy laughed. "I don't think anyone will get your father's approval. He's pretty protective of his little girl and I'm pretty sure that's never changing."

"There." Grams said, turning the stove off. "Are we ready?"

Piper walked over and knocked on the door. "Phoebe?" Phoebe opened the door. "The potion's done."

Grams, Alex, Angel, and Buffy orbed into the living room at the Manor at the same time Piper and Phoebe orbed in. Grams was carrying the Book of Shadows. "Ok, all we need to do now is find Billie and Christy." Paige said.

Billie stepped out from the hallway. "You don't have to look far." Ready for anything, they all turned around to face her. "Can we talk?" They didn't say anything. "Look, I am so sorry for what I've done to you guys, after everything you've done for me. I just wanted my sister back so badly, I couldn't even see that she was manipulating me."

"Well, that's very convenient, but how are we supposed to know this isn't a trap?" Buffy asked.

"Guess we have to let her talk." Paige said.

"Where's Christy?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know." Billie said. "Probably at Magic School trying to figure out a way to kill you."

"But you're not." Grams said.

"No. No. That was before. They twisted everything to make us think we were doing the right thing."

"Who?" Piper asked.

"The Triad. They used us. They used Christy. They have spent the last fifteen years turning her into a killer. That's all they've cared about that's all they've wanted."

"We've already vanquished the Triad." Phoebe said.

"Well, Dumain will try and find a way to bring them back, I know it."

"Who's Dumain?" Angel asked.

"He's a demon, but he knows them better than anyone, and with Christy…. they will stop at nothing."

"Mom, are you here?" Wyatt called from the conservatory.

Piper put the potions bottle she was carrying down on the table beside her. "Keep an eye on her." Chris and Wyatt were waiting in the conservatory. Behind Piper, Buffy, Phoebe, and the others followed. "Where's mom, I mean, grandma?"

"She wanted to stay with grandpa to talk."

"Well, that had better be all that they're doing." Grams said.

"What did you find?" Piper asked.

"Well, Grandpa said that someone came and picked up little Wyatt, just before five in the afternoon yesterday." Chris said.

"Some man, but that's all I could get out of him." Wyatt said.

"Wait, what man?" Buffy asked.

"Dumain." Billie said. "He brought Wyatt to Christy and me to summon the Hollow."

"And then you stole his powers."

"We were being infected, we didn't have a choice."

Piper turned and glared at Billie. Her voice was low and dangerous as she said, "You used my son?"

"That is all in the past, dear." Grams said. "Now let's just focus on how to fix it now, ok?"

"Ok, so we have to go back in time to the day Dumain took Wyatt." Phoebe said.

"No, we have to go before that, I know him, he's gonna warn the Triad before you can vanquish them." Billie said.

"Then you have to get the ring." Buffy said to Phoebe.

Phoebe looked up and called. "Coop? Coop? We need you." They waited and nothing happened. "Something's wrong."

Chris sighed. He, Alex, and Wyatt shared a knowing look as Wyatt sighed. "Spit it out." Buffy ordered.

"The Elders sent Coop down to you, Phoebe, not just to help you find love, but to help you find him." Chris said.

"They were hoping you'd fall in love with a Cupid, it was the only way that they could make it up to you after everything you sacrificed." Wyatt said.

"And they weren't gonna put you through what aunt Piper and uncle Leo went through, so it wasn't and it will not be a forbidden love." Alex finished.

"Ok." Phoebe said. "Uh…. I don't know how that information helps us right now."

"Well, in the future, when you're together, you guys are like one." Wyatt said.

"All you have to do is think about him and he's there." Alex said.

Phoebe closed her eyes and concentrated. Coop appeared on the floor, grunting and groaning in pain. "Oh, my god. What happened?" Phoebe said as she and Angel helped Coop to his feet.

"I fought him for as long as I could." Coop said.

"Ok, who did this to you?"

"Some demon. I'm sorry he, uh, he took my ring." He showed them his ringless finger.

"We're too late. They're going back in time." Billie said. "But I can too."

In the back of the creepy room at Magic School, The Charmed Ones with Buffy and Billie appeared. "Get out of here!" The Dumain standing by Christy cried.

The Triad turned to see what was happening, but it was too late. As soon as they appeared, the girls threw the vials at the Triad. It hit them and burned them to shreds as they exploded. Before they could do anything, Piper blasted Future Dumain and he exploded. Christy gasped and stepped back. Past Dumain turned and realized he needed to get out of there. He started to shimmer out, but Piper blasted him as well and he exploded.

"I don't understand! How could this happen?" Christy cried.

"Billie projected us here." Buffy said.

"By focusing on you." Paige added.

"Paige." Piper said.

Paige held out her hand. "Ring!" Coop's ring orbed off of Christy's finger and into Paige's hand.

Feeling betrayed, Christy glared at Billie. "How could you?"

Billie stepped forward. "Christy, please, it's over, just come home."

There was too much hate and anger in Christy. With her mind, she powered up a fireball and sent it hurling toward Buffy and the Charmed Ones. Billie's hands automatically rose and she deflected the fireball back at Christy. It hit her, engulfing her in flames. She screamed as she was vanquished. Billie fell to her knees and broke down into gut-wrenching sobs. It was finally over.

Grams paced as everyone sat and waited in the conservatory. Finally, the girls flashed in. "Oh, thank God." Grams said.

"Is everything all right?" Piper asked. "Did anything…. change that wasn't supposed to?"

"Nope." Wyatt orbed over to stand next to Piper. "I got my powers back."

"I see that."

"Now, where's Billie?" Angel asked.

"She used her own power to get back." Buffy said.

"But she at least tried to help out, right?" Coop said. "I mean, tried to make amends at least."

"Yeah." Phoebe said.

From out of the ceiling, a ball of light descended, swirling and twisting in the air. The Angel of Destiny returned with Leo. "Ok, hang on a second, you're not gonna take him away again right?" Piper asked.

"No, this is the way the battle was supposed to end all along, and it's over." The Angel said. "Congratulations." The Angel of Destiny left in a swirling tornado of orbs.

Leo reached for Piper's hand. "Hi, there." Piper said as he pulled her into his arms and they kissed. Everyone cheered and applauded.

Coop opened his arms to Phoebe. "Come here." Phoebe smiled and headed into his arms, kissing him passionately.

Angel orbed over behind Buffy and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. Just then, Patty and Victor carrying little Wyatt, little Alex, and little Chris entered the conservatory. "Did we miss anything?" Patty asked.

"Uh, no." Buffy said. "Well, we changed the past, fixed the future, and saved the present, that's all."

"What's that?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, if you haven't figured it out by now, ya probably won't." Paige said.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, just as long as everything's back to the way it's supposed to be." Phoebe said.

"It will be if you get us back." Grams said. "I mean otherwise, uh…."

"How are we gonna get them back?" Paige asked.

"Oh, I can take care of that." Coop said.

"Yeah, but how will you know where to take them back to?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, the ring will." Coop looked at Buffy. "If I can ever get it back." He winked at her. Buffy rolled her eyes and chucked the ring to Coop. He caught it and laughed.

"Just make sure you return them just before they were taken, that way they won't remember anything." Chris said.

"Oh, no, don't…. don't do that!" Grams said. "I mean there are so many things, wonderful things that I just don't want to forget, you know."

"There's just as much I don't ever want to know." Patty said. "Like what happened to Prue. Victor told me."

"Oh, mom." Piper said.

"That's all right. I know everything happens for a reason. I believe that. I also know that when one door closes another one opens."

"Thank you for coming by." Victor said to Patty.

"Anytime."

Victor kissed the top of Patty's head and everyone mixed and hugged each other.

Buffy, Phoebe, and Paige sat at the dining room table with their cups of hot tea to drink. It was their Saturday afternoon together without the kids or the husbands. Piper, who had disappeared only a few minutes after the tea had been poured, stepped down from the stairs and entered the room carrying the Book of Shadows. She put the Book on the dining room table.

"Don't tell me we have to go fight a demon." Paige said.

"No, I don't think we'll have to do that anytime soon." Piper said.

"Then, what's with the Book?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I think we should write everything down. Everything that happened, everything we want future generations to know, so that we can pass it down, just like it was passed down to us. After you." Piper turned the Book toward Phoebe.

As Phoebe found a blank page, Piper took a pen out and put it on the table in front of her. Phoebe picked up the pen and uncapped it.

"So much has happened over the last eight years, so much has been gained and lost, still, in some ways, I feel like my life is really just beginning. And it was. For though I had loved before, I'd never really known love, until I met Coop. A man who I shared this special little girl I had long ago foreseen, but feared I might never have. Along with two other special little girls, I had not foreseen. I was suddenly so blessed to have a new family of my own, and old friends to share it with. And though I kept working and giving advice to those who asked, I was more interested in helping them find love, since, finally, having been loved."

Buffy took the pen next and began her story. "When Connor was born, it marked the beginning of a new era in my life. There weren't any demons to take on, so there was really no need for a Slayer. That mantle would be passed on to my daughter Alexis when the time came for it so she could fight at Wyatt and Chris's side like I'd fought at Piper, Phoebe, and Paige's side. Connor and his sister Madison were both powerful beings unto themselves. Just like their cousin Wyatt, they were half whitelighter, half witch, and all about the greater good. Together with their sister Alex and their cousins, Wyatt and Chris, the world and their families would be safe. And me? To reward me for all my years as a Slayer and fighting the dark forces, the Elders granted me a longer lifespan so that I could watch over my children and be with my beloved Angel, the man who I would still willingly sacrifice my life for, the father of my children, and the love of my life, until the time came when it was time to move on to the next life."

Paige took the offered pen from Buffy. "As for me? Life without demons opened up similar avenues. Henry of course, continued to look after his parolees, even if they didn't want to be looked after while still making time to help me with little Henry and the twins. Which allowed me time to finally embrace my inner Whitelighter. And to help the next generation of witches come into their own."

Piper finished the whole thing off. "So that Paige could pass on all that she'd learned, not just to her own children, or to mine, or to Phoebe's, or to Buffy's…. but to other future witches and whitelighters as well. Which filled the time between when we were doing the fighting, and when our kids were old enough to take over, allowing me time to get back to my roots and cook something other than potions, for once and open the restaurant I'd always dreamed of owning. As for Leo, after we reclaimed Magic School he went back to teaching. Which he continued to do until it was time to retire. And although we certainly had our struggles and heartaches over the years, we're a family of survivors, and we will always be. Which is why we've truly…. Been Charmed."

The End