Chapter 8

Naysa sat up and looked around, slightly disoriented. The room was brighter than the cave and took a minute for her eyes to adjust. Before she knew it, people had descended on her, half-pulling and half-pushing her to a couch, looking her over.

"What happened?" six voices questioned at once.

"The demon that raped me, kidnapped me," she began, feeling oddly calm.

"Then his…subordinate I guess stayed with me until Arynne was born," Nay continued.

"You weren't due for another month," Paige spoke up.

"I know. But she's doing fine, really," Nay assured the whitelighter.

"A demon delivered your baby?" Piper asked, her eyebrow rose in shock.

"Yes. He's actually really nice. He talked me through everything," she answered.

"Nice demons don't generally last long," Phoebe said with a knowing look.

"I know and I wasn't sure I could trust him at first but…I just got this feeling that I could…that the baby could. And I don't think it was because she's part demon."

"I'm going to get cleaned up quickly. Yasir will be coming soon with Arynne," she announced.

"Yasir…who the hell is Yasir?" Piper asked.

"The demon who delivered my baby," Nay called over her shoulder as she hurried up the stairs. She drew a bath and soaked for a good ten minutes, getting the feeling of the Underworld off her skin. She was dressed in fresh clothes and back downstairs in record time. Just as she entered the room Yasir shimmered in, Arynne tucked safely in his arm.

"You came," Naysa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Quickly, he's coming," Yasir said, handing the child to her mother. Piper and Phoebe raised their hands to throw potion vials.

"Wait! Please. I'm on your side," Yasir protested.

"We learned a long time ago no to trust demons," Phoebe snapped.

"I want Zahir gone as much as you do. I want to keep that child out of his hands," he explained.

"It's true. You guys can trust him," Naysa told them and the girls slowly put down their potions. They were not entirely in agreement with siding with a demon. They'd gotten burned, both literally and figuratively in the past for doing that.

"So where's your buddy?" Phoebe asked.

"Right there," Nay breathed, pointing.

"Nice vanishing act, witch," Zahir snarled, advancing on the group assembled. Piper and Phoebe both threw their vials but they exploded in an energy ball before they could make contact with the demon.

"I expected more from the Charmed One," he sneered as he moved to take Arynne.

"Get the hell away from my daughter," Naysa spat. She closed her eyes and began searching the network of magic open to her. She managed to tap into Phoebe's old power of levitation and rose above his reach.

"Give me my son!" Zahir shouted.

"It's a girl," Yasir stated dryly.

Angrily, Zahir sent his companion flying across the room. He didn't care at this point whom he had to get past to get the child. Naysa had set back down in the midst of the sisters. She was not letting go of her baby girl.

"Give me the child!" Zahir roared once again. Piper shot her hands out at him but he neither froze nor blew up.

"Uh oh," Piper muttered.

"I'd say that's a big 'uh oh'," Pheebs muttered, starting to panic.

Just then Arynne began to cry loudly. Frantically, Nay began to shush her and rock her back and forth. Paige had moved out of the way, feeling helpless that she couldn't save her charge. As Zahir advanced, Arynne's cries grew louder and more forceful. No amount of consoling words and gestures would quiet her. Once Zahir was in striking distance, Arynne stopped crying and a large fireball appeared in front of her. She gave a half sigh half squawk and the fireball shot forward, consuming the shape shifter. He exploded, leaving nothing behind. No one spoke for what felt like hours. They all just stared at the child in Naysa's arms.

"Did she just…?" Naysa trailed off.

"She just vanquished a demon," Piper finished.

"She vanquished her own father," Coop murmured. He wasn't sure how to feel.

"That was how it was supposed to happen," Yasir informed them all, moving towards them. He peered down at Arynne, her small arms reaching upwards towards him.

"May I?" he asked softly and Naysa nodded.

"Guess that is one demon we can trust," Paige murmured with a half-hearted laugh.

"I have a request to ask of you," he said, addressing the Charmed Ones. They shared an anxious look before letting him continue.

"I would like to be made human," he told them.

"What?" Phoebe asked, astounded.

"Please," he pleaded.

"Alright. What do we get out of it?" Piper asked.

"One less demon to worry about," he told them.

The girls gathered together in a tight circle and began conversing in low tones. After some minutes they dispersed and Paige summoned a piece of paper and a pen. They collaborated and came up with a spell. They faced Yasir and began to incant.

Let this demon's inner sight be seen.
Magic help us witches three to glean.
Take away and change his demon face.
Make him part of the human race.

White lights surrounded Yasir and his demonic visage fell away to reveal an attractive twenty-something Middle Eastern man. He smiled wildly at them.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," he said gratefully.

"Never had that happen before," Paige murmured under her breath.

"Well it's what he wanted to look like," Piper answered back.

"If you would allow it, I would like to help you raise the child. Every child deserves a mother and a father," he said, addressing Naysa.

"I would like that a lot. Not marriage or anything but maybe someday," she replied, hugging him.

"Oh…marriage and demons don't really mix," Phoebe interjected.

"He's human now," Paige reminded her.

"But I still have my demonic powers. I wish to bind them," he spoke.

"That is until Arynne is old enough to learn to control her powers," he added.

"I guess we have to make a binding potion now," Paige complained.

"Actually, I think I saw a spell for binding powers in the Book," Leo commented and disappeared, reappearing shortly with the Book. He laid it on the table an began to flip through it. He found what he was looking for. The girls copied the spell down and turned once again to Yasir.

In this time and in this hour
We call upon his darkest power
Bind it so none can see
Hidden away forever be

He took in a deep breath and held out his hand. Nothing happened. He smiled gratefully once again at the sisters.

"You have given me a great gift. I thank you," he said, and without warning, hugged each of them.

"Now, we're raising her to be good," Naysa interrupted the hugging fest.

"Whatever you feel best. And I would not have doubted it," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, staring down at the child.

"I think it's time to move you back to your apartment," Paige said with a grin.

"I think you're right. It's not that I don't love you guys, I do. I just think we need our own space," Nay confirmed.

"Let's start packing then," Leo said, ushering his brothers-in-law out of the room and upstairs. In no time flat they had packed everything up. Naysa had to laugh at how fast they'd packed everything and loaded it into Leo's car.

"Hold on there tiger," Piper called.

"She's not leaving yet. She can stay for dinner," she chided.

"I'm just being prepared," he answered, kissing her.

"Yeah, sure," she said jokingly.

"So what do you think about having another one?" Piper asked into his chest.

"You willing to go through the morning sickness again?" he asked with a grin.

"It's been a few years. I think I'm ready," she whispered seductively.

"Not in front of your sisters," he murmured back.

"Alright, break it up two lovebirds," Phoebe said, shooing them apart.

"Piper is needed in the kitchen," she added, dragging her sister with her. Leo just shook his head. He was soon joined by Henry.

"So you want another one?" he asked.

"Yeah. I do. I mean, I think we'll wait a little while. Two pregnant women around the house at one time was more than enough. We need to let the hormones settle first," Leo answered with a laugh.

"Well you're number one on my speed dial for baby emergencies," Henry chuckled, slapping Leo on the shoulder.

"Just remember, I can't orb. So it better be really damn important emergencies if I'm going to get caught speeding," he shot back in the same joking manner.

Naysa and Yasir sat in the sun room, rocking Arynne between them. They seemed so content with each other. Somehow Naysa felt better knowing she had an ex-demon with her to raise her baby. It felt now that she was made stronger and would not be so easily broken by the trials of raising a magical infant.