NOTE: Part 18 of 23, in the Chronicle Series.

DISCLAIMER: As usual, none of these characters who appeared on the series are mine. This story is written for the enjoyment of the Internet reader. Print it out if you like, but please don't reproduce it or post it on your site without notifying me first.

"Do you Piper Freeby take Harold Greenwood to be your lawfully wedded husband?" asked Pastor Brown.

"I DO!" Pipa said without reservation.

Do you Harold Greenwood take Piper Freeby to be your lawfully wedded wife?" asked Pastor Brown.

"I do!" said Hal.

"Do you Prudence Freeby take Carl Goodman to be your lawfully wedded husband?" asked Pastor Brown.

"I do, most definitely!" exclaimed Prue.

"Do you Carl Goodman take Prudence Freeby to be your lawfully wedded wife?" asked Pastor Brown.

"OH, I DO!" said Carl squeezing Prue hand and smiling at her.

"Then by the power invested in me by the state of California, I hereby pronounce you all husbands and wives. Gentlemen, please kiss your brides!" said the Pastor very happily. "Ladies and gentlemen. Mr. And Mrs. Harold Greenwood and Mr. And Mrs. Carl Goodman. Go in peace!"

The recessional started playing and four very happy people walked down the aisle arm in arm.

Outside Phoebe hugged both of her newly married daughters.

"I'm so very happy for both of you. The last of my children. Oh, if your father could have been here today. Happiness to you all, my dears." she said.

"Thanks, Mom." said Prue.

"I love you so much," said Pipa.

"Oh, my wonderful sisters." said Patty crying more than anyone. "The best to you all. Carl, Harold. You have two very special people. Best of love to you."

Her four children followed Patty. Frank, Jess, Patty and Phee. Though Frank and Jess had been caught up in the excitement, the two-year-old twins were just lost.

"I guess the Manor is going to be quiet now, Mom." said Patty.

"No, Prue and Carl will be moving in. Pipa and Hal are going to find a place up north and commute in. I'm still going to be busy. Lot's of grandchildren and I still have Dad's firm to run." said Phoebe.

"Why don't you let Pipa find someone to run it?" asked Patty.

"No. I want to keep it going. Your father is not going to be forgotten. Besides, he always let me know what's going on. With Pipa running Halliwell Entertainments, I needed a new challenge." said Phoebe.

"And YOU never turned one down." grinned Patty.

Patty tucked her twins in and went into the living room. Doug was reading the paper, while Frank and Jess were playing a game on the Entertainment system.

"Wow. After all these years. I'm so happy for both of them." she said curling up with her husband.

"Yep. If they love each other a fraction of the amount that I love you." said Doug kissing her.

This happy scene was interrupted when Patty's Aunt Prue appearing in front of them. "Quick, Patty. Go to the twins."

Patty ran franticly back to their room. Everything seemed normal. Each was asleep. Then a cold wind came through the room. A black mist crept through the air vents edging toward the twins.

Whoosh. Patty froze it.

Doug got her the electronic BoS pad and she could find nothing. With the help of Frank and Jess the demon, warlock, fog or whatever was vanquished.

"Thanks, Aunt Prue." Patty called out. "With both of my sisters away. I'm doubly worried." she said clinging to her husband.

Over the next few days, several attacks were stopped against Patty and Phoebe Morseland. All these incidents were even getting to usually calm Patty. She neglected her business and support groups and pulled her children from school to help guard their sisters. Neither had the powers Patty had at her age, but they were very talented when it came to incantations. The Morseland household began to get the feeling of an armed camp waiting for the coming battle.

Two days after the wedding, Phoebe running around getting the Manor ready to welcome home Prue and Carl. She felt that it would be comforting to have a man around the house again. Some white light appeared from behind her. Phoebe turned around and saw a man. A young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

"LEO!" she screamed.

"Hello, Phoebe." he said in the same voice she had not heard in forty years. "You look as beautiful as I remember."

Wiping her smudged face and running a hand over her hair she replied, "That was a long time ago. I look a mess. I'm a grandmother now, you know."

"You always had more than your share of the Halliwell beauty." said Leo.

"Oh, what a sweet thing to say. Do you still see Piper?" asked Phoebe curiously.

"We see each other often, but it's not like when she was alive. Watching all these Halliwell's is a full time job. I did come for a reason." said Leo.

"Of course you did, dear boy." she said patting his side.

"The council sent me. A warlock named Dreffus has recruited several demons. Since they feel that those twins are the next Charmed Ones, they want to stop them while they're young. I can give you a run down of who's involved. With your other daughters away, you need some extra help." said Leo.

"My lord. Why hasn't Patty called?" asked Phoebe.

"Because she is as stubborn as you are and wants to defend her own children by herself. She needs the Charmed Ones!" said Leo.

"I'll contact Prue and Pipa directly." said Phoebe.

"That's sort of the idea that the council had. Sort of!" hesitated Leo.

More white light and orbs appeared and in front of Phoebe appeared Piper and Prue, her sisters.

"Whooa! One looses the sensations of being alive after awhile. These senses are a real kick. Hi Pheebs!" said Piper.

"Hello, Phoebe!" said Prue.

"Oh, my beautiful sisters." said Phoebe hugging them so tight. "So beautiful and so young! I must look like your grandmother."

"No, Pheebs. You look wonderful. It's been so long since we have been able to hold you. Ummm, that feels good." said Prue.

"Hey, hey. Give the middle sister a break! I want to get that warm loving hugging feeling back, too." said Piper hugging tight. "And one more, too." as she went over and hugged and kissed Leo. "Our love is one thing that didn't die with me. I just have missed holding you." Piper said kissing him again.

"It's good to hold you, too. I still love you so much, too. But we have a job to do. Let's get over to Patty's house." said Leo.

Patty huddled in the kitchen exhausted after an axe wheeling demon had come down the chimney. The door announced an unknown guest. The kids stayed in the kitchen while Patty answered the door.

"Aunt Prue? Aunt Piper? Since when did you use the door?" she asked perplexed. She was even more confuse when they leaned over and kissed her.

"It's so good to really meet you finally, Patty." said Prue.

"Hi, Patty. Where are those cute grandnieces and grandnephew of mine." said Piper walking in after Prue.

"Mom?" asked Patty.

"You needed help and the white lighters sent you the original Charmed Ones in the absence of your sisters. They're just here till the danger blows over. Isn't it great!" said Phoebe in a burst of enthusiasm from her younger Phoebe days.

"Uh, yea. Great! I guess!" said Patty.

"Real 'Night of the Living Dead' stuff except it's in the daytime." chimed in Piper. "I'm starving! Can I try out your kitchen?" said Piper excitedly.

"Sure. Consider it yours!" said Patty. "Mom!"

"Settle down, Patty. They are no more use to being alive than you are having them around." said Phoebe. "Let them be."

As Piper cooked her little heart out, Prue started organizing a defense.

"Dreffus has engaged forty demons. You say a dozen have been after you so far. At the present rate, I figure he'll run out of them by late tomorrow and will have to come after us himself." Prue said punching away on the electronic BoS. "We sure could have used this in our day. Patty you're a genius."

"All I did was program it. Mom keeps me updated on the real BoS. I really do appreciate the help. At least everyone here can defend themselves. Doug is staying in town. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to him." said Patty.

"Like daughter, like mother," said Piper serving up some dinner. "Ooo. This is so good. I had forgotten how good food could taste."

Nothing occurred during dinner or thereafter. Everyone huddled together in the kitchen waiting and waiting.

"This is getting very eerie. I get reinforcements and the demons stop. Do you think they gave up?" asked Patty.

"No. Since they have the advantage and are immortal, they can wait. As long as he exists, Dreffus won't give up. They have a lot to gain by the death of the Charmed Ones." said Leo.

"They must be coming up with another plan. They have to know that we're here by now." said Prue.

"Woo. And here we sit demon fodder, again. OK." said Piper.

More time passed. Only Prue and Piper were still watching.

"You sleepy?" asked Piper.

"No. It's so strange being back in the trenches after only watching for so long." said Prue pulling her arms around her legs. "Life seems so fleeting from the other side. Now this waiting from this side seems like forever."

"Um. Well, after you're dead you have forever. And life just goes on without you. That's the saddest part." she said looking over at Leo. "The saddest part is the regret of what might have been. Doesn't seem to matter over there, but here... here..." she said weeping in Prue's arms.

"I know, Piper. I know." said Prue stroking her hair.

Just then two demons came through the right wall and two from the left.

"Battle stations!" roared Prue who threw them backwards.

Phoebe shook the sleep from her eyes and started reciting incantations right and left.

"Your good at that." said Piper freezing everything coming through.

"Forty years of practice." said Phoebe.

"We could use Prue's powers now." said Patty.

Leo kept count while Frank and Jess used their freezing and cold powers on the demons.

Two more came from behind Prue and threw lightning bolts toward the twins. Prue deflected them. A huge spider-like thing knocked down the door and tried to lasso the twins, but Patty froze it and sent it reeling out backwards. A dozen more entered through the kitchen wall and started throwing all types of weapons. Prue and Piper had their hands busy. On weapon hit Piper and another got Jess in the leg.

Leo healed both of them.

"Ow! Pain is a sensation I CAN do WITHOUT." said Piper. "Ow!"

"I take the count as forty of them." said Leo looking over the wrecked house. Blood, lightening bolts and other assorted weapons had taken their toll.

Prue replied, "Now where is the ring leader?" she squinted looking for his approach. "Phoebe, any idea?"

"Uh, through the ceiling right NOW!" she shouted.

A warlock with a read cape came at them furiously. "You will all dyyyyyyyyyy.." he shouted as Piper froze him and he fell to the floor.

"Haven't lost my touch." she said smiling.

"Once a witch always a witch." said Phoebe.

"OK, everyone who knows it:

Wicked warlock,
Dreffus by name,
Toil and death,
With you came.
From this world
We now ban,
Straight to hell,
The Charmed Ones command."

The children hid their eyes as the warlock began to sizzle and melt before their eyes with an awful stench,

"OOOOWWWWW." cried Jess. "That's woo-ey."

"Woo-ey?" asked Piper.

"Stinks, yucky, whatever." said Patty.

"I don't want to do that. Yuck!" exclaimed Jess.

"Well, it's kind of the family business," said Piper. "I guess we have to go now."

"OK!" said Phoebe crying. "It's been a lot of fun." she said teasing.

"So long Aunt Prue, Aunt Piper. Thanks for the help. You have saved us many times." said Patty.

"By, sweetie. Tell Pipa and Prue we're really happy for them and we're sorry we missed them." said Prue.

"Same here. Pipa? I'd never answer to that. Oh well." said Piper.

"I never did get to say goodbye to you last time!" said Phoebe breaking up more than anyone else. "I love you both so much. I really wish you were here." she said hugging them both tightly.

"We know. We wish we were here too. Goodbye, Pheebs." said Prue.

"You have done so well without us. You have a wonderful family. So take care, my love. Bye-ee." said Piper as she waved and they faded from view.

Looking over the mess Leo said, "I guess we helped." Looking around to see if anyone was watching he raised his hands, the whole room glowed and returned to it's pre-battle condition. Shrugging he said, "I never did get you a wedding present."

Patty and Phoebe stood there stunned. Bells sounded far away. "Opps. I'm caught. Gotta go. By Pheebs." Leo said smiling, waving and floating off.

"All right. Off to bed with all of you!" said Patty.

Later in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee, Patty said to her Mom. "So that was what it was like with you sisters? They're really great."

"They certainly WERE! I miss them. And next time there's a problem YOU contact me. Mortal life around here is still yours to deal with, but this demon busting IS A FAMILY BUSINESS! Understand my little Charmed One?" Phoebe said talking to her like she was thirteen.

"Yes, Mom. You're right. Never go after them alone. I promise. I love you so." she said hugging her.

"Me too." Phoebe said "Me too."