CHAPTER 60

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Molly was pretty sure this was heaven. When she'd died, she'd thought the place with all the clouds and soft light had been heaven. She'd been wrong. The real heaven as she knew it was where she was now– in the arms of the only man she would ever love.

Chris kissed her neck and she could almost picture the crooked grin on his face. She adjusted herself in his arms so she could look back at him. "You're awake."

"Mhmm." He kissed the top of her shoulder.

"And frisky," she noted.

"Mhmm," he agreed, moving his attentions to her lips.

Molly nearly gave in to his whim right then and there. His kisses had always made her head fog up. She could barely remember to breathe. Today, she had to try, though. So, against a very powerful urge to stay here and indulge her lover's wishes, Molly pulled back. "Are you forgetting where we have to be today?"

Chris frowned, thinking. It hit him quickly enough. "Oh shit."

"Casey's going to kill you, if you're late."

"I'm not going to be late," Chris mumbled, sitting up. "I just temporarily spaced out the date."

"You should go shower. I'll head back home and do the same, and then we can meet back in the attic."

Chris grew a wicked grin. "Oooor, we could just kill two birds with one stone. . ."

Molly blushed. "Do you ever think about anything else?"

"I'm a red-blooded American male. Clearly, not." He took her hand, kissing the palm. "But, you're probably right. You're pretty distracting, and I have a lot to do still."

"I'll get there early to help out too."

"Sounds good."

"You're still not moving."

"I know. I'm working on it." His lips moved to her finger tips, lightly teasing them.

Molly laughed, shaking her head. "Chris Halliwell, you are really impossible sometimes."

"You wouldn't have me any other way."

She lightly pushed him away. "Go, or I will orb you into a cold lake."

Chris sighed. "Fine. Have it your way." He kissed her sweetly before slowly climbing free of the sheets and moving for the bathroom. He paused in the doorway. Turning around he smiled. "Today is going to be a really good day, isn't it?"

"Your little boy is having his Wiccaning. It's going to be a perfect day."

()()()()

"This is going to be a complete disaster," Casey declared.

Wyatt sighed from his place on the sofa in the attic of Halliwell Manor. Putting down the newspaper, he gave her his undivided attention.

"I haven't vanquished half the demons on the list Piper gave me. Not to mention the fact your Grams thinks I'm some little hussy that messed up her precious grandson's life. Did you hear what she said to me earlier?"

"She didn't really mean air-head floozy. She meant. . ." He struggled to put a spin on it. He couldn't. "Okay. So, she isn't your biggest fan. So, what? This day is about my nephew, and he's happy as can be." He looked over to the little one in his swing. "Aren't you?"

As if just to spite his uncle, Lucky started to cry. Loudly.

Casey was at his side in a flash, the baby in her arms a split second later. She lightly bounced him as she slowly walked back and forth. "Shhh. Esta bien, mijo. I know. I know. Life is just so hard for a little one, isn't it? Yeah. That's okay; Mommy's got you now."

The little boy's eyelids were heavy as he fought to keep them open. They closed for a moment, but the baby immediately snapped them wide open and started to wail, arms and legs swinging and kicking in protest.

"I'm going to go lay him down," Casey said, heading toward the door.

She was cut off by Grams who narrowed her eyes at Casey. "Why isn't this poor child in his crib? He clearly needs a nap. I would think even the likes of you would know that."

Casey bit her tongue, looking to Wyatt for help.

The Twice Blessed jumped to his feet. "You know what, Grams, you are so right. Why don't you go lay him down? He just loves his great Grams so much. I bet he'd take a really good nap if you did."

The matriarch saw through her grandson's ploy. "No, no. I have far too much to do to help prepare for the wiccaning. Wyatt, would you, Darling?"

Grams snatched the baby from his mother's arms and handed him to Wyatt, the look in her eyes preventing him from arguing.

Shooting Casey an apologetic look, Wyatt orbed out with his nephew.

"We need to talk you and I," Grams stated, eyeing the girl. "Sit."

Too afraid to argue, Casey did as told.

Grams stood, towering over her, arms folded over her chest and looking every bit the part of the powerful matriarch of the Halliwell family. "I have to say," she started, "I don't like you. Not at all. You're a young girl, whose magic is second rate at best. Not at all right for my grandson. Either of them," she added knowingly.

She continued, "I've seen you toying with Wyatt's feelings all the while doe-eyed over his baby brother. You've created a terrible mess of things. Hurt my family. You have no business being any part of the Halliwell line."

"But," Grams allowed, "things are as they are. You are the mother of a beautiful new Halliwell, which, in a way, makes you one of us. As I see it, you have two options at this point. One, you keep on as you are, ruining lives– including your own– or option number two– you keep away from both of my grandsons and concentrate on being the best mother to my great grandson that you're capable of being."

Casey swallowed, hurt. She kept her eyes low.

"You may be a perfectly decent girl," Grams went on, "but my grandsons deserve more than that. Chris has found it with that whitelighter. He lights up whenever she's near. She would never get him in the trouble you did."

Casey couldn't argue with that.

"And Wyatt," Grams beamed with pride as she said his name. "His destiny is the greatest out of all of us. He's going to do wonderful things with his life. Even you should be able to feel how wrong you are for him. Can't you? After all, you'd just get in his way."

"You have no right," Casey lowly stated. Her tone was calm but firm. Her eyes finally met Grams'. "You can't just go around telling people who to love. If Wyatt knew, he'd never forgive you for it. Piper either. In spite of all the hurtful things we've done to each other, we still want to be together and that speaks of a strength in both of us. We love each other enough to fight for it. And I may not be as powerful as you, but I will not let you sit here and tell me to give up on Wyatt. I love him."

Grams suddenly smirked. "So, you have a little fire left in you after all. Good."

"Excuse me?" Casey stuttered.

"If you plan on being with my grandson, you better keep that spirit. You'll need it." Grams smiled as she saw the girl's mouth drop open. She shrugged innocently. "What? I just wanted to make sure you were sure. Is that so wrong?"

Casey didn't even know what to say to that.

Grams rose from her place on the couch. "Well, now that's out of the way, I have some demons to vanquish. After all, Lucas' wiccaning has to be perfect."

Just as quickly as the matriarch had come, she left.

Wyatt orbed in just then. He noted the absence of his Grams and the confused look on Casey's face. "You okay? What happened?"

Casey deliberately rose, walked over to Wyatt and pulled his lips to hers. When, after a good long kiss, she pulled back to look at him, she couldn't help but smile at the completely dumbfounded look on his face. "I've realized something."

Wyatt could only stare at her.

"I don't like who I've become. I don't like any part of it. Before all this happened, I had a fire in me. I showed no fear. I was spontaneous and a little reckless. Never pulled punches. Would rather get hurt than not try at all."

"I remember," Wyatt cautiously remarked. "It's why you and Chris were always getting into so much trouble."

"Yeah, there's that," she conceded, "but at least I didn't feel so pathetic all the time. Killing Zayel helped, but it's time to make an active choice to be like I was before, only wiser."

"Okay. . ."

Casey ran her hands up his chest and to his face where she kept them. Looking into his sky blue eyes, she solemnly declared, "I love you."

Wyatt closed his eyes, soaking in the words. When he opened them, he took her hands, kissing them. "Please, let this mean what I think it does."

"I'm done running in fear. No more living in the past. I want the future. What happened that night was one of the most awful things I've ever gone through, but you weren't the one to cause it. You were just as much a victim as me. When I think about what she did to you. . "

"Don't."

Casey pursed her lips, nervous. "I made a huge mistake giving up on us. It won't ever happen again. You are worth fighting for, Wyatt, and I plan to from here on out. That is. . .if you still want me."

"If?" He shook his head at her. "I've loved you for so long that there is no other option for me. You're it. You are the one I want. Period."

The two shared a kiss that revealed just how much they had missed one another during their time apart. It was soft but urgent, full of need and love. It was a kiss they would repeat again and again in the years to follow.

()()()

"He looks stupid in that," Chris whined, gesturing at the outfit Casey was currently placing on his son.

"You had your wiccaning in this," Casey argued.

"And I looked stupid."

Casey smirked. "Nothing's changed there."

"Ha. Ha. Real funny."

"Honestly though," she asked him, "isn't he adorable? The matriarchs are going to love him."

"Of course they will," Chris agreed. "What's not to love?"

Casey sighed. "I can't believe he's having his wiccaning today. It's just so. . .so. . ."

"Huge?" Chris asked.

She nodded.

Chris moved to stand next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders as they both looked down on their own private miracle. The two shared a moment as they looked down on the unexpected treasure of their lives. Without having to say so aloud, both knew they were blessed to have found light during the time when both of their lives had been so dark. Their son was a gift that would link them forever.

"You ready?" Chris finally asked.

Casey took a deep breath. "I think so." She looked down at the baby. "How about you, Lucerito? Estas lista?"

"He's our kid," Chris answered for him. "He's always going to be ready for anything." He took his son up in his arms, making the little boy smile. "Aren't you?"

Casey didn't point out the fact he'd answered even though she'd asked in Spanish. It was something he'd been doing more frequently lately. He was changing. Not dramatically enough to raise eyebrows, but enough for her to notice. She'd known him since they were children, so if anyone aside from Wyatt was going to see the minor differences, it would be her. He ate things he hadn't before, knew things he had no reason to know, and even behaved differently in some ways. So minor, but in all, it worried her.

"What?" Chris asked.

"Nothing," she answered. "Just thinking we ought to get him upstairs before your Grams bites my head off again."

"Don't worry about her. She didn't like me the first time we met either. Called me a greenhorn incapable of guiding her girls," he told her.

Casey frowned. "What? What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you first met your Grams? You were a baby."

Chris looked clearly confused. "Yeah, what about it?"

"You just said. . ." She stopped, realizing he had no idea what he'd just told her.

Chris frowned at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she lied.

"Good. Let's go."

Chris took her hand and orbed the three of them up to the attic where the rest of the family was already waiting. Phoebe and her girls immediately started cooing over Lucky while Piper argued with Grams about the details of the wiccaning itself. Paige, Henry and their children congratulated Chris on the big day. Leo was busy reminiscing to Prue and Andy about how it seemed like yesterday that Chris was being wiccaned.

Molly smiled at Casey. "Hi. How you holding up?"

"Molly," she started in a whisper, "have you noticed anything weird with Chris lately?"

The whitelighter frowned, thinking. "No. Not really. Why?"

Casey sighed. "Nevermind."

"No, what's wrong?"

"Just, keep your eyes open, okay? My gut's telling me something's off."

Molly suddenly heard future Lucky's voice telling her how something was going to happen to Chris, but not to worry. He promised everything was going to be okay and that his father was in no danger. And to stop Casey from interfering.

Molly smiled brightly, "Sure. Don't worry."

In her mind, Molly realized just how hard it was going to be to keep her friend from figuring out something was up. She had promised Lucky, though. She would do her best to keep Casey's suspicions at bay.

"Hey," Wyatt greeted, his arms immediately going around Casey's waist as he came up behind her. "What are my two favorite ladies talking about?"

Before Casey could answer, Molly cut in, "Just how great the wiccaning is going to be, of course. Which, judging by the way your Grams is shooting us that look, I think is going to start now."

Grams moved to the center of the room, holding Lucky in her arms. "I call forth from space and time, matriarchs from the Halliwell line, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, our family's spirit without end, to gather now in this sacred place and help us bring this child to grace."

Lights zipped around the room forming the spirits of matriarchs from across the expanse of time. Each woman smiled proudly and lovingly at the small bundle they had come to bless.

"The next generation has been born," Grams announced. "Our legacy is now even greater with the arrival of Lucas Perry Halliwell. So, we shall pledge to be with this child, apart but never separate, free but never alone. He is one of us, and we bless him with all the light and goodness that we are. Welcome to the family, Lucky."

"Blessed be," the matriarchs solemnly said.

"Blessed be," repeated the young parents of the child.

As the entirety of the Halliwell line, moved to grace the child, Casey and Chris stood to the side, proud.

Molly watched the scene before her and couldn't help but feel this was how it was supposed to be. Casey and Wyatt had found their way back together, and the way they looked at each other was all the proof anyone could need that theirs was a deep love. Chris, holding his son and smiling back at Molly with pure adoration was the best feeling in the world. The little boy that linked them all was gurgling and laughing, feeling perfectly safe and loved. If everything could stay just as it was, heaven really could be a place on earth.

For now, Molly was thankful. Thankful for the deeper love, the indescribable joy and the unusual friendship she'd found in the last year. She would hold onto that good fortune for as long as it lasted. This family was now her family. Now and forever