Chapter 31

“A warlock?” Nikolas asked, totally confused. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s asking if you’re evil,” Pru said with a frustrated sigh. ‘He may be pretty, but there’s not much going on up there,’ she thought to herself.

“Oh, no, I’m not. Most of my family is, but that’s beside the point,” he added with a laugh.

“Okay...” Piper said, trying to figure out whether or not he was joking.

“Are you all witches?” he asked, looking at them suspiciously.

They nodded.

“So, what’s your power?” Phoebe asked excitedly.

Nikolas smiled at her enthusiasm, and couldn’t help being a little intrigued by them as well. “Mind-reading.”

“Really? So, what am I thinking?” she asked mischievously.

Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t know. It must not work on other witches. I know it doesn’t work on blood relatives, but since the only other witches I know are also family, I never knew if there were any other limitations on it.”

“So, you’re not the only witch in town?” Pru asked, even though she knew he wasn’t. She didn’t know if Liz would want anyone to know about her, so to be safe, she wasn’t going to say anything.

“Yeah, my mother, brother and little sister are witches, too.”

“What about your father?” Piper asked, nodding towards Stefan, who was still frozen.

Nikolas shook his head. “No, he’s not. Just my mother’s side is. By the way, how long are these people going to stay like this?”

Piper shrugged. “Until I unfreeze them.” She looked up and noticed someone walking toward the diner. “Which would be now, hurry sit down, someone’s coming!”

Nikolas wasn’t sure what she meant, but he sat down in his chair again, anyway, just as she unfroze the diner. Stefan just continued talking as though nothing happened, which caused Nikolas to chuckle.

The door opened and Alexis walked in, taking a seat at the lunch counter. She smiled at Nikolas and Stefan, then turned around to talk to Bobbie.

“I must be going,” Stefan said abruptly, standing from the table. There was still some tension between him and Alexis, and he usually found it easier to leave the room once she entered whenever possible. “Thank you for sharing this lunch with me. Will I see you later?”

“Of course. Good day, Father,” Nikolas said, smiling as Stefan left. Once he was gone, he stood up and walked over to Alexis. “How are the wedding plans going?”

She smiled and turned around. “Good. It’s going to be next month. The invitations should be going out in the mail soon. Do you think I should invite Stefan?”

“I can’t guarantee he will be there, but I think he would be pleased if you sent him one. There may still be a lot of animosity between the two of you, but you’re still family, and that means a lot more to him than anything.”

Alexis nodded. “I know, okay, I’ll send him one. You’ll be there, won’t you?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” he answered, reaching down to give her a quick hug. He turned and walked to the door, waving briefly at Pru, Piper and Phoebe on his way. They waved back, wondering who the woman was he had just been talking to.

“Okay, do you think he knows Liz?” Phoebe asked, leaning over the table so she could whisper.

“I don’t know, but it’s not our place to tell either of them about the other, okay?” Pru said, hoping they would keep quiet.

“Okay, but I don’t think she knows. Remember, she said the only other witch she’s met is her mother?” Piper said.

The other two nodded, then looked up as the door opened again.

~*~

“Liz, hey,” Nikolas greeted as he left the diner, seeing her walking into the courtyard. “Are you working today?”

“Yeah, I got stuck with the dinner shift. What brings you here?’

“I was having lunch with my father. It’s too bad he left already. You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

“No, not yet. That’s okay, I’m sure I will soon.”

“Well, Alexis just came in, she’s probably there to see you, so I’ll let you go. Have fun.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Yeah, fun at work. There’s a concept.” She laughed and patted him on the arm as she walked past him to the door. “Bye, Nikolas.”

“Bye, Liz.”

She opened the door and walked into the diner, first seeing Alexis at the counter, then noticing the three women she had met earlier were still there. “Hey,” she said, waving as she passed their table. She walked up to Alexis and grabbed her arm. “Come here, I want you to meet some people,” she said, practically dragging her off the stool.

Alexis laughed as she followed Liz over to the table, wondering who had her so excited.

“I’d like you to meet Pru, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell,” she said, standing over their table. “This is my mother, Alexis Davis.”

They all greeted one another, then Liz leaned down to Piper. “Do that thing you do,” she whispered.

Piper grinned and put her hand up in front of her, freezing the diner again.

“Whoa,” Alexis said, looking around the room. “Did you just do that/”

Piper nodded. “Yeah, but I shouldn’t leave it like this for long, it only freezes inside, so if someone were to walk in right now, well, it would be pretty hard to explain.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Alexis answered. “So, does this mean you’re all...”

“Witches,” Liz said, finishing her sentence. Piper unfroze the room and Liz and Alexis sat down at their table.

“So, see any other cute guys?” Liz asked Phoebe with a laugh, remembering her earlier comment about the guys in Port Charles.

“As a matter of fact, I have. You just missed one of them. He left right before you came in. Actually, he was talking to you before that,” she said, looking at Alexis.

“You mean Nikolas? He’s my nephew!”

“Nephew?” Pru asked, remembering what he had said about his mother’s side being witches. “Which of his parents are you related to?”

“The tall, dark and stuffy one that pretty much ran out of here as soon as I walked in,” she said with a laugh. “Stefan is my brother.”

“Really?” Phoebe asked, intrigued. She got the feeling that Alexis didn’t know about her nephew’s powers, and vice versa. “Wait a minute, if he’s your brother, then why isn’t he a witch?” she asked.

“He’s actually only my half-brother. We share the same father, but not the same mother...thank God!”

“Right, the evil stepmother, I forgot,” Pru said. Alexis looked at Liz questioningly.

“I told them why I was adopted,” she said, then turned back to them. “How did you know Stefan wasn’t a witch?”

“He froze,” Piper said simply.

“You know, Piper, maybe you should use your power more often,” Phoebe said. “We’d probably meet a lot more witches that way!”

They all laughed as Liz stood up. “I hate to leave, but I really better start my shift before I get fired. I’ll see you guys around.” She walked back to the counter to get her apron and relieve the other waitress. Alexis excused herself and went over to the counter to join her, leaving the Halliwells alone again. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Lucky walked in. He recognized them and waved, then made his way to the counter to say hello to Alexis and Elizabeth.

“How ironic would it be if he was a witch too?” Phoebe whispered. Piper started to bring her hands up to find out, but Pru stopped her.

“I think we’ve messed with these poor people enough. We don’t want to push our luck,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Piper said, letting her hands fall back into her lap. “Anyway, he probably isn’t. He’s not related to them, and Nikolas’s last name was different, so he’s probably not related to him either.”

“Good point,” Pru said, taking a last sip of her drink and throwing some money on the table. “Come on, I want to deliver that vase tonight.” They all stood up, waved briefly at the group by the counter, then left the diner.

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