CHARMED
It is a well known fact that Paige Matthews had three children with Henry Mitchell.
Two twin daughters: Paget Lily and Pagan Rose
And a son Henry Warren Mitchell
This is the story of Paget and Pagan…
July 2007
"Hey," greeted Paige Matthews as her sisters Piper and Phoebe Halliwell came in the door of the Halliwell Manor. Since defeating the Ultimate power just over a year ago Piper had been living at the manor with Leo and the boys; Wyatt and Chris, while Phoebe and Coop 'christened' her new apartment culminating in the conception and subsequent birth of her daughter Patty 'Ladybug' Halliwell who's six dark freckles on her left shoulder had resulted in her nickname. Which left Paige and Henry in their own place, which Henry was in the process of baby-proofing in-between taking care of his parolees.
"Hey'a honey! Don't move!" Phoebe said as Paige wriggled on her seat.
"You look comfy." Piper noted sarcastically and Paige cast her a half-hearted glare.
"Well I was comfortable two hours ago when I sat down. What happened to you guys? You promised me we'd do lunch today. You know, catch up now that Phoebe can pry herself away from little Patty." Paige reminded her sisters. Phoebe had had a hard time being away from her now two month old daughter since she was born. Eventually Leo, Coop, and Piper had managed to convince her that it was healthy for a new mother to spend time away from her baby; just a few hours here and there.
"Well, Phoebe had a little trouble leaving Patty and then the agency I'm dealing with to staff the restaurant when it's complete called on my mobile so I had to wait for them to finish and after that-"
Paige held up her hands in the middle of Piper's explanation. "Forget it. I don't want to know."
"So, why were you so insistent on meeting today? Not that I don't love lunching with you and seeing you but you were pretty insistent." Piper remarked, sitting down next to her sisters.
"Well, I have some news for you." Paige said, calmly.
"You know the sex of the baby!" Phoebe guessed, excitement shining from her. Paige had been fairly stubborn about not wanting to know the sex but she had just had a scan the other day.
"No," Paige cast a small glare at Phoebe, "and if you have any premonitions then I don't want you o tell me either! Anyway, my news is that… I'm having twins!" Paige announced.
"Oh wow." Piper said.
"Congratulations." Phoebe said.
"That's great. Have you thought of any more names?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, me and Henry were at it all morning until he had to take off for a hearing. As you know I was leaning towards the name Pagan… and now I'm thinking if I have another girl we'll name her Paget." Paige explained.
"Paget? Nice. What does it mean?" Phoebe asked. She hadn't cracked open a names book because she had been so sure she wanted to name her daughter after their mother.
"It's a unisex form of Paige." Paige revealed and Piper snorted while Phoebe covered a laugh.
"You're naming you child after yourself? Should we be surprised?" Phoebe laughed and Piper hit her on the arm.
"What! If it's a boy we're going for Paget and Henry." She said.
"Bless you," Phoebe said, a grin stretched over her face.
"I didn't sneeze." Paige said grumpily, rubbing her hand over her enlarged stomach as her sisters hugged her.
December 2012
"Mommy, mommy look!" Paget yelled as she orbed from the top of the staircase to the bottom.
"Wow, aren't you growing into your powers!" Paige said, proud.
"I wish I could orb!" Pagan complained as she sat on the living room floor, her art work spread out in front of her as the television flickered in the background.
"Oh honey, don't worry. You're power is just as useful. I know that telekinesis has helped me in the past just as much as orbing has." Paige reassured her daughter. It was a sore spot that only Paget had inherited Paige's whitelighter powers while Pagan was a witch only. Still at least they had some power, little Henry was as mortal as his father and repelled all magic be it good magic (like at the Wiccaning they had attempted to hold for him a few weeks ago) or evil magic. Still at least he seemed fairly happy and safe and Henry was pleased he would have a son to follow in his mortal footsteps.
"Mommy – Paget said I was a cry baby!" Pagan – younger than her sister by a full eight and a half minutes – said, snuggling up o her mother who sat on the couch. The girls were identical twins each with Paige's dark brown hair and her dark brown eyes; luckily though they had no inherited her practically sheet white skin and instead retained the same tone as Henry's. They were both very pretty and usually kind unless they were picking on each other or retaliating against Chris or Wyatt's teasing.
"When did she say that, Pagan? I didn't hear her." Paige said.
Pagan pouted and pointed at her head. Ah, of course. Everyone knew of stories about twin-ESP only when you added magical children to the mix the likelihood of it actually happening increased ten fold. Paget and Pagan shared a mental bond created while they had been in the womb. It let them share thoughts, images, and emotions even over long distances.
"Tattletale!" Jeered Paget from where she sat on the staircase. Pagan turned around and poked her tongue out at her sister.
"Hey! Hey! What have I said about calling each other names. It's not nice and if you do it one more time then Santa won't bring you any presents, you hear me?" Paige threatened. Up stairs in her and Henry's closet was three boxes, some toys for Henry who was too little for much, as well as a large tailor made (by Uncle Leo who likes working with his hands) dollhouse. It was trimmed with pink with its own white-picket fence and attic for spell casting.
"Okay!" Pagan quickly recanted. She liked presents and made no issues about it!
"Yeah – okay. Sorry Little P!" Paget said, hugging her twin tightly.
"Sorry, Big P!" Pagan replied, happily snuggled between her mommy and her sister.
"Okay now that's more like it! So, which story would you like tonight?" Paige asked, pointing to the array of fairytales and fables she had been collecting ever since they first realised she was pregnant.
The girls looked at her with twined expressions of pleading and mischief. "Snow White, please momma!" They spoke in unison and Paige rolled her eyes, smiling as she lifted the book of fairytales on to her lap.
2023 May
What's up with you? Pagan asked her stressy twin sister telepathically as she sat at the back of the bus as far away from Pagan and her best friend Kate as possible.
Her sister refused to answer, instead choosing to stare blankly ahead. Which Pagan decided to take as permission to root around in her sisters head. Then she realised that Paget wasn't staring blankly ahead but was watching and… lusting after Lee Parry a basket ball player in the year above them. Oh my goddess! Do you like him! How could you not tell me! I tell you everything, Paget!
Paget blushed and even from ten seats away Pagan knew it was half embarrassment and half fury. God, Pagan! I already share a bedroom and a bathroom with you! Why can't you leave my inner thoughts alone! Besides the only reason you tell me everything is because you inherited Aunt Phoebe's ability to keep a secret!
Bitch. Pagan replied, hurt that her sister would be like this.
"Hey, what's up?" Kate asked, noting how upset Pagan looked all of a sudden. Not only did Pagan suck at keeping secrets – unless they were life-or-death/exposure secrets – but she also wore her heart on her sleeve and right now she looked fairly crushed.
She shook her head. "My sisters a bitch." She said as the bus came to a stop outside of their school.
"And that's news?" Laughed Kate who pulled her friend into a hug as they started off towards homeroom.
Wait! Paget's voice shouted in Pagan's mind and she stumbled, dropping her physics book.
"You okay?" Kate asked, bending down to help her.
"Yeah – fine. Look, I just need a minute then I'll catch up with you in first period. Save me a seat will you?" Pagan added with a smile.
"Sure," Kate agreed easily and wondered off.
"I'm sorry, Little P." Paget admitted to her twin sister as she caught up with her. "It's just…" she blushed again, "I asked him out and he laughed at me and the really stupid thing is I still can't stop thinking about him!" Paget said, her eyes filling with genuine emotion.
Pagan smiled, hugging her sister briefly. I forgive you, she told her and they made their way to homeroom before the bell.
Of course later that day Lee Parry had an unexplainable inability to get the bal in the hoop at practise. He saw that Pagan Mitchell – the hotter twin in his opinion – was watching him and felt like a fool for messing up in front of her but he had no idea she was the reason he was messing up because he didn't know about her telekinesis. He was just a mere mortal who dared to hurt her sister.
After practise he approached her. He smelt strongly of sweat which made Pagan wrinkle her nose but she wanted to see what he had to say. "You're Pagan Mitchell, right? We have trig together?" He said.
Pagan smiled charmingly at him. "Do we? The trigonometry class is so big I don't think I've noticed you before." She lied. Of course she had noticed him – he was a star basket ball player and arrived late to every class and sat two desks in font of her. It would be impossible not to notice him eve if he hadn't broken her sister's heart!
"Playing it cool, huh? That's a tactic I can respect. Unlike your sister – she's a bit full on, you know?" Lee said, chumming up to her in a way that made Pagan really want pay back.
"Full frontal?" She repeated and Lee smiled at her like they were sharing a joke. "You mean… like this?" She asked, and with a flick of her hand his shorts fell to the ground leaving him almost butt-naked in front of all his team mates and the cheerleaders who burst into laughter. Apparently they should start calling him 'Little Lee'.
"Well, now I've seen what you have to offer I'm really glad you aren't into my sister because you clearly aren't good enough for her." Pagan said, and walked away with a smile.
January 2029
It's Paget and Pagan's twenty first birthday. Everyone is gathering at the Manor for a Piper Halliwell birthday feast. It's only Piper, Leo, and Prudence-Melinda who live at the manor now since Wyatt left for college; graduated and is now living in an apartment in town and since Chris moved in with Bianca after college. Prue – a year younger than the twins – is still attending a local college and working part time at her mother's restaurant where she gets teased about nepotism. Luckily Prue seems to have inherited her dead aunt's thick skin.
Wyatt gives the twins some vouchers for clothe shops which they pretend to be insulted about for a full three minutes before cracking up and thanking him. Chris gives them jewellery which Bianca probably helped pick out so they thank them both with equal enthusiasm. Prue begs being a poor student as an excuse for not getting them anything but the girls roll their eyes and tell her she can pay for a lunch out if she comes shopping with them.
From Paige – their proud and so happy mother – they each received an individually engraved locket with pictures of their opposite twin in them. The gesture brings tears to Pagan's eyes as she is hugged by both Paige and Paget. Henry gives them each their own leather bound diaries. He tells Pagan she can use it as her very own spell book. Paget of course can't cast spells but perhaps she could one day use it to document her dealings with her future whitelighter charges. Henry Jr. gives them both a hug and gives Paget a compilation CD of her favourite music from 2028, and for Pagan he gives her a box-set of her favourite chick-flicky-tv-show. It ios the first present they received that day that wasn't a pair of presents and they are reminded why they love their brother so much. He gets the whole 'individuality' thing, how could he not being the only mortal child of Paige's, and the only mortal child in the whole Halliwell/Mitchell line of children. All of Piper and Phoebe's children had powers – be they active ones like Chris's Electrokinesis which he inherited from his Elder father or more passively powers like Penny's empath abilities.
From Piper they get cook books. The best according to her. From Phoebe and Coop they received advice about love and some money. Phoebe's daughters – Patty, Penny, and Pandora – had banded together and given their older cousins passes to a spa for the weekend.
But strangely enough it was Uncle Leo's gift that was the most controversial. No longer a Whitelighter after falling from grace however the Elder's still communicated with him very occasionally on behalf of the Charmed Ones and the whitelighter children. Wyatt had rejected the whitelighter path, he knew too well that it would mean giving up a large part of his life – his family – and leaving them unprotected. He was the strongest and as long as he was watching their backs no one could stop his youngest cousins growing up safe and happy. Chris had in fact been rejected by the elders because of his love for Bianca who had been raised evil even if she now rejected that path. Which left Paget.
"They want you to become a fully fledged whitelighter. If you agree you'll have a charge by the end of the day." Leo explained. Piper had been against the idea, not wanting such a young girl to have such responsibilities. She was even younger than Phoebe had been when they had received their powers. It couldn't be fair to ask her to do this. However Paige and Henry had agreed to let Paget make up her own mind – after all Henry understood 'callings' and responsibility and Paige loved being a whitelighter now that the Charmed life was – so to speak – over.
"That's so cool! Of course I agree, Uncle Leo! I can't wait!" Paget jumped up and down and hugged her uncle excitedly. Pagan smiled wanly in the background – afraid that this was when she would start to lose her sister. After all if Paget could sense her Charges now then what good would Pagan's voice be competing against the din of calls.
But she stepped next to her sister and said out loud, "I'm so excited for you." After all it was easier to lie with her mouth, not her mind.
TBC – please comment! This is my first venture into writing anyone other than Chris so tell me what you think!