dark hair covered the older beauchamp's pillow. only, the surprising twist? the hair wasn't her own. the realization made joanna's eyes open wider to see her sister, wendy, lying beside her in the deepest state of sleep. a pleasant smile washed over her face as last night's endeavors played like a movie in her mind. hands, mouths, clashing tongues.. the pure HEAT between the two of them caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. wendy's bare back was on display as she was sure she heart the younger witch's body rumble in a purr. the fondness in her eyes was apparent. a hand reached out to touch her, but then it paused in mid air. joanna felt like running.

there was only two times in her life she'd ever felt this way.. once, with victor. they were newly married and he had just told her he loved her. really, truly loved her. then, with alex, when they'd been lying in bed and she had said the same thing. but wendy hadn't said it.. she was just laying there.. so oblivious to the hurricane swirling around in joanna's mind. maybe it was better that way. maybe it was better that she didn't know she was terrified. the years without wendy had been extremely painful — perhaps even more so than the years spent without victor. maybe it was the fact that unlike victor, wendy wasn't staying away because she WANTED to. but because she felt guilty for the result her actions had caused. joanna still felt so much regret for giving up on her sister, just as their father had done. she had left her with no one else but herself and the guilt she held for that.. still remained.

as her hand stayed in mid air, she heard the quiet murmuring of wendy slowly waking up. what was she going to say? this was her sister. this whole thing.. it was normal, wasn't it? of course not. sisters didn't do this. but with her.. it felt so right. even she was aware that the times wendy had died, it stung a little more than it was supposed to. the brunette wouldn't admit just how much her heart had skipped a beat when wendy had turned up that day on her porch. please don't leave continued to play in her mind whenever she saw her sister and she couldn't help it.

' jo? '

her voice came out a bit raspy as she turned on her other side, not even bothering to open her eyes. carefully, an arm wrapped easily around joanna's waist, pulling her closer. wendy remembered. and she wasn't running. that had to stand for something, right?

' i'm here, wendy. '

her hand that once resisted touching her sister, now ran up and down her spine, her head resting on her arm underneath her pillow. it felt so right to have wendy in her arms. a kiss was pressed to her forehead as she placed her palm firmly on her back, almost as if she were keeping her in place. was she? maybe. the thought of wendy ever not being here, scared her. and that red necklace was a constant reminder of her possible mortality. if she wasn't careful, which wendy had promised to be, she wouldn't be with her anymore.

' g'morning, '

wendy mumbled, a hand lazily moving to play with joanna's curly hair. she never wanted to leave this bed, but she knew that eventually, they would have to. if the girls saw them like this… the outcome wouldn't be good. a smile eases its way onto joanna's face and she closes her own eyes. just then, wendy opens her's, a little smile on her own features. she didn't regret the previous night. not one bit.

' good morning, wendy. '

here, just the two of them.. it felt so right. it felt like nothing in the world could possibly harm either of them. it was no secret that at her sister's side, wendy felt most powerful. it also wasn't a secret that she didn't feel like anyone truly understood her, except for joanna. when she'd decided to come back to east end, she had been taking a chance.. not only on her sister, but also on her heart. after joanna had been accused of murder, she'd lost her job at the school. something about giving the public education system a bad reputation —– however, that simply meant that she could devote all of her time to protecting their family.. and her sister.

' what do you want to do today? '

the question hung in the air for a moment, neither one of them really planning anything special. after tommy's job had called him to san fransisco, wendy had been thinking about opening up a voodoo shop here, in east end. but for right now, she was taking things slow. she was finding herself again. who was she with FAMILY? she couldn't be the reckless, head below the surface type of person she'd been in new orleans.. she needed a reinvention. at the question, joanna simply shrugged a shoulder, a leg moving to interlace with wendy's. the windows in joanna's room were open and there was a light breeze coming in through the curtains which made her skin feel pleasantly cool, but also warm, wrapped in wendy's embrace. she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in nothing, but it was very.. freeing.

' i'm not sure. do we have to have a plan? '

at the statement, wendy let out a little gasp.

' you mean.. joanna beauchamp doesn't have a plan? who are you and what have you done with my sister? '

joanna simply chuckled before her face fell flat, slowly removing herself from wendy's embrace, sitting on the edge of the bed. a brow rose in confusion on wendy's face, but she scooted closer, kissing a gentle trail up and down her spine. she couldn't help the way her sister's lips made her feel calm and serene.. like a familiar song you hear on the radio when you're having a bad day. her hand was also working its magic, brushing her hair aside as she moved to sit up a little, lips finding a smooth, supple jugular. the caresses of her lips were slow and gentle, but when the tip of her tongue poked out and drew a small circle, joanna's head lulled to the side.

then, she heard something she never expected.

' don't run from me..'

the words were whispered and held no real power behind them. it was more of a request, really.. one that borderlined desperation and need. to show that though she may be thinking about it, she'd never act on it, she rested a hand on wendy's leg that was now hung over the edge of the bed, back and chest pressed close together.

' i won't. '