By JewWitch
Summary: Takes place directly after "The Fifth Halliwheel." Circumstances cause Phoebe to realize she's been mistreating her little sister.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I own nothing, obviously. Characters belong to Aaron Spelling, yadda yadda.
"…Which means that you already hated Cole," Phoebe finished quietly, refusing to meet her younger sister's eyes.
"I don't hate Cole," Paige said earnestly, looking from Piper back to Phoebe, who was still avoiding her gaze. "I just…I just don't trust him. I'm sorry."
"I am too," Phoebe said in a voice that was cold as stone, and walked out without sparing Paige so much as a backwards glance. Piper got up and followed her wordlessly, leaving Paige all alone in the corner of P3. Paige looked at the floor. The club began to swim around her as her eyes filled with tears. Well, that's it, she thought as she buried her face in her hands. They hate me. Six months ago she had been an only child, and a perfectly happy one, too. But now, her heart was breaking for her sister's pain. Pain that she had caused. She hadn't meant to hurt Phoebe—if anything, she wanted to protect her sister from whatever Cole had up his sleeve. But that was secondary to the simple fact that she had only been following the prime directive of the Halliwell household—she had been honest about her feelings. She had never been so honest in her life, in fact, as she had been since moving into the manor. It was scary as hell, but it had also opened up the world to her. She had never know safety and support like Phoebe and Piper had offered her…especially Phoebe. Piper had been hesitant to open up at first, scared of loving someone else she could later lose; but Phoebe had been there from day one, the big sister Paige had never known she was missing. She was so good, and smart, and powerful! And sometimes she was a big goofball; she always seemed to know when they needed to laugh. Plus, she let Paige borrow her cool date clothes. Paige had been overwhelmed by the sisterly love that was laid at her feet, no strings attached. She had soaked it up like a little sea sponge, even going so far as accidentally swapping their bodies when her first potion went awry. But Phoebe had forgiven her; Phoebe had always forgiven her.
But not this time. This wasn't about a botched potion or a miscalculated spell that caused an explosion or two. Paige didn't trust her sister's new husband, and by telling her so, she effectively forced her to choose between them. And obviously, Phoebe had chosen. Sniffing, Paige wiped at her eyes, and walked listlessly from the club.
At the manor, Phoebe was setting the table for dinner while Piper pulled a pot roast from the oven. Cole was on a business trip, and Leo was working late with one of his charges in the Indonesian rainforest, so Phoebe laid out only three places. The weather had been unusually warm and sunny all day, and they had flung open most of the windows in the house due to the lack of air conditioning.
"Dinner's almost ready, Pheebs…will you call Paige, please?" Phoebe sighed and cocked her head at Piper, hands on her hips.
"What?" Piper asked innocently.
"Don't 'what' me, Piper Marie Halliwell. I'm not gonna be in your little sock puppet theater starring the two sisters who make up after their silly sister fight, okay? I'm just not ready to talk to her."
"Well sometimes it's not just about what you need, sweetie."
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you taking her side?"
"Phoebe," Piper sighed with a small smile playing at her lips, "this isn't about sides. You're a big sister now…and since that's a job I've had a little bit longer than you, I'll pass along some free big sister advice: Paige needs some assurance from you right now. She needs to know you still love her."
"Of course I still love her, Piper. Jeez! Don't be so dramatic. I'm just hurt that she doesn't trust me, after everything we've done—everything I've done to keep her safe."
"This is my point exactly!" Piper exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "How you feel—like you just want her to trust you-- is exactly how she feels, only she doesn't have a lifetime's worth of sisterhood to give her any perspective on the issue. Do I need to remind you of the Roger fiasco?"
"Oh, come on Piper. That is so not the same thing!" Phoebe cried, but her heart gave an involuntary tug as she remembered how much it had hurt when Prue refused to believe that she hadn't tried to steal her fiancé. The jerk had come on to Phoebe, right in that very kitchen…and when Phoebe told him to go to hell, he had gone straight to Prue with an outraged story of how her slutty little sister had tried to seduce him. And Prue had believed him.
It wasn't that she was angry with Prue for not believing her…it was more that she was heartbroken. She had been honest, and her big sister looked into her eyes and told her to go to hell. It was a hurt so big, it had sent her running all the way across the country to get away from it. But this wasn't like that…she knew Paige wasn't trying to hurt her on purpose. And Paige knew it, too. Didn't she?
"You really think she'd think I didn't love her anymore?" Phoebe asked hesitantly. Before Piper could answer, an enormous thunderclap boomed through the house, and the sky outside opened up in a downpour.
"Auugh!" Piper shrieked. "Damn spring thunderstorms! Go close windows! Go, go, go!" Waving her hands, Piper bolted for the nearest window, slamming it down as rain gushed onto the hardwood floor.
Five minutes later, the two sisters stood panting in the upstairs hallway, both rather damp.
"Did we…get them…all?" Piper gasped.
"Yuh-huh," Phoebe nodded, leaning against the archway for support. For a moment, neither spoke, as both of them attempted to get their breath back.
"Did you see Paige anywhere?" Piper finally asked.
"Isn't she in her room?" Phoebe asked blankly, shaking some of the raindrops from her hair.
"Nope, I went in there to check if the windows were closed, and she was nowhere to be found."
"Huh." Phoebe cocked her head. She went to the window and looked down at the stormy street. "Her car's still here. Do you think she orbed somewhere?"
"She's barely got the orbing under control as it is…why would she orb away without telling us?" Piper asked, an edge of worry in her voice. "Leo!" She called out. A moment later, Leo appeared in his usual blaze of light.
"Can you sense where Paige is, honey? We seem to have misplaced her."
"You didn't misplace her, Piper," Leo assured his wife. "She's at Stinson Beach."
"What!" Phoebe squeaked. "In this downpour? What is she doing there, Leo?"
"I think that's a question you should ask her yourself, Phoebe," Leo said quietly. He took Piper's face in his hands and kissed her. "You guys go, okay? I'll keep dinner warm for you." Piper nodded dumbly, a second before Phoebe pulled her down the stairs.
"Easy on the arm, there, Arnold!" Piper quipped as Phoebe jerked her more forcefully to the door.
"Oh god Piper, this is all my fault! I made her feel like crap and now she's running away just like I did and oh god, what if something happens to her? What if some demon attacks her while she's alone? We have to go get her, Piper!"
"We are getting her, Pheebs, but we'll have better luck if we arrive in one piece, okay?" Phoebe nodded, her face very pale as she pulled their raincoats from the hooks.
"Right." Piper grabbed the car keys off the coffee table. "I'm driving."
Half an hour later, the jeep pulled up in the deserted beach parking lot. Which was not at all surprising, as the weather was hardly beach friendly at the moment. The wind was causing the icy cold rain to blow over the road as if by a will of its own, and Piper had been forced to take it much slower than she would've liked, as every time she turned a corner, there was hydroplaning involved.
"What the hell was she thinking?" Phoebe said for about the millionth time, her voice tight with worry. They both pulled their hoods up as they exited the car, wincing into the storm around them.
"She's just blowing off steam, Phoebe. I'm sure she's fine."
"Well she won't be after I'm done killing her!" Phoebe seethed, stomping out onto the beach.
"Oh, dear," Piper sighed, running after her little sister. "Listen, Pheebs, just remember how it feels to be the youngest, okay? That shouldn't be too hard for you." But Phoebe was staring off ahead of them, to where a lone figure was hunched at the edge of the water. Or, the edge of the ocean, at least—"the water" could now describe pretty much any place a person could be standing in San Francisco. Without a word, both sisters bolted toward the small form.
"Paige," Phoebe gasped when they finally reached their youngest sister, arms wrapped around her knees, eyes fixed on the ocean. "What are you doing here? You're drenched!" Phoebe sank down into the wet sand beside her sister, taking her cold hand in both of hers, trying vainly to warm it.
"It wasn't raining when I came," Paige said quietly, in a strange, monotonous sort of voice that sounded nothing like herself.
"Honey," Piper said soothingly, coming up on her other side, "let's get you home, okay? We can talk later, or whenever you're ready. We're gonna get sucked up in a typhoon, here."
"I'd deserve it," Paige mumbled, still staring out at the ocean. She had yet to make eye contact with either of her sisters.
"Paige, what are you talking about?" Phoebe asked urgently, grabbing her little sister's face with both hands and forcing her to look up. Her skin was cold as ice.
"I didn't mean to ruin your honeymoon, Phoebe," Paige said in a small voice, that finally broke as she burst into tears.
"Oh, baby, I know you didn't…it's okay, it wasn't your fault," Phoebe assured her, wrapping her arms around Paige's trembling form.
"I'm s-sorry," Paige hiccupped, burying her face against Phoebe's shoulder. "I t-t-tried to be a good sister…please don't hate me!"
"Sssh, honey, everything's okay…I could never hate you, Paige. You're my little sister, and that's forever. I will love you no matter what, okay?" Phoebe pulled back to look into Paige's reddened eyes.
"Okay," Paige nodded. Rain was dripping from the ends of her long black hair.
"Now let's take you home, before you catch your death." Phoebe stood up, tugging Paige with her, who stumbled slightly; she was stiff with cold. Piper was there in a flash, grabbing her other hand, supporting her as she found her balance. Slowly, the three sisters made their way back to Piper's jeep. Paige climbed shakily into the back seat, quickly followed by Phoebe, while Piper went to the driver's seat.
"What are you d-doing back here?" Paige stuttered through her chattering teeth.
"Are you kidding me?" Phoebe smiled at her blue-lipped sister with equal parts affection and exasperation. "Paige, you're shaking like a leaf. Somebody's got to warm you up!" With that, Phoebe reached over the seat and pulled up a fluffy blanket that had been left there after their last picnic in the park. She wrapped it snugly around Paige as Piper drove cautiously through the deluge, rubbing her arms briskly in an attempt to get her circulation going.
"It's okay, Phoebe, you don't have to---" Paige tried to say, but Phoebe would have none of it.
"Save it, okay? This is not the kind of thing a big sister can just stand by and watch. You look miserable. And when you're miserable, I'm miserable." She moved the blanket up to Paige's head as she spoke, rapidly rubbing her dripping hair. As she did so, the side of her arm brushed against Paige's cold ear, sending a chill up her spine.
"Oh, honey, you are absolutely frozen," Phoebe said sympathetically.
"I really didn't know it was gonna rain," Paige admitted, sniffling as she continued to shiver.
"Come here," Phoebe said quietly, pulling Paige tight against her, wrapping both arms around her in an attempt to share her body heat. Paige stiffened up at first, but the warmth coming from Phoebe's skin was too welcome to pull away from. Sighing, Paige relaxed against her sister.
"I'm so sorry, Paige," Phoebe said quietly after a few moments of silence.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Paige insisted, her eyes growing heavy as the trembling finally subsided.
"Yes I did," Phoebe countered, her fingers running soothingly through Paige's damp hair. "I told you to always be honest with me, with us, about how you feel…and the moment you do, I throw it in your face. I'm the one who should be sorry, Paige, and I am. You are my baby sister, okay? Nothing trumps that. Nothing." Paige looked up into Phoebe's loving eyes, and smiled. Then she took a quick, shuddering breath.
"Ahchoo!" Phoebe gasped in surprise as Paige sneezed and orbed out, then back in.
"God bless you!" Phoebe giggled. She wasn't sure she had ever seen anything quite so adorable. She looked automatically to the front seat.
"Did you see that, Piper?"
"What?" Paige asked hesitantly, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Did I get snot all over your shirt?" She cringed slightly.
"No, silly," Phoebe grinned. "You orbed!"
"I did?" Phoebe nodded at a dumbstruck Paige.
"I must've missed that," Piper said with a curious glance to the back seat. "Good thing we're not in mixed company."
"Yeah…" Paige nodded in a daze. "This whole, having powers thing can be kind of a liability sometimes."
"You're not kidding, sister," Piper agreed. She gave the back seat one final glance before returning her eyes to the road. "Almost home, okay my girls? Just hang in there a couple more minutes."
"Okay, Piper," Paige said, sniffling. "Uh, do you have any…uhhh…Achoo!" Piper's jaw dropped as Paige sneezed and orbed again. "…Kleenex?" Paige finished lamely, once again being forced to wipe her nose on her sleeve.
"Here, sweetie," Piper grinned sympathetically at Paige as she handed her a small packet of tissues from the glove compartment.
"Poor baby, you are getting sick. The minute we get home, you're going straight in the bath. Then you can try your first dose of Grams' marvelous medicine." In the front seat, Piper let out a snort of laughter. Paige looked at her questioningly.
"Let's just say, there's an inverse relationship between how well it works and how good it tastes," Piper grinned.
"Great," Paige groaned. "I can hardly wait…freaky medicine to go with my freaky cold." Her lips turned down in an adorable pout.
"You know what the upside to this little quirk of yours is, don't you Paige?" Phoebe asked with a smirk.
"Uhhh…what?" Paige asked blankly.
"It means that when you're sick…like now…we can keep you home and in bed until we're absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent sure you're all better." Phoebe kissed Paige's damp cheek as she spoke.
"That's an upside?" Paige grumbled, her pout deepening.
"It is once you've had a taste of the legendary Halliwell TLC treatment," Phoebe said wisely, with Piper nodding in agreement.
"She ain't lying." Paige looked at Phoebe dubiously, one eyebrow cocked.
"Trust me, Paige…nothing makes you feel better fast like having two big sisters dote over you, and wait on you hand and foot."
"Well I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Paige asked, a small smile creeping onto her face.
"Nope." Phoebe smiled back.
"We're home," Piper announced. "I'll make hot cocoa and popcorn."
"And you, miss, will go straight upstairs and take a nice hot bath," Phoebe said in her most mom-like voice. Paige just nodded, too dumbstruck by her sisters' authoritative, almost parental manner to speak. "When you get out, we'll get nice and comfy and have a sister movie night. Okay, baby?"
"'Kay," Paige said quietly. Then she flung her arms around Phoebe's neck. "Love you guys," she said in a husky, slightly quivery voice. Then she climbed out of the car and went into the house.
An hour later, everyone was warm, dry, and snuggled under several fluffy blankets in front of the television. Piper had made good on her promise of cocoa, but Phoebe was withholding this particular treat in another rare showing of parental sternness.
"Honey, we have to take your temperature before you have the cocoa," Phoebe explained in a soothing, pacifying voice. "Otherwise we won't get an accurate reading."
"Don't patronize me!" Paige whined. "I'm not five!"
"No, but you are sick, and cranky, and you are not getting this cocoa until we find out how hot you are." Phoebe held out the thermometer, raising one eyebrow expectantly. With a dramatic sigh, Paige finally opened her mouth, allowing Phoebe to stick the thermometer under her tongue.
"Good girl," Phoebe murmured, giving Paige a lingering kiss on the forehead. Piper watched silently. She knew that Phoebe was checking Paige's temperature; it was the same thing that Prue had always done with them. "I'll be right back with that medicine, okay Paigey girl?" Paige nodded, leaning back against the pillows. Her eyes followed Phoebe out of the room. Piper smiled, and snuggled up to Paige on the couch, running her fingers through her sister's black hair.
"You know, Paige, there are certain privileges that come with being sick in this house," she said as she began to gently rub the kinks out of Paige's neck. Unable to open her mouth, Paige simply raised one eyebrow.
"You get to pick the movie. And you get control over the remote. And, Phoebe and I will read to you and sing you lullabies at bedtime, if you want. It may sound silly…but it helps." Piper wasn't sure that her headstrong little sister would allow this type of coddling, but at least she knew she had the option now. And she certainly didn't look like she was objecting to the big sister treatment at the moment, as her head was drooped against Piper's shoulder, her hand wound around the hem of Piper's shirt like a little girl. It was the same way Phoebe used to cling to her when she had nightmares as a child.
"Okey-dokey," Phoebe hummed, returning to the living room with a tray balancing medicine and three mugs of Piper's famous hot chocolate. "Let's see how our girl is doing…" Phoebe plucked the thermometer from Paige's mouth, holding it up to the light and squinting slightly.
"What's the verdict, Doc?" Paige asked in a rather hoarse voice. "Am I gonna make it through the night?"
"A hundred and one point four, sweetie," Phoebe said gently. "I think it's safe to say you're in for a week of enforced pampering." Paige gave a forlorn sigh. Not missing a beat, Phoebe took the opportunity and tipped a spoonful of gooey red medicine down Paige's throat. Paige gagged and coughed.
"Hey!" she spluttered, her face contorted with disgust at the foul tasting concoction. "A little warning would be nice!" She continued to glare at Phoebe while Piper handed her the long-awaited mug of hot chocolate.
"Believe me, Paige," Piper assured her, "the quicker it's over with, the happier you'll be." Pouting, Paige sipped her cocoa.
"Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you pout, Paige?" Phoebe asked with a grin. Paige stuck out her tongue. Then, all three of them burst into giggles, but Paige's laughter quickly turned into a coughing fit. Before she knew what was happening, both her sisters were upon her, helping her sit up straight and raise her arms above her head. Soon the spell passed, and Paige slumped against the warm arms supporting her, exhausted.
"That sounded awful," Phoebe said in a concerned voice. She smoothed Paige's hair back and looked into her fever-bright eyes. "You okay, baby girl?"
"Can we watch The Muppet Movie?" Paige asked tentatively in response. Piper and Phoebe both grinned at her.
"It just so happens," Piper said as she rose from the couch, "that we have our very own copy…it's somebody else's favorite sick day movie, too." Paige and Phoebe looked at each other, and smiled.
"I guess I really do belong in this family," Paige joked, snuggling down deeper into her sister's warm arms.
"As if there was ever a moment's doubt," Phoebe replied, hugging her tightly.
By the time the end credits rolled, Paige was fast asleep in Phoebe's arms. Piper quietly gathered the empty mugs, dishes, and crumpled Kleenex from the coffee table, while Phoebe called for Leo in a barely audible whisper.
"Hey," Phoebe smiled at her brother-in-law when he appeared instantaneously at her side. It was awfully convenient having an angel in the family, she reflected. Looking down at Paige, she amended herself—two angels in the family.
"Can you orb us upstairs, please, Leo? I really don't want to wake her."
"No problem," Leo nodded as he put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder. "Her room or yours?"
"Hers," Phoebe said quietly, running her fingers through Paige's hair as she whimpered restlessly in her sleep. "I don't want her to wake up any more disoriented than she will be already." No sooner had she spoken, then the room around them dissolved in a million points of tiny white light, to rematerialize as Paige's bedroom.
"Thanks," Phoebe whispered, smiling at Leo as he left the room, and Piper came in, curling up next to Phoebe on the large bed.
"Do you think she's any cooler?" Piper asked quietly, smoothing the covers over her sisters protectively. Phoebe leaned down and gently laid her hand against Paige's flushed forehead.
"Actually, I think she's hotter," Phoebe said worriedly. "I wish we knew if she was prone to high fevers like you and me, you know? Cause if this was Prue lying here burning up, we'd be calling 911. We don't know what's normal for her." Phoebe's hand automatically stroked Paige's sleeping face as she spoke, an expression of mingled concern and devotion in her dark eyes.
"She'll be fine, Phoebe, it's just a nasty bug…she was probably sitting out there in that freezing rain for at least an hour before we got to her. Frankly, I'd be surprised if she wasn't sick. We just need to make sure we keep her hydrated till the fever breaks."
"Maybe we could wake her up every couple of hours for fluids?"
"Yeah, I think we should." There was a pause as both Piper and Phoebe watched their baby sister sleep, one hand curled unconsciously around Phoebe's arm.
"We're sleeping in here tonight, right?" Phoebe asked eventually.
"Absolutely." Piper smiled and tousled Phoebe's already messy hair. "You know, you're getting pretty good at this big sister gig."
"Yeah, well, I learned from the best." Smiling, the two of them settled down on either side of their little sister. Soon all three were fast asleep.