Of All The Luck
By CharmedOneForever.
Summary: Set near the beginning of season 4. Paige is still having trouble fitting in with her sisters and lately she seems to be on a constant bad luck streak. Is this simply life or is something more sinister at work?
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not nor have I ever owned Charmed or any of it's characters…. But damn, I wish I did lol!
A/N: Hi guys, I know it's been AGES since I've written anything but I've had a lot going on… no excuse, I know! I'm not too keen on the title of this fic but unfortunately I couldn't think of anything else and I'm having some communication problems with my beta at the moment. Anyway, here it is! Please read and review, all comments greatly appreciated.
The weather had been unusually gloomy in San Francisco for the past couple of weeks. The air was cold and crisp while the sky was a miserable grey colour. Fog hung around the deserted streets, creeping into every available nook and cranny, making the whole city seem even more dreary.
A fine rain had started to fall, the sort that drenched everything even though there didn't seem to be anything to it at all. Although only early afternoon, everywhere was starting to get dark as the late autumn clouds filled the sky, completely blocking the sun.
The normally crowded and popular park had been abandoned, it's regular visitors who, on a sunny day, could be found having picnics here or going for a stroll had retreated to the warmth of their homes. Now, the once favourite family spot looked eerie and unwelcoming.
The only people in sight were three sisters who were walking slowly together down a well worn path, peering carefully through the damp fog which clung to their skin and clothes.
One of them was walking slightly ahead of the other two, her long dark hair starting to frizz from the drizzle. She glanced back at her younger sisters and thought again to herself how strange it was not to have someone to turn to for protection, instead having to be the one who provided it. Piper had only recently become the oldest sister after a particularly brutal demon attack which had resulted in the death of her older sister, Prue. Her rock.
These three sisters were no ordinary women. They were witches. Charmed ones, destined to protect the innocent and vanquish demons.
Hearing a sigh from behind her, Piper looked back again to see her youngest sister, Paige, glancing at her watch and looking worried.
Paige was the newest addition to the family having only been discovered on the day of Prue's funeral. Their Mom, Patty, had given Paige up for adoption when she was a baby to protect her. She'd been having an affair with her Whitelighter which, up until about a year ago, had been forbidden. Worried about what would happen if The Elders found out, Patty had handed Paige over to a nun with strict instructions to give her a name that began with a 'P' and to find her a good home.
Hearing her sigh again Piper stopped and turned to her, "What is it?" Her voice sounded more impatient than she'd meant it to.
Paige looked nervous as she cast her eyes down to her watch again, "My lunch break was over ten minutes ago, Mr. Cowan's going to kill me!" Mr. Cowan was her boss at Social Services where Paige worked. He wasn't known for his good temper but he cared greatly about his job.
"Well, you know, this is your job too. I'd say saving the world from demons is slightly more important than filing paperwork."
Phoebe, their other sister, stepped forward. She used to be the youngest, at least before they knew about Paige, but had now become the newly appointed middle sister. Being a buffer between the oldest and youngest seemed to be in the job description. Ever since they'd found out about Paige, Piper had been incredibly dismissive of her. It was almost as if she hated her.
"Piper, you know Paige's job is important to her. Anyway, are you sure there's a demon here? We've been walking in circles for twenty minutes now and we haven't seen any sign of one."
Piper waved a rolled up map in Phoebe's direction, "The crystal never lies! There's a demon around here somewhere!"
"Well, is it possible you could deal with it on your own? I really have to get back!" Piper opened her mouth to argue but an energy ball suddenly flew at her, striking her in the shoulder and sending her tumbling to the ground. Phoebe rushed forwards trying desperately to peer through the thickening fog while Paige stumbled backwards away from the danger she knew was close by. Even though she'd been a witch for about a month now it still freaked her out.
All of a sudden a female demon ran out of the mist, launching herself in Paige's direction. She knocked her to the ground and pinned her there, conjuring an athame in her hand. As she raised it, ready to stab the frightened young witch she was suddenly kicked in the face and sent flying. Paige looked up to see who had saved her and saw Phoebe retrieving the fallen athame and stabbing the demon in the stomach.
Piper struggled to her feet clutching her wounded shoulder as the demon burst into flames. She turned to Paige angrily, "What the hell was that, Paige?!"
Paige looked confused, "What do you mean? What did I do?"
"If you hadn't been distracting me by complaining about your job then I would have seen the energy ball coming and that bitch wouldn't have hit me!"
"Piper, I-" Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Piper spun on her heel and stormed off. Phoebe glanced down at Paige apologetically.
"Um… I better go and see if she's ok. I'll call you later!" She ran off after Piper without a backward glance at Paige who was still lying on the wet grass.
Paige grumbled to herself as she sat up and winced, "Hey! Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" She stood up and tested her ankle gingerly. She had fallen on it when she was knocked down but it didn't seem to be too bad. Looking at her watch again she swore under her breath. Now Mr. Cowan really was going to kill her.
Half an hour later, Paige was limping through the doors to South Bay Social Services. She gazed round the large office to see where her boss was, hoping that perhaps she could sneak in unnoticed. No such luck. Before she could manage to duck out of sight behind a desk Mr. Cowan had spotted her and was already striding in her direction. With a miserable sigh, she grit her teeth and prepared herself for the outburst she knew she was going to receive.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Mr. Cowan's face failed to mask the anger he was feeling, "You were supposed to be back here over half an hour ago!"
"Well, you see, I-"
"And where's the file I asked you to sort out before you left?" Paige's shoulders slumped. She'd completely forgotten about that.
Jamie Newton was a twelve year old boy who had been under observation after concerned neighbours had reported suspected abuse from his Father. After an investigation it had been decided that he was no longer safe at home. The report had to go through today or they might not be able to find him a placement in foster care.
"Don't tell me you haven't done it?!" Mr. Cowan's voice rose even louder and Paige cringed as her fellow workers glanced over. She wished the floor would just swallow her up whole and save her the embarrassment.
"Mr. Cowan, I'm really sorry I just-"
"You just what Paige? You broke a nail?"
Paige took a deep breath trying to stay calm. She knew there was no use in losing her temper. After all, it had been her responsibility to get that file sorted. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cowan. I'll do it now."
"Don't bother." He turned to a young blonde woman who was trying her best not to look interested in the argument taking place in front of her desk, "Nicola, are you familiar with the Newton case?" She nodded nervously, "Good. Sort that file and do it quickly." He turned back to Paige, "And as for you… Just go home. You're suspended."
"What?! But Mr. Cowan, I said I was sorry! It wasn't my fault, I got held up. I'll do the file now!"
"Paige, you've always late, you've been disappearing for ages on your lunch breaks… I don't know what's going on with you but whatever it is it's now affecting your work. You've obviously got more important things to do so just get out of here." He waved his hand at her dismissively and trudged back to his office.
Gathering up as much dignity as she could and trying desperately not to cry, Paige headed out the door and across the car park to where her green bug was parked. Opening the car door she slumped down into her seat and flung her bag down next to her causing it's contents to roll out over the floor. Cursing under her breath she leant over and retrieved the fallen items. Deciding that this day couldn't get much worse, she slid the key into the ignition and turned it only to hear the engine splutter and fail.
She fought the urge to scream and rested her head against the steering wheel. She groaned when she realised she had no money with her and that she had no way of getting a taxi. The only way she was getting home was to walk the five miles back to her loft.
She got out of her car and locked it, taking a moment to kick the wheel hard. She instantly regretted it however as she'd completely forgotten about her sore ankle. She swore loudly and received a dirty look from a woman walking past with her son.
She decided to try and look on the bright side of things. She could have been killed today but she wasn't. She could have been sacked today but again, she wasn't. It might actually be nice to get a bit of exercise, she hadn't been able to go on a run for ages now. She'd just been so busy with work and demons. The walk might actually help loosen her ankle up a bit as well.
The rain had cleared up now and a crack of sunlight had appeared through the thick clouds. She gave a small smile and set off at a casual pace. All it takes is a bit of positive thinking she thought to herself.
An hour later as she stomped up the steps to her loft, all her thoughts of positive thinking had gone from her mind and she was in an even worse mood. It was only after about a mile and a half that she'd realised she'd left her jacket in the office. Then the heavens had opened and the rain had come crashing down on her, soaking her completely. She'd thought about trying to orb but knew it was pointless. She could only orb from one side of a room to the other, she wasn't powerful enough to orb further than that yet. She had tried calling for Leo to give her a lift but had received no answer. She'd even resorted to fishing her cell phone out of her bag to ring Phoebe only to find that her battery had died.
"What the hell is going on?! What's with all my bad luck?!" She went to kick her front door but decided that after the day she'd had, it probably wasn't a good idea. It'd probably cave in or something. Sliding her key into the lock, she let herself in and wrinkled her nose. The whole place stank of damp. Rushing over to the window she realised that it hadn't been shut properly and water had leaked in.
When she discovered that her heating wasn't working and that her electric had been cut off she finally gave in and let out a sob. She sunk onto her sofa and lay down, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. Coming to the conclusion that surely nothing could go wrong just lying there she dragged a blanket over her head. She almost smiled when she thought about how weird she must look lying there like that but the day had been too bad to allow it and her expression stayed miserable.
"Paige?"
She jumped as she heard a man's voice and she quickly pulled the blanket off of her while sitting up hurriedly. As she brushed the hair from her face she saw Leo standing in front of her looking concerned.
"Seriously, Leo, If you've come to tell me that they need help with a demon then that's just tough because I'm not going anywhere!"
Leo frowned, "There's no demon, I just came to see if you were ok. Phoebe mentioned that you were knocked down earlier. I came to see if you're hurt."
Paige snorted and pulled the blanket back over her head, "Well they didn't seem to care earlier when I was flat on my back."
Leo sat on the edge of the sofa and pulled the blanket away from her, "What's wrong? You seem stressed…"
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! I was attacked by a demon, Piper hates me, I've been suspended from work, my car wouldn't start so I had to walk five miles home in the pouring rain with no jacket and a twisted ankle, my heating isn't working, my electric's off and this whole place stinks!"
Leo sat staring blankly at her, "Oh."
Huffing in annoyance, she got up from where she was lying and went to stand by the window. Leo sat watching her for a couple of minutes then went and joined her, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"So you're having a crappy day-" Paige glared at him, "Ok, a really crappy day… Let's see… You were attacked by a demon? Yet you survived and gained experience from it. You've been suspended but at least you weren't fired. You-"
Paige held up her hand, motioning for him to be quiet, "No offence but I've already tried giving myself the 'every cloud had a silver lining' speech." There was a couple of minutes silence before she spoke again, "Anyway, explain the silver lining for Piper hating me."
"She doesn't hate you!"
"No? Well then why did she bite my head off just because I was worried about being late back to work? And then when she was attacked by the demon why did she blame me for it?"
"I'm sure she doesn't blame you, Paige…"
"She said it to my face! She said that it was my fault she got hit by the energy ball because I'd distracted her!"
Leo sighed dejectedly, "I'll speak to her."
Paige limped back over to the sofa and sunk down into it, putting her feet up onto the coffee table. She scrunched up her face, "What do I do about the heating and electric?"
"Call a maintenance guy?"
Paige laughed sarcastically, "Yeah? And pay him with what money?"
"You could always move into the manor for a while?"
She raised her eyebrows at him, "I don't think so somehow, she'd probably try and stake me in my sleep…"
"I said I'd talk to her"
"Funny how you knew which sister I was talking about."
Leo slumped his shoulders in defeat and sighed, "Do you want me to heal your ankle?" She shrugged and lifted her leg towards him. A warm glow appeared as he held his hand over her foot, it healed within a matter of seconds. He watched as she once again reached for the blanket and tugged it back over herself before closing her eyes.
Sensing that he was no longer wanted he gave her a half smile before orbing out.
Paige pulled the blanket right up to her chin and closed her eyes miserably, "This day sucks…"