Part 1: "The Little Things We Lose"
The Halliwell's lives changed completely the day they fought with Billie and Christie. It gave them an end, an end to the constant demon fighting. The end they'd searched for since Phoebe read the incantation ten years ago and released their powers. Battle after battle they'd survived, the loss of a sister, the loss of husbands, friends. They'd survived it all and come out the other end stronger. But one thing was always there, the demons. Even now, in the silence, something was brewing. The silence is just what the underworld needed to reform, to create a new leader, one who could destroy the Charmed Ones once and for all, but just how new this new leader was remained to be seen.
A calm had descended upon the Manor since Piper's return to the present stopped the final battle from ending the lives of Paige and Phoebe, but as all the sisters were well aware, calm was not something they were accustomed to in their lives. But a years worth of peace, a demon free existence had enabled the girls to live their lives how they'd longed to for so many years, peacefully. Of course peacefully meant demon wise, with new lives to live the sisters lives were anything but peaceful.
Piper had devoted her time to her lifelong dream, opening a restaurant. Using P3 as backing she had secured a loan on what was once Quake. Piper found some irony in this, the place she had worked all those years ago was now hers, and aside from a name change and a refit of the interior it remained relatively similar to what she could remember. Phoebe had settled down and was enjoying her seventh month of marriage to her long searched for soul mate Coop. With her advice column flourishing and a lucrative book deal in the works it came as a startling surprise to Phoebe to discover she was expecting the little girl she had long been promised and longed for for many years. This also came as a surprise to Paige, who after a happy year of marriage and taking on whitelighter duties full time was expecting her first child with husband Henry.
Their lives were normal now, well as normal as they could be after the abnormal eight year intrusion they had forced upon them. But it was not to remain this way, normal and Halliwell are two words that will never sit easily in the same sentence and the sisters knew this all too well.
Paige paced around the living room with one hand on her hip, occasionally she moved the phone away and let the person on the other end speak to the air, she didn't need to listen, she'd heard it all before. "I'm not saying that I don't want to Henry I'm saying that I'm busy right now!" She shook her head as she closed her phone, "Honestly you'd think we were glued together."
Piper laughed, "You are married Paige, you have to expect him to want to do stuff with you."
Paige rolled her eyes, "But not every second of the day, ever since he found out about me nearly dying he hasn't left me alone, and that was a year ago!"
"He's just protective Paige, with good reason, you know as well as any of us how dangerous our lives are."
"Piper, we haven't seen or heard from any demon since we stopped Billie and Christie."
"That doesn't mean we can let our guard down though Paige, anything can happen."
"Come on Piper you know I'm not letting my guard down, I'm just asking for a bit of slack from Henry, the whole things ridiculous. He wants me to be the perfect little wife and mother and I'm not ready to be that yet, I've got my charges to think about."
"You've also got the baby to think about." Piper nodded at Paige's bump.
"You don't see that stopping Phoebe do you?"
"What's this about me?" Phoebe hugged Piper and Paige in turn.
Paige shook her head, "Nothing."
"Paige is annoyed because Henry is being protective of her, even though she's carrying his child!" Piper ignored Paige's scowls as she sat down on the sofa next to Phoebe.
"He is right Paige, you are taking on too much," Phoebe spoke with an air of experience, something Paige hated, "That baby is more important than your whitelighter duties…"
"Just like your baby is more important than your advice column?" Paige interrupted.
Phoebe glared at her sister, "Hello, entirely different situation much!?"
"Not at all, that's your job, this is mine!" Paige replied whilst shaking her head.
"But Phoebe's job doesn't have her facing demons every day Paige."
Paige rolled her eyes once more, she hated it when her sisters were right and they were most definitely right this time, not that she'd let them know this though. "No, my charges face demons every day, I help my charges."
Piper sighed, she knew Paige wasn't going to listen, it was hopeless, but she continued on anyway, "Putting you in the line of fire too." She looked at both her sisters who seemed to spend more time at the Manor now than when they lived there, "Not that I don't love you guys being here, but what exactly are you both doing here in the middle of the day?"
Phoebe and Paige looked at each other, partly shocked at the inquisition, this was technically still their home, at no time had they expressed any wish for it to be left to Piper but as events go it had just happened this way.
"Who made you queen of the Manor?" Phoebe asked with an eyebrow raised.
Piper laughed, "You two did when you moved out, or maybe I did when I had my children first, either way you know, why are you here?"
Paige shrugged, "Bored, and you know mine and Henry's place just doesn't have such a homely feel to it as this place does." Paige turned to look at Phoebe who remained blank.
Phoebe lifted her head up and looked around, "I guess I just miss this place, how close we used to be," she paused and looked around the Manor once more remembering everything that had happened throughout the years in different places around the Manor, "We've lost something, don't you think?"
No-one spoke for a moment, as much as they didn't want to accept it they had lost something, something that they were going to have to get back if they should any chance of fighting the growing darkness.
