A Mother's Smile
A Valentine's Day Story
Chapter One
We're No Longer Family
"I can't believe you're doing this to me Mom! How could you?!" Phoebe yelled at her Mother as the judge ordered her to be remanded to a Juvenile Detention Center in San Quentin California. Everyone had warned her and warned her until they could no longer give any more warnings on her shoplifting. The judge even told her that if she was to show her face in his court room again, he would ship her off to Juvenile Detention until she turned 18, then she would go before him again to see if she's ready to rejoin society.
"I didn't do anything to you honey. You did it by stealing those shoes. I love you, and this hurts me. I didn't want you to go down this path, but you chose it." Patty says with tears in her eyes.
"I'll be killed in that place. Don't any of you care? Talk them out of this. Let me go home today." Phoebe tries to plead with them all, but they just get up to leave.
"Yes we care Pheebes. It's not our fault though. We didn't put you here, you put yourself here." Prue tells her, and she takes Piper by the hand, and leads her out of there. Prue is now 20, Piper is 17, and Phoebe is 14.
"Mom, come on. They have to take her and get her ready for transport." Piper says, looking back at their Mom, who has not left her spot yet. Patty tells Prue and Piper to go ahead and go out to the van, while she goes up front to talk to Phoebe, or try to anyway before they leave the courtroom with her.
"Phoebe honey?" Patty says, standing next to her, and Phoebe isn't even looking her way.
"What?" Phoebe replies, still being adament not to look her Mother in the eye.
"I wanted to tell you that I love you, and I'm going to miss you. We all will and, I just know that when you come home, you're going to be better, and you're going to do better. Apply yourself in there, work hard, study and get good grades, and when you get out, make something of your life. I truly, did not want this for you. I don't know why you went down this path but, it's not my place to judge you, or scorn you. It is however, my job to love you, help you whenever or however I can, and most importantly, never stop praying for you. I do love you sweetheart. I hope you know that. Please don't hate me for letting the judge send you to Juvie." Patty explains, pouring her heart out to her.
"Mom, as much as I love you, I still can't believe that you are letting them do this. It hurts me knowing how close we were at one time, and I thought you and I were still close but, ya know something Mom? Families don't turn on each other. I didn't do any of this to you, I did it for me. Yes, I messed up okay. Still, families don't let each other go to lock up, over anything. As far as I'm concerned, we're no longer family. I know it hurts to hear me say that, but that is how I feel." Phoebe tells her, and all Patty can do is run out of the courtroom before she completely loses it and starts crying. The one thing she never liked to have any of her girls do, is see her cry. She has always told them that it never hurts to show your true feelings, and show emotion, but at the same time, she wanted them to know that she was the strong one, and that she was in control of things. She leaves the courtroom, and when she sticks her head back inside to see if Phoebe's still there, she sees that she's already gone.
"Mom. I know you probably can't hear me but, please give me a sign that she'll be okay and that we can all get through this. I just love her so much Mom. She's my baby, and always will be." Patty says, while talking to her Mom, who had passed away two months before Phoebe's courtdate. Patty ends her prayer and as she's heading down to the elevator of the jailhouse, the lights get really bright and shake a little bit. The girls don't have any powers yet, and won't have until Phoebe rejoins them at home, but Patty has never lost hers, and she knows what those lights mean. She smiles, whispers "Thanks Mom." and goes on home.
Two years later, Phoebe's still in the San Quentin Juvenile Detention Center, and working very hard in her studies to try to get by with at least a 3.2 grade average, and try to graduate early. It never works for her, so she kind of slips into being the class clown there because she's so smart, she already knows what the teacher is trying to teach to all of them. Finally, it had gotten to where the teacher had to give her assignments that were on a collage level, while everyone on who was between the ages of 13 and 18, were on a junior high or high school level. Patty goes and sees her as often as she can, and each and every time that Patty goes to see her, Phoebe makes up an excuse so she doesn't have to see her anymore. She is dead set in her mind, that the last time she seen her in the courtroom, would be the very last time that she ever seen any of them. Piper caught wind of this, as well as Prue, and they were pissed. Patty had to beg and plead with them to just let it go and accept if for what it was. They knew it was against their better judgement, but they never talked about it anymore, for their Mom. Piper is at Quake one afternoon filling out a job application, and there's a question on there about family.
"I guess this is for if there's an emergency with me here at work and you need to get a hold of someone right?" Piper asks the manager. He nods his head yes and tells her, "You can put your Mom down, or either one of your sisters. That's fine."
"I only have one sister. Phoebe acts like she doesn't want any of us." Piper says under her breath to where no one can hear her. The manager did though but instead of pointing her out to everyone in the place, he just prays a silent prayer and says, "God please be with this family and the hardships they are going through. I know nothing on the matter except what the paper said when it happened, but you do. Walk with them and let them know they are not alone. Amen." Piper finishes up her application, which she gets an interveiw the same day, as they told her she would since they're desperately needing help that bad. The manager sits down with her and the interveiw gets underway, with him asking her work related questions.
"Well you, Ms. Halliwell, are now a productive member of Quake. Welcome aboard. I'll see you Monday morning early." Maxwell Rogers tells her. She goes home to tell her Mom and Prue, but then remembers that Prue is already at her job at Buckland's Auction House on the other side of town.
Chapter Two
Early Release
Since no one was allowed in to see Phoebe, they didn't even know that she had been released early due to her outstanding behavior, and they didn't know that she had been counseling other troubled teens while in Juvenile Detention. On the day she is released, the main guard walks her out and lets her know where the bus is, on the grounds, to take her out into the city.
"Have you got everything you need?" The guard asks her.
"Sure do. I'm ready to head on out. Thanks for giving me a chance, and no offense, I hope I never see this place or anyone here, again." Phoebe tells her. The guard goes back inside and just as soon as Phoebe gets on the bus, she tells the driver to help her get to New York.
"Ya got family there? I have to ask." The bus driver replies.
"Yeah. My Mom just moved there last year. If you need to confirm it, I can give you a number to call. I need to talk to her first though to let her know I'm coming home." Phoebe tells him, hoping he will be taken in by it. He is, and he hands her his cell phone, to which she calls up her friend that she met on face book, and has her to pretend to be her Mom.
"Okay Maam. I'm heading that way to bring her home now. We should be there in a few days." The driver tells this woman. He hangs up with her and asks Phoebe, "Are you sure you don't want to just stay here in California? Haven't you got some family around here in this state?"
"Nope. They all moved to New York last year. I got a letter from them, but I would have to dig all the way through my bag here, and that would take even more time, and you have to be back here in so many days I'm sure." Phoebe tells him.
"No, it's alright. I believe you. Go ahead and have a seat. There's a cooler back there and an on board fridge that I always have stocked for passengers. Go get you something good to eat and drink. There's a bathroom in the back. This is an old Greyhound bus, so I've got the works." The man replies. Phoebe goes and gets comfortable, slips her shoes off, puts them in her bag, lays down in the seat, and whispers to herself, "I think I'm gonna like New York. None of the Halliwell clan is there to try to boss me anymore. I can't wait."
Three days later, Patty is outside in the yard doing some work, trying to clean it up where some neighborhood kids trashed it. Piper and Prue had always told her, that if there's anything outside to do and tidy up, they would do it, since she worked more hours than they did during the week, but she sneaks out there once in awhile, to clean without them having any knowledge of it. Prue had called the cops on them many times before, and they too, went before a judge. They didn't get anything right away though, and when one boy made the statement to Patty, not knowing that Phoebe was her daughter, he said, "It doesn't matter if I go into Juvie or not. I'll get out in two years like the one girl who was stealing all the time. So who cares lady? I sure don't."
"Wait. What girl that stole things all the time? Do you know her name?" Patty asks, knowing that this boy had not been in the area for very long.
"Penelope, Patty, Piper, something. It started with a P is all I know. Why? What's it to you?" The boy smarts off.
"Listen here you little freaking hateful brat. I don't care who's kid you are. You sit there and get mouthy with me, and I'll beat your ass off of you." Patty says, and he runs off. She then goes back inside to call the San Quentin Juventile Detention Center, and they tell her that Phoebe has already been released for good behavior and that she should have been home by now. Patty just goes back to her house work, it being her day off from work, thinking that Phoebe will be home anytime. She doesn't know that she's on her way to New York, or that she'll never see her, or her other girls, ever again.
Two hours later, Prue still hasn't gotten off of work yet, and Piper has about another half hour left when Patty calls them for a three way conversation.
"Hey, I called the Detention Center today after some boy said something about a girl being released for good behavior. It was one of those neighbor kids that hasn't been in the area for very long, he got a smart mouth with me after I threatened to call the cops on him and his friends, and he said that he would get out in two years like the girl who stole a bunch of stuff. That got me to thinking, and I called them, and they said she's been released. Well, here's the thing. She's not made it home yet, and she was released three days ago. By this point, she's missing. So, here's what I'm going to do. Today was my day off, and you two haven't gotten off of work yet so, I'm going to go out and look for her. I'll keep you informed every fifteen minutes or so." Patty explains to both of them, while looking for her keys.
"Okay Mom. Be careful. We love you." Prue tells her.
"Yeah be really careful. Traffic is insane tonight. Love you Mom. See you later." Piper says, while taking down someone's order.
"I love you girls too. When you come home tonight, hopefully, Phoebe will be with me." Patty replies. She finds her keys, heads out to her car, and without having any knowledge, that this is the last time she'll ever talk to her girls again.
Chapter Three
Phoebe, Just Come Home
Just after Patty got two miles across the Golden Gate Bridge, she is changing her music in the car, and she pulls off to the side of the road so she's out of the way of the traffic.
"Where is it? I could have swore that I put it back in here." Patty says to herself as she finds a Tim Mcgraw cd. She puts it in her player, finds Phoebe's favorite song of "Don't Take The Girl" and when she pulls back into the flow of traffic, there was a truck that was in her blind side, that she simply didn't see. When she seen the truck, it was too late, and the last word out of her mouth is, "Phoebe!"
At the hospital, Prue and Piper are looking everywhere high and low for their Mom when a nurse comes through the doors of the E R to talk to them.
"Are you ladies, Prudence and Piper Halliwell?" The nurse asks them. Prue takes a hold of Piper's hand and they sit down with the nurse to talk.
"Yes we are. How is our Mom? She was looking for our sister who got released three day ago from Juvie, and she never made it back home. Is Mom okay?" Piper replies.
"The doctor is with her now. He'll be out to talk to you as soon as he's done." The nurse says, while having to go back in the E R.
"I'm scared Prue." Piper tells her.
"I know. So am I. I wish Phoebe was here. I know she said two years ago that we were no longer her family, but I know in my heart that she didn't mean that. She couldn't have meant it. Let's get some coffee. The only thing we can do at this time, is just wait and pray. Let the doctors work their magic on her." Prue says, and when she looks back at Piper, who even though she is 19, has tears in her eyes. Prue puts her arm around Piper and they both have a good cry.
An hour later, Prue and Piper had cried themselves to sleep in the waiting room and then the doctor came out to talk to them.
"Ladies. Are you guys okay?" The doctor asks them.
"Yeah. Just waiting for the news on our Mom. How is she?" Prue replies, and when he sits down across from them, and takes their hands in his, he looks into their eyes, and Prue knows in her heart, but she tells him to go ahead and say it.
"I'm so sorry. We tried everything in our power to save her but, her injuries were just too severe upon arrival. We did CPR for fourty minutes in total. Not only that, we kept giving her blood, which she lost almost instantly. I'm not sure about weather there's any criminal activity in this or, if it was just a freak accident. Either way, if there is anything I can do for you girls, please do not hesitate to let us know." The doctor tells them.
"You mean?" Piper tries to ask and Prue just grabs her where she breaks down and just starts screaming while Prue tries to console her. The doctor even takes them in his arms as well and cries with them. That was one of the worst cases he had ever had to take on.
"This is gonna be hard on Phoebe when she does get home. She's going to blame herself." Prue says, in the middle of bawling. Both the girls were crying and screaming so hard, that the doctor had to have a couple of nurses to come and sedate them and take them back to the E R where he closes off the area he put them in so he could keep them there overnight to watch them. He looks at his main nurse that's on call that night and tells her, "Get a hold of the San Quentin Juvenile Detention Center and find out everything you can on a Phoebe Jayne Halliwell. Find out where they sent her when she was released, if there was a bus that was supposed to take her somewhere, have them transfer you to the bus driver, do whatever you have to do. Patty has a daughter out there that she will never see again, who doesn't have any idea about this. Bring this kid home." The nurse tells him that she's on it, and he goes to check on Prue and Piper who are now asleep.
"Give them both a strong enough dose to where they sleep for at least until tomorrow afternoon." The doctor tells another nurse.
"You got it. I'm gonna put them in gowns too, and get them comfortable. You want to put them in a room upstairs by themselves, or just leave them here or what?" The nurse asks.
"No Angie. Just leave them here until I'm able to take them up. I want to be the one to do it. It's a little unorthodox to have them stay the night I know, but, you didn't see the way they reacted out there. They couldn't have drove home tonight, not with the state of turmoil they were in." Doctor Johnson replies, when the first nurse comes up to him and says, "I know where she is. Phoebe is on her way to New York, if she isn't already there."
The next afternoon, Prue wakes up and she finds Piper still asleep, then she notices that they both are in hospital gowns, and in hospital beds, with IV's.
"It wasn't just a dream. Oh shit, my head freaking hurts like hell." Prue says to herself and she sits up to hit the call button for a nurse, or whoever is there that holds answers.
"Yes hon? Are you okay? Stupid question I know. Sorry. Do you or Piper need anything?" The nurse asks.
"I know you from last night. You came out to talk to us before the doctor did. Mom's really gone isn't she?" Prue says, and Piper makes some grunting sounds like she's waking up. The nurse tries to check her and Prue says, "No. I've got her. It's just the two of us now."
"No honey, it isn't. I found your sister last night. She's in New York. I don't know what happened with the family, and it's none of my business, but if you ever want to talk, I'm here. I hope you can trust me enough to know that." The nurse who's name is Crystal Evans, tells her.
"It's okay. I trust you. Phoebe had been in trouble several times for shoplifting, and the last time she got caught before she got sent off, we all told her that one day it would land her behind bars. She never listened to us, and this last time, sure enough. She came home that day, hid in her room, took the two bags of shoes she had, stuck them way back in her closet, and when Mom found them and asked about them and why they were there, Phoebe couldn't come up with a decent answer. Mom went downstairs, called Darrel Morris, he came to pick her up, and when she had her courtdate, they sent her off to the Detention Center. She told Mom that as far as she was concerned, we were no longer her family. God, this is going to kill her when she finds out." Prue explains to her.
"What happened? Prue, where are we?" Piper asks, while slowly waking up and looking around. She tries to get up and run off, but when the IV pulls to where it hurts her, she hollers a little bit, then really wants answers. They tell her what happened and refresh her memory, and she can't bring herself to cry anymore.
Two hours later, Piper and Prue have been released from the hospital with the instructions to take it easy, call Phoebe, and make arrangements as soon as possible, to be able to move on and start the healing process. As soon as they get home, Piper lays on the couch, and almost cries again, while Prue gets the phone and calls Darrel. Piper has to move off of the couch so she doesn't start to cry because the scent of her Mom's favorite lotion, is on the couch, along with the smell of lilac air freshener.
"You gonna be okay honey?" Prue asks, seeing her move all the way across the living room, but then going back to the couch, applying some lotion to her hands, and rubbing it all over the back and the seats of the couch, then taking a sheet, and placing it over the couch as if to mark that as a memorial for Patty. Prue smells the air, smiles while wiping a tear away, and she says, "Moonlight path from bath and body works. Mom loved that. Great idea Piper. That couch is in her memory and no one is to ever sit on it again.
"Hey. The hospital found Phoebe. We need you to call the New York police department, and have them to find her, and make her call us now. You know what's going on and everything. We have to get her back here." Prue tells Darrel and he says he'll call right away, and offers to help them in any way that he can. Prue tells him that for now, the only way they need him to help, is just get their sister back home where she belongs.
About an hour later, the house phone rings, and when Piper answers it, she hears Phoebe's voice.
"How did you guys find me? Let me guess. Mom has her ways of finding us, and when she really wants too, she will track us down right?" Phoebe says, and Piper almost cries at the words that Phoebe just said, and she just hands the phone to Prue. Apparently, Darrel didn't tell her what was going on at the manor, and that it wasn't his place to say anything. He had just simply told her that it was the kind of call that was labeled under a 911.
"Phoebe, you um. You need to come home as soon as possible. There's been a terrible accident last night. Some kid was in the yard with his friends, he hasn't been around here for very long, so he didn't know who Mom was. Anyway, she said some words to him about his smart mouth and when he said to her that if she called the cops on him and his friends, that he would just be out as soon as the same girl who stole a bunch of stuff. That was you, and when Mom called to see what the boy was talking about, the Detention Center told her that you had already been released, well four days ago now, maybe more. Phoebe, Mom's gone honey. She was so worried about you cause you didn't ever show up here at the manor so she went looking for you, and she was hit by a truck on the bridge. They worked on her for about an hour or more, and she didn't make it. You have to get back here." Prue explains to her.
"None of this makes any sence Prue. Mom doesn't have car accidents. She's a safe driver. You're yanking my chain." Phoebe tells her, while writing down some things as to what she needs to get at the store.
"No I'm not baby. I'm not making this up. Someone said in the E R last night, that the lady that was also involved in the accident, she lived though, but she said she heard Mom yell "Phoebe!" just before the echo of the crash sounded, sending metal, glass, and car parts everywhere all over the bridge. I only wish I was yanking your chain. Just come home Phoebe, please." Prue replies, and Phoebe does at least know that whenever Piper or Prue, or anyone calls her baby, in a sentence, they are telling her the truth. Phoebe tells her, "I'm on my way."
Chapter Four
The Power Of Three Is Born
Phoebe flew home instead of taking a bus so she would get there faster. She knows that Piper and Prue would never lie to her, but she also lives by the code, "Seeing is believing." She had to see for herself that their Mom really is gone. Flying would only take a few hours, so Prue and Piper had the arrangements made to have the services done on Wednesday since Patty passed on Sunday. Piper and Prue are in the kitchen trying to just get by the best they can and fix a small dinner. They had talked to Phoebe as she boarded the plane and she told them that she would be at the manor at around 7:30.
"Hey Prue, look what I found in the hall closet. Our old spirit board. Remember how much fun we had with this thing?" Piper says, while sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea and an apple. She starts looking at something on the back of it, and reads out loud, "The power of three will set us free. What the hell does that crap mean? Mom and Grams were always cryptic and talked where they didn't make much sence. Love them anyway. You talk to Pheebes since this morning?"
"No. I know she has to come back home for the funeral, God that sucks to say. I know she's gotta be here, but that girl has no sence of vision. I hope to hell she's changed her ways. I love her, and I've missed her so much that I've cried over her a few nights, but nothing about this whole thing makes any sence." Prue replies, while turning the stove off and saying, "Dinner's done."
"Great. I'm starving here. Smells good too. Listen Prue, I know this is going to take some time to get through everything, and try to do it in one piece. We're going to need to lean on each other for at least the next few months, if not the rest of our lives. That includes Phoebe. I miss her, and I'm glad she's coming home. It's 7:25, she should be here anytime." Piper tells her. They go ahead and get the bowls down and start eating, thinking that Phoebe will just get her some of it when she comes in. They fixed tuna helper and bisquits, and didn't want to get real fancy.
"Hey." Phoebe says, walking into the dining room and seeing her sisters for the first time in two years.
"Phoebe. It's so good to have you back home." Piper tells her and both her and Prue get up and hug her. When they all hug each other, they all start crying together.
"I should not have acted the way I did. Now, I'll never see her again, and you guys probably hate me for this." Phoebe replies, while crying for the first time since she got the news.
Wednesday rolls around and while the funeral is underway, Phoebe goes up to Patty's casket and asks her if she's ready. While Phoebe was in the Detention Center, a young girl in there taught her sign language, and since Patty and Phoebe both loved the song "Dont Take The Girl" by Tim Mcgraw, she had decided that she was going to sign that at her Mom's funeral for her. She never told Prue or Piper about any of it, cause she wanted to surprise them too.
"Hi everyone. As you all know, I have been away for a couple years, and I'm all better now, so I can be back home with my family. Anyway, Mom and I really love the song "Don't Take The Girl" by Tim Mcgraw, and I know it's not really much of a funeral song by tradition but, here it goes." Phoebe tells everyone and she signals to one of the funeral home people who nods back and goes to his office where he puts the song on. Phoebe starts her signing to the song and Piper and Prue are just in tears from what they are seeing.
"How is she doing that?" Piper asks, while wiping her eyes.
"I don't know but it's coming from her heart. She's incredible Piper. We've been taking her for granted all these years." Prue replies, and they watch the rest of the song being signed.
As the funeral nears the end, the girls are all up by the casket talking to their Mom one last time, or they think it's the last time.
"Mom, I wish there was a way that you could hear me so you would know how sorry I am for all of this. I feel like it's all my fault. If I had just came back home when I got out, none of this would have happened. I know you love me, and I found out the true measure of a Mother's love, when you came looking for me. I was so rude that day they sent me to San Quentin. Please forgive me." Phoebe says, pouring her heart out to her.
"She does Pheebes. I'm sure of it. Mom, we're never going to forget you. You will live on in each one of us." Piper tells her.
"Hey Mom. I helped you and Grams out with these two the best I could when we were kids, and now I'm going to do the best I can yet again. Piper's full grown now, but Phoebe still has two years of high school to finish, then collage. She's changed so much Mom, you would really be proud of her. When she came back a couple of days ago, we could see that her hair is grown out, and down a little past her shoulders, and she's at least half a foot taller than what she was, and a lot thinner too. I don't think they fed her in that darn place. Don't worry, we'll make sure she eats good from here on out. She didn't look like herself, but she was still our little Phoebe, no matter what. We love you Mom. Say hello to Grams for us." Prue says, and she takes both Piper and Phoebe in each arm, and she leads them out of the funeral home so the guys can get her out to go to the graveside service. As soon as Phoebe gets outside, she finds a family friend, and grabs her cigarette and takes a few puffs off of it, and Piper asks her, "What are you doing?"
"I don't usually smoke, I just had to have something to take the edge off is all." Phoebe tells her, and the lady gives them all one, figuring it will calm their nerves.
Just two days after Patty's funeral, Phoebe stumbles across the spirit board and the first words out of her mouth are, "Grams, you essentric old woman. Why do we still have this stupid thing? We ain't magical, so why have it anyway?" She sits down and for fun, she plays with it. After only pushing the pointer once, it goes crazy and spells the word ATTIC.
"What? Does this place even have an attic?" Phoebe asks, no one in particular, and she grabs her coffee that Prue distinctly told her, she could not have, and she goes upstairs where she sees another door. She fiddles with the doorknob, and the door just opens on it's own. She goes inside, turns the light on, and says "Oh wow. Is this not the most awesome room in this house or what?" She starts looking around, and when she sees a trunk over in the corner, she goes through it and finds some old family pictures. She even sees a big green book with a symbol on the front of it.
"Book Of Shadows. My dearest darling grand daughters, I am so glad you finally found your way up here and found this sacred family book. I don't want you to be scared because I know the three of you are more level headed than that. Most people, they even hear the words Wicca Magic, and they freak out and say, stay away from it, it's evil. It's of the Devil, and no. It is not. It depends on how you use it and your powers. What are your powers you may ask, I don't know. Only you girls will be the ones to find that out. Have fun, be blessed, use this for good. You three are the charmed ones. You must and will use your powers for goodness, and help those around you. If you use them for personal gain, there will be consequences. I love you all. Go over to page sixteen in this book, and read the incantation to recieve your powers back. I had to strip you all from them when you were little kids because Piper and Prue kept using them on each other. Phoebe, don't ask them about it, because they won't remember. By the way, the symbol on the front of this book, is called a Triquetra. It symbolizes the power of three." Phoebe reads aloud, figuring that Grams was just a crazy old lady after all. She goes ahead and flips over to page sixteen and reads the incantation that she was told to read, and once she reads it, there's a rattling effect over the entire house, that even Prue and Piper feel all the way downstairs.
Chapter Five
The Sweetest Gift
Piper and Prue thought that Phoebe was doing okay with the way things have taken place, and when they can't find her anywhere, they look up in the attic and find her there reading the book, trying to find a way to bring their Mom back.
"Phoebe honey, we're witches yes, and I love our powers, but you can't bring Mom back. We've already tried this week while you were at school. That reminds me. Did you have homework today?" Prue asks her.
"Yeah. I uh, have a book report that is due in two weeks. I need to get to reading. I stopped by the library on the way home so I could get one for my report. That's why I got in around 5:00 today, instead of 3:45." Phoebe replies.
"That's fine honey. If you have a book report and you need to get a book from the library, that's perfectly okay. How are you doing since all of this happened?" Piper tells her.
"Honestly Piper, I'm doing bad. I know I put on this brave face and say that I'm okay, and I know I have the two of you, and always will, but, I can't do this anymore. I have to see Mom at least one more time. We're witches, we should be able to do anything. The book said in time, we will become the most powerful witches that the world has ever known. We can do something to bring Mom here. If it's only for a short time, like ten minutes, that's all I need. I have to talk to her." Phoebe tells the both of them.
"Okay Pheebes. I get it. I really do. You go on ahead to your room, and we'll look at the book and see what we can find. At least we know what the power of three spell does to demons. Piper I'm sorry about Jeremy." Prue says, while going over to the book.
"Not a problem. When he pulled that knife on me, I had no problem with getting rid of him." Piper replies. Phoebe goes ahead back to her room, and she looks through the book until she finds a spell to call a lost witch. She gives it a try, and nothing works. There's sparks, but that's about it.
That night, it's about near midnight, and Phoebe takes it upon herself to sneak out of bed, and out of her room, and she goes back up to the attic. She starts reading, and all of a sudden she says, "Okay. That's it. I give up, I can't do this alone. Grams, if you are there and you can hear me, please come and tell me how I can see Mom. I didn't mean any of the mean things I said to her that day. I don't have to tell you about any of them because, I'm sure you heard from wherever you are up there. I have got to see her. Please." Phoebe just about cries and then she sees white lights, and Grams is standing before her.
"Sweetheart, the only way you can see her right now, is not to pour your heart out to me. You need to pour your heart out to her. What was that song that you and her used to sing when you were about four? It's by The Judds." Grams explains to her.
"The Sweetest Gift? Yeah, that was our favorite. We usually didn't let Piper or Prue sing it with us, I mean, it was ours. They love it though, and they loved hearing us sing it together." Phoebe tells her, and Grams takes her by the hand, pulls her to her feet, and tells her, "Sing it baby. Sing it from your heart, and see what happens.
"Okay Grams. Here goes. I'm gonna change the words a little bit to fit it for Mother and Daughter." Phoebe says, and Grams nods her head and smiles, giving her the signal to sing her heart out.
"One day a Mother come to a prison to see her erring, but precious one. She told the warden how much she loved her, it didn't matter what she had done. She did not bring to her parole or pardon, she brought no silver, no pomp nor style. It was a halo sent down from Heaven. The sweetest gift, a Mother's smile." Phoebe sings and it wakes up Prue and Piper all the way into their rooms. They go out in the hall way, and Prue says, "Phoebe?" Piper tells her, "Can't be." They go up to the attic, and sure enough, it's Pheobe standing there with Grams. They made it up there just in time for the second verse. Prue smiles and nods her head, telling her to continue.
"Her girl had wandered far from the far side, though she had pleaded with her each night, but not a word did she ever utter, that told her heartaches her smile was bright. She did not bring to her parole or pardon, she brought no silver, no pomp nor style. It was a halo, sent down from Heaven. The sweetest gift, a Mother's smile." With that, Patty shows up, and sings the rest with her, and by this time, Prue and Piper are in full blown tears.
"Let's sing together once again baby." Patty tells her. Phoebe smiles and whispers "Okay."
"She left a smile you can remember. She's gone to Heaven, from heartaches free. Them bars around you will never change her, she was her baby, an error will be. She did not bring to her parole or pardon. She brought no silver, no pomp nor style. It was a halo sent down from Heaven. The sweetest gift, a Mother's smile." They sing together and when Patty places her hand on Phoebe's shoulder, they hear the most angelic voice come from her and she sings the last part, sounding like a professional.
"It was a halo. Sent down from Heaven. The sweetest, gift. A Mother's, smile." Patty looks at her and says, "I've never stopped loving you baby. Both your Grams, and I, will be able to come here once in awhile. You all, have not lost us. I heard what you said at the funeral home. My death, was not your fault." Prue and Piper join in on the hugs, and they all cry together, but it's not because of the loss they've all shared, it's because, of the love they all still have, and that love will always conquer all.
THE END
Happy Valentine's Day Guys
February 14th, 2015