After a morning of shopping for herbs and other potion ingredients in China
Town, Paige sighed with relief when she entered the foyer of the manor. The
protection spell she had been working on for months still wasn't quite
finished, despite the hours of work she put into it each day. Paige would
have loved nothing more than to give Piper the potion as a baby present,
but she was running out of time.
Hanging up her jacket, Paige headed for the kitchen for yet another trial run, but stopped short when she saw Piper, sitting very calmly in an easy chair in the living room reading a magazine.
"Uh, Piper?" Paige asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Piper answered without glancing up.
"You're in exactly the same spot you were when I left. Have you been sitting there the entire time I was gone?"
"Pretty much." Piper put down the magazine and wriggled in the chair a little, trying to get comfortable.
Placing her bags of supplies on the love seat, Paige moved to sit on the coffee table across from her sister. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Piper tried to brush off Paige's concern, but Paige glared at her with a knowing look. Piper sighed. "It's just that when I'm standing up and moving around it feels like the baby's going to fall out and my balance is off so I feel like I'm going to fall over, so staying put seems to be the best option."
Paige made a face at the mental imagery. "Okay, way too much information."
Piper smiled playfully at her. "Well, you asked." Despite the lightness of her comment, she quickly became introspective again.
Paige noticed the sudden change in her sister and almost felt a little hurt. Piper had been different lately around everyone, but she couldn't help but feel excluded whenever Piper seemed to distance herself from Paige. After knowing her sisters for almost two years, Paige still felt very much like an outsider. She understood that compared to how long Piper and Phoebe had known each other she was practically a stranger, but Paige wished that they could feel comfortable enough with her not to hide things. Shaking off her feelings of insecurity, Paige tried to draw Piper out of her shell.
"So now that you are officially full term, are you getting excited?"
Piper rolled her eyes and pressed her face into her hands. "Oh, don't remind me. I've been trying to block out the fact that I could go into labor practically any minute for the past hour." Paige laughed at Piper's dramatics and placed a reassuring hand on Piper's knee. Gratefully, Piper took Paige's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Half of the time, I feel like I've been pregnant forever and I can't wait for this baby to be born, and then the other half I'm scared to death."
Once the words were out, Piper felt almost relieved. It was difficult for her to admit to everyone, especially to Leo, how insecure she had been feeling recently. Oh, sure, her sisters and Leo probably suspected that she was nervous about giving birth and becoming a mother, but they had no idea how deeply terrified she really felt.
Paige cast a sympathetic look at her sister, and began to give Piper her weekly little pep talk, but Piper interrupted her before she could say a word.
"I know what you're going to say, Paige, and I appreciate it, but..." Piper trailed off, sighing, trying to find the right words to express how she felt. "I just don't want to suck at this, you know?"
"At what? Being a mother?"
"Yeah. I don't want my kid to end up on one of those Jerry Springer talk shows when she's eighteen, talking about how, 'My mother was a Charmed One, my father was a whitelighter, which made me a super-powerful witch. I was raised in a closet because my aunts had to live with us for protection and we didn't have an extra bedroom. Oh, and Uncle Cole: he became the Source of All Evil and tried to kill my mother and my aunts, and that was before he went crazy.' Knowing my track record, I'll probably turn into a vampire, a zombie and the creature from the Black Lagoon by the time she's five."
Even though she tried not to, Paige chuckled at Piper's inventions. "Did anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?"
"Hmm," Piper replied with a smirk.
Trying to compose a more serious expression, Paige took one of Piper's hands in both of hers. "Piper, you are not going to suck at motherhood. You're going to be a great mom."
"But how do you know that?"
"Well, look at how Phoebe turned out," Paige joked with a smile.
Piper narrowed her eyes at her. "Cute. Besides, if she's the example of my parenting skills, this baby is in big trouble. As much as I love Phoebe, I do not want my daughter to take a stab at being the Queen of the Underworld."
"Piper, in all seriousness, I know that you are going to be a wonderful mother. You're caring, and loving and giving--though your patience could use a little work." Piper smiled and looked down, slightly embarrassed, but Paige could tell that her words were affecting her, which gave her a little surge of confidence. "I know how much you and Leo wanted a baby, and what you went through trying to get pregnant. I know how much you are going to love this baby and how much you and Leo love each other. And if you can just surround her in that love, you're going to be fine."
Even though she was trying not to cry, Piper felt her eyes grow teary. She managed to gather enough strength to look up at her sister who looked back at her with such love and caring in her eyes.
"Thank you," Piper whispered.
"You're welcome." Paige gave Piper's hand one last squeeze before standing up to head into the kitchen.
"Paige." She stopped when she heard Piper quietly murmur her name. Paige turned around to look at her sister, who remained sitting very still for a few moments before struggling, belly first, out of the chair and on to her feet. Staring at the floor and wringing her hands, Piper closed the small space between herself and Paige in a few steps.
Finally managing to raise her eyes and meet Paige's gaze, Piper very slowly said, "I love you."
Paige felt her breath catch a little in her throat and a nauseous, but good feeling rise in her stomach. Piper had never said those words to her before.
"I-- I love you too," Paige managed to say, her eyes tearing over.
Piper smiled widely and then tried to make light of the situation, saying, "Well, that wasn't so hard."
"No, it wasn't," Paige admitted, brushing the tears from her eyes.
Piper laughed sheepishly, and held her arms out to Paige. "Well, don't just stand there. Give me a hug. Or at least try to," she added, glancing down at her belly.
The sisters hugged, though somewhat awkwardly, and as Piper held her baby sister, she shut her eyes tightly and felt for the first time in a long while that everything was going to be okay. That no matter what life threw at her, trying to tear her apart, that everything would come back together again eventually. She realized that all of her worrying about opening up her heart to a new sister was for nothing--no amount of willpower could have kept her from loving Paige.
"Okay, enough of these emotional moments," Paige said as she stopped hugging Piper and wiped the tears from her face with the palm of her hand. "If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen working on the protection spell."
"Thanks, but don't worry about me," Piper replied. "Since Ava told me that I could deliver any day, and I was dumb enough to tell my husband that, Leo has set his radar on extra sensitive."
At the mention of his name, Leo orbed into the room, causing Piper and Paige to jump a little in surprise.
"You called?" Leo asked his wife.
Piper sighed. "See?" Paige smiled, and patted Leo, who gave her a confused look, on the shoulder before excusing herself to go to the kitchen. "No, honey, I didn't call."
"Oh, I thought you did."
Piper couldn't help but smile at him. No matter how much he was getting on her nerves by being so overprotective, his concern for her was undeniably sweet.
"Piper, are you okay?" Leo asked after noticing his wife's reddened eyes. "You look like you've been crying."
"Oh, I'm fine," Piper waved off his concern. "Paige and I just had a sister moment."
"Oh," Leo smiled warmly. He was glad to see, or at least hear that his wife was finally letting Paige into her heart. "Is there anything you need while I'm here?"
Piper sighed inwardly and considered her words carefully before she spoke. "Honey, as much as I appreciate your concern, don't you think that you're being just a little overprotective of me?"
Leo's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I don't think I'm being that overprotective."
"Leo, you orbed in earlier when I tore a hangnail. I think that's being a little too protective."
Leo's face reddened in embarrassment. "Well, I was just--"
Piper shushed him, placing her hands on his chest. "I know you're worried about me, and I love you for that. But all of this orbing in every three seconds is just making me even more nervous than I all ready am, and I think it's making you frazzled."
Leo knew his wife was right, but he couldn't help but feel anxious and protective of Piper. He put his hands on Piper's waist and pulled her close to him so that her stomach was pressed firmly against him.
Piper smiled at the gesture and gave him a quick kiss. "So, I want you try to concentrate on whatever it is you're doing, and I promise you the second something baby-related happens, I will yell so loud that you won't need your powers to hear me calling."
Leo smiled. "Okay, I'll try."
Piper gave him a playfully scrutinizing look, as if she was trying to determine his sincerity. "Okay."
After they kissed, Leo placed a hand on Piper's stomach and leaned down. "Good bye, little..." Pausing, Leo glanced up at Piper. "Elizabeth?"
Sighing, Piper wrinkled her forehead in consideration. "It's a little common. Amelia?" Leo shrugged and shook his head from side to side in indifference. "Okay, we'll talk about it later."
Raising his brow, Leo straightened. "You know, we should probably decide on a name soon. The baby's not exactly going to name itself and you could go into la--"
"Ah ah!" Piper held up a hand to shush him. "Don't even say it."
"Okay," Leo said raising his hands to admit defeat. "Well, good bye, little one." He kissed Piper's tummy and then kissed Piper one final time before orbing out.
"I will be so glad when people stop talking to my body parts," Piper mumbled as she settled back down into the easy chair, resuming browsing through her magazine. After a few moments, she noticed a familiar white light come from behind her and Piper laughed to herself.
"Leo, you didn't even last five minutes--" Piper began, but she stopped when she saw a young girl, about sixteen years old, standing in the middle of the foyer where she had expected her husband to be.
"Uh--" Piper struggled to her feet and tried to freeze the girl, but it didn't work. "Can I...help you?"
The girl opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. She looked like she was in shock--her arms were trembling as she drew them closer to her body.
Piper, still uncertain of whom and what this girl was, approached her cautiously, but with concern. "Are you okay?" Piper asked tentatively.
Again, the girl opened her mouth slowly, but before she could speak, she fell to the floor.
"Paige!" Piper yelled, as she hurried as fast as she could over to the girls' unmoving form.
Paige ran in from the kitchen. "Piper, what's--" She paused when she saw the girl lying unconscious on the floor. She rushed to Piper's side and kneeled next to the girl. "Who--"
"I don't know. She just appeared. And she fainted before she could say anything." Paige pressed her fingers against the girl's pulse. "Is she okay?"
"Well, her heart's beating and she's breathing."
"Leo!" Piper called, and a few seconds later Leo orbed into the living room. "Help us get her onto the couch."
Throwing a questioning look at his wife, but without asking, Leo carefully lifted the girl from the floor and deposited her on the couch.
"Piper, are you sure we should be taking care of her? What if she's a demon or a warlock or something?" Paige asked as Piper sat on the couch next to the girl.
"Wait, is someone going to tell me what's happening?" Leo inquired.
Piper looked up at her husband and sister. "Leo, we don't know what's going on. She just appeared."
"Again, how do we know she's not a demon?" Paige asked.
"She didn't freeze, when I tried to use my power on her. Good witches don't freeze."
"Well, neither do upper-level demons," Paige retorted.
"I don't think she's evil. When she appeared, there was a light like when Leo orbs in. Could she be a whitelighter?" Piper looked to her husband.
Leo studied her face more carefully. "If she is, I've never seen her before. Whitelighters usually aren't that young either."
Paige was still unconvinced that the girl wasn't evil. "Piper, what if--"
"Paige, you can sense evil, can't you? Do you sense it from her?"
Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, Paige approached the girl cautiously. "I don't know if I can sense on command. I've just always had a feeling."
"Well, try," Piper encouraged.
Not completely sure of what she was doing, Paige kneeled beside the couch and tentatively placed a hand over the girl's heart. With a deep breath, she began to concentrate, trying to imagine that she could see into the girl's inner nature. When Paige began to feel the girl's magic run through her, she gasped softly in surprise. She could feel the girl's energy inside of her, working its way through her system, bathing her in a white light that almost comforted her. Opening her eyes, Paige sat back and tried to catch her breath. She had stopped breathing somehow.
"Paige, are you all right?" Leo entreated with his concern apparent in his voice.
"I'm fine. And so is she. She's not evil." A little stunned by her own power, Paige quietly stood up and moved to sit on the chair next to the sofa.
After a few minutes, the girl began to regain consciousness, shifting a little on the sofa. Piper smoothed the hair back from her face as the girl's eyes opened and she blinked uncertainly.
"Hi," Piper said warmly, smiling down at her. "Are you okay? You took quite a spill."
The girl stared up at her for a few moments, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Mom."
Piper's breath caught in her throat. Did the girl just call her...? She spoke so quietly, Piper couldn't be sure.
The girl sat up slowly and looked at Piper more closely. "Mom," she repeated before throwing her arms around Piper's neck.
Piper cast a stunned glance at Paige and Leo who stared back at her in shock.
Hanging up her jacket, Paige headed for the kitchen for yet another trial run, but stopped short when she saw Piper, sitting very calmly in an easy chair in the living room reading a magazine.
"Uh, Piper?" Paige asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Piper answered without glancing up.
"You're in exactly the same spot you were when I left. Have you been sitting there the entire time I was gone?"
"Pretty much." Piper put down the magazine and wriggled in the chair a little, trying to get comfortable.
Placing her bags of supplies on the love seat, Paige moved to sit on the coffee table across from her sister. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Piper tried to brush off Paige's concern, but Paige glared at her with a knowing look. Piper sighed. "It's just that when I'm standing up and moving around it feels like the baby's going to fall out and my balance is off so I feel like I'm going to fall over, so staying put seems to be the best option."
Paige made a face at the mental imagery. "Okay, way too much information."
Piper smiled playfully at her. "Well, you asked." Despite the lightness of her comment, she quickly became introspective again.
Paige noticed the sudden change in her sister and almost felt a little hurt. Piper had been different lately around everyone, but she couldn't help but feel excluded whenever Piper seemed to distance herself from Paige. After knowing her sisters for almost two years, Paige still felt very much like an outsider. She understood that compared to how long Piper and Phoebe had known each other she was practically a stranger, but Paige wished that they could feel comfortable enough with her not to hide things. Shaking off her feelings of insecurity, Paige tried to draw Piper out of her shell.
"So now that you are officially full term, are you getting excited?"
Piper rolled her eyes and pressed her face into her hands. "Oh, don't remind me. I've been trying to block out the fact that I could go into labor practically any minute for the past hour." Paige laughed at Piper's dramatics and placed a reassuring hand on Piper's knee. Gratefully, Piper took Paige's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Half of the time, I feel like I've been pregnant forever and I can't wait for this baby to be born, and then the other half I'm scared to death."
Once the words were out, Piper felt almost relieved. It was difficult for her to admit to everyone, especially to Leo, how insecure she had been feeling recently. Oh, sure, her sisters and Leo probably suspected that she was nervous about giving birth and becoming a mother, but they had no idea how deeply terrified she really felt.
Paige cast a sympathetic look at her sister, and began to give Piper her weekly little pep talk, but Piper interrupted her before she could say a word.
"I know what you're going to say, Paige, and I appreciate it, but..." Piper trailed off, sighing, trying to find the right words to express how she felt. "I just don't want to suck at this, you know?"
"At what? Being a mother?"
"Yeah. I don't want my kid to end up on one of those Jerry Springer talk shows when she's eighteen, talking about how, 'My mother was a Charmed One, my father was a whitelighter, which made me a super-powerful witch. I was raised in a closet because my aunts had to live with us for protection and we didn't have an extra bedroom. Oh, and Uncle Cole: he became the Source of All Evil and tried to kill my mother and my aunts, and that was before he went crazy.' Knowing my track record, I'll probably turn into a vampire, a zombie and the creature from the Black Lagoon by the time she's five."
Even though she tried not to, Paige chuckled at Piper's inventions. "Did anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?"
"Hmm," Piper replied with a smirk.
Trying to compose a more serious expression, Paige took one of Piper's hands in both of hers. "Piper, you are not going to suck at motherhood. You're going to be a great mom."
"But how do you know that?"
"Well, look at how Phoebe turned out," Paige joked with a smile.
Piper narrowed her eyes at her. "Cute. Besides, if she's the example of my parenting skills, this baby is in big trouble. As much as I love Phoebe, I do not want my daughter to take a stab at being the Queen of the Underworld."
"Piper, in all seriousness, I know that you are going to be a wonderful mother. You're caring, and loving and giving--though your patience could use a little work." Piper smiled and looked down, slightly embarrassed, but Paige could tell that her words were affecting her, which gave her a little surge of confidence. "I know how much you and Leo wanted a baby, and what you went through trying to get pregnant. I know how much you are going to love this baby and how much you and Leo love each other. And if you can just surround her in that love, you're going to be fine."
Even though she was trying not to cry, Piper felt her eyes grow teary. She managed to gather enough strength to look up at her sister who looked back at her with such love and caring in her eyes.
"Thank you," Piper whispered.
"You're welcome." Paige gave Piper's hand one last squeeze before standing up to head into the kitchen.
"Paige." She stopped when she heard Piper quietly murmur her name. Paige turned around to look at her sister, who remained sitting very still for a few moments before struggling, belly first, out of the chair and on to her feet. Staring at the floor and wringing her hands, Piper closed the small space between herself and Paige in a few steps.
Finally managing to raise her eyes and meet Paige's gaze, Piper very slowly said, "I love you."
Paige felt her breath catch a little in her throat and a nauseous, but good feeling rise in her stomach. Piper had never said those words to her before.
"I-- I love you too," Paige managed to say, her eyes tearing over.
Piper smiled widely and then tried to make light of the situation, saying, "Well, that wasn't so hard."
"No, it wasn't," Paige admitted, brushing the tears from her eyes.
Piper laughed sheepishly, and held her arms out to Paige. "Well, don't just stand there. Give me a hug. Or at least try to," she added, glancing down at her belly.
The sisters hugged, though somewhat awkwardly, and as Piper held her baby sister, she shut her eyes tightly and felt for the first time in a long while that everything was going to be okay. That no matter what life threw at her, trying to tear her apart, that everything would come back together again eventually. She realized that all of her worrying about opening up her heart to a new sister was for nothing--no amount of willpower could have kept her from loving Paige.
"Okay, enough of these emotional moments," Paige said as she stopped hugging Piper and wiped the tears from her face with the palm of her hand. "If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen working on the protection spell."
"Thanks, but don't worry about me," Piper replied. "Since Ava told me that I could deliver any day, and I was dumb enough to tell my husband that, Leo has set his radar on extra sensitive."
At the mention of his name, Leo orbed into the room, causing Piper and Paige to jump a little in surprise.
"You called?" Leo asked his wife.
Piper sighed. "See?" Paige smiled, and patted Leo, who gave her a confused look, on the shoulder before excusing herself to go to the kitchen. "No, honey, I didn't call."
"Oh, I thought you did."
Piper couldn't help but smile at him. No matter how much he was getting on her nerves by being so overprotective, his concern for her was undeniably sweet.
"Piper, are you okay?" Leo asked after noticing his wife's reddened eyes. "You look like you've been crying."
"Oh, I'm fine," Piper waved off his concern. "Paige and I just had a sister moment."
"Oh," Leo smiled warmly. He was glad to see, or at least hear that his wife was finally letting Paige into her heart. "Is there anything you need while I'm here?"
Piper sighed inwardly and considered her words carefully before she spoke. "Honey, as much as I appreciate your concern, don't you think that you're being just a little overprotective of me?"
Leo's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I don't think I'm being that overprotective."
"Leo, you orbed in earlier when I tore a hangnail. I think that's being a little too protective."
Leo's face reddened in embarrassment. "Well, I was just--"
Piper shushed him, placing her hands on his chest. "I know you're worried about me, and I love you for that. But all of this orbing in every three seconds is just making me even more nervous than I all ready am, and I think it's making you frazzled."
Leo knew his wife was right, but he couldn't help but feel anxious and protective of Piper. He put his hands on Piper's waist and pulled her close to him so that her stomach was pressed firmly against him.
Piper smiled at the gesture and gave him a quick kiss. "So, I want you try to concentrate on whatever it is you're doing, and I promise you the second something baby-related happens, I will yell so loud that you won't need your powers to hear me calling."
Leo smiled. "Okay, I'll try."
Piper gave him a playfully scrutinizing look, as if she was trying to determine his sincerity. "Okay."
After they kissed, Leo placed a hand on Piper's stomach and leaned down. "Good bye, little..." Pausing, Leo glanced up at Piper. "Elizabeth?"
Sighing, Piper wrinkled her forehead in consideration. "It's a little common. Amelia?" Leo shrugged and shook his head from side to side in indifference. "Okay, we'll talk about it later."
Raising his brow, Leo straightened. "You know, we should probably decide on a name soon. The baby's not exactly going to name itself and you could go into la--"
"Ah ah!" Piper held up a hand to shush him. "Don't even say it."
"Okay," Leo said raising his hands to admit defeat. "Well, good bye, little one." He kissed Piper's tummy and then kissed Piper one final time before orbing out.
"I will be so glad when people stop talking to my body parts," Piper mumbled as she settled back down into the easy chair, resuming browsing through her magazine. After a few moments, she noticed a familiar white light come from behind her and Piper laughed to herself.
"Leo, you didn't even last five minutes--" Piper began, but she stopped when she saw a young girl, about sixteen years old, standing in the middle of the foyer where she had expected her husband to be.
"Uh--" Piper struggled to her feet and tried to freeze the girl, but it didn't work. "Can I...help you?"
The girl opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. She looked like she was in shock--her arms were trembling as she drew them closer to her body.
Piper, still uncertain of whom and what this girl was, approached her cautiously, but with concern. "Are you okay?" Piper asked tentatively.
Again, the girl opened her mouth slowly, but before she could speak, she fell to the floor.
"Paige!" Piper yelled, as she hurried as fast as she could over to the girls' unmoving form.
Paige ran in from the kitchen. "Piper, what's--" She paused when she saw the girl lying unconscious on the floor. She rushed to Piper's side and kneeled next to the girl. "Who--"
"I don't know. She just appeared. And she fainted before she could say anything." Paige pressed her fingers against the girl's pulse. "Is she okay?"
"Well, her heart's beating and she's breathing."
"Leo!" Piper called, and a few seconds later Leo orbed into the living room. "Help us get her onto the couch."
Throwing a questioning look at his wife, but without asking, Leo carefully lifted the girl from the floor and deposited her on the couch.
"Piper, are you sure we should be taking care of her? What if she's a demon or a warlock or something?" Paige asked as Piper sat on the couch next to the girl.
"Wait, is someone going to tell me what's happening?" Leo inquired.
Piper looked up at her husband and sister. "Leo, we don't know what's going on. She just appeared."
"Again, how do we know she's not a demon?" Paige asked.
"She didn't freeze, when I tried to use my power on her. Good witches don't freeze."
"Well, neither do upper-level demons," Paige retorted.
"I don't think she's evil. When she appeared, there was a light like when Leo orbs in. Could she be a whitelighter?" Piper looked to her husband.
Leo studied her face more carefully. "If she is, I've never seen her before. Whitelighters usually aren't that young either."
Paige was still unconvinced that the girl wasn't evil. "Piper, what if--"
"Paige, you can sense evil, can't you? Do you sense it from her?"
Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, Paige approached the girl cautiously. "I don't know if I can sense on command. I've just always had a feeling."
"Well, try," Piper encouraged.
Not completely sure of what she was doing, Paige kneeled beside the couch and tentatively placed a hand over the girl's heart. With a deep breath, she began to concentrate, trying to imagine that she could see into the girl's inner nature. When Paige began to feel the girl's magic run through her, she gasped softly in surprise. She could feel the girl's energy inside of her, working its way through her system, bathing her in a white light that almost comforted her. Opening her eyes, Paige sat back and tried to catch her breath. She had stopped breathing somehow.
"Paige, are you all right?" Leo entreated with his concern apparent in his voice.
"I'm fine. And so is she. She's not evil." A little stunned by her own power, Paige quietly stood up and moved to sit on the chair next to the sofa.
After a few minutes, the girl began to regain consciousness, shifting a little on the sofa. Piper smoothed the hair back from her face as the girl's eyes opened and she blinked uncertainly.
"Hi," Piper said warmly, smiling down at her. "Are you okay? You took quite a spill."
The girl stared up at her for a few moments, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Mom."
Piper's breath caught in her throat. Did the girl just call her...? She spoke so quietly, Piper couldn't be sure.
The girl sat up slowly and looked at Piper more closely. "Mom," she repeated before throwing her arms around Piper's neck.
Piper cast a stunned glance at Paige and Leo who stared back at her in shock.