Chapter 1
In the past two weeks Prue had been gone helping a charge, Paige had moved back into the Manor, and Billie moved out of the Manor to a dormitory. She left Magic School while Paige took her place. The goodbye was bittersweet. Billie was going to school in Los Angeles, hours away.
"Don't forget to call, write, or astral project," Paige said.
"Of course. I heard there's a secret witch society on campus, who knows maybe I'll get in."
"That my friend is a sorority, some are truly filled with all witches I would know," Phoebe said jokingly as she had been in a very snobby sorority the first time she went to school.
One month had passed since Billie and Henry had left and the sisters received several letters. One from Prue stating she would return soon. Another from Billie stating that it was great to be back at school. A third letter was for Paige from Henry.
"Maybe he wants to get back together," Phoebe said hopefully. It's something she would have said she was younger and now it just seemed like false hope. Piper had told Phoebe that Henry wasn't Paige's true love but they hadn't told Paige. Paige let out a cry and fell to her knees.
"He wants a divorce," she sobbed clutching the letter to her chest. It was at that moment a demon decided to attack.
"Really?" Piper cried freezing the demon then blowing him up, "Idiot."
"Paige, can I see the letter?" Phoebe asked. Her baby sister nodded handing over the slightly crumpled letter. Phoebe had a premonition.
Henry was at a wedding, marrying someone else.
"Do you Henry Mitchell take Eliza Hampton to be your wife?"
"I do." She dropped the letter.
"What did you see?" Paige asked.
"Just him writing the letter that's all," Phoebe lied.
"He was with someone else wasn't he?"
"Yeah, I'm so sorry Paige," Phoebe said helping her sister up.
"Now what?"
"Now I start dinner, your choice Paige, what do you want?"
"Pancakes," she said.
"Pancakes it is!" Piper said and went off to the kitchen as her sisters sat on the couch. Phoebe assured her that she'd find the right guy. She had, even though it had taken a while. But this wasn't much comfort to Paige. She thought Henry was her true love, how could she had been so wrong? Dinner was quiet and Paige remembered her last morning with her parents and the pancakes. She had rushed to her room after eating them to smoke. She missed them. She missed Henry. She didn't sleep that night. She orbed to her apartment and was surprised to see Henry there.
"Not enough of a man to come and tell me you wanted a divorce?" Paige spat bitterly.
"Paige," he said moving toward her but she stepped back.
"Don't come near me! You're a coward."
"At least I don't keep secrets from my family. You're the most cryptic of those in the Magical world I bet." Paige felt like she had been slapped, not once had she used her magical half against her.
"And you're still a coward. At least I'm not that." She orbed out in tears. Piper knew she had left she had heard the orbs assuming it was either Wyatt or Chris.
"Paige, what happened?"
"I saw Henry." That was all she needed to say as Piper hugged her and guided her back to bed with her. Leo would sleep alone that night.
"I called him a coward," Paige said, "Am I a coward Piper?"
"I don't think you're a coward you just keep secrets. It's okay to open up to us, it's okay to be vulnerable sometimes. We're human. Never forget that, even though we're witches we're human."
"He was once human but evil claimed him and he went mad but we'll kill him right Piper?" Paige had swiftly changed the subject.
"Yeah, we'll kill the demon," Piper said, "The Professor as you call him. What was his name, before?"
"His name? I can't remember. You'd have to look in the news articles. You could call him Professor Torture if you'd like."
"Sounds like a villain in a comic book," Piper said.
"It does but we were once comic book heroes, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I remember." They reminisced the rest of the night not getting to sleep till five in the morning. The day passed slowly and Prue finally returned. She said nothing of her charge, she couldn't. She couldn't say that the witch she was still trying convince to use her powers again, hated the Charmed Ones. She couldn't say that she hated them because they had faked their death and left many witches hopeless.
"Demons went after other strong witches, a lot of people died. Because of your sisters. Then to find out they weren't dead! A lot of people were happy, but then there were many generation witches like myself, were angry," she had said. Prue didn't know about the divorce which was on it's way to being filed.
"Hey, are you and Henry doing any better?" Prue asked that afternoon at lunch.
"No!" she snapped, "I have to get back to Magic School. I have a class soon." She left the Manor.
"What'd I say?"
"Paige and Henry are getting a divorce," Piper said, "Come on, let's go to Witch's Brew." After Paige had returned Piper had renamed the restaurant. She had embraced her heritage which she had struggled with for so long. The business still wasn't open, and wouldn't open for another week. It was supposed to have opened weeks ago. But Paige's return had changed everything. Piper was okay with it though, she'd been able to spend more time with her kids and Paige. It was Saturday, which Piper insisted to be Saturday night dinner, for the Halliwells. Phoebe went to the Manor with Coop and exciting news. She wouldn't be telling her news that night though, not like she wanted. Prue was called away before the meal even started by the Elders. During dinner Piper finally broke the silence. She said that there was something Paige needed to know and when her youngest sister asked what it was she replied solemnly,
"It's about Henry, he's not your true love."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Tying Up Loose Ends. Please leave a review with what you thought! Charmed Always- K
