Sugar and Spice

Chapter 3

By JewWitch

Paige woke up slowly, feeling warm and heavy, knowing instinctively that she hadn't moved a muscle the entire time she'd been asleep. She was barely even aware of her body; it was a state of relaxation so advanced, the only thing really tying her to the physical world at all was her sisters' warm weight against her, and their even breathing. Everything else was a blur, like light filtering through water.

Then Piper shifted and sighed, and her fingers grazed Paige's arm, bringing Paige unexpectedly back into herself. She opened her eyes lazily, feeling more refreshed and relaxed then she had in a long, long time. She glanced down at her sisters, still fast asleep against her, and smiled. They were so fucking cute like this...Piper with her mouth half open, drooling on the pillow, her little freckle-splashed face slack with sleep; while Phoebe sucked her thumb, and burrowed into Paige's side. Paige felt no need to rush them out of their nap, and simply laid there for several minutes, stroking their silky hair and enjoying the stillness. Then with a huge yawn, Piper blinked and sat up, wiping the drool from her lips with the back of her hand.

"Auntie Paige?" she mumbled huskily, her voice still full of sleep.

"Hi sweet girl...did you have a good dream?"

"Uh-huh," Piper yawned again, crawling up a few inches and leaning her head against Paige's shoulder like a limp noodle. "I dreamed we had magic powers, and you were an angel."

"Huh. What a funny dream," Paige grinned. Some part of her Piper was still in there after all, it seemed.

"Auntie Paige, are you going to stay with us forever?" Piper asked, twirling a lock of Paige's black hair between her fingers.

"Do you want me to?" Paige asked, propping herself up on one elbow to look into Piper's serious, six-year-old eyes.

"Uh-huh," Piper nodded. "Mommy says our family is strongest when we're all together, and we should always take care of each other." She blinked innocently.

"Oh, Piper..." Paige grinned, and wiped away the tears that sprang to her eyes. "I think Mommy's right. We should all take care of each other...I'll always be here for you, okay?"

"Okay," Piper nodded happily. Then she leaned across Paige's stomach and shook Phoebe's shoulder. "Phoeeeeebeeeeee," she sang, patting the three-year-old's cheeks and gently ruffling her hair. "It's wake up time!" Phoebe sighed sleepily, but didn't stir.

"C'mon, baby girl," Paige cooed, tickling her lightly under her chin. Phoebe's eyes blinked open blearily, with the exact same vacant, groggy expression Paige had seen a million times before when her sister was just waking up. She snickered, thinking how some things never change.

"Octopus," Phoebe mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Were you dreaming about an octopus, little bug?" Paige asked soothingly, smoothing Phoebe's baby-soft hair back from her face.

"Octopus," Phoebe said again, somewhat more emphatically.

"She means the song," Piper clarified, sitting up and going into what Paige immediately recognized as an early-childhood version of her 'big sister mode.' "Phoebe likes to listen to the octopus song when she wakes up from her nap."

"Octopus song?" Paige repeated hollowly, her heart sinking. She thought she'd been doing a bang-up job babysitting her sisters so far, but this was a pretty tall order. How the hell was she supposed to find some obscure 1970's kid's song about an octopus?

"Octopus song," Phoebe whined plaintively, sitting up to look at Paige with her most beseechingly wide-eyed expression of need. Paige looked back at her sister helplessly, hoping she wouldn't pitch another fit like the one on the beach.

"Phoebe, honey, I don't know the octopus...wait a minute." Paige got up and knelt on the floor next to their luggage, rummaging around in Phoebe's bag until she found her sister's iPod. She doesn't mean...? Taking a gulp and hoping she was right, she plugged it into the port, so the sound would carry over the speakers, and cued it up. As the song began to play, a huge grin burst on Phoebe's face, and she jumped up, grabbing Piper's hands. The two of them bounced on the bed, laughing and singing at the top of their voices. Paige laughed, too, just watching them. It wasn't a kid's song after all-- Phoebe's childhood wake-up song was The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden," something they listened to at home all the time, though Paige doubted seriously whether her sister remembered why she liked it so much.

I'd like to be...under the sea...in an octopus's garden, in the shade...

They had dinner on the outdoor deck of the posh resort restaurant, and Paige couldn't resist snapping a few candid shots of Phoebe and Piper in their sundresses and Mary-Janes. When an order of Baked Alaska arrived in flames at a neighboring table, Phoebe squealed and ran to Paige in fright, while Piper questioned her incessantly about how the flaming dessert was prepared and what it was like when it was finished. Paige admitted she didn't know much about Baked Alaska, and offered to look it up on the computer when they got home.

"What's a com'pooter?" Piper asked, frowning as she made a few of her french fries dance across the plate.

"Oh, right, well...you'll find out soon," Paige smirked, remembering that her "little" sisters were living, as far as they were concerned, in the year 1978. Piper's attention was drawn away from the flambé when a small chocolate cake with three sparkling candles was wheeled up to their table, with the words "Happy Birthday Phoebe" iced across it. Paige got a really great shot of Phoebe's face when she looked at the cake, and realized it was for her; then she watched in amusement as Piper instructed her little sister on how to make a wish and blow out the candles. A waiter began cutting the small cake into slices, and Phoebe peered across the dining room, and looked up at Paige almost shyly, a deep blush coloring her round cheeks.

"Auntie Paige?"

"What's up, birthday girl?"

"Can Jackson come have cake with us?" Paige followed Phoebe's line of vision over to where the little boy from the beach and his father sat finishing their dinner, and noted that there didn't seem to be a mom in the picture-- or at least, at the table. She smirked at Phoebe's bashful expression. Boy crazy already, huh Pheebs?

"Sure sweetie, it's your cake to share with whoever you want. Why don't you go ask him?"

"You," Phoebe said, burying her face in Paige dress. Paige bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"How about we go together, okay?" Phoebe nodded, peeking out from behind Paige's leg. Slowly, they made their way across the room, Phoebe attempting to mold herself to Paige's side the entire way. When Jackson looked up and saw them standing there, he imitated Phoebe, blushing crimson and throwing himself into his father's lap, and attempting to burrow into his armpit. Paige and David shared a grin.

"Jackson," Paige said gently, "Phoebe would like to ask if you and your daddy want to come have some of her birthday cake. Right Pheebs?" Phoebe nodded against Paige's leg, peeking out from behind the fabric of Paige's dress with just one eye.

"What do you say, Jack?" his father prodded him, with a wink for Paige. "A beautiful girl wants your company!" Jackson imitated Phoebe, peeking out from the safety of his father's shirt with one eye, looking terrified and pleased in equal measure. He nodded.

By the time the four of them had returned to the table, the cake had been neatly set out and two extra places added. The waiter was coming around with a serving tray of ice cream when Piper stood up on her chair and announced authoritatively, "We aren't 'aspozed to eat ice cream. It's bad." But Phoebe was already going at it with gusto, and Paige didn't have the heart to take it away from her.

"Aw, Pipe, I think it's okay as long as it's just once in a while," she smirked, watching as Phoebe and her new little friend grinned at each other with chocolate-smeared cheeks.

"Well I think Jackson's just about ready to follow you home," David chuckled as Paige handed him a plate of cake and ice cream. "Chocolate and a beautiful girl. I can't see how I'm gonna lure him back!"

After they finished their cake and ice cream, the five of them went for a walk down to the beach again, the three children running ahead with shrieks of delight as the waves lapped at their toes.

"Good to let them get the sugar rush out before we get back to our rooms," David observed, and Paige groaned in agreement.

"Listen, I hope I wasn't rude earlier...when you offered to watch Piper--" Paige began, but her companion cut her off with a hasty chuckle.

"No, no, I was totally out of line, I shouldn't even have suggested-- I mean, you don't know me, right?" he shrugged. "I wanted to be nice, but it came out stupid." He brushed his handy blond hair back from his eyes.

"Oh no, you're not stupid!" Paige groaned inwardly at how adolescent she sounded. "I mean, it was nice, that's was I was trying to say. It was a nice thing to offer."

"Well you're very gracious," David grinned. He stopped walking, cocking his head speculatively at Paige. "Listen, I wonder if--"

But at that moment, Paige looked down as a small hand tugged her skirt. "Cawwy me," Phoebe said simply, holding out her arms with eyes half-lidded. Paige smiled, hoisting her sister up easily and settling her on her hip, where Phoebe immediately put her head down and closed her eyes, her Mary-Janes dangling limply at Paige's side.

"To be continued," Paige said quietly, with a wink. David grinned in that oh well way, and nodded. Gathering up their children, the two of them headed off in opposite directions for their rooms. Phoebe was asleep in Paige's arms by the time they arrived; but when Paige came out of the bathroom, ready to get them both into their pajamas, she was awake again, crying, with Piper gently patting her back.

"Phoebe, baby, what's the matter?" Paige asked, a pang going through her as she reached for the whimpering child.

"She doesn't feel good," Piper answered for her, as Phoebe curled up into a little ball with her arms around her stomach. "I told you we're not 'aspozed to eat ice cream." Paige looked between her sisters, and mentally kicked herself. How could she not have expected that Piper and Phoebe, like herself, might have been lactose intolerant as kids? Their mother must have warned them against dairy, but Phoebe was too little to have paid her any mind, and now, because of her carelessness, Phoebe's birthday was ending with tears.

"Oh, honey, does your tummy hurt?" Paige asked, kneeling next to her sisters and reaching out to rub Phoebe's back.

"I...want...Mommy," Phoebe whimpered, but she didn't fight when Paige pulled her into her lap.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl, but you know that you've got me and Piper here to make you feel better...right Piper?"

"Uh-huh," Piper nodded, but she was backing away from them on the bed, eyeing Phoebe suspiciously. "Auntie Paige?"

"What is it Pi--" but before she could finish, Phoebe gave a tiny moan and threw up on her. Paige had been puked on before, by her drunken friends back in her party days, and it had always grossed her out immensely. And while she wasn't thrilled to be wearing Phoebe's birthday cake in regurgitated form, she found she felt relieved rather than revolted.

"Feel better, sweetie pie?" Paige asked, gently rubbing Phoebe's back.

"I'm sowwy, Auntie Paige," Phoebe sniffed despondently.

"Shh, baby, it's okay," Paige soothed.

"Yeah Pheebs, everybody has to ralph sometimes," Piper said casually. For some reason, this made Phoebe giggle, and soon the three of them were laughing so hard that tears rolled down their cheeks. By the time Paige had them cleaned up and tucked in, she felt as exhausted as she did after an all-night demon hunt. How do people do this every day? she wondered, but before she'd even begun to contemplate an answer, she was fast asleep next to the two small bodies snuggled against her.