Chapter Six: Confessions

Paige looked around the room as her eyesight became clearer still. Phoebe was beside her, holding her until she was fully conscious. She cuddled against her sister and smiled. She loved Phoebe's scent. It always made her feel so much calmer.

"Hey, um, Paigey...as much as I'm loving this, I better go get Piper if you wanna talk to both of us."

"Oh, all right." Paige reluctantly sat up on her own, rubbing her eyes. "Where is she anyways? I thought Leo had the boys and she was gonna stay with us?"

"She went downstairs about an hour into your Quest. She'd been playing with the boys and Leo. The doorbell rang a few seconds ago, though, so she probably went to answer it."

"Oh, great," Paige muttered.

"Yep. Great," Phoebe agreed.

EARLIER

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Piper told Leo. He smiled and nodded, showing Chris a stuffed Big Bird. Piper paused in the doorway to look back at her sons and her husband. She smiled as she watched Leo with their boys. It was one of the most amazing things she'd seen in a while.

The doorbell rang again.

"All right, already," she muttered, making her way to the stairs. Just as she was descending the last staircase, the doorbell rang again.

Someone's persistent, she noted. "Coming!" she called. She moved quickly toward the door and yanked it open. "Henry. Uh, hi."

"Is Paige here?" the cop asked quietly.

"She and Phoebe are upstairs," Piper answered. "They're kinda busy. Why don't you come in." She stepped aside, letting Henry cross the threshold.

"Is she in the attic?" Henry asked. He marched past Piper and started taking the stairs three at a time.

"No. Wait!"

PRESENT

"Paige! We need to talk."

"Henry, what? What is it?" Paige asked. She stood up and carefully crossed the room to her husband, trying to hide the dizziness in her steps. She still hadn't completely recovered from her quest and her walking was a little unsteady.

"You said you'd call last night," Henry said. "But you didn't. When I tried calling you, you didn't answer. After the first ten or so times, it stopped ringing and started going straight to voicemail. I was worried."

Paige smiled. "Oh, that's sweet, hun. But I'm okay, really. I must've put the phone on silent or something," she explained. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. "Oh, yep. Wow, uh, there's twenty-eight missed calls." She looked up at him. "You really were worried."

"Of course I was," he said softly. She smiled again.

"I'm okay. Really. I swear to God."

"Good. So, are you coming home tonight?"

"Um, no. I'm staying with Billie again. But how about we go out to eat at, say, five o'clock. I'll set my phone to normal. You give me a call when you get off work and we'll meet wherever you want, okay?"

"Uh, sure. Okay."

"Great. Well, my sisters and I really need to talk. So, why don't you get back to work and call me later." She hugged him. "Bye."

"Yeah, uh, bye," he said, as he was pushed toward the door of the attic. A few minutes later, they heard the front door open and close behind him.

"Paige, what about Billie?" Phoebe asked. "What did you see in your Vision Quest?"

"I saw my future with Henry and my future with Billie," Paige said. "Henry...it was bad. I was miserable, he was miserable. It seemed like we were only together for our kids. He hit a wall and he looked like he was drunk. Maybe he lost his job or something. I don't know. But...looking at the pictures of us in that future house...we may have been smiling, but out eyes told a different story."

"And Billie?" Piper asked.

Paige grinned. "We were in love. We were happy. We had three little girls. And we still seemed to be...intimate. With Henry, you could tell they hadn't gone at it in months, maybe even years. But Billie...my future self practically dragged her into their bedroom." She chuckled. "I felt it all too. I felt how miserable my future self was with Henry and how happy she was with Billie, how much she loved...loves her. How much I love her. I'm in love with her, guys. I haven't felt this way in a long time."

"Glen?" Piper asked.

Paige shook her head. "Emily."

"Emily. Who's Emily?" Phoebe asked.

"I'll tell you but...not here," Paige said. "We need to go someplace...special." Phoebe nodded and took her younger sister's hand. "Piper?"

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna stay here. Besides, Pheebs will fill me in later, I'm sure." Phoebe smiled.

"All right. Later," Paige said. And with that, she and Phoebe orbed out.

They reappeared on the roof of a building. By the looks of it, it was a rooftop garden. "Paige? What are we doing here?"

"It's kinda violent," Paige said softly. "What I'm about to show you. Can you take it?"

"You're gonna give me a premonition?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah. It's too hard for me to talk about," Paige said. "What I did...it's horrible. But...it's what makes me unsure of my decision. I haven't been with a woman since Emily."

"How old were you?"

"Sixteen. I lost my virginity up here. But...just give me your hands." Phoebe slowly put her hands in Paige's open ones and braced herself for the vision to come. She gasped and her eyes flickered shut.

A young version of Paige stood on this very rooftop. She moved unsteadily toward a bench in the midst of the garden, an empty can of beer clutched in her hand. A blonde girl, about Paige's age, followed her and helped her sit. Paige looked over at her and said something. Phoebe strained to hear her but she couldn't. The blonde said something that made the drunken Paige smile. Paige leaned in and kissed the blonde.

A flash and Phoebe saw the two undressing each other, still kissing hungrily.

Another flash and she saw the two lying together, seemingly done, looking up at the stars. The blonde, presumably Emily, said something that Paige didn't seem to like.

A flash and Phoebe saw Paige straddling Emily. The blonde girl was crying and trying to get away but Paige held her down and pushed her fingers into the other girl. This time, Phoebe could hear Emily scream.

Phoebe came out of the premonition and just stared at her sister. Paige was crying, her face wet with tears. "Why?"

"I loved her. I was drunk. She'd told me she loved me before, that she thought I was beautiful. I took her struggling as a sign that she didn't love me anymore. I did it to prove that I was in love with her. When I heard her scream...I froze. I sobered up extremely quickly."

"Did she press charges?"

"No. I apologized and promised her I'd stop drinking. We were a couple until she was killed a year and a half later. Car accident," she sniffled. "I loved her so much, Phoebe. And I feel the same way about Billie. What if I lose her too? What if I hurt her like I hurt Emily?"

"That's why you showed me that, isn't it? Emily was your first girlfriend and you haven't had one since so you're afraid you'll do the same thing to Billie." Paige nodded sadly. "Paige, you've changed," Phoebe said softly, squeezing her sister's hands. "You're a different person now. And you love Billie, don't you?"

"Yeah. I'm in love with her," Paige admitted, a small smile making its way onto her lips. "She makes me really happy, Phoebe."

"Then, that's all that matters. Well, that and the fact that you still have a husband."

"Who I have not legally married," Paige said. "We haven't signed the paperwork yet. If I break up with him, that's it. No messy divorce to go through. I'm done."

"But make sure you talk to him. Don't tell him about the Vision Quest. But tell him that you don't love him and you want to try to meet someone new. Don't mention Billie. That would be very bad," Phoebe cautioned her. "Just...be careful."

"I will," Paige said. "I promise." They shared a smile and a hug.

"Better get me back to the Manor," Phoebe said.

"Guess I better," Paige said, wiping away the remainder of her tears with her sleeve. She chuckled slightly as she took Phoebe's hand and orbed away with her.