Chapter Six: She remind me of...
An uncomfortable silence had set in the hut. Its inhabitants were all deep in thought, one big secret had been revealed, and neither of them knew how to react. Chris was giving all of his attention to the crying little girl; trying to comfort her while Paige kept her eyes fixed on him. She was observing so intently that she appeared to have stopped blinking at one point.
Only one sentence kept running through her mind. Chris had a daughter! He had a daughter and neither of them knew about her, it was unbelievable, a child is not something that could be easily hidden yet Chris had managed to do it. He'd done it for months! So that's where he was every time he didn't respond to their calls, where he spent his free time when he wasn't out chasing demons. She couldn't get over the shock, he was not just her neurotic, obsessive and sarcastic Whitelighter, no, and he was someone's father. That girl's father.
"What's her name?" Paige finally asked him, she figured someone would have to break the silence eventually, why no she? Chris looked at her unsure, she wasn't angry, he could only sense confusion from her. Well maybe anger would come next.
"Lillian." A short reply but revealing her middle name would mean telling her that they were Halliwells, after all Melinda was not a common name. Her last name was of course completely out of question. "She prefers Lily."
Paige moved closer to them, the valkyries that surrounded her immediately attempted to seize her but they were prevented from doing so by Chris.
"It's ok. Let her stay." He looked at Freiya for support, if they thought Paige was a threat they wouldn't let her stay no matter what he said, she nodded at him and made her sisters leave. Mist was the only to remain. Freiya didn't try to force her, knowing it would only lead to a confrontation.
"Hi, Lily." The child moved slightly to face the new arrival without letting go of Chris. After a short inspection she realized the women reminded her of someone, her warm smile inspired confidence. She wanted to speak to her but she remembered her mother and father telling her not to speak to strangers no matter how innocent they looked. Not knowing what to do she came closer to her father. He smiled at her encouragingly, indicating that she could speak to the strange women, she wasn't dangerous.
"Hi." She spoke in a soft, timid voice. Paige's heart instantly melted.
"I'm Paige, a friend of your father." Freiya quirked an eyebrow at that claim and Mist would have snorted had it been in her nature. Chris said nothing.
Lily uncovered her face completely to investigate the women in front of her. Paige's smile got wider, the child was beautiful. Her brown hair, a bit darker than Chris's, was straight with soft curls at the end, her eyes were identical to those of her father, soulful and intense; they were a bit red from all the crying but still sparkled.
A sudden thought entered her mind. "How old are you?"
"I'm five." Lily answered proudly as any child does when considers to be old and wise.
"And how old are you?" with an open mouth she shifted her attention from daughter to father.
"Err, well I'm...twenty two." He answered fighting back a blush that threatened to cover his face. Why was that everyone's first question? Sure he'd been young, sure he should have been careful but couldn't people get over that already!
"You were seventeen!" He'd been a kid himself when he became a father.
"Paige I don't think this is the time or the place." Glancing around he could see both valkyries listening to everything that was being said. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, he'd come to trust them with his life and Lily's, but there were things that should not be discussed in front of them. The age he'd been when he conceived his daughter was one of them. "What are you doing here?" Since he was the reason for her arrival, interrogating her was his responsibly.
"I came to see if you were ok. What happened back there was...it wasn't what we wanted, it...things got out of hand Chris, we wanted answers that was it. I'm sorry; it wasn't supposed to be like that." Guilt was evident in her face and in her voice. She genuinely regretted her actions, even if she hadn't physically been the one to attack him.
"I doesn't matter Paige." He said softly. The truth was that being blown up by his mother didn't hurt as much as the hatred she felt towards him.
"Yes it does! We wanted answers; we never meant to hurt you. I swear!"
"You shouldn't lie Paige. Piper and Leo had every intention to kill me and you know it as well as I do." His voice was now hard and angry.
"Right, you're an empath, you sensed it. But Chris, they were worried about Wyatt. You have to understand, they consider you a threat to their son. I mean how would you react if someone tried to hurt Lily?"
"I'd be furious; however, Paige the difference is that I wasn't trying to hurt Wyatt. I told you, I just want to protect him." How could he get it through their thick skulls, he was not trying to hurt his brother?
"I know." The conviction in her voice was confusing, she wasn't trying to calmed him down, she meant it, and it wasn't her face, thanks to his empathy he could sense that she wasn't lying. Paige truly trusted him.
"You know? Does that mean you...?"
"I believe you. I might still be the only one, but I know you are telling the truth." Chris was surprised and touched. Apparently Paige's instincts were sharper than he'd thought, he wasn't completely alone. However, he was unable to express his gratitude as another alarm started to sound. "What is that?"
"The alarm, someone is trying to enter Valhalla." With that, Freiya ran out of the hut followed closely by Mist.
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"Ouch!" Phoebe landed hard in the floor of the manor, Leo at her side tangled in his elder robes. They'd been trying to orb to Valhalla but something kept rejecting them and sending them back. After five attempts Phoebe was covered in bruises from the rough landings, yet Leo was not to be deterred, he grabbed her hand and orbed once again.
Same result.
"Leo stop! We obviously can't do it. Stop before I get a concussion from all this banging."
"Phoebe don't you realize the seriousness of this? We have to get Paige back; God knows what Chris is doing to her." Leo hadn't changed his mind at all. He was convinced that Chris was using his mind tricks on Paige, maybe trying to make her get Wyatt for him.
"Leo I honestly think Chris can't do anything right now, or didn't you see he was hurt." Phoebe had a severe case of guilt, she hadn't wanted to hurt him, but she hadn't done anything to stop her sister either.
"It was a shoulder wound Phoebe; I doubt he'll be permanently maimed." Clearly annoyed Leo orbed again only to land face first on the floor. Whatever barrier had been placed around Valhalla was not going to disable any time soon.
"Even so! And Leo he might not be hurting her at all. I think Paige trusted him for a reason; otherwise she wouldn't have gone after him. I say we wait for Piper to come back with Wyatt and, who knows Paige could return on her own." As if to prove her words Paige materialized in front of her.
"I'm back." A nervous smile played in her lips. After realizing who the intruder could be she had said good bye to Chris and promised to return later, once her sisters were calmer, or asleep. Risking a glance at Phoebe she noticed she'd probably had to go for the later. "And I'm so sorry for leaving like that."
"And you should be! What were you thinking orbing away like that?!" Leo's anger was such that Phoebe couldn't block all of it out, and she ended up yelling at Paige.
"I was thinking that Piper could have killed Chris." Paige defended herself not sure why Phoebe was so angry, she felt just as guilty, what has changed?
"You should have told us! What if he'd hurt you? You should have asked."
"So you could say no? And last time I checked I wasn't a kid who needed her older sister's permission to get out of the house!" That was too much, she had the right to make her own decisions, and they'd been over that many times before. Many fights had gone by and they still saw her as a helpless child?
"You know that bastard could have manipulated you into hurting Wyatt!" Paige blinked at her, those weren't her sister's words, and she'd never call Chris that. Sure she'd been angry at him for lying but she had a limit, although she'd heard someone saying that before, turning around she noticed Leo standing behind her. Seeing what was happening, she took Phoebe's hand and orbed them both to her room, away from the Elder and his emotions.
"Feel better?"
"Yes, thanks, he was giving me a headache." Phoebe sat heavily on the bed and waited for an explanation now that her emotions were the only ones in her head. Sometimes being an empath sucked.
"I still think Chris is telling the truth. I'm sorry but I do." She expected Phoebe to be angry at her, not to agree.
"I think so too. When he was here I sensed something from him, only for a second, but it was there. He felt so...betrayed, so hurt by our actions. A guilty man wouldn't feel that. I know that now, we were wrong. Piper was not thinking clearly, if we give her time she'll come around." Phoebe smiled at Paige. Now they were to against the world.
Paige felt so relieved she would have laughed She hated going against her sisters and she know it'd be easier if at least Phoebe was on her side. She told her she'd gone to Valhalla, and she explained everything she saw. Phoebe, however, became fixated in one detail.
"A daughter!? What's her name? How old is she? And how old is he? He must be around twenty and he has a daughter! Is she beautiful? Is she cute? Will he bring her over?" Several squeals followed that last question. Paige was grinning madly.
"She is beautiful, her eyes are just like his, really so... Her name is Lily and she is five, can you believe it? He was seventeen when he had her, seventeen! I couldn't believe it, so young, but he seemed to have done a good job with her. She's the sweetest thing in the world, so cute and innocent, you just want to hug her and keep her in your arms. And she reminds me of someone, I'm not sure who though." Her face took a pensive expression as she tried to remember.
"Yes, yes but is he bringing her over?" Phoebe wanted to see the girl that had made such an impression in her little sister.
"I don't know, maybe if we stop trying to kill him he will." A mocking smirk at her sister obsession was cut short as she suddenly remembered.
"Then it's settled. We stop trying to kill Chris so he can bring his daughter to visit. Right? Paige, are you listening to me?" Completely ignoring the question she raced out of the room only to return before Phoebe could see what was happening and follow her. She had a photo album in her hands, Piper's old photo album. Paige bounced over to Phoebe and sat in the bed. "What is that?"
"I told you she reminded me of someone!" She was flipping through the pages frantically. It was one of the first ones. "I looked at the photos just a few nights ago, that's why the memory is fresh!"
"What memory?" Had her sister lost her mind? They were talking about Chris's daughter and Paige starts looking at the old family album?
"Here! This is who she reminds me of! See? Lily looks like this but with green eyes and longer hair!" She happily pointed at the picture, her mind would finally relax now that she found the photo she wanted, she'd been obsessing over it since she first saw Lily.
"But" Phoebe was perplexed.
"What?"
"That is a picture of Piper. From when she was a child.
A/N another chapter done! Tell me what you think of it please, now Paige is about to find out who Lily and Chris really are! In the end I didn't take the whole family to Valhalla, I don't want to race through the story, so one step at the time.
Thanks to my Beta Brilliance of the moon, there's finally someone to take care of my mistakes! Everything in life should be like this. So let's thank her together.
And thanks to all of my reviewers.
guardian music angel: I'm glad you are liking the story so far.
SylvanSpirit: It did'n get crowded, but who knows, maybe in the future it will.
Secret Thought: As I said, maybe in future chapters...
xcharmedgirl4evax: I wrote two chapters in two days! That's a record for me. Sadly I'm starting a new job so all updates will be reserved to the weekends.
El Neneo: yes, she is sweet, but just wait until she meets the rest of the family (especially the women who hurt her father)
Mstl: Yes I decided that Leo could heal, after is there anything more innocent and pure than a child?
Brilliance of the Moon: And here's my beta. I hated Leo too at times. Like how he reacted when Chris took that demon that scanned for evil, unreasonable!. And it made sense that Paige would be the first to see the truth, even if Phoebe is the psychic.
criminally charmed: Phoebe went a bit mushy but she hasn't met Lily yet so you'll have to wait to read her children babble, and there will be babble!. And Leo and Piper... they are going to feel VERY sorry. Now I sound like a villain.
If I'm forgetting someone I'm sorry, it's been a crazy week! Also I just realized that the small stars I've been adding to separate the scenarios had not been uploading! I'm so so sorry for that, thanks Brilliance if the moon for telling me!