"So." said Phillipa, linking her arm through Piper's, "tell me all about Mom and Henry!"

"Why on earth are you so interested? Most teenage daughters would vomit at the idea of talking about their mom's old flames!"

"Yeah well I thought you'd have figured out by now that I'm not your average teenager!"

"WOAH! Don't get too cocky missy," Piper laughed. "What's got into you today- you're normally so… sensible."

"Yeah well I guess I'm finally letting myself be a kid. I've missed out on that the past 17 years." Piper put her arm around Phillipa and smiled. Her niece had shared with her and Phoebe the story of her childhood- passed from home to home, everyone getting fed up with her because she kept running away: I couldn't help it- I just felt like there was something, somewhere pulling me away, and I felt like a freak because of all the random magic tricks I kept performing, so I got very good at isolating myself and not making an effort with any foster parents. I used to wander off and I just got good a fending for myself!

"Well you can be as childish as you like now hon. We love you and don't even think about running away- you're here with us and this is you're home. But listen to me now Phillipa- there's something you're Aunt Phoebe and I need to talk to you about, you're mom asked us to do it.

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Paige rested her head on Henry's bare chest and turned her smiling face up to meet his.

"Hey you" he kissed her on the forehead.

"That was amazing"

"Now do you believe that I love you" Henry teased, giving her a flirtatious wink.

Paige laughed and elbowed him in the ribs "What kind of girl do you think I am Henry Mitchell!" He began to tickle her and she squirmed and giggled, then she deflated and flopped down onto her pillow. "Are we being totally selfish?"

"How do you mean baby?" Henry said, propping himself up on to his elbow so that he leaned over Paige. He picked up a strand of her dark hair and twirled it between his fingers.

"I just mean… well Phillipa doesn't even know who you are yet and we've just made things like, a hundred times more complicated. I left it to her aunts to tell her who you are which is something I should do… WE should do. She's going to be angry, she's going to have a ton of questions and us being 'together' is just one more thing for her to have to deal with and it might just be one thing too many."

"Well maybe we start with who I am and go from there. We can keep us quiet for a bit. That's probably the best thing to do. I mean- let's be honest Paige- if are gonna give this another go then I think we're going to need some time and there's no point in stirring up too much at once now is there."

"She's been through so much and I just want her to be happy and feel loved, and I want her to feel safe."

"Of course you do. So do I. We're her parents Paige."

"Are we though? I mean you've only known she even exists for a day and I abandoned her at birth. We've missed out on 17 years of her life and just expect to pick up where we left off and play happy families. She's practically an adult now and she's so grown up anyway. Do we really have any right to call ourselves her parents?"

Henry sighed. It was just one big chain of unanswerable questions. No easy options and no guide book to turn to for help. "All we can do is try to build a relationship with our daughter. And it seems to me that you're doing a pretty good job so far."

"It's shakey but…"

"But what honey?"

"She called me Mom for the first time yesterday and you have no I idea how that felt. It was the most amazing thing… I just hope you get to hear her say dad one day."

"So do I. Gosh! I can't believe how this time yesterday, my life was so different." He let out a laugh. "But you know what Paige- I have a really GOOD feeling about all this."

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"He's my WHAT?"

"Your dad honey" said Phoebe, placing her hand on Phillipa's arm. They were sat on a bench in Golden Gate Park, Phillipa in the middle with an aunt either side.

Phillipa sat in stunned silence, letting this latest information regarding her genetics sink in.

"You ok babe?" Piper reached out and tucked a strand of Phillipa's dark hair safely behind her ear.

"Yeah… yeah" she said vaguely. "it's just a lot to take in" then, after another silence whilst images of Henry, the few she had, ran through her mind like a Charlie Chaplin silent movie, "Why couldn't they tell me themselves?"

"I guess your mom thought…" Piper began but she was cut short by her niece who leapt to her feet and shouted

"SHE HAD SO MANY OPPORTUNITES! LIKE YESTERDAY, OR THIS MORNING OR…. Why couldn't she tell me herself, why couldn't she tell me before? I asked her so many times and she could have at least told me his name. She said it was 'complicated' but you should have seen them yesterday! Complicated- yeah right. I mean didn't she think I had a right to know that the guy I was chatting so casually to was my DAD?!" Tears began to stream down Phillipa's face. Phoebe stood up and engulfed her in a warm, tight hug as sobs erupted from her nieces delicate body.

"Ssssh…ssssh. It's okay. Cry- yes let it all out. You know I don't think we've ever seen you cry before. All this stuff you've had to deal with and I don't think you've even shed a tear."

"I doubt you get that from the Halliwell side- we were all born with our bladders far too close to our eyes," Piper added, stroking her niece's back. "You know it's ok to cry, we don't have to be strong all the time."

"I … I…" Phillipa buried her head into Phoebe's warm chest, comforted by the smell of her perfume and the feeling of arms tight around her. She felt more safe in her aunt's embrace than she had ever done in her life. It was a tremendous relief to finally let go, everything she'd bottled up in her life came pouring out and by the time she finally stopped, she felt like a new person, everything was clearer and she felt ready to start again.

"See- best medicine" laughed Phoebe, wiping a straggling tear off Phillipa's cheek. But Jeez, I could launch a yacht on this. She gestured to the enormous dark patch on the breast of her jacket. Phillipa smiled.

"I guess you're right. I feel… so much better."

"Good. Now listen to me honey." Her aunt sat her back down and continued to stroke the back of her head. " I know you might not like the way your mom decided to handle this but you have to know that she did what she did because she honestly thought it was the best thing to do…

"I know that might not seem too convincing – I mean we all know that Paige's idea of 'the best thing' is not necessarily the most commonly held opinion, but all she wants is the best. For you. The past 17 years she thought that she was doing the right thing," cut in Piper. "believe me, if she'd thought for one minute that you'd have been better off with her then she would have orbed all over creation to bring you home. Everything she has done is what she thought was right, obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing that she just didn't have the luxury of, but she did the best she could."

"Yeah I know."

"But that doesn't mean to say that you can't be mad." Added Phoebe. "You've been dealt a pretty hard deck and no one expects you to smile your way through it. Get mad, scream, cry, it's ok. We're here for you and no one will think any less of you for doing so. We're your family. We love you. And you're mom- well she loves you so much- remember, you might feel like you've only known her for a month or so but she feels like she's known you your entire life."

"You really have that empath power down pat Aunt Phoebe." She took a deep breath. "You know what, I think I'm ready to meet my dad… well properly I mean."