Paige awoke feeling safe and protected in a way she hadn't in a long time. At first she was alarmed, having forgotten where she was but looking up she saw her eldest sister, her protector, fast asleep with arms tightly wrapped around Paige.
Paige smiled, and snuggled deeper into Prue's embrace.
Prue awoke though at Paige's movement and looked down at her younger sister, who pretended to be asleep. She was both happy at Paige's acceptance of the love Prue was willingly to give and nervous that her youngest sister would never want to leave having discovered a bond with the eldest neither one expected.
Prue kissed Paige's head and then tried to untangle herself from her. Paige resisted though and clung to Prue.
"Don't go" Paige said looking up at Prue with big eyes and a token pout, tricks that she must have picked up from Phoebe.
Prue laughed and got up anyway. "C'mon Paige you too. We have a lot to talk about and work through today"
"What is this therapy?" Paige groaned, lifting herself up too and following Prue back to the house and seating herself at the table.
"Something like that" Prue laughed setting some food out before Paige and herself that she had conjured.
The two chatted a little bit, the youngest a bit fearful of the trust she placed in Prue and the eldest worried about how she could show Paige the tough love she needed to go home without making her feel abandoned.
Halfway through the meal, Prue noticed Paige begin to daydream. She knew what was happening, so she just intently watched as her little sister got messages that were being sent to her from the real world.
Paige listened as Phoebe begged her to come home and as she and Piper discussed their love for Paige. Paige could not believe what she was hearing, did not want to believe it. If they loved her so much, as much as they were telling each other they did, not because they had to but because it was how they actually felt, then why did they ignore Paige in real life? Why did they keep hurting her?
Paige broke the brief, unexpected connection she had made with the outside world, shaking her head and looking at Prue.
"You okay there squirt? You spaced out for a few minutes" Prue acknowledged, giving Paige the window she was supposed to to share what she had learned.
"Yeah everything's fine. Just thinking about some things" Paige brushed off Prue's concern. She trusted Prue and loved her. She wanted to pour everything out to her oldest sister so she could make the hurt go away and give her the security she craved. But her fears held her back and she could not make herself reveal her most private thoughts to her sister that was also a stranger.
"Paige" Prue pressed looking at her baby sister from across the table, giving her the signature 'Prue means business' look. "You can't go home if we don't talk about things"
"Good then" Paige replied like a stubborn child. "Because actually I don't want to go back to Piper or Phoebe. Ever"
Prue watched in disbelief as Paige stormed off away from her.
"Hey Paige" Prue called after her youngest sister who was acting in ways that were testing her limits.
Paige didn't turn around, she just kept heading outside.
"Don't you dare walk away from me missy" Prue called after her, getting to her feet, ready to follow Paige
"Or what? What are you going to do to me Prue? Show me how you are just like the rest of them?" Paige said turning around, arms indignantly crossed over her chest
"Listen young lady, you have no right to treat me like this. I just want to help you and I have done nothing but love you. I need to understand where you're coming from and I can't do that if you run away from me"
Paige just shrugged, gave a nasty look and stormed off towards the sea shore.
Prue sighed, beginning to understand why her sisters had such trouble getting through to Paige, who was evidently part bratty child who threw a fit every time she didn't get what she wanted, part stubborn Halliwell, and part wounded soul. She both wanted to make Paige realize that people wouldn't run off the second she got emotional and to get her to act in a more calm way. It was draining.
Paige sat on the shore, tossing little pebbles into the ocean before her. She knew she shouldn't have let herself get so upset in front of Prue. Showing her scary true colors, her angry colors made people run away from her. Actually, she didn't even have to do those things to repel the people she wanted to love. There was something about her that was easy to detest, she was sure of it. She could not forget the way Piper treated her at first, as if she was not worth even a small portion of her time. She thought of how the second she looked out for Phoebe's well-being and expressed her concerns about Cole she was royally abandoned by both her sisters. She also remembered how close she became with Piper trying to save Phoebe, and then how she was dumped for the more beloved sister once they won her back. It hurt so much she thought she was going to die right there from the pain. She drove people away inherently. It was either that or she wasn't important enough to keep around. Her sisters saw her as a screw-up. Silly little Paige messing up spells, getting herself into magical trouble, and always bringing all that messy dead parent adoptee baggage with her. She wished she could change who she was if it meant being more easily accepted. The only person who had ever embraced every part of her was Glen, and now he had left her too because she again screwed up. This truth of her life made her tremble with grief and she felt so lost she wanted to cry out.
She hadn't even noticed Prue run up behind her and seize her into what was a loving but constraining and painful hug for Paige. Prue looked her in the eyes and wiped away the youngest's tears as fast as she could.
"Listen to me Paige, you have everything all wrong. I love you and accept you, and so do Piper and Phoebe. You have to understand. We are never going to abandon you. I can't believe you believe some of the things you just thought. We all make mistakes, and I know Phoebe and Piper haven't always known how to react to you. You are a complicated person Paigey, but none of us love you less because of it"
Paige moaned, realizing that because they were essentially inside her mind, Prue had been able to tap into every thought she had. She was both mad at Prue and desperate to hang onto every word she said as the truth. She felt so damaged and wanted it to end. She wanted to put up her happy-go-lucky quirky forefront and take back this whole ordeal. She didn't know what to do with the love Prue was giving her.
"My poor baby. Poor poor Paige" Prue sighed hugging Paige even tighter and rubbing her back. "I promise, we'll make you see the truth"
Just as Paige calmed down though and was ready to get back inside the safety of Prue's unquestionable love for her she felt herself slipping away as she cried out, the lasting image of Prue's worried and shocked face plastered in her mind.