Chapter Nine: Happens in a Heartbeat
A/N: Well, I have nothing to do anymore! So bored! All my friends are on vacation…or have important stuff to do. I actually want school to start again. I really should leave the house. On the plus side, I have more time to write. I'm not sure if I actually will write…but I've written for four hours straight and finished two chapters, so I'm updating. ENJOY!
The week that followed the car accident was very difficult for every member of the Halliwell family. Phoebe spent the full week in the hospital, recovering from her injuries. Prue and Piper had been allowed to stay out of school with their sister. Paige had eventually returned to her adoptive parents, and life had returned almost to normal for her. Grams, who had to take care of everything, was becoming increasingly stressed out.
Finally, a full seven days after the accident, Phoebe was aloud to come home. She insisted that she was completely recovered, so she went to school the next day. Her sisters went back to school that day too. Grams was a little worried, because if Phoebe wanted to go to school, something must be wrong. However, she let her youngest granddaughter go.
Little did Grams know, Phoebe had other reasons for wanting to go to school. Since the night of the accident, they hadn't seen or heard from Paige. Prue and Piper may not be that enthusiastic about having a new little sister, but Phoebe was excited. Finally, she would stop being the baby of the family.
It was almost certain that Paige went to the same middle school as Phoebe. Phoebe herself had never seen her there, but there weren't many other schools Paige could go to. She would just go to school, and look among the lowly sixth graders for her little sister.
It didn't take Phoebe very long to find Paige once she started looking. She had blown off her friends anxious questioning to look. When she reached a hallway that was often frequented by the school's younger students, she spotted Paige at last. "Paige!" Phoebe called out. Her newly found youngest sister looked up in surprise.
"Phoebe…hi! How are you?" Paige said in a rush. She picked up her school books in a rush and stuffed them into her bright pink school bag. "I didn't know you went here", Paige said, flinging her bag over her shoulder. They walked down the hallway together. They were instantly so at ease with each other. Phoebe just knew they could be friends as well as sisters.
"Yeah, I was looking for you", Phoebe said brightly. She had always been very direct. " Um…I'd really like to be friends with you. Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow. You know the address?" Paige positively beamed at the other girl. She had been having trouble fitting in at her new school, and this was the chance she had been dreaming of. She had always wanted a sister, and Phoebe was the greatest.
"Yeah…I just need to ask my parents…I'll walk there with you after school?" Paige asked nervously. She really wanted Phoebe to like her.
"That sounds great", Phoebe said earnestly. It would be great to have a sister like Paige. The school bell interrupted their conversation. They said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways. Phoebe didn't see Paige at all during the rest of the day. She tried looking, but she was no where to be seen.
Paige couldn't be avoiding her…at least she didn't think so. She thought they were making some progress. She hoped that at least Paige would come over for dinner the next day.
The next day at school, Phoebe didn't see Paige either. Phoebe wondered if she was even at school. She wasn't sure whether or not her newly discovered younger sister would show up, but she had warned Grams just in case. She had said a friend would be coming over for dinner, and nothing more than that. Still…Paige hadn't called.
Phoebe stood near the front door of school, just in case. Five minutes after school, she saw Paige, who came running towards her. "Sorry about that", Paige said, stopping to catch her breath. "I've just been really busy all day." Phoebe noticed her sister didn't meet her eye as she said this, but she asked no questions.
They walked to the Halliwell manor in near silence. They only spoke occasionally, and only meaningless chit chat. Phoebe wondered if Grams would notice when she brought Paige home. The resemblance to their family was striking. She opened the door with her key, hoping no one was home. Instead, everyone was home, and they were yelling.
"Piper, I've told you never to go in my room!" Prue yelled from up the stairs. Phoebe and Paige entered the house timidly. Phoebe quietly closed the door behind them, not daring to venture any further.
"I wouldn't have to go in your room if you would clean it once in a while!" Piper yelled back furiously. It was the same old argument. Prue and Piper had been fighting a lot lately. Phoebe suspected there was a deeper reason for their fights, but she didn't want to pry.
Paige backed up a little. Phoebe didn't want to scare her away again. She looked around the house for Grams, and saw her in the kitchen. She was stiring a pot of something that smelt quite good. Clearly, she hadn't noticed Phoebe and Paige come in. She had, however, noticed her other granddaughters had been yelling.
"Prudence and Piper, if you don't stop yelling, you won't get any dinner!" Grams shouted. Phoebe noticed her grandmother sounded much more stressed out than usual. Phoebe was the only one who noticed. For once, she tried to stay out of the fighting.
The yelling upstairs immediately ceased, for which Phoebe was grateful. Paige was already looking very uncomfortable. "Hi Grams", Phoebe said softly. She didn't want her grandmother to be any more stressed out than she already was. Grams turned around, and her expression changed instantly.
She looked at Phoebe and Paige with a smile. "Why hello Phoebe. And this must be your friend…I'm sorry dear, I forgot your name." Grams was being so polite, that Phoebe didn't want to ruin her mood by telling the truth about Paige. In fact, Phoebe wouldn't have been surprised if Grams knew, but hadn't said anything.
"It's Paige", Paige responded timidly.
"Nice to meet you", Grams said quite distractidally, stirring the pot. "Now Phoebe darling, why don't you take your friend to your room until dinner time."
Phoebe did as she was told, because she didn't want to make her grandmother any angrier. Grams had been unusually stressed out lately. Phoebe hated to admit it, but she and her sisters weren't making things any easier. She tiptoed up the stairs, hoping not to be noticed by either Prue or Piper. Paige seemed to get the message, and she too tried to be quiet.
Unfortunately, Phoebe's room was right next to Prue's. They had to walk passed it. They paused for a moment before the door to see Prue and Piper still arguing. Those two would never let up. " I was just worried about you!" Piper was insisting. Now this was interesting.
Both Phoebe and Paige couldn't resist their shared instinct to break the rules. They both stayed and listened. Too bad there wasn't much left to listen to. "I'm fine!" Prue yelled very loudly. They saw Piper stumble out of the room right before Prue slamed the door shut. Then Piper ran into her room, and she slammed the door.
Now that her sisters had calmed down, Phoebe showed Paige into her very messy bedroom. The moment she saw it, Paige felt right at home. It was like her dream room, suddenly come to life. The walls were painted a very dark blue. All along the walls there were posters of angry looking rock bands. On Phoebe's night stand, there was tones of makeup, which immediately attracted Paige's attention.
She would never have been aloud to wear makeup. It was plain that Phoebe wore it all the time. Paige wasn't yet sure what she thought of Prue and Piper. One thing was for certain, she would definitely enjoy having Phoebe as an older sister. They had so much in common that it was almost eerie. As they talked, they realized they shared the same taste in everything.
There was no awkwardness between Phoebe and Paige. It was as if they had always known each other. They talked very naturally, until Penny Halliwell called them down for dinner. They truged down the stairs slowly, sad to end the time when they could be catching up on lost time.
When Paige and Phoebe got to the table, Prue and Piper were already there. They weren't speaking. Dinner was on the table, and Grams was trying desperately to keep the peace. If looks could kill…Prue and Piper would have killed each other long ago. Phoebe and Prue were usually the ones fighting, so for Phoebe, this was a welcome change.
They served themselves in silence. Grams looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Piper and Prue looked like they were using all the restraint they could muster not to strangle each other. Paige looked very nervous, which of course was understandable. Phoebe just looked tired.
The silence lasted for about ten minutes. It was the calm before the storm.
"Grams, Prue's been sneaking Andy up to her room again!" Piper yelled in an accusatory voice. Prue looked at her younger sister indignantly.
" Piper's been stealing my things!" Prue replied angrily. In Phoebe's opinion, it wasn't a very good comeback. Paige was watching this exchange with an interesting expression on her face. It was a mix between shock and amusement. She had told Phoebe that she wanted sisters her whole life. Perhaps after seeing the way they fought, she was reconsidering.
Grams didn't respond to this with yelling, as she normally good. Instead, she clutched her chest, gasping. Prue and Piper ceased fighting at once. "Grams, what's the matter?" they said simultaneously with concern. Grams simply shook her head, and sat down in a chair. She was taking deep breaths, and she looked a little pale.
All four of us got up at once. "Grams, what is it?" Phoebe said desperately.
"Mrs. Halliwell, can I do anything to help?" Paige asked timidly.
"I'm fine darling", Grams said, "You four should just run off now." Grams didn't really sound fine, but none of the sisters really wanted dto argue. That would just upset her more.
Piper began to clear the table and wash the dishes without being asked. That was just the type of person she was.
"Do you want any help?" Paige asked shyly. She so wanted to impress the older of her sisters. She felt it important that they like her. It was so easy for them to be sisters. They were born as sisters. The love had been there since before they could remember. Paige had been born their sister as well, but as she had been given up, she had to make her own place in their lives. Any love she received had to be earned.
" Oh, no. Thanks though", Piper said distractidly. She continued watching. They all looked around at Grams, who was no sitting on the couch, reading a book. She looked like she would be okay. Still, they couldn't be certain.
The shrill ringing of the phone broke the silence. "I'll get it!" Phoebe said brightly. She loved talking on the phone. She ran to the other room to get the phone, leaving Prue and Paige standing next to each other awkwardly.
"Hello?" Phoebe said cheerfully as she picked up the phone. She expected it to be one of her friends, or maybe her boyfriend. She would have even preferred a telemarketer to who was on the other end of the phone.
" Hello…is this…Phoebe? This is Victor, your father." Phoebe nearly dropped the phone in shock. Why was that – that stranger calling her? Did he really think she had anything to say to him? Phoebe had no idea where to begin. She was halfway between yelling in anger and bursting into tears.
"Hi…um…" she said nervously, twirling the phone cord between her fingers. She shot a nervous glance at her sisters. " I don't mean to be rude or whatever, but is there a reason why you're calling?" She heard some shuffling on the other side.
" I just want to talk", Victor said softly, " I want to explain some things."
Phoebe's head was spinning. How could he explain? There was no suitable explanation for what he did. There was no excuse for what he did. Did he really expect her to let him back into her life when he had abandoned her for five years? She wanted to, deep down, but she didn't know if she could do it.
"What if I don't want an explanation?" Phoebe mumbled bitterly.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, there was a very awkward silence. Prue didn't know what to say to Paige, and Paige didn't know what to say to Prue. Piper was busying herself cleaning. She wanted to stay out of it, whatever it was. Prue pulled out a chair from the small table in the kitchen and sat down.
Prue had to work hard to keep herself from crying, or falling over. She was so overwhelmed. Everything was just happening at once all of a sudden. It was a little much to take. Ever since she had turned seventeen, everything seemed to be going horribly wrong. Now, to top it all off, her grades were suffering, things weren't going so well with Andy and it looked as if something might be wrong with Grams.
She felt burning hot tears well up in the corner of her eyes. She faught valiantly to keep them from falling. Prue was tired, very tired. She could sleep for a week if possible. Paige was looking at her, and Prue didn't like that. She didn't want Paige to see the tears.
Paige was more observant than Prue had given her credit for. "What's wrong Prue?" Paige asked, her voice filled with genuine concern. Prue actually had to think to answer that question. She wasn't sure how much, if anything, she should tell Paige. Her new found baby sister really seemed to want to help.
The real answer she wanted to give was 'everything'. That would be the truth. She couldn't say that to Paige though. Prue barely knew her, she was practically a stranger. So instead of the truth, Prue answered, "nothing."
Paige didn't believe the answer, but she didn't press any further. She looked to the phone to see that Phoebe was still on it. She looked very angry, and she spoke very little. Piper had stopped cleaning, and she was starring at Grams intently. She didn't look well at all.
Grams got up shakily from the couch, and walked a few steps towards them. Then two things happened at once. Firstly, Phoebe slammed the phone down so hard that it fell to the ground. Then she swore loudly. I don't think Grams noticed.
Grams had stopped suddenly. Then, without notice, she fell to the floor. All four girls were at her side at once. Prue checked for a pulse. It was there, but very weak and erratic. They had no idea what to do. It had happened so suddenly, without warning.
"Somebody has to call 911!" Prue yelled.
TBC...this fic has no magic...you should be able to figure out how this turns out...don't worry.