Chapter 10
"Piper, sit down," Leo ordered, arms crossed over his chest. Piper rounded on him and had to keep from blowing him up. How dare he just come in here and demand a family meeting. That was her job.
"Damn it, Piper. Just sit down," he spat, growing irritated. She finally sat down just as Coop appeared, dragging a very pissed off looking Phoebe.
"What's with the kidnapping routine?" she grumbled to her husband.
"We need to have a talk," Leo answered his sister-in-law. She shot Piper a look who just shrugged in return. Leo hadn't said one word as to what this little get together was about.
"Apparently," Phoebe muttered.
"We had a little chat with Paige today," Coop began. At the mention of their baby sister's name, both women stood up, ready to leave.
"Oh no you don't. Sit down," Coop ordered, looking sternly at Phoebe and Piper. Unaccustomed to this tone, they sat down.
"We understand that she hurt you. But that doesn't mean you have to hold a seven month grudge over her head. She's having a baby…" Leo interjected.
"She used us, Leo," Phoebe rebutted.
"But she is still your sister and she needs you. She's working herself ragged just trying to make ends meet," he countered.
"Leo, she brought this on herself," Piper spat.
"Piper, she recognizes what she did and trust me when I say this. She regrets putting your relationship on the line," her husband explained.
"So, what are we supposed to do? Just say we forgive you and act like nothing happened?" Piper shot back.
"No. It's going to take time for the wounds to heal but she needs you right now. She needs her sisters. Right now, aside from Kyle, you're all she has," Leo stressed, trying to show his wife that she needed to set aside her hurt feelings and do the right thing.
"Piper…you can't keep doing this forever. Evil will take advantage of it. You're just lucky it hasn't," he added. He knew she didn't want to hear that.
"Don't you dare bring that up," she hissed.
"If I may interrupt for a moment. I saw them, Piper. I felt their love. While Henry was the one who really got hurt in the crossfire, Paige and Kyle are soul mates. It was inevitable that they would find their way back to each other," Coop interceded.
"So what…we blame this all on the Elders?" Phoebe posited.
"I don't think they knew what they were doing by separating them. So really, there is no one to blame," Coop answered.
The kitchen fell silent as the sisters sat brooding over what their husbands had presented to them. Leo caught Coop's gaze and the pair left the two women alone. They had known the sisters long enough to know when they needed a moment alone to discuss.
"What are we supposed to do?" Phoebe asked of her older sister. She suddenly felt like the youngest child again. In that moment she really missed Prue.
"I don't know. I mean…I guess they have a point. We can't stay mad at her forever," Piper mumbled.
"And…we don't know if Evil will try and take us out all split up like this," Phoebe added.
"But what about Henry?" she suggested.
"I think we need to just leave him alone. He's still really angry at her and I don't think the words of a former angel or a cupid is going to chance that," Piper said, trying unsuccessfully to hide a chuckle.
"Was that laughter I heard?" Leo called, reappearing in the doorway.
"You drive a hard bargain, Mr." Piper addressed her husband.
"We want you to do this…to reconcile of your own wills. We don't want to force you to do it," Leo reminded her.
'We know. And we realize that we've been letting the anger and hurt of others blind us to being what we are first and foremost," Piper began but was interrupted by Phoebe.
"First and foremost we're sisters. And we stick together," Phoebe stated.
"That's what I like to hear. Come on. Why don't we go pay them a visit," Coop suggested and the sisters nodded in agreement.
The quartet arrived at Kyle and Paige's apartment some twenty minutes later, due to traffic. Piper and Phoebe shared a look before they knocked. Leo and Coop had elected to stay in the car. The girls needed this time alone. Slowly the door handle turned and the door was pulled open. A very pregnant and tired looking Paige stared back at him.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice sounded as if she'd been crying recently.
"Whose there?" Kyle asked, appearing in view. He took the few steps until he was standing right behind Paige.
"Let me guess, Leo and Coop sent you?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
"Well…can we at least come in and talk about this?" Phoebe asked, sounding genuinely interested in talking. Paige sighed but pulled the door open and led her guests towards the couch. She orbed several file folders out of the way so they could sit down.
"So how've you been?" Piper asked once they were all seated.
"Cut the crap, Piper. What are you here for?" Paige snapped at her oldest sister.
"We wanted to apologize for being so…cold the past few months," Piper admitted.
"If Leo and Coop put you up to this, just forget it," Paige shot.
"They didn't. They just showed us how stupid we were being. We're family and regardless of what may have happened, we're still family and nothing can change that. And right now, you need us," Phoebe explained.
"We're managing," Paige mumbled into her shirtsleeve.
"Honey, they want to help. And we could use all the help we can get," Kyle whispered in her ear.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I wasn't thinking about what I was doing until after the fact. I'm really sorry that I used you guys," Paige apologized.
"Apology accepted," Phoebe said and extended her arms. Paige stood and gave her sibling a hug.
"You know this isn't just going to go away though," Piper reminded her.
"I know. I have to work to gain your trust back. I understand," Paige answered.
"And I think we have to work to gain yours back too. After all it is our fault that you can't see your son," Phoebe added.
"Yeah…you kind of do," she agreed with a small smile.
"This feels good," Phoebe sighed as they sat together, just enjoying the others' company.
"Did Coop and Leo come with you?" Paige asked.
"Oh…we left them in the car!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"We found our way in," Coop teased as he and Leo appeared.
"Glad to see everything is on its way to being back to some sort of normal," Leo sighed.
--
Two months had passed quickly for the reunited Halliwell sisters. The girls didn't really talk about the whole divorce and affair. That did not mean, however, that they totally ignored the topic. But right now they were focused on the future. Presently Paige was lying in a hospital bed, recovering from another contraction.
"It definitely didn't hurt this much with Henry Jr.," Paige whined as Piper and Phoebe walked into the room.
"Well every baby is different," Piper commented.
"So what are you naming her again?" Phoebe asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed once she'd set the flowers on the nightstand.
"Andrea Rae," Paige answered as she breathed through another contraction. They were getting closer together.
"It's not a P but I guess it will do," Piper teased.
"Oh shut up," Paige snapped as her body relaxed again.
Out in the waiting area, Leo and Coop were pacing around anxiously. They didn't want to overwhelm Paige so they'd elected to wait out here until the baby was born. Both men were glad that they had managed to reunite the sisters in some way. The wounds were still fresh enough in everyone's minds that it would take a lot longer to fully come to terms with what had happened but it was a start. Coop finally sat down, getting dizzy from all of the pacing.
"I hope she's doing ok," he muttered.
"I'm sure she's fine. She's got her sisters and whitelighter in there with her," Leo whispered.
"You're probably right. I guess I'm just remembering Rachel's birth and how—" Coop rambled until Leo shushed him. Standing at the nurse's station was a tall man with a small child, clinging to his legs.
"That's not," Coop gasped.
"Henry," Leo affirmed just as the child turned around and gave them a wave.
"Sir I'm sorry but only family is allowed to see her right now," the nurse was explaining.
"Excuse me," Leo interrupted and dragged Henry away.
"What are you doing here?" the former Whitelighter asked.
"Piper left a message on my answering machine that said she was in the hospital," Henry answered, not sounding too pleased to be here.
"She's fine. She's just having the baby. And she doesn't need the stress of seeing you right now," Coop explained.
"Only family, huh. That's bull. He's not family," Henry spat.
"He's the baby's father and that counts," Leo uttered just as Phoebe came barreling down the hall.
"I'm an Auntie…again!" she squealed excitedly until she caught sight of Henry.
"Congratulations," Henry muttered and picked up his son. With that he turned his back on them and left the hospital without so much as a backward glance. Just then Piper appeared and ushered them all in. No one mentioned Henry's little appearance to Paige or Kyle. It wasn't important. Right now they needed to be a family and dote on the newborn.