"Melinda?! Paris?!" Piper yelled from across the warehouse. She had finally spotted the two girls, and ran to them. She hugged them both tight.
"Piper?! Did you find them?" Phoebe's voice rang down the corridors.
"Yeah!" Piper yelled back. Phoebe and Cole came running in a few seconds later. Piper let go of Paris, letting Phoebe and Cole hug her.
"Are you alright?" Cole said, examining his little girl closely.
"Yeah… I'm fine." Paris replied, smoothing her hair out.
"Good…" Phoebe replied, quite coolly, "Now that we know you're physically ok, maybe you can tell us what you were thinking!! Going after a warlock?!?" Paris just froze, speechless on how to reply. When she left, she forgot to think of the consequences. Melinda cleared her throat quietly, but not quite enough because it broke the utter silence that was flowing through the room. All attention was diverted to her; they had almost forgotten she turned up missing too.
"Oh, Melinda… what happened to you?" Piper asked, her arms folded across her chest.
"You know… this orbing thing can be tricky… I was just, umm…." Melinda just began to mumble after that. Abruptly, two sets of blue orbs materialized next to the group. Leo cut Melinda's mumbles off in a big hug, as Paige stood there smiling.
"I'm so glad you're ok. You are okay right? Wait, where were you? He didn't get you right? Where's Paris?" Leo just spewed out the questions.
"Hey Sherlock, we were just asking the same thing." Piper interrupted Leo, prying his hands off Melinda. They had somehow formed a circle, Melinda and Paris standing by each other.
"Yeah, I'm glad anyone's ok but where is the warlock? They don't exactly welcome us with open arms." Paige said, speaking up through the silence.
"He's dead." Paris said quickly, almost murmured.
"How did you manage that?" Cole asked.
"I uh… You see…"
"Jack had killed Justin, and Paris threw the vanquishing potion on Jack." Melinda quickly lied to cover Paris. Everyone just looked at the two teenage girls, but they had no reason to doubt Melinda's word.
"Well, I for one am glad that you guys are alright." Paige said, hugging each of them.
"Wait, then why did you orb in here, and not with us?" Piper asked, looking at Melinda.
"I didn't know that's where you exactly wanted meet. You said "warehouse". I went to the warehouse."
"How about we talk about this at home?" Leo suggested.
"Alright, but you're orbing with us. We're going to make sure you get to where everyone else is." Piper said, looking at Melinda. Melinda gloomily walked over to her parents and they orbed out together.
"And you're coming with us. You obviously haven't learned English yet." Phoebe said, pointing at Paris.
"Three's a crowd. How about I just go with Paige?" Paris suggested, trying to avoid being alone with her parents. She would hear it later. Paris looked at Paige, begging her through her eyes.
"Uh, sure. I could take her. She won't leave my orb." Paige said, faking a smile. Paris basically ran to Paige to get out. Paige orbed them out; Phoebe and Cole shimmered out after them.
****
"I don't know what to do with you! What exactly were you thinking?!?" Phoebe went on like that for a while, but Paris heard none of it. She looked as if she was listening but she was truly zoned out. She only kept replaying the events in her mind. She could've actually died that night. Justin had saved her once again. He had given his life… his soul, for her. He had killed his own brother. No doubt, word would get round he saved a witch, and he would have bounty hunters after him. She just sat there, longing for the day that he would return. Return to her, safe and unharmed.
Melinda ended up in Paige's room for the night because she didn't want to disturb Phoebe and Cole's interrogation. Her parents had believed her about the two of them being vanquished. She had never really lied to her parents but Paris really needed her. She laid in the bed, next to Paige, staring into the darkness.
****
Everything had calmed down in the Halliwell manor, and it was now morning. Paris was the last to get up, while everyone else were already in the kitchen eating breakfast. She walked down in a tank top and pajama bottoms. Paige was stuffing last minute papers in her briefcase, Piper was finishing cooking, and the rest of the family was at the table eating.
"Mornin'." Paris said, as she took a seat next to Melinda.
"Morning." Everyone replied.
"Eggs?" Piper asked, still at the stove.
"Sure." Paris responded. Piper walked over with the skillet, and placed some on her plate. Paris just sat there, poking at them.
"I'll be home around 6. Bye!" Paige said keys in hand. Everyone waved bye as she ran out the door. She never could be on time. Everyone was beginning to notice Paris just sitting there, looking kind of depressed.
"Are you feeling ok Paris?" Leo asked.
"Yeah… just uh, a little sleepy." Paris said, trying to make it sound genuine. "Umm… what's going on today?"
"Well uh… we've decided that we need to train you two girls a little better, especially you Paris, now that you have a new power." Cole announced.
"If you guys just disappear, we'd feel a lot better that you could defend yourselves." Piper said, finally sitting down.
"When do we start?" Melinda asked, putting her plate in the sink.
"After breakfast today." Leo answered.
"Cool… I'm going to go change." Melinda turned and left. Paris felt the stares of the adults on her, so she started eating the eggs on her plate, in hope they'd go away. The four parents gave one another looks, and went back to what they were doing originally.
****
Paris and Melinda were downstairs in the living room, watching TV. Invader Zim was on, and it was a new episode. Phoebe, Piper, Leo, and Cole walked in the living room.
"Ok, I have to run into work today, so your father will be with you." Phoebe explained to Paris.
"We..." Piper said, meaning her, Leo and Melinda, "will be in the basement practicing your freezing and sensing abilities."
"I'm taking you to another realm to practice your new power." Cole said.
"Have fun." Phoebe said, kissing her daughter goodbye.
"You ready?" Leo asked
"Yep." Melinda replied.
"Let's go then." Leo, Piper, and Melinda headed to the basement.
"Ready?" Cole asked.
"Yeah, let me get something to pull back my hair. I don't want it all in my face." Paris said, running upstairs, to her room. She walked inside, throwing her bed sheets onto her bed, searching for a scrunchy. She stepped into the closet, trying to dig through the mess within.
"Paris…" A faint whisper went through the room. Paris stopped digging and paused.
"Justin?" She asked, turning around slowly. A dark blue scrunchy with a small scrap of paper attached to it, was lying on her bed. She looked at it for a bit, and eventually picked it up. It was the same one she had given to Justin the night before. She quickly unraveled the paper and read it.
"I love you…"
"Hey…" Cole said, pulling Paris back to reality. "You ready?"
"Uh, yeah." Paris replied, shoving the paper into her drawer. "Let's go."
"Paris, I don't know what we'd do if we had lost you last night. You've got to promise me never to do it again. And this time, mean it."
"I promise…"
"Good…" Cole said, pulling her into a hug.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we get some ice cream after?"
"Aren't you supposed to be in trouble?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Please?" Paris said in a baby voice identical to Phoebe's, and poked out her lips.
"Fine…" Cole couldn't resist that voice. "Only after we practice." Cole said, trying to look like he wasn't truly caving in.
"Alright…" Paris said, grinning.
"Hold on tight." Cole said, as the shimmered away, leaving the bedroom empty.
****
A/N: I'd like to thank all those who reviewed this story. I would have never started, let alone finished if you guys hadn't reviewed. I hope you liked the ending. I'm not sure if the ending could be classified as a cliffhanger… I'm not sure if I meant it to be. If I did, I'm considering writing a sequel to this. You know, saying what happened and what will happen to Justin.