Charmed © Constance M. Burge and The Vampire Diaries © L. J. Smith. I don't own or have any affiliation with either TV shows.

I also claim no ownership of the movie Titanic. That belongs solely to director James Cameron.

Please review constructively and respectfully. Flames will NOT be tolerated.

THE WISDOM OF PENNY HALLIWELL

"So tell me why-why-why-why, should I let you go?
Give me 20 good reasons.
I need to know."
~Thirsty Merc: '20 Good Reasons' (Slideshows [2007])

Piper's Room

Phoebe frowned at her sister in surprise.

"Wait, so he called her by her name?" Phoebe clarified.

Piper nodded, searching through Wyatt's baby clothes for something nice to wear for his Wiccaning while Phoebe and Paige flipped through the Book of Shadows to the Necromancer's page.

"Penny. Yeah, kinda weird, huh?" Phoebe nodded.

"Yeah, and he acted like he liked her." Paige added. Phoebe raised her eyebrows, as she analysed the information she was receiving from her sisters.

"Did you guys vanquish him?"

Paige shook her head.

"No, he's already dead, he can't be vanquished. But we did send his sorry male ass back to the spirit realm."

Phoebe was taken aback by Paige's sudden bitterness towards men. What the hell had happened, while she was at the Coffee Shop doing her research?

"Okay, let's not jump on Grams' male bashing bandwagon, please." Piper asked in an exasperated tone. Paige scoffed.

"Grams is a wise woman."

"Okay, back up! What was Nate's reaction when you told him you were a witch, Paige?" Phoebe asked, before her eyes widened. "He didn't freak out did he?" Paige shook her head.

"No, he's was fine with it. His wife might've had a problem with it."

"Oh, Paige. I'm so sorry." Phoebe was sympathetic. Paige shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I'm over it."

Yeah, right…

Piper looked irritated.

"I'll be sure to let Wyatt know." Paige smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're not gonna let him grow up to be a slime bag." Piper looked stressed.

"Great, so let's focus on blessing him in light and goodness. Okay, we don't got a lot of time." Piper hold up two pairs of baby shoes. "Now white or patent leather?"

"White." Phoebe replied, sounding distracted. Paige looked at Phoebe suspiciously.

"Okay, what is with you? You've been acting weird since you got here." Phoebe looked distracted.

"I'm just thinking. I've got a lot to sort out…"

"For your column?" asked Paige.

"Yeah, and other things."

The phone rang, and was answered from downstairs by Leo who immediately came upstairs carrying the phone and Wyatt.

He looked confused. "Uh, Paige? Darryl's on the phone, he sounds pretty pissed. Something about your boyfriend?" Paige takes the phone from him.

"He's not my boyfriend, he's my ex-boyfriend."

She stomped from the room, sporting a huge chip on her shoulder. Phoebe decided to retreat to her bedroom to rest, she wasn't in the mood to listen to Piper and Leo's domestic disputes. It depressed her that she wasn't able to have her own. She was awakened a couple of hours later by Piper having a not so quiet argument down in the Living Room with their grandmother. So she went to investigate.

"Hey, what's going on down here?" She demanded. Piper spun round and scowled directly at Phoebe, who stopped dead in her tracks at the expression on her face.

"Your grandmother hates her grandson, that's what's going on." Piper explained, sounding hurt and upset. Grams looked equally as upset.

"That's not true."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you just hate men, is that correct?" Piper demanded an explanation from Grams about why she was so closed off about the fact that Wyatt was a boy.

"No, I don't trust men. There's a difference." Grams explained her reasons, but Piper and Phoebe couldn't take them seriously. It just sounded extremely petty.

"That's not true." Phoebe tried to reassure her.

"Isn't it?" Grams walked over to Phoebe who almost shrank back at the sympathetic expression on her grandmother's face. "Look what Cole put you through. Look what your father did to your mother." Phoebe's face went stony, which shocked Grams completely.

"Yes, Grams. I am very much aware what Cole put me through. I've got a lot of memories that I'd rather not relive. There are even some that he is involved in that I do want to remember..." Piper winced, as she understood what Phoebe was getting at because of her recent excursion into her past life.

Grams went to ask what they were, but Phoebe interrupted her.

"But, the point is, are we supposed to give up on love just because there's a possibility that we could get hurt?" She demanded.

"No, you will get hurt. That's part of our legacy too, unfortunately."

But Piper had heard enough, and needless to say, so had Phoebe who was starting to have serious doubts that Grams would be able to help her follow the correct path towards Damon. But before anyone could say anything else, the Necromancer's warlock assistant suddenly appeared on the stairs and throws a beam of light at Piper.

It sent her flying across the room.

Phoebe dodges a second beam of light when she dove for cover over the couch.

"Leave them alone!" Phoebe heard Grams order the demon. She looked over to see Grams get blurred over to the Necromancer, who caught her in his arms and smirked at both her and Piper.

"Surprise!" He said, just as his assistant came walking down the staircase to continue the fight. Phoebe turned to Piper, gesturing frantically towards the assistant.

"Piper!" Piper used her exploding power on the Necromancer's assistant and successfully blows him up, but it had done its purpose of distracting them. Grams had disappeared with the Necromancer.

"Shit…" muttered Phoebe.

The Charmed Ones and Leo regrouped in the Living Room. Phoebe was holding Wyatt in her lap, and played with him as she watched Piper pace agitatedly in front of the fireplace.

"See, let's face it. Grams would not be in this position if she hadn't sent us after the guy in the first place." Piper fretted, causing Phoebe to look up at her and glare.

"Not helpful. What we need to do is summon here back her fast." Leo sighed from where he was perched on the armrest of the couch. His arms were crossed casually over his chest.

"We can't. The necromancer will follow and if you don't have a way to stop him." He reminded her.

"How did he get her anyway? Weren't you and Piper with her?" Paige asked Phoebe. Piper and Phoebe exchanged guilty looks at each other that rose Leo's suspicion and Paige's curiosity.

"Uh, we were fighting with her."

"Fighting? About what?" demanded Paige. Piper came over and sat down beside Phoebe as she dismissively rejected Paige's question about why she and Phoebe were fighting with their grandmother.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on the vanquishing and the saving."

Phoebe bit her lip with worry.

"But I don't know how to. I mean, it's not like we can even vanquish him, he's a ghost."

"Well ghosts can still feel pain. How about I just orb his testicles somewhere?" Paige suggested, looking slightly devious as Leo paled and subtly crossed his legs to shield his privates. Piper frowned in disapproval.

"Paige, watch what you say. There will be no talk of 'testicle orbing' around the child." She indicated to Wyatt, who was sucking on his shoe. Leo took that as a cue to exit the room.

"And not in front of his daddy either." He wondered over to Phoebe who smirked and handed over an oblivious Wyatt to a smiling Leo.

Paige pouted. "Oh, sheesh. I'm just trying to be helpful…"

Leo left the room as Phoebe moved over to the Book of Shadows and started to flip through the pages to find the Necromancer page.

"There has to be a weakness in here somewhere. I mean, he must have a weakness, right?" Phoebe found the page she was looking for and frowned down at it in confusion. It was covered in Grams' neat handwriting describing odd little facts about the Necromancer.

This seemed oddly familiar to Phoebe…

"Well does 'mint jelly' and 'Clark Gable movies' count?" Piper asked, sounding frustrated. "She wrote it!"

Then Phoebe's eye widened in realisation.

"Oh my God!" Phoebe exclaimed. She now knew why Grams' descriptive behaviour in regards to the Necromancer seemed so familiar. She had done the same thing with Cole, back when she was still in love with him and before she knew his manipulative, selfish ways.

"Grams was the Necromancer's lover!" Phoebe cried. Both Piper and Paige pulled disgusted faces.

"Oh that's disgusting!" Paige spat. But Piper was quick to agree with Phoebe.

"Oh, no. I think Phoebe's right. That explains everything. Grams was alive when she banished the Necromancer, right?" Phoebe nodded. "Okay, so now she's dead."

"Yes, we're very much aware of this fact." Phoebe remarked.

"And you sound so happy about that too." Paige added, smirking slightly. Phoebe lightly whacked her sister on her arm.

"No, that's not what she means." Phoebe understood where Piper was going with this theory. "The ghost vanquishing spell." She started flipping through the Book of Shadows. Paige makes an 'oh!' expression, as Piper grins triumphantly at Phoebe.

"You've gotta be dead to use it, right?"

Phoebe shrugs. "It's worth a shot."

The Attic

The sisters made their way straight to the Attic, and Piper immediately retrieves five white candles and places them in a circle on the floor. Phoebe follows after her, lighting each candle.

"Okay. As soon as we summon her, we've gotta get her straight to the book because the Necromancer's gonna be right behind her." Piper instructed.

Paige nods. "All over it."

"Okay, let's get going." Piper hands Phoebe a piece of paper with the Ghost Summoning spell. "Read."

"Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side, come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide."

A few moments passed before a swirl of bright lights brings Grams to the Attic. She looked dazed.

"Welcome back, Grams." Paige greeted her grandmother.

"Girls…" Grams began to speak, but the three of them immediately hastened Grams over to the podium that held the Book of Shadows open to the Ghost Vanquishing Spell.

"No time for apologies. Come on, come on, this way, this way, this way, this way…" Phoebe stabbed at the words.

"That is a spell to vanquish a ghost. But only a ghost can read it and that's you." Grams hesitated, which caused the sisters to frown warily. Something must've happened between Grams and the Necromancer in the Underworld. Which was why they needed Grams to act fast.

"You shouldn't have done this." Grams scolded them, sadly.

Piper looked contrite.

"Oh, come on, Grams. We're not that mad."

"You will be." Grams promised.

Piper started to panic.

"Grams, he's gonna be here at any second."

Grams looked desperate; like she wanted to do something, but that something was preventing her from acting on it.

"I know, I know. It's just that I don't think that…" She gasped and clutched at her head like she had a toothache. Paige waded forward to Grams, looking concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. I never meant to hurt you or Wyatt." She looked at Piper apologetically. Piper smiled at her, accepting the apology. But she also wanted to move things along to avoid a confrontation they couldn't win with the Necromancer.

"Right, okay, look, we kind of need to focus on the demon at hand here, okay?"

There was sudden freak gust of wind that blew into the attic.

"Whoa! Here he comes!" Phoebe yelled. The Necromancer appeared in a puff of smoke.

"C'mon Grams!" Paige yelled.

"Read the spell, Grams!" Piper pleaded. But the Necromancer smiled smugly at them.

"Don't bother. She's with me now." He moved closer to Grams. He leaned in and whispered tenderly in Grams' ear. "It's time, dear." He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. Paige turned towards Piper.

"Piper, blow him up or something!" Piper looked at her incredulously.

"A ghost? You want me to blow up the ghost?" She gestured frantically at the Necromancer and their grandmother who was about to start chanting the Halliwell Matriarch Line spell. "He's already dead!"

"I call forth from space and time, matriarchs from the Halliwell line…" Then Piper got a brilliant idea.

"Paige! The truth spell, hurry. Use it on Grams." Paige panicked as she tried to remember the spell.

"Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends…"

"For those who want the truth revealed, open hearts and secrets unsealed…" Paige recited hurriedly over Grams' incantation.

"Our family's spirit without end…" Grams was almost through with the spell, but Paige's spell was faster. She smiled triumphantly.

"From now until it's now again, after which the memory ends." Coloured lights surround and circle Grams who stops in mid-sentence. The Necromancer frowns and nudges Grams.

"Penny, finish the spell…" He urges her sternly. But Grams looks over at her granddaughters in confusion. Piper smiles smugly.

"Grams, tell him how you really feel about him. Tell him the truth."

Grams turns and smiles lovingly at the Necromancer who looks bemused, but smiles back.

"I love you…" Piper, Phoebe and Paige's faces fall. Paige turns and glares at Piper.

"Any other bright ideas?"

But apparently Grams hadn't finished.

"… and now I know that you didn't just use me. That you really did love me too." He smiles at her.

"I still do." Grams cups his face and he nuzzles into it, kissing her palm.

"I know." Then she takes away her hand, and steps away and towards the book. He looks at her in dismay as she spins turned the pages towards the entry devoted entirely to the Ghost Vanquishing spell. "But the truth is that our love isn't nearly as powerful as the love I have for my family." She explains to him, with genuine sadness in her eyes.

The Necromancer's eyes widen when he realises what she is about to do.

"Ashes to ashes, spirit to spirit…"

"Penny…?" He pleads, sounding heartbroken.

"Take his soul…" Grams looked at him, solemnly.

"Penny, what are you doing?"

He appears to not understand why she could possibly be doing this if she truly loved him. But it appeared that blood was thicker than water as Grams' sorrowful face, hardened slightly as she said the final line of the spell.

"Banish this evil!"

The Necromancer vaporises like steam and is vanquished for good. It was at that moment that Phoebe had felt for a split second, sorry for him. After all, he did love her. Grams turned around to face the three sisters; she had tears in her eyes.

"I am so sorry. I never realised how much my anger, my bitterness affected my life, or yours. And I'm most sorry for what I did to my great-grandson, and you. And if ever I wanted a second chance, it would be with him, and you." Piper smiles happily at Grams and comes over to hug her.

Grams looks up from her embrace with Piper, and looks over at Paige and Phoebe.

"Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't ever give up on love." She urges them.

Phoebe smiles and steps out of the attic drawing Grams' attention.

"Phoebe? What's wrong, sweetheart?" Phoebe stops and smiles at Grams.

"Just following your advice, Grams." She replied, cryptically. Before turning and continuing out of the room, leaving a confused Grams looking at an equally confused Paige and Piper for an explanation.

"Girls?" Grams inquires. But Piper and Paige shrug.

"No idea." Piper says, "But I'm going to find out."

She moves to follow Phoebe, but Grams intercepts.

"No. Let me." She moves out of the attic in search of Phoebe, leaving the other two looking worried.

Phoebe's bedroom

Phoebe reclines against her headboard, gazing down at a sketch she had constructed from memory: Damon, dressed in third class fashion which comprised of a long sleeved shirt, pants with suspenders and scruffy shoes. She had imagined him staring at her with a smirk on his face and standing in a casual pose with his hands deep inside his pants pockets.

The expression on Phoebe's face was one of stubborn determination, and she had no intention of letting go of it … no matter how much Piper and Paige wanted her too. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" called Phoebe, who put down the picture and pulled over two notebooks. One contained information she had accumulated from her observation and participation in her great-great Aunt's memories, and one she used to gather her information about the Salvatores.

She looked up to see Grams sticking her head in.

"May I come in?" She asked, cautiously. Phoebe nodded and Grams came over and perched on the end of her bed looking at Phoebe with concern. "Phoebe, I've got the impression that you wanted to talk to me about something?" Grams asked, indicating Phoebe's cryptic answer from before.

Phoebe nodded.

"Do you know anything about your Aunt Primrose?" Phoebe went straight to the point. Grams looked surprised by her granddaughter's blunt question.

"Not a lot. She died before I was born." Phoebe nodded.

"I know." Grams raised an eyebrow at her; not expecting that answer. "I recently had some psychic dreams about Primrose and her journey on the Titanic." Phoebe explained. Grams nodded.

"So what did you want to know about her?" She asked, looking both confused and a little intrigued.

"Anything you can tell me about Primrose that you can recall or have been told by your Mom or Grandmother, would be great." Phoebe requested with a tight smile, expecting a fight from her grandmother. Grams hesitated.

"My aunt's death was very traumatic and devastating for my grandmother. It was rare for Primrose to be even mentioned after the event. I never knew why." Grams frowned at Phoebe. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Because I'm the reincarnation of Primrose." Phoebe explained quietly. "We, meaning Leo and I, discovered from the Elders that the dreams I had been having were past-life memories." Grams looked shocked.

"Memories about what exactly?" She asked curiously. Phoebe simply reached for the discarded drawing of Damon and passed it to her grandmother who took it and studied it intently.

"Memories about him."

Grams studied the picture, a small approving smile spreading across her face.

"Who is this man?" Grams asked, noticing how Phoebe smiled dreamily.

"His name is Damon Salvatore. He was on the Titanic with Primrose during the doomed voyage." Phoebe explained.

"Is?" Grams looked at her, laughing a little disbelievingly. "You're implying that this young man could be still around. He looks like he was about 25 years old at the time."

Phoebe giggled.

"Looks can be deceiving, Grams. Damon was probably closer to his 70's then." Grams looked confused. "Damon is a vampire."

Grams' eyes widened.

"Phoebe Halliwell! Do you know how dangerous this could be?" Phoebe rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes, Grams. I know the risks, but I know in my heart that if I ever saw Damon again … he wouldn't hurt me." Phoebe insisted. Then frowned. "Sure, he might be extremely confused and yeah, maybe a little hostile towards me because he and Stefan saw me die. But there was just something that…" Phoebe hesitated, unable to finish the sentence.

But Grams smiled, seeming to understand what Phoebe was trying to say.

"Drew you both to each other, even though it all went against the natural instincts between vampires and witches to hate each other?"

Phoebe nodded, surprised that her grandmother had got it in one. Grams seized Phoebe's wrist and led her back to the Attic. She released Phoebe and darted towards a large, old trunk hidden under some packing boxes. She lifted the lid and began sorting through the contents before retrieving a yellowed black and white 'head and shoulders' photograph of Primrose which she gave to Phoebe.

"Oh my God…" Phoebe was shocked.

The photograph of Primrose was an exact likeness of Phoebe, except it dated back to 1912 or earlier. The woman was dressed in a delicate white dress with shoe strap sleeves; her long curly brown hair – Phoebe's hair – was done up in a half-up, half-down style with stray strands of her fringe circled around her delicate, naturally made up face and accessorised with gyp. She had pearls in her ears.

This woman was the epitome of beautiful.

"So you're the reincarnation of my Aunt. You learn something new every day." Grams commented out loud. "When I was younger I had always wanted to know why she looked so sad."

She looked up at Phoebe with hope in her eyes. "Could you tell me?"

Phoebe sat her grandmother down and told her the entire story about Primrose and her unhappy engagement to a man who turned out to be Cole – a fact that outraged Grams – and her star-crossed romance with Damon, the strong sibling-like friendship with Stefan she had formed at the same time, and the reason why she had brought up the conversation with Grams in the first place.

"So you've been researching him and his brother ever since you woke up from these dreams?" asked Grams, who looked a little sad.

Phoebe nodded.

"When I was dying, I promised that I would see him again, Grams. Somehow I know that Damon is the missing link in my life, and I don't want to forget about it or him." Phoebe explained.

Grams smiled sympathetically at her.

"And what have your sisters been doing to help?" Grams asked. Phoebe scowled, which Grams looked surprised about.

"They've been trying to persuade me to give up on the research." Phoebe explained. "They believed that because Damon is a vampire, that he is dangerous and not to be trusted. But what they failed to understand is that, if Damon had wanted to kill Primrose he would've let her die when she tried to commit suicide back on the Titanic."

Grams shook her head as Piper and Paige wondered into the attic.

"Phoebe? Grams? What are you doing in here?" asked Piper, looking confused. But Grams ignored the question.

"I am very disappointed in the both of you." Gram stated. "You ignored your sister when she needed you to help her with deciphering her dreams, all because the subject of them was a vampire?"

Piper and Paige looked guilty. Grams sighed.

"I know that I'm the last person to be preaching about the importance of love, since I've had some disastrous relationships with men. But those dreams about Phoebe's past-life, my aunt's memories, came to her for a reason."

Paige looked offended.

"We understand that Grams, but Damon and Stefan are both vampires." Paige protested. "Their relationship is forbidden." Grams smiled.

"Love isn't logical and it doesn't have to have a reason." Grams reminded them. "And I have always told you girls that magic happens for a reason, and if Phoebe wants to follow her heart then she must be allowed to do so."

Piper sighed and Grams turned towards Phoebe.

"You do whatever you need to do, sweetheart. I'll be there with you every step of the way." Phoebe beamed.

"Thanks, Grams." She looked up at her sisters hopefully. "Can I count on your support during my search for Damon and Stefan?"

Both of her sisters still hesitated, and Phoebe guessed it was because of their natural instinct to hate vampires. Phoebe grinned, recognising the same awkward behaviour from Philippa when she had tried to convince her that Cole was the worse threat.

"Hey, c'mon. Philippa had the same thoughts as you did…" Grams looked at Phoebe with eyes that were surprised. While Piper and Paige had blank faces.

"But she came through in the end. So why can't you two?"

Wyatt's Wiccaning
The Attic
Evening, 2003

Phoebe stood silently between Leo and Paige, looking thoughtful and resentful. It just didn't seem fair that she was being denied the support she needed to understand, make sense and find the purpose of those past-life dreams. Of course, she had the support of both her Grams – who was standing before her small (at the moment, partially divided family) wearing a sympathetic, but supportive smile for Phoebe – and Leo to delve deeper and embrace what came to pass; but Phoebe wanted her sisters' support as well.

Soon it was time for Wyatt's Wiccaning. The attic was full of brightly lit white candles and Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Grams were waiting for the guest of honour to arrive; all were dressed in neat casual attire. Piper walks in carrying Wyatt, who is dressed in a white wiccaning outfit – similar to what babies would wear to a christening – and stands between Phoebe and Leo.

Grams beams proudly at Piper, who was cradling her son in her arms.

"You know, I think he looks a little like your grandfather. Oh, trust me, that's a good thing. He was a good man." Grams reassured them. Phoebe smiled.

"That's good to know." She said, quietly.

"Shall we?" asked Piper. Grams turned towards the podium that held the Book of Shadows, already with the Matriarch summoning spell open at the ready.

"I call forth from space and time, matriarchs from the Halliwell line, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. Our family spirit without end; to gather now in this sacred place, and help us bring this child to grace."

Matriarch spirits from different time periods appear in the room, all of them looking serene and regal. Grams turned and smiled at the matriarchs.

"The next generation has been born into our family, our legacy." Piper steps forward and hands Wyatt to Grams. She turns back with Wyatt facing his ancestors. "We pledge to be with this child, this beautiful boy always. Apart, but never separate, free but never alone…"

Phoebe looks away, at those words. Leo notices this.

"He is one of us and because of that, we will bless him with all the goodness that we are. Welcome to the family, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell."

Grams kisses Wyatt's cheek. "Blessed be."

"Blessed be." The Halliwell Matriarchs echoed.

"Blessed be." Piper and Leo answered.

"Blessed be." Paige chirped proudly.

Phoebe was genuinely happy for her nephew, so she put on a brave smile and responded. "Blessed be."

Grams handed Wyatt back to Piper. Then she took a step backwards through the spiritual threshold that surrounded the Matriarchs.

"Take good care of my great-grandson." Grams requested, as she and the rest of the Matriarchs disappeared. "Do not lose hope, Phoebe…" She heard Grams whisper in her ear, comforting her.

Phoebe smiles and turns, leaving the attic once again.

"Where you going, Pheebs?" asks Paige. Phoebe looks over and both of her sisters react at the empty expression reflected in her normally soulful eyes.

"Following Gram's advice about not giving up on love. And I'll do it with or without your support." Phoebe replied with a finality in her tone.

"Phoebe, wait!" called Paige, but Leo stepped into her path, surprising both his wife and Paige.

"Let her go." Leo suggested.

But Piper and Paige remained very reluctant to accept Phoebe's decision and knew that they needed their sister to see reason and perhaps save her from herself. To them, it was the 'Cole-being-the-Source-of-all-Evil' situation all over again. They went to protest but the stern expression in Leo's eyes made them back off as he walked over and relieved Piper of Wyatt and followed Phoebe out.

Piper's Room
Late

Piper was confused and hurt when Leo started giving her the cold shoulder later on that evening. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out the reason why. But she suspected that it had something to do with Phoebe and her blind ambition to find a vampire, who probably wouldn't recognise her and kill her on sight. Finally she got fed up with his coolness and confronted him.

"Alright Leo, enough! What is wrong with you tonight?" Piper demanded angrily.

Leo continued preparing for bed.

"You're a hypocrite." Was all he had to say. Piper blinked in astonishment.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Piper." Leo stated, as he turned and gave her an angry, disappointed look.

"Well forgive me if I'm ignorant of what you're implying." She retorted. "Has this got anything to do with Phoebe and how she was behaving tonight?" Piper asked.

Leo didn't respond, but his silence spoke volumes and Piper realised that she had hit the nail on the head. Phoebe for the duration of the evening had kept mostly to herself, only speaking when she had to and then shut herself away in her room.

Paige and Piper were very concerned.

"Leo, you cannot be siding with Phoebe about her plans to find Damon. It's insane, they cannot be together." Piper attempted to explain, which caused Leo to spin and glare at her. His eyes flashed.

"Which would mean that we cannot be together, since I'm a Whitelighter and you're a witch. But somehow that didn't occur to you, did it?" Leo pointed out, which silenced Piper momentarily. "And wasn't it you who fought tooth and nail for us to be together regardless of the rules? I mean even Phoebe helped us. So please, enlighten me, how is Phoebe's situation with Damon any different than ours?"

Piper paused.

"But Leo, how could you possibly know that Damon wouldn't hurt Phoebe if they ever found each other again?" Piper asked sounding a little desperate.

Leo sighed.

"I was there, Piper, just before I brought Phoebe back when it was all over." He explained. "Believe me, I was having the same doubts as you and Paige had when I learnt that Damon was a vampire. But I saw his reaction to Phoebe's death; he looked completely destroyed, and I also saw nothing but love and loneliness in his eyes."

Piper looked astounded.

"But the vampires that I'd read about were soulless monsters, incapable of emotions once they were changed." Piper protested. Leo smiled sadly.

"Well, clearly the information is inaccurate." He said. "I dare say that Damon's type of vampire is very capable of expressing their feelings. I know that if I were in his shoes, I would not be able to cope with the pain of losing you."

Piper gave Leo a serene smile, touched by his words. It was then that she realised, how unfair she was being towards Phoebe. Her sister had wanted nothing more than to be loved and to love in return with somebody that truly deserved it. And apparently, Damon was deemed worthy enough for Phoebe's love despite Phoebe having only known the vampire for a grand total of 2 days and 3 nights.

"You're right, Leo. I will give Phoebe my full support. She deserves that." Then realised that Paige was not in the know. "I'll explain it to Paige, tomorrow." Leo smiled approvingly and pulled Piper in for a loving, chaste kiss.

"I'm sure Phoebe will be eternally grateful … and possibly Damon, if she ever sees him again." Leo theorised.

The Dining Room
Morning
2003

Piper woke early to both feed and change Wyatt, and make a 'please forgive my ignorance' breakfast for Phoebe. Paige sauntered into the kitchen, seeking coffee and raised her eyebrows at the breakfast feast Piper had created.

"Woah, what did I miss?" Paige asked, teasingly, before she walked over to Wyatt in his high chair and kissing him on the head.

Piper gave Paige a pleasant smile.

"An apology for Phoebe." She replied, which wiped off the grin on Paige's face.

"Why? What did you do?" Piper gave her a pointed look.

"What we did, Paige. Leo set me straight last night about Phoebe's situation." Piper explained to a confused, then indignant Paige. The redhead walked over to the cupboard and pulled down a coffee cup.

"What did he say?" She asked, knowing she wasn't going to like the answer, and bracing herself.

"Mostly that I was being a hypocrite, and that Phoebe and Damon deserved the benefit of the doubt when it came to a chance at love." Piper said.

Paige frowned.

"A hypocrite? How were you being a hypocrite?"

"Leo reminded me that Phoebe and Damon's 'forbidden' love was identical to ours, and what we fought for when we wanted to be together. I had forgotten the heartache, and headaches I had when the Elders told us that we couldn't be together. I don't want to be responsible for preventing Phoebe from having her chance at love. I want to be there on the sidelines, cheering them on and feeling happy that they had found love." Piper admitted.

"Wow… I never really thought of that. I guess we really sucked, huh?" Paige said, sounding sheepish.

"Yeah, just a little bit." Piper laughed, just as Phoebe shuffled into the kitchen; yawning and giving her sisters wary looks.

"Good morning, sweetie." Piper greeted Phoebe. The psychic witch paused and nearly jumped out of her skin when Paige immediately came over and embraced her warmly.

"Okay, have I stepped into the Twilight Zone? Why are you being weird?" Phoebe demanded.

Paige handed Phoebe a large mug of coffee, and after grabbing her own, grabbed Phoebe and led her to the Dining Room, followed by Piper who wheeled in a squirming Wyatt in his high chair and went back to retrieve the large stack of pancakes, croissants, assorted fruits and condiments to the table. Leo joined them a few seconds later, kissing Piper and Wyatt and smiling at both Phoebe and Paige.

"We just wanted to apologise to you, Phoebe and to let you know that we're behind you every step of the way during your search for Damon." Paige said, sincerely. Phoebe looked skeptical as she grabbed a croissant and the strawberry jam.

"What brought on the change of heart?" She asked, cracking open the homemade pastry and smearing the butter and jam on it. Piper exchanged a look with Leo, who gestured for her to explain.

"Leo set me straight last night, Phoebe. He reminded me of what we went through to be together. Long story straight, we won't stand in your way. We will even help you." Piper promised Phoebe who brightened a little, but decided to remain cautious in case things suddenly changed again. She learnt from the last time this happened and the outcome of that event did not end well.

"So, what are you plans for today, Phoebe?" Paige asked, munching down on a strawberry.

Phoebe smiled.

"Making plans to go to Mystic Falls, Virginia. I have a promise to fulfil."

A/N: Here's the next update. It took a while for me to write it out in its entirety. I didn't want it to well … suck.

Please review to soothe my frayed nerves.

TTFN xx