Closure to Heal
When we got upstairs we found Leo just standing there in shock. I peered around his shoulder and saw what had caused the crash. He must have stumbled backwards and ripped over a chair.
"What are you shouting about?" Piper asked. Phoebe was the first one to figure out what was going on.
"Prue?' she whispered. I couldn't tell if she was saying it so softly because she was in shock or if she was afraid Prue would disappear if she said it too loudly. At the mention of our oldest sister's name Piper spun around. I think she would have blown something up accidentally if Leo hadn't grabbed her hands.
"That is what I was shouting about," he added. Prue just looked at us. She wasn't transparent like I thought she would be. After al, Mom and Grams had been transparent.
"Uh...hi," Prue greeted weakly. She seemed just as surprised to see us.
"Wh-what...how?" Piper stammered.
"I don't know," Prue answered, taking a step towards us. In the back of my mind I wondered if she knew who I was. Without a word Phoebe grabbed Prue and hugged her tightly. I could understand. Piper joined in on the hug but I hung back. They needed some time together. I looked at Bree. She was just standing there like I was; observing.
"This...is Paige," Phoebe finally introduced me.
"I know who she is, Pheebs," Prue remarked. I must have looked surprised because she addressed me directly.
"Grams and Mom filled me in. We've had a lot of time to talk," she said and wrapped me in her arms. It felt good...finally getting to meet the sister I had come to replace. No replace wasn't the right word. I was inheriting her place.
"It's god to finally meet you," she whispered in my ear.
"Yeah...I never thought I'd get to do this," I admitted, squeezing her tightly.
"So how did you get here?" Leo asked.
"If I knew, I would tel you. Sorry I scared you...I didn't think whitelighters freaked out about ghosts. I mean...technically we are both dead," Prue answered.
"Ew," Phoebe snickered, earning her a swat on the shoulder from Piper.
"So none of you summoned me?" Prue finally asked.
"We didn't," Piper answered and turned to look at Brianna. She looked between us and sighed.
"I didn't think it would work," she muttered. Prue looked a little confused.
"But there aren't any candles. How could the spell have worked without that?" Phoebe commented. Prue touched Piper on the arm and they stepped away for a minute. By the expression on Prue's face when the rejoined us, I knew what she'd asked.
"Well I guess it doesn't really matter how it happened. I'm here now," Prue sighed, walking right up to Brianna. I watched as Bree's eyes widened.
"I think I owe you an apology," Prue whispered, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Why?" Bree asked. I watched closely as Prue took a breath.
"Because the decisions I made were selfish ones," she answered, guiding Bree to a chair.
"You were just a kid," Bree offered. I could tell she was trying her hardest not get mad at her mother. I knew that feeling all too well myself.
"But having a baby was an adult decision and I should have acted more like one," she murmured.
"I won't get upset if you're mad at me. If I were you, I'd be mad at me," she added with a small smile.
"I did feel not wanted. But I have aunts now," Bree stated.
"Yes you do. And they love you so much. I should have listened tot hem...should have tried to be a Mom," Prue sighed, giving us a smile across the room. Prue and brianna continued to talk in low tones. I turned to Piper and Phoebe.
"You guys should talk to her...about how you feel," I suggested.
"We will...but she needs to spend some time with her daughter. As strange as it sounds..I think Prue is ready to be a Mom now," Piper replied. I nodded. Prue looked really happy. Maybe I could live vicariously through Brianna and fill that piece of me that felt empty not knowing Prue.
"How are you holding up?" Leo asked softly, wrapping his arms around Piper.
"It's a shock but I know that I will have to let her go," she admitted.
"You know, a part of you can still hold on to her. She was your protector," Leo breathed.
"I know...and I will always hold her close. But I realize that we can't dwell in the past. We vanquished Shax. Hell we vanquished the Source. I'd say demons would be pretty stupid to try and attack us," Piper explained.
"Whoah...did I just hear you say you vanquished the Source of all Evil?" Prue exclaimed.
"I helped," Bree interjected proudly.
"We couldn't even manage to vanquish him. I guess I wasn't such a Super Witch after all," Prue laughed.
"Come on...we have some things to talk about," Phoebe said and I watched as and Piper ushered Prue downstairs. I was about to follow when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked to see Bree stopping me.
"Thanks again for saving me," she said.
"It's my job, remember," I said with a smile of my own.
I wanted to go downstairs but I knew that I was not a part of that chapter of their lives. They needed to deal with it in privacy. I thought about letting Bree go down but I didn't want her to get hurt by some of the nasty things that were probably being said. So Leo and I decided to clean up the attic a little bit. Bree focused, using her power to put things back on shelves and straighten up. Finally Piper came upstairs.
"We were wondering where you went," she said, spotting me.
"Oh we figured we'd just stay up here so you guys could have some space," I replied, closing the trunk I'd been filling.
"How about some dinner?' she suggested and the four of us headed o the kitchen. It felt kind of strange, siting at the table with Prue.
"How'd it go?" I asked as I helped Phoebe clear the table.
"It was good. I think we actually got more accomplished with her there than we did earlier," she answered, setting the dirty plates in the sink.
"Good. I'm glad you got some closure," I stated. The night seemed to go on forever and in no time Bree was being ushered off to bed.
"But I don't want go to bed. I'm not a little kid," she was protesting.
"You need your sleep. All growing witches do," Pure said with a little laugh in her foice as she chased her daughter towards the stairs.
"Come on, I'll say goodnight," she added. That seemed to satisfy Bree as she went quietly up the rest of the stair. Before anyone could say anything Cole shimmered.
"Please don't ruin a perfectly good evening," I begged, hoping Prue wouldn't cmoe down and find him there.
"You cal vanquishing the Source a perfectly good evening?" Cole snickered just as Prue walked down the stairs.
"What the hell is he doing here?" she snapped at Phoebe.
"Could as you the same question. Last I checked you were dead," he sneered.
"And last I checked I said I never wanted you near my sisters again," she shot back. I smiled to myself. So that's where I'd gotten my blatant dislike for the creep.
"Can we please not argue about this," Phoebe begged.
"Cole...just...we're trying to handle some family stuff. So please...give us some time," phoebe breathed. Cole gave her a pout but shimmered out.
"Don't start," Piper warned Prue and Phoebe.
Phoebe shot Prue an annoyed look and stormed off up the stairs.
"Some things never change," Prue sighed.
"I need to check on some things at the club. Will two be ok here?" Piper sighed and both Prue and I nodded.
"Don't disappear until I get back," she added as she and Leo disappeared in orbs.
Prue and I looked at each other wandered into the sun room. The sun was obviously long gone. The moon ha begun to rise and you could see some of the stars faintly flickering.
"So this is a pretty crazy family huh?" Prue mused.
"Yeah but what family isn't a little odd," I laughed.
"I can't thank you enough for finding Brianna and keeping her safe," prue sighed after a lengthy pause.
"I was just her social worker. If I hadn't found Piper and Phoebe who knows what could have happened," I answered.
"But it did happen. And she is on a path to greatness. And she has her family to guide and protect her. That's all I can ask for," she breathed. We sat in silence for a while longer until Piper got home. We headed up to the attic and each said a quick farewell before she disappeared.
That night as I lay in bed a realization settled upon me. This had been her story too. It had started with Prue almost a decade and a half ago and it had ended with me. We shared a common thread in our lives and that knowledge brought us infinitely closer than I had ever hoped.