A/note: I'm glad to have such great support for the last chapter. It's still my personal favorite to date. And now here's an aftermath of that chapter, along with the opportunity given to Paige upon returning home.
Chapter 11- Deathly Halliwell
October 11th, 2006
It was early morning as Henry Mitchell entered his house with two brown paper bags grasped tightly between his arms. The bags were heavy and he seemed to had pulled a magic trick of his own getting the door open, leaving the keys in the lock as he proceeded into the Mitchell-Matthews manor. He crouched down, placing the bags on the floor and exhaled a sharp breath of relief. Henry rubbed his shoulder for a few seconds, wearing away the pain that came with carrying these bags. He was surprised the bags themselves hadn't collapsed from the bottom yet due to the poor support that usually came with paper bags. He turned around to pull the key out of the door, closing it behind him.
He tucked his keys into his black leather jacket as he overlooked the bags on the floor. He waved his hand, amusing himself and said, "Bags...Kitchen!" Nothing happened. "It was worth a try." Henry bent over, cradled the bags into his arms and walked over to the kitchen. Once he reached his destination, the mortal placed them down on the island and took another sharp breath. "Damn groceries."
Henry turned on his heel, walked out of the kitchen and called out, "Paige? I'm back!" He took a hold of the dark brown oak banister and jogged up the steps. He walked through the second floor hallway and directly into their bedroom and to no avail in locating his wife. "She wasn't in the kitchen...certainly not in here...she must be in the..."
Henry left the bedroom and walked to the altar room, giving two gentle knocks while pushing open the door. He spotted his wife sitting on the floor with her eyes closed, legs folded, elbows bent and fingers completely immobile. Relieved to see his wife, he walked in. "Did you hear me calling for you?"
Paige opened her eyes and her arms dropped onto her legs. "No, I didn't. Sorry. When did you get back?" The witch began to pick herself up from the floor and Henry rushed to her side and assisted.
The Charmed One was wearing an all white nightgown that ran down to her knees with her dark brown hair resting on her shoulders. A small bump was more visible then ever with the white nightwear. "Thanks," Paige said, in regards to Henry helping her up.
"I got back a couple of minutes ago," Henry answered her initial question. "All the stuff you asked for is downstairs. Want me to cook something up for you? Perhaps a Mitchell omelet?"
"No, thanks," Paige said. "I'm just continuing my search and trying to tap into the baby's power to help me concentrate."
"On what?"
"On a way to summon my sister from the dead," Paige said. "You told me the Elders said an opportunity was now available to me. This has to be it."
"Why don't you focus on the other thing they told you a couple of days ago? Getting your powers back?" Henry suggested.
"No," she simply replied. "I finally have an opportunity to meet Prue and I plan on seizing it before they pull that away from me. Besides, their only suggestion was me helping charges and it's pretty damn hard for me to do that when I can't hear their calls. Also, they said there's still a possibility that I won't get my powers back. It's just an idea they're up in the clouds playing around with."
"Fine, but why don't you finally tell your sisters? They might have some clue on this. Maybe the Power of Three," Henry suggested. "No point adding continuous stress going at this alone and worrying about Billie day in and day out."
"Billie's fine...sorta. She told me she's heading out to relax for the day and I don't want to tell Piper and Phoebe with the chance of getting their hopes up and we don't succeed. It's taken them a lot of time to get used to the idea we may never be able to summon Prue. They've made their peace with that or at least I think they have," Paige responded.
She walked over to her podium and rested her palms on the midnight blue cover of her tome. She admired the fine leather and loved how magic was able to create it for her. Moments after creating the magical book, Phoebe had suggested Paige to add some other sort of protection to the Book and Paige came to the idea to use her blood. With some blessing oils and the blood of the first Witchlighter in a probable long line of many, she added stronger protection to the Book.
"What other options do you have if you're not going to tell your sisters?" Henry questioned. "We're your only family, Paige. Just let them help."
Paige had a quick thought before replying, "Wrong. You're not my only family. My father..."
"Sam?" Henry asked. "Paige, I'm not sure if it's the proper timing to be meeting my father-in-law, especially one that hasn't made any effort to see us."
"Don't take offense to that," Paige said, wandering away from her tome. "I met him one day and didn't see him again until three years later, but the point is that he wants to be a part of my life now. Maybe he knows I'll go to him for help. The day I discovered my destiny, I just had this feeling we would be meeting again. This could be why."
"To bring you together with your sister?" Henry asked, slightly skeptical. "And are you going to tell me that this is the same man you want in your life? You told me the stories about how he just pops in, and I bring up the point again, he never made an appearance at or after the wedding."
"He didn't want to show up uninvited and he knows how much I hate that. Our wedding was rushed, I didn't invite a lot of the people who are close to me," Paige said. "I'm more comfortable with where we stand now, but we're not exactly rolling along with the father-daughter relationship I want, otherwise I would've called him. This is besides the point, he's a Whitelighter and I'm sure he visits my mother. He must know something."
"Far be it from me to stop you then," Henry said. "I just wanted to share my views with you as it seems you're just anxious to meet Prue."
"Yeah, I am," Paige said. "She's my sister and I haven't really put up the biggest fight to call her from the dead. Instead, I just tried to live up to her name and do her some honor. I think it's more important now that I've been coming into terms of who I am that I get to know who she is."
Henry smiled at his determined wife. He was in no place to try and stop her, but wanted to protect her heart and hopes. "So how are we going to go about this?"
"We?" Paige repeated.
"I want to help, Paige. In any possible way I can," Henry said. "You could meet your sister and I can meet my sister-in-law and see what she thinks of me." Henry smiled at her some more.
Paige returned the smile, "Thanks for being there. Now the first step to this is summoning my father." The pregnant witch looked up to the ceiling, prepared to call her father from the sky. "Dad?" Paige called out, still awkward to call her father by a title she never really planned for him.
The Mitchell couple continued to look over their shoulders, awaiting Sam Wilder's presence.
"Maybe if you scream it...give it some umph," Henry suggested.
"Summonings don't need umphs, Henry!" Paige replied. "Maybe he's just..."
A gentle jingle accompanied the flurry of white and blue orbs that appeared a few feet away from the couple. The shape of a man rested within the orbs and when the orbs vanished, Paige's biological father was standing there. Samuel Wilder was of age, but Paige always remembered him to not be one of great youth. His gray hair had darker shades along the side of his head and his blue eyes appeared very welcoming, which was very good when first introducing yourself to a charge. He had on a plaid shirt with a red and gray pattern with yellow lines that separated the two solid colors. He took his hands out of his simple blue jeans and held out his arms. "Hello, Paige."
Paige smiled and was delighted to see her father. She had a good relationship between her adoptive parents that knew of her love for them, but she still wanted to establish a better connection with her actual father. A relationship was definitely possible and her sisters were living proof of that, having patched up issues with their father. Paige stepped forward and joined his arms, enclosing his back with her own. When the hug was over, Paige stepped back.
"Dad..." Paige felt awkward again and that halted her from introducing Henry. She spotted her father smile.
"Paige, you can call me by my name. I know I tried to push it upon you before, but I realize that was wrong," he then ran his hand through his gray hair, ashamed, "Your mother helped me in realizing that."
"Thanks," Paige gratefully replied. "Sam, this is my husband..." Paige nodded towards Henry, "Henry."
Henry walked past Paige and shook his father-in-law's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet your, Sir."
"Likewise, Henry." Sam said, taking back his hand. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you..." he then turned to Paige, "And you a little better."
Paige smiled. This day was going pretty well so far. "Do you know what I'm calling you here for?"
"I believe I have some idea," Sam answered. "Prue?"
"Nailed it." Paige replied. "Are you also informed of about my trip to another world? The one where you became a hero in my eyes."
"A hero? Really?" Sam replied. "I know about your stumble into that world. Roles tend to change in that world, people tend to live that were originally dead and vice versa. The world has no set definition as magic tends to play around in it. Your mother, grandmother and sister know that you were in there and in trying to see what you saw were only able to find out that it was just a world where you grew up with your sisters."
"Yeah, it was a pretty powerful experience," Paige stated. "You died for Mom. Her death was replaced with yours."
Sam stood quiet. After a few seconds, he nodded once, "I wish that was the actual world we lived in now. I tried to create that world, but she froze me..." He resumed silence.
"See? The world has that effect on you and I just gave you sample," Paige quipped. "I cried myself to sleep as lame as that sounds."
"It wasn't lame," Henry comforted. "It was understandable. You experienced something that has probably had you wondering since you met your sisters. Once you started getting used to it, it was ripped from you."
"Well put," Sam agreed. "I don't know whether or not I should apologize for you experiencing that or if I should be happy for you. Are you content with the world?"
"It's fifty-fifty," Paige said. "It's just put such a toll on me. I have a Darklighter that wants me dead, I lost a charge to said Darklighter, my friend Billie is trying to find her supposed-to-be-dead sister and my promise to her is being broken all because of this. I need to see my sister and I think that will give me the proper closure on the world."
"Is there anything else that bothers you about it?" Sam asked.
There was something else bothering Paige. It wasn't something she hadn't even admitted to Henry yet, something that she was only bottling up. It was time to uncap those suppressed emotions. "A huge factor of this world was the fact that I was able to grow up with my sisters and that meant that you and Mom didn't give me up. Instead, Mom sacrificed her powers, which is why you saved her. She was powerless. Was I not worth her powers in this world? She ended up dying a year later anyway. Maybe if she would've given up her powers, she would've lived. Wasn't I worth it...?"
Both Paige and Sam, mainly the witch, were on the verge of tears. It was becoming so emotional that Henry leaned back against a wall, looking down, not bearing enough strength to interrupt this conversation. His wife needed a straight answer.
"Of course you were worth it, Paige," Sam said. "Its just that...the circumstances got to us and we weren't thinking clearly. You have to remember though that the altered world made things easier so you could have the life that deep down you wanted. If we would've thought that your mother losing her powers would've been of any good, I'm sure she would've agreed to it quickly. I would've given my powers up as well."
Paige quickly rubbed her eyes and tried to pass off the tense situation with a smile. "So, uh...how about that Prue?" She forced a light chuckle.
"Honey, don't fight it," Henry said, knowing that his wife had a tendency to hide her emotions.
"Forget it, I'm fine," Paige refused. "How do I contact Prue, Sam?" Paige folded her arms, her lips occasionally trembled.
"You simply summon her," Sam said. "She's now accessible to respond to your call. The Elders realized that you need this opportunity now, but wanted me to speak with you first before doing so."
"Fantastic. I was scared that I was going to have to do some ritual," Paige exhaled, relieved. "I should go and get dressed and start heading over to the manor to tell Piper. We can call Phoebe from there."
"I'm sorry, but no," Sam said. "Piper and Phoebe aren't allowed to share this experience with you as unfortunate as it is for them. This is one that you're supposed to experience alone, which is why Henry will be coming with me."
"What? I'm not leaving her!" Henry protested.
"Listen, son, I'm not even allowed to stay here with her," Sam informed.
"You're in no place to compare yourself with me!" Henry replied, his tone raising. "I know her better than you ever will."
"Henry, calm down. Please," Paige pleaded. "Just go with him. You know how much this opportunity means to me and I'll be fine. It's not as if Prue is a demon or something that I'm being left with. She's my sister." Paige walked over to Henry and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and patted his chest. "Now go. Teach my father a thing or two about me."
That brought comfort to Henry and calmed him down. He was well aware that Paige understood that he knew more about her than her father, but the acknowledgment is what made him agree. "Where are we going?"
"I have a place in mind," Sam said, making his way over to Henry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, Paige." On that note, Sam orbed away with his son-in-law.
Paige walked in front of the circle of candles she already had set up from previous attempts at summoning Prue. She grabbed a candle flicker and walked around the five white candles clock-wise, breathed on the initial fire and extinguished it from the flicker. She took a step back and her heart began to pound fast. She placed her hands over her growing stomach and chanted slowly.
Hear these words...Hear my cries,
Spirit from the Other Side,
Come to me...I summon thee,
Cross now...the Great...Divide
The young witch stopped breathing as she saw a series of white and gold spheres coalesce within the circle. As the spheres closed in on each other, Paige feared that they were just going to jump apart from each other and return to the afterlife. But they didn't. The spheres combined together and created a glow from the middle of the air that both rose up and fell down. A golden silhouette remained and when the glow faded, the legendary Prue Halliwell was standing there with a smile on her face, her arms along her sides and clad in a black sleeveless shirt with a white dress that made it hard to see the matching sandals. Her brown hair was cascading over her shoulders and had gotten longer since death, but the thing that got to Paige the most was how her sister was a spirit as she hadn't stepped through the candles yet.
Paige's heart beat continued to pound against her chest as the two sisters who never met before just stared at one another, not uttering a word.
Finally, Prue took the initiative and walked through the circle of candles, her body began to solidify, but never took her icy blue eyes off of her sister. "So...we got a lot of catching up to do, don't we?"
Paige remained silent. She wasn't regretting this, but wished she was a bit more prepared and knew what to say. A part of her wanted to hug her sister, but the other part felt that it was inappropriate. She remained immobilized.
"Come on, Paige, it takes two people to have a conversation," Prue said, trying to break the silence. "I know there aren't any real needs for introductions, but we're an unfortunate case of stranger sisters. I'm hoping we can change that today."
"I'm Paige..." the young Charmed One managed to get out. It was obvious and she regretted it, which showed to Prue through Paige's pale cheeks blushing a rosy red tone.
Prue chuckled, "Should I come back in five when you have your wits together?" Prue grinned at Paige.
"Can we maybe forget about that?" Paige asked, warming into the conversation.
"Deal." Prue said. The eldest Halliwell sister extended her hand out to Paige, "I'm sorry if this insults you, but I just want to get a better feeling of who you are on a personal level. Surely I've watched over my sisters and you, but that doesn't mean I know you. Not yet, at least."
Paige smiled and returned the handshake, feeling comfortable with it for now. "Shaking hands is appropriate considering our stranger status right now. I'm really honored to meet you, Prue."
Prue returned her hand to her side and her grin never dropped. "You too, Paige. It's unfortunate that I had to meet you while being...dead. I'm just glad you were able to help my..." Prue stopped. "Our sisters after my death."
"I wish things were different. Like they were in that world..." Paige started. "You wouldn't have died had I been around."
"Everything happens for a reason, Paige," Prue said. "Or at least that's what Grams and Mom told us countless times."
"I've gone through my fair share of that speech with the Elders as well," Paige chuckled. She was actually having a casual conversation with her sister.
"So, Paige..." Prue started. "The Elders knew that you'd be able to call me from the dead. The time had finally come for me to make some appearance, and despite my being happy to see you, I just want to run and see my sisters despite restrictions."
"Well, walking to the manor is a good hour walk and Phoebe's place is another pretty damn long walk," Paige said, but Prue just looked down at the floor. "Would you like me to maybe pass along a message?"
"No." Prue replied. "They know I love them. I just want to hug them again and just have an ordinary conversation with them over morning coffee."
"I can only imagine how hard it must be," Paige said. "If it's any consolation I haven't had breakfast yet and I'd be happy to go downstairs and make you some."
"I'm not exactly hungry, but I can see that you're eating for two..." Prue stared at the bump on Paige's stomach. "Let's go make sure my niece or nephew and her mother have a well balanced breakfast."
The young witch smiled. "Yeah, let's go and do that."
(X)
Henry and Sam walked along a dusty road passing several trees along the way. The morning sun was still beaming, not letting the autumn trees get in their way. It was a warm morning as well, the warmest in a week or so. The two men continued to walk down the dusty trail, leaving their footprints behind them and turned a corner and Henry took in the scene.
There was a wooden dock with two red motor boats tied to the wooden railings. Inside the boats were two paddles in each that rested along the edges of the boat as the waves continued to knock against the dock.A house was on the opposite side, not having any of its usual residents in years.
"Alright, so what is this place?" Henry asked, tired of the silence between the two, but was enjoying the serenity of the place. "Any reason for our coming here?"
"This is my home," Sam said. "I lived here for years after Paige's mother died here and I remained here to protect those from the demon that lived in the lake. I don't believe even Paige knows this of me yet. Even after Paige's sisters came and vanquished the demon, I died and was reborn once again and I returned here."
"Why return here? You've had bad memories of her mother dying and you even died here. I would stay away from this place since it only would remind me of death," Henry said. He walked closer to the dock and picked up a couple of rocks from the ground.
"I return here for many reasons; silence to have time to myself after aiding to a charge, the memories of all the death I've seen as a reminder of why I continue to fight and give it my all..." Sam said, nearing Henry with his hands folded behind his back. "And for that homely feeling I've created with being here so long. In my cabin, I have even more reminders with the newspaper articles of the deaths here and with negatives, there are positives."
During Sam's explanation, Henry was throwing rocks into the lake, interrupting the gentle waves with ripples in different areas from the bouncing rocks. He clutched his fist around the remaining rocks in his possession, not so tight so he wouldn't hurt his hand, but tight enough so he could continue throwing those rocks later. For now, he would listen to his father in-law.
"Care to hear what the positives are?" Sam asked.
"Yeah," he simply replied.
"That'll wait. I shared something with you that was personal, something that my daughter doesn't know," Sam said, catching a look from Henry that spoke words, "...and I understand that I haven't been around long enough to tell her about who I am, but this is something I would share with her later. Now I'd like you to share something with me."
"Alright, I'll bite," Henry said. "I'm adopted. Happy?" Henry threw another rock into the lake that skipped three times through the water and fell to the depths of the lake.
"Actually, no," Sam admitted. "That was something I already knew. I think I have a better request. Tell me something Paige doesn't know about you..."
Henry dropped all rocks at Sam's request. He turned to Sam. "Something Paige doesn't know about me..."
(X)
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Paige asked her eldest sister as eggs continued to scramble on the frying pan. She flipped the eggs around with her gray spatula and turned back to Prue.
"I'm fine," Prue answered. "I didn't come down here to taste your cooking, but thanks for offering."
"I doubt I would've impressed you anyway," Paige admitted, letting the eggs settle and took a seat at the table across from her sister, folding her hands on her aqua blue table mat. "So I hear that my magical trip reached your ears."
"It sure did," Prue said. "It's a world that I've been thinking about myself ever since Mom and Grams told me about you. I have a question of my own; what was it like?"
"I didn't want to leave, Prue. I love the life I have going here, but it was just perfect there. You could tell that we were all close as sisters. A huge negative about it was that I wasn't a Charmed One. It was just you three and I was just the Whitelighter sister," Paige explained.
"I hope we didn't make you feel as if you weren't important," Prue said. "I'm sure we appreciated what you contributed to the group."
"You guys sincerely did," Paige said. "I just happened to be the fourth sister that wasn't lucky enough to receive a witch power and only had the talents of casting spells and potions, not that I did any of that there. But my orbing and healing was well appreciated. It's a huge downer that I don't have my Whitelighter powers now."
"We'll get there, Paige," Prue informed. "I even have a little something planned for the two of us. But I want to hear more about your experience before I explain what that world was."
"You know?" Paige asked, getting up to check on her eggs, but she walked backwards awaiting an answer. She finally had to turn around and turned off the oven with a turn of the platinum knob. She scooped up the eggs with her spatula and placed them onto a plate. She grabbed the pepper shaker, shook it over her breakfast and stopped when she felt it was enough. She grabbed a knife and fork and made her way back to the table, setting the plate down beside her glass of orange juice and bottle of ketchup. She finally sat down as Prue answered.
"I've done some studying with Mom and Grams and we learned of what it is. First, back to sharing the experience. What were some of the things that made you want to hold onto that world for dear life?"
"Plenty." Paige answered, cutting her eggs up. "There was you for one example. When I entered the world, I felt as if I just jumped into the body of the Paige that presided before me in that world and those emotions mixed around with those of my own. I was clueless as to what was going on, but knowledge would build in me at random moments. The main attraction to the world was family. Mom was alive, you were alive, we all had children and we were just happy. It was something that we would've given our lives for."
"Mom was alive?" Prue asked. "...And we all had kids? Did I have a child?" Prue placed her elbows on the table and folded her hands together, resting her chin in them, listening intently.
"A boy named Aaron," Paige answered. "He was your only child but he was the eldest of all the Halliwell children."
Prue smiled and placed her hands flat out on the table. "Judging by his name, I would say without a doubt that Andy was the father."
"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Paige asked, opening the cap of her ketchup and pouring it on her eggs.
Prue hadn't even taken notice of this as her blue eyes just gazed into a cabinet behind Paige. There was nothing interesting at all about the cabinet itself, but she wasn't really looking at it. She was looking into the future she could've had had she been alive. "Because that's the name of Andy's uncle who meant a great deal to him. He meant so much that it was apparently enough to break the 'P' tradition."
"You were happy," Paige informed, taking a bite from her eggs. She took notice of her sister's face that continued to stare beyond her, until their eyes met again. She chuckled when she saw Prue look down at her meal.
"Ketchup on eggs? Is this a pregnancy craving?" Prue questioned, disgusted at her youngest sister's breakfast.
"This is something my father introduced me to. He used to have it every Saturday morning. My mother wasn't a fan of it either, so he only got to have it when he made the breakfast on the day my mother worked," Paige answered, sharing her life with her sister. "It's a craving that has returned to me, but like my mother, Henry isn't a fan of it."
"I look forward to meeting with Henry one day," Prue said. "I want to give you my views on him. But a time will come for that later, I want to give you an answer on what that world is."
Paige set down her fork and took a quick sip of her orange juice to help push the eggs down, before sitting still and listening intently to her sister.
"It was the Providere Universitas. That's basically a world that is created to provide an opportunity to live within that would be impossible with the current settings of reality. It helps you answer those 'What if?' questions that dominate your mind, but the cruel thing about it is that you can only enter it once. There's no point in making an attempt back in as you areeternally sealed off from it," Prue explained.
Paige stared into her icy blue eyes as she confessed, "I must admit that I tried to enter that room again. Henry had calmed me down, but all the emotions returned to me. I charged to the room and opened it, but nothing. It was just an old classroom. Why is it that I was chosen?"
"The world itself was created by good magic. I think it started off with a couple of sorcerers that were bored, playing around with their magic and they realized their sorcery only increased to great limits. They knew of lore and legends about how people can use magic to create worlds, planes and realms of many sorts. Word of mouth -Grams- says that the sorcerers that helped create the school, also created this world and imbued it within the the school. Grams also said that it used to be a specific room that was sealed off to prevent students from entering in it, but since the magic protecting the school was broken for a long period of time, that spell must've fallen down," Prue explained, taking a deep breath.
"So this world is just jumping around the school?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, but don't go looking for it. You'll only go mental," Prue warned. "Also from what I saw, there were witch doctors playing the fields that day so there is a possibility that they detected it. There is a chance that the magic is just so far beyond them that they could've been stepping on it and wouldn't have realized it, but you never know."
"Maybe I should cast a spell to find it..."
"No." Prue firmly replied. "You can't go searching for the room. You were given an opportunity to live the life you always wondered about and that was all because the room was searching for you. It must've detected your desire and how much it was taking you to keep it buried inside."
Prue stretched her hand across the table and placed it on Paige's pale hand, that was tapping away at the table, ashamed for hiding her feelings. "Don't suppress your emotions, Paige. You have two sisters that would stop what they were doing to listen to you, even if you just wanted to speak without them to say anything. They are there to simply be sisters. I wish I could be more around for you, but I have this feeling the Elders aren't going to let me be so available to you."
"That sucks," Paige said. "It's going to be yet another thing that is given to me and ripped away." Paige removed her hand from under Prue's, picked up her plate and walked over to the garbage. She used her fork to push all of her eggs into the garbage and tossed her plate into the sink, breaking it. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter, not caring one bit for shattered plate.
Prue stood up and walked closer to Paige, placing her hand on the kitchen island, pressing all her weight there. It still felt weird to walk around with a solidified form again. She'd grown use to be weightless in the afterlife. People were seen in a nearly solidified figure, but still possessed traits of spirits. "Paige, don't take it like that. It's truly a blessing that I'm standing here right now. I started to think that I was going to be forever bound in the afterlife. I love my family, but there is only so much of Grams' gossip that one can take."
Paige smiled, dropping her arms to her side. She didn't want to spend her time with Prue being an angry little sister, so she took Prue's opening as a release from bitching about the Elders. "I'm sorry for almost lashing out about the Elders. Its just unfair and I just realized that I've been putting my feelings before yours. Sure, you must be happy to see me, but I'm no Piper or Phoebe. How does it feel knowing that you're restricted from seeing them?"
Prue was about to lower her head, hurt that she was forbidden to see her sisters, but kept her head high. "It's not easy at all for me to know I'm only allowed to see one of three of my sisters. I understand that us meeting is important, but the Elders specifically told me that both Piper and Phoebe still aren't completely over my death. Why would they be all these years later, if they haven't already?"
"Good point," Paige agreed. "There were still times where I just felt like your replacement, but not lately. I came into my own destiny and my sisters are still there for me now, if not more, than when we had the Charmed gig together. It's so nice to hear them call me daily, seeing how I am, keeping me updated on their lives and so on. I truly feel like my place in the sisterhood has been established."
"That's just what I want to hear," Prue said. "Now...I want to hear more of this world, but let's start heading upstairs. There's something I want to show you."
"In my house?" Paige asked. "Shouldn't I be the tour guide?"
"Come on," Prue said with a smile. Both witches left the kitchen together.
(X)
Henry was sitting down at the edge of the dock. His sneakers and socks were placed on the left of him and his jeans were rolled up to an inch below his knees. His ankles and feet were in the water with no concern for how cold it was. The chills of the lake were more comforting then the intense questions of the father in-law who stood behind him.
"Do we really have to go through this?" Henry asked. "I'm just not very open on sharing all the families I've had."
"We'll start simple. How many foster homes have you been to?" Sam asked, staring into the lake that once possessed a monster that killed the love of his life, as well as himself.
"Three," Henry breathed. "And I only count the ones that kept me for over a year."
"And how many have you told Paige about?"
"Two," the mortal answered. "She knows that I have been with another family, but I also promised that I would tell her one day. I'm just not ready to right now."
"Why don't you try sharing with me first?" Sam suggested, but Henry kept quiet. "Listen, it's not as if I'm trying to get some gossip to share with Penny. I'm just looking to get to know you, discover who the man is that is married to my daughter. Sure, we could always take it slow and talk about our favorite colors and what we watched when growing up, but something tells me that in this case, the little things aren't going to be what we remember."
"Alright," Henry gave in. "Well, one of the two lives I shared with Paige was my latest and it was the good life. I still keep in touch with them. I plan on bringing Paige to meet them sometime soon. I don't want to show up one day with our son or daughter. But I had an extremely horrible childhood that involved serious abuse."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Sam consoled.
"Apologies don't heal," Henry shot back. Rethinking his childhood always brought out the anger in Henry. "I was a victim at six years old. I should've been playing with toys, learning to color within the lines, but my adoptive father would just beat the crap out of me instead. I even grew defiant against him since I was with him until age nine. He was my only parent at the time and expected me to call him 'Dad', but he wasn't worthy of that title. When he realized I would never call him what he wanted, he tried to make me call him "Sir". That is a title for someone you respect or someone that you know you should respect. No monster that would throw a child deserves that respect!"
Henry's face was red and disgusted as he recounted the memories. How did he ever end up in the hands of that man? How did the foster home find him worthy of a child? With that family, there used to be a mother who received abuse herself. Henry wanted to respect how she saved herself, but hate overrode respect as she pretty much left him to die. Henry was an innocent cub that was forced to defend himself against his ferocious lion of a father.
Sam was quiet. He understood on why Henry kept this a secret. He knew how he wanted to help him.
(X)
"I still don't understand what you have to show me in my own house," Paige said, entering the altar room behind Prue.
"You'll find out in a minute or so. Back to Providere Universitas; you mentioned that you weren't involved in any spell casting, so I can assume that there was a battle, wasn't there?" Prue asked, making her way over to the podium with the Matthews Book of Shadows. She first placed her hands on the midnight blue leather, before opening it, and flipping through the pages one-by-one.
Paige was curious as to why she was looking through Paige's book, but just answered her question instead. "Yeah, we were going into our Ultimate and final battle. We went against these three warlocks, best known as, the Rowe Coven. They were pretty fierce and we really had to work together to defeat them."
"The Rowe Coven?" Prue said, not taking her eyes off the magically aged pages. "I'm guessing they were only inserted into that world because they had the potential to be the greatest threat in this world, if it wasn't for me convincing Brendan that he was right and that he could fight against his nature of being a warlock. The concept of that world was for you to come together with your sisters and it's safe to say we would've all had to come together to take them out."
"We did come together," Paige said. "You actually saved me from being Darklighter dinner. Well, not that Darklighters are really cannibals, but you get what I mean."
"I did?" Prue asked and finally stopped flipping through the pages. "I'm not surprised that we had each other's backs, but its just a new concept of me saving you as opposed to Piper or Phoebe."
Paige smiled, "Yeah, you saved me. He was ready to kill me and you waved your hand..." she said, demonstrating the way Prue swiped the air, "...and a great blast tore him apart. You figured it to be an advancement of your power."
Prue grinned, realizing what advancement she was talking about. "Glad you stayed alive. Those who enter the world are forced out if they are killed."
"I was forced out anyway," Paige pouted.
"You were forced out because you had experienced enough to remember the feelings. Understand that the world you experienced may have been fantastic in ways that can't be counted off with two hands, but that's not reality. Magic was showing you that life could've been very similar to that, but it may not have shown you the troubles that come with that life and how much sweat and energy would go into making that world," Prue explained. "Cherish the life you have here. This is your story and you use the pen in your hand to get where you want."
"Wise words, Prue." Paige complimented. "You had a lot of those, especially in your final entry. You spoke of how you would never give in the fight, raise Aaron to be a powerful witch and leader, and how to treat everyday as if it was your last. Normally, I'd shout 'Cliche!', but considering the situation and how we live our lives, they were just...wise words."
Prue continued to grin, now resuming the flipping of the tome. "Out of curiosity, Paige, I have a question of my own. I'll admit, I was doing a little eavesdropping this morning as I have done an embarrassing amount of times and I heard you tell Sam that Mom's death was replaced with him dying instead. How did I survive?" The eldest sister continued to stare at the pages, remembering how she felt around the time of her death...
She pushed the doctor out of harm...she was protecting an Innocent because that was her job, her duty, her responsibility. The murderous assassin Shax then unleashed a deadly blow against her chest...one that didn't allow her enough time to deflect it and the demon's attack knocked the wind out of her. She soared backwards, crashing through the plaster first before going through the entire structure of the wall, landing into the conservatory. She slammed onto the floor, her head bounced once and slammed back down onto the floor. She then lied there motionless, in desperate need of healing, with no one quick enough to give it to her. If only she had someone that wouldn't have needed to be calledto always be right by her side...
"I healed you." Paige answered. Her sister's head slowly lifted up and just stared at her. Deciding to cut the silence, as Prue did earlier when first being summoned, and added, "You were actually the one that told me that I healed you as Leo took care of Piper."
"It must've been pretty close." Prue meekly said. She took a deep breath before flipping through the pages. "So I would bet money that you're wondering what I'm looking for, right?"
"I sure am lucky that I didn't put down any wages," Paige joked. "Yeah, I am curious."
"Well, as I'm sure you and our sisters figured out by now that family members can pass along knowledge from the afterlife," Prue assumedcorrectly. "I personally made an entry into your Book of Shadows about my powers. I discovered that you, as of lately, possess the power of telekinesis. Then you had that battle with, uh..."
"Zankou?" Paige completed, assuming she'd be talking about her astral advancement.
"Yeah, with Zankou and Leo decided it was the right time to teach you guys the method of astral projection," Prue reminded.
"Could you possibly explain that to me and I'll pass it along to Piper and Phoebe? How is it possible that you were able to teach someone that power? We were under the impression it was a power of your own," Paige said, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.
"Astral projection is a power that came to me, based on my own emotions and development of my being a witch. But powers don't make a witch, it's the knowledge a witch has. I always knew we were powerful because we had Charmed power, but we were the witches we were...I was the witch I was and you guys are the witches you are because of knowledge." Prue then slapped her hands on the pages. "Without the Book of Shadows, we would've all been dead together long ago. Our key to survival was being able to know beforehand how to destroy these demons, warlocks, and so on. Our ancestors didn't exactly guess the ingredients that went into a potion that would work, but they only learned by trial and error."
"Like your animal conjuring spell?" Paige asked, remembering the difficulty she had trying to summon a single white dove.
"Yeah, and like you, I didn't get it on my first try. I started to think ahead and wanted to see if we could find a way to teach people to use our powers, knowing that a time would come when we all passed, and our powers might need to be available to future generations. I did some reading and found out that powers like telekinesis couldn't really be duplicated, but astral projection could," Prue explained.
"And who was your test monkey?" Paige asked.
"The lovely Leo," Prue answered with a chuckle. "He was the assigned Whitelighter and I asked him to keep it in confidence for it was one of those powers that could end up taking over you. We were the Charmed Ones and whenever we engaged in battle, situations tended to get intense and with intensity, desperation to do right tends to follow. The trigger for astral projection is desperation, whether it be desperate to be in two places at once or desperate to have an extra you."
"We definitely needed a decoy," Paige said. "So that goes in the 'Extra You' category."
Prue pulled out the black ribbon of the three, for no special reason, and placed it in-between the two pages she was currently on. She closed the Book and picked it up, holding it against her chest. "Exactly. I introduced the idea to Leo and he was able to do it with some practice. Since he wasn't really in any desperate state, it took a while, but I think I can also blame it on his being a full Whitelighter."
Prue walked past Paige, who followed without having to be told and the two walked through the hallway and down the steps. Prue continued, "But since you are half Whitelighter, I think that's why the method was also easier for you because your witch side allowed it to be so. The fact that you were able to orb that book puzzled me because astral selves aren't supposed to be able to tap into their powers until they reach a greater strength. Any idea how you did it?"
The two reached the landing and walked into the conservatory. It was different to that of the Halliwell manor. The room was shaped like an octagon, two sides were entrances and the opposite four sides were the stained glass windows. The windows were an assortment of colors, like all stained glass windows; there was sapphire blue, cobalt, green and a bright yellow. There was a potted plant in the corner of the room that was only put there because Henry told Paige it was pointless to have the room without one. The plant was still growing in size, but it was their creation.
"I have no idea how I did it, I just panicked," Paige said. "I must admit, I kinda forgot that you can't access your powers. I have an occasional flaw of memory loss in tense situations. I'm working on it though."
Prue laughed as she set the tome down on the white wicker bench. "Work on your forgetfulness later, right now we're going to work on your telekinetic power."
"What? Really?" Paige asked, excited. "Wow, we're going to have two telekinetics in the house."
"I assume you're talking about your charge, Billie. Sure, she has the power, but if you practiced it, yours would be stronger without a doubt. I would still suggest -once you get your powers back- your use those as your primary powers. They're your strongest without a doubt, but use standard telekinesis in less intense situations," Prue suggested. "Now. Let's start training."
(X)
Henry and Sam were now sitting in the Whitelighter's cabin. A brown towel was wrapped around the body of the shivering bare-chest mortal, whose teeth happened to be chattering fiercely. His dampened white shirt lay next to him balled up and his leather jacket was hanging from the opposite armrest of the faded red couch he sat on. Henry's dark hair was wet, but drying fast as he didn't have much hair for the water to stay soaked.
"Do you at least feel better now?" Sam asked. "I can always lend you a shirt."
Henry nodded. Upon confessing his story of abuse to Sam, Henry, took off his jacket and shirt and dived into the water, hoping to literally cool off the hot head that came with the confession. His jeans were drenched as he didn't bother to take them off and we're tight against his legs now, causing great discomfort. "I'm better, thanks. How's that coffee coming along?"
Sam turned around to a table that had two piles of papers as well as a white coffee brewer. The pale brown liquid was growing in heat, but the roasted seeds still hadn't finished settling yet. "Nope, sorry, son. I feel that Prue will be leaving Paige soon as time is almost up, but I owe you an answer now. You are still curious as to why I continue to stay here, aren't you?"
"Honestly?" Henry said, fighting to stop his teeth from chattering, "I'm not. I have a question of my own. You asked me something personal and it's only fair I get to ask you something in return."
"You're right. It is fair. What is it you have in mind?" Sam replied, folding his hands before him.
"Why didn't you just risk punishment as opposed to giving up your daughter? Your only daughter at that. Paige was right, she was worth it! Even if they were going to kill you, where the hell do you get off putting yourself before your child!" Henry shouted, standing up now. "If a bullet comes at my child, you can guarantee that I will throw my body in the way! That's what parents are supposed to do! They're supposed to put their children before them and I have parents who taught me that, as well as parents who showed me the parent I don't want to be!"
Henry took sharp breaths as he stared at Paige's father.
"You sure have been suppressing some feelings, haven't you?" Sam questioned. "Let me ask you this before I answer your question; how long have you been having those feelings? Have you always felt angry at me for Paige?"
"A little, yeah," Henry answered. "But when I watched my wife today on the verge of tears because she felt worthless, it helped me sky rocket to being disgusted with how she considers you a parent. I don't know what's worse out of being abused almost every day or completely abandoned. She had great parents, but she must've always wondered what her life had been like had you and her mother been around to raise her. Her trip to that world proves that."
"You're right. I wasn't a very good father. You know, I wasn't a father at all to her. I want to change that though and she's willing to give me a chance. That's what counts," Sam responded. "As for me giving her up. I wasn't under the same mentality as you. I can say this; you have the potential to be a fantastic father, Henry. I don't doubt that. You already sound as if you'll be a better father."
Henry wanted to thank him, but he was still somewhat furious. He watched Sam turn around and take a few steps forward, before turning back to Henry.
"Coffee is ready."
(X)
Crash. Shatter.
A clear vase now lay shattered on the floor next to the growing plant. Paige had her arm extended and shifted her head to cast Prue an ashamed look. "Oops..."
"Paige, we're not stopping until you get this right and if that means breaking everything in this house, so be it. Just being able to move something isn't enough as you need to gain full control. That kind of telekinetic action will only work when battling demons," Prue explained "Onto kitchenware now."
"Not the kitchenware!" Paige begged. "Piper will kill me if she finds out that I destroyed her housewarming present."
"Then let's get it right," Prue said. "Look at the bright side; if she does kill you, we can hang out some more." Prue grinned and turned her attention to the two chairs in front of her. On the left of her was a third chair that had a pile of dinner plates. "Also, Paige, you broke a plate earlier so Piper's going to be on your butt anyway."
"Good point," Paige said with pursed lips.
"Let's get this right now. Move the plate from the first chair to the second," Prue said. "Should I demonstrate again?"
"No, I understand the concept of moving one thing to another," Paige replied. "Besides, you shouldn't even have your powers, I thought it passed onto me and blended with my Whitelighter magic."
"Wrong." Prue said. "You were given the power of telekinesis because it's what was required as the third power to fit in with the Charmed triad. If it had been Piper or Phoebe, you would've received their powers."
"I might as well have Piper's power now with the way I'm destroying things," Paige joked. Seconds passed and she stopped joking and concentrated, wanting to prove herself to Prue. She wished she had her actual powers now to completely show off how good she is, but that option wasn't available. She cleared her mind and just focused on the plate. Prue suggested that she needs to want it to happen, to envision it happening and then she just had to will it with the proper motion.
Paige gently curved her fingers and made sure she had space in-between each finger. She slowly began to move the plate from the pile and steadied her arm, careful not to move too fast. She mentally moved the plate to the first chair, which was her destination. She carefully placed it down and repeated the process, moving onto the second chair. Like the first, she placed the plate down on the chair.
"Well, look who just got a 'Get Out of Heaven Free' card," Prue commented, smiling at her sister's success. "I'm glad you're gaining control, sis. It's important considering that it's the only power you have to defend yourself. Be sure to study the Book to enhance your astral ability. Grams would be proud of you for practicing your powers being pregnant. I saw with Piper that they tended to get..."
"Wonky?" Paige finished. "Yeah, she was the one that told me I should keep my powers in check. Too bad I don't have my actual powers to keep in check."
"Come on, let's sit," Prue said, leading Paige to her own dining room. Only one chair was at the table and Prue extended her hand at the chair that was free of any plates. The chair slid across the floor, luckily not scraping it and halted beside her. She personally sat down on that chair as Paige pulled out the remaining chair and sat down.
"Don't take not having your powers so hard. You're bound to get them back, but you know it's going to take some great deed or something. Let's talk children," Prue said. "Do you have any idea on what the gender is? Are you going to raise him or her as a little witchlighter?"
"No idea on what the gender is," Paige said. "Henry and I made an appointment to find out soon. We're eager so we can start picking out names. Being a mother, I have to admit is freaking me out though. I'm not sure if I'm cut out for it.It's taken me a while to get my own life in order and with a new destiny, I'm supposed to throw being a mother in there?"
"Halliwell women are powerful in being able to do this, Paige. It doesn't matter what your last name is, you are in fact a Halliwell, one of us, and because of that is why you're capable. It won't be easy, but you can do it," Prue said. "Besides, you have a husband that I'm sure is just great and you got a best friend that happens to live here with you. You know all you have to do is call Phoebe over here and she'll be here before you hang up the phone and Piper is an accomplished mother."
"I just don't want to let him or her down," Paige said, concerned. The idea of someone living off how they were taken care of by someone else frightened her.
"You need to get used to the idea that your life is changing, Paige," Prue advised. A wide-grin then spread across her face. "In fact, I have the perfect way to get you on the change railroad."
"What do you have in mind?" Paige questioned, admittedly a little nervous.
"Well. Phoebe once needed change and I happened to help her go blonde and maybe it's time for you to just go for a little change," Prue suggested. "You looked beautiful with the red and that blonde, so why not try one of those again?"
"Hmm. Henry did have the idea playing in mind a couple weeks ago after he made a hair color potion. I should maybe just experiment with his potion..."
"And risk going bald or something? I'm sorry, but you shouldn't risk it and I've been successful once, I can do it again," a confident Prue spoke. She always strived to be the best she could in everything she did. "If it goes wrong, we can always cast a spell that can undo the damage you won't receive." Prue smirked.
"Fine. If you let me down, I'll ruin your 'Prue is Perfect' reputation," Paige joked, standing up with her sister.
"I doubt I will, but I'm a ghost..." Prue started, throwing her arm around Paige's shoulders, "I will haunt you if you do."
(X)
A yellow towel was wrapped around Paige's head as she stood in her bathroom, alone. She looked in the mirror and just smiled at her day so far. She had just spent an hour doing her hair with her sister, having small talk about what they were each like in high school, as well as past crushes. Prue had even filled in Paige on why she never became a Whitelighter. Although Prue had done a lot of good as a Charmed One, she was a witch and witches weren't offered the spot of a Whitelighter too often. Once Prue settled with the idea of being dead, she decided it was best for her to just watch how her sisters moved on. It wasn't in her place to guide their lives any longer.
Prue had left Paige about five minutes ago to allow her to do some final touches on her hair and she was just getting ready to unwrap it. The bathroom had been victim to Paige's dye equipment. As she told Prue, she had been anticipating a new color and went out and bought several possibilities ahead of time. The box of her selection lay open and there were a pair of gloves lying inside a basket that was layered with tissues. The dark red stained gloves were used by Prue, just for precaution. She didn't want to risk going back into the afterlife with stained hands, which Paige chuckled at.
With both hands, she untied the knot of the towel and dropped it, not realizing that it was staining her white doormat. She gazed into the mirror and was no longer a brunette as she had beautiful red hair. She had her red hair at a time where her hair was shorter, and now that is was back at full length, she felt better. She looked fantastic and was loving the look and felt a wave of change brought upon her already. She spun around, throwing her head back and forth, letting her soft hair smack her in the neck several times. Pleased, she left the bathroom in the mess it was to show it off to her sister.
She entered the altar room where she saw Prue closing the Book of Shadows. "How do I look?"
"Beautiful. Henry is going to go crazy, though you two better not be getting crazy," Prue joked. "I'm glad we were able to bond all this time. I hope we're so fortunate to be able to do it again some day."
"Wait..." Paige walked further into the room, leaving about a two foot difference between the two sisters, "Are you leaving now?" The joy in Paige's face was now replaced with discomfort.
"I have to," Prue meekly replied. "I'm not supposed to be here for so long. We just have to take our time for what it was; we shared memories and laughs. We got some necessary sisterly bonding in."
"Yeah, we did," Paige said. "Before you go, can I ask you one last question?"
"Of course, Paige."
Paige took in a deep breath, "After you died and found out about me...how did you feel when you initially found out you had another sister? And how I was hidden from you?"
"Honestly?" Prue said, folding her arms. "I was pissed off at Mom. I was even pushing her away when she wanted to console me about my death and that was a time I needed her the most. Nonetheless, I pushed her away. I felt as if I could've taken care of you and watched over you, the same way I did for Piper and Phoebe. We were denied years of bonding and it isn't fair that I don't know if I'll be able to come back here after I leave here today. We shouldn't have to squeeze everything in one day because Mom was scared. I've learned to make my peace with this though and that's why I stand here grateful to finally meet you."
Paige took a couple of steps forward and threw her arms around her sister, hugging her. "I'm glad I got to meet you as well. It's helped me feel complete in being a part of this family."
Prue brushed Paige's hair, kissed her on the cheek and stepped back. "It was great meeting you, Paige." Prue stopped walking backwards and stopped right in front of the candles that were still lit. She held out her arm and mentally flipped open the Book. She winked at Paige and took the final step backwards, becoming dead once again and turned into a spirit. "I hope to see you soon, sis."
"You too," Paige replied, smiling, yet fighting back tears.
A swirl of golden spheres spiraled around Prue, consuming her and a warm golden glow enveloped her as she drifted from her spiritual circle. Paige wondered if she'd ever see her sister appear in that circle again. The witch walked over to the Book of Shadows and saw that there was a pen in-between the pages, holding it as a mark. There was a page that was freshly written on.
Paige,
You've shown me today that I really missed out on meeting another sister. It's unfortunate that fear of power stood in the way, but we can't hold grudges. Destiny found a way to bring you together with your family and we all love you. I hope we'll be able to meet again, but know that I'll be looking out for you. I'll be that familiar presence that you can trust is protecting you.
Love,
Prue.
Paige had done a lot of smiling today, but this one was the biggest. She rubbed her palm against the page, feeling closer by touching the words.
A column of orbs appeared and Henry stood there, looking around to confirm where he was. He was pressing his jacket against his chest with one hand as the other held onto his two shoes. The towel was no longer wrapped around his shoulders.
"Henry, where's Sam?" Paige asked. "Wait, where's your shirt?"
"Me and your father didn't really get along. I just asked for him to orb me home," Henry answered. "I'm sorry, but that man I hold no respect for." The mortal then stormed out of the room, obviously too upset to ask Paige about her encounter with Prue.
"So much for Henry wanting to have sex with me when he sees my hair," the witch said as she chased after her husband.
Her Book of Shadows remained open, until it magically closed from an unreachable force...
End of Chapter.
A/note: And that ends the Prue two-parter. I hope you guys enjoyed my portrayal of her. I have a couple of people to thank. 1) Temporal Death for requesting that I include that little info on Paige's blood being included with her Book. I've thought up a fun way for the Book to protect itself because of it. So thanks again. 2) Reyn for helping me out with all that hair color stuff. Highly appreciated.
Final note, if there are any errors, I apologize. Im working off WordPad so I dont have anything to indicate error. I hope it wasn't too distracting. Do me a solid and leave a review.