The Changing Wind
a story by Ryeloza
Chapter Twelve
June 6, 1995
Prue had stormed out of the house, Piper had disappeared somewhere to wrap her head around everything their mother had told them, and their dad had gone over to Grams' to look for Phil. Everyone seemed to need some sort of escape from the big bombshell that had been dropped; even their mom was trying to duck out of sight. Unfortunately for Patty, Phoebe had about a million questions and she was completely unwilling to let up.
"So what is my power? Telepathy? Flying? Ooh, can turn invisible?"
"Phoebe…"
"Come on, Mom. You started this whole true confessions thing. I want to know."
"You had premonitions. But it doesn't matter, Phoebe, because your powers have been bound since you were born. You're not getting them back."
"You took them away; you must have the power to bring them back! Premonitions…that's so cool! I could totally see if Troy's going to ask me out or not."
"That's not exactly how it works, Phoebe."
"What do you need a guardian angel for anyway? Or is that just like a thing everyone has but you know about because you're a witch?"
"Whitelighters are just for witches. And they're to protect you. Being a witch isn't a game; it's serious business. There are horrible monsters out to get you all the time; your life is constant in danger. It's not just a cool power."
"So we fight evil? Like superheroes?"
Patty pinched the bridge of her nose and Phoebe knew she was wearing on her mother's already frayed nerves. She couldn't help herself, though; despite what her mother said, this was the most amazing thing she'd ever learned. She'd always known she was meant for more than the ordinary. This was why.
"Mom, you have to give us our powers back. I mean, what are these Elder guys really going to care, anyway? We're going to fight evil for them! They should be kissing our asses!"
"They don't exactly see it that way, Phoebe."
"Whatever happened to your Whitelighter anyway? Did you break up? Did you leave him for Dad?"
"I don't know what happened to Sam, Phoebe. I never found out. He went to speak with the Elders and never came back. I called for him, waited for months, but…" Patty trailed off and gave a small sigh.
For the first time, Phoebe's excitement faded. Suddenly her mother looked older than her forty-five years; tired and worn-down and sad. "Don't you want to know why?" she asked quietly. "Couldn't you ask the Elders?"
"And risk them finding you girls?"
"Mom, what do you think they're going to do to us that's so bad?"
"I don't know, Phoebe. And I don't plan on finding out."
"But Mom, what if he's in trouble? What if he's been waiting all these years for you to rescue him?"
Patty frowned. "The Elders don't work that way. Look, you've always been my curious little girl, but Phoebe, I need you to let this go. It's all in the past." She planted a kiss on the top of Phoebe head. "It's over." Patty walked out of the room, leaving Phoebe alone.
"It's over," Phoebe repeated, under her breath. Except for the fact that all of this was happening right now at this moment, tearing their family apart. Maybe it wasn't a matter of just finding Phil and getting her to come back home. Would everything really just go back to normal after that? Phoebe couldn't believe that they'd all just forget this.
No, really, this was all about bringing the whole family back together. Grams and Mom and Prue and Piper and Phil and Dad and her…and Phil's father too. They needed to heal.
And Phoebe could only think of one way to do this.
Now she just had to figure out how to call a Whitelighter.
