A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!

Chapter Twenty One: Feats of Clay (And The Sleep Dispossession Charm)

'A Sleep Dispossession Charm?' Piper read. She frowned. 'Paige, that sounds very dangerous.'

'What's more dangerous? Me remaining awake until we figure out what's going on or me waking up in the middle of a demon's lair?'

'When you put it like that…' said Piper.

Paige nodded. 'Precisely, Piper. I do not care about the personal gain consequences of using the charm. I just know that I cannot help the three of you with your problems if I am either asleep or who knows where.'

'Fine,' said Piper. 'Maybe we should speak to Prue and Phoebe first, though.'

'Were you going to talk to them about your confidence charm for Doug first?' asked Paige, knowing the answer.

'No, but that's different,' said Piper.

'No it's not,' said Paige. 'I can only be alert enough to help you make the charm for Doug if you help me with this 'Sleep Dispossession' charm first.'

Reluctantly, Piper agreed.

Piper and Paige got the ingredients together and put them into a bowl. Piper began to crush the herbs while Paige set up some candles.

After ten minutes they were ready.

'Okay, the Book says that you need to sit in the middle of the circle of candles and sprinkle some of this over yourself as you chant the words of the charm,' said Piper.

Paige sat in the middle of the circle of candles. Piper lit the candles and passed Paige the bowl. Paige took a handful from the bowl and started to sprinkle it over herself.

Piper held the Book up for Paige to read while doing this.

'Sleep I no longer want,

Find another being to haunt,

Sleep I now dispossess,

Now I no longer need to rest.'

Paige finished. Her head felt cloudy at first and her head lolled.

'Paige?' said Piper worried.

Suddenly the cloudiness cleared and Paige whipped her head back up. Paige felt no ounce of tiredness. She stood up and left the circle, jumping up and down. She was full of energy.

'Right, Piper. Now onto the charm for Dougy!' said Paige gleefully.

'Are you okay, Paige?' asked Piper.

'Of course I am! I feel like I can do anything!' said Paige.

'That's the charm taking effect, I guess,' said Piper.

Paige nodded extremely fast.

Piper and Paige worked together to get the confidence charm sorted. Paige was extremely energetic and lively that she accidentally put too much of some of the ingredients in. Piper had already doubled the required ingredients, so the explosion consumed the room.

'Oh well, that will just make him extra super-duper confident,' said Paige as the smoke cleared.

Piper and Paige were coughing as Prue and Phoebe ran into the attic.

Piper explained about the confidence charm on Doug which was followed by not-so-subtle hints from Prue about Phoebe and Clay's relationship.

Prue and Phoebe had noticed Paige fidgeting next to Piper during the whole of this conversation.

'Are you okay, Paige?' asked Phoebe.

'Never been more awake in my life,' said Paige. 'Why?'

'Prue told me about your sleep problems,' said Phoebe. 'You do not seem quite anywhere near as tired as Prue suggested.'

'That's because before we did the confidence charm on Doug, we did a 'Sleep Dispossession' charm on me.'

''Sleep Dispossession'? That sounds dangerous,' said Prue grimacing. 'Piper, why did you let her do this?'

'I…' began Piper but Paige cut in.

'I did not give her much of an option,' said Paige. 'This means we can find out what is wrong with me before I next need to sleep.'

'So what do you expect to do all night then?' asked Phoebe.

'Well, I was going to research through the Book but I have far too much energy to just sit around and do that,' said Paige. 'Researching never gets me anywhere anyway so it does not matter if I don't do that.'

'Then what was your plan of action?' asked Phoebe.

Paige shrugged. 'I will see where my newly alert mind takes me.'

'Wow, Paige, how can you be so much like Phoebe without being related?' laughed Prue. 'You act before you think.'

'If only you knew,' smiled Paige.

'What's that supposed to mean?' asked Phoebe.

'Let's go to bed,' said Piper, pushing Prue and Phoebe out of the attic to save Paige from having to explain herself.

Piper returned a few minutes later to moan at Paige.

'Paige, you almost let them find out,' said Piper. 'I am absolutely fine if you want to tell them, but not while you are under a charm because you do not seem yourself at all right now.'

Paige nodded cheerfully.

'Good night, Paige,' said Piper.

'Good night to you, not to me,' said Paige. 'I am not going to sleep.'

'Good night, Paige,' repeated Piper as she left the attic. Piper was obviously fretting about how the charm had affected Paige.

'Paige, what are you doing here?'

Paige looked up from Prue's desk to see Prue standing at her office door.

'Hey Prue,' said Paige. 'I got bored at the manor and noticed you still had the keys for Bucklands from when you were working for Rex so I decided to come here in the early hours and make sure everything was prepared for the auction today.'

'Paige, what happened to trying to figure out your sleep problem?' asked Prue.

Paige shrugged. 'I don't have to worry about it now that I never have to sleep again.'

'Paige, we are not going to keep that charm on you forever,' said Prue. 'I was hoping we could have it lifted pretty soon. You don't seem yourself.'

'Not having to sleep has removed a lot of my worries,' said Paige.

'So what were you doing in the manor before you got bored?' asked Prue.

'Well, I spent a few hours coming up with a plan as to how to get you and Andy back together,' said Paige.

'What?' said Prue astounded. 'Paige, I told you to keep out of my relationship troubles.'

'I have not done anything… yet,' said Paige innocently. 'I only came up with a theory. Want to hear it?'

Prue shook her head. 'I would rather not. You will not be putting it into action whatever it is. Andy and I will work something out without your help. Is that all you did before you came to Bucklands?'

Paige shook her head swiftly. 'No. After that I tried to make some potions so as the three of you could have a good supply ready next time you need to vanquish a demon.'

'Were you successful?' asked Prue.

'Nope,' laughed Paige. 'Although Isobel and I often work together to make potions, by myself I am no good. In my failed attempts to make potions I managed to melt a few bowls.'

'With you doing all of that last night, I cannot believe you did not wake one of us up. We did not even wake up when you left the manor,' said Prue.

Paige shrugged.

Paige stood up, freeing up Prue's desk chair, in case she wanted to sit down at her desk.

'I am not staying in my office right now,' said Prue. 'I only came to pick up the final copy of the catalogue. I need to get it photocopied…'

'I did that already,' said Paige. 'Five hundred copies freshly printed.'

'We only needed two hundred, Paige,' laughed Prue. 'This place is close to bankruptcy. We cannot afford to lose money on reprographics.'

'Oops, oh well,' said Paige positively. 'At least you don't have to get that done now. The catalogues are all set out in the auction room. What do you need to do now?'

'Well, I need to go to the auction room to make sure the items are arranged correctly, and basically make sure there are no issues anywhere,' said Prue.

'I'll come with,' said Paige.

'Claire did not like you being here yesterday,' said Prue.

'I doubt Claire likes many things,' said Paige. 'Martin does not like Piper talking to you, Phoebe, and me at Quake, but that still happens.'

'This is different,' said Prue.

'I think that is a new phrase that needs adding to the Halliwell-English dictionary,' said Paige. 'I have had you and Piper both say that to me in the last twelve hours.'

Prue gave up and let Paige accompany her into the auction room. Prue felt too tired to argue with Paige.

Prue and Paige entered the auction room. Claire was already in there with the auctioneer. She saw Prue enter and picked up a catalogue.

'Prue, why are there three hundred extra catalogues?' asked Claire.

'There was a slight administration error in the photocopy room,' lied Prue.

'Really, Prue. I thought you were the only person really invested in saving this train wreck of an auction house from complete bankruptcy,' said Claire, before wandering over to the auctioneer to moan at him about something or another.

Paige turned to Prue and muttered, 'She is totally a Martin clone.'

Prue looked completely embarrassed at this. Claire had turned around and come back over to Prue and Paige.

'Paige!' hissed Prue. 'Why did you have so say that so loudly?'

Paige realised that maybe her mutter may have been more like a shout.

'Excuse me, Miss?' said Claire angrily. She was waiting for an explanation from Paige.

Paige grinned and shrugged. 'Nothing. I was just comparing bosses, Claire.'

'This Martin you mentioned is your boss?' said Claire. She still looked angry.

'Nope, I don't have a boss, I have no job,' said Paige. 'Martin is one of Prue's sisters' bosses.'

Still fuming, Claire continued, 'And what makes me a clone?'

'Ignore her, Claire,' said Prue. 'She does not know what she is talking about. She did not get enough sleep last night. She is a little over tired.'

'No, I am not, Prue,' said Paige. 'I have dispossessed sleep, remember?'

'Claire, don't worry, Paige is leaving now,' said Prue, trying to save her position at Bucklands and not let Paige expose their secret. 'Just ignore her words. You know how strange a person can become when they are so tired.'

Prue pushed Paige out of the auction room and stood in the corridor with her.

'Paige!' hissed Prue.

'What did I do?' smiled Paige.

'Paige, what has this charm done to you?' asked Prue. 'I can understand the not having to sleep part, but why has it made you so careless? And I do not get why the removal of sleep has made you so extra positive.'

Paige shrugged. 'Maybe they are side effects.'

Prue shook her head. 'You are going back to the manor now. How did you get here?'

'I walked,' said Paige.

'You walked? In the dark, cold night?' said Prue.

'I told you, this charm has given me a lot of energy,' Paige said grinning.

'I am going to call Phoebe and tell her to get your car and pick you up to take you back,' said Prue.

Prue phoned the manor but there was no reply.

'Hmm…' said Prue. 'Maybe they are at Quake.'

Prue phoned Quake. There was no reply.

'Piper should be at Quake,' said Prue. 'Even if she was not, there should be someone there to pick up the phone.'

Paige shrugged.

Prue phoned Quake again. There was no reply. She tried this again a couple of times before someone picked up.

'Hi, is Piper there?' asked Prue.

There was a pause while Prue listened to the person's reply.

Paige could hear loud music from where she stood.

'Thank you,' said Prue. 'Bye.'

Prue hung up and put her phone in her bag.

'Is Piper there?' asked Paige.

'No, her shift does not start until later,' said Prue. 'I think that was Doug on the phone. It sounded like he had some loud music going on in the restaurant and a lot of customers.'

'You think the confidence charm worked?' said Paige.

Prue nodded.

Prue tried Piper and Phoebe's own phones. Neither of them picked up.

'This could be bad,' said Prue. 'They could have been attacked by demons.'

'Or they could have just left their phones at the manor,' said Paige.

'A demon attack is more likely,' said Prue.

'This is Phoebe we are talking about,' said Paige. 'It's more likely she just forgot to pick her phone up.'

'Yes, but we are also talking about Piper,' said Prue. 'She is nothing like Phoebe when it comes to that sort of thing.'

'Unless she is on her way to Quake right now,' said Paige. 'When she goes there she does not take her phone because she knows you can contact her by the Quake phone.'

Prue shook her head. 'How can you think so clearly without worry?'

'The charm,' grinned Paige. 'No sleep issues, care free, worry free, able to think clearly without doubts forming in my mind.'

Prue sighed. 'You may feel wide awake, but I feel so tired. I might go for a lie down in my office. I know I told Claire I was getting rid of you, but could you hang around in this corridor and make sure that Claire does not come up to my office?'

Paige nodded. Prue began to walk away, but collapsed to the ground before she had moved far.

'Prue!' shouted Paige. Paige felt strange. She had just seen her sister collapse, but she felt no worry for Prue's well-being, only surprise at what had just occurred.

'Prue, get up!' said Paige as she knelt down to the level of Prue's unconscious body.

Prue was breathing. She appeared to be sleeping.

'Prue!' said Paige.

Paige took Prue's phone from her bag and dialled Quake.

'Hi, is Piper there yet?' Paige asked as soon as the ringing stopped.

'No,' said Doug. 'She is late for her shift, but I don't mind. I can manage this by myself. I better go, I have customers waiting.'

Doug hung up.

Paige could not let Claire see Prue like this in the corridor. Paige began to drag Prue along the floor. She would hide her in the nearest office for now. Not-so-surprisingly (due to the charm), Paige did not find moving Prue's body tiring at all.

Paige left Prue asleep on the floor of the first office she found and closed the door behind her.

Paige returned to the auction room.

'Why are you still here?' said Claire, on seeing Paige enter. 'And where is Prue?'

'Prue had a phone call just now from a very important client who may want to add a last minute item to the catalogue for today's auction. The piece may be priceless so Prue has rushed over to the other side of San Francisco to value it. She may not be back until the last few minutes of the auction,' improvised Paige. 'I am going to be helping out here to make sure everything is set up for the auction.'

'What's your name?' asked Claire.

'Paige Halliwell,' Paige said carelessly. She did not have time to go back on what she said before Claire replied.

'You are a relation of Prue's?' asked Claire.

'Yeah,' said Paige. 'Sister, in fact.'

Claire returned to her original point of asking Paige's name. 'Well, Paige, if Prue is not back with this said priceless artefact before this auction is over, make sure to let her know that she no longer works at Bucklands.' Claire was about to walk away, but then she added, 'Paige, you may stay to help set up, but only because I am low on people. You will not be paid, and I do not expect to see you in Bucklands in future.'

'Definitely a Martin clone,' Paige thought as she nodded to show she understood the instructions.

Over the next few hours Paige worked in the auction room, making sure every item was in place with a lot number assigned to it. While doing this, Paige noticed the urn. She had recalled Prue and Phoebe discussing – or should she say arguing about – it the night before. It was something Clay had bought – or was the right word stolen – from Egypt.

Paige put the urn down as lot number fifty one and then went onto the next item which was some sort of painting.

Every fifteen minutes or so, Paige had been wandering back to the office to see whether Prue had woken up. Prue was still sound asleep every time. Paige could only do this when Claire was not looking, and Paige had not had a chance to phone Quake to see if Piper was there. Paige could not go back to the manor to get the Book because she could not leave Prue alone in Bucklands in case someone (especially Claire) found her asleep on the floor of an office.

Soon the auction was up and running. The room was filled with buyers and the auctioneer was up to lot forty five.

'Paige.' Paige turned around to see Claire beckoning her to the door of the auction room door. 'Paige, I am about to get a fax through consisting of the appraisal of lot fifty one: the urn. Can you go to my office and retrieve the fax when it comes?'

Paige nodded. 'Which one is your office?'

'The first office you find to your right when you leave the auction room,' said Claire. 'I have not been there since this morning, but it is unlocked.'

Paige left the auction room in silent fits of laughter. That meant that the office Paige had hid Prue in was Claire's office. She was so lucky that, one: Claire had not set foot in there since the auction set up had begun; and that, two: Claire had sent Paige to obtain the appraisal fax from Claire's office rather than going to get it herself.

Paige entered Claire's office and checked on Prue. Prue was still sound asleep. Paige took Prue's phone and dialled Quake's number.

'Hello?' It was Doug again.

'Is Piper not there yet?' said Paige.

'No, but it does not matter. I am doing fine on my own,' said Doug. 'I have customers to serve. I will get her to phone you back when she gets here.'

Doug hung up on Paige.

Paige put the phone back in Prue's bag. The fax machine had started to hum, and then some paper came out of it.

Paige looked at the document. A lot of the terminology on it was too boring to read but one word did catch her eye: 'Stolen'.

'This cannot be good for Prue's job,' said Paige. Then she remembered that this stolen piece was about to be auctioned off too.

Paige returned to the auction room, ready to stop the sale of the urn. However, a commotion had taken place. The auctioneer was asleep on his podium. The auctioneer's assistant was lying on the ground, by the table of items, fast asleep. Claire was asleep on the ground by the auction room door. Some of the buyers were trying to wake Claire, the auctioneer, and his assistant up, while the other buyers were sitting around murmuring to each other about what had happened.

Paige ran past the bewildered buyers and removed the urn from the table. She headed for the door.

'You cannot do that! That's stealing!' said one of the buyers.

'I work here,' lied Paige. 'Plus this is already stolen!' There was that careless manner again that made her say more than she should have.

As Paige made her way along the corridor, security staff ran past her into the auction room.

Paige walked into Claire's office with it. Paige knelt down on the floor by Prue's sleeping body.

'Prue, you are not the only one asleep now,' said Paige. 'I wonder if you would figure out what was going on if you were conscious right now.'

A/N: Can you figure out what's going on? Please review.