Author's Note: So far, this has been my favorite chapter to write. Especially after Paige and Henry hijacked the plot and took in a completely different direction than what I had planned. :) I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading and reviewing; I love hearing what you think.
Chapter Twenty-One
"What?" Paige demanded, incredulously, her hand falling away from the door handle as she stared at Henry in shock.
"I think we should get married," Henry told her, clearly nervous but pushing ahead, nonetheless.
Paige gaped at him, soundlessly, a million protests running through her mind. The foremost one being the fact that they hadn't even known each other for a week, certainly not long enough to make such a life-altering decision. Not to mention that she didn't even really know Henry – except that she knew that he was unbelievably brave, and he clearly cared for Tyler, and it was becoming pretty clear that he had some pretty strong feelings for her, as well.
And, if she was going to be honest, she'd never found herself falling so hard and so fast for anyone, before. It was a little terrifying, actually, to feel such a deep connection to another person. Over the last three days, Henry had been in her thoughts practically every second that she wasn't with him. And when they were together, she felt like she'd known him for years.
But, it was such a huge, life-altering decision.
'Any bigger than rearranging your life to adopt Tyler?' a little voice in the back of her head, asked, wryly. 'Bigger than discovering magic, and demons, and your sisters?'
When she glanced over at Henry, he was still looking at her, expectantly.
"Why?" she finally asked him, quietly. "Why do you want to marry me?"
"Well," Henry said, thoughtfully, "in the short term, because of Tyler. You've seen it yourself, that foster kids are placed better in two parent homes, and I don't want to lose Tyler any more than you do."
"Really?" Tyler asked, softly, and Henry reached out and pulled the boy over, hugging him to his side.
"Definitely," he reassured him.
"Cool," was all Tyler said, but he had a huge, beaming grin on his face, and Paige could already feel her resolve starting to melt at the pure happiness in his expression.
Part of her would have said yes on that, alone, to see Tyler safe and happy. But, another part of her needed to know for sure, know that Tyler wasn't the only reason that Henry was asking her to marry him.
"You said in the short term," she said, quietly. "But, what about the long term?"
"I love you," Henry said, earnestly, reaching out and grabbing her hands. "Paige, I've loved you since practically the first moment I saw you. You are the most courageous, spirited, amazing woman I've ever known, and I can't imagine loving anyone else. I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I want to wake up beside you in the morning and fall asleep beside you at night. I want us to grow old together." Pausing, he added, "I want you to say yes before I have to resort to lovesick clichés that just end up embarrassing us both."
Paige grinned at his small joke, but then the smile turned sad as something occurred to her.
"This future that we came from," Paige asked, hesitantly, "we loved each other, didn't we?"
"Yeah," Henry said, quietly. "Why do you think I came back with you?"
"Then, yes," Paige told him, and she watched his eyes light up. "I will marry you, Henry Mitchell."
Laughing, Henry grabbed her and pulled her to him, kissing her quickly. Paige leaned against him, kissing him back as she twined her fingers with his.
"But," she cautioned, as she finally, reluctantly, pulled away from him, "we'd better hope that the judge is satisfied with just an engagement, since I don't think that we can get married in the next five minutes."
Before Henry could say anything, a young man in a suit approached them from down the hallway, a stack of papers in his hands.
"Oh, are you folks here for the Martin case hearing?" he asked, when he saw them.
"Don't tell me we're late," Paige said, dread pooling in her stomach at the idea.
"No, no," the young man hastened to reassure them. "As a matter of fact, the hearing has been postponed for a couple of hours. The judge was inevitably delayed."
"So, when is the hearing?" Paige asked, and the young man glanced at the bright yellow sticky note on the top of the stack of papers in his arms.
"Seven pm," he answered. "In two and a half hours," he added, glancing quickly at his watch. "I'm sorry if this has inconvenienced you in any way."
"Not at all," Paige told him, shooting Henry a wry glance. "No, thank you for coming to tell us."
"My pleasure," the young man answered, and then he left them standing in the hallway.
"You were saying?" Henry asked, arching an eyebrow. "You know, I think I saw the county clerk's office down on the first floor."
"Are we even going to be able to get a marriage license this fast?" Paige asked, doubtfully, and Henry shrugged.
"We can try," he told her.
"Okay," Paige said. "Let's go get married."
As they walked back to the elevator, Paige dug her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Piper. After three rings, her sister answered.
"How'd you like to come to a wedding?" Paige asked, before Piper could say anything.
"Whose?" Piper asked, and Paige grinned at Henry.
"Mine," she answered, and there was a stunned silence on the other end of the line.
"You're getting married?" Piper demanded, incredulously, and Paige could hear a distant exclamation that sounded like it came from Prue. "When?"
"As soon as Henry and I can get the marriage license approved," Paige told her. "So, what do you say? Can I count on my sisters to stand by my side?"
"We'll be there," Piper promised. "Hey, do you need Prue and me to pick you up anything?"
"I need my driver's license; it's in my purse," Paige said, and then she trailed off when she realized that she hadn't seen the bag since earlier that afternoon when she'd been grabbed by the Furies.
"Your purse is in my car," Henry spoke up, having heard her. "You dropped it when the Furies attacked, and I took it with me."
"Well, where's your car?" Paige asked.
"Parked in front of the Manor," Henry told her. "Tell Piper that your purse is on the floor of the passenger seat, and my car keys are sitting on the table in the foyer."
"I heard," Piper told her. "We'll get your purse to you in a minute."
"Thanks," Paige said, gratefully.
She hung up the phone as they stepped onto the elevator, and a few seconds after the doors slid shut, a bright white light filled the small space. When the light cleared, Andy was standing in the middle of the elevator car with Paige's purse in his hands.
"Here," he told her, handing her the purse. "Piper and Prue will be here in about half an hour. They've got some things to get ready before your wedding."
"What kind of things?" Paige asked, suspiciously.
"With those two?" Andy said, with a wry smile. "Anything's possible."
"Should I be worried?" Paige asked Henry, as Andy orbed away.
"Nah," Henry said, with a shrug. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Paige just shook her head, ruefully. When the elevator stopped on the first floor, they headed for the county clerk's office. And forty-five minutes later, they walked out with their marriage license.
"So, now we just have to find someone to officiate," Paige said, and Henry reached out to take the marriage license from her.
"Tyler and I will take care of that," he reassured her. "You go talk to your sisters."
He nodded to where Piper and Prue had just walked into the courthouse, Piper with a dress bag slung over her arm. Prue waved quickly to get her attention, and Paige crossed the lobby to where her sisters were standing.
"What is that?" Paige asked, nodding at the dress bag, but her sisters just took her by the arms and started steering her toward the restroom down the hall.
"You'll see," Prue told her, mysteriously.
The restroom was empty when they entered, and Piper hung the dress bag from a coat hook on the wall. She unzipped the bag and pulled a lacy, ivory wedding dress that made Paige gasp in amazement.
"That's beautiful," she murmured, brushing her fingers lightly over the delicate material.
"It was Mom's dress," Piper told her, with a small smile. "Prue and I thought that you should get to wear it, today."
"Oh, Piper, I can't-" Paige protested, automatically, but Piper cut her off with an upraised hand.
"You cannot get married in the same clothes that you vanquished demons in," she said, sternly. "It's a family rule."
"Since when?" Prue asked, with a laugh.
"Since now," Piper told her. "Come on," she encouraged Paige. "Try the dress on."
Paige stripped out of her work clothes, folding up the jeans and blouse, neatly and setting them on the counter. Then, she slipped the dress on, adjusting the skirt as it fell to the floor.
"A perfect fit," Prue told her, helping her settle the dress where it lay on her shoulders.
"All right," Piper said, passing Paige a small bag. "Makeup and other essentials; Prue and I will be right back."
"Should I be concerned about whatever you two are up to?" Paige asked, suspiciously, but all she got from her sisters was a pair of bright smiles as they disappeared out of the door.
"And to think," Paige muttered to the empty room, "my life used to be so simple."
Standing in front of the mirror, she started carefully working on her makeup, but she had to stop when an unexpected burst of tears filled her eyes, blinding her. Paige hastily wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffing slightly.
"I'm getting married," she said to her reflection, a catch in her voice. "I'm in love, and I'm getting married."
She could hardly believe it, even saying the words out loud didn't seem real. But, the reality of the situation hit her suddenly when she glanced down at her watch, and saw how little time she had left. Muttering quietly under her breath, Paige looked in the mirror, again, to keep working on her makeup, but her vision was still blurry, and she could barely see her own reflection. Then she blinked, and suddenly she wasn't standing in the courthouse restroom, any longer.
She was sitting in front of her vanity, doing her makeup, when a swirl of bright lights filled the room behind her. Paige whirled around, a smile breaking out over her face when Sam materialized in the middle of her bedroom.
"You made it," she said, happily, and her father nodded.
"I'm not going to miss my only daughter's wedding," he told her, and Paige moved forward to wrap her arms around him in a hug.
"I'm glad you're here," she told him. "I can't wait for you to meet Henry."
"From everything you've told me," Sam said, "he sounds like a good man."
"He is," Paige reassured him. "He's the best."
"Oh," Sam said, suddenly, pulling a small box out of his pocket. "I have something for you."
He opened the jewelry box and held it out to her, and Paige gently lifted the delicate necklace from the box with slightly shaky fingers.
"This is beautiful," she breathed.
"I gave that to Patty when we found out that she was pregnant with you," Sam told her, and Paige could feel tears spring to her eyes. "She wanted me to give it to you."
At Sam's gesture, Paige turned around, lifting her hair off the back of her neck so that he could fasten the necklace around her neck.
"It suits you," Sam said, smiling at her. "Paige, you look beautiful."
"I can't believe that this is really happening," Paige told him. "I'm really getting married."
"I have something else for you, too," Sam told her, and Paige looked at him in surprise.
"What could you possibly-" she started, but then she trailed off when Patty and her adoptive parents materialized in the middle of the room.
"Hello, sweetheart," Christine Matthews said, and Paige choked back a sob as she hugged her mother.
"We can't stay long," Andrew warned her. "But, Sam got permission for us to pop down here for a few minutes, to see you."
"I can't believe this," Paige said, as she hugged her father, hard. "I never thought you'd get to see this day."
"We are so proud of you, honey," Andrew told her. "Our little girl is getting married."
"I wish you could be there," Paige told her parents. "But, you'd probably freak out Henry's guests."
"We'll be watching," Christine told her, smiling warmly. "We're always watching over you, sweetheart."
Then, she and Andrew both looked up at the ceiling, as though listening to a distant summons.
"We have to go," Christine said, apologetically, and Paige nodded, wrapping her arms around her parents in a final hug.
"I love you," she said, her voice choking up with emotion. "I love you both, so much."
"We love you, too," Andrew told her, his voice echoing slightly as he and Christine disappeared.
"I know that wasn't very long with them," Sam said, but Paige shook her head, smiling.
"It was perfect," she reassured him. "Thank you so much, Dad."
Then, she turned to Patty, wrapping her arms around her mother as the older woman hugged her.
"My baby," Patty murmured, quietly. "Look at you."
"I love you, Mom," Paige said, feeling her voice choke up, again. "I'm so happy you're here."
"I've missed so much in your life," Patty said, a note of regret in her voice as she pulled away, but Paige shook her head, stopping her in the middle of her sentence.
"You and Dad did what you had to, to protect me," Paige reminded her. "And I wouldn't have given up that life for all the magic in the world."
"And we have the chance, now, to get to know our daughter," Sam told Patty, reaching out to hug both women.
A moment later, he looked up at the ceiling, frowning slightly as a faint jingle filled the air.
"Go," Paige told him, before he could say anything. "Take care of your charges, and I'll see you at the party, afterward."
Sam nodded, orbing away. A few moments later, Patty also disappeared, leaving Paige standing alone in her bedroom. She stared after her parents with a sad smile on her face, and then she turned back to the makeup spread out on her vanity, whistling 'Going to the Chapel' softly under her breath.
Paige gasped as the memory ended, staggering slightly as she held onto the sink in front of her to keep her balance. She could feel wetness on her face, and when she lifted a shaky hand, she wiped tears away from her eyes.
"I miss you, Mom and Dad," she whispered, quietly, and she almost thought that she could feel a ghostly hand on her shoulder at the words.
Then, she whirled around when she saw a swirl of bright lights reflected in the mirror. The lights disappeared, leaving Sam standing in front of her, and Paige felt a shaky smile spread across her face.
"Dad," she said, a burst of emotion rushing through her.
Sam didn't say anything; he just moved forward, unsteadily, his steps labored and shaky. Alarmed, Paige moved to meet him, and then Sam collapsed into her arms with a quiet groan.
"Dad?" she said, panicked, and then she saw the Darklighter's arrow protruding from the back of his shoulder…