A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! I live for reviews ;)
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Piper hummed to herself as she beat a couple of eggs in a bowl, instantly turning the separate clear whites and bright yolks into one pale yellow liquid. She had already made omelets for both Phoebe and Leo before they had run off to work. Phoebe had to be at the paper early and Leo had to spend the day with another charge. Piper sighed, wishing she knew what Leo spent his days doing when he was with his other charges, but he was under very strict orders not to tell her. And even though they had broken almost every other rule in the book, that was one that had remained sacred. The Whitelighter-charge confidentiality was extremely important, and while Piper may not have liked it, she understood.
The only who hadn't come downstairs yet was Paige. Since she had quit her job three weeks before, she relished being able to sleep past eight. Piper was used to cooking breakfast for her a little later than she cooked for the others, but this morning, Paige was later than normal. It was already nine-thirty and Piper hadn't heard a sound from upstairs. Once she had the eggs mixed just right, she wiped her hands on a dishrag and headed out of the kitchen to check on Paige. As soon as she reached the stairs, she heard footsteps sluggishly padding from Paige's room to the bathroom. Piper smiled, then went back into the kitchen to start Paige's omelet.
Paige shuffled into the kitchen a few minutes later, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Morning," she said through another yawn.
"Morning," Piper answered cheerfully, smiling at her bleary-eyed sister. "You want just cheese, right?"
Paige sank into a chair at the kitchen table and let out a small, tired groan. "Is it too late to turn it into scrambled? That way you can split it with me. I'm not all that hungry."
"It's a little late, yeah, but I'll split it with you anyway," Piper offered. Paige shot her a grateful smile before propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hand. "Are you okay?" Piper asked as she scooped the omelet from the pan and onto a plate.
Paige nodded as Piper set both a plate and a cup of coffee in front of her. "I'm just tired."
Piper sat down next to Paige, placing her own plate with half the omelet on the table. She cut off a piece of the omelet, stabbed it with her fork, and blew on it before sticking it in her mouth. "You've been really tired lately," she said once she had swallowed. "Is everything all right?"
Paige shrugged as she sipped her coffee, obviously hoping that the caffeine would wake her up even just a little bit. "I had that dream again last night."
"What dream?" Piper asked, wrinkling her brow. "The one you had yesterday?"
"Sort of," Paige said, sighing. "The same two girls were there, but it was different."
"What do you mean?"
Paige shrugged again. "Those two girls, Jamie and Meaghan, were being chased by some blond woman. They were running through the woods and Jamie wound up breaking away and hiding behind a tree. Meaghan tripped over something on the ground, a stick or tree root or something, and the woman caught up with her. She started hitting Meaghan and all I could hear was Meaghan screaming in agony and Jamie sobbing. Jamie could see everything from where she was hiding. And then . . . Meaghan got quiet." She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Why am I dreaming about this, Piper?"
Piper reached out and rested her hand on Paige's arm. "I don't know, sweetie." Paige dropped her hands to the table and sighed heavily, tears jumping into her eyes. Piper was immediately concerned all over again. "This is really upsetting you, isn't it?"
Paige nodded, swiping at her tears before they could spill over. "The dreams are just so disturbing. I mean, those little girls are the cutest things in the world. Why would anyone want to hurt them?"
"Honey, they're just dreams." Paige shook her head, dropping her gaze to her hands. Piper drew in her breath; she had never seen Paige this worked up before. What could be causing those dreams? They certainly didn't sound like the kinds of dreams Paige would have normally. What could possibly be on her mind that would make her dream about watching two little girls being abused? Suddenly, she gasped, a thought coming to her. "When you worked at the social services office, you ran across a lot of abused kids, right?"
Paige nodded again without removing her gaze from her hands. "Yeah, unfortunately, I did."
"So maybe these dreams are your way of dealing with your decision to quit." Piper smiled and placed her hand comfortingly on top of Paige's. "Maybe you weren't as ready to quit as you thought you were."
"Maybe," Paige said quietly. "Still, I wish I know who those girls were and what happened to them."
Piper smiled. "I know you do, sweetie, and I wish I could help you. Maybe you'll find out in another dream."
"Yeah, maybe." Without another word, Paige finally began to eat her breakfast. Piper looked her over for a moment, but she remained silent as they both ate. When Paige was finished, she stood and carried her plate to the sink. "That's for the breakfast, Piper. I think I'm just going to relax upstairs for a bit, if that's okay."
"Of course it's okay," Piper replied. "Want me to check on you in a little while?"
Paige shot Piper her first real smile of the morning. "I'd like that."
"Okay," Piper nodded, smiling back. She watched Paige exit the kitchen, and once she was alone, Piper allowed her shoulders to drop and the concern to show on her face. Whatever those dreams meant, they were upsetting Paige in a way Piper had never seen before. Paige wasn't exactly a morning person, but she was never that quiet and upset. Sighing, she stood up to wash the breakfast dishes and wondered what, if anything, she could do for her little sister.
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Jamie had to get away. There was no two ways about it. She couldn't live with Helen anymore, not after what she had done to Meaghan. Jamie still couldn't believe what she had seen. Helen had beat Meaghan right in front of her. She had no doubt in her mind that Helen would have killed Meaghan if Jamie hadn't come out of her hiding place to stop her. As it was, Meaghan was still at the doctor's. She hadn't woken up once in the three days since the attack, and each day that went by without Meaghan waking up, the more scared Jamie got.
She wanted nothing more than to tell the sheriff that Helen was the reason that Meaghan was so hurt, but she didn't dare. On the way to the doctor's, Helen had warned Jamie that if she so much as opened her mouth to tell anyone, she'd do the same thing to her without a moment's hesitation. She had seen firsthand what Helen could do twice, with her father and with Meaghan, and she simply couldn't live with the fear and terror anymore.
Quietly, she packed a small burlap bag with a couple of dresses, two pairs of shoes, her hairbrush, and some undergarments. On each trip from the dresser to her bed, she glanced out the window. Though it was pitch-black, she could see the trees moving and swaying in the heavy, whistling wind. A storm was brewing, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from leaving. She needed to get out of that house and away from Helen. Once her bag was packed, she picked it up, slung it over her shoulder, and tiptoed to the front door. She paused with her hand on the wooden latch, looked back over her shoulder at the small house one final time, and then slipped out the door, disappearing into the cold, windy night.
"Paige."
Paige felt someone tapping her shoulder. She moaned and swiped at the other hand, trying to get whomever it was to go away.
"Paige, wake up!"
This time, the person shook her roughly. Paige started, her eyes snapping open. She found herself face-to-face with a visibly concerned Piper. Almost at once, tears welled in her eyes and she had to swallow the lump that had quickly risen in her throat. "Piper, I have to save her," she spluttered. "She's too young to be out there by herself."
"Paige, honey, it was just a dream."
Paige sat up, a small fleece blanket she didn't remember putting on falling down from around her shoulders. "No, Piper, we have to help her."
Piper sat down next to Paige and wrapped her arm tightly around her sister's shoulders. "Paige, calm down. You're in your own room; that was just a dream. Look around." Paige gazed around the room and realized that Piper was right. She was indeed in her room, sitting up in bed with a magazine lying open beside her. What had happened? "I came up to check on you and you were sound asleep," Piper continued, almost as if she had read Paige's mind. "As I was spreading the blanket over you, you started whimpering in your sleep. I figured you were having another one of those dreams, so I woke you up."
"Thanks," Paige said softly, tugging her fingers through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then glanced down at the magazine. "I guess I fell asleep while I was reading."
"You were writing," Piper said with a gentle smile, indicating the half- finished quiz in the magazine. "I took the pen from your hand." Piper hesitated a moment, looking Paige over before she continued. "Do you want to talk about the dream?"
"Jamie ran away," Paige explained with a heavy sigh. "After Helen beat Meaghan, she was left unconscious at the doctor's. Jamie was terrified and she ran away."
"Jamie's the little one?"
Paige nodded. "She's entirely too young to be out there all alone, Piper, and a storm was coming. She wouldn't have survived two nights by herself."
Piper turned around slightly so that she was facing her sister and gripped her hands. "Paige, it was just a dream. I know it probably seemed very real, but it was a dream. Jamie, Helen, and Meaghan don't exist."
Paige looked into her sister's eyes, pleading with her to understand. "But they do seem very real, and each one is more real than the one before. The first one felt like a dream, but this one . . . it was like I was sitting there in the house, watching Jamie leave. I even called out to stop her, but she didn't turn around."
Piper softened when she saw the desperation on Paige's face. "Honey, I-I don't know what you want me to tell you . . ."
"Tell me why I'm having these dreams," she begged, her voice barely audible.
Piper looked both surprised and concerned. As she tightened her grip on Paige's hands, her expression went from one of concern to one of pure determination. "I don't know why you're having the dreams, but I promise you we'll figure it out."
**********
Piper hummed to herself as she beat a couple of eggs in a bowl, instantly turning the separate clear whites and bright yolks into one pale yellow liquid. She had already made omelets for both Phoebe and Leo before they had run off to work. Phoebe had to be at the paper early and Leo had to spend the day with another charge. Piper sighed, wishing she knew what Leo spent his days doing when he was with his other charges, but he was under very strict orders not to tell her. And even though they had broken almost every other rule in the book, that was one that had remained sacred. The Whitelighter-charge confidentiality was extremely important, and while Piper may not have liked it, she understood.
The only who hadn't come downstairs yet was Paige. Since she had quit her job three weeks before, she relished being able to sleep past eight. Piper was used to cooking breakfast for her a little later than she cooked for the others, but this morning, Paige was later than normal. It was already nine-thirty and Piper hadn't heard a sound from upstairs. Once she had the eggs mixed just right, she wiped her hands on a dishrag and headed out of the kitchen to check on Paige. As soon as she reached the stairs, she heard footsteps sluggishly padding from Paige's room to the bathroom. Piper smiled, then went back into the kitchen to start Paige's omelet.
Paige shuffled into the kitchen a few minutes later, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Morning," she said through another yawn.
"Morning," Piper answered cheerfully, smiling at her bleary-eyed sister. "You want just cheese, right?"
Paige sank into a chair at the kitchen table and let out a small, tired groan. "Is it too late to turn it into scrambled? That way you can split it with me. I'm not all that hungry."
"It's a little late, yeah, but I'll split it with you anyway," Piper offered. Paige shot her a grateful smile before propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hand. "Are you okay?" Piper asked as she scooped the omelet from the pan and onto a plate.
Paige nodded as Piper set both a plate and a cup of coffee in front of her. "I'm just tired."
Piper sat down next to Paige, placing her own plate with half the omelet on the table. She cut off a piece of the omelet, stabbed it with her fork, and blew on it before sticking it in her mouth. "You've been really tired lately," she said once she had swallowed. "Is everything all right?"
Paige shrugged as she sipped her coffee, obviously hoping that the caffeine would wake her up even just a little bit. "I had that dream again last night."
"What dream?" Piper asked, wrinkling her brow. "The one you had yesterday?"
"Sort of," Paige said, sighing. "The same two girls were there, but it was different."
"What do you mean?"
Paige shrugged again. "Those two girls, Jamie and Meaghan, were being chased by some blond woman. They were running through the woods and Jamie wound up breaking away and hiding behind a tree. Meaghan tripped over something on the ground, a stick or tree root or something, and the woman caught up with her. She started hitting Meaghan and all I could hear was Meaghan screaming in agony and Jamie sobbing. Jamie could see everything from where she was hiding. And then . . . Meaghan got quiet." She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Why am I dreaming about this, Piper?"
Piper reached out and rested her hand on Paige's arm. "I don't know, sweetie." Paige dropped her hands to the table and sighed heavily, tears jumping into her eyes. Piper was immediately concerned all over again. "This is really upsetting you, isn't it?"
Paige nodded, swiping at her tears before they could spill over. "The dreams are just so disturbing. I mean, those little girls are the cutest things in the world. Why would anyone want to hurt them?"
"Honey, they're just dreams." Paige shook her head, dropping her gaze to her hands. Piper drew in her breath; she had never seen Paige this worked up before. What could be causing those dreams? They certainly didn't sound like the kinds of dreams Paige would have normally. What could possibly be on her mind that would make her dream about watching two little girls being abused? Suddenly, she gasped, a thought coming to her. "When you worked at the social services office, you ran across a lot of abused kids, right?"
Paige nodded again without removing her gaze from her hands. "Yeah, unfortunately, I did."
"So maybe these dreams are your way of dealing with your decision to quit." Piper smiled and placed her hand comfortingly on top of Paige's. "Maybe you weren't as ready to quit as you thought you were."
"Maybe," Paige said quietly. "Still, I wish I know who those girls were and what happened to them."
Piper smiled. "I know you do, sweetie, and I wish I could help you. Maybe you'll find out in another dream."
"Yeah, maybe." Without another word, Paige finally began to eat her breakfast. Piper looked her over for a moment, but she remained silent as they both ate. When Paige was finished, she stood and carried her plate to the sink. "That's for the breakfast, Piper. I think I'm just going to relax upstairs for a bit, if that's okay."
"Of course it's okay," Piper replied. "Want me to check on you in a little while?"
Paige shot Piper her first real smile of the morning. "I'd like that."
"Okay," Piper nodded, smiling back. She watched Paige exit the kitchen, and once she was alone, Piper allowed her shoulders to drop and the concern to show on her face. Whatever those dreams meant, they were upsetting Paige in a way Piper had never seen before. Paige wasn't exactly a morning person, but she was never that quiet and upset. Sighing, she stood up to wash the breakfast dishes and wondered what, if anything, she could do for her little sister.
**********
Jamie had to get away. There was no two ways about it. She couldn't live with Helen anymore, not after what she had done to Meaghan. Jamie still couldn't believe what she had seen. Helen had beat Meaghan right in front of her. She had no doubt in her mind that Helen would have killed Meaghan if Jamie hadn't come out of her hiding place to stop her. As it was, Meaghan was still at the doctor's. She hadn't woken up once in the three days since the attack, and each day that went by without Meaghan waking up, the more scared Jamie got.
She wanted nothing more than to tell the sheriff that Helen was the reason that Meaghan was so hurt, but she didn't dare. On the way to the doctor's, Helen had warned Jamie that if she so much as opened her mouth to tell anyone, she'd do the same thing to her without a moment's hesitation. She had seen firsthand what Helen could do twice, with her father and with Meaghan, and she simply couldn't live with the fear and terror anymore.
Quietly, she packed a small burlap bag with a couple of dresses, two pairs of shoes, her hairbrush, and some undergarments. On each trip from the dresser to her bed, she glanced out the window. Though it was pitch-black, she could see the trees moving and swaying in the heavy, whistling wind. A storm was brewing, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from leaving. She needed to get out of that house and away from Helen. Once her bag was packed, she picked it up, slung it over her shoulder, and tiptoed to the front door. She paused with her hand on the wooden latch, looked back over her shoulder at the small house one final time, and then slipped out the door, disappearing into the cold, windy night.
"Paige."
Paige felt someone tapping her shoulder. She moaned and swiped at the other hand, trying to get whomever it was to go away.
"Paige, wake up!"
This time, the person shook her roughly. Paige started, her eyes snapping open. She found herself face-to-face with a visibly concerned Piper. Almost at once, tears welled in her eyes and she had to swallow the lump that had quickly risen in her throat. "Piper, I have to save her," she spluttered. "She's too young to be out there by herself."
"Paige, honey, it was just a dream."
Paige sat up, a small fleece blanket she didn't remember putting on falling down from around her shoulders. "No, Piper, we have to help her."
Piper sat down next to Paige and wrapped her arm tightly around her sister's shoulders. "Paige, calm down. You're in your own room; that was just a dream. Look around." Paige gazed around the room and realized that Piper was right. She was indeed in her room, sitting up in bed with a magazine lying open beside her. What had happened? "I came up to check on you and you were sound asleep," Piper continued, almost as if she had read Paige's mind. "As I was spreading the blanket over you, you started whimpering in your sleep. I figured you were having another one of those dreams, so I woke you up."
"Thanks," Paige said softly, tugging her fingers through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then glanced down at the magazine. "I guess I fell asleep while I was reading."
"You were writing," Piper said with a gentle smile, indicating the half- finished quiz in the magazine. "I took the pen from your hand." Piper hesitated a moment, looking Paige over before she continued. "Do you want to talk about the dream?"
"Jamie ran away," Paige explained with a heavy sigh. "After Helen beat Meaghan, she was left unconscious at the doctor's. Jamie was terrified and she ran away."
"Jamie's the little one?"
Paige nodded. "She's entirely too young to be out there all alone, Piper, and a storm was coming. She wouldn't have survived two nights by herself."
Piper turned around slightly so that she was facing her sister and gripped her hands. "Paige, it was just a dream. I know it probably seemed very real, but it was a dream. Jamie, Helen, and Meaghan don't exist."
Paige looked into her sister's eyes, pleading with her to understand. "But they do seem very real, and each one is more real than the one before. The first one felt like a dream, but this one . . . it was like I was sitting there in the house, watching Jamie leave. I even called out to stop her, but she didn't turn around."
Piper softened when she saw the desperation on Paige's face. "Honey, I-I don't know what you want me to tell you . . ."
"Tell me why I'm having these dreams," she begged, her voice barely audible.
Piper looked both surprised and concerned. As she tightened her grip on Paige's hands, her expression went from one of concern to one of pure determination. "I don't know why you're having the dreams, but I promise you we'll figure it out."