"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Piper said with a smile as Paige and
Phoebe entered the kitchen at quarter past eight the next morning.
Paige immediately blushed at the nickname as she poured herself a cup of coffee. For the first time in days, she had awoken feeling rested and peaceful instead of groggy and frightened. The dream she had had the night before was rough and upsetting at first, but it had ended on a positive, almost hopeful note. "Are you talking to me?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"Well, Phoebe's not the one who conked out on my shoulder last night," Piper grinned. She turned the pancakes she was cooking and winked at Phoebe.
Paige looked up sharply. "What?"
Piper smirked, taking delight in the sisterly teasing. "Yeah, you and I were sitting up against your headboard talking and the next thing I know, you've got your head on my shoulder, fast asleep and snoring."
Paige blushed again, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I am so sorry, Piper."
"It's okay," Piper chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. It was actually pretty cute."
Grinning, Paige shook her hair out of her eyes and sipped her coffee. It was moments like that that she really felt like part of the family. The past few days, Piper and Phoebe had been wonderful to her, treating her problem like the family's problem and not allowing her to face it on her own. She knew that they loved her just as much as they loved each other, but sometimes she couldn't help feeling left out. There was this huge gap in their relationship that they could never fully fill in. The best they could do was fill it up as much as they could and hope that was enough.
"So you're more cheerful today than you have been lately," Piper said, startling Paige out of her musings. "No dreams?"
"No, I had one," Paige answered, smiling a thank you as Phoebe carried both their plates of pancakes to the table. "It was just . . . hopeful, I guess."
Intrigued, Piper turned the stove off and sat at the table with her sisters. "That's different. What was it about?"
Paige furrowed her brow when she realized that Piper hadn't made any pancakes for herself. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Not unless I want to be seeing it again in an hour," Piper answered with a bitter smile. "Morning sickness; pancakes are too heavy. I'll make some toast later. What happened in your dream?"
Paige sighed and sat back against the chair. She met Phoebe's eyes, then Piper's. "The beginning of it was actually a bit of a repeat of the one I had earlier in the night. Jamie was so sick. She was lost and she had spent I don't even know how many days without food. She had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die; she just didn't know when. She had just let her eyes close when this little girl tapped her shoulder, asked if she was okay, and then said she was going to find her mom so she could help her. I woke up after that, but I felt good . . . kind of like everything was going to be okay."
"Well, that's really nice, honey," Phoebe smiled, resting her hand on Paige's arm.
Paige smiled, but her face fell as Phoebe's eyes immediately flicked to Piper's. Piper shook her head slightly, then broke her gaze with Phoebe to turn her attention to Paige. Paige wrinkled her brow at the silent exchange. They had been communicating silently ever since she had first told them about her dreams, and it was beginning to make her feel very out of the loop. "What's going on, you guys?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound hurt.
Phoebe met Piper's eyes again before answering. "We found something out last night . . . something about Jamie and Meaghan."
"What?" Paige asked almost excitedly. There was real information about Jamie? Even though that meant for certain that Jamie was real, she was happy to be able to learn something else about her other than what she was getting in the dreams. She frowned when Phoebe hesitated, looking over at Piper as if asking for help. It was obvious that Phoebe didn't want to be the one to tell her whatever she had to tell her. And it was equally obvious from the expression on Piper's face that she wasn't exactly sure how to break the news, either. "You know, the whole being afraid to tell me thing is just going to make it worse."
Piper took a deep breath in and took Paige's hand in hers. "Last night, Phoebe was looking through genealogy sites and she found one that mentioned Jamie and Meaghan. The story went that this woman named Victoria had a daughter named Laura who found a little girl that was sick and lost in the woods. Victoria took her in and nursed her back to health. Her name was Jamie. They couldn't find Helen, so Victoria adopted both Jamie and Meaghan. Phoebe e-mailed the site's owner to see if she knew anything else about them."
"And?" Paige asked excitedly. "Did you get a reply?"
Piper cringed at the sparkle in Paige's eyes, then tightened her grip on Paige's hand. "Yes. Phoebe checked her e-mail this morning before you woke up and showed me. The woman said that this all took place in a little town called Elk Creek, which is a bit north of here, in the 1860s. Jamie and Meaghan moved to San Francisco with Victoria and her family about a year after they had been adopted. It so happened that Helen had run to San Francisco when she left Elk Creek, and they wound up meeting up again. Helen couldn't have Jamie and Meaghan turning her in--"
Paige's stomach lurched. "She killed them, didn't she?"
Piper just nodded. "I'm so sorry, hon. We didn't want to tell you . . ."
Paige cleared her throat and shook her head, blinking back tears. "It's okay. I'm glad you told me. The question now is what do we do? I mean, we have to save them, right?"
"Paige, we can't save them," Phoebe spoke up. "They died a hundred and forty years ago. We can't change the past."
"But we have to, Phoebe," Paige said, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. "They weren't old enough to stand a chance. They weren't even old enough to really have a life! They were just little kids who deserved to be happy and innocent and she stole that from them . . ." She trailed off, finally giving into her tears. She put her hands over her face as she cried quietly.
She heard both of her sisters get up from the table and a moment later, she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and squeeze tightly. "We know it's not fair, honey," Piper said softly. "We wish we could save them, too."
"Then what's the point?" Paige asked, defeated. "Why did she connect with me if I can't help her?"
When neither one of them said anything, Paige started crying harder. This couldn't be how it ended; it just couldn't. Phoebe had said that the connection was formed because the receiver could help the sender somehow. There had to be some way to save Jamie and Meaghan, there just had to. "I can't believe I'm not supposed to do anything."
"Shh, it's okay, honey," Piper said gently. "Why don't I call Leo? He might be able to tell you what to do, okay?"
Paige nodded and allowed Piper to stand her up and lead her into the parlor where the three of them could be more comfortable. Sniffling, she sat down in the middle of the couch and smiled slightly when Piper squished in one her left side and Phoebe settled on her right. "You okay, hon?" Phoebe asked, brushing Paige's hair behind her ears.
"Yeah," Paige answered, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine."
Piper raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Leo! Leo, we need you!"
A moment later, the tiny pale blue lights that signified Leo's entrance fell from the ceiling. Leo appeared a second after that and gave his wife a quick kiss. "Hey, honey, what's up?"
"How can I save two little girls from being killed in the 1860s?" Paige asked, getting right to the point.
"You can't," Leo answered, shaking his head. "You can't change the past, you know that."
Paige sighed. Here we go again, she thought. "Well, maybe this is a special case or something. I mean, why would Jamie connect with me if there's nothing I can do for her? I thought a connection like this was formed because I could help her."
"You're connected with a little girl named Jamie?" Leo asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah," Paige nodded. "Why?"
"It may be just a coincidence," Leo said thoughtfully, sitting down in the easy chair, "but the Elders once told me about a young girl named Jamie who was to become the youngest Whitelighter. She was only around seven or eight, but something happened to her in the transition from Earth to up there. She never got there."
"Why wouldn't she get there?" Piper asked, confused.
"They don't know." Leo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "If this is the same Jamie, you may be the one to help her find her way back home. That might be the help she needs."
Phoebe grinned and gave Paige a sideways hug. "So, you may not be able to save her life, but you can save her afterlife!"
"Exactly," Leo said. "I'll go check with the Elders to see if They know if these two girls are one and the same."
Paige watched Leo orb out, then leaned back against the couch and sighed. While she was excited at the thought of being able to help Jamie go home, she still wished there was something she could do to save Jamie and Meaghan in the past.
"See, hon?" Piper said, smiling. "You can help her."
"Yeah," Paige mumbled sadly. "But not in the way I'd like to."
Paige immediately blushed at the nickname as she poured herself a cup of coffee. For the first time in days, she had awoken feeling rested and peaceful instead of groggy and frightened. The dream she had had the night before was rough and upsetting at first, but it had ended on a positive, almost hopeful note. "Are you talking to me?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"Well, Phoebe's not the one who conked out on my shoulder last night," Piper grinned. She turned the pancakes she was cooking and winked at Phoebe.
Paige looked up sharply. "What?"
Piper smirked, taking delight in the sisterly teasing. "Yeah, you and I were sitting up against your headboard talking and the next thing I know, you've got your head on my shoulder, fast asleep and snoring."
Paige blushed again, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I am so sorry, Piper."
"It's okay," Piper chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. It was actually pretty cute."
Grinning, Paige shook her hair out of her eyes and sipped her coffee. It was moments like that that she really felt like part of the family. The past few days, Piper and Phoebe had been wonderful to her, treating her problem like the family's problem and not allowing her to face it on her own. She knew that they loved her just as much as they loved each other, but sometimes she couldn't help feeling left out. There was this huge gap in their relationship that they could never fully fill in. The best they could do was fill it up as much as they could and hope that was enough.
"So you're more cheerful today than you have been lately," Piper said, startling Paige out of her musings. "No dreams?"
"No, I had one," Paige answered, smiling a thank you as Phoebe carried both their plates of pancakes to the table. "It was just . . . hopeful, I guess."
Intrigued, Piper turned the stove off and sat at the table with her sisters. "That's different. What was it about?"
Paige furrowed her brow when she realized that Piper hadn't made any pancakes for herself. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Not unless I want to be seeing it again in an hour," Piper answered with a bitter smile. "Morning sickness; pancakes are too heavy. I'll make some toast later. What happened in your dream?"
Paige sighed and sat back against the chair. She met Phoebe's eyes, then Piper's. "The beginning of it was actually a bit of a repeat of the one I had earlier in the night. Jamie was so sick. She was lost and she had spent I don't even know how many days without food. She had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die; she just didn't know when. She had just let her eyes close when this little girl tapped her shoulder, asked if she was okay, and then said she was going to find her mom so she could help her. I woke up after that, but I felt good . . . kind of like everything was going to be okay."
"Well, that's really nice, honey," Phoebe smiled, resting her hand on Paige's arm.
Paige smiled, but her face fell as Phoebe's eyes immediately flicked to Piper's. Piper shook her head slightly, then broke her gaze with Phoebe to turn her attention to Paige. Paige wrinkled her brow at the silent exchange. They had been communicating silently ever since she had first told them about her dreams, and it was beginning to make her feel very out of the loop. "What's going on, you guys?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound hurt.
Phoebe met Piper's eyes again before answering. "We found something out last night . . . something about Jamie and Meaghan."
"What?" Paige asked almost excitedly. There was real information about Jamie? Even though that meant for certain that Jamie was real, she was happy to be able to learn something else about her other than what she was getting in the dreams. She frowned when Phoebe hesitated, looking over at Piper as if asking for help. It was obvious that Phoebe didn't want to be the one to tell her whatever she had to tell her. And it was equally obvious from the expression on Piper's face that she wasn't exactly sure how to break the news, either. "You know, the whole being afraid to tell me thing is just going to make it worse."
Piper took a deep breath in and took Paige's hand in hers. "Last night, Phoebe was looking through genealogy sites and she found one that mentioned Jamie and Meaghan. The story went that this woman named Victoria had a daughter named Laura who found a little girl that was sick and lost in the woods. Victoria took her in and nursed her back to health. Her name was Jamie. They couldn't find Helen, so Victoria adopted both Jamie and Meaghan. Phoebe e-mailed the site's owner to see if she knew anything else about them."
"And?" Paige asked excitedly. "Did you get a reply?"
Piper cringed at the sparkle in Paige's eyes, then tightened her grip on Paige's hand. "Yes. Phoebe checked her e-mail this morning before you woke up and showed me. The woman said that this all took place in a little town called Elk Creek, which is a bit north of here, in the 1860s. Jamie and Meaghan moved to San Francisco with Victoria and her family about a year after they had been adopted. It so happened that Helen had run to San Francisco when she left Elk Creek, and they wound up meeting up again. Helen couldn't have Jamie and Meaghan turning her in--"
Paige's stomach lurched. "She killed them, didn't she?"
Piper just nodded. "I'm so sorry, hon. We didn't want to tell you . . ."
Paige cleared her throat and shook her head, blinking back tears. "It's okay. I'm glad you told me. The question now is what do we do? I mean, we have to save them, right?"
"Paige, we can't save them," Phoebe spoke up. "They died a hundred and forty years ago. We can't change the past."
"But we have to, Phoebe," Paige said, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. "They weren't old enough to stand a chance. They weren't even old enough to really have a life! They were just little kids who deserved to be happy and innocent and she stole that from them . . ." She trailed off, finally giving into her tears. She put her hands over her face as she cried quietly.
She heard both of her sisters get up from the table and a moment later, she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and squeeze tightly. "We know it's not fair, honey," Piper said softly. "We wish we could save them, too."
"Then what's the point?" Paige asked, defeated. "Why did she connect with me if I can't help her?"
When neither one of them said anything, Paige started crying harder. This couldn't be how it ended; it just couldn't. Phoebe had said that the connection was formed because the receiver could help the sender somehow. There had to be some way to save Jamie and Meaghan, there just had to. "I can't believe I'm not supposed to do anything."
"Shh, it's okay, honey," Piper said gently. "Why don't I call Leo? He might be able to tell you what to do, okay?"
Paige nodded and allowed Piper to stand her up and lead her into the parlor where the three of them could be more comfortable. Sniffling, she sat down in the middle of the couch and smiled slightly when Piper squished in one her left side and Phoebe settled on her right. "You okay, hon?" Phoebe asked, brushing Paige's hair behind her ears.
"Yeah," Paige answered, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine."
Piper raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Leo! Leo, we need you!"
A moment later, the tiny pale blue lights that signified Leo's entrance fell from the ceiling. Leo appeared a second after that and gave his wife a quick kiss. "Hey, honey, what's up?"
"How can I save two little girls from being killed in the 1860s?" Paige asked, getting right to the point.
"You can't," Leo answered, shaking his head. "You can't change the past, you know that."
Paige sighed. Here we go again, she thought. "Well, maybe this is a special case or something. I mean, why would Jamie connect with me if there's nothing I can do for her? I thought a connection like this was formed because I could help her."
"You're connected with a little girl named Jamie?" Leo asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah," Paige nodded. "Why?"
"It may be just a coincidence," Leo said thoughtfully, sitting down in the easy chair, "but the Elders once told me about a young girl named Jamie who was to become the youngest Whitelighter. She was only around seven or eight, but something happened to her in the transition from Earth to up there. She never got there."
"Why wouldn't she get there?" Piper asked, confused.
"They don't know." Leo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "If this is the same Jamie, you may be the one to help her find her way back home. That might be the help she needs."
Phoebe grinned and gave Paige a sideways hug. "So, you may not be able to save her life, but you can save her afterlife!"
"Exactly," Leo said. "I'll go check with the Elders to see if They know if these two girls are one and the same."
Paige watched Leo orb out, then leaned back against the couch and sighed. While she was excited at the thought of being able to help Jamie go home, she still wished there was something she could do to save Jamie and Meaghan in the past.
"See, hon?" Piper said, smiling. "You can help her."
"Yeah," Paige mumbled sadly. "But not in the way I'd like to."