The next morning, Paige came downstairs to grab something to eat before heading off to work. She paused in the kitchen doorway, admiring the scene. Piper was busy making more pancakes, while Phoebe tried to get a very picky Wyatt to eat something. Faith was also at the table, in the tank top and sweatpants she'd borrowed from Piper to sleep in. Paige frowned, making a mental note to take the girl shopping sometime soon. Although Phoebe and Paige were constantly teasing Piper for being so tiny, even the smallest clothes she could find were a tad too big for wiry, small-boned Faith. Aside from this, however, Paige was surprised at how easily Faith fit into the family's morning routine. Now that she'd taken a shower and removed her make-up, her face was clearly visible, and she even resembled the sisters, though only slightly. She looked like she belonged there.
Piper looked up and smiled as her youngest sister came in. "Hey, Paige, sit down. I'm making pancakes."
"No pancakes," Wyatt said stubbornly. He used his whitelighter power of telekinesis to throw his plate across the room. Piper froze it before it hit the wall.
"Cool power, kid," Faith commented.
"Don't encourage him," Piper begged, setting the plate on the table and doing her best to clean pancakes and syrup that were still in mid-air. "Maybe we should bind his powers, at least until he's out of the 'terrible twos'."
Wyatt shook his head, his sandy blonde hair falling over his eyes, and sent his mother an adorable, toothy grin.
Piper sighed, looking to her sisters for help. Phoebe turned to her small nephew, and exhasperatedly said, "Okay, Wyatt. We've established that you don't like pancakes."
"No pancakes," the toddler repeated proudly.
"That's right," Paige agreed in a no-nonsense tone, "But you have to eat something. What'll it be, buddy?"
Wyatt thought for a minute. "Puff-puffs!"
Piper rolled her eyes frustratedly. 'Puff-puffs' were Wyatt's term for Cocoa-Puffs. Piper's term for them was 'Hyperactivity-Inducing Death Balls'. They tended to make Wyatt a bit more wild than usual. "No puff-puffs," she told him. Wyatt pouted, but then Faith stepped in.
"Hey, kid, look," she said, arranging the blueberries on her pancake to look like two eyes, and drawing a mouth in maple syrup. "A smiley face."
Wyatt stared at the pancake for a minute, and then reached out for it. Faith gladly handed it over after cutting it into pieces small enough for the toddler.
"That is so amazing, Faith," Piper said. "I haven't been able to get him to eat pancakes in over a month. How did you know to do that?"
Faith shrugged. "In one of my foster homes, I was the oldest of six. I was only there for about two months, but I picked up a lot."
"How long ago was this?" Paige asked.
"A few years ago," Faith replied. "It was one of the first homes they put me in."
Paige made a mental note to check this out. It may not help with the demon-fighting, but understanding Faith's background could come in handy nonetheless. "I have to get to work," she announced, grabbing a bagel to eat in the car. "I'll see you guys later. Love you."
"Love you, too," her sisters chorused as she left.
Piper served Faith another plate of pancakes. "So, Faith, what do you want to do today?"
"I thought you guys were going to explain to me what the hell was going on last night," she answered.
Piper, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to distract the girl that easily, just nodded. "Oh, we will. But I thought we could wait until Paige gets back. She took a year off to study magic around the time Wyatt was born, so she might be able to explain some of this better than Phoebe or I could."
Faith looked at her strangely, then shrugged. "That's cool. I guess a few more hours won't do me in."
"Okay, then," Phoebe cut in. "In the meantime, I was going to go shopping today. Wanna come?"
"Sure," Faith agreed. "Just give me a sec to get dressed." She took one last bite of breakfast, and ran upstairs. Piper and Phoebe stared after her.
"So, you wanna explain to me why you want to wait for Paige before getting into the magic stuff?" Phoebe asked her big sister.
"I told you, Paige actually studied this stuff," Piper replied. "She learned everything by-the-book, so she'd be able to feild questions better."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "We've got three years on Paige. We'd be able to explain this stuff just as well as she can, and you know it. So why are you stalling?"
Piper sighed. "I don't know. Something just feels off about this whole situation. We don't know where she came from, or why we of all people found her."
"Because she's an innocent, and we're supposed to save her," Phoebe answered. "You know how that works by now. It's not like this is the first time an innocent has come to us."
"I know," Piper answered. "This one just feels different."
"Different how?" Phoebe demanded, frustrated at her sister's sudden change from wanting to tell Faith all about magic to avoiding discussion of the subject with the girl completely.
Piper shrugged, not really sure of her own reasons. "I don't know. It's just... My instincts on this one are totally conflicted. On one hand, there's this feeling that she belongs here, and that she has every right to know what we do about magic, and this whole other world that she's obviously somehow a part of. On the other hand, I've got this urge to protect her from all of this. I know it sounds silly, because she's had to be so grown up, and she's proved she can handle herself if and when she has to, but Pheobe, she's just a little girl."
Phoebe put an arm her sister, giving Piper a half-smile. "Honey, that's not magic; it's motherhood. Since Wyatt was born, you've learned to rely on your maternal instincts, and it naturally spills over to any other kid you need to protect. It makes perfect sense that you'd react this way with Faith, because her home life is so unstable."
"You think that's at it is?" Piper questioned. Phoebe nodded. Piper frowned, still unconvinced, but decided to drop it as their innocent came bounding back into the room.
"You guys ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah, just about," Piper replied, eyeing Faith's torn dark-blue tank top and tight leather pants. It had been the only outfit the girl had brought in her small black backpack, and it greatly contributed to her kick-ass attitude. Piper decided that a change in wardrobe was definately in order. She cleaned Wyatt up, while Phoebe put the dishes in the sink to be dealt with later. With the kitchen and the toddler both reletively neat, Piper and Phoebe grabbed their purses, Faith picked up an unusually cooperative Wyatt, and they set out for the mall.
Piper looked up and smiled as her youngest sister came in. "Hey, Paige, sit down. I'm making pancakes."
"No pancakes," Wyatt said stubbornly. He used his whitelighter power of telekinesis to throw his plate across the room. Piper froze it before it hit the wall.
"Cool power, kid," Faith commented.
"Don't encourage him," Piper begged, setting the plate on the table and doing her best to clean pancakes and syrup that were still in mid-air. "Maybe we should bind his powers, at least until he's out of the 'terrible twos'."
Wyatt shook his head, his sandy blonde hair falling over his eyes, and sent his mother an adorable, toothy grin.
Piper sighed, looking to her sisters for help. Phoebe turned to her small nephew, and exhasperatedly said, "Okay, Wyatt. We've established that you don't like pancakes."
"No pancakes," the toddler repeated proudly.
"That's right," Paige agreed in a no-nonsense tone, "But you have to eat something. What'll it be, buddy?"
Wyatt thought for a minute. "Puff-puffs!"
Piper rolled her eyes frustratedly. 'Puff-puffs' were Wyatt's term for Cocoa-Puffs. Piper's term for them was 'Hyperactivity-Inducing Death Balls'. They tended to make Wyatt a bit more wild than usual. "No puff-puffs," she told him. Wyatt pouted, but then Faith stepped in.
"Hey, kid, look," she said, arranging the blueberries on her pancake to look like two eyes, and drawing a mouth in maple syrup. "A smiley face."
Wyatt stared at the pancake for a minute, and then reached out for it. Faith gladly handed it over after cutting it into pieces small enough for the toddler.
"That is so amazing, Faith," Piper said. "I haven't been able to get him to eat pancakes in over a month. How did you know to do that?"
Faith shrugged. "In one of my foster homes, I was the oldest of six. I was only there for about two months, but I picked up a lot."
"How long ago was this?" Paige asked.
"A few years ago," Faith replied. "It was one of the first homes they put me in."
Paige made a mental note to check this out. It may not help with the demon-fighting, but understanding Faith's background could come in handy nonetheless. "I have to get to work," she announced, grabbing a bagel to eat in the car. "I'll see you guys later. Love you."
"Love you, too," her sisters chorused as she left.
Piper served Faith another plate of pancakes. "So, Faith, what do you want to do today?"
"I thought you guys were going to explain to me what the hell was going on last night," she answered.
Piper, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to distract the girl that easily, just nodded. "Oh, we will. But I thought we could wait until Paige gets back. She took a year off to study magic around the time Wyatt was born, so she might be able to explain some of this better than Phoebe or I could."
Faith looked at her strangely, then shrugged. "That's cool. I guess a few more hours won't do me in."
"Okay, then," Phoebe cut in. "In the meantime, I was going to go shopping today. Wanna come?"
"Sure," Faith agreed. "Just give me a sec to get dressed." She took one last bite of breakfast, and ran upstairs. Piper and Phoebe stared after her.
"So, you wanna explain to me why you want to wait for Paige before getting into the magic stuff?" Phoebe asked her big sister.
"I told you, Paige actually studied this stuff," Piper replied. "She learned everything by-the-book, so she'd be able to feild questions better."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "We've got three years on Paige. We'd be able to explain this stuff just as well as she can, and you know it. So why are you stalling?"
Piper sighed. "I don't know. Something just feels off about this whole situation. We don't know where she came from, or why we of all people found her."
"Because she's an innocent, and we're supposed to save her," Phoebe answered. "You know how that works by now. It's not like this is the first time an innocent has come to us."
"I know," Piper answered. "This one just feels different."
"Different how?" Phoebe demanded, frustrated at her sister's sudden change from wanting to tell Faith all about magic to avoiding discussion of the subject with the girl completely.
Piper shrugged, not really sure of her own reasons. "I don't know. It's just... My instincts on this one are totally conflicted. On one hand, there's this feeling that she belongs here, and that she has every right to know what we do about magic, and this whole other world that she's obviously somehow a part of. On the other hand, I've got this urge to protect her from all of this. I know it sounds silly, because she's had to be so grown up, and she's proved she can handle herself if and when she has to, but Pheobe, she's just a little girl."
Phoebe put an arm her sister, giving Piper a half-smile. "Honey, that's not magic; it's motherhood. Since Wyatt was born, you've learned to rely on your maternal instincts, and it naturally spills over to any other kid you need to protect. It makes perfect sense that you'd react this way with Faith, because her home life is so unstable."
"You think that's at it is?" Piper questioned. Phoebe nodded. Piper frowned, still unconvinced, but decided to drop it as their innocent came bounding back into the room.
"You guys ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah, just about," Piper replied, eyeing Faith's torn dark-blue tank top and tight leather pants. It had been the only outfit the girl had brought in her small black backpack, and it greatly contributed to her kick-ass attitude. Piper decided that a change in wardrobe was definately in order. She cleaned Wyatt up, while Phoebe put the dishes in the sink to be dealt with later. With the kitchen and the toddler both reletively neat, Piper and Phoebe grabbed their purses, Faith picked up an unusually cooperative Wyatt, and they set out for the mall.