Part Six
Paige stand in the witness stand and her eyes meet Mike's. She felt a chill run down the back of her spine as she looked at him and he offered her a small smile. The smile acted like a pull string as she straighten up in her seat and as she felt anger throb through every vein in her body. That was the same smile that he had given her that evening he had set about ruining her life.
She looked up to her brother-in-law that was watching the trial taking place from the observation gallery. He had that same glint in his eye that he always gave her when he was offering her support. Leo had always been so much more than her brother-in-law, he was her guide, her whitelighter and just like with her sisters, she knew he would always be there. But unlike her sisters he never really passed judgment on her when she needed his advice. Yes, he would tell her what he thought but would always let her make her own mistake and he had been the first really to invite her into her family.
Paige watched as the prosecution lawyer approached her. 'This one's on my side.' She whispered to herself. 'I've just got to tell the truth and the truth will out.'
She worked her way slowly through the first few question easily as the facts of the case where being established. She knew her lawyer to calm her into the chair before she was asked the loaded question was doing this.
"Miss Matthews can you tell us what happened in the office of P3?"
Paige looked into the sky slightly after all the easy questions she still dreaded this one. She felt her mouth start to dry as she tried to speak.
* * *
Piper kept her eyes fixed on the leaflet that was in her hand. Her baby sister was pregnant, and pregnant from being raped. But even knowing all that the thing that was hurting her most was that she had not been told.
They had been through so much in the last eighteen, been through so many life and death situation but not only that they had helped each other as sisters. Helped each other out when the Cole situation had become unthinkable; she had helped her when she thought she couldn't get pregnant and drank away her misery. She thought they could talk about anything.
Piper looked at her younger sister, "Did you know?"
Phoebe shrugged slightly as she said, "No."
"Well what do we do about it?" Piper asked.
Phoebe looked at her older sister, all-different thought ran through her mind. But the most pressing was why had Paige kept this secret. She saw only a couple of answers to this question, that Paige was not dealing with the situation, that she just wanted to get it out the way as quietly and quickly as possible or that she was waiting until after the trial to talk to them and dealing with things one at a time.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Nothing?" Piper questioned with a look of pure disbelief in her eyes. "I'm sorry but who are you and what have you done with my sister? You said nothing!"
"I know I did." Phoebe explained. "But there has to be a reason why she's not told us. And I think we should let her come to us when she's ready."
"I'm sorry," Piper stuttered. "Come on think about it Pheebs, what if she goes for this without talking to us."
"Well I guess that's her decision." Phoebe replied as she glanced down at her left hand. "I mean it's a trait of all us Halliwell's that we're stubborn. You were when they wouldn't let you marry Leo, I was with Cole, Prue was all the time and I know how often you have complained that Paige is. But the thing is, when we need help we will always turn to each other and we've got to trust Paige will turn to us."
Piper looked at Phoebe with a slightly surprised look on her face, "You know that's good advice."
"Ah well I've been practicing this middle sister lark." Phoebe explained. "Lets go back in there in then."
Piper watched as her younger sister entered the courtroom and muttered under her breath. "And I've been practicing this big sister thing and I'm going to get the moment of it all."
* * *
Paige started to regain her composure as the prosecution lawyer retook her seat and the defense lawyer got to her feet.
By no means had the last forty meeting been easy but she had been able to get her point across reasonably. Actually, Paige reasoned with herself, it had gone slightly better than expected. She had gained one or two sympathetic glances from some of jury and managed for the first time to talk about the whole experience without running out of the room in tears.
The defense lawyer rested her right hand carefully on her chin as she studied the youngest Charmed One. "You must understand that the problem with rape and especially date rape is that it's your word against my client. So you can understand if I wish to establish some facts. You are currently unemployed and living off your sisters."
"I am currently between jobs," Paige stated in a clear voice. She just had to keep her cool and stick to the facts. "And leaving with my sisters although I can't see what that has to do with the case."
"As I said, I'm just establishing the facts, Miss Matthews." The lawyer stated again. "And you are a recovering alcoholic?"
"Yes," Paige replied, "But as I said before I had been sober for eight years before the attack."
"You refer to it as an attack Miss Matthews, but is it not true that you exchanged phone numbers with Mr. Parlour and were indeed looking forward to seeing him again?"
"Yes, but are you telling me that you have never exchanged phone numbers with someone you have meet in a bar." Paige said in a firm voice, the more that this woman was questioning her nature the easier it was becoming. She just had to step back onto the defensive line that she had been standing on for weeks.
"No, but I have never cried rape on the person in question after giving them my phone number. Is it not true that you wanted to sleep with the defendant?"
"No it's not true." Paige reaffirmed. "I don't know what kind of women you think I am, but I do not sleep with someone on the first date, let alone someone who is robbing my sister's club. But if someone aims their gun at me and threatens to kill my sister and then forces me to sleep with them. I call that rape."
* * *
Paige walked out of the courtroom and was swamped with a hug. She spluttered for breath through Phoebe arms before slowly pushing her away and shooting a small smile tat her older sister.
"You we're fantastic." Phoebe told her younger sister. "You put that son of a bitch back in his place."
"Actually his mother's not that bad." Paige replied as she felt a great sense of relief engulf her entire body.
"That's good to know, because I wouldn't want my niece or nephew to be half evil."
"Piper!" Phoebe hissed as Paige looked at her oldest sister with a slightly confused look on her face.
Piper extended her hand and offered her younger sister a small pile of leaflets, "Eva dropped by these."
Paige stand in the witness stand and her eyes meet Mike's. She felt a chill run down the back of her spine as she looked at him and he offered her a small smile. The smile acted like a pull string as she straighten up in her seat and as she felt anger throb through every vein in her body. That was the same smile that he had given her that evening he had set about ruining her life.
She looked up to her brother-in-law that was watching the trial taking place from the observation gallery. He had that same glint in his eye that he always gave her when he was offering her support. Leo had always been so much more than her brother-in-law, he was her guide, her whitelighter and just like with her sisters, she knew he would always be there. But unlike her sisters he never really passed judgment on her when she needed his advice. Yes, he would tell her what he thought but would always let her make her own mistake and he had been the first really to invite her into her family.
Paige watched as the prosecution lawyer approached her. 'This one's on my side.' She whispered to herself. 'I've just got to tell the truth and the truth will out.'
She worked her way slowly through the first few question easily as the facts of the case where being established. She knew her lawyer to calm her into the chair before she was asked the loaded question was doing this.
"Miss Matthews can you tell us what happened in the office of P3?"
Paige looked into the sky slightly after all the easy questions she still dreaded this one. She felt her mouth start to dry as she tried to speak.
* * *
Piper kept her eyes fixed on the leaflet that was in her hand. Her baby sister was pregnant, and pregnant from being raped. But even knowing all that the thing that was hurting her most was that she had not been told.
They had been through so much in the last eighteen, been through so many life and death situation but not only that they had helped each other as sisters. Helped each other out when the Cole situation had become unthinkable; she had helped her when she thought she couldn't get pregnant and drank away her misery. She thought they could talk about anything.
Piper looked at her younger sister, "Did you know?"
Phoebe shrugged slightly as she said, "No."
"Well what do we do about it?" Piper asked.
Phoebe looked at her older sister, all-different thought ran through her mind. But the most pressing was why had Paige kept this secret. She saw only a couple of answers to this question, that Paige was not dealing with the situation, that she just wanted to get it out the way as quietly and quickly as possible or that she was waiting until after the trial to talk to them and dealing with things one at a time.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Nothing?" Piper questioned with a look of pure disbelief in her eyes. "I'm sorry but who are you and what have you done with my sister? You said nothing!"
"I know I did." Phoebe explained. "But there has to be a reason why she's not told us. And I think we should let her come to us when she's ready."
"I'm sorry," Piper stuttered. "Come on think about it Pheebs, what if she goes for this without talking to us."
"Well I guess that's her decision." Phoebe replied as she glanced down at her left hand. "I mean it's a trait of all us Halliwell's that we're stubborn. You were when they wouldn't let you marry Leo, I was with Cole, Prue was all the time and I know how often you have complained that Paige is. But the thing is, when we need help we will always turn to each other and we've got to trust Paige will turn to us."
Piper looked at Phoebe with a slightly surprised look on her face, "You know that's good advice."
"Ah well I've been practicing this middle sister lark." Phoebe explained. "Lets go back in there in then."
Piper watched as her younger sister entered the courtroom and muttered under her breath. "And I've been practicing this big sister thing and I'm going to get the moment of it all."
* * *
Paige started to regain her composure as the prosecution lawyer retook her seat and the defense lawyer got to her feet.
By no means had the last forty meeting been easy but she had been able to get her point across reasonably. Actually, Paige reasoned with herself, it had gone slightly better than expected. She had gained one or two sympathetic glances from some of jury and managed for the first time to talk about the whole experience without running out of the room in tears.
The defense lawyer rested her right hand carefully on her chin as she studied the youngest Charmed One. "You must understand that the problem with rape and especially date rape is that it's your word against my client. So you can understand if I wish to establish some facts. You are currently unemployed and living off your sisters."
"I am currently between jobs," Paige stated in a clear voice. She just had to keep her cool and stick to the facts. "And leaving with my sisters although I can't see what that has to do with the case."
"As I said, I'm just establishing the facts, Miss Matthews." The lawyer stated again. "And you are a recovering alcoholic?"
"Yes," Paige replied, "But as I said before I had been sober for eight years before the attack."
"You refer to it as an attack Miss Matthews, but is it not true that you exchanged phone numbers with Mr. Parlour and were indeed looking forward to seeing him again?"
"Yes, but are you telling me that you have never exchanged phone numbers with someone you have meet in a bar." Paige said in a firm voice, the more that this woman was questioning her nature the easier it was becoming. She just had to step back onto the defensive line that she had been standing on for weeks.
"No, but I have never cried rape on the person in question after giving them my phone number. Is it not true that you wanted to sleep with the defendant?"
"No it's not true." Paige reaffirmed. "I don't know what kind of women you think I am, but I do not sleep with someone on the first date, let alone someone who is robbing my sister's club. But if someone aims their gun at me and threatens to kill my sister and then forces me to sleep with them. I call that rape."
* * *
Paige walked out of the courtroom and was swamped with a hug. She spluttered for breath through Phoebe arms before slowly pushing her away and shooting a small smile tat her older sister.
"You we're fantastic." Phoebe told her younger sister. "You put that son of a bitch back in his place."
"Actually his mother's not that bad." Paige replied as she felt a great sense of relief engulf her entire body.
"That's good to know, because I wouldn't want my niece or nephew to be half evil."
"Piper!" Phoebe hissed as Paige looked at her oldest sister with a slightly confused look on her face.
Piper extended her hand and offered her younger sister a small pile of leaflets, "Eva dropped by these."