CHAPTER 2: A MESSAGE FOR PAIGE
Piper was in the attic, lighting some white candles and placing them in a circle. Once the circle was formed, she stepped back near the Book of Shadows and whispered to herself, "please, let Prue come to me."
Hear these words Hear my plea Spirit from the other side Come to me I summon thee Cross now the great divide.
White lights swirled around inside the circle of candles, and Piper's hopes soared when she was a head of dark hair. This was it, she was finally able to see her big sister but her heart was crushed in less than a second. The lights died down to reveal, Grams. "Grams!" Piper yelled, "I wanted Prue! Why won't she come?"
"Well nice to see you too."
"I'm sorry, it's just I really wanted Prue here to meet Paige. It's not fair that she never got to know her."
"Is that the real reason you want Prue here? Or is it for you?"
"Well, a little for me but mostly for Paige and Phoebe too. It's just not right. Why can't we summon Prue. We summoned you a couple of years after you died, and Prue's been gone for longer than that."
"I know that but you were closer to Prue than me, and it's going to take a lot longer to get over her death. Now, no one is stopping her from coming, she can come if she wants to and she does. It's just that she knows you won't really accept that she's gone if you can summon her anytime you want. Maybe in the future dear but not right now."
"But I miss her so much!" Cried Piper, collapsing onto the floor in sobs. Grams stepped out of the ring of candles, becoming corporeal. She knelt down beside her granddaughter and hugged her. "I know sweetie, and she misses you too. She's always watching over you, and Paige too." Piper looked up, wiping the tears from her face. "She knows about Paige? Is she mad at us for accepting her so quickly after it happened?"
"No! She could never be mad at you for that. Paige is her sister too. She understands what you had to do, and she asked me to tell Paige something. If you don't mind, I'd like to go downstairs and see my other granddaughters." Grams didn't even wait for Piper to say anything, she just helped her up and walked downstairs.
"Grams!!!! What are you doing here?" Phoebe yelled from her position on the couch. Leo and Paige's talk was taking a lot longer than she anticipated so she decided to go lay down on the couch in the sitting room (a/n: it's the couch by the stairs, I didn't know what that room was called so I will refer to it as the sitting room from now on). She heard footsteps and looked up to see Piper and Grams walking down the stairs.
"Phoebe darling! Piper summoned me. How have you been?"
"Wait....I thought Piper was going to summon Prue, why'd she summon you?"
"I did summon Prue but again, Grams came instead. She's here to talk to Paige now though. Where is she?"
"She's in her room talking to Leo. You might wanna wait 'till they're done though."
"I think what Prue wants me to tell her is a little more important. I'll just go up to her room and tell her real quickly."
"Oh um, Paige's bedroom is in the basement now. We've had some additions to the family recently. We redid the basement and Paige offered to move in down there so Wyatt could have her old room and Piper's daughters moved into the nursery."
"What? Piper was pregnant? When?" She asked, turning around to face Piper, who was still standing by the stairs.
"Yeah, I thought Mom would have told you. I had twins Grams."
"Well, you are just making Halliwell history here, first you marry your whitelighter, then you have the first boy in the family line and the first set of twins! Where are they?"
"Ummm....I don't know, I left them with Leo while I was upstairs. Pheebs, where are they?" Asked Piper, starting to panic.
"Relax, I put them in their travel play pen thingy when he went to talk to Paige, they're sleeping."
"Oh, thank God! Come on, we leave it in the living room." Piper led the way to the living room where all three of her children were sleeping. Grams walked over to the travel play pen and peered inside.
"They are just adorable! How can you tell them apart, they look exactly alike?'
"Well, Leo and I are the only ones that can. The baby on the left is Prudence Melinda and her sister, to the left, is Phoebe May but we just call her May so we don't get confused. And that little mound on the couch is Wyatt." Piper was referring to what looked like a pile of blankets but if you looked hard enough, you could see a few curls of sandy colored hair.
"They look just like you! Except I see Leo's eyes. How can you tell them apart?"
"I don't really know. Just can I guess." Piper walked over to the couch where the blankets and pillows were moving. Wyatt poked his head out and saw his mommy kneeling on the floor next to him. "Hey Little Man. Have a nice nap?" Wyatt nodded his head, then looked at the strange, but oddly familiar woman standing near his aunt. He looked back at his mom and tilted his head to one side, furrowing his brow. Piper understood his gesture to mean, "who's that?"
"That, Little Man, is your great grandmother." Picking him up she whispered into his ear, "she's good, very good." She looked back at him and he looked her right in the eyes, before holding his hands out towards his great grandmother. "Look Grams, he likes you."
"Oh, well, naturally." She replied, taking the young child into her arms. "He's gotten so big since I last saw him! He looks exactly like his daddy!"
"Yeah, well Grams you saw him over a year ago." Hearing footsteps, Piper turned towards the dining room. Paige and Leo were joining them in the living room. "Hi Mrs....I mean Grams." Paige greeted.
"Hi darling. How have you been?"
"I'm good, and um...not that I'm complaining but why are you here?'
"Okay, this is where Phoebe, Piper, and I take the kids and leave. Bye Grams." Leo took Wyatt from Grams and walked out into the kitchen while Phoebe grabbed May and Piper grabbed Prudence.
"I'm here because Piper tried to summon Prue. She wanted you to be able to meet her because she felt it was unfair that you never knew her. Prue wouldn't come though, she feels Piper and Phoebe need to realize that she's not going to come back and be their sister. Well, as I explained to Piper, Prue will never be truly gone, she's watching over all of them, even you. Which brings me to why I'm still here. Prue asked me to tell you something before I left to come down here. She wanted me to tell you she loves you. Prue, Patty, and I have been observing your relationship with your sisters. Prue was afraid you felt guilty for kind of replacing you."
"How'd she know I felt like that?"
"I don't really know, just instincts she said. Well she understands how you needed to replace her, so to speak, and she promises you will get to meet her one day soon but she didn't tell me when. She loves you and accepts you."
Paige was crying silently by now, she had dreamed of meeting Prue for the last three years, always knowing it wasn't going to happen, but here was her dead grandmother, who she never though she'd meet, telling her that she had a message from her big sister.
"I.....I....I.....don't know what to say. Did she really say that? Will I really get to meet her?"
"Prue promised, and she keeps her promises but it probably won't be for a few years now and I don't want you to wait around for her. Now that I've delivered the message, I must go."
"Do you really hafta go so soon?"
"I'm afraid so. Say goodbye to the others for me."
"Bye Grams." It was the first time Paige had called her Grams without hesitation, a small thing that would go unnoticed by anyone but Penny Halliwell. She waved slowly before bright white lights engulfed her and she was gone. Paige orbed herself into her bedroom, not wanting to pass through the kitchen. She didn't know whether or not her message should be shared with the rest of her family. She felt a little selfish, but after all, Phoebe and Piper had gotten to spend their whole lives with Prue, maybe Paige could have just this one visit all to herself.......
Piper was in the attic, lighting some white candles and placing them in a circle. Once the circle was formed, she stepped back near the Book of Shadows and whispered to herself, "please, let Prue come to me."
Hear these words Hear my plea Spirit from the other side Come to me I summon thee Cross now the great divide.
White lights swirled around inside the circle of candles, and Piper's hopes soared when she was a head of dark hair. This was it, she was finally able to see her big sister but her heart was crushed in less than a second. The lights died down to reveal, Grams. "Grams!" Piper yelled, "I wanted Prue! Why won't she come?"
"Well nice to see you too."
"I'm sorry, it's just I really wanted Prue here to meet Paige. It's not fair that she never got to know her."
"Is that the real reason you want Prue here? Or is it for you?"
"Well, a little for me but mostly for Paige and Phoebe too. It's just not right. Why can't we summon Prue. We summoned you a couple of years after you died, and Prue's been gone for longer than that."
"I know that but you were closer to Prue than me, and it's going to take a lot longer to get over her death. Now, no one is stopping her from coming, she can come if she wants to and she does. It's just that she knows you won't really accept that she's gone if you can summon her anytime you want. Maybe in the future dear but not right now."
"But I miss her so much!" Cried Piper, collapsing onto the floor in sobs. Grams stepped out of the ring of candles, becoming corporeal. She knelt down beside her granddaughter and hugged her. "I know sweetie, and she misses you too. She's always watching over you, and Paige too." Piper looked up, wiping the tears from her face. "She knows about Paige? Is she mad at us for accepting her so quickly after it happened?"
"No! She could never be mad at you for that. Paige is her sister too. She understands what you had to do, and she asked me to tell Paige something. If you don't mind, I'd like to go downstairs and see my other granddaughters." Grams didn't even wait for Piper to say anything, she just helped her up and walked downstairs.
"Grams!!!! What are you doing here?" Phoebe yelled from her position on the couch. Leo and Paige's talk was taking a lot longer than she anticipated so she decided to go lay down on the couch in the sitting room (a/n: it's the couch by the stairs, I didn't know what that room was called so I will refer to it as the sitting room from now on). She heard footsteps and looked up to see Piper and Grams walking down the stairs.
"Phoebe darling! Piper summoned me. How have you been?"
"Wait....I thought Piper was going to summon Prue, why'd she summon you?"
"I did summon Prue but again, Grams came instead. She's here to talk to Paige now though. Where is she?"
"She's in her room talking to Leo. You might wanna wait 'till they're done though."
"I think what Prue wants me to tell her is a little more important. I'll just go up to her room and tell her real quickly."
"Oh um, Paige's bedroom is in the basement now. We've had some additions to the family recently. We redid the basement and Paige offered to move in down there so Wyatt could have her old room and Piper's daughters moved into the nursery."
"What? Piper was pregnant? When?" She asked, turning around to face Piper, who was still standing by the stairs.
"Yeah, I thought Mom would have told you. I had twins Grams."
"Well, you are just making Halliwell history here, first you marry your whitelighter, then you have the first boy in the family line and the first set of twins! Where are they?"
"Ummm....I don't know, I left them with Leo while I was upstairs. Pheebs, where are they?" Asked Piper, starting to panic.
"Relax, I put them in their travel play pen thingy when he went to talk to Paige, they're sleeping."
"Oh, thank God! Come on, we leave it in the living room." Piper led the way to the living room where all three of her children were sleeping. Grams walked over to the travel play pen and peered inside.
"They are just adorable! How can you tell them apart, they look exactly alike?'
"Well, Leo and I are the only ones that can. The baby on the left is Prudence Melinda and her sister, to the left, is Phoebe May but we just call her May so we don't get confused. And that little mound on the couch is Wyatt." Piper was referring to what looked like a pile of blankets but if you looked hard enough, you could see a few curls of sandy colored hair.
"They look just like you! Except I see Leo's eyes. How can you tell them apart?"
"I don't really know. Just can I guess." Piper walked over to the couch where the blankets and pillows were moving. Wyatt poked his head out and saw his mommy kneeling on the floor next to him. "Hey Little Man. Have a nice nap?" Wyatt nodded his head, then looked at the strange, but oddly familiar woman standing near his aunt. He looked back at his mom and tilted his head to one side, furrowing his brow. Piper understood his gesture to mean, "who's that?"
"That, Little Man, is your great grandmother." Picking him up she whispered into his ear, "she's good, very good." She looked back at him and he looked her right in the eyes, before holding his hands out towards his great grandmother. "Look Grams, he likes you."
"Oh, well, naturally." She replied, taking the young child into her arms. "He's gotten so big since I last saw him! He looks exactly like his daddy!"
"Yeah, well Grams you saw him over a year ago." Hearing footsteps, Piper turned towards the dining room. Paige and Leo were joining them in the living room. "Hi Mrs....I mean Grams." Paige greeted.
"Hi darling. How have you been?"
"I'm good, and um...not that I'm complaining but why are you here?'
"Okay, this is where Phoebe, Piper, and I take the kids and leave. Bye Grams." Leo took Wyatt from Grams and walked out into the kitchen while Phoebe grabbed May and Piper grabbed Prudence.
"I'm here because Piper tried to summon Prue. She wanted you to be able to meet her because she felt it was unfair that you never knew her. Prue wouldn't come though, she feels Piper and Phoebe need to realize that she's not going to come back and be their sister. Well, as I explained to Piper, Prue will never be truly gone, she's watching over all of them, even you. Which brings me to why I'm still here. Prue asked me to tell you something before I left to come down here. She wanted me to tell you she loves you. Prue, Patty, and I have been observing your relationship with your sisters. Prue was afraid you felt guilty for kind of replacing you."
"How'd she know I felt like that?"
"I don't really know, just instincts she said. Well she understands how you needed to replace her, so to speak, and she promises you will get to meet her one day soon but she didn't tell me when. She loves you and accepts you."
Paige was crying silently by now, she had dreamed of meeting Prue for the last three years, always knowing it wasn't going to happen, but here was her dead grandmother, who she never though she'd meet, telling her that she had a message from her big sister.
"I.....I....I.....don't know what to say. Did she really say that? Will I really get to meet her?"
"Prue promised, and she keeps her promises but it probably won't be for a few years now and I don't want you to wait around for her. Now that I've delivered the message, I must go."
"Do you really hafta go so soon?"
"I'm afraid so. Say goodbye to the others for me."
"Bye Grams." It was the first time Paige had called her Grams without hesitation, a small thing that would go unnoticed by anyone but Penny Halliwell. She waved slowly before bright white lights engulfed her and she was gone. Paige orbed herself into her bedroom, not wanting to pass through the kitchen. She didn't know whether or not her message should be shared with the rest of her family. She felt a little selfish, but after all, Phoebe and Piper had gotten to spend their whole lives with Prue, maybe Paige could have just this one visit all to herself.......