Title: Reunion
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Charmed. They are owned by a bunch of people who aren't me. I'm not making any money off of this, so don't sue. Though you wouldn't get much if you did.
Author's Note: I know it's been forever since I posted the first part of this. It's a separate story called Family Moments. (It used to be under a different title, so you might not recognize the name.) If you don't read that before this, then you'll be very lost. This is far from done, so review if you think I should continue. I hope you enjoy. R/R
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Paige was a little nervous about the upcoming conversation with her sisters. She had no idea how to start this and she wasn't sure their reactions would be. Despite Prue's reassurances, she still feared that Piper and Phoebe didn't really love her but kept her around for her powers. The only way to get rid of these fears was to talk to her sisters.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw her sisters and had to hold back a giggle. Piper was rushing around the kitchen preparing breakfast, while Phoebe was talking animatedly to her. Piper was so engrossed in her cooking that Phoebe might as well have been talking to a wall, but she was blissfully unaware of this fact. The scene was so natural that she imagined that it was the type of thing that happened fairly often as the two had grown up. She decided to interrupt because she really needed to get this conversation behind her.
"Phoebe, Piper?" They both turned to her.
"Morning." She decided to take things slow.
"Hey Paige. I was just telling Piper about this new restaurant I read about. I was thinking we could go and check it out." Paige noticed Piper's lost look and snickered. "What?"
"Nothing, Phoebe. I just remembered something funny. Forget about it." She covered rather lamely.
"Okay, so what do you think Piper? I wanted to go tonight. I you don't have plans, Paige, why don't you join us." Phoebe directed the first part to Piper and added in the last bit as an afterthought.
"That sounds good; so you in, Paige?" Piper chimed in.
Some of Paige's cheerfulness slipped away as she answered, "No thanks. You guys have fun." As she sat down she mumbled, "I wouldn't want to intrude." Prue was obviously wrong. They didn't want her. She had been stupid to think otherwise.
Piper and Phoebe caught each other's eye both having heard Paige and saw how she had dimmed a bit. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Piper wasn't sure what was up, but she was going to find out.
"Come on, talk to us." Phoebe added just as determined to find out what was wrong.
Paige mustered a half-hearted smile. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just fine." It rang untrue even to her, but she didn't want to talk anymore. Her suspicions were proven and nothing anyone said was going to change that.
"Do we really look that stupid? Okay don't answer that . Anyway, what's going on? What's got you down all of a sudden? You can talk to us; we love you."
Paige couldn't hold back a snort of disbelief.
"What was that about?" This time Piper was interrupted by Paige rolling her eyes. Both Piper and Phoebe were taken back by Paige's attitude.
Paige wasn't about to stay where she knew she wasn't wanted. "Look, I told you I'm fine. Don't worry about me, not that you would. If a demon attacks call me. Otherwise, well I guess you wouldn't need me, would you? Whatever, I'm going." She wasn't going to let them see that she was upset. If she wasn't worth their time, then they weren't worth hers.
Before she could even get out of her chair, both sisters pushed her back down.
"We were trying to be nice, but that's obviously not going to work. We're going to stay here until you tell us why you're angry with us. What's is going to be? Are we going to sit here all day, or are you going to cooperate so we can get on with our days." Piper didn't realize that she had make things worse, but Phoebe did. She saw Paige start to tear up, but before she could do anything, Paige orbed out of their grasps.
"Piper, I think things just got worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Before she orbed out, it looked like she was going to cry. Whatever's going on with her is obviously something we've got to figure out. She's going to need someone to lend a shoulder, and I think it has to be us."
"What should we do?" Piper started taking things off the stove as she talked with Phoebe, knowing that they wouldn't have time for breakfast right now.
"First, we've got to figure out where she went and then we have to get her to open up to us."
Piper was determined to help Paige, and she had an idea to at least find her. She looked to the ceiling and started yelling. "Leo. Leo get down here. Le-" She was interrupted by the blue lights that materialized into her husband.
"What's up?"
"We need you to find Paige." Phoebe got right down to business.
"What's wrong? Is she hurt? Did a demon attack?" Piper cut off his stream of questions. "She started acting really weird this morning. She was being kind of cold and when we called her on it she got upset and orbed out. We just want to figure out what's wrong."
"So could you please find her so we can straighten things out." Phoebe finished Piper's account of the situation.
"Uh, sure. One second… She's in the attic. Didn't you guys look at all?"
They exchanged guilty looks a Phoebe answered. "No, we figured that she would have gone farther."
"Okay. Well, I have to get back to work. I'll leave you two to solve this." He kissed Piper and then orbed out.
"Now, let's get up there." They rushed up the steps, but hesitated at the attic door. Piper knocked hesitantly and waited for a reply. When she didn't get one, she knocked a little harder. This time they heard a muffled sniffle. Piper pushed the door open and she and Phoebe walked in.
Paige was sitting by the window looking through a photo album and crying. She didn't look up when they came in.
"Paige?" Phoebe called out tentatively.
"Go away." was Paige's only reply.
They edged closer to her until they were finally almost right next to her and could see what she was looking at. There were pictures of them when they were younger. Some included Prue and some went far enough back to include their mother. Paige finally looked up and their hearts nearly broke when they saw her tear-stained face.
Phoebe and Piper pulled her into a hug as they both started to tear up. They still weren't sure what was going on, but that could wait a little while. They felt Paige lean into the embrace, but her tears still didn't subside. The hug lasted a little longer but they reluctantly pulled away; they had to talk, and they all knew it.
"Paige, are you ready to talk to us now? If we know what upset you so much, we might be able to help." Piper held her breath, waiting to see if she would open up.
"It's…it's just." Paige wasn't sure how to continue, or even if she wanted to. They said they wanted to help, but she still didn't completely believe them.
"It's just…what? We can't help if we don't know the situation." Phoebe coaxed her little sister to finish her sentence.
Paige decided to get it over with quickly. "I just don't feel like part of the family. I've just been worried that the only reason you wanted me around was because I completed the Charmed Ones. I also feel that if you were given a choice between me and Prue that I would be out in the cold. That's what's been bugging me, okay?" She hadn't looked up during her confession, but she did now.
Phoebe and Piper were blind-sided, and the tears that had threatened to fall earlier now traveled freely down their cheeks.
Phoebe spoke first, "Wow, Paige. I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm going to do everything I can to convince you that I love you. I love you very much."
Piper continued when Phoebe couldn't anymore. "We both love you so much. It wouldn't matter if you weren't a Charmed One; we care about you for so much more than your powers. And as for a choice between you and Prue, forget about it. We miss her, but there is no way we could ever, ever abandon you. We love you, I love you." She pulled Paige into a bone-crushing hug which Phoebe soon joined. They whispered words of love and comfort to Paige who finally stopped crying as she basked in the love coming from her sisters. Only one thing could make this moment any better: Prue.
"Ask and you shall receive." Prue answered Paige's unspoken plea for her presence.
"Prue!" Paige pulled away from her other sisters to give Prue a hug that nearly knocked her to the floor.
"Glad to see you again, too." She pulled out of the hug but kept one arm around Paige's shoulders as she turned to Phoebe and Piper. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?"
Piper was still dazed as she asked, "What did you mean again? I thought you two had never met."
"Well until last night, we hadn't, but they gave me permission to meet her." She answered the next question before it was even asked. "I wasn't allowed to see you, and Paige wasn't allowed to tell you about it, so don't get mad at her."
"Wow, so how are you here now? Not that I'm not happy to see you; I am. I was just wondering." Phoebe knew she wasn't making much sense, but she couldn't help it. She was happy, overwhelmed, but happy.
"Yeah, Prue how did you get them to let you see Phoebe and Piper?" Paige felt embarrassed and kind of stupid now that her initial excitement was over.
"You're not stupid." 'Damn' "and what did I tell you about that language." The other two exchanged mystified looks that clearly said 'What the hell is going on?'
"I guess I forgot to explain again. I can kinda read your minds."
"Oookay, you still haven't explained how you got here. Again I'm happy, but…" Phoebe wasn't even going to try and worry about the whole mind-reading thing right then. What mattered was why, and for how long, her sister was home.
"Right. They didn't want me to be able to see you until they were sure you had…come to peace with my death. Apparently you have."
Piper and Phoebe finally approached Prue. Both were worried that this was just a dream.
"It's not a dream. I'm real, and I'm really here." She let go of Paige and pulled them to her in a crushing hug.
Paige felt that she was intruding, so she started towards the door.
"Paige, you're no intruding. Get your butt over her and hug your sisters." When Paige didn't automatically join them, Prue dragged her back using her powers and pulled her into the hug.
They stayed huddled like that until Leo made his presence known. "Guys. Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but can I join. I heard about Prue being back and wanted to see for myself that it was true."
Prue pulled Leo into the hug and it lasted almost a minute before Prue pulled away. "I would love to stay like this, but my time here is kind of limited. They gave me 24 hours, and we've already used up half and hour mostly hugging. I was hoping to get some breakfast if you're up to making it Piper." Prue's puppy dog eyes made Piper roll her eyes and everyone else chuckle.
"I could never refuse you anything. I was in the middle of cooking when all of this started. I guess you all want something, too." She asked as she turned to the rest of them; at their nods she headed for the stairs with the rest of the group following close behind.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Charmed. They are owned by a bunch of people who aren't me. I'm not making any money off of this, so don't sue. Though you wouldn't get much if you did.
Author's Note: I know it's been forever since I posted the first part of this. It's a separate story called Family Moments. (It used to be under a different title, so you might not recognize the name.) If you don't read that before this, then you'll be very lost. This is far from done, so review if you think I should continue. I hope you enjoy. R/R
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Paige was a little nervous about the upcoming conversation with her sisters. She had no idea how to start this and she wasn't sure their reactions would be. Despite Prue's reassurances, she still feared that Piper and Phoebe didn't really love her but kept her around for her powers. The only way to get rid of these fears was to talk to her sisters.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw her sisters and had to hold back a giggle. Piper was rushing around the kitchen preparing breakfast, while Phoebe was talking animatedly to her. Piper was so engrossed in her cooking that Phoebe might as well have been talking to a wall, but she was blissfully unaware of this fact. The scene was so natural that she imagined that it was the type of thing that happened fairly often as the two had grown up. She decided to interrupt because she really needed to get this conversation behind her.
"Phoebe, Piper?" They both turned to her.
"Morning." She decided to take things slow.
"Hey Paige. I was just telling Piper about this new restaurant I read about. I was thinking we could go and check it out." Paige noticed Piper's lost look and snickered. "What?"
"Nothing, Phoebe. I just remembered something funny. Forget about it." She covered rather lamely.
"Okay, so what do you think Piper? I wanted to go tonight. I you don't have plans, Paige, why don't you join us." Phoebe directed the first part to Piper and added in the last bit as an afterthought.
"That sounds good; so you in, Paige?" Piper chimed in.
Some of Paige's cheerfulness slipped away as she answered, "No thanks. You guys have fun." As she sat down she mumbled, "I wouldn't want to intrude." Prue was obviously wrong. They didn't want her. She had been stupid to think otherwise.
Piper and Phoebe caught each other's eye both having heard Paige and saw how she had dimmed a bit. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Piper wasn't sure what was up, but she was going to find out.
"Come on, talk to us." Phoebe added just as determined to find out what was wrong.
Paige mustered a half-hearted smile. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just fine." It rang untrue even to her, but she didn't want to talk anymore. Her suspicions were proven and nothing anyone said was going to change that.
"Do we really look that stupid? Okay don't answer that . Anyway, what's going on? What's got you down all of a sudden? You can talk to us; we love you."
Paige couldn't hold back a snort of disbelief.
"What was that about?" This time Piper was interrupted by Paige rolling her eyes. Both Piper and Phoebe were taken back by Paige's attitude.
Paige wasn't about to stay where she knew she wasn't wanted. "Look, I told you I'm fine. Don't worry about me, not that you would. If a demon attacks call me. Otherwise, well I guess you wouldn't need me, would you? Whatever, I'm going." She wasn't going to let them see that she was upset. If she wasn't worth their time, then they weren't worth hers.
Before she could even get out of her chair, both sisters pushed her back down.
"We were trying to be nice, but that's obviously not going to work. We're going to stay here until you tell us why you're angry with us. What's is going to be? Are we going to sit here all day, or are you going to cooperate so we can get on with our days." Piper didn't realize that she had make things worse, but Phoebe did. She saw Paige start to tear up, but before she could do anything, Paige orbed out of their grasps.
"Piper, I think things just got worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Before she orbed out, it looked like she was going to cry. Whatever's going on with her is obviously something we've got to figure out. She's going to need someone to lend a shoulder, and I think it has to be us."
"What should we do?" Piper started taking things off the stove as she talked with Phoebe, knowing that they wouldn't have time for breakfast right now.
"First, we've got to figure out where she went and then we have to get her to open up to us."
Piper was determined to help Paige, and she had an idea to at least find her. She looked to the ceiling and started yelling. "Leo. Leo get down here. Le-" She was interrupted by the blue lights that materialized into her husband.
"What's up?"
"We need you to find Paige." Phoebe got right down to business.
"What's wrong? Is she hurt? Did a demon attack?" Piper cut off his stream of questions. "She started acting really weird this morning. She was being kind of cold and when we called her on it she got upset and orbed out. We just want to figure out what's wrong."
"So could you please find her so we can straighten things out." Phoebe finished Piper's account of the situation.
"Uh, sure. One second… She's in the attic. Didn't you guys look at all?"
They exchanged guilty looks a Phoebe answered. "No, we figured that she would have gone farther."
"Okay. Well, I have to get back to work. I'll leave you two to solve this." He kissed Piper and then orbed out.
"Now, let's get up there." They rushed up the steps, but hesitated at the attic door. Piper knocked hesitantly and waited for a reply. When she didn't get one, she knocked a little harder. This time they heard a muffled sniffle. Piper pushed the door open and she and Phoebe walked in.
Paige was sitting by the window looking through a photo album and crying. She didn't look up when they came in.
"Paige?" Phoebe called out tentatively.
"Go away." was Paige's only reply.
They edged closer to her until they were finally almost right next to her and could see what she was looking at. There were pictures of them when they were younger. Some included Prue and some went far enough back to include their mother. Paige finally looked up and their hearts nearly broke when they saw her tear-stained face.
Phoebe and Piper pulled her into a hug as they both started to tear up. They still weren't sure what was going on, but that could wait a little while. They felt Paige lean into the embrace, but her tears still didn't subside. The hug lasted a little longer but they reluctantly pulled away; they had to talk, and they all knew it.
"Paige, are you ready to talk to us now? If we know what upset you so much, we might be able to help." Piper held her breath, waiting to see if she would open up.
"It's…it's just." Paige wasn't sure how to continue, or even if she wanted to. They said they wanted to help, but she still didn't completely believe them.
"It's just…what? We can't help if we don't know the situation." Phoebe coaxed her little sister to finish her sentence.
Paige decided to get it over with quickly. "I just don't feel like part of the family. I've just been worried that the only reason you wanted me around was because I completed the Charmed Ones. I also feel that if you were given a choice between me and Prue that I would be out in the cold. That's what's been bugging me, okay?" She hadn't looked up during her confession, but she did now.
Phoebe and Piper were blind-sided, and the tears that had threatened to fall earlier now traveled freely down their cheeks.
Phoebe spoke first, "Wow, Paige. I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm going to do everything I can to convince you that I love you. I love you very much."
Piper continued when Phoebe couldn't anymore. "We both love you so much. It wouldn't matter if you weren't a Charmed One; we care about you for so much more than your powers. And as for a choice between you and Prue, forget about it. We miss her, but there is no way we could ever, ever abandon you. We love you, I love you." She pulled Paige into a bone-crushing hug which Phoebe soon joined. They whispered words of love and comfort to Paige who finally stopped crying as she basked in the love coming from her sisters. Only one thing could make this moment any better: Prue.
"Ask and you shall receive." Prue answered Paige's unspoken plea for her presence.
"Prue!" Paige pulled away from her other sisters to give Prue a hug that nearly knocked her to the floor.
"Glad to see you again, too." She pulled out of the hug but kept one arm around Paige's shoulders as she turned to Phoebe and Piper. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?"
Piper was still dazed as she asked, "What did you mean again? I thought you two had never met."
"Well until last night, we hadn't, but they gave me permission to meet her." She answered the next question before it was even asked. "I wasn't allowed to see you, and Paige wasn't allowed to tell you about it, so don't get mad at her."
"Wow, so how are you here now? Not that I'm not happy to see you; I am. I was just wondering." Phoebe knew she wasn't making much sense, but she couldn't help it. She was happy, overwhelmed, but happy.
"Yeah, Prue how did you get them to let you see Phoebe and Piper?" Paige felt embarrassed and kind of stupid now that her initial excitement was over.
"You're not stupid." 'Damn' "and what did I tell you about that language." The other two exchanged mystified looks that clearly said 'What the hell is going on?'
"I guess I forgot to explain again. I can kinda read your minds."
"Oookay, you still haven't explained how you got here. Again I'm happy, but…" Phoebe wasn't even going to try and worry about the whole mind-reading thing right then. What mattered was why, and for how long, her sister was home.
"Right. They didn't want me to be able to see you until they were sure you had…come to peace with my death. Apparently you have."
Piper and Phoebe finally approached Prue. Both were worried that this was just a dream.
"It's not a dream. I'm real, and I'm really here." She let go of Paige and pulled them to her in a crushing hug.
Paige felt that she was intruding, so she started towards the door.
"Paige, you're no intruding. Get your butt over her and hug your sisters." When Paige didn't automatically join them, Prue dragged her back using her powers and pulled her into the hug.
They stayed huddled like that until Leo made his presence known. "Guys. Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but can I join. I heard about Prue being back and wanted to see for myself that it was true."
Prue pulled Leo into the hug and it lasted almost a minute before Prue pulled away. "I would love to stay like this, but my time here is kind of limited. They gave me 24 hours, and we've already used up half and hour mostly hugging. I was hoping to get some breakfast if you're up to making it Piper." Prue's puppy dog eyes made Piper roll her eyes and everyone else chuckle.
"I could never refuse you anything. I was in the middle of cooking when all of this started. I guess you all want something, too." She asked as she turned to the rest of them; at their nods she headed for the stairs with the rest of the group following close behind.