A/N: In this story, the girls never had braces when they were teens.
Family Affair
Chapter 34: Past Halliwell Holidays
*****December 24, 2004*****
Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were quietly sitting on the sofa; under the soft glow of the twinkling Christmas tree lights.
Prue took a deep breath. She was nestled between Piper and Paige. She was so happy to be back with her sisters and the baby sister she'd never known, but had grown to love and adore anyway. Even though she and Paige had only known each other a short time already, compared to her relationships with Piper and Phoebe, it was just as powerful if not more so. A small tear formed in her eye, she quickly wiped it away and stared at the tree. 'This is the best Christmas yet.' Prue thought.
Piper was on the end of the couch, next to Prue. She had her head gently resting on Prue's shoulder. At this moment in time, everything was perfect. She had all her sisters together, the daughter she'd waited so long for, and the perfect husband. Piper snuggled closer to Prue. She'd missed her older sister for so long. 'This has to be my favorite Christmas of all time.' Piper thought.
Phoebe was on the opposite end of the couch, next to her baby sister, Paige. She just kept thinking about how everything had worked out to bring this moment to her. She sighed. Even though there had been a lot of pain in her past, she would do it all again, just to be right here again. To finally have the 4 Halliwell sisters together at last. 'Finally, things turned out right, this is by far the most wonderful Christmas.' Phoebe thought.
Paige was curled up between Prue and Phoebe. She was so happy to finally have a real home, a real family, a real life. She'd never thought for one moment that life could be as grand as it was, at this moment. She had 3 fantastic sisters who would do anything for her, a beautiful daughter, a magnificent husband, two amazing nieces, and a caring brother-in-law. Then there was Cole, she didn't like him very much, but she could live with that; for the most part. Paige took in a breath of the pine scented room and slowly breathed out. 'This Christmas is the most amazing Christmas of my life.' Paige thought.
The grandfather clock, which had just been fixed again, chimed 10:00 P.M.
The four sisters were beginning to doze of when a swirl of glimmering white lights caught their sleepy eyes.
Piper sleepily turned her head in the direction of the lights, to her surprise, stood her grandmother. "Grams?" Piper asked, instantly awakening.
Penny Halliwell smiled at her 4, beautiful granddaughters. "Girls, it's so nice to see you." She whispered. She wore a long, glittering white gown. A golden glow surrounded her. "Girls, wake up." She said, in a soft tone.
Phoebe murmured and opened her sleepy eyes. "Grams, why are you here?" She asked, as she rubbed her eyes.
"Is there a demon we should know about?" Paige inquired.
Prue put her arm around Paige. "Or is this just a happy visit?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm lingered in her voice.
"No, neither. I've come on business, sort of. Look, I've come to show you something, a message, sort of. I'm just a Guide, aboard for the ride." Penny replied. She held out her hands. "Now, hurry, we only have a limited time. Make a circle." She instructed.
"Are we going somewhere?" Piper asked.
"Yes." Penny answered.
"What about the girls?" Paige asked.
"They'll be fine, I promise." Penny said. "Now hurry!" Penny added.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
"Now, off we go." Penny whispered.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of the Halliwell Manor. But it wasn't as they had left it, things were moved.
"Grams, what's going on?" Prue asked.
"Shhhh. You'll see." Penny whispered.
Moments later two small girls came running down the stairs, followed by Past Penny, and Past Patty who was holding a small baby girl.
The taller little girl looked about 5-years-old. She had shoulder length, raven black hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a red velvet dress with white lace trim, white socks with white lace trim, and little white dress shoes. She was holding a small box, wrapped in red and green stripped Christmas paper, topped with a red bow. She carefully placed it under the glowing Christmas tree. "Hurry mommy! I wanna show Phoebe how pretty everything is!" The little girl exclaimed.
The second little girl had light brown hair, pulled into two small pigtails, with golden bows. She looked about 3-years-old. Her eyes were light brown and she had the sweetest smile. She was wearing a fluffy white, lacy dress, trimmed in gold. She also had on lacy white socks and little, white dress shoes. She was also holding a gift. It was a little bigger than the box that the first child had and it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper with white snowmen all over it, topped with a blue bow. She quickly placed it under the tree as well. "Prue, sit down!" The little girl called, as she looked over at the blue eyed girl. She plopped down on the sofa.
"Girls, it looks beautiful!" Past Penny complimented, as she looked at the two little girls. "And you decorated it all by yourselves?" She asked.
"Yep!" The blue eyed girl said, with a grin.
"But we couldn't get the angel on the tree...." Added the brown eyed little girl, with a frown.
Past Penny smiled. "Now Piper, that's okay. Mommy and I will help you." She replied.
Past Piper grinned. "Thank you, Grams!" She exclaimed.
Past Patty sat down next to Past Prue and Past Piper. "Girls, you've done a great job, and I know Phoebe loves it." She said, as she looked down at the baby in her arms.
Past Phoebe cooed. She didn't look quite a year yet. She had on a little dark green, velvet dress. She had a little brown hair, but not much yet, and big brown eyes. Her feet were covered in little white, lacy socks. She wiggled in Past Patty's arms, in delight.
Past Penny carefully picked up the angel from the table and placed it on the top of the tree. She walked over to the light switched and flicked off the lights, then returned to the sofa, with her family. "Beautiful." She whispered, as she watched the twinkling lights.
Phoebe pointed to Past Patty and Past Phoebe. "Look! I looked so cute!" She exclaimed.
"And so did I!" Piper said, as she pointed to Past Piper.
Prue smiled and pointed to Past Prue. "And look at the adorbale thing that I was." Prue said.
Phoebe nudged Prue in the side. "You were also a toy theif." Phoebe mumbled.
Prue playfully shoved Phoebe back. "Well, you weren't the angel you pretended that you were, either." Prue retorted.
Piper stepped between Prue and Phoebe. "Will you two ever learn to stop the bickering?" She asked, as she rolled her eyes.
Paige just stared at the scene. She was feeling left out right about now. Her sisters had this amazing past, with a loving family, and she didn't know any of it. She just sighed, then turned back to her sisters who were kidding around with each other, again she felt left out.
Penny turned and to her granddaughters, realizing that Paige was feeling left out, she could clearly see it in her face. "It's time to go." She whispered, as she held out her hands.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of a small house. The room was softly lit by the glow of a few candles and a large, beautifully decorated, Christmas tree. Presents covered the floor under the tree.
"Where are we, Grams? I don't remember it." Piper said.
"Shhhh." Penny whispered.
A few tears began to drip down Paige's face, she obviously knew where they were.
A small girl burst through the doorway of the room and slid to a stop, by the tree. She had long, dark brown hair, that almost looked black. It went halfway down her back. She looked about 6-years-old. She had deep, brown eyes. She wore a dark purple, velvet dress. It has a small pink rose on the front and long, flowery sleeves. She had on dark purple, lacy socks, and black dress shoes. The girl stared at the presents for a moment then turned and looked at the doorway, as a man and woman walked in.
"Mommy! Daddy! Can I please, pretty pleeeeeease, open one now?! After all, it's Christmas Eve, pleeeeeeeeease?!" The little girl begged.
The woman looked at the man and smiled, then she turned back to the little girl. "Why do you want to open one so bad?" She asked.
"Because I do! So please?!" She asked, again.
"Well, what do you say?" The woman asked, as she looked at the man.
"I guess it's okay, but only one!" The man warned, as he looked at the little girl.
"Yay! Thank you daddy!" The little girl giggled. She grabbed a large box and wripped off the paper. "Oh wow! Christmas Barbie!" The little girl exclaimed. She ran over to the man and woman.
The woman bent down and hugged the small girl. "I'm glad you like it, Merry Christmas Eve, Paige." The woman whispered.
The man bent down to the little girl's level as well, hugging the woman, and the little girl. "Merry Christmas Eve, Paige." He said.
Past Paige grinned. "I love you, both." She said.
"We love you, too." The man and woman said, in unison.
Past Paige hugged her adoptive parents tighter.
By this time tears were rolling down Paige's face like rain drops on a wet window.
Prue stared at her youngest sister for a moment, taking in the entire scene. Then she walked over to Paige and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Prue." Paige whispered. As she buried her face in Prue's shoulder.
Penny hated to break up Prue and Paige's moment, but time was running out, and they still had 2 more stops. She held out her hands. "Girls, I'm sorry to break up the moment, but we need to go." Penny said.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of the Halliwell Manor, again. But it was different from the Christmas they'd seen just a few minutes ago. Not as many ornaments decorated the tree, the room was darker because the lights on the tree weren't turned on.
Prue winced, she remembered this Christmas Eve very clearly. It had been the second Christmas, after her mother died. By this time she didn't believe in Santa anymore, since he hadn't brought her mother back the year before. A few stray tears dripped down her cheeks.
Past Prue walked into the living room. She looked about 7-years-old, but she looked as if she'd been crying. She walked over to the couch and sat down, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a picture. Past Prue stared at the picture for a few minutes, before tears started to flood her vision. It had been of the last Christmas they shared with their mother.
Past Piper walked in, holding Past Phoebe's hand. "Prue, can you please help Phoebe and I write Santa a Christmas letter?" Past Piper asked. Past Piper looked about 5-years-old.
Past Prue quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and shoved the picture back into her pocket. "Piper, don't you get it?! Santa isn't real, or he would have brought mom back last Christmas!" She yelled. Tears strolled down her face, then she hopped off the couch, and ran upstairs.
Past Penny walked in, just in time to see Past Piper burst into tears. "Piper! What's wrong?" Past Penny asked, in concern.
Past Piper sniffed. "Prue said Santa doesn't exist because he didn't bring mommy back, last year...." She cried.
A look of sorrow filled Past Penny's eyes. She quickly scooped Past Piper and Past Phoebe up, and set them on the couch with her. "Piper...Prue's just hurting. She doesn't mean it. There is a Santa and he'll be glad to bring you presents, but he can't bring back mommies." She explained.
Past Piper wiped a few tears from her face. "Why not?" She asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Past Phoebe asked. She looked about 2-years-old.
"Because, it's just not what Santa does. But don't worry, I promise you'll see her again, soon." Past Penny promised. She put her arms around Past Piper and Past Phoebe, then looked up to the ceiling. "Blessed be, Patty." She whispered.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe's eyes were flooded with tears now.
"I'm so sorry Piper." Prue cried. "I didn't mean to ruin Christmas for you, but it just hurt so much without mom." Prue cried. She sniffed. "I mean, I wrote Santa a letter every week, if not more, the Christmas before that. I begged Santa to bring back mom, but it never happened." Prue cried.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe pulled themselves into a 3-way hug.
Paige pulled a few strands of wet hair out of her face, then tucked them behind her ears. She stared at Past Penny, Past Piper, and Past Phoebe. She really wished she could have known them, her sisters and grandmother, at that age. She longed to know them. Then here she was again, being left out of the family memories.
Penny again held out her hands. "Girls...We have one more stop." Penny whispered.
"No, Grams, please! I've seen enough, this is too sad." Piper begged.
Penny shook her head. "You must go." Penny whispered.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of a small apartment. The room was was barely lit. Roaches crawled across the floor, dirty clothes, and newpaper adds were strewn around the room. It looked horrible.
A door opened and a teenage girl walked in. She had long, dark brown, almost black hair. She looked about 16-years-old. her eyes were deep brown. Her face was tear stained and her clothes were dirty, with holes. She locked the door and flipped on the light switch, it turned on a small, dim lamp. She walked over to the cupboared and pulled out a little cheese and crackers packet, then walked to a very small, fake tree on the table. In front of the tree, sat a picture of Paige's adoptive parents and Paige, the Christmas before the car crash. Tears spilled down Past Paige's face. "Why?! Why?!" She cried. "I should have died too, why didn't I go with them?!" Paige yelled out, as she stared at the ceiling. She grabbed the picture and held it tightly. "Why did you leave me?!" She screamed. Suddenly she hurled the picture across the room, then winced at the loud shatter of glass. Past Paige slid to the floor, curled up, and just sobbed.
As Paige watched the scene, she began to sob again, too. "That...that was the worst Christmas ever!" She cried.
Piper wiped her eyes and walked over to Paige, wrapping her arms around be youngest sister. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Paige...." Piper whispered. "I can't imagine how it must have been for you...." She whispered.
Prue walked over to Piper and Paige, joining Piper's embrace, around Paige. "Paige...I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I was never there for you, I'm sorry about everything that has happened to you." She whispered, as tears dripped down her face too.
Phoebe was the last to join the sisterly hug, but she was there just the same. "I'm sorry too Paige. I've been selfish tonight. It's just....I got caught up in the moment...and...I'm sorry..." She whispered.
Paige hugged her sisters tighter. "I'm sorry too....For acting like this...It's just so horrible to see this Christmas again. I mean..I missed them so much, they were all I had. At least you guys had each other and Grams." She whispered.
Piper nodded. "I know....It wasn't fair for you. Any of us, but you the most." Piper said, with a sniff.
Penny quietly walked over to her granddaughters and placed her hand on Prue's shoulder.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Then they reappeared in the Halliwell Manor, in the present time.
Paige looked up. "Look, we're home, again." Paige said.
Piper followed Paige's gaze. "We..we are. Grams, does this mean the trip is over?" Piper asked, as she looked at Penny.
Penny shook her head, no. "No. Only my part of the, 'trip', is over." Penny answered. "You'll be visited by two more spirits tonight, at each hour. Now, I must go. I love you all, blessed be." She whispered. Then in a swirl of white lights, Penny Halliwell was gone again.
"Blessed be." Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige whispered in unison.
Prue looked up at the clock. "Looks like we have two minutes before the next spirit." She informed.
Phoebe paused for a moment. "This seems like that book, 'A Christmas Carol'." Phoebe said.
Paige nodded. "You're right, but what's the meaning of it?"
Before any of the sisters could answer, the grandfather clock chimed again.
There was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then.... TO BE CONTINUED....
Family Affair
Chapter 34: Past Halliwell Holidays
*****December 24, 2004*****
Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were quietly sitting on the sofa; under the soft glow of the twinkling Christmas tree lights.
Prue took a deep breath. She was nestled between Piper and Paige. She was so happy to be back with her sisters and the baby sister she'd never known, but had grown to love and adore anyway. Even though she and Paige had only known each other a short time already, compared to her relationships with Piper and Phoebe, it was just as powerful if not more so. A small tear formed in her eye, she quickly wiped it away and stared at the tree. 'This is the best Christmas yet.' Prue thought.
Piper was on the end of the couch, next to Prue. She had her head gently resting on Prue's shoulder. At this moment in time, everything was perfect. She had all her sisters together, the daughter she'd waited so long for, and the perfect husband. Piper snuggled closer to Prue. She'd missed her older sister for so long. 'This has to be my favorite Christmas of all time.' Piper thought.
Phoebe was on the opposite end of the couch, next to her baby sister, Paige. She just kept thinking about how everything had worked out to bring this moment to her. She sighed. Even though there had been a lot of pain in her past, she would do it all again, just to be right here again. To finally have the 4 Halliwell sisters together at last. 'Finally, things turned out right, this is by far the most wonderful Christmas.' Phoebe thought.
Paige was curled up between Prue and Phoebe. She was so happy to finally have a real home, a real family, a real life. She'd never thought for one moment that life could be as grand as it was, at this moment. She had 3 fantastic sisters who would do anything for her, a beautiful daughter, a magnificent husband, two amazing nieces, and a caring brother-in-law. Then there was Cole, she didn't like him very much, but she could live with that; for the most part. Paige took in a breath of the pine scented room and slowly breathed out. 'This Christmas is the most amazing Christmas of my life.' Paige thought.
The grandfather clock, which had just been fixed again, chimed 10:00 P.M.
The four sisters were beginning to doze of when a swirl of glimmering white lights caught their sleepy eyes.
Piper sleepily turned her head in the direction of the lights, to her surprise, stood her grandmother. "Grams?" Piper asked, instantly awakening.
Penny Halliwell smiled at her 4, beautiful granddaughters. "Girls, it's so nice to see you." She whispered. She wore a long, glittering white gown. A golden glow surrounded her. "Girls, wake up." She said, in a soft tone.
Phoebe murmured and opened her sleepy eyes. "Grams, why are you here?" She asked, as she rubbed her eyes.
"Is there a demon we should know about?" Paige inquired.
Prue put her arm around Paige. "Or is this just a happy visit?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm lingered in her voice.
"No, neither. I've come on business, sort of. Look, I've come to show you something, a message, sort of. I'm just a Guide, aboard for the ride." Penny replied. She held out her hands. "Now, hurry, we only have a limited time. Make a circle." She instructed.
"Are we going somewhere?" Piper asked.
"Yes." Penny answered.
"What about the girls?" Paige asked.
"They'll be fine, I promise." Penny said. "Now hurry!" Penny added.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
"Now, off we go." Penny whispered.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of the Halliwell Manor. But it wasn't as they had left it, things were moved.
"Grams, what's going on?" Prue asked.
"Shhhh. You'll see." Penny whispered.
Moments later two small girls came running down the stairs, followed by Past Penny, and Past Patty who was holding a small baby girl.
The taller little girl looked about 5-years-old. She had shoulder length, raven black hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a red velvet dress with white lace trim, white socks with white lace trim, and little white dress shoes. She was holding a small box, wrapped in red and green stripped Christmas paper, topped with a red bow. She carefully placed it under the glowing Christmas tree. "Hurry mommy! I wanna show Phoebe how pretty everything is!" The little girl exclaimed.
The second little girl had light brown hair, pulled into two small pigtails, with golden bows. She looked about 3-years-old. Her eyes were light brown and she had the sweetest smile. She was wearing a fluffy white, lacy dress, trimmed in gold. She also had on lacy white socks and little, white dress shoes. She was also holding a gift. It was a little bigger than the box that the first child had and it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper with white snowmen all over it, topped with a blue bow. She quickly placed it under the tree as well. "Prue, sit down!" The little girl called, as she looked over at the blue eyed girl. She plopped down on the sofa.
"Girls, it looks beautiful!" Past Penny complimented, as she looked at the two little girls. "And you decorated it all by yourselves?" She asked.
"Yep!" The blue eyed girl said, with a grin.
"But we couldn't get the angel on the tree...." Added the brown eyed little girl, with a frown.
Past Penny smiled. "Now Piper, that's okay. Mommy and I will help you." She replied.
Past Piper grinned. "Thank you, Grams!" She exclaimed.
Past Patty sat down next to Past Prue and Past Piper. "Girls, you've done a great job, and I know Phoebe loves it." She said, as she looked down at the baby in her arms.
Past Phoebe cooed. She didn't look quite a year yet. She had on a little dark green, velvet dress. She had a little brown hair, but not much yet, and big brown eyes. Her feet were covered in little white, lacy socks. She wiggled in Past Patty's arms, in delight.
Past Penny carefully picked up the angel from the table and placed it on the top of the tree. She walked over to the light switched and flicked off the lights, then returned to the sofa, with her family. "Beautiful." She whispered, as she watched the twinkling lights.
Phoebe pointed to Past Patty and Past Phoebe. "Look! I looked so cute!" She exclaimed.
"And so did I!" Piper said, as she pointed to Past Piper.
Prue smiled and pointed to Past Prue. "And look at the adorbale thing that I was." Prue said.
Phoebe nudged Prue in the side. "You were also a toy theif." Phoebe mumbled.
Prue playfully shoved Phoebe back. "Well, you weren't the angel you pretended that you were, either." Prue retorted.
Piper stepped between Prue and Phoebe. "Will you two ever learn to stop the bickering?" She asked, as she rolled her eyes.
Paige just stared at the scene. She was feeling left out right about now. Her sisters had this amazing past, with a loving family, and she didn't know any of it. She just sighed, then turned back to her sisters who were kidding around with each other, again she felt left out.
Penny turned and to her granddaughters, realizing that Paige was feeling left out, she could clearly see it in her face. "It's time to go." She whispered, as she held out her hands.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of a small house. The room was softly lit by the glow of a few candles and a large, beautifully decorated, Christmas tree. Presents covered the floor under the tree.
"Where are we, Grams? I don't remember it." Piper said.
"Shhhh." Penny whispered.
A few tears began to drip down Paige's face, she obviously knew where they were.
A small girl burst through the doorway of the room and slid to a stop, by the tree. She had long, dark brown hair, that almost looked black. It went halfway down her back. She looked about 6-years-old. She had deep, brown eyes. She wore a dark purple, velvet dress. It has a small pink rose on the front and long, flowery sleeves. She had on dark purple, lacy socks, and black dress shoes. The girl stared at the presents for a moment then turned and looked at the doorway, as a man and woman walked in.
"Mommy! Daddy! Can I please, pretty pleeeeeease, open one now?! After all, it's Christmas Eve, pleeeeeeeeease?!" The little girl begged.
The woman looked at the man and smiled, then she turned back to the little girl. "Why do you want to open one so bad?" She asked.
"Because I do! So please?!" She asked, again.
"Well, what do you say?" The woman asked, as she looked at the man.
"I guess it's okay, but only one!" The man warned, as he looked at the little girl.
"Yay! Thank you daddy!" The little girl giggled. She grabbed a large box and wripped off the paper. "Oh wow! Christmas Barbie!" The little girl exclaimed. She ran over to the man and woman.
The woman bent down and hugged the small girl. "I'm glad you like it, Merry Christmas Eve, Paige." The woman whispered.
The man bent down to the little girl's level as well, hugging the woman, and the little girl. "Merry Christmas Eve, Paige." He said.
Past Paige grinned. "I love you, both." She said.
"We love you, too." The man and woman said, in unison.
Past Paige hugged her adoptive parents tighter.
By this time tears were rolling down Paige's face like rain drops on a wet window.
Prue stared at her youngest sister for a moment, taking in the entire scene. Then she walked over to Paige and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Prue." Paige whispered. As she buried her face in Prue's shoulder.
Penny hated to break up Prue and Paige's moment, but time was running out, and they still had 2 more stops. She held out her hands. "Girls, I'm sorry to break up the moment, but we need to go." Penny said.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of the Halliwell Manor, again. But it was different from the Christmas they'd seen just a few minutes ago. Not as many ornaments decorated the tree, the room was darker because the lights on the tree weren't turned on.
Prue winced, she remembered this Christmas Eve very clearly. It had been the second Christmas, after her mother died. By this time she didn't believe in Santa anymore, since he hadn't brought her mother back the year before. A few stray tears dripped down her cheeks.
Past Prue walked into the living room. She looked about 7-years-old, but she looked as if she'd been crying. She walked over to the couch and sat down, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a picture. Past Prue stared at the picture for a few minutes, before tears started to flood her vision. It had been of the last Christmas they shared with their mother.
Past Piper walked in, holding Past Phoebe's hand. "Prue, can you please help Phoebe and I write Santa a Christmas letter?" Past Piper asked. Past Piper looked about 5-years-old.
Past Prue quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and shoved the picture back into her pocket. "Piper, don't you get it?! Santa isn't real, or he would have brought mom back last Christmas!" She yelled. Tears strolled down her face, then she hopped off the couch, and ran upstairs.
Past Penny walked in, just in time to see Past Piper burst into tears. "Piper! What's wrong?" Past Penny asked, in concern.
Past Piper sniffed. "Prue said Santa doesn't exist because he didn't bring mommy back, last year...." She cried.
A look of sorrow filled Past Penny's eyes. She quickly scooped Past Piper and Past Phoebe up, and set them on the couch with her. "Piper...Prue's just hurting. She doesn't mean it. There is a Santa and he'll be glad to bring you presents, but he can't bring back mommies." She explained.
Past Piper wiped a few tears from her face. "Why not?" She asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Past Phoebe asked. She looked about 2-years-old.
"Because, it's just not what Santa does. But don't worry, I promise you'll see her again, soon." Past Penny promised. She put her arms around Past Piper and Past Phoebe, then looked up to the ceiling. "Blessed be, Patty." She whispered.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe's eyes were flooded with tears now.
"I'm so sorry Piper." Prue cried. "I didn't mean to ruin Christmas for you, but it just hurt so much without mom." Prue cried. She sniffed. "I mean, I wrote Santa a letter every week, if not more, the Christmas before that. I begged Santa to bring back mom, but it never happened." Prue cried.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe pulled themselves into a 3-way hug.
Paige pulled a few strands of wet hair out of her face, then tucked them behind her ears. She stared at Past Penny, Past Piper, and Past Phoebe. She really wished she could have known them, her sisters and grandmother, at that age. She longed to know them. Then here she was again, being left out of the family memories.
Penny again held out her hands. "Girls...We have one more stop." Penny whispered.
"No, Grams, please! I've seen enough, this is too sad." Piper begged.
Penny shook her head. "You must go." Penny whispered.
Penny, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige took hands; creating a large circle.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Moments later there was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then the five women appeared in the living room of a small apartment. The room was was barely lit. Roaches crawled across the floor, dirty clothes, and newpaper adds were strewn around the room. It looked horrible.
A door opened and a teenage girl walked in. She had long, dark brown, almost black hair. She looked about 16-years-old. her eyes were deep brown. Her face was tear stained and her clothes were dirty, with holes. She locked the door and flipped on the light switch, it turned on a small, dim lamp. She walked over to the cupboared and pulled out a little cheese and crackers packet, then walked to a very small, fake tree on the table. In front of the tree, sat a picture of Paige's adoptive parents and Paige, the Christmas before the car crash. Tears spilled down Past Paige's face. "Why?! Why?!" She cried. "I should have died too, why didn't I go with them?!" Paige yelled out, as she stared at the ceiling. She grabbed the picture and held it tightly. "Why did you leave me?!" She screamed. Suddenly she hurled the picture across the room, then winced at the loud shatter of glass. Past Paige slid to the floor, curled up, and just sobbed.
As Paige watched the scene, she began to sob again, too. "That...that was the worst Christmas ever!" She cried.
Piper wiped her eyes and walked over to Paige, wrapping her arms around be youngest sister. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Paige...." Piper whispered. "I can't imagine how it must have been for you...." She whispered.
Prue walked over to Piper and Paige, joining Piper's embrace, around Paige. "Paige...I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I was never there for you, I'm sorry about everything that has happened to you." She whispered, as tears dripped down her face too.
Phoebe was the last to join the sisterly hug, but she was there just the same. "I'm sorry too Paige. I've been selfish tonight. It's just....I got caught up in the moment...and...I'm sorry..." She whispered.
Paige hugged her sisters tighter. "I'm sorry too....For acting like this...It's just so horrible to see this Christmas again. I mean..I missed them so much, they were all I had. At least you guys had each other and Grams." She whispered.
Piper nodded. "I know....It wasn't fair for you. Any of us, but you the most." Piper said, with a sniff.
Penny quietly walked over to her granddaughters and placed her hand on Prue's shoulder.
The group was enveloped in a swirl of glimmering white lights and vanished.
Then they reappeared in the Halliwell Manor, in the present time.
Paige looked up. "Look, we're home, again." Paige said.
Piper followed Paige's gaze. "We..we are. Grams, does this mean the trip is over?" Piper asked, as she looked at Penny.
Penny shook her head, no. "No. Only my part of the, 'trip', is over." Penny answered. "You'll be visited by two more spirits tonight, at each hour. Now, I must go. I love you all, blessed be." She whispered. Then in a swirl of white lights, Penny Halliwell was gone again.
"Blessed be." Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige whispered in unison.
Prue looked up at the clock. "Looks like we have two minutes before the next spirit." She informed.
Phoebe paused for a moment. "This seems like that book, 'A Christmas Carol'." Phoebe said.
Paige nodded. "You're right, but what's the meaning of it?"
Before any of the sisters could answer, the grandfather clock chimed again.
There was another swirl of glimmering white lights, then.... TO BE CONTINUED....