A/N: I've decided that Phoebe & Grace both have the empathy power. Please
take note of that. However, both of them have mastered the ability to tune
out or tune into it. The same goes for Grace's mind reading power, though
she can still feel a mind blocking spell or ritual. Oh yeah and these: //
are thoughts. So if I was thinking about chocolate it would be //mm...
chocolate...// Got me?
Piper-and-Leo: I started these stories pre Chris. Besides, he'd just stuff everything up.
PLEASE! REVIEW ME MORE! *has never had so little reviews*
*No Magic At The Table!*
A few hours later, it was dinnertime. Piper, usually the Soccer-mom- combined-Professional-Chef-And-Business-Woman, was too tired to cook anything fancy, so they ordered KFC.
'Chicken.' Serena said proudly, holding out her hand. A piece of chicken orbed into her hand from the carton.
Charlotte concentrated, then whisked the carton towards her and took some chicken out. She grinned at Serena, who grinned back.
'No magic at the table please.' Prue told Charlotte and Serena, who both sighed.
The table was mostly silent, except for the sounds of cutlery and glasses clinking. 'Gracie, honey...' Phoebe began, glancing at Cole. 'There's something we have to talk to you about.'
A knot formed in Grace's stomach.
'Honey, your dad and I have talked about it and with your school on strike we think it'd be best for you to go to boarding school. We've been looking in to some and there are some really good ones...' Phoebe trailed off at the look on Grace's face, and glanced at Cole for help.
'The strike is only for a little while. It'll go away.' Wyatt said on Grace's behalf.
Cole glanced at him. 'Well, yes, but for the teachers to strike in the first place...'
'They want a better future for us.' Melinda quoted her teacher. 'They're only doing what's best for us. Can't you see that? It's not just for us. This is all for you. Now Jimmy, get that sharpener out of our ear you bad boy.' When she finished repeating her first grade teacher, Melinda gave Cole an angelic smile.
Cole gave his niece an odd glance.
'You can't send me to boarding school! You can't!' Grace burst out.
'It's for the best Gracie.' Cole said helplessly.
'Where is the boarding school?'
'Not in San Francisco...' Phoebe mumbled. 'It's in uh, it's in New York.'
'New York?' Grace spat, 'no way! You can't send me away again! You can't! Why are you always trying to get rid of me? This is just like when you sent me to live with dad because you couldn't stand the sight of me.' Grace sobbed, then shimmered out of the room.
'Gracie...' Phoebe got up to follow her.
'Phoebe.' Piper stopped her. 'Maybe it's best that Grace's whitelighter handle this one this time, yeah?'
They all turned to look at Prue. 'Okay. I'll go find her.' Prue paused for a moment and sensed Grace. She was up in her room, not the greatest of places. Prue orbed upstairs to Grace's room.
Grace was under the covers, and Prue could hear muffled sobbing. 'Gracie?' Prue asked. 'It's me.'
'Go away.' Grace sniffled.
'I'm afraid that's not going to happen. Not right now anyway.'
Grace, resigned to the fact that Prue wasn't going to go away, popped her head above the covers. 'Why do they always send me away? I haven't done anything wrong.'
'Well, believe it or not sweetie, they're doing it so you'll have a good education. Because you're a very smart girl, and at a boarding school you'd do really well.' Prue hated helping to convince Grace to go to boarding school, but when it came down to it, Cole and Phoebe had the final decision – and Cole had talked Phoebe into agreeing with him.
'It's not fair.'
'Life's not always fair unfortunately.' Prue sat on the edge of Grace's bed and stroked her light brown curls. 'But your mom and dad have what's best for you in mind.'
'Going to boarding school is not what's best for me. I should be here!' Grace burst out. Prue pulled a tissue out of the box on Grace's bedside table and wiped her tears.
'I know you should honey. Don't tell your parents though... but Phoebe and Cole get last say in this. And if they think you should go to boarding school, well maybe they're right. I mean, Charlotte and Jamie are only 3 so maybe I don't really know about stuff when it comes to educating my kids.'
'But I'm not a bad person! I didn't do anything wrong. Why do I always get sent away? Like when I was six, I got sent to the penthouse for weeks because mom got busy. Maybe she just got tired of having me around.' Grace swiped fiercely at her tears.
'Don't say that. Of course you're not a bad person. You're right, you didn't do anything wrong. Your mom loves you Gracie, and so does Cole. They just want what's best for you, like I said before.' Prue tickled Grace's tummy. 'And I'm sure you'll have lots of fun and make new friends at boarding school.'
Grace smiled sadly through her tears. 'But I'll miss everyone so much.'
'You can visit every weekend.'
'Do Wyatt and Mellie have to go to boarding school?'
'No...' Prue admitted.
Grace let out another sob then sniffled. 'I'll miss you Aunt Prue. And I'll miss Charlotte and Jamie and Rena. I'll miss helping you and Uncle Andy teach them to read. I'll miss Aunt Piper's gourmet meals. I'll miss being taken to Bennett's to taste the food.' Bennett's was the exquisite restaurant Piper was head chef in.
Prue nodded and hugged her. 'I know sweetie.'
'I'll miss... I'll miss Mellie and Wyatt, and I'll miss Aunt Piper and Aunt Paige. And mom and dad even if they do this to me. And I'll miss Uncle Leo and Uncle Glen and Uncle Andy. I'll miss my room and I'll miss magic. Because I won't get to do magic there, will I? I won't get any better because I can't do any magic.' Grace bawled and Prue held her till she fell asleep.
* *
'I feel bad. Piper should I be doing this?' Phoebe asked after dinner.
Piper stored the leftover chicken, chips, coleslaw and potato and gravy in the fridge. 'You already know my answer.' She said shortly. She scooped up Serena, who was sitting atop of the island, playing with cutlery. 'Come on Rena, your mommy is looking for you upstairs.'
Phoebe sighed as she finished loading the dishwasher and followed Piper and Serena upstairs.
* *
'Gracie! Gracie I've got it!' Melinda tumbled into Grace's room in the middle of the night. Well not really. Just at around ten, which was two hours past her bedtime and one hour past Grace's.
'Wha?' Grace mumbled as Mellie jumped on her bed. 'Mellie get off. What are you talking about? Why'd you go and wake me up?'
'That's just it!' Mellie squealed, excited. 'I know what to do if they send you to boarding school!!!!!'
Grace sat up and turned on the purple lava lap beside her bed. 'What?' She asked, interested.
'We'll talk to you and play with you in our DREAMS!' Melinda exclaimed.
'Mellie don't be stupid. It'd just be a dream, nothing more.' Grace yawned and snuggled back under the covers. 'It wouldn't really be me. Go back to sleep.'
'No! It can be! If you just listen!' Melinda heaved the covers off her cousin. 'We can do a spell or a ritual!' She persisted.
Grace took a moment to pause and tune herself into her cousin's thoughts and feelings. Melinda was excited and wide-awake.
//Hi Gracie// Melinda thought cheerfully. //So what do you think about the potion, spell, ritual thing? Wyatt can help. It'll be a power of three spell. But only if you go away. Rena, Charlotte and Jamie can help too.//
'You know what?' Grace whispered. 'I think... I think that's a good idea. Thanks Mellie.' She reached out and hugged her cousin.
Melinda beamed. 'Okay, well I'll go back to sleep now.' Melinda orbed back to her room, suddenly tired again. Grace smiled and went back to sleep.
* *
'Breakfast is weird this morning.' Serena decided quietly under her breath as she slowly ate her food. She was a little clumsy when it came to cutlery, but eating with her hands? She was a pro.
'Say something Rena?' Glen asked. He wasn't really listening – he was reading the sports section of the paper while Andy read National, Cole read Local and Leo read Global. In a minute they would swap. They did it every morning.
'Uh huh.' Serena answered, but Glen wasn't listening any longer. He was too observed in his reading. She held out her hand and was about to ask for a piece of toast but changed her mind. It was too strange to ask her aunties or mother, who were being strangely polite to Phoebe and Cole.
'Toast.' Serena said. A piece of toast orbed into her hand. Serena smiled and bit it.
'No magic at the table. If you want something, you ask for it nicely.' Paige reprimanded her.
'Sorr-y-y-y-y-.' Serena stretched out the word and opened her eyes wide. 'I'm re-a-a-ally sorry mommy.'
Phoebe cleared her throat. 'Cole.' She muttered.
Cole lowered the Local section of the newspaper. 'Yes? Oh. Right. Sorry.' Cole put the paper down. 'Gracie? Phoebe and I were talking...'
Grace closed her eyes and plugged her ears. 'Not listening, not listening!' She shouted.
'Grace Anne Halliwell Turner stop that at once!' Phoebe snapped.
Grace lowered her fingers and opened her eyes.
'We've talked about it and we still both think it's best for you to go to New York. At least try it for a few weeks baby girl.' Cole was practically begging her. Grace could see in his eyes how much he wanted her to go – for an education supposedly.
//Grace.// Phoebe's mind blocking spell had worn off. //This is for the best.//
'Yeah right.' Grace snorted and pushed out her chair. 'I'll be in the car.' She told her mother icily, as she picked up her school bag and walked out.
Piper-and-Leo: I started these stories pre Chris. Besides, he'd just stuff everything up.
PLEASE! REVIEW ME MORE! *has never had so little reviews*
*No Magic At The Table!*
A few hours later, it was dinnertime. Piper, usually the Soccer-mom- combined-Professional-Chef-And-Business-Woman, was too tired to cook anything fancy, so they ordered KFC.
'Chicken.' Serena said proudly, holding out her hand. A piece of chicken orbed into her hand from the carton.
Charlotte concentrated, then whisked the carton towards her and took some chicken out. She grinned at Serena, who grinned back.
'No magic at the table please.' Prue told Charlotte and Serena, who both sighed.
The table was mostly silent, except for the sounds of cutlery and glasses clinking. 'Gracie, honey...' Phoebe began, glancing at Cole. 'There's something we have to talk to you about.'
A knot formed in Grace's stomach.
'Honey, your dad and I have talked about it and with your school on strike we think it'd be best for you to go to boarding school. We've been looking in to some and there are some really good ones...' Phoebe trailed off at the look on Grace's face, and glanced at Cole for help.
'The strike is only for a little while. It'll go away.' Wyatt said on Grace's behalf.
Cole glanced at him. 'Well, yes, but for the teachers to strike in the first place...'
'They want a better future for us.' Melinda quoted her teacher. 'They're only doing what's best for us. Can't you see that? It's not just for us. This is all for you. Now Jimmy, get that sharpener out of our ear you bad boy.' When she finished repeating her first grade teacher, Melinda gave Cole an angelic smile.
Cole gave his niece an odd glance.
'You can't send me to boarding school! You can't!' Grace burst out.
'It's for the best Gracie.' Cole said helplessly.
'Where is the boarding school?'
'Not in San Francisco...' Phoebe mumbled. 'It's in uh, it's in New York.'
'New York?' Grace spat, 'no way! You can't send me away again! You can't! Why are you always trying to get rid of me? This is just like when you sent me to live with dad because you couldn't stand the sight of me.' Grace sobbed, then shimmered out of the room.
'Gracie...' Phoebe got up to follow her.
'Phoebe.' Piper stopped her. 'Maybe it's best that Grace's whitelighter handle this one this time, yeah?'
They all turned to look at Prue. 'Okay. I'll go find her.' Prue paused for a moment and sensed Grace. She was up in her room, not the greatest of places. Prue orbed upstairs to Grace's room.
Grace was under the covers, and Prue could hear muffled sobbing. 'Gracie?' Prue asked. 'It's me.'
'Go away.' Grace sniffled.
'I'm afraid that's not going to happen. Not right now anyway.'
Grace, resigned to the fact that Prue wasn't going to go away, popped her head above the covers. 'Why do they always send me away? I haven't done anything wrong.'
'Well, believe it or not sweetie, they're doing it so you'll have a good education. Because you're a very smart girl, and at a boarding school you'd do really well.' Prue hated helping to convince Grace to go to boarding school, but when it came down to it, Cole and Phoebe had the final decision – and Cole had talked Phoebe into agreeing with him.
'It's not fair.'
'Life's not always fair unfortunately.' Prue sat on the edge of Grace's bed and stroked her light brown curls. 'But your mom and dad have what's best for you in mind.'
'Going to boarding school is not what's best for me. I should be here!' Grace burst out. Prue pulled a tissue out of the box on Grace's bedside table and wiped her tears.
'I know you should honey. Don't tell your parents though... but Phoebe and Cole get last say in this. And if they think you should go to boarding school, well maybe they're right. I mean, Charlotte and Jamie are only 3 so maybe I don't really know about stuff when it comes to educating my kids.'
'But I'm not a bad person! I didn't do anything wrong. Why do I always get sent away? Like when I was six, I got sent to the penthouse for weeks because mom got busy. Maybe she just got tired of having me around.' Grace swiped fiercely at her tears.
'Don't say that. Of course you're not a bad person. You're right, you didn't do anything wrong. Your mom loves you Gracie, and so does Cole. They just want what's best for you, like I said before.' Prue tickled Grace's tummy. 'And I'm sure you'll have lots of fun and make new friends at boarding school.'
Grace smiled sadly through her tears. 'But I'll miss everyone so much.'
'You can visit every weekend.'
'Do Wyatt and Mellie have to go to boarding school?'
'No...' Prue admitted.
Grace let out another sob then sniffled. 'I'll miss you Aunt Prue. And I'll miss Charlotte and Jamie and Rena. I'll miss helping you and Uncle Andy teach them to read. I'll miss Aunt Piper's gourmet meals. I'll miss being taken to Bennett's to taste the food.' Bennett's was the exquisite restaurant Piper was head chef in.
Prue nodded and hugged her. 'I know sweetie.'
'I'll miss... I'll miss Mellie and Wyatt, and I'll miss Aunt Piper and Aunt Paige. And mom and dad even if they do this to me. And I'll miss Uncle Leo and Uncle Glen and Uncle Andy. I'll miss my room and I'll miss magic. Because I won't get to do magic there, will I? I won't get any better because I can't do any magic.' Grace bawled and Prue held her till she fell asleep.
* *
'I feel bad. Piper should I be doing this?' Phoebe asked after dinner.
Piper stored the leftover chicken, chips, coleslaw and potato and gravy in the fridge. 'You already know my answer.' She said shortly. She scooped up Serena, who was sitting atop of the island, playing with cutlery. 'Come on Rena, your mommy is looking for you upstairs.'
Phoebe sighed as she finished loading the dishwasher and followed Piper and Serena upstairs.
* *
'Gracie! Gracie I've got it!' Melinda tumbled into Grace's room in the middle of the night. Well not really. Just at around ten, which was two hours past her bedtime and one hour past Grace's.
'Wha?' Grace mumbled as Mellie jumped on her bed. 'Mellie get off. What are you talking about? Why'd you go and wake me up?'
'That's just it!' Mellie squealed, excited. 'I know what to do if they send you to boarding school!!!!!'
Grace sat up and turned on the purple lava lap beside her bed. 'What?' She asked, interested.
'We'll talk to you and play with you in our DREAMS!' Melinda exclaimed.
'Mellie don't be stupid. It'd just be a dream, nothing more.' Grace yawned and snuggled back under the covers. 'It wouldn't really be me. Go back to sleep.'
'No! It can be! If you just listen!' Melinda heaved the covers off her cousin. 'We can do a spell or a ritual!' She persisted.
Grace took a moment to pause and tune herself into her cousin's thoughts and feelings. Melinda was excited and wide-awake.
//Hi Gracie// Melinda thought cheerfully. //So what do you think about the potion, spell, ritual thing? Wyatt can help. It'll be a power of three spell. But only if you go away. Rena, Charlotte and Jamie can help too.//
'You know what?' Grace whispered. 'I think... I think that's a good idea. Thanks Mellie.' She reached out and hugged her cousin.
Melinda beamed. 'Okay, well I'll go back to sleep now.' Melinda orbed back to her room, suddenly tired again. Grace smiled and went back to sleep.
* *
'Breakfast is weird this morning.' Serena decided quietly under her breath as she slowly ate her food. She was a little clumsy when it came to cutlery, but eating with her hands? She was a pro.
'Say something Rena?' Glen asked. He wasn't really listening – he was reading the sports section of the paper while Andy read National, Cole read Local and Leo read Global. In a minute they would swap. They did it every morning.
'Uh huh.' Serena answered, but Glen wasn't listening any longer. He was too observed in his reading. She held out her hand and was about to ask for a piece of toast but changed her mind. It was too strange to ask her aunties or mother, who were being strangely polite to Phoebe and Cole.
'Toast.' Serena said. A piece of toast orbed into her hand. Serena smiled and bit it.
'No magic at the table. If you want something, you ask for it nicely.' Paige reprimanded her.
'Sorr-y-y-y-y-.' Serena stretched out the word and opened her eyes wide. 'I'm re-a-a-ally sorry mommy.'
Phoebe cleared her throat. 'Cole.' She muttered.
Cole lowered the Local section of the newspaper. 'Yes? Oh. Right. Sorry.' Cole put the paper down. 'Gracie? Phoebe and I were talking...'
Grace closed her eyes and plugged her ears. 'Not listening, not listening!' She shouted.
'Grace Anne Halliwell Turner stop that at once!' Phoebe snapped.
Grace lowered her fingers and opened her eyes.
'We've talked about it and we still both think it's best for you to go to New York. At least try it for a few weeks baby girl.' Cole was practically begging her. Grace could see in his eyes how much he wanted her to go – for an education supposedly.
//Grace.// Phoebe's mind blocking spell had worn off. //This is for the best.//
'Yeah right.' Grace snorted and pushed out her chair. 'I'll be in the car.' She told her mother icily, as she picked up her school bag and walked out.