A/N – While writing this chapter, I knew what was going to happen at the
end of Season 6, which doesn't quite finish in the same way that is
described in the story. However, I decided to go along with what I wanted
to do, so if some events aren't mentioned, or have been changed, it's my
doing.
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"Paige. Paige!"
Paige whined, "No! Ten more minutes." She rolled over and cuddled up to Slappy, her old bedtime toy. However, the person calling her was apparently not paying attention, for the bedclothes were suddenly whipped off her.
"Hey!" Paige was indignant. "What did I do to you?" She rubbed her eyes and saw Leo, in his Elder robes. "Leo, couldn't it wait just a bit? And why are you wearing that god-awful robe?"
Leo grinned. "So maybe I should go tell the Elders that you're not interested in getting a charge."
Paige bolted upright. "Are you serious, Leo?" she asked excitedly. She darted out of bed and threw herself on him, hugging him so hard that he was breathless.
Leo wormed out of Paige's suffocating hug. "Yes, I'm serious. With Chris gone, and the whole Gideon situation having created chaos Up There, we're short of white lighters, and there are many charges without anyone to look out for them. We need you to help us."
"Is this a temporary assignment, or permanent? How many charges will I have?" Paige called out from the bathroom.
"I can't say at the moment. It's too soon to tell. Of course, you're also a witch, so we can't give you many charges, otherwise we'll distract you from your Wiccan duties. Get ready quickly – the Elders want to talk to you first."
Paige bounced in, dressed in a black off-the-shoulder top with a long denim skirt and boots. "How do I look?" she asked, suddenly nervous, smoothing down her hair, which she'd left loose. She stopped. "Wait, maybe I should wear something a bit more formal. I mean –"
Leo cut her off. "Paige, you look fine. You're not going to be judged on your ability to look good."
"OK, then." She exhaled loudly. "Let's go." Paige said impatiently.
Leo gave her a long look, and finally asked, "Don't you want to tell Piper and Phoebe first? They'd want to know." "Yeah, well, they'll find out if they want to," she responded, surprised by how bitter she sounded. "Let's go, already."
"Paige, what's wrong?" Leo sat down on the bed and pulled her down as well, so they sat side by side.
"It's nothing, really." She shrugged. "It's just that when I was helping Piper, I had come in wearing what was apparently Prue's favourite outfit. I mean, they weren't angry or anything, it's just that they treated me like I was her ghost." She smiled sadly. "I guess that it might have brought back all the memories for them. It's also been happening more and more, Piper and Phoebe thinking and talking about Prue. Like yesterday morning, I went downstairs to get breakfast and I heard Phoebe talking to Wyatt and Chris about how much Prue would have liked to have seen them. "
Leo looked at Paige. "Paige, you're not telling me the full story. C'mon, spill."
Paige chuckled at Leo's perceptiveness. "Basically, what unsettled me is that the way they were acting around me was practically how it was when I first met them, you know? They were treating me as if they didn't want to offend me, as if I was made of glass and I would break if they said or did the wrong thing. And maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just feel as if this isn't going to be the last time it happens. Do you remember when Barbas trapped us in the manor, how I was feeling about not being able to live up to Prue?" Leo nodded. "Well, lately I've been feeling like that..."
Leo gave Paige a surprised look. "Paige, your sisters love you for being you, not for being the third Charmed one or for any other reason. You are different to Prue, but that's what makes you unique. That one incident yesterday shouldn't make you feel insecure or unsure."
Paige stood up. "Leo, in case you don't remember, when I first met them, they had barely been through the grieving process fully. Then, there was the Source, Phoebe's marriage and pregnancy, Cole's vanquish, Piper's pregnancy, getting rid of Cole again, Wyatt, Chris, then your Elder situation and the Gideon mess. Basically, they've barely had time to actually get over Prue properly. I know it's been three years, but believe me, I know how important it is to be able to say the final goodbye. After my parents' deaths, I spent months not going out, just reliving all the memories. Then slowly life started to look worth living. It took me a year to grieve properly and only then could I actually go back to their graves and properly say goodbye. But Piper and Phoebe never got to do so. Even when Piper turned into a Fury, she hadn't finished grieving – she'd merely let out her anger, but the grief was still there, like it was with Phoebe. There just wasn't the time"
Paige paused to take a breath. "Look, I have no problem with them going finishing the grieving. But I'm just scared of how it's going to affect us. I don't want to be the medium through which they see Prue, like yesterday. I don't want our relationship to regress to the same way it was 3 years ago. And I know that it's inevitable that, without any evil or innocents to keep them busy, they'll start to remember Prue more and more. I also know that it will be a lot harder, for me, to see them go through all the stages as a close sister than as a sister who barely knew them. Most importantly, I know that I can't do anything to tell them how I feel about all this – it's not appropriate, and it isn't fair to them."
Paige was now pacing up and down restlessly. "Leo, I'm not worried about not being like Prue, because I'm not. I may be the third Charmed one, but I still have powers different to Prue. What I'm scared of is that Piper and Phoebe will start to see Prue in me, and not Paige. I mean, Phoebe herself told me that the reason she was drawn to me at Prue's funeral was because I reminded her so much of Prue. If I started to inadvertently remind them of things Prue did, and then I shattered that image, I don't think that I could handle it."
Leo wanted to say something, but he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he pulled Paige into a tight hug. After a few seconds, Paige looked up at him, slightly misty-eyed. "Let's get going."
Paige held out her hand. She could probably have orbed Up There on her own, but she wasn't sure if she really could – she had always been too cautious to try. After scribbling a quick note to Phoebe and Piper telling them where Paige would be, and leaving it on her bedside table, Leo took her hand and they orbed out.
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"Paige. Paige!"
Paige whined, "No! Ten more minutes." She rolled over and cuddled up to Slappy, her old bedtime toy. However, the person calling her was apparently not paying attention, for the bedclothes were suddenly whipped off her.
"Hey!" Paige was indignant. "What did I do to you?" She rubbed her eyes and saw Leo, in his Elder robes. "Leo, couldn't it wait just a bit? And why are you wearing that god-awful robe?"
Leo grinned. "So maybe I should go tell the Elders that you're not interested in getting a charge."
Paige bolted upright. "Are you serious, Leo?" she asked excitedly. She darted out of bed and threw herself on him, hugging him so hard that he was breathless.
Leo wormed out of Paige's suffocating hug. "Yes, I'm serious. With Chris gone, and the whole Gideon situation having created chaos Up There, we're short of white lighters, and there are many charges without anyone to look out for them. We need you to help us."
"Is this a temporary assignment, or permanent? How many charges will I have?" Paige called out from the bathroom.
"I can't say at the moment. It's too soon to tell. Of course, you're also a witch, so we can't give you many charges, otherwise we'll distract you from your Wiccan duties. Get ready quickly – the Elders want to talk to you first."
Paige bounced in, dressed in a black off-the-shoulder top with a long denim skirt and boots. "How do I look?" she asked, suddenly nervous, smoothing down her hair, which she'd left loose. She stopped. "Wait, maybe I should wear something a bit more formal. I mean –"
Leo cut her off. "Paige, you look fine. You're not going to be judged on your ability to look good."
"OK, then." She exhaled loudly. "Let's go." Paige said impatiently.
Leo gave her a long look, and finally asked, "Don't you want to tell Piper and Phoebe first? They'd want to know." "Yeah, well, they'll find out if they want to," she responded, surprised by how bitter she sounded. "Let's go, already."
"Paige, what's wrong?" Leo sat down on the bed and pulled her down as well, so they sat side by side.
"It's nothing, really." She shrugged. "It's just that when I was helping Piper, I had come in wearing what was apparently Prue's favourite outfit. I mean, they weren't angry or anything, it's just that they treated me like I was her ghost." She smiled sadly. "I guess that it might have brought back all the memories for them. It's also been happening more and more, Piper and Phoebe thinking and talking about Prue. Like yesterday morning, I went downstairs to get breakfast and I heard Phoebe talking to Wyatt and Chris about how much Prue would have liked to have seen them. "
Leo looked at Paige. "Paige, you're not telling me the full story. C'mon, spill."
Paige chuckled at Leo's perceptiveness. "Basically, what unsettled me is that the way they were acting around me was practically how it was when I first met them, you know? They were treating me as if they didn't want to offend me, as if I was made of glass and I would break if they said or did the wrong thing. And maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just feel as if this isn't going to be the last time it happens. Do you remember when Barbas trapped us in the manor, how I was feeling about not being able to live up to Prue?" Leo nodded. "Well, lately I've been feeling like that..."
Leo gave Paige a surprised look. "Paige, your sisters love you for being you, not for being the third Charmed one or for any other reason. You are different to Prue, but that's what makes you unique. That one incident yesterday shouldn't make you feel insecure or unsure."
Paige stood up. "Leo, in case you don't remember, when I first met them, they had barely been through the grieving process fully. Then, there was the Source, Phoebe's marriage and pregnancy, Cole's vanquish, Piper's pregnancy, getting rid of Cole again, Wyatt, Chris, then your Elder situation and the Gideon mess. Basically, they've barely had time to actually get over Prue properly. I know it's been three years, but believe me, I know how important it is to be able to say the final goodbye. After my parents' deaths, I spent months not going out, just reliving all the memories. Then slowly life started to look worth living. It took me a year to grieve properly and only then could I actually go back to their graves and properly say goodbye. But Piper and Phoebe never got to do so. Even when Piper turned into a Fury, she hadn't finished grieving – she'd merely let out her anger, but the grief was still there, like it was with Phoebe. There just wasn't the time"
Paige paused to take a breath. "Look, I have no problem with them going finishing the grieving. But I'm just scared of how it's going to affect us. I don't want to be the medium through which they see Prue, like yesterday. I don't want our relationship to regress to the same way it was 3 years ago. And I know that it's inevitable that, without any evil or innocents to keep them busy, they'll start to remember Prue more and more. I also know that it will be a lot harder, for me, to see them go through all the stages as a close sister than as a sister who barely knew them. Most importantly, I know that I can't do anything to tell them how I feel about all this – it's not appropriate, and it isn't fair to them."
Paige was now pacing up and down restlessly. "Leo, I'm not worried about not being like Prue, because I'm not. I may be the third Charmed one, but I still have powers different to Prue. What I'm scared of is that Piper and Phoebe will start to see Prue in me, and not Paige. I mean, Phoebe herself told me that the reason she was drawn to me at Prue's funeral was because I reminded her so much of Prue. If I started to inadvertently remind them of things Prue did, and then I shattered that image, I don't think that I could handle it."
Leo wanted to say something, but he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he pulled Paige into a tight hug. After a few seconds, Paige looked up at him, slightly misty-eyed. "Let's get going."
Paige held out her hand. She could probably have orbed Up There on her own, but she wasn't sure if she really could – she had always been too cautious to try. After scribbling a quick note to Phoebe and Piper telling them where Paige would be, and leaving it on her bedside table, Leo took her hand and they orbed out.