Charmed & Dangerous: Part 9 (Conclusion)

A Phoebe & Paige story

By JewWitch

Rating: R

Piper was so surprised by the blood dripping onto her from Paige's hand, that she momentarily let go of the writhing girl. Left with only Prue holding her down, Paige wrenched away with a surprising bolt of strength, scrambling from the bed before the sisters could make a grab for her. The moment her feet hit the floor, though, Paige's knees buckled under her. With a groan, Paige collapsed to her hands and knees. Then she retched, and a large volume of slimy black liquid splattered against the floor, smelling strongly of paint thinner. Tendrils of silvery-blue electrical currents danced across the surface.

"Oh my God," Prue murmured, as Piper scrambled to Paige's side, pulling her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. "Leo!" Prue yelled. A moment later, Leo came running from his and Piper's bedroom.

"What's happening, Paige?" Piper asked urgently. "Did something…is something happening to Phoebe?"

"Dark m-magic," Paige stuttered, shivering madly. Her face and throat had taken on a dark red flush. "Blocking m-my link."

"It must be Maya," Prue said as she helped Piper pull Paige back up to the bed. "She's hurting Phoebe. We have to go down there!"

"N-no," Paige ground out through her chattering teeth. "N-not Maya…Phoebe. She's b-b-blocking me. M-Maya…m-made her evil. That's why…the d-dark m-magic."

"Prue, she's so hot," Piper whispered, her hand resting on Paige's burning forehead.

"It's dark magic poisoning," Leo said grimly. He pulled Paige's cut hand into the light. The blood oozing from her palm was beginning to turn black, too. He shared a pained look with Piper. "If Phoebe was force-fed a dark potion, it would do the same thing to her. But if she took it willingly…it would, um…" Leo looked at the floor, unable to hold Piper's eyes as he said the last part. "Turn her evil."

"Then why is this happening to Paige?" Piper asked desperately.

"Because they're connected…and Paige didn't take the potion willingly. There's dark magic in her now, in the place where Phoebe is, and her body is rejecting it…like a disease."

"So, what do we do? Make an antidote? Something in the book?"

"Piper, we can't help her now," Leo said quietly. "Only Phoebe can. If Phoebe rejects the dark magic, they'll both be freed from it. If not…" He couldn't say the rest: if not, Paige dies, and Phoebe becomes the next demon we have to kill.

"B-b-bring me the s-spell," Paige called weakly. Piper was now holding the trembling girl in her arms, as Paige was too weak to sit up on her own.

"Paige, you can't," Piper said firmly. "You can't even stand up! How do you expect to fight a demon?"

"Don't n-need to stand up," Paige insisted, fighting to retain her focus as the room began to swim. "I j-just need to s-say the s-spell…j-just n-need to get to Phoebe." Piper and Prue looked at each other, then at Paige, who was now slick with sweat. They noticed, too, that the veins in her arms and neck were beginning to darken under her skin.

"It'll never work," Piper whispered brokenly.

"It will if you and Prue anchor her," Leo countered firmly. "If you give her enough of your magical energy to sustain her while she's projecting…she can do it. It's the only way, Piper."

"Leo's right. We can do this Piper," Prue swore. "We can do this for Phoebe."

"Go get the book, Prue," Piper said grimly.

Cruel laughter echoed through the Underworld as the blue-skinned goddess reclined in her throne, her new pet witch sitting obediently at her feet.

"You were perfect, my darling, simply perfect," she purred.

"Thank you, my queen," Phoebe said icily, looking up at her unblinkingly.

"Soon your beloved shall come to us…to you," Maya amended her statement. "She shall come as long as she thinks she can 'save' you from me…tell me, my exquisite little witch…do you want to be saved?" Phoebe smiled wickedly up at her queen, but did not speak. Maya's cruel laughter pierced the Underworld like ice. "I suppose that question was…rhetorical," she purred. "Soon I shall have you both…and your powers shall become stronger than you ever imagined. Together, you and your dark angel shall bring the world to its knees. And I shall feed once again!"

A bright white light suddenly filled the room. Phoebe jumped to her feet, startled. A figure materialized in front of the fountain, curled in a ball. Dark hair spilled onto the floor.

"Paige?" Phoebe looked uncertainly at her lover, as if unsure who she was. Paige looked up, trembling, at the two imposing figured above her. Slowly, she stood up, legs shaking, and looked down at herself. She was wearing a rich lavender sari, in perfect compliment to Phoebe's, her hair braided elegantly. Then she looked back up at Phoebe.

"That's right, baby," she said tentatively. "I'm here to help you get home."

"I am home," Phoebe said tonelessly. She didn't move as Maya reached out a hand and ran her long, blue fingers through her hair.

"No, Phoebe, home is with your sisters," Paige said firmly. "Piper and Prue…don't you remember them?" Paige was trembling, her eyes wide and desperate, looking as if she wanted to move toward Phoebe, but was afraid of making her bolt like a scared animal. Phoebe, for her part, was staring at Paige as if she barely saw her, a blank look on her face as she mouthed her sisters' names.

"Phoebe does not stay against her will," Maya simpered, her fingers still playing with Phoebe's hair like a doll. "Do you wish to return to your sisters, my pet?"

"I have no sisters," Phoebe finally said, in the same cold, toneless voice.

"What about me, Phoebe?" Paige asked quietly, going unsteadily toward Phoebe on shaking legs. "What about us?" Phoebe continued to look at her blankly. "I know you, Phoebe, I know you can beat this. Fight her dammit!" Paige reached out to take Phoebe's hand, growling in frustration when her fingers passed right through Phoebe's flesh.

"How did you do that?" Phoebe murmured, blinking up at Paige as if she finally saw her standing there.

"I'm not really here," Paige explained softly. "I'm astral projecting…your sisters are anchoring me. I said the spell to call a lost lover. It brought me to you, Phoebe."

"Lost lover?" Phoebe murmured, confusion evident on her face as her jumbled thoughts began to war with her memory.

"That's right," Paige nodded. Even though she knew she couldn't touch Phoebe, she brought her hand up close to her lover's face, trying to imagine her hand, real and solid, against Phoebe's cheek. "I love you, Phoebe, more than anything in this world…and you love me. Don't you remember what you said after the demon attacked?" Paige's eyes were wide with desperation, and seemed to have taken on a glassy sheen.

"Nothing could ever make me leave you," Phoebe murmured. Suddenly, her senses were flooded by memory—the two of them, in the shower, clinging to each other desperately as the hot water pounded over them. Those words borne from her own lips, from her own heart. For a moment, she felt it. It was as if there was a magnet inside her stomach, reaching out to one in Paige's. Then Maya's icy laughter filled the chamber, and the fleeting sensations were sliced away, along with the memory.

"Is that the best you have, my dear?" Maya asked Paige tauntingly. "I am quite disappointed in you, pet. But no matter. You may yet live…if that is your desire." She waved her hand, and a silver goblet appeared in Phoebe's hand.

"Huh?" Phoebe looked from Maya, to Paige, confusion evident in her wide brown eyes.

"Drink, Paige, and you may be with your beloved for all eternity." Maya smiled down at the two of them, like some twisted version of a thoughtful grandmother.

"No," Paige said coldly.

"Then you shall die," Maya said simply.

"Die?" Phoebe said suddenly, a pained expression warring with the confusion in her features.

"Yeah, baby," Paige said quietly, continuing to run her fingers as close to Phoebe's face as she could, drawing out the myth of the physical. "You drank a dark magic potion, and it blocked our connection…it's poisoning me. Both of us. It's making you forget who you are." Phoebe looked at the goblet in her hand, and offered it to Paige, an innocent, eager expression on her face.

"No, Pheebs," Paige shook her head sadly. "I can't…I can't become evil to be with you. I…I love you too much to let that happen."

"Love her?" Maya shrieked gleefully, her long blue body spasming with laughter. "If she truly loved you, pet, she would do anything for you. To be with you. Yet she thinks only of herself!"

"No," Paige said harshly, wrenching her eyes away from the penetrating stare of the cruel goddess, to the brown eyes before her, that were, undeniably, still Phoebe's. "I would do anything to save her…even if it means I have to die." Phoebe reached out to Paige, trying to touch her. Her hand passed through Paige's face like air.

"I don't want you to die," Phoebe whispered, her voice strained, as if it took a great effort to speak. She held out the goblet again, beseechingly.

"Phoebe, this isn't you," Paige whispered ferverently. "You're a good witch, Phoebe. A Charmed One. You protect the innocent, and you vanquish sorry-ass demons like this hell-bitch every week. You're a hero, Phoebe…you're my hero." Phoebe was now glancing back and forth between the passionate young woman standing before her, and the imposing goddess leering down at her from above. Her lip began to tremble.

"Come back with me, baby," Paige begged. A blurry numbness began to set into her body, and she shook her head, trying to clear it. "Come home with me, please…remember who you are. Remember who we are."

"Who are we?" Phoebe asked urgently. But Paige couldn't answer, as her body began to blur and fade. She put one hand to her head, collapsing to the floor as her body continued to melt away.

"Paige!" Phoebe cried, reaching out blindly to hold onto any part of Paige she could reach. They stared into each other's eyes, tears spilling down both their cheeks as the energy keeping Paige's image anchored began to bleed away.

"I love you," Paige mouthed. Then she disappeared.

"Paige, don't go!" Phoebe cried, her tears falling freely. "Please!" She looked wildly around the room, her eyes finally settling on the goddess, still enthroned, with a patient expression on her face.

"Make her come back!" Phoebe demanded.

"It is beyond me," Maya shrugged one blue shoulder unconcernedly. "But no matter, my pet…you shall still be my princess." The cruel blue smirk faltered momentarily, quickly covered by a nervous swallow. "All of the Underworld shall bow down to you, and mortals shall fear to speak your name." Princess. The title sparked another memory, somewhere murky and hidden, in the back of her mind…Paige's lips against her ear, the bright sun warming her back where's Paige's gentle hand stroked her skin. Paige calling her princess. Paige kissing her. Paige's hair grazing against her throat, filling her world with the scent of sweet orange blossoms, and her stomach with pure, liquid joy.

"No," Phoebe growled. Her eyes locked on the demon goddess above her, as the memories welled up inside her, filling her with love. Tendrils of electricity began to dance over her skin as the light magic rose up inside her, fighting the dark invader.

"What?" Maya asked dangerously, straightening herself on her throne.

"I said no," Phoebe repeated calmly. Her skin began to glow as the dark magic was forced from her body.

"You cannot deny me," the goddess of illusion laughed incredulously. "You cannot resist me!"

"I can," Phoebe countered simply, serenely. "I'm a child of light…and I'm going home now."

"No!" Maya screamed, a bright blue energy ball appearing in her hand. She flung it at Phoebe as hard as she could. But instead of incinerating Phoebe where she stood, it bounced back off a brilliant white forcefield surrounding the young witch, to ricochet back at the enthroned demon. Maya gave a blood-curdling scream as she was hit with her own energy ball, disintegrating into a pile of ash on the sleek, velvet pillowed throne.

For a moment, Phoebe stood rooted to the spot, blinking and confused. Then, in a rush, all the dark magic left her body in a cloud of poisonous black smoke. Coughing and sputtering, Phoebe fell to her knees as her connection to Paige came flooding painfully back. Painfully, because Paige was in agony. The dark magic that had invaded them both had left Paige as it left Phoebe, but it had done a great deal of damage. Phoebe screamed in pain, doubling over, as a powerful wave of vertigo lanced through her from her lover. Looking up at the ceiling, Phoebe remembered everything.

"Hold on, baby…I'm coming home," Phoebe said firmly into the empty cavern. Then she orbed out.

Phoebe orbed into her bedroom to find Paige lying unconscious on the bed, drenched in sweat. Piper was beside her, holding a wet washcloth against her forehead. Prue was on her other side, running an ice cube over her lips. Both of them looked utterly exhausted; more than that, they looked drained. They were pale as ghosts. Phoebe opened her mouth, but couldn't speak. Then Prue looked up.

"Phoebe!" she gasped, jumping up from the bed to hug her little sister. Phoebe hugged her back fiercely, falling back onto the bed as Piper hugged her, too.

"Are you-?" Piper asked hesitantly, searching her little sister for signs of injury.

"I'm fine," Phoebe said softly, looking down at her unconscious lover, reaching out and taking her limp hand in both of hers. It was hot to the touch. "Leo!" she yelled. Immediately Leo materialized beside them. "Heal her, quick," Phoebe begged. Leo kneeled down beside Paige, putting his hands out over her overheated body. Light emanated from his hands. For almost a full minute no one spoke, then, with a gasp, Leo removed his hands.

"I can't, Phoebe," he said quietly.

"But we vanquished Maya! You got your whitelighter powers back!" Phoebe cried desperately. Her hand went automatically to Paige's stomach, feeling Paige's pain as if it were her own.

"I know, I did, but…the damage you did…it's too severe." Leo said this part gently, almost apologetically. "Her body has been completely ravaged by dark magic…and it came from you." Tears burned Phoebe's eyes, and she squeezed them shut, holding Paige's hand to her face as she choked back a sob. "There's just no precedent for secondhand dark-magic poisoning like this, but I think…you're the only one who can heal her now," Leo laid a brotherly hand on Phoebe's shaking shoulder.

"But I d-don't know how," Phoebe sobbed.

"Yes you do," Leo assured her, looking at her hand still resting on Paige's stomach. "You just haven't realized it yet." Phoebe continued to sob, leaning over Paige to brush her damp hair back from her burning hot face. Her breathing was shallow and faint.

"Paige, open your eyes," Phoebe begged, cupping her girlfriend's flushed cheek in her hand. "Please, baby, please…don't leave me. I love you so much. Please don't make me live without you." Leaning forward to kiss Paige's forehead, Phoebe's tears dripped onto her lover's hot skin. A dazzling light erupted between the two of them, enveloping them both. Everyone gasped, but Phoebe didn't even look up. She was completely focused on Paige.

"I love you," She whispered again, closing her eyes and leaning her head against Paige's, as the light seemed to seep into them. When Phoebe pulled back, Paige was blinking up at her.

"Close shave," Paige murmured in a hoarse, croaky voice. Phoebe laughed, tears still streaming down her cheeks, and pulled Paige into her arms, kissing her all over her face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" Phoebe murmured over and over, rocking Paige like a baby in her arms.

"Thanks for saving me," Paige whispered huskily, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

"You saved me first," Phoebe smiled through her tears.

"I think it's a safe bet to say you saved each other…and leave it at that," Prue advised, wiping away her own tears of joy and relief.

"I couldn't have done it without your sisters, Phoebe," Paige smiled up adoringly at Prue and Piper, who beamed back at the pair of them. "Thank you both, so much."

"Hey, no one messes with our family," Piper shrugged. "Guess you're stuck with us now, Paige."

"Fine by me," Paige grinned up at Phoebe, who was smoothing back damp locks of hair from her face. "Try not to scare me like that again…OK?"

"Right back at ya, gorgeous."

"Oh, yeah," Paige rolled her eyes, laughing weakly as Phoebe placed the cool cloth back against her forehead. "I'm sure I look pretty sizzlin' right about now…literally."

"You…" Phoebe whispered, kissing her lightly on the lips, "have never…" another kiss. "Been more beautiful." With the last kiss, a garden of white lotus blossoms suddenly burst into bloom all around the room, raining down on all of them. As the silky flower petals touched their skin, each one of them felt as if they'd just awoken from a refreshing sleep, flushed with health and well being.

"Wowie-zowie," Prue commented, flexing her hands and hopping in place. "Thanks for the energy boost, guys." Paige sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Was that us?"

"You better believe it, mama. We are one magical powerhouse!" Phoebe wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Hmmm," Paige drawled. There was a familiar, mischievous glint in her eyes. "I guess we better make sure we don't get, um…overloaded with…energy."

"Oh, yeah," Phoebe nodded eagerly. "You are so right. We need lots of practice to make sure we're in full control of all these spankin' new powers."

"Spanking sounds good to me," Paige purred. Prue, Piper and Leo all turned bright red.

"Paige!" Phoebe smacked her impish lover playfully on the thigh. "Just for that, you have to catch me first." Giggling, Phoebe orbed out.

"Oh, like you can hide from me!" Paige laughed devilishly, orbing out a second behind her.

"Well, it's good to know that those two are back to normal," Prue commented wryly as Leo and Piper exchanged a glance of their own. "Everybody else feeling…good?"

"Very good," Piper nodded, her eyes locked on Leo's.

"Super." Leo agreed.

"Well, this is just great." Prue threw up her hands. "Phoebe and Paige get all this new power, and everyone gets a magical happy but me." She crossed her arms sulkily, but her pouting got no response.

"Wanna go catch the sunrise on a nice private beach in the Caribbean?" Leo asked Piper adoringly. Piper nodded, a huge, dopey smile on her face. They reached out and took each other's hands. But before they orbed out, Leo looked at Prue, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Don't worry too much, Prue…I guarantee you, your future won't be a lonely one."

"Huh?" Prue looked at him bemusedly. "Leo, what?" But before she could question her whitelighter further, he and her sister had disappeared into a hazy field of brilliant white lights. Prue shook her head bemusedly. Well, she thought, Phoebe was right about one thing…our lives will never be boring.

Epilogue

Leo orbed in to his regular meeting spot with the elders, at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, amid the sounds of poorly muffled giggling. His first instinct was to play along, but he knew that Piper would kill him if he made her be the bad guy again. With a small smirk, he twitched his "disapproving" face into place.

"All right, any Halliwells up here had better come out by the time I count to five…or there will be no dessert for a week! One…" Predictably, two small sets of legs toddled out from behind a large red pole before he'd even reached two. One belonged to a dark-haired girl of about five; the other to his three year-old son, blue eyes blinking up at him in alarm at the suggestion of no dessert.

"Tara, Chris, I'm very disappointed in you," Leo said sternly. "What have we told you about playing orb-and-go-seek up here?"

"Out of bounds," Tara said quietly, hanging her head.

"Shhh, Daddy! We hiding!" Chris exclaimed in a dramatic whisper, clinging to his older cousin earnestly. A moment later, two more small figures orbed in, a blond haired boy slightly older than Tara, and a small, dark-haired toddler dressed in pink Osh-Kosh overalls, her hair falling out of its braids.

"Find you!" The littlest one shrieked, running from her cousin to her sister, gripping her tightly around the waist as she bounced ecstatically up and down. "Lindy find you!" She squealed happily.

"That's right, Melinda. You found us. Good job!" Tara smiled proudly at her little sister.

"Don't count," Chris pouted as his brother took his hand. "Daddy cheated."

"Did not," Wyatt insisted. "We already knew you were up here."

"And what else did you know?" Leo prodded. He was directing his disappointed face mostly at the two oldest children, who, he knew, knew better. And, indeed, Tara and Wyatt exchanged a worried glance before they both looked back at him in trepidation.

"Um, not supposed to play on the bridge," Wyatt said quietly, looking at his shoes.

"We're sorry, Uncle Leo," Tara said earnestly. Her lower lip began to quiver.

"Tara no cry!" Little Melinda exclaimed, reaching up to kiss her big sister before a tear had even fallen. "Tara good girl! No bad. No cry!" Tara giggled, her tears forgotten as she smiled at her adoring little sister.

"That's right, we're good girls. And we're gonna do like Uncle Leo says, right?" The toddler nodded ferverently, her wide-eyed innocence a pure, mirror image of Paige's whenever Phoebe tried to scold her. Then Tara directed her "mama face" at her two cousins, who were indeed regarding her with the same implicit trust they gave to Piper, their bickering of moments ago forgotten.

"Right, Daddy," Wyatt agreed. "No more playing on the bridge."

"All right then," Leo's stern face dissolved in a moment to his usual fatherly grin. "Then you four better orb home before all your Uncle Elders show up…or we're all gonna be in trouble!" Giggling, the four small half-witch, half-angel children orbed out, reappearing a moment later in the sunny kitchen of the manor.

"Oh, and where did you all just orb in from?" Phoebe smiled as the empty kitchen was suddenly filled with hers and her sister's children.

"Mommy!" Melinda squealed, running to her and hugging her mother's knees.

"Hi baby," Phoebe greeted her, picking her up and kissing her. "Would you all like a snack?" An enthusiastic round of "yeahs" met this suggestion. Phoebe looked up at the ceiling. "Paige?" She called out to thin air. A scant moment later, Paige's figure appeared in the kitchen, dressed in her black teacher's robes, amid a pool of white light. A few pearly flower petals fell at her feet, which Tara picked up and rubbed happily against her cheek, before pressing her face against Paige's stomach.

"Hi sweetie," Paige cooed to her oldest daughter, kissing the top of her head. "What's up everybody?" Phoebe leaned forward and kissed Paige hello, while little Melinda reached out and flung her arms around Paige's neck, squealing happily as her parents' love flowed through her.

"Well," Phoebe drawled as Paige pulled back from her, lifting her other child into her arms contentedly. "I thought if you were done at Magic School for the day, we could take the kids for a walk to Double Rainbow."

"Yeah!" Wyatt yelled excitedly.

"Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" Chris and Melinda both chanted in perfect tandem, like a finely-tuned toddler chorus. Paige looked at Tara, always the last to voice her opinion. Her gentle daughter always preferred for others to have what they wanted, rather than assert her own will, and Paige loved her for that. But she and Phoebe had agreed that it was important to make sure Tara's voice was always heard; that she felt her needs were just as important as her little sister's and her cousins'.

"What do you think, sweet girl?" Paige asked, smiling beautifully at her child. Tara looked pensively between her parents, her little sister, and her cousins, all grinning at her with anticipation written on their faces.

"Will you and Mommy share a cookie monster sundae with me, Mama?" Tara asked eagerly.

"I think that might be arranged," Paige said in a mock-serious voice.

"Yaaay!" All four children hollered, running towards the front door.

"Get your jackets!" Phoebe yelled after them, grinning at Paige. "Why look at that, honey…we're actually alone in a room." Smiling back, Paige moved into her arms, kissing her much more thoroughly than she had moments before, with their children in their arms.

"Mmmm…five whole seconds of witchy lovin'. I'm in heaven." They moved back in for another kiss, when the sound of impatient stamping echoed down the hall, followed by Chris and Melinda's voices calling out impatiently for ice cream. Laughing, Paige leaned in and gave Phoebe one final kiss. "Tonight," She promised, grinning lasciviously at the woman who held her world in her hands.

"Abso-freakin'-lutely," Phoebe agreed. They walked out of the kitchen, fingers entwined, toward their children who stood waiting for them in the brilliant afternoon sun.

THE END