Okay guys, it seems there's little but of confusion as to how everything turned out okay in the last chapter. Well, it was Katrina, she used her powers and altered history, making the whole deal with the police and social services never happen. It'll be clearer in Chapter 39! I promise!
Onto the replies! (Altough I'm not sure if I should be doing them, but…)
Chyp – Thanks!
Princess Pinky – Holy Hell! That has to be the biggest review I've ever had! Erm, okay, here I go. Lol, I'm glad I made you laugh, Pam's always been a source of comic relief in my stories, and let's face it, she's been needed! Phoebe's dark side wi; be explored a little more in the sequel. Yeah, I try to give Wyatt a little more of a more childish side, as he is a child after all, and I feel they just neglect Chris in the show, poor little baby. Ha, the male/female thing is a little mix up on my part. And I hope I cleared up the confusion in the little bit at the top. Thanks for your great review!
Phoebe turner – Thanks!
Prince Halliwell – All your questions will be answered soon, but it was Katrina who unintentionally answered her prayer. I think I should probably edit that chapter and do a scene where it shows her fixing everything. Glad you liked it all.
ColePhoebe4eva – Thanks, and they did sorta get out of it. Although it wasn't them you fixed it all.
Lindsay – I'm always pleased to see a new reader! And yeah, heh, I'm working the grammar mistakes and stuff. And you never know, Emma could return…
The King And Her
Pamela raised the can of 'Red Bull' to her lips, swallowing the liquid and widening her eyes as she fought against the fatigue that threatened to consume her. She narrowed her eyes at the glowing laptop screen in front of her, resuming her furious typing and shaking her head slightly, "The words are not swirling around the page, Pam. Get a grip." She hissed to herself, taking a quick glance around the dark kitchen before going back to typing.
A creak on the basement steps made her whip her head around to the side. The door opened and her father appeared, fully dressed in jeans and a leather jacket while squinting his eyes as they adjusted to the change in the light. Pamela immediately pushed the screen of her computer closed, turning to Andy and smiling weakly.
"Why are you up at two in the morning?" Andy frowned at his daughter as he made his way towards the refrigerator; his face illuminated at the light from the interior hit him. The man scanned its contents and groaned.
"Why are you up and fully dressed at two in the morning?" She retorted with a smile, pushing the laptop screen down even further casually as she questioned him. Not answering her, Andy sighed as he pulled out a milk carton, shaking it to indicate it was empty.
"Who put this back in the refrigerator after emptying it?" He said, raising his eyebrows at Pamela, who let out a laugh.
She picked up her can again and took another sip, "That's Wyatt's bad habit. He drained it an hour ago when he got up for something that would help him sleep. He was all for mixing up potions, but I put him off. And you still haven't answered my question."
"I asked mine first." He replied with a grin, taking a glass from the cupboard and going towards the sink, "What were you working on?" Andy asked, turning the tap and filling the glass with water before turning it off and leaning on the counter.
"Oh… Just looking around on the net." She answered with a smile.
Andy gave her a skeptical look, "Hmm… You know, it's been ten years since I've been a cop, but I can still spot a liar a mile away. C'mon, spill!"
"I'm telling the truth!" She said, struggling to keep her father's gaze at he bore into her head with eyes practically identical to her own. "Ugh… Alright… I was… writing…"
"Writing what?"
She sighed again and rolled her eyes, "An article for the school paper, you happy now?" She snapped, pulling the screen back up and looking at what she had written so far, shaking her head as if embarrassed of what she had just shared.
Andy however, just smiled, "You write for the school paper? Then how come I've never seen any of your articles in the issues I've seen?" He frowned, thinking of the times when the only thing he had to keep tabs on his daughter was seeing if she was on the school paper.
"Oh, you probably have, I just don't use my real name. I go by the name of Miss Mystery on that rag. I'm writing about the times that the people in my year group have had during our education, you know, its sort of a recap over the last four years. I can't believe I'm graduating soon…"
"Wait, why do you not use your real name? From what I've read, Miss Mystery is a damn good journalist." Andy commented, downing the rest of the water and putting the glass in the sink, folding his arms.
Pamela shifted uncomfortably, "I'm not good with attention. I'm gonna have to work on that if I want to be a good journalist." She said with determination, looking back at her screen and resuming her typing.
Andy smiled, this was the first time he had even heard of Pamela talking about her future career, "You want to be a journalist? That's great! Why? Do you want help cover up magical messes instead of trying to expose them?"
She shrugged, "That's part of it. But I can concentrate on it later. My career's not really important right now."
As Andy dropped the empty milk carton into the trash can, he noticed a letter already in there. He frowned, noticing the emblem of a flaming torch inside a square and picked it out of the bin, showing it to his daughter with his eyes narrowed.
"Isn't this from NYU?" Andy asked, making Pamela look up and peer up the envelope.
"Well, since it says New York University on it, I'm guessing it might be from there." She answered with a smirk, before going back to her writing.
"Pam, this is the college you've been wanting to go to. If I remember correctly, you couldn't sleep the night you sent off the application form because you were worried it might get lost in the mail. Why is it in the trash?" He gave it another glance, "And not even opened?"
The teen shrugged again, "I didn't see any point in opening it. I'm not going to college anyway so why should I care whether they accepted me or not?" She replied, without looking up from the computer. Andy gaped and took a seat at the table, pulling the laptop away slightly so he could talk to her without distractions. She sighed impatiently, "What?"
"Why do you think you're not going to college?" He asked.
She snorted, "Isn't it sort of obvious? I'm needed here. I can't just leave and go to New York. Piper's barely managing right now, she's relying on P3 to make some money, and although my salary isn't extremely big, it's a needed contribution. It's not as if Leo's job pays anything, although, somehow, the Elders manage to pay the other teachers. We were able to keep afloat before, but without Emma…" She sighed and closed her eyes, "Someone has to be practical."
"And that someone has to be you? I'll get a job; I'll… do something, just to make sure you get want you want out of your education." Andy assured her, shaking her arm slightly.
"Look, Dad, I appreciate the gesture, but…" Pamela pulled the laptop back to her, quickly saving her document and shutting down the system, "You can't get a job, because you're dead. I'm fine with it, really, and don't give me that 'trained to spot a lair' crap. Just trust me." She snapped the laptop shut and tucked it under her arm, standing up and walking towards the dining room, "Hey, you never told me why you were up."
Andy just stared into space, still trying to process his daughter's decision, "Huh…?" He frowned, blinking a little before grinning, "Oh! I was just gonna go for walk. That's what I do when I can't sleep." He replied.
"Hmm… Well, you've seen my trick to sleep. You might wanna try it. It's easier than going for a walk." She smiled, gesturing to the computer before turning on her heel, waving as she left, "Night, Dad."
"Oh… Good night." He called back, putting his hand on his chin and still thinking about what Pamela had said, he had to shake his head and laugh slightly at the irony of it all. Prue had sacrificed her dreams to take care of her family; Andy knew that she had barely made it through college with Phoebe acting up and Piper being bullied. He also remembered having a very similar conversation with Prue when she had come home, it must have been a couple months after she gave birth to Pamela.
Moving the laptop in front of him, Andy opened it up again, turning on the power and staring into the screen. He was surprised and saddened when he saw the NYU emblem stretched across Pamela's desktop. Determined, Andy began to look on the internet, for anything that would let his daughter not turn out like her mother.
Paige looked out of the tall window of her room, out towards the sprawling city and the ocean that lay beyond. The street lamps illuminated the roads in a blue glow as turquoise flames would ignite simultaneously in lanterns that hovered above the sidewalks, lighting up the city in a shower of blue dots from the view from the castle. The view was impaired this evening by the window being drenched in water from the storm outside. It had been the rain lashing against the window that had awakened Paige in the first place
Melinda and Emma sat on her lap, equally enticed by the pretty lights outside. Emma had tried to reach outside many a time, still too young to understand the concept of depth perception, just because you could see something, didn't mean you could touch it. Melinda, however, was grasping for an equally shiny object that sat neatly in a velvet box on the table in front of where they were sitting.
"You want that?" Paige asked her daughter, who merely gurgled and went back to putting her thumb in her mouth, "Go ahead, take it, it's not if Mommy's gonna be putting it on anytime soon…" She said with a hint of sorrow. It was the engagement ring that Paige had found in her apartment when she had still been pregnant.
Paige didn't even know what had possessed her to being it here, of all the places, she would bring it to where it's original owner lived. Perhaps she had brought it in the slightest chance that… No, she had pushed that sort of wishful thinking far out of her head; then again, maybe that was wishful thinking. She was brought back to her senses when Melinda almost fell off the chair when reaching for the table.
"What do you think, girls?" Paige asked her children, reaching her the ring off the table and holding it in front of them as they sat together on their mother's lap, "Does your father have good taste in jewelry?" The two of them remained silent, occupying themselves by chewing on their fingers with toothless gums, or looking out the window, "I'm asking my mute one year old daughters if they like a ring… And now, I'm talking to myself. Great…" She muttered, rolling her eyes at her own behaviour before jumping at the sound of a knock on the door, "Who is it?" Paige called innocently, slowly clutching a potion vial from the small table next to the chair.
"It's me." Aidan's muffled voice came from behind the oak doorway.
She kept a hold of the potion, readying herself for being tricked, "It's open."
The door handle was pushed down and it opened. Aidan's head appeared in the doorway and raised his eyebrows, smiling slightly at Paige. She instantly put the potion down, knowing that only Aidan could smile like that. He walked in, folding his arms across his chest and grinning at the three of them on the lounger.
"Now, you see, if I know Paige Matthews, you've probably got something ready to stop me in my tracks if you think I'm not the real deal. Am I right?" Aidan asked her, trying to look around them to see if a vial was sitting there.
Paige took this as a chance to hide the engagement ring while he was distracted, shoving it down in between her and Emma while he wasn't looking. Aidan let out a laugh as he noticed the green liquid filled vial sitting on the small stand next to the seat. The witchlighter looked up just in time to catch his gaze before he noticed her fidgeting.
"So… What are you doing here at two in the morning?" She asked, smiling a little.
He frowned, "You didn't call me? I felt you calling and I decided I should just knock on the door instead of splashing in." Aidan admitted bashfully while Paige raised an eyebrow at his story.
"I didn't call-," She was cut off when both of the girls began to bounce ecstatically on her lap, smiling widely and reaching for their father while letting out excited giggles. Paige struggled to keep them with her, until Melinda and Emma vanished from her in a cloud of orbs and a torrent of glowing blue water. A bubble began to float in front of Aidan, along with a flurry of white and blue lights. Preempting his daughters' mischief, he held out his arms and the two reappeared, instantly latching onto their father's shirt and moving in closer. Paige smirked and fell back into the chair with her arms folded, "I didn't call you, they did. Little terrors…" She murmured playfully.
"Wait… Did Mel just use her powers?" Aidan asked with a hint of worry in his voice, looking into the face of his beaming daughter.
"What? Orbing? Oh yeah, she orbs about all the time. I guess it's only the witchy powers that are affected by her fluctuating magic. Although oddly enough, I don't think she can use her shield." Paige shrugged, "It must be because, no matter what form it takes, it's still a witch power."
"They're so beautiful…" He whispered, kissing them on the head and holding them closer. It was this sort of thing that Aidan missed most about not being with the twins on a regular basis. Just moments like this, with Paige, just being a family, things that he could never have.
"Wow… Looks like all they needed was you." Paige commented, noticing as Melinda closed her eyes and lay her head down on her father's shoulder. Even Emma's usually energetic and curious nature was being beaten by the tiredness that was now creeping up on the one year old. "I'll help you get them to bed…" She said, standing up and slowly taking a sleeping Melinda from the Elemental's arms.
Paige walked towards the door that led to the adjoining room where the girls slept. She placed her daughter down on the small bed that had low bars on the side so she wouldn't fall out, while Aidan laid down Emma, who was just about to nod off. Pulling in the large chord that hung next to the window, Paige brought the blind down to shut out any light that would impair any sleeping attempts.
"I can't believe how fast they're growing." Aidan commented as they shut the door carefully, stealing a final glace at his sleeping children before turning back main room. Paige stayed at the crack in the door for a little longer, smiling at her daughters, until Aidan's voice made her freeze up.
"Hey, what's this?"
She turned round to see him picking up the royal blue velvet box from the couch. A flash of lightning blinded them both momentarily and when her vision returned, Paige's ears twitched as thunder shook the room, it as almost enough to match the pale shock etched into her ex's face as he look into the now open box.
"This is…" He began, instantly recognizing the diamond ring that was sitting snuggly in the velvet covered foam.
"Yeah. I found it in your seat… The note too…" She admitted, "I guess we're lucky you didn't pop the question before everything kicked off, it would have made things a lot more complicated when you left."
Aidan raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze to Paige, "What makes you think I still would have left if we were… you know…"
She folded his arms and crossed the room, her body language telling that she was protecting herself, "C'mon. This is your destiny, you're not meant to be with me, you're married to your duties. Actually, I think that was one of our problems when we were together. Boyfriend, elemental… either way there was something more important."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I was trying to save us. I would try and fix every problem so we could be together. Besides, it was your little quest for knowledge that landed me here."
Paige's eyes widened until it looked unnatural. She couldn't believe the audacity he had to blame her for their break up. Was it her fault he had left pregnant? Her fault that she had been left to raise twins on her own? Her fault for everything falling apart in the first place! The witchlighter had to resist the urge to punch him again, like she had done when he had first come back into her life.
"How… dare you blame me! Maybe I wouldn't have had to find things out for myself if I hadn't had to put up the constant secrets that seemed to follow you wherever you went! Namely, the ones that would always end up involving me some way or another!" She exclaimed, her cheekbones exposed she sucked in her cheeks with rage.
"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that… if you hadn't said that spell, I could have avoided all of this!" He shouted, gesturing wildly to the room around them, "I would never have had to come back to this place and I never would have left you!"
"Oh yeah? What would have happened then, Aidan? You probably would have tried to take care of the matter of you being a prince all by yourself. What if you hadn't come back? What if you had got stuck here? I would have been worried because you would have left me pregnant. Trust me, our break up was certainly necessary, but it was entirely your fault!" She spat back, turning her back on him and putting a hand on her forehead.
Aidan suddenly threw the ring to the floor in a rage, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed, "I can't live like this!" He shouted, "You're angry at me for leaving you, I get it that, but I can't do anything about that now! I have apologized into I'm blue in the face! What's my next punishment, Paige? Are you gonna take Mel and Emma away from me? Because, I will tell you right now, I won't stand for it."
She whipped around with her mouth wide open, "What kind of horrible vindictive person do you think I am? So much for knowing me. And what do you mean you 'can't live like this'? From where I'm standing, you've got it pretty sweet."
"I mean that I can't keep bottling up my feelings then letting them out in fits of rage. Paige, I love you. You have been the only thing in my entire life that has meant anything to me. And to fight with you, to not be with you, to not be with our children, it's killing me!" He let out a roar and put his hands on the back of his head, pacing in circles, "I just wish there was some way for-,"
Aidan was cut off by Paige suddenly leaping on him, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and locking her arms around his neck as she kissed him more passionately than she ever had. The elemental placed his hands on the bottom of her thighs, holding her in place and returning the kiss. He reveled in her touch, as she ran her hands through his hair, around his neck, across his shoulders, everything just seemed so right.
Paige pulled back slightly, running a delicate hand across his cheek as her eyes reddened with tears, "I love you too…" She whispered so softly that anyone that wasn't as close as Aidan wouldn't have heard her. The elemental replied with eye contact, the calm green orbs where now filled with passion, lust, and love as he walked backwards towards the bed, still carrying his love.
Pamela hit the letter off her hand repeatedly as a tornado of white lights swirled fiercely in the centre of the circle of ignited candles. She had racked her brain, thinking of anyone, dead or alive, who could help her with dilemma, and there where only two people in the universe she could think of.
Her hope was shattered when, instead of the people she wanted, Prue Halliwell stood as an incorporeal being, smiling nervously and picking at her cuticles as she looked at her daughter with a soft gaze. Pamela's nostrils instantly flared in anger as she stepped around the Book of Shadows to challenge the deceased Charmed One.
"You have got to be kidding me… I'm in the middle of a crisis and you go and intercept a spiritual call? That's low. I'm blowing out this candle." She growled, taking a step forward as mist blew from her mouth, preparing to snuff the small flame with a cloud of ice.
"No! Wait! Please don't!" Prue pleaded, holding up her hands in a stopping motion, "You can't intercept calls to the afterlife; you must have subconsciously summoned me…" She said with a hint of guilt in her voice, knowing that Pamela probably didn't want her here. "Hey, is that from a college?" She asked, pointing at the letter in the teen's hand.
"Um… Yeah," She bashfully replied.
"Well, open it! What college is it from?" Prue asked with a hint of excitement in her voice, remembering the thrill of waking up to a letter from a college you had applied to, although from the look of Pamela's face, she wasn't feeling it.
Pamela held up the envelope so her mother could see it, "NYU. But… can we just talk about something for a minute? Before I open this."
The eldest Charmed One nearly jumped at the chance, "Sure… What's wrong?" She asked, keeping her composure as to not put her off talking. There was something in her daughter's eyes that Prue recognized, but she wanted to confirm her suspicions before she said anything rash. "Um… Pam? Do you even… want to go to college?"
Her glistening blue eyes widened, "Of course I do! It's just…" She sighed and walked towards the table that they used to make potions, leaning on it and looking down at her feet, "I'm needed here."
"And… what's making you think like that?"
"Emma." Pamela replied simply, "Emma's making me think like that… I not sure if Piper can manage by herself. I mean, I know she's not alone in the literal sense, but in the financial sense…" She trailed off and licked her lips, "I have to stay here, I'm needed. Not to mention I would miss everyone like hell."
Prue gave her a sympathetic glance and pursed her lips, "Pam, you were born to spread your wings. I can see it and how many times have we seen each other? Everyone else sees it. You're full of energy, curiosity, passion. You can't stay here; the only thing you would be doing is making yourself miserable and inflicting guilt on those around you…"
Pamela raised an eyebrow, "Speaking from personal experience?"
"Yeah, I wanted to see the world. Actually, me and your Dad were planning to go backpacking after college. But then there was stuff and… we had to go our separate ways. I always regret not seeing the world, and now look where I am." The ghost looked down, putting her hands behind her back and dwelling on what could have been, but this mood didn't last long as she shot up with a beaming smile, "So, are you going to open that thing?"
"Alright…" She said lowly, tearing the tab off the back and quickly yanking the paper out of its confinement. Her eyes darted from side to side as she read what it said, her frown growing as she processed everything. She looked up, an ecstatic smile stretched across her face, "I got in!" Pamela squealed, before her grin vanished, "But-,"
Prue put her hand up, "No buts, things will work out. I can assure you of that."
"How though?"
"I may have been a crappy mother, but I would never lie to you. C'mon, just trust me. Everything's gonna be fine." The Charmed One gave her daughter and wink and spoke with such conviction that Pamela couldn't help but believe her words, "So, where are your aunts?"
"Um… Piper and Phoebe are getting Paige's apartment ready for her coming back today." She replied, "She's been staying with Aidan ever since Emma died."
At this, Prue's eyes lit up with a mischievous glint, a smirk played on her smirk as she spoke, "Hey, when you speak to Paige today, tell to look in her pocket and she'll know what to do."
Pamela frowned, "Huh?"
"Just do it. She'll understand." The witch said with a smirk, turning on her heel and preparing to return to the afterlife, but she turned her head just as she was about to leave, "And Pam, have a little faith in your family, alright? Don't turn out like me." She cocked her head, "As we all know that's your worst fear."
Pamela chuckled, trying to repress the smile on her face, "Thanks… Mom."
"Your welcome," She said back, keeping a neutral face until turning back around grinning, "Oh. Who were you trying to summon anyway?"
"Huh? No, no one, its nothing," Pamela replied, waving the notion away with her hand that still had the letter in it.
"Oh… Okay,"
A spiral of swirling lights engulfed the Charmed One as she made her way back to her rightful realm, a flash was released as she disappeared completely, leaving Pamela to think of the things her mother had said and comparing to what she thought the people who she had wanted to summon would have said.
The Walkers.
Paige smiled slightly when the clip went together with a small click, strapping in Emma into the double stroller safely along with her sister. The witchlighter moved a lock of curly blonde hair away from the child's face, cupping her cheek and giving her daughters a look filled with bittersweet emotions as thought of who they got their blonde hair and green eyes from.
She looked up towards the large mechanical object in front of her. It was a large circular platform; intricate runes were carved around the edge, obviously there to be part of the magic that fueled the machine. In the centre, there was a large blue disc, emblazoned with the Atlantian crest, made up of a majestic leviathan coiled around a long sword. Paige swung her white leather jacket around her shoulders, taking the leash off the handle of the stroller and pulling it slightly as an order for Sandy to come to her heel.
The witch struggled as she pulled the pushchair up the small flight of steps that led to the platform, walking towards the middle and standing expectantly, waiting for anything to happen. She stood there for a few minutes, before sighing and tying the dog's leash back to the stroller, "I have no idea how to work this thing!" Paige exclaimed.
"Maybe I can help?" She spun around on the spot and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Aidan standing under the stone arch that was the entrance of the room that held the only way to get to the outside world. "You weren't even going to say goodbye?" He asked, his voice filled with hurt, not anger.
"I'm sorry…" She bowed her head, "You know I'm not good with goodbyes, and you remember how swimmingly our last proper goodbye was. Me clinging to your shirt and you trying to avoid hitting smacked in the jaw."
He walked around the platform, climbing the steps and walking towards her, "So you decided to just creep out of the bed while I was still sleeping?"
"Well, at least you get your room back," She replied with a forced smile, watching as he knelt down and stroked Melinda's head, "And you'll be seeing these two in a weeks time so I didn't really see the need for you to see them."
"Well…" Aidan began as he stood to his full height, "I wanted to say goodbye to you, no matter how bad you think you are at them," He murmured solemnly, taking her hands in his and kissing her fingers delicately, making Paige's heart break even more with every lightly placed peck.
"If... If-if we're serious about…" She swallowed, trying to restore moisture to her mouth, "Never seeing each other… again. Y-Yo… You should probably… send people… to pick up the girls from now on." The witchlighter finally managed to breathe out, silently thanking Aidan for letting go of her hands, knowing that her willpower wouldn't have lasted much longer if he had continued.
"Okay…" He whispered, "I can't believe we're doing this…" The elemental added, glancing around Paige when Sandy let out a sad whine and lay down, bowing her head.
Paige scrunched her eyes up, salty tears falling silently down her cheeks as she did so, "We… can't see each other with… without…" She retracted her eyelids, revealing the reddened orbs underneath as she broke down, "Being together… This is the only way for us to move on…"
It killed her when he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close in a hug and kissing her hair, stroking it lovingly. Paige moved closer to his body, savouring the warmth as long as she could and hearing his heart beat erratically. The witch placed her hands on his upper arms, snuggling closer and clinging to whatever self control she had left.
"I wish that-,"
"I know…" Paige cut him off as she pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and sniffing, "So do I." Aidan began to walk away, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze as his eyes glistened with tears that seemed to be on the verge on being released. "Oh screw it…" Paige growled to herself, walking after him and turning him around violently, putting her hand on the back of his neck and pulling him down a passionate kiss. Aidan closed his eyes and placed his hands firmly on her hips, not wanting to let her go and wishing that the kiss could last forever.
Paige gulped again as she pulled away from his lips, keeping her hand on the back of his neck as she licked her lips, feeling a salty taste on her tongue as she licked away her tears, "I love you." She said, with the most firmness she had managed to muster during the entire conversation.
Aidan sighed and placed a hand on her cheek, brushing her tears away with his thumb and stroking her smooth skin, "I love you too…" He replied softly, wrenching himself away to walk down the stairs and activate the teleporter.
Paige walked back to the stroller, holding onto the handle so tight that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes were locked on Aidan as he mentally began to send her home with his powers. He glanced to one side of the platform; runes began to glow with an eerie blue light as it spread to all the carvings in the stone surface. Once all the marking were shining with a turquoise shimmer, the main disc in the centre lit up in the same manner. Slowly, Paige, Sandy, and the stroller, all began to turn into the water. The witchlighter gasped at her feet as the effect spread upwards before she was completely made of liquid. Quickly glancing up, she waved weakly to a Aidan with a watery hand before falling apart, and splashing out the castle, and out of his life.
"Paige!" Phoebe exclaimed, running to her recently materialized sister across the apartment living room and putting one arm around her neck, hugging her with a large grin on her face, patting her baby sister's back with the free hand.
"Hey Pheebs, planning on letting her breathe anytime soon?" Piper put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. The middle Charmed One pulled away, shooting a playful glare in her big sister's direction and moving out of the way. "Welcome home," Piper said, hugging Paige lovingly with a smile, "We've certainly missed you."
Phoebe took a seat on the arm of the black leather couch, "So, how are you?" She said with a sympathetic smile, knowing of her sister's condition before she left. Piper sighed at her little sister again, turning to Paige.
"I'm sure that came out a lot more intrusive than it was meant." The eldest said with a tone, obviously thinking that Paige still needed to be handled carefully, "But seriously, how are you?" She asked, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.
Paige smiled at the sisterly banter that she had missed during her absence, "I'll be fine as long you guys don't act like I've got a bull in my china shop." She narrowed her eyes as she replayed what she had said in her head, "That came out a lot dirtier than I realized…"
"Noted." Phoebe said with a smile, before her happiness vanished from her face and she doubled over in pain, letting out a choked gasp of hurt as she clutched her chest, "Oh my God…" She locked eyes with her little sister, who merely frowned in response and walked forward in concern.
Piper helped Phoebe towards the couch, assisting her in sitting down and rubbing her back tenderly, "What happened?"
The witch looked up, slightly out of breath and stared at Paige, who had sat down on the coffee in front of the couch, "Her heart… She's breaking on the inside…" Phoebe managed to breathe, letting out another choked yelp as another wave of heartbreak hit her. There was something buried underneath the hurt though, something that gave Phoebe familiar tingle. Love.
Paige buried her head in her hands, it wasn't bad enough that she was hurting; Phoebe had to be feeling her pain too? This was too much; she ran her hands through her hair before going back to covering her face. She just wanted to shut it all out, she wanted to move on, she wanted to forget the pain that was tearing her in two, not to mention her sister.
"Paige, what the hell happened?" Phoebe said, keeping her hand over her heart. The only time she had felt this feeling through her empathy was before Piper had lost herself after losing Leo when he became an Elder. She couldn't allow Paige to become the same way.
The youngest Charmed closed her eyes with a sigh as she tried to calm down, "Um… Aidan and I decided never to see each other again." She sniffed, refusing to cry over something she had no control over now, "He's going to send people to pick up the girls every other weekend."
"What?" Piper frowned, glancing quickly over to Phoebe as she straightened up, the pain subsiding as Paige talked about what happened.
She covered her ears, shaking her head, "I don't want to talk about it!" Paige shouted, standing up and going towards the twins as they were stirred by her loudness. "I don't want your input, you guys. I'm sorry, I just… I need to talk to someone who doesn't talk back. Like these two." She grinned at her children as she tickled them, making them giggle and smile.
Piper walked towards her baby sister, kneeling down next to her and looking into her eyes, "Then I think we both know there's only one person who can fit that criteria and still give you comfort, as I don't think you should be telling your kids how much you can't see their father."
Paige frowned for a minute, thinking of who Piper could be talking about, until her eyes widened with both realization and fear, instantly knowing the one person that would be able to silently console her.
Emma DeLauro
1978 – 2008
Beloved Friend and Mother
One Of The Kindest People You Ever Could Meet
Paige traced the black letters in the marble with her finger as she got down on her knees in front of the memorial plaque that had been made in Emma's name. It was peaceful here, Paige certainly couldn't argue with that, and she also couldn't deny that she was in good company. She pursed her lips, taking the wilting flowers out of the small silver cup next to the plaque, and putting in a fresh bouquet of white tulips with a sniff.
"I'm sorry I haven't been here before…" She said as she began to brush away the moss and the grass that had grown over the marble, "Although, I wish I had, because someone's gotta make sure this thing stays clean so people know what a great person you are… were," Paige corrected herself, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, "What am I doing here…? I mean, you're not exactly going to be here, especially after we released your ashes… And yet I'm still talking to a stone, great."
Paige went back to getting rid of the overgrowth, picking at pieces of moss with her nails and ripping out grass that had grown so long that it was covering the smooth marble surface. She ripped away the grass at the bottom and picked off another piece of moss, before narrowing her eyes at a part of the plaque that had been covered by the overgrowth, it was something that Emma had wanted in her will.
"You will experience many things in life; they will shape you, mold you, and make you the person you are today. But there is one thing in this world that will not change you, but it will stay with you forever, and haunt you if you ignore it, and that thing is love."
Paige placed her hand on the words, whimpering slightly as a slew of emotions hit her at the same time. She couldn't live like this, everything felt so hard, so difficult, and the only person she wanted to be with was out of her reach forever, there was no turning back on her decision. The witchlighter looked up, fresh tears shining in her eyes as she put her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun that was beating down on her, silently wishing that the ground would just swallow her whole.
"Paige?"
The witchlighter turned around, only to see her niece standing behind her with a confused expression on her face. Pamela was holding a bouquet of orchids in front of her chest, bouncing slightly from foot to foot awkwardly as she looked at her aunt.
"Looks like you had the same idea as me," Pamela smiled as she knelt down, putting the flowers into the silver pot along with Paige's. "It's easier to talk to someone when they're not right in front of you, isn't it?" She peered down at the moisture on the plaque, where her aunt's tears had fell, "We never really figured out what this inscription meant." The teen moved her hands across the lettering, before letting out a gasp as she was pulled into a premonition.
The back door of the Manor, two women were sitting on the step. One of them had blonde curly hair while the other had deep auburn coloured hair down to her shoulders. Both of them were taking draws from cigarettes that were perched in between their fingers. It was Emma DeLauro, and Paige's future daughter, Emma Parker. The vision began as the two were in mid conversation.
"Which brings me to my next question… What's wrong with Mel?"
Future Emma run a hand through her hair, "Every witch has a magical essence. Mel's isn't consistent and it effects her health, sometimes she'll be extremely powerful, which makes her extremely ill, and sometimes she won't be able to use her telekinetic orbing without fainting,"
"Wow… Must have been hard Paige and Aidan,"
"No… It was hard on Mom. Dad wasn't around much…" Future Emma scowled, "And Pamela was there for us even more afterwards…"
"After what?" Emma laid a hand on the teen's shoulder, "You can tell me,"
"… It was just a normal afternoon. I wasn't at the house with Mom and Mel, I can't remember why… Anyway, a demon attacked, and… my Mom wasn't looking. She was helping Mel after she fainted, and the demon caught her off guard and…"
Emma's eyes had begun to mist up as the blonde told this story, "Oh my God."
"Pam was like a mother to us after it happened. She took us in, helped us so much,"
A tear fell down the redhead's cheek, "Is… is there anyway to stop this?"
"Yeah…" Future Emma mashed her cigarette into the stone step, "You can get my parents back together,"
Pamela came out of the vision calmly, as it had only been a conversation she had witnessed, and not any violence. "Emma…" She whispered, remembering a time when they all thought they would stay together like a family, "It's for you…" She said, turning to Paige.
"What?"
"The inscription, it's meant for you."
"How did you get all that from one premonition? What did you see?" Paige asked, bending down to ask her quietly as people walked by, going to another grave.
Pamela thought back on the conversation she had witnessed, deciding it was probably best for Paige not to know, "It doesn't matter… Wait…" She whispered, "Look in your pocket." She ordered, receiving a strange look from her aunt, "Just humour me and do it, please?"
With a sigh, Paige reached into her jean pocket, frowning as she felt something in there. She grasped at the object, yanking it out of her pocket and pulling it out in front of her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the royal blue velvet box, it was the engagement ring. Opening it cautiously, there was a new piece of paper inside, along with the ring. The witchlighter opened up the paper, her mouth falling open as she let out a sob.
Something to remember me by,
Aidan.
Paige cast her eyes over the inscription that lay on Emma's memorial plaque. She stared at it with narrowed eyes, frowning with determination and crumpling the piece of paper up in her fist. She shoved the ring back into her pocket, grabbed Pamela's wrist and made them both disappear in a flurry of white and blue orbs.
She knew what she had to do.
A large fork of purple lightning ripped across the sky over Atlantis. It was followed by an earthshaking rumble of thunder, making the tiles on the roof shake and some even falling off, smashing on the cobbled street below. Rain lashed the ground, making a harsh pinging sound as every drop fell, drenching the city as black storm clouds moved even closer.
Rain water overflowed from a gutter, causing a constant heavy drip to fall into the alleyway beneath. There was a howling noise as the wind picked up around the narrow passage. Slowly, a disc of dark blue watery light grew bigger and bigger before there was a flash and the four Halliwell witches stood in its place. Each of them instantly let out a yelp at the rain that had the quad soaked instantly.
"You didn't mention a storm!" Phoebe spat, holding her hands above her hands in a futile attempt to keep herself dry.
"That's because she hasn't thought this through." Pamela snapped back, "I mean, do you realize how crazy this is? We'll be lucky enough to get past all the guards. But hey, what are we waiting for? I love a challenge," She said excitedly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation for the battle that was looming.
"Let's just get out of the rain, shall we?" Piper suggested, spotting the tall watch tower of the castle. Even in this storm, it still stood firm, "Who's ready to kick some Atlantian ass in the name of true love?" She shouted, punching the air.
"Okay, one more 'after school special' thing like that comes out of your mouth, and you're going home. Although I'm certainly game for ass kicking." Pamela replied.
"Let's go already!" Paige shoved past them, stomping out of the alleyway and into the main square, heading towards the castle as rain lashed her shoulders, drenching her dark hair and making it stick to her scalp, but she still marched on, her feet splashing in the deep puddles.
"Now there's a woman on a mission…" Phoebe said, slightly in awe of her little sister.
"Trust me, if you had been here to witness the drama of her relationship with Aidan, this would be nothing to you." Piper commented, "Hey! Wait up!" She shouted after Paige, who had almost disappeared from sight as they ran after her, lightning tearing apart the sky as they walked.
Aidan stared into his reflection on the window. Rain was obscuring the view immensely and the only thing he could see was the occasional bolt of lightning flying across the sky. The citizens knew better than to go out in this sort of weather, it was expected in the Atlantian winter. The city was coping well with the extreme conditions, thanks to the channel of underground tunnels that Aidan had had built in case of weather like this.
His green eyes were drained of all life as he stared into them, he was disgusted at himself, disgusted for having to be here, for having been separated from the one person he needed. The elemental put a hand on his forehead, nursing the pounding headache he had as a clap of thunder shook the building, he went back to staring at the window, not being able to stand to look at himself. Aidan let out a primal roar as he put his fist through the glass, ignoring the searing pain in his hand and the cold wind howling through the smashed window.
"Your Majesty! There's… What happened to your hand?" A soldier asked as he burst in the door, pointing at the bleeding fist as Aidan stared down at it.
"Nothing, what is it?"
"We're under attack!" The armour clad gent replied with a frightened voice, gripping to his spear as if it was the only thing keeping him standing.
"What?" Aidan stepped forward, curious about the intruder as Atlantis hadn't been attacked in centuries. He eyed the Trident of Poseidon that was resting on the wall, summoning it to his hand quickly just in case, "By who or what?"
"Witches, Your Majesty! Powerful ones, they've already got past the main gate and have entered the castle. There are four of them, extremely destructive too! They destroyed the chains that kept the drawbridge up, that's how they got inside in the first place!" He replied.
"Okay, throw everything we have at them. Eliminate them at all costs." Aidan replied, not feeling very merciful. He turned on his heel and looked down at his gashed hand, now regretting such a stupid action as he pulled a shard of glass out of his knuckle.
"Yes Your Majesty!" The soldier gave him a salute, before running out of the room to go aid his comrades in the fight against the intruders.
Pamela threw her arm out across her chest, sending two advancing soldiers flying into the air and skidding across the wet floor. The Halliwell moved a piece of dripping hair from her face, turning towards another soldier in the hallway and gesturing roughly, blasting him back into a coat of arms that was hung on the wall. The witch then whirled on her heel, her head drooping to her chest as an astral pulse tore from her body. The energy hitting the three soldiers that were charging at her with spears raised. The power caused their armour to crumple around their bodies throw them out of the large iron doors that the four witches had thrown open with their combined powers.
Phoebe knocked the hilt of a sword that was suspended on the wall, making it fall into her hand and immediately she began to block the various spear jabs that were being thrown her way. She lunged at one soldier, tackling him to the ground and hurling the sword into his throat. The man underneath screamed in pain as he dissolved in water, Phoebe instantly losing the balance she had and falling to the floor on her butt just in time to grab a soldier by the wrists and hurl him over her head, placing her foot on his chest and pulling, rolling backwards at same time and throwing him across the room. The middle Charmed One suddenly flew up into the air, grabbing her sword as she levitated back on to her feet, taking a stance a ready to take on the next enemy as he reformed on the floor.
Piper had taken a very simple tactic. One soldier jumped into the air, aiming his spear so that it would come right down on her head. Instantly, the witch thrust out her hands, freezing the attacker and walking forwards to quickly yank the spear from his motion suspended hand and throw it through it through his chest. Steam began to seep from every crevice in the man's armour before he evaporated completely in mid air. "Ah!" Piper screamed, ducking down just in time to avoid a lethal jab from another soldier. She took a breath, orange crisscrossing lines spread over her right arm and she threw her massed out fist into her enemy's gut, denting his armour severely and hurling him through the hallway, making him land on another guard who was just getting up, knocking both out.
"Piper! Phoebe! Anybody!" Paige shouted for aid, as any power she could use in battle relied on transportation by orbs, none of her powers would help her against the soldiers that had obviously indentified her as the weakest of the group. Relying on martial arts classes she had taken with Emma, Paige spun on her heel and delivered a powerful kick to a soldier's crotch. He let out a groan of pain, dropping his spear and falling to floor, leaving the witchlighter to smirk, "Men… No matter how much armour you-," She was cut off by the downed soldier kicking her ankles, making her fall to the ground. Paige gave her enemies a frightful look. She couldn't believe this was how it was going to end, her family fighting for their lives and her with a spear in her gut.
One of soldiers raised his spear above her, Paige squinted her eyes in anticipation, and was pleasantly surprised when her attacker was thrown in her opposite direction, she grinned, "What a time to get a power back!" She immediately began to throw out her arms, sending the enemy flying in various directions and finally regaining her feet, looking at all the soldiers they had defeated.
"I said you hadn't thought this through!" Pamela said in an 'I told you so' tone, putting her hands on her hips and sighing, before making a face at her drenched hair. Each of the them were soaked head to toe. Their clothes were sticking to them, their hair was soaking, and they would probably all have the flu in the morning. Paige owed her family so much.
"Ugh! This is endless!" Piper exclaimed, gesturing to the knocked out soldiers regaining consciousness and preparing to fight once more. It was there Phoebe stood in front of the rest of them, holding her sword tightly and taking a deep breath.
"You guys keep going. I'll hold them off," She said firmly.
"Pheebs, are you crazy?" Piper exclaimed, "No! We can't! You'll-,"
"Kick major ass and catch up to you. Go!" She urged.
With one last second of hesitance, the three of them run away from the battle. In the second Phoebe turned her back, a soldier ran past her, going after Piper, Paige and Pamela. Without a sliver of doubt, the middle Charmed One spun on her heel and hurled the sword at the enemy's back, piercing his armour and making him fall to the floor before bursting into a puddle of water.
"Where'd he think he was going?" Phoebe quipped to her herself, before turning back to the fight, only to be pounced on by about ten soldiers, each of them slashing wildly with their spears as they attempted to crush the witch. However, the pile of soldiers suddenly burst outwards as Phoebe flew into air like a rocket, spinning her body so fast that she probably could have drilled through the ceiling with her head before landing on the floor delicately, ready to fight.
The three remaining witches ran along the winding halls of the castle. They could still hear the screams of soldiers being vanquished by Phoebe, but a scream ripped through the air that made all three stop in their tracks as Piper turned around, shaking, hoping that her fears weren't about to come to pass.
"ASSHOLE!" Phoebe's voice shouted, as another scream from a soldier sounded, along with an explosion. This eased the three of them as they went back to running down the halls.
Piper caught up with her little sister, who seemed to have had a burst of energy ever since her telekinetic abilities had been returned, "So, do you know where he'll be?" Paige didn't answer, "Oh God, please say you have a slight idea of where he is!"
"Yes!" Paige snapped, biting her lips when she heard the clanking of metal coming towards them from the front. Sure enough, around ten soldiers came round the corner, each holding their spears as their jagged points glowed before releasing little blue lights. Pamela tackled her aunts to the floor, letting the lights whiz over them and hit the wall, creating the scorch mark.
"Okay, just guessing, but those things could be lethal." She retorted sarcastically.
"Whoa!" Piper exclaimed, deploying her hands and freezing the group of soldiers, along with the balls of light that were now flying from the ends of their spears. The three took their chance and ran past them, turning around to make sure they were still frozen. Unfortunately, they had unfrozen as soon as the witches had got by. Piper gestured again, putting them in suspended motion and keeping her hands up, hoping to strengthen her freeze.
"This isn't working." Paige urged, "Let's just go."
Piper raised an eyebrow, "And get fried by these guys? No thank you, they're fighting through my freeze, we can't run without them coming after us in a few seconds." Distracted by conversation, Piper didn't freeze the platoon again in time, "Get behind me!" She shouted, taking a breath and quickly massing out. The magical bullets bounced off her dense structure with a tinkering sound, "Get outta here! I'll keep them busy!"
"But Piper, you can't hold out like this!" Paige urged, wincing as she heard another attack bounce off her sister's magical armour.
"You're worth it! Now go make Aidan see that!" Piper shouted.
Pamela grabbed her aunt's wrist and pulled her along, trying to keep in line with Piper so that they wouldn't be hit by the bullets. Paige looked back, a tear from her eye fell as she realized just what a sacrifice her sisters had made for her. She made a promise to herself that she would find a way to repay them for nearly losing their lives.
"What's the report?" Aidan asked the soldier that had just came into his room. He was still picking out small shards of glass from his fist, gritting his teeth as blood still flowed from his knuckles.
"The witches have separated, Your Majesty. It seems that only one is trying to get to you, the others are just here to aid her. We have soldiers battling with the two who have remained, no doubt to distract our men. The first one isn't really using her powers at all Your Majesty, she seems to gifted in martial arts and combined with her levitation, she's quite-,"
Aidan looked up, "Wait a minute, did you say her power is levitation?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the other is using some sort of body density manipulation to withstand our warriors' onslaught. Two are still on their way though, we've prepared out best men to intercept the two, they won't get into the centre of the castle." He replied, saluting before he went to turn away, "Oh, I'm sorry, is there anything else?"
The elemental frowned. Could it really be who he thought it was? "Describe their appearance to me please."
"All of them look extremely similar. All have dark hair, out of the two that are on their way here, one is a teenager the other has skin a little paler than the others. Mind you, that could be just because they've ran through the city to get there and have got soaked along the way."
Aidan's eyes widened as he realized just who had broken into the castle, "Call off the attacks, let the four witches through." He ordered immediately, walking towards the door and taking big strides while the soldier gaped underneath his helmet.
"But, Your Majesty-,"
"Just do it!" He snapped, walking out of the room and breaking into a sprint as his feet pounded down the hall. He could only think of one reason why Paige would be storming the castle with back up, and the very thought was making his heart beat even faster and blood rush to his ears. He turned a corner, pushing a large oak door open and bursting into another part of the castle, he would find her.
No matter what.
"There!" Paige shouted, pointing to two large iron doors that had large latches shut across them, "That leads out to a bridge that connects this part of the castle with the centre. He should be in there." Her words came out with a lot more conviction than she felt, but she had to stay positive if she was serious about this.
"Uh… Paige? I think we've got company." Pamela said warily, pulling on her aunt's sleeve to alert her to the danger. Paige narrowed her eyes at the five soldiers that were walking towards the two calmly, she turned back to the door, biting her lip. These soldiers were different to others, their armour glistened with silver metal, a sign of their power.
"C'mon. let's go." The witchlighter advised, taking her niece's wrist and pulling, but Pamela stood her ground with a grin.
"Well, it's a about time I got my chance." She turned to her aunt, "Go get your man. Me and the silverware are gonna have some fun." She grinned to herself, shaking out of Paige's grip. Her chin hit her chest and a pulse of spiritual energy threw itself as the five soldiers, who spun their spears around and threw the tip into the floor, using it as a ground to keep their footing as the astral pulse passed. Pamela regained consciousness to see that her usually destructive power had done nothing, but she wasn't about to give up, "Go already!" She said, before her head drooped again and blue energy tore from her body, this time blasting the five soldiers down the corridor.
Paige made a series of gestures with her hands, and slowly the latches began to creek and groan as they were lifted away from the door telekinetically from her power. Once the iron was completely clear of anything that would stop it from opening, Paige made a pulling gesture, making the doors come apart with a groan as the metal was separated. Paige was instantly met with the raging storm outside, getting pounded by rain as she ran out, making more gestures behind her and shutting the iron doors with a bang.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw outside. He was standing in the middle of the bridge, his clothes clinging to him from standing out in the rain for so long and his slightly longer than normal hair stuck to the back of his neck and forehead. Immediately, she ran to him, narrowing her eyes so she could see him as he walked towards her. Without any words, she threw herself at him, catching the elemental in a fierce lip lock which was only intensified when Aidan pulled her as close as their physical forms would allow, putting one arm tightly around her neck and putting his free hand on her cheek. Paige moved in as close as she could the warmth his body was giving off, putting one hand on his back and trying to pull him in even closer.
They finally pulled out of the kiss, still extremely close to each other as their drenched clothes were sticking to each other Paige let out a sob as she buried her chest in his chest, "I can't do this! I need you! I can't live without you! I'll die!" She babbled, pulling away and looking into his eyes, "I just can't…"
"Shh…" He soothed her, hugging her shaking frame and stroking her wet hair, "I'm not going anywhere, not this time, never again…" He assured her. Paige looked up and kissed him again as if she needed to him just to keep breathing, she felt him return the kiss, and realized that, the pouring rain, soaking wet, she had never been happier.
The moment was broken the iron doors were opened with a screeching groan. Paige turned around, her arms wrapped tightly around Aidan's neck, and she grinned she saw all three of her relatives standing there. Piper was currently holding up a beaten and bruised Phoebe, who winced as she touched her bleeding lip. Piper had blood pouring from her arm as she struggled to keep her sister standing. Pamela, however, looked completely fine as she smirked triumphantly at the happy couple.
"Hey Parker!" Piper yelled, "You better be worth all the blood, sweat and tears you've put our sister through!"
"Yeah, because if you break her heart again, we'll hurt you." Phoebe added with a playful glare.
"Badly." Pamela emphasized, quickly catching her aunt as she stumbled.
Aidan laughed and lovingly caressed his love's cheek, "I don't know if I deserve you…" He admitted.
Paige raised an eyebrow, "Oh trust me, you do!" She grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him into another kiss, receiving hoots and hollers from the three women standing in the doorway. It felt right. That was the only thing Paige could like as she stood in the rain with him, everything had just fell into place. Her children, her life, and now Aidan had come back to her.
"Perfect…"
Pamela rubbed her hair furiously with a towel as she walked into the kitchen in her pajamas. She made a face at the towel, shaking her head and dropping it onto the table, "You know, it must have something to do with Atlantian rain, because my hair just isn't drying." She stated to her father and Piper, who seemed was in a similar situation, apart from the fact her hair was in a towel.
"Well, at least we got our feel good factor of the day." The eldest Charmed One said calmly, sipping on a cup of tea before making brief eye contact with Andy and lowering her cup, clearing her throat, "Um… Listen, Pam, we want to talk to you about something."
"Shoot." She replied absentmindedly, grabbing the towel and gritting her teeth as she rubbed her scalp.
Piper looked across to Andy with a smile, "Did you get it?"
"Yeah," He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, putting it on the counter and sliding it towards Pamela, who gave it a strange look before turning it over. The teen's eyes almost popped out of her head when she looked down at it, "It's a cheque-,"
"With a whole lot of zeros!" Pamela exclaimed, "What is this?"
"It's my money." Andy replied, "I had a little nest egg tucked away before I died. I never got the chance to use it so it's been sitting in a separate account for ten years. That should be more than enough to pay for your tuition."
Pamela gave him a skeptical look, "Wait a minute, you were a cop, how could you save this much money?"
Andy shrugged, "I never felt right spending the money I inherited from relatives."
"And neither did we," Piper cut in, "That's not just all his money, me and Phoebe never felt right spending the money Prue left us. So we figured what better use than to make sure her daughter goes to the college she wants?" She took another sip of the cup, "And we've never felt right spending other people's money, and after all the people that have died in this family, we have a lot of unused money. We'll use it if we have to, so don't worry about us."
Pamela looked from the cheque, "Does this mean that-,"
"You're going to NYU. We just want you to be happy." Andy replied with a smile.
The teen swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes, "Thank you…" She whispered.
Paige woke up with a feeling of grunginess hitting her immediately. A damp lock of hair was in front of her eyes as she immediately tried to sit up, until she felt an arm around her waist and she smiled as she felt someone kissing her neck from behind. The witchlighter lay back on the bed and let out a moan, before turning on the bed and smiling at Aidan.
"Morning." He grinned, his sandy blonde hair drooping across his eyes from the water it had absorbed.
Paige suddenly grimaced as she placed he reason why as she was feeling grungy, "Oh my God! I can't believe we fell asleep in these wet clothes, I'm gonna end up with the…," She cut herself as she sat up and put her hands across her mouth, compressing a sneeze, "cold…" She finished.
"Yeah," Aidan agreed, sitting up and rubbing her back, "I guess we were both a little drained from yesterday." The elemental looked around the bed, seeing two damp imprints on top of the duvet where the two had slept.
"Ugh…" She replied, sniffing, "The girls are gonna kill me if they end with the flu or something. I need a hot shower." Paige announced, going to get off the bed until she felt a strong arm around her waist that pulled her back.
"Nuh uh, we're not going anywhere." Aidan smirked, leaning down to kiss her, only for her to turn her head.
"No! I don't want you getting sick." She exclaimed, putting her hands up to his face getting any closer.
Aidan pulled her closer, "Well… I guess we have a bit of a situation, because I'm not letting you go." The two looked at each other with equally stubborn looks, before Paige broke out into a saucy grin.
"Say… care to join me in the shower?" She asked with a husky voice that dripped with seduction.
Aidan returned it with a lustful look of his own, "Love to." He replied, leaning down again and kissing softly, putting a hand on her cheek tenderly as he still clutched to her waist, before the two of them disappeared from the apartment bedroom in a burst of water.
No spoilers tonight! I'll leave you all reeling from that marathon of a chapter!