A/N: This is a play on that old classic, "The Sound Of Music". I'd just like to make it clear that the flashbacks with Alternate Paige and Aidan in this chapter are from RJF's fic, where she's created the character of Aidan and the other flashbacks are actual flashbacks from episodes on the show.Sorry for the format of the song in this chapter, but songs NEVER turn out in the format that I want/need them to when I try to upload them. peanut2lb and The-Cheese-Fairy: During season 2 of "Mutant X," Emma started to become extremely powerful with her mind abilities. (She had been sort of the "weak" one in the offensive area, prior to that.) But as her powers changed and grew, so did her personality. She became much more secretive and had little outbursts of "Dark Emma," so to speak. She didn't want anyone else to know why she had so much power, so if they found out, she would erase their memory. (I'm not sure why she wanted to hide it.) But I just wanted to bring some more of Emma's "darker" side from MX into my fic. VisionGurl: Psionic waves are, well, waves ofmassive (potentially lethal) waves of psychic energy and no, you can use telempathy in your fic. Prince Halliwell: Actually, they're leaving next chapter. I needed to do some closure in this chapter. money makes me smile: Yep! Emma seems so sweet and innocent, but she's one of those top secret lethal weapons underneath, isn't she? charmedsisters: Thanks for reviewing! charmed-geek: I don't think you've reviewed my fics before, so many thanks for taking the time to review:) RJF: Egh, damn internet. I was wondering where ya were. lol And of course I'm fine with you using references to this subplot in your fic! In fact, you'll probably want to after the next chapter! ;)
Every Halliwell Counts
Chapter 11: The Sound Of Magic
Alternate Paige sat quietly at a corner table in P3, sipping on a mineral water. She had decided to take a break in coming here while everyone else fussed at the Manor on how they would get home and what to do about the mystery potion.
"Paige?"
Alternate Paige's head spun around and she saw a young woman that she didn't recognize. "Yes?"
The woman looked a little confused, but she shrugged it off. "I was suppose to tell Piper that Jamie is running a little late tonight, ten minutes or so, but the club has been so packed that I haven't had time. I'm so sorry!"
Alternate Paige stood up, not knowing who or what the hell this woman was talking about. "Jamie?"
Unfortunately the woman hadn't heard the alternate witchlighter. Instead she was flabbergasted by Alternate Paige's swollen stomach.
"Something wrong?"
"I-I just saw you yesterday and you're weren't pregnant!"
"It's not real."
Alternate Paige and the woman looked behind them to see Glenn briskly walking towards them.
"But-"
"It's one of those fake costume things that they use on T.V. shows when a character isn't actually pregnant," Glenn lied. "Paige is performing a-a-a play this weekend and, um, tonight was dress rehersal."
"And I'm on my thirty minute break right now!" Alternate Paige jumped in. "It's a hassle to change in and out of, so I just leave the damn thing on."
The woman nodded. "Oh, okay. Well, uh, good luck with your play."
"Thanks, Lucy." Glenn smiled.
"You're welcome," Lucy nodded. "And remember, please relay the message about Jamie to Piper. Please?"
"Jamie O'Neal?" Glenn asked. "The country singer who's playing at the club tonight?"
"Yeah, she's ten minutes off schedule."
"We'll definitely tell her," Glenn promised.
"Thanks!" Lucy hurried off.
"Who was that?" Alternate Paige asked once Lucy was out of earshot.
"One of Piper's new waitresses. She's really young."
"Oh.." The alternate whitelighter-witch smirked. "Thanks for the save, by the way."
"Oh, no problem," Glenn laughed. "And you were pretty good there too."
"Well I do try," the alternate whitewitch grinned.
Suddenly the lights began to dim and the lights on the stage flared up.
"Looks like the star is here," Glenn murmured.
"We have a special treat for everyone here tonight," the woman on P3's stage announced enthusiastically. She paused as a round of cheers and applause filled the air. "And yes, I'm sure you all know who she is, so I'll just get right down to it. Please give a warm welcome to chart topper, Jamie O'Neal!" She stepped to the side as an ever large burst of cheers errupted from the crowd, as Jamie stepped out into the spotlight. When the noise had died down, she continued. "Ms. O'Neal, it's an honor to have you here tonight. I know that I'm a huge fan of your work!"
"Aw, thank you," Jamie replied. Her voice projected through her clip on microphone. "I'm very honored to be here tonight and I apologize for the delay, but you know parking these days!" She laughed along with the crowd.
"Well I'll let you get down to business," the woman said and then left the stage.
Jamie grinned as the crowd allowed her another round of cheers. "The first song I'll be singing tonight is one that was one of my biggest hits and one of my personal favorites. I'm sure you all know it very well," she paused as more cries of excitement exploded.
Glenn held out his hand. "Would you like to share a dance?"
Alternate Paige rolled her eyes. "Come on, are you sure you wanna dance with some pregnant woman at your sister-in-law's club?"
Glenn smiled a handsome grin, one that Alternate Paige knew all too well. "I'm sure I do."
Alternate Paige placed her right hand into his and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. "You're too kind."
Glenn laughed. "I wish Paige would say that more often."
Before Alternate Paige could reply, Jamie began to speak again.
"Tonight I'll be singing, 'Trying To Find Atlantis'! Are you ready?"
Atlantis? Paige could feel her twins give her a few kicks. I suppose you could say he may ofgiven me more than just butterflies in my stomach. She mused, as Jamie started the song. She leaned into Glenn and they began to dance to the sound of Jamie O'Neal's beautiful and ironically perfect song for Paige.
"I hear he's out there, somewhere. Been looking for him, everywhere. From Roswell to Timbuktu, I thought I found him once at a Jiffy Lube. But it turned in, to a dead end, so I got my oil changed and I tried again. He was a major, in archeology. I was digging on him but he wasn't on me. A girl trying to find herself the perfect man is, like trying to find Atlantis!"
----Flashback----
Alternate Glenn walks onto the porch of the Halliwell Manor, where Alternate Phoebe is already standing. "Hey."
"Hi."
"Is Paige home?"
"Yeah she is, but I'm not. Bye!" Alternate Phoebe rushes off.
Alternate Glenn walks into the Manor and is immediately greeted by Alternate Paige running over and hugging him.
"It's good to see you! What are you doing here?"
"I'm done with Australia finally and I'm thinking about Nepal, and I just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing."
"It's so great to see you!"
There's a loud noise behind Alternate Paige, as Alternate Piper clears her throat.
"Oh, that's my sister, Piper," the alternate witchlighter introduced.
"Of course, of course," the younger alternate mortal greeted.
"Hi," the alternate eldest Charmed One replied before shaking his hand.
"I still can't believe you've got sisters," Alternate Glenn said to the alternate whitelighter-witch.
"Yeah, it takes some getting used to."
"So where you staying?"
"I don't know, actually."
"Good, you'll stay here."
"What?" Alternate Piper asked in alarmed protest.
"Yeah, first door up, top of the stairs," the alternate witchlighter proceeded.
"Are you sure that's alright?" Alternate Glenn wasn't so sure of his friend's sister.
"Yeah, don't be ridiculous!" Alternate Paige watches as he heads up the stairs. "I'll be right up."
"Great, thank you!" Alternate Glenn called back, before disappearing upstairs.
"Paige."
"What?" The alternate whitewitch looked to her elder sister.
"I don't think it's a good idea for your boyfriend to stay here."
"He's not my boyfriend. Sometimes he's my boyfriend, but mostly he's just a really good friend." Alternate Paige replied.
----Flashback----
"It's a mystery like the deep blue sea. You can take it, you can leave it, but I still believe. So I won't give up and I won't give in. I know I'm gonna find him, I just don't know when. A girl trying to find herself the perfect man is, like trying to find Atlantis!"
----Flashback----
Alternate Paige is standing in the park next to a large lake.
Alternate Glenn walks up to her. "Paige?"
"Hi!" Alternate Paige hugs Alternate Glenn.
"I like your hair."
"Thank you."
"Serious hug."
"Yeah, well, I missed you."
"I missed you too. You look really great!"
"Thank you, so do you. Um, how was your climb? It was the Matterhorn, right?"
"It was awesome! A lot more people than when we were there, though."
"That's too bad."
"So what about you? You kill any demons lately?"
"Of course, but I probably shouldn't talk about that here."
"Right, right, sorry." Alternate Glenn laughs. "Sorry. So..."
"So..."
"Wh-"
"You go first, I insist." Alternate Paige grins.
"Okay, well, I'm getting married!" Alternate Glenn announces.
----Flashback----
"I met a mystic, down in Memphis, we stood at the foot of the pyramid. He had me looking east, he had me looking west. Then he showed me a map and said I wish you the best. There was Elvis, not the real one. When told me goodbye, he called me hon. Just another, shot in the dark, like Eldorado or Noah's Ark. A girl trying to find herself the perfect man is, like trying to find Atlantis!"
----Flashback----
Alternate Paige lay withering in the burning building. She couldn't feel her legs, she assumed that the flames had gotten to them first, she had regained consciousness about a minute ago but she couldn't move, let alone orb, she had resigned herself to the fact that this was the end. She had so many wishes. She wanted to see her sister, Phoebe, again. She wished that she could've found 'the one' and she desperately wished that she could've been a mother. Alternate Paige shed a tear and her eyes closed, the flames had moved past her waist, the next time she would open her eyes, she hoped she would see pearly white gates, but instead she heard a voice. She forced herself to open her eyes again, she saw a man, she couldn't make him out in her dying vision and the smoke, was she crazy? Or was he pushing back the flames with two pillars of water?
The man reached her, he then made gestures with his hands and the water formed a dome around her and himself. He bent down and checked her pulse. "Thank God," he muttered.
Alternate Paige then felt a cooling sensation in her body. As a natural reflex, she checked to see what he was doing, and was surprised when she could! He had his hands across her stomach and there was a blue light radiating from his hands. Alternate Paige didn't know whether it was because they shared the power of healing, but she felt as if she had known this man her entire life, she trusted him, she may have even loved him!
The mystery manthen took her hands in his own and gently pulled her up, both were standing, hand in hand.
"Thank you, whoever you are," Alternate Paige thank him breathlessly.
He smiled back at her. "You're welcome; just don't work too late again, okay? I think you'll be able to orb out now."
"What about you?" Alternate Paige asked, her voice full of concern
"I got in here without harm, I think getting out will be just the same, now go, your brother-in-law and sister are outside and are really worried about you."
"Okay, thank you," she repeated before orbing out.
----Flashback----
"It's a mystery like the deep blue sea. You can take it, you can leave it, but I still believe. So I won't give up and I won't give in. I know I'm gonna find him, I just don't know when. A girl trying to find herself the perfect man is, like trying to find Atlantis!"
----Flashback----
"Paige, Paige, wake up," Aidan's voice said to her.
Alternate Paige opened her eyes but closed them again due to the brightness to the place she was in. The only thing she could see was white, but Aidan's voice had come form somewhere and she was determined to find him, especially after remembering what had happened before she black out, or whited put in this case.
"Aidan?" she called, walking around the endless whiteness for a few seconds before Aidan appeared in front of her, "Aidan, what's going on? Are we…" she was afraid to finish her sentence.
"No, we're not dead, we're just on a neutral plane. I brought us here when we were knocked unconscious."
"Why?" She looked to him with wide eyes.
He hesitated. "To say goodbye."
Something inside of the alternate Charmed One cracked as she heard those words. Why was he doing this? What was going on? None of this made sense to her, she hoped it was a horrible nightmare and she closed her eyes. He hadn't even explained himself and already she was having a panic attack. "What do you mean? Goodbye? Aidan, you're scaring me."
He put his hands on her arms. "Paige, the city was been practically destroyed by Kahn, the citizens are in turmoil and in pain, and my mother used her life force as a Goddess to help me kill Kahn… I need to stay here and sort things out. It's my dut, it's my heritage."
Alternate Paige's eyes were filled to the brim with tears, she couldn't believe this. "But why does it have to be you? Why… Why can't you come home with me? Ple… Please… Please, don't leave me all alone Aidan, I can't survive without you…" She whispered and clung on to his shirt.
He pulled her into a hug. "Paige, I would give up all the magic in the world to make you happy… I love you more than anything in my entire life, it's because of you that I am able to carry this burden."
"But… But… These people, they don't need you like I do! Please! Don't go!" She screamed and pounded on his chest, while clinging tightly to him.
He continued to hold her. "I can't put you before hundreds, even thousands of people, you said it yourself. These people need me right now, a lot more than you do. You have your sisters, Pamela, your nephews…"
"It's not the same…" She murmured, looking up in the process. This was beginning to sink in, "Will I ever see you again?"
Aidan looked at his feet and fell silent, "Probably not…" Tears now streamed from Alternate Paige's eyes silently.
He cupped her face gently and kissed her one last time. Savouring it by putting his hand on the back of her head intensifying the kiss, which was deeply returned by Alternate Paige who never wanted to let go of him. He finally stopped and backed away. "Goodbye Paige… I'll always love you… Live your life to the fullest..." He whispered, before vanishing into the white and leaving Alternate Paige's life forever.
----Flashback----
As the song came to a close, Alternate Paige stared into Glenn's deep eyes and moved her head to his, giving him a soft kiss. She smiled when she saw his face flush a pinkish color. "Thank you," she whispered. "You've just helped me to confirm my thoughts." She rubbed her belly. Aidan Parker was the true love of her life and she could never have him. After all, Aidan Parker was the heir to the lost city of Atlantis and with the death of his mother, the Divine Spirit of Water, he had to take over as the sole ruler. She had found the perfect man and he had literally been Atlantis, but in the life of a Charmed One, nothing can ever be perfect and actually last.
TO BE CONTINUED...