Thanks to all who have reviewed...it has helped alot. THrough rough times i right to get through and knowing that people read helps me alot. Thanks to you all! Enjoy.

Seven days...to hell and back

Maybe she was wrong? Should she have gone looking?

It's who she is though, she couldn't have helped that.

Sure if she had the choice she wished her life was simple. You know the kind of life that I am on about the... the nice house, the happy, stable family, and the happy Sunday dinners. The dog, the normal family arguments and the most in portent, all the people that she loved close to her.

All the others prior to the later were not that important, she could live with out the nice house...in the past she had, when her self and Rick were forced to live in their car or an old abandoned house, and in the worst circumstances a doorway on 5th street, the rough part of town. The happy stable family...although desired it was a plus... families are not ALWAYS happy and they are very rarely stable. And who really has the happy family Sunday dinners and the well trained dog that fetches the Paper in the morning. Very few that's for sure. So Paige Matthews could live with out all of those things...but not without having all the people in her life close to her

In the past week she had not had that...

Seven days since her brother walked out that door. Seven days of not a word...for Paige it was seven days of death. She had lost her mind, walking around the manor aimlessly. Her work literally a mess and the case truly lost. If she was thinking right then that would totally destroy her but....she wasn't....

She couldn't...

Unsure weather a week ago when he big brother...her life walked out that door, it was for good. He wouldn't answer his mobile. He wouldn't even send a letter telling her what was what. Nothing for a week...Paige's hell. What if he'd done something stupid? Like, stood on the side of a bridge. JUMPED!

'He wouldn't!' She continuously told her self... 'come on Paige pull it together this is Rick' Well if Rick wouldn't do such a thing why did the thought constantly enter her head, why did it keep entering her head. Why did she have nightmares about such a thing? Because it was possible, anything was possible.

There was a nock on the bedroom door, she shut her eyes tight and tried to block it out but who ever the hell it was didn't give up. Who ever the hell it was needed a slap that's for sure.

"Not in the mood!" Paige called out, "I'm busy" Hopping she sounded busy rather that depressed and emotionally unstable. But no such look she sounded lost and confused. Why never did she sound confident and on top of things. And this time she had not even asked for that, all she asked for was busy.

"Paige, honey can I come in?" Phoebe called. Great honey? Honey means more bad news or, 'I want to talk about the hell you call a life', or even better 'I know what your going through'

"Why? Phoebe I'm really busy" Paige tried again, hopping this time she had pulled it of.

"Nice try Paige...you are lying on your bed with your head in your hands and debating weather I want to relate to you? Or I bring bad news or, what's the last one? Oh yes, talk about your life." Paige shook her head; maybe Phoebe was not the typical older sister. Maybe...on some level she did understand? Maybe.

"Am I right?" Phoebe asked, breaking through Paige's thoughts.

"Aren't you always? Come in..." Paige eventually caved. She was lent up against the wall near the window; in her hand she held the photo. In her eyes she held the pain, pain that know 21 year old should bear. As soon as phoebe opened the door she saw that pain...

"Honey! Jesus you look like death."

Paige looked at her sister, 'Phoebe Haliwell, not backwards in coming forward. Blunt and to the point' "Yeah well I feel like it"

Phoebe sympathised with the youngest she really did. She knew all too well what the burden of pain and hurt did to a person, finding out your husband was the source of all evil. Literally couldn't be good for a person. But thankfully she was getting over it. Now seeing her little sister going through much the same torment and Pain was crushing her...she wanted...needed to help. "I'd offer to talk but I know what it's like. Been forced to! So I'm not pushing"

Paige just nodded and turned to look out the window, a few seconds of silence and she spoke, "How about you just stay with me...and we take it from there?"

Phoebe was happy Paige was not avoiding them, in most ways although they were not responsible for giving Paige up at birth, they were the family that she was ripped from and were now the family that had put Paige in the middle. The middle of her brother and her sister's. "Sounds good to me" Phoebe spoke as she took a seat on Paige's bed with her head rested on the head board and her on leg on the bed as the other was still on the floor.

Unsure of actually how long she had been sitting there, Phoebe was starting to wonder if Paige was still with her or lost in her thoughts somewhere. But the comformation that Paige was still here was when she spoke...

"He's never walked out on me before" She said lowly, as she looked from the window to the sister that was on the bed. "I have never hurt him this bad before Phoebe. And he has never walked out on me!"

Phoebe sat forward, "He'll be back!" She said,

Paige shook her head, "You can not be sure of that"

Phoebe stood up, "I can, Paige, because I was that...honey, I was Rick. The sibling who was hurt by a sister and up and left...but I came back. It took some time Paige. But here I am back with my sister. Close to my sister. The same sister I walked out on five years ago. Maybe you don't need me here right now, and maybe I am not helping...if not tell me, and I'll shut up...but consider hearing me out"

The youngest looked at the photo in her hand, then looked at Phoebe, "...I just want it to stop. I do not want it to be this hard."

"I know honey. I know. But I want you to listen to something now. This is something that I buried a long time ago and you know nothing about but five years ago Prue was engaged to a sleazy, Armani wearing, chardonnay slugging loser. He and I did not see eye to eye mostly because I didn't trust him. This guy who my sister had an undying love for and was prepare to sacrifice everything for tried it on with me...when I turned him down, he became forceful...this happened on more than one occasion. Prue found out, and of course that no good son of a bitch turned it all around...told her that I had tried it on with him..." Phoebe was reliving past events that she had tried so hard to bury... so hard to get rid of... "Now Prue, for some reason was blinded by love...she chose to believe him. Well it was not like I had given her reason in the past to believe me but...knowing that my big sister chose some guy over me, hurt so bad. I couldn't deal so I did the one thing that Phoebe Haliwell is good at I bailed. I got as for away from here as Physically possible for me at that time. I moved 3,000 miles away to New York City. Leaving my life, my family behind. When I walked out that door, I had left Piper and Prue wondering, wondering if I would ever come back, if I'd do something stupid. If they would ever see me again. But Paige no matter how hurt I was, how angry Prue was...we got over it...we moved on. And now here we are...Sisters, friends...nothing will change what you and Rick have Paige...you have a love stronger than most, a friendship that has grown. Now no matter what he will be back...maybe today, tomorrow or maybe next week or in a years time but your brother will come back because he is your brother and not myself, Piper or Prue can change that. I want you to remember that. Nothing and nobody can change what you and Rick are or have."

Paige was close to tears, not that that had been an unusual 5thing in the past week. "I just want to know he's okay"

Paige nodded, "Sweetie, trust me. He is okay and will be back here as soon as he's sorted his head out...it's a big thing Paige. But he'll sort it out and he'll be back. I promise"

Paige returned to the Picture, "I hope you are right" She said, "because I can not lose him" Phoebe moved closer to Paige and put her arms around the youngest who gladly accepted the comfort. "I just wish that it was easy"

"Paige life isn't easy, life is what it is! Unpredictable, yes. Evil, yes. Pain filled, hell sure but it is not easy. Remember what I have told you...it may take time, but it will all work out in the end." Paige gripped tighter onto Phoebe and for the first time in a week she felt Phoebe was her life line...

They talked, cried...and Phoebe reassured Paige for hours that all would work out. Paige had been given a sense of hope. And for that she was thankful she was coming back from the dead...and hopefully stronger than ever.