Yo! It is I, Queen of all that is cheesy! Sorry for the delay in updating my computer was conspiring against me and I had a sucky weekend due to exam stress! Thanks so much for your reviews though!
Prince Halliwell- phew I'm so glad you liked it! Nope, I don't like Paige with strawberry blonde hair! Lol! Is it that obvious? Both Piper's child and 'the third child' will be born by the end of this fic, but I don't wanna give too much away about Paige's pregnancy. :P
Cutleryismyfriend- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it!
Money makes me smile- I loved the line about Phoebe's intelligence too! Any chance to take a dig at her :P Thanks for the review!
Fanmania- Ooh, Thurso? I've been there! Lol. Thanks for the review!
RJF- The little pop at Phoebs just seemed so fitting! Lol… ±sniggers wickedly± I love writing the family moments as much as I love writing the drama so I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review dude!
Moonfirefairy- thanks!
Rebanana- I'm glad it wasn't too confusing! Lol! Thanks for the review!
Cherry7up56- Thanks for the review!
BlueOrbs998- MJ's demonic side has only just started to shine :p It will be explored more in the next fic. I love writing kids! You'll have to give Prince Halliwell credit for the 'poopy face' line though! Lol! Thanks for the review! It rocked, as always!
Peanut2lb- Thanks for the review! Grams will be here until the end of the chapter!
.elementbabe.- Thanks for the review!
Powerof4- Thanks for the review! I always thought Prue's eyes were blue/green :S I think he knows that their mom's name is Patricia! Lol! If you read it carefully he says a variation of the name Patricia!
Charmed1s-Halliwells- Thanks!
Chapter23- Life on the other side
Laura stumbled backwards and threw up her hands in a desperate, and unsuccessful attempt to freeze the repulsive green demon. She fought with all of her strength not to scream. She couldn't let Karis know she was frightened. When the demon took a step forward, she let out a small yelp, followed by an impressed sigh when Karis sent a burst of orange electricity towards the creature. The demon looked severely wounded, but the elctro-pyrokinetic bolt had not completely vanquished it. Laura took a gulp and prepared herself to use her second power. She had never used her molecular combustion on purpose before, as it usually only worked when she was angry, but now was as good a time as any to learn. She took a deep breath and steadied her hands, envisioning her aunt Piper. 'HAH!' She thought, smirking to herself as the demon disappeared in a fiery end.
"See," Karis said, turning to face Laura, obviously not forgetting about the argument which had taken place before the demon had appeared. "I didn't run away! I didn't even scweam!"
Laura looked at her and shrugged, pretending she had not been frightened by the demon either. She was determined not to let this little girl show her up. "So, we gonna let dem back in yet?"
"I guess…" Karis looked skyward and a smile passed her lips, "The demon ain't here any more, so let dem back in and open de door!" She recited, but her face fell when the doors and windows remained bricked over. "We're trapped!" She screeched.
xxxxx
Outside, Paige took a defeated seat on the stairs outside the alternate reality Manor and ran her hand over MJ's dark hair, lost in thought as she gazed at the house across the street. They were stuck outside the Manor until Karis decided to break her spell and Paige was beginning to feel very out of place in the world so much like her own. Prue and Andy had arrived at almost the precise moment they had landed on the porch, bringing up too many mixed feelings for the youngest charmed one to deal with. Just seeing Prue walk around and interact with her daughter had choked Paige up. If only things could have been the same for Prue back home. When the alternate reality Phoebe had turned up, Paige had needed to give MJ a very quick and very brief explanation as to why she was not allowed to speak to her 'mother', and she had thanked the higher powers that Cole had not turned up too. That would have been too much for the already riled little demon/witch to handle. When Paige spotted a familiar green car pull into the driveway, she let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, her 'twin' would manage to convince Karis to reverse her spell.
"What's going on?" The alternate Paige asked, stepping out of the car and spotting the entire family gathered on the lawn.
"Our daughters wanted to prove they could cope with a demon." Paige replied contemptuously, but worry for Laura also coursing through her veins. "So yours cast a spell to magically get us out of the house."
xxxxx
Back inside, the two four year olds had decided to take full advantage of the magical cloak over the Manor. Laura, rarely getting the opportunity to use her linguistic talents at home, had recited so many spells in the past fifteen minutes that it was unbelievable. So far, she had turned her glass of water into chocolate milkshake, shrunk her Uncle Leo's slippers so that she could fit them, and made the bathroom rug into cheese! Currently, both girls, who had become quite friendly after their feud had ended, were trying to come up with a spell that would annoy their Aunt Piper.
"I gots an idea!" Laura announced with a twinkle of mischief shining from her huge blue eyes, "To make Aunty Piper really mad, mess up the cupboards and the neatness they had!" (AN- spell written by Prince Halliwell)
"She's gonna be angry!" Karis said giving a giggle, very similar to the one Laura was giving.
"…I'm bored now." Laura sighed, hopping off the kitchen stool, suddenly overcome by the fact she missed her father.
"Me too." Karis agreed. She looked up, as if she were about to make a suggestion, but whatever she had been going to say turned into one loud, and very clear word. "DEMON!" The voice of the little girl rang out through the air, bringing an abrupt end to the cheerful fun and games of Karis and Laura. Standing a mere feet away, having just shimmered into the kitchen, was a sneering demon, whose hooked nose and narrowed eyes almost screamed 'evil'. He looked almost mortal, but both girls had been around magic for long enough to tell that this man was definitely not. He snarled at them and threw his right hand forward and emitted a glowing red laser, which only missed them by inches. They grasped each other's hands and, on instinct, orbed upstairs, hoping that the demon would not find them.
They rematerialised in, what in the real world was Prue's bedroom, and looked at each other in fear. "I fought your spell locked ev'rybody out?" Laura asked in panic, not knowing if she had the strength to use her molecular combustion again.
"Me too…" Karis looked fretfully into Laura's eyes and they came to a mutual conclusion, without even speaking. "But it mustn't work on demons." As the words left her lips, the demon shimmered in.
Laura gasped as she watched the demon raise his hands again. They began to glow and it seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion as two lasers sped towards the cowering forms of Laura and Karis. "No!" Laura yelped, stepping in front of her newfound friend, taking the brunt of both blasts, and flying across the room. Karis too, slumped to the floor and both girls lay motionless, their chests barely even rising.
xxxxx
On the porch, Paige's happy smile, as she watched MJ play with Grace and Patrice, abruptly faded. She clutched her chest and her breathing became short as tears began to form in her eyes.
"What is it?" The alternate Paige asked, noticing her counterpart's sudden panic.
"Laura," She choked, gasping for breath. "We need to get in there!" Paige's voice raised as her panic turned to frustration.
"But we can't," Andy stated. Paige tried to avoid eye contact with him.
"A demon is attacking them!" Paige yelled angrily. She had to save Laura.
"Demon?" Phoebe asked, looking to the sky, "That's it! Demons! They must be able to get in! I'll call Cole."
"There's not enough time!" Prue retorted, disappearing in a swirl of dark smoke. Paige was in too much pain to even take into account that her eldest alternate reality sister had used demonic powers, though; perhaps it was better that way.
After a few antagonising minutes of waiting for Prue to reappear, both Paiges let out identical sighs of relief. The bricks faded from the front of the windows and doors and they rushed into the Manor without so much as a nod.
"Laura!" Paige yelled, making her way up the stairs.
"Karis?" The other Paige screamed, hot on her counterpart's tail. "Prue?"
When they eventually found them, both Paiges wore a look of sheer terror. Prue was standing, face tearstained and eyes bloodshot, giving them both looks of great sympathy. "I was too late," She whispered, standing to the side.
"No!" The both cried. Paige sank to her knees and brought Laura's lifeless body close to her chest. Sobs wracked her body as she rocked slowly back and forth, not believing that Laura was dead. Apparently they were too far-gone for the other Paige's whitelighter powers to heal…
"I've got an idea." Paige suddenly gasped through her tears. She knew it was a long shot, but she clutched the other Paige's arm and the four dissolved in a cloud of white light.
Paige gasped in amazement when they arrived in the Elder's realm She had never even thought of orbing here before, but she knew the elders were more powerful than whitelighters. They were her only hope.
"What's going on here?" An elderly female elder questioned.
"Please heal them…" The alternate Paige sobbed, apparently more used to elders than the real Paige was.
"Oh lord, Paige!" Came a familiar voice as Sam ran over. Paige did a double take. Was her biological father an elder in this reality? "What happened?"
"There's not time for explanations!" The other Paige shot, glaring through puffy eyes.
As a golden glow began to emit from his palms, both Paiges waited anxiously, trembling in fear of losing their daughters. When nothing happened, Paige felt bile rise in her throat, but it disappeared as other elders circled the children, engulfing them in a golden glow until, slowly, their eyelids began to flutter.
"Mommy!" They both gasped, practically leaping into their respective mother's arms.
"Thank God!" Paige whispered, wrapping Laura in the most protective, motherly embrace she could manage in her panicked state. Her heart was pumping in her throat and tears were still spilling over her eyelids. "I thought I'd lost you again." Apparently, in any reality, Laura was a demon magnet.
"Again?" The other Paige asked, overhearing the touching reunion, as she hugged her own daughter tightly.
"I…uh…get hurt and sometimes sorta…die a lot." Laura explained reproachfully, knowing that this was a very touchy subject for her mother.
As the foursome orbed back to earth, her daughter's words lingered in Paige's mind. It was true. Laura had been close to death too many times to remember. The number of occasions when Paige had believed her daughter- or daughter's clone!- to be dead, was unbelievable.
xxxxx
±Real World±
Piper sighed in frustration as she thrust the scrying crystal onto the table and resisted the urge to blow something up. She, however, probably could not have blown something up if she had tried. The constant sound of distant voices in her head was beginning to drive her insane and at the same time, causing her powers to go askew. "Please let Mommy have some quiet baby," She said, placing a hand on her abdomen and, defeated, slouching against the dining room table.
"I had a second cousin who was telepathic, you know?" Came a cheerful voice- one which could only have belonged to one person.
"Grams?" Piper gasped, looking up and giving a toothy smile, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, can't a woman come and visit her granddaughters?" Penny replied, placing Rachael on the floor.
"Well…uh, no offence Grams, but…you're dead!"
"It doesn't mean I can't have a life!" Penny retorted with a wave of her hand. "Now how about a hug for your old grandmother, ey?"
Piper stepped forwards and gratefully leaned into the hug. Ever since she was a little girl, Grams' hugs had been able to comfort her, and even now, Piper felt a wave of calm wash over her.
"Rachy huggley too!" Rachael announced, squeezing into the middle of the hug and wrapping her arms around her favourite aunt's leg, wanting to help Piper feel better too.
"Oh goodness," Grams sighed happily. Stepping back and looking down at the cheeky, grinning face of her great granddaughter. "She's just like Phoebe was at that age- always the centre of attention."
"Well that doesn't bode well for her future!" Mark said cheekily, ducking to avoid his sister-in-law's playful swing, as he and Phoebe entered the room.
"Where's Charlotte?" Phoebe asked, knowing that she had left her in the dining room with Piper, Andy and Prue.
"Jason took the kids through to the living room to distract them with the TV." Piper replied, frustration still evident in her voice, "They may only be little, but their little brains contain more freaking noise than P3 on a Friday night!" Piper raised her voice and, at the same time, caused one of the dining room chairs to shatter, making Rachael jump back in shock. Apparently the effect of Grams' hug was not long lasting.
"Oh honey," Grams said, placing a calming hand on Piper's shoulder, "You should be relaxing, getting off your feet! Where's your husband? I need to have a word with him about this."
"He's with the elders Grams!" Piper replied in disbelief, "I'm not even one month along yet…oh god, that's a long time to be hearing thoughts…anyway, that's not the point! Paige, MJ and Laura are missing and you want me to relax?"
"Well sweetie, they're clearly not dead, and if they'd been captured by demons then the elders would know. They'll probably just return of their own accord. Paige is a smart girl you know? She'll make sure they find their own way home."
"No offence Ms H, but how can you be so confident about this?" Mark asked, picking up Rachael and giving Penny a questioning look.
"Because I believe in my granddaughter. And so should you. She is your wife, after all."
"I can't just sit hear and do nothing!" Mark's thoughts rang in Piper's mind. She had thought the kids were bad, but now she was getting Mark's persistence and Phoebe's concern for MJ, along with Grams' over confidence and Rachael's inane babble. "For crying out loud people!" She yelled, "Can't you keep your thoughts a little quieter?"
"Honey, if it's bothering you that much, why don't you just make the twenty-four-hour telepathy blocking potion from the book?"
"There's a potion?" Piper scoffed. "If Paige ever gets back here I am kicking her ass! She was supposed to find one for me!"
"Well, why don't you go and lie down? I'll teach the kids how to make it. If I remember correctly from the summers I spent with Agatha then it was just your basic potion. Phoebe, can you write a tracking spell? And Mark, if it makes you feel better, go to the police station and see if Darwin had any information on Paige."
"You mean Darryl?"
"Yes…"
Sure enough, ten minutes later, everyone had followed Grams' orders. Piper, however reluctant, was now trying to rest upstairs and Phoebe had gone into the attic to get some peace and quiet to write her tracking spell. Jason had gone with Mark to see if Darryl had found anything mortal about the disappearance, and Leo had still not returned from the elders. Penelope sat at the head of the dining room table with her grandchildren and a huge smile formed on her face. It was happy moments like this that Penny longed for- one of the things she sorely missed when she was in heaven. Rachael sat with a mortar and pestol, enthusiastically grinding the mustard seed, but getting more on the table than grinding it. Her head moved up and down as she let out a cheerful chuckle and sneezed when the mustard powder caught on her breath. Beside the redhead, sat Charlotte who, at not even one, was not helping, but watching keenly and every so often stealing something from Prue. Prue, who was delighted at the prospect of using scissors, was chopping up thyme, eagerly asking her great grandmother questions about all things magical. Finally, Andy, although Grams had been reluctant to let a male near her potion, was mixing the cauldron very carefully, eager to impress Penelope if it was the last thing he did.
"Grams?" Prue asked, throwing more thyme into the pot, "Can you tell us a story?"
"What about, sweetheart?" A small smile spread across Penny's face.
"Woogy!" Charlotte squealed., slamming her hands on the table, "Woogy!"
"The woogy?" Grams asked, "Are you sure?"
"Plue getted va Woogy too Glams!" Andy said, looking up from the cauldron and smiling at his older sister.
"I know… I heard all about it. How about Prue tells us the story of when she vanquished the woogy?"
"Yeah!" Rachael's eyes lit up.
"…I can't tell stories!" Prue said bashfully, giving an embarrassed shrug.
"Prudence," Grams began, "You can do anything you set your heart to if you try. You're a Halliwell. You are capable of things beyond your wildest imagination."
"Me too?" Andy asked excitedly.
"Well…you are a boy…" She replied, not afraid of voicing her oppinions. "B-"
"What 'bout me Grams?" Rachael asked, interrupting her great grandmother, "I a Andason!"
"But the Halliwell blood runs in your veins my treasure."
"Me too!" Andy said quietly, looking at Penny through huge, puppy dog eyes.
"Of course you are Andrew." She told him, giving him an apologetic smile. No matter how much she disproved of men, there was no question that Andrew was going to be a tremendous witch. "I'm sorry for ever doubting you."
"S'okay dude!" He replied with a giggle, returning to the mixing of his cauldron. He had obviously been spending too much time with his Uncle Mark.
xxxxx
±Other World±
Everyone had returned to the Manor and Paige, Laura and MJ were preparing to leave, but in all the confusion of what had happened to Laura and Karis, MJ's mind had drifted from the fact they were not actually at home. "Mommy?" She asked the alternate Phoebe, forgetting completely about what her Aunt Paige had told her. "Can I have some basghetti?"
"Mommy?" The alternate Phoebe gasped. She suddenly looked very overwhelmed and her eyes brimmed with tears. Paige very rarely saw her own version of Phoebe break down and her heart reached out to her alternate reality sister. Imagining life without being able to have children truly was awful. Paige gave Laura's hand a loving squeeze and her thoughts turned to Rachael, but at the same time looked to Phoebe, whose eyes were transfixed on Melinda-Jayne. Paige found it difficult to imagine life without MJ- or Charlotte, or even Ben, but she had never imagined what the alternate Phoebe did next.
"Shush Baby," Piper's voice spoke, in an attempt to calm her crying baby, trying to break the uneasy silence in the simplest way possible.
"Did I do somfin wong?" Melinda Jayne asked cautiously.
"No Sweetie." Paige replied, giving her niece a weak smile, not wanting her to get worked up again.
"Wait a minute." The alternate Phoebe spat, causing everyone to avert their gaze to her, "So in your world, I have a daughter?" Her voice seemed to drip with sorrow and Paige found herself unable to lie.
"Two." She replied meekly, not meeting Phoebe's hurt stare.
"And den Daddy and Danni gots Benji!" MJ said, smiling at the thought of her little brother, not realising just how much hurt she was causing her alternate reality mother.
"What do you mean?" Phoebe addressed MJ, but it was clear that her question was aimed directly at Paige.
"Well…" The witch/whitelighter began. "In our world you and Cole split up after you got pregnant with Melinda-Jayne." Paige realised how hard this was going to be for Phoebe to take in, but everyone's gaze was settled on her and she did not like working under pressure, "Then he got with someone else and had a son called Benjamin, and you got with your boss, Jason and had a daughter called Charlotte." Before Paige could exhale the sigh she had been holding in, Phoebe spoke again.
"Why?" She whispered, her voice trembling, "Why can I have children in one world and not another?"
"A lot of things are different in our world to yours," Paige said, hoping to comfort the distressed woman, but also turning her thoughts to Mark and Rachel. She had to get home.
"So is she my Mommy?" MJ asked quietly, still not fully understanding. If this was her mommy then she definitely needed a hug.
"Yeah." The alternate Phoebe said, causing Paige to choke on the water she had just sipped. "I'm your mommy." A small smile played at her lips and Paige was ready to lunge herself toward her, apparently psychotic, alternate reality sister.
"Can we go see Daddy?" MJ asked, knowing that it was the weekend she was supposed to stay with Cole, and looking forward to seeing her brother.
"Sure," Phoebe replied, picking her up before they shimmered out. Paige's eyes widened in terror. Melinda-Jayne had just been kidnapped by her own mother. The situation sounded amusing, but it could not have been more serious. The alternate Phoebe was clearly distressed and if she was anything like the real Phoebe, she was not going to give up easily. What was worse was that MJ was about to witness her parents together, and in love. Paige could only hope that her niece would not get her hopes up.
"Oh no." Prue sighed and Paige turned to see her lean, in defeat, onto the doorframe.
"What are we gonna do?" The alternate Paige asked. Coincidentally, Paige had been going to ask the same thing, but she knew it would have been met with the same answer.
"I have no idea." The alternate Piper sighed.
xxxxx
Melinda-Jayne sat happily colouring in pictures in the newspaper at her father's apartment. She was beginning to wonder where Danni and Ben were, but the thought abruptly left her mind when she watched her mother and father kiss. Her heart filled with happiness, but she blinked several times to make sure she was not seeing things. She wasn't. Phoebe and Cole had kissed. She noticed her father looked perplexed every time he laid eyes on her and she could not understand why, so she rose to her feet and climbed onto his knee. She pecked him on the nose and smiled widely. "My Mommy and Daddy togeva. She said, grabbing Phoebe's finger and making it poke Cole's cheek, causing them both to give a small laugh.
xxxxx
Paige let out an angry groan as she watched the alternate universe versions of her own family helplessly discuss ways of getting Melinda-Jayne back. She hugged Laura close to her and gave her a small kiss in the forehead. They were getting nowhere and Laura was beginning to get restless, clearly missing her father and sister. Paige had decided to exclude herself from the conversation so far, knowing that she did not know the alternate Phoebe well enough to know what would push her buttons, but she decided that she should probably give her contribution.
"Maybe we can just talk to her?" Andy was suggesting when Paige looked up.
"She won't listen." The alternate Piper stated. Well duh! This was Phoebe they were talking about!
"Maybe she'll listen to Cole?" Paige suggested, knowing that back home, Jason would be the one to get Phoebe to see the light. Perhaps in this reality, Cole would have the same effect? It was worth a shot.
xxxxx
Melinda-Jayne giggled happily as her mother and father pushed her on the swings. Evening was falling and they were the only three in the park and MJ had not been so happy in a long time. Her mother and father really were together. Now she would be just like Laura and Prue. Her mommy and daddy would be in love. The little demon/witch, however, was beginning to wonder if this was all just a dream.
"Mommy?" She asked as the swing began to slow down, "Daddy?" She continued, her face shining with hope, "Are you gonna be togeva foreva now?"
"Of course we are." The alternate Phoebe replied.
Paige orbed into Golden Gate Park just in time to hear the conversation that had taken place. She cursed under her breath and glared at her alternate reality sister. Paige, who had been feeling sorry for Phoebe until now, shot her a glare. Did she have any idea what this was going to do to MJ when she returned home? "You can't lie to her, Phoebe." Paige said firmly. MJ, Cole and Phoebe turned to face her. Paige knew she had to keep their attention for long enough for the plan to work so she gave Phoebe her best evil glower, though her eyes shifted occasionally to MJ's father. When the alternate Leo and Piper orbed in, freezing Cole, Paige moved forward, desperately hoping that she could keep Phoebe distracted. Piper and Leo silently orbed out with Cole and Paige, once again, moved toward MJ. Not long now. When her 'twin' appeared in a cloud of orbs and quickly used her glamouring power to turn into the man who had just been, for lack of a better term, kidnapped, Paige's defensive stance lowered. That power was a hell of a useful one to have. She looked to her niece, who was undoubtedly very confused, and smiled sympathetically.
"Leave us alone." Phoebe finally said, her hand moving to MJ's shoulder. She looked quite shocked when Paige actually orbed out.
MJ's eyes narrowed in bewilderment. Why did her Aunt Paige look so mad? Had she done something wrong? And why had her mother been so mean? She turned to look at Phoebe, who was smirking at Cole happily.
"I thought she'd put up more of a fight." She mused.
"Maybe she was right," Cole said- or at least who Phoebe and MJ believed to be Cole.
"What?" MJ looked at her mother's shocked expression and shook her head violently, hoping that things would make sense if she did.
"I'm saying that we are lying to MJ. She needs to be with her parents. And no matter how much we talk like them, walk like them, look like them, we're not them!"
"I can't believe you're saying this!" The alternate Phoebe exclaimed, scooping MJ into her arms. MJ saw how suddenly upset her mother was and met her eyes. Something was different about them, but she wasn't going to question it. When Phoebe told her to take them to the mausoleum, MJ obeyed instantly, hoping it would make her mother cheer up.
xxxxx
±Real World±
Penny beamed at the smiling faces of her entire family- except Paige, Laura and MJ, of course- and even gave Cole a grin. She had no doubt that the three who were missing would return soon, and, unfortunately, it was time for her to return to her rightful place in heaven. She had said her goodbyes to Phoebe and Piper, but the grandchildren, it appeared, all had the Halliwell stubbornness- something Grams was all too familiar with.
"Peas don't go Gams…" Rachael begged, tugging on the sleeve of her great grandmother's red dress.
"Yeah, stay!" Prue agreed, "Please?"
"My darlings," Grams said, trying not to cry. Nobody had seen her do it in life and she was certainly not going to let people see her cry in death. "I'll be back to visit any time you need me, okay?"
"But who will tell us stolies?" Andy asked with a frown. Despite his great grandmother's slight reluctance to speak to him earlier, he had taken quite a shine to the elderly woman's magical stories.
"Soon, you'll have your own stories to tell, my little Prince."
"Plince Halliwell?" He asked, his eyes lighting up at the thought of a new nickname. (AN- Haha, sorry Liam! It's my return for the middle name:D) "See you soon?"
"Of course you will." Grams replied. "Goodbye my treasures."
"Bye!" The kids, including Charlotte chorused as lights began to envelope Penny.
"Blessed be."
"Blessed be." Rang out through the attic. Now their only problem was finding Paige, Laura and MJ.
xxxxx
±Alternate Universe±
Back at the alternate universe Manor, Paige was suffering an antagonising wait for her niece. Even with all the demons they had encountered and evils they had fought, Paige had never been so worried for her niece in her life. She saw how upset MJ had gotten before about baby Charlotte, and that had only been a minor upset. The youngest Charmed one was not sure how Melinda-Jayne's demonic genes were going to handle her parents.
"I can't believe you're going to trick her." Cole was saying angrily as he and Prue entered the room, apparently unfrozen.
"We're not tricking her." Prue replied, "We're getting her to return what isn't truly hers."
"It doesn't matter what you call it." A voice came from the ceiling as a cloud of orbs formed another Cole, who quickly turned into the alternate Paige. "She's beyond convincing."
"Where is she?" Leo asked but the alternate Paige just shrugged.
"She got Melinda-Jayne to shimmer them somewhere."
"Let's scry for her." Paige said, unable to sit back and wait any longer. She needed to get her niece back and she needed to get home.
Everyone gathered in the dining room as Paige swung the crystal over the top of the map. She had insisted upon scrying, saying that she was the closest thing to MJ they had, but not even Paige could get the crystal to drop. It was useless.
"She's shimmered them somewhere we can't find them." The alternate Piper stated and realisation suddenly hit Paige. She wracked her memory for the night, a year and a half ago, when Phoebe had announced her pregnancy. MJ, then, had shimmered herself somewhere magically protected, but where? Cole answered for her.
"The mausoleum." He said, "It's immune to tracking."
"Okay, so we know where they are, but we don't know how to help her." Paige said, coming to the conclusion that this would be a lot easier if she actually knew this version of Phoebe.
"I've got an idea." The other Paige said suddenly. "It involves our handy whitelighter powers again…"
xxxxx
MJ lay sleepily on her 'mother's' chest and listened to Phoebe's melancholy whispers. "I can't let you go, I just can't." She was saying, over and over. It didn't make any sense to the three year old. Why would her mother ever let her go? The sound of footsteps brought both Melinda-Jayne and Phoebe out of their thoughts and when the demon/witch saw who was there her face became a wash of sheer perplexity.
"Who are you?" The Phoebe MJ was sitting with asked.
"Her mother." Replied the other- glamouring really was a useful power to have.
"No you're not." The first Phoebe replied, anger and sorrow radiating from her. "I am."
"No, you're not. And the only person you're convincing is yourself. It's time to let go and move on." MJ looked up, startled when the Phoebe she was sitting with began to cry. The other Phoebe sounded almost like her Aunt Paige, but she certainly looked more like her mother than the person she had been spending her day with.
"Go back to the Manor." The Phoebe who was standing whispered. Luckily, as MJ shimmered out, she did not witness as the second Phoebe morphed into the blonde Paige.
xxxxx
Paige's heart filled with relief as her niece shimmered onto the couch beside her. She pulled Melinda-Jayne into a tight hug, but MJ resisted and quickly shuffled up the sofa.
"What's the matter?" Paige asked, hoping something had not happened.
"M…mommy's goed crazy…" MJ sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Two mommies…"
"Sweetie, they weren't really your Mommy." Paige replied. She had no idea what MJ had witnessed between Phoebe and Cole, so telling her the truth seemed like the best thing to do, in the hopes that she would understand her mother and father weren't really together.
"Th…they weren't?" MJ asked, giving her Aunt a questioning gaze. "…can we go home now?"
"Sure sweetie."
xxxxx
Paige, Laura and MJ appeared in an array of white lights in the Manor's kitchen, each exhausted from the very eventful and overwhelming day they had just had. Paige looked to the doorway and a huge grin formed on her face. She had never been so grateful to see Mark and Rachael in her life. As the Andersons shared a well-needed family hug, tears glistened in all of their eyes. It was odd how only one day apart- one day of worry and angst- had affected them.
"Where were you?" Mark questioned, his body shaking in relief as he scooped his daughters from the floor. "I was so worried!"
"It's a long story." Paige replied with a sigh. "You won't believe me if I tell you." Explaining the day's events was not going to be fun.
"Oh God!" Piper's voice cut through the reunion, "You're back! -Phoebe! Cole!"
Melinda-Jayne was slightly confused as to why the Andersons were so emotional, but when she saw her mother and father enter the room together, all confusion left her mind. Phoebe in the other world had promised that she and Cole would be together forever, maybe they actually would. But that would mean no Charlotte or Benjamin. When Danielle and Jason entered the room behind MJ's parents MJ was torn between crying and smiling. Four pairs of arms enveloped her in loving and relief filled cuddles, but she returned none of them. They all pulled away and smiled at her, but she didn't want to be near any of them.
"Tarlie!" She called, making a dash towards the door in search of her siblings, "Benji!"
"What happened?" Phoebe asked her younger sister with a frown.
"Well…"
xxxxx
That night, after she had spent a long time explaining the day's events to her family, Paige sat at home in bed, admiring the family portrait she had recently hung on the bedroom wall. Rachael and Laura's smiling faces grinned back at her from within the picture frame and the youngest charmed one was washed over with an indescribable joy. She had felt too many emotions in the space of one hour to even count, but the alternate Paige had been correct when she had said that children were the best thing that ever happened to her, even if she hadn't been ready for them at the time. Seeing how hurt the alternate Phoebe had been because she could not have the child she longed for had allowed Paige to realise just how lucky she was.
"Are you still up, sweetheart?" Mark asked, as he emerged from the bathroom wearing only his underwear. "I thought you said you were knackered?"
"I was… but I don't really feel like sleeping any more…" She replied with an innocent, but strangely guilty smirk.
"Oh really?" He asked, crawling onto the bed, next to her, "Whatever are you implying Mrs Anderson?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said lustfully, rising to her knees so that they were making eye contact and placing her hands on the small of his back.
"Indeed I would, my darling." He answered, licking his lips in a playful manner, "But unfortunately I don't possess the gift of telepathy, so I don't know what you're thinking…"
"Oh, I think you do." Paige's seductive grin widened as she pushed her husband back onto the mattress, "I," She began, planting a kiss on his bare chest, "Was thinking," She gave him another kiss, but this time on the base of his neck, "How lucky," His cheek, "I am," His lips, "To have you." Paige's heart fluttered as she gave him yet another kiss on the lips, but this one was lingering and so full of love that you could almost smell it.
"I love you." Mark whispered as he let out a soft moan of pleasure.
"I love you too." Paige replied. She lowered herself onto his almost bare body and this time, made the kiss a lot more passionate. Mark's hands rose to her chest and he slowly lifted off her nightshirt. Perhaps it was finally time for Paige to give Mark the third child he so often talked about wanting…
AN- Foreshadowing is my forte…. I thought I'd better cut it off there or I'd have to change he fic rating :P Once again, I'm so sorry for the wait, but I'm afraid my exams don't finish until the end of May so I won't be able to update regularly again until June. But please bear with me! Don't forget to review…please?
Next chapter- Decron's plan is underway. The truth about 'The Third Child' is finally revealed. Will all of the Andersons make it out alive? Warning- next chapter may contain character death (depending on if I split it or not). Tissues at the ready peeps!