a/n: sorry its so short, longer update next time!

Chapter 12:Dealing With It Part II

Paige looked at the corporeal form of her dead-but-not really-dead mother and immediately regretted summoning her. She always felt awkward around Patty, nervous almost, but on the handful of occasions that she had actually met her mother in the past, her sense of insecurity had always been hidden by her sisters' vocal enthusiasm at seeing their dead parent. So here they were, now face to face and alone for the first time since August 1977. It wasn't that Paige didn't want to confide in Patty, it was that she didn't know how , as despite their biological connection, they were in fact practically strangers, whereas Grams regularly put in an appearance, invited or not, Patty was around less often.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Patty asked, her eyes filled with concern for her youngest daughter. "Are your sisters in trouble ? Is that why you called me?"

"No" Paige mumbled, her throat suddenly becoming dry. " I just…"

"What?" Patty touched Paige's trembling arm.

"I just wanted to talk" Paige repeated her voice barely above whisper. The next thing she knew, hot salty tears had begun to run down her cheeks, " and I didn't know who else to call, sorry" she explained, whilst internally she admonished herself for being so weak as to start crying the instant her mother turned up.

"it's ok sweetie, don't apologise" Patty soothed, wrapping her arms around her. "that's what mothers are for, well not that I have been any kind of a mother to you, we're practically strangers you and I, in fact I would blame you if you had never really wanted to see me..I "

" I don't blame you" Paige said in a small voice " Not anymore, not with everything that has happened lately, in fact for the first time in my life I can honestly say that I completely understand why you did what you did."

"I don't understand" Patty exclaimed "has this got something to do with what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes" Paige sniffed. " I realise now why you and Sam felt that you needed to give me away, why the threat of what the elders would do scared you so much. Because at least by giving me up, you could go on with your life knowing that somewhere I was alive and happy, and that the elders couldn't hurt you or me…"

"I thought Sam explained all this to you years ago" Patty puzzled.

" He did, and half of me accepted it, but deep down I always believed that perhaps you could have done something, that is until recently"

"Paige what is it? You're begging to scare me now."

" I had a baby when I was sixteen" Paige said simply

If Patty was stunned by the information, she didn't show it, although it did take her a while longer than usual to find her voice. "you had a baby at 16?"

"yes, I fell into the wrong crowd, went a bit crazy got a bit careless.."

"but I thought we gave you a good home"

"you, did" Paige reassured " it was me, I was the one who rebelled against my nice cosy upbringing, mum and dad couldn't stop me and god love them they tried"

"Ok" Patty seemed slightly calmer.

"so I had a baby" Paige repeated. " I didn't know it, but her father was also a witch whit lighter, from quite a powerful family it seems. Anyway let's just say I was at the receiving end of the elder's wrath"

"what did they do?" Patty questioned, not sure that she wanted to know.

"they told me my baby had died" Paige replied, the haunted look on her face "they told me that she had died, when reality they had taken her away from me"

Patty was rendered speechless. Her guilt at giving up her younger daughter had never left her, although it had been assuaged slightly by Sister Agnes' promise that they would find her a good home. When she had learned of the death of Paige's adopted parents, the guilt had later resurfaced, only again to die slightly when Paige found her sisters. Now however, Patty's heart was breaking at the thought of her youngest child having to grieve for both her parents and her child whilst barely a child herself.

"my poor little girl" she cried. " How on earth did you cope?"

" I didn't" Paige replied " but the hows and whys, don't matter for the moment. The issue at stake is that I have found her, by some cruel twist of fate , for her at least, she has come back into my life, she's down stairs as we speak."

"Well that's great news" Patty exclaimed " or isn't it?" she asked, catching the look in Paige's eyes. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"yes, I can't talk to Phoebe or Piper about it"

" your sisters? Why not?"

"because they think I should tell Jo about me, who she is etc and then we can all live here as one big happy family, and I .."

" don't think you should" Patty finished her daughters sentence.

"No" Paige agreed. " I don't think I should"

TBC