Ah, the long awaited sequel. Right on! Can you tell I like writing one-shots? Lol. So, greetings to all new readers, who haven't read Goodbye My Friend or Goodbye My Lover, I highly suggest you read those, just so you understand what has happened and all. Henyway…
Charmed is not mine (unfortunately). It belongs to the people who own it. Paige Kylie Brody is my character, and she belongs to me.
This story is set 10 years after the ending of Goodbye My Friend. Paige Kylie Brody is now 16 years old, and in her second last year of high school.
Big thanks to Ally for helping me get over my writers block for this story. I don't know what else to say…so okay, here's the story :P
The clear, dark blue night sky hung over two beings lying on dry, yet rich grass as they looked up to the stars. The male, looking not one year older since the day he died, pointed to a yellowish star. His deep blue eyes never stopped looking at the star as he spoke.
"That was there when your mother and I did this. She kept pointing out to me that it never moved like the other stars. To this day, it still hasn't." He lowered his hand and brushed it through his jet black hair.
The other figure, a young female who was no older than sixteen, turned on her side to face the man, "You and mom did this?"
"All the time." He responded, still not taking his eyes off of the star. "She liked to show me the constellations and tell me what they meant - in detail. I had a feeling she Aced the Solar System part in school." He chuckled and looked up at the dark star lit sky.
The teenager smiled to herself, "Kind of like me."
The man beamed at his daughter, "A lot like you."
Music blared out of a set of headphones which were situated on a teenager's ears. This teen had hair that just reached the middle of her back. Strands of dark brunette curls bounced slightly as she bobbed her head to the music. The black liner around her brown eyes made them stand out remarkably. The teen scanned through the novel she was reading; Crossed, Double Crossed. Normally, this teen wouldn't read books set in earlier time periods, but she had two reasons for choosing this novel. One, she needed a book to read for her English class. Two, because how many people can say "my parents starred in a novel"? She smirked to herself as she read through the 1930s story.
"Lana and the Fed. My parents are Lana and the Fed. And I am talking to myself. God I need friends…" she said to herself, more loudly than she meant to.
"Damn right you do." A male voice jokingly retorted as he walked into her room. He sat down beside her on the bed. "Paige, you really need to get out more."
Paige, at this point, smacked the back of the novel into her cousin's upper arm. Not expecting this action from his cousin, the seventeen year old fell off of the single sized bed and on to the floor with a loud thump. A quiet squeak was heard from the ground. Paige stared at him blankly.
"Ow, that hurt! Why'd you hit me?" he whined from the gray coloured carpet. He sat up and whipped his medium length brown hair out of his face. His green eyes glared at the sixteen year old female Brody.
Paige shook her head, "Chris, you're such a wuss. I hardly hit you. I lightly tapped you with my book." She said innocently.
"You hit me." Chris said sternly. He stood up from the floor and looked down on Paige.
"Lightly tapped you." Paige said back.
"Hit me."
"Tapped you!"
"Hit. Me" Chris declared.
"Get. Out." With that, Paige put on a fake grin and shoved Chris out the door. "And it was a light tap you moron." She added.
Chris, knowing their little argue was just for fun, shouted "Love ya!" just when Paige pushed the door shut. A faint "you too" was heard from the other side of the black wooden door. The male Halliwell smiled to himself and continued on his way to the kitchen for some food.
He eventually reached his destination. Having been given the chore of cleaning his room before he came down for breakfast and getting a noogie attack from his brother, Wyatt, had slowed him down slightly; only slightly. Chris walked to the refrigerator planning to get a glass of orange juice, but was instead greeted by a blonde haired, brown eyed man drinking from the carton…the orange juice carton.
"Eww," Chris groaned, "get a glass Wyatt! No on wants your saliva in their drink!"
Wyatt rolled his eyes at his brother, "Shut up Chris. And you'd die if you had any piece of my DNA in you. You're not cool enough to handle it." He placed the juice carton back in the fridge and shut the door.
"Yeah, like I'd want to be just like you! Wyatt Halliwell, captain of the basketball team. He's the coolest person ever! Vote for him for prom king, even though he's already graduated! 'Look at me! I'm Wyatt, I failed math and had to stay an extra year!'" Chris sarcastically rambled.
"Hey, I didn't fail math. I decided to stay an extra year and take math courses. Do you have a problem with that?" Chris was about to speak, but Wyatt cut him off. "You know what, let's drop this. Where's Uncle Kyle?"
Chris shrugged, "I don't know. Why?" he asked as he took a glass from the cupboard.
"He was going to take Paige and me to the mall to go shopping."
Chris turned his head sharply to face his brother, "You shop?"
"I'm only going to pick up my leather jacket." Wyatt said defensively.
"Right…" Chris nodded his head, "So why are Uncle Kyle and Paige going then? I mean, you can drive by yourself now."
"Well, he's going to teach Paige how to drive. And before you ask, I need to be there because they're using my car."
"What happened to Uncle Kyle's?"
Wyatt looked at his younger brother and began to chuckle, "Paige ran the beetle in to Aunt Phoebe's car when she was pulling in to the driveway." Both Wyatt and Chris broke into hysterical fits of laughter. Kyle decided to join the two boys in the kitchen at that moment.
"Wyatt, you ready to go?" the Whitelighter asked his nephew. Wyatt nodded his head. "Good, would you go get Paige for me then?"
Wyatt smiled at his Uncle, "Sure thing." He drew in a deep breath and shouted up the stairs, "PAIGE! LET'S GO!"
Kyle glared at his nephew, "I could have done that."
"Then why did you ask me?" he responded jokingly. Wyatt smiled as he reached for his car keys, "Anyway, since we're taking my car, I'm driving."
"Okay then. Let's go." Kyle said before he walked out of the kitchen to get his jacket.
Paige heard her name being called from downstairs. Wyatt must have wanted to go to the mall now. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and headed towards her door to leave. Before exiting, she grabbed her suede jacket and purse off of the chair by her desk. Thumping down the stairs, the young witch/Whitelighter rapidly slipped her jacket on her shoulders and bolted out to Wyatt's car. She reached the front door to the Manor, but suddenly stopped and dropped to her knees, her brown eyes snapping shut. She rubbed her temples with he fingers, trying to make her sudden headache disappear. However, she failed and instead began to hear voices, which sounded like her father and Wyatt, talking…about her mother.
"So, does Paige know the whole story about how Aunt Paige died?"
"I know she knows that Paige died when she was young, but I don't think she's ever actually found out that it happened during labour. Why do you ask anyway Wyatt?"
"I just wanted to make sure. You know, in case we get on that topic and Chris or I blab out something we shouldn't have."
The voices of Paige's cousin and father slowly faded out of her head. The witch/Whitelighter slowly opened her eyes as her hands slipped to ground beneath her. Tears slightly fell from her eyes as she mumbled to herself. How could she be so blind? It all made sense now. That time, ten years ago, when Paige had asked her mother, the late Paige Matthews, if it was her fault for the death of a Charmed One. She was so young, only six years old, and didn't fully understand how it happened. But now she knew what had occurred, and she was going to do something about it. Paige stood up, wiping the salt droplets from her face, and called out to Kyle and Wyatt as calmly as she could.
"Dad, Wyatt," she yelled out the door, "I just realized I have some things to do, so I'm not going anymore."
Kyle dashed out of the car and ran to his daughter, "What's wrong sweetie?" He sensed something was wrong, for his child's eyes were red, obviously from crying.
"Nothing. It's nothing. I just have other things to do. They just came to mind. Besides, I'm sure you have charges to look after…or something."
He was about to speak, but was caught off by the sound of jingles. Kyle drew in a deep breath and exhaled, "We'll talk later, okay sweetie. Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is. I have to go though, so remember, just call me if you need me."
"Yes, Dad." Paige replied as her father orbed out of the room. Realizing that Wyatt was still waiting in the car, she again yelled out to him, "Go ahead Wyatt. Dad and I aren't going now. Bye."
The faint calling of "Okay" was muffled by the door closing. The teenager raced up to the attic, dropping off her jacket and purse in her room as she passed it. Paige flipped frantically through the Book of Shadows, trying to find the spell to summon a lost witch; in this case her mother. The Brody daughter began to curse to herself from the growing impatience of the spell searching. Finally finding the spell, Paige went to find some candles on the shelf near the attic window. Setting them up in a circle, she began to recite the summoning spell. She waited for something, anything, to happen. Unfortunately, it never did. The familiar light wind blowing after a spell had been recited never blew. The translucent figure of Paige Matthews that was expected to come never showed.
"Hey, thought I'd find you up here. Why didn't you go..." Her uncle walked into the room and was stunned to find the Book of Shadows opened to that particular spell.
"Paige..." His eyes narrowed as he spoke cautiously, "What're you doing?"
She heard her Uncle Leo, but decided to ignore his presence. "This crap won't freaking work." She muttered to herself as looked down on the Book.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm talking here. Who are you summoning?"
Still ignoring Leo, Paige continued to talk to herself, "Fine then." She flipped through the Book once again, "Plan B."
The former Whitelighter noticed the page his niece had turned to, "You can't time travel!"
Paige looked up from the Book and eyed him harshly, "Who says I can't?"
Leo started to stutter, "M- me. And…and your Aunt Piper." Paige rolled her eyes in the similar way her mother used to do and went back to ignoring her uncle. "PAIGE!"
Frustration took its toll on the young Brody, making her scream loudly and kick the pedestal the ancient book of spells sat on. The Book went flying towards Leo, who thankfully caught it. He replaced it on the platform then turned to his niece.
"You have to be more careful with this book. It's very delicate." He said softly, yet with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Well right now I don't care! I want to talk to my mother! I want to ask her how I caused her death! I just want to see her, to talk to her!" She yelled.
Suddenly, there was a strong force that felt like it was pulling Paige backwards. Leo looked over her shoulder and his face was plastered with shock.
"Uncle Leo…what's happening?" Paige asked slowly as she turned around to see whatever it was that had Leo shocked. Her eyes grew wide when she saw it. The greyish-black vortex slowly spun counter-clockwise and pulled Leo and Paige towards it. The last thing Paige remembered saying before she and her uncle were sucked in was "Oh shit."
xxxx
"Paige?" Leo's voice echoed, "Are you okay Paige?"
Paige rubbed her head and replied groggily, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Where are we?"
He thought for a moment and looked at his surroundings, "I think we're in the attic. Except it looks like it did about a decade ago. Maybe even longer."
Paige was about to respond, but was cut off by a loud scream from downstairs. She and Leo both exchanged glances before bolting down the stairs to the room the scream came from; Paige's room. They stood outside the door, debating to go in.
"Why is there screaming coming from my room?" she questioned her uncle. Leo shrugged, he was just as curious as she was. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it to open the door. Both of their jaw dropped when they caught sight of the scene in front of them. "Oh my gosh. Is that…my mother?"
"Um…yeah. I don' understand how we got back here though. This was sixteen years ago. When she was-"
"Giving birth to me?" Paige finished.
Leo nodded, "I wonder if they can see us. Piper?" he asked as he walked up to his wife. He waved a hand in front of her face, but it did not faze her. "I guess they can't. We must be like ghosts in the past."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, somehow that vortex that brought us here has only made us as ghosts. We are only allowed to see what is happening. We can't change anything, we can't speak to anyone. We can only watch." Leo said. He pointed to the sight before them and the two watched it unfold.
Paige cried her heart out as she pushed, "Piper, Phoebe, I can't take care of my child without him. He doesn't even know she exists!"
"Paige, I promise you that Kyle will know of his daughter." Piper assured her youngest sister.
"How? He's missing her birth and I haven't talked to him since that night." Paige gritted through her teeth.
The Brody child's eyes bulged, "My father didn't know my mother was pregnant with me? Wait…my father had a one-night stand with my mom!"
Leo nodded his head to answer the first question, "What? No! Your mother and father had a relationship before he died and became a Whitelighter. Then they, um, shared a night and conceived you. Do I really have to explain this?" he asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Paige shook her head, returning back to looking at what was happening during her birth.
Back in the present, a translucent Paige Matthews formed in the circle of candles in the attic. "Hello?" she called. The late witch/Whitelighter sighed. "HELLO!" she called louder. "Kyle? Piper? For god's sake, Phoebe?" She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the circle, become solid and lifelike.
Kyle orbed in at the same time Piper came storming into the attic. They both gawked at seeing Paige. The dead Charmed One didn't give Kyle or Piper a hug. Instead she ended up barking at them, "Why the hell did you let her find out about this?"
Kyle and Piper looked at each other, confused. "B-but w-e did-didn't---"
"You let her find out!" Paige slapped her forehead, "I could kill both of you right now!"
Piper mocked her happiness at seeing her sister, "Nice to see you too, sis!" She started to grit her teeth, "Would you like some tea? Or can dead people not drink?"
Paige growled at her eldest sister, "This is no time for joking, and I don't appreciate you making fun of my status."
Kyle ignored the small feud between the two sisters and waved at his love with a grin, "Hi honey."
Paige sighed again, "Hey sweetie."
"So, Paige, what is it that we let who find out? The least you could do is fill us in before you kill us." Piper said somewhat sarcastically.
Paige eyed her older sister, surprised, "You mean you don't know that Paige knows… oh no. This isn't good." She began to pace the attic, mumbling words to herself.
"What? What's not good? What does Paige know?" Kyle questioned his deceased lover.
Piper glared at the Whitelighter, "What the heck did you let my niece find out, Mr. Brody?"
Kyle threw his hands up in defense, "Why are you looking at me? I'm as lost as you are!" he said quickly, hoping not to be blown up by the Charmed One's powers. The two began to bicker, leaving Paige standing by the Book of Shadows.
"Hey! Will you two quick arguing for one minute?" she said, hoping to stop the dispute. Unfortunately, it did not work. She took a deep breath then said, "Paige knows how I died." That did the trick.
"WHAT!" came the reply simultaneously.
She shrugged, "Paige overhead you and Wyatt talking this morning. Her telepathy kicked in at the wrong time." She pointed to Kyle as she spoke.
"See, I knew it would come back to you!" Piper stated. She placed her hands on the side of her head, trying to think of something else to say.
"Well," Kyle started, "Wyatt was the one who brought it up. So go ground your son or something for letting her know. Stop blaming me!"
Piper and Kyle began to debate again. Paige groaned at the sight before her. Those two just wouldn't light up. Sometimes she thought that those two bickered worse than Phoebe and Kyle. The late witch's eyes glanced down to the page the Book was currently opened to. Her eyes widened in alarm.
"Hey guys…" again, no answer. Her eyes still didn't leave the page, "I think I know where Paige is."
The witch and Whitelighter looked at Paige, "Where?" they asked.
She flipped the Book so they could see the page she was looking at, "Paige went to the past."
Leo and Paige, still stuck as ghosts in the past, continued to watch the birth of a Halliwell, and the death of one.
"Aw, she's so cute." Phoebe cooed. Piper smiled and wrapped her first niece in a blanket. She handed the little girl to Paige.
The new mother beamed at her daughter. The little baby girl had luscious chocolate brown eyes, her father's nose and a pair of tiny hands that reached out for her Whitelighter dad. "Kyle." She said.
"Paige? What is it?"
"Promise me you will never leave her." She pleaded, giving their daughter to Kyle.
"I promise, Paige. But you're not going anywhere. You're staying here with our beautiful child and me."
Paige closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. So quietly that Kyle hardly heard her. Paige kissed Kyle's lips, then the top of her daughter's head. "Piper, Phoebe, Leo, I love you all and I'm going to miss you. Kyle, I love you so much. Always tell our daughter how much I love her." The youngest Charmed One leaned back into her pillow while her hand in Kyle's went limp.
Kyle's fatherly smile faded, "Paige?" he lightly shook his lover's hand, not believing that what had just happened had happened. Salty water drops fell from his blue eyes. "Paige, come back to us." He cried.
The teen walked over to the bed where her mother lay dead, and her father held her past self. Paige took a deep breath before lightly sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her invisible hand over her parents entwined hands. Tears formed in Paige's eyes as she sat with her parents, the silence in the room becoming eerie to everyone but Paige. Just sitting with her parents, together, was all she ever wanted. And she had it…for a brief moment. However, that moment was worth the world to the young Brody.
Leo glanced behind him, feeling the sudden force pulling him back towards the familiar grayish-black vortex. "Paige," he said, "I think it's time to go. Come on."
He reached out to his niece, waiting for her to grab his hand. Slightly nodding her head, Paige took hold of her uncle's hand and the two walked towards the portal. She looked back once more before entering the gateway, sadly smiling, and then disappeared with Leo in the vortex.
Leo and Paige stepped out of the time travel portal and were greeted by the faces of Piper, Kyle, and someone they hadn't seen for quite a while; Paige Matthews.
"Mom," the teen started to cry again. She ran to her mother and engulfed her in a loving hug, "I'm so sorry I caused your death."
"Oh sweetie, you didn't cause my death." Her mother said sweetly. She kissed the top of Paige's head and continued, "It was my time to go. It wasn't your fault, and don't you ever think that for one second that it was. Okay?"
"Okay." Paige still had tears, "I just thought that if I went to the past, then maybe I could have saved you." She mumbled into her mother's embrace.
"Paige, you shouldn't dwell on the past. Things happen for a reason." She closed her eyes, sensing that it was time for her to return to the Heavenly Realm. "I have to go now. Just remember that I'll always love you, and I'm always listening if you need to talk. Just look up at the stars and I'll be there. I love you Paigey."
Paige dried her tears and lifted her head, "Mom, no one has called me that for years." She smiled.
"I know, but you're still my little girl. Bye sweetie." Paige then turned to Kyle, "I'll love you always, Kyle."
"Love you too Paige." He responded, placing his arm around his daughter's shoulder.
The now transparent witch blew them a kiss, "Blessed be." She then disappeared from the attic, leaving her daughter and lover staring up towards the sky.
A woman, around the age of twenty-eight, walked through the grass with her two children, a boy and a girl, on either side of her. They stopped at a spot where the woman and her father sat all those years ago, starring at the stars. The three of them lay on the grass, staring at the dark blue sky. The woman pointed to a yellow star that never moved.
"Whenever I look at that star, I think of my mother- your grandmother." She stopped speaking when she saw the confused faces on her children, and then smiled softly, "And when you're older, and you see that star, I want you to think of me."
The two children climbed into their mother's lap and she began pointing out the stars. "Do you see that? That's the Big Dipper. Do you know what it means, Matthew?" the boy shook his head. "How about you Rebecca?" the girl did the same as her brother. The mother giggled, "Then I'll tell you." And she explained the constellations and their meanings, shockingly keeping the kids interested.
(wipes forehead). My gosh, that took quite some time to write. But, it's finished now. So I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot. Leave a review if you like, that'd be wonderful.
So, until next story!