A/N: So… I realise it's been a while… Real life caught up with me and wouldn't take no for an answer… But drum roll: A new chapter is here! Enjoy!
Chapter 3
- Reunions -
Gillian Owens groaned as she made her way down to the kitchen. It was far too early to be up by her standards. In fact, it was probably far too early to be up by anyone's standards. As she reached the second floor, however, she could already hear her sister's cheerful singing. Clearly, normal people's standards didn't apply to Sally. Then again, normal standards never applied to anyone in their family. Gilly smiled. How very ironic. She jumped the last couple of stairs and trotted into the large kitchen, where Sally stood, happily preparing breakfast. Gilly sat down at the table, taking a sip of the orange juice that Sally had placed on the table.
"Morning."
Sally flipped a pancake in the air.
"Hi, Gils. You're up early. You decided to help me out with the preparations after all?" "Don't remind me," Gilly sighed. "This is not a civilized hour. The aunts up yet?" "Yup," Sally replied. "Aunt Jet's just gone into the garden to fetch me some mint, and I think Aunt Frances is still in the bathroom." "I see." Gilly took another sip of juice and started unbraiding her long red hair. "When did you get up?"
True to character, Sally was already washed, dressed and ready to go, while the sun was barely up. "Early," Sally replied, pouring another circle of batter into the frying pan. "I was preparing the guestroom." "Don't you mean the attic?" Gilly replied laughingly.
"OK, the attic, if you will. You don't think they'll mind staying in the same room?" Sally asked anxiously. Gilly shook her head. "I don't think so. They're just as close as we are, if not closer. They should get along fine. And besides, the attic's pretty big. If a fight does break out, at least they'll have enough room!" Sally smiled, sliding another pancake on top of the pile she'd already made. Just then, the kitchen door opened, and Aunt Jet's cheerful voice, mingled with the fresh morning air, filled the kitchen. "Oh, Sally, dear, we're almost out of mint, we shall have to plant some soon. And I picked you some rosemary, as well. How are the brownies doing?" Aunt Jet placed her basket on the kitchen counter and crouched down to see into the oven. "And a very good morning to you too, Aunt Jet," Gilly laughed. "O, I'm so very sorry, Gilly dear, I'm just so excited. To think we haven't seen them in seven years! How tall they must all have become! Four grown-up women!" Aunt Jet took off her straw hat and placed it on the table, then picked up her basket of herbs and walked into the pantry. "And they'll be here soon! Right now they're…" "Almost at the harbor." Aunt Frances came down the stairs, fastening her long dark hair with an ornate hairpin. "I feel it as well. What about you, Gillybean?" Gilly nodded, watching Sally's batter stir itself.
To an outsider, the Owens family might not have seemed out of the ordinary, but it was exchanges like the one occurring just now, that made them special, Gilly mused. Although their powers manifested themselves less spectacularly than those of their cousins (who were, after all, the Charmed Ones), they were still quite obvious. Gilly, along with both Aunt Frances and Aunt Jet, was clairvoyant. All three women had a gift for seeing the future, sensing the present and, on occasion, reliving the past. In contrast to their cousin Phoebe, however, their magic showed itself in a more subtle, almost subconscious way. Sally had received the power of telekinesis, again in a subtler version. Where Prue and Paige could both easily move objects of any size, Sally's power had its limits around the size of a large bucket of water. None of them had received Piper's power of particle manipulation, even though it had been the power both their mother Regina and their Aunt Patty had gotten.
Gilly tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and reached over to the pile of pancakes, only to have her hand slapped away by Sally. Aunt Jet, still in the throes of excitement, talked on enthusiastically, while Aunt Frances checked on the brownies again. "Yes, almost at the harbor… Oh, and now with you here for the summer as well, Gilly dear, it'll be just like old times. All of our girls at home! And…" She stopped, mid-sentence. "Almost at the harbor! But they'll be here in… thirty minutes! Quickly girls, we must hurry! We're not ready!"
Aunt Frances put on oven mittens and pulled the brownies out of the oven, quickly putting them down on the stove. "Calm down, Jetty, we have plenty of time. Sally darling, did you ready the beds in the attic?" Sally nodded, pouring the last of her batter into the sizzling frying pan. "But we're not ready!" Aunt Jet cried, hurrying into the kitchen and grabbing her hat which was still on the table. "Gilly isn't even dressed yet!" Gilly looked at her purple pajamas guiltily. "Well, move it, move it, move it!" Aunt Jet ordered. "Sally, finish breakfast, Gilly, you get your skinny behind upstairs and get dressed. Fanny, help me check the rest of the house!" Aunt Frances rolled her eyes discreetly at her two cousins, and followed her excited sister to the dining room. Gilly jumped off her stool, quickly grabbing a pancake off the pile and stuffing it in her mouth before bounding up the stairs.
"Hey! You give that back!" Sally shouted at her sister's retreating back, before sighing and moving the frying pan off the stove and into the sink to quickly wash it up.
-PPPP-
Piper carefully maneuvered the car off the small ferry and onto the road, heading into the small town. Phoebe and Paige had their noses pressed against the window, pointing out things enthusiastically. "Hey, Paige, there's that baker, remember the time we played a prank on him with Gilly?" "Which prank?" Paige scrunched up her nose, trying to remember. "We played a lot of pranks with Gilly…" Prue laughed, while Piper added a "So true" from the front seat. Paige giggled guiltily, but then leaned forward between her eldest sisters' seats. "I never really understood why Gilly moved out?" She asked, suddenly sobering up. Phoebe leaned over as well, interested. Piper sighed, not sure how to answer this question, as she really didn't know the answer herself. "I don't know, Paigey. It had something to do with their… neighbourhood problems." "Which is also why we couldn't orb?" Paige asked. Prue nodded. "But I don't get it…" Paige whined. "Our magic is a lot more obvious than theirs, what with all the explosions and all," Phoebe shot her a dirty look, "but I don't see our neighbours ganging up on us screaming 'Witch'!"
Prue smiled as she heard her youngest sister echo Piper's question from last night. Piper grinned guiltily. "I asked Prue the same question, and she explained it to me pretty well, so… Prue?" Prue turned around in order to look her younger sisters in the eye. "Guys, the town here already suspects the Aunts of being witches… They don't need us getting to their house without an explanation. And while we're on that subject," Prue gave each of her sisters a stern look, "we need to be extra careful using our magic around here. The townspeople can not find out we're witches. So, Paige, no unnecessary orbing, Phoebe, no extravagant spells, and Piper, no freezing in public!" Paige pouted, while Phoebe, of course, immediately tried to find a loophole in her sister's instructions: "So, does this mean we get to do some extremely cool magic at the house?" Piper laughed, switching the Jeep into third gear as they sped out of the town centre and into a lane where the houses were situated a lot further apart.
"No, Phoebe, that does not mean you get to do some extremely cool magic at the house." Prue replied. "Knowing the aunts, however, that's probably what we'll be doing anyways."
Phoebe's smile could rival the rising sun. Piper grinned, rounding the corner that led to number 6, Magnolia Lane.
Paige pressed her forehead against the window once more, hoping to catch an early glimpse of the magnificent house that was their destination for the day. Even though she had been the youngest during their last visit, she was probably the one that remembered the most about it. Suddenly having five sisters, instead of three, and three grandmothers almost made up for the loss of her mother, and the absence of her father. Memories of extravagant breakfasts, climbing trees with Phoebe and Gilly, helping Piper and Sally in the kitchen and playing pinochle on the porch with Grams and the Aunts were all vividly painted in her mind. Paige had always been treated as the baby of the family, thus receiving special attention and a lot of sisterly affection. After her freshman year of college this year, however, and with Prue and Phoebe out of the house, Paige had become a loner. True, she had Glen, and plenty of other friends, and there was always Piper to go to when she had a problem, but the house seemed empty without Prue bossing everyone around and Phoebe brightening everything up. So, when Grams had died, the return of her two sisters was supposed to be a comfort. Instead, she'd gotten a rebellious, guilt-ridden Phoebe, an angry Prue, and Piper who never seemed to do anything but find compromises for those two. Day in and day out, she watched her sisters fighting and slowly breaking down, all the while trying to keep up with their demon duties, hoping against hope that things would work themselves out. It was only after Prue had screamed at her for breaking Grams's favorite teapot that Paige realized that things were seriously wrong. Prue had never screamed at her. Not like this.
Piper's suggestion to spend the summer at the Aunts' house, however, allowed her to hope again. During the car ride, the atmosphere had been almost like before, and it was the sight of her two cousins, red and dark hair flowing behind them as they rushed towards the car to greet them, that made Paige smile broadly. Yes, this summer would make up for all of the trouble they'd had last year.
A/N: Wow. It seems that all four sisters have their problems… But hope is near! Please, Please, Please Review! It means so much to me to read your comments!