Thank you for revieing. And in answer to a review a few chapters ago that I forgot about, Patty was born ... um ... OK, so Phoebe moved back from New York and Piper moved in with Dan, so she'll have been born when season 1 was meant to take place.
Chapter 8 – Forgiveness?
I just sat staring at my bedroom wall.
Demons. Demons, warlocks, witches and whitelighters.
What is going on with my life?
"Piper?" Paige called. She knocked on the door and walked in.
"Hey." I said quietly.
"Hey." She nodded. "Prue sent me to tell you she has to work, unless you want her to stay?"
"No, I'll be OK."
"Well, um, Phoebe's gone for an interview, but I'm taking the day off."
"No, Paige, if you want that promotion -"
"Piper, please. I'm staying. Got to ease my guilt somehow." She said sadly.
"Guilt? Why?"
She shrugged. "I just ... we all kind of thought there was something ... not right, but we ... didn't do anything."
"That's not true. You all asked me loads of times if anything was wrong."
She nodded. "Didn't help, though, did it?"
"It's not your fault." I whispered.
She hugged me.
"Just remember we are all here for you. We love you, and we'll never leave you."
I nodded.
"We're sisters." Phoebe's voice – and Phoebe – joined us. "We can face anything, together."
"The power of four." Prue added, bouncing onto the bed too.
We all hugged for a while, and it felt strange, to feel so happy, safe.
"I really have to go." Prue sighed eventually.
"Me too." Phoebe nodded. "Can I hitch a ride?"
"Sure. Se you both later."
"Paige, really," I said once they had left, "go, I'll be OK."
"No, Piper, I'm staying."
"Paige, I just want to forget about it. Get a job or something. But, then, with Patty -"
"Well, what kind of job?" Paige asks.
"I used to want my own business. A restaurant, or a club or something." I shrugged. Like that'd ever happen. "Anyway, go to work."
"No. Whether you admit it or not, you need some one around you for a while. Anyway, what if another demon attacks?"
"OK." I sighed.
"But I do need to run to the store. We're out of milk."
"Right."
And that's how I ended up alone.
And that's why, when the doorbell rang a few minutes later, I had to pick up Patty, put her in the playpen in the foyer and answered it.
He stood leaning against the door frame, an apologetic look on his face.
"Hey." He smiled.
I backed away from him, shaking all over. I almost tripped over one of Patty's toys, and he reached out an arm to steady me.
"Get off me!" I cried.
"Hey, Piper, calm down. I just want to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you, Dan."
He shook his head. "You don't mean that." He said.
"Oh yes I do." I snapped. "Leave us alone."
"Piper, come home." He sighed.
"I am home."
"Piper, please, come home with me now. I'm working on my anger issues, I've stopped drinking -"
"Yeah, for how long?" I snapped.
"Piper, I love you, and you love me. And I love Patty. Come home, we can be a family again."
A family. For Patty. That was all I ever wanted, that was why I'd stayed with him.
But he was wrong about the love. I'd realised I didn't love him.
I was temped though. If he'd really changed ...
He took a step forward.
"Leave my mummy alone!" Patty screamed.
I spun round.
All this time I was staying with him, because I wanted a family for Patty.
But I'd never thought about how it affected her.
"Leave." I told Dan. "Now. We don't need you, and we don't want you. Patty and I have all the family we need, right here."
"You can't take her away from me!" He yelled. "It's all your fault! You wind me up so much!"
He'd tried that one before, and I'd believed him, then.
Not anymore. He had nothing over me now.
"Leave, or I call the police."
"You wouldn't dare." He sneered. He reached out, grabbed my arm.
"Paige!" I screamed. "Paige!"
I don't know why I was yelling her name – I didn't know she'd hear me, orb in. Instinct, I guess.
She orbed in, looked at us, pulled me away from Dan.
"Get out of here, now." She told him.
"How did you do that?" He gasped, stumbling backwards.
"You don't wanna know." I told him. "But take it as a warning. Leave. Right now."
And he ran, terrified.
"Honey are you OK?" Paige asked, hugging me.
"Yeah." I broke away, picked up Patty.
"We'll be fine."
And sudden I was glad of magic, powers.
Oh, and of Paige's day off.