Chapter II - Old Friends
Paige picked up her handbag and headed towards the front door. With her hand on the handle, she took a sharp, short breath to prepare her for the outside world.
"Where are you going, missy?"
Paige rolled her eyes and turned around. Piper stood, her arms folded and a judgemental expression on her face.
"I have work to do," she replied, glancing towards the floor.
"Paige, it's a Sunday," Piper said slowly, walking forwards and unfolding her arms. "You don't work on a Sunday."
Paige grimaced.
"They switched my times?" she pleaded, knowing that Piper wouldn't buy it. In response, Piper merely raised her eyebrows. "Okay, okay," Paige gave in. "I'm doing some... extra work for Darryl."
"And that's it?" Piper questioned, not at all believing that Paige was telling her everything that was going on.
"Yeah!" Paige said, turning back to the door. "And if you'll excuse me, I'm already late. I'll call you if I need you."
She opened the door and walked out into the fresh afternoon sunlight, leaving Piper in the hallway to seethe on her own. But she was not alone for long, as an energetic Phoebe quickly bounded down the stairs in little more than baggy trousers and a large sweater.
"What's up?" she asked, coming to a halt just behind her sister.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," Piper replied, folding her arms once more. "Just our little sister gallivanting off to God knows where with God knows whom."
"And you let her?"
"Well, she can orb if she needs us. And she said she was doing some 'extra work' for Darryl; what reason do I have not to trust her?"
Phoebe was lucky enough to miss the ironic sneer in her sister's voice. Piper turned around, but was a little taken aback when she saw Phoebe standing there in clothes that looked better on a punch bag.
"Phoebes, what's the matter?"
"Nothing," Phoebe answered, making her way into the sitting room. "Why, does it look like there's something the matter?"
"Quite frankly, yes. I already have one sister who won't let me know what she's up to. Don't make it two."
Phoebe sat and gazed into the fireplace. She did want to tell Piper. She wanted to tell her everything. But where could she start? That for the past two weeks, she had been having recurring nightmares about something that had haunted her for too long already? That she wasn't sure if what she was dreaming was a premonition or not? That almost every night, she woke up in a cold sweat with the same name whizzing around her head? No, it was too much. She could barely accept it herself. She wasn't ready to let other people in yet.
"Phoebes," Piper said again.
Phoebe looked up into the smiling, trusting eyes of her older sister. She wanted those eyes, so full of knowledge and wisdom, yet surprisingly free.
"There is something I'm not telling you guys," Phoebe replied, her heart beating a little faster. Piper shook some hair out of her eyes, but said nothing. "But it's not because I don't want to, or that I don't trust to. I'm just... not ready yet."
Sympathy rolled into Piper's eyes, and she cocked her head to one side. She tried to pretend, as always, that her heart wasn't breaking to see her sister in so much pain. Phoebe did not need that. She slowed her breathing, smiled, and then said the only thing she could say.
"I'll always be here."
The two hugged, like everything they had ever felt and loved was trying to be expressed between them. Piper had her guesses as to what was going on, and what Phoebe had to deal with: Drake had died not three weeks before, and though Phoebe had both expected and accepted this, there was something significant about the way he had lived and died. And it was something that had been annoying Piper for some time now.
They broke away from each other, Phoebe in time to stop herself from crying. Why? she asked herself. Why am I so emotional? Her sisters couldn't help her, she knew that. But maybe there was someone who could...
"I'm going up to the attic," she said, masking her sadness with thoughtfulness. "I need to be alone."
Piper didn't complain when Phoebe got up from the couch.
The old, wooden stairs creaked under Phoebe's bare feet. She had tried to talk to both Piper and Paige now, with failed attempts. There was nothing more they could do for her. As she turned the cold handle of the uninviting attic door, Phoebe suddenly felt a thrill of excitement. She had thought, for a while, about making contact. Could it be possible? Was it breaking yet another unwritten rule from the Elders? But at this point, Phoebe was beyond caring. Hell, after all 'The Charmed Ones' had done for them, they owed her, right?
"I hope so," she said quietly.
Slowly and methodically, she fetched five candles and a long splint from the store cupboard. Carefully, with a touch of nervous tension, she set each candle up at the right point on the pentagram. She bent down and lit each candle, in turn, very slowly. Then, she straightened up, and with the beginnings of tears in her eyes made a wish in her heart before she read her spell.
"Prue," she said into the warm, musty air of the attic. "I call for Prue."
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Paige walked brightly into the police station. She grinned, as she looked around the station, busy though it was. The Police department never slept, did they? Well, crime didn't either.She had felt guilty for lying to Piper about what she was doing, but somehow mentioning that she was volunteering at the police station did not seem like the best of ideas; especially at this sort of time. Besides, she was at the police station, where Darryl would have likely have been had he not been away on holiday. But even if he wasn't, Paige got the impression that he would be less than happy to see her, a 'Charmed One'.
The bright sunshine shone in on San Francisco Police Station. It twinkled and danced across the office like a young child at a school play. Paige, somewhat pleased with herself, half skipped over to an empty desk in the corner. A police officer looked up from the paperwork he was carrying, and gave her a quick smile.
"Morning Matthews. Nice to see you on time for once."
Paige screwed her face up in mock annoyance, but sat at her desk to look through some notes. For the moment, she was only covering for a secretary. A secretary, she thought. I could get better employment at the local grocery store. Still, not one to sniff at a chance when it was handed to her, she sighed and picked up a sheet of paper. Turning red in the face, she screwed up the page and threw it in the bin beside her desk; she doubted very much if the officers at the station wanted to see a doodle of what she really thought of them. Before she had a chance to get down to some real work, the officer who had greeted her before approached her desk.
"Any messages for me, Matthews?" he queried, not looking up from his file.
"You can call me Paige, y'know."
He looked up, and smiled, but the smile failed to reach his eyes.
"I know. Now, my messages, if you will?"
Paige gave a small sigh, rolled her eyes, and then glanced over the desk.
"Not from what I can see, no."
The officer frowned, and scribbled something in his file.
"Something the matter?" Paige asked, her inquisitiveness getting the better of her.
"What?" he asked distantly, his mind not entirely on the situation. "Oh, no. I just suppose I'm not as popular as I thought I was. See you later."
He turned to walk into his own office. Despite herself, Paige leaned over slightly to catch a glimpse at his backside. She giggled to herself, and collapsed back into the chair.
"Very nice, Officer Wattson. Very nice indeed."
She played with her curls of her deep, black hair. The office, though busy, was surprisingly quiet. At the Manor, there had also been suspicious lack of demon action – this morning excluded. What was going on? Had crime suddenly come to a standstill? Or perhaps the sisters were just noticing less and less. Certainly Phoebe seemed to be a lot more distant and isolated. Paige, for a moment, wished she had the power of premonition, just so she could see what Phoebe was going through. But it was only for a second, as she had long learned that wishing for powers you did not have did not always end up well.
"Paige, put those away and get back to work!"
Paige, absentmindedly, had put her legs up on the desk and crossed her ankles. She had been wearing a rather short, denim miniskirt, and now she sat back at her desk properly, her face flushing redder than a tomato in heat.
"It's not my fault my mind wanders," she mumbled under her breath. She self-consciously tugged at the skirt to pull it further down her legs, and wished desperately that she had worn something different. Luckily, to save her from much more embarrassment, the telephone on the desk rang. She let it ring a few times, before extending her arm and picking up the sleek, black receiver.
"Hello, Paige Matthews," she said sweetly. "How can I help you?"
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Piper paced two and fro in the front hall."Paige, you get you ass back here right now!"
At the other end of the line, Paige cringed.
"How did you get this number?"
"What?" Piper shrieked, nearly throwing the telephone out of her hands in the process. "It doesn't matter! I need you back here, it's a family emergency!"
Paige rolled her eyes, and was thankful that Piper couldn't see it.
"Can't you handle it on your own?" she whined. "I'm swamped down here."
"I don't care if you're up to your knees in alligators, there is something seriously wrong going on around here!"
"Why not just call Leo?"
"I tried that," Piper replied, more worry in her voice than she meant. He was only supposed to be gone for a couple of hours, and it was already drawing in one o 'clock. She had barely trusted the Elders when they requested his presence, so she had made him take the boys up with him; he'd have to have a reason to come back, then. Wouldn't he? The Elders wouldn't dare try taking him away again, not after he had fallen from Grace...
"Piper!"
She jumped at the mention of her name in such a severe tone. Paige had been talking, and had obviously realised that Piper wasn't listening to her.
"Sorry Paige..." she said, putting her hand to her forehead in despair. "I was just thinking about Leo."
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing. I was just expecting him to be back by now."
"You mean the Elders still have him? And you trust them, after what happened last time?"
"Yes – No – I... Paige, just get back here. I need your help. Phoebe's locked herself in the attic, and – "
"Phoebe's what?"
I don't have time for this, Piper thought, aggravation showing in her voice. I wish I knew what to do.
"Paige!" she shouted, eventually. Paige, at the office, jumped at the yell, and straightened herself in her chair. She turned to face the window behind her as she tried to calm the likes of her enraged sister.
"Okay Piper. I'll... I'll get back as soon as I can."
"Make it very soon. I can't get into the attic, and I need you to orb. There was a crash in there earlier."
Paige shook her head, annoyed at yet another circumstance that stopped her from leading a normal life. She was so entranced in the conversation that she barely noticed the movement behind her desk.
"Excuse me? I'd like to report a robbery..."
Paige, frustrated, shook slightly around in the seat. "I'll be with you in a minute," she said quietly, not looking up too closely at the figure at her desk. "No, Piper, not you." There was a pause. "No, I will be there in a minute, I just wasn't talking to you."
"Miss?" the stranger asked again.
At this, Paige lost her temper. She bolted around in the chair. "I'm sorry, you're just going to have to..."
She trailed off when she caught sight of who was at the desk.
"Er... gotta go," she said into the receiver. Without even listening to Piper's cries of rage, she carefully put the telephone back into its position.
"Glad to get your attention," the figure said brightly, as if pleased to have interrupted the young secretary's telephone call. Paige's eyes widened, and fear flickered through them like an old film grain.
"Not you..." she said quietly, gulping and shying back into the chair. "Not again."
