You're Never Alone, You're Always Home
Disclaimer: blah blah, you know the story, if you don't go back to the first chapter.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked her white lighter desperately, as he struggled to hold back his tears. All colour had drained from Leo's face as he tried to heal his wife.
"Leo…" Paige murmured. Leo slowly dragged his eyes to hers, and both sisters understood the look of worry, panic, and desperate sadness. Phoebe cried out and buried her head in Prue's shoulder, while the eldest sister just stood, too shocked to show any emotion.
Piper Halliwell was dead.
Just to see Prue standing there almost scared Paige, if Prue didn't know how to save Piper, how would they cope? But still Prue just stood, like a ghost, not daring to cry for her sisters' sakes.
"Piper…" Prue finally whispered, but her voice broke with emotion before she could continue. A single tear flowed down her cheek. Quickly though, she shut her eyes tightly to prevent the oncoming tears from falling. She turned to her youngest sister, Paige, the sister she'd never known, and her heart went out to her. Paige hadn't been brought up with or around the Halliwell Manor; she'd had to be put up for adoption as soon as she was born as she was a mistake between Prue's mother, Patty Halliwell and Sam, her white lighter, and the sisters had only discovered her after Prue's death. Now, with Prue back in the picture, Paige was a lone witch, an outcast among the sisters, and no matter how much Prue had tried to prevent this, Paige Matthews herself felt it was true. Paige was silent, just fiddling with her nails as Prue thought about this.
And you also mess with your cuticles when you're nervous.
Prue gasped inwardly at the memory. Once, when she'd tried to discover Andy's reaction to her being a witch, she'd cast a Truth Spell. Of course, it did have some unforeseen consequences, such as the fact that whenever sisters asked someone a question, including to themselves, they had to answer truthfully. When Prue had asked Andy how much he knew about her, along with various other answers, 'And you also mess with your cuticles when you're nervous.' had been one. So, Paige Matthews wasn't so different after all.
"Prue?" Penny Halliwell's voice struck into her daydream. Prue's head snapped towards her Grams before realising she had been smiling! Her own sister was dead and she was smiling. Quickly, Prue straightened her lips into a firm line and turned back to Leo.
"Is there nothing you can do?" She asked her brother in law softly, she wasn't used to not being in control of a situation and it didn't feel right as she was the eldest.
"No, nothing. I feel she's still alive but she's dead." Suddenly he broke down in tears, his head falling to Piper's still chest. "I can't save her!"
"Oh, Leo…" Paige whispered soothingly, quickly kneeling beside him. She then grabbed his shaking hand and placed his hand and her own over Piper. "Just concentrate on Piper; with my added strength we will be able to save her…" She advised, "I promise." She added, but after several attempts, Piper still didn't move. Phoebe looked up from Prue's shoulder and then slowly knelt beside Paige and picked up Piper's cold, lifeless hand.
"Wake up Piper," She encouraged, and then she placed an encouraging hand on Paige's shoulder. Suddenly she gasped as if a blast of frozen air had hit her, and then a premonition formed before her as if she was seeing it through her future self's eyes but she had no control over her speech or motions:
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"I… I…" Phoebe stammered.
"'I… I…' doesn't help me much Phoebe," A transparent Piper stated.
"But, Piper, no-one could… can save you," Phoebe explained, "You died, but even then Leo could sense you were still alive. Piper, he just broke down."
"Pheebs, all I want to know, and all I asked is, 'how did I get like this?'" Piper continued.
There was several moments of silence as none of the Halliwells' wanted to continue. Finally, it was Piper who spoke up again.
"Melissa and Maggie explained that I died in the cave," Piper said slowly, as colour rose into Prue's pale cheeks. "But they also say you didn't want them to know about me," she added angrily. The three living sisters all flashed stony glares at the teenagers that stood beside them, and then glanced apologetically at Piper before averting their eyes. It was as if they'd practiced this scene since her death, as they all did it so much in unison.
"It's all my fault, and if I could turn back time, I would have died instead of you, Piper!" Prue suddenly cried, falling to her knees. "Ever since that day I have wished I had died instead of you, and every day something has happened to prove it, Piper, it was your destiny to live, not mine!" Piper was shocked at the way it all suddenly came rushing out, it was as if some one had cast a Truth spell over the eldest Halliwell, and now all her darkest secrets were pouring out, stuff she hadn't told anyone. Even Phoebe and Paige both looked shocked at Prue's confession, but Phoebe was more shocked at Prue being this open in the future, maybe it was because of Piper's death? And what had happened before this premonition had began, who had summoned Piper? Somehow, through her premonition, she realised that this wasn't any old premonition, she had actually been taken to her future body and she wasn't a by stander trying to make sense of the events, she was actually part of it, part of the future.
"Oh, Paige, Phoebe, Prue… I wish I hadn't left you but now I understand that actually, everything happens for a reason and even if it wasn't my destiny to die, it was your destiny to live this long and have beautiful children. I just wish… hang on," Piper's voice suddenly went from its day dreamy encouraging state to its soft normal level, "Where are my children?"
Already, Phoebe could feel the energy being sucked out of her, but maybe this was the answer to saving her sister, if she could just hold on…
"Well," Paige started, "Chris and Wyatt are white lighters now…"
"…And they both had charges…" Prue murmured.
"But then the Elders said they were concentrating on their charges as they were dying off…" Paige finished. Piper gasped.
"Oh God, Wyatt and Chris had their wings cut?" She asked, shocked, she could never imagine it.
"Only temporally, the Elders felt that a demon was… actually, several, were targeting their charges and they thought it would be safer just for them to have us as their charges, so they and us, would be safe," Phoebe found herself explaining.
"So, where are they?" Piper insisted gently.
"Chris, Wyatt…" All three sisters summoned their two white lighter nephews, and after what seemed hours, Chris finally arrived covered in green slime.
"Chris, what's wrong?" Paige gasped as her youngest nephew keeled over. Then, rushing to her side, she found a small rip in his slime stained, red shirt. Quickly she healed the small injury, wondering how it had caused him so much pain.
"Wyatt…" He gasped, falling onto some boxes that had been stacked in the corner.
"What's wrong with Wyatt hunny?" Prue whispered.
"He's…"
"Where is he, Chris, Paige will get him…?" Phoebe said.
"Under…"
"Come on son…" Suddenly Chris straightened up, suddenly healed, and noticing his mother for the first time. All colour drained from the man's face. No wonder, as twenty seconds later a blonde man orbed in.
"April Fools!" Wyatt laughed at their little joke. But his laughter was suddenly caught off when he saw his dead mother. All colour drained from his face in shock. Slowly he turned to the door, but Paige caught him as he began to leave.
"Wyatt stop," Phoebe said.
"Wyatt, she's your mother." Paige stated.
Then Phoebe realised that she now was in full control of her premonition body, probably because her real body was so exhausted, but she would take full advantage.
"No," Wyatt interrupted his aunts, "No, my mother died over nineteen years ago, before Maggie and Mel were even born. She's not my mother anymore." Piper winced at his hard words, but then she remembered how Prue had blamed their own mother for dying when she'd been killed.
"But, Wyatt, Piper is your mother and you can't forget that," Prue explained.
"Wyatt, we all feel as if Piper died yesterday…" Phoebe worded carefully, "Or even this morning, the wounds are so fresh in our hearts," She added, catching Piper's eye. The spirit frown at her sister's changed attitude.
"Wyatt—" Paige began but she was rudely interrupted by Wyatt.
"STOP SAYING MY NAME!" The white lighter suddenly screamed. "She is not my mother… she's just not okay?" And then he orbed away.
Everyone in the room fell silent at Wyatt's abrupt exit.
"Mum…" Chris finally whispered, trying to stand. Piper turned to her grown up son and smiled weakly at him, "Oh, Mum, I can't believe you're here…" Then Piper remembered Chris wouldn't have many memories of her before she died, but Wyatt did so this probably hurt Chris more than Wyatt, as it often did with Paige and Phoebe when their own mother was mentioned. Tears began to fall freely down the grown man's cheeks, Prue and Paige gasped, and this was a boy who hadn't cried since his mother's death. Phoebe took this as her cue.
"Oh, Chris, it feels like you were a baby since I last saw you…" She explained, reaching out to him, "I can't imagine we never summoned Piper before."
Suddenly something clicked in Piper's mind, this wasn't the future Phoebe anymore, and this was the Phoebe from her own time! No wonder she looked as if she felt so out of place. Finally she caught Phoebe's eye, 'Premonition?' She mouthed, and Phoebe nodded. Piper nodded, understanding now, but Prue caught her nod.
"Piper," Then she turned to Phoebe and their eyes locked in understanding, "Phoebe?" Prue gasped and nudged Paige. "Paige, this isn't our Phoebe…" Paige frowned.
"What do you mean, what, is she a demon then?" Paige quickly got into her fighting stance, and Chris jumped up.
"Well, if I was I'd be out that window by now Prue," Phoebe joked, but she could see Paige and Chris didn't think it was funny.
"It's a premonition, this is the premonition Phoebe had the day Piper died." Prue jumped in. Both Chris and Paige frowned at her.
"But, Pheeb's had to be pulled out of it, remember, her pulse stopped and Leo and me had to heal her." Phoebe gasped at Paige's information, how could she die, she'd never died from a premonition before…
"No, but Phoebe said that when we pulled her out of the premonition, the last thing she remembered was Wyatt… was Wyatt coming in… but, actually…" Prue spun around and saw a red haired demon simmer in silently behind Maggie. Quickly, she threw him back with her telekinesis before Chris froze him. Just as Chris froze him, Wyatt orbed in and, noticing the demon, tried to explode him. Unluckily, it only caused a small dent to appear in his armour, so Wyatt brought up his blue shield. The demon stood up and snickered at it, but as soon as he tried to penetrate it, he went up in smoke. Slowly, Wyatt brought his shield down.
"Now I remember, Phoebe said that a demon tried to kill Maggie but she'd had no control over her body and she ended up nearly dying. So, maybe something happened before this premonition that made her stronger and so she was able to control her body?" Paige figured.
"Well, it all started when I touched Paige…" Phoebe added.
"Our past Phoebe said it started when she touched Piper, because we left her alone with her…" Prue interrupted thoughtfully.
"But, was that before I went into the premonition?"
"No, cause you called to me just as we left the room and Piper wasn't dead." Paige said sadly, "It was only once we came in to find you crying that we realised."
'Wow,' Piper thought, 'Prue and Paige's version of how Pheebs got the premonition is so different to Phoebes…' This was all getting to confusing for Phoebe as she tried to unravel the mystery.
"It doesn't matter how I got into the world, I was given this premonition for a reason, to save Piper," Phoebe stressed, and finally Wyatt spoke.
"Maybe I could go back in time, me and my younger self may be able to… to save… mum," He explained quietly. Prue and Paige turned to each other and then nodded.
"Right, I'll—"
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"Whoa!" Phoebe gasped as she was brought out of the premonition, and even though she was amazed she was still alive from the exhaustion she felt, she was still amazed at the sight of a swirling blue vortex that appeared opposite her. All the family that surrounded her back in her normal world turned and gasped as a handsome young blonde man stepped out of it.
"Wyatt…" Phoebe and Leo whispered as the silhouetted figure appeared out of the blue vortex.
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Please reveiw, sorry for not updating but this was a hard chapter.
