A/N: I take it FFN was being, well, FFN. Or not very many people liked the last chapter. Well, I would like to say that this chapter is the last of this subplot, and because of that, there is a lot of fluff at the end (I hope you don't mind). So yeah, I hope you enjoy!
Change Happens
Chapter 35: Rat A Tat Tat Demons
"Phoebe!" Cole placed his hand over his nose and mouth in a futile attempt to keep away the toxic gases from the smoke. He'd been all over the Underworld and back in an angry rage. He'd vanquished several demons in the process. But the fruitful moment came as he badgered a young Oracle, who had suddenly seen a vast explosion just before Cole had been ready to incinerate her.
"C-Cole?"
The half demon jolted across the dark remains, making his way to a pile of wooden and partially burnt debris. He could see a bloody arm sticking out of the wreckage, and as his eyes roamed further, he saw the head of his wife. She was buried to the neck under debris. He choked. "Phoebe?"
Cole Turner held out his hand. The air above his palm sizzled with electric yellow pulses, as a demonic ball of energy formed. He hurled the sphere into the pile, blasting it to bits in order to reveal the pull body of his wife. He growled in anger and pain.
He knelt down and removed the black suit jacket he was wearing. Carefully, he wrapped it around his wife's nude form and pulled her into his arms. "It's gonna be alright," he whispered into her ear. "We're going to get you back to Leo."
"C-Cole," Phoebe choked. A small trail of blood fled her pale lips.
"Don't speak."
"B-but P-ersia," the psychic protested.
"Where is she?"
Phoebe lifted her weak arm, which was draped slightly around her lover's neck. "O-ver th-there."
Cole's eyes shifted to the opposing end of the room. The wall had caved in, and from the billowing smoke, he couldn't see a thing. "I'll be back for her, I promise." He kissed his wife's forehead as he shimmered away.
----
"I've got something!" Prue flicked her head about. "Where's Paige?"
Piper moved her head up. "Paige!" She placed her hands around her mouth. "Paige!"
Suddenly Prue shook her head. "No time!" Her head dropped limply to her chest at the precise moment that the scrying crystal fell from her loose fingertips.
Piper moved to her limp sister's side, and touched the area on the San Francisco map with her index finger. "Where have I seen this place before?" She squinted, trying to piece together a memory long since passed. Then her eyes flashed wide. "That's right near Quake!" Her head bobbed backwards. "Leo!"
----
"Persia!" Astral Prue cupped her mouth, calling for her niece. "Persia Halliwell!" She squinted her eyes, creating a barrier of telekinetic energy and used it to send away the smoke. She saw no sign of James, nor her sister. But what did catch her blue eye was the leg that poked out from a pile of plaster. Had she not moved away the smoke, she never would've seen it.
The astral projection ran across the smoky room and waved her hand, moving away the burning white plaster. She dropped to her knees, touching the side of her niece's white face. As she removed her hand, she saw that gooey red blood covered it. She gasped.
Persia's arms hung loosely at her sides, while her hair was clumped together by thick red liquid. It spread out in a wide circle around her head, contrasting sharply with the burnt wreckage around it. Her golden speckled eyes were frozen wide in shock, and her lips were still parted in a partial circle.
Out of the corner of her eye, Astral Prue made out the soft glow of her brother-in-law's orbs. She gave a small squeak of relief as she saw her sister and Leo emerge from the twinkling blue and white lights. "Hurry," she choked, "she doesn't have much time!"
Leo staggered a little as he neared his niece. Flashes of Prue entered his mind, turning to look at his wife, he saw the same look of horror in her eyes. He moved to Persia's side and placed his hands to her head, creating a soft golden glow which spread over her massive head wound. In a mere matter of minutes, the pool reversed its glow and pulled back into her head. Leo gave a breath of relief as his niece sputtered to life.
"Thank god!" Piper whispered, dropping to her knees to hug her niece.
Astral Prue stroked Persia's golden-brown hair. "I'll see you at home." She blinked back salty beads, and vanished in a red flare of color.
"Where's mom?"
"She was here?"
Persia nodded. "I saw her…with him…just before I blasted him."
"You did this?" Piper gaped.
"We haven't seen him."
Persia's face blanched. "What if he still has her?"
----
"What're you doing?" Pam crossed her arms as she leaned in the doorway of her little cousin's bedroom.
Pandora pulled her hands from her head. "Someones else."
"What're you talking about?"
"Mow demons."
"Who?"
"Wed eyes."
"Red eyes?" Pam squinted. She grabbed her cousin's wrist. "Take me to them."
"Pam…" The telepath seemed to shrink back, frightened of the idea.
"Hide us then." Her voice softened. "I just want to see."
Pandora sniffled. "Okays." She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Simmer me." No sooner had the words left her mouth, did her body dissolve into her elder cousin's demonic shimmers.
----
Prue gasped as her head bobbed up. Hearing shuffling behind her, she whipped around to see Pearl, Cole, and Phoebe behind her. "Phoebe?" She nearly fell out of her chair as she scrambled to her sister. "Are you okay?"
"Prue." Phoebe tossed her arms around her big sister, hugging her with everything she had. Tears streamed down her face. She was thankful to simply be alive. "We have to find Persia," she wheezed.
"Persia's fine," the telekinetic assured. "She should be back with Piper and Leo any minute." Prue pursed her lips. "What about…"
"I don't know," the psionic admitted. "He left during the explosion."
"I'm gonna find that bastard and I'm gonna kill him!" Cole's face was contorted into a scarlet rage. He was unconsciously clenching his knuckles so hard that the bones appeared to be barely contained by the outer flesh.
A cloud of blue orbs descended from the ceiling, forming into three figures. Leo had his arm around his niece's shoulders, and his hand entwined with Piper's. His eyes seemed to bug. "Phoebe?"
Wordlessly, Piper ran to her sisters and joined them in the warm embrace. "Thank goodness," she sobbed into Phoebe's shoulders. "I was afraid I'd lost you."
Phoebe gently patted her sister's arm. "I'm fine." She squirmed from their grasp, moving slowly towards her eldest daughter. "Persia? Are you…I mean, is everything…"
"I'm fine," the electrokinetic replied automatically. She breezed past her mother and moved directly towards the Book of Shadows. "How do you vanquish him?"
"It requires a Power of Four spell," Phoebe explained.
"Where's Aunt Paige?"
"I'll go get her," the eldest offered. She moved from the room quickly. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage. She wanted nothing more than to vanquish James Kline as soon as humanly, or rather inhumanly, possible.
"What're you planning to do?"
Persia flicked through the yellowed pages without answer, until finally coming to a very familiar spell. "I'll need-"
"I know what you need," Piper said knowingly. She knew that spell all too well. "I'll be right back."
"The spell to call a lost witch," Phoebe murmured. "Piper used that to try and summon Prue after we thought she died the first time." To her, it seemed almost wrong to use the spell that had brought Paige to them, to find James. But then again, technically he was a witch, and technically it should work. Unless he's protecting himself. She touched her daughter's shoulder. But she wounded him pretty badly.
"Is the vanquishing spell all you need?"
"No." Phoebe moved to a small chest and produced a box of school chalk. She knelt to the ground and proceeded to draw a massive Triquetra on the hardwood floor. "The last time we killed him, we used this." She pocketed the chalk as she finished, and stepped back to admire her work. She brushed her hands, allowing the soft white powder to fill the air and tickle her nose.
"Pheebs. Thank Goddess!" Paige threw her arms around Phoebe as she entered the room, just heels ahead of Prue.
"I've got it," Piper announced. She stood in the doorway with a metal bowl filled with crushed spell ingredients. She set the bowl on a small table near the middle of the room. "It requires your blood, though."
"I know." Persia seated herself at the table and held her hand over the metal bowl.
Piper hesitantly handed an athame to her niece.
"Power of the witches' rise. Course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near. Come to us and settle here." The Child of Light calmly took the athame and sliced the tip of her finger, drawing forth several drops of blood into the pot. "Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."
The air instantly chilled the room, followed by a particularly vicious gust of wind. It began to whirl and spin into a large funnel. In fact, it was even forceful enough to send the metal bowl flying off the table. From within the core of the funnel, a shape began to materialize. A man. A witch.
James Kline appeared, bringing a chilling silence along with him. His hair was singed, and his bare chest was marked with a long, zigzagging scar from the monstrous bolt that Persia had conjured. His eyes were glowing a menacing red.
Just as they had about eleven years earlier, the sisters got into position. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe took stances on the three outer arcs of the chalk drawn Triquetra, whilst Paige assumed her place within its hidden center.
James narrowed his eyes and flames billowed into the open air, heading straight for the Charmed sister. Flicking his arm, another stream of red-orange darted at Phoebe, in particular.
Prue's blue eyes became a familiar squint as the first burst halted inches before her face and reversed.
A split second later, Phoebe took to the air as the second blast billowed towards her. As she turned in the air, she saw Paige orb out, and then the flames came to a halt as she watched Piper throw up her hands. The psychic descended.
"I've got this!" Cole growled, having had enough of James' antics. He lunged at the witch from behind, bringing them both to the ground. His hands curled into fists and he began to beat the muscular man with more brutality than Phoebe had ever seen before.
At the first sign of Paige's reappearing orbs, Piper flicked her wrists again. The fire blast went up in a dark black explosion, causing her to fall into a small fit of coughs. She squinted her eyes went she felt Paige's hand on her shoulder. "Let's get this over with!" She held out her hands, beckoning her sisters to join her. When she felt a cold wind blow her hair back, she knew they'd all found a way to interlock, just like before.
Feeling the wind, Persia also neared the bloody scene in front of them. "Dad."
Cole froze. His face was splattered with blood, as were his fists and clothing. He craned his neck, staring at his step-daughter. Is she under his spell again?
James sniggered, taking the moment to ram his fists into Cole's stomach and send him flying across the room. "I knew she'd come back to me!" He staggered to his full height and approached the Child of Light. "Persia," he crooned. "It's time to join me."
Persia neared the bloody witch, extending her hand. "I know." Her hand fit perfectly within her father's blood covered one. As one, they turned towards her aunts and mother.
"Kill them."
The electrokinetic held out a sparking hand, aiming directly for Prue. "Not a chance!"
"Agh!" James' body began to emit violent yellow sparks.
Persia yanked her hand away from his, ceasing the electric attack. "Go to hell!" Her electric bolt entered through his stomach and exited his back, forcing him to come in contact with the attack wall. "Now!"
"With the Power of Four, you are no more!"
Blood trickled from the side of the pyro's mouth. His eyes bugged from his head. "H-how could you?" They were locked on his daughter.
"With the Power of Four, you are no more!"
Persia didn't bother to answer. She simply held his gaze as she continued her electric assault.
"With the Power of Four, you are no more!"
Flames leapt from James Kline's body. Like a tornado, they spun around him angrily.
Cole moved to his step-daughter's side, and wrapped his arms around her in the way only a true father could.
"With the Power of Four, you are no more!"
The skin melted from his face, leaving only glowing bone under it. And with a cataclysmic explosion, his body tore in every direction possible. Blood spewed across the walls and flames charred everything in sight.
Cole hugged Persia as he turned her away from the vanquish, shielding her body with his own. Although he knew she'd never admit it, he was positive he heard a soft whimper under the roar of the explosion.
----
Glenn jumped at the sound of a picture frame crashing to the floor. It was of Andy, Prue, Pandora, and Phae at the hospital, just the day after Phae's birth. His eyes lifted to the door, knowing that the cause of the Manor rattling like that had to of been the vanquish they'd all been after. He cringed a little.
As the mortal knelt down to collect the glass that had fallen, he winced as a piece pierced his finger. A small drop of blood instantly pooled from the cut, and he dabbed it on his jeans.
"What're you doing?"
"Did you vanquish him?"
"Yes."
"I think the explosion knocked the picture off the wall." Glenn shook the picture free of the broken glass, holding it up for Paige to see. "It shook the entire house."
"Sorry." Paige moved to her husband and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"Where's Prue?"
"Checking on Pandora." Paige glanced at the wall of bricks that was her brother-in-law. "I came to change him back."
"How're you planning on explaining the time difference."
"I don't know. I just want to focus on changing him back." Paige turned promptly to the bricks. "Andy." She squinted when nothing happened. "Andy!" Again, no result.
Glenn moved his arms around her slender waist. "Calm down. Take a deep breath." As she did so, he gently stroked the side of her cheek. Then he took her arm in his, entwined their fingers, and pointed to the brick wall. "Now turn him back."
Closing her brown eyes she whispered, "Andy." When she opened them again, she found her brother-in-law in the flesh.
Andy stumbled forth. "What the hell?" He blinked several times, trying to clear his mind. "Ph-Phae. Phae! Where is she?"
"She's fine," Glenn assured. He flicked his hand towards the sleeping infant in the bassinet.
"What happened?"
Paige crossed her arms. "It's a long story," she sighed.
"Paige."
"Look, Andy, please. Just trust me. Everything's taken care of."
"Did Piper freeze me?"
"No."
Andy glared. "Glenn," he said suddenly, "do I even want to know?"
Glenn snickered. "I doubt it."
The door creaked open before Andy could reply, revealing the figures of Prue and Pandora.
"Daddy," the telepath smiled. She ran from her mother to her father and threw her arms around his leg, hugging him with all her tiny might.
Andy scooped his little girl into his arms and nuzzled her cheek. "I'm sorry about your birthday, muffin."
Pandora nodded understandingly. "T'okay."
Prue moved to the bassinet and stared lovingly at her child. As much as she wanted to collect the pink bundle from the bed, she knew that the momentary peace was far more important. "How've things been up here?"
The mortal men exchanged glances.
"Is there something I should know?" Prue placed her hands on her hips.
"Nope." To further silence her, he quickly pecked her lips.
"I think we should go," Glenn announced. He edged his wife to the door, winking thankfully at his friend.
Unbeknownst to Paige and Prue, Andy winked back.
----
"Dad?" Pam poked her head into Persia's room. Behind her back, she curled her fists in jealousy. She hated seeing her father with Persia. After all, he was her dad, not Persia's.
"Yes?"
Persia dabbed her nose with a tissue as she eyed her half sister. "What's up, kiddo?"
"I just wanted to give my dad a hug," Pamela replied.
"Pam."
"What?" The Blessed One shrugged her shoulders as she walked to her father. "Are you okay?"
Cole frowned. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Just because." Pam climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her father. "You seemed sad."
Persia narrowed her eyes, sensing something strange going on. "Are you okay, Pam?"
"Fine," the little girl snapped. "I'm, uh, gonna go back to the Manor."
Cole furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"Yep." The witch-demon flashed a toothy smile at her father and darted from the room, shutting the door behind her. Once safely outside the door, she held out her hand. A neon yellow energy ball crackled above her palm. Then she, energy ball and all, shimmered out.
----
Piper shook her head in dismay. "I can't believe this happened again."
"It wasn't your fault."
"I know. But still." She threw her hands into the air. "We can't even have normal birthday parties! Leo, how awful is that? I can't even throw my niece a happy birthday."
The whitelighter kissed the top of her head. "Do you want me to help clean up?"
Piper pursed her lips. "I'm half tempted to use that spell Paige likes to much."
"The objection one?"
"Yeah," Piper nodded. "That's it." She placed her hand on her hip. "But I won't, if only to avoid further consequences." She suddenly bit her lip. "Leo?"
"Hmm?"
"There's still one thing we haven't figured out."
"And that is?"
"How he came back."
Leo scratched his head. "Do you want me to go ask The Elders?"
"Yeah," the witch replied distantly. "I guess. Yes." As her husband orbed out, she moved to the now cooled hunk of plastic that was formally her refrigerator. "Let the object of objection become but a dream, as I cause the seen to be unseen." She watched with delight as white spheres engulfed the fridge and returned it to its former glory.
----
Pamela Turner stepped out from behind the boulder she'd appeared behind. The glowing yellow energy ball still heavy above her palm.
"We should attack the sisters now, while they're vulnerable and believe that they've vanquished their true foe." The voice belonged to a rat demon with inky black eyes and Jaundice skin. His graying, thin hair was slicked back on his otherwise bald head.
"I still say we should've attacked earlier, as planned."
"Well we can't do that now, can we?"
"It would have never worked anyway! The remaining sisters were working too closely with each other. We never would've stood a chance."
The African American rat demon raised his arm, silencing the rest of the fussy pack. "We'll go now!"
"Agh!" The Jaundice skinned demon howled as his body erupted in flames, vanquishing him instantly.
Pamela instantly felt all the piercing red and black eyes on her. She smiled arrogantly, producing another stolen energy ball.
"What do we have here?"
"A Charmed child."
Pam tossed the energy ball, again hitting another of the pack and killing him.
"Kill her," the dark skinned leader ordered. His eyes glittered as the Blessed child slaughtered another of his rat pack, and then another. "No! I'll kill her!" He lunged at the child, grabbing for her ankles only to have her shimmer from his grasp.
----
Persia slunk into her pillows as her step-father slipped out of her room. Once his footsteps had faded away, she placed her hand to the golden locket on her neck. She needed someone to talk to right now, and not just anybody would do. Her hands moved around her neck, unclasping the golden necklace and catching it in her palm.
The witch laid the necklace on the bed and simply admired it for several moments. She briefly wondered what Pamela Walker was doing in the alternate world. Slowly, she moved her hands to the locket and pried it open. To her dismay, nothing appeared. "Pam?" She tapped her fingers as the seconds ticked away. "Pamela?"
Little did Persia Halliwell know that at the time, Pamela Walker wasn't even herself. In fact, she was being controlled by a government devise that had been implanted into her body. It was something that Persia could have never known about, because in her world, sub-dermal governors didn't exist.
Sighing, the electrokinetic closed the locket and placed it back around her neck. "I'm sure she's just indisposed at the moment," she assured herself. It was what she wanted to believe, anyway. That perhaps Pamela Walker was in one of her journalism classes and couldn't be disturbed by a magic locket. Her thoughts, however, were disturbed by a rough knock at her door.
"Who is it?"
"Tyler."
Momentarily forgetting about her woes, she said, "Come in." The witch couldn't help but allow herself a small smile. She always loved Tyler's company.
"Hey."
"Hey." She patted a spot beside her on her bed, beckoning the Firestarter to come sit by her. "What's up?"
"I was hoping to ask you that."
"Oh?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," the blonde admitted sheepishly. "You seemed a little upset when you left the Manor earlier."
"It's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
Tyler frowned. "Are you sure I can't weasel it out of you over, oh I don't know, chocolate ice cream?"
The Child of Light pursed her lips. "Mmm. I dunno. You payin'?"
"Maybe…"
The electric witch slipped off her bed. "Okay," she grinned, "just let me get my purse."
Tyler smirked. "I'll meet you in the car," he informed as he left the room.
----
Pam Turner folded her arms. She stood proudly in the center of the Underworld cave, surrounded by dark scorch marks. The little witch-demon had achieved what her Phoebe, Piper, and Paige couldn't. She'd killed off an entire pack of rat demons single handedly.
The child spun around with wide eyes. She may have killed them off, but she knew there was one thing that she'd missed. "Where are you?" She called into the open air. She received no response. "I know you were working with them! I saw you when I came with Pandora." She crossed her arms.
Who he was, she wasn't certain. But something in the back of her mind was telling her that he'd helped the rat demons bring back Persia's father. "I'll find you," she growled vehemently. "And I'm gonna vanquish you. That's a promise." She conducted another three-sixty sweep of the room, and then shimmered out mid stride.
Several seconds later, the silver silhouette of the Alchemist appeared. His face bore a small scowl and his arms were folded over his chest. "Not if I find you first, Miss Turner."
----
Piper was beginning to unravel the knot of her bathrobe when she left strong hands on her shoulders. "Hey there."
"I thought you were cleaning up?"
"I decided I needed a cleansing shower," Piper admitted sorrowfully. "It's been a long day." She twirled in Leo's arms. "Did you find anything?"
Leo shook his head. "They think an Alchemist was responsible for his return, but they can't be for sure. And if they're right, they can't pinpoint it. There are Alchemists all over the Underworld."
"So our hands are tied?"
"Pretty much."
"What's to stop him from bringing James back again?"
"James was a powerful witch," Leo explained. "If an Alchemist did bring him back, it'll be a long time before he'll be able to do it again. It's very draining for them."
"I see." Piper pulled open the shower door and slipped her foot inside.
Leo blinked. "Aren't you planning on telling your sisters?"
"Yes, but not right now." Piper slipped her hands down Leo's chest, unbuttoning his flannel shirt. "Right now you and I are going to take a shower. Weak Alchemists are tomorrow's problem."
"Are you-" Leo closed his eyes, submitting to his wife's advances. As their lips parted, he followed her into the shower. "Okay then."
----
"Where's your mom?"
"Huh?"
Cole frowned. "Didn't you go see your mom earlier?"
"Oh!" Pam flashed a grin. "Right. Yes, I did. And, uhm, she's staying at the Manor for a while." She crossed the living room and crawled onto the sofa, snuggling up next to her father. "What're you doing?"
"Trying to find something good to watch."
Pamela reached across her father's chest, grabbing the controller two cushions away. "I see we watch 'Rugrats' reruns on Nick." She flipped the channel to thirty-six.
Cole shrugged. It hadn't been exactly what he'd had in mind, but he couldn't exactly say no to his daughter. Not when it meant intervening in father-daughter time, which he rarely got because of their hectic lives. "Okay," he laughed. "'Rugrats' it is."
----
"Mom! Open up!" Phiona thudded her fist against the door of her mother's bedroom.
"Something wrong, Phi?"
Phiona spun around. Her cheeks reddened as she saw her Uncle Glenn. "Oh, hey…Erm…"
Glenn's brow rose. "Something I can help with?"
"Well…" The witchlighter chewed her lower lip, glancing down the hallway. "I think mom and dad are in the shower, and uhm, we need more pull-ups for Prissy."
Glenn scratched his head, slightly uncomfortable. "Oh. And you couldn't find anyone else?"
"Aunt Prue and Uncle Andy left about twenty ten minutes ago, and I think Aunt Paige is having an important conversation with Aunt Phoebe."
Glenn shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Where is Priss?"
Phiona flicked her wrist, ushering her uncle down the hall to the bathroom, where Pearl was sitting on the edge of the bathtub and Prissy was sitting on top of the toilet with her legs pulled to her chest.
"What are you doing here?" Pearl asked, jumping to her feet and standing in front of Prissandra.
"I heard Priss was having a little trouble with the whole potting training thing."
"'Cident," Prissy sniffled.
The mortal moved past his daughter and knelt down in front of his niece. He ruffled her brown hair and kissed her forehead. "What d'ya say the four of us go down and get some new Disney Princesses pull-ups?"
"Wif Cindyella?"
"With Cinderella." Glenn scooped his niece into his arms and motioned for Pearl and Phiona to follow him. "If you don't tell your mothers, I think we might be able to stop at the candy store too."
----
Paige crawled onto Prue's bed, curling up next to a shaken but healed Phoebe. "Hey."
"Hey."
Paige rubbed her older sister's back. "Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
"I'm sorry."
Phoebe sighed. "I know." She pulled the covers up to her chin. "It's just that…"
"I know."
"No." Phoebe pursed her lips. "No you don't. You don't know what it's like to be completely violated."
The youngest hung her head. "What happened?"
"Are you asking if he raped me again?" Phoebe turned a shameful head towards the window. "The answer's no. Had it not been for Persia, he would have. He was about to." She wiped away a wet dot from the corner of her eye.
Paige wrapped her arms around her big sister, pulling her close. "I'm sorry."
"I know you are, baby." The psychic nuzzled her face into her baby sister's soft, dark hair.
"I should've tried harder."
"Paige…"
"No. You're my sister! I don't know how I could've let him get away with taking you! I mean, I was right there and I didn't even…"
"Stop it!" Phoebe touched the side of her baby sister's face. "He made himself immune to our powers. You couldn't have done anything differently."
Paige gripped her sister's arm. "I don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"You."
"What?"
"You're so strong, Phoebe. I mean, with everything he did to you. I would've died."
"I did. I died a little every day. For those nine months, I died a little more each day that I carried her. Just knowing that he was growing inside me made me feel so disgusting." Phoebe swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Then how?"
"I scheduled an abortion." Phoebe paused, collecting how she wanted to handle the next sentence. "I was in the waiting room for full three hours before they called me in. I was ready to go through with it right up until the point where I sat down on the metal table, and the nurse left me to go tell the doctor I was ready."
"What made you stop?"
"Mom."
"Mom?"
"I can't really explain it. I just started thinking about her, and how I never got a chance to know her. And that made me realize that it wasn't just James' baby I was carrying. She was part of me. Part of mom and dad and Piper, Grams, and even Prue. And then I knew I couldn't go through with it. James' evils weren't her fault, so why punish her for it? I asked myself what would it have proven anyway. I wasn't punishing him."
Paige gently massaged her sister's shoulders. "What happened after that? What were you going to do?"
"I thought about calling up Piper, but that idea was dismissed quickly. Prue and I had problems back then, and I knew she wouldn't take it well. Besides, I didn't want to imposition Grams, who already had a heart condition at the time. And I considered keeping her for a time, but I knew I'd never be able to afford it. So the next logical step was adoption."
"That must have been so hard."
"Like you have no idea." Phoebe snuggled closer to her sister. "Holding that newborn baby in your arms and knowing you can't keep her. It's one of the most horrible feelings in the world. Perhaps worse than dying."
Paige's lips parted several times before she uttered, "Do you think that's how mom felt when she held me?"
"Oh Paigey…" Phoebe smoothed Paige's hair with her hand. Wordlessly, she embraced her long lost sister and together, in the silence of Prue's room, she just held her.
TO BE CONTINUED….
