Work Itself Out
Once again we all headed downstairs and Piper started a pot of coffee. None of us noticed that Cole was still lurking around…well not until he decided to shimmer in right behind Piper. She let out a yelp and nearly dropped the coffee pot.
"Didn't mean to scare you. Just thought I'd ask what was for dinner," he said. Piper glared at him.
"You're not staying for dinner. We have some things to work out and we don't need any demonic interruptions," Piper told him.
"Piper," Phoebe groaned.
"What? It's not his business," she quipped back. For once I didn't feel like I was fighting a one-sided battle. Piper didn't want the demon there either.
"I get it. I know when I'm not wanted," he said, taking a small bow before shimmering out. Phoebe shot Piper a pleading look but my older sister just shook her head.
"We don't need him making things worse," Piper muttered, pouring each of us a cup of coffee.
"Ok so let's…do this," I said, sitting down at the kitchen table. My sisters and Brianna joined me and we all just stared at each other for a while. God was this awkward.
"So Mom said to get angry about what happened," I prompted.
"I think we need to deal with your issues first," Piper told me. I couldn't help but let out a little snort.
"What's so funny?" she snapped.
"Nothing…just you're avoiding talking about Prue," I mumbled.
"Ok…let's just get this over with," Phoebe muttered.
My sisters just looked at each other in silence. They looked pretty clueless. I couldn't really blame them. Phoebe finally opened her mouth to speak.
"I don't know what we're supposed to say. I mean yes I was scared to death when I got that premonition of Prue being attacked but I don't see how that really helps us at all," she admitted.
"Honestly…I wish she'd told us sooner. Keeping all of that emotion and fear inside didn't just put her at risk…it put all of us at risk. And we paid that price," Piper stated.
"But it wasn't Prue's fault that demon sent you into a coma," Phoebe defended.
"I know it wasn't. But if she'd been more in control of her emotions she wouldn't have froze," Piper rebutted.
"Piper, you sound like Grams," Phoebe accused.
"What are you talking about?" Piper shot back.
"While you were in a coma, you have no idea how much Grams blamed Prue for what happened," Phoebe answered. I just sat there watching and listening. I think this was what Mom wanted them to do.
"I'm not saying it was her fault, Phoebe. But she should have known by then that suppressing emotions in this family is never a good idea," Piper shot back.
"I can't believe you're acting like she asked for this," Phoebe shouted and I winced. This was getting ugly.
"I never said that! Do not put words in my mouth," Piper hissed.
"Uh…guys," I tried to interrupt but they ignored me.
"I'm surprised you're even taking Prue's side in this, the way you two fought," Piper snapped.
"Yeah well someone has to defend her," Phoebe retorted. I looked over at Brianna and could this was freaking her out.
"Guys shut up for two seconds!" I shouted and they looked at me.
"What?" the both snapped at me.
"I think you've sort of moved past the point of talking about your feelings," I said, my voice quieter than before.
"I guess we just never realized how much it hurt us too," Piper sighed.
"Yeah I mean…I never really thought about how much pent up anger I had about the whole thing…especially since she basically forbid us from talking about it," Phoebe added.
"You guys have a right to be angry about it. But blaming each other won't help," I stated calmly. Who knew I'd end up being the mediator in this.
"You're right. We shouldn't take our anger out on each other. We'll be back to square one," Phoebe admitted.
"But do you at least feel better now?" I asked.
"I do, yeah. It was good to get out those feelings," Piper answered and I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Me too. I guess my empathy power brought Prue and I closer during that time than I'd thought," Phoebe added. I watched my sisters turn to face Brianna.
"We don't want you to think we didn't love your Mom," Phoebe said gently.
"I know you did. It's just kind of scary seeing what her decisions did to you," Bree murmured.
"Had we been older we would have fought her to let you stay," Piper assured her.
"Thanks," she murmured. Phoebe sighed, a faint smile on her lips.
"Some of the tension is definitely gone," she announced. And with that they turned on me.
"Ok Missy Paige. Spill," Phoebe demanded.
"It's nothing," I tried to protest.
"Paige it's not nothing. It's never just nothing in this family," Piper remarked.
"I just feel like sometimes I don't fit in because you've been doing this your whole lives and I barely know anything. I just feel like you'd be better off without me," I admitted.
"Well honey, it's going to take time for you to learn things. We understand that," Phoebe stated.
"And we don't expect you to replace Prue," Piper added, not sounding entirely believable.
"I just feel like I have these huge shoes to fill and I can't do it no matter how hard I try," I sighed.
"Just give it time. We're going to figure out how we work best as a team. We're not going to just kick you out," Phoebe said, giving my hand a firm squeeze.
"Well I feel better too. I guess Mom knew what she was talking about," I heaved a sigh.
"Yeah, she's pretty good at that…even if she is dead," Piper mused.
"Did you know Prue summoned her a lot during that time? She never told us until afterwards," Phoebe said with a smile. We sat there all smiling at each other when I suddenly realized I needed to stop by work to start the paperwork to get Piper and Phoebe custody of Brianna.
"I have to go," I said abruptly.
"Go? Where?" Piper asked, sounding disappointed.
"I just have to stop by work and pick up some stuff," I answered. I was assuming they wanted custody. Of course if they didn't, I'd take her. I was still family after all.
"Can I go with you?" Bree asked.
"It's nothing real interesting. Just have to print out some paperwork," I told her.
"I still want to go," she pressed. I got the hint that she wanted to talk so I nodded and grabbed the keys to my car.
"We'll be back," I called over my shoulder as we headed out the front door.
"How you doing?" I asked once we were in the car.
"Ok I guess. It's still so crazy," she sighed.
"I know. But it will get better," I promised her again.
"So what do you have to pick up?" she probed.
"Oh just some forms that I'll need to fill out to get you out of the system and custody papers for Piper and Phoebe," I answered.
"You really think they want custody?" she gasped.
"I'm sure they do. And if they don't well then you'll just come live with me. I'm your Aunt too aren't I?" I replied. She nodded.
"Don't worry. By the end of the week you'll be with people who want you and understand your powers," I said as we pulled into the parking lot at South Bay Social Services. We both limbed out and headed inside. I was hoping to avoid my boss but not such luck.
"Paige, nice of you to stop by," he said, not sounding too happy.
"I'm sorry, I should have called. It's just some family things have come up. That's actually why I'm here," I rambled.
"See it turns out my sisters are actually Brianna's aunts…which makes me her aunt too. Anyways, I just need to get a copy of the custody paperwork," I continued.
"Wait a minute. You're telling me just now that you found relatives?" he asked.
"Yeah, see her mother's maiden name was Halliwell. I guess I never made the connection since Brianna's last name is Warren," I added, trying to explain myself in a hurry. I wanted to get this paperwork going as soon as I could.
"Ok, ok. Just don't miss work tomorrow," he scolded. I nodded and Bree and I headed over to my cubicle. I searched through my drawer until I found the paperwork I needed.
"Can you go make a copy of this for me?" I asked, pointing her in the direction of the copy machine. She nodded and headed over. I scanned my email messages quickly and typed hurried responses to a couple of them by the time Bree was done copying. I tossed the originals back in the folder and we headed out. I hoped my sisters would be receptive to this idea. Maybe it would help them move on from all the pain they'd been holding onto.