CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Paige nodded. "That's what Chris said and I tried to tell her that she had it all wrong, but she refused to believe me."

I couldn't help my own snicker. "Yeah, you can tell Prudence Halliwell plenty, but you can't tell her much!"

She nodded. "I tried to explain it without giving away Chris' secret, so I told her that we only meant love in a friendship kind of way. But she still refused to believe us. Phoebs, she told us that if she had come along much later, Chris and I would've been lying on the bridge, flinging off each other's clothes, and there was tinge of jealousy in her voice. Chris was disgusted, so she told him not to be embarrassed, because she wanted to congratulate us both for being such a cute couple! So I tried to explain that we weren't a couple, but she still refused to believe me."

"So how did you finally convince her?" I wanted to know.

"I didn't. Chris gave a heavy sigh, shaking his head, and said he'd given up, to just tell her the truth."

"You're kidding!" I cried, shocked.

"No I'm not. I asked him if he was sure and he nodded. Prue was triumphant, certain that we were about to admit that we were a couple, and what a cute couple we were! You should've seen the shock on her face when Chris told her the truth!"

Again I couldn't help snickering. "Oh, I wish I could've seen that!"

"Prue thought that he's grownup Wyatt, which made him shudder, but then he explained that he's Wyatt's little brother. You told me how smart Prue is, and you're right. She put two and two together and realized what she'd done by interrupting Piper and Leo."

"Oh, no! Poor Prue! She must've been devastated! She was only trying to help!"

Paige nodded. "Especially when he admitted that if they don't get together soon, it's all over for him. Prue begged for his forgiveness and he admitted that she didn't know."

"Wish he could be that understanding to Leo," I grumbled. "I'll bet Leo would beg for his forgiveness if he knew who Chris really is."

"Phoebe! So I told her that I knew and that is why I went to get my father rather than bug Leo. And Prue actually admitted that she should have left it up to me. She said she was so used to always being the one who came up with the great idea, but that time this time she should have listened to me."

"Congratulations, Paige! I don't think Prue ever admitted that to me or Piper and I don't think she ever would!"

She smiled. "She must've been feeling pretty sheepish about it, because she changed the subject, quick. She congratulated my father for getting his wings back, and my father told her that his daughter--me!--helped him get them back. Oh, Phoebs, you should've heard the pride in his voice!"

I grinned, as I hugged her. "We're all proud of you, sister mine."

She smiled. "I know. And Prue said she was glad that I'm one of the Charmed Ones, so I thanked her. That means a lot to me."

And I hugged her again, so very happy that she'd finally stopped feeling inferior to Prue--I remembered how I felt when Prue finally told me that she was proud of me and the way I handled my power of premonition, one of the best moments of my entire life.

"Then Father told me that he was going to leave if we didn't need him any more, since he has charges of his own now. So I thanked him for coming and he kissed me on the forehead before he orbed out."

"Sounds like you've had yourself quite a day!"

She grinned. "Yeah, I have, haven't I? And I tried to make Chris' better, too. I turned to him and told him not to worry, that I'd do whatever I could to help and be sure to get you behind that, too."

"No need to do that. I was behind him, willing to help, even before you knew!"

"Yeah, and I still can't believe you didn't tell me!"

I grinned. "See, I can keep a secret if I have to. And then you guys orbed back and that must've been when Leo brought me back from the party, so I could say good-bye to Prue."

Paige shook her head. "Not quite yet. Prue was still feeling pretty awful about what she'd done to Chris. Phoebs, she declared that she would fix Chris' problem."

"Huh? How can Prue help?" I wanted to know. "As a Valkyrie, she has to stay in Valhalla."

She nodded. "But Prue declared that she would pass on becoming a Valkyrie. She wouldn't go with Mist back to Valhalla, but regain her Charmed powers and use every one of them to make sure that Leo and Piper got back together, if she had to TK them together herself!"

"No!" I screamed, once more wrapped up in Paige's story even though I knew how it would turn out. "If she did that, she'd die!"

Paige nodded. "Chris screamed the same thing, but Prue was stubborn. She said there were some things that are more important than saving her own life and fixing her earlier mistake definitely was."

"PRUE! NO! PLEASE, NO!" and tears came to my eyes.

Again Paige nodded. "I told her that she couldn't do it, because it would kill you and Piper! I begged her to let me take care of it."

"And did she agree?" I asked, begging with my eyes.

"Not right away. She was determined that she could help, but Chris blurted out that she already made the mistake of not leaving it to me once and begged her not to do it again."

"Whoops!" I cried, knowing that that would've certainly stopped me, but not sure if it would stop my oldest sister who is even more stubborn than my younger nephew!.

Just letting you guys know that this is the next-to-the-last chapter of this fic! Thanks so much for sticking through it!! The finale will be posted tomorrow.