With each detail, minor or major, Pattie's face grew more and more flushed. Phoebe was sure she'd cry through the whole explanation, but oddly enough her niece pulled herself together. She leaned on Phoebe both physically and emotionally, relying on her aunt to get her through this tough explanation.
They were still relatively early on into the story, and it wasn't easy for either of them to hear. Piper didn't want to admit it, but she knew some part of her was a bit jealous of Pattie's situation. Ever since the day of Prue's death she'd hoped – no, she'd begged and prayed – that she could be spared even five minutes with her sister. Just another lost moment, another forgotten "I love you", or a desperately needed hug was all Piper wanted. She loved Phoebe with every ounce of compassion in her and both cherished and adored Paige and the sprightly personality that came with her, but she felt selfish to believe that it wasn't enough. As she enfolded her little sisters in a hug, telling them how much they meant to her before either would leave to return to their own homes, was it honestly fair that she secretly desired her big sister again to do the same with her?
Until this problem had been dropped at their feet, she'd wondered how much Phoebe wanted the same thing. It was, by far, clear to Piper how the brunt of the loss had weighed in on Pattie with her young age and critical need to have her mother. She spent many evenings with her fragile niece curled up in her arms sobbing because it was the only thing her mind could process, the only thing that made sense. There were just as many where Phoebe or Paige braced themselves to deal with one of those moments and even more where Pattie forced herself to internalize that pain. Piper remembered a night where she lingered in the doorway to the conservatory as Pattie held a picture of her mother in her hands, staring not at it but past it as if she were remembering some instant in time. She would look ready to fall apart and as Piper was prepared to go in and comfort her suddenly Pattie took one deep breath, placed the picture in it's resting place, and calmly walked out of the room without noticing her.
Piper had listened outside Pattie's door that night for sounds of whimpering, understandably worried. She'd even gone to tell her niece goodnight, but all was quiet and Pattie had fallen asleep without one tear. The next morning she'd bounded down the stairs in a joyful mood, asking if she could meet Emily after school for a movie. When Piper confronted Phoebe about this, she'd smiled fondly, remarking how much more Prue showed up in her every day, and then turned left Piper alone in the kitchen.
The was what made Piper wonder.
Phoebe had been the one to try to be strong after their sister's death and hold her own so they, as witches, weren't completely destroyed. She concealed any hurt she kept far back in her mind, rarely mentioning Prue to Piper's knowledge except when Pattie would bring her up. It seemed keeping her emotions balled up was her way of dealing. Either way, she knew now Phoebe craved for her just as much.
What was most difficult for Piper to realize was that Paige missed Prue, maybe more than they did.
She'd wondered for seven years now what was going on in her sister's head on these types of days. Both sisters had figured long ago that she just didn't know how to feel. How could you miss someone you never knew?
But today she'd caught a glimpse of Paige's face as Sandra and Pattie bantered back and forth, glazed over with a wistful stare. Every time Pattie said the word 'Mom' or Sandra uttered Prue's name it increased and because Piper, too, had that same longing gaze she just knew.
And then she mentally kicked herself for not noticing sooner.
Piper recognized now that she and Phoebe had underestimated Paige's feelings. They'd assumed, wrongfully, that she was just being a good aunt on that first dreadful October 28th where Pattie had begged to see her mother and Paige volunteered to take her to visit Prue's grave. It'd become a habitual thing, Paige would offer on those painful days where Pattie was suffering and she'd graciously accept, sometimes bringing Phoebe and Piper along for company. They'd thought all the times she looked at photo albums, studied Prue's work with magic, or listened to Pattie's endless memories it'd been out of curiosity, obligation as a witch, or duty to be a loving aunt.
They'd been too wrapped up in their own problems to comprehend that, all along, they'd neglected their baby sister's silent calls for some enlightenment on the subject of their eldest sister because she did truly miss her.
That needed to change; they had to help Paige and themselves.
Which, with no doubt, came to helping Pattie.
Pattie and all three sisters were linked on an emotional level. With her hurt came their anguish and following her smiles calmed their nerves. Piper fathomed that it was because of their strong presence in her life as her guardians, the ones who'd raised her since that terrible day seven years past. She herself had that with her children and Phoebe developed it with Kyra immediately. If they could face Pattie's grievous mistake together, maybe they could help each other overcome their severe heartache. Or at least lessen it.
She listened to Pattie unveil every aspect of her experience, trying to lock eyes with her niece but finding it difficult when Pattie wouldn't tear her gaze away from the ocean as a wave rolled to shore or the solid stone. As hard as she tried to be angry with Pattie for disobeying the rules of magic and then handling her encounters less than smoothly, Piper just couldn't convince herself to feel any bit of frustration. By the empathetic look in Phoebe's eyes as she took in the information, Piper gathered her sister couldn't either. Imagining being thrust into her sister's arms for the first time in years without warning, Piper quickly came to the conclusion she'd be just as confused.
In the end, Pattie had done something Piper would never have the courage to do.
"I told her my name was Elizabeth because, well, I had to tell her something or I kind of figured she'd think I was a demon and I'd be facing the wrath of Prue Halliwell, which I liked to avoid whenever possible," Pattie said, smiling a little at her own comment.
Phoebe and Piper did too. "Sound about right," Piper remembered.
"What else did you tell her?" Phoebe asked.
"That I was fifteen and I was born in North Beach, because I was. I told her that was all she could know, but she wanted more. She wanted to know about my parents because she thought they'd worry about me," she replied, parroting the information she'd fed Prue during their first encounter. Phoebe felt her mind swell, how had Pattie handled that question? Reading Phoebe's mind, Pattie continued, "I told her the truth. I said my father wasn't living anymore and that my mother would know that she wouldn't have to worry about me."
Phoebe couldn't help it, she scoffed. "How was that the truth?"
Pattie looked up at her, leveling her gaze with a sly stare." I never said that my mom wasn't…alive."
Considering that, Phoebe realized she was right. "You really do have Halliwell blood in you."
"As if there was ever a second thought about that," Piper corrected her immediately and then focused on Pattie again, taking on of her hands. "Go on." Pattie did, she further went into the demon attack, how she couldn't leave well enough alone with the athamae. She began to get into it, even giggling a little.
Visualizing the vanquish in her mind, feeling the athamae wrapped in the tight enclosure of her palm, Pattie explained, "Well, Mom threw him into a wall and then you froze him. He was pissing me off and you guys weren't doing anything. It just kind of…slipped and then he exploded." She emphasized the explosion with her hands, making light of the situation.
"Ah, yes, it just slipped," Phoebe chuckled. "Face it kid, you're one for the action."
"She was too," Piper added, downing the spirit in the atmosphere as Pattie stopped laughing.
The nightmare incident came next as Pattie delved into the experience she'd forgotten, being comforted by her mother. She looked at Phoebe as she explained the conversation, the misjudgment of demon fear and the arrival of her younger self at the perfect moment. "Figures I could count on myself to save me from an dangerous conversation."
"I still can't believe we bought the whole 'Elizabeth' thing," Phoebe interrupted as she pieced the portions of her story together. "I would think we'd be smart enough to catch on to that." She quickly silenced herself when she went to say, yet again, Pattie's similarities to Prue.
"Not your fault," Pattie dismissed her. "It's not like there weren't other problems. I went up to my old room with myself and started finding old memories, like my beanie babies. I played around with little me, giving facts that only I would know like when I got them."
Piper looked up, surprised. "Her or…your reaction?"
"Absolutely amazed. I started talking to her, telling her we were alike and that one day soon something bad was going to happen but that she was aloud to move on and be happy. No one would be mad. And then I said that she couldn't control this thing, because it was destiny." Pattie blinked back tears, "And you can't stop destiny."
"Oh sweetie," Phoebe soothed her, brushing the bangs from her eyes, "you really need to take your own advice, you know that? The only one who's ever been mad at you for moving on is yourself."
Pattie sniffled, but did not cry. "I know."
"Pattie," Piper prompted, placing a hand on her chin and directing it towards her, "if we could have stopped this, if there was anything to do about it you know we would have right?" Pattie nodded unconvincingly, at which Piper sighed. Prue would have known what to do in this situation, what to say.
But then again, had Prue been here the situation wouldn't exist in the first place.
"She seemed to get it then, why can't I just understand it now?" Pattie screamed, frustrated with her raging hormones more than anything else.
"Circumstances affect us more than we realize. We don't know how to feel…what to do…" Pattie knew Piper was right.
"I didn't know what to do, so I summoned a little help from Grandma," Pattie went on, and Phoebe recollected what Sandra had said about Patty's fighting to aid her granddaughter on her journey. "She knew who I was right away, and I told her how I couldn't tell you who I was because I was still afraid of what would come of it. Then, she found out about mom."
Both Piper and Phoebe figured as much, knowing that confiding in a ghost brought no repercussions because they had no power in affecting the future.
"What'd she say?" Phoebe wanted to know.
"What do you think she said? She gave me the textbook answer! That I should tell her who I was. That she couldn't do any more than point me in the right direction. That if I didn't act fast the Elders would intervene. Obviously she was wrong about that part," Pattie muttered, cursing under her breath at the thought of the Elders, but then returning her mind to the thought of her grandmother. Patty, whose last thought was to remind her that she was loved, to have her think of her family, to be safe. No wonder the family had so much good in it. With remnants of shame, she dropped her head, "she was right. I had to tell them. What I didn't realize was that little me already knew."
Phoebe gasped, choking on the salty morning air. "You did?"
"Of course, because I'm just a genius," Pattie answered, trying to smile. Phoebe rolled her eyes, but Pattie's grin disappeared as fast as it had come. "Then you all found out when mom saw the birthmark on my wrist. She put her hands on my face and I felt all of that love she had for me. All of that motherly compassion I'd been missing. And she asked why she hadn't seen it sooner. She outed me in front of you two and I wasn't ready for you to know. So I…I panicked and I did the one thing I knew how to do." Pattie didn't realize that she'd placed her hands on her face in a similar fashion to how Prue had, that she was shaking harder as the moment struck, then her voice was dwindling. "I ran."
The next part stung as she explained the adventure to the park, how she sat for what seemed like hours until Phoebe showed up. Her aunts were being strangely calm over the whole incident and she was pleasantly surprised for that. It's not like she'd expected them to blow up and disown her over the entire circumstance, but she didn't expect her aunts to laugh along with the small jokes and keep her so close.
But after all, wasn't that just what family did?
She went into careful detail about her conversation with Phoebe, watching Piper's face light up when she mentioned the bit about the stars. Following through the beginning of the argument, her voice faded when she came to the critical point where she admitted to telling Phoebe about Prue. Piling information on top of information, Pattie continued through the walk to the graveyard, her confrontation with her mother, her breakdown and then the ultimate slip of the tongue. Both Phoebe and Piper seemed to stop breathing and turn blue at that moment, as if cutting their brains off from taking in anything else.
It was surreal to be sitting on this rock retelling the moments she shared with her mother, hard to believe they'd actually occurred. For her, it was like those two days were trapped inside a snow globe where she could remember but not get close enough to touch. Soon she'd wonder if she just dreamed it.
Then came the car ride home, an explanation of how she'd closed herself off from everyone and how Leo entered into the picture. Pattie described her nightmare, the happy dream that followed it, and what memory she had of waking up the next morning. She included every piece that stuck in her mind because Pattie feared missing the most miniscule specification might be missing the most vital. When she came to Penny's presence in it all, Pattie laughed, "I did not doubt Grams would show up to add her two cents in." She moved on to the subject of Darryl, "It wasn't hard to convince him of who I was. He told me to do anything for us and I silently asked him to say that in five years." And then, landed on her meeting of Paige. "She was just like when we met her, except so much different, because she didn't have us."
Piper remembered Paige's sleek black hair and independent demeanor. Phoebe recalled her hidden innocence and pure desire to do anything fun. She was a free spirit.
Phoebe pressed for more from Pattie, who'd now quieted to let everything she'd said sink in. "Why were you going to all this trouble? To see Darryl? Paige? Honey, I know the way your mind works. You wouldn't put yourself through all these risky visits if you didn't have a plan."
Pattie wasn't sure why she looked to Piper for support, her aunt watched her even more curiously than Phoebe. Steadying her heart rate, which was speeding up as she neared closer to the subject of what she'd attempted, Pattie covered her eyes with her hands and took mouthfuls of air.
"What was Sandra saying to you about watching it? What did you do?" Piper finally dared to ask.
"I watched her die," Pattie mumbled, shaking like a leaf, "again."
Piper and Phoebe shared a look and when Phoebe went to offer some words of sympathy, nothing came out.
"When Grandma and Grams came to visit me, Grandma told me to utilize all of my allies. So I thought about it. I'd messed everything up, and as far as I could see I hadn't gotten rid of my pain like I wanted. I mean, every time I was around mom I tried to run or avoid her because I couldn't deal with seeing her. I knew I was going to have to leave again sooner or later and when I thought about that it hurt even more. If I found Aunt Paige, I thought that maybe I could find some way to lead her to us without being obvious of who I was and then I could have Mom and Aunt Paige for the rest of my life. Even though every instinct told me I knew better, I went to Darryl anyway.
"He found her for me. He took me to social services and we had a normal conversation, just like I started telling you. I tried to make her want to look for her birth family by pretending I was some adopted child considering looking for mine. I hugged her when I thanked her and it felt like all of those times she's done that with me in the past. I realized how much I did really miss her. And then I left.
"I went back to the manor and spent some time with you guys, because I kind of felt that I needed to. Once I finally got up to the attic and tried writing a spell I wasn't even sure would work, I'd convinced myself that I could do it. I copied down the spell from the book and before I knew it I was in 2001. Everything was so familiar; the voices, the conversation, I watched myself clutch on to mom, and then I saw Shax again. It made me want to scream. Then, I made every endeavor possible to read that spell, I tried to hard and I could see it was working but once I started thinking about Aunt Paige I started wondering, y'know? God, she's so much like Mom, what if she told herself it was better not to find us for our sakes? What if I didn't have a chance to fix it because I forgot all about her? I couldn't do it at the thought of losing everything we accomplished. No matter what effort I put into reading that spell I just couldn't do it, I couldn't! I mean, what if we lost Wyatt, and Chris too? What if everything was an alternate reality? For all I knew, Death would have come back for Mom. So I let her die. I stood by and watched as that evil being threw my mother through a wall, as he threw you through that very same wall Aunt Piper! And I didn't do a damn thing about it!"
The streak was broken and Pattie felt her strength collapse. She couldn't hold her own weight and Phoebe, who'd hung so carefully on every word Pattie had just said, did absolutely nothing to try and calm her. There wasn't a point, Pattie wasn't going to be able to compose herself for anyone.
Sometimes the person just had to cry.
And now both Piper and Phoebe were tearing up along with her from seeing Pattie in so much pain, from thinking about how much Prue's death had stolen from them.
Piper scooted closer to Pattie and Phoebe, wrapping one arm securely around Phoebe's shoulders and using the other to hold Pattie. Vaguely, she could still feel the sensation of her bones breaking as she slammed directly through the wall of her own home. Once and awhile it still killed to come face to face with it. Most of the time those recollections could be buried far back in her mind. This was the unfortunate exception.
"Pattie, I'm so sorry," Piper told her, focusing on her niece's emerald green and now bloodshot eyes.
"Huh? Why?" Pattie whimpered through her sobs, barely able to speak. "I brought it on."
"You think wanting your mother back means you deserve to watch her killed in front of your own eyes?" inquired Piper, astonished by Pattie's comment. She'd never seen her niece so distraught. Shax had obliterated her innocence and her conscience was now defeating whatever little confidence remained. Pattie nodded somberly, pressing her face into Phoebe's shoulder. "Oh, God, Pattie—" but Pattie cut her off.
"No, Aunt Piper, no! I can't believe myself for this. I should've done something more. If I were as powerful as I keep hearing I am, if I'm supposed to be this 'carbon copy' of my mother, why can't I solve things like she did?"
"First off, you are not your mother," Phoebe told her, wiping her eyes.
"Well you two sure have got it implanted in my head that I am," Pattie shrieked back, facing Phoebe with fiery eyes. "It's all you ever say, you don't think I don't try to live up to her legendary status?" She groaned, knowing very well that she'd never be her mother. No one was Prue except Prue.
Pattie had forgotten, prior to her outburst, that she'd never told either of her aunts before how much she resented the constant reminders of her mother. It was a touchy subject, and for the sake of family peace, she had avoided telling them. But it all came flooding out now. At the wrong time.
Phoebe, her eyes teeming with guilt, dropped her jaw, taken aback. "Pattie…we don't want you to be your mother. We'd never expect that. Not me, not Piper, especially not Paige."
"Of course Aunt Paige doesn't!" Pattie yelled without hesitating, "she's spent too many years trying to do the same damn thing! It doesn't matter what your voice says, your eyes tell a completely different story! God, Aunt Phoebe, I love you but how do you not know it? How do you not realize that by telling me that I'm like her every single solitary day that you've pressured me into the place of trying to fill her shoes even more than I was already worrying about it? Aunt Paige just stopped trying a couple years ago, she knew it was pointless," Pattie ranted, remembering the times Paige had a heavy heart after failing a potion Prue had been successful with or falling short in magic and being reminded the eldest sister had once possessed the power to complete the very task.
"Paige, never—" Piper began, trying to prove something to herself. "I mean she would have—"
"Told you?" Pattie spit back. "Why would she have done that? I mean, come on, it was so obvious that yes, you loved her, but you would have traded Mom for her in a heartbeat. At least that's how she saw it. Jeez, I know your sister better than you do!"
She'd turned to anger out of desperation, but Pattie couldn't stop. Sooner or later this had to come out.
"You know she misses Mom, right? I mean, you've told her stories before but I've done the majority of it. She didn't just cease to exist once she died. Aunt Paige knows basically nothing from you. She actually cries on the anniversary of Mom's death sometimes, or her birthday. And Aunt Paige never cries," Pattie told them.
Maybe she was going too far, but her anger was melting. Pattie was right though, in the seven years they'd known her Paige had been a stone when it came to emotions, just as Prue had. It took a lot to break her thick exterior and when it did that was dangerous. Piper and Phoebe were both ready to explode with their newly discovered faults by now, and Pattie wasn't feeling any better about that. She'd tried to propel her own guilt away, but had done a less than satisfying job at it.
"She…does?" Piper asked, remembering Paige's face from earlier again, and her newly vowed promise to make things better. She glances towards Phoebe, who wasn't taking that any better.
Pattie nodded, her face softening with realization. "Oh, god…I am turning into her," Pattie stuttered combing her fingers through her hair as it dawned on her, the full out anger she'd just relinquished on her aunts and how Prue would often do the same; once you got her on a roll she wouldn't stop until she was done on her own terms. Sinking down further into the rocks, she whispered softly. "I'm going to end up like her."
Phoebe and Piper took their heads out of their own thoughts to face Pattie. "What?" Phoebe asked.
"I'm going to end up just like her," Pattie whispered again, a haunting chill in her voice.
Nervously, as if Pattie might bite, Phoebe leaned forward towards her nieces, settling Pattie back into her arms again. "No, Pattie, you're not," she promised, kissing the top of her head. "I swear to you, you will not end up like her, okay?" she questioned, waiting for her niece to agree, but Pattie just looked back at her with skepticism. "Listen, I'm so sorry that we hurt you, and I can't fix that mistake, but we can correct it. If it hurts you for us to relate you to your mom, we won't do it as much. And Piper and I are going to set things straight with Paige, too, all right?" Pattie nestled closer to Phoebe, securing her own arms around Phoebe's waist, which showed her genuine believe that they finally did understand, things were going to change. "Sweetheart, I want you to remember this for the rest of your life okay? I heard you talking to the Angel of Death, so I know that you are aware that destiny can't be altered. There was nothing you could have done to save your mom, and if going back was what it took for you to finally comprehend and accept that, then I guess there's no arguing with that," Phoebe smiled trying to get Pattie to do the same.
Piper spoke up, "You made the Ultimate sacrifice for your aunt, your cousins, our innocents, even Billie."
"Even for yourself. I don't know if you can see that now," Phoebe put in.
"I betrayed Aunt Paige, how could I ever put Mom before her? That's wrong, I don't care if she's my mother or not, I shouldn't have been ready to trade her for Mom. That's why I'm selfish," she explained, her face reddening.
"Did you go through with it?" Piper responded and when Pattie gave her a glare, motioning to everything around them as a sign that she obviously didn't, Piper continued, "well then there you go, no betrayal. Honey, actions speak much louder than words. Think about that, and then talk to Paige."
"Isn't she mad at me?"
"Why do you think that?" Phoebe wondered.
"Because of what Sandra said. She must have got it. She didn't come with you guys," Pattie pointed out.
"That's not because she's mad at you!" Piper replied immediately, feeling for her niece, who really did think her actions warranted a permanent consequence of some kind, that it was all her fault. "We told her to stay behind to take care of this situation about your Mom first, then we'd sort it out together. Oh, sweetie, she was so worried about you I think she needed some time to rest after all she did to look for you anyway," Piper finished, staring Pattie straight in the eye to show her sincerity.
Pattie glanced up, shocked, "What'd she do?"
Now Phoebe joined in, a clever smile drawing a line across her face, "Well, she was ready to tear the Underworld apart in case we were wrong about the demons, then considered hassling the Elders for any information on your whereabouts. Paige was in the middle of scrying for the 7th time when Billie called us downstairs."
Finding herself smiling and feeling loved, Pattie automatically felt responsible for Paige's distress. "She loves me, will do anything to save me, and look how I repay her."
Phoebe sighed exasperatedly, teenagers really were stubborn. "Sweetie, you take too much blame for this."
"But it is my fault!" Pattie protested, flowing tears already creeping down her cheeks, "I mean, it was my fault mom died in the first place! I couldn't deal with it, so I tried to fix it. But I can't! I let my own mother die, then tried to trade my aunt for her. Why did I have to try to stop him? Why did I have to try to stop Shax from killing Dr. Griffiths?"
This was something else Piper nor Phoebe hadn't heard before. And it truly tore both of them to pieces to realize that this had been on Pattie's mind every day for the past seven years. How had that slipped their notice?
Pattie, already dissolved into Phoebe's arms, continued to cry as Piper explained to Phoebe exactly what had occurred the day Prue had been brutally murdered, seeing as she'd been stuck in the Underworld as a hopeful way to save her sisters. Talk about irony.
"I had no idea," Phoebe gasped, hardly able to grasp it. Seven years, she'd gone seven years without knowing that. No wonder Pattie's mental state was fried, she was driving herself crazy.
Of course, there'd never been the right time to bring something at critical as that up in conversation, Phoebe was curious if Paige knew, but didn't ask. The two seemed to be closer confidantes than she'd realized as well. Thankfully, seeing as Phoebe was at a loss of words, Piper stepped in. "Do you remember when your dad died, and your mother blamed herself for it? Both of you did." Pattie nodded, of course, she'd never forget that. "Well, I think that's kind of the same way you're feeling now. Both of your parents literally held your life more important than theirs, and that's something you should cherish forever.
"Don't feel guilty, Pattie. I remember that day, I remember how Dr. Griffiths was about to die and you distracted Shax with your cyrokinises. If it wasn't for that, we might have all been dead. You should be proud, not ashamed. You were seven, Pattie, the only seven-year-old I know who'd be that courageous. Prue loved you from the moment they put you in her arms on the day you were born, she promised to protect you no matter what, and she did. There aren't a lot of people who'd literally jump in front of a bullet, or in our case a demon, for someone else."
Pattie folded her hands together to keep them from shaking, but it fazed out as she listened to Piper's words, seeing that day in a whole new light. "I never thought of it that way before," she decided. "When I was home, Mom told me that too, about the protection. About how she loved me."
"Of course she did," Phoebe replied. "So as long as we're sharing, I can tell you that you weren't alone. I used to blame myself to."
This got Pattie's attention, "Really?"
"Phoebe!" Piper gasped.
"It's true. Or it was, at first. Because we made that deal to save Piper and by replaying time I wasn't there, and I lost Prue instead." Pattie was aware of the deal with Tempus, it'd saved her aunt. "But I realized that that was the way things were supposed to be. And I miss my sister more than anything on this Earth, but I didn't take part in her death."
"Neither did I," Pattie decided with finality, smiling when Phoebe kissed her, yet again, on the forehead.
"That's right," Piper told her.
"But Mom wanted me to tell you something," Pattie said, remembering the conversations she and Prue had shared at the park and then on the basement steps. Now she had their undivided attention. A message from Prue was a pure gift. "She said," Pattie began, "that it was okay to miss her, and she knows you don't know how to handle it, but sometimes you should talk about it, because it can be easier than suppressing it," Pattie parroted her mother's words, "she loves both of you so much. She wants us to know a part of her is always with is. And you have to see Aunt Paige for Aunt Paige, not Mom."
"Wise words, Prue," Piper murmured as she embrace Pattie.
"That's our sister," Phoebe provided.
Pattie finished her story. She supplied each moment with emotion leading up until she'd returned home. They talked about it, sitting on that rock, for over an hour. Both girls reminiscing with stories from their childhood, memories from Pattie's. It eased Pattie's grief, but she still thought about Paige and what she was going to say to her. "I love you guys so much," Pattie said as she cuddled between her two aunts once they'd concluded yet another story.
"We love you too, sweetheart," Piper told her, ruffling her hair.
Phoebe returned her hug and laughed. "Ditto," she replied. "I love you, kid."
When they'd begun preparing to leave, Pattie tilted her head back and looked into the now fully lit sky, jumping off the rock and walking towards the sea. "Give me a sign to know you're here, Mom, to let me know I can handle this without you," she prayed, joining her aunts as they headed for the car.
A seemingly hopeless situation brightened when Phoebe pointed to the sky, excitedly pointing out the hard to see but definitely forming rainbow stretching across the sky. It hadn't rained, but it was there, each colorful stripe illuminating the sky. Pattie climbed into the car and leaned her elbow against the window to prop her head up.
As it became more visible, she felt more confident, picturing Prue's face as she closed her eyes.
"I knew you'd come through for me, Mom."
Could it be? Have I really posted a new chapter in under a week? No cliffhanger here really, but your opinions still mean a ton to me. This was originally going to be the last chapter, but this section alone spanned three times longer than I planned, so I cut one chapter into three, and I'll start the rest of it tomorrow. The next is mainly Paige-centric as you may have guessed. I appreciate any comments you have, even if it's just one simple word, but please, my hope is to reach at least 100 by the end of the story. Did this run too long for you and did you understand it? I really want to know. And I'm still taking suggestions for what you would like to see. I'll be including your requested scene, PiperPaigeP3, so look out for that next chapter. And thanks to Molly for all the support, love you girl! You guys are very helpful, thanks for all you do to keep me going. I'm a reviewaholic, keep me happy! The more reviews the sooner the next entry.
Megan