Phoebe and Piper were in a bit of silence wondering why Grams would flip the book to the 'Matriarch' page. They were sure they had been blessed already, but it never dawned on them that it was Paige that needed the blessing. "Has anyone heard from Paige?" Phoebe asked as Piper glanced at her watch and shook her head. "No. Leo said some guy came by looking for Paige, something about social work." Piper shrugged. She wasn't sure if she'd gotten all the facts from Leo. "Well.." Phoebe prompted, knowing how her sisters' mind worked. "Call him." Phoebe said as Leo had went to the Elders just seconds ago. "Leo!" Piper called as he immediately orbed back down. "I'm sorry. They've never heard of a demon called 'Trip'." Leo hated not being able to bring the girls the information they needed. Without it, he felt he wasn't doing his job as their Whitelighter.
"Thanks Leo. But what we need to know now is who is the guy who came here for Paige earlier?" Phoebe asked. "Well he said the agency sent him, for training. He didn't look familiar but Paige seemed fine with it." He looked between the sisters. Knowing how their mind worked, he knew something wasn't right. "Can you sense her?" Piper asked as he closed his eyes and after a beat he opened them with a quick nod. "Bring her home." Piper said as Leo nodded and disappeared in blue lights. The sisters stared at each other, worried for their baby sister. Phoebe couldn't stop her pacing because she couldn't stop the images from replaying in her mind. Her hand trembled as she rememebered the warm feeling of the blade in Paige's stomach.
"Phoebe?" Piper called as her sister seemed to be in a trance. Looking into her eyes, the lightning that now coursed through her veins, appeared. "PHOEBE!" Piper called once more finally getting a response. "You need to breathe. That lightning thing is flaring up again." Piper put a nice space between the two not wanting to share the same fate as Leo did earlier. Phoebe gave her sister a nod, as her hair crackled and her fingers sparked. The rush of power Phoebe was feeling was unreal, but she knew she had to control it. It might come in handy sooner than later.
Paige and Trip (Trikas), were having a great time. Paying for their meal, they began their walk back to the Halliwell Manor. Paige went on and on about how she told herself that once she'd found her sisters she wouldn't forget about the parents and family that raised her. How difficult it is for her to have to choose who to love more. Before she could continue, the glint of blue caught her eyes as she quickly pulled Trip towards her. "What is it?" He asked, peering back only for Paige's hand to guide his face back to hers. "Oh..I'm not in a hurry to get home is all." She smiled as she looked back to Leo as he motioned for her. "Give me one moment. But stay like this ok?" She smiled as he nodded. Paige moved behind him and sunk behind a bush with Leo.
"What are you doing?!" Paige asked, trying her best to lower her voice. "Your sisters need you home now!" He hurried as he got another glance at Trip. "What's his name?" Leo looked suspicious which didn't go unnoticed by Paige. "Why? Whatever. You know what Leo, tell my sisters I'll be home soon." She brushed him off as he tried to call her again. "Home!" She yelled in a lower register only for Leo to disappear just as he appeared. Brushing off her clothes, Paige bounced back over to Trip. "Ok. Let's go." She smiled. "What happened?" He asked, finally turning around. "Tell me about yourself, Trip." Paige linked arms as they continued down the street.
Leo orbed back in, the girls knowing by the color of his orbs that Paige sent him. "What happened?" Phoebe asked as Leo told the girls what Paige said. Piper was obviously upset that Paige wasn't taking this more serious. "Did you tell her about Phoebe's premonition?" Piper asked as the look on Leo's face gave her the answer. "Leo!" Phoebe called. "She didn't give me enough time." He defended as Piper moved to his side. "She said she'll be home soon." He said. "Plus the guy is with her." He added in as the girls nodded. "Well we should head downstairs then. Greet them as they come in." Piper said as she led the charge out of the attic.
Paige and Trip were now in front of the Manor. Looking at the Grand Victorian, Paige sighed as Trip placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, from everything you've told me today, it seems you don't feel too apart of this family. I mean I wouldn't blame you. It doesn't seem they know or get you at all." He said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Oh..and you do?" She challenged. Paige knew she'd just met him, but she felt a strange pull towards him. "I get that you want to keep the memories of your adoptive parents alive, without jeopardizing what you have with you biological family. And I know that's difficult." He moved closer to her planting a kiss on her lips. Pulling back, Paige was enthralled. "Want to come in?" She gave a dazed smile as he nodded quickly.
"She's coming." Phoebe said as Piper and Leo moved to her side. The door creaked open as Paige noticed her family at the ready. Sighing, she led Trip in. "Oh, he's cute." Phoebe announced only for Piper and Leo to share a look. "Paige wait!" Leo called but he was too late as Trip had finally made it passed the threshold. A cloud seemed to fall over Paige and it hadn't gone unnoticed by her family. "Paige?" Phoebe called as she'd noticed the grin on Trip's face. "Trip I presume." Piper said as the demon finally revealed himself. "Call me, Trikas." He grinned. "Paige!" Phoebe yelled this time only for Trikas to let out a laugh.
"Paige.." He called as she turned to him. "How do you feel about being a Halliwell?" He asked as he looked back towards the sisters and Leo. "I'm not a Halliwell. I'm a Matthews. They are my family and they love me." She claimed and as if being punched, Piper and Phoebe winced in pain. "Why are we still here?" Paige asked as she turned back to her sisters. "Continue." Trikas commanded. "I've never felt apart of this family. I will never amount to Prue and why should I even try? I found a family tree in the attic and I wasn't even on it. I won't become a Halliwell and forget my Matthews family!" Paige ranted which seemed to pain her sisters the more she went on.
"Why is she saying this?" Phoebe, who was gripping tightly onto Piper, asked. "Seems this demon has tapped into some repressed emotions of Paige's. Gaining her trust and being allowed into the manor finished whatever spell he started." "Gotta say, for a whitelighter you're quite smart." Trikas grinned at Leo. "Paige! He's tricking you. We're you're family!" Phoebe said as Piper watched her sister hold on tighter to her demon companion and orb out.
"PAIGE!" Phoebe called as she and Piper fell to the ground. "She's not hearing us, Phoebe." Piper said as Leo helped them up. "What I don't understand is what is going on with us?" Phoebe said commenting on the pain she was feeling. "Leo?" Piper asked as he had no idea himself. "Maybe I can help." A voice from behind them sounded and turning, there in all her glory was Patty Halliwell, the mother of the Charmed Ones. "Mom!" Piper and Phoebe sounded simultaneously. Both ran and wrapped their arms around her, Phoebe naturally holding on a bit longer.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Piper asked. "Isn't it obvious?" She said as her daughters had blank faces. "You girls don't realize how powerful you truly are." She took a seat as her daughters and son in law followed. "The Halliwell name is a powerful name. It has been built over the years starting with the Warren line. Demons not only fear us as witches they fear the name alone and with it comes tremendous power." She stated while looking over the house she once inhabited. "By Paige rejecting her name, she has rejected her power and the protection that comes along with it." Patty finished. "You're telling me by just renouncing the Halliwell name, you sever your ties as a witch?" Piper asked as Patty nodded. "And the pain we felt..." Phoebe trailed. "The pain you felt was your collective power weaning." Patty revealed.
"So how are we supposed to fix this?" Leo asked as Patty stayed silent and looked at her girls. "We vanquish the demon." Piper announced. "Even if you vanquish the demon, it won't reverse what has happened to Paige. No spell can fix it. It has to come from here." Patty said while pointing to her heart. "Paige doesn't feel completely apart of the family." Phoebe said, sensing that much in her sister. "Well, we have to figure out how to change that and fast." Piper looked at Phoebe remembering the premonition she had. Trikas wouldn't keep her alive long.
-Moments later, in the attic-
The room fell silent as you could hear everyone thinking, even though no one said a word. "The Matriarchs." Phoebe said. "What?" Leo asked as she turned to her family. "Up in the attic, Grams. She flipped the book to the Matriarch page. We thought she'd lost it but maybe she was giving us a heads up." Phoebe said as Piper nodded. "Right. Paige has never been blessedand been christened into the family." Piper announced. She felt bad about that.
"We need to make Paige see how much she means to this family. A christening alone won't do the trick." Patty said. "Well how are we going to do that?" Phoebe asked a bit defeated as all eyes were on her. "What?" She asked, as her fingers immediately snapped and her hair crackled. "Nooo!" She pointed and a little spark popped. Clutching her hands closed, she shook her head. "You can't expect me..." She trailed shaking her head. "Phoebe, you're the only one here who has the power to let people experience any emotion. Plus, with your ability of sight, you can show Paige moments she's never seen before, through your eyes." Leo moved to Phoebe as he gave her one of his encouraging speeches. "You can do this. We know you can." He added as she nodded slowly. Breathing deep, she didn't want to dwell. "What about the demon? I'm sure he won't let us get close enough for a Wiccaning." Phoebe said.
Nodding, Piper thought on it. "We summon Paige here. She might not feel like a Halliwell, but she's still our sister, which means the 'To Call a Witch' spell should work." Piper took a breath. "We just substitute 'witch' for 'sister' and it should summon her right to us." She finished as Phoebe nodded, agreeing with the plan. "We have to summon Grams. She's the Matriarch. Only she can perform the spell." Phoebe went to the book as Piper began lighting some candles. "Ready." Piper said as Phoebe nodded. Clasping hands they chanted:
"Here these words, Here my cry, Spirit from the other side, Come to me, We summon thee, Cross now the great divide." Everyone watched as swirls of light appeared until Grams was front and center. "Well, took you long enough." She smiled. Stepping out from the candles, her body became corporeal as she hugged Patty and the girls tightly. "Leo." She gave a quick wave as Leo gave a smile but was obviously irritated by her lack of interest. "Now, where's the spell?" She moved to the book and quickly used her telekinesis to flip its pages. "So I take it you know what's going on?" Piper chimed in which made the pages stop flipping.
"Of course dear." Grams smiled as Phoebe cleared her throat. "How? You're dead." Phoebe announced, which a slight chuckle from her elder sister. "Yes dear, I am. But that doesn't mean I can't have a life." She tapped the page letting all know she found the 'Matriarch Summoning'. "I tend to peek every now and again." She grinned, before running her finger down the pages. "You peek?" Piper repeated as Grams looked up and nodded. "Well yea, how else will I know what's going on? But I don't peek during the important moments...ya know?" She winked, which grossed not only Phoebe and Piper out, but Patty as well.
"Oookay. Let's talk about how to save Paige." Leo cleared the way as everyone nodded. "Right. So for the blessing to occur you have to get Paige here." Grams announced. "But you must find a way to break..Trikas?" She looked at Phoebe as she nodded. "Trikas' hold over Paige." Patty finished as Grams nodded as everyone looked at Phoebe, who had no idea what she was going to do. "So the plan is to summon Paige here, Phoebe will use her new powers to show Paige just how much she means to us and this family. And then Grams.." Piper trailed. "Then I'll summon the Halliwell's, right after you vanquish that demon. I think I can whip up a nice potion for him." The head of the family grinned, as no one wanted to be on Grams' bad side.
-Kitchen-
Banging around pots, as it were, Piper was firmly behind Grams as she fixed a potion up. You couldn't deny that Penelope Halliwell was a fine witch indeed, still Piper didn't want her in her kitchen. A few sprinkles into the pot and poof sounded letting all know the potion was complete. "Phoebe." Grams called as the middle child quickly handed her grandmother a bottle and stopper. Placing the potion within, she handed it to Piper. "All set." Grams smiled, happy to be back in the fighting fold. Everyone left the kitchen but Phoebe. Patty and Piper stopped looking at her. Giving Piper a nod, Patty moved over to her former youngest child.
"What's the matter honey?" Patty took Phoebe's hand as she sat with her at the island. Phoebe was freaking out as she had no idea how to use her new ability. Still she knew the family was counting on her. "I don't think I can do it." Phoebe's doe eyes filled with tears looked back at Patty. It reminded the Charmed mother of all the years she'd missed out of raising her girls. Wrapping her arms around Phoebe she gave her a tight squeeze. "Phoebe, listen to me. You have the biggest heart. Love just spills from you. If anyone can help Paige remember why she's apart of this family, a Halliwell, it's you sweetie." Patty smiled as Phoebe gave a nod before hugging her mother once more.
-Underworld-
"Trikas. You've brought a guest." Siam watched as the demon led Paige into the room. Looking around, Paige shook her head a bit. "This isn't right." She blinked as if coming out of a haze. Trikas gripped Paige's hand. "It isn't right because you're not used to it. You're a Matthews, this is where you belong. With me." He caressed her face, Paige quickly smiled succumbing to the spell she was under.
Moving to Siam, Trikas leaned in. "What are we to do now?" Siam grinned. "Nothing, it's already working. With Paige rejecting the Halliwell's, she's in turn rejected her birthright and the power that comes along with it." Nodding, Trikas moved back to Paige. "Now all we do is wait a while and let the other two witches get weaker and then we strike." As he finished his sentence, five more demons shimmered in.
-Attic, Manor-
"Ready?" Piper asked everyone as they nodded. "Remember, once we summon Paige, I'm sure demons will follow her." Piper said clencing onto the arm of the couch. Leo quickly by her side held on tight. "You okay?" He asked as she nodded. "We have to hurry. We're growing weaker, I can feel it." Phoebe said as Piper nodded. Grams and Patty stood behind the book for protect as both Piper and Phoebe, moving to the middle of the room, began chanting.
"Power of the witches rise, Course unseen across the skies, Come to us we call you near, Come to us and settle here..." Both pricking their finger and allowing the blood to flow. "Blood to blood we summon thee, Blood to blood return to me." They finished as swirling lights disappered and quickly reappeared, bringing Paige with them.
"TRIKAS!" The ground quaked as Paige had disappeared. "The witches! They must've called her." Trikas walked around the room briefly before Siam instructed him to take some demons with him and kill the Charmed Ones. It was time to end this. Nodding, he along with five other demons shimmered out.
"Paige!" Patty called as the youngest looked right through her mother. Trying to orb out, she was faulted as Leo pulled her down mid orb. Before another word could be said, Trikas and his demons shimmered in as Paige ran to his side. "Time to end this!" Energy balls began flying around the room as the family began dodging and returning the fire as best they could. Piper and Phoebe huddled behind the couch. Piper peeked out to return some fire before looking at Phoebe.
"You have to get to Paige now." Piper instructed before watching Grams throw a potion at a few demons. A small smile appeared before Phoebe shook her head. "I don't know what to do!" Phoebe was feeling worthless as she watched her baby sister clutch onto the demon. As if finally realising that she was no longer the baby sister, Phoebe grabbed Piper as Leo and Patty took out the last of Trikas' demons. He quickly clenched Paige's arms.
"You're hurting me." The young hybrid snatched away as she found herself in the middle of her sisters and Trikas. Placing the athame he had ready back in his pocket, Trip gave a smile to Paige. "Paige..you know you don't belong with them." He let a hand out as Paige smiled and started to reach for him. "Phoebe." Piper called as the former youngest stepped up. "Stop! Paige don't listen to him. We're your family." Phoebe stated as Trikas looked between her and Paige.
"If they were your true family, they would accept you. Like I do." Hand still extended, Trikas still reached for the confused witch. Paige shook her head, feeling conflicted. "Keep going sweetie." Patty told her daughter as Phoebe nodded. "I know things have been unfair. I know we've put a lot on you and for that we are so sorry Paige. But you helped this family heal, last name or no, you're a Halliwell." Phoebe then reached out her hand. Reaching, a slight smile appeared on Paige's face as her hand reached for her sisters'.
Grabbing Phoebe's hand, Paige's eyes closed and then shot open wide. The emotions she was feeling, the memories she was reliving broke the spell Trikas had her under. The tears fell as she looked at the sister she admired. "Phoebe. Piper." Paige called as the sisters embraced and with it so did the Power of Three.
Realizing Siam's plan was unraveling, Trikas pulled the athame from his back. "NOOO!" He moved to strike Paige. "ATHAME!" She called, the knife appearing in her hand. Trikas' momentum working against him as he fell into the athame in Paige's hand. Pulling back, he clenched his wound as he cried out in a fiery anguish. His blood falling on the carpet. "That's gonna be a bitch to clean." Piper quipped before everyone's eyes fell on Paige.
"We're not finished." Piper called. "We're not?" Paige asked extremely drained. "Grams." Phoebe called as a smiling Grams stood with Patty at the book. Reciting the Matriarch spell, Paige watched as the Matriarchs from the Halliwell Line all appeared in front of her. Grams, having moved the book planted herself in front of Paige. Opening her arms, Paige moved into them with a smile on her face as her family looked on.
Something was lingering around the Halliwell manor. Who sent the demon that broke the girls up? Piper had wondered this for some time now and once her sisters noticed her attention being torn, immediately took them up to the attic and began making a spell with the leftover Trikas blood that had definitely stained the carpet.
"Ready?" Piper looked at her sisters as they nodded. Holding hands, Piper began the spell letting the piece of paper burn as she finished. Disappearing in shimmering lights, the girls appeared in the lair of Siam. "The Charmed Ones. Took longer than I expected. Here to kill me?" Siam rose from his seat as he noticed the girls had no potions with them.
"You sent Trikas after our sister and if you know us and you obviously do, you know we don't leave loose ends." Piper said. "I see. But you have no potions and I'm immune to your freezing power, Witch!" He snarled, noticing the sister's never left go of each other's hands. "We don't need no stinkin potions." Phoebe said as she gave the nod.
"The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free..." The girls repeated as Siam screamed out in pain. Before long Siam exploded, this time nothing was left behind.
A few days had passed since Paige's blessing and the vanquish of Siam. All was right in the manor. Piper and Phoebe took to the living room, each with a cup of chamomille tea. The door swung open as a happy Paige bounced into the room. "Done!" She said waving a sheet of paper in their faces. "What is done?" Piper asked, snatching the paper from her hand. Reading it, a smile crossed Piper's face. "Paige." She called lovingly.
"What? What is it?" Phoebe called as Piper handed the paper to her sister. Reading the paper, Phoebe looked at Paige. Standing to their feet, Piper and Phoebe wrapped their arms around their sister. Each began crying as Leo walked in. Pulling back, Phoebe wiped her face. "Paige, are you sure?" Phoebe asked as Paige nodded. "What's going on? Sure about what?" Leo asked, concerned a bit. "Leo." Piper said, stepping in front of her sisters.
Walking up to her husband, she wrapped her arms around him as he held her tight. "I'd like to introduce you to someone." She smiled as Phoebe and Paige shared the same smile. "This is Paige Matthews-Halliwell." Piper's voice jumped at the end as a smile now appeared on Leo's face. Phoebe tightened her hug on Paige as the house rumbled and blue lights fell down on the sisters. And as if a window was open and beautiful breeze moved through the house, all that was heard was the sound of Melinda's voice.
"Blessed Be My Daughters."
hope you guys enjoyed the story!