To Be Charmed
Chapter Five
Not Alone
Disclaimer: Don't own.
"All right, so the Book said he paralyzes his victims, then skins them alive," Prue said. She put the SUV in park and shut the engine off.
"Ugh. Sounds like a Buffy episode," Phoebe groaned.
"Let's just hope we're not interrupting dinner," Prue joked.
"It's a possibility, considering we drove instead of letting Paige orb us," Piper complained.
The three continued their trek throughout the woods, occasionally looking back.
"Paige is busy," Prue said.
"Yes, well, the Charmed Ones come first," Piper said with conviction. Phoebe laughed along with Prue.
"That's my line…and Paige isn't a Charmed One."
"Says who?" Phoebe challenged.
"Melinda Warren." Phoebe rolled her eyes as Piper muffled a sigh and braced herself for yet another spat.
"Well, Melinda was wrong."
"Melinda was not wrong, Phoebe. She saw us, the three of us. She did not see Paige."
"The future can change, you know."
"I know, and it did, but that does not change the fact that we were prophesized and Paige wasn't. We have our destiny and Paige has hers."
"There is nothing in here about Adromis."
Paige closed the Book and messaged her temples. Adromis was the demon after her latest charge. Her charge was a Whitelighter to-be and had no idea that Adromis was after him.
"I'm just going to have to make a vanquishing potion or a spell," Paige uttered to herself.
Being half pacifist, Paige didn't enjoy the vanquish as much as Prue, Piper, or Phoebe, but she did enjoy helping others in time of need. She became a social worker, because of her inability to not stop helping. Once she graduated from Riverrun, she applied to Berkeley and wrote an essay on the death of her parents. Her essay was so good, she got in.
She still wasn't completely over their deaths. She had told Sam, her biological father, her fears. She had also told him she wasn't ready to call him 'Dad' yet. She needed more time.
"Are you sure this is his lair?"
"Positive."
Two blonde women stood at the mouth of a cave. The shortest of the two held her hands out in front of her and moved them in opposite directions. The boulders blocking the cave entrance moved in accordance with her hands.
"Hurry! They're so heavy!"
The darker blonde sprinted into the cave while the other pushed the boulders away with both hands. Once the boulders were completely out of the way, she followed her companion.
"Whoa. Do you think you can give us some light?"
The darker blonde held out her hand and conjured a fire ball. She tossed the ball at a pile of logs in the center of the cave. The flames instantly brightened the cave.
"Okay, this must be the lair."
"And someone must have gone in…or out," Piper said, pointing to the boulders on either side of the entrance.
"Let's get this over with," Phoebe said grimly.
Paige put a stopper in the filled potion vial and stuck a folded piece of paper in her jean pocket. Using a stolen key of Devon's, she scryed for her charge, knowing the demon wouldn't be too far behind.
"Twenty-second North," Paige muttered.
She released the crystal and swiftly orbed out.
Phoebe awoke with a jolt. She blinked before looking at the clock, which read 3:54. She sighed and rested her head upon her pillow. She would have to get up and ready for school in three hours. Phoebe twisted onto her back and closed her eyes in attempt to sleep.
The sun was bright and hot on Paige's face. She groaned and twisted to her other side, away from her window of heat. She gripped her sheets and flexed her fingers. Loosing an internal battle, she opened her eyes and stretched over her head to start the day.
Prue cracked her knuckles in attempt to awaken her hand. Her hand was numb and rubbed raw from writing letter after letter. She stopped and focused on her office drapes. Squinting, she closed the drapes halfway with her power.
"That's better," she mumbled, getting back to work.
Piper couldn't believe it. She panicked and froze at least five people today! First, it was the mailman who was about to drop the mail in a mound of dog poo. She threw her hands up, time seemed to stop, and the mail was safe from being contaminated. The mail man walked away thoroughly confused1 The other four times were all accidental. Customers dropping bills, that sort of thing.
'How am I supposed to control my power?'
Phoebe spent the whole day thinking about her dream and what it meant. Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was a premonition? Phoebe would bet it was a premonition. And if it was true, that meant that they were others just like her sisters and herself!
Paige spent the entire day trying to avoid others, especially the assistant principal. She didn't know how she felt about the bombshell he dropped on her. She wanted to ask Mrs. Halli- Grams, but she didn't know what to say or even if she knew who her father was! Well, maybe she did, but she didn't know about him being the principal? Paige decided to think this all over during lunch in the library.
Usually, the librarians forbid food in the library, but today was special. The teachers were having their yearly luncheon. Paige, done paying for her lunch, walked out of the cafeteria and straight into the library. Not one of the teachers or librarians noticed her, which was good with Paige. As she ate, she thought about what her life had become in a few weeks.
Four weeks ago, she had lost her adoptive parents. It was her fault. She had gotten into an argument with them and her dad turned his head for a second. He never saw the truck coming. Miraculously, Paige found herself on the pavement after the collision. She remembered shielding her face. And then nothing.
The days following her parents' deaths were horrendous. Social Services left her to decide if she wanted to go into foster care or not, being that she was 17. If she hadn't chose foster care, they were going to move her into a home for orphans, an orphanage. Paige didn't want that. Since she was excused from school, she stayed in her room, contemplating life and her next move.
Since she was an adoptee, social workers were desperate to find her biological parents. Paige had pointed her social worker in the direction of the church she visited when she was younger. A nun there had given Paige to the Matthews couple. The nun had explained how Paige came to be at the church. Then came the hospital visits.
Having no clue at all who Paige's parents were, she was taken to give blood samples at the local hospital. While there, birth records were pulled. The hospital handed over all fifty-five birth records for August of 1977. The one that stood out was one dated August 2, 1977.
A Patty Halliwell had given birth to a girl that day. The father was unlisted and the girl was not named. That was the moment that changed Paige's life forever.
She now had a grandmother and three older sisters, plus a weird power and she just met her biological father.
'I can do this.'
As the bell rang, Paige decided to take things as they came. First things first. Grams and her sisters.
Sam orbed from the school to Halliwell Manor. He appeared behind Penny as she was chopping vegetables.
"Penny, I have some news."
Penny turned around to face him.
"What news, Sam?"
"Paige and I met. She freaked out. I need you to get her at open up."
"Sam, she just lost her- the people who raised her."
"Please? Do it for me, for Patty." Without waiting for a response, he orbed out.
When Phoebe and Paige came home from school, Penny sat them down for a talk.
"Girls, we need to talk." Phoebe and Paige took opposite seats as Penny took up the head of the table.
"What is it, Grams?" Phoebe asked. 'Does she know what happened the other night?'
"We need to talk about you, Paige. I think you're way overdue for some answers."
Paige was stunned. Wasn't she just thinking about all of this?
"In fact, you are all owed some answers. Later tonight, Prue and Piper will come over and I will tell them the same things."
Paige looked at Phoebe, eyebrows raised. 'This can be good or bad.'
"First off, your mother. Now, you two barely got to know her , whereas Prue and Piper have fond memories. Her name, as you know, was Patty. Pictures will show you the brown eyes and hair. She was the start of all of this."
~TBC Chapter Five~
"I know what you are all going through. You've just discovered your powers. I have powers and so did your mother. You've had your powers before, briefly, but I bound your powers. I bound them, because a warlock was going to kill you. I had to. When Patty was pregnant with you, Phoebe, a powerful warlock came around. A warlock is an evil being, who kills witches to get their powers. This warlock knew Patty was pregnant before she did. He knew that she would become mother to the Charmed Ones.
You, Piper, and Prue are the Charmed Ones. The three good witches destined to protect the Innocent and vanquish all evil. Now, the warlock- Nicklaus, was going to kill your mother. Instead, she made a pack with him. She gave up your powers to him. She and I made the plan to bind your powers, once you were born. Binding your powers was the only way. We knew that no evil would come after you if you were mortals. A year later, Patty became pregnant with you, Paige.
Right from when she told me, I knew we had to do something. Your birth was forbidden. You're half Whitelighter, an angel, if you will. Your father is a Whitelighter. When you were born, your father and mother took you to a local church, hoping that the nuns there would give you to a good and safe home, away from the Elders. The Elders are bosses to Whitelighters. We don't know what they would have done to you, Patty, Piper, Prue, Phoebe, or myself if they had found out about you. We thought Prue, Phoebe, and Piper would be denied their birthright to become the Charmed Ones or they weren't meant to be the Charmed Ones. We were wrong. Here you are, Charmed.
Patty and I asked your father, Sam, to look after you. He has watched you as you've grown. When your mother died, he clipped his wings, he was done being a Whitelighter. The Elders found him, soon after, and he became a Whitelighter again. His only charge was you, unofficially. I don't know where he is right now, but I can tell you that he is so proud to call you his daughter.
Paige, we don't know your destiny, yet. Your birth was not prophesized, unlike Phoebe, Prue, and Piper's. In time, we will know. But don't think you're any less special than your sisters, because you are just as special."
Penny took many breaths throughout her monologue. She focused on Phoebe when she was explaining the Charmed bit, and then focused on Paige when she was talking about her. The girls were close to tears. Penny realized that they don't remember Patty at all, unlike Prue and Piper. She vowed to fix that as soon as possible.
Phoebe couldn't hold the tears. Her neck was starting to get itchy, but she didn't move. She was experiencing a mix of emotions. Sadness, because she never had enough time with her mother, excitement, because she was a witch, and a thirst for more explanations. She took Grams' hand and glanced at Paige.
Paige was an emotional mess after listening to Grams. She had to tell her about meeting her father. And when she found herself on the road after the car crash, was that due to her powers? But, her power is to move things, not herself! She felt a hand touch hers and looked over. Phoebe was reaching for her hand. She took it and squeezed.
Penny let go of Phoebe's hand to pull Paige from her chair into a hug. The girl was now crying softly into her blouse.
"It was my fault, my fault that they're dead," Paige sobbed. Penny used her free hand to gently caress Paige's soft black hair.
"Oh, sweetie. It was and is not your fault."
"Yes, it is. If I didn't have an attitude that day…" Paige started to hiccup, "…and if I hadn't been born…"
"You can't change the past, Paige. Everything happens for a reason," Penny said, using her favorite explanation.
"Not to sound cruel, but if you hadn't had an attitude that day and if you hadn't been born, I wouldn't have had such a great friend or sister."
Phoebe waited for Grams to berate her and for Paige to storm out of the door, but neither of those things happened. Instead, Grams looked at her and beckoned her forward. Slowly, Phoebe put her arms around Paige and hugged her.
"Who knew witches were so touchy-feely?"
Gasping, Phoebe and Paige spun around to see a blond man wearing black clothing. Penny's expression hardened and she whipped her arm out, sending the warlock flying.
"Leave them," Penny demanded, as the male crashed into the front doors. He picked himself up and dusted off his shoulders.
"Where's the fun in that?"
He launched an attack, a lightning bolt, at the three witches. Penny was prepared to send the bolt back to its conjurer, but Paige had other ideas.
"Lightning bolt!" She whipped her head to the side. The bolt soared to the right, crashing into the wall.
"Paige!" Penny exclaimed, surprised. The warlock looked surprised as well. It wasn't long before he launched another attack, this time focusing on Phoebe.
Phoebe's eyes widened as the bolt got closer and closer. It would hit her before Grams or Paige could even think about using their powers. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen. But it didn't. Before she opened her eyes, she heard a yelp and then, silence. When she opened her eyes, her heart jumped. The bolt had stopped, in mid air, at least an inch in front of her face.
"Piper! Prue!" Penny shouted.
Standing behind the warlock statue were Prue and Piper. Piper had her arms folded out in front of her and Prue was squinting. The statue began to move forward, then suddenly jerked to the right and bumped into the wall. As the warlock made contact with the wall, Penny moved the bolt away from Phoebe, directing it to the warlock, just as he unfroze. The bolt collided with its conjurer, taking him out instantly. Penny gave a sigh of relief.
"What the freakin' hell was that?" Piper asked. Prue and Phoebe stared at their sister, their usually reserved and shy sister.
"A warlock," Penny explained," He wanted our powers and to get them, he needed to kill us."
"Uh, our powers? Grams, what are you talking about?" Prue decided that playing dumb would be best, besides, her mom wasn't a witch, so how could Grams be one?
"You know very well what I'm talking about, Prudence." Uh, oh. The usage of her full first name. Grams meant serious business. Prue took a chair and sat down, as did her sisters. Grams kept standing.
"How did you know?" Phoebe rolled her eyes.
"She is a witch, and so was Mom. Our whole family was witches." Prue looked to Phoebe, and then to Grams. Penny nodded.
"It's true."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Piper asked.
"To protect you," Penny said. She proceeded to tell the oldest two what she had told the younger two. When she was done, she hugged her granddaughters, one at a time.
Later that evening, Prue and Piper decided to stay for dinner. They had spent the afternoon helping Paige and Phoebe with homework. Penny smiled when she saw the four of them at the table. She could tell Prue was warming up to Paige, as was Piper. It wouldn't be long before they act like they've known each other their entire lives.
Dinner was uplifting, to say the least. Phoebe and Paige talked about their days in school and Prue and Piper talked about work. Penny sat at the head of the table, enjoying every minute of normal family bliss.
"Speaking of the future, I had a dream last night," Phoebe told her family. Penny looked at her with concern.
"What was it about?"
"I don't know. I saw- dreamt about us, me, Prue, Piper, and Paige. Piper, Prue and I were in the forest, looking for a demon and Paige was trying to find another demon. We found the cave, and there were two other witches. I woke up after we entered the cave."
"It sounds like you had a premonition. The other two witches, what were they like?" Penny asked, curious.
"They were blonde. One could do what you and Prue do, move things, and the other could create fires."
"Phoebe, when do you think it was?" Prue had her arms folded, she didn't want to do demon hunting anytime soon.
"We were older, like you looked to be about late twenties. And we had a Jeep Cherokee instead of the Chevy."
"Well, then. Until that time comes, we need to find these girls. Perhaps they don't know they're witches," Penny suggested.
"How do we find them," Piper asked, intrigued.
"Many ways, but I want you girls to focus on school and work. We'll play Witches after that." Phoebe and Paige laughed as Prue stared at her grandmother.
~TBC Chapter Five~
Joseph, one of the head Elders, called the congregation to order. Many Elders stood around him in a circle. He looked into their eyes before speaking.
"Leo Wyatt will be the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter." The silence was gone with cries of outrage. Joseph held up a hand and, immediately, the cries were silenced.
"There is more news, concerning the Charmed Ones. Samuel Wilder, step forward." Sam gulped and took a step. He was going to put up a brave front.
"Samuel Wilder, you have been accused of doing the forbidden and bedding a witch and fathering her child. What do you have to say?"
"Patty and I fell in love. It was natural and it never clouded our judgment when working. We never meant for Paige to happen. Please, punish me, not Paige nor her sisters. They did no wrong."
Joseph looked hard at the on/off Whitelighter. He took his time in a making a decision.
"You are hereby on probation. Your charges will be notified at once. If you defy your probation, you will be stripped of your Whiteligter status and kept from seeing your daughter. You are dismissed."