To Be Charmed
Chapter Seven
Moving Day
Disclaimer: Charmed belongs to its creators, not me. Any original characters unrecognizable are mine.
Piper immediately flicked her wrists to activate her power, but it only froze Victor and Sam, not the warlock, who was slowly making his way towards the sisters. Prue tried to send the warlock flying with her power, but the man stood his ground, literally.
"What do we do?" Phoebe asked, frightened.
"Paige, try your power," Prue said.
"But my power is the same as yours. It won't work," Paige insisted.
"Just try, Paige," Piper said reassuringly.
Paige narrowed her eyes at the warlock, who was about three feet away from them, and commanded, "Back!" The warlock was suddenly lifted off of his feet and thrown back into the stair banister, where he tumbled gracelessly onto his face. The sisters stared, bewildered.
"Okay, I don't get it. How did your power work when Prue and Piper's didn't? Phoebe asked, moving past the frozen Victor. Paige shrugged.
"How am I supposed to know?"
Phoebe knelt down by Grams and checked her pulse as Piper, Paige, and Prue stood around her.
"Well?" Prue prompted.
"She's okay," Phoebe said.
"Besides the fact that she is unconscious," Paige said sarcastically.
"Guys, what are we going to do about him?" Piper asked, tilting her head towards the out-cold warlock.
"We could try a spell," Phoebe suggested, "Repeat after me. Take this thing, don't let it sting, Banish him, let us continue again." The four witches cast the spell and in a blinding flash of light, the warlock vanished.
"Well done, girls."
The sisters looked to the ground to see Grams sitting up, holding the back of her head. They all knelt down to Grams' level, concerned.
"Grams, what happened?" Prue asked.
"How bad are you hurt?" Paige asked. Grams chuckled. With Prue's determination for anything and Paige's compassion, she not need worry about her granddaughters' futures!
"I'm fine. Nothing a little IcyHot can't fix."
"Who was that?" Phoebe asked.
"Oh, just your average warlock," Penny lied. In truth, he was Nicholas, the warlock who had come to kill the girls when they were younger.
"Then why didn't our powers work? Well, Prue's and mine, Paige's power worked," Piper said. Penny bit her lip. Her daughter promised the Charmed powers to Nicholas in exchange for their lives, which gave him immunity to them. However, Paige is not Charmed, so her power worked.
"He must have cast a spell, but it didn't cover Whitelighter powers," Penny mused.
"Wait. Warlocks can cast spells?" Penny nodded.
"Yes, they were once Familiars or born warlocks. A warlock has one goal. Kill good witches to gain their powers."
"What's a Familiar?" Paige asked, her arms crossed.
"A Familiar is an enchanted animal, usually a cat, that guides new witches. Rasputin was mine. Once a Familiar betrays its witch, they turn into warlocks, killing their charge. In order for the change to be permanent, they must shed their old lives."
"Where is our Familiar?" Phoebe asked.
"You'll find him one day," Penny reassured, stoking Phoebe's brown hair.
"I hate to break up a Kodak moment, but, uh, we got to come up with an explanation to them once they unfreeze! " Piper said, pointing to Sam and Victor. Her sisters and Grams kept silent, deep in thought. Piper bit her lip. If we don't come up with something before they unfreeze…!
Done with thinking, Penny used Phoebe and Prue's arms to hoist herself up on her feet. Prue and Phoebe kept a tight hold on her, unsure if she would collapse. Penny took in the sight of Victor and Sam. She knew they were not happy with her at the moment, but that didn't bother her on bit.
"Unfreeze them, Piper. It's alright. There's no need for an explanation."
Piper graced her grandmother with a questionable look. Unfreeze them without an explanation? Why? She brought her hands up anyway and concentrated. Unfreezing was a bit more difficult than freezing. Once the men weren't statue-fied anymore, Piper quickly placed her hands back down by her side. The looks of confusion weren't on the men's faces as Piper expected. They looked concerned. Her dad looked behind him to see none of his daughters. Sam stepped around him. Victor stared at the man who walked up to his daughters and ex mother-in-law. He seemed vaguely familiar. The man then hugged the girl Victor assumed was Paige. Oh, that must be Sam! Victor grimaced. Here he was, faced with the man his ex left him for! Keep calm! Don't let him know he got to you!
"What happened?" Sam asked, not letting go of Paige.
"That's what I would like to know as well," Victor said as he came up, folding his arms.
"Your daughters vanquished a warlock, that's what happened," Grams said proudly.
"My knowledge of all things supernatural is a bit rusty. What is a warlock?" The three older Halliwell siblings opened their mouths in shock. He knew?!
"You know? How could you know?" Phoebe asked, perplexed.
"Your mother told me when Prue was born. She told me that all children born to her would be witches."
"And you didn't think to tell us about it growing up?" Prue inquired, outraged that her childhood had been a complete lie. First Grams, and now her father?
"Prudence, calm down. Your grandmother wouldn't let me and if I had it my way, you wouldn't know until she had passed. You wouldn't have your powers now." Prue rolled her eyes and looked to Piper, who was looking down. She was so angry! Her anger activated her power and abruptly, Victor was tossed against the front door. He shouted out in surprise and pain when his back met the solid wood. Phoebe, Piper, and Paige stared at their older sister. Sam looked amused and worried at the same time. I hope I never upset Paige like that. The cries of protest were great.
"Geez, Prue! Tell him how you really feel!"
"Prudence!"
"Prue, stop it!" While Piper and Phoebe went to see if daddy dearest wasn't harmed, Grams twirled Prue by the arm to face her.
"Prue, go upstairs! Come down when I call for you!"
"I'm not a child-" Prue's complaint died on her lips as she felt herself being lifted into the air and soaring backwards up the stairs. Once she landed back on her feet, she stalked to her old bedroom and slammed the door shut with a thrust of her head.
Downstairs, Phoebe and Piper were holding Victor up, with Victor attempting to free his arms. Sam had moved behind Paige and had her by the shoulders. Penny was rubbing her temples; if her head didn't hurt from the fall, it definitely hurt now! Prue had gone back to the way she was when she was seventeen. Penny didn't know if she would be able to handle Prue, Phoebe, and Paige's attitudes!
"Victor, perhaps it's time for you to leave," Penny proposed. Piper and Phoebe looked crestfallen.
"But he just got here!" Phoebe whined.
"No, no, Phoebe, it's okay. I'll come back, I promise," Victor said. He hugged Phoebe and then Piper before turning on his heel and walking out of the door. The two sisters watched him leave with heavy hearts. Phoebe wanted so badly for him to stay! She turned and stomped up to her room, mumbling under her breath. Piper followed, intent on calming both her sisters. Paige stayed behind, not sure if she should follow her sisters or not.
"I should be going, too," Sam said. He squeezed Paige's shoulders and lifted his hands. Penny stopped him with a hand to the wrist.
"Sam, wait. Talk to Paige."
"We did talk," Paige insisted. She still felt a little weird about it, but she was closer to her father, and that was all that mattered.
"We did, but I have to go. I have to tell my other charges about my probation." Sam gave Paige a one-armed hug and sprinted out of the door. Penny walked to the stairwell and placed her hand on her hip. She didn't want to deal with two temperamental granddaughters!
"Are you okay?" Paige asked, coming up behind her. Penny nodded.
"I'm fine, dear. Why don't you go up and talk to your sisters? Knock some sense into them?" Paige laughed and took the stairs two at a time. Penny's eyes followed her until she disappeared around the corner. She sighed and went to the kitchen to do something, anything to get her mind off of things!
Paige didn't see her sisters in Phoebe's room, nor Grams' room. She noticed her bedroom door was open, which was strange, as she had closed it before she went downstairs for breakfast that morning. As she crept closer and closer, she heard voices, her sisters' voices. What were they doing in her room? Paige stopped at the side and listened in. Piper was talking.
"I know, Phoebe, just calm down! Grams must have her reasons!"
"She's right, Phoebe, Grams does have her reasons, but I still don't understand why she didn't tell us about our heritage growing up!"
"She already told us, Prue! To protect us!"
"Oh-okay! Calm down, now! You too, Prue!"
So Piper is the peace-keeper. I wonder why. Caught up in her thoughts, Paige didn't notice the room get quiet and her sisters at the doorway gawping at her.
"You can come in, you know. It is your room, after all." Paige jumped at the sound of Phoebe's voice in her ear. She turned to see Prue and Piper behind Phoebe.
"Phoebe, you scared me!"
"Sorry." Phoebe grabbed Paige's hand and led her to the bed, where Piper and Prue were already seated. She pulled Paige onto the bed. Phoebe arranged herself halfway in Piper's lap, with her feet on Prue's back. Paige sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed.
"Does Grams want us to come down?" Prue asked, breaking the silence.
"No, she is just starting dinner, I think." Paige answered.
"Is she upset with us?" Phoebe brought up.
"No." Paige reiterated.
"That man that was behind you, is he your father? Where did you two go? What did you talk about?" Piper asked, desperate to change the subject.
"Yeah, he is my father. When you guys left, Mr. Wilder took me to Reeve's. We didn't talk about much. We made small talk, that's it."
" 'Mr. Wilder'? Paige, he's your father, not some toothless drunk from the streets!" Paige huffed at Prue.
"I'm not comfortable calling him 'Dad' just yet. A month ago, he was my assistant principal, now he's my dad. How would you feel?" Phoebe snorted a laugh.
"Probably the same as you!"
As the sisters laughed and talked more, Paige found herself moving closer to them. She laid on her back next to Prue and set her legs on top of Phoebe's, so they formed an upside down T. Piper combed Phoebe's hair with her fingers as Prue inspected her fingernails.
"Can I ask you a question?" Paige enquired.
"Yeah, sure," Prue said.
"How come you hate your dad?" The question stunned the older sisters. Prue assumed Paige would ask about hair, clothes, nails, anything but her father. How could she tell someone who has lost their adopted dad and found their biological dad that she hated hers? Piper and Phoebe bit their lips. The subject of dads was a tricky topic, especially if the discussion was about their dad.
"I don't hate him, per say. I just…don't trust him." Prue confessed.
"Why?"
"You have to understand, Paige, that Mom and our dad were married before she met your dad. Something happened, which made Dad leave the house for weeks and then come back. The last time he came back, they called it quits," Prue told Paige.
"I'm guessing that 'something' was demon attacks? Or Mom and Grams telling him about our powers," Phoebe said. Prue got a hold of Paige's hand and squeezed.
"I'm not blaming you and I don't hate your dad for what he did. It wasn't just him, it was Mom, too."
"When Mom died, he came back and stayed to help Grams raise us. Big mistake. He left again," Piper contributed to the conversation.
"So, he hasn't been around much and you resent him for that?"
"Prue does. Piper and I try to fill him in on what's been up."
"Phoebe…." Piper dropped her foot on the bed, causing a dull thump and Prue's silence. Another verbal altercation avoided!
Penny hoped the girls weren't having World War III. If they were, she was sure Phoebe and Paige would be on one side, and Prue and Piper on the opposition. Although Piper was the peace keeper between her sisters, she tended to side with Prue more than Phoebe. Even though Prue and Phoebe were both Scorpios, they acted totally different! Prue was the typical oldest sibling in Phoebe's eyes. Phoebe was the typical baby sibling in Prue's eyes. As the eldest, Prue was bossy and responsible. Everything was always serious for her. Phoebe was the free spirit of the family, until Paige came along. During the past few weeks, Penny noticed Paige coming out of her shell more each day. She saw Phoebe in her, as well as Prue. Due to her Whitelighter nature, Paige had an affinity for helping people, like Piper, but Piper wasn't part Whitelighter. Piper cared for all of her sisters. If one was having a bad day, she would be there to cheer her up. Penny realized that the sisters shared more traits than having differing ones.
"Time to start cooking," Penny said to herself. World War III was not upon her, as she heard nothing from upstairs. She hoped they were getting to know Paige more. They were a pretty good team, when they were on the same page!
"Speaking of our powers, did you notice how we're getting better at controlling them? Well, you three are, I can't control mine, because it only happens when I touch something!" Phoebe grumbled. To her, seeing the future was cool and all, but compared to moving things and freezing things with one's mind, premonitions lost their appeal.
"Yeah! I don't have to move my head anymore! It was getting annoying!" Paige said excitedly.
"Ditto on that," Prue agreed, "But the squinting? I'm getting tired of that!"
"Don't you two worry. I'm sure you'll both be whipping your hands out by the end of the year!" Piper replied. "Did you notice how long my freeze went? Almost five minutes!"
The sisters all smiled, visions of more control over their powers going through their heads. But with those visions came fear. The more powerful they were to be, the more scarier and dangerous the monsters they were to face!
"Is anybody else having second thoughts about this?" Piper asked.
"About our powers? Yeah. I mean, I like my power, but the thought of more of those-what are they?- warlocks coming after us is terrifying," Prue quipped.
"We're stronger together, if you didn't notice," Phoebe said in a sing-song voice.
"What are you getting at?" Paige asked, lifting her head up a centimeter.
"I'm saying that you two should move back in." Prue sat up, displacing Paige and Phoebe's legs.
"Why?"
"So whenever a warlock attacks, we'll all be together."
Penny put the last dish onto the table. Tonight's dinner was roast chicken with wild rice and lemon curd as dessert. She got out the plates, flatware, and cups and placed them upon the table as her granddaughters came down the stairs. Looking at them, Penny noticed Phoebe and Paige holding hands while Prue hooked her arm around Phoebe's free arm and led Piper by the hand. A miracle has happened. I wonder what it was. The sisters took their seats, choosing to sit by each other while Penny took the head of the table.
Dinner was not as uncomfortable as it was a few nights ago. It was more pleasant. The girls were discussing sisterly things. Bonding. Penny hid a smile every time Prue and Paige playfully butted elbows or Piper and Phoebe laughed at Paige's jokes. Finally.
"Grams, we've been thinking, you know, about what's happened in the past couple of days." Penny looked at Prue, curious.
"And we notice that we work better together." She moved her attention to Piper, glad that they were catching on.
"And when we're together, our powers work stronger, especially if we're sisterly to each other." Penny's eyes landed on Phoebe. What were they up to?
"So, we thought that Prue and Piper should move back in. Every time we turn around, there's a monster attack. Living together, that should happen less, right?" Smart girls.
Penny cleared her throat. "That's a lovely idea, but where are they going to stay? We only have three rooms." Phoebe and Paige smiled.
"We thought about that and we think Prue and Piper can take Phoebe's room, Phoebe takes mine, and I move in your sewing room," Paige said.
"If it's okay with you?" Prue asked.
Phoebe and Paige held their hands together in a tight grip. Prue looked straight at her and Piper held her fork in a death grip. Penny nodded.
"If that's what you four want, it's up to you. If you want my opinion, though, I say yes." The look of happiness and relief on their faces made Penny's heart melt slightly.
"Can they bring their stuff over tonight?" Phoebe asked.
"Tonight? Phoebe, do you realize how much stuff we have?" Prue objected.
"Put it in storage." Phoebe countered.
Oh, boy. Here we go again!