To Be Charmed
Chapter Fifteen
Almost Together
Disclaimer: Recognizable characters are not mine, unrecognizable ones are.
AN: Umm, sorry? My laptop got stolen, so I waited until Black Friday to get a new one. I also have been working and writing has been the last thing on my mind.
"Talking." Thoughts. Premonitions. "Christy using telepathy to hear and send thoughts."
"Christy! Christy! Wake up! You're safe! Christy!"
Christy's eyes snapped open. The bed sheets were tangled all around her legs and a pillow was on the floor. Rachel bent over her with worry as Billie held back in the doorway.
"What happened?" Rachel asked, checking the girl's forehead for a fever.
"Nightmare," Christy replied.
"Are you okay now?" Billie walked up to the bed and ran her hands over the covers.
"Yeah, I'm okay now."
Not convinced, Rachel had Billie stay with Christy for the night.
"Okay, so what really happened?" Christy turned to face Billie.
"Nothing. Just a nightmare. Go to sleep."
"But…"
"Go to sleep."
Christy smiled as Billie's eyes closed and her breathing slowed. While she was gone, her telepathy had progressed; now she was able to control people. Certain people, of course.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
The next morning held no sign of a storm. Penny got up earlier than her granddaughters and locked herself in the attic. She had to think long and hard about her next move. The past few months had been fantastic! The girls gained control over their powers and even developed new ones! But in the back of Penny's mind, she knew they weren't ready for the Triad. They need more bonding time! With a heavy heart, Penny concocted the binding potion once more.
In San Diego, Rachel fiddled her fingers. She had just bound Christy and Billie's powers. The next step was to remove their memories.
Three years and a month later, it seemed everything had gone back to normal. As normal as normal could be for the Halliwells. Penny died of a heart attack in March, which made the sisters grow more apart than ever. Phoebe moved to New York, in search of Victor, and Paige had set out to find her father, as well. Prue never did marry Roger, after Phoebe confessed that he had hit on her and almost raped her. With Roger in prison, Prue pursued the single life with Piper at the Manor.
Christy and Billie never questioned their aunt about their parents. They grew up never knowing anything about the horrors that awaited them if they unbound their powers. In October, Phoebe returned to Halliwell Manor, under the impression that her oldest sister knew.
"Piper didn't tell you?"
"No, Piper did not tell me you were coming back. If she had, I probably would have changed the locks."
Phoebe smashed her lips together. "Where's Paige?"
"She moved out when you left."
"Where?"
"No idea, told us not to look for her."
"So, you haven't kept in touch? Some big sister you are."
Prue rolled her eyes and walked away. The night before she quit her job and Phoebe, the black sheep sister, showed up. Just her luck!
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
"Just my luck!" Billie mumbled under her breath. She had just started her homework when the power shut off. Luckily, she had multiple candles in her room.
"Billie! Where are you?"
"In here, Christy!"
Billie looked up from her homework as her older sister appeared.
"What?"
"Aunt Rachel forgot to pay the electric bill, so forget about a hot shower."
"Great! Is she going to pay it tomorrow?"
"Shh! You know we don't have the money for it that soon."
Billie rolled her eyes. "Okay, thanks. Now, I have homework to finish."
"Without any light?"
"Candles, duh."
Christy squinted at her little sister, but left the room for her own. The rest of the evening wore on in silence.
The next day, Rachel dropped them off at school, like normal, and then drove to Regina's house. Tyler and Regina had moved from their small apartment to a newly built home. Although, Rachel couldn't fathom how they fit, seeing as the house had only three bedrooms. She rang the doorbell and was greeted by Rhiannon.
"I saw you coming," the girl explained.
"Shouldn't you be at school?" Rachel questioned.
"Start next year," Rhiannon said.
She led Rachel to the living room, where Tyler was watching a Disney movie with Roxana.
"Daddy! Rachel is here!"
Tyler turned to face her.
"Oh, hello. I'll get Regina."
"No need, I'm up. What are you here for, Rachel? Need help with a demon?"
"I haven't needed help in some time," Rachel retorted, "I just thought I'd stop by. The girls are at school."
"Is something wrong with them?"
"No, they're fine. We're all fine. Demons aren't barging in to steal their powers, at least."
"When are you going to unbind them?"
"Don't know. We don't usually bind powers in this family."
The visit was short. Rachel and Regina sniped back and forth about Christy and Billie. Rachel didn't want her nieces killing demons in high school, but Regina argued that that was what they did when they were teens themselves. Tyler eventually broke up the dispute and Rachel went on her way. She had too much to think about.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
At the Manor in San Francisco, Phoebe settled into her new bedroom. There wasn't anything to unpack, so she plopped down on the bed and turned the television on. A knock at the door had her turn the volume down. It was Piper with a tray of sandwiches. The two sisters talked before Prue walked in with more blankets.
"This was always the coldest room in the house," she explained.
A cold room and sibling rivalry were soon going to be the least of the Halliwells' problems.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
The week after Phoebe unbound their powers, Prue wanted answers. Why were their powers bound and memories of having those powers erased? Were there other things that they had no idea about? She was determined to find out.
They had just vanquished Javna and returned home. After lightly scolding Phoebe, Prue stormed up to her room to relax. Phoebe ran up to the attic, intent on reading the Book once more. She came across many spells to regain one's memory back.
"Prue! Piper! Get in here!"
Her older sisters ran at their little sister's calls.
"What? What is it?" Prue asked.
"I found a way to get our memories back!" Phoebe excitedly said.
"No way. I'm not doing a spell," Piper objected.
"You just did one not 45 minutes ago," Prue pointed out.
"That was different," Piper responded.
"Whatever," Prue uttered.
Piper eventually gave in and joined her sisters. They stood in a circle with one purple candle lit. With the spell complete, they glanced at each other expectedly.
"The spell didn't work, now what?" Piper asked.
"What do you mean 'the spell didn't work'? Look at us! We're wearing different clothes! I thought I lost this shirt!" Phoebe pointed and her sisters gazed down in shock. Sure enough, they were in different clothes.
"But the spell was supposed to give us back our memories, not change our wardrobe," Prue argued.
"Maybe we've gone back in time," Phoebe suggested.
"How would that give us back our memories?" Piper questioned.
"Maybe this is the day they were taken," Prue theorized, "and all we have to do is go through the day like normal."
The trio came to a silent agreement. With Prue in the lead, they left the attic and headed downstairs. When they got to the second floor landing, they stopped. There, in the doorway of her old bedroom, stood Grams. She stared at the women, as if she didn't recognize them.
"Don't move one muscle. Who are you and what do you want?"
"Grams. It's us, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. We cast a spell to regain our memories," Phoebe started to explain.
"Memories? What memories?" Grams challenged.
"Memories of us having powers," Prue asserted, "We just found out that we're witches with powers, but we don't remember ever having them."
"We just got our powers. I said a spell from the Book of Shadows," Phoebe contributed.
"Grams! I hear talking. Who is here?" The women turned to see a younger Paige jerk her bedroom door open. She was in her pajamas and looked frustrated. "What is going on?" she asked pointedly.
"Paige, go back to bed," Grams ordered.
Paige gawked at her grandmother. Go back to bed? And miss whatever this was? Older versions of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were standing right in front of her! Paige looked back at the Phoebe she left in the bedroom. Yeah, still asleep! What is going on?
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
What is going on? Rachel asked herself. She had been attacked by no less than seven warlocks ever since she returned home from dropping her nieces off at school. Rachel just couldn't keep up, and her cryokinesis power could only do so much. Maybe it's time to unbind their powers. The girls were only fourteen and twelve; right at the beginning of the sensitive teenage years. Could I really teach them how to use their powers and how to be a witch? Rachel wasn't so sure, but she followed her gut instinct.
Between vanquishing warlocks, she concocted the potion to unbind her nieces' powers. There were many ways to bind and unbind these days, but Rachel only trusted the potions. Once she bottled them, vanquished more warlocks, and then waited patiently for the school day to end. A witch's work is never done.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
After convincing Grams that they weren't warlocks, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe dived straight into questioning. Why did she bind their powers and take their memories? Just binding their powers was safe. Did she bind Paige's powers, too? Take her memories?
"Yes, I will bind her powers, too. Her potion is a bit different, her being part Whitelighter," Grams offered.
"But it's not in the Book," Phoebe protested, "Why is there a binding spell and potion in the Book anyways?"
"It's not in the Book…because you haven't written it down," Prue guessed. Grams did her famous knowing smile.
"Exactly. I do have it written down, but not in the Book. Can't have Darklighters, warlocks, or demons finding it. As for the binding spell and potion, it's there if you need to use it for any reason. Use it on yourself or troublesome witches."
"What about our memories?" Piper asked. Grams blinked.
"Your memories? I erased your memories?"
"Yes," all three replied.
"Why would I do that?" The sisters looked at each other before Prue looked at Grams.
"You weren't, I mean, you aren't going to?"
"No! I was just going to bind your powers and then explain to you when you'll get them back."
Once again, the sisters looked confused. If Grams didn't erase their memories, who did?
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
Rachel hurriedly flipped through her Book of Shadows. The girls were doing homework in the kitchen and she told them she needed to rest. The potions worked, but she felt that something was off. Rachel stopped as she came across a memory spell. Should I give them back their memories? This spell was only to remove memories, there were no other spells that would give memories back. Sighing, Rachel came to a decision and flipped to a blank page. She was no spell genius, but she wasn't terrible, either.
After a few minutes, she jotted down the spell with a Sharpie and chanted when she was finished. "Let those whose minds were erased become interlaced. Let their memories return so that they can learn."
Just as she uttered the last syllable, she heard pencils drop and a gulp of air.
"AUNT RACHEL!"
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
The Halliwell sisters, minus Paige, were confounded. Up until ten seconds ago, they had no memory of being witches. Now, they remembered everything.
"Oh, my God," Phoebe mumbled.
"Paige," Prue whispered, "Wait. How do we have our memories back? Why do we have our memories?"
Grams leaned forward in her seat. The women were seated in the living room discussing family matters.
"Whoever removed your memories must have given them back in your time," Grams guessed.
"Gotta love time travel," Phoebe smiled.
"We have to get back," Prue asserted, "We have to find Paige."
"Paige is missing?" Grams stood up. She wanted to, had to help! One of her granddaughters was missing!
"No, well, we don't know where she is, but she moved out. After you-ow! Prue!" Piper held her hand after Prue pinched it.
"She doesn't need to know that," Prue said.
"Know what, dear?"
"Nothing," all three sisters chorused.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
Paige Matthews was having the worst day. Her alarm clock did not go off for her 8 AM class, so she missed the first twenty minutes, as well as breakfast. Her next class started at 12:30 and it was now 11:45. Come on, come on! I'm going to be late! Paige tapped her foot and crossed her arms. Here she was, in line for a simple coffee and croissant, behind twenty other people. She just wanted to have enough time to enjoy her food and beverage. Guess I'll start that project later. Paige finally got up to the register and, taking a quick breath, ordered, "Medium coffee, three creams, two sugars. One croissant."
The cashier quickly typed Paige's order in the system and took her credit card. At last. Paige thanked the young adult and placed her card back in her wallet. She waited for her croissant to be warmed before moseying on over to a free seat.
"Hectic day?"
Paige looked up. In front of her stood a man, about two years older than her. He was in a suit and wearing a knowing smile.
"Yeah. College, ya' know? And my alarm clock decided to play hooky," Paige replied nonchalantly. Go back to your desk. She had no patience for small talk at the time. Unfortunately, the guy plopped down in the chair right across from hers.
"Right, I remember college. Tough days, but I made it. Graduated valedictorian."
"That's nice," Paige muttered.
"Marcus," he announced, holding his hand out for a shake. Paige reached out to take it, intending to death grip the guy.
"Paige? Coffee, three creams, two sugars!" She turned towards the counter, where an older man held her coffee out.
"Thanks!" Paige rushed over to grab her cup.
"Nice name," Marcus complimented.
"I think so, too," Paige countered. She sat and sipped her coffee, willing Marcus to disappear. Unfortunately, he didn't move.
"Now, what about my name?"
"Huh?"
"My name. What do you think about Marcus?"
Paige internally rolled her eyes. I so don't need this right now! "It's nice."
"Just nice?"
Paige held her hot coffee in her hands. She could see herself dumping it on the pretentious snot, but that would leave her with no coffee and a lost $2.50. Seeing leaving as her only option, she stuffed her half eaten croissant in her bag and prepared to stand up when a voice stopped her.
"Marcus? What are you doing here? I thought you were having lunch at The Snack Shack?"
Paige turned her head to look at the woman speaking and almost stumbled over from shock. The woman looked almost like her father, minus the gray hair and facial hair.
"Meredith, hi. I didn't go, cause there was a line, so I popped in here for a coffee," Marcus explained.
"Who's this?" Meredith pointed to Paige.
"Leaving," Paige announced, taking one last sip of her coffee before winding through the crowd to get to the exit. She heard the two arguing before taking a step outside.
"What a day," she mumbled to herself.
~TBC Chapter Fifteen~
"What is this called again?" Prue looked to Phoebe.
"Scrying. It'll help us find Paige," Phoebe said from her stance at the Book of Shadows.
Prue held a purple crystal on a string over a map of California, feeling silly. Her sisters and she had gotten back from the past, ready to find Paige. Piper sat on Aunt Pearl's couch, anxiously waiting.
"But didn't it say that it'll go faster if we have something of the person we're trying to find?" Piper asked. Phoebe nodded.
"Yeah, but Paige moved out six months ago, leaving nothing. What do you suppose we use?"
"I say we use a spell," Prue suggested. The crystal had not stopped spinning since she began scrying three minutes ago.
"What spell? The 'To Find a Lost Sister spell," Piper joked.
"How about the 'To Call a Lost Witch' spell?" Phoebe smirked.
"What? No way. That's a real spell?" Prue walked over to the podium. There it was in plain sight.
"Says we need blood. Our blood," Phoebe read.