It was quiet, Piper thought and a wistful expression crossed her face. Prue was out on assignment and Paige was working overtime at South Bay Social Services.
Stepping over the threshold into the manor, the second eldest hesitated before flipping the switch, and memories assaulted her, from her childhood with Phoebe all the way to her death in a matter of seconds. Keys hit the foyer table and her purse dropped to the floor. Her gaze fixated on Phoebe's senior portrait.
Prue had put it up days ago, hanging on the wall that had nearly killed them both when Shax had thrown them through it weeks ago. Tears streamed, and her hand flew to her face to desperately try to extinguish the sobs. Phoebe had been going through her rebellious phase back then but somehow Grams had managed to get Phoebe to take a nice photo.
"She must have worked her magic," Piper joked to herself, knowing full well that their Grams was completely capable of casting a spell to get Phoebe to do her will. Hearing the door swing open, Piper brushed her tears away and heard Prue.
"Piper," she gently said and pulled her into a hug. She didn't know what to say anymore.
"I can't do this anymore," Piper cried and Prue hugged her. "I can't keep seeing her face everywhere and knowing –knowing, that it's my fault," her voice broke.
"Oh, Piper," Prue held her and walked her back and forth. "It's not your fault," she reassured her.
"I just miss her so much," she cried and they stood there, locked in each other's embrace as their grief crept back out from the place it had laid hidden.
Paige's head rested against the door frame as she watched Piper and Prue comfort each other over their loss. A single tear fell down her cheek and she quietly turned back to the kitchen door and left the way she came.
Paige hadn't been to see them in months. She was ashamed at how long she had gone without bringing by flowers, and it was late otherwise Paige would have brought some tonight.
A laugh escaped as a thought occurred to her; maybe a witch alone in a cemetery under a full moon was asking for something freaky to happen.
"So much has changed since you guys died," Paige kneeled to the grass and pressed her hands to the cool marble. "I never meant to make you feel as if I didn't love you, or if you were any less my parents because you were. But so much has changed," she said, managing to keep herself from bawling.
"I found my birth family," she laughed through the tears as Paige relied on defense mechanisms to carry her through this grievous moment. "I thought I couldn't lose anymore than I already had and in the manner of twenty-four hours I've lost another mother and a sister and probably my sanity. What do I do," Paige whispered, and realized that she was waiting for a response she would never get. Wind brushed past her hair and a shiver rolled down her back. It was almost sweet and tender, as if some force out there was trying to comfort her.
When she got home, Paige unlocked the huge double doors to the manor and was surprised to see Piper and Prue still up at two o'clock in the morning. She threw her keys and purse down before taking off her short, burnt orange blazer and hanging it up.
It was unusual for her to be so dressed down, as Paige was the type to wear loud pops of color and short skirts with shoes she knew she couldn't afford; today, or rather yesterday, she had opted for skinny jeans, a white v-neck tee and keds. The weight of the day had taken its toll on her and there wasn't enough enthusiasm in her life to put effort into her style at the moment.
"Hey," Piper said wistfully. "We were wondering when you were gonna show up." Sniffling, she wiped her nose with a tissue and Paige could see the red splotches from earlier that evening.
While Piper hadn't been rude or cold –and Paige gave the woman credit for trying to be friendly after losing Phoebe—it was obvious that it took more than she had in her to accept a long lost sister into the fold. At her beckoning, Paige shuffled into the conservatory and threw herself back into the couch directly across from her sisters.
Sisters. It was such a strange word. Actually, the entire notion was strange and alien to her. It had been three weeks since Phoebe's funeral and she still felt like a fog was hanging over her and there was no shining light to guide her to where she was supposed to go. Folding one leg under her ass, she let the other hang over the couch as she finally allowed herself to recognize that exhaustion was dogging her every step.
"I had someplace I needed to be," the youngest one said cryptically. "You know, things to do and people to see."
Prue smiled. "Sounds like Phoebe. I used to wonder how her schedule was so jam packed considering—"
Prue frowned and cut herself off. "I've always been a worker," she said suddenly turning to Paige. "I don't know if that's just me or something Grams ingrained into me," Prue's eyes began to water and she shook her head, biting her lip. "Phoebe, though," Prue chuckled, "she was the life of the party. Always had tons of friends; even strangers felt drawn to her. And I gave her so much crap about it," and for the first time since Paige had known her, Prue sobbed openly.
Piper reached for her sister and hugged Prue to her body while Paige shot up from her seat to sit at Prue's feet, holding onto her as she rested her head on her eldest sister's knees. "I was wondering when you were going to let go," she said more to herself than the others.
"I was so har—hard on her; I never," she cried, "told her how proud I was," Prue trembled against her sisters' hold.
"She knew," Piper said and rubbed her sister's back, and they sat there together, facing their sorrow.
When she came down for breakfast Paige was dressed in a black pencil skirt, a sleeveless coral blouse with a high collared neck that buttoned in the front and had a racer back, and Jimmy Choo pumps with her hair slicked back in elegant up do, taking a page from Prue's professional style. A little more class might just help her earn a promotion to social worker at South Bay.
Cole was sitting at the kitchen table directly across from Prue, while Piper served him a plate of eggs over a pile of pancakes.
"Yech," she joked. "Egg yolk and pancake; no way, sir!"
"Yeah," Prue agreed playfully, "but to each their own."
"Says the woman who drinks coffee strong enough to vanquish demons," Cole replied.
"Not you," Paige reminded him.
Prue tucked her chin down and avoided their gazes; "He's not a demon anymore," she reminded everyone and the joking demeanor suddenly turned into a moment of silence.
"I didn't mean—"Paige tried to apologize when Cole interrupted her.
"That's okay, Paige. Besides," he said on a bright note, "it's nice to know that everyone thinks of me as being too strong to be vanquished by Prudence Halliwell, first born witch and eldest Charmed one. Gives me an edge," he winked and Paige released the breath she was holding.
Sitting, she grabbed a banana and peeled it, dipping it into her coffee and not noticing the very strange looks passing between her sisters and Cole.
"And you made fun of me for my yolk soaked eggs," he chuckled and stole a section of the paper from Prue.
"Hmm?" Paige murmured in between chewing her banana.
"Never mind," Piper said. "Here's your breakfast. Don't forget you guys are meeting me for lunch," she reminded her sisters.
"I'll be there," Prue moved to the counter to refill her mug. "Do you want me to pick you up, Paige?"
"I was thinking I would just orb in," she said and wedged herself in between her sisters to put her plate in the sink, walking to the foyer when Piper and Prue ran in front of her and kept her from leaving for work.
Piper and Prue bumped into each other as they blocked her exit. Pointing, Piper demanded, "Spill!"
"It's nothing," Paige sighed. "It's just, you know, I've been practicing my orbing in my spare time since there is a very likely possibility that the Source of all Evil will be trying to end me."
"I can't even get you to sit down for a potions lesson," Piper said.
"Powers are more fun," Prue said to her. "How long have you been able to orb to another place? Last I checked you still needed to be scared."
"I don't know," Paige said. "I started two weeks ago, and it took me a week to figure out orbing in place and once I had that down it was easier to start thinking of other places I wanted to be. I started with something close by and started playing around with it. Plus," she began, "I was gonna be late to work a couple of times and it came in handy," she said grabbing her keys and purse, throwing a blazer over her arm.
Piper harrumphed, "Well, just make sure you show up on time. I don't want to lose our reservations."
"I'll be there," Paige yelled as she ran out the door.
Piper turned to Prue. "I wonder how long it will take her to get healing down. That could come in handy."
"Don't jinx us," Prue chastised. "We've been able to hold demonic attacks at bay but now that he's had time to regroup you'd better believe the Source has some kind of plan of attack."
"All the more reason for you to go big sister on her ass and get her to take my potions class," Piper said, solemnly. "I don't want to lose another sister," and she walked back to the kitchen.
Prue stood there, alone. "Me either."
Phoebe stood by the stairs, watching as her sisters began to fit into each other's lives. Piper was still hesitant where Paige was concerned, but Phoebe was glad to see they were trying to make things work. Now her concern was Cole.
That was when she was her saddest. She wanted to hold him again, to cling to him like she had when good and evil was tearing them apart. The only happiness she had was in knowing that he was free, even if he wasn't at rest.
Prue had done that for him, or more importantly, she had done it for Phoebe. That made her love her sister even more, knowing that the woman who had raised her and guided her through the most tumultuous events in her life was looking after the only man she had ever loved.
Now she just hoped that she could keep them safe from following in her footsteps.
Prue held onto the railing as she and Cole went down to her darkroom and flipped the light switch when she reached the bottom. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she reached for her camera and instructed Cole to sit against the blue background.
"Are you sure that you can do this," he asked.
"It should be easy. Now sit up straight."
"I mean the whole personal gain thing. This isn't exactly legal, Prue."
Prue put the camera down and fidgeted with her hands, picking her cuticles. "Look," she said smacking her hands together, "I know this is hard for you, facing life as a mortal considering you're over a hundred years old," crossing her eyes at the thought of his true age, "and I would love nothing more than to get your identity back for you but as it is, you are still the subject of an investigation and it will be much easier to give you a chance at a normal human life by assuming a new identity.
"Now, magic used for that purpose is personal gain. I get it," she held up a hand when he tried to interrupt her, "but luckily for you I know people in law enforcement—"
"Darryl," he said and shut up at the look she gave him.
"—who can help us with this. I don't know why you're not taking this seriously."
"Prue, I was a lawyer," he told her. "Do you know how many laws we're going to be breaking? You're talking about forging legal documents, identity theft—"
"We're using your father's name—"
"—and hacking into federal and state databases. How the hell is Darryl pulling this off?"
"He's pulling a few favors from friends in high places. They think you're his informant," Prue shrugged. "We talked, and kind of figured it was a good way to protect all of us, since we get involved in a lot of his cases."
"Still, it seems like one of those soap operas that Piper likes to watch; I'm assuming the identity of a fake twin brother after the death of my girlfriend, for whom I am a possible suspect in her murder," he said with a dramatic voice.
"Yeah," she said giving that cocky side smile, "but I'm fairly certain those shows don't mention demonic hit men and warlocks. Are you ready to become Benjamin Coleridge Turner?"
"Let's hope I don't end up the same way he did."
"Married to and killed by a demon? Are you that ready to move on," she asked and suddenly realized she was interested in his answer. It hadn't occurred to her in the past month that there could ever be a woman out there that could take her sister's place in his life, and Prue found herself upset at the thought that Cole could actually love someone else after Phoebe.
"I don't think you have to worry about that. Phoebe was one of a kind," he said, and Prue felt a weight lift.
"Smile," and her camera flashed.
Prue set the alarm on her car and put her hand to her chest when she turned and Paige orbed in right in front of her. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
They linked arms and walked towards the building, perplexed at the lack of traffic. Prue stopped, halting Paige in the process. "Are we at the right place? This building looks abandoned."
They heard a car pull up and turned to find Piper driving over the gravel lot. Parking, she climbed out of her truck and walked up to her sisters.
"What was that about being late," Paige asked with a smug smile.
Piper gave a small smile. "Sorry, I was dealing with stuff at the club. Good thing it's only two minutes from here."
"Um, what exactly are we doing here," Paige asked. "No offense, but I thought we were getting lunch," she said as they walked into the building after Piper.
Piper walked over to the wall and flipped the switch. "We are," and Leo walked out with a large tray.
"Ladies, please take a seat as soup and salads are served."
"Piper, what's going on?" Prue looked stunned and Paige had never seen her thrown off balance, even during the rare demon attacks she had experienced.
The girls sat and Leo served them and poured wine. "I bought the building," Piper said.
"Excuse me? What happened to no big life changes," Prue asked.
"I decided a life change was necessary. The club is doing well, and since your career took off and we don't have to worry about the mortgage on the house and club anymore I thought it was finally time to open my own restaurant."
"How are you going to manage two businesses, Piper? I mean, we're solvent," Prue said, "and thank the lord for the fact that Grams took out life insurance on all of us because obviously your share of Phoebe's claim is making this possible, but you're only one person."
"I've thought of that, and I have a solution. Cole," Piper said. "I mean, Ben."
"What do you mean," Paige asked.
"He's agreed to run the club. He'll manage booking the bands I tell him to, which means the contracts because he has experience as a lawyer, as well as the paperwork and maintaining our liquor license, staff, etc. It'll give him something to do and I can trust him to do things the way I want."
"When will you open," Paige asked.
"I'm thinking four months. Leo will do the renovations which should be minor," Piper told them, "and I've already recruited my sous chef and my line chefs, and C—Ben has agreed to be the office manager here as well," tripping over his name.
"Well, I guess we could all use a new beginning," Prue said. "What will you call it?"
"I was thinking of calling it Sisters Three," she murmured. "You know, I named the club for you, me and Phoebe," Piper explained. "I thought it might be nice, you know, to name this place for us."
"That's really nice, Piper, but—"
"It's perfect," Prue said nudging the youngest one. "I think Phoebe would love it."
"To Phoebe," Paige offered a toast, and the sisters talked about their futures.