Normal Life

by Ryeloza

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of Charmed. I especially don't own the dialogue from "Something Wicca This Way Comes." I just like to dabble with the characters.

Setting: Post - "Something Wicca This Way Goes...?"

Author's Notes: This is simply a personal interpretation of what could happen after "Something Wicca This Way Goes...?" I know that on the show this will never happen, but I can always pretend.

I'm just a little girl

I'm Rageddy Ann

Making believe I'm happy

Hey, Rageddy Ann

Falling apart at the seams...

"Raggedy Ann" by Mindy Smith

Adjustments varied from simple to incredibly difficult, and it was most surprising that some of the little things in life were the ones she missed the most. The smell of the air on summer mornings when she woke up. Stumbling down to the kitchen to find coffee made and breakfast laid out. The drive to work. Rushing through her morning routine, crowded in the bathroom with her sisters. The feel of the banister under her fingertips.

She also found herself missing her clothes and jewelry. The photo albums they abandoned. Their old toys and diaries and books. Her laptop with all of her writing saved on it. Scrapbooks. Their grandmother's china.

Mostly, she misses the atmosphere of the manor. The entire house was laced with memory; ghosts of the past. In it she could see her sisters, her mother, her grandmother. She had lived nearly her entire life in that house. It was their home. And now it was gone.

She and Piper had discussed it, and they weren't sure what their father would do with the property. He certainly knew the significance of it better than anyone else in their lives, but he was also the most apt to want to run away from everything it represented: all the death in his life. Even if he sold it, though, they knew he would never get rid of the important things: the Book, the family tree, momentos of his daughters and ex-wife. Anyway, it wouldn't truly matter if he sold the manor. It was not as significant anymore as far as their heritage as witches. Without the nexus it didn't mean much; just memories.

Daily, now, she reminded herself that this new life was exciting. Adventurous. Something brand new. It was the only way she could remain upbeat about what had happened. As desirable as it had seemed when they were describing the plan to Leo, it had turned out absolutely nothing like what they had thought. Her self-reminders, therefore, were helpful in keeping her spirit upbeat for the rest of the family.

Piper was doing the worst. It had been nine weeks since she had seen her children, and the effect of it was written on her every feature. There were dark circles around her eyes and her skin was ashen, telltale signs that their oldest sister had barely slept since their great escape. Phoebe, Paige, and Leo tried to reassure Piper, to remind her that Wyatt and Chris were fine and well, but it didn't seem to help, and Leo now looked at his wife with a gaze of constant worry.

Normal meant nothing to Piper without her family.

Phoebe wasn't sure, in retrospect, how long it had taken them to realize that not everything about the plan would work. They couldn't, after all, just waltz in to their father's apartment, explain to him that they were still alive but hiding out, and simply take the children. Quite quickly they remembered Piper's will would have to be examined. That the courts would get involved to make sure the children were kept with their grandfather, as the will stipulated. Leo, of course, was to be presumed dead with them. Wyatt and Chris, therefore, couldn't simply disappear.

Six months, Paige, with her background in social services, had made Piper and Leo promise. In six months, Paige would orb back to San Francisco and assess the situation, and then they would decide whether or not it was safe to bring the children back.

Phoebe was beginning to wonder if Piper would survive it.

Leaving the country hadn't been part of the original plan either. They stuck around for a week, before discovering that picking up their lives with new faces wouldn't work. They had no documentation, no identities. Finding work would have been impossible. And culminating this problem, within days, Piper had begun to complain constantly about how she couldn't stand to stay glamoured for the rest of her life. It would be traumatic for the boys if their parents were suddenly completely different people, she began insisting. If she already had to abandon her children, she wasn't going to force them to have completely different parents when they did come back. Phoebe remained practical, though, and insisted they leave the United States before even attempting to change back to themselves.

So they disappeared.

Prince Edward Isle had been Phoebe's idea. As a girl she had loved Anne of Green Gables, a series introduced to her by Prue. And who, she said, would think to look for them there?

Unfortunately, after that money became a real issue, and the quartet was faced with the dilemma of being in a country illegally, with no proof of identification. Paige suggested using their powers to make fake documents, but Leo and Piper had immediately vetoed the idea. Phoebe personally agreed that the fallouts of personal gain were worth the cost this time, and she and Paige worked together to create enough fake papers for all of them. They even worked out Wyatt and Chris' well in advance, just in case.

Now, they were Paige Warren, Phoebe Warren, and Piper and Leo Johnson. Piper and Leo had been livid at first about their flagrant disregard for the wiccan rules, but soon came to forgive them. They, it turned out, were the first to find work: Leo in construction, and Piper as the head chef of a small restaurant. For this, Phoebe was very grateful, as both Piper and Leo needed the greatest distraction.

Paige had gotten a job teaching kindergarten nearly three weeks after that, and with her salary they were able to pull together enough to afford an apartment. Even at week nine, though, Phoebe found herself the only one still unemployed. It was not a state she enjoyed. There was too much reminiscence of when Prue was alive; when being a witch was still fun. Now she spent her days listlessly, looking for work and trying not to think about everything she had given up.

Inevitably, though, her mind did wander. She mostly found herself wondering what event had led them to this path, this new destiny. After all, she knew for a fact that five years ago, this was not where she and her sisters had found themselves when they visited the future. This was such a twisted and warped version of that future, that Phoebe could find no common thread to link them together.

Was it Prue's death that led them here? Cole becoming the Source? Leo becoming an Elder? Chris changing his future? Joining the Avatars?

Or was it some little thing? If she hadn't gotten up and gone to work one morning, would their lives be this now?

Fate, she had decided, was not very kind to the Halliwells. And it was with this pondering, that she found herself getting out a notebook and pen one day, and beginning to pen her first novel.

Someday we'll all be gone

But lullabies go on and on...

They never die

That's how you and I will be

"Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)" by Billy Joel

The first night, as soon as they were alone in the hotel room, Piper and Leo had changed back to themselves. Familiarity was something Piper craved, and if she was going to get it anywhere, it would be in the calm of Leo's eyes. Her Leo, not this glamour of her husband. Besides, no one, not even her sisters, had to know.

That night, things still didn't seem so bad. She still thought she'd be collecting her boys in a day or so. She still thought they'd be able to tell her father they were alive, and convince him not to sell the manor. That they could get their hands on the Book right away. Maybe, even, that she could somehow control the fate of P3. What a fool she had been, to believe any of that.

At some point in the next few days, reality dawned on them, one flawed point at a time. Everything that had happened at the manor was on the news. Homeland Security, still convinced the sisters had been in the house at the time, was baffled as to what had happened to their bodies. How could they just vaporize? There wasn't even evidence of a bomb or illegal nuclear substances. It seemed the three sisters had simply disappeared.

A full investigation would be launched. If the sisters had somehow managed to escape the house, they would be found.

It was at that point that Paige timidly pointed out that the first place they would look for them would be at Victor's. Maybe, she said, they should reconsider letting Victor know they were alive.

Piper had been livid. She had stormed around, raged, ranted. How long, she asked, did Paige want her to simply leave her children?

Six months. At least. It had been a blow to her heart so severe, Piper really didn't feel functional anymore. Six months.

In bed that night, she and Leo had discussed it, and, quite painfully, agreed they had to do whatever was safest for their boys. And not only did that mean leaving for quite some time, but it also meant they needed to bind their powers. They could not risk Homeland Security witnessing Wyatt or Chris doing something magical, nor could they risk Wyatt orbing out on Victor. So the next day, Piper got everything she needed to make the potion, and then Paige orbed her to P3 so they could work, hopefully, without interruption. Fortunately, they were successful.

It was the last night in the hotel, and Piper sat and read a spell that transported her and Leo straight to their beautiful boys. She hadn't wanted Phoebe and Paige to come. It was something she and Leo had to do alone.

They found Wyatt and Chris in Victor's bedroom. Chris was lying in the playpen, kicking his feet and staring at the ceiling. Wyatt, too, was awake, lying on a mattress Victor had put on the floor.

"Mommy!" said Wyatt, as soon as he saw her.

Piper walked over, calmly hushing him. "Hi, baby," she said. She scooped him into her arms, nuzzling her nose in his fine hair. "I missed you."

"Hey, big guy," said Leo, tugging on one of Wyatt's little hands. "You being good for Grandpa?"

Wyatt held out his arms to his father and Leo took him. Piper reached into her bag and pulled out the sippy cup she had filled with the potion. "Hey, baby, can you drink this for me?" She handed it to Wyatt, who took it to his mouth without hesitation.

"Good job, buddy," said Leo.

They waited in silence until Wyatt pulled the cup out of his mouth, and Piper took it back from him. "Honey," she said, "can you orb the cup back to you?"

Wyatt held out his hand, as he always did, but to his surprise, and his parents' tragic relief, the cup didn't go anywhere.

"It worked," said Piper breathlessly.

Leo kissed Wyatt's head and lay him back down on the mattress. "I love you," he said. "Mommy and I will always be with you. Remember that."

Piper smiled, fighting back tears. "Love you, baby," she said.

They walked away from Wyatt to Chris, who took the bottle Piper offered him quite readily, sucking down the potion. After he had consumed nearly the entire bottle, Piper bent down and kissed his baby face. "I love you," she said. "I'll always love you." Brushing away the tears that were now streaming down her face, she handed the baby to Leo, who spoke in hushed tones, just as he had with Wyatt.

Once Chris was back in his playpen, Piper took Leo's hand and read the return spell, and they found themselves back in the hotel room. Piper immediately lost control, curling her body into her husband, and sobbing for everything they had lost.

The next day they left the country, and Piper truly felt she would never recover until she had her boys back in her arms again. Life would never be normal, unless she had them back.

That it's a beautiful life

And it's a beautiful world

And it's a beautiful time

To be here- to be here- to be here

"Beautiful Life" by Fisher

Paige found the hardest thing about living this lie, was that she felt completely guilt ridden. She spent her days at work, absolutely loving the children, loving the job, loving the people she worked with. The only thing she job she had ever enjoyed more was her work in social services; that, like witchcraft, had been a life calling. This, though, was a close second.

Outside of work she had her family all to herself, but at t he same time a freedom she had not felt since before she met her sisters. Now that they were not burdened with wiccan duties, Paige could go out and truly enjoy herself. She didn't have to worry about consulting Phoebe or Piper, or making as many group decisions. This new life was very nearly bliss.

And because of these things, she felt horrible.

She was the only one adapting well to this new life. Piper, obviously, was close to falling off of the deep end, with Leo only holding on for her sake. Phoebe seemed to be only holding it together for Piper too, and lately had become deep and contemplative, spending much of her free time scribbling something in a notebook. Paige didn't understand why she was the only one who felt comfortable in these new shoes. For all these years, she had been the one who didn't want to give up witchcraft, and now that, essentially, she had, she was the happiest. It made no sense.

Seeing her family miserable made her feel sick to her stomach. She wanted to help them, to revive them, but she knew it wasn't possible. They wouldn't be able to even begin to heal until Wyatt and Chris were back, and that wouldn't be for months yet. Until then, Paige could do nothing but sit and watch helplessly and try not to hold her happiness over everyone else's heads.

To make matters worse, today she had gotten a call from the Elders, and they wanted to know if she would like to go back to being a Whitelighter. How could she possibly tell the others about that little surprise?

They should have known, she thought now, that the Elders would realize they were still alive. Their powers and presences were not outside of the Elders' reach, no matter where they went or what they looked like. But until today, Paige held some faint belief that they had fallen off of the magical radar in total.

How could she tell Piper? Wouldn't it just make her even more insane?

But, then, it wasn't as though the Elders had asked them to become Charmed again. Maybe, for once, they understood. Maybe they realized that the risks had become too high and that the sisters had to duck out while there was still time.

Somehow, she didn't think Piper would look at the maybes. Instead she'd be her usual pessimistic self and jump to the worst possible conclusion. And the way things were right now, Phoebe might be apt to join her.

Truth be told, though, Paige kind of wanted to go back to being a Whitelighter. A large part of her missed magic, and she regretted not being able to fully develop her Whitelighter half. It too, after all, was part of her heritage. Besides, she attempted to justify, it wouldn't tip off any demons, and her sisters didn't have to get involved. But as long as they were living together, they would have to be aware of what was going on.

Decided, Paige exited her bedroom and came into the living room, flopping down on the couch next to Phoebe, who was still scribbling away furiously. Piper was in the adjoining kitchen with Leo, cooking dinner, but they would both be able to hear her from here.

"So," she said, giving everyone a small smile, "I met with the Elders today."

In the kitchen, Piper dropped a spoon and whipped around to glare at Paige. "Excuse me?" she said.

"What do they want?" asked Phoebe, thankfully calmer than Piper.

"They want to know if I want to pick up my Whitelighter duties again. And I'm going to say yes."

Piper snorted. "Why would you say yes? We're done with the Elders. We all agreed, the only magic we're going to use is to help guide Wyatt and Chris." Her voice cracked a little at the end of her sentence and she dropped into a seat at the kitchen table.

"I know," Paige agreed, ignoring Piper's falter, "but I miss it. And being a Whitelighter isn't going to alert anyone to our presence. If anything, it will be helpful. If I develop my senses well enough, I should get really in tune with Wyatt and Chris, and then I'll know exactly what's going on with them."

"That's a good point," said Leo, more to Piper than anyone else. "It'd be good to have someone to watch over them while we can't."

Piper, whose head had drooped as Leo spoke, nodded slightly, and Leo bent and kissed the back of her head. He whispered something to her, and Paige looked away, not wanting to trespass on a private moment.

"What do you think, Pheebs?"

"I think you should do it, honey," she said with a smile. "It's important to you."

So it was decided.

Paige met with the Elders that night and she was given a new charge, a young witch named Gloria. And it was then that Paige felt complete for the first time in her life.

October 7, 1998

We're witches. Prue, Phoebe, and I are witches. I...This is unbelievable.

Of all the skeletons Mom and Grams possibly could have left in the closet, this is one I absolutely never, ever expected. Nothing could shock me more than this! Nothing!

I can't wrap my mind around this. It's absolutely bizarre.

We're going to have to be so careful from now on.

Ugh.

"The Power of Three will set us free!" said Prue, grabbing mine and Piper's hands. A circle of fire erupted around us and my heart leapt into my throat. This had to work. It had to. "Come on, we've gotta say it together!"

Together the three of us began to chant as Jeremy simply laughed at us. I tried to block out the sound. This would work. We were witches. We could do this.

Around us a wind began to blow, moving everything in the attic and seemingly shaking the earth.

"I am not the only one!" Jeremy yelled, sounding more demonic than before. "I am one of millions! In places you can't even imagine! In forms you would never believe! We are hell on earth!"

With each phrase his voice became more twisted and demented, and I swallowed hard, concentrating solely on our chant, and Prue's hand clutching mine.

And then Jeremy exploded in a blast of light. Beside me, Piper gasped, and I felt Prue's grip on my hand tighten instinctively.

"The Power of Three," said Prue in a tight voice.

We really were the Charmed Ones.