Third Time Charmed

Hell Hath No Fury (Part 3)

Paige hovered on the Halliwells' doorstep for a whole minute before finally ringing the doorbell. She was early, but that wasn't the main reason for her hesitance. It was the uncertainty about what awaited her on the other side of the door.

After losing her parents as a teenager, Paige had allowed herself to believe that meeting her long-lost relatives was a sign, an answer to the emptiness she had carried for so long, a second chance at being part of a family. But if that were the case, wouldn't she have heard from her new sisters sometime in the last week?

What if the destiny she had heard Piper and Prue's grandmother speak of was just about the magic stuff? Did they have room for her in their lives? Did they have room for her in their hearts?

Seeing movement behind the frosted stained-glass panes of the front door, Paige shook off her negative thoughts, took a breath, and steeled herself. When the door opened to greet her, she tried to mask her disappointment.

"Paige," said Leo in surprise, smiling but looking just as tired as he had days prior. He ushered her inside. "Come in, come in."

"Thanks," said Paige, taking in the grand old house as she stepped over the threshold.

"I'm afraid you just missed the girls," Leo explained, leading her into the living room, where they sat down on the couch.

"Oh, don't worry, that's my fault, I know I'm early," she said apologetically. "I would have called, but—"

"But that hasn't worked out very well so far?"

Paige chuckled nervously. "I guess I just...need some answers. I, err, had another Premonition. About a friend of mine. I'm worried he might hurt himself, and I need to know if there's anything I can do to change what I saw. I think it might be time sensitive."

Leo breathed deeply. He wanted the girls to be here for this. "Well, it varies, to be honest. You can usually change the course of a future event, but there will be occasions when a Premonition is to help you understand why something is meant to be."

"Great," said Paige churlishly, afraid that might be the case. "I don't suppose there's any way to differentiate which is which?"

Leo gave her a non-committal shrug. "Tell me about what you've seen, everything you've seen since you were last here."

"Okay, well, there was the near-miss with the coffee," Paige listed on her fingers, "then I won the lottery—"

"But your ticket went blank?" Leo interjected with a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"The Council of Elders—my bosses, a group of powerful Whitelighters—tested Phoebe the same way when she first received her power."

Paige smiled. It was nice to hear she had something in common with Phoebe, and somewhat reassuring to know neither of them had been able to resist trying their luck.

"Well, those examples save me a long lecture on the difference between personal use and personal gain," Leo remarked. "Your powers are primarily for protecting yourself or others. It's okay to use them as you wish, but there's a line, and the Elders will step in if you cross it."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense, but how exactly do I use my power? So far, I've just seen things at random."

"Well, Premonition is a passive power, at least at first. As your magic grows, you might gain more control over it, but I expect that will take some time. For now, you'll get visions at random or when you're supposed to, when you touch people or objects of significance."

"But that's not always how it's worked," Paige contested.

Leo looked intrigued. "Go on," he urged.

"Well, the first I had was when I touched the magic book, but the second was when Shane showed up at the church possessed by the Source, remember?" said Paige, to which Leo gave a confirmatory nod. "That time, I didn't touch anything. The same thing happened when that woman was attacked near my apartment. The vision just popped into my head out of nowhere, unless my TV remote was somehow connected to that demon guy, but it's not like I was watching squids on the Discovery Channel. I can't even afford cable!"