Fic: Comes Out of Darkness, Morn (10/37)
Mar. 20th, 2012 07:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sara_wolfTitle: Comes Out of Darkness, Morn
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Pax's disappearance shattered Paige. Losing Prue, three years later, reopens old wounds that she thought she'd managed to close off, forever. But, through tragedy comes a sliver of light, and discovering that she's a witch is only the beginning...
*****
Later that night, Paige and Henry were at P3, sharing a corner booth on the far side of the club. They could barely hear each other over the pounding noise that filled the dance floor, but Henry had solved that problem by scooting close to Paige and slinging an arm around her shoulders. Paige curled against Henry's side, doodling idly on a napkin.
"Two mineral waters," a perky waitress said, plunking the bottles down on the table, and Henry passed her the money to cover the bill.
"I remember the first time I met Prue," Henry said, a nostalgic tone in his voice. "Your hormones were completely out of whack, and you were crying over a billboard for a hamburger restaurant, of all things. And I was trying to calm you down, and you couldn't stop crying, and then here came this crazy woman with a camera around her neck, and she looked like she wanted to rip my head off."
"She would have, too," Paige reminded him, teasingly, "if I hadn't told her that you weren't the reason that I was crying."
"And then she wouldn't stop teasing you about hamburgers for the rest of the week," Henry finished.
"I've been thinking all day about why Prue and I didn't talk more, recently," Paige told him. "And, you know, it was so stupid. I kept telling myself that I was too busy, that I would call her tomorrow-" She shook her head, regretfully. "I never imagined that I would run out of tomorrows."
"You and me, both," Henry replied. "Prue called me last week, we talked for a couple of minutes, but then I had to go to work. I thought I didn't have the time." Hugging Paige close, he added, "Promise me we'll never drift apart like that."
"Never," Paige vowed, quietly. "For Prue," she added, clinking the neck of her bottle against Henry's, gently. "Be at peace, big sis."
"Rest in peace," Henry echoed, a moment later. "Miss you."
"Hey," Paige said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, "do you remember when Prue –"
The two of them chatted for a while, reminiscing over old memories. They were lost in their own little world, letting the noise of the club wash over them in the background, until Paige's attention was caught by the sound of a throat clearing, nearby. Paige looked up, blushing slightly when she saw her boyfriend, Shane, standing over their table. He was scowling at the way Henry's arm was still draped over her shoulders.
"Shane, this is my friend, Henry," Paige said, hoping to stave off a fight before it could even get started. "Henry, this is Shane."
"Getting a little chummy with my girlfriend, aren't you, buddy?" Shane snapped, and Paige heaved an aggravated sigh.
"The jealous boyfriend thing really isn't attractive," she informed the young man.
"We had plans to meet, tonight, remember?" Shane said, pointedly. "Looks like you started without me."
"I'm going to get going," Henry said, a small smirk playing across his face. "I'll see you later, huh?"
"Yeah, talk to you later," Paige promised.
Henry dropped a kiss onto her cheek as he scooted out of the booth, giving Shane a guileless smirk as he passed the younger man. Shane was turning an interesting shade of scarlet as he glared after Henry, and Paige bit back a sigh when he sat down next to her, far closer than he'd done on their previous dates.
"So, what are you doing here?" Shane asked, a little snippily, to her ears.
"Saying goodbye to a friend," Paige told him. When Shane shot her a questioning look, she added, "I was at a funeral, earlier today. Henry and I were toasting Prue's memory."
"Oh," Shane muttered, a chagrined tone in his voice. "I'm, um, I'm sorry. Were you guys close?"
"Pretty close," Paige replied. "Prue and Henry have been there through my best, and my worst. It's going to be hard to imagine life without her in it."
"I'm sorry," Shane repeated, awkwardly. When a waitress passed by a couple of seconds later, he snagged the young woman. "Hey, can we get a couple of longnecks, over here?"
"Nothing for me, thanks," Paige told the waitress, who nodded. The young woman returned about a minute later with Shane's beer, which he fiddled with.
"So, um, a funeral, huh?" he asked.
"How was your day?" Paige interrupted him, taking pity on him and changing the subject before things got even more uncomfortable.
"Pretty good," Shane told her, and then he was off and talking. Paige sat back and sipped her mineral water, content to let his words wash over her.
"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked, after a while, and Shane looked at her in surprise.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked, curiously.
Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the stairwell of the hospital on the other side of town, to stand on the roof. Paige sighed and stretched her arms out at her sides, tipping her head back toward the sky and breathing in the cool night air.
"Aren't you worried we'll get caught?" Shane asked, nervously.
"I like an element of danger," Paige replied, teasingly. Then, she laughed, and added, "Don't worry, I come up here all the time to meditate. I like being up above the rest of the city, like this."
"How do you come up here and not get caught?" Shane demanded.
"I work a couple of times a month as a social worker for the hospital," Paige explained. "I'm listed as an employee, and I have access everywhere, including the roof."
"Oh." For all his worry, Shane seemed almost disappointed that she had such a mundane explanation.
"Now, would you relax?" Paige asked, shaking her head to clear the faint, howling sound that reached her ears. "You're spoiling my serenity."
"Sorry," Shane said, and then he let out a yelp that made Paige jump.
"Geez, Shane-" she exclaimed, turning around, and then she trailed off, staring in shock at the tall, gray man standing on the far end of the roof. "What the hell?" she breathed. "Who are you?" she demanded of the man.
'Your end," the man said, his voice coming out in an eerie moan that made Paige's hair stand on end.
Then, to her amazement, the man formed a whirling ball of energy in the palm of his hand, throwing it at her and Shane. Paige reacted immediately, shoving Shane to the roof and diving out of the way of the incoming blast. She wasn't fast enough, and the energy ball clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning through the air to crash heavily to the roof, her head bouncing off the concrete and making the world spin in front of her eyes.
"Son of a bitch," she growled, as she pushed herself to her feet, wiping away the blood that trickled into her eyes from the gash on her forehead.
She looked toward the man in time to see him disappear in a gust of wind. She stared at the spot where he'd been standing, and then she heard the sound of howling wind from behind her that had her whirling around. The man was standing behind her, another energy ball in the palm of his hand.
Paige focused, electricity leaping between her fingers. She threw the electricity at the same time the man threw his energy ball, and she felt a brief moment of triumph as she hit her target, wounding the man who was trying to kill her.
Then, the energy ball hit her in the chest, sending her flying over the edge of the building…
Continued here
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Pax's disappearance shattered Paige. Losing Prue, three years later, reopens old wounds that she thought she'd managed to close off, forever. But, through tragedy comes a sliver of light, and discovering that she's a witch is only the beginning...
*****
Later that night, Paige and Henry were at P3, sharing a corner booth on the far side of the club. They could barely hear each other over the pounding noise that filled the dance floor, but Henry had solved that problem by scooting close to Paige and slinging an arm around her shoulders. Paige curled against Henry's side, doodling idly on a napkin.
"Two mineral waters," a perky waitress said, plunking the bottles down on the table, and Henry passed her the money to cover the bill.
"I remember the first time I met Prue," Henry said, a nostalgic tone in his voice. "Your hormones were completely out of whack, and you were crying over a billboard for a hamburger restaurant, of all things. And I was trying to calm you down, and you couldn't stop crying, and then here came this crazy woman with a camera around her neck, and she looked like she wanted to rip my head off."
"She would have, too," Paige reminded him, teasingly, "if I hadn't told her that you weren't the reason that I was crying."
"And then she wouldn't stop teasing you about hamburgers for the rest of the week," Henry finished.
"I've been thinking all day about why Prue and I didn't talk more, recently," Paige told him. "And, you know, it was so stupid. I kept telling myself that I was too busy, that I would call her tomorrow-" She shook her head, regretfully. "I never imagined that I would run out of tomorrows."
"You and me, both," Henry replied. "Prue called me last week, we talked for a couple of minutes, but then I had to go to work. I thought I didn't have the time." Hugging Paige close, he added, "Promise me we'll never drift apart like that."
"Never," Paige vowed, quietly. "For Prue," she added, clinking the neck of her bottle against Henry's, gently. "Be at peace, big sis."
"Rest in peace," Henry echoed, a moment later. "Miss you."
"Hey," Paige said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, "do you remember when Prue –"
The two of them chatted for a while, reminiscing over old memories. They were lost in their own little world, letting the noise of the club wash over them in the background, until Paige's attention was caught by the sound of a throat clearing, nearby. Paige looked up, blushing slightly when she saw her boyfriend, Shane, standing over their table. He was scowling at the way Henry's arm was still draped over her shoulders.
"Shane, this is my friend, Henry," Paige said, hoping to stave off a fight before it could even get started. "Henry, this is Shane."
"Getting a little chummy with my girlfriend, aren't you, buddy?" Shane snapped, and Paige heaved an aggravated sigh.
"The jealous boyfriend thing really isn't attractive," she informed the young man.
"We had plans to meet, tonight, remember?" Shane said, pointedly. "Looks like you started without me."
"I'm going to get going," Henry said, a small smirk playing across his face. "I'll see you later, huh?"
"Yeah, talk to you later," Paige promised.
Henry dropped a kiss onto her cheek as he scooted out of the booth, giving Shane a guileless smirk as he passed the younger man. Shane was turning an interesting shade of scarlet as he glared after Henry, and Paige bit back a sigh when he sat down next to her, far closer than he'd done on their previous dates.
"So, what are you doing here?" Shane asked, a little snippily, to her ears.
"Saying goodbye to a friend," Paige told him. When Shane shot her a questioning look, she added, "I was at a funeral, earlier today. Henry and I were toasting Prue's memory."
"Oh," Shane muttered, a chagrined tone in his voice. "I'm, um, I'm sorry. Were you guys close?"
"Pretty close," Paige replied. "Prue and Henry have been there through my best, and my worst. It's going to be hard to imagine life without her in it."
"I'm sorry," Shane repeated, awkwardly. When a waitress passed by a couple of seconds later, he snagged the young woman. "Hey, can we get a couple of longnecks, over here?"
"Nothing for me, thanks," Paige told the waitress, who nodded. The young woman returned about a minute later with Shane's beer, which he fiddled with.
"So, um, a funeral, huh?" he asked.
"How was your day?" Paige interrupted him, taking pity on him and changing the subject before things got even more uncomfortable.
"Pretty good," Shane told her, and then he was off and talking. Paige sat back and sipped her mineral water, content to let his words wash over her.
"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked, after a while, and Shane looked at her in surprise.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked, curiously.
Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the stairwell of the hospital on the other side of town, to stand on the roof. Paige sighed and stretched her arms out at her sides, tipping her head back toward the sky and breathing in the cool night air.
"Aren't you worried we'll get caught?" Shane asked, nervously.
"I like an element of danger," Paige replied, teasingly. Then, she laughed, and added, "Don't worry, I come up here all the time to meditate. I like being up above the rest of the city, like this."
"How do you come up here and not get caught?" Shane demanded.
"I work a couple of times a month as a social worker for the hospital," Paige explained. "I'm listed as an employee, and I have access everywhere, including the roof."
"Oh." For all his worry, Shane seemed almost disappointed that she had such a mundane explanation.
"Now, would you relax?" Paige asked, shaking her head to clear the faint, howling sound that reached her ears. "You're spoiling my serenity."
"Sorry," Shane said, and then he let out a yelp that made Paige jump.
"Geez, Shane-" she exclaimed, turning around, and then she trailed off, staring in shock at the tall, gray man standing on the far end of the roof. "What the hell?" she breathed. "Who are you?" she demanded of the man.
'Your end," the man said, his voice coming out in an eerie moan that made Paige's hair stand on end.
Then, to her amazement, the man formed a whirling ball of energy in the palm of his hand, throwing it at her and Shane. Paige reacted immediately, shoving Shane to the roof and diving out of the way of the incoming blast. She wasn't fast enough, and the energy ball clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning through the air to crash heavily to the roof, her head bouncing off the concrete and making the world spin in front of her eyes.
"Son of a bitch," she growled, as she pushed herself to her feet, wiping away the blood that trickled into her eyes from the gash on her forehead.
She looked toward the man in time to see him disappear in a gust of wind. She stared at the spot where he'd been standing, and then she heard the sound of howling wind from behind her that had her whirling around. The man was standing behind her, another energy ball in the palm of his hand.
Paige focused, electricity leaping between her fingers. She threw the electricity at the same time the man threw his energy ball, and she felt a brief moment of triumph as she hit her target, wounding the man who was trying to kill her.
Then, the energy ball hit her in the chest, sending her flying over the edge of the building…
Continued here
