Living Room, First Floor

|Living Room|

Dozens of blue and white orbs of light appear in the living room of the apartment, reforming into the bodies of Paige Matthews and Henry Mitchell. Letting go of her husband, Paige turns to him and smiles. It was nice having a husband that had gotten used to orbing so quickly; saved them so much money on gas. Letting out a small breath of air, Paige looks around the living room with a smile. Not only was it nice being married to someone who accepted her being a witch and a Whitelighter hybrid, but it was nice living with her husband in their own apartment.

Though leaving the Manor, sometimes used as a base of operations for the Charmed Ones, was somewhat hard on the youngest Charmed sister, Paige knew that it was the best thing to do. Piper and Leo were finally back together, raising the boys up in a warm and loving household. Not to mention, a little while after destroying the Triad and the Ultimate Power, Piper had realized the one thing that was the final push for Paige to move out: she was pregnant. Paige, knowing that it was her time to break out of the Halliwell household and move in with Henry (the two had been living very cramped in her bedroom) in his old apartment.

(Thankfully Miss Macklin gave it back to him at a good price...) Paige thinks to herself, letting her eyes fall away from looking around the room and into the multiple presents that she orbed with her. Paige, celebrating her 29th birthday today, just now got back from spending her birthday party at the Manor with her sisters. It was nice, having the trio of warren witches together again under the same roof. It gave them time to catch up on the little things that they had been missing in each other's lives. Stuff like Wyatt learning to speak more, or something funny that happened between Phoebe and Cooper.

Now, back in her apartment, Paige gently places the gifts that she was holding in her hand onto the ground beside the other belongings that were brought along. "Bedroom!" Paige commands and waves her hands, watching as the objects are surrounded by the same orbs that transported Paige and Henry into the apartment into the empty bedroom that was being used mainly for storage space. Nodding her head, she turns her attention back towards Henry with a toothy smile. "So...did you have fun today?" She asks, leaning towards him and resting her head on his chest.

Henry smiles at his wife, softly kissing the top of her head before answering. "I had fun because you had fun," he says, wrapping his arms around her. I know how much you miss your sisters, miss that house, miss that life. But Henry was glad 'that life' was over. At least, the constant rush of maybe-you'd-better-leave's or I-really-can't-talk-right-now's.

Because what Paige didn't know, was that every time she went out to battle with the Power of Three, Henry told her he was cool with it and told her that he trusted her--but deep down, he was terrified she wouldn't come back.

But such thoughts! And on her birthday! Today was a day of celebration. He pulls her a little closer, gently running his hand along her back. And, honestly, Henry had had fun. Piper, now that Leo was back and Wyatt wasn't about to turn evil, had let herself smile without a trace of cynicism. And Phoebe! Ever since she'd accepted love for love, she had a certain glow. And the kids...

Kids, he thinks, smiling softly into Paige's hair. He is quiet for a moment, thinking and enjoying the presence of his wife--and then he pulls back slightly, so he can see her face. "So," he asks. "You think you can handle one more present or should I just run and quickly shove it in a closet somewhere?" He shrugs. "Please say no," he jokes. "Then I can save it for next year. Or," he looks off to the side, pretending to contemplate his options. "Christmas? Labor Day?"

"You think you can handle one more present or should I just run and quickly shove it in a closet somewhere?"

Paige, lost in the moment of relaxation and happiness, tilts her head with a quirky smile on her face as she leans back and looks at her husband's dark eyes. "Henry..." She begins to say, but is quickly cut off.

"Please say no, then I can save it for next year. Or Christmas? Labor Day?"

Letting out a laugh, Paige takes a couple steps back from her husband and thinks it over for a couple seconds. "Well, I've already gotten a lot of good gifts from everyone else...It might be a good idea to spread the presents out over the span of the year, you know?" She says, her tone obviously one of sarcasm and humor. A little juvenile, sure, but this is Paige we're talking about. Besides, Henry knows how much she loves him and playing around with him is always fun.

After a couple of seconds, she walks over to the couch and sits down on it, closing her eyes. "Why don't you surprise me?" She asks, opening one eye and holding her hands out with her palms open. She gives her husband a smile, closing her eyes again and waiting for his present to appear in her hands (and not by magical means).

Henry twitches his trademark half-smile, hearing the playfulness in her voice. God, I love that about you, he thinks, suddenly thinking back to the first time they'd met. The half-smile widens as his (currently) dark-haired wife makes herself comfy on the couch, hands out, waiting.

Walking towards the couch, he sits down next to her, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small black box. "All right now," he warns in his soft but confident voice. "I'm not much of a poet, but--"

He opens the box, revealing an intricately delicate silver necklace:



"Open your eyes, silly," he nudges her with his shoulder. "And read what it says."

He traces with his fingers, the words that are engraved on the back of the necklace, traveling along the curves of the triquetra, from left, circling around, to right, circling around, to bottom, where it all comes together in the middle, the final two words forming a circle.

Paige opens her eyes, staring at the beautiful piece of jewelry in front of her. Her mouth opens in an 'oh' of surprise, her eyes widening a bit as the hybrid tries to find words to describe how she felt about the necklace in front of her. It wasn't anything too flashy or fancy, but the message behind it was what was most important to Paige. "Henry..." She says for a second time in the past few minutes, but this time she isn't cut off; she merely is at a loss for words to describe how she feels. Paige reaches forward, taking the necklace carefully in her hand.

She toys with the necklace, reading the inscription in the back a couple of times. "Henry, really...It's beautiful..." Paige finally manages to say after a few seconds of silence, looking away from the necklace and up at her husband with a smile on her face. She unclasps the chain on the jewelry, putting it around her neck and attaching them together. She gives the necklace a soft tug, just to make sure that it's secure around her neck. "I don't know, maybe saving it for Labor Day might have been a better idea...That way, the anticipation would be higher than it was five minutes ago." Paige says, breaking the silence with a small smirk.

[Jingle, jingle, jingle...Sorry to cut this short, but Paige is needed Up There.]

Paige's smirk falters, resulting in her sighing and leaning back into the sofa. (They do this, they ALWAYS do this!) She thinks bitterly to herself, though knowing that if she were to ignore the callings from Up Above, it would just result in her getting in trouble. She turns to look at Henry, giving him a sympathetic smile and sighing once more before speaking. "I'm sorry, honey. They call, I must answer, you know how it is."

She stands up, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at Henry. "I promise, I'll make it up to you." Paige adds, bringing her hand up and toying with the new necklace. Honestly, it seems like those Up There chose to ring up their Whitelighters at the most inopportune times. True that Paige had decided it was time to get more in touch with her Whitelighter side, but couldn't the Elders use their all knowing powers to see that she was busy? Closing her eyes, she focuses her energies and orbs Up There.

As she stands, Henry's arm--which had been draped around his wife--drops to his side. As was his norm, his body language showed little of his emotion; only his face ever managed to reveal what he was thinking. And even that was sometimes more stoic than expressionist.

He looks at her in love, smiling an understanding smile--but deep within he is still hurt. He truly believed in the message of the necklace he had just given her: he truly believed in the complexity of her three paths: her wiccan duties, her inner whitelighter, her life with him. It was why he loved her. He loved each part of her, but it still hurt to let her go. To let her become passionate about a magical life he could never truly share.

"I promise, I'll make it up to you."

He's about to open his mouth to respond, but before he can, she has disappeared in a brilliant display of blue lights. "Uh, okay," he says to himself, leaning back in the couch's cushions, his head against the back. "Bye."

As much as he understood her separate lives--this was something he could not understand. How she could just rush off, without giving him a chance to say anything? What if he'd wanted to kiss her goodbye before she went up there?

Wherever up there was.

{To enhance game play, a time blip has been enacted. It is now 9:00PM. Henry may resume posting here. Character Update: Paige and Henry have been giving Freya Cartel, the Treasure, a tour of the apartment to try and get her accustomed to it. The spare bedroom is being turned into Freya's.}

“So, I think that’s the whole apartment, Freya.” Paige says, nodding her head as they return back to the living room area. She looks down at the blonde girl, wondering what’s going on inside of her little head and how it’s wrapping it’s mind around all of this new and improved living conditions. (I can’t imagine being in the primal ages, then encased in ice, then brought to the 21th century…) Paige thinks to herself, taking her eyes away from Freya and bringing them over to Henry.

She still is unsure how her husband is going to take to the idea of basically adopting a child into their family. It’s a very big step to take especially since it’s so close to the big step that Paige just took by moving out of the Manor. (Oh no, my party…) She thinks to herself, remembering the big bash that Piper was wanting to throw her tonight. “Piper is going to be pissed…” She mumbles under her breath, bringing her hand up and smacking herself on the forehead.

(This is more important…Just call her later tonight and explain what’s up…I’m sure she’s going to want to meet Freya anyways…)

Freya stands there, her arms held firmly at her side. Her mind is literally racing, taking in all the new sights, sounds, and even smells of the new age. Things are so…different here. There is always movement, always something going on. The entire sound of this future is anomalous to Freya. Always a noise somewhere, whether it be outside or inside or both. And the sheer difference between outside and inside! This apartment is obviously very different from the small cave that Freya had grown up in.

Even though she was primal royalty, she didn’t grow up in the best conditions. Besides, being used as a sacrifice to host the Treasure was a completely different ball game than the girls in this century had to go through. Most things children in this day and age had to worry about was simply getting the newest Barbie doll, or making sure to watch their cartoon show every Saturday morning. But still, the Treasure was dormant. It didn’t control or manifest itself in her body. The Treasure was still truly encased in ice while it’s host walked freely and had her own free will.

That was the beauty behind finding a human body to place the power inside. The host was brought up to know right from wrong, and to do whatever it took to protect herself, yet she had still maintained free will. Should anything go wrong to change her views of right and wrong, well, the Treasure would go through that same transformation. (That must be why they put me in her care…) She thinks to herself, looking up at Paige.

The woman was being nice enough, of course, and Freya was grateful. Paige wasn’t being condescending, or patronizing in any sense of the word. She was merely trying to make the severely out of date girl feel comfortable in her new home. However, at the sound of Paige’s hand hitting her forehead causes Freya to tilt her head to the side. “Piper…?” The teenager asks, unsure of who or what Paige was talking about.

(This is going to take some getting used to…)

Henry smiles at Freya. "Piper is Paige's sister," he explains, walking slowly towards the young girl. He's about to put his hand on her shoulder but then thinks better of it. Instead, he puts both hands calmly into his pockets. "Piper's the oldest, then Phoebe, then my sweetheart Paige," he continues, but he doesn't look at his wife. In fact, he hasn't really looked at his wife since she's gotten home.

"Pretty much anyone with a 'P' name you can safely assume is related to Paige somehow," he jokes. "I know this is a lot, but you'll do fine." Yeah, but will we? Henry forces himself not to look at Paige. He didn't trust himself to look at Paige and not say what he was thinking. He didn't want to accidently let his thoughts slip--especially in front of Freya.

I knew what I was getting into, he reminds himself. This is just something I'm gonna have to accept. But he still couldn't look at Paige.

"You should go, Paige," he says, trying his hardest to sound supportive. Honestly, though, he wouldn't mind a little time away from Paige. He needed some time to think this over, process what had just happened. "It's your birthday. If Freya," he pauses, collecting his frustration. "If Freya wants to rest or settle in, I can stay with her." He smiles, looking at a space next to Paige's head. "Really."

He shrugs. "Or, she could--"

He doesn't finish his thought. He doesn't know enough about this girl. In fact, he knows pretty much nothing. Would it be safe for her to go to P3? Probably not. Not if the Elders had sent her to Paige to be kept safe. He didn't want to put the invitation out there and get the girl's hopes up.

Besides, apparently Paige was running this show: let her decide.