| The next morning Maria was the first to awaken. She smiled at Michael, and how peaceful he looked in sleep. She slipped out of his arms, surprisingly without awakening him. She quickly got dressed, then after kissing her beloved on the forehead, slipped out the door. She headed downstairs quietly, as so not to wake up the rest of the house. Maria loved the pre-dawn hours. Everything seemed so still and new. She turned on the coffeepot and waited for it to percolate. She then took her cup of coffee and went to sit on the back porch. She curled up in the lounge chair and looked out over the neighborhood. The Manor sat on a hill so she felt like she was able to look out over the whole city. She watched the sun rise over the San Francisco Bay, signaling a new day. She knew today would be the beginning of a new chapter in her life. She wasn�t sure how long she sat out there, but soon she heard the sounds of the house awakening. She continued staring at the view until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Without turning around she knew the hand belonged to Piper. Piper just seemed to have a presence about her that was easily detectable. �Good morning, sister,� Maria said. Piper sat at the end of the lounge chair, just next to Maria�s curled feet. �Do you know I was afraid I was never gonna hear you say that again? You really had me worried.� Maria nodded. �I know. And I�m sorry.� �Do you want to talk about it?� �I probably should,� Maria said shrugging. �I don�t know what happened. It seemed like after I saw Prue I shut down. I remember everything about coming back to the Manor, and everybody talking to me. I remember Max trying to heal me, and Cole yelling at me. But I just couldn�t bring myself to the surface.� Maria laid her head back and closed her eyes. She felt Piper take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. �Then when we got back from the funeral I felt like I was suffocating. I looked around and saw all the sad faces of everyone who loved her. I truly felt like I let everyone down. I just had to get out of there, so I went to one place I felt safe. I didn�t intend to go to the cemetery when I left the house, but I guess my mind knew where I needed to go.� �And that�s where Cole found you,� Piper interjected. Maria nodded. �When he found me I had been yelling at the Powers that Be, hoping they would hear me and bring her back. I even tried a Power of Three spell to call her back. But it didn�t work. He tried to calm me down, but his words fell on deaf ears, I suppose. Then I remembered a spell to give up half of my life to bring her back. I remembered reading about it one your books. Some witch lost her love, and performed the incantation to bring him back. Come to think of it I don�t remember reading if it worked or not though.� �What happened next?� �I felt a great amount of power being pulled from me. That�s when I passed out. But I think in its own way the spell worked.� �How so?� Piper inquired. �While I was out I talked to Prue. She was the one who convinced me that I needed to come back. I wanted nothing more than to stay with her. It was so peaceful there. But she told me that I had a great love, and I shouldn�t take that for granted. And she was right. She told me to face my fears, and to take care of the family. It was then I knew that I had to come back. As much as I miss Prue, I would miss everyone here too, and I don�t think I could last very long without my Spaceboy.� Maria was smiling by the end of her tale. Piper leaned forward and embraced her sister. �Well I, for one, am glad you came back. And I know that you have so many people that care about you. We need you too much here to let you go that easily. I�m just glad you were able to realize that yourself. Now, do you want to come in and have some breakfast?� �You know, I think I am gonna stay out here for a few more minutes. I will be in, in a few.� Piper nodded and headed into the house, leaving Maria in peace. *~*~*~*~ Later in the morning the kids had come back from the hotel, and the group was sitting around the table eating. Piper was beaming from the head of the table, happy to have everyone together. She still felt sorrow for the missing member, but it wasn�t as consuming as before. Maria and Phoebe were laughing at a joke Kyle was telling when there was a knock at the front door. Leo leapt up to answer it. When he opened the door he was faced with a young girl he recognized from Prue�s funeral. �Can I help you?� �Um�yeah�are the Haliwell sisters here?� she asked timidly. �Yes, but they are busy at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?� �Leo? Who�s at the door?� asked Piper walking up behind her husband. �Hi, can we help you?� �Yeah, � um� my name is Paige Matthews, and I think I�m your sister.� TBC |
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