Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 4, 2009 19:19:47 GMT -5
Chapter One - Orbing Sneezes
The next morning Piper Halliwell was sitting on a large rubber ball while Phoebe Halliwell walked around her coaching her on breathing exercises. Leo stood behind Piper, watching silently while Eve, the gypsy midwife Dr. Ava Nicholae had sent them, was leaned over getting something off a nearby table.
“And breath, two, three, four,” Phoebe coached as she walked around. “And relax, two, three, four. And breath, two, three . . .”
Just then Piper lost her balance on the ball and fell off.
“Are you all right?” Leo asked as he squatted down to help her.
“No, I am not all right,” Piper informed him, annoyed, not so much at him as at the whole situation. She did allow Leo to help her stand again.
“Okay, come on, back on the ball,” Phoebe directed.
“You get back on the ball,” Piper ordered, kicking the ball at Phoebe. “I quit.”
“It’s hard at first, I know, Piper,” Eve told her, “but the birthing ball really can make the delivery much easier, especially for home births.”
Piper rolled her eyes heavenward. “Hospital, people.” She threw her hands up. “How many times do I have to tell you crazy people? Hospital, I’m going to the hospital.”
Ignoring Piper Phoebe asked Eve, “What about water birth? Can we do that at home?”
“Sure,” Eve agreed easily. “We can rent a tub.”
“What am I, a dolphin?” Piper asked in disbelief. “I’m not giving birth to fish.”
“Well, actually, dolphins aren’t fish,” Leo pointed out. “They’re mammals.”
“Shut up!” Piper ordered him out the side of her mouth.
It was to this that Paige walked in. “Hey, guys,” she said as she rounded the corner into the room. “Sorry I’m late, I over slept.” Seeing Eve she added, “Hi, Eve.”
“That’s okay,” Eve told her with a bit of laughter in her voice as she once more leaned over to get something off the table. “We’re just getting started.”
“Late night?” Leo asked, slightly accusatory.
Unrepentant Paige informed him that, “As a matter of fact, yes.”
At the sight of a wide plastic tube, Piper’s eyes widened, “What the hell is that?”
Eve smiled, “Uh, nipple enhancer. For breast feeding.”
As Piper’s mouth dropped, Phoebe chuckled. Eve turned back to her bag, looking for something else. While her back was turned, Paige sneezed and something incredible happened. Paige orbed out. She reappeared almost at once, but it was enough to worry her sisters and brother-in-law who all looked at her stunned.
“Gesundheit,” Phoebe offered, unsure what else to do.
“Thanks,” Paige replied, unaware that anything weird had happened. “I’ve been sneezing my head off all morning.”
“Not to mention the rest of you,” Leo informed her, eyes narrowing.
Paige looked back at him confused as Eve, unaware that anything out of the ordinary had happened, offered, “A little ginger root and raspberry leaf will take care of that.” She winked. “Old gypsy remedy.”
“I think we got some of that in the kitchen,” Piper commented. “Why don’t you go see if we got some of that in the kitchen?”
A look of slight confusion crossed Eve’s face before she smiled, again. “Sure. Be right back.”
As Eve left the room all eyes turned to Paige. “What?”
“Hi,” Piper said as she pushed Paige out of the room followed closely by Phoebe and Leo.
“What?” Paige repeated, confused.
“Do you not realize that you just sneezed and orbed at the same time?” Piper asked as she continued to push Paige.
“Ooo,” Phoebe breathed. “It’s a good thing Eve didn’t see that.”
“Well, we saved her gypsy clan,” Paige pointed out not seeing the problem. “I think she’d be fine with it.”
“Yeah, well, it’s one thing to know,” Phoebe reminded her, waving her hand around to emphasize the point, “and it’s another thing to actually see it.”
“I’m more interested in why it happened,” Leo informed Paige with raised eyebrows, “What caused it?” At Paige’s look of slight annoyance he added, “I think you should tell them.”
With curious looks from her sister, Paige glared at Leo and set her jaw. “Fine.” Her voice was a little softer as she looked at Piper and Phoebe. “I tried to vanquish Cole last night.”
“What?” Piper’s response was slightly disbelieving, slightly worried.
“I know,” Paige forestalled any more immediate reprimends. “Don’t do the big sister guilt thing, okay. I knew what I was doing and it almost worked until I got all wet.”
Sounding a little bit superior Leo informed them that, “I tried to talk her out of it.” Of course, he hadn’t told Piper or Phoebe nor done anything more than talk.
Worry in her voice, Phoebe said, “Paige, you could’ve been killed.”
Paige sighed, “So what else is new? I just wanted to give you a little peace.”
Phoebe swiped a piece of hair off her forehead. “That’s very sweet, but I don’t need Cole to be vanquished to find peace. I’m okay, really. I am free of him emotionally.”
“And besides,” Piper added, “I thought we agreed to take a vanquishing hiatus during my last trimester.”
“Well, that’s why I didn’t want to bother you,” Paige tried to explain.
“Well, you should’ve,” Piper scolded, “because this is not something you can do by yourself.”
Feeling ganged up on Paige scowled, “Obviously I disagreed.” With that she marched out of the room, angry at their lack of trust in her ability to stay alive.