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While her foray into the kitchen in the early hours of the morning was in pursuit of calming tea, Patty instantly went on alert as she heard someone moving around. Her mother should have still been asleep, Victor was out of town (again, some acrimonious voice in Patty’s head added), and Sam would’ve orbed to either Patty’s bedroom or the attic.
Back against the wall, she slid further down towards the kitchen. Whoever it was seemed to be trying to be quiet but wasn’t doing a good job. With the first floor empty, however, it still afforded the occupant some privacy. Or would have, if Patty hadn’t given into the insomnia. Sliding down the wall soundlessly, she took a quiet breath and peered around the corner, low enough to avoid sight.
The figure was bent over something on the counter, clad in dark combat boots, jeans, and a leather jacket. She couldn’t see their face, just a mess of dark hair. Bringing her hands up, Patty flicked them out towards the figure, sensing when her power activated.
Figure unmoving, Patty took a beat to confirm that they hadn’t moved and straightened, coming around the corner. While she wasn’t as ferocious of a demon hunter as her mother, Patty could more than hold her own against a solitary demon.
As she entered the kitchen, however, Patty realized that the figure hadn’t frozen due to her power but was instead taking shallow breaths, one hand against their ribs. Alarm dissipated as soon as it arose as the figure turned, revealing a familiar face. “Philly?”
Her younger sister grimaced, her further turn revealing the extent of her injuries. Her pale skin contrasted sharply to the dark blue and purple along her ribs, along with the sluggishly bleeding wound along her forearm. “Hey, Patty.”
“What happened?” she demanded, finishing her evaluation with another once over of her sister.
“Oh, you know, I was just-” her sister cut herself off with a hiss when she stretched too far the other way, shirt dropping down to cover her ribs. “-just in the area and thought I’d stop by.”
“Philippa.”
Patty was confident that Pippa’s wince was from Patty’s stern tone over Pippa’s injuries this time.
“You sound like Mom,” Pippa complained. When Patty fixed her younger sister with a look, Pippa sighed and admitted, “Demon attack. There were… complications.”
“Complications,” Patty repeated. “I’m calling Sam-”
“Don’t,” Pippa snapped. “He is not my Whitelighter, and I’ve finally seemed to shake the Elders’ ridiculous attempts at giving me one. Besides, not a good idea to bring your lover into the house you share with your husband, isn’t it?”
Something caught in Patty’s chest as she asked, “How-”
“C’mon, Patty,” Pippa shifted, pressing the icepack to her ribs. “I may not be here, but I’m not stupid. Besides, I may have not gotten the most useful power in the family, but I did get something.”
“You Saw us?”
Pippa waved her other hand dismissively. “Eh, only a little, wasn’t trying to. Makes sense why you were so insistent on him staying though.”
Patty sighed as she grabbed the first aid kit from underneath a counter, ushering Pippa to sit. There wasn’t likely much that she could do for the ribs, but she could at least fix up the gash on her sister’s arm. “It really wasn’t because of that, Pip.”
“C’mon, Patty, you went against Mom for him, which you didn’t even do for your actual husband. How’s that going anyways?”
“It’s… hard,” Patty admitted. “He and Mom don’t get along.”
“Well, of course they don’t, Patty. Did you expect that they would? Mom only gets along with people who listen to her every word and raises hell with anyone who disagrees with her.” The words were almost acidic, but Pippa’s tone was so neutral that it made Patty’s heart ache. Her sister and mother’s relationship was a mess that Patty had never been quite able to fix.
“I think that’s harsh, Philly,” Patty said quietly, cleaning small bits of gravel from Pippa’s wound.
Pippa sighed, something a little frustrated in the sound. “C’mon, Patty. All you ever do is mediate between them.”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t have experience.” Her tone was light, but Pippa grimaced.
“Yeah, except now it’s a choice.”
“Meaning?” Patty gently applied antiseptic ointment around the gash, not meeting her sister’s eyes.
“Meaning that you’re choosing to do it now, Patty.” Pippa’s voice was more serious than Patty typically heard her sister speak. “It was one thing mediating between me and Mom when we were kids, but now? You’re only twenty four. You don’t have to stay and do what Mom tells you.”
“Pippa…” Patty trailed off, unsure of what to say. This wasn’t exactly a new discussion that she’d had with Pippa, but it was one that they’d never really agreed on.
Pippa leaned forward, twisting her arm easily out of Patty’s grasp to grab her hands, eyes shining brightly as she pleaded, “Come with me. There’s a whole world out there, beyond San Francisco. You can’t just stay here forever, in this house, always listening to Mom.”
Patty sighed, gently pulling her hands out of Pippa’s. “Just because that’s your path doesn’t make it mine. Have you considered that maybe I like my life here?”
“Do you?” Pippa countered immediately. “No, really, Patty, do you actually enjoy this?”
Patty went quiet, pulling her sister’s arm back towards her to bandage her arm. It was… more complicated for her than it had ever been for Pippa. Ever since they were teenagers, Pippa had always craved freedom, whereas Patty had desired… The best way that she’d ever been able to describe it, even to herself, was community. It was one of the reasons that whenever someone wanted or needed the help of a Halliwell witch, it was Patty that they sought out. But she couldn’t deny that she still was often alone, besides her mother or Victor (when they weren’t in one of their odd off stages again like they were now) or Sam. But the life that her sister led? Patty wasn’t sure if she could truly say that she wanted to follow it.
Pippa’s arm bandaged, Patty finally said, “I’m content. More than I would be out there.”
Patty could tell by the look in Pippa’s eyes that she wasn’t satisfied, but her sister didn’t push her again. With a gentle tap on Pippa’s bandaged arm, Patty let go and asked, “Will you be staying tonight?”
“No, I just needed some potion ingredients for another potion. I’ll be gone in a few hours.” Pippa stood again, and Patty followed. “Unless… I mean, unless you’d like to help me brew it before I head out?”
Patty heard the implication under her sister’s words. Pippa was rarely home and often too difficult to track down to go out and see. With Patty refusing (once more) to follow her out on her travels, it was the least that she could do to have the chance to spend a bit more time with her sister. With a genuine smile, Patty said, “I’d be happy to.”