title: The Scarecrow and the Tin Man
author: Kristin
rating: harmless
summary: AU. A young Paige seeks answers from her big sister Piper
notes: Just another 'snippet' from a possible life
disclaimer: The characters aren't mine; I'm absolutely not making any money from this

---

"Piper, why did Dorothy say she would miss the Scarecrow most?" Paige asked her older sister as she held a cup of orange juice between her small hands with a fierce grip. Piper pushed tangled bangs away from her eyes as she rolled over to look at her sister.

"Did you just watch The Wizard of Oz?" Piper asked as she carefully took the cup from Paige.

"Uh-huh. With Phoebe," Paige nodded, her voice still quiet with the uncertainty of youth, tinged with an adorable lilt common only to the young.

Piper propped up on her elbow a bit, leaning forward a bit to meet Paige's gaze.

"Well, maybe it's because they met first and Dorothy just felt more familiar with him."

Paige looked down for a minute.

"Do you think Dorothy loved the Scarecrow more than she loved the Tin Man and the Lion?"

Piper took another sip of juice, then placed the cup on her bedside table, sitting up fully now. Paige often came to her with odd questions that were often both adorable and (when she dug deeper) philosophical. Clearly, these questions weren't as innocent as they'd first seemed. But experience had shown Piper that she had to be patient and follow the conversation to an end Paige was content with, as it made Paige happy, making Piper happy in turn.

"No, I think she loved all three of them very much, just the same."

"But she was sadder to leave him."

Piper tried not to sigh as loudly as she would have liked. In a way, though, Paige had a point. And Piper couldn't yet think of a way to counter her assertions.

Paige seemed thoughtful for a moment, though Piper hadn't yet answered her. But Paige was content to suddenly throw her hand out and press her palm against Piper's forehead, partially covering her eyes. Paige squinted, seemingly in deep thought.

"You're still warm. So you're still sick. Are you still sick?"

Piper smiled, gently grabbing Paige's wrist and pulling her hand away from her head.

"I'm not completely healed, but I feel much better."

"I can't give you medicine, but I can get you more juice so you feel better faster."

Paige seemed ready to leave, but Piper kept a grip on her wrist, smiling.

"Why don't you stay here and keep me company? I'm bored. And besides, I have plenty of juice."

Paige smiled and jumped onto Piper's bed, curling under the covers with her. She tucked the blankets tightly around her older sister's shoulders, then brushed her tiny fingers through Piper's hair.

"You have to stay warm," Paige stated, matter-of-factly.

"Yes ma'am, Doctor Paige."

Paige giggled, kicking her feet together under the covers as she rolled onto her back.

"Could I be a doctor?"

"I think you could. Maybe you could be...an astronaut, too. Or a ballerina. Or a wizard."

"Piper, that's silly. Only boys can be wizards."

"Nope. Girls make more magic than boys. So girls can be witches and wizards and warlocks and...president."

"President?" Paige seemed uncertain, scrunching her nose.

"Sure, why not?"

"Okay, but I think you would be the first girl president. Maybe Prue, too. Not me. I'm going to sail around the world. Would you come with me?"

"Only if I could be your first mate."

"Deal," Paige stuck her hand out, as if to seal it. Piper returned the handshake, to which they both started to laugh.

"Am I gonna get your germs?" Paige asked, as an afterthought.

Piper shrugged, reaching over to take another sip of juice before answering her sister.

"I don't know. I hope not. I don't want to have to take care of you if I've just been sick."

Paige didn't react, thinking her sister must be joking, which she was, and quickly amended.

"Well, of course I'd take care of you Paige, you know that. And so would Prue," Piper giggled a bit, tickling Paige's hip for a few seconds.

"What about Phoebe?"

Piper bit her lip, tugging on the blanket a bit.

"Well, Phoebe's the younger sister, like you. So she...gets looked after, she doesn't take care of others right now. When she gets older, I'm sure she will."

"But I'm trying to make you feel better and I'm little, like Phoebe."

Piper realized she'd been pushed into a corner again by her baby sister's logic. Not that the thought hadn't occurred to Piper; she'd just hoped the thought hadn't also occurred to Paige. But it had. And she should've known by now that her sister was too clever not to draw obvious conclusions.

"Yes, you are. But you're...a special baby sister. You're kind of lucky, being the baby--everybody wants to take care of you."

Paige nodded, snuggling into Piper a bit. Piper moved her arms from their position across her stomach to drape one around Paige's shoulders, pulling her head to her chest.

"So, why will she miss the Scarecrow the most?"

Piper sighed obviously now. "Paige, why are you bringing this up again? I don't know why. She'll just miss him more. End of story."

Paige's head remained on Piper's chest, but Piper could visibly feel her sister's disappointment. Piper rolled her eyes, but knew she couldn't allow her sister to stay upset. Clearly, there was more to this, as she'd earlier thought, and it wasn't going to end easily.

"Well, maybe she'll miss him because she didn't get as close to him as she did with the others, and now she's sad that she won't have the chance to."

She could feel Paige perk up, and decided to press the issue a bit.

"Why does it bother you so much, sweetie?"

Paige was quiet, hesitant for a moment. She was afraid to voice it out loud, thinking Piper would laugh, or even worse, agree with her. But she'd always felt a special bond with Piper, and knew if she couldn't tell her...who could she tell?

"Well...I was thinking...Prue is sort of like Dorothy. And you're the Scarecrow, but not because you need a brain...just that you and Prue were the first two. And you're really easy to talk to, just like the Scarecrow...and you always know how to solve things. Pheobe's the Tin Man and...I guess I'm the Cowardly Lion, because I'm last. And no one really liked him too much, and I don't think Dorothy even missed him."

Piper smiled inwardly, knowing that her suspicions were not unfounded. But her heart broke for Paige, who had somehow convinced herself that she symbolized a character least liked and loved.

"Paigey, you're not the Cowardly Lion, first of all. If anything, I think you're the Tin Man. And not because you need a heart--you already have an enormous one; the Tin Man was the sweetest one, I think, and that's definitely who you are. Secondly, if Prue is Dorothy in this scenario, how could you even think she wouldn't miss you and doesn't love you just as much as all of us? In fact, I think she's got a special little place for you, just like I do, that no one can even come close to. I think the Scarecrow and the Tin Man were very close...and that's you and me. I mean, think about it--when Dorothy leaves, they're sort of best buddies, aren't they?"

Paige turned over, head still on Piper's chest, to smile widely.

"So we're the Scarecrow and the Tin Man--best buddies?"

Piper nodded, stroking her fingers through Paige's hair.

"Now...I want to take a nap. So you've got to leave, goober," Piper smiled down at her.

"Can I stay here? I promise I'll be really quiet. I'm tired, too."

Piper pretended to think really hard, making Paige afraid she'd say no.

"I guess," Piper drawled out, her voice playful.

Piper kissed Paige's cheek, and with that, they both sunk beneath the covers, burying their heads into their pillows and dreaming of the land the yellow brick road would lead them to.

END