Paula Baxter

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the P. Baxter **article** at the Charmed Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Biographical Information

### Born

* September 1897  (Aged 73)
* August 7, 1973  (Reborn)

## Magical Characteristics

### Basic Powers

* Spell Casting
* Potion Making
* Scrying
* Mediumship

## Affiliation

### Loyalty

* Good
* The Anderson Line

**Paula** **Baxter** was a witch descended from the Warren line of witches, and possessed the power of molecular deceleration. She was the daughter of an unknown father and Philippa Baxter, the wife of Gordon Johnson, and the mother of Penny Halliwell, and therefore the great-grandmother of the Charmed Ones. Baxter died in December 1970, and was reincarnated three years later as Piper Halliwell, her second great-granddaughter.

## History

### Early Life

Paula possessed the power of molecular deceleration, which allowed her to slow down the movement of molecules so that time itself appeared to be slowed down.

In 1898, Paula's parents built what was referred to, by Beth Whittlesey, as *"a masterpiece"* of a house on Prescott Street in San Francisco in order to keep evil from taking control of the Nexus located underneath the building. As the house was completed when Paula was one, she presumably grew up in it. When the house burned down because of the fires of the 1906 earthquake, Paula and her husband, Gordon, rebuilt it and raised their own family there, thus keeping it (and the Nexus) in the protective custody of the Halliwell line.

At some point in her life, Paula met a man whom she fell in love with. However, she eventually broke up with him in favor of another man named Gordon Johnson. She and Gordon married, though Paula had a brief affair with her former lover before their marriage. She and her new husband lived in her parents' house. Although Johnson was a mortal, he accepted the fact he was married to a witch.

At an uncertain time, Paula's maternal cousins, Phoebe Bowen and Pearl Russell, moved into the house, where they lived for several years.

### Speakeasy

In the 1920s, alcohol was prohibited in the United States. Disagreeing with it, Paula held a speakeasy at her and Gordon's house. She employed Jake Larson as the bartender, while her husband entertained the guests by playing the piano in a small band, Pearl divined the future and made potions, and Phoebe made use of her career as a professional photographer.

Magic appeared to have been practiced openly at the speakeasy, as Pearl made potions and cast spells for other people, and even offered to curse people for others. Paula also used her power in the open at least once, though in a life-threatening situation.

Phoebe and Paula soon came to learn that Pearl's boyfriend, Anton, was an immortal warlock who had seduced her into turning evil, and hoped to steal their powers. After several unsuccessful attempts to sway her back to good, Paula and Phoebe decided to kill her and curse her future-lives to die as well, as they could not risk her and Anton joining forces in any life. Paula was charged with obtaining the curse.

### Fighting Anton

On February 17th, 1924, after Pearl's refusal to talk to Phoebe, Paula gave the curse to Phoebe, who slipped it in her garter.

Later on, Paula was watching Gordon play when she saw her ex-boyfriend in the hallway. She told him that she was married and could not be with him anymore, but he continued to grab her sexually. After saying that that was not like him, he revealed that he was Anton in a glamour. He put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming, but she managed to. After he pulled her to the ground and began to choke her, she tried to use her power on him, but he broke free. Finally, she kicked him in the groin, incapacitating him, stood up and dropped the Grandfather Clock on him.

### Killing Russell

Paula then went into the other room, where she saw Phoebe wrestling with Pearl on the floor. Paula got down to help Phoebe, and began to strangle her evil cousin. However, Phoebe Halliwell, Pearl's reincarnation, then came into possession of Pearl's body and escaped their grip using martial arts before running upstairs. Paula believed that she was luring the two of them into another trap, but they went upstairs anyway after Phoebe Bowen's cryokinetic power missed.

After going upstairs and finding nothing, Paula and Phoebe doubled back downstairs and found *"Russell"* there. Paula began to strangle her again and the cousins recited the curse, which killed her. However, Phoebe Halliwell had left the body and returned to her own in the nick of time. It is unknown as to what the cousins did with the corpse, or what they said to cover it up.

### Later life

In a Boston hotel room on June 23rd, 1930, Paula gave birth to a daughter, Penelope Johnson, through a breach-birth. Penny was, like her mother, a witch, and possessed the power of telekinesis.

Paula passed away in December, 1970, meaning she may have met her eldest great-granddaughter, Prudence "Prue" Halliwell. She was reborn, not long after, as Prue's younger sister, Piper Halliwell. It was said that Piper's half-sister, Paige Matthews, inherited Paula's eyes and good-looks.

## Personality

Paula appeared to be a stern and intimidating woman, brave enough to hold a speakeasy as a protest in the 1920s, though she was less severe compared to her cousin, Phoebe. She was also loyal, as she ended an affair she had for the sake of her marriage.

As a witch, Paula was shown to be as determined and resourceful as Phoebe: during her fight with Anton, though the warlock managed to break free of her power, she managed to incapacitate and knock him out by dropping the Grandfather Clock on him. Besides this, despite her plea for God to forgive her and Phoebe's actions, she still cast the curse upon their evil cousin as they killed her, which demonstrates her being the kind of person who would overcome their feelings to and take terrible actions for what she believed was right.

## Physical Appearance

To Phoebe Halliwell, Paula looked exactly like her sister, Piper, because she recognized her soul. Paula was depicted as having brown hair and eyes, and wore black clothes. According to Paula's daughter, Penny, she looked very similar to Paige Matthews, her youngest great-granddaughter. Paula was also similarly described in the short story, *Old Friend*, from *The Warren Witches*.

## Powers and Abilities

***Basic Powers***
* **Spell Casting:** The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
* **Potion Brewing:** The ability to brew potions.
* **Scrying:** The ability to locate a person or object by the use of a scrying crystal, a map, and sometimes other tools.
* **Mediumship:** The ability to see and commune with spirits of the dead.

***Active Powers***
* **Molecular Deceleration:** The ability to slow down the molecules of a person or object to the point that they appeared to be slowing down in time. Paula channeled this power by flicking her hands at whatever or whoever she wished to slow down.

***Other Powers***
* **High Resistance:** The ability to be highly resistant to otherwise-lethal powers.