Family Should Be Everything
Chapter One
Phoebe's Attitude
In this one of Charmed, Patty is still around to see her daughters raised. Every single one of them. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. Patty was able to withstand her injuries from the water demon that attacked her when the girls were little, but it left her with a limp in her right hip. Grams of course, is gone by this time but, all the girls and Patty are living in the manor. Prue is 23, Piper is 20, Phoebe is 16, and Paige is 15. While Phoebe and Paige are still in school one afternoon, Prue is in her room going over job applications, and Piper is filling out collage applications.
"Piper honey, I thought that you would have been done with that by now. Have you picked one yet?" Patty asks, while walking into her room and taking a seat at Piper's desk that she just had to have for her last birthday. It has really helped when it came to organizing everything.
"I'm almost done. I've thought about UCLA, and everytime I try to go on to another one to check them out online, I end up right back at UCLA. I bet ya ten to one, that's the one I should be at. It looks really good. The campus is gorgeous, the opportunites there sound promising, flexible class schedules. I think that's the one I'm going to go to. How much time do we have before school lets out?" Piper replies, while still writing on stuff.
"About thirty minutes. If you're going to pick up your sisters today, you better get a move on. Prue was going to, but she's nowhere to be found. She was filling out job applications." Patty tells her, just as the phone rings downstairs. Patty goes to answer it, and it's Phoebe.
"Hey Mom. I just wanted to call and let you know Piper doesn't need to worry about coming and picking me up today. She can get Paige if she wants, but I'm going to the mall with Janie and Sam." Phoebe tells her.
"It sure would be nice if you would ask before just up and taking off like that. Phoebe, we have talked about this already. You know that you're grounded until next week." Patty replies. Phoebe just sighs, says "Whatever Mom." and then hangs up. Patty sits on the rug in front of the fireplace, just gazing into it, almost crying when Piper comes down finally.
"What's up Mom? Are you okay?" Piper asks, sitting next to her.
"Your sister is just starting her stuff again. I don't know what to do with her is all. You better go get them, it's almost time for school to let out." Patty replies, still looking into the fireplace. Piper just leans over, lays her head on her Mom's shoulder, and says, "Love ya Mom. I'll be back." She then goes to see if Prue's car is still there, and it's not. Piper figures that she just went to turn in her applications, and she takes off to go get Phoebe and Paige, not knowing what Phoebe has already pulled on them.
Piper is back home with only Paige, and by this time, Prue is back from her job search, and she is looking for her Mom to tell her that she has a job interview Thursday of that same week.
"Mom! Hey, where is everyone?" Prue hollers through the house, figuring they are out back in the yard or something.
"What's up? What happened?" Patty asks, coming in from the kitchen and seeing Prue with a big smile.
"Okay. You know how much I love art and culture right? Well, I have a job interview Thursday at Buckland's Auction House. I can't wait either. I am so excited about it and fired up, and positive that I know I am going to nail it." Prue tells her.
"Wonderful. I'm so happy for you babe. I know you would be good at working there. I hate to kill the happy moment, but have you seen Phoebe anywhere? Piper went to pick her and Paige up from school, and Paige was the only one there." Patty replies. They both go looking for her, and when they can't find her, Patty calls the police on her.
"Yes sir. My name is Patty Halliwell. Detective Morris knows me and my family really well. He grew up with my two oldest girls, and I need for him to call me back as soon as he is able to." Patty tells the man in dispatch.
"Oh yes. He's talked highly of you since he started here last year. I will be sure and tell him as soon as he gets back. Right now, he's on a case involving a traffic accident." The man says, and it only worries Patty to where she starts thinking the worst.
"Oh my God. I don't suppose you can tell me who was in that accident could you? The reason I'm asking is, my daughter Phoebe didn't get picked up by Piper today. Piper went to get her and Paige from school, and the only one that was there was Paige. Phoebe had decided she was going to go to the mall with a couple of friends of hers. I told her no, and she hung up on me. Tell me, that she was not involved in the accident." Patty explains to him.
"Patty, calm down now. I can't tell you any names, but I can assure you, that it's not Phoebe. The two involved in the accident were young boys." The man replies.
Later on that night, the door bell rings. Prue runs to the door and when she answers, there's standing Darrel with Phoebe.
"Come on in Darrel." Prue tells him. As soon as that door is closed and Darrel and Phoebe are standing inside, Prue grabs Phoebe, pushes her into the wall, and starts smacking her. Darrel has to stop her before it gets too out of hand.
"Get off of me Prue!" Phoebe yells, and just as she is drawing back to punch her, Piper grabs her fist and hollers, "I dare you to punch her you little freaking spoiled ass brat."
"Now that's enough! Calm down. Everything just calm the hell down right now. Phoebe, in the living room. Piper, and Prue. Go get some coffee and take your tempers down a notch or two. Paige, finish your essay." Patty tells everyone, and they all just stand there and look at her until she yells, "Move!"
"I'm not filing any criminal charges on her, but she was told by you not to run off after school since she was grounded. I mean Patty, she didn't do anything like break the law tonight. She was just out past curfew is all. What would you like for me to do?" Darrel tells her.
"I've got it from here honey. Thank You for bringing her home." Patty replies, while hugging Darrel.
"It's not a problem. You've done so much for me when I was growing up and you got me into wanting to work for law enforcement. These girls are like sisters to me. Do you need anything before I head out?" Darrel says, while yawning.
"No. We're good, but I'll tell ya what. You live alone, and I know you must be hungry. Come in here with me and I'll fix you up before you head out." Patty tells him.
"Oh my God, Thank You. I absolutely love your cooking. Just leftovers is fine Mama." Darrel replies, and Patty sends him home with leftover meatloaf, shells and cheese, mashed potatoes, and she gives him a few dollars to pick him up some cottage cheese on his way home to go with his meal. He called her Mama because she did help take care of him when he and the girls were growing up, and she was just like a second Mom to him. Patty goes to the living room to try and talk to Phoebe for awhile, and to her surprise, Phoebe is in remorse for her actions. She keeps saying how sorry she is, and that it will never happen again, and that she loves all of them. Patty is somehow taken in by all of this, and she lets everything go.
Chapter Two
Where's Phoebe?
Patty may had thought that everything was patched up between her and Phoebe, but in reality, Phoebe was planning her next, big, and permanent move. She had waited until everyone was asleep and snuck downstairs, to go through her Mom's bill drawer in the kitchen. Phoebe knew that this is where Patty kept all of her important papers, and she just needed something, anything with her Mother's signature on it so she could practice signing her Mother's name. She finally finds a peice of paper and puts everything but that, back in the drawer. She sneaks back upstairs and starts practicing for what is going to shatter her whole family. She practices at least twenty times until she gets it just dead on exactly like Patty, then she writes out a note saying that it's okay for her to drop out of school and get her GED for personal reasons. She gets the note wrote out, signs it, and puts it in her backpack for school the next day. She had been planning exactly how it was going to go down. She had decided that she was going to leave for school that morning, attend her classes and be there for the whole day, then after school, go down to the office, and sign herself out, knowing that it would be too late for the school officials to call her Mom and confirm everything. Once she signs herself out, she was going to then, go back home and round up as much as she could possibly carry with her down to the bus depot. Everyone in the family knew Phoebe was almost genius level with her intelligence but, no one knew just how her mind really worked. She plans out everything in her mind, and the biggest smile comes across her face, and she manages to put her excitefullness aside, and go to sleep. After awhile of thinking about how much she loves her Mom and her sisters, it still doesn't stop her from feeling like she is not wanted or loved there at home. In her state of mind, she feels like everything always comes down on her, and she is misunderstood by them.
"I'll show them come tomorrow night. I love them, but they obviously don't want me around. Time for a change." Phoebe whispers in the dark where no one can hear her.
The next evening, Phoebe comes in late again from school and she tries to make up something that her family will believe.
"I got tied up. Sorry. I was helping someone in town. I decided to walk home since it was so nice today, and on my way here, a little old man was having trouble with his groceries coming out of the store. I offered to help him with them, and go to his place and put them away for him. It's like five miles out of town. After I offered to fix him a meal, and he went to sleep, I made sure he was okay, then I walked back here. I'm so tired from that walk too." Phoebe tells them.
"You know better than to go to someone's house that you don't know. I'm proud of you for taking time out to help someone, especially an elderly person, but damn it Pheebes. Don't do that again without letting me know first okay?" Patty says, hugging her. Phoebe says she's sorry for worrying them, and then she grabs a sandwich, tells her Mom that that will be enough for her to eat, and she goes upstairs to go to bed, well as far as they know anyway. She gets up to her room, sits down to eat her sandwich and a small snack size bag of chips. She pulls a coke out of her backpack from her lunch and figures that she will need as much caffeine as she can get to stay awake to make her move. She can hear everyone moving around downstairs, so she is quiet as she can be while going over to her closet and pulling out three bags that are mostly packed and ready to go. She quietly gets out of the floor and starts rounding up as much as she can manage to carry. When she can hear everyone in the living room, she ties a rope on all of the bags that she is taking with her, and lowers them out her bedroom window, where they sit in the yard below her window, waiting for her. She leaves the rope there so can just untie it when she makes her way out.
About two hours later, Phoebe had had her phone on vibrate and she had set it for midnight so she could get an early start. She had really wanted to see everyone before she left, but at the same time, she knew if she did, someone would talk her out of it. Most likely, it would have been Prue or Piper that would have talked her out of it. Luckily for her, she doesn't meet anyone on her way out the door. She is standing in the foyer inside the front door, and she looks toward the stairs, wipes a tear away, and whispers, "Goodbye everyone. I love you all so much, but I don't feel like I'm wanted, or appreciated around here." She then walks outside, and makes her way down to the bus station where she purchases a bus ticket for Houston Texas. She didn't really want to go that far away, but she had always heard that Texas was full of opportunities and jobs. Plus that, she knew she could always get her GED while she was there and make something of her life and get a fresh start.
The next morning, just as Patty is rounding up Paige and Phoebe for school, she has no idea about Phoebe's little Houdini Magic trick in the middle of the night.
"Paige, Phoebe! Come on girls. It's 6:30. Time to get moving. Prue, you don't want to be late for your first day of work do you? Piper, you have a meeting with Dean Tyler this morning at UCLA." Patty hollers up to them. She goes into the kitchen to get some coffee and look at the newspaper when Prue screams and starts crying. Patty can hear her holler the words, no and why, and what the hell. She runs upstairs and sees Prue standing in Phoebe's nearly bare room.
"Prue? Where's Phoebe?" Patty asks.
"I don't know. There's this note. That's all I can see. There's a rope outside her window, and most of her clothes are gone too. Her money box, her clothes, her two favorite pairs of shoes, even most of her throw blankets. Here's the note." Prue says, and she hands it to Patty, but Patty shoves it back to Prue and is in no shape to try to read it. Prue says, "Okay. I'll read it. It says, Dear Mom, and Prue, Piper, and Paige. I never meant to hurt anyone by doing this, but I had to get out on my own. I know that an education is very important, and yes, don't worry. I may not be going back to school but I'm gonna get my GED, and still find a career later on. Right now, I just feel like I'm not wanted or appreciated around here. It's like everything that happens, always comes back on me. Here's the order of everyone. Of course, Mom is going to be the first one listed because she has to keep things running safely and smoothly for all of us. But, it's Mom, then Prue, then Piper, then Paige. It was me before Paige but then when she got that parrot last month, that knocked me down to the very bottom. I'm always the last one anyone ever thinks about. Before I start crying writing this note to you all, I will just tell you this. I love you all so much that it hurt leaving like I did, however. In this life we all have an obligation to ourselves. If I'm ever gonna stand any chance of making anything of my life, I have to be on my own. I'm smart enough to make it alone, and I'm smart enough to be able to survive. Yes, I do have every bit of my money that I've ever saved up, so I'm fine. However, Mom, I do want to let you know, that I took some food from the kitchen until I find work or whatever. I love you all. Don't try to come and find me please. When the timing is right, we will all be reunited again. Love always, Phoebe." Prue hands the note to her Mom after reading it, and she knows that even though she wasn't able to read it, being upset, she would still want to hold it for awhile. Patty puts her hand on Prue's shoulder, takes the note, and goes over to Phoebe's bed and lays down on it, with the note in her hand, close to her heart. By now, the rest of them know what is going on, and they all are sitting there in the hallway crying, and worrying.
Three days later, Phoebe is stepping off of the bus and into the Houston bus depot. She's asking the lady at the desk where to find work or a place to stay and everything. She tells the lady that she has no one in her life, and that her family is gone, so it's just her, and she's all alone.
"I need somewhere to stay and a job. I would also like to get my GED while I'm here if possible." Phoebe tells her.
"Well, I'll tell you what honey. I'm getting off of work in about twenty minutes. If you have any money on you, how about you go over there to the depot shop, grab yourself a breakfast sandwich, and I'll come find ya here shortly. We'll go and get you settled in okay." The lady tells her.
"Thanks. That sounds great. What's your name?" Phoebe replies.
"It's Melinda Johnson. What's yours?" Melinda says, shaking her hand, and smiling at her.
"Yanica. Yanica Smith. My parents, before they passed, gave me an Indian name. They told me once that Yanica was the most beautiful name they had ever heard, and I got it." Phoebe tells her, and she shows her an ID that she recently had a friend in school make up for her. Melinda tells her that it's nice to meet her, and Phoebe goes to get something to eat, and just wait until Melinda gets off of work. While she's sitting there waiting, her phone rings and she sees that the number is her home number. She lets it go to voicemail, then erases the message. Once she erases it without listening to it, she calls the company that her cell phone is through and has her number changed. She of course, leaves her family's number's in there, but changes hers.
Back in California, everyone is still beside themselves but trying the best they can to get on with their lives. Patty is the one who seems to be doing the best out of everyone else. She keeps telling them to have faith and don't call Phoebe out yet. She tells them that if there's one thing that girl knows how to do it's taking care of herself, and being able to get what she needs to survive. She is always telling the other girls, that in time, they will get to see her again. They have to just wait until that day comes, and above all else, have that faith they are always talking about. Darrel has done gave up his search for her because Patty had asked him too. Meanwhile in Texas, they have no idea that Phoebe is living it up and has a job, preparing for her GED, and getting ready to move into an apartment.
Chapter Three
Who Is Yanica Smith?
It's been five years since Phoebe took off and let out in the middle of the night. In that time frame, she's gotten her GED, landed a good career as a nurse at Houston Medical Center, she owns her home now, and is doing far better emotionally than any of her family members back in California. While Phoebe is at work one afternoon at the hospital, Melinda comes in to see how she's been doing, and they go into her office to talk for awhile over a cup of coffee.
"Yanica, you've really done great. I mean, look at you. You're so awesome the way you've came here on your own five years ago and didn't have a job, a place to live, or much of anything. How do you like everything?" Melinda asks her.
"Oh it's fantastic. I don't know why I didn't come down here before I did. Well, nevermind. Yes I do know. My folks were still around before I turned 16. I had to stay there." Phoebe says, almost giving her real identity away.
"You must have hated California." Melinda says, taking a drink of her coffee. Phoebe had mentioned once that she used to live in California. She had just never said where, or that any of her family is still alive and well, or that she ran away from home. They sit and talk for the longest time when Phoebe has to be getting back to work. Although Phoebe is really trying her hardest not to say anything to anyone, she keeps wondering about her sisters and Mom back in California, or she hopes they are still there anyway and that nothing has happened to them. Just as soon as she's able to get her break, she does decide to finally call home and see how everyone is doing. Patty was out in the yard doing some last minute raking after Paige mowed. Piper and Prue still live at the manor as well as Patty and Paige, and they all have done different things around the house to keep it running smoothly. None of the girls ever knew about magic or their powers cause when they were little kids, Grams had made them all some kool aid as far as they knew. It was really power stripping potion that they were drinking. Grams made it powerful enough that she was making sure they would never get their powers back or know anything of magic or the dangers that it could bring. Patty hears the phone ringing, and she has to turn her music down, thinking that she did hear the phone. Sure enough, it was the phone she heard, and by the time she gets in the house to answer it, it stops.
"Damn it. I tried. Oh well. If it's real important they'll call back I guess." Patty says, thinking out loud when Prue comes in from work, and announces that she has just been given some vacation time from work. They all had been wanting to go to Texas and see some of the sights like the Alamo, and different historical things down there. No one knew that is where Phoebe has been living for the past five years, is in Texas. They didn't even know anything about where she was going.
"Hey Mom. What would you think about going to Texas for a vacation? I know you said you really wanted to go see the Alamo, and then Paige and Piper were wanting to check out all the different tourist attractions down there. I have some vacation time from work and I am able to take it whenever I want to. How's this weekend sound?" Prue says, as she sits down on the back patio where Patty is, and they talk about it.
"That would be great. Also, when and if the time ever comes for Phoebe to come back home, we can pick her up all kinds of souveniers from our trip." Patty tells her. Prue has pretty well given up any and all hope of ever seeing her sister again, but she just nods her head and says, "Yeah. That would be great Mom."
As planned, the weekend rolls around, and Patty and her girls are boarding the plane to go to Texas for their vacation. They had no idea that they were going to run into a familiar face from their past. The flight only lasted overnight, and in the morning, they are stepping off the plane at the airport in Houston. Prue directs them to the hotel they are going to be staying at, and out of the corner of her eye, she sees someone at the coffee shop across the street, who looks an awful lot like Phoebe. Prue doesn't say anything right away, but she has a very strong, strange feeling that, it is her sister she's watching. When the young woman playfully smacks a man on his shoulder, and says, "You butthole, that's not how it happened at all." and she starts laughing, Prue's heart breaks in two. She doesn't let the others see her, but she stands there crying for a few minutes until her Mom comes to join her.
"Hey, are you okay?" Patty asks her.
"Oh, yeah. The flight just has my stomach messed up a little bit. I'm fine. Let's go get checked into our room at the hotel." Prue replies. While they are walking, Prue looks back hoping to see the woman still sitting there at the table outside the coffee shop, but she's already long gone. Prue mouths the words, "Oh Pheebes, you have no idea how much you have been missed do you?" They all go in and get checked in and then go for some sight seeing and some dinner. Prue however, isn't going to let her little discovery get away for a second time.
Since their vacation was going to last for over two weeks, and they've only been there for three days, Prue gets up around six in the morning and begins her search. Patty hears her in the bathroom when she hits her toe on the sink cabinet and nearly falls into the bathtub, and says "Shit!" loud enough to where she was heard.
"You have not been yourself since we stepped off the plane and got near the hotel. Want to tell me what's going on Prue?" Patty asks, while pulling her housecoat tighter around her.
"Come in here and sit down." Prue tells her.
"Where? On the sink?" Patty replies.
"Mom. I'm serious. Sit down on the side of the bath tub. I have to tell you something but I don't want you to get all excited. I saw Phoebe the other day when we arrived. She was at the coffee shop across the street. I swear Mom, it was her. She had the same laugh, same smile, and everything. Yes, after five years, there was some difference. Like a lot of difference. Mom, she's a nurse or a doctor or something. She made it Mom, she really made it. She's fine. You must have been doing a lot of praying for her, as I have. She's fine. It looked like she had herself a fella too." Prue tells her, and Patty just about loses it crying. She throws her arms around Prue and says, "Thank God. My baby is alive and well. We have to go find her." They both get dressed and Prue remembers seeing the hospital staff uniform that Phoebe had on, and she starts looking through a phone book for different hospitals in Houston.
"This is going to take forever." Prue says to herself when she finds one that looks promising. She writes down the address, and gets her Mom and sisters, and informs Piper and Paige on what's going on. She tells them to just cool it and keep calm until they know for sure it's her. Patty pulls up in the parking lot of Houston Medical Center, and she tells Piper and Paige to stay put while her and Prue go check it out.
"Good morning. Can I help you ladies?" The woman at the desk asks them.
"Yes, well I hope so. We are wondering if you have a Phoebe Halliwell in your staff here." Patty tells her.
"Hang on and I'll check." The lady replies. Phoebe's office is not very far away from the reception desk, and she can hear a familiar voice. She looks through the blinds and sees her Mom and Prue standing there. She moves the blinds back down and hides behind her desk. Her favorite co worker walks in and starts asking where she is.
"Yanica? Yanica, are you in here? Don't tell me you're playing hide and seek with me again. We have work to do in the ER, come on. Stop playing around." Misty tells her. Phoebe sticks her head up from behind her desk and tells her to be quiet and that she will explain as soon as the two women at the reception desk, leave and are gone from there.
"Okay. I'm sorry ladies. There's no Phoebe Halliwell listed here. I've never even heard the name before. I wish I could help ya out." The lady informs them and their world comes crashing down. Prue tells her that she did for sure see her sister in a hospital staffs uniform just three days ago. The lady tells her of three other hospitals for them to try and hopefully they will find her. Prue thanks her, and they head outside.
"So you're telling me that the women that were just in here, is your Mom and sister?! How could you do that? You have to be turned in Yanica. You're working here under false pretences. Don't you know that? You're under a fake name and fake identity. Alright, look. I'm sorry for snapping like that. Let's go get some coffee and talk about this thing." Misty tells her.
"When I was sixteen, I uh. I was in trouble a lot at school. I felt like at home, that I wasn't really wanted there or appreciated. So, I practiced my penmanship, and I was able to forge my Mother's name on a permission slip so I could drop out of school and get my GED. I was able to do that and the plan worked perfectly. Yes, it hurt leaving the way I did, but I also felt like, the only way I was going to make something of my life, was to do it on my own. Hell, I felt like for the longest time that I was on my own already. I devised a plan the night I ran off, and I took most of my clothes, throw blankets, two pairs of shoes, my money box, and my favorite books, and some pictures. I put everything into three different bags, put it all on a rope, slid it down the side of the house, out onto the lawn, then waited until they were all asleep. I wrote them all a note, then took off for the bus station. I've been here in Houston under a different name and identity since I was 16 years old. I had no job, no place to stay, no other family with me. All I had was the clothes on my back, and my money box that contained well over $2000.00 in it. With that money, I was able to get my GED, get a job part time, put myself through three years of collage, and here I am now. I own my house down here too. I've wanted to go back several times, or at least call them and say hello." Phoebe tells her, explaining everything the best she can.
"So. The name Yanica? Is that a fake name or does it stand for something?" Misty asks her.
"Yes it does. It's an indian name. My parents gave it to me when I was born. It's actually part of my name. My full name is Phoebe Penelope Yanica Smith Halliwell. I just shortened it up to Yanica Smith when I arrived here that first day. Yanica and Penelope, and Smith, is from my Grams and my Dad. My Dad's name is Victor Smith. My Grams's name is Penelope Yanica Halliwell. Will I get in serious trouble with the law for this?" Phoebe asks her.
"Since you did this all before you was of age, probably not too much. But, you won't really know until you first, talk to Joseph. Let him know what all happened. He thinks you're the best damn nurse we have, and he would be right. Talk to him, and beg him to keep you on here. I know he will. Next, talk to the police and explain what happened the best you can. The last thing," Misty replies, telling her what all she needs to do to put this thing to rest, while she picks up her phone and hands it to her and says, "Call your Mother and tell her to come and meet you here." Phoebe hesitates but takes the phone in her hand and looks for her Mom's number.
"I can't believe they've never even heard of her. She's been here for five damn years." Paige says, from the back seat where Piper is looking out the window, wiping multiple tears away. Just then, Patty's phone starts ringing. She pulls into a gas station and answers it, not knowing the number.
"Hello." Patty says, and the voice she hears on the other end, makes her burst into tears and drop the phone. Prue picks her phone up out of the floor board, and asks who it is.
"Prue? It's me. It's Phoebe. I will tell you where to meet me so we can all talk. Come back to Houston Medical. That is where I work. I have for the past year and a half. I'm a nurse here. I'm working toward a doctor's degree." Phoebe tells her.
"Um, okay. Okay, we're on our way. Why didn't they know you as Phoebe Halliwell?" Prue asks.
"Because. I've not been Phoebe Halliwell for five years. I've been Yanica Smith. Mom will know the name. Ask for LPN Yanica Smith, when you get back here. Right now, I'm needed in the ER. I'm a trauma nurse here." Phoebe explains. Prue writes down everything and once she gets her Mom somewhat calmed down, even then Patty can't drive. Prue and her switch places and while she's telling Piper and Paige to calm down, she drives back to Houston Medical Center.
Prue and Patty walk back inside with Piper and Paige, and they all walk up to the reception desk.
"What can I do for you ladies?" The woman asks, who is a different one than before.
"We need to speak with LPN Yanica Smith. She just called and said she would love to meet with us for dinner tonight when she gets off of work." Patty tells her.
"Okay. Let me see here. Ah yes, there she is. Right now, she is in the ER. From what the chart says, there was a bad shooting accident, and they have her trying her hand at basic ER stuff. They have her doing stitches, which is normal for the ER department anyway, but they also have her doing things that a regular doctor would be doing." The lady tells them.
"Oh my God. Poor Yanica. She must be scared to death. She told us that she's just a trauma nurse who's working toward being a doctor in a few years. Bless her heart." Prue says, and the lady looks at her like she's not making any sence at all.
"Um. Honey, they've had her doing these things for awhile. She is in school for a doctor's degree yes, but she is also an intern. She's been through the first parts of medical school. Now, she is interning and learning the more harder things. How do you know her anyway?" The receptionist replies.
"Hmm? Oh, we grew up with her. She's like a sister to us. Thanks for letting us know where she is. Is there somewhere we can wait for her?" Prue says, being snapped back from her thoughts when the lady asked how they knew her. The lady directs them right around the corner to her office, and on the door, it says Yanica Smith, LPN. They only had to wait about half an hour, but still it's the longest half hour wait of any of their's lives.
Chapter Four
A Bittersweet Reunion
"Yanica, think about it. If you hadn't had done that for her, she would have died before she even made it to surgery tonight." Misty tells her as they head into her office.
"I know Misty. I was scared the whole time though." Phoebe replies, reaching for the light switch.
"It didn't stop you. You kept it together and kept your head and didn't lose all concentration. You kept your cool and saved her life before the surgeon showed up. Girl. I'm telling you. You have what it takes to be a doctor. You go for it full force. Don't let anyone or anything stop you." Misty says, just as Phoebe turns the light on, and sees her family sitting there in front of her. She takes the stethoscope off and hangs it around her shoulders, and slowly walks over to her Mom.
"I think I'll go make some phone calls. I got a son coming home next week from camp. Gotta see how he's liking camp so far." Misty says, trying to walk out and Phoebe stops her.
"Misty. This is my Mom, Patty. This here, is Prue, then Piper, then Paige. This is my family." Phoebe tells her.
"Oh Yanica, your Mom is so pretty. Your sisters look just like you. It's so nice to meet you guys finally. Yanica's been talking about since this afternoon. She finally opened her mouth to tell the truth. I really think that you all need to get reaquanted, so I'm gonna make that phone call now. Yanica, see you tomorrow. Ladies, nice meeting you all." Misty tells them.
"Nice meeting you too hon." Patty replies, while still hugging Phoebe, and she tells her that she is off of work for the next couple of days.
"Well that sucks. You mean I have to run this place without ya? Thanks a lot there Yanica. You all have a good night." Misty says, laughing and she heads out to her own office.
"Sit down here. We all have a lot of catching up to do. Mom, I'm sorry that I forged your name in highschool. Am I going to jail for that? Or, for anything?" Phoebe asks, while going through her closet and pulling out her regular street clothes.
"Why in the world would you think that you are doing any jail time? I would have had to press charges against you for that, which I would never do. You're not going anywhere, except, back home I hope." Patty replies.
"Mom I can't. I have a career here. I have a life, a home, a fiance that I'm marrying in like three months. I can't go anywhere. Also, I have a Marathon I'm training for that's going to take place in two months. I can't leave, and I'm not going to. California is behind me. I still have the four of you, and there ain't been a day that's went by that I haven't thought about you all cause I have. Please understand. My new life is here. I own my home which is walking distance from here, I have a membership to the gym, I run about ten miles a day in the morning, I'm going to school to become a full time doctor. I miss you guys, I really do. I'm sorry though, for everything I've ever done that was hurtful. I'm glad we had this meeting tonight. Y'all want to go and get something to eat? I'm half starved." Phoebe explains to her. They all go and eat at Phoebe's favorite place that she usually hits after work each night. It's a little Mexican place called El Comprades.
"Hey there Senor! This is my Mother and my sisters. Give them anything they want. We are having a celebration reunion and haven't seen each other for over five years." Phoebe tells the man that always tells her she is his favorite customer.
"Si Yanica! You got it honey." The man replies. In the middle of the appetizers, Phoebe's phone starts going crazy with text messages and missed phone calls. She finally answers it and sets her drink down for a few minutes.
"Yanica, where are you? I thought we were going out for drinks and a small party tonight. That's what you agreed to anyway." Her fiance, Robert Strang, says, and she can tell in his voice that he sounds mad at her.
"I'm so sorry honey. I must have forgot. There's a lot of things I haven't told you about my past. I've only been here in Texas since I was 16, and my family that I ran away from, is here in town for their vacation, and I've not talked to them or seen them in over five years. We are at El Comprades over on 18th, and Fulton Street, if you want to come and meet them." Phoebe tells him, and he gets even more mad at her.
"No, I don't. I can understand that you want to see your family, and that you haven't seen them for over five years, but you did lie to me obviously. You said that you had no one in this world to call family. You're gonna be sorry you blew me off tonight chick!" Robert yells, and he just hangs up on her.
"Phoebe, are you okay?" Paige asks her. She doesn't ever answer cause she's not heard the name Phoebe in over five years. Finally, Paige does correct herself and say, "Yanica. Are you okay?" She nods her head and tells them the best way she knows how about Robert Strang, and how much of a temper he can get from time to time.
"Sounds like to me that you may want to rethink marrying this one." Patty tells her.
"I have Mama. Everytime though, that I think about leaving him, I end up going back to him. I've not ever left him physically, only mentally. He's just got some kind of hold on me where I can't get away from him. I love him if that makes any sence." Phoebe replies, taking another drink of her mixed drink that's her favorite one there.
"Let me try that." Prue says, taking a drink of it, and almost turning blue.
"Oooh, that stuff is not for the young. Why are you drinking this?" Prue says, nearly choking and Phoebe just picks it right up and downs most of it in one drink.
"I've been coming here since I was 18. I may not have been able to drink legally yet, but Amigo over there, he would always tell me to come back after closing, and he and I would have a drink and talk about my collage classes and such. He got me to drinking this heavy stuff. Amigo!" Phoebe replies, then she gets Amigo's attention and starts talking to him in Spanish. He nods his head, smiles and laughs, and says, "You got it Yanica. One monster coming up."
"What the hell's a monster and what does it do?" Paige asks, getting all worried, and Phoebe just grins at her.
"You'll see. But, trust me. You guys will want me to drive back to my house, and leave the rental car here for Amigo to watch." Phoebe tells her.
"Oh no. We're staying at the hotel across town. We're all payed up until our vacation is over. We don't want to put you out." Piper says, being the first one to try that monster that Amigo was instructed to bring over. It was in a big bowl about the size of a punch bowl, and had about every kind of alcohol in it, that was in that resturaunt. To Phoebe's surprise, Piper loves the drink and keeps hitting it.
"You keep hitting that thing and the very second you try to get up and walk, your ass will be hitting the floor. And, really. It's no problem. I have lots of room for you guys. Robert doing this, I would really love to have you guys here for awhile with me. I'll call the manager at the hotel. I'm always his nurse when he comes into the hospital, so he knows me really well. I'll get ya refunded. Piper! Stop with that thing for a few minutes." Phoebe replies, and she can't get Piper to leave the drink alone.
"Let me see how good that thing is." Paige says, taking her turn with it. She takes a few sips, then attacks it. Prue watches about five minutes of this, and then her and Patty both attack it too.
"Amigo! Amigo, I need your help." Phoebe hollers across the room. She goes and gets Amigo and the first words out of his mouth are "Oh no. Good night a livin'. Okay okay, we get them to the car. I'll watch the rental car, and you come after it tomorrow?" Phoebe tells him that once she gets them to her house, she will get them all settled in, and then she'll come back for the rental car before he leaves for the night.
"Okay. You come get that one tonight, and then we drive them both to your house, then you bring me back here? Will that work?" Amigo asks her. Phoebe nods her head yes and tells him that's the plan. She pays what's owed, and then he takes Paige and tosses her over one of his shoulders, and then puts Piper on his other shoulder. He carries them out and sits them in the back of Phoebe's car, while she gets her Mom and Prue, who are nowhere near as bad as Paige and Piper. They couldn't even walk but Patty and Prue were able too.
"Thanks Amigo. I'll be right back. Thanks for your help." Phoebe says as she hugs him and kisses him on his cheek. He has been like a parental figure to her ever since she met him three weeks after she arrived at the age of 16. He makes sure she is out of the parking lot and then he goes to clean up everything and wait until she is able to come back after the rental car. It only took around twenty minutes for Phoebe to get her Mom and sisters out of the the car, and into the house, and settled into the living room for the time being. She then locks up the house, and goes back to get the rental car.
The next morning, Phoebe is up at six, checking on everyone and making sure they are all still asleep. She leaves them a note letting them know she went for her run, and once she finds her MP3 player, she takes off outside and heads down the sidewalk. While she's running, she is almost run over by an unknown vehicle that she's never seen before. She just figured it was someone being stupid so she brushes it off and continues her run. She is now three miles into her run and the same vehicle comes back around for another try. This time, she ends her run early and heads back home to take care of what she usually does on her days off.
"What an asshole!" Phoebe says, thinking out loud. Meanwhile, there's a man in that vehicle making a phone call.
"Yeah. It's me. You won't believe this but, that little bitch dodged me twice. She's unkillable. You're gonna have trouble with her." The man tells someone who had apparently hired him to take care of her. Phoebe gets back home, and Piper is up, sitting in the kitchen with Patty and Prue, and Paige is still asleep.
"Hey. I'm glad you guys are up. I may have some pressing matters to discuss with you guys later when Paige wakes up. How is everyone feeling today? You all got kind of wasted last night. I told ya those monsters were awesome." Phoebe tells them all, and Patty looks up at her, with the ice bag in her hand and says, "How in the name of Christ, can you say those things are awesome?" Phoebe just gets to laughing while taking a drink of her coffee, and she spits it all over Piper.
"Damn it Yanica! Watch it." Piper says, while putting her head back into the palms of her hands.
"Sorry. If anyone wants too later, there is a swimming pool out back in the yard. I had it put in just six months ago. I haven't been able to swim much with my work schedule, but it's nice to have just in case if I do want too." Phoebe tells them all, and Paige is finally stumbling into the kitchen. Phoebe gets her breakfast and offers to fix something for all of them, and they take her up on it. Phoebe fixes bacon and eggs, and they can't believe how much she has cut down on her eating since they all seen her last. All she gets is one slice of bacon and one egg. She tells them, that she has to keep physically fit for her job and Marathon training.
Phoebe is pacing in the living room later on that day and she's talking to herself about weather or not she should tell them about what happened during her run.
"What's on your mind Yanica?" Patty asks, respecting her wishes, and continuing to call her by her new name.
"I'm just thinking. Something happened today while I was running this morning, and I don't know weather to say anything about it or not." Phoebe says, starting to explain everything when her phone rings. Usually, it would have been Robert calling to see how she is doing, or feeling, but this time, he's calling to let her know something.
"Ya know. That was not an accident today Yanica." He tells her.
"You mean to tell me, you're trying to get rid of me?" Phoebe asks him, and he laughs and tells her, "I told you once before that I'm a lawyer, and in this state, I'm friends with all the important people. I could kill someone and get away with it." He then hangs up after telling her, "Sweet dreams sweet heart."
"What was that about?" Prue asks, coming from the kitchen where she had offered to do what little bit of dishes that were in there in the sink.
"Oh. Nothing. Robert's uncle was just being stupid. He doesn't like me much. He never really has." Phoebe replies, figuring that this is not really the perfect time to tell them about anything.
Chapter Five
Life And Death
Everyone enjoyed their visit and getting to see Phoebe again after so many years of wondering and worrying, but the vacation does eventually come to an end. Phoebe had called into work and told them that she was seeing her family off at the airport. Her boss knows about who she really is, and he was upset with her, but like Misty said, he begged her to stay on at the hospital, and they all still continue to call her Yanica. She had asked them to try to call her Phoebe for a couple of days, but it just didn't feel right to her anymore, and she went back to Yanica full time.
"I really wish you could come back home with us Yanica. We really miss you there. Your room is still the same as you left it." Paige tells her.
"You haven't done anything to it yet? The bed's the same as it was? And the closets too? Wow." Yanica says in disbelief.
"She's telling you the truth. No one has messed with it, or touched anything, or even been in there." Patty adds to the conversation, and Yanica tells her to go ahead and at least make up the bed and pick up the room and maybe rent it out or whatever. Patty shakes her head no and says "Absolutely not. That is still your room, and if you ever come home to visit, it's gonna be the same as you left it."
"So I can clean it right?" Yanica asks, while grinning.
"You bet. We have to go. That's us." Piper tells her, as they hear their flight number. They all tell her to be careful and that they love her, and to let them know when the Honolulu Marathon is, so they can go and support her in it. She tells them that she let them know, and that she is already registered for it. She stands at the gate, and just watches until the plane has disappeared out of sight. She sighs, and cries all at the same time. She really enjoyed getting to see them all again, but knows that she now, has to get back to her new life. She heads home to get ready for her shift at the hospital, and she finds another note on her door. It says, "You really think you can get rid of me? Just try it girly poo. You just try it, and see how long you last." The note was from Robert, and all just because she chose to spend time with her family over him.
"You dumbass. You're not getting the best of me. No sir ee." Yanica says to herself, while walking inside, tearing the note up, throwing it away, and getting ready for work.
At the hospital, she's sitting there talking to Misty and she seems a little distant. Misty just figured it was because she said goodbye to her family a second time, and is just hurting at the sight of their plane leaving.
"Hey. Penny for your thoughts honey?" Misty says, handing her some coffee. They sit in the hospital waiting room, which was out of character for them both since they had offices to sit in when they weren't busy.
"I'm just tired, and thinking. I got another note today when I got home from the airport. It was from Robert. He said if I think that I can get rid of him, I'm sadly mistaken or somethink like that. Just last week, someone tried to hit me with their car twice while I was running. I think Robert's trying to kill me or have me killed one. He keeps calling and threatening me, or taunting me you might say. He did say once that in this state, he could get away with killing someone. Misty, I'm afraid of him. I really am. I'm so scared that one day I'm gonna be out walking to work, or training for the marathon, and he's gonna succeed. I keep dreaming over and over again, that he's gonna run me over with his car. This is too much to handle. I know I can't let him get the best of me cause I've got a lot of other things to do than let someone like Robert Strang get the best of me." Yanica explains to her, and Misty just puts her hand on her shoulder and goes up and down her shoulder, and up to her head and starts playing with her hair. She tells her that if she needs too, she can always stay with her for awhile. Yanica thanks her for her offer but declines it and tells her, that there is no way she is going to quit living her life or live in fear because of someone threatening her.
The next few weeks go by with everything being so nearly normal again for Yanica that she is almost to where she is not living in fear anymore. She has decided of course to not go ahead and marry Robert, despite how many times he had told her he was sorry for everything. She is just sitting at home after running one afternoon, watching a movie, and she feels her stomach start to growl.
"Well. That figures. You sit down to watch a movie and I'll be damned if your stomach doesn't start up on you. I never eat much so I guess it's not going to kill me." She says, talking to herself again. She gets up and goes into the kitchen and starts looking through the cabinets and fridge. She grunts cause she can't find anything that looks or sounds good.
"Oh forget it." She says, in a sigh. She grabs her keys, puts her favorite grey hooded sweat shirt on that Misty had gotten for her Christmas of that past year, and head out the door. She decided to just got and get something in town for her lunch since she had already made dinner plans with Misty and her son when she got off of work. Misty's son is always wanting to hang out with Yanica, especially after he found out all about her back ground and what she did at such a young age. She turns the radio on, and even though Prue is all the way in California working at Buckland's, her work place comes across the radio. Yanica turns up the volume and she can hear the woman say that Buckland's Auction House in California, has made the top ten Auction places in America, just in the month of September alone.
"Wow. Way to go Prue. I've got to call her later. I'll do it now." Yanica says, again to herself. She's pulling out of the driveway and onto the road to go to her favorite sandwich stand downtown. She gets to her destination and goes to order her sandwich while still talking to Prue.
"Yanica honey. It's no big deal. We've made the top fifteen before." Prue tells her.
"Yeah I know that. But this time, it's the top ten best auction houses in the country! Prue, tell me you aren't excited about this. I would be." Yanica replies as she hands the man what she owes for her sandwich. She is just headed back toward her car, which she has a convertable. She gets in, still talking to Prue, and just as she's trying to get a bite of her lunch, there's a man that walks up to her, and pulls a gun.
"What the hell are you doing?" She hollers at him. It was too late. She tried to get down in the floor board of her car, but she wasn't fast enough. The man fired four shots into her back, while she was still on the phone with Prue. He takes off almost instantly, thinking that no one seen him, but they did.
"Yanica! Yanica, talk to me. What happened? Are you okay?" Prue keeps asking, and she gets no response. The only kind of response she gets is a lot of deep breaths, and she can hear her sister groaning in pain. Not two seconds later, Yanica reaches around behind her, puts her hand on the car horn, and just pushes straight down on it. Prue is still trying to figure out what all has just happened. She gives up on trying to get Phoebe to to talk to her, and she takes off running out of her office at Buckland's and runs into her boss.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Her boss asks.
"I don't think so. I was just on the phone with my sister out in Texas, and while we were talking, I heard her talking to someone, and then there were four gun shots. I think she's been shot." Prue tells her. Her boss doesn't even second guess anything. She just tells her, "Go, get out of here." Prue runs past her, realizes she forgot her stuff, goes back to her office to get everything, and then she's out the door and heading home to tell her Mom and the others what has happened.
Misty is sitting there just inside the doors of the ER when they fly open, and an EMT is pushing a gurny down the hall.
"What do we got? Oh my God! It's Yanica. Get Doctor Fields and Doctor Torres here stat. Yanica, don't you dare die on me. Alright everyone we have four gunshots to her back, she's pale, weak, heart rate is low, pulse is slow, and blood preasure is extremely high, like spiked high. Where are those damn doctors?!" Misty hollers, almost losing it seeing her best friend lay there and fight for her life. The two doctors get in there and start working on her right away, and Misty manages to grab her phone and call Patty.
"Patty. This is Misty. Remember me? Yanica's friend from the hospital? The one she works with?" Misty tells her.
"Yeah honey. I remember you. Calm down. What's going on? Was that her that was shot? Prue was on the phone with her and she heard four gunshots, then a car horn." Patty asks, and Misty tells her yes it was her, and for them to catch a plane there as soon as possible. Patty tells her that they are on their way and for her to personally watch Yanica until they get there with her.
"I'm counting on you Misty. Don't let anyone or anything hurt my baby. We'll be there as early as tomorrow morning." Patty demands, and Misty tells her, "You have my word Patty. She is my responsibility, no one else's until you get here. I gotta get back in there. They need my help with her surgery. Love you all and see ya in the morning." They hang up with each other, and although Patty really wants to have a good cry, she knows that it won't help matters any or get them to Texas any sooner. She hollers up and tells Paige and Piper to hurry up and grab some clothes and get a move on. She tells them all she knows for right now, and they both come running downstairs with their bags packed and ready to go. Prue has already had hers ready to go as soon as she got home and told her Mom what happened. They all head out for the airport, and catch the earliest flight they can get. Patty is praying the whole way there, and the girls are trying to keep from crying.
The next afternoon, Patty is finally able to be there in Phoebe's room with her. She's standing there by her bed just looking down at all the wires and tubes that are coming out of her. Misty is checking over everything, and tells her what Phoebe had told her the day that they returned home from their vacation.
"So, then that's it. Robert either did this to her, or had it done, and no one is going to do anything about it?" Patty says, and Piper, Prue, and Paige all go in Yanica's room to sit with their Mom for awhile.
"I'll do whatever I can to see to it that he does get put away for this. There has to be something that can be done. I gotta get back to work. I'll come and check on her later on. I'll let you all stay with her. Is there anything that you all need?" Misty replies.
"What is her physical state right now that she's in?" Prue asks.
"She is in a coma as of right now. I wouldn't really worry though because I met her right when she first got here, and in that time, she has been running ragged trying to do this and that, and get things done, plus try to have a social life too. Look at this coma, as her just getting some well deserved sleep. Prue, if you want to do anything for her, talk to her. We have found that people in comas, come around faster if the family and friends of that patient, talks to them like they are just asleep and just fine." Misty tells her, explaining how a coma really works. Prue stands there for a few minutes, and Patty goes to stand on the right side of her, and hold her hand. Piper doesn't really know what to do so her and Paige go for a walk, and let their Mom and Prue talk to Phoebe for awhile to see if it works or not. They decide to take their turn with her later on.
"Hey Pheebes. I know you prefer Yanica, but you're always gonna be Phoebe to me. Do you remember when you had chicken pox? You probably don't. Mom was so worried about you. You were laying there sleeping so deeply like you are now. I knew you would come out of it eventually, and that you sleeping as deeply as you were, you were only taking care of business so you could get better. I know that's what you're doing right now. Mom on the other hand, she's worried about you ya know. Ya know Phoebe. The whole time that you were gone before we got to see you again, Mom did nothing but pray for you, and hope we would get to see you again. Those prayers were answered, and we did get to see you once more. Don't make those few days last week, the very last time we get to see you or talk to you. In the meantime, you just take care of business and wake up and come around, when you're ready. I love you Pheebes." Prue tells her.
"Your sister is right. You may want to be called Yanica, and that's a really neat idea seeing as how that's part of your name, but you will always be Phoebe to the rest of us. That's part of your name too ya know. You know what's funny? I was looking at some old pictures the other day not long after we got back home from vacation. Prue, Piper, and Paige, were all at work. Yes, believe it or not, Paige is working now. She's very passionate about her job, and is doing great. Piper is working in a five star resturaunt. I guess you always knew she would be doing that one day huh? Anyway, I was looking at some old pictures the other day, and I ran across one when you was in Track and Field. I was so proud of you when you ran that triathalon in less than three minutes. It takes most people about five minutes, sometimes six just to run that out all the way, and they usually have cramps or whatever afterward. You were just fine, and not one thing wrong with you when you came through that tape at the finish line. I still have that picture of you up there on the first place platform, getting your ribbon and medallion, and trophy. I've sat that picture at the foot of your bed in here so when you wake up, you'll see that, and it will give you the drive to get better, and get out of here, and get back to what you do best. I love you honey. Prue and I are going to get some sleep, and Paige and Piper will be back later to talk to you okay? Get some rest baby." Patty says, while rubbing the back of her hand. They go and sit down near her bed, hoping that everything they talked to her about, will work in time and make her wake up faster.
Two days later, Piper and Paige have already talked to her and told her what all they wanted to tell her, and they are all asleep in her room late in the evening. Patty and Misty are there sitting and watching her progress. Misty was on break, so she thought she would go and sit with the family for awhile.
"You really should go eat something honey. You only have a half hour break." Patty tells her.
"No, I'm alright. I don't have very many patients lined up today. I'll grab something later on. Patty, look. She's waking up. I told you to just talk to her." Misty says, while looking over and seeing Phoebe's head start to move. She gets up and goes over to check on everything. She takes the breathing tube out so she can talk to everyone.
"How long have I been asleep?" Phoebe asks, and she raises her hand up to see that her hospital bracelet says, "Phoebe Halliwell." She just sighs and puts her hand back down and Prue comes to see her.
"Around two days or more. You've been out that long. Do you remember our conversation the other day?" Prue asks, and Phoebe just nods her head and says, "Yeah. I remember something about it. What happened anyway?"
"You were shot for times in the back honey. You should be okay here in about two weeks though and be back in training soon for the Honolulu Marathon." Misty tells her, and she tries to sit up and she gets all excited.
"Oh yeah! That's right. I have to get back into training soon. Wait a minute. Mom, what's wrong here? I remember our conversation, and the events of that day, but Mom, I can't move my legs. I can't move them Mom, what happened? I can't move them at all." Phoebe replies, and she starts to cry so hard, that they can't even make out what she's saying.
"Misty, what's wrong with her? What's wrong with my baby?" Patty asks, and Misty has them to leave the room for a few minutes while she calls in a doctor to come and check over everything. He's only in there for about five minutes when he looks at Misty, shakes his head, and pats her on the shoulder. She knew just by the look on his face, what his ruling was.
Around an hour after Phoebe finally quit crying, and she was able to calm down enough to where she could talk, Misty is finally off of work and she's in there explaining everything.
"The gunshots have caused you to be paralyzed from the chest down. You're gonna heal up just fine, but realistically, you're never going to walk again." Misty tells her. Phoebe is sitting there with a determined look on her face before answering.
"The second and fourth vertebra was severed wasn't it?" Phoebe asks, and Misty just nods her head.
"What does that mean?" Piper asks.
"It means, that yes she is for sure paralyzed from her chest down and she's gonna have a long recovery process, but she will heal just fine. As long as she does what she's supposed to anyway." Misty tells her, and Patty starts crying.
"Well, the most we can do is just Thank God that you're still alive at least. I can live with the fact that you won't walk again, but I at least still have you, and you're alive." Patty says, while wiping away tears on her cheeks.
"Would you people stop talking like that? You wait and see. All of you just wait. I'm going to walk again, and more. I'm going to walk, and I'm still walking that marathon." Phoebe tells them.
Chapter Six
Trial And Error
Phoebe has been in the hospital for over three weeks, and the physical therapist comes to talk to her one night. She's looking at a lot of different papers, and when she hears him enter her room, she says, "Come on in. Hey you. What's up?" He asks what she's doing and she tells him that she is going over some papers she printed out on her injuries that she has been researching.
"I hate to tell you this Pheebes, but we're sending you home. You're ready to be released. I know it's gonna be scary but, there's nothing more we can do for you. Also, you have no insurance with working all the time like you was. You have a great support system though." He tells her.
"Frank. How can I have a great support system when my family lives in California and I live here in Texas? Who am I going home with?" Phoebe asks him. Patty comes in and tells her, "How about us?" Patty explains that they have everything worked out, and she is putting the house up for sale in California.
"Are you out of your mind?! Mom, you can't do that. Grams said for that house to never be sold out of the family. I have no idea why she would say that, but still. She said do not ever sale the house. Now was she just talking to hear her own self talk, or was she onto something? I can't have you guys giving up your lives and coming out here to take care of me until I get back where I was. You're at least going to need a house sitter until I'm better." Phoebe tells her, and she almost comes up off her bed completely in shock.
"I'll tell you everything later on. For now, you are going home with us. You can either come to California with us, or we get a house sitter until you're better and we stay here with you for awhile. I'm not obligated to say why your Grandmother never wanted the house to be sold out of the family. Trust me, it's not something that's easy to understand anyway. Let's put this way, and this is the best way I know to explain it. Your Grandmother is just very attached to things. She nearly broke her back to pay that house off, and when she did, she was so proud of it. So, when she passed away, I promised her I would never sale it out of the family. I promised her that, on her death bed pretty well. Do you understand now?" Patty explains. Phoebe nods her head yes, and asks if and when can she be Yanica Smith again. Frank even tells her that since everything happened when she was under that name, Robert does not know her as Phoebe Halliwell, and that it would be a lot safer for her, if she went back to being Phoebe again. She just sighs, thinking that part of her life was over, but she finally agrees to it. Phoebe asks when she is leaving the hospital so she knows if she is going to be able to get some sleep, or get ready and head out. They tell her to go ahead and round up whatever she can get, and that they will get the rest for her. Patty tells Frank to stay with her for a few minutes while she goes and pulls the car up to the entrance, and she goes back inside to get her.
It's just under a month and a half until the Honolulu Marathon and Phoebe has still found a way to work out at home, being paralyzed from the chest down. She's doing sit ups and slowly coming around more and more each day, but she's still not walking yet. They are all watching TV after getting her back in her chair that evening, and an ad comes on for a new method to make the muscles work again, by electonical signals being sent to the nerves. The doctor that came up with that machine and invented it is named James Parsons.
"That's amazing. That would work for me." Phoebe tells them.
"Honey, don't get your hopes up. There's no proof of that working, and you know that." Patty tells her.
"That woman has the same injuries as me Mom. I have to try it. It's worth a shot. I told you I'm doing that marathon, one way, or another." Phoebe says, as she leans over, takes the breaks off of her chair, and wheels herself into her room where she locks the chair again, and uses the strength in her arms to get into bed. Patty just lets it go what was just said because she knows her daughter all to well. If Phoebe is determined enough to do something, she's going to do it.
It's now just two weeks to go until the Honolulu Marathon, and Phoebe has been not only talking to Doctor Parsons about his work and being interested in what he's doing, she is working beside him. All she had to do was just tell him that she had experience as a trauma nurse in the ER and that she was working toward a career in medicine full time, and he took her on. He has became very impressed with her drive to get things done, and one afternoon while he is working with her, she and him get to talking. They're already pretty well dating too.
"Ya know James. My dream is to walk in the Honolulu Marathon in two weeks." Phoebe tells him.
"Phoebe honey, that's your problem. The problem isn't anything with your condition. The problem is your determination. Determination is a great thing to have, but it can also be the worse to have too. What I mean by this is, I've seen a lot of my patients have that same determination you are talking about, and they are never able to do it. I'm not saying that you won't be able to. I just don't want to get your hopes up, set yourself up for disaster, and in the end, not be ready to do it." James tells her.
"I'm not like your other patients Jim. You should know that by now." Phoebe replies, as she sits up on her own without any help. He looks at her and smiles, and says, "You're so right about that. You're much stronger."
Just two days after working with Phoebe the last time when they got to talking about determination, James is leading Patty, Prue, Piper, and Paige, all through Phoebe's house until they reach the basement and he tells them that she has something she wanted to show them all. They get in there, and Phoebe is standing there on a therapy walkway, with braces and things on her legs, extending down from her hips to her feet.
"Oh my God, she's standing." Patty says, as she starts to cry and she grabs a hold of Prue, who is about to cry too. Instead of crying, Prue, Piper, and Paige, all three applaude her and Prue says, "Way to go Phoebe! Way to work and get things done."
"I told you I was going to walk again Mom. Didn't I tell you I would?" Phoebe asks her. Patty nods her head yes, and then Phoebe just takes off walking, and they all are just about to cry.
It's really getting down to the wire now and three days away until the marathon. Phoebe is at the hospital, doing little odds and ends here and there, and she is talking to Misty one night about the marathon being so close now.
"Are you ready for it? You've been training so hard, and been through hell just to get ready again." Misty tells her.
"Oh yeah. You have no idea. Robert is not going to stop me from doing what I really want to do. It feels good to be back at work so soon. They won't let me do anything fast paced yet, but James said for me to just work in the physical therapy department. At least, I'm still doing something in the medical field and helping people." Phoebe replies, while stretching.
"What time are you leaving for Hawaii tomorrow? I know you'll want to be there and start getting ready for it a day ahead of time." Misty asks while they are walking through the hall, and Phoebe is slowing down, but tells her that she'll make it and not to stop and wait for her.
"Early in the morning. Mom said around 5:30. So that means if I'm gonna get any sleep tonight, I need to get out of here right at eleven. I think Jim is going to come and pick me up after work." Phoebe says, as she finally catches up to Misty.
"So do I pack my shorts since it's in Hawaii or just my bathing suit to go swimming afterwards?" Misty asks, just kidding around with her, cause she knows that it's gonna be cold.
"It's gonna be awfully chili. The marathon starts at five in the morning Saturday. You might want to wear warm clothes. I'll see ya later hon. I gotta get back to work." Phoebe replies, making Misty laugh and they both head their seperate ways.
It's finally Saturday and the day of the marathon. Everyone is lining up at the starting line at 4:58 AM. Piper is asking Phoebe if she's for sure she can do it. Phoebe nods her head yes, and James is there, beside her the whole time. He even walks beside her, and to her surprise, Piper, Paige, and Prue, and even theri Mom line up alongside her too.
"Mom? What are you guys doing?" Phoebe asks, while reaching for her walker since she's not able to fully do it on her own yet.
"We're doing this with you. I know that's the reason you left home when you did is because you thought that no one really cared or gave much thought to you being there but, ya know something? You couldn't be more wrong honey. We are so proud of you for all that you have done and accomplished not since you left when you were 16, but for everything in your life that you've came through. You're an amazing person Phoebe, and I Thank God every day that he let me be your Mom. Let's go." Patty tells her as that buzzer sounds and they all get to moving. At every checkpoint, there's an EMT checking Phoebe's blood preasure, and the last time they check it, it's a little high. James asks her if she is able to continue or not, and she nods her head yes and tells him, "I've came this far. I'm not stopping now Jim." They all continue the walk and they can see that Phoebe is starting to wear down, but she manages to keep going right up until the end of the marathon, seven hours later.
It's high noon and when everyone comes through that last gate, James is there to get Phoebe and Misty is standing there hollering, "Way to go honey. Come on, you've got this. Come on Phoebe. A few more steps. That's it."
"I can't go any farther. I'm so worn out." Phoebe tells James and he looks at her and tells her, "Oh no you don't. You're not stopping on me. Not when you're this close. That finish line is right over there. I'm not marrying a quitter in a few weeks." He had already proposed to her and of course, she said yes. She nods her head and says, "Okay. Let's do it together." They both take off that extra ten yards, and by the time Phoebe walks the rest of it, Misty has to catch her before she falls. She sits her in a wheelchair, and gets her some water. Everyone is there telling her how great of a job she did. She's asking if they are going home anytime soon, and they have a few more things they have to take care of, but they do end up going home within an hour of finishing the marathon.
Three days after her marathon victory, James is at her house visiting while she's watching a movie in the living room, and he hands the phone to her.
"Hey honey. It's for you. I don't know who it is." James says, and he gives her some privacy to talk. It was the defense attorney and an officer telling her that Robert has a warrant out of him for fraud and theft, and that they want her to help nail him at the airport in a few days. She tells them that it's no problem to go after him seeing as how he did all of that to her. They tell her that they have already taken care of that matter with her and that she won the settlement in court.
"Well I know that I won. It's just that, I'm not done with him yet. Yes, he was told that he had to pay all that money for what he did to me, but I'm still not done. I have one more thing to do to him. Will I ever see any of that money? Probably not, and I don't care. He thinks he hurt me permantly and that he got the last laugh with me. What he doesn't know is, I've got a man now who would never hurt me, and he too, like myself, is in the medical profession. Let go get him, cause you know what? I am ready for this to be over and done with completely." Phoebe tells the man. He says he agrees with her one hundred percent and the next morning, she is at the airport waiting for them to get him. He had to transfer flights to get to his destination, and when he gets off of the plane, he's heading to the gate to another one, when he hears a familiar voice behing him call out, "Robert? Robert Strang?" It's from Phoebe. He sees her standing there with James who has a hold of her, as if to protect her from Robert. The detective grabs Robert and tells him what the charge is for, and then he goes up to Phoebe and tells her, that it's finally over.
Everyone was wondering just when the wedding was going to take place and when it finally does, there wasn't a fatherly figure to walk Phoebe down the isle so, Misty's son Travis, decided to walk her down to her new husband.
"Are you sure you're okay with doing this Travis?" Phoebe asks him, and her cane is all covered in flowers.
"Are you kidding? This is an honor for me Phoebe. I love you to death. Even though I'm only fourteen, this is an honor and a privelage to do this for you. Come on. James is waiting for you." He tells her as they continue their walk toward the crowd. The wedding itself only takes about six minutes, but it's the best six minutes of Phoebe's life. She knows in her heart that she has overcome the hardest thing she would ever have to endure. Even though she was a stubborn selfish little brat, and left home in the middle of the night when she was only 16, and had no job, no home, and no one by her side, and just the money she had saved up, she made something of her life within only six years. Her sisters and Mom, could not be any more proud of her.
"Ya know Mom. I think that Phoebe leaving in the middle of the night like she did, was really the best thing for her. Yes, it was hard to be without her for that long, but she did make it out just fine in the end. I'm so proud of her Mom. I love that woman so much, and I'm proud to say she is my sister." Prue tells her.
"I feel the same way. It was rough her being gone, but look at her now. She's up there getting married to the man that stood beside her after she was paralyzed from the chest down. She walked that marathon after telling us she would walk again. Wow." Paige says, and then Piper even says, "I have to agree. She's been through hell and back and came out on top in the end. There's nothing that will ever stop her." Misty is up there in the wedding party standing up with Phoebe and when the minister says, "You may kiss your bride." Phoebe looks at James, smiles, and says, "We made it honey. We really made it."
"Was there ever any doubt?" James replies, and then he kisses her and hugs her for the longest time. Patty wipes a few tears away and whispers, "Mom. Thank You for seeing her through." They know that if Phoebe could make it though everything she's accomplished, there would be stopping her at anything else in her life. She no longer has to deal with being afraid all the time since Robert was picked up and ordered to stay out of the United States, and the man who tried to kill her, will no longer be free again. She knows that she's safe with her husband, and she will continue working alongside him in physical therapy.
THE END