The first thing Piper saw when she opened her eyes that morning was the blinding bright sun shining above her. It took her a second before she realized she shouldn't be looking up at the sky. She sat up and looked around to find nothing but sand all around her. She appeared to be in some sort of desert and had no idea how she had ended up here considering the last thing she could remember was snuggling up to Leo in their bed the night before. As a mother her first thought was her boys and panic overcame her as she worried something might have happened to them. She jumped up and called out for her sister Paige. (Paige could orb which meant she could come and save Piper.) However, it wasn't Paige who orbed to her in a swirl of blue orbs, instead, it was her husband Leo Wyatt. For a moment, Leo's arrival had made Piper forget she was in the middle of nowhere when she was supposed to be at home.

"Leo? How did you get your powers back?"

"The elders decided to give me my powers back."

"When were you planning on telling me about this?"

"I didn't know, Piper. They only told me an hour ago when they gave me my magic back."

"Leo, why did they do this? They better not think you're going to work for them again after the hell they put us through!"

"Relax, Piper. I may have temporary charges at times but nothing permanent."

"Fine. Did the Elders by any chance tell you why I am stuck here? Or how I ended up here?"

"They didn't mention this. Perhaps it was a demon?"/span/p

"THE BOYS! Orb me home!"

Leo took his panicked wife's hand and orbed her home. They arrived in the Hallway of the second floor in the Halliwell manner. Piper dashed into the bedroom her two sons shared to find them both safe and sound in their beds asleep. "We'll figure out what happened," Leo reinsured her as he wrapped her up in his arms. "Mommy, you're home!" This had been said by their three-year-old son Wyatt. Piper turned and looked down at him with a smile on her face. "Yes, honey. I'm home safe and...wait a minute! How did you know I wasn't home?" The smile on both their faces had faded. "Wyatt, did you orb mommy out of the house this morning?" Leo asked him, he was better at patience and keeping calm than Piper was. Wyatt looked at his mom and could tell he'd be in trouble. "Maybe," he said in a small voice. Before his mother could respond, he ran back into his room and closed the door. "Wyatt Matthew Halliwell! Get out here now!" Piper waited for a moment but her son didn't leave his room. She went over to the door and let herself in and Leo pulled her away. "He'll just orb out to avoid getting scolded. We'll deal with this later." Piper let out a frustrated sigh as she backed away from the door.

She made her way into the kitchen with Leo tagging along behind her. Phoebe, who still lived with her sister, was seated at the table munching on some jam covered toast. Piper started the coffee pot and as the coffee was brewing she looked at a picture of her older sister Pure that was hanging on the hall near the basement door. After all these years, Piper still missed her deeply and these days she was missing more than usual. The final battle had brought up some unpleasant memories surrounding her sister's death. At the sound of a beep from the coffee pot, Piper wiped away a tear with her bare arm and retrieved to cups from a cabinet. She poured the coffee from the coffee pot into the two cups as she tried to repress the pain of losing her sister to a demon, but it was no use. All she could think about was how much she wished Prue could see how great life had turned out for her and for Phoebe and that she could meet little Wyatt and baby Chris.

Leo had been at the table talking with Phoebe when he looked over at his wife to find her pouring coffee all over the counter because both cups were filled to the top. He raced over to her and she quickly put the pot. "Well, that's just great," Piper stated in an irritated tone. She grabbed a hand-towel off another counter near the sink and began popping up her mess as she burst into tears. Leo took the towel from her and placed it down on the counter on the mess. "It's okay, it's just coffee. You're probably feeling a little overwhelmed from this morning. Why don't you just go get the boys for breakfast and I'll take care of the rest." Piper nodded and headed out of the kitchen as Leo picked up the soaked hand-towel. "What happened this morning?" Phoebe asked. "Wyatt orbed her to a desert while she was sleeping." Unable to help it, Phoebe snickered. "Oh, Wyatt," she said with a grin.

With her toddler in her arms and Wyatt waddling along behind her, Piper re-entered the kitchen. She placed Chris in his high chair at the table as Wyatt ran over to his aunt Phoebe who greeted him with a big hug. "There's my little orbster." Wyatt giggled and his father seated herself down at the table in the chair Prue had seemed to favour. Finished with her breakfast, Phoebe got up from her chair and picked up her plate. As she kissed Chris' little head Piper asked her, "so, where's that fiance of yours?" "Coop is out and about working," Phoebe replied. Piper nodded as Leo walked up to the table holding two bowls of oatmeal for the boys. "Can I have apple juice, daddy?" Wyatt asked. "Sure. Chris, do you want some apple juice?" Chris nodded his head. He didn't speak much yet. "Honey, could you put some bread in the toaster for me?" Piper asked. "Already did." Piper smiled. "Now how did I get so lucky in the husband department?"

Phoebe made her way out of the kitchen with the thought of heading up to her room to get dressed. About to head up the stairs, Phoebe changed her mind when the phone rang. She walked over to a small table next to the staircase and picked up the corded home phone on the small table, she held it up to her ear. "Hi, this is Phoebe." "Hey, it's Darryl." "Darryl? Darryl Morris?" "Yeah. I thought I'd call and let you know that the family and I are back in town." "That's great, how long are you guys going to be here?" "We moved back, Phoebe." "Oh, well that's even better." "You guys are family and we shouldn't have left." "No, I completely understand why you did." "Still." "You know what, I just remembered something. We're having a barbecue tonight, magic free. You and Sheila should come, your boys too." There was a brief pause. "Sheila just said she's free so count us in." "Cool, okay, see you tonight then. Around five."

"Guess who just moved back to town," Phoebe stated as she marched back into the kitchen. From the table, Leo and Piper and both of their boys looked up at her. "Darryl." Shock came upon their faces. "I was sure we'd never see him again," Piper said. "Darryl was a good friend to this family but we all know he wasn't found about us having magic," Leo added. "Well, he's back and he's coming over tonight for the barbecue with his family," Phoebe informed. "Oh, that should be fun." Chris got distracted by a bark that had come from outside and Wyatt was decorating the table with his oatmeal instead of eating it. Piper looked down at the watch on her right wrist. "Phoebe, you are so late for work." "What?" Phoebe looked down at her own watch. "Oh, shoot! Second time this week, Elise is going to have my head." With that said, she darted out of the kitchen.

Wyatt looked down at his bowl and spoon and with the blink of his eye orbed them into the sink. His parents looked over at the sink and then at him. "I am proud of you for cleaning up after yourself, Wyatt, but next time try doing it without magic," Piper suggested. "Piper, magic is part of who he is, don't take that from him." "Leo, don't undermine me in front of the kids. The boys have to learn how to do things the mortal way too. Personal gain has consequences remember?" Leo nodded and decided to just drop it. He didn't want to pick a fight by pointing out how strict Piper was about Wyatt and Chris' magic usage. A normal life is what Piper had always wanted. Now that the ultimate battle was over a normal life is what Piper was striving to have. This wasn't easy having two children in the house who were still learning how to control their magic and learning when and when not it's appropriate to use their magic.

Piper and Phoebe's younger half-sister Paige Matthews had decided against a life that was completely magic-free. She was a Whitelighter-Witch and worked as a Whitelighter. She also had a mortal job, she was a social worker working for social services. She was sitting at her desk inside her office when her boss knocked on her open door. She looked up at him and greeted him with a smile. "Come in." Mr. Warren walked in, he was holding a folder in his hand. "I have a new case for you," he informed her as he approached her desk. He tossed the folder onto her desk. "Her name is Emma," he told her as she opened up the folder to see a sheet of paper with Emma's picture and information. "Ten years old. Has trouble with kids her age and hides in her room a lot. Her parents are worried about. I want you to set up a meeting with this kid and make sure this isn't a case of parental abuse or some other serious problem." "Okay, I'm on it." Mr. Warren nodded and made his way out of Paige's office. Paige picked up her corded office phone and dialed the number listed on Emma's case sheet. She held the phone up to her ear, it was a woman who answered by saying hello.

"Hi, is this Mrs. Benson?"

"Yes."

"Hi, Mrs. Benson. My name is Paige Matthews and I'm calling from the department of family and child services."

"Yes, I've been waiting for your call."

"I hear you're concerned about your daughter."

"Yes. Emma. She's been acting off for a couple of weeks now."

"Why don't we set up a meeting, Emma will be present as well."

"Does tomorrow around four work for you?"

"Yes, that is fine. Can we have the meeting at my house?"

"I was just about to suggest that. It may make Emma feel more comfortable."

"I was thinking the same."

"Okay, great. Just give me the address and I'll see you tomorrow."

Phoebe entered her office to find Elise Rothman seated in her desk chair looking quite annoyed. "I am so sorry, Elise. I had a phone call and I thought I had way more time before I had to be here," Phoebe immediately apologized. "You're lucky this paper would be nothing without you," Elise replied. She rose from the chair and passed Phoebe on her way to the door. Both of them turned to face each other. "I leave you to it." Phoebe nodded and seated herself at her desk while her boss left the office closing the door behind her. (Phoebe Halliwell worked for the newspaper as an advice columnist, her column was called "ask Phoebe.) With a push of the power button, Phoebe turned on the laptop that sat on her desk. She then reached down and picked up a box from under her desk. She placed it on her lap and pulled out an envelope from inside it. This box contained letters asking for help or advice from her fans, this was how she wrote her column- by picking one of the letters per day and writing her advice.

Wyatt had just finished Nursery school. (Nursery school and Pre-K were the two years of Pre-school. Children started Pre-school at the age of two in Nursery school and graduated at the age of four in Pre-K. They then went on to their first year of Kindergarten-also known as Junior kindergarten. Senior Kindergarten came after and then first grade.) Since Wyatt was out of school and Chris wasn't in school yet, Leo and Piper had decided to take the boys out to the park. Before the kids could run around and play, however, their parents had to remind them of the rules.

"What are the rules?" Leo asked them.

"No magic," Wyatt replied./span/p

"That's right."

"Play nice with your brother, he's still little," Piper added.

Wyatt instantly dashed over to the playground where about seven or eight other children were playing. Chris, on the other hand, stayed by the bench his parents were sitting on. Wyatt slid down the yellow slide and looked over at his parents. "CHRIS! Come play with me!" Chris didn't move. Piper looked down at her toddler and said, "go play with your brother, honey." The child shook his head and began pulling out the grass with his hands. "Chris! Come one! Come play!" The mere toddler looked up at his big brother and just stared at him as he debated with himself on what to do. At last, he got up and ran over to his brother. Leo and Piper watched their two boys run around the playground together. "It's funny to think that just a few years ago we thought we couldn't have children," Piper stated. "I know," Leo agreed. "Do you ever think about having another baby?" Piper turned her face to look at him. "I wouldn't mind having another but we have no room. The Manor only has three bedrooms. We have one, my sister and Coop have another, and our boys share the third." Leo nodded in understanding. "Phoebe and Coop have plans to find their own place soon, this year sometime," Leo pointed out. "We'll talk about it when that happens," Piper decided. Leo nodded and kissed his wife's cheek.

It was now late in the afternoon and in about an hour Darryl and his family would arrive for the Barbecue. At the moment, Phoebe and her cupid fiance Coop were in their bedroom inside the Halliwell manor seated upon their bed. They were discussing their upcoming wedding. "My grams will perform the wedding right here at the manor," Phoebe reminded him. With a nod, Coop replied, "of course. We've already agreed on that." This time it was Phoebe who nodded. "Also, your sister will kill us if Wyatt isn't the ring bear." Phoebe smiled sweetly at the thought of her little nephew walking down the aisle with the ring box. She would have loved for Chris to share this role with Wyatt but he was too young. She looked down at the to-do list written on a piece of paper she had in her right hand. "We should really set the date." Coop focused his eyes on the calendar pinned on the closed bedroom door as he thought of the perfect month to have his wedding. "How about November," he suggested. (November was also the month Phoebe's birthday resided in.) "November? That would only give us five months to plan it all out and prepare everything." He nodded. "I know but I'm sure we can pull it off. We have almost everything planned out already." Phoebe thought about it for a second. "Okay, honey. November it is." She smiled at him as he leaned in and they shared a passionate kiss.

Evening had settled in. Outside in the backyard of the Halliwell Manor, Piper stood at the barbecue grilling hamburger patties and wieners. The other adults were occupying some white chairs as they talked. Wyatt and Chris meanwhile were running around the yard playing with Darryl and Sheila's two sons. Darryl Junior was just a year older than Wyatt meaning he was four, and Mikey was a few years older than his brother. (Darryl and his family had moved away after he was almost killed by evil magic. This had frightened him and his wife causing them to turn against the Halliwells and move away.)

"Leo, how old is Chris now?" Darryl asked after having watched the toddler struggle to keep up with the other boys for a minute.

"He'll be twenty months on the sixteenth," Leo replied.

"Any powers yet?"

"Yes, he can orb."

"Look, Sheila and I do regret turning against you guys but we're still a little weary about magic," Darryl said.

"So we just ask that you guys keep the magic to a minimum when we're around," Sheila continued.

"We understand magic will happen especially with these two youngsters. We just need to feel ensured that our boys are safe here."

"We understand. We all worry about the safety of Wyatt and Chris on a daily basis," Phoebe stated.

"Yes, but they have magic to protect themselves. Mikey and Darryl Junior don't."

"We understand and we'll do our best to keep magic at bay," Leo replied.

"Thank you, we appreciate that."

It was getting late and there was a situation. "NO BED! NO BED!" Chris was throwing a tantrum as Piper struggled to get him into his pajamas. Wyatt wasn't helping. He had his hands over his ears and was shouting at Chris to shut up. "NO BED!" Frustrated Piper threw the pajama top across the room and picked up her screaming toddler. Chris spent a moment trying to escape his mother by kicking and thrashing his arms around. before he realized there was a much easier way. He orbed right out of his mother's arms and out of the bedroom. "Christopher Perry Halliwell! Orb your little diapered butt back here right now!" This was unsuccessful. Wyatt was still shouting at his brother even though Chris wasn't in the room anymore. "Wyatt, why don't you shut up!" The second his mother had scolded him, Wyatt quickly stopped his shouting and tucked himself into bed. That's when Piper's cellphone rang. It was Paige.

"Are you missing a toddler?" Paige asked.

"How did you know?"

"Henry just found him in our living room."

"I'm sorry about that. He's refusing to go to bed. This isn't like him."

"Don't worry about it. I'll orb him home in a minute."

Just like she said she would, Paige orbed in holding Chris in her arms. The toddler had calmed down but the second he realized he was back in his bedroom he started screaming again. "Mind if I try getting him to bed?" "Be my guest." While pacing around the room, Paige started singing to her nephew as she rocked him in her arms. It took a moment but Chris finally calmed down and even fell asleep. Piper tiptoed out of her bedroom as her sister placed the sleeping child his crib and planted a kiss on her other nephew's head. Outside the room, Piper was joined by Paige. "I owe you one." Paige didn't respond. "You were pretty good in there, sis. Are you practicing your parenting skills for a future Halliwell?" Paige smiled. "Henry and I have been talking about having kids but we're not quite there yet." Piper gave her sister a hug and said, "you'd make a great mom and Henry would make a great dad." "Yeah, Henry is just worried about raising a magical baby since he's mortal." "Yeah, he's got a reason to worry if this future child shares your more charming personalities." "HEY!" Both sisters laughed. "Well, I better get home. Love you." "Love you too."

It was mid-afternoon on the day after the barbecue. Paige sat on an armchair across from Emma and her parents in their living room. She had been there for a good ten minutes and so far Emma had said nothing about what was bothering her. "Emma, why don't you tell me how school is going right now." Emma sat up a little straighter on the couch. (She was sitting between her parents.) "I just finished fourth grade. School is out for the summer." "Right, but how was school these past few months?" Emma shrugged. "Boring, it's school. I liked my teacher I guess. She was nice." Paige nodded and wrote this down on a notepad. "How about your classmates? Do you have any friends at school?" Emma shook her head. "Not anymore. Other kids don't like me." She looked sad and a little tired as well. "Do you think you don't give other kids a chance to get to know you?" Emma shrugged again. "I want you to think about that." No response. Paige turned her attention to Emma's parents. "I sense Emma is feeling a little overwhelmed right. Perhaps we continue this discussion in a couple of days." Emma's mother looked over at her daughter. "Emma, would you like Paige to come back another day instead?" Emma nodded and then decided to walk out of the room. "I'm sorry about that, Emma's not usually this rude." Paige rose from the chair. "No worries. She's just a child. I can tell there's something bugging her, something she doesn't yet feel comfortable talking about."