disclaimer: Charmed is a property of the WB.

note: another A/U angsty fic about Piper.

BROKEN

Bottles and cans of alcohol lay on the counter of P3. The club was silent as the

only noise heard was that of her sobbing and swirling of the liquid in the now half-empty

bottle. 'Prue, why did you have to die? Why didn't I die? If I did die, then Phoebe

wouldn't have to go through this. All the evidence was so clear! Cole was the Source.

Why did I ignore it? It should have been me Prue, it should have been me. I'm such a

failure. Prue, if only you were alive. None of this would have happened. You

would have known what to do. Phoebe, I'm so sorry. Please, come back. Please. I

promised Prue that I'd protect you.'

The crash of the empty glass bottle startled Phoebe as she walked into P3. Her

eyes scanned the club as she spotted the lone figure of her sister, as Piper fell out of the

chair onto the broken pieces of glass. Piper didn't really feel anything as the pieces of

broken glass stabbed into her right side. Broken. Now that word really suited her. She

was broken. Betrayed. Hurt. Angry. Depressed. Frustrated. Confused. Broken. She

watched the crimson puddle grow with fascination. Now there was a feeling which

suited her broken mood. Pain. She picked up a broken piece of glass and drove it into

her wrist. She started to pull upwards as a strong hand gripped her firmly, and held her

tightly to prevent herself from feeling the pain that she so desperately needed.

It wasn't hard for Phoebe to hold her struggling sister because Piper was too

drunk to move coordinately. She tried to remove the broken piece of glass from her

drunk sister's hand but Piper just held on tighter. The sharp edges of the broken glass cut

into her hand as blood started trickling down her arm. Phoebe applied pressure onto

Piper's wounds but felt her try to push away.

"Piper, honey, please, stop struggling, and let me help you."

Piper squirmed out of her sister's grasp and crawled away from Phoebe, but

failed. She started coughing though. Coughing up blood as she gradually began to

convulse uncontrollably on the floor.

"Piper!" Phoebe cried in alarm as she rushed over to Piper and rolled her onto her

uninjured side as she dialed 911. 'I never thought that two minutes could pass by so

slowly'. It seemed like hours as she heard the sirens and saw the flashing red lights of

the ambulance. Piper was still coughing and convulsing as the paramedics approached

and put an oxygen mask on her while inserting IV tubes and loading her onto a stretcher.

Phoebe's mind was a mess as she sat in the ambulance beside her sister. She stared off

into space as Paige came running into the waiting room at the hospital.

"What happened?"

"Alcohol poisoning, blood loss," came Phoebe's voice as she muttered the

response.

Paige kept her mouth shut and sat down. Her skills as a social worker told her by

Phoebe's closed posture that she didn't want to talk. 'I should try to get her to talk

later.' she thought. Her mind was racing. She had seen how hurt and devastated Piper

looked today as she drove off to P3. 'I should have followed' Paige thought miserably.

'I should have known that this blow might break her. Cause her to snap.' Her thought

was interrupted as a doctor came out.

"Halliwells?"

"Yes. How's my sister?" Phoebe blurted out.

"Your sister suffers from severe alcohol poisoning as well as extreme blood loss

due to very damaging lacerations. It is very possible that she may lose the use of her left

hand due to the severeness of the injury. She will need time and your support to help her

recover." the doctor said.

"Can we go see her?" Paige asked.

"Certainly. She is in ICU 24.

"Thanks doctor."

***

The ICU room was dry and cold. Piper's small pale form could hardly be seen as

the oxygen tube and many different wires ran down her body. Her left wrist was heavily

bandaged, with an IV tube at the elbow joint. Her right hand was also bandaged as more

tubes ran out. The room was dead silent as the only noise heard was the soft beeping of

the heart monitor and the hissing of the ventilator.

Phoebe walked over and held Piper's bandaged hand. 'I'm so sorry Piper. I'm so

sorry.'