A/n: Welcome to my newest multi-chapter project! I've been planning this one for awhile, although I'm not sure how long it will end up being yet. This is not only fic about what happened between "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "Charmed Again," but also a fic that is going to add extra scenes that weren't seen in season 4. I really hope you all enjoy this story.

The title actually comes from something I saw on Wikipedia. I was looking up information on the episode "All Hell Breaks Loose" a few months ago and the French international title for the episode was listed as "Adieux" with the translation "farewell" in parenthesis. This just struck a chord with me for some reason, so I decided to make it the title of this fic. I know that none of this really has anything to do with the story, but I just thought I'd explain for anyone interested.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Adieux (Farewell)

A story by: Ryeloza

Part One: July 18, 2001

One: Dead

"What's taking so long?" asked Phoebe. As soon as Cole had left she had begun pacing; the movement was beginning to make Leo feel fairly nauseous.

"I don't know," said Leo.

"I don't think that it should be taking this long," said Phoebe. "You should go up and check on Piper and Prue. See what's going on."

"I'm not leaving you alone down here, Phoebe."

"I'm not alone," she said. "Cole's here."

Leo refrained from comment about how little that guaranteed her safety to him, and instead said, "What if something happened to him Phoebe? If demons swarm this place you're not going to have a chance in hell of getting out of here. If I leave, you're coming with me."

"If the Source does have Cole," said Phoebe stubbornly, "then I'm not leaving him down here to be killed. He'll have to come with us."

"You want to go look for him?" asked Leo incredulously.

"Yes–No! I don't know, Leo! I don't know what to do!"

"We have no way of knowing if the Source reset time or not," said Leo. "The only way we're going to find out is if we go back home."

Phoebe halted, indecision stalling her movement. "I just want everyone to make it through this one alive."

"That's what I want too," said Leo. "But Phoebe, do you really think the Source is going to warn your sisters about what's coming? This is his chance to get rid of the Charmed Ones once and for all. We've got to get out of here."

"I can't just leave Cole alone!" said Phoebe. "And what if the Source didn't reset time yet? What if we go up there and then time resets. You and I won't remember anything either. All of this will just happen all over again!"

Leo opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly there was shouting nearby and the sound of pounding footsteps. Instantly, Leo went to Phoebe, grasping her forearm. He was about to orb out and take Phoebe forcibly, when Cole burst into the cave, throwing an energy ball over his shoulder.

"Cole!" said Phoebe, making a move towards her boyfriend. Leo tightened his grip on her, refusing to let go. Something wasn't right.

"Stay back!" said Cole. "They're coming!"

"Who's coming? Cole, what's going on?"

"It was a trap, Phoebe! As soon as the Source set back time he had me detained so I couldn't warn you. The Source is going to kill you! No one is going to warn your sisters! You've got to get out of here now!"

There was more shouting and Cole threw three more energy balls out of the cave, panting heavily.

"I can't leave you!" said Phoebe.

Cole shook his head and growled, "Leo, get her out of here now!"

Leo didn't need to be told twice. Difficult as it was to orb someone against their will, Leo held on to Phoebe with every ounce of strength he possessed. The next moment they were back in the attic of the manor. "I can't believe you left him!" shouted Phoebe, tearing her arm away. "There were demons right there! He could be killed!"

Leo ignored her, desperately trying to sense Piper and Prue. It was hard, since Phoebe was overwhelming him at the moment, and he shut his eyes to get a better sense. Piper, he thought. Just concentrate on Piper. Her eyes. Her smile... There! He could sense her, but it was faint. Much too faint.

"They're downstairs," said Leo, orbing out. The sight that greeted him in the living room was enough to knock the breath out of him. Piper and Prue had been thrown through the wall again, but so had Dr. Griffiths this time, which meant that it had taken Leo much longer to get here. Cole had been right; it was a trap, and Leo and Phoebe had stayed too long in the underworld. Not wasting another second, Leo knelt down between Piper and Prue, extending a hand over each of them. Immediately he could tell that something wasn't right, but he shut his eyes against it, thinking that if he just tried a little harder maybe something would change.

Phoebe's footsteps were thundering down the stairs. The moment she reached the landing, Leo heard her gasp. "Oh my God!" she said. "Oh my God!" A second later Leo sensed her kneel down across from him. "What's taking so long?" she demanded.

Leo didn't respond. He could scarcely breathe. Piper almost seemed to be getting fainter, not stronger and he couldn't even sense Prue. He opened his eyes and looked at Phoebe, who was obviously close to the point of tears. Without saying anything, Leo moved his left hand away from Prue and over Piper, concentrating all of his energy on his wife.

"No," said Phoebe softly. "What are you doing? Prue's not healed yet. Leo!"

Quickly, Phoebe crawled around Prue so she was kneeling closer to her sister's chest. Her hand sought out a pulse, and not feeling any she immediately began CPR. Leo scarcely acknowledged this; he knew in his heart that it was too late, but Phoebe was going to do what she had to do. Leo wasn't going to waste his energy now trying to convince her otherwise.

"Come on, Piper," he whispered. "You can pull through this."

Finally, he felt her growing stronger, her presence overwhelming his senses. He had never been so grateful in his life. "She's going to make it," he said to Phoebe. Phoebe paused and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"They're going to make it," she said. "Both of them."

Leo didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to tell Phoebe that Prue was...dead? How was he going to tell Piper? He swallowed hard, trying to put the thought out of his mind. A minute later, Piper's eyes fluttered open and she put a hand up to her forehead.

"What's going on?" she asked, trying to sit up. "Why were you healing me?"

"Lay still," said Leo.

"Leo!" said Phoebe. "Piper's fine, but you still need to heal Prue!"

"Prue?" said Piper. She forced herself to sit up and looked over at her sisters. Leo made a move to pull her away from what was happening, but Piper crawled closer to Prue before he could, laying a hand on Prue's forehead. "What's wrong with her?" she demanded. "Leo! You've got to heal her!"

"I can't," said Leo quietly. He swallowed, trying desperately to fight the lump in his throat. "Piper, I can't heal the dead."

Piper ignored him, grasping his hands and jerking them over Prue's body. "Heal her!" she ordered. Phoebe looked up at him with huge weepy eyes and Leo felt his own eyes fill with tears.

"I can't," he whispered. "God, Piper, I wish I could."

"No!" said Piper. "I don't believe it!" She turned to Phoebe, seeking assurance, but Phoebe had buried her head in her hands, now crying without abandon. "No!" said Piper. "She can't be! We just have to get her to the hospital."

Piper stood up quickly and immediately swayed on the spot. Without warning she began to tip backwards, and Leo leapt up. He managed to catch her against his body, but his stance was not solid enough to keep his balance and he fell backwards onto the floor.

"Piper!" said Phoebe through thick tears. "I thought you healed her! What's going on?"

"She's really weak right now," said Leo. "And seeing Prue was a shock. I think she fainted."

Phoebe sobbed and leaned down to kiss Prue on the forehead. Leo lifted his hands to try to heal Piper again, but Phoebe stopped him with a shaky, "Wait!" He looked up at her, questioningly. "Don't do it, Leo. She doesn't need to see this. She doesn't need to deal with this until she's physically stronger."

Reluctantly, Leo lowered his hands. What Phoebe said made sense, though he wondered if it would be worse for Piper if she had to go through this when the reality of the situation wasn't right in front of her. Torn, he decided to follow Phoebe's lead, praying that she was correct. He picked Piper up off of the floor and orbed to their bedroom, laying her down carefully on the bed. He kissed her once, softly, and then went back to Phoebe and Prue.

"How is this possible?" asked Phoebe when Leo reentered the room. She had Prue's head cradled in her arms now and was smoothing her sister's hair. "There's always been a catch before. We've always been able to bring each other back. The only reason we reset time was to get Piper back! This wasn't supposed to be the cost! I wasn't supposed to be choosing one of my sisters over the other!"

Leo crouched down next to Phoebe and put an arm around her shoulders, trying his best to comfort her. He knew that it was useless; nothing was going to take away the pain of what had happened. "I'm sorry," said Leo quietly.

Phoebe bowed her head and they remained in silence for several minutes. "What about Dr. Griffiths?" asked Phoebe.

Leo glanced over at the doctor. He hadn't checked on him, but he was certain that the man must be dead. Still, Leo stood and went over to him, examining him more closely. "He's dead too," he said to Phoebe.

Phoebe put a hand over her mouth and shut her eyes. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We need to call the police, Phoebe. We need to call Darryl."

"A demon did this, Leo. Darryl can't do anything about that."

"Phoebe," said Leo, "I know that this is beyond difficult, but we have to call Darryl so he can do something about the bodies."

For a moment, Leo thought Phoebe was going to faint too; the color drained from her face and she began breathing heavily. "What do you mean? We have to fix this somehow! No one is taking Prue anywhere!"

Leo took a deep breath. He had no idea how to begin to deal with this. How was he supposed to convince Phoebe that nothing was going to change this? This time wasn't like all the other times. This time Prue wasn't going to get a magical break.

"I'm going to call Darryl," he said finally. Phoebe opened her mouth to protest, but Leo held up a hand. "Just to talk," said Leo. "No one is going to take Prue away yet."

After a moment, Phoebe agreed. "Okay."