I giggle. "Oh, that would serve those Elders right!" and they both smile.

She sighs. "No, truly, if it's really that much of a problem, I may just ask the Elders to reassign my charges to another whitelighter until the kids are old enough to handle their powers without close supervision."

Leo nods. "That may be for the best. It's why I'm glad that once I got my powers back, the Elders didn't give me any charges besides our extended family until the boys were ready for charges of their own. Being able to help Piper raise them without worrying about my other charges was among the best times of my life. She was really depressed when Chris, her baby, told her he didn't need watching any more, then went out and proved it. You asked her if she could watch the girls for you at just the right time. Being a mother is what she always does best and enjoys the most, even more than being a witch."

I grin. "You kidding? A lot more than being a witch!" and he has to agree.

Paige nods firmly. "Yeah. Although I love watching and helping my charges, I'm those girls' mom, so it's about time I act like one on a full-time basis. With David's job, we can sure afford it."

I hug her, "Oh, Piper would be so proud of you for deciding that!" Then I turn serious. "Just remember that you gave Piper some of the best years of her life. Getting to watch them while knowing that Wyatt and Chris are old enough and in control of their powers enough that they can help us banish demons and save innocents without the Power of Three was really a treat for her. So no fair you feeling guilty!" and she grins and nods. "And I'm glad you brought them. I'm sure Piper appreciated the chance to see them, and they'll remember getting to see her. And what would we have done without Sam to lighten the mood?" and she nods, smiling.

"Yeah, but I'm wondering if maybe I should take her home for awhile, let her run off some of her energy. You know how her powers act up when she has too much energy! Wouldn't want her orbing in front of a doctor or nurse!"

Leo nods. "Good idea. What about Trish?"

"I think she'll want to stay, but I'll ask her."

"Well, as long as you're going home, would you mind dropping me off at my place and then bringing me back?" I ask. "After sleeping in these clothes, I'd really like to have a chance to shower and change."

"Sure." Then she thinks of something. She turns to Leo. "What if something starts happening?"

We all know what she means by "something". "From what the doctor told me last night, I don't think anything will happen until this evening. It's the only reason I agreed to leave and have you guys leave, too. If I thought she might not wake up, no way they'd get us out of there!"

"But what if they're just saying that and if they don't know for sure?" I ask.

"Well, there's always that possibility, but they've been pretty up-front with me through the whole thing. And, Paige, I can contact you, but, Phoebe…"

"Yeah, I know. And I wouldn't want you or anyone else to come after me and miss being with Piper. It's OK. Somehow I just get the feeling that I'll know. I knew it when Dad was close to going. I'll know when Piper is, and she's not now." and they agree. Then I look sternly at Leo. "You try to get some sleep, OK?" and he reluctantly agrees.

As expected, Trish wants to stay at the hospital, and David agrees to watch her, so Paige picks up Sam (who protests to no avail) and after explaining to Wyatt and Chris what we're doing, we all go into a side hallway. First Paige orbs me home, then she orbs herself and Sam to their place.

After a long hot shower, which feels wonderful, I sit down at my computer. This is another reason I wanted to come home. I go online, go into my inbox and set up a new message to all of my contacts, which now also includes all of Piper's contacts from her inbox. Ever since Piper first got sick, it's become my job to keep all of our friends advised of her condition. Only a few days ago I got to write and tell them that Piper was doing a lot better and was able to go home from the hospital. I'll never forget how excited she was to get to see the Manor. Leo even carried her over the threshold! As I watched her take in all of the sights of the Manor, the look of excitement on her face told us that she didn't think she'd ever get a chance to touch any of her things again, something I very happily passed on to our friends. Now I'll have to tell them something totally different.

It's not an easy email to write as I type and then delete, type and then delete, type and delete. I finally decide to just make it simple:

"I hate to inform you all, but my sister Piper will probably join our parents and our sister Prue sometime this evening. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers today--and save some for me, too!

Love,
Phoebe"

After I hit the Send button, I start reading and replying to some of my mail, but it's hard, because most of it was written thinking that Piper had made an amazing recovery and was going to be OK, at least for few more years. If only…

Now I'm so antsy that I can't stand it. Leaving a message for Paige: "Couldn't wait. Going back," I grab my car keys and head back to the hospital and Piper.