"We need to have a sleepover," Paige Matthews declared solemnly to her sisters. "You know, a proper slumber party. Sit around in jammies and drink hot cocoa and watch bad TV shows all night."

Phoebe Halliwell burst out laughing. "What, here? In Gram's house? Does the TV even work?"

"You're forgetting I don't have any sleepwear," Piper Halliwell pointed out. "All my stuff is at my apartment."

"You don't need to drive home. You can borrow a pair of mine," Paige said brightly.

The three sisters were still gathered around the dining room table, surrounded by a scattering of bright white cartons, now emptied of their savory Chinese dishes, along with paper plates, cups, chopsticks, and a small pile of papers left behind by Leo Wyatt, detailing both the needed and recommended repairs to the house.

The inventory of repairs was not as bad as Piper had feared, but it was still impressive. A new hot water heater was at the top of the 'must replace now' list, as the heating element had all but corroded away after many years use, and the tank itself was now lined with an disquieting amount of rust. The washer and dryer were assigned a similar fate. One of the bedrooms had faulty wiring. The far end of the front porch needed to have its cinderblock foundation rebuilt. The upstairs bathroom needed new fixtures. The radiators worked, but the oil tank in the cellar had only enough fuel for a few days and needed to be filled. Other recommendations followed, but they were not emergencies that required immediate attention. Phoebe had thrown down the papers in dismay.

"Do you think we're made of money?" she asked Leo angrily, despairing that home ownership might be forever beyond her reach, for the sake of a few household repairs and appliance replacements.

"You ladies are welcome to make whatever arrangements you like," Leo answered calmly. "But if you're actually going to take ownership of the house, these things need to be fixed before you move in."

"You said you might know someone who could help us?" Paige asked hopefully.

"Yeah. That would be me," Leo answered, somewhat self-consciously.

"You can do all this stuff?" Phoebe was suitably impressed.

"For how much?" Piper demanded suspiciously.

"At cost," Leo answered. "I get contractor rates with all the big building supply companies. And I won't charge for any labor, as long as you're willing to offer a cup of coffee now and then."

Piper thought she hadn't heard right. "You've got to be kidding."

"Leo, you have to get paid," Paige objected. "We can't let you work for free."

"I do get paid," Leo pointed out. "Home inspections are my day job. Home repairs are my hobby. Believe it or not, I do this for fun. I do a lot of work for charities on the weekends. I can set that aside for a couple of weekends, to help you get this place in good working order."

"You would do that for us?" Piper still couldn't quite believe it.

"Can't we throw in meals, or something?" Paige seconded. "Just so you get compensated in some way."

"I could be tempted to accept a few home cooked meals," Leo admitted with a shy smile.

"Why are you helping us?" Piper asked, her eyes tear bright. She was no longer suspicious, but simply overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude.

Leo smiled somberly at Piper. "I know what it's like to lose someone," he said quietly. "And especially how right after it happens, how hard it is sometimes to even get out of bed in the morning. If I can help get you ladies back on your feet, and established in your new home, that would be payment enough for me."

"You're an angel," Phoebe gushed.

Leo's smile was surprisingly sad.

"Maybe one day," he said.

After Leo departed, the sisters had sat around the table, having what was probably the longest and most serious discussion of their adult lives: the prospect of owning their own home together. More prosaically, could they do so without killing one another after three days. To Piper's surprise, both her sisters were 'all in', as the expression went. So they spent another hour drawing up a crude working budget, based on what they knew they could expect for household repairs, utilities and taxes, as well as their own needs for groceries, clothing and other personal items. Then grimly, they figured in their own incomes. Piper already had her job as shift manager at a local restaurant. Paige was starting her new job with Bay Area Social Services in another week. Phoebe as yet had no job, but she pledged that she would be willing to kick in the entirety of any temp job salaries to the household, until their finances had stabilized.

It was now late afternoon, and Phoebe could barely keep her eyelids open.

"We can finish this discussion tomorrow, when you've had a chance to get some sleep," Piper declared.

"I don't want to miss anything," Phoebe protested, barely conscious.

"Honey, we promise, we won't make any family decisions without you," Paige assured her. "Pinky swear."

A brief discussion of sleeping arrangements followed, when Paige made the suggestion that they might as well stay in the house that very night, and make their presence in the Halliwell Manor official.

The sisters came up to the landing on the second floor. Phoebe solved the problem of picking rooms by stumbling into the smallest bedroom, which had at first belonged to her sister Prue, and closing the door behind her. She was asleep seconds after her head was on the pillow.

Piper and Paige peeked in, seeing Phoebe was more or less unconscious; they removed her shoes and covered her with a light blanket. Paige hurried downstairs, and returned from the kitchen a few moments later with a small pitcher of water and a drinking glass, which she left on the nightstand at Phoebe's bedside.

"Good thing we took off the dust covers earlier," she whispered to Piper, as they stepped out of the room and back into the hallway. Paige closed the door behind her.

"She'll be out all night," Piper smiled, shaking her head.

"It's only five-thirty," Paige said, checking her watch. "We don't have to turn in yet. If you don't mind helping me, we can probably unload the bug in two or three trips."

"Fine," Piper nodded. "Do you have any preference for bedrooms? Since Phoebe's obviously staked hers."

"I think you should have the master bedroom," Paige answered. "You're the oldest." She paused. "If sleeping in Gram's bed doesn't creep you out, that is."

"No," Piper said slowly. Her eyes began to tear. "I slept in that bed beside her every night for two weeks before we moved her into the hospice facility."

"Honey, if that's going to be hard for you, I can take Grams' room. Or I can spend the night with you."

"A true sleepover party," Piper grinned, blinking back tears. "It's fine, Paige. I can manage. And yes, I wouldn't mind having the master bedroom, if you're okay with that."

"It's yours," Paige declared. "But if I hear you crying in the middle of the night, I'm crawling into bed with you."

Piper pulled Paige close to her into a tight hug.

"I love you very much, Paige Matthews," she murmured, a single tear spilling down one cheek. "Just in case I forgot to tell you that today."

"I love you more," Paige countered, resting her head on her sister's shoulder.

"Love you most," Piper declared with all the solemnity of an oath. Their pact made, the sisters unofficially completed their move into their grandmother's house on Prescott street on a bleak mid-winter's night in late February, entirely unaware of the profound changes that decision was about to have on all their lives.