Prue

The hospital was quiet, or at least as quiet as a hospital could be. The only sound at the moment was the steady beeping of Paige's monitors and the slow rise and fall of her quiet, deep breathing. I found both sounds unbelievably comforting. They were a small sign that the little sister I was so desperately afraid of losing was still alive.

The door to Paige's room swung open less than discreetly. A middle-aged woman clad in salmon-colored scrubs strode into the room. She smiled gently at me as she went about taking Paige's vitals. In an effort not to disturb Paige's sleep, the nurse had left the lights off and was fumbling around in the near darkness for the blood pressure cuff. Paige awoke suddenly, startled by the strange woman beside her. "Prue?" she cried out, looking around the room for me frantically. "Prue!"

I stood up quickly. "Shh, shh, I'm right here, honey," I soothed, stroking her right arm. Paige let out a relieved breath but still eyed the nurse cautiously.

"Don't mind me, sweetheart," the nurse said as she went about doing her job. "I'm just checking in to make sure you're doing okay."

Paige was still in a world of sleepy confusion and did not seem to be taking the unknown woman's words to heart. She reached for me subconsciously, so I slipped into the hospital bed beside her. Paige snuggled into my chest.

I had an instant flashback to Paige's tenth Christmas. I had just turned nineteen and was home on Christmas holiday break. It was the first time I had slept at home since I had started my freshman year of college. Christmas Eve rolled around and I woke up to crying, a sound that is not generally expected on that particular holiday. And certainly not from our little Paige. She loved that holiday. But Paige was crying, and I went into her and Phoebe's room, scooped her into my arms, and just held her. It was a nightmare, of course. She never told me what it was about and I never asked. I know now that it was probably about Victor. And it probably wasn't even a nightmare at all. It was probably her reliving something that had already happened. God, I wish I had known.

Paige interrupts my thoughts with a small whimper. I shift her in my arms. "What's wrong, honey? Does something hurt?"

Paige shakes her head. "I just want to go home." She sounds like a little girl again.

"I know, Paige. As soon as the doctor tells us it's okay, I'll take you home."

She seems satisfied and her tired eyes flutter shut, leaving me alone again with my thoughts.