A/N: Thanks to Orbing Punk, Skye, Psychokitty3, Piper15, Piperleo4eva, Charmed-aussie, Sci fi fan, Cool Charmed chic, line100, Charmed123, Anarra, Versatile cutie and Bubblz for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it so much and I never meant to make you wait this long for the next one, sorry! I hope you like it though....
Chapter 21
About 30 minutes passed and Phoebe and Leo didn't move, but slowly the sobs subsided and what was left was the horrible knowledge; raw and painful. Phoebe managed to muster up enough sense to inform Paige of the news and left Leo alone with Piper to make the call.
3 short rings filled the manor before Paige answered.
"Paige, it's me." Phoebe's voice cracked under the emotion. Paige felt sick. She immediately feared the worst and she couldn't handle it.
"Oh no!!! Has she..." the sentence hung in the air. They both knew what she meant.
"No!" Phoebe paused adding "Not yet anyway" as an after thought.
"What does that mean?" Paige was urgent; she needed to know what was going on.
"They said that the injuries from the attack in the shop had started to come back. They said she might be too weak to survive it. Paige, they said she could die." Phoebe couldn't cry anymore but she could feel and she could hurt.
Paige didn't have that problem. The sobs fell freely and it was a few minutes before she could talk.
"I'm coming to the hospital Phoebe, I have to be there."
"Okay. What about Wyatt and Melinda? They can't see her like this."
"I'll phone Darryl and orb them over on my way to you. I'll be there soon."
"Okay, Hurry"
Paige put the phone back on its cradle. Why had things turned so bad? She sat down on the settee and let out all her sadness whilst she was alone; she needed to be strong when she reached the hospital.
"Okay Paige, come one. You can do this." She coached herself and tried to calm herself down. She plucked a couple of tissues from the table in front of her, wiped her eyes, took a few deep breaths and turned to face the stairs.
Up until them she had had her back to them, so it was only at that moment she saw Wyatt sitting half way down the stairs, clutching the leg of a teddy bear and staring at her through a gap in the banisters.
"Hi" she spoke in a voice so full of forced cheerfulness it sounded alien to her.
Satisfied that she wanted him to come down the rest of the steps, Wyatt got up and slowly made his way down. Not a word was spoken until the child was in front of his aunt. Paige tried to gauge how long he had been there, how much he'd heard, but that was impossible. She bent down, picking him up and talking to him at the same time.
"What you doing up?" Her voice still belonged to the alien.
Wyatt rested his head on his aunt's shoulder. He put one arm around her neck and clutched his teddy in the other.
"I miss mommy." He whispered it so tiny and innocently it made her heart break.
"I know you do baby, I know. I miss her too." She gently rubbed his back as she talked; as much in an effort to calm herself down as to calm him down. "I need to go and see mommy, Aunt Phoebe and daddy right now, so I'll need to take you and Melinda to Uncle Darryl's house okay?"
"Okay Auntie Paige. Please make mommy better." He yawned sleepily and Paige felt him drift of to sleep. She resolved in that moment to make sure Piper would live, not only for her but for the family, she knew they wouldn't cope with losing her.
She orbed upstairs and lay Wyatt down on his bed for the moment as she packed a small overnight bag for him and his sister, and phoned Darryl at the same time. She focused on the task in hand completely, not wanting to think about Piper or what was happening at the hospital until she knew that the children were safe. When she was finished she put the bag over her shoulder, scooped Melinda up in one arm and Wyatt in the other, before orbing the three of them and the bag out.
She orbed into Darryl's living room and handed the children over to Shelia before quickly orbing out again; solely focused on Piper now there was nothing left to do.
She expected some sort of hysteria when she orbed in. She expected screams, tears, even Waterfalls or just for Piper to look different; just something. What she saw and what was there was essentially exactly what she'd left earlier. All that had changed was the atmosphere. The pain was vivid and a sort of emptiness had settled. Paige couldn't help but get the impression that Phoebe and Leo had decided that Piper would die; to her it felt like they had just given up. Paige moved to sit next to Phoebe and she noticed that Leo was more engrossed in Piper than ever before; he was absorbing every last essence of her that he could, clinging to her whilst he still could.
Paige had barely taken this all in when the door to the room opened and Dr.Miles returned. She paused for a moment, organizing her jumble of thoughts before opening her mouth to tell the news that she both knew she must, and wished she didn't have to, say. She'd let the family have time to adjust now she had to do this, before what little time they had left ran out.
"There is a way that we can help Piper fight this as much as possible" She carried on as if she'd never left off. Paige and Phoebe slowly looked up at her-registering acknowledgement and interest as well as willing her to continue. Gradually Leo ripped his eyes away from Piper but tightened his grip on her hand as he did so. He too looked at Dr.Miles and she continued to talk.
"It's becoming more and more obvious that a lot of the nutrients we are giving Piper are going straight to the baby. Piper needs everything we are giving her to survive. There's no point skirting around the issue so, in order for her to get them, we need to deliver the baby."
"What! You can't. She's only 7 months along. The baby won't survive!" Phoebe was outraged.
"She can. With the right care babies can survive out of the mother's womb after only 6 months of pregnancy and this hospital has one of the best maternity departments in the country."
"But...but, how would you do it?" Paige asked
"A c-section."
"But will Piper survive. You said she's weak how will she recover?"
"If we don't do this the both Piper and the baby will die, it's only a matter of time."
"You didn't answer the question" Leo's voice was low.
"That's because I don't know the answer. I'm not going to lie to you, there's a chance that Piper won't be able to fight this and you need to be prepared for that. But that's not what this decision is about. What it is about is that if the baby stays inside Piper for much longer then Piper is only going to get weaker and any chance of saving the baby will be gone. By delivering now, you are giving them both a chance to survive."
Paige, Phoebe and Leo sat and thought for a long time. If they did this then Piper could die, but her baby could live. If they didn't then they would both die. All three of them exchanged looks and knew exactly what their decision was, as much as it hurt them to say it.
"Do it. Deliver the baby." Phoebe said resignedly.
"Do you all agree?" Dr.Miles asked and Paige and Leo slowly nodded their heads. "Okay. I have Delivery on standby I'll let them know to go ahead and it'll be done as soon as possible." She cast one look at the broken family before moving out of the door.
Leo felt so exhausted. The Elders had been calling him for the last half an hour, and for the last half an hour he'd managed to block them out. He needed that time to deal. But know the call changed. They said it was about Piper. No way could he ignore that.
"The Elders. They say it's about Piper" He told Phoebe and Paige. He orbed out so completely focused that he was almost in a trance. Finally he had the chance of doing something to help save his wife, and whatever it was he would grab it with both hands.
A/N: Paige referred to Darryl as Uncle Darryl to Wyatt in the way that kids call their Parent's friends Auntie and Uncle incase anyone got confused, which they probably weren't and I'm just being paranoid.
Please review it makes me happy and a happy me rights more which hopefully means a happy you! It's win-win really....
Chapter 21
About 30 minutes passed and Phoebe and Leo didn't move, but slowly the sobs subsided and what was left was the horrible knowledge; raw and painful. Phoebe managed to muster up enough sense to inform Paige of the news and left Leo alone with Piper to make the call.
3 short rings filled the manor before Paige answered.
"Paige, it's me." Phoebe's voice cracked under the emotion. Paige felt sick. She immediately feared the worst and she couldn't handle it.
"Oh no!!! Has she..." the sentence hung in the air. They both knew what she meant.
"No!" Phoebe paused adding "Not yet anyway" as an after thought.
"What does that mean?" Paige was urgent; she needed to know what was going on.
"They said that the injuries from the attack in the shop had started to come back. They said she might be too weak to survive it. Paige, they said she could die." Phoebe couldn't cry anymore but she could feel and she could hurt.
Paige didn't have that problem. The sobs fell freely and it was a few minutes before she could talk.
"I'm coming to the hospital Phoebe, I have to be there."
"Okay. What about Wyatt and Melinda? They can't see her like this."
"I'll phone Darryl and orb them over on my way to you. I'll be there soon."
"Okay, Hurry"
Paige put the phone back on its cradle. Why had things turned so bad? She sat down on the settee and let out all her sadness whilst she was alone; she needed to be strong when she reached the hospital.
"Okay Paige, come one. You can do this." She coached herself and tried to calm herself down. She plucked a couple of tissues from the table in front of her, wiped her eyes, took a few deep breaths and turned to face the stairs.
Up until them she had had her back to them, so it was only at that moment she saw Wyatt sitting half way down the stairs, clutching the leg of a teddy bear and staring at her through a gap in the banisters.
"Hi" she spoke in a voice so full of forced cheerfulness it sounded alien to her.
Satisfied that she wanted him to come down the rest of the steps, Wyatt got up and slowly made his way down. Not a word was spoken until the child was in front of his aunt. Paige tried to gauge how long he had been there, how much he'd heard, but that was impossible. She bent down, picking him up and talking to him at the same time.
"What you doing up?" Her voice still belonged to the alien.
Wyatt rested his head on his aunt's shoulder. He put one arm around her neck and clutched his teddy in the other.
"I miss mommy." He whispered it so tiny and innocently it made her heart break.
"I know you do baby, I know. I miss her too." She gently rubbed his back as she talked; as much in an effort to calm herself down as to calm him down. "I need to go and see mommy, Aunt Phoebe and daddy right now, so I'll need to take you and Melinda to Uncle Darryl's house okay?"
"Okay Auntie Paige. Please make mommy better." He yawned sleepily and Paige felt him drift of to sleep. She resolved in that moment to make sure Piper would live, not only for her but for the family, she knew they wouldn't cope with losing her.
She orbed upstairs and lay Wyatt down on his bed for the moment as she packed a small overnight bag for him and his sister, and phoned Darryl at the same time. She focused on the task in hand completely, not wanting to think about Piper or what was happening at the hospital until she knew that the children were safe. When she was finished she put the bag over her shoulder, scooped Melinda up in one arm and Wyatt in the other, before orbing the three of them and the bag out.
She orbed into Darryl's living room and handed the children over to Shelia before quickly orbing out again; solely focused on Piper now there was nothing left to do.
She expected some sort of hysteria when she orbed in. She expected screams, tears, even Waterfalls or just for Piper to look different; just something. What she saw and what was there was essentially exactly what she'd left earlier. All that had changed was the atmosphere. The pain was vivid and a sort of emptiness had settled. Paige couldn't help but get the impression that Phoebe and Leo had decided that Piper would die; to her it felt like they had just given up. Paige moved to sit next to Phoebe and she noticed that Leo was more engrossed in Piper than ever before; he was absorbing every last essence of her that he could, clinging to her whilst he still could.
Paige had barely taken this all in when the door to the room opened and Dr.Miles returned. She paused for a moment, organizing her jumble of thoughts before opening her mouth to tell the news that she both knew she must, and wished she didn't have to, say. She'd let the family have time to adjust now she had to do this, before what little time they had left ran out.
"There is a way that we can help Piper fight this as much as possible" She carried on as if she'd never left off. Paige and Phoebe slowly looked up at her-registering acknowledgement and interest as well as willing her to continue. Gradually Leo ripped his eyes away from Piper but tightened his grip on her hand as he did so. He too looked at Dr.Miles and she continued to talk.
"It's becoming more and more obvious that a lot of the nutrients we are giving Piper are going straight to the baby. Piper needs everything we are giving her to survive. There's no point skirting around the issue so, in order for her to get them, we need to deliver the baby."
"What! You can't. She's only 7 months along. The baby won't survive!" Phoebe was outraged.
"She can. With the right care babies can survive out of the mother's womb after only 6 months of pregnancy and this hospital has one of the best maternity departments in the country."
"But...but, how would you do it?" Paige asked
"A c-section."
"But will Piper survive. You said she's weak how will she recover?"
"If we don't do this the both Piper and the baby will die, it's only a matter of time."
"You didn't answer the question" Leo's voice was low.
"That's because I don't know the answer. I'm not going to lie to you, there's a chance that Piper won't be able to fight this and you need to be prepared for that. But that's not what this decision is about. What it is about is that if the baby stays inside Piper for much longer then Piper is only going to get weaker and any chance of saving the baby will be gone. By delivering now, you are giving them both a chance to survive."
Paige, Phoebe and Leo sat and thought for a long time. If they did this then Piper could die, but her baby could live. If they didn't then they would both die. All three of them exchanged looks and knew exactly what their decision was, as much as it hurt them to say it.
"Do it. Deliver the baby." Phoebe said resignedly.
"Do you all agree?" Dr.Miles asked and Paige and Leo slowly nodded their heads. "Okay. I have Delivery on standby I'll let them know to go ahead and it'll be done as soon as possible." She cast one look at the broken family before moving out of the door.
Leo felt so exhausted. The Elders had been calling him for the last half an hour, and for the last half an hour he'd managed to block them out. He needed that time to deal. But know the call changed. They said it was about Piper. No way could he ignore that.
"The Elders. They say it's about Piper" He told Phoebe and Paige. He orbed out so completely focused that he was almost in a trance. Finally he had the chance of doing something to help save his wife, and whatever it was he would grab it with both hands.
A/N: Paige referred to Darryl as Uncle Darryl to Wyatt in the way that kids call their Parent's friends Auntie and Uncle incase anyone got confused, which they probably weren't and I'm just being paranoid.
Please review it makes me happy and a happy me rights more which hopefully means a happy you! It's win-win really....