AN: Many thanks to -0-charmed-freak-0-, WelshCanuck, Charmed225, lizardmomma, piperloveleoalways and minorshan for your reviews of Ch. 24; reviews are like chocolate for the soul. :)

Chapter Twenty Five

"Piper, you can't go to work!" Phoebe exclaimed the next morning. "Something is out there, plotting against us. I can feel it. We need to stay together."

"I don't want to go, Phoebs," Piper explained. "But my boss made me feel so guilty about calling in sick again. The restaurant still hasn't hired a new co-manager, and they really need me."

"We need you here," Phoebe pleaded. "Please don't go."

"I'm sorry, but I already told him that I would come in today. I'll try to leave as early as I can to help you guys with the potion." Piper hoped that this would satisfy Phoebe, but she knew her sister never gave up easily.

"Help me out here, Prue. Tell her that she shouldn't go," Phoebe begged, praying that her oldest sister would support her.

Piper jumped in before Prue could answer. "It's the safest place I could be. No demon's likely to attack me in a crowded restaurant, but if any try I can blow them up now. Plus, if you need me while I'm gone, you can send Leo to orb me back. "

"All right," Prue said. She had to admit that Piper's argument was reasonable. "Go ahead. Phoebe and I can buy the potion ingredients ourselves."

"Thanks Prue," Piper said as she walked out of the door.

"You shouldn't have let her go. What if it's another trap?" Phoebe wasn't convinced that the restaurant was as safe as Piper claimed.

"What did you want me to do? Use my power to move a couch in front of the door so that she couldn't leave? You know how seriously Piper takes her work." Prue was just as concerned as Phoebe, but she knew that Piper would go to work no matter what she or Phoebe said.

"I know. I just wish that you would believe me when I say that I have a bad feeling about something. Or when I say that I didn't steal a certain potion." Phoebe was still angry at Prue for accusing her of something so devious, but, if she was honest with herself, she was really more hurt than angry.

"Let's just forget about it," Prue said, in no mood to rehash last night's argument. "Do you want to come with me to the store?"

"Fine," Phoebe muttered. As she followed Prue out of the door, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen--and she didn't know how to stop it.

XXXXXXXXXXXx

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better, Piper," Tracy said as she picked up her order in Windbury's kitchen.

"Thanks." Piper looked up from the food she was preparing to give the waitress a smile.

Tracy smiled back as she left the kitchen with her order. When Tracy came back into the kitchen several minutes later, however, her smile was gone. "What's wrong?" Piper asked when she noticed the change in her demeanor.

"This guy at table nineteen is being a real jerk. He's demanding to speak to the manager." Piper sighed. Dealing with irate customers was hardly her favorite part of the job, and, in her experience, these customers rarely had a good reason for behaving so rudely. But what if this guy isn't your average angry customer? She thought suddenly. What if he's a demon?

Piper felt her heartbeat accelerating. She poked her head out of the kitchen and saw that the lunch rush had filled every table. Confident that no demon would attack in front of so many people, she swallowed her fears and headed for table nineteen. She found a middle aged man and woman there. The woman wore an elegant dress and pearls. The man, short, fat, and bald, wore a designer suit. "Can I help you with something?" She asked in what she hoped sounded like a friendly tone.

"You the manager?" the man barked.

"Yes," Piper answered, though at times like these she wished that she weren't.

"But you're a woman," the man replied.

"Thank you for noticing. Is there a problem with your order, sir?" Piper struggled to keep her tone polite.

"Well, for starters, it took you guys fifteen minutes to bring out my soup," the man began.

"And my salad," the woman added.

"My apologies, but this is our busiest time of day." If you think that you can do better, you're welcome to try, she silently challenged the couple.

"And another thing. My wife asked for dressing on the side, and the waitress put it on the salad itself. I don't know what kind of restaurant you're running, lady, but when I pay good money I expect a certain level of service, and--"

Piper tuned out the man's grumbling. She briefly considered freezing him and walking away. She had blown up the demon in the hotel the last time she tried to freeze someone, however, and as much as this guy was annoying her, she wouldn't take the risk. Then she saw something that drove all thoughts of the angry customer out of her mind.

Two tables behind the angry customer and his wife, a man sitting alone was choking. He had his arms crossed against his chest and his mouth was gaping open, struggling for air. Piper raced to his table, ignoring the angry customer's shout of "Hey, Lady, I wasn't finished yet!" Frantically Piper called to mind the steps needed to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Step One: Wrap your arms around the victim's waist. Step Two: Make a fist. Place the thumb side of your fist below the victim's ribcage. Step Three: Grab your fist with your other hand and thrust upward. Repeat as needed. Piper performed each step faithfully until the piece of food he was choking on was thrown free. She breathed a long sigh of relief. She was immensely grateful now that she had taken a first aid class a few years ago. She watched while color slowly returned to the man's face and he started taking slow, deep breaths.

"Thank you," the man said in raspy voice. His eyes and smile radiated gratitude.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling back at him. She hoped that she hadn't broken any ribs. Looking around the restaurant, she asked, "Can someone call 911?" At least ten people took out their cell phones. Piper walked back to her office and sank into the chair behind her desk, trying to process what had just happened. She, Piper Halliwell, had just saved a life. She felt a rush of adrenaline throughout her body; it was the most amazing feeling she had ever experienced. This is it, she thought. This is how it feels to save a life. This is my destiny. She needed to go back to the hotel and help her sisters. She would return to the kitchen, say goodbye to the staff, and leave.

Shouts of "Way to go, Piper" and "Great job, Piper" erupted as soon as she entered the kitchen. She felt someone pat her on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Piper." She turned around to see Jared, her boss. " It's a good thing you were here," he beamed.

"It's a good thing you convinced me to come to work this morning." If I had listened to Phoebe and stayed home, that man might be dead now.

Jared looked confused. "This morning?"

Piper repressed a wave of panic. "You didn't talk to me this morning? Guilt me into coming to work?"

The confusion on Jared's face deepened. "This morning? No. Are you sure you're feeling better?"

Then someone else wanted me to come to work this morning, someone who impersonated my boss's voice. Now I really need to get out of here. It'll be okay; I just saved someone's life, and now my boss thinks I'm disoriented.; he'll have to let me leave early. "Jared? I have to--"

Jared's cell phone rang. "Hold on, Piper. I need to answer this." He picked up his phone and walked away. A few seconds later a young man entered the kitchen. Piper recognized him as Duane, the unreliable waiter who had given her so many headaches.

"Hey Duane," Michael, one of the cooks, said.

"Hey Mike."

"Dude, didn't you get fired?" Another of the cooks asked.

"Yeah," Duane answered, barely containing his anger. " I just came to pick up my last paycheck. Piper, can you get it for me, please?"

Something about Duane made Piper uneasy. Stop being paranoid. If he were a demonic impostor, how would he know Mike's name? Just get his paycheck and he'll leave. "Sure." Piper turned her back on Duane and walked toward her office to get his check. Calm down, she told herself. Get his check, tell Jared you're going, and leave. That was her last thought before she felt a hot, sharp pain on the back of her head and collapsed to the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duane ran out of the restaurant, still holding the gun in his hand. He was confused and terrified. Why had he done that? He had been mad about losing his job, but not that mad. He had never done anything like this before. It was as if someone else had been in his head, controlling his actions. Suddenly he felt as if something, or someone, was leaving his body. "Thanks for your help, kid," he heard a voice say. Duane wondered if he had really heard the voice, or if he had just imagined the whole thing. He couldn't have known that the voice was real, or that it belonged to the Source of all Evil.

Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated and loved. :)