"Why am I back here?" said Chris sitting on a rock nearby, legs outstretched, arms crossed.

"Always felt safe talking to you" Sam smiled as soon as she heard his voice.

"Alright" Chris said going to sit by her side. "Why are we still here?" Sam stared blankly beyond the waterfall in front of her.

"I can't face him" she whispered, her words hard to swallow.

"You do know you'll have to do it eventually" Sam stared at him, heartache threatening to overtake her again. He took her hand. "Are you really willing to leave them behind because you're scared?"

"I just…can't" her voice quivered.

"What are you so afraid of? You both knew what needed to be done. You both would have done anything else if there had been any other option. He understands every bit of it, so… what?"

"Why do you want me to say what you already know?"

"Because you need to hear it"

"I'm afraid he'll look at me and find I'm not the same woman he loves. Something… broke… inside… I don't think I could go back… where does that leave us? I couldn't go on if he… hated me for it"

"Is it the better choice to walk away? Or to trust that very same love you feel for him?" Sam considered it for a moment. She knew the answer, but was paralyzed with fear there was even a remote chance she might be wrong.

AT THE MANOR…

Wyatt orbed in to an empty hall. "Aunt Paige?" he called out.

"Hey, Wyatt" said Henry coming from the kitchen. A towel on his shoulder and a wooden spoon on his hand giving him away on what he was doing. "Everything OK?" he checked almost automatically. They hadn't been seeing a lot of him last few days, so it was the natural thing to ask considering.

"Yeah, just checking on mom and maybe a quick shower" he laughed.

"Well, Paige was giving the kids a shower and Leo was changing your mother's dressings"

"Thanks. I'll go find them" Wyatt headed upstairs but a wet naked little tush orbed into his arms just then. He smiled. "Hey buddy" he kissed his son's cheek; he was kinda slippery and he could taste soap off his face. "Heard me, huh?"

"Julian Halliwell, we don't orb around all covered in… hey" said Paige carrying a towel down the stairs searching for the runaway. "Glad to see you, everything…"

"Everything's fine" he reassured his aunt and kissed his son again. "Chris insisted I took a break. Maybe a shower" Something about giving the same answer over and over kept them from asking anything more than he was willing to say. He had agreed to a quick break but he couldn't really talk about anything at the moment. His heart was well behind by that hospital bed.

"Well, good for him" Paige eyed his nephew. "You're welcome to use the bathroom in the hall. We're all set up in Piper and Leo's bathroom with the kids"

"Great. Can I see mom?"

"Leo was just finishing changing her dressings. Let me check" she walked back throwing him the towel to cover his baby boy which he caught with his free hand, proceeding to follow her up the stairs.

"Mama" whimpered baby Julian placing his soapy little head on his father's shoulder.

"I know, buddy. She's OK. She's still sleeping for now, but she'll be home real soon. Promise"

"Daddy!" little Meghan ran to him as soon as he was in sight. She had been the first to shower and had been running in the pen by Piper's bed, from which she orbed out without much effort. "Hey gorgeous" he knelt down to give her a hug and kiss her by the door.

"It's OK to come in, honey. Come here you" said Paige taking Julian off his father's arms. "Let's get that shampoo off your head" she kissed him lovingly.

"Hey, honey" said Piper with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hey, mom" Wyatt kissed the top of her head before sitting at the end of the bed to get a closer look at his youngest daughter asleep in her baby swing. "Are they giving you a hard time?" he said carrying Meghan in his arms as she hugged and kissed him, occasionally trying to make him turn to see only her.

"Are you kidding? She has barely left us take them out of the room for two seconds" Leo said accusingly still picking stuff up after tending to Piper's wounds.

"I wanna be around my grandchildren, so sue me" chuckled Piper. Leo smiled lovingly at the love of his life as he headed for the bathroom.

"He's ready for some clothes now" said Paige bringing Julian wrapped in a towel, smiling at the sight of his father still around. "Who's next?"

"Take Melinda, Angie's still napping" said Piper trying to reach Julian's clothes at the end of the bed.

"I got it, mom" said Wyatt putting his daughter down and taking Julian to dress him. Leo was occupied changing the water for the next baby and picking up the food stained clothes off the floor, so Paige could keep at it with ease. Having bathed two kids and counting was a guaranteed mess to handle alone. "Have they taken their nap yet?" he said playing with his son as he put his shirt on.

"Not yet. I think Henry must have the bottles in the bottle warmer ready for when they finished showering" said Piper. "Don't give me that look. They can have a bottle of warm milk before nap time if I very well want them to" she told Wyatt who was giving her a reprimanding stare. Both Julian and Meghan had left the bottle some months ago, but grandma was still sneaking them into their nap times from time to time. Neither Sam nor himself had had the heart to tell her not to.

"I'll get them" Wyatt said smiling tenderly at his mother.

"No. I'll get them" said Leo, carrying a handful of dirty clothes. "Need to take these to the laundry anyway. Be right back" Wyatt thanked him and after putting Julian down in the pen with his sisters, he lied down across the foot of the bed. The mattress felt wonderful against his sore back. Over 48 hours straight in a hospital chair wasn't what you would comfortable.

Piper saw him close his eyes for a moment taking a deep breath and inadvertently he fell asleep. The kids played lovingly glancing at their dad, happy he was by their side for more than a moment.

Leo came back into the room after a few minutes and stared at his eldest son. "Should we tell him to take a nap in his brother's room?"

"Give him a minute. Kids miss having him close. Plus, I'm sure he'll refuse and keep trying to stay awake for everybody" Leo smiled. "He needs to slow down for a moment"

Paige took an extra long time to shower Melinda who apparently wasn't at all happy about having a bath while the rest got to play with the toys and kept slowing down the water as it fell to rinse her head. Angie woke up as her turn was up, she took one look at her dad on the bed and giggled like crazy all the way to the tub. She was so giddy she kept trying to make her way out of Paige's arms and back to her daddy. She ended up aeroporting away from her, dripping wet, crawling her way to her father. "Great" said Paige coming to get her, carrying a purple towel. "Come now Angie, we're almost done and then you can come and play with daddy" she told her lovingly as she picked her off the ground. She had barely gotten her in the tub so her bath was far from over, but Paige thought if she acted quickly Angie might not mind that much and not aeoport away again till she was squeaky clean.

Leo had sat with the kids by the pen after handing them their bottles and their blankies. They had lied down staring at their father, scared he might vanish from their sight again like mommy had forever ago (from their perspective).

Eventually, after a few hours' rest, Wyatt woke up, had a shower and sat down with his kids for a while. His heart, aching as it was, felt somewhat relieved being here with their children. Seeing them perfectly happy and well made him feel that twinge of hope he had been needing for the last few days.