AT PHOEBE'S…

"I'm home" announced Phoebe dropping her bag and keys on the table by the door.

"Hey baby" Coop welcomed her. "Feeling better?" he asked as he reached her.

"No. But at least I don't feel like jumping head first off the balcony so that's improvement" she said sarcastically.

"Glad to hear it" he hugged her, smiling at her charming sarcasm, glad she was back home and between her arms.

"How are the girls?" her head still resting on his chest.

"A little down, but doing alright. How are you doing?"

"I'll feel better once she contacts us" at that point, an act of magic or sheer irony, her cell phone went off, which triggered a premonition.

Phoebe could see her daughter running around in the park, chasing a couple children. A little boy and a girl. Blissfully happy. She snapped back finding the air harder to take in, a cold sensation running down from the back of her head down to her ankles. She held on to her husband's arms and took deep steadying breaths.

"You alright?" asked Coop fully aware of what had just happened. After so many years together, he knew her every reaction by heart now.

"She's not coming home, honey" she told Coop, understanding her daughter was where she was meant to be. As disappointment took over her every move, she slid the phone out of her pocket, feeling how her arms had suddenly gone too heavy, and answered her daughter Bianca's call. "Hey, honey… Glad you're OK… Yes, we know…" she held Coop's hand tightly, giving it a fresh squeeze at every pause their daughter talked. "Keep in touch, OK? Bye…" Phoebe ended the call as a tear slid down her cheek, her voice starting to quaver.

"What'd she tell you?" Coop asked annoyingly calmed, caressing her back.

"She uhm… just wanted to let us know she's alright…" Phoebe sat down on the nearest armchair without letting go of Coop who followed her lead. "She and her boyfriend uhm… are looking for a place to stay together and…" Phoebe stared at her phone, caressing it as if her daughter were able to feel her touch. "She says she needs this… she needs to do things her way…"

"Sounds familiar" said Coop staring into her eyes. He kissed her forehead and held her close again as she sighed in relief that at least she was OK. She would tell Coop all about her premonition later, at the moment every memory she had of her little girl was swarming in her brain. Phoebe could hear her calling her mama for the first time as if it had been yesterday. As her memories came to life before her eyes, she couldn't help but smile in spite of her sorrow.

AT THE HOSPITAL…

"Wyatt?" Sam whispered as she opened her eyes. Chris jumped off the chair almost falling sideways on his way up.

"Hey, Sam" he held her hand smiling. "How're you feeling?" She made to get up, taking off the oxygen canula off her nose, still very much disoriented. "Hey, hey, take it easy, ok?" Chris held her back. Sam took a moment to recognize where she was and then saw Chris eye to eye. She put her hand to his cheek, feeling if he was real, unsure even as her fingers poked his cheek. He smiled broadly at her. "Hi…" his face lit up and then he said the words she wanted to hear the most and was most afraid of at the same time. "I'll call Wyatt…"

"I heard her" said his brother from the threshold making them both turn to face him. Chris stepped aside to let him through. Sam stared at the love of her life and was increasingly frightened as he approached her side. Without a word, he bent down and kissed her lips. She could feel tears fresh on her face as he did so, some were her own, some were his; running down as he kept on kissing her, holding her head to his, taking deep breaths and smiling at his moment of bliss. His own hands trembled as the fear of not holding her again slipped slowly and painfully away from him, fighting its way back every second and being defeated by her touch every other. She felt her way to his shoulders and grabbed a hold of them as if anchoring herself to her beloved.

Chris was in complete awe. He couldn't help but stare at them both. After all this time, after everything they went through, they needed each other as much as they needed air to feel truly alive. He smiled to himself and went to get her doctor, leaving them to adore each other in peace, hoping as he went that he had found something remotely like that in his own life.

The doctor came after a few moments and checked on Sam, removed her feeding tube but still insisted she kept the oxygen for a while longer. Chris stood by the other side of the bed trying not to get in the way. Nothing was seemingly wrong. It hadn't been, other than her not coming to full consciousness for the last few days.

"Can we take her home?" said Wyatt sitting by her side, holding her hand.

"Let me run her bloodwork again, see if everything is as it should… and I would like to do an ultrasound before we release her. Take a look at your baby" she smiled at Sam.

"Whatever you think it's best" Wyatt told Dr. Lockhart. "Doctor?" he hurried to catch up with her at the door. "Thank you" he added offering a heartfelt handshake.

"My pleasure" she shook his hand and smiled away.

"I'll go give mom and dad an update" said Chris coming to give Sam a kiss goodbye. "No more sleeping for you" he added before orbing away.

"Do you think he's alright?" said Sam still rasping slightly, her throat felt still kinda funny from the NG tube. She caressed her belly lovingly laying her head on her husband's shoulder. Wyatt entwined his fingers in hers and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's been a very good boy while you rested" he caressed her belly with their intertwined hands, smiling. They stared at each other for a moment, perfectly aware there was way too much to say but neither possessing the strength to do it now. "Thought I lost you again"

"I did too" she whispered back. "I wasn't sure I would have the strength to… bear the reality…" he kissed her lips gently.

"I'll bear it all with you" he told her, staring into her yes, getting every bit as lost as he had the first moment he'd laid eyes on her.

Wyatt took a moment to get Sam up to speed on Piper's condition; how her dad was dating her doctor and how much she seemed to know about them; as well as how their kids were coping with the situation. He reassured her he had been popping in and out to see them briefly, making sure they were OK and everybody was doing alright with them. Only them two fully understood what a real handful their kids could be, shooting a random power at their siblings if unsupervised. She smiled as she pictured their sweet little faces and could hardly wait to hold them again as Wyatt spoke of today's bath time adventures. She laughed, imagining their every move, seeing them clear in her mind; and every time she did, a mournful twitch went through her, as if feeling happy wasn't allowed just yet. She held Wyatt's hand tighter every time she did and he held her closer to him.

Dr. Lockhart came back into the room pulling the portable ultrasound behind her. They'd all decided from day one that it would be a lot safer for everybody if they kept as many tests as they could inside the room which had the blinds permanently closed for extra safety, claiming the family had requested privacy and the doctor took full responsibility for checking on them. Samuel had been down here a couple times as well so everything was perfectly well monitored. "Let me take your blood sample first" she said and pulled out a needle from her coat pocket. She poked Sam's arm with the needle and she didn't so much as flinch. "Your dad's right, you're a tough cookie. He might be a little biased though" Dr. Lockheart laughed.

"Maybe a little" she said as she taped a cotton ball to her arm.

"Now, let's take a look at that baby, shall we?" she shook the gel bottle a few times getting ready. "Had you had any sonograms during the pregnancy?"

"We tried but… something came up and we had to leave. We didn't have much chance after that" First time they had tried to take a look of their baby, Bianca had tried to kill Wyatt which wasn't exactly shareable information. Neither was we were focusing on stopping a magical war for that matter.

"Which won't be happening again" Wyatt added, remembering what the doctor told him when he brought her in; how keeping up with prenatal visits could prevent serious episodes like this one.

"I'm pleased to hear that. This'll be cold" she said as she applied the gel onto Sam's over-enlarged abdomen. "Alright. Here we go. Let's see" the doctor said taking the baby's measurements on the screen. "Baby seems fine. You been taking prenatal vitamins?"

"Yes, is he still too small?" the doctor was surprised to hear they already knew it was a boy but refrained from asking questions on the matter.

"He's… within range but he's about… 20 weeks along… so you gotta watch your diet…" they both nodded. "And your stress levels" she emphasized.

"Absolutely" said Wyatt immediately kissing her hand.

"In the meantime, keep taking the vitamins" the doctor clicked here and there, moving the ultrasound about. "His heart looks good and…" she turned the volume up for them. "Here's that heartbeat" she smiled as both parents glowed with joy. "You might start feeling him moving increasingly around, which might make you a little nauseous, but some ginger tea will take care of that" she printed a picture for them to take and then gave them a tissue to clean the gel off which Wyatt took and proceeded to do for her.

"Can I go home now?" Sam said imploringly.

"As soon as I get the results from your bloodwork and you've had something real to eat. I'll see what I can do. You might be able to go home as soon as this evening if you promise to take it easy"

"I will" The doctor smiled at them, pulled the ultrasound out of the room and pulled in a table with a food tray in.

"Why don't you start with lunch?"

"Oh, I'm so not hungry" Sam confessed as she picked up the spoon, smiling awkwardly at both the doctor and Wyatt whose eyes were on her every move.

"Wyatt, may I have a word with you?" the doctor gave Sam an encouraging squeeze on the arm before turning away.

"Be right back" Wyatt nodded and kissed the top of her head. Sam poked the plate as they stepped into the hall outside.

"As far as we know, most of her stupor condition came from a depressive state. You need to keep a close watch on her. Monitor her eating, make sure she sleeps even. I would recommend a psych consult but…" Wyatt shook his head. "I take it you frequent as little doctors as you can, to remain as anonymous as possible" Wyatt was surprised how much she understood their situation. He began to wonder exactly how much had Samuel told her, but he would worry about it later. "She's not out of the woods yet. You will need to make sure she is in a stable environment, particularly now. We don't want anything to elevate her pressure anywhere near that high again. It could be dangerous for both her and the baby"

"I will. I promise" he came back into the room and Sam was dabbing the spoon into the food but not really taking any. She smiled as he got back to her side. He managed a troubled smile as the food on the tray was still visibly untouched. "How can you resist hospital food?" Wyatt joked, taking the spoon from her and offering her some of the steamed vegetables. "Come on, open wide… here comes the choo-choo" she laughed and opened her mouth taking the smallest bite; then cuddling by his side away from the food. He sighed, scared for her, for them both, and holding her close he continued trying to cheer some food into her.