Bright morning sunlight woke Phoebe, causing her to stir from the sweet dreams of her slumber. She stretched luxuriously while her drowsy mind settled on the day's plans, or rather, the distinctive lack thereof. For once, there wasn't a single item on the Charmed Ones' agenda: not one demon to vanquish, no warlock to search out, not even a work assignment to complete. They had finally managed to wrangle an honest to goodness day off.
She sat up in bed, a thoughtful smile playing on her lips. They could certainly use the break. They had all three been feeling the stress of their interwoven destinies: she had been fighting the almost overwhelming urge to run screaming out of the house and hop the next plane to New York, Prue had withdrawn from them even more than usual, and Piper… Poor Piper had become nothing more than a highly emotional time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. Hopefully, they would have an uneventful day to regroup and rest.
Wondering if her sisters were awake but loathe to risk disturbing them in their beds, Phoebe headed to the kitchen. The smell of fresh brewed coffee greeted her, as did Prue who sat at the table, the newspaper spread before her.
"Morning, Pheebs. Sleep well?"
"You mean, did I enjoy the sweet sleep of the undisturbed? Yep. I guess Piper's still konked out?"
Prue nodded and sipped her coffee. "I haven't heard a peep out of her all morning. She deserves to be allowed to sleep in though; it's been pretty hard on her these days. How many times can you almost die before the stress gets to you?"
"Oh, probably three or four times less than it's actually happened recently."
Prue nodded again, her thoughts drifting up the stairs and to her sleeping sister. "At least we have Leo to patch us up again each time," she murmured.
Phoebe poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Prue at the table. "Yeah, but Piper's been pushed pretty far this time, you know. First, it was the whole witch gig that she hated, then the Elders start screwing around with her relationship with Leo… I dunno, she just really needs this break." Phoebe pulled the crossword puzzle out from under Prue's poised pen.
"Hey!" Prue snatched the puzzle back and laughed as Phoebe stuck her tongue out at her. "But I agree, I think we could all do with a healthy dose of normalcy for a day."
"I guess you can't get any more normal than us arguing," Phoebe chuckled and feigned a grab at the paper again.
By eleven o'clock, Phoebe decided Piper had slept long enough. "She'll hate us if we let her sleep the whole day away. Besides, she wanted to go out to Half Moon Bay for a picnic," she said, mounting the stairs. "You pack the basket and I'll wake Sleeping Beauty."
She stopped just before entering Piper's room and knocked softly. "Piper? Are you up yet, sweetie?" When she received no reply, she eased open the door. "Come on now, sleepy head, it's time to rise and shine."
Phoebe took three steps into the room before she stopped cold in her tracks. The bed was unmade and her sister was nowhere in sight. "Piper?" She crossed to the window and looked down to see Piper's car parked in the same spot she had left it the night before. Surely she was simply in the bathroom… but Phoebe didn't hear the tell-tale sound of running water. She checked anyway, hoping she had somehow missed her in the hall, but she found it vacant as well as the attic.
Worry began to eat at her thoughts and she pounded down the stairs, calling loudly for Leo as she went. Prue, alerted by the panicked tone, met her at the bottom step.
"What's wrong?"
"Piper's gone but her car's still here. There wasn't a note when you woke up, was there?"
Prue drew her brows together. "I would have told you if there had been. Maybe she just went for a walk," she suggested, trying to quell the rising panic in her own thoughts.
Phoebe shook her head. "No. Prue, when's the last time you can remember that Piper didn't make her bed as soon as she got up?"
"I don't know… never?"
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, even when she's sick she straightens the sheets. I don't think she left on her own. Nothing's out of place in her room, but her bed's still unmade." Phoebe tried to calm her voice but as the seconds ticked away, she found herself sinking further into a blind panic. "Leo! Get down here!"
"Leo!" Prue's voice joined her sister's.
A moment later, the familiar blue lights announcing their whitelighter's arrival appeared, and Leo materialized before them.
"Where's Piper?"
Phoebe jerked back from the anxiety in Leo's voice. "That's what we were about to ask you. You can't feel her anywhere?"
Leo shook his head. "No. The Elders aren't sure where she could be or who would have taken her there." He caught the worried looks that were directed at him. "She's alive, I know that much. I would know if she were…"
"If she were dead," Prue finished for him.
"I'm going to see if I can conjure up a premonition." Phoebe turned to go back up the stairs. "If you can't find her," she said to Leo, "it's got to be magical. Piper wouldn't just leave." Phoebe stopped at the landing and looked down into her sister's eyes. "Would she?"
"No, Piper would never do that, she would never leave us, no matter how stressed out she got."
Leo waited until Phoebe was out of earshot before he voiced his own doubts. "Are you certain, Prue? She hated being a witch for so long and you've all been through so much-"
"Piper would never leave us," Prue said, enunciating each word carefully. "Yes, she had trouble accepting this destiny that was forced on us, but she's handling it now. She knows how much good we can do, how many innocents we can help and she would never walk away from that. And I know that she would never abandon her family. Never."
"How can you be so sure?"
Leo's questions angered her. How could he love Piper so completely and not know her? "It's her biggest fear, being abandoned by the people she loves the most. It's why she was so upset when Phoebe moved to New York. It's why she's devastated every time she thinks she's lost you for good. No, Piper would never do this, not of her own free will."
~~~
Piper slowly made her way down the staircase, her hand tightly gripping the railing. Her legs felt so weak, as if her muscles had turned to gelatin overnight. Her thoughts were muddled and she fought to grasp anything that might explain how she had woken up in such a skewed version of reality. She was too weak to even call up the sarcastic side of her personality. Wouldn't Prue and Phoebe, her Prue and Phoebe, be surprised…
"Hey, sweetheart!" Matthew called as she lightly stepped into the kitchen. He tsked softly to himself at the sight of her in the clothes that should have fit but swallowed her instead. "One San Fran omelet coming up!"
Piper sat at the table and splayed her fingers against the wooden surface. Her stomach turned as the plate of eggs was placed in front of her. She was desperately hungry only her body wouldn't cooperate and she knew that if she took even a single bite, it wouldn't stay down for long.
Matthew watched her silent battle for a moment. "How about we start with some juice, eh?"
Piper nodded and shoved the plate across the table. "I think I need to call my sisters."
Wordlessly, Matthew retrieved a cordless phone. "You do what you need to, honey."
She stared at the phone and debated who to call first, both Prue and Phoebe's names were in the speed dial list that was taped to the receiver in her hand. She was close to them both, equally so, but Prue had always been the one she turned to after their mother's death. Prue had been their mother-figure, Phoebe their rebel, and she had been the responsible one. Piper reminded herself that she had been the one who worked at the bank to help pay the bills and once Grams had died she was the one who made the funeral arrangements, she was the one who was always called on to smooth her sisters' ruffled feathers after they fought. But which sister could she depend on to smooth her own ruffled feathers? She knew the answer, it was simple. Piper was expected to take care of her own problems.
She closed her eyes and dialed Prue's number, silently hoping that she had chosen the right one, if there was a correct choice at all.
"Hello?"
Piper's eyes flew open. "Prue?"
"Piper? Oh, and you were doing so well calling me Prudence." Her sister's voice sounded strained, irritated.
"Um, I'm sorry." Piper had no idea why she felt compelled to apologize but the words formed on her lips before she could stop them.
"Yeah, just try to remember the next time. What do you want?"
"I…" Piper realized she had no idea how to explain to Prue what she wanted to tell her. "Do you think, I mean…"
"Look, Piper, I'd love to chat with you but some of us do have a job to go to. You know, actual lives to lead."
"Prue, I need you." Honesty was always a good thing. "I don't know what's happening to me. I need you."
"Sweetie," Prue's voice softened. "I know it's hard but I've got a whole life here in Baltimore now: a husband and responsibilities. I've got a deadline coming up and, well, this is just a really bad time. I can't just drop everything and fly back to San Francisco just because you want me to. Whatever it is, I'm sure you can handle it on your own."
Piper's disquiet at her sister's words welled up until her stomach rebelled. Throwing the phone out of her hand, she dashed to the bathroom and fell to her knees in front of the toilet until her dry heaves had stopped. When she finally was able to stand again, she slowly made her way back to the kitchen. She found Matthew with the phone in his hand, his back to her so that he didn't notice her presence in the room.
"I see," he said acridly, "the fact that Piper's literally killing herself doesn't affect you in the slightest. What do I mean? If you'd bother to open your eyes and ears, maybe you'd be able to understand for yourself. The girl's a walking corpse; she looks like she was just released from Auschwitz. She needs her family. Yeah, I see… I just hope she's still alive once you've managed to clear your busy schedule."
Piper sagged against the doorway, not for the first time wondering what could have caused so big a rift between where she was and where she had been. Was this their future or just another version of their present? Had they already prevented it from happening or was it like one of Phoebe's premonitions—a warning of events yet to come?
Curiously, she flicked her wrist in Matthew's direction. The movement caught his attention as he bent to replace the phone on the table and he gave her a sad smile. "She's got a deadline she can't miss," he sympathized. "But she did say that she'd try to clear her schedule and come as soon as she could. I'm sorry, honey. I was sure that she'd come running as soon as you asked her to. I guess I was wrong."
She hadn't been able to freeze him. She had tried, but nothing had happened. "I'm going to lay down in there." Piper pointed to the parlor.
"Yeah, you go rest up. I'll bring you that juice I mentioned earlier."
Piper sat down in a chair, all too aware of the pain that wracked her body. Her body craved protein and was pulling it from any source available, most notably her own musculature.
Tempus. The name crashed through her brain like a runaway train. He'd altered time before; maybe all of this was his doing, his way to destroy the Charmed Ones. But if it were a case of turning back the calendar, she wouldn't have been taken out of a life she knew and plopped down into an existence she couldn't comprehend.
Matthew entered the room to find his friend asleep. He set down the glass of juice and lifted her into his arms, steeling himself against the notice of just how little she weighed. Laying her down on the wicker sofa, he draped an afghan over her. "Something's got to be done, Piper love. And it's got to happen soon."
~~~
Phoebe walked straight into Piper's bedroom not wanting to pause and consider what might have happened to her sister. The bed would be her best bet. It was probably the last thing Piper touched before being stolen away from them.
Still afraid of what her imagination might create in the absence of actual fact, she climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. When was the last time she had crawled into Piper's bed? She remembered doing it as a child when nightmares would come to plague her sleep. She'd hurry to Piper's bedside, tears streaming down her cheeks, and join her sister beneath the rumpled linens. Piper had always known when she was scared, pulling back the covers and inviting her in before Phoebe could say a word. Piper had always made her feel safe and secure and loved. Now it was time to return the favor.
Banishing their childhood memories from her mind, she concentrated on finding Piper. The vision came in a blinding flash that would have knocked her off her feet had she not already been lying down. Piper, or at least a version of her, was standing in the kitchen staring at a veritable feast that was set out on the table. She saw herself enter the room behind Prue. She and Prue were angry, saying things she couldn't quite hear, and Piper looked even sadder than she had to begin with. The images died away as quickly as they had appeared and Phoebe gasped in shock and agony.
"What did you see?" Prue met her eyes from the doorway, concern etched in the tense lines of her face.
"Oh God," Phoebe gasped, "she's dying, Prue, and we're letting her."
to be continued…