FOUR

"Is that all you have?" asked Piper.

"That's it," said Leo. "Listen, I know you were hoping for
more. But that's all there is to it. Twenty-two years ago, a drunk
driver hit Pamela McIntyre. It was a cut and dried case. The guy
pleaded guilty and was fined, got two years probation, and sentenced
to two hundred hours community service."

"That's it?" asked Paige. "After what he did to Pamela?"

"It wasn't such a big deal back then," said Darryl. "Besides,
the girl didn't die. All I can tell you is that it appears to be
nothing more than a routine accident."

"This is getting stranger by the minute," said Piper. "No
demons, no evil bad things trying to kill or kidnap an innocent, not
even the hint of danger. So why did Phoebe get a premonition in the
first place?'

"I wish I knew," said Phoebe. "This is the strangest
premonition I've ever had. It's getting late. Maybe we'll think
better in the morning. After a good night's sleep."

"Not a bad idea," said Piper. "I'll call Leo and let him know.
We'll look into this more in the morning."

"If I find out anything new, I'll let you know," said Darryl.
"But I have to tell you, I'm not very optimistic about that
happening."

"We understand," said Piper. "Thanks for all you've done. Now,
we have to figure out what's going on. I'm not sure you can help
there."

Darryl left and Phoebe and Paige went up to their rooms. Piper
called for Leo and he orbed in almost immediately.

"What's going on at the center?" asked Piper.

"Nothing," said Leo. "The nurses take Pamela's vital signs on a
regular basis, but other than that, no one goes near the room. To be
honest, and I don't know why, but I don't think she or her sisters are
in any real danger."

"That's what I think, too," said Piper. "I don't know what's
going on here, but we've decided to get some sleep and try tackling it
in the morning. Maybe after a good night's sleep, we'll be thinking
more clearly."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Leo. "I think she'll be
safe enough tonight. I'll check back on her in the morning. But I
don't know what else we can do until we have more information on why
Phoebe got her premonition."

"Maybe it's not her," suggested Piper. "Maybe it's the center or that
particular room. Only, I don't understand why she got a premonition
and there's nothing for us to do."

"After I check on her in the morning," said Leo, "I'll check
with the Elders again. They may have learned something new by then."

"Okay," said Piper as the two went up to their room. "Darryl
said he'd let us know if he learns anything else. He's going to check
on the man who hit Pamela and see if he's up to anything strange.
Until we find out more, I guess there's just nothing else for us to
do."

Piper lay awake late into the night trying to figure out what
was going on. Phoebe's premonitions had never failed them before.
Piper couldn't help but wonder if something more ominous was on the
horizon.

* * *

Piper opened her eyes and looked around. Leo was nowhere to be
seen. From the position of the sun streaming in the window, it was
midmorning. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand. It read
ten thirty seven.

She had planned to start inventory at P3 this morning.
Apparently the alarm hadn't gone off and Leo probably had decided to
let her sleep in. In some ways, he was more cautious about her
pregnancy than she was. Well, P3 was closed during the day so she
could start the inventory any time.

She got up and began to get dressed. As she did, she looked
around the room. Something didn't seem right but she couldn't figure
out what it was. Everything seemed to be in place. But she still
couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. As she left
the bedroom, Phoebe and Paige were coming out of their rooms at the
same time.

"Well, looks like we all overslept this morning," said Piper.

"Yeah," said Phoebe. "I don't understand it. My alarm never
went off."

"Neither did mine," said Paige. "Maybe the power went out
during the night and messed up the alarms."

"I don't think so," said piper, looking at her watch. "My watch
has the same time as the clock in my room. Maybe we all just forgot
to set our alarms last night."

"All I know," said Paige, "is that my boss is going to have a
fit. Just yesterday he was complimenting me on being on time so much.
He's going to be disappointed."

"Well," said Phoebe, hugging Paige, "just make sure you're on
time from now on. Everyone is allowed to be late once in a while."

"Where's Leo?" asked Paige.

"He said he was going to check on Pamela again this morning,"
said Piper. "He must have orbed out while I was still asleep."

"Well," said Phoebe, "let's get some breakfast. I'm starved.
Thankfully, I can be late and it doesn't matter a whole lot. My boss
is only interested in the final results, not how long I work at it."

The three sisters went down to the kitchen to begin breakfast.
The entire time, Piper had the feeling that something was out of
place. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As far as she could
tell, everything in the house was exactly where it was supposed to be.

"Okay," said Piper, "you guys fixed breakfast for me yesterday,
I'll fix breakfast for you this morning. Paige, why don't you call
your boss and tell him you're going to be late? Just tell him the
truth. Your alarm didn't go off and you overslept. I'm sure he'll
understand. It happens to everyone sometime."

"Good idea," said Paige. "I'll call him right now."

While Paige was calling her boss, Phoebe and Piper got out the
pans to make breakfast with. As Piper was getting some plates out of
one of the cabinets, she stopped and looked closer at the cabinet.

"Did either of you move my potions ingredients?" she asked.

"Not me," said Phoebe, putting a frying pan on the stove.
"You're so picky about them I wouldn't touch them."

Paige was still on the phone and didn't answer. Piper just
shrugged and closed the cabinet door. Then she went to the
refrigerator and began to get items out of it. Paige finished her
call and hung up the phone.

"That was strange," she said. "There must be someone new at the
office. She didn't know who I was."

"What about your boss?" asked Phoebe. "Did you explain to him
about being late?"

"No," said Paige. "He was out of the office. I left a message
for him though. I said I'd be in after lunch. I figure if I'm
already late, a little longer won't make much of a difference."

"Great," said Piper. "Now, eggs, pancakes, sausages, bacon, the
whole nine yards. Phoebe, you know the spices I use for my eggs.
Would you get them for me, please?"

"Oh, yummy," said Phoebe, moving over to the spice rack, "eggs
ala Piper. They're the best."

"What about Pamela?" asked Paige. "What are we going to do
about her? And Phoebe's premonition."

"Leo's going to check with the Elders again," said Piper. "And
Darryl is going to see if he can get some more information on the
accident. I think it's best if we wait until we hear back from them.
We might have something to go on by then."

"I think someone should be with Pamela," said Phoebe. "I'm sure
my premonition has to do with her. One of us should be there in case
something happens."

"Good idea," said Piper. "After breakfast, I'll go over and
stay with her. You guys can relieve me when you get off work. If
anything happens, I'll just call Leo and he can orb you to me so that
. . . crap."

The carton of eggs she was holding suddenly slipped from her
hand. As it fell to the floor, she used her freezing power to stop
it. It was the only carton they had and she didn't want to waste time
going for more.

To her total surprise, they didn't freeze. They crashed to the
floor and shattered. She stood over the mess staring at the eggs.

"Okay," she said, "they didn't freeze. That was very strange.
Why didn't they freeze?"

"Wait a minute," said Phoebe. "That's impossible. They're just
eggs. Now, demons, I can understand. Some demons are immune to your
freezing power. But eggs?"

"Demonic eggs?" offered Paige with a half smile on her face.

"Very funny," said Piper. "Something is very wrong here."

She picked up a plastic cup and threw it into the air. As it
arched and began to descend back to the table, she tried to freeze it.
But just as the eggs, the cup fell to the table and clattered to the
floor.

"Not good," said Piper. "I can't freeze things. I wonder . . ."

She turned to a glass sitting on the counter top. She raised
her hands at it, but nothing happened. She tried again, and again,
nothing happened.

"I've lost my powers," said Piper. "I can't freeze anything and
I can't blow anything up."

"That's impossible," said Phoebe. "There's been no demon
attacks. And the demons that were powerful enough to steal your
powers were destroyed with the Seer."

"Maybe so," said Piper, "but I still don't have my powers. This
is serious. First Phoebe's premonition that leads us to someone who
doesn't appear to be in any danger, now I loose my powers. What the
hell is going on here?"