"How're you holding up, sweetheart?" Victor inquired of Piper when he found her sitting alone in the living room. Piper just shrugged and he sat down next to her. He placed an arm around her shoulders and told her, "I love you, Piper. Every bit as much as I love your sisters. You know that, don't you?"
Piper nodded and looked at her father. It was half a moment before she threw her arms around her father's neck and cried, "Dad, what're going to do? This's such a mess."
"It'll be okay," he assured her as he patted her back. "You'll both work through this."
"I don't see how we can," Piper tearfully commented. "I meant what I said," she whispered. "I didn't want to say all those horrible things but they came out."
"I know," he sympathetically told her.
"I didn't even realize how resentful I was," she quietly admitted, "how much I was keeping inside."
"Phoebe knows you love her," he assured her.
"Does she?" she sniffled. "She's been catatonic all day. What if she never comes out of this? I don't want my last conversation with her to have been that horrible confrontation."
Victor kissed her forehead tenderly. "You both love each other and your ties to each other are so strong. That's why this happened, you know."
"I don't understand," Piper shook her head. "Sisters aren't supposed to act like this. My God, I even told her she wasn't my sister anymore. How could she want to die like that? How could I have missed it? This's all my fault. If I would've been a better older sister…This wouldn't've happened if Prue was here…"
Victor quickly hugged his daughter. "You don't know that," he said. "And you have been a wonderful older sister. What happened this morning wasn't because you hate or resent one another, it happened because you love each other."
"How do you figure?" she sniffled.
"You both kept your feelings from each other because you were each afraid of hurting each other," he reasoned. "Unfortunately, you've just learned the same lesson I did with your mother. Piper, when you don't tackle issues head-on as they flare up, even if it's because you're afraid of hurting the other person, the resentment will build inside you and keep building until some incident sets you off and you just explode."
"That's what happened with you and Mom?" Piper hesitantly asked.
He nodded, "Obviously, the cause of our issues was different but we essentially handled it the same way…poorly. There are times I still wonder whether things would've turned out differently if we had dealt with our concerns instead of burying them inside."
"So what do we do?" she requested. "How do Phoebe and I get past what we said to each other? How we feel?"
"You talk to each other," he suggested. "You tell each other what you're feeling. Yell, scream if you have to, but keep talking. You don't have to resolve everything overnight. Take as much time as you need to reach a point where you're both comfortable with each other again. Neither one of you is going anywhere. But, Piper, you've got to keep talking to each other because the moment you stop…that's when you'll reach the point of no return."
"He's right," Patty softly agreed as she entered the living room. They turned to her in surprise and she stood before them, "If you and Phoebe don't talk to each other, you'll never be able to repair the damage."
"How is she?" Victor asked his former wife as he and Piper stood.
At the same time, Piper nervously questioned, "You left her alone?"
"She'll be fine," Patty assured them.
"I'm going up to check on her," Victor announced as he stood.
"No," Patty quickly said as she put her hand on Victor's arm to stop him, "you can't."
"But what if she snaps out of it?" he asked. "What if she needs help? That's why we didn't want to leave her alone."
"She's not alone, is she?" Piper half-accused as she also stood.
"No," her mother reluctantly answered.
"Oh my God," Piper whispered as she pushed past her parents, "I'm going up there."
"No," Patty sharply said as she reached for her daughter. "Piper, please, I know how badly you want to go upstairs but you can't."
"Piper," Leo greeted as he orbed in. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern when he saw his wife's stricken face.
"I don't care, Mom," Piper cried as she ran past Leo and up the stairs.
"Leo," Patty pleaded, "you have to stop her! She can't go into Phoebe's room."
Without questioning his mother-in-law, Leo nodded and orbed out of the room.
"How is she?" Victor quietly asked.
"Phoebe?" Patty questioned with feigned innocence.
"You know who I mean," he glared.
"Adjusting, learning," Patty answered with an apologetic nod.
"Will you…next time you see her…will you tell her that I love her…and that I miss her?" Victor struggled to maintain his composure.
"Of course I will," she promised. Patty reached out and embraced him. "She loves you too…They'll be okay, Victor. All they need is some time. And all we can do, right now, is be there for them."
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Piper reached Phoebe's door only to stop short when she found her husband blocking it. "I have to get in there," she breathlessly told him.
"Honey," he said patiently, "you can't. You know that."
"She's in there," Piper insisted.
Leo nodded, "But Phoebe needs her now. That's the only reason she'd be allowed to come down."
"I don't care," Piper shook her head and pushed past Leo. She turned the handle but the door was locked. She pounded on the door. "Prue! Let me in!" She pounded on the door again and Leo pulled her back. "Prue!" she cried out. "Please, let me in!"
"She can't," Leo told her. "She can't afford to break the rules. This is part of her adjustment, Piper. You have to let it go, if not for Phoebe, then for Prue. Please, honey, come downstairs."
Piper leaned against the door. "Prue," she called out, "Prue, I…I understand. I know you can't talk to me. I wish…Oh, Prue, there's so much I want to talk to you about. So much I want to share. I want you to see me. The baby's getting so big now. I want you to feel her kick. I want…Oh, Prue, I haven't been doing such a great job as a big sister. I need you…I…I wish you were here…Prue…."
Leo embraced Piper and she continued to cry softly. "Come on, honey, let's go."
Piper finally nodded and touched the door with the palm of her hand. "I miss you so much, Prue. Take…take care of our baby sister…I love you."
Leo kissed his wife and, as he began to lead her away from the door, he heard an unusual sound. He looked down and saw a piece of paper stuck under Phoebe's door. He stopped Piper and bent down to pick it up.
"What is it?" she asked him as he handed it to her. She unfolded it and quickly read the two short words. She smiled through her tears.
"What's it say?" he asked as she folded it up, kissed it, and placed it in her pocket.
"Me too," Piper answered with a bittersweet chuckle.
Leo smiled sympathetically and tugged on Piper's hand. She gave the door one last touch, before she leaned into him. "Come on, let's get you something to eat. Knowing you, you probably haven't eaten anything since breakfast."
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