Prue awoke with a gasp and bolted upright. After Victor, Piper, and Leo had taken her upstairs, she'd allowed them to tuck her in. She'd fallen asleep soon after they left, and she'd had the strangest dream. Now that she was awake, the dream had faded quickly. All she was left with was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that said something bad was about to happen.

Doing her best to shake the nightmare, Prue got up and walked across the room, into her bathroom. In effort to calm herself, she went over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. That always made her feel a little better, and this time was no different, but some remnants of the dream still clung to her. Shaking her head, telling herself it was stupid to get so bent out of shape over a dream, she turned around took a step back toward her bed.

That's when she felt it. A searing pain ripped through her body, causing her to double over. She steadied herself in the doorway between her bedroom and bathroom, crying out. She sensed a strong, evil presence, and she knew at once that it wasn't her that this evil being was after, but the child she was carrying.

"No," she said, her voice barely audible. Tears were streaming down her face as she instinctively put her arms tightly across her stomach. "No, you can't have her."

She could feel it coming closer. Still blinded by the pain, she stumbled forward until she was standing in the middle of the bedroom. She cried out again, this time for Leo.

Her Whitelighter/brother-in-law orbed in next to her. She collapsed into his arms, her body finally giving out under the pain. At the same time, Piper and Phoebe came running in.

"Prue, what happened?" Leo asked, picking her up gently.

She leaned against him, sobbing. "Something was here. It tried to take my baby. I could feel it trying to... tear her from me."

Piper and Phoebe rushed to their sister's side, as Leo placed her carefully on the bed. As he put her down, she reached up and grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me alone," she begged. "Please, it went away when you orbed in. I'm afraid it'll come back, and hurt her again."

He sat down on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair like an overprotective big brother. "Shh. Nothing's going to hurt you, or the baby. I promise."

She nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to believe him.

"Prue, honey did you see anything?" Phoebe asked.

Prue shook her head, opening her eyes. "No, it was more like a... a presence. It felt like I was being torn apart. And the baby... I felt her."

"You felt her move?" Piper questioned.

"No, it's too early for that," Prue replied. "I just... I felt that she was there, and this... thing... was trying to get to her, trying to pull her from me." She looked up at Leo. "What kind of evil could do something like this?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. But I am going to find out. Will you be okay with me going Up There for a little while to check with the Elders?

She nodded. "Just find out whatever you can, and then come back soon, okay?"

Promising he'd make his excursion a quick one, Leo kissed Piper good-bye and orbed out. Piper took her husband's place on Prue's bed.

"How do you feel now, sweetie?" Piper asked.

"I'm okay," she answered. It was only a half-truth. The physical pain had started to fade, but the fear had only gotten worse. Still, she put up a strong front for her sisters. "I'm okay," she repeated. "I just need some rest."

Phoebe nodded. "Allright, but we're not leaving you alone. Close your eyes, we'll be right here."

Prue slept fitfully while Piper and Phoebe watched her from the loveseat across from her bed, where they'd curled up together. Twenty minutes later, she awakened.

Piper and Phoebe came over and lay down on either side of her. Prue gave them each a smile and a kiss before slowly, instinctively reaching down toward her stomach. As soon as she touched it, she felt a sharp pain. She winced and quickly pulled her hand back.

Piper noticed, and immediately propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at her sister with concern. "Prue, what's wrong? Is... Is it back?"

Prue shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that. It just hurts, but only when I touch it." Carefully, she peeled back the covers and pulled up her shirt. Her skin was covered in big, purple and yellow bruises, as well as quite a few scratches. The longer she looked at it, the more these bruises scratches seemed to worsen of their own volition. Piper and Phoebe immediately summoned Leo.

"What is it, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting on the edge of Prue's bed. His eyes widened at the marks that were covering her body. He put his hands over her stomach, and tried to heal her.

"Why is it taking so long?" Prue asked anxiously.

He looked at her, his eyes filled with concern. "Because you aren't the one who's hurt," he said.

Prue was trying not to burst into tears, but a few escaped and trickled down her face. "The baby," she whispered. "Can you heal her?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, putting all his energy into trying.

"The baby..." Prue sobbed. "What's happening to me?"

"Shh," he soothed. "Just relax, it'll be over in a minute." Sure enough, it was. It had taken all his effort, but he'd been successful. "Close your eyes," he commanded. "Phoebe, stay with her."

He and Piper went outside into the hallway to talk.

"Leo, what is happening to her?" Piper asked, afraid for her sister.

He shook his head. "The Elders aren't sure. They think.. and from what I felt, while I was healing her... This baby could be more powerful than anything we've ever seen."

"That would make sense," Piper mused. "After all, Prue's a Charmed One. Of course, that must mean the baby's a girl, because powers are only passed down to the females in our line. Prue must already know, on some level, even if she's not conciously aware of it, because I've noticed she keeps referring to the baby as 'she'. But it still doesn't explain what it is that's after her, or why."

Leo shook his head, at a loss for what to tell her. "The Elders are working on it. They seemed just as surprised as we were that Prue's pregnant, but I don't know. It seemed like they knew more than they were letting on."

Piper snorted. "And this surprises you? Leo, you know how the Elders are about disclosing important information. God forbid they actually be helpful for once..."

He put his arms around her, pulling her to him. "Piper, I know at times they've been somewhat guarded with what they tell us, but this is different. I promise you, they're doing everything they can to help Prue and her baby. This effects them, too, you know, what with the amount of power they think that child is going to have."

Piper nodded, leaning against him. "I know. I just... I'm really scared. This isn't just some power source we're talking about, Leo, it's our neice."

"I know," Leo responded. "I'm scared, too. You know I love Prue. I just think we need to trust the Elders, at least until we have enough information to start sorting things out on our own."

She sighed, looking in through the small crack in the door that she'd purposely left open to keep an eye on her sister. Prue looked so frail, so weak after what had happened, and although she tried to stay calm and not upset her sisters, Piper could see she was more than shaken. It scared her to see her older sister so vulnerable. "My God," she said softly, "I hope the Elders come through soon."

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A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. :) Keep it up.

A/N2: In reference to someone's question about the title, I got it from the Melissa Etheridge song "Dance Without Sleeping."