Just wanted to say thank you so very much for the reviews, it's a bit worrying how addictive they are and how happy they make me.

Slightly disorientated, they looked around and were alarmed to discover that they were inside a hospital. Wyatt voiced their shared concern. "Do you think Dad's hurt?"

They both recoiled from the idea, Leo was never ill. The thought that he might not be indestructible was too scary for them to contemplate. Instinctively, they moved closer together and Chris felt his hand touch something metallic. He jumped back as though stung. "EXCALIBUR! You brought Excalibur! Are you Mad? Mom is going to kill you"

People were turning around, beginning to look. Wyatt quickly dragged his brother into a nearby room. "Shush you will get us caught."

"I don't care" Chris couldn't take his eyes from the sword. "You know that you can't control that thing. You're not even supposed to hold it until your 18"

Wyatt looked unfazed "I thought we might need it, plus I am getting better, I've been practising. It's part of "The Plan".

"You destroyed a building last time you took it and killed that cow"

Feeling that they were being sidetracked and wasting time, Wyatt attempted to regain control "Whose the leader?"

"I am not..."

"Whose the leader?"

"Wyatt.."

"Whose the leader?

Almost fourteen years of conditioning won out and Chris gave in "You are"

"Well then. The leader says he promises not to use Excalibur unless he really, really has to and that we need to find Dad. Now" Confident that the rebellion had been averted Wyatt strapped the sword to his back and strode towards the door "You coming?"

Exasperated Chris sighed, and then followed. They wandered the corridors for a while mystified. Leo was near, they could sense that, but why here? There were no locked rooms, or prisoners or demons. The building appeared to be some exclusive clinic, Peopled purely by efficient looking staff and well-dressed patients, all of whom looked human.

"HEY YOU!" The two scruffy boys and the very big sword had caught the attention of a security guard. They looked at each other in dismay, both very much aware of the many witnesses preventing them from using magic, with no options available Wyatt grabbed his brother's arm "Come on" and they ran, the young, athletic guard in close pursuit.

Finally, they rounded a corner into an empty corridor. Almost spent Chris wheezed. "The dog thing, do the dog thing on him" Wyatt, weighed down by Excalibur, unable to talk, nodded, and they both collapsed gasping against a wall, their legs weak from exhaustion and relief, only to struggle up seconds later as a snarling, glaring Doberman bounding into view.

For Wyatt this was the last straw. "We so don't have time for this" He raised his hands and to Chris's horror conjured a pulsating ball of energy. "Wyatt NO!" Chris hurled himself at his brother, causing the missile to career into the wall exploding in a riot of destruction. The commotion enraged the dog and it charged, the terrifying sight of its slavering jaws bearing down on him was the last thing Chris saw as they orbed out.

They still rode the momentum of Chris's dive as they orbed in to an adjacent room, flying though the air, eventually crashing into a pile of chairs; a tangle of limbs and cuts. Wyatt was the first to recover, telekinetically overturning furniture as he struggled to his feet; he reached out for his brother "Are you ok?" The scratches on his face healing as he spoke.

Chris smacked away Wyatt's outstretched hand and stared at him in disbelief. "He was an innocent"

Wyatt looked surprised "He going to attack us, attack you"

"I don't care. There are rules. Mom and Paige...."

"Break those rules everyday, you know they do. So do Phoebe and Dad, and you. If they didn't you would have died of appendicitis when you were 5, Phoebe would still be trying to meet Melinda's dad and Paige would have to do her own housework and Mom...." He came unstuck there "Those rules are stupid"

Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing; this went against everything he knew, everything that they had ever been taught. He tried again, needing to understand. "This is different you know it is, you were going to kill him and that was a demon power. We don't have demon powers"

Wyatt looked defensive for a moment, but unable to stand the disillusionment in Chris's eyes he tried to explain. "I've been acquiring them recently, I had too" he hesitated not wanting to expand "its part of ..."

"The Plan?"

"No! Yes. Sort of. I know this looks bad, but powers are neutral, you know that. They are only demonic when demons use them" Chris looked unconvinced "Chris look, this isn't what's important now, the only thing that matters is that we find......" A movement in the room caught his eye "DAD?"

Chris turned to see Leo sat in the corner of a very bare room, mildly observing the two of them with total disinterest.

The relief was overwhelming and suddenly nothing else mattered, they ran to him, falling over each other to get there, friends again, united in the triumph of finding their father. They were so caught up in their feelings that it took them a moment to realise that something was wrong. "Dad?" Leo just smiled at them politely. They looked at each other speechless, until they were roused by a commotion from outside "Wyatt, the dog" Wyatt nodded and it went quiet.

"We could always try this spell to swap blood between one of us and one of the boys"

"NO!"

"Why not, it might work"

"Because A, it might not. B, as you can't orb it would be my blood and I'm quite partial too it and, C, in my list of potential demons that I might turn into, which by the way as a member of this family I review daily, adolescent boy was not one of them however much I love my nephews" she shudders "Imagine all those hormones"

Pheobe sighs, "You're probably right and we might lose the power of three"

"Good"

They look at each other, then over at Piper sat totally withdrawn by the wall, she hadn't spoken in an hour "We will find away, honey I promise"

Piper doesn't answer but the comment permeates to her conscious were she silently refutes it. She knows, they all know, and are just waiting for her to suggest it, that the only way to find Leo is use one of her sons. Use of her sons. The phrase goes round and round her head. This would be yet another line crossed, another compromise for an area of her life that they had sworn to keep apart, keep sacred. She and Leo had always agreed to.........'She and Leo'. The thought hurt. That was the point, if she did not use one of her sons, put him in the way of who knew what danger, there would be no 'She and Leo' ever again. If it did not hurt so much she would have laughed at the irony. For what seemed a lifetime they had tiptoed around the concept of her dying this very week, protecting her, obsessing about her, only to have Leo disappear unnoticed. She blamed the Elders for taking him away from her again, for wasting the little time they had had. No. Enough. She would not wallow in self-pity and she would not lose Leo, she just had to decide which son.

The sound of someone orbing filled the room and she leapt up, her heart in her mouth, only to see Wyatt forming alone, she was sick from disappointment that she tried to keep from her face, she failed and Wyatt cursed himself for causing her more pain. He had left his father and Chris in the conservatory so that he could try to prepare his mother for Leo's transformation. This was a bad start and as he rushed to repair the hurt he had caused it got worse.

"It's OK Mom we've got him, we've got Dad, but..."

She can't believe it, won't believe it until she has seen Leo "Where is he?"

"He's safe, but Mom he's..."

She grabs his arm unable to listen to him, unable to take any delay," Were is he?"

"Mom, I need to tell you...." He sees her face, desperate, uncomprehending and realises it's pointless "He's in the Conservatory"

And she's gone.

Chris is hovering by this shell of his father, shaken and scared, "I don't hate you, you know that right" Leo just looks at him with total indifference "I was scared that I wouldn't get to tell you, that you would never know" Leo's blank expression unnerves him and uncertain how to carry on, he mumbles "so now you do" and is silent.

The quiet is broken when Piper bursts into the room; she freezes at the sight of Leo's apathetic face, instantly knowing that something is very wrong and she looks to Chris for an explanation. "He doesn't know" he shrugs "anything"

Tears of emotion have been pouring down Pipers face since she left the attic and trying to pull herself together, she wipes her face with her hands. Squatting down next to Leo's chair, she takes his hand, smiles at him and asks gently "Leo do you know who I am" He just smiles amiably and shakes his head.

Piper turns her head slightly; wipes her face again, then tries once more "Do you know who you are?"

He smiles happily at this, pleased to be able to help, and says simply "I'm the healer" unable to speak Piper turns away.

The rest of the family have now entered the room and Phoebe touches her shoulder. "Its Ok Piper, he's still in there, I can feel him".

Then she places her hands on Leo's head, shuddering as a succession of premonitions jolt through her. Finally she steps back looking thoughtful. "He's been busy. I think that he's been used to heal people, it looked like a hospital"

"That's were we found him"

Piper is impatient "But that doesn't explain why he is like this, what's happened to him"

A composed voice comes from behind them "We think it may be a demon called Riama".

Shocked they spin round to see 3 elders have appeared "But we need to take him away to make sure". Serenely they walk towards Leo.

Before anyone else can react Piper springs forward, incandescent with rage. "DON'T YOU DARE! Don't you dare take one footstep nearer to him".

Surprised, the elders hesitate and there is a pause before the first elder says calmly "We fully understand you concerns, but as our whitelighter you must understand ......"

"He is not your anything." She takes another step forward, her voice low and menacing. "He is mine! She speaks slowly and emphatically, making sure that could be no misunderstanding. "100% mine". She looked at Wyatt and Chris adding "mine and our sons. And it's about freaking time that you realised"

The elder waivers, struck by her raw emotion, this was not what they had wanted. Another takes over. "We did not need to come here, we do not need to ask, we can take him anytime that we want"

Piper stands defiantly in front of Leo, "You can try" and as she talks, her sons affected by their mother's passion take their place by her side, they in turn flanked by her sisters, forming a formidable barrier of magical might between Leo and the elders, Piper, fearless, at its apex.