Title: If Only

Author: Prue3

Spoilers: Vague references from seasons 3 - 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I only borrowed them!

A/N: Re-posted to after fixing some errors! My first ever Charmed fic so please be gentle! Please review...

Shax blew Prue and Piper off their feet. Shax, fixed on his target Doctor Griffiths, was ready to fire when Prue got up from the floor and pushed the Doctor out of the way. Shax throws an energy ball at Prue, sending her crashing through a wall. Piper gets up and she is also thrown through the wall, and lands beside her older sister. And then there was darkness. Piper woke from her troubled sleep, gasping for breath, tears streaming down her face. Knowing that it was because they had been trying to save her that Prue had died, because they had turned back time to save her life, killing Prue in the process. It had been almost two years since Prue had died and still, in her dreams, Piper was replaying, over and over, the last moment she saw Prue alive. Although she had been able to keep these dreams from her younger sisters, Phoebe and Paige, and her husband Leo, she knew that it wouldn't be long until they started noticing something was wrong with her. The distraction of her new baby boy, Wyatt, had kept the dreams at bay, but now that he was sleeping, they were back with a vengeance, and becoming more and more frequent. Piper looked at her husband sleeping peacefully beside her, and lay back down praying that there would be no more dreams.

The next morning was just like every other in the Halliwell household. Phoebe was running late and desperately trying to get ready for work so she would be on time, Leo had disappeared "up there" because as usual the elders had something important to tell him, and Piper and Paige were with the baby. Piper still dwelling on the night before, hadn't realised that Leo had orbed back in.

"Piper we have a ..." before he could finish their was an almighty crash, and a scream, that came from the conservatory.

"Phoebe?!" yelled Paige as she ran to see what was going on, Piper at her heels, leaving Leo with the baby.

"What the hell is going on in here?" exclaimed Piper taking in the scene in front of her.

Phoebe was lying on the floor, surrounded by what had been a table. She wasn't moving.

"Paige, check Phoebe" Piper said worriedly.

"Phoebe? Are you okay?" asked Paige. She gently helped Phoebe up.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurt!" Phoebe complained.

"What happened? Who did this?" asked Piper

"A demon" relied Phoebe "But I... Piper watch out!"

At this moment, the demon shimmered in behind Piper, grabbing her around the throat, before she had a chance to react; in his hands he held an athame.

"Piper!" cried Phoebe.

Piper didn't answer her instead she locked eyes with her youngest sister, willing her to read her thoughts.

"Athame" Paige called for the dagger and it orbed from the demons hand to Paige's. Piper aimed a swift kick at the demons shin, and whirled round, throwing up her hands, trying to blow him up. Nothing happened. She repeated the gesture twice more before realising that it wasn't working.

"Uh oh! That didn't work!" Piper yelled panicking; she backed across the room until she was beside her sisters. Now that she had a clear shot Paige aimed the athame at the demon but before she could throw it, an energy ball appeared in the demons hand and the launched it at Paige. It hit her directly in the chest, sending her flying backwards into a bookcase, which crashed down on top of her.

"NO! Paige!" yelled Piper. "You bastard!" She looked at the demon who now had another energy ball, looking back and forth at the two remaining sisters, deciding which one to hit first.

"Leo! Leo!" shouted Phoebe.

Orbs appeared as Leo answered her call. He took one look at the demon and grabbed Piper and Phoebe, orbing them to the attic.

"Leo, Paige is down there she's hurt we have to go back down!" said Phoebe.

"We can't it's too dangerous, he's immune to my power" replied Piper.

"And we can't just leave or sister down there with a demon!" Phoebe said angrily.

"Okay, okay." Piper said giving up. "Wait a minute where's Wyatt? Leo did you leave him?"

"Of course not. The elders, they orbed him up there," Leo replied

"But they.... They said..." Piper spluttered

"I know, I didn't understand either, but they said that you three were in too much danger."

"Ok well he may be safe, but Paige isn't." Phoebe interjected "Leo orb us back downstairs"

They entered the conservatory cautiously.

"It looks clear," Piper stated. She then saw the damage "Oh my God, Paige"

They all ran over to the bookcase, trying to lift it off of Paige. Finally they managed to get her out from under it.

"Leo heal her quick, it looks serious" Phoebe said. The worry and panic evident on her face. Leo held his hands over Paige's body, waiting for the familiar glow that told him it was working. Nothing happened

"Leo, what's going on, why isn't it working?" whispered Phoebe. Leo turned to her, the tears running down his face.

"Because I can't heal the dead," he replied softly.

Phoebe managed a strangled "No" as she sank to the floor, hugging her Paige's body to her, sobbing. He turns to his wife not quite knowing what to expect. Piper is standing there in shocked silence, remembering when he last told her that.

"NO! This can't be happening. Not again, I can't loose another sister!" she screamed. She slides to the floor beside Phoebe and the two hug. Leo tells them he is going to the elders about that this, that the have to do something. He hugged them both and orbed out.

Meanwhile Paige had found herself in a bright, but deserted place. Suddenly a lone figure was emerging from the light. Long black hair, piercing blue eyes. Paige recognised her from the many photographs that decorated the Halliwell Manor. Prue Halliwell

"Paige?" Prue said softly not sure how she was coping with this or if she had even realised what was happening.

"Prue is that really you?" Paige asked, the emotion showing in her voice "Wait a minute, does this mean... am I... dead?" The realisation crept across Paige's face as Prue stepped forward to hug her.

"This isn't where you should be," Prue told her "It isn't your time to die" She began to explain the situation to Paige.

In the land of the living Leo was back with some important news

"I have some news but your not going to like it" Leo started

"Leo what could possibly be worse than this. Our sister is dead for Gods sakes!" Piper hadn't calmed down while Leo had been away and was directing her frustration at Leo.

"The elders told me that Paige wasn't supposed to die. That wasn't her destiny. But now..." he hesitated not wanting to continue.

"What is it Leo?" asked Phoebe

"The elders, they want you to make a choice" he said "Bring back Paige or bring back...Prue"

"They cannot be serious! How the hell do they expect us to choose!" yelled Piper "I can't, I won't"

"They're giving you till midnight, if you haven't decided, you loose both of them" he said "I'm so sorry that they're making you do this"

"I – I can't Leo. I love Paige, but I miss Prue so much. I – I just can't" Piper said beginning to cry out of desperation. "I can't believe that they expect us to do this. Do we at least get to see them both before we decide?"

As she finished talking, swirling white lights appeared, and before them stood Paige and Prue. After the initial shocked silence, the four sisters met in a group hug.

Late that night, fifteen minutes left for them to decide, they were no further forward. They had done all of the catching up, Prue had met Wyatt, after Leo retrieved him from the Elders, and they had sat down to discuss the decision they had to make, five hours before. Prue was telling them to choose Paige, and Paige trying to convince them to choose Prue. With only ten minutes to go they were starting to panic. Just then the demon that had attacked earlier shimmered in. He stopped short, shocked to see four of them, when he was only expecting two.

"What? Four of you? How..." he growled.

With a wave of her arm Prue sent the demon flying into a wall, and Paige remembering the athame still in the conservatory, called for it. She took aim and threw it straight into the demon's chest vanquishing it.

"Ok so back to our slightly large dilemma here" said Piper, still angry about the situation.

"Ok I think I have an idea," said Paige "Since I'm half-whitelighter won't I become a full whitelighter when I die?"

"That goes without saying," replied Leo.

"Ok so I can become a whitelighter, Wyatt's to be specific, and still live here, and Prue could live again and rejoin the power of three. Of course I would have to share my room but..." Paige said.

"Ok, no, you're not giving up your life just for me okay?" said Prue

"But it makes sense." Paige protested, "It means that both of us are here with Piper, Phoebe, Leo and Wyatt."

"But honey you'd still be dead" Phoebe said gently.

"I know that, but I would still be here with my family, and it wouldn't be that different." Paige replied.

"Leo would that even be allowed?" Phoebe asked Leo.

"I'm not sure, I'll go check," he said, as he orbed up to the elders.

"Piper what do you think?" asked Prue "You've been awfully quiet"

"I think that it's up to you and Paige to decide, not me and not Phoebe" Piper said to her.

"Well I've decided I'm doing it whether you all agree or not" interrupted Paige. At this moment Leo orbed back in.

"The elders agreed with that solution but you all have to say that you agree, and quickly it's almost midnight."

"I want to do this," said Paige

"If its what you want Paige, then I agree," said Phoebe

"I don't think I can agree to this, it doesn't seem right," Piper said

"Piper please..." Paige asked her.

"Ok, it's your decision. Yes I agree"

"Well I don't" said Prue stubbornly.

"Prue come on let me do this" Paige said to her. The clock began to strike twelve. "Please otherwise we're both dead"

"Ok fine. I agree" Prue said grudgingly. A bright light shone over the sisters.

"It's complete," said Leo "The elders will erase any memories of Prue's death in the outside world, and exchange them for Paige"

"I can't believe you're alive," Piper said to Prue "I've dreamed of this for so long"

"I'll never leave you again" Prue replied.

"Piper, Piper. Wake up!!" She heard Leo's voice but it seemed distant. "Piper, wake up" Leo said shaking her. Piper jolted awake.

"Prue!" she cried looking wildly around her "Where's Prue"

"Honey? Are you okay?" Leo asked concerned.

"It was only a dream, only a dream," Piper mumbled to herself. "But it seemed so real"

"Did you dream about Prue?" asked Leo

"Yeah. I'm ok. Just give me five minutes and I'll be down.

"Ok as long as you sure your alright"

"I'm fine" Leo leaves the bedroom and heads down stairs. 'It seemed so real' Piper thought to herself "If only it was, If only...'

End