A/N: thanks to piper+leo4eva, cocoamo1223, piperlover/leo and line100 (x2!
I hope this chapter's long enough for you and you had a fun skiing trip)
for reviewing. Here's the next chapter for you all.
~*~Chapter 7~*~
"Oh my god! No! Not again!" Phoebe sobbed as she backed away from the bed. Fear, cold and icy, gripped her heart casting her into an infinite numbness. She felt nothing, thought nothing, reacted to nothing. She merely observed what was going on.
Leo stood over Piper's body, trying desperately hard to heal her but to no avail. The machine still droned on in a sickeningly constant reminder to their desperate situation. It was the only sound in the room.
Just as Leo was giving up trying to heal Piper, Doctor Miles rushed into the room, followed by a nurse. They rushed over to Piper, and Leo stepped away. The nurse grabbed the paddles from the other side of the room, following the doctor's orders. Two pads were placed on Piper's chest and gel rubbed onto the metallic surface of the paddles.
"Ready, clear, shocking" the nursed drilled out what he had many times before and Piper's body lurched upwards and then jerked back down. Her heart monitor displayed the same flat line. The nurse was getting ready to shock again when Leo noticed something.
"Wait." He spoke hoarsely, his voice raw with emotion. "Look."
They all followed his gaze and looked at Piper's stomach where a warm glow had started to appear. It spread throughout her body, filling her from head to toe, glowing stronger over her heart and head. Slowly the glow died away, leaving Piper her normal color. Then the drone returned once more to a continual, strong beeping.
"Heart rate strong and steady." Doctor Miles said in amazement as she glanced at the monitor screen.
All the emotion that she should have felt over the last few minutes washed over Phoebe in a second and she started to sob again, this time with relief. Her and Leo ran over to Piper and were smiling. Phoebe hugged Piper around the stomach and Leo stroked his wife's hair and kissed her forehead.
Piper was still in a coma but even in appearance she seemed better. She looked less washed out and color bloomed in her cheeks once more. For the second time in one day, the baby had saved its mommy from dying but had also exposed a bit more of the magic that shrouded the Halliwell family.
"I.I think we should take Piper for some more tests now, to see what's going on," doctor Miles regained her composure to a degree but amazement was still pure in her eyes. Along with the nurse (who didn't seem to be that bothered by what had just happened; Leo wasn't entirely sure he'd even seen it) doctor Miles pushed Piper's bed/trolley out of the small room. Casting a look over her shoulder, she spoke to Phoebe and Leo
"We shouldn't be long."
The two were in silence, a mixture of emotion radiating around the room. Adrenalin coursed through their veins, their bodies way of coping with the rush of what had happened. Fear and ultimate dread that that could've been it, Piper could've dies. There was also relief that came with seeing the baby heal Piper from the womb and the newfound hope that this brought. There was also nervousness and anticipation of what would happen now- would Piper be okay now? Would the healing cause their magic to be exposed even further?
"Paige." The word fell out of Phoebe's mouth before she'd even realized it was in her head.
"What?" Leo looked confused, was confused. Piper had just almost died and Phoebe was talking about Paige?
"I don't know. I just need to be near her. I can't describe it, it's like an instinct. She needs us."
"Okay." Reluctantly Leo gave in. He'd known the sisters for a long time and knew to trust their instincts. He grabbed Phoebe's arm and the electrical but warm feeling that accompanied the orbing process, rushed through their bodies, casting their form into a flurry of blue sparkles.
The sparkles reformed in the upstairs hallway of the Manor and Phoebe and Leo made their way downstairs as they looked around, instantly alert. They hadn't a clue what to expect-demon? Emotionally distraught sister? It could be a number of things. What they didn't imagine it could be, though, was the exact thing that it was. They reached the bottom of the stairs and the site that met their eyes was horrible.
The front bat window of the manor was smashed through. Teeth of glass stared threateningly as they reflected the early rising sun, turning the golden glow into a harsh glare. Press reporters, TV crews, photographers and general hecklers were leaning through the window frame, pushing one another to reach the front. Their camera bulbs were flashing incessantly, capturing the downstairs rooms of the manor, desperately trying to get that one unique shot that'd show something special, different from all the others. They all failed for with every click and every flash, the manor seemed to shy away, the life, happiness and magic of it gradually seeped out of it. The people were so wrapped up in what they were doing that none of them saw the thing they'd spent a large proportion of the day waiting for- members of the Halliwell family. Leo and Phoebe remained unnoticed at the foot of the stairs, taking in the devastation that surrounded them. The curtains flapped wildly at the window less frames as they tried to obscure the views of those who were intruding. To Phoebe, the manor felt exposed and abused, their lives put on show for the whole world. Family photos of weddings, birthdays and Christmases were filmed and photographed by what seemed like the world's media. They were the private moments, the special ones that families hold dear to them and it was at their discretion to show then to other people, not a Photographers. Shards of glass cluttered the floor and the rugs lat skewed as though someone had left the room in a rush.
"Paige! Where are Paige, Alex and Darryl? The kids, my God Leo where's Melinda and Wyatt?" Phoebe's thoughts came out on a rush of jumbled whispers and panic was wild in her eyes.
"I don't know. The attic? It's the safest place in the house." Leo decided.
The two of them raced up the two flights of stairs and burst into the attic.
Inside Paige, Darryl and Alex immediately rushed over to the settee, where Wyatt and Melinda slept, and stood in front of the children in a protective stance. When they saw who came in the door, they relaxed and concern immediately flooded Paige's face as she went over to her sister and the two embraced.
"Phoebes, it's horrible! I got back and heard them smash the window. Alex was upstairs because Melinda woke up and was crying. They started taking Photos and we didn't know what to do so we had to bring the kids up here. They only just got back to sleep." Paige was comforted by the presence of her sister and brother-in-law and the story just rushed out of her mouth. The adults turned to look at the sleeping children. They were curled up on the settee. Wyatt lay on his back, his teddy clutched in his arm and his head on one side. Melinda lay on her left side, turning into her brother. She was sucking furiously on her dummy (pacifier) and tear tracks could be seen lying on her pink cheeks. She too had a teddy, well a small pink bunny, clutched in the crook of her tiny arm. The two were covered in a large cream fleecy blanket. They were the picture of innocence. They didn't deserve what was going on in their lives, no one deserved that.
"Wait, what are you doing here?" Alex asked. He looked exhausted. They all did. The day had been hard and long. An emotional rollercoaster and intensely draining yet they had no choice but to carry on, for Piper, for the children and for their sanities.
"well, Piper got worse. She almost died. Then the baby healed her and the doctor saw so she's been taken for more tests. Then phoebe sort of had a feeling that Paige needed us, so we came."
"What, Piper almost died? How.what? You knew to come? How? Okay, now my head hurts." Paige sat down on the chair and looked expectantly at Phoebe and Leo.
"Yeah she had a cardiac arrest and the doctor tried to get her heart going again and couldn't. it was so bad and then she started to glow, like if Leo was healing her only he was no where near her. It started from her stomach so we reckon it was the baby. Anyway, it worked and her heart started again. But the doctor saw, which might make this whole thing worse. But at least Piper should be okay now. And I don't know how I knew you needed me. It was strange. Just after this happened with Piper, your name just popped into my head and I felt as though you were overwhelmed. Sort of an empathic reading, I don't know." Phoebe paused. Paige was shocked to hear about Piper but obviously pleased to know she'd be okay. Phoebe continued. "What do we do now?"
She instinctively looked towards Leo. He always guided her. He was her whitelighter and in a lot of ways, her big brother. Glad to be on familiar ground at last, Leo answered Phoebe.
"We take the kids to P3; I don't think it's been staked out by the press yet. They'll be safe there. Alex and Darryl if you can stay with them, then we'll go back to the hospital and wait for Piper to get back. Okay?"
The group nodded their heads in agreement and Paige walked over to Wyatt and picked the small boy up, he stirred a little but remained asleep. She also grabbed the blanket as Leo picked up Melinda. Phoebe went over to Leo and held his arm, as did Darryl and Alex walked over to Paige and held her hand. The group was then engulfed in blue orbs and reappeared in Piper's office in the club for refuge.
With her family half way across town, Piper lay in the small hospital room alone. Again a glow came from her stomach, filling her body with a warm light before gradually ebbing away. Slowly she blinked before opening her eyes fully. Looking around at the strange interior and with no memory of the past day, confusion and panic flooded her mind.
****
A/N: that was the longest chapter I've ever written for any story so I hope it was okay! I'm going to Russia on a school trip tomorrow so that means no update for about two weeks but please review and it'll make me write faster when I get back. Hope you enjoyed it!
~*~Chapter 7~*~
"Oh my god! No! Not again!" Phoebe sobbed as she backed away from the bed. Fear, cold and icy, gripped her heart casting her into an infinite numbness. She felt nothing, thought nothing, reacted to nothing. She merely observed what was going on.
Leo stood over Piper's body, trying desperately hard to heal her but to no avail. The machine still droned on in a sickeningly constant reminder to their desperate situation. It was the only sound in the room.
Just as Leo was giving up trying to heal Piper, Doctor Miles rushed into the room, followed by a nurse. They rushed over to Piper, and Leo stepped away. The nurse grabbed the paddles from the other side of the room, following the doctor's orders. Two pads were placed on Piper's chest and gel rubbed onto the metallic surface of the paddles.
"Ready, clear, shocking" the nursed drilled out what he had many times before and Piper's body lurched upwards and then jerked back down. Her heart monitor displayed the same flat line. The nurse was getting ready to shock again when Leo noticed something.
"Wait." He spoke hoarsely, his voice raw with emotion. "Look."
They all followed his gaze and looked at Piper's stomach where a warm glow had started to appear. It spread throughout her body, filling her from head to toe, glowing stronger over her heart and head. Slowly the glow died away, leaving Piper her normal color. Then the drone returned once more to a continual, strong beeping.
"Heart rate strong and steady." Doctor Miles said in amazement as she glanced at the monitor screen.
All the emotion that she should have felt over the last few minutes washed over Phoebe in a second and she started to sob again, this time with relief. Her and Leo ran over to Piper and were smiling. Phoebe hugged Piper around the stomach and Leo stroked his wife's hair and kissed her forehead.
Piper was still in a coma but even in appearance she seemed better. She looked less washed out and color bloomed in her cheeks once more. For the second time in one day, the baby had saved its mommy from dying but had also exposed a bit more of the magic that shrouded the Halliwell family.
"I.I think we should take Piper for some more tests now, to see what's going on," doctor Miles regained her composure to a degree but amazement was still pure in her eyes. Along with the nurse (who didn't seem to be that bothered by what had just happened; Leo wasn't entirely sure he'd even seen it) doctor Miles pushed Piper's bed/trolley out of the small room. Casting a look over her shoulder, she spoke to Phoebe and Leo
"We shouldn't be long."
The two were in silence, a mixture of emotion radiating around the room. Adrenalin coursed through their veins, their bodies way of coping with the rush of what had happened. Fear and ultimate dread that that could've been it, Piper could've dies. There was also relief that came with seeing the baby heal Piper from the womb and the newfound hope that this brought. There was also nervousness and anticipation of what would happen now- would Piper be okay now? Would the healing cause their magic to be exposed even further?
"Paige." The word fell out of Phoebe's mouth before she'd even realized it was in her head.
"What?" Leo looked confused, was confused. Piper had just almost died and Phoebe was talking about Paige?
"I don't know. I just need to be near her. I can't describe it, it's like an instinct. She needs us."
"Okay." Reluctantly Leo gave in. He'd known the sisters for a long time and knew to trust their instincts. He grabbed Phoebe's arm and the electrical but warm feeling that accompanied the orbing process, rushed through their bodies, casting their form into a flurry of blue sparkles.
The sparkles reformed in the upstairs hallway of the Manor and Phoebe and Leo made their way downstairs as they looked around, instantly alert. They hadn't a clue what to expect-demon? Emotionally distraught sister? It could be a number of things. What they didn't imagine it could be, though, was the exact thing that it was. They reached the bottom of the stairs and the site that met their eyes was horrible.
The front bat window of the manor was smashed through. Teeth of glass stared threateningly as they reflected the early rising sun, turning the golden glow into a harsh glare. Press reporters, TV crews, photographers and general hecklers were leaning through the window frame, pushing one another to reach the front. Their camera bulbs were flashing incessantly, capturing the downstairs rooms of the manor, desperately trying to get that one unique shot that'd show something special, different from all the others. They all failed for with every click and every flash, the manor seemed to shy away, the life, happiness and magic of it gradually seeped out of it. The people were so wrapped up in what they were doing that none of them saw the thing they'd spent a large proportion of the day waiting for- members of the Halliwell family. Leo and Phoebe remained unnoticed at the foot of the stairs, taking in the devastation that surrounded them. The curtains flapped wildly at the window less frames as they tried to obscure the views of those who were intruding. To Phoebe, the manor felt exposed and abused, their lives put on show for the whole world. Family photos of weddings, birthdays and Christmases were filmed and photographed by what seemed like the world's media. They were the private moments, the special ones that families hold dear to them and it was at their discretion to show then to other people, not a Photographers. Shards of glass cluttered the floor and the rugs lat skewed as though someone had left the room in a rush.
"Paige! Where are Paige, Alex and Darryl? The kids, my God Leo where's Melinda and Wyatt?" Phoebe's thoughts came out on a rush of jumbled whispers and panic was wild in her eyes.
"I don't know. The attic? It's the safest place in the house." Leo decided.
The two of them raced up the two flights of stairs and burst into the attic.
Inside Paige, Darryl and Alex immediately rushed over to the settee, where Wyatt and Melinda slept, and stood in front of the children in a protective stance. When they saw who came in the door, they relaxed and concern immediately flooded Paige's face as she went over to her sister and the two embraced.
"Phoebes, it's horrible! I got back and heard them smash the window. Alex was upstairs because Melinda woke up and was crying. They started taking Photos and we didn't know what to do so we had to bring the kids up here. They only just got back to sleep." Paige was comforted by the presence of her sister and brother-in-law and the story just rushed out of her mouth. The adults turned to look at the sleeping children. They were curled up on the settee. Wyatt lay on his back, his teddy clutched in his arm and his head on one side. Melinda lay on her left side, turning into her brother. She was sucking furiously on her dummy (pacifier) and tear tracks could be seen lying on her pink cheeks. She too had a teddy, well a small pink bunny, clutched in the crook of her tiny arm. The two were covered in a large cream fleecy blanket. They were the picture of innocence. They didn't deserve what was going on in their lives, no one deserved that.
"Wait, what are you doing here?" Alex asked. He looked exhausted. They all did. The day had been hard and long. An emotional rollercoaster and intensely draining yet they had no choice but to carry on, for Piper, for the children and for their sanities.
"well, Piper got worse. She almost died. Then the baby healed her and the doctor saw so she's been taken for more tests. Then phoebe sort of had a feeling that Paige needed us, so we came."
"What, Piper almost died? How.what? You knew to come? How? Okay, now my head hurts." Paige sat down on the chair and looked expectantly at Phoebe and Leo.
"Yeah she had a cardiac arrest and the doctor tried to get her heart going again and couldn't. it was so bad and then she started to glow, like if Leo was healing her only he was no where near her. It started from her stomach so we reckon it was the baby. Anyway, it worked and her heart started again. But the doctor saw, which might make this whole thing worse. But at least Piper should be okay now. And I don't know how I knew you needed me. It was strange. Just after this happened with Piper, your name just popped into my head and I felt as though you were overwhelmed. Sort of an empathic reading, I don't know." Phoebe paused. Paige was shocked to hear about Piper but obviously pleased to know she'd be okay. Phoebe continued. "What do we do now?"
She instinctively looked towards Leo. He always guided her. He was her whitelighter and in a lot of ways, her big brother. Glad to be on familiar ground at last, Leo answered Phoebe.
"We take the kids to P3; I don't think it's been staked out by the press yet. They'll be safe there. Alex and Darryl if you can stay with them, then we'll go back to the hospital and wait for Piper to get back. Okay?"
The group nodded their heads in agreement and Paige walked over to Wyatt and picked the small boy up, he stirred a little but remained asleep. She also grabbed the blanket as Leo picked up Melinda. Phoebe went over to Leo and held his arm, as did Darryl and Alex walked over to Paige and held her hand. The group was then engulfed in blue orbs and reappeared in Piper's office in the club for refuge.
With her family half way across town, Piper lay in the small hospital room alone. Again a glow came from her stomach, filling her body with a warm light before gradually ebbing away. Slowly she blinked before opening her eyes fully. Looking around at the strange interior and with no memory of the past day, confusion and panic flooded her mind.
****
A/N: that was the longest chapter I've ever written for any story so I hope it was okay! I'm going to Russia on a school trip tomorrow so that means no update for about two weeks but please review and it'll make me write faster when I get back. Hope you enjoyed it!