Piper and Leo find themselves standing before a council of Elders and Grams. Piper glares at her grandmother.

"I should have known you were behind this!"

"Piper, this is for your own good."

"What is?"

One of the Elders steps forward.

"As with any action, is consequence. Piper, we are binding your powers and Leo, we're clipping your wings until further notice."

Piper tries to freeze them, but finds that her powers are already bound.

"No! You can't do this! If I don't have my powers, not only am I target for virtually all evil, but my sisters are too! They need me!"

Grams steps into the argument.

"No they don't. They still have the power of three."

Piper turns to Grams.

"I thought you were a bitch before but this tops it!"

"Don't you speak to me like that!"

"I can if I want to! You kicked me out, so now I don't have to follow your rules!"

"You are stepping on a thin patch of ice young lady!"

"What are you gonna do? Ground me? You already had my powers bound! What else is there for you to take?"

There is a moment of silence. Piper looks at Leo, then down at her stomach, and back at Grams.

"No!"

Another Elder steps forward.

"You are lucky we are letting you keep the child. But, if you keep letting your rage and anger consume you…"

"NO!!!!!"

This time, when she says no, everything shakes like an earthquake is coming through. After it passes, the Elders start whispering to each other, and then one looks towards Piper.

"We have failed to take into consideration the great power of the child you are bearing. Sam, orb her back while we talk to Leo."

Sam takes Piper's hand, and surprisingly, she doesn't put up a fight, letting him orb her back to the apartment.

It's been three months since the meeting with the Elders, and they still have not let Leo come back. Piper's pregnancy is starting to show. She and Prue are living with Andy anxiously awaiting Leo's return, which is unknown as to when or if it will be. Piper hasn't been to school since she last saw Leo, and has been labeled as a 'drop-out'. It's the beginning of summer. Prue has graduated from high school and Andy is officially on the police force. Leo missed his graduation, and Piper has dropped out of school waiting for him to come back. Prue has a summer job at a fast-food restaurant, only until she starts at a community college in the fall.

Prue walks in after another day of work and finds Piper lying on the couch watching TV.

"Are you gonna stay in a slump until they let Leo come back?"

"That's what I planned."

Prue walks over and sits on the arm of the couch.

"I miss him too, honey, but you can't just sit around all day hoping and waiting."

"I've done that every day for the past three months, and I will do it every day for the rest of my life until I get him back."

Prue gets up, walks over to the kitchen counter, opens a drawer, and pulls out a small wrapped box. She walks back over and hands it to Piper.

"This was Leo's birthday present to you. Andy said he had been anxiously waiting to give it to you, but didn't get the chance. You should open it."

Piper sits up, rips the wrapping paper off, and opens the box. When she sees what's inside, tears well up in her eyes. She pulls out a gold heart-shaped locket and Prue gasps. The tears start cascading down Piper's cheeks.

"Mom gave this to me on my fifth birthday after she and Dad split up. I thought I lost it when we were playing with Leo and Andy at their house seven years ago…"

Prue nods.

"I remember. You cried for days because it was the only thing left of Mom's that you had. He must have found it when he and Andy were packing up and moving out."

Piper opens the locket, but finds it has no picture, and smiles.

"I never could find a small enough picture to put in here."

She closes the locket and puts it on, then gets up off the couch and heads over to the bathroom. Prue looks at her in concern.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to wash up. I look like a mess."

Prue smiles and slides down onto the couch to watch TV while waiting for Andy to get home. A few minutes later, the phone rings and Prue picks up.

"Hello?"

"Um, Hi Prue."

Prue's eyes widen in shock.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. Your Grandmother told me what happened."

"Piper and I are not moving back to the Manor. We've already told her that."

"Oh, I know, and I understand. I never liked her much myself."

Prue can't help but smile.

"So how have you girls been?"

"I'm okay, but Piper…"

Prue hesitates.

"I know. She dropped out of school."

"She didn't exactly drop out, she just…couldn't go back. Rumors spread like wildfire and she wouldn't be able to handle it without…"

She hesitates again.

"Phoebe told me about Leo."

"Are you mad? I know how you hate white-lighters."

"I was mad, but he is half mortal so I'm not that mad anymore. So, this Leo guy…"

"He's a good guy. He's Andy's brother. You remember Andy, right?"

"The cop, yeah, I like him. I guess I could learn to like Leo."

Prue laughs, and she hears a beep on the other line.

"I got a call on the other line, so I'll talk to you later. Don't be a stranger."

"Alright sweetheart, bye."

Prue presses a button on the phone and connects to the other line.

"Hello?"

"Prue, it's me."

"Grams…"

"Just listen to me."

Prue sits in silence waiting for Grams to continue.

"I realize I was a bitch, but my expectations for you girls were so high…it just shocked me to find out…"

"You weren't the only shocked one."

"I know. I had your mother when I was young, and it was rough. Your grandfather was really supportive, but…"

"It was scary."

"Yes. I just…I wished none of you had to go through that."

"It's different now. All you had was Grandpa to support you. But Piper has Me, Phoebe, Paige, Andy, and hopefully soon Leo."

"Well, she has me now too. I don't want to push you girls to move back in with me, as much as I want you to."

"We need to be out on our own. We'll still come to the Manor, now that your more accepting that we won't move back in."

Grams takes a sigh of relief.

"Good. I don't want my great granddaughter growing into her powers without proper guidance."

"What makes you so sure it's gonna be a girl?"

"We haven't had a male in the family since before Melinda Warren. It's destined to be!"

Prue laughs at the sureness in Grams' voice.

"There's also never been a half white-lighter as a father before. You may just be proven wrong…for once."

Phoebe and Paige can be heard fighting in the background.

" I've got to go, your sisters are fighting again. I'll call you later."

"Ok, bye Grams."

"Bye Darling."

Prue hangs up the phone and starts flipping through channels.

"No mopey sister to nag, no boyfriend to go out with, no annoying old broad to fight with, no Dad to loathe… what am I gonna do now?

Leo is standing in front of an Elder trying to argue his way back to Earth.

"When will you let me go back home?"

"When Piper learns her lesson."

"What lesson? Not to fall in love?"

"No…"

"Well that's what it seems."

"She has to learn that with certain actions there are certain consequences."

"Consequences? Consequences! You've already taken her powers and not knowing whether she'll ever see me again is putting her into a depression! What other consequences are there?"

The Elder just stares at him.

"It looks like you have not learned your lesson either. Fine, we will send you back to Earth, but you still will not have your powers back, you understand."

"I don't care, as long as I can see her again."

"Very well, but I have warned you, the future looks bleak."

Before Leo can question him, the Elder waves his hand and orbs Leo back to Earth.

A/N: Hmmm…. 'the future looks bleak'…What ever could that mean? Don't fret over it, I wouldn't let anything happen to Piper, Leo, or the baby…or would I? shifty eyes

Nah…I wouldn't…