LOL PEANUTLB: Helen is my cousin, I was with her last night while typing, lol, I guess I made a typo...thanks for letting me know!

AlyssaAs: Hey dude...lol...it's ok, I get all wacky myself when I'm bored. Glad you liked this chapter. To tell you the truth, I'm not that good when it comes to writing sad stuff, but I think I do well in writing angst. TFR

Peanutlb: Matey! Yup, you got a Valentine from CC! Well, what can I say, Prue is my fav, (it shows, huh?) thanks for your great review dude, I think you're going to love the upcoming events. DUDE! COME ON! I would never…ever...kill Prue!

PrUE AnD AnDy: Hey Kiddo, thanks for your review, and don't worry, I'll pitch in for a box of tissues, if you don't mind, and be sure that the eldest Halliwell won't die; I wouldn't have the heart to kill her.

Faith Kingsley: DUDE! Prue is not dead. And yeah, Lexie is kind of disoriented and acting weird; let's just give her a chance, ok? TFR

Ruthy: Hey dude, welcome to my world. Glad you liked the story. I hope I don't disappoint you with the following chapters. Naw…Prue will definitely be alive and well! TFR

Sarah: Thanks a lot dude, your words really mean a lot, and of course I'll keep you updated, I'm glad you liked my story. TFR!

Princess Pinky: Dude…Dude…dude! No, believe me, I did not kill Prue! I could never do a thing like that! LOL - I'm cruel, aren't I? LOL But don't worry, everything will turn out ok, just bear with me here..K? TFR (PS I love your series, so now we're even!)

Kandie-Spirit-Dragon: Hey Dude… glad you liked my fic. I promise it will get SADDER! LOL


C.C. McKenna

Eartquake

Chapter Eight

Lexie realized her screaming wasn't doing any good, so, she clasped her sister's arms and struggled to drag her out of danger; her mind focused in getting quick medical attention for her sister, knowing for a fact that it had to be right away, if she wanted to keep her alive.

Lexie was out of breath, tired and scared, she needed her sisters' presence… Phoebe, she needed Phoebe's confidence and support. She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath, suddenly spotting a couple of flashlights coming her way; Her heart skipped a bit and slowly sat on the floor, gently holding Prue on her lap, waiting patiently for their rescuers to arrive; finally, her sister was going to get the medical attention she needed, little did she know that the nightmare was yet far from over.

Lexie tried very hard to remain calmed, but she couldn't keep herself from shedding some tears; She knew it was ok to cry, even to be weak some times, Phoebe had told her that, but this wasn't the right time; right now she needed to be strong and focused, so she strictly forbid herself to be frail. She hastily stood up and wiped the tears away, but deep down inside she was falling-apart.

Lexie watched the way the paramedics skillfully worked on her sister until she was finally stabilized. She knelt beside them and softly brushed her sister's cheek with the back of her hand. "She's going to be ok…right? Please tell me this is not as serious as it looks" Lexie looked for some comfort in the already exhausted paramedic's eyes.

"We don't know yet miss, I wish I could say she's ok, but she doesn't look good…"

Lexie was shaking and tightened her jaw when she heard the paramedic; in fact, her mind was completely blocked and she couldn't understand the rest of his statement, she just nodded when they asked her to stay put and wait for them to come back to get her. "Her name is Prue Halliwell, she's my sister; where…uh…" She cleared her throat to get rid of her broken voice. "Where are you taking her?"

"San Francisco Memorial" The paramedics replied without even looking at her, carefully strapping Prue's body.

"All right…I…uh…I'll wait, but please, just hurry up and get her there". Lexie kissed Prue on the forehead while she was still being carefully secured on the stretcher and as soon as they got up and carried her away; she grabbed her cell phone and punched Michael's number. Lexie knew it was going to be almost impossible to find him, but she had to give it a try, "For Kary" She thought. "Oh God, who am I trying to fool here…I like the guy" She mumbled as she carefully walked trying to hear the ring tone. She remembered Mike was near Prue when the floor collapsed, so he had to be close to the very same spot she found her sister; she just needed to be extremely careful and way too cautious, especially cautious if she wanted to find him.

Lexie closed her eyes and concentrated deeper on the ringing or any other noise that could possibly guide her to Karen's brother. She never thought her heart was going to react so blissfully, but it did; it jumped out of control the minute she heard Michael's cell phone; it sounded a lot louder than Prue's so, it could only mean one thing, he was undoubtedly a lot closer and maybe even at plain sight.

"Michael!" She shouted as she knelt beside him, quickly placing her index and mid finger on the left side of his neck. "Michael, please, come on, wake up" She gently slapped him a couple of times as soon as she confirmed he had a strong pulse. He didn't come out of his unconsciousness right away, but she felt her body loosened when she saw the paramedics hurriedly heading their way.

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"Ok Piper, I need you to have a seat and take a deep breath" Phoebe held her sister's arm and guided to the sofa. "Come on…breath with me…in…out, in…out" She breathed as well, trying to get her sister to follow her; Of course, without any luck at all.

"No Phoebe, I can't relax…I mean, how the hell do you want me to relax after we've found out that there's no way to contact our sisters at the manor…or…or at P3!" Piper shouted. "And there's no freaking way either to get a hold of our sisters on their own freaking cell phones!"

"Piper…Piper!" Phoebe knelt in front of her sister and grasped her knees. "Listen to me, please sweetie, listen to me" She softly held her sister's chin and lifted her face.

"What?" Piper wiped her tears away with a single swift stroke.

"I've talked to Darryl and…"

"WHAT! Piper abruptly jumped on her feet, startling Phoebe. "You've…you've talked to Darryl and you…y-you forgot to mention this little detail!"

"Piper…I've just talked to him and…"

Piper was too upset to try to reason. "Did he tell you something about Prue and Lexie? Anything?" She was fuming.

Phoebe lowered her head and chewed her lower lip, trying to come up with the right words. "Uhm…there's chaos in the whole city Piper, there's no phone lines, no electricity…"

"Did he or didn't he say anything about our sisters!" Piper harshly cut her sister off, suppressing the urge to yell.

Phoebe nodded, and taking a deep breath, she forced herself to speak. "The building where Prue was having her exhibition…uhm…"

"What!" Piper raised her voice; she was desperate and her chest ready to burst out. "The building what?"

"Collapsed" Phoebe's gaze rested on the floor; her reply was a mere whisper; even almost inaudible for herself, but Piper somehow already knew what Phoebe had to say. "Darryl is already looking for them…personally"

Piper dropped on her knees; eyes shut; unable to control her shaky body. "Oh my God, no…please Phoebe, tell me this is a mistake…tell me Darryl is wrong…tell me this is not true…please!" She pinched the bridge of her nose and bent her head down. She wanted to be strong…for Phoebe…for herself, but her eyes didn't share the same thought.

Phoebe immediately rushed over to her sister and fell on her knees, tightly wrapping her arms around her; She said nothing, there was no need for words; the only thing they needed were each other, and they both knew it. Phoebe gently rocked her shuddering sister back and forth, softly, never letting her go. "They are safe Piper…we've got to believe in that"

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Darryl rubbed his eyes and kept them tightly closed as he rested back his head on the white walls of the S.F.M Hospital. He had been searching for his friends…no, his sisters, as he would indubitably call them, for the past six hours or so and he was exhausted. He rubbed the back of his neck trying to rid the soreness and the weariness, but most of all, he was trying to find the right way to tell the two remaining sisters that Prue and Lexie had been seriously injured. He unconsciously slid down the wall and sat on the cold floor; completely ignoring the frantic coming and going of doctors and nurses. The entire hospital was a complete chaos. A sudden lean figure came out of nowhere and stood in front of him. Breaking free of the hypnotic trance that he seemed to have fallen into, Darryl looked up and found the worried eyes of the Doctor that was taking care of Prue. He slowly stood up, taking a paused, deep breath and swallowed hard, never breaking the eye contact with the person dressed in a soft blue outfit. Darryl was ready for any kind of news the doctor was ready to give him.

"Are you family?"

"No, I'm a very close friend of the family…Darryl Morris" Darryl unconsciously held out his hand.

"Sorry" The doctor automatically shook Darryl's hand. "But I need to talk to her family; it's urgent"

"Is…is s-she?…"

"No; but she will be if we don't operate soon"

Darryl closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment. "Her sisters are in New York at the moment and I don't think they can get here any time soon…can I sign whatever it's needed?"

"I'm afraid not…and besides, that's not the only thing she needs…"

"Wait a minute" Darryl interrupted. "She does have another sister; in fact, she's being treated in this same hospital too; her name is Alexia Bennett and…"

"Thank you" Now it was the Doctor's turn to interrupt. "I'll go find her right now"

"Yeah…sure" Darryl shook his head, watching as the doctor left in a hurry. "She's in the ER…I guess..." He whispered to himself.

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"She's what!" Lexie shouted. She was sitting on a gurney, while her upper body was carefully being strapped with a white, elastic bandage.

"Like I said… I had to perform a tracheotomy and placed Miss Halliwell on a respirator and kidney filtration machine. I've also sedated her very heavily; she won't be able to wake up for quite a while"

Lexie jumped out of the stiff bed, wincing a little when she landed on the hard cold floor, but she was more concerned about her sister than herself. "Are you sure you're talking about my sister?" She walked towards the doctor and gazed up at him, perhaps maybe a little optimistic.

"Miss Bennett, her kidneys have failed completely; one is gone, totally crushed; and the other one is badly damaged, in fact, I don't think she can make it…not without a kidney transplant, she won't"

Lexie stared at the floor and took another big breath before looking straight into the doctor's bewildered eyes. "She can have mine" She added firmly.

"I was hoping you'd say that" The doctor nodded. "But you must know that this is a very delicate operation, I mean, it's real serious and painful as well, and I need to…"

"I don't care what you have to do, and I certainly do not care if it's going to hurt or not, just do it" Lexie interrupted.

"But, I have to know if you're an eligible donor, and I need some blood tests and some tissue samples and…"

"I'm her bloody sister, for God's sake, what more could you ask for!"

"Sign here." The doctor handed Lexie a clipboard and waited patiently for her to sign the dozens of papers.

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TBC