What Dead Eyes Can Do

by cloud777

Second Paige as the oldest story. 90 is a teen fic. What if the youngest was involved in a school shooting? Watch the sisters handle the traumatized kid...

What dead eyes can do

This is the 2nd story with Paige as the oldest. Before reading this, you should read Lost Oldest though to understand some parts. But it's no too bad if you don't. The story can also work on it's own. The details of the las t part might be a bit gross. (A bit really).

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

Prue Halliwell sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper when her older sister Paige came in. Paige had moved to them completely now and sold the apartment. She was glad to be able to share the same home as her long lost sisters and the memories which were erased seemed to come back step by step. She loved the feeling of getting up and having a breakfast waiting for her, having people reading newspapers around her when she ate. And now was one of such nice Monday mornings when you just don't want to get up but by having people around you who make you feel better since they feel the same about Monday mornings, you do it anyway.

"Morning Paige. Sleep well?" Prue asked looking up for a second.

"Yeah. Your beds are just way too comfy. It's like I never wanna get up anymore." Paige laughed.

"I know. But I remember the same you pushing us out of those same beds as we were kids and had to go to school." Prue said. She too welcomed the memories which came back either in form of a dream or in the middle of the day, triggered by some similar situation. In Phoebe's, their youngest sister's case, it didn't even need a trigger, she would just remember suddenly and after that she would tell her sisters about it, making them remember as well. Probably due to her power of premonition which she received, along with her sisters, not so many nights ago.

"Strange. I remember that, too. Piper was no problem, she was so easy to handle but you and Pheebs…oh God I don't wanna think about it!" She shook her head but still with a big grin. Piper, their little sister had always been an easy kid. Sure she caused trouble as well but not as much as her siblings. Now with her 22 years she was nearly chief cook of the most popular restaurant in their area, Quake. This was only achieved due to her character traits. As all Halliwells, she was determined, ambitious and she could be stubborn as well. It was all in the family.

"Speaking of Piper, where is she anyway?" Paige asked seeing no Piper in the usual spot in the kitchen where she would be standing cooking something.

"She went to Quake earlier. Something about journalists writing a report about it so she, as one of the best cooks there, had to be there as well." Prue said proudly. Due to the early loss of her mother she, together with Paige, used to play the mother-role in the house, so when one of her sisters screwed up, she would scold but when they did something good, she would be as proud as a mother could be.

"Wow. She's one hell of a successful girl. Not to mention her young age. I mean as far as I can remember, I wasn't that successful at that age." Paige nodded her head in impression.

"Me neither. And I doubt Phoebe will be." Prue said. Her baby sister was visiting college not for a long time yet. And she had a job as Paige's assistant, as a social worker so to say.

"You don't know that. I mean I've hardly seen anyone working harder or with more motivation than her. And that's not even a full-time job. I don't know what she can actually achieve in three or four years." Paige told her little sister.

"I figured that." Prue agreed. "Is she up yet?" She asked.

"She was sound asleep when I checked so I woke her up. She must be down here soon." Paige said.

"She is already up, showered and ready for breakfast."

Prue and Paige looked up to see Phoebe standing in the doorway.

"Morning Pheebs. Had a good sleep?" Prue asked the same way she had asked Paige.

"Yeah I did. Until Paige pulled me out of my bed. Literally." She glared at Paige faking anger.

"That's my duty, hun. It was and it will always be my duty. To keep you from coming late to wherever you have to go." She answered with a triumphant smile. Phoebe rolled her eyes, a laughter escaping her though.

The three sisters were sitting there in silence, a comfortable silence which was always there in the morning. Each thinking about their issues while drinking coffee or reading papers. But the silence was broken as Prue spoke after finding a certain article in the paper.

"Guys, look. There was another shooting at Baker High. Says that two boys aged 16 and 17 ran into the building one with a gun and one with a rifle in mid classes. 16 are injured, 3 students and 2 teachers were killed." Prue told them what she had read. "There are no names though."

"Oh man that's such a tragedy. What kind of parents must those two boys have to be able to do such a horrible thing." Paige said shaking her head in disbelieve.

"Yeah. They should of realized what was going on with their kids. But actually we can't blame them. You and I know how hard it is to keep everything under control." Prue remembered the days her little sisters, but mostly Phoebe, pulled her hair out because of the littlest things.

"True. But Phoebe never went into a school with a gun, shooting and killing people." She said matter-of-factly brushing her hand over Phoebe's head.

Phoebe said nothing. She wasn't sure why but this article was like trying to trigger something in her. It actually felt like all the times shortly before she got another new memory back. That couldn't be. She certainly hadn't been involved in a school shooting. At least she believed so.

"Oh shit, it's time for me to go now. Paige we're out of milk. Could you get some on your way home cause I think Piper and I will both be back pretty late." Prue said grabbing her car keys.

"Sure Prue. Have a nice day." With that, her little sis was out of the house.

"Okay Pheebs. Actually I have to go now, too." She said getting up but saw Phoebe staring at the newspaper and stopped shortly. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked bending down to look directly into her face.

"Wha..huh? Oh yeah I'm okay. I'll see you later at work then. Actually I'll be there earlier cause I just have two classes today." Phoebe said quickly changing the subject.

"Good. But you know for you it's not a full-time job so you don't have to come extra early. Enjoy your free time." Paige said kissing her sister goodbye.

Phoebe sat there still thinking about the shooting. Why would she feel about this like she felt when she looked at pictures from the past or familiar scenes with Paige pulling her out of bed? She picked up the paper and tried to read it as her world went black and white. First, it was just pieces of flashbacks randomly coming to her mind but after a while she started to remember clearly what had happened that day. It was the beginning of a long lost vision of her memories…..

Paige- 18

Prue- 17

Piper- 15

Phoebe- 11

It was a nice warm and sunny day in San Francisco. But for Phoebe Halliwell, as much as for many, many other kids, the day was already ruined by the duty to go to school. Although Phoebe was 11, she was already visiting Junior High because she started school a year earlier than her classmates. So as if it wasn't enough to be the youngest at home, she was the kid in her school, too. Her small size which made even some primary school kids look older than her didn't help, either. The treatment she got was very varying. Some would tease her for her size or age, some found her just really cute and would always show their protective sides in front of Phoebe and some just saw her as another classmate, another friend, no matter what age.

Paige Halliwell got out of bed. She didn't want to go to college, it wasn't too hard but on a sunny day like this, who wants to study? She peeked in Prue's room to see her fast asleep. Prue was a senior so she had quite a lot of stress due to the finals. Paige hated to do this because she had been in the same stress as her little sister last year but somebody had to wake her up. The alarm clock was already in the corner of the room, broken. Paige approached her sister's bed and gently began to shake her awake.

"Prue, Prue time to get up, hun. You'll be late to school."

"Mmmm I don care…weave me awone…" She moaned back, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I know you're tired and I know you have a lot going on right now. But you have to get up, really. How many alarm clocks do you expect us to buy with you braking them every morning?" Paige laughed. Prue half opened her eyes and looked up at Paige.

"Would it help if I tell you I don't feel good?" She asked hoping she could stay home.

"Well just if you're telling the truth," she put a hand on Prue's forehead, "and apparently you're not cause you don't feel warm. Now stop being like Phoebe, no wonder she does this if her big sis is setting her good examples in finding excuses not to go to school." She said with a smile. Prue was always so grown up but still she could be so much of a kid sometimes, too.

"Now get." Paige pulled her sister up and made her way to the next room. She saw that it was empty. 'Why can't everyone just be like Piper?' Paige thought. Her second youngest sister was probably the most mature sibling in the house. She too was so grown up for her age. But not a forced grown up like her and Prue, it was more just her character. She didn't know what she'd do without Piper in the family or how the family would survive then. The hardest thing was to come yet. Phoebe. Her youngest sister was THE kid rebel. So typical as if cut out of a movie or something. She didn't want to go to school, she picked up fights easily, she had already been grounded so many times it was like half of her life, she just tried everything to drive her sisters nuts. But she had her other side as well. She was the cutest, loveliest, nicest and funniest kid sister Paige could ever imagine to have. You just HAD to love her. She entered Phoebe's room to see her sound asleep, the covers kicked off, her body curled up in a little ball. She was wearing rather baggy PJs which made her look so small. Paige sat down on her bed, for a short while just looking at her baby sister. Then she started her work.

"Pheebs. Sweetie it's time to get up. Come on honey you'll be late." Much the same she had told Prue. Even if neither one of them admitted it, Prue and Phoebe had so much of a resemblance to each other. Both pigheaded, childish when it came to fights but also determined.

"Go away Paige…I don't wanna go to school today." She whined.

"Phoebe you never want to go to school. Now get up or I'll carry you downstairs and shove the breakfast into your mouth." She said with a grin which widened triumphantly as the youngest pushed herself up to a sitting position.

"Paige I don't feel good today. Can I stay home? Please?" She tried. Paige laughed as she nearly heard Prue's voice doubled with Phoebe's. Every morning she got the same déjà vu.

"I know you're not sick. You too feel normal. Now come on." Paige said as she lifted the small body up in her arms and started out of the room.

"Paige, I have a bad feeling." At this, Paige stopped in the middle of the hall looking into Phoebe's chocolate brown orbs.

"What do you mean baby?" She asked.

"I don't know. It just feels like today's gonna be a bad day. Like something really bad is gonna happen." She said seriously. Paige chuckled inside. Her sister was so cute when she was serious with some big issues. But she didn't let Phoebe show her amusement as she knew it would upset kids if you don't listen to them as seriously as they try to tell you something. She carried Phoebe back to her room and sat down on the bed, her sister on her lap.

"Why do you think something's gonna happen? Did you have a bad dream?" She asked.

"Nooo. It's just a feeling. I'm scared Paige." She pushed her face into the crook of her older sister's neck.

"Aw honey, you don't have to be scared. Come on, do you think I would let anything happen to you? Do you think Prue would? Or Piper?" She said running a hand over the girl's back.

"No." Came the muffled answer.

"There. Everything's alright. Maybe you just had a bad dream just that you don't remember yourself. Now let's go eat Piper's lovely breakfast, okay?"

"Okay." With that, they went downstairs.

The girls got in Paige's car so that she could drop Prue and Piper of at High School and Phoebe at Junior High.

"Bye Pheebs. Have a nice day and listen to the teachers, alright?" Prue said after Phoebe, who in response just rolled her eyes. They continued the drive to the High School.

"I wonder if she's okay." Paige muttered more to herself.

"Who? Phoebe? Why would she not be?" Piper asked.

"She said something about having a bad feeling about today, like something bad was gonna happen." She told the middle sister.

"Oh Paige, come on, this is Phoebe you're talking about. She just wants to stay home, that's all. Don't think about it so much." Prue said laughing.

"I really hope so.." They didn't know how wrong they were.

Phoebe went into class and sat down at her desk next to her friend Nicole. She was as all the others one year older than her but she didn't care.

"Hi Nic. Did you do the homework for English today?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah but I think I kinda did it wrong. That text was pretty hard to understand." Nicole replied.

"You could say that. I had Piper help me, so I understand it now but I wonder why some people have to write about the easiest things in such a complicated language." She complained.

"You're so right Pheebs."

The classes went on without any incidents. It was now the beginning of the 6th period. A bit more and the day was over, they would be free in a bit.

"So can anyone tell me how to solve this problem?" The math teacher asked the class.

As one student got up and wanted to go to the board, there was a loud scream, triggering other screams. All the kids looked at each other with fear, not knowing what was going on.

As if the panic wasn't enough, there was another thing they heard. A shot. At least it sounded like one. And considering the even louder screams it was probably one. Next thing was a teacher burst in the classroom.

"Everyone get out of the building as fast as you can!" The next they heard from somewhere in the hall was "Someone call the police! There's a shooting in here! Get the kids out of the building ASAP!"

All the students stormed out of their classrooms and out of school.

"What's happening Nicole!" Phoebe said panicked.

"I don't know! I heard shooting! Come on Phoebe we have to get out!" she shouted grabbing her friend's hand in hers.

As all the kids in the room were trying to get to the door at the same time due to their fear and panic, it took them way longer to get out. Their teacher, Mrs Coleman tried to get the students to calm down and get out of the room one by one but it didn't really work.

As there were finally just five kids left to leave the room and as Phoebe was on her way out, there was suddenly a person standing in front of them, aimed with a gun. It was actually a teenager about 17 years.

"Oh my God Josh!" Mrs Coleman shouted.

"Yes, Mrs Coleman, it's me. It's an honour you remember my name." He said with an evil smile. The boys standing by the door found the strength to try and escape but they were pushed roughly back into the room. Josh closed the door.

"NO ONE LEAVES THIS ROOM. DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" He shouted at all of them. There were only Mrs Coleman, Randy, Patrick, Nicole, Phoebe and Angelina left in the classroom. The school building began to quiet down since everyone escaped. Except for five students and one young teacher, together with the teenager and the gun.

"You. Sit down over there!" He pointed with his gun to the kids and then to a corner far away from the door. Phoebe didn't know what the hell was going on. It was so unrealistic. Everything was in a haze to her. She didn't hear the teen commanding her.

"I SAID SIT DOWN!" She jumped at his voice as the words sank in and she quickly made her way to the other kids in the corner.

"Josh! Calm down, I don't know what made you do this but don't hurt them. Just don't hurt the kids." Mrs Coleman said standing between her students and the gunman.

"SHUT UP!" He pointed the gun at the teacher. "THIS, Clara, THIS is all your fault!" He shouted. The teacher was the love of his life. He was so obsessed of her he couldn't take it anymore being without her. She was the most beautiful, nice, and intelligent woman he'd ever met. She made him laugh, made him see something like a future in his life. He trusted her. But now she destroyed it all.

"If you mean the talk we had yesterday about your feelings for me, I'm sorry I hurt you but these kids have nothing to do with it. Please, I beg you, just let them go." She begged.

"Ha! Now you're begging me to let them go! Always the caring one, huh! You always care about everyone, every piece of SHIT in this world, everyone but ME!" His sarcastic laugh turned into the voice of pure anger, coming out in painful screams. Then he heard one kid starting to cry softly. "SHUT UP!" He screamed at the little girl making her flinch.

Phoebe sat in the corner her fear making her feel nauseous. Her hands shook violently as did those of the other four kids. She and Nicole were hugging each other for dear life, they both felt the other one shaking in their arms. Why was this happening to her? Was this the bad feeling she had this morning? Would she never see her sisters again? At the last question she realized in just what kind of situation she was in. She wanted to be strong for her friends, if she started to cry they would get even more scared. But as she thought of her sisters a tear escaped, she couldn't hold them anymore and she found herself crying. The angry voice of the out of control teen telling her to shut up made her flinch and she just buried her head into her friend's shoulder. Nicole didn't know what to do. She too was scared to death. And Josh screaming at her friend didn't make it necessarily better.

"Pheebs don't be scared. We'll get out of here, I promise." She said, trying to stay strong, trying to convince herself of what she'd said.

Meanwhile the conversation between Josh and Mrs Coleman went on.

"That is not true, Josh. I do care about you, I helped you in the past with dealing with your problems, both at home and in school. I just didn't know you felt about me that way. But you are still 17, not to mention I'm a teacher. I just can't give that feeling back to you."

"Why, why WHY! F.ck the stupid rules! Don't you see how much I love you!" He screamed.

Prue and Piper were both sitting at their desks in their classrooms. Suddenly a teacher came in, telling them the news that made their hearts nearly stop.

"There was…there was a shooting at the Junior High. Apparently a young teenage boy is in there aimed with a gun. We counted the students and teachers and checked up their names."

The teacher began to read out the missing names. As soon as one particular name was mentioned, they jumped up their seats and ran towards the exit where they bumped into each other.

"Oh my God Prue! Phoebe's in there! We have to do something!" Piper said.

"I know! I know but maybe it's just a mistake. She's fine, Piper, she has to be." Prue replied. Both had tears in their eyes. Then, one of the teachers approached them.

"Prue? Piper? I know what's going on and I'm sure you want to get to your sister. But it would take a bit to walk so I'll take you to her school. Come on." Both sisters followed.

As they arrived at their little sister's school, they saw the commotion that was there. There were several police cars, lots of students crying with paramedics around them. There was one policeman they recognized. It was inspector Trudeau, Prue's boyfriend Andy's father. Upon seeing the girls, he ran towards them.

"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this but Phoebe's probably in there. The teachers checked up the list and apparently there's Phoebe's teacher missing, along with four more students of her class. The chance is big that she's there, too." He hated himself for having to tell them this. He knew the Halliwells like all their lives. To him Phoebe was like a daughter he had never had.

"Oh God Prue! What are we gonna do? What if something happens to her?" Piper said crying.

Prue didn't know what to answer her little sister. She herself was also crying. So she just drew Piper into a tight hug and held her there.

Meanwhile Mrs Coleman was trying to calm the distraught teenager.

"Josh, you need help. Professional help. Please I don't want you to throw away your life like that. Do you honestly want to hurt those children? Josh I know you. You're a good person. Don't do this." She said slowly approaching him.

"It's too late. I know you don't love me. But I can't live with that." He said, the anger replaced by utter sadness, his voice and hands shaking.

"No it's not too late. Come on give me the gun." She touched his hand. Not knowing that this action led to a fatal reaction.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! YOU WON'T HURT ME ANYMORE! IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, NO ONE CAN!" With that, a shot was heard once again.

Phoebe was sitting in the corner with her friends, her knees pulled close to her chest. She didn't even realize her pants getting soaked as the shot was fired. Next thing she saw was red, thick liquid running towards her. She heard the thud next to her. She saw the body go to the ground. She looked right into the dead eyes of her favorite teacher, the woman that should have guided her through her future school life. Now she was dead. There was a hole right in the middle of her forehead, blood gushing from it. She didn't hear her friends cry, scream for help. Another shot was heard which made her look into it's direction. A second body, the body whose owner caused all this, fell to the ground, also with a hole on his right temple. She turned to her former teacher again. She just starred at her. She didn't blink once. She let the image of the pair of dead eyes starring at her and the smell of fresh blood burn into her mind.

The four other kids witnessed the same. Some wet their pants, some threw up due to the shock and the scene before them. Nicole was first to realize the policeman bursting into the room who had stormed into the building as they heard another shot.

"Get them out of here and let them be checked up. We have two dead bodies in here." One of them said. The policemen were all shocked to the scene they had found. Even those who were doing this for a long time. First they saw the two dead bodies lying on the floor. But their eyes eventually wandered to the kids. They were trembling, crying and it could be seen that some had gotten sick. They approached the scarred children and after checking them up for any visible injuries, they lifted them in their arms and carried them out of the school building.

Prue and Piper were sitting in the back of a police car comforting each other as they were held back from running into the building when the shots were heard. Then they heard the familiar voice. It was inspector Trudeau.

"Prue, Piper. We have Phoebe. She's okay, she's not hurt. You can go to her now, she needs you." He said with relieve in his voice but knew the girls would have a long way to go in their future. She might not be hurt physically but emotionally, psychologically she was traumatized.

Prue and Piper pushed themselves through the crowd until they reached the police officer carrying their baby sister. Prue immediately took Phoebe from his arms.

"Oh my God Phoebe you're okay! Thank God!" She and Piper both exclaimed as she felt Piper hug them both.

Phoebe was completely oblivious to what was happening as the policemen stormed into the classroom. She felt someone carry her outside but next thing she felt made her eyes see the world around her again. She had heard her sisters' voices and found herself picked up by Prue. She clung to her big sister's neck for dear life it almost hurt Prue. She pushed her face into Prue's chest and continued to cry.

"Ssshhhhh Phoebe you're okay now. We're here. Big sis has you now. You're alright, it's alright. We won't let anything happen to you anymore. You're safe. Shhh." Prue cooed into her ear as she gently rocked her in her arms. She realized the dampness on her lower arms but she didn't care. She did care about the fact that she heard Phoebe struggling to breath though. So she and Piper rushed to a paramedic and the ambulance. They wanted to hand them their sister over so that they could give her a sedative but Phoebe wouldn't let go for anything. So Prue just sat down in the ambulance with her sister in her arms and Piper next to her, rubbing Phoebe's back. They heard the ambulance door close as they felt the car start it's way to SFMH.

"What's her name?" The paramedic asked quickly. The girl looked like she would choke soon.

"Phoebe." Piper answered.

"Okay Phoebe. We need you to calm down so that you can breathe normally again so I'm gonna give you something to help calm down, okay?" Phoebe just continued to cling to Prue. She was scared anyway but now she was even more afraid as she felt her breath get out of control. Then she felt a slight prick on her arm.

"We need to put an oxygen mask over her mouth. Can you make her turn around?" He asked Prue.

"Pheebs honey can you turn to the nice man here? Look don't be scared. He'll help you breathe. Come on sweetie." Prue coaxed. And indeed, Phoebe's panicked eyes turned to the paramedic. He saw his chance and put the mask over the small girl's mouth and nose.

"Good girl, there's a good girl….. Yeah that's it….. Just take deep breaths honey, nice deep breaths." Prue talked to Phoebe. She felt her little sister drifting off to sleep as the sedative showed it's effect.

"We have to call Paige." Piper said quietly as they were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital while Phoebe was being checked up for any injuries.

"Yeah Paige..I.. This was what she was taking about. I mean Phoebe's bad feeling today. Oh God Piper if I had just taken her more seriously she wouldn't have been…she wouldn't…" Prue broke down crying as Piper rushed to her and just held her big sis who never showed her tears. "Stop that Prue! You're so not responsible for this. It's not your fault, do you hear me? It's not your fault, it's his, that psycho teenager's fault!" Piper said firmly. Prue cried in Piper's arms for a little longer before regaining her composure again. They heard the door open and saw a man in white, about the age of 40 approaching them.

"Miss Halliwell?"

"Prue. And this is Piper."

"Okay Prue and Piper. First of all physically your sister is fine. We checked her up for any visible and internal injuries but fortunately we found none." The sisters let out a sigh of relieve.

"Don't be too happy now though. It's true her body is not hurt but her mind is. And I have to say it is in a critical state. She is in shock right now but it could happen, and as much as I hate to tell you this, but it in Phoebe's case it's very likely it will happen that she will get what we call PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. There will be a lack of certain memories of the incident, usually the details of what happened but most likely they will come back in form of dreams, more precisely nightmares. She will be very withdrawn at the beginning and will probably get scared of the slightest things." The doctor explained.

"So….so what can we do for her, Doctor?" Piper asked with tears in her eyes. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all that her baby sister, out of everyone her baby had to go through this.

"Just be there for her. Let her know how much you love her, care for her. Children with PTSD often begin to build up a 'the world is totally unsafe' attitude. So show her that she is wrong with that. Let her feel secure. But be easy on her, too. Don't upset her too much and don't push her. Other than that I would strongly recommend to visit a therapist who is specialized in children's PTSD. I can give you some numbers and addresses." The doctor smiled sympathetically at the girls. He had a daughter, too and he couldn't imagine what he would do if she was on Phoebe's place. And these girls were just kids. The world wasn't fair.

"Thank you very much Doctor. Can we see Phoebe now?" Prue asked.

"Sure. You can take her home now. She's waiting for you in room 312. And I will let the nurse give you some tranquillizers in case she gets too worked up or has difficulty sleeping. But since she's only 11 try and use as little as possible." He quickly explained the way to the room and Prue and Piper thanked him again and made their way to room 312.

Entering the room the sisters found Phoebe sleeping on the bed, dressed in fresh PJs her clothes from earlier lying folded up in a plastic bag with a note 'the PJs are hers now'. Prue and Piper each sat on different sides of Phoebe's white bed.

"She looks so innocent sleeping here. As if nothing happened." Prue whispered running her hand gently over Phoebe's head.

"True. She always had the face of an angel. No matter what little devil she could be awake." Piper laughed quietly as she stroked the back of the small hand with her thumb.

"We forgot to call Paige. She has to fetch us cause Grams isn't here." Piper reminded them again. Grams was in New England again visiting Aunt Gail who fell sick and this time it looked pretty serious so she left them in Paige's care for a longer while.

"Yeah I forgot about that. Do you want to or will I?" Prue asked.

"I'll do it." She said needing to distract herself a bit. Grabbing her cell, she dialled Paige's number.

Paige was just finished with her last class as her cell phone rang. She looked at the number. It was Piper. 'Does she need a lift somewhere again? Prue can do that with Grams' car.' She thought to herself as she picked up.

"Piper? Listen if you need a lift ask Prue I'm kinda busy and.." She was cut off by the voice on the other side.

"No Paige I that's not why I call. Listen. Something happened." She thought of how to tell her big sis the best way but came to the conclusion that the best was to come out with it straight.

"Phoebe was involved in a school shooting."

"WHAT!" Paige felt her heart stop.

"Calm down, she's fine. Physically. Just..the rest is hard to do on phone so can you pick us up? We're at SFMH." Piper said.

"Hang in there Pipe I'll be there as fast as I can." With that she hung up and ran to her car.

Paige ran into the room she was told her sister would be. There she saw Prue and Piper sitting next to Phoebe's bed reading something and her baby sister peacefully sleeping under the white covers. On seeing this, she first let out a sigh of relief.

"Paige." Prue looked up from the magazine she wasn't even reading, as did Piper.

"Okay tell me what happened?" She said though not too loudly as not to wake Phoebe.

"There was a school shooting at the Junior High. Apparently it was some psycho student who loved his teacher but she didn't so he just freaked out and killed her and then himself." Prue said anger clearly audible in her voice.

"Oh damn. Don't tell me Phoebe witnessed all that." Paige went pale at the thought.

"Yes, she did." Piper's voice was barely above a whisper. "She was in the same room. At least that's what the police told us. And she..she witnessed her teacher being shot to death and then that boy killing himself, too. God Paige you should have seen her. Her face was tear stained and her eyes…they….they were so full of fear..God she must have been so scared!" Piper finally broke down crying as Paige just held her.

"This is all my fault. If I had just listened to her. Believed her about her bad feeling!" Now Paige was crying too. Prue came over and hugged her so that they were now in a three way hug. "Paige I thought the same too earlier. I blamed myself too. But as Piper told me then, I'm gonna tell you now that this is NOT your fault. He did it. Him. Not you. Him. Paige no one could've predicted this. So stop blaming yourself. You won't do Phoebe any good by doing so. She's gonna need all of us strong." Prue talked to her big sister firmly but with love.

"You're right." She wiped her tears and broke the hug. "What did the doctors say?"

"Well he said it's most likely for her to get PTSD. That's what you might get after going through a traumatic experience. And obviously this is one. He said she's gonna be withdrawn for a certain period of time. She'll probably get scared really easily and get nightmares, too in which she remembers the events. Cause there'll be gaps of memory as well. And we have to be really careful with her cause apparently we can upset her very easily. He gave us numbers of some child psychiatrists specialized in that area." Piper explained.

"These are some tranquillizers though he said we should use them as few times as possible. You know with her being young and so on." Prue added holding up a bottle of pills. "There is actually medication for those with PTSD like Prozac but he said it wouldn't be as good for a child as a therapy." She explained what she had heard earlier.

"Okay. But for now let's just take her home, okay? I'd say we wait to call Grams as well cause Aunt Gail is in a really critical condition and I don't want to put her into a predicament so.. Besides, physically Phoebe's fine, there's no need to force her to come home. Okay?" Paige asked and her sisters agreed. Paige went to Phoebe and picked her up in her arms to carry her to the car.

"She's out like a light, huh?" Prue said as she took Phoebe from Paige for her to be able to sign some papers and saw that her baby sister didn't even bother being passed around from arms to arms.

"It's probably the sedatives. They're pretty strong on her." Piper said as they both waited for Paige to finish.

"Yeah probably. Piper do you actually realize how she's getting heavier? She's still so light even you can carry her around anywhere but still I can't carry her with one arm anymore." Prue said seriously and with that she made Piper laugh.

"When do you think you did that the last time, Prue? When she was like what? Four?" She giggled grateful her sister still made her laugh in such a hard time. "Besides, she's growing up. Everyone does. No matter how much you wish they never would." Piper added with a smile.

The drive home was made in silence. It was already dark though the lights of the city illuminated the streets colourfully. Each sister was in her own thoughts reflecting on the day's events. Piper's thoughts were interrupted though when she felt her baby sister stir in her arms as they were sitting in the back of Paige's car. Then she was met by the same eyes she had.

"Hey sweetie. There you are. You okay?" She whispered gently as not to startle the one who had just woken up. But then she saw something glistening in Phoebe's eyes.

"Noooo. Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot…." Phoebe whimpered though really quietly.

"Shhhh Pheebs it's alright. It's over, you're safe now. Look I'm here and so are Paige and Prue." Piper said wiping away the tears with her thumbs. Paige thought about stopping the car but left Phoebe in Piper's hands for now.

"Don't shoot, please leave me alone, I want my sisters…" She cried as if in trance not seeing Piper.

"Honey I'm here. We're all here. Sshh it's fine now. Calm down sweetheart, stop crying, it's alright." Piper cooed gently rocking her sister on her lap by bouncing her knee up and down. She hoped it was just because Phoebe had just woken up that she was so upset but she slowly realized that the girl's breaths got faster and her tiny body shook with sobs trying to escape her throat. Piper's eyes filled with concern.

"Paige? Paige pull over. Something's wrong with Phoebe." On hearing this, Paige slammed the brakes the tires screeching. She got out of the driver's side and went in the back with Piper. She took the shaking girl in her arms, settling her on her lap. Phoebe was breathing heavily and perspiration formed on her forehead.

"NOOO LEAVE ME ALONE! PAIGE, PRUE, PIPER!" This time she was screaming.

"Sshhhh, Phoebe it's alright! Look it's me Paige!" She said loudly to make the girl hear her. "Prue switch on the lights! Quick!" Paige instructed. Prue quickly switched on the little light on the roof.

"Look Phoebe, look at me! Who am I?" Paige asked taking the little girl's chin in her hand making her look at her closely. Phoebe was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"Paaaaaiige!" She threw her tiny arms around her oldest sister's neck burying her face into her chest. Paige just bounced her sister on her knee much the same way Piper had done a few minutes ago.

"Oh baby it's alright! I'm here now, shhhh it's fine. Just fine…Come on honey calm down. We're all here. Nothing's gonna happen to you. You're alright….It'll be alright…" Paige had Phoebe calmed down after nearly another fifteen minutes.

"Will you sit with Piper, honey?" Paige asked in her sweetest voice. Phoebe gave a nod and crawled into Piper's waiting arms. She fell asleep there right after they started the engine again.

"Prue you ok?" Paige whispered to her sister on the front seat.

"I…No. I mean I've never seen Phoebe so distraught. It hurts so much." A tear escaped her.

Paige laid her warm hand on Prue's knee.

"We'll get through this honey. We'll do it together. Everything will be fine." She said gently but with determination. "How are you Pipe?" She glanced at her other sister in the rear-view mirror. "Fine. Thanks Paige." She whispered as not to wake Phoebe on her lap.

The car pulled up on the driveway of the manor. The sisters got out and walked up the steps, Piper carrying a still sleeping Phoebe.

"I'll put her to bed." She said quietly to her sisters and went upstairs.

Prue and Paige sat on the couch with Prue's head on her big sis' shoulder. Paige absent-mindedly ran her hand through her soft dark hair.

"This is so unfair. Why Phoebe? Why her? She's the best girl I've ever seen in my life. Why?" She was getting desperate.

"Shh Prue. Don't get upset. You remember how Grams always says everything happens for a reason? So there must be some kind of reason behind this, too. Although I won't like it I'm sure." Paige consoled her sister.

Piper went into Phoebe's room and settled her little sister on the bed. As she did this, she saw brown orbs looking up at her.

"Hey sweetie. I'm sorry, did I wake you? Go back to sleep love." She whispered gently smiling at Phoebe. Phoebe didn't say anything she just continued to stare at her sister.

"What is it hun? What are you looking at me like that, hmm?"She asked but received no answer, no verbal answer. She just felt the small arms wrapping around her waist as Phoebe pushed her face onto her stomach.

"Oh baby." She sighed and just stroked the top of Phoebe's head. As Phoebe looked up again Piper cupped her face into her hands.

"You know how much I love you, right?" She kissed Phoebe on the forehead. "Now sleep my little one. Good night." With that she wanted to go out the room but was stopped by the little hand grabbing her pants. She turned around to see Phoebe looking up at her with the most pitiful look that would have melted the coldest hearts.

"Stay." Was all she said. Piper's heart crumbled at this.

"Of course I will honey. I'll just get changed, okay?" She said with care.

"No stay please stay. I don't wanna be alone." Tears formed in her eyes again.

"Ok ok. I'm not gonna leave you. But you know I still have to get changed and actually you have to brush your teeth, so why don't I just take you with me to the bathroom and we'll go to bed together? Will you do that?" She received a small nod. She picked Phoebe up in her arms again and made her way to the bathroom. Later that night when Prue and Paige checked up on their sisters they saw both fast asleep under Phoebe's covers, Piper's arm protectively placed over the youngest. "Poor Piper, she's gonna get kicked." Prue whispered to Paige with a giggle and Paige giggled along. They each gave a kiss to the younger ones and made their way to their own rooms.

Paige woke up to the beeping of the alarm clock. 'I just hate school.' She thought to herself. She remembered the last day's happenings again. Sighing, she got up and made her way to Prue's room.

"Prue, wake up hun. It's time." She shook her sister lightly.

"Paige? Should we really go to school?" Prue was already fully awake.

"Yes. I heard it's best to continue the daily life without any changes. And us staying home is a change. Just that Phoebe's school will be closed for a while so she can stay home. And no, you won't watch her, I'll let Piper do that. It's your last year Prue, it's better to miss as little classes as possible. No matter what happens it's best to just go on." She talked to her sister.

Accepting the explanation, Prue made her way downstairs to get herself some breakfast.

Paige entered Phoebe's room where to her surprise both her sisters still laid in bed.

"Morning Paige. I'm sorry I didn't make breakfast yet but I just wanted to be here when she wakes up, you know?" She surprised Paige again by showing her she too was actually awake.

"Yeah I know Pipe." She crouched down next to the bed and put a hand on Piper's head.

"I was gonna ask you could you watch Phoebe today? Her school will be closed for a while and she can't stay here alone. Prue's got her finals to prepare for and I have exams as well. So would you mind staying home today?" Paige asked her hand still running over Piper's head.

"Not at all Paige. I'm actually glad you let me do that. So I don't have to go to school for a while." She whispered smiling.

"Don't be all too happy. I explained the situation to your teachers and they're gonna give you extra work for each day. I'll have a classmate of yours come over and bring you the sheets." Paige said. Piper looked slightly disappointed but it didn't bother her much. She was a really smart student and had no problems with learning things either.

Paige and Prue were both long out of the manor as Phoebe woke up. She saw Piper sleeping next to her, though she didn't clearly remember why. She only remembered getting into some sort of trouble. Big trouble, serious trouble with guns involved. She remembered looking into the hole of the gun. She remembered the screams but it was all just a haze. She somehow felt the need to be close to someone so she snuggled herself further into the covers to Piper.

Piper realized Phoebe moving and turned around.

"Pheebs? Are you awake?" She asked.

"Morning." Came a very quiet answer.

"Morning sweetheart. Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Phoebe's answers were monotone but Piper didn't care. 'At least she's speaking. It could also be worse like if she was so withdrawn that she wouldn't talk at all.' She thought to herself.

"You know what? You don't have to go to school for a few weeks now. Cool isn't it?" She said to lighten up the mood.

"School…" She muttered. There was something. Something big she just couldn't clearly remember. Her head started to ache as she thought about it. She knitted her eyebrows and put a hand on her forehead.

"Phoebe? Are you okay baby? Does your head hurt?" She said and indeed she received a nod from her little sister though her eyes remained shut. "Okay stop thinking Phoebe. It's okay if you don't remember everything. Just take it real slow, hun." She told Phoebe. She knew what was going on because the doctor had given them some information about PTSD symptoms. And headache was one of them. "Is it bad? Do you want me to get some tylenol?" She asked concerned. Phoebe shook her head no as she slowly relaxed a bit.

"Okay. So are you hungry? Want me to make you some pancakes? Come on, then." Piper pulled Phoebe by her hand and led her downstairs into the kitchen.

It was already afternoon and nothing special happened. Piper noticed that Phoebe was really quiet, she didn't talk much but also realized how clingy she was. Any time she would leave the room to get something or to use the bathroom Phoebe would tug on her clothes and ask where she was going. Piper wasn't annoyed by this at all. She even thought it was cute because she hadn't seen her little sister this clingy since she was like four.

"Pheebs do you wanna go for a walk with me?" Piper asked. She had been reading a book while Phoebe was watching some cartoons and now she needed some fresh air. Phoebe nodded and went over to her big sister.

As they stepped out of the house, a strange feeling overcame Phoebe. She felt kind of threatened by her surroundings, she felt herself getting slightly scared. Her grip tightened on Piper's hand.

"What is it, hun?" Piper looked down to her baby sister and saw the look on her face. She crouched down in front of Phoebe, took both her hands and looked up to her.

"Phoebe what is it? Are you alright?... Are you scared?" She asked her with concern on her face and in her voice.

"I… Piper what if something happens to us?" Phoebe said in a quiet voice seeking help in her big sister's beautiful eyes.

"Oh honey, nothing will happen to us." Piper pulled Phoebe close to her, "I won't let ANYTHING happen to you, I love you too much for that, squirt. Look, we're only going for a little walk, like down the street and back again, okay? Phoebe I'll protect you whatever it costs. You hold on tight to me so nothing's gonna happen. Okay?" Piper coaxed.

"Okay." Phoebe quietly replied. Piper then gave her a kiss on her cheek and the two started walking.

The walk was done without any further problems and both sisters were sitting in the kitchen drinking some tea Piper had made. They then heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh hi Michael." Piper said as she opened the door. She felt Phoebe close to her though she was hiding behind her back. It was weird for Piper since Phoebe had always been one of the outgoing Halliwell.

"Hey Piper. I heard what happened. I'm so sorry." He said in a sad tone.

"Thanks." Piper smiled at him sadly.

"I hate to tell you this but I'm here to give you these." He handed her a pile of papers.

"Oh man. So many? This looks like the work for a whole week of school. Am I gonna get this every day now until I'm back?" She asked sighing.

"Well no. I think this is supposed to be for a couple of days. But you should start today cause you'll probably be sitting on them more than a few hours." He said sympathetically. Then he noticed the little figure showing her head from behind his friend's back.

"Hi Phoebe. How are you?" He gave her a gentle smile. But Phoebe just hid further behind Piper. Piper turned her head to her little sister.

"Pheebs it's just Michael. Come on honey you played with him a few times." But Phoebe didn't budge.

"Don't mind it Michael. It's not you. She's still scared you know?" Piper whispered to her friend while running a hand over Phoebe's head who was still behind her.

"That's okay I understand it." He smiled. "Hey we're all with you so if you need to talk or something, feel free to call, okay?"

"Thanks. I'll see you then." Piper smiled back at him as he went down the manor steps.

"Jeez how am I supposed to do this all?" Piper said in a desperate voice as she slumped down on a chair by the kitchen table, her homework in front of her.

"Pheebs I gotta work for a while. Will you watch some TV or something?" Piper asked her sister who was standing next to her. But Phoebe just climbed on her lap and rested her head on her big sister's shoulder.

"Can I stay here?" She asked somehow shyly. Piper thought about it for a second but decided to let her be. It's not like she couldn't work with someone on her lap.

"Okay hun. But you have to be quiet for a while then, alright?" She felt Phoebe nod and started to read the texts on the worksheets.

An hour passed and the girls still sat in the kitchen, Piper had her chin on top of Phoebe's head reading some texts about the cold war while Phoebe was quietly playing with a button on Piper's blouse, her head resting on Piper's chest and trapped between her two arms which were holding the worksheet. Each just enjoying the presence of the other one. Everything was fine until they heard Prue coming home.

Prue had had a really bad day. She couldn't really concentrate due to the happenings and couldn't listen to what the teachers were saying, her temper was really short which caused her to get into a huge argument with a girl she didn't like anyway and now she was just pissed and glad to be home. All she wanted to do was cuddle with her sisters and forget the annoying day. As she was about to enter the house, her mind was again filled with that bitch and caused her to slam the door shut really loudly.

Phoebe was sitting with Piper when she heard a really loud bang. Suddenly her mind was filled with memories. A memory of a loud bang, a memory of her favorite teacher falling to the ground, a memory of black glistening material pointing at her. The only thing she wanted to do was run away and hide as she tried to jump off of Piper's lap.

"NOOOO DON'T HURT ME!" With that she freed herself from Piper's grasp but as she wanted to run, she tripped over the leg of the table and fell down. On top of that, she hit her lip on another chair in the process so that blood was trickling down her chin.

It all happened so fast Piper didn't realize first what was going on. The only thing she heard was the front door slam shut rather loudly and a screaming Phoebe suddenly pushed her arm away and jumped off of her. It was so suddenly she couldn't even catch her as she tripped and fell to the ground.

Phoebe was now screaming her lungs out as to her panicked state a sharp pain to her lips was added. She laid there on the floor covering her head and ears with her arms, tears streaming down her cheek and her lower lip bleeding freely.

Piper woke up from the sudden little shock when she saw and heard her baby sister crying, no, rather screaming on the ground, her head covered by the small arms. In less than a split second she was kneeling beside Phoebe and grabbing her around the waist, she pulled her up into her lap. It was then she noticed blood drops on the wooden kitchen floor and as she looked at Phoebe, she saw the same blood gushing from her lip. She quickly put a hand under her screaming sister's mouth to prevent the red liquid from streaming down even more.

Prue was scared herself as she heard the loud slamming of the front door. She didn't mean to do it this loudly. But next thing she heard put her instantly into panic mode. She heard Phoebe scream out and then a loud thud, then Phoebe again, this time bawling like a baby. She ran into the kitchen as fast as she could and was shocked to see all the blood on Phoebe's face and Piper's hands who had the screaming child tightly in her arms.

"You're alright, you're alright baby! Ssshhh, I got you now, you're alright!" Piper was desperately trying to calm her little sister when she heard another voice.

"What the hell happened here!" Prue met eyes with Piper.

"Why did you have to slam the door like that Prue? You scared her to death! Don't stand there, get me a towel or a napkin!" Piper shouted at her big sister but that made Phoebe cry even louder.

"Oh honey I'm sorry, shh shh shh. You're okaay, calm down baby, calm down." She kept talking to Phoebe rubbing her back.

Prue quickly went to the sink and grabbed a kitchen towel. Rushing over to Piper she handed it to her. Piper pressed the towel on her sister's lower lip and the colour changed from light blue to deep red.

Prue felt so guilty she caused this. She knelt down next to her sisters.

"Piper can you get a first aid kit from upstairs? I got her now." She said as she pulled Phoebe up into her arms and carried her to the living room. She never let go of the towel she kept applying pressure on the cut. She paced through the room while bouncing the kid in her arms.

"Phoebe shhh, it's okay, you'll be okay. I know it hurts but Piper and I will make it better now. Stop crying sweetie, big sis has you now. I'm sorry I slammed the door like that honey. I never meant to scare you like this. I'm so sorry." She kept talking to her sister as she felt her slowly calming down, her screams now turning to little sobs and finally into sniffles.

When Piper came into the living room, Prue sat down on the couch with Phoebe on her lap. Piper put out a small bottle of disinfectant and poured a little bit of the liquid on a cotton wool pad.

"Okay love, this is gonna hurt a little now." She said and touched the cut with the pad. Phoebe felt the sting on her lower lip and flinched. As she and pulled back, Prue squeezed her a bit tighter. "Don't move Pheebs, you're done in a little bit." Piper continued to apply the disinfectant on her kid sister's lip while Prue held her head in place. As she was finished, Phoebe let out a small sob.

"Aw baby. That hurt, didn't it? You did so good honey. I'm proud of you." Prue said as she gave Phoebe a kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah and this brave girl just earned herself some of my nice chocolate chip cookies, what do you think, Prue?" Piper smiled at both of her sisters, her anger at Prue for scaring her baby sis gone for now.

"That's such a good idea Pipe. I would love to make them myself to apologize to you baby but we don't want Paige to find all of us in hospital being pumped our stomachs out, do we?" Prue said playfully ruffling Phoebe's hair. She received a small laugh from Phoebe who was still sniffing a bit. The way of treating Phoebe when she was hurt hadn't really changed much since she was a toddler. She still reminded her sisters of one because she looked so small and vulnerable crying and clinging to one of them. She would hurt herself, cry and cling to either Paige, Prue or Piper as they kissed away her pain. After that there was always Piper's freshly-baked cookies waiting for her. 'This will probably never change.' Prue thought.

Prue and Phoebe remained in the same position on the couch while Piper was in the kitchen making the cookies.

"What did you do to your lip anyway, hun?" Prue asked since she hadn't had the chance to hear what exactly had happened yet.

"I wanted to run away but I fell and hit it on a chair in the kitchen." Phoebe replied in a baby voice, her head on Prue's shoulder.

"Aww, I'm so sorry babe. And how dare that stupid chair hurt my little girl like that!" She faked anger and earned a laugh from her sister again. Prue was glad Phoebe was still able to laugh like this in spite of what had happened.

"Do you want to tell me what made you try and run away, why you got so scared? Did the loud noise I made remind you of something?" Prue asked carefully. Phoebe thought about it but something in her refused to remember those images again.

"Nooooo." She buried her face into the crook of Prue's neck.

"Okay, okay. It's okay baby, you don't have to tell me." Prue said quickly as she realized she was upsetting Phoebe again and patted her back to calm her.

It was then they heard Paige come home. Luckily without slamming the door.

"Guys I'm home!" She shouted as she put her bag and her jacket on the floor.

"Mmmm what's the nice smell?" She asked as she walked into the living room and sat next to Prue and Phoebe.

"Hi Paige. Piper's making cookies. How was your day?" Prue asked.

"Not bad. Yours?" She asked back.

"Oh don't ask! I just wanna forget it." Prue replied though laughing.

"That bad, hey? And yours my little one?" She asked as she looked down to Phoebe putting a hand on top of her head. That was when she noticed the nasty cut on the girl's lip and the dried bloodstains on hers and Prue's shirt. "What the..what happened?" She asked confused.

"Oh, she hit her lip on a chair." Prue answered but mouthed an 'I'll talk to you later' to the oldest. Paige accepted the answer and for now she just cuddled the youngest close to her.

"Awww, that must've hurt so much, didn't it? Are you okay now?" She smiled down at her kid sister.

"Yeah. Prue and Piper made it better." Phoebe answered sweetly.

"I bet they did, squirt. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to do that." Paige said.

"Ss okay. You're here now." With that, Phoebe left Prue's lap and climbed onto Paige's. Paige just laughed and cuddled the kid close. Her sister could be so cute sometimes.

"Oh hey Paige. I didn't hear you come back." Piper entered the room with a tray of fresh cookies and three glasses of milk.

"Hi Pipe. I just stepped in here. Do I get those lovely cookies of yours, too?" She smiled at her second little sister.

"Noo these are just for Prue, me and Pheebs. Of course you do Paige. Wait here I'll get you some milk, too." She said laughing.

"Oh Piper you're the best." Paige called after her receiving an 'I know' from the kitchen.

There were four empty plates with crumbs of chocolate chip cookies on it and four empty glasses of milk on the table in the living room. Paige and Prue were sitting on the couch with Paige's head on Prue's shoulder and Piper sat in the big chair across from them with Phoebe squeezed between her and the arm of the chair, the kid's head leaning against her upper arm.

"Oh man I can't remember when I ate so much the last time." Prue said rubbing her stomach.

"Uh huh, same with me. Who knew that my cookies were already soo good." Piper replied laughing.

"They've always been honey. Why don't you start selling them?" Paige said also laughing.

"Noo Pipe's cookies are just for us." Phoebe replied as she let out a yawn.

"Uh oh. Someone's tired." Piper said laughing as she saw Phoebe's half closed eyes.

Paige got up from her favorite place and made her way to the big chair.

"Come on honey, I'll put you to bed. Say good night to your sisters." She said lifting Phoebe to her arms whose head found the shoulder of the eldest in an instant.

"Night Prue. Night Pipe."

"Night Pheebs. Sleep well." They replied.

"I'll be back later." Paige mouthed to them.

Prue and Piper stayed in the living room.

"Piper I'm so sorry I slammed the door like that. Are you still mad?" Prue asked.

"No Prue, not anymore. Did you apologize to Phoebe though?"

"Course I did. I wonder why she reacted like that." Prue said with a sigh.

"I don't know either. I mean the doctor said she would be hypersensitive. But maybe the noise just triggered a memory or something. The..the shot maybe."

"I thought so, too. So I kinda tried to ask her but she got scared and refused to tell me." Prue said a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Prue you know we have to be easy on her and be patient with her, right? You can't expect her to open up on the second day." Piper replied.

"I know Pipe, I know. I just wish I could take away her pain." She looked down sadly.

"And we can, Prue, we can. By being there for her, loving her, letting her know just how much we care for her. We're gonna get through this. I promise." Piper replied with determination.

"Oh honey. How did you get so smart, huh?" Prue smiled. It was hard to believe this girl was really younger than her, really only 15 years old. She was so mature, so wise, so strong. Maybe in reality it was her, the rock of the family. The one to lean on.

"I learned from the best." Piper grinned back.

Meanwhile Paige was carrying her baby sis to her room after having made her change and brush her teeth. Settling her in her bed, she crouched down next to it and ran her hand through Phoebe's slightly curly brown hair.

"Do you want me to stay here till you fall asleep?" Paige asked softly although knowing the answer. As she expected it, Phoebe nodded.

"Can you sing?" Phoebe asked quietly. Paige was a little stunned at first. Her little sister didn't ask this in a long time.

"You want me to sing? Alright, as you wish my sweet little princess." She said as she laid down next to Phoebe on the blanket. She began to sing in her slightly husky voice she always had when she sang. She soon had Phoebe sound asleep. She laid there a little longer running her hand over the girl's head before she gave her a kiss on her forehead, said her 'I love you' and left the room.

Downstairs Paige sat down next to her sisters again.

"So what really happened today?" She asked. Piper started to talk.

"Well I was doing my homework. Phoebe sat on my lap then. She's been really clingy the whole time, but that's fine. Anyway, we were sitting in the kitchen and Prue came home." From this point, Prue wanted to continue herself.

"Yes and I …. I slammed the door really loudly cause I was so mad at that girl in school. I didn't mean to, I swear." She said as she saw the 'what!' on Paige's face. "But when I realized it it was too late. Next thing was that I heard Phoebe crying, no actually, bawling. Like on top of her lungs. So I went into the kitchen and there she was, crying and bleeding like hell from her lip. Gosh I was so scared then. Those cuts look so much worse than they actually are."

"Prue you know better than to slam the door in our house, especially since you know Phoebe's overly sensitive for a while now." Paige said sternly.

"I know, and I'm really sorry. I'll never do that again I promise." She said looking down.

"It's okay now. Let's leave it by that." Paige replied. But Piper continued.

"Paige you should have seen her reaction. She like jumped off of me screaming something like 'don't hurt me' or something of that sort and when she was lying on the floor she was covering her head with her arms. She looked soo miserable! The blood was dropping to the floor, which by the way I still haven't cleaned yet, and was like streaming down her chin. Prue's right these cuts do look soo bad!" Piper was in rambling mode.

"It's okay now Piper. Phoebe's fine. But I do worry about what she said. Do you think it was a memory coming back?" Paige asked.

"We both think that. I actually asked her. It's most likely the shot she remembered but I didn't get any answer from her really." Prue said.

"Okay. Guess we really have to consider counselling. I mean she has to let it out somehow, otherwise she'll never get over it. I'll check on some therapists the Doctor recommended tomorrow." Paige exclaimed.

A month went by. Phoebe now had a therapist, a really good one. She was still scared easily, especially at some nights she would crawl under the covers of either one of her sister's bed but she did make progresses. She began to talk more and felt better when she left the house than she did in the beginning. But her memories didn't really come back. Not the details anyway. The doctor said it would depend on the person, some would remember faster, others more slowly. He said Phoebe would remember when her mind was ready.

It was apparently ready this night. Everything had been normal today. A normal, nice Sunday. She went to the park with her sisters, ate lunch with them, played with Andy and his little brother as he came over and after dinner and a movie she went to bed.

Now she was tossing and turning in her sleep, her back and forehead clammy with perspiration. The images all came back. This time not in pieces, not in a haze. They were clear as they had never been before. Nicole and her other friends on the verge of crying, she herself letting go and tears falling down her cheeks, the hoarse voice of the young man, filled with so much anger, hatred and desperation. She remembered the conversation, it was about him loving Mrs Coleman and her turning him down. But then she also remembered the gun first pointing at her, then at her teacher. Then she heard the loud shot, the beeping in her ears after it was fired. She saw the body of Mrs Coleman going down, her dead eyes meeting her own. The blood, the huge huge amount of blood, gushing out from the blackish-red hole in her teacher's head. The smell of it. The disgusting, horrible smell of fresh blood which actually made some of her friends puke. Then the next shot, a second body making it's way to the cold floor. The bullet fired by the person who started it and ended it. His head with the same hole, just this time on the temple, not on the forehead. More of the smell. Her pants getting wet. Lots of men storming into the classroom where she used to have math, history, English and all the other things that made her life difficult. But two things she would never forget. Two things, two strongest memories, two things branded into her mind, leaving a scar for the rest of her life. The dead, empty, ugly eyes of the once so sunny, nice, and beautiful person staring at her. The smell and sight of the thick, dark red liquid, forever alive in her nose, making small, harmless cuts forever a reminder of what had happened, a reminder of how it would smell if there the cut was bigger.

Her eyes shot open as she sat upright, her breaths ragged, perspiration now running down her forehead. She screamed. She screamed because she was horrified, because she felt herself being touched by sin itself, her childish innocence running from her, like water slipping through her fingers.

All sisters woke up from their slumber. Their hearts nearly stopped at the blood curdling scream of the youngest. They had never, ever in their lives heard something as horrifying, as loud and as sorrowful as the scream of their baby. Each sister jumped out of bed and ran to the room of the youngest, not caring a bit that they had bumped into each other in the hallway.

Paige was the first to open Phoebe's door. She didn't even switch the light on as she ran to her sister's bed, nearly tripping over the clothes on the floor.

Prue was the second to enter. Her body acted on itself as her hand found the switch.

Piper was the last and again bumped into Prue in the doorway.

Phoebe screamed and screamed on top of her lungs. She was panicked and terrified as she'd never been before. She then felt two really strong arms around her, but they were far, really far away from calming her.

Paige pulled Phoebe into her arms. She didn't see anything first but as Prue switched on the lights, she found what she was reaching for and just pulled her sister close. She didn't even see the pale features, the frightened eyes and the wet forehead, but she felt it. She felt Phoebe's ragged breaths her small body shaking so bad she couldn't tell whether it was really her shaking or fighting against the tight grip she had on her. She felt the wetness on her cheeks, not from her tears but from Phoebe's clammy hair and forehead. She felt the same wetness on Phoebe's back. Her pajamas were drenched. All she knew was she had to calm her. Somehow, anyhow.

"Piper! Prue! Someone! Just get the tranquillizers! Hurry!" She shouted to her sisters who were both just standing there, wanting to hold their more than just distraught baby but being held back by the sight of Paige already claiming that spot and a violently fighting Phoebe.

Piper was the first to react as she stormed down the hallway to the bathroom. Grabbing both the pills and the syringe, she ran back to Phoebe's room.

"Come on Phoebe calm down! I'm here now! Look at me, damit look at me!" Paige didn't know what to do. Phoebe was fighting against her arms, her screams not stopping once.

Phoebe fought with all her might against whatever was touching her. But then she smelled it again. The blood. Though she was one of the kids that didn't puke there, this time it was different. This time she felt the bile rushing up her throat.

Paige and Prue saw Phoebe momentarily stopping her struggle as she began to gag. Prue reacted quickly and grabbed the wastebasket from a corner in the room but she was still too late. Phoebe was already throwing up all over her front and onto Paige's as she was holding her. Paige didn't care about it at all and drew Phoebe even closer, rubbing her back.

"Okay honey, let it out. Just let it all out of your stomach. It'll make you feel better." She told her. It was then Piper came running back into the room.

"Oh God. Paige.." She was cut off instantly.

"No leave her Piper. It's okay." She turned to Phoebe again, "Go on honey, just get it all up."

Phoebe had never felt so miserable. She didn't care where she was, she just wanted to get rid of the contents of her stomach. But she didn't count on her body to do this when she drew in a breath and choked.

Paige watched Phoebe being violently sick in her arms. She was oblivious to the warm wet feeling on her front, her arms and her hand that was not rubbing Phoebe's back. All she wanted was her little sister to feel better. But then she saw, heard and felt Phoebe starting to cough violently. The rubbing instantly changed into patting but it didn't seem to help. A new wave of panic hit Paige as she saw her get sick and tried to suck in the air at the same time, causing her to cough more.

"Shit! I'll call 911!" Prue knew instantly her sister was choking on her own vomit as she shouted to Paige in a totally panicked voice.

"No. No it's okay, it's over now. Look." Paige said after she felt Phoebe's cough subside and her body relax a bit more. "She just choked once. But now it's okay…. She's..she's fine again." She said, feeling herself calm down again as Phoebe stopped and was now just breathing fast. But she was still crying hysterically. "Piper where are the tranquillizers!" Prue was still panicked.

"There! Quick Prue, do something!" Piper was equally upset. Prue grabbed the bottle with the pills and climbed onto the other side of Phoebe's bed.

Phoebe didn't know how to calm down. The fear and shock of the memories coming back in her nightmare was making her heart beat a million miles per hour. So she just continued to cry, not knowing how to express herself differently to her sisters.

Paige was grateful as she saw Prue climbing on the bed with the bottle of pills.

"Okay Phoebe sshhhh. Stop crying, it's alright. Look don't try and make yourself sick any more than this. See you're stomach's already empty. Don't do this Phoebe, just calm down." Paige kept rubbing her back, "We're here now. We're protecting you so nothing can hurt you anymore. Stop crying honey. Stop." She turned to Prue for a second as she handed her the pills.

"Look Pheebs. These will make you feel better. Do you think you can swallow them?" Paige asked gently but received no real answer. So she decided to just try it. She took a few pills and the glass of water Piper had prepared. She put the hand with the pills in front of Phoebe's mouth as she then pushed them in carefully, making sure her sister wouldn't choke on them. Then she pressed the glass against Phoebe's lips as she began to drain it.

Phoebe was so grateful for the water she received now. It soothed her aching throat and washed away the disgusting taste in her mouth. But as soon as the glass was empty, she felt everything coming back up again as she once again got sick on Paige and herself.

"Damn this was a bad idea. Okay you're alright love, it'll be alright." Paige said once again running her hand up and down Phoebe's back. "Piper did you bring the other stuff?" Paige asked. Piper knew what she meant and handed her the liquid and the syringe. "Thanks." Phoebe somehow realized this and hid her arms.

"Honey this is gonna sting once and then it'll be fine, okay? It'll help you calm down baby. Come on, just trust me. Show me your arm." Paige coaxed to get Phoebe's arm free.

"Pheebs sweetie, we'll make you feel better, really. I promise. Trust us honey." Prue added gently.

"Yeah Pheebs. You're such a brave girl, you can do this, too." Piper said now also sitting next to Paige. And slowly, Phoebe gave in and reached her arm out. She flinched as she felt the needle brake her skin.

Paige was relieved when Phoebe stretched her one arm out. She quickly pushed the needle into her vein and let the sedative enter Phoebe's system. "Good girl…… I knew you could do it…… You're so brave honey... Now, that's my girl…." Paige kept talking to her as the needle was in her sister's arm and as se pulled it out again. She then applied a tiny cotton wool pad on the now lightly bleeding spot. After a few minutes, Phoebe was sound asleep again in Paige's warm arms.

"That was probably the most exhausting night I've ever had." Prue said quietly.

"Mine too." Paige replied.

"And mine." Piper joined in.

"I'll never forget her scream." Paige said.

"Yeah. I never thought people could actually get so worked up." Prue answered.

"Guys we have to get her to talk about it, you know that, right?" Piper said.

"Yeah. But I think it's better to do that with a professional supervising it." Paige replied. All girls let out a long sigh.

"Paige?" Prue called leaning her head on her older sister's shoulder while Piper was on the other one.

"Yeah?" Paige replied.

"You smell awful." Prue said with a laugh.

"Gee thanks Prue. I know that." Paige too laughed.

"And look at your front. I don't wanna be your top right now." Piper added with a grin.

"Not you too Piper. You guys tell that to Phoebe. It was all her." She laughed back again.

"Yeah thanks to her we get to clean this whole bed up. And actually we have to get that kid in a bath, too." Piper said though without even a hint of reproach but plain love in her soft voice.

"We can do that first thing in the morning Pipe. Let her sleep for now. We can just change her PJs and she can sleep in my bed while we clean this place up." Prue said as she ran her palm over Phoebe's head.

"I agree to that." Paige said getting up and carrying Phoebe to the bathroom. There she changed herself and Phoebe into a fresh pair of PJs and cleaned her face with a warm washcloth. She then carried her to Prue's bed and tucked her in.

Meanwhile Prue and Piper were stripping the sheets off the bed and the blankets and carried them to the bathroom.

"I wonder what Phoebe saw. This is so unfair, she's so little yet." Piper said.

"Yeah. I think so too. No one deserves to be forced to see whatever scene she's witnessed." Prue replied.

"Do you think she'll be okay again sometime?" Piper asked her big sis.

"I'm sure she will. We'll help her." Prue answered.

The next few moths were hard for all Halliwells. Grams was home now and gave them all the help she could. She wasn't glad the girls hadn't told her right away what had happened but she eventually understood their reaction. Phoebe was now, with the help of her therapist, able to talk openly to her sisters about what happened. She would still get upset when she did though but felt herself getting more and more control over it. And with the love of her family she was sure she would get over it completely.

It was another six month after that when Paige disappeared and her memories were erased again…..

…..18 year-old Phoebe opened her eyes and immediately sat down on a nearby chair in the kitchen, the newspaper still in her hand. This was like the longest vision she had ever had. It made her dizzy. Although it felt so long, she realized that after Prue and Paige left the house, only fifteen minutes had passed. It was true. She, Phoebe Halliwell, was involved in a school shooting. For the next two hours she just sat there and let everything sink in. She remembered the whole incident again but felt no panic as she had learned how to cope with it.

The sisters were all sitting in the living room. Phoebe had told them about her memory and made everyone remember. They were all shocked at first but quickly calmed when they realized they too had learned how to handle everything a long time ago.

"You threw up on me." Paige said playfully pulling at both of Phoebe's cheeks who was lying on the couch with her head in her oldest sister's lap.

"I'm sowwwy. Ow ow ow le goo!" Phoebe whined though with a hidden laugh.

"What? I can't understand what you're saying Pheebs." Paige laughed as she continued to play with the Phoebe's soft cheeks.

"Oh Paige, leave her! It was you who made her do it. You instructed her to. Literally." Prue managed through the laughing fit she got as she saw Phoebe's funny face.

"You shoud..should look at your face, Pheebs..it's hilarious!" Piper said between laughs.

"Guyf, jus hewp me hewe!" With that, Phoebe triggered a tickling war and a pillow fight that continued for hours until they all fell asleep. They had stepped more than just a few steps closer to each other again.

"I told you they would get through it."

"And you were right, my darling. But I still don't agree that they told me so late about it."

"Oh Mother. I thought you were finished with that."

"When they call us I will make myself clear of what I think about updating their grandmother." Patty and Penny then laughed.

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