THREE

"Leo," said Piper, "I just need you to watch Wyatt for a couple of hours while I go to the club. I haven't been there in several days and I need to get some work done. It won't take long and I'll be home as soon as I'm done."

"Piper," said Leo, "you know I love to baby sit with Wyatt. But I'm an Elder now. I do have other responsibilities just as you do. Some of those responsibilities can't be put off. This is one of those times."

"Why not have Chris watch Wyatt?" suggested Phoebe, coming into the kitchen. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to."

"I suppose," said Piper. "Only I'm not real comfortable with leaving Wyatt alone with Chris right now. He seems to think everyone and everything is after Wyatt. I'm afraid he might overreact without reason."

"Well, apparently a demon is after Wyatt," said Leo. "I think he's just be cautious. If I recall you've gone into super protective mode a couple of times when Wyatt was in danger."

"Yes," said Piper, "but those were when Wyatt was actually in danger. Not some imagined threat that may or may not appear. Remember the Manticore baby? He wanted us to vanquish it when it hadn't done anything."

"I can watch Wyatt," said Paige, coming into the kitchen. "I don't have a job today so I have the whole day free. And if there is any danger I can orb Wyatt away. Leo can attend to his responsibilities, Piper can take care of the club, and I get to spend some quality time with my nephew. Everyone wins."

"That would be great," said Piper. "I've been taking care of the books at home and business has been down lately. I'm hoping I can figure out what the problem is and maybe get business back up."

"Speaking of Chris," said Phoebe, "where is he? He hasn't been around lately."

"He's up there," said Leo. "He's trying to help the other Elders try to figure out exactly which demon is after Wyatt. If we can do that we might be able to circumvent whatever happens to him. So far what he's been able to tell them hasn't been a whole lot of help."

"I'm sure he's helping as much as he can," said Paige. "He did come all the way back from the future to protect Wyatt."

"I guess so," said Piper rubbing her eyes.

"Are you okay, honey?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired is all," said Piper. "I've been having a little trouble sleeping is all. I'm sure I'll be okay in a few days."

"Maybe you should take some time off," suggested Leo.

"That's not going to happen," said Piper. "There's too much to do right now. Maybe once we figure out what's after Wyatt but right now I'm needed to protect my son."

"Piper," began Leo.

"Give it up, brother-in-law," said Phoebe. "You know how stubborn she can be when she makes up her mind. Well, I need to get going. I have a stack of letters to answer, as usual, and they aren't getting answered with me standing here."

"Take care, sweetie," said Piper. "We'll see you when you get home."

"I need to get going, too," said Leo. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need anything, just call. I'm only an orb away."

"Thanks, Leo," said Piper.

Secretly, Piper was glad Paige would be watching Wyatt instead of Leo. He still didn't know about Chris. And she wasn't sure how to tell him. Or if she should tell him. She knew she'd have to say something soon. Her pregnancy would become noticeable within a few weeks or months. And she knew it would be best if Leo heard about it from her. But to tell him that Chris was their unborn child, she just wasn't sure about that part.

Phoebe was just about to start the car when Leo suddenly orbed into the passenger seat.

"I wanted to talk with you," said Leo. "It's about Piper."

"Because she's so stressed," said Phoebe.

"Yes," said Leo.

"Well, I have to get to work right now," said Phoebe. "What say we meet for a light dinner later. There's a nice little restaurant on Palmer Street. Piper won't be suspicious if we're late getting home. I can say I got tied up at work and you can say you were on Elder business."

"Okay," said Leo. "Say about four-thirty?"

"That should be good," said Phoebe. "Just try not to worry too much. Things have been quiet lately so she should be okay for a while."

"I'll try," said Leo.

He orbed out of the car and Phoebe drove to the paper. She knew how he felt. She was worried about her sister and she knew Paige was, too. With the added information that Chris was actually her son, she knew how much stress Piper must be under.

Tru Davies came awake with a start. She looked around her room and saw the sunlight streaming in through the window. Her room was facing east which meant it was early in the morning.

For a moment things were hazy. They always were when the day rewound. Suddenly the recent events came flooding back into her mind. The young man who had been tragically shot by a robbery gone wrong. The young woman in shock over watching him being killed. She reached over and picked up the phone next to her bed.

"Tru, how goes the conference?" asked Davis after he had answered the phone.

"Fine," said Tru. "I got all the handouts for you just like you asked. Plus, I seem to have an extra day here."

"It happened again?" questioned Davis.

"Yeah," said Tru. "Some guy got shot during a botched robbery attempt. I'm not sure exactly what to do. I know next to nothing about who he was or who the woman was that was with him."

"You have no names at all?" asked Davis,

"Just first names," said Tru. "I overheard them talking. I think the guy is married to the woman's sister but that's about all I have."

"Try going back to the restaurant," suggested Davis. "Maybe one or both of them are regular customers. If they are the waitress or someone else might know who they are or how to contact them."

"Okay," said Tru. "I think the robber was hopped up on drugs. He seemed to go off on the guy for no reason. And he ran out without getting the money after he shot the guy."

"Probably afraid the police were on their way," said Davis. "Anything else I can do?"

"Not sure yet," said Tru. "If I think of anything I'll give you a call."

"Okay," said Davis. "Good luck on this one."

"Thanks," said Tru.

Tru hung up the phone and sat thinking about the incident. There really wasn't much for her to go on. Davis was right. The best place to start was at the restaurant. Without much to go on, she hoped she'd get a lucky break. She looked at her watch. It was 8:43. If she remembered right, the shooting had happened just after four-thirty that afternoon. Which meant she had just over eight hours to find how who the victim was and try to prevent his death with nearly nothing to go on.