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Chapter Ten

Sunday 6:01 PM

She breathed. In. Out. In. Out. In...blood going out. NO! No, she had to focus. She had to keep things fine. Sh-sh-ssh-she had to keep everything going. It was fine. It was fine. It will be fine. It's okay. Everything will be okay. Calm down. Calm down. Can't blow something up. Can't blow something up. Must not blow something. Must not, under any means, blow something up! Can't cry, either. Can't cry. Can't cry. Can't cry....don't cry.

She blinked back tears of frustration and rage and pain and sorrow.

Ssh-sh-ssh-she was the eldest. She had to set an example. She h-ha-haad- had P-PPP-PP-Prue's place now. She was the eldest. She had to set an example. She can't fall apart. She had to help her family. She had to protect her family. She had a job to do. She—she—she... She was...eldest. She...set an example. Was...eldest. Set...an example. Was eldest. Was eldest. Was eldest. Set an example. Was eldest. Set example. Was eldest. Was eldest. Set example. Was eldest. Set example...can't fall apart...

Oh, God...

One son was evil, one's body and soul were gone and the only thing left lies inside a stranger who was laying on the floor of the cold floor of her attic, and the other w-ww-wa-was trying his best to n-nn-nnn-not go insane now, too. Ooooh...

Like mother, like son...

But...no. She was the eldest. She had to set an example. She had to take care of her family. She had to...she had to...

Fix immediate problem first. Fix...immediate...problem...first. She stared at her sisters, son, obviously the first trying to recover from what they just saw, and the man-boy she saw across the room, now in rags that looked like they were once curtains, face bloody and bruised yellow, obviously healing, hair mussed up witch mud and dirt lay caked in it.

She quickly crossed the room and felt for a pulse on his neck.

"Is he alive?" Phoebe's tentative voice asked through the air.

"Yeah, but barely," she whispered back. "Paige, can you orb to the kitchen and get a clean cloth and a bowl of water? I need to clean his cuts and this stab wound as soon as possible, before any signs of infection start," she said as she removed the rags covering the boy's figure and winced as she gazed at his left flank side to reveal a ripped open, obviously self- stitched wound.

"Sure," Paige said, sympathy as well as curiosity in her voice. "How did you...?"

"He grabbed his side at least seven times before he came up here to destroy the demon," she said coolly, her eyes never leaving the boy's body.

"I'll be right back," was all Piper heard before she heard the all too familiar jingle of orbs as she left for the kitchen.

"Phoebe?" she asked, looking up for the first time to see her sister furiously blink back the rest of the tears that wanted to fall, as she wiped the ones that did with her sleeves. "Can you look for healing potions, balms, draughts, whatever, in the Book? Anything that we could use on cuts, bruises, broken bones, burns, anything like that? I don't want to call Leo unless we absolutely have to. Besides, I, uh, I have to call Max and tell him to go ahead and open the club without me. I can't risk closing the club tonight. Sarah McLachlan is coming."

"Sure," was the only answer she received.

She stood up and walked over to her second son and called out to him.

"Chris? Chris? Hey," she said, as she stroked his arm. His eyes came back from wherever it was he was staring off to and settled on his mother.

"Yeah?" he croaked, eyes blinking back tears and hands clenching and unclenching, struggling between which emotion was stronger: rage or pain.

"Chris, I know this can't be easy for you, and after what you've just seen and what just...happened...between you and, uh, Brett, I kind of want to make sure you're alright before anything happens—"

"I'm fine," he said, his voice wavering slightly, cutting her off. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," she said, as she gestured to his, now, shaking body. "And, you don't look it, either." Piper's face softened and she took his face into both her palms and looked into his pained and confused eyes with her own. "Go. Get some breathing room. Calm down. Relax. I can't have you having an emotional breakdown right now. Between you and me, one of us might snap and accidentally break something or vanquish one of your aunts," she said with a smile, but was only half joking. "I'm going to need you to calm down and stay sane for me before anything else happens, okay?"

"Yeah...yeah," he agreed, head nodding, voice shaking, but his eyes always steady with hers. He smiled a pained smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, sweeie. Remember. I love you," she said, as she hugged him. "Now, go. I promise to call if I need you," she said, playfully shoving him a little, with a smile, which he returned with a slightly brighter, less pained one, before orbing out. "And come back sober!"

Her smile vanished when the reality of the situation showed itself again.

"Phoebe?" she asked, waiting until her sister looked up before she continued. "I need to go make that phone call," she said tiredly. "Can you and Paige take care of him until I get back?"

"Of course," Phoebe said, a look of understanding passing between her and her sister. "Take your time."

"Thanks," muttered Piper, as she stumbled down the hall, fighting bittersweet tears from falling down her cheeks.

No. She needed to stay strong. She needed to save her family. She needed to protect her family. She had to stay strong. They needed her to stay strong.

She just needed to get to her room. She just needed to be in the safety of her own room where no one could see her and then she could let the tears come.

She wanted...no...needed...and went to go get reacquainted with the toilet like she did when Prue died (oooh) and the rare times when she felt bad enough to get drunk, like that one time, when Paige was still new.

She needed the drink she'd been wising she had since the beginning of this week's supernatural interruption of their lives right now, too, seeing as how they were out of aspirin.

You'd think the Charmed Ones would know better...

She just needed to hold it together just a little while longer. She was almost to her room. A couple more steps and she could let the tears and pain she'd been pushing down since she sensed something was wrong finally come out. A couple more steps, and she could finally let herself feel.

Then...then she could cry her heart out. She could cry and cry and cry until she was too tired to. Then she'd get up, put her mask back on, perk up her bravado, and suck it up.

She could do this. She could fill Prue's shoes. She could support her family. She could get them out of this situation, just like all the other ones.

What she couldn't do was fail her sons...

I wanted to base this Piper's character of what the Witchstock episode and what everyone has been singling on for Piper (that she has to be the oldest sister now) and thought it would be a nice way to depict her. She's my favorite of the sisters because she's funny, witty, tempermental, loyal, and just as sarcastic as her son.

I hope you're enjoying it so far.

Thank you.