A/N: Sorry for the delay. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Lucy Knight: I'm so sorry about your friend. I can't even imagine how hard that was on you and everyone else who was close to him or her. But I'm glad that you're enjoying the story.

CharmedMillie: Thank you for the review, x2! You'll see why – read on!

Charmedchick4eva: Possibly. I haven't decided yet.

Sorry if you didn't get a shout-out thank you. I appreciate all the reviews! But with the end of school coming up, I've had little time to write and such, so I've gotten into the habit of just answering questions, or replying to reviews that had something very specific in them. I appreciate all the reviews I got, and I thank everyone!

Please enjoy and please review!

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Piper sat on the cold cushioned exam table as the doctor examined her arms and legs. Then she stood and the doctor – Dr. Anna Beth Carlson – examined the rest of her body, making sure Piper hadn't found something sharp and been using it to make fresh cuts.

Piper's cheeks flamed with embarrassment; The last person to see naked was Grams when Piper was five and she needed to be given baths. Now, standing there in her bra and underwear only, in front of a complete stranger, Piper felt more naked than ever before in her life. It was her first visit since arriving at the Institution.

"Okay, you can put your gown back on," Dr. Carlson said, smiling kindly, but speaking as if to a five year old. Piper noticed that many of the staff acted this way.

Piper put her hospital gown – a very pale, almost faded, blue gown that closed in the back so the patients had some form of dignity they could hold on to – back on.

"Everything checks," Dr. Carlson told her. "No new cuts, which is good and the scars on your arms just might fade, with some luck and maybe some plastic surgery, if you want. Other than that, you're in perfect health, as for your cutting. Next visit I'll do a full check-up."

Piper nodded. "Can I go now?" she mumbled.

Dr. Carlson nodded.

Piper left the room, only to be greeted by Guss, an old fart who hated his job. All he ever did was lead the patients to and from places. Right now, he was leading Piper to the sitting room where she'd remain until it was time to take her meds, then she'd go to lunch and after, she had an appointment with the psychiatrist.

The sitting room was pretty quiet today. A few girls sat by the TV, staring blankly at the screen. Somewhere, someone was fighting with a nurse. Shrieks echoed from another room. A group of three girls sat by the window, doing god knows what. Guss led Piper to an empty couch and deposited her. He nodded at a very plump woman with mousy brown hair – a nurse who guarded the sitting room – then left.

Julia sat on a couch across the room, but that didn't stop her from staring at Piper and giving her a manic smile that didn't quit reach her stoned eyes.

"Don't mind her," someone said, their voice low and deadly calm. "She's nutty, but I don't think she'd ever hurt anyone. Crazy Maisy wouldn't let her," she sing-songed.

Piper glanced up. A young girl with raven-black hair and pale skin swooped down onto the couch beside Piper. She sounded normal, but she – like Julia – looked stoned and very, very sad.

"New here?" the girl asked nonchalantly.

Piper nodded after a slight hesitation. "Y-yeah."

The girl nodded. "I've been here for five years now, ever since my parents died in a car crash." She sounded unconcerned and uncaring, but the hurt and distant look in her eyes betrayed her and Piper knew she was aching.

"I'm sorry-" Piper said, again hesitantly. She didn't know what might set this girl off.

"I survived. Dunno how. All I remember is a lot of blue lights," the girl said, her voice slightly slurred as if she were drunk. "What's your name?"

The abrupt subject change startled Piper, but she replied, "Piper."

"Paige," the girl said in reply. "What are you in for?"

Piper gulped. "Cutting."

Paige nodded. "I'm also addicted to drugs, according to the doctors. But I told them I'm not. I just like a good pick me up once in awhile." The girl smiled wryly. "But it's hard to get a hold of drugs here. They keep them locked up, so sometimes I cut, too. Not often, just when I can't get a hold of some kind of drug."

"But we-"

"-Can't have anything sharp, and we get checked," Paige sighed. "Yeah, yeah. You're new, so I'll forgive you. But you forget that they don't check under your bra or panties; never, not even during regular check-ups. That's how I do it, right under my panty line where they can't see."

"But how do you get sharp stuff? We're not allowed."

Paige smirked. "So easy. Just go around to the non-cutters, or break something off of something. Better yet, steal something from the nurses and doctors; they'll never know."

"Don't you want to get better?" Piper asked.

Paige shrugged. "What's the point. Dying seems more humane at this point. 'Least then I'd be with my parents instead of this shit hole."

Piper opened her mouth to speak, but her name was called for meds. Slowly, she stood, stared at Paige – who was staring off into space – and went to the counter where she took her meds, showed the nurse her empty mouth, and was accompanied to the cafeteria by Mitch, one of the two men she'd met the first day at the Institution.

The cafeteria was loud and crowded. Insane people of all sorts sat in groups with the same illness as themselves. Just by watching, Piper could see who was who.

In the very back, occupying two tables, sat over a dozen thin-as-rail girls who were obviously anorexic or bulimic. In the middle, to the left, sat the cutters (Piper sure as hell wasn't sitting with them). In the middle, right, sat the alcoholics. In the front left were the druggies, who all looked stoned. And in the front right sat a group of unknowns. For the most part, they seemed to simply be insane,

On the right in the very front corner was an empty table. Piper took salvation there and didn't bother to eat. Instead, she sat and thought of what Grams was cooking at home; maybe a roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy? Chicken Pot Pie? Meat Lasagna? Chicken with freshly squeezed lemon and string beans? The possibilities were endless, and the thoughts made her mouth water.

How long had gone by, Piper didn't know. But next thing she realized, a male nurse had come along and collected her, taking her to her shrink session.

Once at the office, he sat her down on a leather chair across from a big oak desk and left, closing the door.

At the desk sat Dr. Charles Bradbury. He glanced at her over the rims of his glasses. His hair was gray and he was balding in the middle. His expression wasn't welcoming nor kind.

"Piper Halliwell." Dr. Bradbury said, though he pronounced her name as "Pip-per Hail-e-well".

"Actually-" Piper awkwardly tried to correct him, but he ignored her.

The session basically went on like that the whole time. Every time Piper started to say something, the shrink would cut her off and use what she had said against her.

After the session, Mitch came to take her back to her room. She wondered if she could get a different shrink, and asked Mitch so.

Mitch shrugged. "Gotta talk to Ms. Saunders 'bout that. I'll see about sending her by your room tomorrow, if you want." But he didn't sound like he cared too much.

Piper nodded and said thank you as she entered her room. Mitch walked away and Piper, trying to ignore Julia's stoned, manic grim, lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

She wondered what her family was doing right now and wished she were home, as well.

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Piper woke up in the middle of the night to someone whispering her name. She sat up in bed, looking around. But no one was there.

"Hello?" she called softly, not to wake Julia.

Piper slid out of bed and, barefoot, tiptoed from the room and to the door. She peaked out. When she saw no one, she snuck out and listened.

"Piper."

Piper's head swiveled to the left and she stared down the empty hall. She crept slowly down the cold tiled hallway, eyes narrowed slightly, hearing strained.

Five doors down and she was still walking, still listening.

A door creaked open on her right. She started to turn her head to see what was going in, but someone pulled her inside before she could. She tried to scream but a pale, clammy hand clamped over her mouth. The door was closed, a light flipped on, and Piper was let go.

"Paige?" Piper asked, startled as she stared at the raven-haired, pale skinned girl from earlier.

Paige nodded and giggled slightly, insanely.

And I thought she was at least slightly sane, Piper thought wryly.

"I got something for ya," Paige said giddily.

"What?" Piper asked suspiciously.

Paige extracted something from her pocket and held it out for Piper to take, smiling proudly as if she'd accomplished some extraordinary task.

Piper stared, then gasped and backed away. "Where did you get that?"

Paige giggled. "I stole it off Bradbury's desk during my session. They don't know I cut, so he didn't bother to hide it." She swung the letter opener in front of Piper's eyes. "Want it?"

"No," Piper cringed, backing away again. "No way. I'm through hurting myself. Unlike some people in this loony bin, I want to get better and go home to my family. I want my life back."

Paige shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"We need to get back to our rooms," Piper said, changing the subject, "before we get caught."

"You go," Paige said, waving Piper off. "I'm staying here." She eyes the letter opener hungrily.

Piper felt torn between running back to the safety of her room and staying to make sure Paige didn't hurt herself – but then wondered why she felt so protective of such a lunatic and quickly left the room without looking back.

She didn't run into anyone on her way back to her room. She snuck into the dark room, heard Julia snore, and slipped into bed, her heart pounding.

The light flipped on.

"Well, aren't we sneaky?"

Piper glanced towards the voice.

Maryanne Saunders stood by the light switch, arms crossed and a very angry look on her face.