Hey everybody, I'm back. I know it's been a while, but I can't wallow in self-pity any more. Thanks to all of you who sent me such supportive reviews, SJSASA-16, .elementbabe., Mysterious Midnight, Amy P. Halliwell and piperleo4eva, you guys are great. I hope to get regular updates going for this fic, but I'm still a little shaky so it might take a while. I know that technically this is chapter nineteen, as the last one was only an A/N, but I'm a sucker for continuity.

--Chapter Twenty--

Phoebe walked slowly down the basement steps, a water bottle in each hand. She kept her eyes on her niece, trying not to distract her.

Nicki had her eyes closed; she was slowly changing her stance, completing each movement calmly and deliberately. She brought her left hand up to block an imaginary blow, before pirouetting gracefully but solidly and performing a textbook roundhouse. As soon as she'd lowered her right foot gently to the floor, she brought her hands together and gave a short bow. Her head snapped up when she heard Phoebe clapping softly.

'Pretty impressive,' Phoebe said, smiling and handing Nicki the unopened bottle.

'Thank you,' Nicki replied, taking a long drink before wiping her mouth with her arm. 'How long were you watching me?' she asked nervously, shifting her weight back and forth between her feet.

'Not long, don't worry,' Phoebe reassured her. 'You're good, you know that?' she added. She wanted Nicki so desperately to have a little confidence.

'Thanks,' Nicki said, blushing slightly and looking at the floor. 'I think the spell did something to me though…' she trailed off looking anxious.

Phoebe sat down on the bottom step and patted the wood next to her, inviting Nicki to join her. 'Something like what?'

Nicki sat down heavily and sighed. 'I'm just, stronger and faster than I used to be,' she said. 'It feels like my entire body is… really aware or something, I have total control over everything. I mean, I nearly broke the punching bag,' she added, a guilty smile playing bout her lips.

'Don't worry about that,' Phoebe said, dismissively. 'Your new powers seem to have given you a boost, sounds like nothing but a plus to me.' She looked over to her niece, but Nicki was still looking slightly apprehensive. 'I'll tell you what,' she said, getting up and stretching out her back. 'I'm better technically than you are, but you have a way of moving that seems to always keep you in control.'

Nicki nodded, and stood up as well. She took the two half-full bottles of water and put them on the shelf.

'So here's the deal,' Phoebe said, smiling and grabbing the athletic tape. She quickly taped up her wrists, bobbing on the balls of her feet. 'I'll teach you some new moves, new methods, and you teach me how to move. Okay?'

'Okay, sure,' Nicki replied, a small smile finally gracing her lips.

Phoebe grinned. There was nothing like a bit of hard concentration, sweat and pain to make you forget about things for a while.

Unfortunately, Paige and Piper didn't have any distractions to take their minds off of the current situation. Piper had changed Wyatt and brought him down into the living room with her, and they were all sat around the small coffee table. The tension in the room was almost tangible; the only one who seemed oblivious was Wyatt. He was sucking happily on the index finger of Piper's right hand, watching everyone with his big, blue eyes.

It was Paige who broke the silence. 'I think we all need a bit of space,' she said, looking earnestly between Piper and Leo. 'Maybe we should give it a day or so? You know, before we have 'the talk'?'

'I think you're right,' Piper said. 'She has enough to deal with right now. The last thing she needs is to find out the truth about her parents.' Piper absentmindedly held Wyatt a little closer to her, cradling him in the crook of her left arm. She looked over at Leo, smiling to him about the look of contentment on their son's face, only to find him staring into space. 'Problem?' she asked, the spark in her eyes slowly fading at the prospect of something else to worry about.

'What?' Leo said, snapping back to Earth. 'Uh no, actually,' he said, smiling gently.

'So what is it then?' Paige asked, reaching over to grab her purse from the table. She took out her cell phone and started to play with it, twirling it around in her hands as she spoke. 'What's got you so out of it?'

'Just thinking about you three,' he said, leaning back in his chair and smiling. 'Prue would have been proud of you, you know that?'

Piper and Paige just smiled.

'Thank you, honey,' Piper said. 'That really means a lot.'

--End of Chapter Twenty--

I know it's short, and I know it's not good. I'm going on holiday tomorrow so it might be a while before I can update again. Please review, it would really help.