The information in this chapter about the Clipper ship came from an internet site, and is not my invention. I did some internet research and looked at guide books on the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Strait. As mentioned previously I have never been to San Francisco, so I used the guides for information and then let my imagination get to work. Apologies for any inaccuracies in factual details, but I was going for a particular atmosphere.

Anyway, on with the story …

'Do you see anything?' Paige asked, her eyes scanning the harbour for signs of the coven or the demons. She loved being by the water; she'd always enjoyed coming down to the harbour and watching the boats as they travelled in and out of port. She'd spent many an afternoon down here when she was a teenager, breathing in the tangy smell of the ocean, imagining just getting on a boat and slipping out to sea headed for some exotic location that would take her far away from her own troubled life.

'Nothing' Phoebe said in frustration. She too looked around. The harbour was one of the busiest in the world. San Francisco was the chief seaport on the pacific coast of the United States. Even now, late at night it was crowded with vessels of all shapes and sizes. As she watched, a huge freight ship slipped silently in to port, men jumping out at the last second to secure it with ropes.

She loved the harbour during the day, but at night she found it kinda creepy. She jumped as the south pier horn sounded to guide approaching ships safely in to port. Angry with herself for being spooked so easily, she took a few deep breaths and tried to get her heart rate back to normal. She'd seen a programme about the strait on the discovery channel once and it had forever coloured her view of the harbour.

The programme had talked of the ghost ship that supposedly haunted the strait. In the 1800's a clipper ship, 'The Tennessee' was said to have sailed in to a patch of thick fog and gone down. Over the years many witnesses claimed to have seen the ship passing beneath the bridge only to vanish seconds later. Phoebe shivered. With everything that she had experienced over the past five years she had no doubts that the Ghost ship existed, she only hoped that they didn't run in to it tonight, they had enough to deal with right now.

She looked out at the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. It stood impassive in the moonlight, spanning the Strait joining San Francisco to Marin County. It was an amazing piece of construction, the symbol of the city. During the day it was overcrowded with cars and cyclists, tourists wanting to walk across the famous bridge and take snap shots for the family album. Tonight it seemed strangely quiet, which only added to her sense of unease. Suddenly Phoebe wanted to get out of there.

'Any ideas?' she asked Cole who was standing quietly beside her.

'Maybe they're on one of the boats' Cole suggested reasonably. 'We should search them.'

'Oh great.' Paige complained. 'Well that shouldn't take long, there's only I don't know about a hundred boats here.'

'Well then we'll just have to narrow it down.' Cole said irritably.

'How?' Paige asked, looking around her in dismay. She had no idea where to even begin.

'The names' Phoebe said softly. 'Check the names of the boats. Look for something linked to magic.'

Piper feigned surprise 'what do you mean? Nothing's going on.' She picked up the Book of Shadows, and started flipping through it on the pretext of looking for more information on Taric. 'You know I could really use some help on this vanquishing potion' she said pointedly, hoping to distract Leo's attention.

Leo stepped forward and gently took the book from her hands. Placing it on the coffee table, he looked at her intently, concern etched in to his face. 'I know you Piper' he said softly 'and I know that something's wrong. Please tell me what it is' he begged.

'Nothing's wrong' Piper said quickly, giving him a reassuring pat on the knee. 'I'm fine, the baby's fine. I told you it's just a little indigestion, nothing I haven't had before like about a million times. I just don't feel like chasing after demons right now that's all.'

She sighed heavily 'look you've all been telling me to slow down for the past few weeks, so now I'm slowing down.' She smiled ruefully 'I thought you'd be pleased.'

'Come on Piper, I know you, and I know that you're not yourself right now' Leo argued. 'You've been acting a little off all night.'

'Leo, I'm eight months pregnant, my back is aching, my feet are killing me, I've hardly slept in weeks, and now on top of all that I have a stomach ache. Maybe I am acting a little off, but you know what I think I'm entitled.' Piper said defensively.

'And I seem to remember that you felt a little off too when the Sandman gave you a chance to experience pregnancy' she said archly.

'Seems like you've forgotten about that already. Maybe you need to try it again just to remind you. You know I'm pretty sure I could whip up some kinda spell. We could have you eight months pregnant again in no time' she said primly, patting his stomach.

For a moment Leo looked panic stricken. It had been an experience he would never forget. He'd found it real tough to concentrate on anything. His back had ached constantly, and trying to move around with that huge belly had been a test of his stamina and willpower. Just thinking about it now made him feel bloated and uncomfortable. Instinctively he ran a palm across his stomach as if to reassure himself that it hadn't happened again.

Piper caught the action and smirked 'Not so keen to try it again I see.'

Leo remained silent. He had no answer to that he knew that she was right. It'd been worth it to be able to feel the baby kick, and it sure had helped him to feel connected to their child. It had felt kinda nice too, feeling his child moving around inside his belly, knowing that he was carrying it, protecting it. Still after only a few hours he'd been mighty glad to get back to normal, and she was right he was in no hurry to try it again.

'And you know what' Piper continued, the anger that she had felt towards Leo over the previous weeks finally spilling over now that she had a chance to talk to him, 'instead of an interrogation right now I could use a little sympathy. This pregnancy has been pretty hard on me you know. I've felt lousy all the way through it, and I haven't been able to go see a real doctor or get any help.'

'I know, and I am sympathetic Piper honestly I am.' Leo assured her quickly. 'I think you've been amazing the way you've coped with things, much better than I ever could' he said honestly. 'But that's not what I'm talking about' he persisted. 'I'm talking about what's wrong between you and Paige.'

Piper looked up sharply, the anger that she had been feeling was completely over powered by shock. For a moment she considered trying to bluff it out, but one look at Leo's face told her that she'd be wasting her time. She was well and truly busted and she may as well come clean. 'Wow, it was that obvious?' She asked. 'I guess I'm not much of an actress huh.'

Leo gave her a warm smile 'Well I don't think you'll be winning any Academy awards this year, but I do have an unfair advantage.'

Piper sighed. 'I guess being a whitelighter sure comes in handy sometimes.'

Leo's smile grew wider 'Being a whitelighter and being your husband. I know you Piper. I've spent years watching you. I was watching over you and your sisters before you even knew I existed remember.' He looked a little sheepish 'I always took a special interest in you, paid you a little extra attention, even before we got together. Like I said, I know you. I knew right away that something was wrong tonight.'

'But how did you know it had to do with Paige? Piper narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously 'Did the Elders say something to you?' She figured the Elders must have been listening in on her conversation with Grams after all. No matter what Leo said she'd never truly believed that the Elders didn't tune in every now and again. The number of times they'd summoned Leo right when the two of them were getting to the good stuff just couldn't be a coincidence.

Leo looked at her in surprise, 'The Elders, no, what have they got to do with this?'

'Never mind' Piper said quickly. 'Just tell me how you knew it was about Paige.'

Leo began counting off on his fingers 'because you were siding with Cole way too easily, because you didn't wanna go out demon hunting, and because for the last few hours you haven't been able to look Paige in the eye.' He shrugged. 'How am I doin' so far?'

'A little too well' Piper admitted. 'Do you think anybody else noticed?' She asked anxiously. 'Do you think Paige noticed?'

Leo shook his head 'No I don't think so, she was way too preoccupied fighting with Cole.' He looked at her in confusion 'what's happened Piper? What don't I know?'

Piper took a deep breath, and let it out 'Okay' she said slowly, drawing out the word, 'but you know what honey, I really think you're gonna wanna to sit down for this one.' As she spoke she patted the seat beside her.

Looking a little alarmed, Leo sat down next to her.

For a moment Piper hesitated. As much as she wanted to unburden this shocking secret, she knew that it would be difficult for Leo to hear. The Elders were his bosses and although he didn't always agree with them, he respected and admired them. What she was about to tell him would tarnish their image forever, and she wasn't sure if Leo could handle that.

'So?' Leo pressed, his clear blue eyes full of questions.

Piper made the decision. 'Okay' she began tentatively, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. 'Well you see when everyone was out tonight, I didn't really watch TV.'

Leo remained silent, waiting for her to continue. Piper squeezed her eyes shut and spoke very fast, the words tumbling out in a rush 'I went up to the attic and I tried to summon Prue.' Reluctantly she opened her eyes to see the impact of her words.

Leo's mouth dropped open in surprise.

'I needed someone to talk to okay' Piper said quickly, before Leo could respond. 'And you didn't have any time for me, and Phoebe and Paige are never around and well I guess I just missed her' she finished lamely.

Leo was still staring at her in stunned silence. Piper shifted uncomfortably, her gaze dropping to the floor, 'Okay you can go ahead and shout at me now, let's get it over with.'

Leo shook his head 'I'm not going to shout at you Piper' he said gently. 'It's just I don't understand why you suddenly decided to do this now, after all this time. I thought you'd come to terms with Prue's death.'

Piper shook her head trying to clear the confusion that had suddenly settled there like a fog clouding her mind. Why had she decided to summon Prue? She'd accepted Prue's death years ago, had buried the idea of trying to contact her sister. So why had she suddenly felt the desperate need to talk to her, why now?

Taking a deep breath she looked in to Leo's concerned eyes. 'I know and I have, and most of the time I can cope with being the eldest you know. I can handle being the one in charge, the one who solves all the problems and does everything first, but I don't know, I guess this pregnancy, it's such a new thing for me. I just wanted some time out from being the responsible one. It's hard you know. I never realised quite how much Phoebe and I took Prue for granted. I mean she really took care of us for all those years. I've only been doing it for two years and already I want to go back to being the middle sister and having my big sister solve all my problems for me.'

'Well that's understandable' Leo said, giving her an encouraging smile. 'Everyone needs a little guidance sometimes, and suddenly becoming the oldest sister isn't exactly easy.' He frowned. 'You know you didn't have to keep it a secret from me. You could have told me I would have understood.'

'It wasn't just about that' Piper admitted reluctantly. 'I guess what I really wanted was someone to talk to' she said softly 'someone who would really listen to me.'

'But that doesn't make any sense' Leo protested. 'I mean you have someone to talk to Piper, you have me.'

'No Leo, I don't' Piper said firmly. 'I wanted to talk to you, I really did, but whenever I tried to talk to you about how I was feeling you were always too busy to listen.'

'That's not fair Piper' Leo complained flinching at the accusation. 'I want to be around, you know that but I have to work extra shifts right now if I want to spend time with you and the baby later.' He looked at her in disbelief, his expression a mixture of hurt and confusion 'we talked about this and we both agreed that it was the right thing to do. You said that you were okay with it.'

Piper shrugged. 'Well I guess I'm not okay with it any more. I guess I haven't been okay with it for a long time.' She sighed heavily. 'I'm scared Leo, I'm really scared.'

'I know things look bad right now Piper, but we'll get through this' Leo reassured her. 'You and your sisters will vanquish Taric and we'll find a way to re-power the shield and everything will be fine.'

Piper shook her head in resigned amusement. How could he be so perceptive one minute and so utterly clueless the next? 'Oh honey, that's not what I'm afraid of' she said sadly.

'Then what?' Leo asked, frowning in confusion.

'I'm afraid of us' Piper said softly. 'We're about to have a baby Leo, a tiny life that will be totally dependent upon us for everything, and you know what, I'm not sure if our marriage is strong enough right now to cope with that.' There she'd said it. She'd finally admitted what she had been trying to ignore for the last few weeks. It was almost a relief to have it out in the open.

'What are you saying Piper?' Leo whispered hoarsely. Instinctively he let go of her hand and moved away. 'Are you saying that you don't love me anymore, that you think we should separate?' He knew they'd been having a few problems lately, but he hadn't realised things had gotten this serious. Just the thought of losing Piper made him feel as though his heart really was breaking inside his chest.

Piper reached across the gap between them, and took hold of his hand again, giving it another squeeze 'No Leo that's not what I'm saying' she reassured him. 'Of course I still love you; I'll always love you no matter what.'

'Then what?' Leo asked urgently. He was having a hard time following this conversation.

Piper pushed a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. 'We take each other for granted Leo; we take our relationship for granted. There's no spark anymore, it's like we're stuck in a rut.'

Leo frowned. 'Piper all marriages go through difficult patches you know that. Relationships have to be worked at it's not meant to be easy. Real life gets in the way, and when you have the kind of lives that we have it's that much harder.'

He looked at her, his expression a mixture of pain and betrayal 'You knew that when you agreed to marry me, I never tried to pretend that being married to me would be easy.'

'I know that Leo, and that's not what I'm saying. This is more than just life getting in the way' Piper argued.

She looked at Leo, her dark eyes filled with tears. 'We used to talk about everything, now we don't talk at all. I don't know what you're thinking or feeling. We never spend any time alone together. You orb in after I've gone to sleep at night and you orb out again before I wake up in the morning.'

She hesitated for a moment almost too afraid to admit what she was really feeling. 'It's like you don't want to be around me anymore.'

'That's not true Piper. I'd spend every moment with you if I could. You know that' Leo said earnestly. He dug in his jeans pocket to retrieve his handkerchief, and gently wiped away the tears from Piper's cheeks.

'That's just it Leo, I don't know that anymore' Piper protested, taking the handkerchief from him and wiping her eyes. 'It's like you've stopped being attracted to me. You never kiss me, not properly, all I get is a peck on the cheek if I'm lucky, and sometimes I don't even get that. You never touch me, except to feel the baby kick. You don't look at me the way you used to with that sparkle in your eyes. You look at me and all you see is the baby, it's all anybody sees.'

She wiped furiously at the tears that were escaping 'It's all I hear all day every day - you need to calm down Piper too much stress is bad for the baby. You can't go to work Piper that wouldn't be good for the baby. You can't fight demons Piper, you have to stay here and rest- for the baby.'

She scowled. 'I feel like I'm losing my identity. It's like everything that I've worked for these last few years, everything I've become is just gradually disappearing, and all anyone sees...' she looked at him pointedly. 'All you see is a baby machine.'

'Our baby is important to me Piper, of course she is' Leo admitted. 'And when I look at you I see what a wonderful mother you're going to be, but that's not all I see.'

He reached out and gently traced a finger down her cheek, following the tracks left by her tears 'you are so much more than that Piper. When I look at you I see someone who is strong and brave and smart. I see someone who is incredibly beautiful and sexy. You have this overwhelming compassion, this desire to help people. You risk you life for other people every day, and you don't even get to tell anyone about it. I'm proud of you Piper, and I'm sorry if I don't say it enough or if I act like what you do and what you feel aren't important, because nothing could be further from the truth.'

He paused looking cautiously at Piper, waiting for her reaction and hoping desperately that his words had reached her.

Piper waited for a beat, and then she looked up at him and smiled 'So you still think I look sexy huh?' She drawled. Then she looked at him more seriously, an element of doubt creeping in to her voice 'You don't think that I look fat?'

Leo's gave her his most seductive smile, and ran his hand across her swollen belly 'Pregnancy suits you Piper. I think you look incredible like this.'

Smiling, Piper leaned forward, bringing her face close to his 'Oh yeah, well in that case mister you'd better make the most of it because the minute this baby's born I'm gonna be getting back in shape. So how about you come over her and give your incredibly sexy wife a kiss' she instructed, grabbing hold of the collar of his plaid shirt and pulling him towards her.

'You know Piper I hate fighting with you, but I really enjoy the making up part' Leo said dreamily, leaning in for the kiss.

'Oh my God I forgot about Paige' Piper exclaimed in horror, pushing Leo away. 'They're gonna be back soon. How could I let myself get so distracted?'

'Wait, what, so now you don't want me to kiss you?' Leo asked in confusion.

'Maybe later' Piper promised. 'Right now I've got something important to tell you. I can't believe I let myself get sidetracked like that.'

'Okay' Leo acknowledged, struggling to switch back in to his professional whitelighter persona. 'So you went to the attic and you summoned Prue. What did she say?'

'Nothing' Piper told him.

'Nothing' Leo echoed, looking even more confused than ever. 'You summoned Prue and she didn't say anything.' He looked at Piper doubtfully 'That doesn't sound like Prue.'

'No silly' Piper said slapping him playfully on the arm. 'I summoned Prue, but I didn't actually get to see Prue, because Grams intercepted my call. She said that I wasn't allowed to see Prue, because I can't ask other people to solve my problems for me and I have to try and work out my problems by myself and…'

'Piper' Leo interrupted 'you're babbling.'

'Oh' Piper said. She knew that she rambled when she was nervous, she couldn't help it. It was like her mouth had a life of it's own and she just kept on talking, the words pouring out with no real purpose, and now she was even doing it inside of her head, and she really should stop. 'Okay well never mind about that' she said soberly.

'So what did Grams say?' Leo prompted gently.

'Oh well you know Grams, she always has plenty to say' Piper explained. 'She said a whole bunch of stuff like about how she was the one who dreamt up this protective shield, and how she thinks our baby could be some special being written about in these famous prophecies, but you probably knew that one already since your bosses have the original copy up there. Oh yeah and the last thing, are you ready for this one cause I think it's gonna blow your mind. She said that the Elders let Prue die so that Paige could become a Charmed One.'

'So' she said, looking at him intently 'tell me how I'm supposed to carry on working for them now?'

To be continued ….