"So how are we going to find her once we get there?"
Piper was trying to make small talk to keep her mind off the fact that she was actually in an airplane, the one thing she hated most in the world.
"With these."
Phoebe reached into her backpack that was stowed under the seat in front of her and pulled out the photo of Nancy, and a few of the letters Paul had written to Grams.
"Hopefully between being in L.A., and these things, not to mention the connections, I will be able to link up long enough to find out where she is. I just hope we're not to late."
"First of all Phoebe you would have had another flash. Second I checked the family tree before we left, and there still isn't another date added to Nancy's name."
"That's not what I meant. Last night I could feel Nancy's emotions. She was emotionally drained, and I could tell that she was not fighting back. If she gives up hope, I might not get another flash."
"Don't worry, we'll find her."
Prue looked form Piper to Phoebe, then back to Piper. Both of them noticed how in one day Phoebe looked like she had aged ten years. Her eye's looked so tired, and she had worry lines all over her face. They had debated on weather to talk to Phoebe about it, and they knew that now was as good a time as any. Prue knew that Piper was always better at getting their sister to open up. Giving Piper's hand a squeeze, Piper knew that was her signal to go ahead. Taking a deep breath she asked the question that had bothering them every since they had found out about Nancy.
"Phoebe, you know that we are all worried about Nancy. Prue and I want to know why you are more worried then us. Is it because of the link?"
"Maybe, but I don't think so. I think it's because when Mom died it was really hard, but I was so young and didn't understand a lot about what was going on. When I finally did understand that Mom wasn't coming back, I was sad of course, but I wasn't scared about what would happen to me, because I had Grams and you guys to look after me. I knew I wouldn't be alone."
"We all felt that way."
"I know, but I used to think that our lives were so hard, and that nobody could ever understand what I was feeling. This is making me realize that there are people out there who have it harder then I did, and it's family. Nancy has nobody to help her feel safe, make her feel loved. We need to be there for her, like Grams was for us."
"I think we understand Pheebs. Don't worry, we'll find her no matter how long it takes. We will remind her what it's like to be loved, and part of a family."
Phoebe seemed to calm down a little after opening up. It always helped her to say what was on her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep for a little bit, since she knew she wouldn't sleep again until Nancy was safe and in their arms.
Two hours later the plane landed, the girls got a rental car, and found themselves a motel room. Deciding to clean up before heading out to find Nancy, they each took turns changing their cloths, and washing their faces in the bathroom.
Phoebe as usual drew the short straw and went into the bathroom last. Phoebe took a fresh wash cloth washing her face and neck before she ran some water of the top of her short brown hair. Lifting her face she looked in the mirror. She knew she needed to put some makeup on, her eyes were so dark and looked sunken in. Pulling out her makeup bag she started to apply some eyeliner, when she dropped the pen grabbing hold of the sink. She could feel the room begin to spin, as she fell to the ground landing on the cold tile with a loud thud.
Prue and Piper had just finished putting on their shoes when they heard a loud noise come from the bathroom. Getting up from the bed they ran over to the door and knocked.
"Pheebs you alright in there?"
They waited for a response, but could hear none. Prue pushed her ear to the door and could hear Phoebe groaning on the other side.
"She's in trouble. Back up Piper!"
Raising her hand she forced the locked door open and entered the bathroom. They grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around Phoebe as they helped her to sit up. They could clearly see that she was conscious, but was having trouble forming words.
"Take your time Phoebe, we're right here."
Moments later, and with her eye's still closed she found the strength to tell her sisters what was happening.
"It's Nancy. I'm connected again."
"Can you see where she is?"
"She's in a cab. The man from last night is sitting next to her."
"Phoebe try to look around. Do you see any street signs, or landmarks?"
"No. She's just looking at the floor. Wait, the cab just stopped. She's so scared. She doesn't want to get out of the cab. I think she knows something is going to happen if she goes inside."
"This connections is really strong."
"Quiet Piper. Phoebe when she gets out she'll have to look up. Just focus. Remember when you helped me with the Succubus demon. You forced her to say and do what you wanted. Try to force Nancy to look around."
Phoebe concentrated with all her energy. It took every once of strength she had to not just go along with Nancy. She felt as if Nancy was trying to push her out of the connection, but it wasn't working.
"Alright, here we go. Their in front of a apartment. The address says 1974 Sycamore Lane."
"Great. Piper maybe you should stay with Phoebe. I'll go alone."
"No way Prue. Piper get me a shirt. You guys just need to help me a little. The connection isn't breaking."
"No problem little sis, just hold onto us. We'll take care of you."
Piper grabbed Phoebe's shirt from her bag, helped put it over her head, and then pulled her arms through. Prue and Piper each grabbed a hold of Phoebe and slowly helped her to stand. Sensing that Phoebe was shaky and uneasy, Prue helped her baby sister find her balance while Piper helped to support her body.
As Phoebe gained a little more balance, Prue put on of Phoebe's arms around her neck, while Piper did the same on the other side. When Prue got closer to Phoebe she could feel heat radiating from Phoebe's body. She gently placed a hand on Phoebe's forehead and immediately felt not only heat, but a great deal of sweat forming on Phoebe's forehead.
"Pheebs, your burning up. Do you feel alright?"
"Yes and no. Remember I feel what Nancy feels. Right now I think she's sick. We need to hurry guys. I feel like giving up, which means she's giving up. I don't want to look the connection."
"Alright let's go."
They quickly but carefully got Phoebe to the car, laying her down in the backseat. Prue and Piper jumped in the front and with Piper's navigations they were outside the apartment in no time. Arriving at the apartment Prue and Piper helped Phoebe out of they car. They expected her to still be shaky, but found that she could stand on her own with little to no problem.
Phoebe noticed that her body temperature was slowly dropping back to normal. It was as if the connection was no longer necessary, and the two girls were no longer one. By the time they reached the front steps Phoebe had full control of her body again, and could no longer see through Nancy's eyes. As they slowly made their way up the stairs they could hear a child scream, and they quickened their pace running to the door. Knowing that there was no time for subtlety, and not caring who saw her, Prue broke down the door with her power.
As they ran inside they immediately noticed the scent of garbage, beer, and cigarettes in the air. Not really stopping to take in their surroundings they rushed inside following the whimpering sound of a child, and the loud and angry voice of an adult. Rounding a corner their eyes grew wide with a mixture of fear and anger, for in the middle of the room was a young girl lying on the floor with blood running down her face, and a large cut on her arm. Above her stood a middle aged man, his arm raised up high in the air, belt in hand, obviously drunk and ready to strike again.
Hearing the sound of a door opening, and footsteps approaching her turned his attention away from the crying child. Looking up his reaction was a mixture of rage and terror all rolled into one.
"Who they hell are you? Get out of my house or I'll…"
Piper took the chance to freeze the man mid-sentence. With the man frozen in place they ran over to the girl who was scared out of her mind.
"Don't be afraid, it's alright now. Are you Nancy?"
Not knowing who to be more afraid of, the man who had been hurting her for the past three months, or the women who had broken down the door, and she knew had powers, she simply nodded her head yes. She then began to try to back away from them, sliding her body across the floor. With each movement she took pain would radiate throughout her body till she couldn't take it anymore. She stopped trying to get away and allowed even more tears to fall.
"Are you going to hurt me too?"
"No sweetie, we're not?"
Nancy looked at them confused. She couldn't understand why. Ever since her parent had died, she bounced from one foster home to the next. Some homes good, some back, and her current situation was the worst of them all.
"Why not? Everyone else does! Who are you?"
"We're family."
For the first time since their arrival Nancy looked into the eyes of the strangers. Moving from the strong blue eye's of the obvious to her oldest one, to the tears and concerned brown eyed middle woman, she settled her eyes on the youngest one. There was something warm and comforting about those eyes. They made her feel safe, made her feel strong. They were so familiar. She searched her memory to try to understand why she was feeling this way. Only one person came to mind.
"I'm sorry Dad."
She whispered to herself in a voice so soft that even the girls couldn't hear what she had said.
"We're here to…"
Phoebe didn't even have a chance to finish her sentence. Nancy grabbed her, hugging her so tight never wanting to let go. For Nancy and Phoebe it was like they had known each other for years.
"I knew you would find me someday. I just knew you would, but you can't be here. You can't help me. It's to dangerous. I promised Mom and Dad that I would never go near you. You could get hurt or killed. People even worst than this are still looking for me. Someday they might find me and it wouldn't be good for anyone. You have more important things to do in the world then get killed over me."
"We'll worry about that later. Right now there is nothing more important to us then helping you. We need to get you to a hospital. You don't look so good. Phoebe, help Nancy to the car, then call the police. Piper and I will take care of this guy."
Phoebe took off her coat, wrapped it around Nancy, and then picked her up off the ground as gently as possible. Phoebe's adrenaline was working in such overtime that she didn't even notice how light, and small Nancy was for her age.
"You aren't going to kill him are you? He may deserve to die, but he doesn't deserve to be killed. No one does. Beside it's not our job to punish, just protect.
Nancy had a great deal of concern in her voice, but not for the man who had put her through hell for the past several months. All her life her parents had warned her about using her powers to get even with people, or intentionally harm someone. She knew what would happen if a good witch used their powers against an innocent. She also knew that these three ladies were the Charmed Ones, and if they turned bad, God help the world.
"Don't worry Nancy. We aren't going to kill him. We're just going to make sure he gets what he deserves. It will be alright, we won't be long."
Knowing she had no choice but to believe her cousins, Nancy put her head on Phoebe's shoulder and allowed herself to be carried out the door. Once Prue knew they were out of sight she told Piper to grab a chair. With the chair in place, Prue used her power to set the man down, being only cautious enough so he wouldn't unfreeze. With him seated Prue ripped the man's belt from his still clinched fist, using it to strap him down to the chair. When they were sure everything was secure Piper put up her hands ready to unfreeze the room. Pausing for a moment she turned to her older sister.
"Prue remember, control. Don't loose control."
Prue nodded her head signaling that she understood and with that gave Piper the go ahead to unfreeze the man.
"I…What? How did you…."
"Shut up! Don't even ask! Just pay attention. The cops have already been called. You better pray when we get Nancy to the hospital that there is nothing seriously wrong with her, or you will pay."
"They won't believe you, or her. I'm a model foster parent, have been for years."
"Don't even think of lying, or this will happen to you."
Prue turned around looking at the kitchen table. Using her power she lifted it high in the air before throwing it up against a wall causing it to shatter into a million pieces.
"You got it!"
"How did you do that?"
"You don't want to know. You understand!"
"Yea, Yea, I got it…"
"Prue, we better go."
Piper could see the rage beginning to build inside of Prue. She knew that her temper could only be controlled for so long. Getting no response, or movement from Prue, Piper grabbed Prue's arm and got right in her face.
"Prue, we have to get Nancy to the hospital. NOW! Let's go."
Piper pushed her toward the door, then turned and faced the man.
"You are so lucky I didn't leave her alone with you."
She then ran out the door not even bothering to close it behind her. Arriving at the car, Prue was just getting into the drivers seat. Piper hopped in the passenger seat and they both turned around to face Phoebe, who was sitting in the back with Nancy.
"How is she?"
"Just drive fast. She hasn't said much since we got into the car, but her grip on me won't ease up anytime soon."
Prue and Piper quickly fastened their seatbelts and took off in a flash. As the car sped along the road Nancy grip on Phoebe grew tighter and tighter. Phoebe began to worry even more when she noticed that Nancy was simply repeating herself over and over again.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you…"
"I think she's in shock guys. Prue drive faster!"
Prue understood the strong and no nonsense tone in Phoebe's voice and slammed her foot on the accelerator causing Phoebe to tighten her grip on Nancy even more. Piper just watched as Prue cut off one car after another. She gripped the door handle and braced herself as Prue took one sharp turn after another. Moment later Prue's speeding paid off and they arrived at the hospital in record time.
"Wow Prue, where did you learn to drive like that?"
Piper asked once her feet hit the cement closing her car door behind her.
"Wouldn't you like to know!"
Was all Prue would say as she grabbed Piper's hand and they began to run toward the emergency room door. The two of them ran inside to get a doctor, while Phoebe stayed in the car with Nancy who was shaking terribly and almost unaware of what was going on around her.