Oh my gosh guys. I'm so incredibly sorry for the super long delay. Let me try to explain a little bit. I wrote two more chapters and then my computer decided to go all Carrie on me and I lost all of my documents. Needless to say I was rather demoralized at that point so I kind of gave up. Well, a few of my online friends have recently been on my case about it so I decided to give it another shot thinking that surely I would never be able to re-write the chapters that I lost. Well, I didn't. The story took a completely different turn than what I had originally written. Hopefully you won't hate it. Let me know if you'd like me to continue or if it's beyond saving. It's really all up to my readers. In any event, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my Jenna bo Benna and to all the twinless twins out there.

Note: The poem that inspired this chapter is The Stolen Child by William Butler Yeats


"It sounds like she had a severe placental abruption caused by blunt force trauma." Ava said gravely. She and a midwife assistant had arrived at the manor at Phoebe's bequest.

"Wow." She murmured softly as she was inspecting Piper.

"What?" Cole asked worriedly.

"She's not dilated at all. That's … unheard of." She looked up at Cole, completely flabbergasted.

"You say she delivered?" He nodded at her. She shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't know what to tell you. I've never seen anything like this. Granted I'm not an OBGYN but in these cases intravenous tocolytic treatment is needed to prevent the other baby from being delivered prematurely. But there's no sign of fetal distress and there is absolutely no evidence that she has just given birth." She reassured Cole and Phoebe.

"There is evidence of trauma and bruising in the abdominal area but that should clear up." She continued to examine Piper who was conscious but listless and frighteningly complacent.

"We need to get her cleaned up so I can see if any of these cuts need sutures."

Without so much as a groan of protest, Piper let herself be picked up and carried to the bathroom where Cole gently undressed her while Ava ran a warm bath. She was thankful when Cole closed the door and prevented Phoebe from coming in. Together with Ava, Cole lovingly bathed her gently. Seeing her completely naked made him cringe. She was covered with bruises and cuts. He was almost afraid to touch her for fear of causing her even more pain. But Piper seemed oblivious to it all. Her eyes, vacant and unseeing, frightened him more. How was she going to get through this?

Ava had cleaned and bandaged the more serious wounds and Cole gently laid her in bed once more. He kissed her forehead and for the first time since they had arrived at the manor he saw her eyes fill with emotion. As he pulled away from her she weakly reached her hand out to him. His heart tightened and crumbled. He wanted more than anything to fix her, to comfort her, to erase her pain. That intense pain in her eyes. Cautiously, he lay down next to her and pulled her close. Together, they drifted off into a precarious and troubled slumber.


"Where is she?" He cried rushing through the house, searching for her.

"Where have you been?" Phoebe screamed ignoring his request and jogging after him down the attic steps. Paige followed behind, exhausted.

Cole was startled awake by the sound of yelling and footsteps. He managed to get to his feet just as Leo ran into the room. He glanced briefly his way but didn't seem to register his presence. He rushed forwards to Piper's still sleeping figure. Phoebe and Paige entered moments later.

"Oh god." Leo moaned and sobbed openly, over Piper's body. He hadn't seen her in days and she looked so haggard and frail. He took her hand and saw the bruises lining her wrists and sprinkled all over her arms. Her eyes fluttered open, disoriented and he cried in pain and joy to see her.

Cole felt Paige tug at his arm and she led both him and Phoebe out of the room, leaving Leo alone with his ailing beauty.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Phoebe spat furiously at her sister.

"Taking care of all the godamn chaos up there." Paige responded, annoyed and exhausted.

"The Elders haven't seen such a huge influx of magical creatures up there since the witch trials. They needed all the help they could get." She muttered walking towards her room.

"Do you have any idea how many dead witches there were? Everything is out of control." She sighed as she entered her room and sat on her bed pulling off her boots.


Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you
can understand.

She sat, solemn. Devastated. Grieving. Grieving for what was, what could have been and what would never be. Grieving for the child that had she had carried inside her and yet had never seen. For the future that was blatantly ripped away. For the laughs never heard. The hugs never felt. The breath never taken. For her stolen child. She sat and wept, unable to comprehend the pain in her soul. Never. Never had she felt such pain. It was not as if she hadn't encountered loss or death. Mom, Grams … Prue. She hadn't been able to imagine feeling more sorrow than when Prue died and yet now she was living proof. Her very core throbbed with grief . Grief. Anger. Regret. Why? Why her? Why now? After everything. All of it. It was too much. She couldn't do it. Couldn't go on. The pain was all encompassing, separating her from the world. The sorrow engulfing her. Drowning her.

A tear cautiously slid down her cheek and landed on her belly. That swollen pregnant belly. Her arms ached to hold her. Her breasts ached to nurse her. Her heart cried out for the lost child who never had a chance to shed tears.

None of them understood. How could they? Not even Phoebe who had lost a pregnancy. That had been a demon invading her body. Not a person. A human being. An innocent child. Her child.

Her precious child she never knew. Her angel child who flew too soon.

Her child. Whom she had carried for nearly seven months. Whom she had felt grow and move. Whom she had talked to and imagined. Her child whom she had been so looking forward to meeting … again. The one she had seen that day. That day that would never come to pass.

Or would it? Had this happened all along? Had Melinda been the surviving baby? Had there never been hope for her? She refused to believe it.

Phoebe had tried to comfort her, saying "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

Had she not been so weak from the physical and emotional torment she would have decked her. She knew Phoebe meant well, but for an advice columnist she could be incredibly insensitive sometimes. Not meant to be? If it hadn't been meant to be she would have never been conceived.

And yet, she couldn't help but wonder. Had it been inevitable? A small part of herself would feel relieved it had. Then she would know it wasn't her fault. As it was, she couldn't forgive herself. All along they had told her to slow down. To take it easy. She hadn't listened. Hadn't cared. Maybe if she'd been more cautious she'd still be carrying them both. If she'd heeded their advice maybe none of it would have happened. Or if she'd waited just a little bit longer they'd have gotten their and saved her. The escape wasn't necessary. Just a little bit, a few hours and she would have been safe. The baby would have lived … she should have waited. Damnit! So many what ifs.

She couldn't process it all. It was too much. Her entire being ached for her baby. Ached with an indescribable pain so dense she was smothering in it.

She would have easily fallen asleep and never woken up had it not been for the remaining child inside of her. It was the only thing keeping her alive. Keeping her from giving up, from succumbing to the seductive darkness that summoned her.


"Is there any way to summon Grams? Maybe she could help." Phoebe asked hopefully.

"I already tried." Paige said. "Stupid fucking Elders." Leo didn't even care enough to give her a chastising glance.

The four of them were sitting sullenly in the living room discussing options. It had been three days since she'd come home. Three days since that day. Three days and all she'd had to eat were nine spoonfuls of broth, a small bowl of Jell-O and Gatorade. She refused to speak. To any of them. Not even to Leo or Cole. She simply stared vacantly. Ava, the gypsy doctor had come by to check on her and explained to them, medically, what had happened. One twin had died and been expelled while the surviving twin seemed to be doing just fine. Twins. They hadn't even known she was carrying two. Of course they attributed that to the lack of appropriate prenatal care though there had been signs. The unusually intense nausea had definitely been an indicator. Not that it mattered anymore. She had lost the baby. A baby. Her baby.


Something was touching her cheek. Soft, gentle and deliciously familiar. A warm sensation that was tender and indescribable. She felt herself being carried out of her deep slumber by the feeling. The memory was escaping her but all of it seemed so familiar.

"Mommy?" She asked, her voice slurred slightly from sleep.

"Shh, sweetie. It's okay." That wonderful voice replied. She felt those amazing ageless arms wrap around her and hold her. She was finally safe once again, snuggled against her mother's breast.

"Mommy?" she spoke, her head buried in her mother's bosom.

"Yes, darling." She replied.

"Mommy, I hurt." She paused, tears choking her. "I just hurt so much."

"I know, sweetheart." Patti closed her eyes and inhaled. "I know." And she did.

She knew what it was like to lose a child. Her children. She understood on a deep level, Piper's pain.

Patti softly caressed her daughter's head just like she had done some twenty-odd years before. She crooned and rocked her sobbing child. A mother wants nothing more than to keep her children safe and it broke her heart to see her little girl in so much pain.

Piper lay there, curled up, protected in her mother's arms, her body wracked with sorrowful sobs for what seemed like an eternity. As her sobs slowed and her breathing evened out slightly, she cautiously lifted her head out of its cushiony haven and looked her mother deep in the eyes.

"Oh, sweet-pea." Her mother crooned and wiped a tear off of her cheek. Piper shook her head slightly in resignation.

"I can't … I can't do this momma." She spoke dejectedly.

"Yes, you can." Her mother replied earnestly.

"I know it seems hopeless right now but you will get through this." Piper gazed at her with big, pained and doubtful eyes.

"I just miss her." Piper groaned. "I miss her so much." She cried, tears welling up in her eyes once again. Patti sighed and nodded. She knew all too well.

"How can you miss someone you've never met so much?" It didn't seem logical but it was true. She missed her baby with more fervor and need than she had ever felt before.

"I don't know, darling. I don't know." She spoke softly.

"I do know that you will get through this. You will survive and you will prevail because you are resilient baby-girl. You are strong." She spoke determinedly to her daughter. Her daughter who simply lowered her eyes and shook her head dismally. She didn't feel strong or resilient. She felt like a fucking failure. A failure as a sister, a daughter, a wife, but most of all as a mother.

Suddenly she felt a small kick inside of her. Minute yet solid. Both Piper and Patti froze. They had both felt it as they had been pressed against each other.

"Feel that sweetie? That is your child telling you she needs you now more than ever." Piper gulped down her tears. Her hand slowly moved to her distended belly, inside of which her remaining baby was letting her presence known. She bit her lip, her loyalties ripped apart. Ripped between her two babies.

Patti sighed and took her daughter's face gently in her hands.

"Piper." She spoke sternly and softly. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this, darling. This is a downright shitty situation." They both smiled sadly. Patti wasn't one to use that kind of language unless it was truly warranted.

"There is nothing worse in this world than losing a child. Nothing. And I'm not saying that it's not okay to grieve for her because that is necessary. You will always miss her Piper. I wish it wasn't so but that pain will never go away. It might fade but it will never be gone. What's not okay is giving up, as much as you want and deserve to. You can't Piper. It's not who you are. You're a Halliwell, a Charmed One and if nothing else, my stubborn little Piper and you can't give up." Piper's eyes spilled over with tears.

"I'm just so tired." She sobbed. "So tired!" And she was. Tired to fighting. Tired of being strong. Tired of surviving.

"I know you are, baby. I know." Her mother softened and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"You don't have to do this by yourself, and you won't. Your sisters will help you, if you'll let them. As will Leo … and Cole." At that Piper raised her head quizzically.

"Yes, I know." She spoke. "But now is not the time or place. They are all here for you if let them in. Let them help you." She spoke tenderly.

"I'll stay as long as you need me but you're going to need to let your sisters in as well. And Leo. He lost his child too." Piper nodded, knowing she was right.

"You will heal in your own time sweet-pea. But right now, you're going to have to eat for me." Piper groaned softly and Patti smiled lovingly.

"You still have this baby to take care of." She patted Piper's belly. Piper sadly gazed at her stomach. Her mother was right, of course. Somehow, just having her there to share in all of it made the pain ever so slightly more bearable.

"Do … do you think she misses her sister?" Piper asked after a long silence. For a moment, Patti paused, unsure of how to answer.

"Yes." She said, sure. "Yes, she does." Piper cringed and squeezed her eyes shut. After a few ragged breathes she opened her tearful eyes once more, begging her mother for words of reassurance. Patti knew she would be revealing too much but she didn't care. She needed to comfort her daughter. There was no other way.

"Piper. All souls go 'up there.' You know that. Unborn babies are no different in that sense. Melinda is there as well. Not in the way you knew her. Her soul. There is no form. No sight, sound or smell, not even gender. Nothing. Not up there. Just … light. I … it's hard to explain but I know that she is safe. Her soul is waiting. Waiting for you. For her twin. Waiting for the two of them to be together again. To be re-born. To be re-born to the next version of you." Piper, slightly confused struggled to get everything she was saying.

"We are all recycled sooner or later. Eventually, Grams will be re-born and then me and then the four of you girls and eventually your babies as well. It's a long and intricate cyclical process that is constantly being perfected … since the beginning of time." Patti paused, to make sure Piper was absorbing it all. She was.

"That's why the desolation is so devastating. You do know her. You have met her. Your souls are forever intertwined. You have and always will be her mother - in this life and the next." Piper sighed in understanding.

"It's a double-edged sword. That intangible, eternal connection is what links us all but it's also why the pain is so dense." Piper nodded. The pain was far from gone but deep inside her a tiny well of hope was springing up because she understood that her child was not lost. At least not forever. They would meet once again. Not yet. But someday.


So? Shall I continue or not? I kinda feel like I've lost my touch. I don't know. Tell me what you guys think!