a/n: In answer to the question about Peony - She is the younger sister of Chris and Wyatt, she's first mentioned in Chapter 7, and no, she won't be appearing in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own charmed

Chapter 9

"i'm not over reacting i just want to check that she is okay" Victor insisted as they sat in the waiting room of the casualty department, Phoebe, her fairy dress showing beneath her dressing gown, stretched out asleep on across their laps..

"but Leo healed her - don't you trust him?" Patty questioned

"of course i do" Victor replied, but the sincerity was lacking from his voice.

"You don't do you? After all these years, you still don't trust Whitelighters, just because of …"

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU AND SAM " Victor shouted, before realising where he was " and every bit to do with our youngest daughter who was knocked unconscious for 5 minutes, i just need an x-ray or something to double check that no internal damage was done"

"Fine, but I don't see why.."

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Uh-oh" Patty pointed to the blue orb cloud that had just disappeared behind the row of vending machines. Chris presently appeared, balancing Paige on one hip, a nap sack over one shoulder and held Piper in the other hand.

"what are you doing here? Is everything okay at home?" Victor asked.

"Dad sent me" Chris explained. "He got severely reprimanded by the other Elders for healing Phoebe, apparently the whole point of this 'situation' is to see how you and Grandpa cope alone, without magic or at least with as little magic as possible. Anyway the rules it seems also, extend to baby sitting". He handed Paige over to Patty.

"why are they being so difficult?" Patty grumbled

"You know the elders, they have their reasons" Chris turned to his mother "Bye Bye Pippi"

"can't you stay and play with me?" Piper asked, waving her rag doll at him

"Fraid not kiddo" He knelt down so that he was level with her. Piper's eyes filled with tears at the thought of her play mate who had had her undivided attention for the past hour while her parents fussed over Phoebe was now leaving.

"hey don't cry" Chris gave her a hug and smoothed her hair like she had done with him when he was little "we'll have our tea party tomorrow, okay"

"'kay, cos i like you, you're my friend"

"Yeah, I like you too" he stifled a laugh and stood up and patted her on the head.

"Right I'll see you guys later" he said to his grandparents and walked toward the bathrooms where he could orb away in privacy.

"Phoebe Halliwell, we're ready to see you now" The nurse came forward

"okay Phoebe, wake up sweetie" Victor shook her gently "lets go see the nice doctor"

"I want mummy to go with me" she demanded

"alright" Victor handed her to her mother a little upset at his youngest daughters rejection of him.

"We'll be back soon" Patty told him as she followed the nurse toward the X-Ray department. Sighing, Victor sat back down in his seat, and prepared himself for a long wait.

XXX

45 minutes later and there was still no sign of Patty and Phoebe. Victor in the meanwhile had fallen asleep in the plastic chair, and was woken by Piper shaking his arm.

"Daddy I'm board, can we go home yet?" she moaned

"Yes darling, just as soon as mummy and Phoebe get back" He soothed.

"Stupid Phoebe, falling over"

"Piper! Don't be rude"

"sorry"

"good"

"stupid little sisters" she muttered.

"Piper! don't say that, not in front of Paige" he indicated to the baby on his lap

"But they are!" She insisted

"I've just about had enough of your insolence young lady, now if you can't say anything good don't say anything at all"

"But" she protested

"Not another word"

"But Daddy, I don't think Paige is very well"

Victor looked down at the baby. She was so still that he had presumed she was sleeping, but now he realised that she was awake, her eyes glazed over staring listlessly ahead. He felt her forehead, she was burning up, he lifted her little arm to try and move her and noticed an ominous purple rash on her inner arm.

He bolted up and dashed to the reception desk, "it's my um, my , my, my.."he looked at Paige lifeless in his arms, a wave of pain rushed over him, he wasn't quite sure if it was entirely because she was ill, or because she was a living reminder of Patty's infidelity. "It's the baby" he spluttered, He held her out to a passing nurse, stopping her in her tracks " Look, the rash"

The nurse took Paige in her arms, she pressed down on the rash, the spots did not disappear. "Come with me" she beckoned Victor, who in turn grabbed Piper

"ah Doctor Hayes" the Nurse approached a white coated man who was just leaving a cubicle "I think we have a suspected case of meningitis"

XXX

"And you can have any colour lollipop you like because you have been such a good girl" The doctor handed Phoebe a box of sweets to chose from

Patty smiled fondly.

"She's perfectly fine" the doctor told her "No damage done, amazing really. You're free to go"

"Thank you doctor" Patty took Phoebe's hand

"come on little miss, lets get you home"

Walking into the waiting room Patty scanned the chairs , but found no sign of Victor and the other girls.

"Excuse me" she asked the receptionist, "I'm looking for my husband , he was waiting here with our other daughters, he's about 5 ft 8", grey hair, was with a 6 year old and a baby, name's Victor Halliwell, and.."

"Oh," the receptionist knew exactly who she was talking about "are you the mother...?"

XXX

"Is she going to be okay?" Victor asked worriedly as the doctors surrounded the tiny figure on the bed.

"I don't know" came the doctors reply "but we need to get drugs into her, and for that we need to do a lumber punch immediately"

"so do one" Victor ordered

"we will" he handed him a clip board, " we just need parental agreement, you need to sign below"

Victor paused

"You are her father?" The doctor puzzled

Victor looked at the now unconscious baby, she was beautiful, and looked almost exactly like Prue, Sam may have been her father, but she was most definitely Patty's child., and Phoebe and Piper's little sister.

"Yes", he replied "she's my daughter" He grabbed the form and signed.

XXX

Patty raced along the hospital corridor, she was running as fast as she could given that she was carrying a small child. Approaching the room toward the end she found Piper sat on a chair, holding her rag doll.

"Mummy" she cried

"Take her" Patty handed Phoebe to her "where's your father?"

"in there" Piper pointed to the adjacent room.

Patty burst through the doors

She found Paige, asleep in a cot, connected to her IV, Victor sat next to her holding her hand

"Oh my God, how is she?" Patty cried

"Doctors say she will be fine" Victor wrapped his arm around his shell shocked wife "she's had the medication, and she's a little fighter, she just needs to sleep it all off"

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost her…this is my punishment isn't it?

"Punishment?"

"For giving her up for adoption, for giving her away. I spent years and years consumed by guilt, even though mother told me that we did it for the best to protect her, I couldn't help but feel like an awful mother. I dreamed about being able to keep her, I craved it, and now i finally get the chance to be her mother and she is going to be taken away from me again" Patty burst into tears.

"Patty, you listen to me" Victor cupper her chin in his hand, and lifted her head so that she was looking into his eyes ", Firstly Paige is going to be fine, she is responding well to the treatment, the doctor reckons she just needs to sleep and let her body fight it out. Secondly, you are not a bad person, you were in a complicated situation, and you did what you thought was best for your child, and as parents that's all we can do"

"You think?"

"I know"

" You sound like an expert" She sniffed.

"We all know I'm hardly that, and if I could have my time over things would be very different, the only good thing is that I can make a fresh start with Wyatt and Chris"

"From the little I've seen they appear to adore you"

"Well I hope that continues, because they are both remarkable young men"

"Excuse me" The doctor came back in the room, breaking the moment, and began to look at the notes on Paige's chart "Let's see how your little girl is progressing shall we.."

XXX

TBC