Piper's car came to a halt outside the building where Cole's apartment was. Piper and Phoebe flung themselves out of the car and ran inside. As the elevator came to a stop on Cole's floor the sisters waited with baited breath as the doors slowly opened. Both were terrified at what they might find.

The first thing they saw was Paige's broken, bleeding body sprawled naked across the floor. They rushed over to her but Paige shuffled away from them with a frightened whimper. They could see that she had several broken bones and was bleeding heavily in several places.

Piper took her jacket off and approached her youngest sister slowly trying not to frighten her anymore than she already was. "It's okay, sweetheart, we're not going to hurt you." Her voice broke and she struggled to swallow back her tears. They were too late. She'd never forgive herself. She'd promised her baby sister that she wouldn't let him hurt her anymore. She'd failed her.

Cole walked back into the room and smiled at them. "Piper! Phoebe! What a pleasant surprise!"

Paige let out another frightened whimper and passed out. Piper covered her gently with her jacket and peeled the tape away from her mouth. Desperately she looked upwards and started calling for Leo.

Phoebe got to her feet shaking with anger. "You bastard! How could you do this!"

Cole chuckled, "Actually I think you'll find the only bastard here is Paige." Phoebe punched him as hard as she could. He staggered backwards and smiled, "You know how damn sexy you are when you're angry?" Phoebe let out a grunt of disgust and went back over to her sisters.

Cole walked over to the group slowly. Phoebe instantly tensed herself, ready to fight if she had to.

He smiled, "Don't worry I'm not going to kill her yet. I was going to but I know you'll only attack me if I try and I don't want to have to hurt you. I'll get another opportunity."

Phoebe looked helpless, "Please Cole, If you love me as much as you say then don't hurt Paige. Just leave her alone… please…"

"I'm doing you a favour! She ruined things between us. It's her fault Prue died, I'm surprised you two are even defending her!"

Piper got to her feet angrily, "How dare you! It's your fault things didn't work out with Phoebe! Get it into your thick head, she could never stay with someone who's evil! Someone who tried to kill her sisters! And Paige had nothing to do with how Prue died! That was all down to Shax!"

"Oh, come on Piper! Phoebe was with me long after she found out I was a demon! And you can't pretend that you didn't resent Paige in the beginning! You felt like she was trying to replace Prue!"

Piper shook her head, "I'm not listening to this, LEO! Please! We need you!"

"You know, I've actually done more damage than you realize. You see, this isn't the first time Paige has been raped… Poor girl…" He shook his head sadly, "It brought back a lot of bad memories for her."

Phoebe looked up sharply, "What's that supposed to mean?" Cole grinned and shrugged at her.

Leo orbed in and dropped down next to Paige. Seeing the condition she was in he quickly orbed them all back to the manor.

Arriving back in Paige's bedroom, Piper finally allowed herself to break down in tears as Phoebe held her close. Leo held his hands over Paige's broken form and began healing her.

Phoebe looked at him questioningly, "What are her injuries?"

Leo frowned, "Shattered shoulder, broken collar bone, broken wrist, broken ribs, broken jaw, dislocated ankle, her stomach wounds have reopened, damage from being raped and she's had the word 'whore' cut into her back. Other than that there's just cuts and bruises."

Her cast was practically hanging off so Leo removed it completely and healed her wrist. When Phoebe looked at him quizzically he said that he'd use memory dust on the doctor.

As he finished healing her, Paige started to stir. Piper hurriedly wiped her eyes and looked at Leo, "Maybe you shouldn't be here. She might panic if she sees a man near her." Leo nodded and orbed out.

Paige sat bolt upright in bed gasping. Phoebe immediately wrapped her arms round her and rocked her as she sobbed. "It's alright honey, you're safe. We've got you."

Suddenly aware that all she was covered with was Piper's jacket she quickly scrambled off the bed. "I need to shower. I need to be clean." She grabbed her bathrobe and hurried to the bathroom locking the door behind her.

Piper and Phoebe heard the shower switch on and exchanged a worried look. "Do you think she'll be ok?"

"I hope so, Pheebs, I really hope so. I have no idea how to help her through this though. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to raped."

"What do you think Cole meant? When he said that wasn't the first time it'd happened to her?"

"I don't know. I'd have thought she'd have told us something like that but maybe it was too painful to talk about. We'll just have to hope she opens up to us."

Paige stood in the shower scrubbing her skin so hard that it quickly turned red. She had to get clean. She had to. Her breath was coming in short ragged gasps and soon she was leaning with her back against the wall, sobbing. She slid down into a sitting position and brought her knees up to chest. She sank her head into her arms, crying harder than she ever had before.

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Piper sat in the kitchen staring blankly into her cup of tea. It had gone cold now but she didn't care, She hadn't even wanted it in the first place. Sighing she got up and tipped the contents down the sink.

She heard a sound behind her and spun round quickly to find Phoebe walking through the door. Her hair was messed up as though she'd run her hand through it repeatedly and she looked emotionally drained.

Piper gave her a small smile, "You look how I feel…"

Phoebe didn't answer her but looked up towards the ceiling.

"Something wrong?"

"She's been in the shower for an hour now. Do you think we should go and see if she's alright?"

Before Piper could answer they heard the sound of the shower being switched off and footsteps leaving the bathroom.

"Finally!" Phoebe hurried from the room towards the stairs. Piper caught up with her and stopped her.

"I think we should leave her in peace for a while. She's been through a lot and she probably wants some time to herself."

"But she shouldn't be on her own! After everything she went through today, surely she'll want us there to comfort her? Besides, what if Cole comes back?"

Piper knew she was beaten, "I guess you're right. Come on then." Together they climbed the stairs and stood outside Paige's door.

Phoebe looked at Piper curiously and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Why are we stopping? What are you waiting for?"

"I just…. I don't know what to do or say." Piper's eyes shone with tears that refused to fall. Phoebe held her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She knocked softly on Paige's door. When they got no answer they pushed it open feeling anxious.

Paige was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sweater, it wasn't a very 'Paige' outfit. Her hair was still wet and hung in red strands down her back, making a damp patch on the back of her sweater.. She had a suitcase open on her bed and was throwing all her clothes into it.

Piper looked shocked, "Paige? What are you doing?"

Paige stopped in her tracks, a pair of socks still in her hand. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and she struggled to keep her emotions under control. "I.. I'm sorry…" She lowered her gaze to the floor, refusing to meet her sister's eyes.

Phoebe looked concerned and kept her voice low and gentle. She could see what a fragile state her sister was in, "You haven't got anything to be sorry for honey." She moved closer and tried to hug her but Paige backed away quickly looking panicked.

"Don't! Don't touch me! I'm… I'm unclean… I need to wash… "

Paige hurried towards the bedroom door but Piper stepped in front of her, closing the door and blocking her way, "Sweetie, you've already been in the shower for an hour. You don't need to go in again." She could see Paige visibly shaking as she wrapped her arms round herself and kept her eyes fixed on the floor. "Why are you packing?"

"I… I… need to leave… I'm dirty… I don't want you to be ashamed of me…" She started to cry, "Please don't hate me! I'm sorry! Please don't leave me…." She sank to the floor sobbing.

Piper instantly knelt down next to her baby sister, pulling her into her arms and holding her close. "We'll never leave you, baby girl, we love you so much."

Phoebe sat down next to Paige and let her lean against her so that Paige's head was resting on her chest. She closed her arms round her and kissed the top of her head, "We could never be ashamed of you. You mean the world to us."

Piper stroked Paige's damp hair gently trying to soothe her trembling sister, "Why did you think we'd leave you?"

"Everyone always leaves… when they find out… they hate me…. they're embarrassed by me… they leave…."

"When they find out what honey?" When Paige didn't answer Piper rubbed her back softly, "I promise you, I won't leave. Whatever it is, I'm here for you."

Phoebe looked down at Paige, "Me too. Nothing could ever make us hate you."

Paige took a deep, shuddering breath and said in a voice no louder than a whisper, "I was sexually assaulted when I was a teenager…"

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A/N: Time to write those reviews! There's only two chapters left with this story now so I'll be putting the last two up one at a time.