Chapter 50: Sense and Sense Ability Part 1

April 25, 2003 – Friday

Halliwell Manor

Paige stood in the parlor singing to Wyatt, Elizabeth and Joyce. "Hush little baby don't you cry, aunty's going to buy you a pumpkin pie. And if that pie doesn't taste real good, aunty's going to buy some other kind of food. And if that food doesn't fill your tummy..."

Paige's date, Nate, stood in the doorway watching her. He clapped lightly as Paige stopped singing. "They're lucky babies."

Paige smiled as she walked over to him. "Sorry, it's the only thing I can soothe them with nowadays."

"Why would you be sorry?" Nate wondered.

"Because normally I don't like to embarrass myself until the fifth or sixth date," Paige admitted as they sat down on the couch. "Yeah."

"Humiliate?" he said surprised. "Why? You've got a great voice. Better than most of the singers I book at the club."

"Oh, you're just being sweet," she replied even though she liked the compliment. "Not that I mind sweet."

"Well, what do you like to sing?" Nate asked.

"Uh, something called eighth grade, graduation," Paige admitted. "I was supposed to sing the school song. Eight hundred people were watching, the band is playing, I get up but no sound comes out of my mouth. I completely froze. To make matters worse, I ran out and missed my own graduation."

"No," he said in surprise.

Paige nodded reluctantly. "Yeah."

"I think the eighth grade sort of sucks for everybody," Nate admitted.

Paige chuckled. "Yeah, mine just kind of sucked publicly," she told her boyfriend as he leaned in and kissed her. "That was nice, I haven't had that in a while."

"Had what?" he wondered. .

"Well, I like talking to you," Paige admitted.

Nate smiled. "I like talking to you to."

Paige blushed. "And I like kissing you."

"Kissing's good," he agreed.

"And I'm kind of nervous," she admitted with a sigh.

"Me too," Nate agreed.

Paige looked at Nate's glass. "I should get you more wine," Paige said moving to get up.

"I'll get it. It's in the kitchen, right?" Nate asked as he kissed Paige. He then stood and quickly headed for the kitchen. He didn't see the Kazi demon that appeared Paige grabbing her by the head. Thick veins travel through her head and she moaned in pain. She orbed out of his grip and orbed back in across the room.

"Leo! Piper! Help!" Paige called out as her brother-in-law and sister orbed in still wearing their formal wear.

"What the..." Piper said before spotting the Kazi demon who was heading for Paige. She flicked her wrist blowing him up just as the rug caught fire. Paige rushed over and stomped the fire out.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked his sister-in-law.

Paige looked nervously toward the kitchen. "Get out! Get out! Nate's he..." she was telling them as Nate walked into the room carrying a glass of wine. "Here."

Leo smiled. "Hey, Nate, buddy, how you doing?" he asked.

"Good, good, I didn't hear you come in," Nate admitted.

Piper nodded. "Yeah, how about that. Kind of like magic," she told him as she looked at her sister.

April 26, 2003 – Saturday

Streets of Sunnydale

Following behind a truck, Willow was mentally reviewing the ensoulment of Angel, which she had successfully accomplished as per Fred's phone call. But all musing stopped when she saw the body fly from the passenger's side of the truck.

She managed to swerve just in time, tires squealing, her car rocking as if a tired had blown. Then she jumped out into the crisis and ran to the girl in the road.

"Goddess," Willow breathed. To the girl, she said, "Can you hear me? Can you talk?"

But the girl was beyond any of that. As she lay in a glaze of unconsciousness. "She's bleeding badly," she said to herself. Then she pulled off her T-shirt and pressed it against the girl's gut wound, trying vainly to staunch the flow of blood.

Halliwell Manor

The conservatory was filled boards with paper pinned to them. Dawn, Piper and Buffy were trying to take photos of Wyatt, Elizabeth and Joyce, all of whom were lying pillows on the couch.

"Yes, Jason, I'm meeting with the syndication consultants today," Phoebe said. Since Dawn's notice of resignation. Jason had been doing things to get Phoebe into the spotlight as a solo act so when the fall semester started it wouldn't be as big of a shock to the readers of the paper that the Ask Phoebe column was only being written by Phoebe. "But I've been doing some preliminary research and we've got Ann Landers, Dear Abby, and E. Jean."

Dawn shook her head as she listened to Phoebe. She had yet to tell Phoebe or Paige about how she saw them. She was sure Phoebe suspected after all Phoebe had been there when she turned in her notice of resignation.

"Okay, ready?" Piper asked the children as she snapped the picture. She frowned when she saw only Elizabeth and Joyce were smiling.

"But if Atlanta folds, the south will be mine," Phoebe admitted. .

Piper looked at her mother and elder sister as she shook her head. "I bore him," she said as Buffy and Dawn smiled at her.

"Let me try," Dawn suggested as she made a face trying to get Wyatt to smile.

"Yeah, well, I don't care if the south thinks my column is too edgy, okay. I think the south could use a little edge." Phoebe said as she noticed the burnt spot on the carpet from the Kazi vanquish. She looked at Dawn, Buffy and Piper as she whispered, "What is that? What is that?"

"Kazi vanquish," Piper answered.

"Another one?" Dawn asked.

Piper nodded. "Paige is on it."

Phoebe turned her attention back to the phone. "Yes, of course I'm excited," she told her boyfriend. "Can't you tell that I'm excited? I just miss you. When are you coming home?"

"Okay, mommy and auntie's got one last picture left. Are you three ready?" Piper said as she held up the camera. "Here we go. Smile, smile, smile, one, two, three." She took another picture. This time neither Joyce or Wyatt smiled. "Alright, I give up."

Leo walked in carrying two baby outfits. "Hey, big guy, you want to do the popcorn machine?" he asked his son as Wyatt smiled and laughed.

Piper glared at her husband. "I know it's not easy doing that with both of your children at once, Leo, but…"

"I know, Piper," Leo said as he picked up his son and began bouncing him on his knee. "But I saw how difficult you were having with getting Wyatt to smile."

Dawn picked up Joyce. "Come here, my little pum'kin belly," she said as she held Joyce up in the air and spun her around.

"Yeah, see, now he smiles." Piper said noticing that Wyatt was smiling.

"Okay, let's get them ready for the fair, okay?" Leo said.

"Oh my I completely forgot about the fair." Dawn said as she hurried up the stairs with Joyce. She quickly found a baby outfit and started to put her daughter in it.

"I'm telling you, there not going to fit," Piper told her husband. "Nothing fits anymore and if they keep growing at this rate, we're going to have to send them off to college by next week."

Leo held up the baby outfits. "Well, they will in these, I just got them yesterday," he explained to his wife. He started to unbutton Wyatt's outfit as Wyatt began to make a fuss.

"Are you hurting him?" Piper asked.

"He's hungry, Piper," Buffy said recognizing the cry.

"Are you sure, mom?" Piper asked looking at her mother.

"Very," Buffy answered. "I've had four children remember? I think I know how to differentiate between the individual cries a baby makes." She picked up a bottle and handed it to Leo.

"Thanks," Leo said looking at his mother-in-law.

"Might not be a bad idea to feed Elizabeth too," Buffy said as Leo nodded.

Piper sighed. "People, I am a terrible mother. I am bad at this. I don't even recognize my own children's cries."

"It's just a subtle difference, Piper," Buffy informed her daughter.

Piper sighed. "Okay, well, what about this maternal bond I hear so much about?" she asked as they heard an explosion upstairs.

"Jason, I got to call you back," Phoebe said as she ended the call.

"Dawn?" Buffy called out.

"Not me, Buffy," Dawn called back. "Came from the attic."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Everything okay?" Piper asked as she, Buffy, Dawn, Phoebe and Leo rushed into the attic.

"Better than okay," Paige answered looking at her family. "I am going to have a love life."

"You're making a love potion?" Phoebe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Paige shook her head. "No, I'm making a stun potion."

"So," Dawn said with a roll of her eyes, "lovers will be stunned by you?"

Paige chuckled at Dawn's subtle innuendo. "No," she said seriously, "so Kazis will be stunned by me."

"You're in love with a Kazi demon?" Phoebe questioned with a glance at Dawn, Piper and Buffy.

"Try to stay with me, people." Paige shook her head. "No," she replied. "I'm making a stun potion so that I can maybe have a date that doesn't end with, Nate, you got to leave. I have to clean some demon guts off the ceiling."

Buffy smiled. "Nate is much cuter than a Kazi demon."

"Mom," Paige said slightly embarrassed, She then handed her mother a potion vial. "The potion you hold in your hand is designed to stun, but not kill Kazis."

"But I so enjoy killing them," Piper countered.

Paige nodded. "Yes, but since the Kazi king creates his demon minions out of his own body..."

"If we get the king, then we get the Kazis," Dawn said in understanding.

Piper sighed. "But we don't know where the king is."

"Yes, but that's why I did the stun potion, so if we capture one of his minions, we can torture him..." Paige explained looking at each member of her family.

"Then the king will feel the pain and come in for the rescue," Phoebe said thinking that Paige's plan might work.

"Or the minion will break and spill his guts on the whereabouts of the king," Piper added.

"Okay, the finishing sentence thing, not cute," Paige admitted looking at her sisters.

"They're just trying to tell you it's a good plan, an oldie, but a goodie," Buffy said.

"Okay, let's go, guys," Leo said as he carried both of his children. "The fair waits for no witch."

Phoebe looked at them, she had totally forgotten about the fair. "Oh, no, the fair's today? I have to wor..."

"This is why I asked Jason for the morning off," Dawn said with a roll of her eyes. "And Pheebs, before you try and weasel out of it. We are going to the fair as a family, you promised."

Phoebe sighed as she looked at Dawn. "I know I did, and I really, really want to go, but the syndication meeting is this afternoon."

"That's this afternoon," Dawn countered. "Besides do you really want to miss Joyce, Wyatt and Elizabeth's first street fair?"

"They don't have a lot of firsts left, you know," Piper added.

"Yeah, they do," Paige countered. "They got their first date, first bad grade, first backfired spell. Many, many firsts."

"I'll bring my cell phone," Phoebe said.

"Bring the potions too, just in case," Paige added.

Sunnydale Memorial

Willow and Faith were no strangers to the E.R., and the girl Willow found too . . . who was fighting for her life, and no guarantees, there.

"Are you sure she's one of us?" Faith asked. Willow had called for her the moment she and the girl had gotten to the hospital.

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. Seems to fit, though. We'll know more when she regains consciousness."

"If she regains consciousness," Faith said. "Girl's been gutted like a catfish."

Willow nodded toward the girl, Shannon. "What do we do about her?"

"You wait with her in case she wakes," Faith said with a sigh. "I'll get Blondie and Xan on seeing if we can't find something out about this guy who did it."

San Francisco Street Fair

Wyatt, Elizabeth and Joyce were fast asleep in Leo, Buffy and Dawn's arms. Piper stood in front of them with the video camera trying to record her children and her niece with the pony.

"Come on, Wyatt, wake up," Leo said.

"Come on, Elizabeth, honey," Buffy said.

"Come on my little pum'kin belly, wake up," Dawn said.

"Come on. Pony, see, pony." Leo asked looking in the direction of the clown. "Why don't we take them over to see the clown?"

Dawn shook her head. "Clown's give me the creeps," she said. "No way am I going near one."

Piper looked at Dawn in surprise she then looked at Buffy. "Something from the …" she started.

"As Dawn, yes," Buffy said. "She's always hated clowns."

Piper nodded as she looked back at her husband. "I have to agree with Prue," she said. "Clowns are scary. Plus, balloons are a no-no for infants."

"Come on, Piper," Leo interjected, "put the camera away, you're missing all the fun."

"Taking pictures of our twins and our niece is fun for me," Piper countered. "I mean, if you want to talk to someone about missing out, talk to Phoebe." She hooked her thumber motioning toward Phoebe who was on her cell phone.

"Hi, Elise. No, I'm not on my way yet." Phoebe said as a mime followed her, copying her moves exactly. "I'm at a fair with my nieces and nephew. Well, yeah, of course I am going to be at the meeting. I will be there, I will be ready, I will be on." A crowd of people stopped to watch her and the mime. "Yeah. I know, I know." Paige walked over to her holding cotton candy. Paige tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the mime. "You know what? Let me call you back, let me call you back." She ended the call.

"Kind of sad when a mime is making fun of your phone usage," Paige said. "Everyone hates mimes, you do know that, don't you?" She handed the cotton candy to the mime and they walked over to Dawn, Buffy, Piper and Leo. They stood near a booth where a Capuchin monkey sat.

"Okay, so I have five minutes," Phoebe interjected. "Is there a ride I can go on with Wyatt, Elizabeth and Joyce real quick?" She then looked at Dawn. "Then we need to get into work so I can make my meeting."

"Okay, that's pathetic," Paige interjected.

"Phoebe, are you penciling in rides with your nieces and nephew?" Piper asked shaking her head. "For crying out loud, it's Saturday."

Dawn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Pheebs. Relax a little."

"I know, but I think I'm going to be working Saturdays from now on," Phoebe admitted. "Do you think I'm happy about this? There are many things I have been in my life. Workaholic is not one of them."

"Honey, if your not happy," Buffy said looking at her middle daughter. "Why are you still working there?"

"Who says I'm not happy?" Phoebe countered.

"You just did," Leo informed his sister-in-law.

"I blame your very handsome, but very pushy boyfriend," Piper interjected.

"National syndication is a huge opportunity and yes, it was Jason's idea, but I agreed to it," Phoebe explained. "And I am happy, I'm really happy." Just then her phone rang again. She again accepted the call. "Hello? Yeah, okay." Suddenly, the monkey sitting on top of the booth, jumped onto Phoebe's shoulder. "Whoa!"

The monkey touched Phoebe's ear. It then jumped onto Paige's shoulder.

"Don't like monkeys!" Paige cried.

The monkey touched Paige's mouth as the crowd laughed. It then jumped on Piper's shoulder.

"Let me call you back," Phoebe said ending the call again. "Leo…Buffy…Dawn, germs, cover the babies."

The monkey touched Piper's eyes. "Alright." Piper said angrily.

The monkey jumped to Dawn and touched her mouth. Finally it jumped to Buffy and touched her ear. it then finally jumped down and ran away. It was at that moment that all three babies began to make a fuss.

"I don't think Elizabeth, Wyatt and Joyce liked mister monkey." Leo said as he looked at his children and niece. He turned his attention to his children. "Did he scare you both? He did, he scared you both."

"It's ok, my little pum'kin belly," Dawn cooed at her daughter. "The monkey's gone."

"It's okay," Piper said looked at the babies. "Are they hungry?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, that's their tired cry," she said.

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "I think they're just over stimulated."

"Maybe we should go home," Leo suggested.

"Alright, you guys are the experts," Piper reluctantly agreed. "Um, why don't you guys orb home and mom and I'll go develop this film."

"Okay, we'll walk you to the car," Leo offered.

"I think that stupid monkey got dust in my eye." Piper said as she rubbed her eyes. .

"Do you hear that ringing?" Phoebe and Buffy asked simultaneously.

Dawn and Paige cleared their throats. As they all walked away they didn't noticed the monkey that had returned to its perch suddenly disappear.

Summers Home

"A girl was attacked on her way into town," Faith said when she orbed into the foyer. "She may be a Potential." She noticed that Giles was sitting at the dining room table. Her look was icy. She had told him to leave, he hadn't. But short of orbing him to England, she decided to let him stay. Besides it didn't hurt to have more allies just in case, right?.

Bay Mirror Newspaper Offices

"Hi," Phoebe said as she walked into the meeting.

"There you are," Elise said as she smiled at her advice columnist. "Where is Dawn?" she asked noticing that Dawn wasn't behind Phoebe.

"In our office," Phoebe answered. "She's working on her half of this weeks column. Why did you need her here for this?"

"No," Elise answered. "But given she is your writing partner for a few more months. I thought you might want her opinion."

"Ah," Phoebe said. "I can ask her opinion on things afterwards."

"Fair enough," Elise agreed. She then introduced each of the people that Phoebe was there to meet. "Phoebe, this is Mark Roberts with the syndicators."

"Hello," Phoebe said as she took his hand and shook it.

"Laura Robbins with marketing."

"Hi," Laura said with a nod.

"How are you?" Phoebe asked smiling at the woman.

"And, uh, Richard Jean our image consultant," Elise concluded.

"Richard. Hi," Phoebe said as she sat down.

"While not required for this meeting," Richard said as he looked at Elise. "I would like to meet with Dawn also. It might help Phoebe's image if we get some kind of transitional image going on."

Elise nodded. "I will have her talk to you later.

Phoebe smiled as she looked at each of the people in the room. "I'm so glad you guys could make it, thank you so much," she told them. "Jason tells me you're the best at what you do and I look forward to hearing your thoughts."

"Glad you could make it," Elise said looking at Phoebe pointedly.

"I'm really sorry," Phoebe apologized as she heard a buzzing sound. "Do you hear that buzzing?" she asked.

"Well, if I can start," Richard said as he looked at Phoebe. "I would just like to dive in with a congratulations, Phoebe. I lo-huh-ove yours and Dawn's column. And I also wanna say I'm not only an image consultant but I'm a fan as well."

Phoebe leaned in a little bit trying to hear what was being said with the incessant buzzing in her ears. "I'm sorry," she admitted.

"I said I'm a fan of yours and Dawn's," Richard told her.

"Oh! That's sweet, thank you so much. Thank you," Phoebe said blushing slightly at the compliment. She rubbed her ear trying to get the buzzing to stop. "I will make sure to tell Dawn."

Richard nodded as he turned to look at the editor. "I was sad to hear that Dawn was resigning to go back to college. I hope that you might see if she is interested in you know reunion columns."

"That could possibly be arranged if Dawn is interested," Elise told him. "I think she's kind of interested in getting her degree, she's already put starting college for nearly a year."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Phoebe," Dawn said as she sat her desk trying to rehearse what she would say to Phoebe about discovering who she is. She let out a cough. "I've been meaning to talk to you. I…" She growled in frustration as another cough ripped from her throat. "How hard is it to tell someone that I am their sister reincarnated. That I see them that way and that its up to them if they want to see me that way. Grr."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"I think you're beautiful, stylish, approachable," Richard was telling Phoebe. "That's why I don't want to alter your look to much."

"Author a book?" Phoebe asked clearly confused on what Richard was saying. "Wow! I don't know if I'm ready for that. You know, one step at a time."

"I'm sorry?" Richard asked puzzled on Phoebe's answer.

"What?" Phoebe questioned.

"I'm sorry," Richard apologized, "sometimes I mumble. I said your look, not your book."

"Oh, right, the hook," Phoebe said as she still misheard what he was saying. "Yeah, to be honest with you, they have the answers, which I guess will become she has the answers after Dawn resignation goes into effect, is kind of lame, right? Any ideas?"

Richard looked at Elise again before returning his attention to Phoebe. "Uh, well, I mainly do image."

"Actually, I'm the advertising consultant," Laura added.

Phoebe leaned in closer trying to hear them. She frowned slightly for all she could hear was the buzzing. Elise tapped her shoulder as Phoebe turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" Elise asked.

Phoebe began to freak out as she realized she couldn't hear anything at all not even the buzzing any longer. "Uh, I-I'm," she stuttered as she shot to feet. "I think I'm going to have to leave because I'm not really feeling too well." She walked backwards, not paying attention to what was behind her. "So thank you..." She ran into a stand that held a picture. "Um..." She turned and hurried out of the room.

"Phoebe!" Elise called after her advice columnist.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Phoebe," Dawn said trying again as another cough ripped its way from her throat. "I've been meaning to talk to you. I…well. I'm sure you probably figured it out when I turned in my resignation the other day. I've well…I've figured out who I…" She cleared her throat trying to get the frog out of it. No matter how much she tried nothing came out.

"Dawn," Phoebe came running into the office reaching for her purse. "We have to go."

Sunnydale High

Robin was at his desk, still banged up from his encounter with Spike. When Faith knocked on the door and poked her head in. She said to him, "You look better."

"No, I don't."

"No, you don't."

"But I'll be okay," he added, "unless, of course you start beating on me now."

"I won't," she promised. "I thought about it some and as far as I'm concerned, we're on even ground." She gave him a nod. "I mean what I said before—I don't have time for your vendettas. If you want to be in this fight, then I can use you."

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "That means a lot."

"So we're five by five," she concluded.

"Whatever that means," he replied. Then he said, "Tell Tara she's fired."

"What?" Faith said as she frowned at him.

"Effective immediately." He looked straight at Faith.

"You're firing Blondie? Maybe I should go ahead and kick your ass," Faith said feeling the need to defend her friend.

He gestured. "Faith, there's nothing here for her. People are leaving town, half the kids don't even bother to show up anymore. . . Her time is better used helping you with what you have going on."

"What would help me the most is having my family here," Faith said with a sigh as she sat down.

"Why aren't they?" he asked. "If they're as powerful as you say. It surprises me you haven't asked them to help."

"There is no need to ask," Faith said. "I know if I need them they will be here in a heartbeat. But it's Dawn. I think there is something she's hiding from me. Every phone call, every videochat for the last month and a half has always ended leaving me with a case of…I don't know."

"Maybe you should go see her," he suggested. "Faith, don't let this ruin your marriage. You love her, right?"

"Yeah," Faith replied.

"Then go see her," Robin told her. "Or at the very least have her come here."

Piano Bar

"You look beautiful," Nate told Paige as they sat at a table.

"You've already said that," Paige admitted. She kept from rolling her eyes in exasperation if he was going to repeat himself on their date.

"Yeah, but you look crazy beautiful, so it bears repeating," Nate told her.

"Okay, now I'm blushing," she said as she actually blushed, "and my lipstick won't match my cheeks."

Nate chuckled. "Well, since you're already blushing," he told her. "I have a little bit of surprise for you. But don't hate me, alright?"

"You're not going to propose are you?" Paige asked hoping that was not what he was about to do.

"No," Nate replied as she let out a sigh of relief.

"In that case, I like surprises," she admitted.

Nate smiled. "Good," he said with a click of his fingers.

A man walked over to the microphone on stage. "Uh, ladies and gentlemen, we have a special treat for you tonight," he said, "to make your happy hours just a little happier. Local girl, Paige Matthews, in her debut."

Paige's eyes went wide in realization of what the surprise was as everyone began clapping. "Are you kidding?" she asked.

"Come on, I thought you liked surprises," Nate said looking at her puzzled.

"This is a bad surprise, bad," Paige replied looking around, the one thing she didn't want to do was get on stage and sing.

"Eighth grade was a long time ago, Paige. Come on," Nate said as he stood up. He pulled Paige to her feet and took her up to the stage.

"Uh, yeah," Paige replied her eyes going even wider in fear, "but that turned out to be the worst day of my life. All my friends laughed at me, Bobby Maynard dumped me."

Nate chuckled. "You dated a guy named Bobby Maynard?"

"That is not the point," Paige said as a cough erupted itself out of her. "Look, I'm already losing my voice. This-this is the sound of panic."

Nate rolled his eyes at Paige's hesitance to get on stage and sing. "Look, Paige, you don't have to sing if you don't want to," he said smoothly. "You just strike me as the type of girl who likes to face her fears, not run from them."

Paige looked around and then slowly nodded. She watched as Nate sat back down while everyone clapped again. She let out a sigh and got up on stage before whispering her song choice to the pianist.

"This one is for all the Bobby Maynards in the world," Paige said when she got in front of the microphone. She nodded to the pianist who began to play. "Isn't it..." She cleared her throat and tried again. Nothing came out. Just like Dawn she had lost her voice.

"Paige, wait," Nate called after Paige as she fled the room in panic.

Summers Home, Sunnydale

Faith took the stairs down to the basement for some quiet time. She needed time to think as she sat on the last step.

From the dark, Spike said, "You craving a moment alone in the dank?"

Faith turned to see Spike on his cot in a corner. He was just sitting up from having been asleep, had off his shirt, hair a little tousled. He was not chained up, but his restraints were dangling from the wall.

"I just needed time to think," Faith said. "Over the last month and a half, I've noticed Dawn has been distant when we talk either on the internet or by phone. Like something has been bothering her. I haven't pressed because I thought she might tell me when she's ready…but…"

"But she hasn't," Spike said. "Maybe you should talk to her. Get it out in the open."

Faith looked at Spike for a moment. Two different people told her she needed to talk to Dawn. "You're right." She headed back up the stairs and to the phone in the kitchen. She picked it up and dialed.

Streets of San Francisco

Piper drove her jeep down the road as Buffy rode in the passenger seat. Buffy's cell phone decided to ring at that moment. She looked at the caller ID that showed it was Paige. "Paige?" she answered. She heard only the sound of buzzing.

"Paige, is that you?" Buffy asked as she pressed the phone closer to her ear as the buzzing got worse.

"What is it, mom?" Piper said with a glance toward her mother.

As Buffy looked at Piper's lips, she realized she couldn't hear anything. Not Paige on the phone, not Piper sitting next to her, not the passing cars on the road, nothing. "Paige, I can't hear you. Here talk to Piper." She thrust her phone at Piper.

Piper took the phone and put it to her ear. "Paige?" she said as she heard beeping. She frowned and looked down at the phone and that was when her vision started to go blurry. She dropped the phone as she began to swerve into the oncoming lane.

Buffy's eyes went wide as she grabbed the steering wheel and brought the car back into the correct lane. "Piper, I can't hear, so I hope you can. Look at me."

Piper glanced at Buffy and her mother's eyes went wide at what she saw. Piper's eyes had gone completely milky white. The last time she had seen that was with Cordelia when Catherine Madison, while in her daughter's body, had temporarily blinded Cordelia. "Mom? What's wrong with me?"

"I can see your lips moving, but I can't hear you," Buffy said as she began to turn the steering wheel. "I'm steering you to the side of the road. When I say hit the brakes, I need you to hit the brakes. Otherwise we're going to have an accident."

Halliwell Manor

Phoebe was watching TV as she turned up the volume trying to see if she could hear anything. She gave up and turned off the TV. She looked at Dawn. "I can't hear."

Dawn nodded as she found a notepad and pen. She wrote down. "And I can't speak. I seem to have lost my voice at the wrong time, Pheebs."

"Why?" Phoebe wondered.

"I was rehearsing what I was going to say to you," Dawn wrote. "I finally know who I am, Phoebe."

Phoebe's eyes went wide in realization. "You were going to tell me you were…"

"Dawn…Prudence…Summers-Halliwell," Dawn wrote. "I'm like Buffy, Phoebe. A melding of Dawn and Prue. I'm still your aunt because of how you see Buffy…but I'm also your big sister. I gave Piper the choice of how she saw me. She chose to see me as her sister. I am going to give you the same choice. You can see me as your aunt or as your sister."

Phoebe thought about it for a long moment and then smiled as she hugged Dawn. "Welcome home, Prue."

"Thanks, Phoebe," Dawn wrote. She sat the notepad and pen down and then returned Phoebe's embrace.

"We should check and see if mom, Piper and Paige are home," Phoebe suggested.

Dawn picked up the notepad and pen again. "Agreed," Dawn wrote as they turned and began walking through the house.

"Paige! Piper! Mom!" Phoebe called out as she and Dawn made their way through the first floor of the house. "If you're here, Prue and I need you to come out into the open and like, flag us down or something, okay?"

As they made their way through the house Dawn heard footsteps behind them. She spun to find Paige was standing there. She tapped Phoebe on the shoulder as she wrote, "Turn around…Paige is behind you."

Phoebe spun to face Paige and smiled. "I lost my hearing during the biggest day of my life! I can't hear a thing!" she yelled. "And Prue here lost her voice."

"Prue?" Paige mouthed. She was clearly confused as she looked back and forth between Paige and Dawn.

Dawn sighed as she flipped back to the page she wrote for Phoebe. She then showed it to Paige.

"Oh," Paige mouthed. She took the notepad from Dawn and flipped to a clean page. "Give me time," she wrote.

Dawn nodded as she took the notepad from Paige wrote. "Take your time, Paige. Its your call, you don't have to see me that way if you don't want."

"Thank you," Paige mouthed.

"We need to find out what did this to us," Phoebe yelled at her sisters.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she wrote, "Quieten down, Pheebs. Your yelling."

"Sorry," Phoebe said sheepishly. "We need to figure this out. Magic has got to be behind this."

Paige took the notepad from Dawn as she wrote, "Aunt Dawn is not the only one to lose her voice. I did too. And I believe the monkey from the street fair did it."

"Which means that monkey also stole my hearing," Phoebe said as she opened her arms and pulled Dawn and Paige into her embrace.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Leo orbed in with Piper, Buffy, the twins and Joyce into the conservatory. "I don't understand why you can't heal my eyes," Piper said. "Or mom's ears?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know, your vision is just gone. Just as Buffy's hearing is just gone."

"Can you write down what you guys are saying?" Buffy asked. "Not being able to hear is a bitch."

Leo looked at Buffy and nodded as he patted his mother-in-law on the shoulder. He turned and helped Piper over to a couch and sat her down as Buffy joined her. "I'll find Dawn, Phoebe and Paige after I put all three of the babies down."

"Where am I?" Piper wondered.

"In the conservatory," Leo informed her. "Just try to stay calm and try not to worry. And don't leave Buffy's side. Without her hearing she can't hear if anything is sneaking up on you."

Piper nodded as she blindly reached for Buffy's hand and then gave it a squeeze.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Do you hear that, Paige?" Dawn wrote showing the notepad to both Phoebe and Paige.

"Hear what?" Phoebe asked looking at her sisters.

"Voices," Dawn wrote. "Coming from the direction of the conservatory."

"You both hear voices?" Phoebe asked as Dawn and Paige nodded. She turned and followed Dawn and Paige through the house and into the conservatory where they found Buffy and Piper. "Piper! Mom!"

Piper stood up, pulling Buffy up with her. She made a small hand gesture trying to communicate to Buffy she heard voices.

Buffy nodded as she looked around, when she spotted Dawn, Phoebe and Paige she spun Piper around to face them.

"I'm so glad you're here," Piper told her sisters. "I can't see a thing and if not for mom I would have wrapped my car around a pole and..."

Phoebe glanced over at Dawn as she noticed that Dawn was acting like a stenographer and writing down what Piper was saying. She smiled at her eldest sister, who was also her baby sister at the same time, in gratitude.

"And mom can't hear anything," Piper continued. "I know it sounds crazy but I think it has something to do with that mangy monkey."

Dawn handed the notepad to Paige and walked over to Buffy. She opened her arms and Buffy walked into her embrace.

"Where are you guys?" Piper asked having noticed that Buffy no longer was at her side.

Phoebe looked down at the notepad in Paige's hand and nodded. She moved to her elder sister and pulled Piper into her arms. "I'm right here. Paige is standing beside me. And Prue is holding mom."

Piper nodded. "I take it you guys got hit also?" she asked.

Paige showed Phoebe the notepad. "Yes," Phoebe answered. "I can't hear. Paige and Prue can't speak."

A smile of realization crossed Piper's face as she realized that Phoebe now saw Dawn just as she did, their elder sister. "We need to talk about how the monkey could do all this."

It was at that moment that Leo returned. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Huh!" Piper said as she covered her eyes. Paige and Dawn covered their mouths. And Buffy and Phoebe covered their ears.

"I see," Leo said in understanding that whatever had hit Piper and Buffy had hit the entire family.

"So who exactly has been hit with what?" Piper asked.

"Buffy and Phoebe can't hear," Leo told his wife," and Paige and Dawn can't talk."

"Excuse me!" Phoebe said looking at her brother-in-law, mother and siblings. "This is either someone's sick, sick joke, or someone's working on a massive evil plan!

"Whatever it is, you guys are in danger without your senses," Leo said as Buffy and Phoebe moved beside Paige who was playing stenographer and writing down what he said. "Piper, you're the most vulnerable. So I want you to stay next to Wyatt, Elizabeth and Joyce. Their force fields will protect you."

"Okay," Piper agreed.

"Paige…Buffy, a Kazi attack could be deadly right now," he continued. "Make sure we're stocked up on stun potion."

Paige nodded as she handed the notepad to Dawn. Then she and Buffy led Piper to the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Piper asked.

"Phoebe…Dawn, check the Book of Shadows, see what you two can find out about evil monkeys and demons who control them," Leo instructed as Dawn nodded before showing Phoebe the notepad.

"Okay," Phoebe said.

Dawn looked at Leo as she wrote on the notepad. "Need another way of talking, Leo. Otherwise we're going to run out of paper." She showed him the notepad.

Leo nodded in understanding. "I will see what I can do, Dawn."