Charmed
Season 4, Episode 6
"Angel Falls"
By P3Nathan

Prue, Piper sat across from Phoebe in the sitting room. The youngest Halliwell sister looked incredibly nervous in anticipation of the conversation that was about to take place.

"Okay," Prue began, "where to start?"

Piper reached out to take her younger sister's hand. "Just tell us everything you can, okay?"

Phoebe nodded, but not making eye contact with her sisters. "It's weird. Parts of it are kind of hazy. I mostly just remember the feelings…and the smell."

Piper had to know one thing right away. "Did they hurt you?"

Phoebe shrugged. "They threw me around a little at first, but once I was in the cell they mostly just left me alone."

"So they didn't…" Prue hesitated awkwardly. "They didn't hurt you… the other way."

Phoebe looked confused until she worked out what Prue was suggesting. "Oh no, nothing like that, thank God," and both Prue and Piper were very relieved, but still very concerned for what had happened to their little sister.

Just then Leo orbed into the room. "Sorry to interrupt."

"It's okay," Piper smiled before asking, "What did The Elders say?"

Leo took a deep breath before passing on The Elders' explanation: "In order for the black blood to have been introduced into Phoebe's body, they would've had to get close to her."

Prue turned back to Phoebe. "Did anyone come into your cell at all?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No." She thought for a moment. "Well…there was that time Cole escaped briefly."

"What happened then?" Piper asked encouragingly.

Phoebe shrugged. "He got into my cell, we kissed and that was pretty much it…the guards took him back right after."

Worried, Piper turned to Leo. "Would a kiss be enough to do it?"

Leo nodded. "I think so."

Phoebe ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "So we've decided it's Cole then?"

"Well, nothing is for certain, Phoebs," Prue softly said. "But we can't just ignore how it sounds"

"No, I know," and Phoebe wiped tears from her eyes. "It's just if you're right; if he's evil again…I'm the one who brought him back into our lives; into our home."

"Nobody's placing blame" Piper laid a hand on Phoebe's knee. "We can talk to Cole, get to the bottom of this."

Phoebe looked at both of them, pleading, "Let me talk to him first."

"Are you sure?" Prue anxiously asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it when you guys are close, just in case." Phoebe sighed. "I'm just gonna get some water," and she stood up, heading towards the kitchen.

Leo watched her leave as he sat across from Prue and Piper.

"So," Piper asked. "Did they have any idea about what the hell this black blood is?"

Leo exhaled, not wanting to impart the bad news, but knowing he had to. "It's sort of like a virus. It gets into her body and the deeper her mind falls into darkness the quicker it'll spread through her."

Prue and Piper looked at each other, deeply concerned.

"Well, what's The Source's endgame?" Prue wanted to know. "What happens once it's spread?"

"They're still trying to work out what exactly The Source is planning; this is new to them." Leo looked to the floor then muttered, "But from the sound of things, I think if it spreads completely, we might not be able to get her back."

Piper stared at him in shock. "You mean she'll die?"

Leo looked back up, his eyes sad and worried. "Or worse."

"Or worse? What does that…"

Prue stopped talking when Phoebe came back into the room, carrying her glass of water. Seeing the looks on their faces, she asked, "Everything okay?"

"It will be" a determined Prue insisted. "We're getting that black blood out of you."

Sinead Griffiths sat waiting in the police station; her mind frantic. She knew many of the officers were staring and talking about her; they thought she's come unhinged. She didn't care. Who were they to judge anyway? They didn't know her. They hadn't felt her loss. They hadn't held her crying mother in their arms for hours at a time! Let them stare.

Police Captain Burrows came out of his office and called Sinead in, a wary look on his face. She sat across from him at his desk and waited for him to deliver what she knew already would be more bad news.

"I'm sorry to have to say this, Ms. Griffiths," the captain sighed, "but I'm afraid I really don't have anything new to tell you."

Sinead rolled her eyes. "Seriously? After all the strange things that have gone on around the Halliwells and after I gave you examples of one of your own inspectors sharing important information with one of them, you still don't have enough?"

"We'll deal with Inspector Morris internally; I can assure you of that. We have had some concerns about him for a while now," he explained. "But as for the Halliwells, Ms. Griffiths, there simply isn't enough evidence to make a case against them."

"Well obviously they're good at covering their tracks!"

The Captain looked silently at his desk.

Sinead noticed and smirked. "You're not disagreeing with me."

And he had to shake his head.

She had to know something. "You don't think I'm nuts?"

Very genuine sympathy coated his voice as he told her, "I want to help you; I really do. I'm just not sure how much our little precinct can do for you at this point."

Sinead looked out the window with tears in her eyes. 'Let the brick walls keep coming', she thought, 'I'm not giving up on justice for my brother quite yet.

Phoebe sat nervously on the edge of her bed, waiting for Cole to come out from the bathroom. As he did, she made eye contact with him. "Can you sit with me for a minute?" she asked. "I want to talk to you about something."

The Source cursed at the young witch internally, but in the interest of keeping up his façade, he smiled and nodded.

"I don't really know how to start…but I guess after everything we've been through, it'd be pointless pussyfooting around the issue, so I guess I'll just cut to the chase. You haven't said much about what happened to you down in the Underworld and I'm worried that The Source's influence might have gotten to you."

The Source feigned shock. "What? Phoebe, how can you think that?"

"Cole, I want to believe in you, but it's not like you haven't been influenced before, or are you forgetting Janna?"

The Source shook his head, assuming that was the name of the witch Raynor and Belthazor had attacked. "Of course not. I can't deny the things I've done Phoebe, but I swear to you, I'm trying to be good. It's just not easy after being a mercenary demon for so much of my life."

Phoebe thought for a moment and then sighed. "The Elders have said that in order to get the black blood into my system, somebody would have had to get very close. The closest anyone got while I was down there was our kiss."

"You know I wouldn't hurt you," he insisted, using Cole's most convincing, most loving tone.

"I guess I was unconscious for a while; it could've given him the opportunity. Or even if it was your kiss, maybe The Source played you too... cast a spell on you knowing you'd get close to me." Phoebe rubbed her tired eyes. "We can talk about this some more later."

"Where are you going?"

"I decided that I needed to get out of the house and do some good. Whatever it is I'm going through right now, helping people seems like a good coping strategy," Phoebe explained. "I'm volunteering at the hospital again."

The Source used Cole's best smile, the one he knew always got to Phoebe. "That sounds like a great idea."

"Yeah, well… plus Piper will be having her surgery soon, so it's an excuse to stay close to her when she goes in."

Phoebe considered getting close to Cole for a moment, but decided against it. She blew him a kiss to avoid upsetting him. "I'll call you later."

The Source watched her leave, both concerned and annoyed. "Guess I'll have to speed things along."

He walked over to the mirror and waved his hand. Two glowing red eyes appeared in the glass. "Klea, find me a way to exacerbate Phoebe's pain."

"Yes, my liege" the disembodied voice echoed through the mirror.

Leo stood in the kitchen preparing food as Piper sat smiling and watching. "It's weird being cooked for," she commented. "Nice, but weird."

Leo smiled. "Well, since you won't be able to eat anything home-cooked soon, I figured you'd want to enjoy eating while you can."

"Yeah, hopefully I won't be in too long. Hospital food is a cruel joke, especially for a former chef."

"We can bring snacks" Leo suggested as he stirred. He came to a sudden stop as a jingle chimed in his head. "Damn it."

"Elders?"

"Yeah," Leo sighed. "I'm getting a new charge; I was hoping it'd be after you were okay."

"Honey, the world doesn't stop turning just because I'm sick."

He sighed. "Yeah, but my world should."

Piper stood and kissed him. "This might be a positive thing. Maybe you'll be able to help this charge before I even go to the hospital."

Leo nodded. "I guess; she does live just across the street."

"Well, there you go. Go help an innocent."

The couple kissed and Leo orbed out just as Prue entered the room. "Hey, sis, thought you and Leo were hanging out today."

Piper sighed, audibly disappointed. "He just got called. New charge."

"Oh, well in that case, Phoebe's at the hospital today…"

"What? Is she okay?"

"Relax; it's okay; she's volunteering there again. Thought helping people would be good for her."

Piper let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good idea."

"So," Prue suggested, "since it's just you and me, how about some sister time?"

Piper smiled. "Chick flick time! You choose the movie; I'll make the popcorn," and Prue smiled.

At San Francisco Memorial Hospital, Phoebe walked down the corridor in her volunteer uniform with a trolley of water jugs and snacks. She maneuvered into the door way of a private room. A little boy (portrayed by Haley Joel Osmond) laid in bed while a man, presumably his father (portrayed by Gil Bellows), sat watching over him. The two of them were hand-in-hand and looked deep in thought. When they realised Phoebe was standing there, they both jumped and let go. The boy began to cough violently.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Phoebe apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," the father assured her. "It's not you. That's just his illness."

"I'm Phoebe," she greeted.

"I'm…" the father hesitated, "Karl… um, this is my son Jensen."

"Nice to meet you Jensen" Phoebe smiled.

"You, too" the boy wheezed.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked. "Water, snacks?"

"Just some water please" he requested.

Phoebe poured the water and gave the pair their privacy, walking down the corridor to the next room.

Karl turned to Jensen. "That was close."

"Make sure you shut the door next time," Jensen insisted.

Karl got up and closed the door before returning to his seat. "Okay, ready."

They held hands once again and closed their eyes. Two beams of silver light emerged from the father and son's chests. One shone from Karl's chest into his son's, the other from Jensen's chest into his father's. The light disappeared and they looked tired.

Karl laid a hand on his son's head. "Did you have a good day?"

Jensen smiled and nodded. "I went to the arcade. But people kept looking at me funny."

Karl laughed. "Well they're probably not used to having a lot of men my age in there. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. We can do the same tomorrow if you like."

"Dad?" Jensen asked, concern in his voice. "Isn't this dangerous? I don't want you to get hurt."

Karl shook his head. "Don't you worry about me. I'd let you have my body and take your sickness as my own permanently if I had the power to. Unfortunately, I don't…but at least I can give you a few fun hours. That's the least I can do for my son," and Jensen smiled.

Karl stood in the restroom, looking at himself in the mirror as he wiped tears from his face. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, but he wasn't about to complain; he couldn't compare it to what his son was going through. Having experienced it firsthand; he knew that for sure.

Just then The Source materialised in one of the closed stalls behind Karl. He waved his hand over his clothes and Cole's black suit morphed into a doctor's uniform.

As he exited the stall, Karl looked at him, surprised. "Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here."

"I think I saw you talking to Phoebe Halliwell earlier, didn't I? Young volunteer, cute, blonde."

"Um, yeah, she seemed nice."

"Full of life that one. Vibrant, good." The Source got uncomfortably close to Karl's ear and whispered something into it. The words were hard to make out, but the sound echoed through the restroom like a company of malevolent spirits. The Source backed away. "I think your son would enjoy being someone so bright and full of life, don't you?"

Karl nodded silently.

Leo knocked on a door across the street from Halliwell Manor. He waited until a woman (portrayed by Amy Brenneman) answered.

"We're not interested," she said immediately.

"I'm not selling anything, promise" he responded. "I'm here to talk about your daughter and her gifts."

"I know what you're here for," she said sternly. "You're another whitelighter. Tell your bosses to leave my daughter the hell alone!"

"Please, just give me five minutes. That's all I ask. I'm Leo, and I actually live just across the street."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm Geraldine. Five minutes. But Maya is in her room and she doesn't like meeting new people."

Leo nodded and entered the house. Immediately he was struck by the number of photographs around the place. All of them included a man. "Is that your partner?" he asked.

"Husband," she answered abruptly. "He's in the army."

"I see. It must be difficult, having a young girl who's just discovering her magic. I can give you support, guide her through it," Leo explained. "We can try and make it as smooth as possible."

Geraldine scowled. "Make what as smooth as possible?"

"Well… accepting that she's a witch."

Geraldine laughed. "She's not a witch."

This perplexed Leo. "I'm confused. You know about whitelighters and The Elders…"

"I know about magic," Geraldine interrupted, "but my daughter is not going to be a part of it. This is what your precious Elders can't get through their thick skulls. My daughter will not be a pawn in their game."

"Geraldine, I swear, all I want is to help make this transition easier for your daughter. Could I maybe see her for a couple of minutes?"

"Like I said, she's in her room."

"Okay," and Leo ran upstairs before Geraldine could stop him.

"That wasn't an invitation!"

Leo got upstairs and found a padlocked door. "Please tell me this isn't her room."

"Mommy, who's that?" a voice called from inside.

Geraldine caught up to him. "Don't worry; he's leaving."

"Why is she locked in there?" Leo demanded to know.

"She was at a party when her power emerged. She absorbs solar energy. She can't control it; she nearly incinerated everyone there! We were lucky. They were shooting off fireworks, so we were able to blame it on them, say they were faulty. It won't happen again."

"I can help her to control it." Leo pleaded.

"I've said no, multiple times," Geraldine insisted before demanding, "Now get out!"

"Leave!"

Realising he would need to revaluate the situation, Leo orbed out.

Phoebe struggled to open her eyes, feeling unusually weak. She looked up at the ceiling. Where was she? The light was harsh and the smell was familiar. She was at the hospital. She felt awful, as if there was a huge weight on her chest. She let out multiple coughs, but the feeling didn't clear. She struggled to breathe. She looked at her hands and was horrified to realise that she was in a child's body. She looked around and saw Karl sitting beside her.

"Shh, relax," Karl told her apologetically. "It's only temporary."

"What did you do?" Phoebe gasped through the boy's frail body.

"I'm just giving Jensen the chance to be in his twenties. Just for a day."

Karl adjusted the IV drip and Phoebe grew drowsier until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

Leo sat by Piper, explaining everything that had happened with his charge.

"I'm just not sure what to do," he sighed.

"Well, it sounds to me like you need to call child services," his wife insisted. "I mean if she's keeping her daughter prisoner, that's not a magical issue, it's child abuse."

"But she's doing it because her daughter's magical. It could expose magic. I just think if I could get to the core of what she's afraid of…"

Leo was interrupted by a shattering sound.

"What the hell?" Piper got up to see what was happening. She found that someone had thrown a stone through the window. She heard shouting from outside.

Piper and Leo went out to see what the commotion was about. Standing outside the Manor were three outraged men.

"We've heard all about you, scumbag!" one of them shouted. "Like stalking little girls, do ya?"

"What? Whoa." Leo tried to defend himself. "I think you've got the wrong idea."

"Geraldine told us all about it, you freak!" One of the men revealed a carton of eggs and began to throw them in Leo's direction.

Before anything could hit, Piper froze the scene. "Still think you can reason with her?"

The couple didn't realise that Sinead was in her car just down the road watching the events unfold, too far away to be frozen herself. She couldn't believe her own eyes as she gawped at the eggs suspended in mid-air.

"It's like what happened when you were exposed," Leo sighed. "Keeping secrets…makes it easy for people to believe we're the bad guys. Guess that's what you get for being magical and trying to live amongst civilised people."

Piper looked at the frozen attackers. "Well then, it's a good thing we don't, isn't it?"

Jensen made the most of Phoebe's energy. He had run around the park just outside the hospital multiple times. He got a lot of funny looks, but he was used to that from spending so much time in his father's body. He felt something in Phoebe's uniform pocket. He fished out a car key and his face lit up with excitement. I've never driven before, he thought. I'll probably never get to again; I should make the most of it. He ran to the parking lot and repeatedly clicked the button on the car key to work out which one it belonged to.

Prue was walking down Prescott Street. She saw eggs splattered about the Manor and shattered glass. "What the hell?"

She was about to run inside, but she stopped when her cell phone rang. "Hello. Yes, it is. Oh my God, is she okay? Alright I'll be there as soon as possible."

Piper and Leo orbed into Geraldine's house. She came out of the kitchen and looked furious. "How dare you!"

"How dare us?" Piper gaped. "How dare you! Making accusations about my husband like that when all he wanted to do was help your daughter!"

Geraldine practically cackled. "Help her? Oh I am so sick of hearing The Elder's lapdogs spout this crap!"

"Lapdog?" Piper scoffed. "Trust me, lady; The Elders and I are far from best buddies, but what you're doing is wrong."

"If you let Maya out, I can help her control her magic, I promise," Leo begged. "Just give me a chance."

To their shock, Geraldine responded, "I believe you."

"Well," Piper began after she managed to pick her chin up off the floor, "Then why…"

"You'll help her to control it; she'll be able to use it against evil and then what?" Geraldine became teary-eyed. "My little girl fights for The Elders?"

Leo shook his head. "No, she's too young. It's just about helping her discover and be comfortable with her abilities."

Geraldine rolled her eyes. "Right. For now. Then when she's old enough, she'll have to battle. Plus, let's face it, once she's embraced her power, Evil will get wind of it before long and then we can say bye bye to any normal childhood."

Piper looked at Leo. "Well, there are potions that can bind her powers until she's ready."

Geraldine wiped a tear from her cheek as she looked at a photo of her husband, holding them. "Do you know how hard it is to sleep without him next to me? Every time there's a knock at the door, my heart stops for a moment, thinking it might be someone coming to tell me that…"

Piper and Leo reached out for each other's hand, unable to say a word.

Geraldine sighed. "I already lie awake wondering if he'll come home. I can't bear to do the same for my little girl."

"Well that's part of why I'm here." Leo told her. "I can support you as well as her, reassure you of her safety. Make sure you're both well prepared."

Piper smiled. "He's very good at his job, I promise. He was in the army too, so he might have some insight there."

Geraldine's expression softened. "I'm sorry for the accusations. I'll go around to everyone and tell them the truth. Well…not the witch part, but everything else. I'm so sorry. It's just so hard to deal with. At least my husband chose to fight; I felt like my child was having her choice ripped from her. But now I realise that I was the one taking her freedom, not you."

Geraldine took Piper and Leo upstairs and unlocked the bedroom door to reveal a little girl, Maya, in a dark room.

"Mommy" she yelped. She embraced her mother in a hug.

"Hello, sweetheart. This is Leo; he's here to be your guide."

Geraldine opened the curtains and the sun shone in on little Maya's face. Her skin began to sparkle and her hands began to glow.

"Can you show me how to control my magic?" Maya asked Leo.

Piper smiled at her husband, very, very proud that he was a whitelighter.

"I can, Maya," he answered. "It'd be an honour."

Geraldine smiled. "Thank you."

Prue speed-walked down the corridors of San Francisco Memorial until she finally got to Phoebe's room. Phoebe was sitting up in her bed. Karl was sitting beside her, as was Jensen in a wheelchair hooked up to an IV drip on wheels.

"Phoebe, what happened?" Prue asked. "Who's this?"

"I'm Phoebe," she said from Jensen's body.

Jensen waved Phoebe's hand. "Hi, I'm Jensen," he said, then pointed at himself. "That's my body."

"Um… I don't…" Prue started.

"She just got some whiplash, nothing serious," Karl pitched in. "I was about to swap them back."

Phoebe and Jensen held hands.

"Ready?" Karl asked. When they nodded, he waved his hand and two beams of light switched between the two bodies.

Prue looked on astounded and befuddled.

Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew that's better."

"Somebody want to clue me in here?" Prue demanded.

Phoebe stood up. "My buddy Jensen unfortunately has cystic fibrosis, and his daddy wanted him to have a fun day out being a twenty-something. He realises how stupid he was and he's sorry."

Karl nodded. "I really am. I really should have asked her permission first."

"Phoebe, stay with Jensen." Prue turned to glare at Karl. "You come with me," and Karl complied.

Prue led Karl outside into the corridor, away from the room. "So I take it you're a witch?"

"Yes, body switching is my power… obviously. Usually I trade places with Jensen, but then we met Phoebe and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm sorry."

"Do you realise how bad this could have been?" Prue asked sternly.

"I know; I've never even thought of taking someone else's body before. I don't know what came over me. It was so wrong. I'm just not sure how much time Jensen has left."

"Well that's kind of my point, Karl." Prue softened her voice. "I mean, aside from the ethical issues stealing someone's body… if Jensen's body gave out when someone else was inside, you'd basically be killing someone."

Karl covered his mouth with his hand, realising what he could've done.

Prue sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

"No," Karl interrupted. "You're right. I set a terrible example for him."

Prue looked down. "Is there nothing the doctors can do?"

"Just make him comfortable," Karl sighed. "In some cases they can give a lung transplant, but it was too far along for him; his breathing is so bad he wouldn't survive the anesthesia."

Prue welled up. "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine…" At the look of distraught that came over Karl's face, Prue reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder. "We'll also do everything we can to make him comfortable."

Meanwhile Phoebe was still sitting beside Jensen. "So did you at least have some fun before the accident?"

"Yeah it was cool. Sorry about your car."

"Well I actually borrowed it from my sister…"

Jensen's eyes widened.

"Hey, don't worry," Phoebe giggled. "She's not as scary as she seems. I'll handle it."

Jensen thought for a moment. "Hey, Phoebe?"

"Yeah?"

"There was one thing when I was in your body that was kind of weird."

"What was that?"

"Well, your body has lots of energy and strength, in that way it was miles better being you than being me…"

Phoebe smiled sympathetically.

"…but your head. It felt weird. Kind of dark. Like there was something creeping inside me. As great as the rest of your body was, it kind of made me miss my own. My head feels safer. Does that make sense? What is that?"

Phoebe looked down at the floor. "Well, the thing is, Jensen, I'm also unwell. But it's not like how you're unwell… my illness is up here," and she tapped her head with her finger.

"In your mind?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. See, you know when someone has an accident and they break their ankle or something… the body needs time to heal."

Jensen nodded. "So something happened that broke your mind?"

Phoebe smiled softly. "That's right, sweetie…and I'm going to need some time to heal."

Jensen held her hand. "I hope you're going to be okay. It sucks being broken."

Tears formed in Phoebe's eyes. She stroked Jensen's hair and kissed him on the forehead.

Phoebe laid in bed wide awake. It was the night before Piper's surgery, so she wasn't expecting to get much sleep anyway, but recent events had certainly made her mind even less easy. She looked beside her to see her lover sleeping. She laid a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She ran her hands up and down his back. She wrapped her arms around him and focused her mind as hard as she could. Nothing; not even a flash. This didn't settle Phoebe's mind. She laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

Piper woke up when her alarm rang. She had probably been asleep for about an hour and a half, anticipating the early rise and her operation. Leo kissed her cheek.

"Urgh, it's early," she moaned. "Is it even light out yet?"

"Nope."

"I can't believe it's today. I'm so nervous, but at the same time I can't wait to get it over with."

Leo smiled at her. "By the way, thank you for the help yesterday."

"You're welcome. No torches and pitchforks so I guess Geraldine set the record straight like she said she would."

"I thought I might orb over to her husband's army base," Leo suggested. "Just so I can let them know if he's okay."

"That's a nice idea," Piper smiled, but then frowned as something hit her. "Would the Elders approve?"

"Probably not, but I think it's worth the risk of pissing them off."

"Hey, you know me;" she grinned. "I always think it's worth that risk."

"I guess we'd better get ready,"

Piper's grin faded. "Yeah."

Prue bit into a slice of toast as she came out of the kitchen to see Phoebe sitting on a chair. "Okay, so I'll drive; we'll take Piper's car. Dad is meeting us at the hospital. I've got everything figured out at P3 for at least the next two weeks. Have you got her bag?"

Phoebe just stared into space.

"Phoebe?"

Phoebe jumped. "Um, sorry just tired. What was that?"

"Piper's bag of stuff for the hospital. Towels, robe, bathroom stuff?"

"Oh, yeah," Phoebe nodded. "I put it in the trunk already."

"Okay, great." Prue started pacing. "I have nothing left to do."

Phoebe tapped the chair next to hers. "So sit," and Prue complied.

"I'm scared," Prue admitted.

Phoebe rested her head on her big sister's shoulder. "Me, too"

"Let's talk about something less stressful," Prue proposed. "Did you talk to Cole?"

Phoebe had to laugh. "That's less stressful?"

Prue shrugged.

"He assured me that he's innocent. But I dunno…last night I tried to get a vision from him and I couldn't see anything."

That totally confused Prue. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess. It's just I've gotten a lot better at getting visions on command. I can usually get a tiny flash or a sense at the very least. With Cole, there was just nothing…not even a vibe."

Prue nodded as Piper and Leo came downstairs. "Okay, everybody ready?" Piper asked.

"Didn't think you'd be so ready," Phoebe admitted.

"I want it done," Piper firmly explained. "I can't be hanging around here waiting, so I'm ready when you guys are."

Everyone agreed and they made their way to the hospital. It was a surreal experience for Piper as she sat in the back, looking out the window. She stared at all the people in their cars and out on the street, going about their routines. It was weird how life kept going when she felt so much terror inside.

They arrived at the hospital and Victor waited holding a teddy bear. Piper hugged him. "Thank you Daddy," she smiled.

"I do realise you're not ten… but you know, you'll always be my little girl and… well I just liked the look of it." Victor stuttered, holding back too much emotion. "Hey, Leo," and Leo nodded back.

"We should check in at reception," Prue told them before turning to Victor and Leo. "You guys take a seat."

The three sisters went to the reception desk leaving Victor and Leo alone in the waiting area.

"It's probably a stupid question when we're sitting in a place like this," Victor admitted, "but how are you doing?"

"Honestly I don't know. Kind of feels like I've been on automatic pilot. It's all just happened so fast."

"Yeah. I appreciate the support you've given, you know? To all my girls, but Piper especially."
"Thank you."

"I know I gave you a hard time; prejudged you because of my own issues. The truth is…I've never been so happy to be so wrong about someone."

Leo smiled at his father in law.

"You're a good man, Leo, and magical bureaucracy aside, I'm really happy you and Piper found each other."

"That means a lot, Victor."

Victor put an arm around Leo and gave him an encouraging fatherly hug.

A few hours later, Piper's name was called. The family embraced her, having been told that they couldn't go any further. Piper trembled as she said her goodbyes and walked away from them. She would've given anything for them to be by her side.

Before she knew it, she was in a small room on a gurney, having a cannula inserted into her hand. It hurt, but fortunately it didn't take long. Several doctors and nurses stood around her talking. Tears in the back of her throat bubbled with fear.

A male voice told her to count back from ten as he inserted a liquid through her veins, so she did:

'10. I hope Leo's okay.
9. Will my sisters be safe without me?
8. I wish they'd let Dad in.
7. I wish my Mom was here.
6. Please let me be okay.'

Everything went black. All she could do now was sleep and hope.

-
Next time on "Charmed"-
The labyrinth reveals deep secrets on both sides.