"Phoebe?" came Piper's voice. "Phoebs, honey, wake up." Piper continued as she gave her younger sister a gentle shake. "Huh? Oh my God! Garrett!" Phoebe gasped as she came to. "Relax, honey." Piper soothed. "He's peacefully asleep in his carrier right next to you...your hand is resting on his blanket. If anyone had touched him, you would have known immediately...we got your note at home. How's Paige?"
"Why didn't Leo answer when I called?!" Phoebe snapped angrily, as her eyes flooded with tears. "I couldn't get Paige to come around, Piper! She could have died!"
"I'm so sorry, honey," Piper began gently. "Leo got a call from The Elders while we were out, and he took me Up There with him. Apparently, Daniela started another rumor about us Up There. Leo and I were defending you as well as Paige and us. They really chewed us a new one, Phoebs... They were ready to clip both Leo and Paige's wings, until I started screaming back and set them straight. Poor Leo was standing there with his jaw scraping the ground... He couldn't believe I said what I did. The Elders know by now that I'm not going to sit back and let them screw with me, though."
"Where is Leo?" Phoebe asked. "He was going to try to heal Paige," Piper responded. "But they're still getting her stabilized!" Phoebe protested.
"Yes, I know." Leo answered quietly. Phoebe and Piper's heads whipped around in unison to see Leo standing behind them. "No orbing in unannounced! Remember our deal?!" Piper snapped. "I didn't orb in," Leo protested. "I've only been standing here for a minute or two. You ladies were conversing so intently that I didn't want to intrude. "
"Oh," Phoebe replied. In the same instant, Piper muttered. "Sneak up on me like that again, and I'll blow you to kingdom come."
"Wouldn't be the first time. Most certainly not the last." Leo replied with a slight grin. "Just be grateful I don't blow up certain parts." Piper muttered under her breath.
Phoebe quickly brought a hand to her mouth to hide a grin. "You okay, sis?" Piper asked with a worried frown. "I'll be fine." Phoebe replied quietly. "Are you not feeling well, sweetie?" Piper pressed. "Piper, I'll be fine." Phoebe reiterated. "Paige's doctor gave me something to calm my nerves, and it's making me feel a little icky, but I'll be okay. Worry about Paige right now." As Piper opened her mouth to reply, Paige's doctor approached and stood before them. "Are you Paige Matthews' sisters?" he inquired.
"Yes. How is she?" Piper began worriedly. "We've stabilized her and put her into a medically induced coma so that she can properly heal. She has a skull fracture that's causing bleeding in her brain. The less movement, the better off she'll be, hence the coma. She has several lacerations and contusions, and appears to have suffered a minor electrical shock. Her baby is just fine, and she will be, too, as soon as her body has a chance to heal."
"Can we see her?" Piper pleaded. "Just for a few minutes, " the doctor answered. "It's late, and your baby should be home in his bed, not here in a hospital."
"Thank you, Doctor Johannessy." Piper replied, as she read his nametag. "Follow me, Ms. Matthews," came his response. "Actually, our last name is Halliwell." Phoebe stated. "Paige had a different father -"
"Sorry for the mistake." Dr. Johannessy snapped, cutting her off mid sentence. Phoebe and Piper shared a look before getting to their feet to follow him. It plainly stated. 'What a jerk.'
"Whoa." Phoebe gasped as she stood up. "Phoebs, are you okay?" Leo asked as he lifted Garrett's carrier. "I'll meet you guys in Paige's room." Phoebe quickly replied. "I'm not feeling very well."
"Sweetheart, do you need me to go with you?" Piper inquired in a worried voice. "No, go see Paige." Phoebe called over her shoulder as she broke into a run. "What did you do to my sister?!" Piper demanded of Dr. Johannessy. "I gave her a tranquilizer," he retorted. "Here's your sister's room."
Paige's Hospital Room
"Paige, honey. I don't know if you can hear me, but it's Piper. I'm so sorry Leo and I weren't there to help you and Phoebe... The Elders summoned us because of Daniela's big mouth. They were going to clip your and Leo's wings, and I gave them a piece of my mind on our behalf," Piper continued. "You should have heard me, Paige. Leo was stunned at how vocal I was toward Them...I'm glad you can't see yourself right now, Paige. It's pretty frightening. You have tubes and wires protruding in every direction, and if it's possible, I think the sheets have more color." She paused for a breath, then, noticing the puzzled expression on Leo's face. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked quietly. "I can't heal her." Leo replied. "Honey, she's majorly drugged." Piper pointed out. "Besides, how would we explain ourselves to the doctors? Remember when I had Arroyo Fever and you brought me back from the brink of death? And the resulting problems with both The Elders and the medical community? Please, just let Paige heal by herself, honey. For the sake of all of us," she begged.
A moment later, Phoebe entered the room looking pale. "Feeling better, Phoebs?" Leo inquired. "No," Phoebe whispered. "Piper, can you drive my car home? I don't feel up to it."
"Sure, sweetie. " Piper replied softly as she put an arm around Phoebe's waist. "Come on. Let's go home, okay?"
Halliwell Manor- Phoebe's Bedroom
"Here you are, Phoebe." Piper said as she laid a cold washcloth on her sister's forehead. "Piper, I'll be okay." Phoebe stated weakly. "You get so little sleep as it is feeding Garrett...go to bed. I'll be fine."
"There are bottles in the refrigerator, and Leo can get out of a warm bed to take responsibility for his son once in awhile," Piper snapped. "Garrett is in perfect health, and he's sleeping peacefully. You are not feeling well, and I want to take care of you. Is that so wrong?" As Piper finished speaking, Phoebe went into an uncontrollable coughing fit. "You okay, Phoebs?" she asked. In response, Phoebe shook her head no and began to gag. Piper grabbed the wastebasket with lightning speed and held it in front of her sister while putting an arm around her comfortingly. "I'll be right back with some water." Piper said quietly after Phoebe felt better.
"Thanks, Piper." Phoebe rasped a few minutes later as she gratefully accepted a glass from her sister's hand. "Aren't you glad I stayed?" Piper inquired gently. Phoebe nodded in response as she rinsed her mouth. "What happened with the demon? Do you know which one it was?"
"I was so worried about Paige that I didn't look him up in the book, but I can't get his face out of my head; it was too creepy." Phoebe responded. "Paige got upset and started crying upstairs, and Garrett was falling asleep, so I told her we should come downstairs and talk. She said that she would meet me down there because she wanted to wash her face. I agreed to that and then I left. I got downstairs, and the demon was there. I panicked and started taking potion after potion off of the sideboard and throwing them at it. Nothing was vanquishing it, Piper!" she moaned. "It's okay, Phoebs. It was a surprise attack; it happens." Piper soothed.
"Then I heard Paige coming down the stairs," Phoebe continued. "I saw her shadow in the doorway, and I screamed at her to run. The demon shot an electrical stream from its hands in her direction, and I saw her attempting to orb. Then I heard her scream and the horrible thud when she hit the wall. I don't think I'll ever forget that... After Paige was no longer a threat to it, the demon tried to turn on me, so I grabbed a handful of potion vials and threw them. I don't know which one worked, but one of them vanquished it. That's when I went to check on Paige."
"Well, everyone's okay, and that's what matters." Piper responded. "OKAY?!" Phoebe screeched. "Paige is hospitalized with a skull fracture, Piper! Everyone is not okay!!"
"Missy Paige will be fine," Piper stated firmly. "And you need to calm down, lady. You're already sick. I'm going to clean out the wastebasket, and then go up to the attic to grab the Book of Shadows. You just lie here and take deep breaths," she ordered. "You may be a mother, but you're not my mother." Phoebe muttered angrily as Piper left the room.
When Piper returned with the book a few minutes later, she found Phoebe sleeping peacefully. She considered turning out the light and returning to her own room, but she knew that if she did, Leo would feign sleep when Garrett cried so that Piper would have to get up with him. "He's not pulling that number on me tonight," she vowed in a whisper. "Garrett's his damned kid, too. Why should I always have to get up? I may provide the meal, but that's what bottles were invented for; so the father can take some responsibility for his 'creation.' "
She crawled carefully into the empty side of Phoebe's bed and pulled her knees up to rest the Book of Shadows against her thighs. After flipping through a number of pages, she came across a demon that sounded similar to Phoebe's description. 'Zotar- A legion of lower level demons who use beams of electricity to kill their victims,' she read silently to herself. "We summoned one of those when Prue was alive; that's when we tried to summon Cole in his demonic form of Belthazor," she recalled. The demon illustrated in the book was called Krytzil, and she wondered aloud if that was the one Phoebe had vanquished. 'I'll have to ask her in the morning,' she thought to herself as she put the book on the nightstand and turned out the lamp.
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Several hours later, Phoebe was startled into consciousness when she felt something brush against her arm. She had barely opened her eyes when she saw a hand hurtling through the air toward her. "AAAAAHHHH!!!" she screamed, as she quickly moved out of reach. "PIPER!!" she shouted, upon seeing the hands owner. "Huh? Wha-" Piper sputtered as she came to. "Sorry, baby," she mumbled through heavy lidded eyes. "Piperrrrrr!" Phoebe growled. "It's me, your sister! Wake up! What are you doing in my bed anyhow?"
"I went up to get the Book of Shadows last night to find the demon that attacked you," Piper began. "When I came back, you were asleep. I stayed in here in case you needed me again... How do you feel this morning?" she finished as she hoisted herself up on one elbow and studied her sister intently. "Other than being a little sore, I feel fine." Phoebe answered.
"Good to hear!" Piper exclaimed with a smile. "Now lets get down to business."
"Piper, I'm hungry." Phoebe whined. "This will only take a minute; I marked the page. Stop being such a baby." Piper admonished, fixing her sister with a look that dared her to protest again. "Okay." Phoebe sighed with a pout. "Phoebe." Piper said in a warning tone. "Here we are, you big baby." Piper teased as she opened the book. "Yes, that was it." Phoebe stated with a shudder. "We're lucky Paige wasn't killed." She added softly. "Well, you said she tried to orb out of it, right?" Piper inquired. Phoebe nodded her assent, and her sister continued. "Maybe her orbs set off some sort of spark against the electro-magnetic force field and she got zapped. Doctor Johannessy did say it looked like she suffered some sort of electrical shock."
"Nothing like stating the obvious, Piper." Phoebe muttered under her breath. "Stop being a wise-ass, Dear Phoebe, before I freeze you!" Piper snapped. "You can't." Phoebe reminded her sister with a sugary-sweet grin. "Oh shut up! I know that, huh?" Piper shouted. "Mrrowwr!" Phoebe meowed at her sister. "I may not be able to freeze you, but I can still sit on you and tickle you like I used to, ya little witch!" Piper warned. "Wouldn't be so bad... Prue's not here to help you, and neither is Paige!" Phoebe smirked. "But Leo is." Piper replied with an evil grin of her own. As she opened her mouth to call his name, Phoebe covered it with her hand and hissed. "Do it and I'll beat you senseless, Piper!"
"Wow, now who's cranky?" Piper asked. "Shove it!" Phoebe growled. "Alright, missy; you need to calm down." Piper warned. "I'm going to go make you some breakfast, and you had better work on that attitude before you come downstairs."
"Getting in practice for when Garrett's older?" Phoebe called after her sister as Piper left the room. "Yes!" Piper's voice floated back as the door slammed behind her.
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"Aargh! Sisters!" Piper growled as she entered the kitchen a few minutes later. "What's wrong, baby?" Leo asked as he gave her a hug and kiss. "Phoebe is being an ornery little brat this morning!" Piper snapped. "I stayed with her last night in case she needed me, and this morning, she's being ungrateful and snippy. She threatened to beat me senseless."
"Piper, you should know by now that you can't baby Phoebe when she's sick. I mean-" Leo was cut off mid sentence as Piper froze him. "You are so not helping!" Piper growled. Garrett looked up at her from his infant seat on the table at that moment, offering his mother a small smile. "Yes, honey; I froze Daddy. Get used to it." Piper explained as she lifted Garrett into her arms. "He's lucky I didn't blow him up," she continued. "He's siding with Auntie Phoebe right now, and Mommy's just a wee bit miffed with him." Garrett looked in Leo's direction, and then his lower lip began to tremble.
"It's okay, sweetie...Daddy will be-" Piper was interrupted by Garrett's heart-wrenching wail. "Don't cry, my little Angel-boy," Piper soothed. "Here, I'll unfreeze Daddy and make it all better," she finished as she reached out to touch Leo. Before she even began to extend her hand, Leo suddenly un-froze. "What the hell?" Piper muttered to herself. "- She hates that more than anything." Leo finished. He noticed then that Garrett was in Piper's arms. "You froze me," he stated. "Yes, I did." Piper admitted. "And apparently, Garrett didn't like it, because he un-froze you on his own. I wanted to blow you up, but freezing you scared Garrett enough."
"As well it should, because it's wrong." Leo admonished. Then he addressed his son and said. "That's Daddy's boy! Way to use those powers! Give me five, buddy!" he finished, taking Garrett's tiny hand in his own and giving him a baby high-five. "Yeah, real cute!" Piper muttered angrily. "What?" Leo asked defensively. "He's using his powers, Piper; that's a good thing."
"Not when it overrules my powers, it's not!" Piper complained. "If we let him get away with it, he's going to be manipulating me all the time."
"Honey, he's an infant; he doesn't know what he's doing." Leo pointed out. "Oh, he doesn't?!" Piper snapped. "I think you're wrong on that one, Leo...he knows exactly what he's doing! He's driving Mommy crazy!" She then attempted to blow Leo up as she had threatened earlier. Garrett, however, had other ideas. As she threw her hands out to explode Leo, Garrett again manipulated her powers, changing the explosion to a gush of water and reversing it so it nailed Piper. "Whoa!" Piper yelped. "What the hell just happened, here?" Leo couldn't hide his smirk of amusement, as he looked, wide-eyed, at his dripping wife. "Honey, he's proving that he's a very powerful little boy, and we should respect him for that. He may be able to help you and your sisters fend off, or even fight, if there's an attack." Leo replied. "He saw that you were trying to hurt me again, and obviously, he didn't like it. Therefore, he took the chance of soaking himself to save me. I think he's quite intelligent, myself." As he finished speaking, Leo could no longer hold back a snort of amusement.
"Leo, please. Don't you think I've been through enough with Phoebe this morning? The last thing I need at the moment is a lecture from you...Stop laughing!" she demanded angrily. "This is so not funny!"
"You're right, it's not." Leo murmured as he tried to stop laughing. "Honey, I'm sorry," he said as he attempted to draw Piper into his embrace. Piper, however, had other ideas. She pulled back with Garret in her arms and spoke, her tone revealing her anger. "Whatever!" Piper muttered giving Leo the cold shoulder as she turned and left the room. "Piper!" Leo called after her in frustration. "Piper! Don't you even walk away from me!" Silence was his only response, so he sat down at the table with a low growl and proceeded to eat his breakfast.
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