The afternoon of July 18, 2014 was a hot day. The sun beat down on San Francisco, California like a flame on an ant. It was 108 degrees and nobody wanted to go outside unless they were at the beach.

In a large manor three young girls relaxed in their living room. One fanned herself with a Chinese hand-held fan. Another had an electric fan next to her. The other waved her hand in front of her face.

The first girl, the one that lay in the recliner chair was a 14-year-old girl. She had a thin face and a thin body. Her dark blond hair was draped over one of the arms of the chair. Her legs over the other arm.

Another was a 12-year-old girl. Her head thrown over the back of the couch. Her black hair fell over the back. She also had a thin face yet she didn't have the same shape of the other.

The last was a 10 year old. She had a slightly chubby face, but not much. Her thin figure was curled on the couch with a book in one hand. Her light red hair was pulled around in front of her on one shoulder.

"Girls! We're home!" A voice called from the front door.

"Hi Mom!" The girl in the recliner called.

"Hi Aunt Piper!" The other two girls called.

"Patience! Your father called and said he is coming to pick you up at five o'clock." Piper stood in the doorway talking to her daughter.

"Okay. Where's he coming from this week?"

"Pai, you know I don't know your father's schedule."

"Mom can't you just guess or something."

"Patience, don't argue."

"Mom!" She wined.

Phoebe sensed some tension between the two so she stuck her head through the door. "Ah, Phlora, come here sweetheart."

"Okay Mom." The black haired girl stood and walked out of the room.

"You too Prayerah." Prue told her daughter.

"But Mom," She wined "I just got to a good part."

"Now Prayer!"

"Fine." The girl then stormed out of the room.

Piper had kept her eyes fixed on Patience. "What's the matter with you." She asked, her brown eyes went soft.

"Maybe it's just the heat." She answered.

"No, you've been like this for months."

"Why does he do this to us?"

"Do what? His job? That is what is keeping him from being taken from us." Piper then peeked around both corners of the doorway, when she found that no one was there she sat across from Patience on the couch. "Your dad is doing this because the deal was that we could have you as long as he came and worked every time he was called."

"Who are they? Who do they think they are? Sometimes I don't see him for a whole week out of a month. Like this time."

"Pai, believe it or not, they are putting less pressure on him because of you. He used to be gone for months at a time. Once I didn't see him for a year."

"So who's he taking care of this time?" At that moment the doorbell rang.

"Ask him yourself."

Leo Wyatt stood at the doorway. Prue and her daughter, Prayerah, raced for the door. Prue tickle her daughter as they ran. Prayerah pulled the door open quickly. Prue stopped, bent down and grabbed her daughter around the waist and set her head on Prayer's shoulder. Seeing Leo she spoke "Hey stranger. Since when do you knock?"

"Since I haven't been here for a month." He replied.

"A week Uncle Leo." Prayerah reminded him.

"Two Prayer." Patience was leaned against the door casing to the living room.

"Hey kid." Leo walked toward his daughter.

"So where was it this time?" She asked straight-faced.

"Pai. What's up?"

"Everything. Not that you would understand. You haven't been here."

"Patience, don't start." Piper warned her.

"Well, on that note we are gonna go home." Prue grabbed Prayerah's hand and walked toward the door.

"No, no Prue you don't have to go." Piper urged her sister to stay.

"We've got to air out the apartment anyway."

"Yeh, we're gonna go upstairs." Phoebe told her older sister.

"We are?" Phlora asked.

"Yes. Scoot." She pointed to the stairs. The young girl ran up.

"Okay we can talk for real now." Leo said. He was referring to Prayerah. Prue wouldn't let Prayer know about her powers until she thought her daughter was old enough.

"Dad, Prayer knows about her powers, she just doesn't tell Aunt Prue that. She used to play with us all the time."

"Whether she knows about them or not, we still can't talk about it around her. We promised."

"Promises, promises. Like that one where you said you'd be back in a week, I didn't see you for a month. Is that what your talking about Dad?"

"Patience go upstairs." Piper told her.

"What did I do?"

"You…you…"

"What, told the truth, stated my opinion, stop me when I'm warm."

"Patience Marie Wyatt go upstairs now! Your mother has a reason." Leo told his daughter sternly.

"Whatever, fine." She started to walk up the stairs. "None of the other teenagers lose their father like this."

"None of the other teenagers are witches with a whitelighter for a father." Piper called back. When she was gone Piper turned back to her husband. "She irritates me so much."

"That's because she is just like you. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"So who was it this time?" Piper decided to ask.

"Just as I said, your just like each other."

"Who Leo?"

"I don't know. I forgot."

"You protected a witch for two weeks and you don't know who it was?"

"Ya."

"Leo, come on. You know I'm not that stupid. Who was it?"

"You don't know her."

"Where is she from?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well in case you haven't guessed, Patience is lonely. She needs a friend that she can talk about anything with. Your always out so I thought you might have found a young witch for her to talk to."

"Liar. And it was a 12 year old who was caught by a couple warlocks. No big deal."

"Great, a friend for Phlora. Both of them need it."

"And what about Prayer. She's left all alone?"

"Prayerah's not feeling different than anyone else. She's not very developed in her powers even if she does know about them. Where does this witch live?"

"She is over in Australia. To far to have a good friend. And she's not a witch."

"So, she can telecom, there's always e-mail, she could talk on the phone if this girl has one, hell… there's still paper pencil and a mail system."

Piper tried to convince her husband.

"I'm not going to go friend hunting for a twelve and fourteen year old who should be doing it for themselves."

"Leo, how hard do you think it is to find a friend for two witches in 2014 San Francisco? It's not easy."

"They seem to get along well with each other. Patience said that they play with each other."

"She said they used to play with each other. They are ten, twelve and fourteen. They can't play with each other anymore, Leo. They are all on their own now. They all need a friend. Ora and Pai the most."

Leo sighed, shook his head, kissed his wife on the cheek and walked to the kitchen. Piper took a deep breath, let it out slowly and started up the stairs.

"I can't believe it. They treat me like an infant. Like I have to be protected from my own life. I need to know what my dad is doing. I have a right. Am I right?" Patience paced in her room talking to her cousin.

"I guess." Phlora answered. "I don't think I would really know."

"Your right. Aunt Phoebe talks to you. You get to do everything. While I sit home and wait for my parents to talk to me about where my life is going."

"Well I wouldn't go that far. I only said that because I don't have a dad that lives at home, so I don't have many parent problems. Once in awhile I get my mom getting upset that daddy didn't picking me up the time he promised, but that's about it."

"Uncle Cole sees you more than my dad sees me in a year. And my parents aren't even divorced. Even Jimmy sees Prayerah more."

"You really need to stop now! You've been complaining for an hour! It's getting kinda old! We have our share of problems too! It's not just you!" Phlora finally blew up at her cousin. "I see dad once a month. Pray sees Uncle Jimmy every other weekend. We miss them too. Get over it."

"I don't believe it, my own cousin!"

"It happens, get over it and get on with your life!"

"Hey, hey, hey. You guys, cool it." Phoebe peeked in the door.

"Mom, tell her to leave me alone with her petty complaints." Phlora complained.

"Phlora!" Phoebe was astonished at her daughter's attitude.

"They're not petty! They're instinctive."

"Well my complaint is insti…. instinc… whatever you said."

"You two are arguing like five year olds. Haven't you ever heard the saying 'act your age, not your shoe size.'?"

"No." They both answered.

"Well the point is to act your age." Phoebe told them matter of factly. "When you share a room you will get in these fights. You will get over it and live on."

"May we get back to our fight now?" Patience asked sarcastically.

"No." Piper stuck her head through the door, "Your dad is ready, he's going to take you up. They want to examine your life down here."

"It sucks." She answered.

"Please Patience. This meeting determines if we can still keep him down here."

"I know, I know. Put on a smile and tell them all the wonderful things."

"No, this time you use your own strategy. Now lets go."

"Pai please be good." Piper begged her.

"I promise."

"Your sure you don't want me to come with you?" Leo asked her.

"Yeah dad, I'm sure." Patience took a deep breath, loosened up her shoulders and purple sparkles enveloped her. Slowly she became part of the sparkles. She then rose and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Please let this work." Piper said. Leo put his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, I'm hungry." He told her. Piper and her husband then walked back towards the kitchen.

Patience materialized in a strange place she had never seen before. She had been up here before but never in this exact place. She looked around at everything. White surrounded her. She wasn't standing on anything but air and she seemed to be floating.

"Patience Marie Wyatt." Someone spoke. The voice sounded like an older male's. The voice was all over the place. Like if you surrounded a room with speakers.

Pai turned around several times, trying to find the voice.

"I am here." He told her. The voice was in one place now. She turned quickly and behind her was an old man. He had a long white robe on and carried a thick red covered book. His white hair fell to hit his shoulders.

Seeing that the man was one of the high council, Patience's green eyes went soft as she spoke "Hello."

"Your eyes are like your father's, hard and strong. Yet when they go soft they are exactly like your mother's, soft and calm." The man now stood about two feet from Pai.

"Why are we in a different place than usual?" She asked sweetly.

"Patience Marie Wyatt. Daughter of Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt. Eldest cousin of Phlora Lynn Halliwell and Prayerah Melinda Halliwell." He read from his book. "Do you have anything to say to me?"

"I asked you why we are in a different place than usual."

"Your power has grown, whether you know it or not. And when it grows you grow to a higher plane. Your mental capacity can handle this plane now and here it is easier to speak with you. You are here for a purpose, what is it?"

"It has been four years, sir. I was to come up and speak with you of my life."

"Patience Marie Wyatt, I now understand your reason for coming here."

"Sir, you know you can call me what everyone else calls me."

"And what is that child?"

"Well, most people call me Pai. Mom and Dad just usually call me Patience."

"Alright, I shall simply call you Patience if you stop calling me sir and call me Jenkin."

"Sure Jenkin." She said with a giggle.

Jenkin pointed to a small chair behind her. "Sit." He said.

Patience sat in the chair and folded her hands in her lap.

"So tell me Patience, how has your life been these last four years?"

"Excellent. I love my home and family…"

"You lie. You have been miserable. Why?"

"Well sir, I mean Jenkin, it's my father. He's never around. Your always calling him away and I hardly ever see him." She complained.

"You know that we have no choice. He has other charges besides your mother and aunts."

"I understand that, but…. it's just…he's my father and no one else has to keep their father's occupation a secret."

"Who is this, no one else?"

"Well, you know. Humans, school friends, mortals. Whatever you want to call them."

"Ah, you mean innocents."

"Yes!"

"But what about your cousin Phlora? Her father is a demon."

"Yes, but Uncle Cole is mortal now! He used to be a demon. Now he has a job and is trying to find a place to live!"

"Easy child. Would you have your father's wings clipped?"

"No! But I would like to spend at least three days a week with him. Is that arrangable?"

"Unfortunately not Patience. But we can let you see him more than usual. Only on special occasions would we call him away a lot."

"Like when mom and my aunts are on an 'assignment'?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We will take away one of his charges."

Patience thought hard. She would love to have Leo around more, but on the other hand one of his charges would get a whitelighter they weren't used to. One that he or she wouldn't be able to trust for quite some time. "Jenkin?" She broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"May I talk with my family about this?"

"Of course, but Patience, don't forget, just because your father is the only whitelighter married with a family doesn't and shouldn't give him privileges."

Pai nodded her head and orbed back down to her home.

"Hello?" Patience looked around the large manor. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"They went out on an assignment." Phlora stood at the top of the stairs looking into the parlor.

"Oh." Patience felt uncomfortable. She had left her cousin in anger and Phlora didn't forget anything. "How long have I been gone?

"I dunno, couple weeks?"

"Oh, look Phlora I'm sorry. I admit, I complain too much but who doesn't, you know?"

"Girl you waste precious time."

"What?"

The young girl transformed. Her body warped and twisted and grew. It grew into a tall woman. She was about 6 foot 3 inches, she had dark green eyes and jet-black hair. "I said you waist precious time! Tell me where you've been little girl." Her eyes sank into Patience's.

"No…no…I can't." Patience backed away from the woman and turned her head quickly around to the hallway towards the living room. She darted towards the room, turning the corner before the woman could find her.

"Where is your book girl? Where is your power witch?"

Around the corner was a closet, she jumped in and crouched down. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Hi I'm Patience. What are you?" Her image appeared in the dinning room before the woman could go any further into the living room.

"What? But you went around to the other room."

"Popping around here and there kinda happens when you're a witch. Now, what are you?"

"No, I won't tell you! You will easily vanquish me then, I can't risk that."

"But of course. So what are you going to do? The more you look, the more I move."

"Eventually I'll catch you."

"Eventually, but it's a big house and by the time you might get me cornered, I'll have back up. So what are you again?"

"Never. I'll find you, if it takes me forever."

"Okay. Your choice." At that moment Pai vanished.

"I'll find you." The woman whispered to herself. She then stomped off forward.

Pai re-appeared in the attic. "Dad! Dad!"

Blue sparkles immediately fell from the ceiling. "Patience!" Her father got excited. "What's wrong?"

"There is a warlock downstairs."

"What?"

"Uh-oh. Oh, oh, oh no." Patience's appearance vanished.

"Patience!" Leo instantly orbed down to the living room.

Patience's astral self came back to her body. She inhaled sharply, but quieted when she figured out where she was.

"Pai!" Leo called for her.

"Dad." She whispered. "Dad, in the closet."

"Patience, what's happening?"

"I don't know. I came back from up there and I was talking to Phlora and Phlora turned into this woman, who happens to be wandering around the house."

"Come, come girl you know I will find you. Show yourself." The woman called. The woman turned the corner and saw Patience and Leo standing in the middle of the room. She trudged toward them.

"I think we better go." Leo suggested.

"Not before we get her and the Book of Shadows out of here."

"Pai, honey, we've got to go!" Leo backed her toward the windows.

"No!"

"Patience! Your okay!" Piper burst through the door.

"Mom, how did you know that I was here?"

"Mother's intuition." She shrugged.

"Ah, the Charmed Ones. Finally, I'll have the power of this and the next generation of Charmed Ones." The woman watched as the three others (Prue, Phoebe and Phlora) walked through the door.

"They never learn." Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"Mom. Something isn't right." Phlora took a step forward and looked around.

"Uh… yah, sweetie there's a warlock standing in front of us."

"No, it's something else. Pai do you feel it?"

"Ya, what is that?"

The woman laughed. "Amazing. You sense my back-up."

"What?" Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Leo were confused.

"My back-up."

"Prayerah!" Patience exclaimed.

"That's it!" Phlora agreed. "Aunt Prue where is she?"

"She's over at Amy's house."

The two girls dashed out the doors and down the street.

The warlock giggled "Good luck girls."

Prayerah lay on her stomach on the floor with a miniature hairbrush in one hand and an old Barbie in the other. "This is so cool. So your mom actually lets you play with her old Barbie from the nineteen nineties?"

Another girl sat on her feet across from Prayerah. She had strawberry-blond hair that fell to her shoulders, a thin figure and sea green eyes. "Ya, it's really neat because sometimes she'll play with me." Amy stroked her Barbie's hair a couple times then stood. "I'll be right back."

"Hey Amy…" At that moment three men appeared behind Prayerah.

Amy turned when Prayerah called her name and screamed when she saw the men.

Instinctively, Prayerah stood quickly and turned. "Amy, go get your mom!" As Amy turned to run, one of the men tried to stop her with an energy bolt that shot from his hand. Prayerah raised her hand and threw it back at the man.

Amy ran to the front door. She pulled it open franticly, there stood Patience and Phlora.

"Where's Prayerah?" Patience demanded.

"She's in my room with the men!"

Phlora's hands flew up and Amy and the entire room froze. They're heads shot up at a smashing sound coming from the next room. Both girls dashed into Amy's room. When they ran in they looked around. The room looked like a miniature war zone. There were burn marks on the walls, there were no men in the room. A pool of blood was inching toward them. They followed the trail to a small figure that lay still on the floor. "Prayerah?" Phlora called to her cousin. She was shaking uncontrollably as she knelt next to her. She moved the ten-year-old's red hair out of her face. She looked up at her older cousin, "Patience, what do we do?"

Patience was in tears. She knelt next to Phlora. "Okay, um…" Some of the blood reached her knees "Oh my god! Uh, Phlora, call 911. Then call home!"

Phlora just sat there. She was in shock and shaking too much to move.

"Now Phlora, go!"

"Okay." Phlora stood and ran out of the room.

Patience lifted Prayerah's head onto her lap. She looked her up and down to find the source of the blood. She was covered in it.

Phlora walked in with a cell phone in her hand. "Yah, and…and she's bleeding and we don't know what's wrong!" Phlora was crying and she was having trouble standing. "Yah, I know where she is." The woman on the other end spoke. "Yes, I know the number. Okay…okay." Phlora hit a button on the phone then dialed her home number. "Mom? Prayerah…she's hurt. Okay, I already did that. She's right here. Okay, mom hurry!" She closed the cell phone.

"What's going on?" Patience asked trying not to cry for her cousin's sake.

"They're sending an ambulance over and everyone's on their way."

"Okay, you go take care of Amy."

"Pai…"

"Phlora you're the one that froze her, I can't do anything."

"Aright."

Blue sparkles emerged from the ceiling. They formed into Prue and Leo. Prue immediately took a step forward toward Prayerah. "Prayerah!" She almost fell to her knees and crawled to her daughter.

"She not dead but I can't find where she's bleeding!" Patience informed her. Leo came over and set his hand on her shoulder. She set Prayerah back on the floor gently, then stood and flung herself onto her father's arms. "Daddy. Daddy, I didn't know what to do!"

"It's okay. It's okay I'll heal her."

"No daddy you can't."

"Why not?"

"Because Phlora already called an ambulance. I didn't know what else to do daddy."

"Okay, she'll be okay."

The hospital room was cluttered with machines and wires all hooked to Prayerah who lay in bed unconscious.

Patience and Phlora stood on both sides of the bed. Piper and Leo stood next to Patience, and Phoebe next to Phlora. Prue had gone to call Jimmy. "We got there too late." Patience finally spoke.

"No, honey. You didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't your fault." Piper told her.

"But we didn't get there in time."

"It isn't your fault baby."

"How came it not be mom?"

Piper knew there was an answer to that, but Patience wouldn't agree, no matter what it was. Piper reached out to stroke her daughter's hair but Patience swerved and turned around. She fell into her mother's arms and buried her face in her shoulder.

Phlora turned to Phoebe and hugged her.

Prue rushed in. Her eyes were blood shot and her face was white. "Is she still okay?"

Piper turned her head. "Yeah, she's okay."

Prue walked up to Patience and Piper. "Patience." She stroked her niece's hair.

"What?" Patience didn't move her head.

"You did good."

"It doesn't help any."

"I know."

The group stood in silence for hours. No one spoke. No one hardly even moved. Finally the doctor walked in and broke the silence. "None of you can do anything here. Why don't you go home?"

Then a man's voice was heard behind the doctor. "Prue!" The doctor let the man through. He was tall and muscular with dark hair and dark eyes.

"Jimmy."

"I'll leave you alone." The doctor told them.

"We're gonna go get something to eat." Leo told them. "You guys wanna come?" He gestured to Phoebe and Phlora.

"Yeah, sure we'll come." Phoebe answered. The five left the room.

Prue and Jimmy stood across from each other, just staring at one another.

"What happened?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't know."

"What's wrong with her?"

"We don't know."

"Is there anything you do know?"

"We know that she won't stop bleeding."

"I'll kill whoever did this."

"Jimmy…" Prue started hesitantly, "if I tell you some thing, will you promise not to freak and not to tell anyone."

"Does it have something to do with Prayerah?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I promise."

"I'm a witch."

"No kidding."

"No, for real. I have magical powers. So does Prayerah. It can't be prevented. It runs in the family."

"Your sisters? Patience, Phlora?"

"Yeah, we're all witches."

Jimmy giggled for a second. "Does Leo know?"

"Yeah, I should say so. He's a Whitelighter. A guardian angel for witches."

"So what happened to her?"

"A warlock sent someone or something after her. She couldn't handle it by herself."

"A warlock?"

"Yeah."

"So this was the big secret all those years."

"Yup. You can't tell anyone Jimmy."

"Tell somebody? Ha, if I tried they'd throw me in a mental institution."

"Jimmy, promise."

"I promise."

A small voice came from the bed. "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Prayerah!" The two ran to her side.

"What happened? Are the men gone?"

"Yes, there gone honey." Prue answered.

"Mommy, I hurt so bad."

"I know baby."

"I…I heard Patience come in. Then…then I fell."

"It's alright, your gonna be okay." Jimmy stroked his daughter's hand.

"Are you guys back together again?"

"No honey." Prue smiled.

"Oh." Prayerah closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

A week past and there was hardly any change in Prayerah's condition. They managed to stop the bleeding, but she was extremely weak because of the loss of blood. Prue wanted to do something, anything. Cast a spell, have Leo heal her, but they couldn't or else she would be kept there longer to study the recovery.

Patience wouldn't stop blaming herself for the accident. She wouldn't accept that it wasn't her fault. She would spend hours in her room, trying to figure out how she could help, thinking that there would be no way that her cousin would ever forgive her. She got so involved in helping Prayerah, she had forgotten about the time when she talked to Jenkin and the decision she had to make. Finally Leo came upstairs to talk to his daughter.

"Phlora, could I talk to Patience alone?" Leo asked the twelve year old who sat at her desk in the corner, obviously doing homework. Phlora left the room quietly and headed down the hall to her mother's room.

"Pai." Leo began speaking to his daughter who sat on her bed with her head down watching her hands twist around each other. "I spoke to the high counsel today." When she didn't answer he continued. "They said you spoke to one of them about taking away one of my charges?" He half asked, half told her.

She nodded her head in agreement.

"Why?"

"Because," she whispered "your never around. I hardly ever see you."

"So, you were going to have one of my charges taken away from me?"

"Yes, no! I don't know."

"Pai, do you want me spend more time with you?"

"Not if it means one of your charges will loose you."

"Patience, I'm gonna tell you something."

"What?"

"I wasn't there when you took your first step. I wasn't there when you said your first word and I wasn't there when you changed from a child to a young woman. I'd like to see you become an adult. Now, there's only one way to do that."

"Dad, no."

"Patience, we don't have any other choice."

"Yes we do, we could…we could…I don't know, but we'll think of something. We always do."

"No, honey, we work around it. That's how I keep missing every important thing you do."

"Dad, I don't want to loose you anymore than I already have. And I don't want a charge to loose you altogether."

"I'll tell you what, I will talk to all my charges and see what they think."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Three days, max."

"You promise?"

"Promise, cross my heart."

"Okay." And for the first time in four days, Patience Wyatt smiled.

Three days later Prayerah came home. And doctor's orders were to stay there. Not too much activity and lots of rest. Patience spent most of her time helping her around and getting caught up with homework. But this day was different, this was the day her father was supposed to come home. But, when at her bedtime of ten o'clock he wasn't there, she simply said "figures." And went to bed.

While Patience was at school the next day, Leo came home, but not in the condition he had left. "Piper!!" Leo screamed as he walked to the stairs in the manor. "Piper!!" Leo clutched his shoulder, his arm was limp and hung next to his side. "Piper! Prue! Phoebe! Anybody!"

Piper, Prue and Phoebe walked through the mall. They talked about their girls and lives. Phoebe stopped at one of stores and the inevitable question came. "Can you guys wait here? I saw this really cool outfit in here a couple days ago and it's MINE!"

"Alright, but hurry. Remember, we still have to go grocery shopping before the girls get home." Piper told her sister.

"Okay." Phoebe agreed as she dashed in.

Piper turned to her older sister. "So, how's Prayer doing? I hear from Patience, she's running your own feet off."

"Ya. Well, actually she's not working us as hard as I expected." There was a hint of mumbling in Prue's voice.

"Prue, is there something wrong?"

"It's just since the accident she's been…" Prue hesitated.

"What?"

"She seems to be more aware of…the family gift."

Piper froze. She remembered what Patience had said to Leo, 'Dad, Prayer knows about her powers, she just doesn't tell Aunt Prue that'. With a look of guilt, Piper asked, "Do you think she knows about her powers?"

"I don't know." Prue said suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Of course not, I mean, how would I know?"

"You lie worse than Phoebe. How much does she know?"

"I don't know." Piper answered sincerely but with a hint of shame.

"How long has it been?"

"I don't know."

"Please Piper, about how long?"

"I really don't know. You'd have to ask…Patience."

"Pai? Why her?"

"She told me that when they were younger, they used to play together."

"She's always known." Prue told herself bewilderingly aloud.

"Prue, we all knew that she would defiantly know sometime. And I think after what's happened it's good thing. You couldn't keep protecting her forever." Piper told her while Prue stood almost in shock.

"Yeah, but I could try."

Piper gave her a 'yeah right' look.

"I know, I know."

"Prue, I'm really sorry."

"I gotta talk to her now, don't I?"

"Yeah, I'd say so."

Phoebe almost skipped out of the store with a large bag hung on her arm. She saw Prue and Piper and headed towards them. "Hey, you guys! I got the last set! Talk about luck!"

Prue kept her eyes on the floor as if she was examining something, and Piper starred at her with a look of guilt.

Phoebe looked back and forth from Prue to Piper. Then finally she watched her eldest sister walk away and mumble, "I'll be in the car".

"What's up?"

"Prayerah knows about her powers. I don't think Prue was ready for it."

Phoebe sighed slightly and simply said "Oh".

The girls finished up their shopping at the mall and headed to the closest Super Wal-Mart. As Piper and Phoebe walked through the food section a strange cold came over Piper. She shivered and rubbed her arms.

"Hey, you okay?" Phoebe asked noticing her sister's shiver.

"Yeah, it's just really cold in here."

"Are you kidding? Sure, the air conditioner might be a little high but I don't think it's that cold."

"Phoebe, it's freezing in here!" Piper insisted tightening her arms around each other.

"Piper? Are you sure your okay?"

"I…I think so." Just then Piper inhaled sharply and clutched at her shoulder. She took short breaths and each was as if no air was making it through.

"Piper!"

"Phoebe, we have…to go home." Piper barley could talk.

"Why?" Phoebe panicked.

For a moment Piper didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know the answer. But something inside her told her why. She looked up, then back down to Phoebe. "Leo." She let out with a short sigh.

"Ok, come on." Phoebe led Piper to the door.

Phoebe sat in the driver's seat with a panicked expression. Prue, who obviously was confused, sat next to her. "Phoebe? Phoebe did you hear me?"

"What?" Phoebe snapped back to reality at her sister's voice.

"Is Piper's shoulder bleeding?"

"No, but she's acting like she's been shot. And she keeps repeating Leo's name."

"She does?"

"Yeah, can't you hear her?" Phoebe tilted her head toward the back seat.

Prue turned and looked in the back. Piper was curled up on the seat with both hands pressed against her shoulder and sure enough she was mumbling Leo's name. Prue turned back to Phoebe. "Go faster." She demanded.

"I'm going as fast as I can without getting a ticket."

A large yellow bus drove in front of Piper's jeep. It stopped at the manor and let two young girls out. As the bus pulled forward the jeep pulled into the driveway.

"Hey Pai, they're home." Phlora pointed the car. "Come on." She grabbed Patience's hand and pulled her to the jeep.

Phoebe jumped out of the driver's seat and flung the back door open. She reached in and grabbed Piper under the arms and pulled her out. Piper could barley stand so most of her weight was on Phoebe until Prue ran around and held onto her also.

Phlora and Patience ran up when Prue, Piper and Phoebe had made it to the front door of the manor. "Mama?" Phlora touched Phoebe's shoulder.

"Mom?" Patience got up behind Piper. "What's wrong?"

"It's okay honey, we're gonna fix this." Prue tired to reassure her niece.

Piper let out another squeak of Leo's name.

Patience ignored Prue. "Mom, dad's not here."

Piper stopped. She stood up straight and took a couple deep breaths. "It's gone." She mumbled. "Leo." Piper grabbed the door handle, pushed it open and stormed in. "Oh my god." Straight through the hall you could see the bottom of the stairs and Leo lying there unconscious.

"Dad!" Piper and Patience ran to him. He was face down on the floor and when they turned him over there was blood all over him and the stairs. "Daddy?" Patience touched his face. It was ice cold. "Mommy." Tears were streaming down both of their cheeks.

"I'm so sorry baby." Piper reached over and held her daughter.

Prue, Phoebe and Phlora slowed down to a walking pace when they saw Piper grab a hold of Patience. "No." Phoebe quickened her pace a bit to make it to the two faster. "Piper…" Phoebe didn't finish because Piper nodded her head.

Prue couldn't help it, all she could do was stand there and mumble 'oh my god' to herself.

"But, mom, Whitelighters can't die. They're already dead." Phlora sobbed.

"No baby. This is a Darklighter arrow. The only thing that can kill a Whitelighter."

"But mom, Uncle Leo just can't be dead. He just can't."

"DADDY! COME BACK!!" Patience broke out of the hug and almost beat on her father.

"Pai." Piper grabbed a hold on her daughter's arm and pulled her back towards her.

"I told him to go mommy. I told him to go." Patience said choking back a couple tears that wouldn't stop.

Piper held her daughter close to her and looked up at her sisters. "Let's vanquish this bastard." She told them stopping her own tears.

Three hours later Patience was in bed, she had cried herself to sleep, Phlora sat in their room with her in case she woke up, and the three sisters were up in the attic. The three flipped through pages in the Book of Shadows to see if they could find anything on this particular Darklighter. When Prue lifted her hand to turn to the next page, a couple of pages flipped on their own. The page that finally rested in front of them was of a warlock that could blink it's self to a different place and change it's shape and size at any time. "No Grams, we're looking for a Darklighter." Prue said to the air then turned to the next page. It flipped back by itself. "Alright. I surrender." Prue read through it. She turned to Phoebe who was peering over her shoulder. "There's a tracking spell for it." She told her. They looked up from the book to Piper who sat next to an old antic couch in the corner, Leo was lying on it. "Wanna try it?"

Piper looked up at them. Her eyes were a fiery red and her face was the same color. "Yes." She told them with absolutely no emotion in her voice.

The spell was simple. A couple rhymes, a few lit candles and they were done. At the end of the chant, a cloud of blue smoke circled the middle of the floor. After the smoke cleared a woman stood in front of them. Prue, Piper and Phoebe recognized her as the woman warlock from the day when Prayerah was hurt.

She shook her head. "Girls, there was no reason to summon me. I was on my way here anyway." She said as if she were their mother.

Piper stepped forward. "You killed my husband you bitch!"

"Umm, yes I did. Just like I… tried to kill Prayerah and like I will kill you now."

"Why? Besides the fact that you want the power of the Charmed Ones."

"Actually, your powers don't interest me. Your daughter interests me Piper."

"Patience?"

"Yes, she will give birth to the next Charmed Ones and that can't happen now can it?"

"How did you kill Leo?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

"Ha, him? It was easy darling, I took the form of one of his charges, stole one of those silly arrows and stuck it in his chest. Kinda like Buffy. It was fun."

"Why aren't you trying to kill Patience?" Piper brought the subject up again.

"Well I don't want her dead darling, I simply want to prevent the future."

"By killing us?"

"Yes, you see, I'm driving her mad. By injuring her cousin, she thought she got there too late. By killing her father, she wished she didn't tell him to go talk to his charges. And by killing her mother and aunts while she's asleep, this will be too easy."

Piper stepped backwards and all three girls' eyes grew wide.

"Ta Ta." The woman dropped her head down changing herself into the man who had shot the energy bolt at Amy. He raised his hand and a bolt formed in his hand. He blew it toward the three. For the women, it seemed as if everything was happening so fast that it was slow. Then, in an immediate reaction, Piper brought her hands up and the warlock and the fireball disintegrated. They stood there for a second waiting for the rest of the fight to come, when it didn't Piper turned her around to face her sisters.

"Can I cry now?" Piper asked with a tear falling down her face.

"Yes, you can cry now." A man's voice answered and Piper felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Leo." She could barley speak his name. She turned around and saw a completely healed and still handsome Leo smiling down at her. She lunged at him. Kissing him in any place that she could reach. "Oh, my god! I love you so much."

Phoebe and Prue stood to the side and watched the sight that never failed to make them cry.

"Hey, mom. What's going on up here?" Patience walked up the stairs. "Daddy!!" She screamed and ran to her mother and father. As Patience held them she finally felt that she had her greatest gift. Her family.