Disclaimer - If you know who they are, then I don't own them.

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The flashing lights made the girl nervous She even closed her eyes but she could still see them. Nothing she heard made sense. “Come on love!” she finally heard. The person was now yelling at her. “Wake up babe, let’s go, come one love, stay with me!” “Who is this person talking to me,” she thought to herself. She moaned and let her mind drift off. The workers in the ambulance were trying to pull the girl on the stretcher out of her stupor. “Come on love, come back to me!” he coaxed. She would not respond to his calls and was lost in a wonderful world as her mind continued to drift. She almost felt like she was falling but it was okay. It was almost like Alice in Wonderland. She fell gently down a long dark tube and kept passing a speaker box every few feet. “Can you hear me love? I need you to talk to me!” said the voice on the other end. Before she could respond though the speaker box was gone and she could even try to respond. Then she heard another far off voice, but she couldn’t piece the information together. “ETA three minutes…vitals…head injury…no response…plate ID…Silver, Harry, Apple, 4, 3, Roger…” and then the voice faded out. Eventually she felt herself land with a thud. She looked around her and saw many speaker boxes. Noise was coming out of all of them. She moaned in frustration and thought, “alright, relax, you’ve been in worse situations than this. Maybe I’m dreaming.” “Vitals…non responsive,” the box said to her. “WHAT!” she yelled out loud. Although no noise came out of her mouth she was screaming. She suddenly realized she couldn’t walk around and began to panic slightly. She sat on the ground and focused. “Relax, just stay calm and I can go home and see my sisters.”

The crash team working on her, got her stabilized and put her in room 1013. The team leader brought a report over to the officer standing by. “Hey Darryl,” Joe said exhausted. “Hey Joe, what do you have for me?” “That car was a mess, medics said it looks like an accordion, she’s lucky to be alive right now. I have a plate number if you want to run it.” “Yeah great, what is it,” Darryl said eagerly. “Let’s see, plate number, is, ah, yes, SHA 43R.” “Thanks Joe,” Darryl said as he turned to head back to his car. “Dispatch, I need a run on plate number Silver, Harry, Apple, 4, 3, Roger.” Darryl waited and his face fell when the report came back. “Registration is listed for an address 1329 Prescott Street.” “Dispatch, I didn’t catch that repeat.” “1329 Prescott Street. No Prior Charges!” Darryl’s head swam. He knew that house, very well in fact. He prayed that someone lent their car to a friend that it was not the girls. He did not want to break them any sort of news at all. “Do you copy?” came the voice off the speaker. “Yes copy, thank you.” Darryl got in the car and drove to 1329 Prescott Street. He pulled up outside the manor and sat in the car for a moment. His legs became two big pieces of steel and no matter how hard he tried he could not get them to move. “They’ve through too much, please let it all be a mistake,” he thought. Finally he was able to get his legs to cooperate and he opened his door. The twenty some odd steps up to the porch each seemed a mile long. “It’s a mistake,” he said to himself. “This is all one big mistake, they lent their car to a friend, I don’t have to worry everyone is in this house as it should be,” he continued. He was trying to convince himself more than anything else. Finally he reached the doorbell and hesitantly pushed the bell. After a few seconds the door opened. “Hey Darryl!” Phoebe smiled at him. “Oh no, what’s wrong.” Phoebe knew that face, but something was different. “What is it Darryl?” she pressed. “Phoebe, who’s home?” Darryl said.

“Prue and Piper,” she said quickly. “Paige,” he whispered under his breath. “What about Paige?” Phoebe pressed him. He hadn’t thought she heard but she did and now he knew he had to tell her. “Look, there was an accident, she’s in the hospital, she’s stable, but you all need to get down there quickly. She’s not responding to anyone, I think you all being there might help.” Piper heard everything from the kitchen. Her ears had perked up at “Oh no, what’s wrong,” and she walked slowly closer to the kitchen. “Not again she thought, I just want a normal night.” Then she heard what Darryl said and her heart leapt to her throat. She screamed for Prue before Phoebe could and grabbed the keys to her jeep. The three girls followed Darryl to the hospital while everyone’s mind had different thoughts. They were all concerned about how well she was doing. No one in their house liked hospitals and they were sure Paige was pretty scared. “Faster Darryl, Faster,” Prue said under her breath. “Prue,” Piper said quickly. “I’m sorry, but for God’s sake stop muttering, I can’t anymore just say it out loud.” Phoebe sat quietly in the back. She did not hear what her sisters were saying. The only thought in her head was how much she loved her little sister and how much she did not want to loose her so quickly. Finally pulling up, Piper threw the car in park and they all rushed to Darryl. He escorted them to Paige’s room and left them for the time being.

Prue could not believe how little the bed and tubes and equipment made Paige look. It was painful to watch but she was the oldest and she had to keep it together. Piper grabbed one hand, Phoebe grabbed the other, Prue kissed her softly and then went to talk to her doctor. Piper couldn’t believe how bad Paige looked. Her eyes were patched over. The glass from the windshield had caused some scratching and the medics covered her eyes so as not to injure them any more. The tubes were sticking out everywhere and Piper noticed she was on oxygen. Piper lifted her gaze to Phoebe and saw the tears streaming down her face. With her free hand she reached up and brushed them away. With that one look and soft touch from her sister, Phoebe composed herself and began stroking Paige’s hair. The only sound in the room was the slow steady beeping from the heart monitor, and the IV drip. Piper and Phoebe stayed silent. Finally they fell in sink with each other. Placing their hands on the top of her head, they brushed over her head, coming through her hair with their fingers till they reached the ends and then back to the top. Piper hadn’t noticed how much time had passed till she looked at the clock. Finally she looked behind her when she thought she heard footsteps. She saw Prue and by the look on her face she could tell things were not well with Paige. Prue walked over to Piper’s side and then noticed that Phoebe was not handling this well at all. She squeezed Piper’s free hand and walked over to Phoebe’s side. She let her remain in place, holding Paige’s hand, but she wrapped both arms around her waist from behind. Phoebe couldn’t handle it anymore. She leaned into Prue’s embrace and took a heavy sigh. Controlling her emotions were getting harder by the second. She slowly let go of Paige’s hand and turned into Prue. Prue hugged her tight as she sobbed. Piper watched and then her tears began to fall. Prue saw her beginning to cry and tried to reassure her. “Hey,” she whispered, “hey, listen to me, both of you. She’s a Halliwell and so are we. None of us give up without a fight okay?” Piper and Phoebe knew that tone. They both pulled themselves together and went back to just sitting with Paige until the nurse came and told them that visiting hours were over.

Paige was confused. She was in a strange place. Nothing made sense. She swore she felt someone brushing her hair but she was alone so she decided that it was just the place she was in giving her the creeps. “This really is Alice in Wonderland,” she thought to herself. “Okay, first, time to get out of here,” she said. She wandered down a dark hallway till everything seemed to get a little lighter. Then she saw the speaker boxes again. “Alright, now how do you work?” she asked the box. She looked around and saw nothing. “Well maybe if I find a talk back button. Do you even have a talk back button? This would be so much easier if I had my sisters with me. Prue is good at figuring crap like this out and Phoebe always puts a positive spin on things, and Piper, well I just miss her, I miss them all, and now I’m certifiable, because I’m thinking to myself in my head and answering.” She stopped thinking and took a deep breath after calming down some she looked again at the speaker box. After focusing intently an arrow lit up, so doing the only logical thing there was to do, she followed the arrow. She walked on for what seemed like forever until she found a lighter part of the tunnel with a sign. She brought her hand up and trailed her fingers over the sign. She slowly read the letters bit by bit and then read it again. After reading the sign at least five times she noticed the words in italics pop out at her. “Okay I don’t get it, what does all this mean!” she yelled in frustration. Once again a speaker box appeared and told her to read it out loud. “Right, read it out loud, that’ll help,” she said sarcastically. “Oh whatever, it can’t hurt any more can it?” With that she took a deep breath and began to read.

Dearest Paige, if you ever needed to trust in love now is the time. Release every insecurity that you've ever held onto. Life's road can be long, difficult, uncaring, and cruel. It seems that the world can treat you with no feeling. Hang on to what you know in your heart and let that be your guide to a steady recovery. Use every ounce of strength and courage you possess. Fight with passion and love and remember that you will have help along the way. Love, your most inner thoughts.

“Okay now this really IS Alice in Wonderland.” She looked on and saw a bed. She’d been walking for so long now and the bed looked really inviting. She laid down and felt a peace wash over her. Again she felt the feelings of someone brushing her hair. “Mmm,” she sighed. “I so want to go home with my sisters,” she said to no one in particular. “So tired… sleep…rest…later,” she said as she drifted off to sleep. Eventually she was in such a peaceful sleep that she felt as though she never wanted to awake. Her dreams were full of meadows and flowers, and full blooming trees. What she didn’t know was that she was going to need to keep that feeling because she was in for one hell of a ride when she finally did wake up.

Prue, Phoebe, and Piper were sitting in the hospital cafeteria the next morning waiting for an early meeting with the doctor. The two older girls were trying to get Phoebe to stop blaming herself. “Honey, listen to me very carefully. You did not do anything,” Prue said with sternness. Before Phoebe could protest Prue was on her like a shot. “UH! No, I don’t want to hear anything negative out of your mouth. No matter what the doctor tells us, you will be brave. Understand me?” Phoebe didn’t trust herself to speak. “And that goes for you too my sweet-girl,” she said glaring at Piper. Piper nodded in response. It had been an awful night. Prue had both her sisters in bed with her. She put herself in the middle and wrapped a protective arm around each of them. They received an update call from the doctor before heading for bed and that was what made them decide to sleep together. Prue was informed that Paige’s vitals were normal again. Everything was fine, miraculously she suffered no broken bones, her one eye had been patched over and a few of the tubes had been taken away. They were told they could come back in the morning at seven and see Paige before visiting hours actually started. The doctor was an old friend of Darryl’s and Darryl had asked him if he could do anything special at all for the girls, to please do it. “They are extended family to me Mike,” Darryl said with passion. “Don’t worry Darryl, I’ll take care of them, all of them,” he said with sincerity. By seven in the morning doctor Mike Thornall had situated all the girls in his office. “Ladies, I want to explain something to you before you go talk to your sister alright?” They girls all sat very still, afraid of the worst.

“Girls, your sister has had some kind of medical miracle happen to her. It’s got all of us baffled. The crash of the car should have killed her or at the very least crushed almost every bone in her body, but as you know she has no broken bones. What she does have though are insulted nerves. What that means is she has no motor skills anywhere in her body.” “AT ALL!” Phoebe interrupted. “Shhh,” Piper hissed, “let him finish.” “Sorry,” she said looking back at him. “It’s alright and yes at all. It’s one of the many things you’ll all need to be dealing with shortly. We are keeping Paige here until she wakes up and then only a few hours more after that. She’s fine, she has no reason to stay, by all medical standards she’s healthy.” Prue didn’t want to interrupt but was highly confused. “Doctor, I’m sorry, but you said she is perfectly healthy, but she has no motor skills. How does that add up?” “I know it doesn’t seem like it adds up, but it does. What it all boils down to is that your sister has gone back to babyhood.” “Babyhood?!?” the girls asked in unison. The doctor jumped for a second. He had three women sitting across from him yelling at him and he knew better than to piss off a bunch of women. “Yes babyhood, she has no motor skills, we aren’t sure how far either, we’ll know better when she comes to.” He waited for some type of reaction and he didn’t get any. There was an uneasy silence in the room, each sister lost in their own thoughts and the doctor trying to figure them out. “Um,” Prue said after a while, “can we go see her now?” “Yes, by all means, remember, talk to her, she may not be able to communicate back to you, but for all we know she can hear you and she might be able to respond. “Thank you letting us in early,” Piper said before she left the room. “You are welcome Ms. Halliwell.” “I don’t’ know why I’m about to tell you this but I feel I should,” she said quickly. “We’re all very protective of each other and I would like to apologize on behalf of all of us for jumping down your throat before. We are only very worried about our sister.” “Thank Ms. Halliwell and I understand completely.” With that Piper left the room. The doctor smiled to himself. In all his years of medicine no one had ever apologized to him for attacking him about the news he had to give. “Darryl you were very right, they are wonderful girls,” he said to himself.

Prue let Phoebe and Piper walk in ahead of her. Phoebe stayed back just a little bit. “Pheebs, come on, it’s alright.” Phoebe didn’t like all the machines attached to her sister. It didn’t look like Paige. It looked like a stranger to her. Piper let Prue handle Phoebe while she pulled up a chair and talked to Paige. Prue didn’t know how to handle Phoebe so she babied her a little bit and talked very gently to her. “Look honey see, it’s okay, Piper’s sitting by her, you can’t hurt her honey, it’s just like she’s sleeping we have to talk to her.” “Prue I can’t,” Phoebe said beginning to loose her cool. “Shhh, alright, look,” Prue said as she pulled up a bench. “Here babes,” Prue said pulling Phoebe to her lap. “We’ll just watch Piper okay. You don’t have to do anything right now,” Prue said gently. She squeezed her a little tighter and felt Phoebe relax. She stared on as Piper tried to communicate with her sister. “Paige baby, I know you can hear me,” Piper said. She gripped one hand and stroked her hair gently with her free hand as she spoke.

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Paige was lying peacefully in the bed of the tunnel when she heard Piper’s voice. “I know you can hear me baby,” she heard again. “Piper where are you?” Paige said trying to sit up.
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“SHE MOVED!” Piper yelled. “What!” Prue gasped. “She moved, she tapped her finger, so get your asses over hear and talk to her damn it.” Phoebe was first at her side. “Make her do it again,” Phoebe demanded. Prue came and rested her hands on Phoebe’s shoulders. “Calm down babe,” Prue whispered in her ear. She nodded to Piper to continue doing whatever it was she had done before. “Paige, come back to us baby, we’re here for you, you just have to wake up.”
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“I hear you Piper I can’t move!” Paige said frustrated. There was something wrong though. Even to Paige, her own voice was too far away. She heard herself thinking. Something inside her told her to yell louder and yell for Piper. “PIPER!” she yelled. There was a problem though because she was trying to thrash about but something in that bed was holding her hostage. “PIPER!” she yelled again. Still nothing.
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“There did you see?” Piper asked excitedly. “I did, keep going,” Prue responded. Phoebe didn’t know what to do she just pulled Prue’s hands over her shoulders and forced Prue to hug her tightly. Piper kept up her gentle tones.
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“Damn it Piper where are you?” Paige thought. Her voice was loud and clear, and, …above her head? She began to try and rationalize everything. “Why would Piper’s voice be above my head. Why can I not move. Okay scream really loud she said to herself. That damn letter said strength and courage, well here it is,” she told herself. “PIPER!!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to sit up. Paige felt herself being thrown up through another tunnel and landed on yet another bed, but Piper’s voice was right next to her now. “Well I’m closer to her voice,” Paige thought to herself.
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What her sisters heard was a very muffled sound. “Iiiyaa!” they heard. “I’m here baby,” Piper said softly. “Iiiyaa,” Paige said again. Now Paige was confused. She could say her sister’s name. Why was it coming out so off? So she tried again. “Iiiyaa,” she mumbled. Piper sat still and moved one hand to Paige’s forehead. “Shhh, shhh, it’s alright love, I’m here,” she said quietly. “I’m here, Prue’s here, and Pheebs is here too. I need you to listen to me baby. Stay still for a second.” Paige did as told and stopped tapping her one finger. “Baby, if you can understand me, tap your finger.” Paige did as requested. “Alright, good girl, one tap for yes and two for no, for any following questions understand?” Paige tapped her finger once and Piper told her what a good girl she was. “Pheebs, you stay here and talk now, I’m going to go and get the doctor,” Prue said. “Okay,” Phoebe said softly. “Paige, it’s Phoebe, you’re okay, you were in a car accident that’s why one eye is patched over. The patch can come off in a few days okay?” Paige tapped once and then Phoebe continued. “Piper I don’t know what else to say,” Phoebe said sounding so young and innocent. “Phoebe, just hold her hand right now, I’m sure that will help her. As long as she knows we’re here for her.” Phoebe understood what Piper was saying and felt Paige tap her finger. Phoebe smiled and squeezed that one finger. They sat in silence again until Prue came back with the doctor and a new person that none of the girls recognized.

“Paige, can you hear me?” the doctor asked. She tapped her finger once. “Yes she can,” Phoebe answered. “Do you know what’s going on?” Paige tapped her finger twice. “No she doesn’t,” Phoebe said quickly for her. “I’m sorry, but how do you know this?” “I’m her sister,” Phoebe snapped. “Phoebe,” Piper scolded gently. “What she means is that we figured out she can tap that one finger and she is tapping once for yes and two for no,” Prue explained. “Alright well at least we have a system, let me explain what’s going on. I’m doctor Mike Thornall. Can you see me?” Paige tapped twice. “You’re out of her line of vision,” Phoebe said for her. The doctor then said it was okay if she couldn’t see. “Paige I just want you to listen to my voice then okay.” Paige tapped her finger once and the doctor introduced the woman as the physical therapist. “Hayley put your hand on Paige’s free one please,” the doctor instructed. Hayley did so and waited till it was her turn to speak. “This is Hayley, she’s going to be examining you for a while okay?” Tears sprang to Paige’s eyes. She was scared, she didn’t know what was going on and no one was telling her what she needed to know. She wanted to know how bad the damage was and no one seemed brave enough to tell her. Phoebe saw the look on Paige’s face. “It’s alright love,” Phoebe whispered to her. “Girls I need to go over Paige’s reflexes and range of motion to make sure everything is as it should be.” Prue and Piper nodded and then looked to Phoebe. “We’ll be back as soon as Hayley says it’s okay,” Phoebe told her gently. The three girls each kissed her gently and left the room to leave Hayley to her thing. Fifteen long minutes later, Hayley made her judgment and explained her finding to all the Halliwell Sisters.

Paige saw the girls enter the room and called for Prue. It was muffled but they heard her try to speak. All that came out was vowel sounds. “Oooh.” she said. Piper walked over and asked her what she said. “Oooh,” Paige confirmed. “What does that mean baby?” Piper asked confused. “Oooh,” Paige said with determination. “Okay okay, nice and slow,” Piper said softly. “Do you want one of us?” Piper asked. Paige tapped her finger once. “Okay good, now that we know that much, do you want Prue?” Piper asked carefully. Paige tapped once and Piper nodded. “Okay baby, I know you said her name but can you please say it again.” “Oooh,” Paige said softly as she blushed a little bit. “It’s okay Paige, I just need to know, we all do,” Piper explained gently. “Can you say my name?” “Iiiyaa,” Paige said softly. “Good, and your other sister?” Piper asked. “Eeeee,” Paige said quietly. “Good girl honey, we just need to know, now, Prue come sit over here,” Piper instructed. Prue did as Piper asked and stroked Paige’s hair and squeezed her hand. She let it go for a second to release the finger that tapped. “Okay girls, I’m going to explain this to you carefully. Paige the reason that things sound funny coming out of your mouth is because you’ve insulted your nerves.” Paige’s eye told everyone in the room she was lost and confused. “What that means is that you need to re-develop your motor skills. This is the basic stuff okay? When you were little your brain made patterns as you grew up when you insulted the nerves your brain forgot those patterns. We just have to make you relearn those patterns. You’ve got to relearn to walk, talk, eat, everything. I’m so sorry to tell it to you so harshly but I want you to understand what’s going to happen. I think I’ll give you all some time alone, when you’re ready please let us know okay?” With that Hayley left the room.

Prue smiled at her baby sister and kissed her forehead. “First thing we have to do is work up a communication system,” Prue stated. “We have one Prue,” Phoebe said pointing out the obvious. “Pheebs, I understand that, but not everything is a yes or no question, and phrasing it that way is hard to do!” she said with frustration. Phoebe stuck her tongue out and Paige gave it a valiant effort. “Cute,” Prue responded. The girls sat quietly, each trying to come up with a solution. The room was so quiet, you could hear everything, the individual patterns of each girls breath, the steady beeps coming of Paige’s machine. Suddenly a smell met them all and Piper noticed Paige crying. “Well, I guess when Hayley said everything she meant everything,” Prue said with an even temper. Paige was more than embarrassed now. She suddenly realized that she was going to have to train her bladder and bowels over again too. Piper saw the tears come faster and was on Paige like a shot. “Shhh, it’s alright,” Piper cooed softly to her. Phoebe went off to go find a nurse and Prue and Piper tried to reassure their sister. Phoebe came back with a pleasant enough nurse. “Hi Paige, my name is Allyson. Do you want your sisters here?” Paige tapped her finger once and then closed her eyes. “She said yes,” Phoebe responded for her. “Okay well girls just pay attention because you are all going to have to do this for a while,” Allyson instructed. “It’s just the same as when you change a baby, make sure you wash her thoroughly and then put a new diaper on her.” Allyson finished her task in three minutes. Poor Paige was bawling though. This was too much for her. “I’m sorry Paige, I know this is horrible, but we’ve got the best therapists here and that will be the first thing we work on I promise.” Phoebe felt bad for her but quickly tried to put a smile on her baby sister’s face. “Hey listen, you could have three brothers in the room instead.” Paige looked at her older sister and smiled. Once that horrible ordeal was over Allyson left and Mike came back in the room. “Good news Paige,” Mike said, “you can go home now,” he smiled.

By the time Paige got home she was exhausted. It was a small struggled to get her into Piper’s jeep, but between Prue and Piper they managed and Phoebe sat with her to keep her upright and balanced. The drive home was quiet but not tense. Prue’s mind was racing on what to do about Paige. She needed to find a way to keep her happy. Paige could seriously do nothing but lye there and babble. Pulling up to the house Piper turned off the car. She and Prue got out of the car and together carried Paige into the house. “Okay baby, we are going to sit you down on the couch,” Prue told her gently. They set her down and Piper went to get her a cup of water. Helping her drink it, she sat next to Prue for the rest of the morning. When lunch came, Piper fixed her a sandwich and Phoebe helped her eat it. “I don’t remember feeding you before,” Phoebe said. She could see by the look on Paige’s face that she did not like that comment. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what else to tell you,” Phoebe said. “Eeee,” Paige said grabbing her attention. “Iiii oh, eee oooh eh, aah, oooh,” Paige babble. Phoebe took a deep breatha nd stared at Paige. “Sorry sweetie, didn’t get any of that, but whatever it is, thank you, or I’m sorry, which ever one applies okay?” Paige just stared at her and blinked once. Phoebe leaned forward and bumped heads with Paige. “I love you,” she said gently. Paige just kissed her in return. She didn’t even bother trying to say she loved her too. Finally they finished lunch and Paige took a nap, sitting up for too long was tired and she fell asleep on the floor. Piper placed a pillow under her head and a blanket over her back. She kissed her quickly and then went up to her room.

By the time Paige woke from her nap she realized she’d actually used her diaper and she was not happy about it, she wanted to gain control at least so she just started crying. At first it was just a soft whimper but after a few seconds it grew to a scream that penetrated the whole house. Prue was the only one home and she went running to Paige. She dropped to her knees and started cooing at Paige. “Shhh honey, calm down,” Prue tried and she placed her hand on the small of Paige’s back at which point she started to cry harder. “I’m sorry baby,” Prue said pulling her hand away. “I know it’s hard honey but you have to try and tell me what’s wrong,” Prue encourage. “I know you can do it angel baby,” she said softly. “Aaah o, ah-eee,” she said. Prue hung her head in frustration. “Okay okay, let me think alright. Back to yes and no and tapping alright. Hungry?” Paige tapped her finger twice. “Okay, bathroom?” Prue asked and Paige rapidly tapped her finger once and then stayed very still. “Alright sweetie, here,” she said as she helped her roll over. “Just stay still, I have to get you clean stuff okay?” Prue quickly changed her sister and pulled her to a sitting position. “I love you so much Paige, and I want you to just remember that okay.” Prue asked as she played with Paige’s hair. “We’ll get through this angel, everything will be fine, I promise,” she said adding a kiss.

Two weeks had passed since Paige was released from the hospital. As Allyson promised Paige learned how to better control her bladder and bowels within a week. That was the one thing she wanted back first. The talking, walking, and motor skills would all come back to her later. She didn’t care about that. Going to the bathroom, like a grownup, and not having her sisters change a diaper was something she cared about deeply. Piper, Prue, and Phoebe were so proud of her that they gave her a necklace with a charm on it. The necklace was something Phoebe has seen in the mall. It was a plain gold necklace that you could put little charms on that marked something important. As luck would have it, one of the charms was a skeleton and nestled in the heart area was a birthstone. Phoebe stood there for about three seconds longer before decided to get four of them. One for each sister and Paige only had four major obstacles to overcome. When Phoebe was sure Paige had been retrained she and her sisters gave the necklace to Paige. Phoebe walked into Paige’s room and saw her staring at the tv. She was surrounded by a bunch of pillows to keep her propped up well and she was sitting very still. “Hey Paige,” Phoebe smiled. “Eeee!” Paige said softly. “I brought you something.” With that said, she sat next to Paige and wrapped one arm around her to pull her close. She placed the small box in front of Paige and explained to her why she was getting it. Paige was so happy. She looked at the charm and smiled. She leaned tighter into Phoebe and the two girls sat happily together for a while. Phoebe told her how proud of her she was, and that if she could face all her challenges like this she’d be back to her old self faster than anyone could predict. As they sat together in the comfortable silence they didn’t notice Prue standing at the door. She let them share their special moment and she knew that when Piper and Phoebe had noticed, they let Paige and her share their special moments too. Prue was getting ready to take Paige in for a bath. It was ten times easier to be able to take your time and give Paige a proper bath at night then it was to give her a rushed sponge bath in the morning. “Hey you,” she whispered from the door. “You want to take a bath now?” “Eh,” Paige tried, meaning yes. “Well, we’re getting closer at least,” Prue thought. “Good, Pheebs, will you please help me.” Together they brought Paige to the bathroom and got her undressed. Getting her undressed for a bath, was somehow way different for Paige than getting undressed to be changed when it came to bathroom habits.
“Alright squirt,” Prue smiled at her, “who’s giving you a bath tonight? Me or Pheebs.” “Oooh!” Paige smiled and then pulled a face. She felt so funny sometimes, her sisters’ names were nothing but vowel sounds to her anymore. She could say them in her head but when it came to voicing them she only made vowel sounds. Luckily for Paige there were upwards of ten vowel sounds. Prue helped Paige into the tub and Phoebe left the room when she knew it was all situated. Paige could sit up with help so it only took one person to bathe her. She would sit very still and one of her sisters would wash her carefully. When they were done, they would let her relax in the warm water a little longer and then have someone else come in and help get Paige out of the tub and dried. She still needed someone to help keep her steady or at least a bunch of pillows around her. Paige was thrilled when Prue gave her a bath. She loved all her sisters equally, but something was just more special with Prue when she bathed her. There was a calm, gentle, underlying, peace that came out when she bathed her sister and for whatever reason, only known to the heavens, the water seemed to bring it out. The even more odd factor of this equation was that Prue hated water.

So Paige sat still as Prue skillfully moved her hands over and around Paige’s body to clean her off. “Paige, should we work on your alphabet one more time today? I know you had therapy but we can try right?” Prue coaxed. Paige was so close to getting some type of consonant sound that she hadn’t gotten before. Prue felt bad for her when she got frustrated. She sat at therapy with her baby sister and watched her bang her arms on the table in anger. The therapist knew that it was frustration working it’s way out of her body, but she felt that maybe she pushed her a little to far today. After a heavy sigh, Paige reluctantly agreed. She was glad she could move her arms and legs. Bending her knees and elbows was now possible too. She was doing so well in just a few weeks worth of therapy that her sisters were sure she’d be back to normal pretty soon. So she sat and did her alphabet. Prue would say a letter and Paige would make the sound it of the letter. Phoebe sat outside the room and listened. She heard Prue say “Ay,” and then Paige said it and they went through the whole alphabet. Paige made every correct sound and Prue told her how proud of her she was and that she did a great job. Paige smiled, but didn’t seem to be very happy with herself. “Well don’t worry squirt,” Prue smiled, “tomorrow you go to physical therapy with Michael.” Prue watched the grin grow across Paige’s face. “I think you like him,” she taunted her and then kissed her. “Pheebs, a little help here please,” Prue called out. Phoebe came in and she and Prue got Paige out of the tub, dried, dressed, and downstairs for ice cream.

Phoebe stood behind Paige and kept her still on the chair. She was stuck in a daze as she watched Prue pull out three bowls from the cupboard. “Okay Paige, vanilla or strawberry ice cream?” “Aw’eh’wee,” she said with a smile. Prue grinned and nodded. “Close enough,” Prue smiled. It was amazing to Phoebe that this horrible car accident did not break Paige’s spirit. Phoebe thought that if it were her, she would have been trying to convince her sisters she was ready to give up. She was so proud of Paige though and she tried to show her in every way possible. The three girls sat eating ice cream quietly, each lost in their own thoughts, even though Paige had some help. Prue would pick up the spoon for her and bring it to her mouth and then take a bite of her own. Once Paige had swallowed she’d give her another before her ice creamed turned to soup. As Prue helped her guide the spoon to her mouth, Piper walked in the back door and with the biggest smile on her face. “Iiiyaa!” Paige grinned happily at her sister. “Hey squirt,” Piper replied and kissed all her sisters hello. Then she watched as Phoebe fed Paige, giving Prue a break. “What are you doing Pheebs?” Piper asked while pulling a face. “What I can’t help feed my baby sister anymore but you two can,” Phoebe quipped. “No, I don’t feed her, not anymore anyway. Here watch,” she said. She got behind Paige and carefully put the spoon in her hand, situated just the right way. Then Piper wrapped her hand tight around Paige’s to ensure she had a good grip. She let go and stood back, just rubbing her shoulders for a few seconds before continuing. “Right, okay Missy Paige show them what you learned today.” Prue and Phoebe sat watching in awe as Paige fed herself. She may have done it slow, but she did it, her motor skills were improving so much everyday she even amazed herself. She leaned back against Piper, who wrapped her arms around her in a protective hug and kissed her on top of her head. Prue and Phoebe sat starring. They were amazed at how well Paige was progressing. “W-w-when did you learn that?” Phoebe sputtered out. “See what you miss out when you’re gone all day?” Piper smiled. “I was interviewing!” Phoebe quipped. “Oh, relax, I was kidding,” Piper huffed. She looked down at Paige and played with her hair. “Did you have a bath?” Paige nodded in response. “No,” Piper scolded, “from here,” she said, tapping Paige’s lips gently with her fingertips. “Eh!” Paige said. “From Prue or Phoebe?” Paige too a deep breath and stared at Prue. In her head she heard herself saying her sister’s name correctly. It was like a broken record. She let out her breath and everyone heard “Roo!” Then she smiled broadly as did her sisters. Paige had accomplished another word and it was closer to the real word than she had been before.

After many hugs, kisses, and congratulations, the girls helped Paige up to bed. She fell asleep dreaming about walking in therapy the next day. The next morning Piper came in to wake her up. “Paige honey,” she whispered softly while shaking her. “Wake up sweetie, you’ve got physical therapy today.” Paige slowly opened her eyes and quickly closed them while a smiled formed on her face. “Good morning to you too squirt, now, up!” Piper said. Paige rolled onto her side and pushed herself up to sitting. “Very good, I’m very proud of you. Now let’s go down for breakfast. I made you pancakes.” “Eeebe,” Paige squeaked out. “Phoebe’s at another interview.” “Roo?” “She’s at work,” Piper replied. “Why, do you need them?” Paige shook her head and looked carefully at Piper. “elll ooh!” Paige babbled. “I don’t need help, I want you to lean on me and we’ll go down carefully. Paige looked a little skeptical but she did as asked. Paige was proud of herself, she had managed to actually communicate with Piper and have Piper understand her. Maybe she really was getting closer to her recovery. As she sat at the table with a pillow behind her for support she saw a list of words Prue had written. “Iiiyaa?” she called out. As Piper turned around she saw Paige holding the paper. “Yeah, that was Prue’s brilliant idea. She seems to think you might be able to say all those words. If you don’t want to yet, you don’t have to.” Paige nodded and let Piper situate her fork so she could eat. As she ate carefully she studied that list very closely. Everything that her speech therapist told her in class the day before was ringing in her head. She could do this she thought to herself. She could say all those words and make her sisters really proud of her. Every word on the list was a basic word. “Iiiyaa!” Paige called out again. “Hey babe, you done?” Piper asked cheerfully. She saw her staring at the list when she came in. “Baby, you don’t have to work on that list, Prue was in a strange mood this morning, I didn’t even want you to get a hold of that list. I think she’s pushing you too hard,” Piper stated calmly. Paige took a deep breath and exhaled. She knew she could say all those words on that paper and she was determined to prove it. She stared at Piper and slid the piece of paper over to her. “I no wan’ to go!” Paige smiled. “OH MY GOD!” Piper said as the smile on her face spread. “I’m soooooo proud of you baby, that’s wonderful,” she said between kisses. “Are you done with breakfast.” “Ess! Ooh!” she said as she quickly covered her mouth. Paige giggled at herself. She was so happy she said yes correctly, that she startled herself. “No no, I’m proud of you, you can answer, and mimic anything you want okay?” “Kay,” she said with more confidence. It was something Piper picked up on. She was more confident for some reason right now and that was what was helping her say her words. “Okay well then upstairs for your bathing suit, you’re in the water today at therapy.” “Wata?” Paige asked carefully. “Very good and yes water, I don’t know why though.”

Piper helped Paige into her bathing suit and then the two of them went to therapy. Michael greeted them at the door and helped Piper carry Paige to the pool area. Paige sat down and waited as Piper took her shorts off. “Off,” Paige said quietly. “Yes off, very good sweetie.” Michael came over and told Paige to scoot onto the floor. She looked at him oddly but did it anyway. “Okay put your arms behind yourself to hold you up and scoot closer to the edge.” “Kosser?” she asked. “Oh wow, you’ve been working on your speech therapy.” “Ess,” she smiled at him. “Good for you, yes, closer, but don’t get in yet. Just let your feet dangle over the edge.” “Kay,” she said and she scooted herself closer and closer to the edge of the water. At this point Michael was now in front of her, but he was in the water. She just smiled at him. He was this God like creature with his clothes on and now he was nearly naked in front of her save a skimpy bathing suit. “Why did he have to wear that tiny speedo,” she thought to herself. Then she quickly knocked that thought out of her head. “No no, we like the tiny bathing suit,” she thought to herself. “It’s okay Paige, I’ll catch you and you’ll be able to touch bottom I swear,” he said gently as he interrupted her train of thought. She nodded while staring numbly at him. He grabbed her around her waist and helped her into the water. It felt nice but she was a little unsteady. “Here, hold my hands and we’ll practice moving okay. Just let go and trust me,” he said softly. “Oh god help me,” she thought. “Owd ty!” she yelled at him. “I promise, I won’t let go.” Paige gripped his hands really tight and closed her eyes. Michael helped her move away from the wall and then made her look at the thing floating on the surface. “Okay Paige, lesson number one today. This is a light, and when you press here,” he said demonstrating, “it turns on. This is like a stair master. Place your feet here and I want you to roll your feet.” “Wha?” she asked. “Roll your feet, here, put one foot on here.” She did as requested and saw the light go on. “Good,” Michael praised her. “Now put your other foot here, toes first and now push your heal down to the floor.” It was really hard and she couldn’t get it on the first try. “It’s alright, I want you to focus. Do you remember when you couldn’t move your arms? You focused and now…”he was about to say you can, but she was quick to the punch and splashed him instead. “Yeah, you’re not that cute you know,” he smiled at her. “Ess, I am,” she verified. “Alright fine, but focus and make that light go off and come back on again. Paige closed her eyes and concentrated and then she picked up the heal that was already down and pushed the up heal down and made the light go on. She was praying to herself that she put the light on. She opened her eyes and looked as a smile spread across her face. She got all excited and called over to her sister. “Iiiyaa, I do, I do,” she smiled. “Good, keep doing,” Piper said with a smile. Piper felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She was getting her baby sister back.

Paige worked for over an hour in the water. She was tired and worn out but she didn't want to quit. "Alright Paige out of the water." "NO," she replied seriously, while pushing furiously on the pedals under her feet. "Oh miss big shot thinks she can do anything now?" "Ess!" she smiled cheekily. "Sorry, NO! Come on out, now." Michael looked to Piper for help. “Don’t look at me, she's your client, she's your problem now,” Piper said to him. Michael turned back to look at the gorgeous creature in the water, who was still peddling away furiously. That damn light kept flashing and nothing he said to her made her want to stop. “Paige,” he sighed to himself. “Paige, please stop, I want to take you to the next level.” She slowed her pace on the damn machine and glared at Michael. He wanted her to stop? “I’m doing it though,” she thought, “and damn well, I might add and he wants me to stop.” “Ness?” she asked. “Yes next, if you get off the machine, I’ll take you into the next room.” Paige reluctantly got off the machine and gripped tight to Michael. “God I love her touch,” he thought. “I’m going to help you to the edge okay, you’re legs are going to be a little wobbly. She nodded as she starred into his blue eyes. Those blue eyes. She could get lost in them. Deep blue pools that sucked her in like a diver trying to get to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. “I just want to kiss him,” she thought. She tried to take one step but Michael held her tight. “Stay still a minute, let your legs adjust to just hanging. Here,” he said. He gently turned her so her back was to him, he slipped his arms around her waist and leaned back a bit and she just hung there in the water, safe in his arms, his grip. She wanted to stay like that, in his arms forever. She let her eyes close and she dreamed of how happy she would be with this guy. He made her feel so special. It didn’t matter to him that he was teaching her to walk, and the even better part, the part she didn’t know, was that he felt the same way towards her.

As she slowly relaxed from her workout, she felt Michael spin her around and she looked into his eyes again. “God those eyes are going to be my weakness,” she though, “okay, just don’t look at his eyes,” she reasoned to herself. He placed her arms on the floor behind her and told her hold steady. She braced herself and he hoisted her legs up so she could sit up. Before she knew it Piper was behind her and had her wrapped in a towel, she smiled at how loved she felt when she had one of her sisters wrap her up like that. Then she opened her eyes and stared right into Michael’s. “DANGER!” her brain screamed at her. “AVOID his…” “eyes,” she said. “What Paige?” he asked her. “Nufin,” she said shyly. “Okay, well then Piper, why don’t you help her through that door over there,” he directed her. Piper nodded and helped Paige to stand. Paige leaned on Piper’s shoulders and the two slowly made it to the other room. Michael quickly joined them, wearing his black shorts and white tank top. “Right Paige, I want you to sit there and Piper you go over to the other side of the room.” Piper looked at him strangely but did as asked. Paige sat waiting for further instruction. Michael moved over to her side and helped her to get onto all fours. “You, my dear, are going to crawl now,” he smiled at her. “Remember how in the water you pushed through your heals?” Paige nodded in response and stared at the floor. “Well now,” he said tilting her head so she had no choice but to make her look into his eyes. “I want you to do that again. Only this time, the target is Piper. So, go get Piper,” he encouraged. “Iiiyaa,” Paige babbled back as she collapsed to the floor. “Oh-oh-oh, up, come on,” Michael cooed as he helped her resituate her self. “Do it quick or you won’t do it at all,” Paige said to herself and then she did it. She looked at him, but her courage left her. She suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Something wasn’t sitting right with her so she let it go. “I’ll kiss him next week,” she thought to herself.
Piper waited with baited breath and watched as Paige moved her hand and then she fell flat on her face. “Come on Paige, up and try again,” Michael said with no emotion. Paige made no motion to move at all but Michael forced her up by resetting her arms for her. He placed one hand under her abdomen and lifted so her back was flat. “Come on Paige, where’s the determination I saw before in the pool.” “No hewe!” she growled at him. “Come on Paige I know you can do this.” “No,” she said. “Okay listen to me,” he said putting his head close to hers. “You can do this, and you can do this because I know you have lots of determination in you. So get over to your sister and tell her that you can crawl now,” he said softly. Paige nodded in response. She moved her hand and when she went to move her leg, but she fell flat on her face. “Paige,” Piper yelled out concerned. “No!” Michael yelled at her. “She can do it,” he told her. “Come on Paige, I know you can do it, just crawl over to her and then you can go home.” Now Paige knew what was wrong. This man was a torture person. He got his kicks from watching her fight like a dog to move again and she was getting nowhere fast. Michael watched her try to crawl again. “That’s it,” he encourage, she had one hand further than the other and his arms under her waist. She was supported she just needed to move and she couldn’t. She wanted Piper, she needed Piper, she couldn’t get to Piper, and all of a sudden she felt this amazing amount of emotion wash over her as she put her down on the floor and let out a moan of frustration. Michael had seen this reaction from her many times. He also saw that determination that he’d seen in the pool. She did it every week. He’d give her an easy task to do and then he’d give her a harder task and she’d let out all this pent up emotion and she wouldn’t focus hard enough. He saw the light in her eyes diminish and that saddened him. That was the light he loved about her so much. That’s what he loved about her. “Oh my god,” he thought to himself, “I really do love her.” He knew in two weeks of physical therapy that he loved her. So now he had more determination than ever to get her to move and he hoped that would show her how much he loved her. So he did the guy thing that he knew how to do. He went military on her.

“Come on Paige, come on. Move it. You get up and crawl over to Piper.” She shook her head in response while still staring at the floor. “Yes Paige, do it, come on, go!” “I hate him,” Paige thought. She couldn’t believe that he was being so cruel to her. Why was he yelling at her. She was confused, tired, and she wanted someone to hug her and tell her it would be okay. “Iiiyaa,” she cried out. Piper couldn’t stand it anymore. “No,” she whispered to herself. “No,” she said louder. “NO!” she yelled running over to Paige. “Michael,” she calmly, “I know this is your job, but she’s my sister, can I have few minutes with her?” Michael nodded and mouthed an I’m sorry to Piper, she smiled appreciatively and got down on the floor next to Paige. She pulled her into her lap and let her cry out all her frustrations. “I know baby, I know,” she cooed. Paige said nothing but held tighter to her big sister, burying her face in her shoulder. “Shhh, it’s okay now, he’s gone,” Piper cooed softly. As she sat calming Paige her cell phone started to ring. “Hello? Hey hon, how’d your day go…she’s here with me…in my lap…Michael yelled at her…stop it…PHOEBE…remember Prue’s method…yeah well Michael tried that and it didn’t work. We’re going to again in a few minutes.” Piper giggled and nodded. “Okay I’ll do that, see you soon…love you too, bye.” Piper hung up her cell and placed it back in her pocket. She sat rocking Paige a little longer and then tried talking to Paige. “Baby, guess what, Phoebe’s done interviewing. She said she’s going to come down here and kick box Michael into next week for you.” Paige nodded. Piper frowned at this. That statement should have gotten Paige to at least giggle, but Piper didn’t hear anything. “Alright my love, we’ll sit here till Phoebe shows up okay?” And so they sat together as Piper had promised. Several minutes later Phoebe walked in and saw the two of them. “Hey Paige,” she said sitting next to her. “Eeebe,” Paige said softly. “Yeah, I’m here now, should I go kill Michael for you.” “Ess,” Paige answered quickly. She wanted him gone. What she didn’t know was that Phoebe had talked to Michael and convinced him to let her try working with Paige. She got the basic information and slowly but surely, she got Paige to crawl.

Piper watched in amazement as Phoebe tried a different approach. Phoebe and Paige were both lying on the floor face to face. Phoebe convinced Paige to push herself up on her arms and then lift the back end of her body and set it into place. “It’s like a game Paige, come on play with me,” Phoebe encouraged her sister. “Remember how when we were kids we used to fight?” Phoebe asked inching closer. She was now touching heads with her sister. “Come on show me you remember,” Phoebe pushed. Paige pushed her body forward and before she would have fallen but Phoebe now supported body, and when Phoebe felt Paige start to fall she pushed back a little. “Come on you can do this Paige I know you can.” Phoebe thought. She waited and Paige pushed again and then she inched her leg forward too. Piper watched as Paige pushed hard against Phoebe. With a little more encouragement, Piper soon saw her two baby sisters going at each other like toddlers, butting heads and laughing at each other. Piper quietly excused herself quietly and then got Michael so he could see. “See Michael, it doesn’t need military style, she needs her sisters.” “So I see,” he stated. “Tonight, watch her carefully, she pushed herself a little too hard I think, if her muscle cramps up, just apply gentle steady pressure,” he explained to her. Piper thanked him and he left her to her sisters. The three girls gathered everything up and went home. Paige was so happy that she had crawled she wanted to practice more. More important she wanted to play with Phoebe while practicing. It was a new thing for her. She didn’t get to bond with Phoebe by playing since they were kids. “Eeebe, pay me,” she demanded. “Pay you what?” Phoebe smiled. “No pay, hewe,” she said banging her hand on the floor. Piper leaned over and whispered in Phoebe’s ear. “I’m telling you what I told Michael, she’s your responsibility now, deal with her until I’ve finished dinner.”

Piper was working on dinner when Prue came in the back door. “Hey,” she smiled tiredly. She placed her camera and spare rolls of film on the dining room table. “Oh god,” she said dropping her voice. “Piper, come here, quick.” Piper stopped chopping the carrots and walked over to where Prue was standing. “Look,” Prue pointed. “Oh god,” Piper giggled. Her two baby sisters were both sleeping. Curled up into tight little balls and sound asleep. Prue went back and grabbed her camera. “Prue you can’t, they’ll kill you.” “Oh Piper, back off, it’s cute!” Prue hissed. She got her camera set and made sure the flash was off, she didn’t want to wake them. She snapped three shots and then put her camera away. “Come on, I’ll help you with dinner,” Prue said softly. Piper went back to preparing and Prue pulled up a bar stool. She perched herself on top of it and she and Piper talked about everything. They were just about to start talking about Paige’s therapy lesson and then Phoebe interrupted her. “Ah, hi baby-girl,” Prue said when she saw her. “You have not called me that in a while, what’s up?” “Let’s just say a picture is worth a thousand words,” Prue replied. Phoebe ignored this comment and stole a carrot from Piper to munch on. “So, what did happen at therapy?” Phoebe asked carefully. “Oh, Michael tried to force Paige to crawl, but all he did was make her cry.” “I’ll kill him.” Prue stated as her eyes flashed with anger. No one dare mess with her baby sisters. “Oh Prue, just relax, she’s fine,” Phoebe said. “Yeah well next time, I go with her, and I will kill him, no one messes with my sister, any of you.” Prue said matter of factly.

They all talked a little more and then sat down to dinner. “Paige baby,” Phoebe cooed softly at her. “Come on love, wake up, Piper made dinner.” “Good, I hungwy,” Paige replied sleepily. After dinner and a bath for Paige the four girls sat down to watch a movie. After it was over, Paige said she was going to bed. Prue stood up to help her but Paige yelled at her to go away, “I do,” she said. “Oh really, and just how is that?” Prue challenged. “I caw!” Prue almost laughed at the pronunciation but she knew she had to keep her ground. “No, it’s too soon. You haven’t mastered it yet, crawling is way out of the question.” “I do!” Paige yelled at her. “Paige, no, I forbid it,” Prue yelled back. Phoebe and Piper sat quietly watching the fight escalate. “You no do dat!” Paige screamed at Prue. “Yes I can!” she yelled back. “No!” Paige screamed and then she kicked Prue in the shin and rapidly crawled over to the stairs. “I CAN!” she screamed from the landing and the other girls watched her quickly scurry up the stairs on her hands and knees. “I’ll kill her!” Prue growled at the other two. “Why did you let her go?” Pr