Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them. Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.

Life Goes On
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

Phoebe gripped the photo album with her left hand, using the index finger of her right to trace the edge of one particular picture. The tears in her eyes distorted the image it held, but the details were crystal clear in her memory. Her and Rion at all of eleven, more than a little green around the gills after their fifth time around on the Mad Tea Party ride.

For the longest time she had hated the picture. Thought it made her look too much like a wimp for letting a spinning tea cup get the better of her. But now it was her favorite from their trip to Disneyland. The grins on their young faces giving away their love for adventure as they stumbled toward Grams.

“We thought we were such daredevils.”

“Thought?”

She jumped when she heard the voice behind her. She swallowed hard, knowing it was just another of the dreams. The ones she had been having ever since they found Rion after Abbey took her. Still, it took her breath away to turn and see her sister standing there, the picture of health.

“Hello! We were the only two kids willing to race each other down suicide hill.”

It was the same thing every time. Rion would appear out of nowhere, like nothing ever happened. At first she had been shocked, thinking it was real. Going to her sister. Trying to hug her. But every time she got too close, Rion would disappear. And then she would wake up.

“Sure we wrecked and totally demolished our bikes, but hey….” Rion shrugged as she moved the other photo albums off the couch and flopped down next to her. “Just trying equals daredevil status in my book.”

Phoebe’s heart broke when she saw her sister’s lopsided grin. Damn how she missed that.

“So….” Rion put her feet up on the coffee table. “Whatcha doin?”
“I’m…. Uh….” Phoebe tried to hide the quiver in her voice.
“Taking a walk down memory lane?”
“Yeah. That’s it.”
“Sweet. Mind if I join you?”

Phoebe flinched as her sister scooted a little closer. She had taken to dragging their conversations out, spending as much time as she could with Rion even if it wasn’t for real.

“Phoebe?”

She frowned as another voice filled the room. She looked to Rion but her sister didn’t seem to notice as she picked up one of the albums she had moved and flipped it open.

“Come on, sweetie. It’s time to wake up.”

“No.” Phoebe shook her head. “Not yet.”
Rion have her a look. “What?”
“Nothing. I was just….” She scrambled for an explanation. “Mumbling to myself.”
“Riiight.” Rion raised one eyebrow. “Just don’t start asking yourself questions and answering them too. That’s a sure sign you’ve lost it.”

“Pheebs….”

She closed her eyes, trying to block the voice out.

“Come on, honey.”

She opened her eyes again to find herself in a sea of white. She bolted upright, trying to see where Rion had gone.

“Whoa.”

She recognized the comforting hand on her shoulder as Piper‘s without looking. She would know her sister’s touch anywhere.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Phoebe.”

The hospital. They were at the hospital.

“Are you all right?”

She fought the urge to laugh at her sister’s question as her eyes fell on Rion’s face. Of course she wasn’t all right. One of the most important people in her life was laying there in front of her, completely oblivious to the world around her.

“Yeah.” Phoebe finally found her voice to answer. “You just startled me.”
“Sorry.” Piper looked down at Rion as she came to stand beside the chair Phoebe was sitting in. “You stayed all night again?”
“Can I plead the fifth?”
“No. Not that it would do you any good. Seth saw you climbing into a cab at 3 AM.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Phoebe shrugged. “And I knew Matt had to work today, so I thought I would give him a break and come sit with her.”
“Phoebe, we had an agreement.” Piper was using her motherly tone. “You said you wouldn’t….”

“Hey.” Prue interrupted her as she walked into the room.

Phoebe had never been more glad to see her oldest sister. Not only did she stop Piper’s worried rant before it could start, she also had coffee cups in her hands.

“What’s going on?”
Phoebe rolled her eyes as Prue handed her one of the cups. “Piper was about to lay in to me for being here all night again.”
“Oh.” Prue nodded as she handed another cup to Piper. “Please continue.”
“What?!” Phoebe’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Sorry, Pheebs.” Prue shrugged. “I have to agree with Piper on this one. You can’t be here 24/7. It’s just not….”

“Oh good. You’re all here.”

They all three looked up as a man walked into the room, Doctor Hanson in tow. He was short and plumb with tiny spectacles resting so far down on his nose it was a miracle they didn’t fall off.

“Doctor Hanson was afraid we would have to put this off. But since you ARE all here….”

“Put what off?” Prue was quick to interrupt him, all thoughts of giving Phoebe hell lost at the sight of the doctors.

“Let me begin by introducing myself. I’m Doctor Northrup.”
Prue ignored his proffered hand, directing her question toward Doctor Hanson instead. “What’s going on?”
“Doctor Northrup is the head of the department. We’re here to….” Doctor Hanson looked at her shoes. “Discuss further treatment of your sister.”

“Further treatment?” Piper frowned. “What do you mean by further treatment?”

“She means your sister has been here six weeks now, Miss Halliwell.” Doctor Northrup fielded the question. “The longest we normally keep a coma patient is four weeks.”
Phoebe frowned too. “So?”
“So it’s time for you, as her sisters, to start considering other options.”
“Other options?” Prue rejoined the conversation.
“Yes. As in a nursing home or other long term care facility.”
“Wait a second.” Piper furrowed her brow. “Are you kicking our sister out?”
“Yes, Miss Halliwell.” Doctor Northrup nodded. “Unfortunately I am.”

Silence descended over the room. One no one broke until Doctor Northrup started talking again.

“Our hospital doesn’t have the funding to keep coma patients for an indefinite amount of time. Doctor Hansom has already persuaded us to keep Miss Matthews longer once in the hopes that her condition would improve. But it hasn’t. Therefore you will need to find somewhere else for her to go.”

Prue glared at him. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” Doctor Northrup looked at his colleague. “Doctor Hanson has some information on several facilities we highly recommend that currently have beds available. We’ll give you until tomorrow to choose one.” With that he turned on his heals and walked back out of the room.

Doctor Hanson looked at them sadly. “I wanted to be the one to tell you, but he just so happened to be doing rounds this morning.” She handed Prue an envelope. “I’m really sorry about all this.”

Phoebe watched as the woman left too. Had that really just happened? Had they just been told they had a day to decide what to do with their sister?

“OK.” Piper pointed at the now empty doorway. “What the hell just happened here?”

Hearing her sister voicing her thoughts didn’t help Phoebe. If anything, it made things worse. None of them had seen this coming. What were they supposed to do now?

“I’m sorry.” She got up out of her chair, putting the untouched coffee cup on the bedside stand. “I need some air.”

She heard Prue say, “Let her go,” as she beat a hasty retreat from the room.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Piper eyed the bulging envelope in Prue’s hand as she paced back and forth in front of her sister. “I mean, look at that thing. What are we supposed to do, throw everything on a table and play eaney, meaney, miney, mo?”

“No.” Prue grabbed her by the hand, pulling her down into the chair next to her. “We’re going to read each and every one of them so we can make an informed decision.”
“An ‘informed decision?’” Piper echoed her words, dislike etched on her brow. “Impersonal much?”

“I didn’t…. I….” Prue sighed as she looked down at the pamphlet she had pulled out of the envelope. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” She shook her head. “I just didn’t see this coming.”
“None of us did. I suppose we should have, but….”
“Who thought Rion would be gone so long?” Prue finished for her.

“Don’t say that.” Piper shot her sister a look. “Don’t you DARE say that.”
Prue frowned. “Say what?”
“Gone, like she’s never coming back.” Piper clinched her jaw as she looked at their sister. “Because she IS coming back, Prue.” All the anger left her as tears filled her eyes. “She has to.”
“Come here.”

Prue didn’t even have a chance to move before Piper was out of her chair and in her lap. She tossed the envelope in the empty spot next to her and wrapped her arms around her sister.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know. It just….” Piper swallowed hard. “For a second there it sounded like you were giving up on her.”
“What?!” Prue was shocked. “I can’t believe you would think something like that. I would never, COULD never, give up on her! You, her, Phoebe, the girls, the guys…. You’re my family. And family is everything to me. Giving up on one of you would be like not breathing.”
“I know.” Piper cuddled closer.

Silence reigned supreme as they both stared at Rion. Prue drank in the features so similar to her own until tears started to fill her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. She knew she could cry in front of Piper, but now wasn’t the time.

“All right. That’s enough of this sitting around.” She patted her sister on her back. “As much as we both hate it, we have a decision to make.”

*************

Many a visitor had come here. Literally taken a break to stop and smell the roses. And who could blame them? The lush greenness was enough to catch anyone’s eyes. But it was all lost on Phoebe. All she could think about was Rion.

She tucked her hair behind her ear as she walked the circular path that led through the garden. Rion would have loved it there. She wouldn’t have been too keen on all the flowers, but she was always up for finding a new getaway spot. That was one trait they had always had in common. When the going got tough, they found a place to go and think to come up with a way to make the tough get going.

Only this time there wasn’t a chance in hell of anyone coming up with a way to make things better. It was out of their hands.

The thought made her want to hit something. She had read everything she could get her hands on about comas in the last month and a half. Every patient was different, but statistics didn’t lie. People in a coma as deep as Rion’s had a less than fifty percent chance of waking up if they didn’t regain consciousness within the first twenty-four hours of being injured. And if they did wake up, they stood a good chance of having permanent brain damage. So the longer Rion was in that bed, the worse things looked.

“Phoebe?”

She sighed when she heard her name. What did a girl have to do to get a little alone time?

“Hey!”

She frowned as the young man coming toward her lifted one hand in greeting.

“It’s me.” He stopped a few feet away, his hand going to his knees as he bent at the waist in an effort to catch his breath. “Billy.”

It took her a second, but the name finally registered with her over stressed mind. Billy Rayburn, Rion’s physical therapist. Or rather the guy who came in once a day to exercise her sister’s muscles to keep them from atrophying too badly.

“I know, I look completely different without the scrubs.” Billy smiled as he stood back up. “Get that all the time.”

Phoebe had to agree. He did look a lot different. His normal pristine clothing and never a hair out of place appearance had been replaced with rumbled running pants, a wrinkled t-shirt and tousled short brown spikes on his head.

“I jog to work each morning. Gets my blood pumping.” He tried not to squirm under the weight of her stare. “So, what brings you out here so early in the day?” His smile suddenly faltered. “Did something happen to Rion?”

“No.” Phoebe was quick to answer. “Not unless you count them giving me and my sisters a day to find someplace to take her.”
Billy frowned. “What?”
“Some old guy came into Rion’s room just a little while ago with a sob story about how the hospital can only keep coma patients for so long.”
“That would have been Doctor Northrup.” Billy nodded. “Figures the hospital would send him to do their dirty work for them.”
Phoebe furrowed her brow. “Dirty work?”

“Yeah, like kicking people out of the hospital.” Billy gestured toward a small park bench to their left. “Northrup wasn’t lying about the coma patient policy. But Rion wasn’t on his ward the whole time she’s been here. She was in orthopedics for over a week with her knee surgery. I should know…. That’s where I met the four of you.”

“That still puts her over the four week mark. And I’m too tired to argue with him right now.” Phoebe paused for a moment before looking up at Billy again. “Any suggestions on where we should take her?”
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
“Of course.”
“You live in one of those huge old Victorians on Prescott, right?”
Phoebe nodded. “Yes.”
Billy looked around to make sure no one was listening. “Take her home.”

Phoebe did a double take. “What?!”
“You heard me.” Billy nodded. “Being in a familiar place is a very important part of any patient’s recovery. And quite frankly, I’d hate to see you put Rion in a home. They’re overpriced and under staffed. She wouldn’t get the kind of attention she’s going to need.”
“And you think she will at home?”
“With people like you and your sisters around her, I know she will. And you live with a doctor for crying out loud. Not to mention all the room you have.”

Billy suddenly looked at the watch on his arm. “Damn. I hate to do it, but I have to go. My shift starts in twenty minutes and I still need to shower. But I’ll see you in Rion’s room later this afternoon.”
“Right.” Phoebe watched him start to walk away. “Hey, Billy.” She waited until he had turned back toward her to continue. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
Billy smiled again. “No problem. Just promise me you’ll seriously consider it.”

Phoebe’s mind raced as she watched him the rest of the way to the hospital. What he had said made perfect sense to her. But would it be the same with her sisters?
“The girls are fine. Tricia tried to get the front door open again so she could go to ‘An Ion’s‘ but Andy managed to calm her down by taking the place of one of her teddy bears at a tea party.”

Prue jumped, biting back the shocked sound that threatened to erupt from her mouth when she heard Piper’s voice. She looked up from the booklet she was reading, surprised to find her sister settling into a nearby chair. It seemed like no time had passed at all since Piper said she was going to use the payphone to call home.

“Anyway, I told Leo at least one of us would be home as soon as we finished here, so I better get back to the grindstone.”

Prue went back to her own booklet as Piper picked up one of the brochures laying on the table before them. She, personally, had found a few she thought might work, but Piper kept shooting them down.

“Nope.”

She frowned as she watched Piper throw a pamphlet on the chair between them. The reject chair as her sister had so lovingly started to call it.

“No way.”

A second pamphlet quickly joined the first.

“I don’t even THINK so.”

Prue grabbed her sister as she was about to add a third.

Piper looked at the hand on her arm. “What are you doing?”
“That’s funny.” Prue gave her a look. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Piper furrowed her brow. “I’m helping you pick somewhere to stick Rion.”
“First of all, we’re not ‘sticking’ Rion anywhere.” Prue took the now wrinkled information from her sister’s hand. “And unless you took a speed reading course while you were out of this room, you’re not helping.”
“Yes I am.” Piper looked offended.
“How? Last time I checked just looking at a piece of paper doesn’t tell you what it says.”

“I was reading.” Piper grunted the words as she pulled her arm free. “The important parts anyway.”
“The important parts?” Prue quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Piper pointed at the back of the brochure in Prue’s hand. “Look at those visiting hours. Between work and our ‘other’ duties, we’ll never get to see her. Not to mention this….” She moved her finger to another section of writing. “And I quote, ‘No children are permitted inside the facility at any time.’ I don’t know about you, but I want Melinda to be able to spend time with her Aunt Rion.”

“I can’t believe I missed all that.” Prue shook her head as she reread what her sister had just told her. “Here I was concentrating on driving time and patient to nurse ratio and….”
“Which are important too.”
“Yeah, but not if we don’t get to see Rion. That’s the point of this whole thing, right? To find the perfect place.” Prue sighed. “But what if it doesn’t exist?”
“It does, sweetie.” Piper stroked her sister’s arm. “We just have to find it.”

“What’s going on?”

They both looked up to see Phoebe standing in the doorway, anxiety stamped on her brow.

“Why are you in the lounge instead of with Rion?”

“Relax, Pheebs.” Prue was quick to reassure her sister. “Doctor Hanson ordered another scan, so we set up shop in here until Rion gets back to her room. Speaking of which….” She looked at her watch. “We should be able to head in that direction now.”
“Another scan?” Phoebe watched as her sisters started to gather their things. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Piper answered this time. “At least not that we know of. Doctor Hanson didn’t really say why she wanted to run more tests. But if I had to guess I‘d say she‘s trying to find some reason to keep Rion here a little longer. You know, to buy us some time..”

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. “Well if everything’s so hunky dory, what was up with the sister moment when I walked in?”

“Oh, that.” Piper waved the question away. “Prue was just freaking out a bit.”
“And can you blame me?” Prue shook her head. “Here we are trying to find a place for Rion and I forget to look at the visiting hours!”

“Prue….”

“It shouldn’t be this complicated.” Prue kept talking, drowning Phoebe out. “All we want is a place where we can sit with her whenever we want.”

“Then….” Phoebe tried again.
“For as long as we want.” Piper pointed at her big sister as she interrupted Phoebe.
“Exactly.” Prue nodded. “Where the girls can spend time with her.”
“I….”
“And we know she’ll be safe.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air as her sisters walked out of the room , not giving her a chance to say anything..

“Hey, I know….”

“Yeah.” Prue cut her off again. “That doesn’t seem like such an unfair list of requirements to me.”
“Me either, sweetie.” Piper slung her arm around her big sister’s shoulders. “Me either.”

Phoebe walked behind them, waiting for a full moment of silence to pass before opening her mouth again. And when it did, any preamble she might have intended went flying out the window.

“I think we should take Rion home.” She swallowed hard as both Prue and Piper stopped and turned to look at her.
“You what?” Prue frowned.
“I didn’t want to just spit it out like that, but I did, so….” Phoebe shrugged. “I think we should take care of Rion at home.”
“By home do you mean HOME home?” Piper frowned too.
“Yeah.”
“You do realize she’s in a coma, right?” Prue’s frown deepened.
Phoebe rolled her eyes again. “Duh.”
Piper shook her head. “Let me get this straight. You think we should take our comatose sister home?”
“Yes.”
“She needs special care, Phoebe.” Prue looked confused. “Who will take care of her?”
“We will.”

Phoebe looked back and forth between her sisters before pacing away from them.

“Didn’t the two of you hear a word of what you were saying just a minute ago? You want a place where we can be with Rion whenever we want for as long as we want. Where the girls can spend time with her. Where we’ll now she’s safe. What better place is there for that than with us? At home?”

“I….” Prue clinched her jaw. “I can’t even begin to say how ridiculous this is.” She pointed at Phoebe when she opened her mouth. “We’re NOT talking about this anymore.”

Phoebe looked to Piper for some backup but all the middle Halliwell did was turn and follow Prue as she stormed down the corridor.

“Look, I’ll take care of her. The two of you won’t have to do anything.” Phoebe hurried after them. “It’s the least I can do after….”

Her voice trailed off as she came up behind her sisters, who had stopped in the doorway of Rion’s room. Leaning over their sister was a woman dressed all in black. It took a moment for the shock of seeing her there to wear off for Phoebe to realize what she was doing. She had her hand over Rion’s mouth at the same time she was pinching her nose. She was suffocating her!

“Hey! Get the hell away from my sister!!”

The sound of Phoebe’s voice was all it took to spring Prue into action. She threw her hand out, flinging the woman away from the bed. The woman tripped over a chair and barely had time to hit the floor before she was scrambling back to her feet. She glared at the sisters.

“How DARE you?!”
“How dare we?” Prue gave the woman a look.
“This isn’t over!” The woman pointed at Rion. “I’ll get her for what she’s done!!” She started toward the bed again.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

Piper raised her hands to blow the woman up but hit the chair she had tripped over as the woman disappeared. She looked at her sisters as the remains of the chair clattered to the floor.

“What the hell was that all about?”
“I don’t know.” Prue hurried into the room, looking at the monitors next to the bed before running her fingers through Rion’s hair. She looked at her sisters as they appeared on the other side of the bed. “Phoebe, I owe you an apology.”
Phoebe gripped Rion’s hand. “For what?”

“You were right.” Prue had tears in her eyes as she returned her attention to Rion. “We have been SO lucky that nothing like this has happened before now. The only place Rion will truly be safe is with us.”
Piper ran the back of her hand along Rion’s arm. “You mean….”
“Yes.” Prue nodded. “We’re taking Rion home.”


“It’s a beautiful night.”

Phoebe spoke as she walked into the room, her voice slightly muffled by the towel she was using to dry her hair.

“Not a cloud in the sky.”

Everyone else crept around as if the slightest sound might disturb something. But the tomblike silence bothered her more than she would ever care to admit. That’s why she made it point to hit the door at a good clip, some comment or other on the tip of her tongue as she stepped over the threshold. One sided conversations weren’t one of her favorite things, but they were better than nothing.

“Perfect for a late jog.” She tossed her towel in the general direction of a chair as she crossed the room. “Or a little star gazing.”

She stopped at the window, pushing the curtains back so she could slid it open. After several attempts, she finally got the curtains to stay to the side so they wouldn’t block the view of outside.

“Those curtains have really got to go when we get around to doing something with this room. I mean, we can’t have them interfering with our star gazing.”

She went back to the chair where she had thrown her towel and started to fold it.

“Of course we wouldn’t have to worry about curtains if we went out on the patio. There are two deck chairs out there with our names on them.” She waited half a beat for a reply before sighing and putting the towel back down. “No, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”

She finally looked at the occupant of the bed. It had been three days now. Seventy-two long, exhausting, emotionally draining hours since they had moved Rion from the hospital. She had hoped actually having her back home would make a difference. But she was still just laying there, completely oblivious to anything around her.

“Maybe some other time.” Phoebe flopped down in the chair next to the bed.

Everyone took their turns with her. Prue early in the mornings. Piper in the afternoons when Melinda was taking a nap. Their father and Matt whenever they had a few minutes away from work. She was always there. After all, she had talked her sisters into putting Rion in their house next door to the Manor. That had been an uphill battle and a half but she finally convinced them that there was just too much going on at the Manor with two little girls there. So the nights were hers. Long after everyone else had gone home and settled in, she sat by Rion’s side, willing her to finally open her eyes.

A silent tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped at it but more followed close behind.

“I know I promised I wouldn’t do this anymore, but….” She shrugged her shoulders as she took in her sisters features. “I miss you.” She took Rion’s hand in hers. “I’m starting to think I’ll never hear your voice again and that scares me. I mean REALLY scares me. It’s like….” Her voice cracked. “Losing Cole all over again.”

“And there we have it.”

She was up out of her chair in an instant. A shocked gasp escaped her when she saw a debonair looking man sitting in the chair on the other side of the bed.

“It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?” The man shook his head. “You mortals have a very bad habit of cloaking one concern in the other. Look at you. You want to feel the pain of not having your sister around but you can’t because you haven’t mourned the loss of you husband yet.”

Phoebe glared at him. “Who the hell are you?”

The corner of the man’s mouth turned up in what appeared to be an attempt at a grin. “Death.”

The color drained from Phoebe’s face as her heart raced in her chest. This was it. She was going to lose Rion too. Her voice of reason kicked in, telling her to calm down.

“And I’m just supposed to take your word for it that you’re death?”
“We could go and ask your sister, Prue. She and I had some very interesting conversations a few years ago.”

Phoebe swallowed hard. “OK, let’s say I believe you. Why….” She willed her voice not to crack. “Why can I see you? Am I on your list or something?”

The man chuckled. “No, Phoebe Marie Halliwell, you are not on my list. But….” He turned his gaze on Rion. “She is.”

All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room. This couldn’t be happening. Not like this. Bringing Rion home was supposed to make things better, not worse. Yet here was Death, telling her that her sister’s name was on his list of people to take.

“Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be taking her. Prue’s name was on my list too, but she’s still in the land of the living.”

The man stood and moved a little closer to the bed. His grin returned when he saw Phoebe tense.

“Relax. I’m not going to touch her….” He looked down at Rion. “Yet.”

Phoebe squeezed Rion’s hand tighter, reassuring herself that her sister was still with her. “Do you always come around to tease the families of those on your list, or are we special for some reason?”

“Oh, I’m not here to tease.” Death shook his head. “I’m here to deliver a message. Just like I did with Prue.” He looked Phoebe in the eye. “Mourn the loss of your husband. The emotions you keep bottled up inside are blinding you to what’s happening with your sister.”

Phoebe frowned. “What are you talking about? Nothing’s going on with Rion.”

“See.” Death clicked his tongue. “Blinded.” He walked away from the bed. “Normally the only people who can see me are those I am about to take. Your sister Prue was a special case. I was meant to teach her to move on with her life. And you….” He looked at her over his shoulder. “You are another special case, Phoebe.”

She didn’t say anything, just held on to Rion for dear life as he continued.

“You can see me because you have a very special connection to Orion. You share a soul. Independent yet connected.” He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Cases like yours are nearly unheard of. That is why I came. To warn you that you are about to lose something very precious.”

“I….” Phoebe shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“That is because the emotions surrounding the loss of your husband are clouding your judgment. You can’t see the forest for the trees, Phoebe. But I can tell you one thing. If you don’t work through them soon, you’ll lose her too.”

Death walked back over to the bed, getting close enough to touch Rion if he wanted to.

“You’re the only one who can save her. Keep that in mind.”

“I still don’t….”

Phoebe’s voice trailed off as she looked up. He was gone. If he had ever been there at all. She sighed as she sank back into her chair, Rion’s hand still held tightly in her own. She looked at her sister for a moment before getting up and climbing into bed next to her.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Rion.” She laid her head on her sister’s shoulder, her mind still reeling from the odd visit they had just had. “I promise.”
Phoebe took a deep breath as she approached the back door of the Manor. She had made up her mind not to tell her sisters about Death’s visit as she changed Rion’s pajamas that morning. The whole situation had been just as hard on them as it was on her. Why worry them any more than they already were until she was sure there was something more to worry about?

“Morning, sunshine.”

She gave Piper a halfhearted smile when her sister greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. One look at the two older Halliwells told her she had made the right decision. Dark circles dominated their faces as they sat at the table, steaming mugs of coffee in front of them.

Tricia pointed at her from her high chair, rambling off something that none of them could understand. The little girl clapped as she finished, laughing at her own private joke.

“Good morning to you too, Little P.” Phoebe leaned down, giving her niece a kiss on the cheek and getting several slobbery ones in return. She had taken to using Rion’s nickname so Tricia wouldn’t forget it. She pulled away from her niece, grinning as she turned and gave Prue a kiss on the cheek. “Morning, sis.”
“Morning sweetie.” Prue gave her a quick hug.

“And good morning to you too.” Phoebe hugged Piper with one arm as she put the index finger of her other hand in Melinda’s tiny little grip. Her grin widened as the baby’s eyes lit up and she grinned around the nipple of the bottle in her mouth.
“Good morning and here you go.” Piper pulled the bottle away, wiping her daughter’s mouth with a burp rag before handing her to Phoebe. “She won’t have anything to do with it now that she’s seen you.”

Phoebe took her niece, cradling her close as she sat in the chair next to Piper. She could feel her sisters looking at her, but resisted the urge to glance up at them, keeping her eyes on Melinda instead. The baby wiggled in her arms and cooed.

“So….” Prue finally broke the silence. “Are we ready for today?”
Piper sighed. “I can’t speak for you two, but I’m more than ready to get this over with.”
Phoebe nodded. “Me too.”
Piper gave her a look. “Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming up?”
Prue gave her a matching look. “Is there a ‘but’ Pheebs?”

Phoebe shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Yes, there is.” She lifted Melinda to her shoulder. “I was kind of wondering if you two could ride together so I can use one of the cars.”

Prue shrugged. “Sure.”
Phoebe looked back and forth between them. “No questions as to why I want one of the cars?”
“No.” Piper shook her head as she stood and started to clean off the table. “You must have your reasons.”
Phoebe furrowed her brow. “Thanks, I think.”
“Just be at the courthouse on time.” Piper gave her a kiss on top of the head before taking her daughter back. “Come on sweetie. Let’s go wake your daddy up so Mommy can get ready to go.”

“Thanks Piper.” Phoebe watched her walk out of the room before returning her attention to Prue. “So you’re really all right with me taking the car.”
“I wouldn’t have said I was if I wasn’t.” Prue struggled to keep a grip on Tricia’s arm as she wiped her daughter’s cereal covered hand with a wet rag. “Did that make any sense?”
“Yes.” Phoebe grinned again as she went to help hold Tricia still.
“Good.” Prue stopped what she was doing and put her hand on Phoebe’s arm. “Are you all right?”

Phoebe was taken aback by the question. “Uh….” She swallowed hard, wanting to tell her sister everything. “Yeah. Just a little nervous about today.”

“Me too.” Prue returned her attention to her daughter, barely getting her out of the high chair before Tricia squirmed out of her hands and took off after Kit. “I swear she gets a little more independent every day.”
“She gets it from Rion.”

Mention of their sister’s name brought an instant awkwardness to the moment. Phoebe bit her lip, wishing she hadn’t said anything while Prue watched Tricia disappear into the living room with a faraway look in her eye.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Prue’s voice was little more than a whisper.

Phoebe felt a lump forming in her throat and knew she had to get out of the house before she broke down.

“Phoebe….”

She looked up to find Prue staring at her. “I… I’m gonna go. Piper will kick my ass if I’m late.” She grabbed Piper’s keys off the hook by the door as she left. “Thanks again. I’ll see you two in a bit.”

Tricia came back into the room as she shut the door. “An Phe?” Her little face fell into a frown.

Prue stared at the door, wanting to run out after her sister. “She’ll be back, baby girl.” She picked her daughter up instead, knowing from experience that Phoebe would come to them with whatever was bothering her when she was ready. “Now what do you say to helping Mommy get ready?”
“No fank you.”
Prue couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. “Tough, you’re going to help anyway.”
Tricia grinned as they started out of the kitchen. “K.”

*************

She slipped off her shoes, welcoming the warmth of the sand as she started toward the water. This had always been one of her favorite spots. A relatively quiet stretch of beach, too small to draw the kind of crowd the main beaches did. Today it was abandoned, just like it had been when they….

She pushed the thought away as tears formed in her eyes. But the voice of reason in her head reminded her that that’s what this was all about. Dealing with the emotions she had been shoving away for way too long now. So she dropped the mental block, letting the memories consume her.

Meeting Cole. Thinking he was hot. Their first kiss. The feel of being in his arms as they made love for the first time. The emotional roller coaster of being in a demon-witch relationship. The day he proposed. Their wedding.

Every moment they had ever spent together overlapped in her mind, making her knees go weak as she reached the edge of the water. She reached out with one shaking hand and picked up some sand, wondering if a part of him was still there.

“I can remember the first time I brought you here.”

The sound of her own voice startled her.

“Or should I say the time you followed me here? It was right after I told Prue and Piper about not really vanquishing you. They were both so disappointed in me and I had to get away from the house. Next thing I know you’re putting your arms around me, whispering in my ear that everything would be all right.” She looked at the sand in her hand. “And it was. Because you were there.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I loved you. Will always love you. But….” She shook her head. “I have to accept the fact that you’re not coming back this time. As much as I hate it, you’re gone.”

“You were my soulmate.” Her voice cracked. “The one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I guess that just wasn’t in the cards for us, was it?” She sniffled. “I have to move on. If I don’t I…. I could lose Rion.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “And I can’t do that.”

She let the sand slip between her fingers. “You’ll always be a part of my life. Forever and always.”

She closed her eyes, expecting a complete breakdown. But a soft breeze caressed her cheek. One full of love and understanding. She looked toward the sky, smiling through her tears.

“Somehow I knew you’d understand.” She touched her cheek, relishing the coolness the breeze had left behind. “I love you.” The breeze washed over her again before disappearing.

She stayed crouched next to the water for a moment before standing. She used her free hand to wipe at the tears on her cheeks as she looked at the last few particles of sand in her hand. She brought them to her lips, giving them a gentle kiss before letting them fall back to the ground.

“Goodbye, Cole.”

“This is Linda Delgado reporting live from the courthouse downtown where, moments from now, judge Phillip Williams will pass sentence on Abbey Campbell. Miss Campbell, as many of you will recall, escaped from a mental institution some six weeks ago and wrecked havoc on the lives of a local family.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes as she passed the reporter. Of course people would “recall” who Abbey was. TV and news reporters had been crawling all over the story from day one. There were at least a dozen other crews in various places on the courthouse steps, doing their live remotes just like Miss Delgado.

“Channel 5 was the first to bring you the story of Orion Matthews, the young woman who nearly lost her life when Abbey Campbell tried to kidnap her two young nieces.”

Phoebe hurried past a second reporter, wanting nothing more than to get to her sisters. She hated the media circus their lives had become. Every time they stepped outside there was someone there asking them questions. Intruding on their lives. The last thing she needed to do now was get cornered when she was by herself.

“The prosecution believes they have an open and shut case. Especially since psychiatrists assigned to the case found Miss Campbell competent to stand trial. But they’ll have to finish the case without who they hoped would be their star witness. Orion Matthews, the brave young woman who risked her life to save her nieces, still lingers in a coma brought on by injuries suffered in her first encounter with Miss Campbell and aggravated when Miss Campbell kidnapped her from the hospital. Her sisters, the Halliwells, have been unavailable for comment but sources close to the family say….”

Phoebe tuned the third reporter out. Like they had the slightest idea what was going on. Like she, Prue or Piper took time every night to call them up and personally and fill them in on what was happening in their lives.

“Miss Halliwell! Miss Halliwell!!”

She turned when she heard her name, just in time to be blinded by a camera’s flash. When her vision cleared again there was a mob of people around her, several of them shoving microphones in her face.

“Is it true your sister is barely hanging on?”

“Do you think your family will push for the death penalty for Miss Campbell if your sister dies?”

There were a lot more questions being thrown at her, but the first two kept echoing through her thoughts? First the visit from Death and now questions the reports had never asked before. Was it a sign? Should she turn around right then and there and go home to her sister?

“No comment.”

She jumped as an arm closed around her waist from behind.

“But….”
“What part of ‘no comment’ don’t you understand?”

Phoebe recognized Matt’s voice as she let herself be pulled into the courthouse. She turned when they were in the relative safety of the lobby and threw her arms around him.

“Thanks.”
Matt returned the embrace. “Any time. Now come on. Prue and Piper have been worried sick about you.”

She followed him through the throng of people in the lobby and down a long corridor to the courtroom she knew all too well. How long ago had she sat on the witness stand, telling her side of what happened that fateful day at the Manor? It seemed like a lifetime.

“There you are!”

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of arms drawing her into a hug.

“Yeah, where have you been?!”

Another set of arms joined the first. She enjoyed the embrace for a moment before pulling back to look at her sisters.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone quite so long. But I had something important to take care of.”

“All rise!!”

She said a silent thank you to the bailiff for saving her from her sister’s questions as Judge Williams swept into the room. She met her father’s gaze as Piper took her hand and lead her to the seat between her and Prue in the first row. It felt good to have him and Matt there.

“Please be seated.”

Everyone did as Judge Williams told them. A hush fell over the room when he fixed his intense stare on Abbey.

“Let’s get down to it, shall we?” A hush fell over the room as the judge fixed his intense stare on Abbey. “As you know, Miss Campbell, you are accused of the attempted kidnapping of Patricia Halliwell-Wilson and Melinda Halliwell-Wyatt. You are also charged with the abduction of Orion Matthews from Bay General Hospital and a consequent charge of assault and battery. Court records will show that you have filed a plea of not guilty to all charges.”

Someone snapped a picture in the back of the room, getting a warning glare from Judge Williams for their trouble.

“It is my job to take all evidence into consideration and render what I feel to be a fair and just sentence. And in this case I have to say my decision was easier than normal to make. Let me start by saying I believe they should have locked you up and thrown away the key years ago when you tried to murder Prudence Halliwell in her own home. But that didn’t happen and as a result you are now here before me.” Judge Williams shuffled some papers in front of him. “Well I do not intend to make the same mistake. I sentence you to a minimum of twenty-five years in the woman’s state penitentiary without the possibility of parole.” He banged his gavel and left the room again.

“Twenty-five years? Is that all?” Piper spoke as they all stood up. “I would have gone for life.”
“Twenty-five is a pretty hefty sentence for kidnapping and assault.” Matt was quick to field her comment. “Especially when you consider she doesn’t stand a chance of making parole. Most kidnappers are out in a matter of a couple of years.”
“Then we’re lucky we had such a good judge.” Victor came to stand next to Phoebe. “He certainly seemed to know what he was doing.”

They all fell silent as a couple of female deputies led Abbey by, her wrists and ankles in cuffs. She was almost past them when she suddenly stopped and leaned over the banister separating them.

“Be sure and tell the wannabe I’ll be back to finish what I started.”
“You bitch!”

Phoebe lunged at her but found herself being held back by her father. Victor was whispering something to her but she was too busy glaring at Abbey to hear him.

“And next time she won’t be around to save your kid’s sorry ass, Prue. Keep that in mind.”
“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter!”

Prue almost grabbed her before Matt managed to get between them. Yet someone still managed to land a hard right hook, sending Abbey t