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

Memory Lane
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

“Hello.”

Doctor Hanson smiled as she walked into the small conference room. The looks she got from the women waiting for her at the table was enough to make her smile fade into a trace of a grin as she sat down across from them.

“Well….” She drew the word out as she settled in. “It’s nice to see you all again.”

“Can we cut the niceties and get around to talking about our sister’s condition?”
“Phoebe!”
“What?!”
“There is such a thing as manners. Look into them sometime!”

She swallowed hard as she watched the youngest and middle Halliwell square off. The tension between them had been evident even before Phoebe opened her mouth.

“Cut it out, you two.”

The eldest finally spoke up giving both of her sisters an ‘I dare you to say one more word’ look before turning her icy blue gaze on her.

“I’m sorry about them, Doctor Hanson.”
“No apologies necessary Prue. The three of you have been under an extraordinary amount of stress lately. And please, I think you know me well enough to skip the ‘Doctor Hanson’ and go straight to Beth.”
“Thanks, Beth.” Prue gave her a grateful nod. “Not everyone would be so understanding.”
“Not everyone is dealing with a family member who has amnesia.”

Piper swallowed hard. “Speaking of which. How is Rion?”

“She’s doing extremely well. There is no trace of swelling in any of her most recent test results. And I’m no orthopedist, but she’s getting around really good on her leg.”

“What about her….” Phoebe hesitated for a moment. “What about her memory?”

Doctor Hanson sighed. “That, unfortunately, hasn’t changed. She remembers things she’s been told since she came out of her coma….”
“But nothing beforehand.” Prue finished for her. “Do you think it’s permanent?”
“There’s no way of knowing.” Beth gave her a sympathetic look. “She could wake up tomorrow and remember everything.”
“Or stay the way she is forever.” Piper finished for her this time.

“And all we can do is sit around with our thumbs up our asses and wait to see what happens.” Phoebe felt the weight of her sisters stares. “What? It’s been two weeks now and nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing.”

“Phoebe, I know this is hard, but don’t give up on her. Like I said just a second ago, she could wake up tomorrow with her memory intact. Or, like Piper said, she may never remember. There is no way for us to predict this kind of thing. We may not know much about the brain when it comes to this kind of thing, but we do know one thing. A patient needs the support of their family.”

Doctor Hanson’s words hung over the room as they sunk in with the sisters.

“Is there anything we can do for her?” Piper finally broke the silence. “Show her home movies? Pictures? Tell her stories?”

“All of those are good ideas. They’ll serve as a good guide. But you can’t force her to remember something.”
Phoebe frowned. “What do you mean ‘force’ her?”
Doctor Hanson switched her attention to the youngest Halliwell. “I mean you can’t say things like ‘remember when’ or ‘do you remember.’ Rion is just as frustrated by all of this as you three. Adding to that frustration will only hinder any chance she has at a recovery.”

“So show her the pictures or movies but let her draw her own conclusions?” Piper sounded slightly confused.
“Yes.” Doctor Hanson nodded. “That’s exactly what you’re going to have to do.”

“Sounds simple but complicated.” Prue sighed. “Can we take her home now?”

Beth consulted her watch. “You should be able to in just a few minutes. She went straight to physical therapy after her appointment with me.” She shuffled through the paperwork in front of her. “I had some additional information on amnesia for you.” She frowned. “But I must have left it in my office.”

“Why don’t you two go with her to get it and I’ll go get Rion.” Phoebe furrowed her brow when she felt her sisters staring at her. “What? I can use all the alone time I can get with her. She still flinches every time I walk into a room.”
“Well maybe if you hadn’t thrown such a snit fit when she woke up maybe she wouldn’t be so leery of you.” Piper shook her head.
“Would the two of you knock it off?!” Prue glared back and forth at them. “Arguing isn’t going to help Rion either. Phoebe, you go get her from physical therapy. Piper, you and I will go with Doctor Hanson.”

“Please, call me Beth.” Doctor Hanson pushed a card across the table toward them. “And I don’t want to be forward, but maybe this will help too.”
Piper picked the card up. “What is it?”
“The number of a psychiatrist friend of mine. I think she might be able to help with what you’re going through.”

“I’m not going to any shrink.” Phoebe threw the comment out as she stood. “I’ll be back with Rion in a few minutes.”

Prue watched her go, a mixture of pity and anger in her eyes. “Sorry about that.” She looked at Beth again as Phoebe disappeared into the corridor. “She’s having a rough go of it. She lost her husband just before the accident. And she and Rion weren’t exactly getting along when it happened.”

“Like I said before, no apology necessary.” Beth raised her eyebrows. “Having something like this happen to someone you love is never easy.”

“No,” Piper agreed with her, “it’s not. Especially when Rion is the one she has always turned to when she’s upset. And I’m not helping.” She hung her head. “It seems like we’re always going at it about something.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Piper.” Prue squeezed her sister’s hand. “Things have been tense between all of us lately.” She clinched her jaw as she looked at Doctor Hanson. “You told us everything, right? You weren’t holding anything back to try and make things easier for us?”

“Of course not.” Beth shook her head. “I would never do that when it comes to the health of one of my patients.” She gave them a weak smile. “Especially ones I consider to be friends.” She reached across the table, putting her hand over both of the sisters. “I’m with you in this. Remember that.”

“Thanks, Beth.” Prue sighed. “Come on, Piper. Let’s go find our sisters.”

Doctor Hanson sat back in her chair as she watched the Halliwells leave the room. Sometimes being a doctor in a field like neurology where so many things were out of her control really, really sucked.

Phoebe was in serious ‘don’t mess with me’ mode. Shoulders hunched, hands jammed in her pockets as she wove her way around anyone who got in her way. A frown creased the skin around her eyes as she glanced up at the signs on the wall, making sure she was still going in the right direction. Normally Prue or Piper brought Rion in for therapy, not her.

She caught an orderly leering at her and bit back a growl, shooting him her best ‘if looks could kill’ glare. It didn’t have the same satisfying effect punching him in the face would have had, but it certainly got his attention. He jumped as if someone had shot him in the butt with a bb gun and quickly turned, trying to keep his head down so he wouldn’t look at her again. Unfortunately for him a rather grumpy looking doctor picked that moment to walk out of a nearby room. They hit hard, falling to the floor in a tangled mass of arms and legs.

She tried to hide her smile as she continued on her way, the doctor’s angry tirade drowning out the orderly’s attempts at an apology. Usually the thought of something she did getting someone else in trouble would make her feel a little guilty. But not today. It was what the schmuck deserved for undressing her with his eyes the way he had.

It reminded her of something she and Rion had done once when they were younger. Piper always carted them to the mall on Saturdays, spending the majority of the day in the bookstore reading while the two of them ran around with their friends. On this particular occasion they were in the food court, sharing a chocolate shake and some fries when who should sit down at a neighboring table but Amber Cook, the biggest flirt in their class, and her guy of the day. She had stolen more boyfriends from Phoebe than the youngest Halliwell was willing to admit. So they decided to get a little revenge. It started with Phoebe drawing the guy’s attention by waggling her eyebrows and ended with the two of them practically feeling each other up, much to the delight of their audience. Piper chose that moment to come along and shoo them away, but not before Amber caught her newest beau in the act and slapped him hard enough to make his teeth rattle. They had laughed about it all the way home.

She could remember it like it was yesterday. But her partner in crime had no idea it had happened at all.

“I…. I can’t.”

The thought was all but forgotten when she heard her sister’s voice. The exhaustion it held made her quicken her pace.

“Sure you can. All you have to do is concentrate.”

The male voice that answered took Phoebe by surprise.

“But….”
“No buts about it, girlie girl. One more set of five and you’re done for the day.”
“I’m not….”
“The longer you put it off, the harder it will be. So just get on with it already.”

She narrowed her eyes as she headed in the direction of the voices. She walked into a small, gym-like room to find Rion sitting on a weight bench, her jaw clinched as she raised her right leg, lifting what looked to be no more than five pounds.

“I suggest you get away from my sister!”

Rion looked up when she heard the new voice. “Phoebe?”

“Keep at it, kid.” The therapist patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll handle your sister.” He took a step toward their visitor. “Nice to see you again, Phoebe.”

“I wish I could say the same, Billy.” Phoebe spit out his name like a dirty little secret. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Billy raised one eyebrow. “My job.”
“Do my sisters know you’re her therapist?”

“I’m sensing a little tension here.” Rion winced as she stood and started toward them. “Do you two know each other?”

“You could say that.” Phoebe kept her attention on Billy. “I thought I told you never to come around her again.”
“That’s funny.” Billy looked amused. “Because the last time I checked, you weren’t the boss of me.”
Phoebe doubled her hand into a fist. “We’ll see who’s the boss of who.”

“Whoa!” Rion stepped between them. “Does someone wanna tell me what this is all about?”

“Nothing.” Phoebe glared at Billy. “He’s just not what you think he is.”
Billy chortled. “Like you are?”

Rion looked back and forth between them, obviously confused. “Did you two use to date or something?”

An expression of realization fell over Billy’s features as he looked at her. “I’m sorry, Rion. We shouldn’t be doing this. Not now.”

Rion threw her hands in the air. “Doing what?!”

“I’m just going to go.” Billy nearly tripped over a ball on the floor as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you on Friday, Rion.”

Phoebe snorted. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Billy grinned over his shoulder. “Lucky for me you don’t.”

Rion stared at the door for a moment after he left before looking at her sister. “OK, what the heck was that?”

“Nothing.” Phoebe made a show of looking around the room as if she were searching for something rather than meeting her sister’s gaze. “Do you have everything?”
“Phoebe….”
“Then let’s get out of here. Prue and Piper are probably about ready to send out a search party.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on with you and Billy.” Rion swallowed hard as Phoebe looked at her but squared her shoulders, ready to stand her ground.

“I said it was nothing.” Phoebe started out of the room again. “Now let’s go.”

“No!” Rion’s voice filled the room. “For once I’m not going to be a good little girl and follow you around like a puppy on a leash. I’m sick of everyone walking on egg shells around me. I’m not some piece of china that’s going to break!”
“Rion….”
She avoided her sister’s outstretched hand. “Don’t even try it, Phoebe! You come busting in here, ready to beat the crap out of my therapist, and I’m just supposed to take a simple ‘nothing is wrong’ as an explanation?”

“It’s not something you should worry about.” Phoebe reached for her sister’s arm again.

“That’s right, because I’m not really Rion, huh?”

Her words caught Phoebe off guard.

“I’m just some cheap imitation you’ve been stuck with for the past few weeks.” Rion shook her head. “Well I’m sorry I can’t be the sister you want, Phoebe. But until you stop treating me like one, I’ll never be anything but a stranger to you!”

With that Rion pushed past her and limped out of the room, leaving her to ponder the truth behind her words.
Phoebe flipped on the stereo and flopped down on the bed, the scene at the hospital still fresh in her mind. It had taken her a few minutes to work up enough nerve to follow Rion. When she finally caught up to her she expected Prue or Piper to let her have it for upsetting their sister. But in true Rion fashion her sister hadn’t said a word. And she didn’t all the way home. She just sat in the passenger seat, jaw clinched as she stared out the windshield.

She appreciated Rion not squealing on her, but a good round or two with Prue or Piper would have been preferable to the glances the two of them kept exchanging in the rearview mirror. Not to mention the unbearable silence that hung over the car. Too much quiet meant she had time to think. And thinking had only gotten her in trouble lately.

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to

Phoebe snatched the stereo remote from the bedside table and hit the shuffle button before Michelle Branch could utter another word. She had been listening to the CD the night before when she was laying in bed alone, missing Cole and wondering if things could possibly get any worse for her. But it wasn’t the kind of music she needed right now. She knew how bad life sucked without having someone remind her.

Cause now again I’ve found myself so far down
Away from the sun that shines into the darkest place
I’m so far down, away from the sun again

A soft sigh escaped her as she closed her eyes. All she had to do was hit the shuffle button again and this song would disappear too. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not with this one. It had been her theme song of late.

She slipped into familiar thoughts as the song continued. The same question that had been haunting her for weeks came to her. Why was it you never truly knew what you had until it was gone? She was a perfect example. A wonderful husband. Three loving sisters. Two beautiful nieces. One minute she was on cloud nine, living the kind of life some people would have given anything to have and the next she was spinning out of control, trying to find one aspect of her life she could cling to to keep her head above water.

“Phoebe?”

She jumped when she heard the light tap on her door. It opened just enough for Rion to peer around it at her.

“Can I come in?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice to answer.

“I, uh….” Rion fidgeted uncomfortably as she stepped into the room. “I know you don’t like me very much right now, but I…. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted at the hospital. My therapy session was brutal and my knee was hurting like hell and I know I shouldn’t use that as an excuse, but it’s all I’ve got.” She shrugged. “I took it out on you when I shouldn’t have and for that I’m sorry.”

Rion started out of the room again, stopping in the doorway. “And one more thing. Whatever your beef is with Billy, it’s none of my concern. I’m sorry I made such a big deal about it. But he’s a good therapist and I’m going to keep going to him.”

Phoebe watched her start to leave again, her heart hammering in her chest. Rion was reaching out to her. Making an effort to get things back on track between them and she was just sitting there looking stupid.

“You were right.”

The sound of her own voice surprised her as much as it did Rion. She swallowed hard as her sister turned to look at her.

“About the me not liking you thing.”

She ignored the anxiety she saw swimming in Rion’s eyes as she continued.

“Because I don’t like you. I love you.”

Rion looked at her, eyes wet with unshed tears. “Really?”
“Really.” Phoebe sat up, pushing herself off the bed as she spoke. “You’re my sister, Rion. How could I NOT love you?”
“That’s just it. I wasn’t sure if….” Rion hesitated, looking at her feet. “I wasn’t sure if you still thought of me as your sister.”

“Of course I do!” Tears filled Phoebe’s eyes as she pulled her sister into a tight embrace. “God, Rion. I’m so sorry if I ever made you doubt how I feel about you.” She held her sister at arm’s length. “I….” She shook her head. “You’re my best friend, Rion. Have been since the day I was born. Me and you, we’ve been through a hell of a lot together. And there’s nothing that means more to me in this world than my family. You, Prue, Piper…. The three of you are my everything. I love you so much it hurts sometimes.”
“I love you too, Phoebe.” Rion threw her arms around her sister. “I love you too.”

They stood like that for a long time, the bond between them strengthening with each passing second. Phoebe finally pulled back, wiping tears from Rion’s cheeks with her thumb as she looked at her sister.

“I thought you would avoid me like the plague after what happened at the hospital.”
“Yeah, well I tried.” Rion sniffled. “But Prue and Piper kept hovering. I decided I’d try my luck with you when Piper wouldn’t let me stir my own tea.”
Phoebe chuckled. “That’s our Piper.” She caught a flash of disapproval in Rion’s eye. “Oh, come on. She’s just worried about you.”
“I know, but I meant what I said earlier. I’m not some delicate little thing that’s going to break if you look at me the wrong way.”

“I know that, and so do Piper and Prue. It’s just….” Phoebe paced away from her. “What happened to you was really scary, Rion. Right after the accident we didn’t know if we would lose you. Then we found out you were in a coma and didn’t know if you would ever wake up. And now….”

“Now I can’t remember who I am.” Rion’s voice was little more than a whisper as she finished for her.

Phoebe closed her eyes, giving herself a swift mental kick. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” Rion shrugged. “But it’s true. I might never remember who I was before the accident.”
“That’s not….”

“Don’t even say it’s not important, because it is. You have no idea what it’s like to stop and analyze every little thing you do, wondering if you’re acting even remotely close to what everyone’s used to. To start over from scratch at the rip old age of twenty-seven.” Rion clinched her jaw. “To wonder if you’re letting anyone down. Cause I might not remember much, but I know one thing. I love you and Prue and Piper. And the thought of disappointing one of you….”

“Oh, honey. You could never disappoint us.” Phoebe pulled her into another hug. “We love you for who you are, not what you do or don’t remember. The important thing is that you’re here with us. The rest will either come with time or we’ll make all new memories.”

Rion grinned. “I love you.”
Phoebe grinned too. “Bet I love you more. Whoa!” Her heart skipped a beat as Rion collapsed against her.

“Damn thing!” Rion growled as she clutched at her right leg.
“Are you all right?” Phoebe looked at her anxiously.
“Yeah.” Rion put all her weight on her left leg. “I just need to rest it for a bit.”
“Well lucky for you we happen to have a bed right here.”
“I….” Rion shook her head. “I don’t want to impose.”
“Are you kidding?” Phoebe furrowed. “Mi casa is su casa. Literally.”
“Yeah, but….”
“No buts about it.”

Phoebe helped her over to the bed, making sure she was comfortable before stretching out beside her.

“See, plenty of room for two.”
Rion shook her head. “Thanks.”
Phoebe frowned. “For what?”
“Being my sister.”

Phoebe smiled as Rion scooted closer, putting her head on her shoulder. “Any time, sis.” She slipped her arm around her. “Any time.”

**lyrics by Michelle Branch & 3 Doors Down
“Well….” Seth drew out the word as he wiped at the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “There’s another one for the record books. I swear I’m going to call Guinness one of these days, Piper. That had to be the best carrot cake I’ve ever had.”

“Thanks.” Piper blushed.

“Nice compliment, Seth.” Phoebe grinned. “But maybe you should go with Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.”
“Oh yeah.” Rion w