Soul Exchange

Halliwell Manor Dining Room- Later That Evening

         "Wow, I'm so glad that Peyton's little astral-orbing adventure is over," Paige stated gratefully as she gazed down at her daughter, who was peacefully asleep in her arms. "Amen to that!" Piper and Phoebe replied in unison, and then grinned at one another. "I was thinking the whole time I was orbing after her to find her back; I think maybe Grams had a point..." Paige trailed off, pausing to let out a huge sneeze. Piper and Phoebe looked at one another in horror as their baby sister orbed out with their niece. "Not again!" Phoebe moaned.

"You know that happens when she lets out a big sneeze, Phoebs... why are you so worried?" Piper inquired.

"Oh, I don't know...maybe because I keep thinking of when she had the bad cold before and got sucked into an alternate reality?" Phoebe said, giving Piper a look that plainly asked why Piper herself wasn't worried.

"Phoebe, Phoebe, Phoebe..." Piper began, rolling her eyes heavenward. "You know as well as I do that that happened due to Cole's little 'power trip.' Paige is-" Piper was cut off as Paige suddenly orbed back into the room, holding Peyton, who was now awake and howling. "Whoa! Major sneeze!" Paige gasped.

"See, Paige is fine," Piper continued, giving Phoebe a look that plainly stated. 'Stop worrying for no reason, sis.'

"Somebody's hungry," Paige announced as she picked up Peyton's blanket from the chair, covered herself, and began to nurse the baby. "Uh, Paige, do you mind?" Phoebe asked. "Aw, Phoebs, relax," Piper chastised. "She's using a blanket, and we're done eating already, remember? It's a natural thing... you've said as much yourself. If you don't like it, go and help Glenn and Leo with the dishes."

Phoebe, realizing that Piper was right, just let out a sigh of frustration and glared evilly at her big sister.

"Does that look mean you agree, or that you don't want to help with the dishes?" Piper inquired with a saccharine-sweet smile at Phoebe. "Bite me, Piper," Phoebe muttered under her breath. "What was that?" Piper asked, as Paige, who had heard the statement, began to giggle. "Nothing, Piper," Phoebe answered in a singsong voice, causing Paige's giggles to intensify. "You heard her, didn't you, Missy Paige?" Piper questioned her youngest sister. "M-maybe!" Paige sputtered through her fit of laughter. "You're so lucky I can't blow your butts to bits," Piper informed her sisters. "Fine, don't tell me what you said... I could care less."

"Paige, before you orbed out, you started to say that Grams had a point," Phoebe prodded. "What did you mean?"

"Oh, right." Paige answered. "Grams had a point when she said that the powers of astral-projection orbing and ice-freezing are dangerous in a small child. After the heart attack little miss Peyton gave me today, I think I want to bind her powers," Paige blurted. "I think that's a good idea-" Phoebe began. In the same instant, Piper responded, "Paige, that's not a good idea, sweetie." Piper paused for a breath, and then continued, saying, "C'mon, Paige, just last week, Peyton had a demon encased in ice before the rest of us even knew it was there. Taking that ability away from her would just be wrong, honey."

As Paige opened her mouth to speak, Phoebe argued, "How do you figure, Piper? I mean, look at all of the other things my sweet little niece has iced that shouldn't have been?"

"Ah-" was all Paige managed to utter before Piper cut her off. She pressed her lips together and sighed angrily as Piper began to speak. "Phoebe, you know that our powers are tied to our emotions; so are Peyton's. You can hardly expect a baby so young to not be afraid of things; she hasn't been out of Paige long enough. Peyton needs to build up a tolerance to loud noises before she'll stop freezing everything."