Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long update. Had some writer's block, but I think I finally got this story back on track.

After the Halliwell sisters – her sisters – left, Paige spent some time cleaning up her father's things. She'd lost count of all the times she'd teased him about the mess on his desk, and all the times he'd promised to clean it up. He'd never have the chance, now.

Remembering her father sent a pang through her heart, and she closed her eyes as grief washed over her. She fought to hold back the sobs that threatened to explode out of her.

'I miss you so much, Dad. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when I should have been.'

Then, she pushed the grief down, to deal with it later. She had too much to do, and she had Aiden to think about. She couldn't afford to fall apart, not right now. She needed to pull herself together. Pulling out her cell phone, she hit the first number on her speed dial, listening to it ring.

"Kier," she choked out, when her ex picked up.

"Paige?" Concern was palpable in Kieran's voice, and she could practically see his hackles rising. "Paige, what's wrong?"

"It's my dad," she told him, and she heard Kieran sigh, heavily. "He's gone, Kier."

"A demon?" Kieran asked, and Paige could only nod, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Paige, is it still out there?"

"No," Paige managed. "The demon's been vanquished. I just – I don't know what to do." Her voice wavered, and she scrubbed at the tears that sprang to her eyes. "I feel lost. Feel like I'm drowning."

"I know," Kieran said, softly, and just hearing the words helped a little bit. "Do you want me to come out there?"

Paige considered saying yes for all of two seconds, but then she bit the words back. Kieran had a life now, had Nancy, and they were starting a family. He needed to be with his wife, didn't need to be all the way across the country, holding her hand.

"No, I'm okay," she said, and she knew that Kieran knew she was lying. He didn't press her on it, though. "I just wish I knew where to start," she said, sighing.

"Pick one thing," Kieran told her, "and work on it. You're sitting at Sam's old desk, right, looking at that mess?"

"How'd you know?" Paige asked, cracking a small smile.

"Because I know you," Kieran remarked. "Just find a box and start putting things in it. It's going to be hard; hell, it's going to be damn near impossible at first, but it's a place to start."

"Yeah," Paige said. "Find a box, okay. God," she muttered, shakily. "This hurts. It hurts to breathe."

"Paige, if you need me," Kieran started, but Paige cut him off.

"What I need," she said, quietly, "is time. I've said the same thing to hundreds of Innocents over the years. You'd think I could take my own advice."

"It's different when it's family," Kieran reminded her. "Trust me. Remember how much of a wreck I was when my mom showed up when we were kids?"

"Yeah, I remember," Paige replied. "Thanks, Kier. For listening, for everything-"

"Always," Kieran said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh, I'm anything but," Paige told him. "But, I'm over the part that wants to orb into the Underworld on a vanquishing spree, so I guess that's something."

"You and Aiden should come out for the weekend," Kieran suggested. "We'll take the boat out the middle of nowhere, go fishing, spend some time with the family."

"Sounds nice," Paige said. "Might be nice to get out of San Francisco after Dad's funeral." She sighed, thinking. "I still have to go to the morgue to claim his body, I have to go to the funeral home, make arrangements, and figure out how to tell Aiden."

"If you need me, I'm here," Kieran told her. "Just call."

"I will," Paige promised. "Love you, Kier."

"Love you, too," came the reply, and then the phone went dead in her ear.

Pocketing her phone, Paige looked at the mess on the desk, again. She knew she was just avoiding the inevitable, but she just couldn't bring herself to start boxing her father's things up, yet. So, she was going to do the one thing even harder, and go make her father's funeral arrangements.

Paige orbed into an alley near San Francisco Memorial, where the techs had told her they were taking her father. Her work badge was in her pocket where she'd stuffed it after she'd gotten off her shift, and she clipped it to her belt. The front desk receptionist called out to her as she moved through the lobby, and Paige waved without stopping.

The morgue was in the basement, down at the end of a long hallway. The morgue was colder than the rest of the hospital, and Paige shivered as she badged her way into the room.

Amelia Rhodes, one of the medical examiners and Paige's old college roommate, was working. Paige had known Amelia for years; they'd been friends since the day Paige had saved her life and vanquished her warlock girlfriend. Amelia was one of the few mortals Paige trusted with her secret, and her life.

"Hey, what's up?" she greeted Paige, cheerfully. "What does Social Services want, today? You don't have a case down here, do you?" She glanced back at the storage drawers, worriedly.

"No, not a case," Paige told her. "Personal, actually. My, uh-" She choked on the words, clearing her throat to continue. "My dad was brought in earlier. A heart attack out by the lake at Camp Skylark."

"Paige, I'm so sorry," Amelia said, sympathetically, and Paige murmured a quiet thanks. "Your dad's name was Sam, right?" Amelia went on, as she started typing on her computer. "Sam Wilder?"

"Yeah," Paige said, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she stared at the cold, metal drawers. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing her father like that.

"Paige," Amelia said, a minute later, "there's no record of your dad in the system."

"No, that's not possible," Paige protested. "They told me I had to come down, fill out paperwork."

"Maybe another hospital," Amelia suggested, but Paige shook her head.

"They said Memorial," she protested. "One of the EMTs was Cartwright; he only works here. Amelia, where's my dad?" Her voice hit a shrill, slightly hysterical note, and she could feel herself starting to fall apart.

Amelia was already on the phone, and she held up a finger for silence. "John, it's Amelia," she said. "Hey, did you guys get a pickup out at that old Camp Skylark? Heart attack victim? No, really? Okay, thanks John." She hung up the phone, giving Paige a look.

"Let me guess," Paige said, before Amelia could speak. "They haven't had any calls out by the lake."

"Two drowning victims were pulled out, yesterday," Amelia told her. "But, no heart attack."

"I know about the drownings," Paige said, getting a raised eyebrow from Amelia in response. "Dad called, told me that the demon was active again. I told him to let me handle it, but he said that he wasn't going to let me anywhere near the thing that killed my mother. He told me he was going to stay away," she went on. "He promised me that he would stay safe."

"Parents lie," Amelia said, quietly. "Especially your dad, especially when it comes to this stuff."

"Yeah, I know," Paige sighed. "But that doesn't change the fact that he lied to me, and now's he's gone, and I can't even find his body."

"Well," Amelia suggested, "your dad was an angel, right? Or, a retired angel, anyway. Maybe his body kind of disappeared." At Paige's incredulous look, she shrugged. "Hey, I'm just throwing ideas out there. You're the expert, you tell me what happened."

"My dad's been mortal for over twenty years," Paige argued. "Whitelighter rules don't apply. Amelia, I held him in my arms when he died."

"Could something have happened?" Amelia asked. "Something magical?"

"Yeah," Paige muttered, "something just yanked my dad's body out of the morgue and made people forget he ever died. Do you know the kind of power-" She froze, eyes widening in comprehension. "The kind of power it would take to do something like that." she finished, flatly. "Damn it."

"I take it you know what's going on?" Amelia asked, and Paige nodded.

"I have a few people to go yell at," Paige told her. "I gotta go; I'll talk to you when I can."

"Be careful," Amelia said, hugging her. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Paige replied.

She left the hospital, and from the alley, orbed straight up. She needed height, needed air. Most importantly, she needed a place where no one could see her. On top of the Golden Gate Bridge, Paige tipped her head back and stared up at the clouds.

"I know you can hear me," she called out, "and I know you know who I am. I want to talk to an Elder." No answer. "Look," she went on, starting to get annoyed, "you did something to my dad. I want to know what the hell is going on. Now, get your cosmic asses down here!"

Golden orbs filled the air in front of her, forming in a blonde-haired woman in white robes. "You rang?"

"What did you do to my father?" Paige asked.

"Well, you're certainly a blunt one, aren't you?" the woman asked, a cheerful smile on her face. "I'm Sandra."

"I'm out of patience," Paige snapped. "Where's my dad?"

The smile froze on Sandra's face. "Resting," she answered, shortly. "The transition from mortal to Whitelighter can be tiring."

"You turned him into a Whitelighter, again?" Paige demanded. "My dad clipped his wings."

"We restored them," Sandra told her.

"You turned my dad into a Whitelighter, again," Paige said, flatly. "And then you neglected the part where you tell his family he's not really dead."

"There are rules in place," Sandra protested, but Paige snorted out a cynical laugh.

"Rules, right," she said. "The rules that had me and my father on the run my whole life, kept me from ever knowing my mother, or my sisters. You want to know what I think you can do with your rules?"

"You really are a Halliwell, aren't you?" Sandra asked, wryly.

"Were you just going to continue to let me think that my father was dead?" Paige asked. "Let me grieve, let me tell my daughter that she could never see her grandfather, again? All the while, he's alive and well."

"In time, we would have allowed you contact," Sandra told her. "Paige, your anger is understandable."

"Understandable?" Paige echoed. "Well, I feel so much better, now that you understand my anger. How about you understand this? It's my fault that he's dead."

"You couldn't have prevented Sam's mortal death," Sandra protested, but Paige shook her head.

"I should have been there," she said. "I should have fought that demon. Do you have any idea what it's like, knowing that someone you love is dead because of you?" Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn't bother wiping them away. She was tired of fighting her grief.

"I'll talk to the Council," Sandra said, after a moment. "Two days, Paige. I will talk to the Council about you and Sam, and I'll contact you in two days. My word."

"Thank you," Paige managed, and Sandra brushed a hand across her shoulder before she orbed away.

Paige stared up at the empty sky for a long moment before orbing back down. Life didn't stop because the Elders decide to flip her life around, and she still had a lot to do.