Face Plant!

[Serena Halliwell]

Serena had been late for school again, and her teacher had chewed her out for what seemed to be a lifetime. Of course, Serena had tuned her out about thirty seconds into the scream fest and was concentrating on her arm which was bruised and looked rather funny. Serena had run out of the house this morning after Chris had mentioned that she was late for school and had tripped down the steps. Her wrist was really hurting her and had swollen up pretty well. So after yelling at Serena for about ten minutes over not only being late for class, but failing her math quiz, her teacher finally took notice of her wrist and sent her to the nurses office.


There were at least five other children ahead of her, all of which were trying to get out of class by faking illnesses. At least Serena's was real...this time. She tried to fake illnesses to get out of going to class, but Piper usually dragged her by the ear to get her out of bed. Her mother could be so harsh sometimes. Unlike her siblings who could get out of hurting themselves with ease, Serena was born without any powers at all. Sometimes she envied her siblings who had magic, but then she remembered she would have to work twice as hard and that was something Serena didn't like at all. So she had to go to a mortal school, which was fine with her. Even though she loved her family, if she had to see them all the time she would go mad.


Finally the nurse came to look at her. She examined Serena's arm, touching the wrist and Serena began to cry a river of tears from the pain. Noticing that the wrist was definitely broken, she had an ambulance called and sent Serena to the hospital. The nurses took Serena to get her wrist x-rayed, showing that it had a clean break. Laying in the hospital bed while continuing to cry, Serena knew this might be a way to get out of showing her quiz to her mother. After all, there were witnesses that she broke her wrist. It couldn't be healed because it would make others suspicious, so Piper would have to be nice to her and maybe would forget all about Serena's failing grade.


The doctor soon came in and asked Serena what color cast she wanted. Since Serena loved pink, she replied with that color. The doctor was rather cute. He began to clean off Serena's arm as Serena blushed and tried to hold back the tears. However, when he touched her wrist to put the cast on, Serena started crying again. The casting was soon over and the doctor told Serena that he had someone call her parents to come pick her up and that she needed to rest for the day. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the shirt of her school uniform. Serena laid back down on the hospital bed as she continued to cry, the doctor writing a prescription for some painkillers.

[Leo Wyatt]

This cell phone thing never did make sense to Leo. It took him forever to figure out the television, then the house phone, then computers. Now cell phones? These things were not made for people from the 20's. Well, literally. Leo frowned and grumbled, attempting to figure out the text his son had sent him. Thankfully the boy had enough sense to type all the words correctly, without "text talk". It was hard enough to get to the text, let alone deciphering the message. It took over five minutes to reply with a four word sentence, but he managed. With a little triumphant smile, he shoved the monstrous phone back into his front jeans pocket.

His children had insisted on him getting one, and he could not see why. If they wanted him, all they had to do was call his name and he would be there. Then again, he could see their point of view. Orbing in public places could be dangerous, and potentially leading them to be discovered. So he had agreed, and gotten one of the simpler phones. The phone vibrated in his pocket a second after he had put it back into his pocket. "Geez...quick text...er?" He looked at the number, and immediately cringed. The hospital number. Hurriedly he flipped it open and answered. "Hello? Yes, this is he. What....what?! Is she all right? Okay...yes, I'll be right there. Tell her Daddy's coming." Daddy may embarrass her, but at this point he did not care. Leo shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed his jacket from the closet. He wrote a quick note and stuck it on the fridge, then orbed into the mens' bathroom. Perhaps a tad bit unwise, but he had sensed for people, and there were none in there.

He ran to the secretary desk and asked for his daughter's room number. Attempting to calm down, he thanked the woman and walked at a fast pace to the room. Normally he would have ran, but there were doctors pushing patients on stretchers, and he didn't want to harm them. Nearing the room, he could sense Serena's pain, and hear her tears. Leo took a deep breath, and stepped forward. All the time he had taken to calm down and relax was useless at the sight of his precious child crying in pain. He wanted to heal her, but knew he could not. He felt useless, and pathetic. Slowly he approached her, his lower lip quivering.

"I'm here now, darling," he cooed, sitting beside her and very gently kissing the top of her head. "What happened, can you tell me? Did someone hurt you?" In a very quiet, whispered voice he asked, "Did a demon attack?"

[Serena Halliwell]

Serena continued to cry her baby cry until she heard a familiar voice enter the room. Feeling the warm embrace, Serena looked up and sniffled. "I...I was...r-running late f-for s-school...and...and I f-fell down the s-stairs...o-outside..." Serena said tearfully as she continued to cry. Breaking bones happened to be painful, and Serena knew all about falling and hurting herself. She got hurt more than her mother did fighting demons, and all Serena had to do was walk. Serena cried over the smallest things too when she got hurt. Like if she scrapped her knee, Serena would start crying. The only reason Serena hadn't cried when she broke her wrist to begin with was because she didn't feel any pain until she reached school due to the arm being numb.


Serena heard her phone go off and grabbed it with her other hand. It was Molly. Molly happened to be her best friend and a mortal, yet she had no idea of Serena's family's secret. Serena's eyes brightened as soon as she saw the text message. Molly had saved the doughnuts she was going to bribe Serena with in order to get her to class and would bring them after school to her house. Serena had a massive sweet tooth, which was evident if you saw what was in her backpack. She and Chris finished off all the cinnamon rolls their mom made, Chris said it was revenge for everyone else finishing off the leftovers, but truth be told Serena would have eaten the sugar filled treats anyway.


Serena moved her wrist again and then started to cry once more. "OWWIE! IT HURTS!" Serena cried as a river of tears streamed down her cheeks. It was a good thing the doctor had prescribed her pain killers because she needed them. One of the doctors came in an introduced himself. He then walked over to the light up board for x-rays and showed them the x-ray of Serena's wrist as well as handing the prescription to them. He then went on further and explained that Serena needed a day or so of rest, but if the pain was too much then to take off additional time. Serena picked up her bunny pack pack and tried to dry the tears from her face. Bunny happened to be one of her nicknames, at least one of the nicknames that wasn't insulting.

[Leo Wyatt]

Leo could identify with the broken bones pain. He'd fractured his ankle when he was a little boy, and back in those days there wasn't much in the world of medical technology. His father had given him a shot of whiskey to dull the pain until the doctor could splint it. Remembering this, the corner of his lip twitched up into a small smile. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Don't think about it. I know it hurts, but think of something else." He knew his daughter cried more often than other girls would, over little things. He had told himself over and over that she was only exaggerating on many things, but seeing those tears broke him down every time. Serena knew how to play her father if needed. Bring up some tears, and he was butter.

Carefully he sat beside her, making sure not to move the bed or her body in any way. The pain seemed to have slipped momentarily from her mind when her cell phone jingled. Only her friend Molly could make her smile that way, and he smiled as well. He did not know Molly too well, but she seemed like a good kid. Leo preoccupied himself by gazing mindlessly at the television. There was no sound, but there was a grill. All men knew a grill, of course. He wondered about the lighter fluid it would need, and when the number flashed across the screen, he mentally noted it to check later. Serena's sudden scream broke him from his thoughts, and he jumped up. "Oh, I know baby! Just hang on, the morphine will kick in soon, just relax, okay?" Having a medical background, Leo instantly recognized the fracture in the x-ray, and determined that although it wasn't a horrible break, it would need a cast and time to heal. He chatted with the doctor for a little bit, then hurried to Serena's side.

"Come on, sweetie. We've got to get a cast on, or it won't heal right. You'll have school off for awhile of course, and pain medication. Can you walk?" A rather silly question. She had not broken her legs, but he worried too much. He could lift her if needed easily, but a wheelchair would be more appropriate.

[Serena Halliwell]

Serena wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded as her father asked her the question. She stood up and the second she did, her crumpled up math quiz fell from her backpack. She got a 3 out of 30 on it, something Piper would definitely kill her for. Serena could see Piper's face now, and Serena did not like the look on her face. Her mother had the worst temper, it was almost as bad, if not worse than her Aunt Prue's. Last time Serena failed a quiz, Piper threw her out of the house for nearly 10 hours, and since Serena had no powers of her own, she couldn't get back in. Serena was different, she had no powers and could cast no spells. She was completely mortal, something that her great-grandmother was not thrilled about.


Serena's great-grandmother was rather sexist, she didn't like men at all and it seemed she barely tolerated her brother's and her male cousins. Serena didn't particularly care for the old hag and seemed to argue with her more than anything. They had absolutely nothing in common and didn't seem to like each others presence at all. At most they tolerated each other. Serena's grandmother was a different story. She was a sweet and kind woman who didn't seem to yell at Serena and tried to be calm when Serena did something stupid, like waste all of her money at the arcade. Serena was addicted to video games and spent most of her time playing the Sailor V game at Crown Game Center. She also enjoyed karaoke and spent a lot of time there as well.


Serena sniffled and took out one of the cinnamon rolls she packed in her backpack, not even noticing the quiz that had fallen out of her backpack. She needed the sweets to cheer her up. She had all sorts of candy and sugar hidden everywhere in her room. Part of it was her mother's fault, she kept cooking it all, and Serena kept eating it all. That's probably why her siblings kept telling her she was fat. Of course it wasn't the only nickname her family gave her.

[Leo Wyatt]

Leo gently helped her rise, and off of the medical bed. Those things certainly hadn't improved from his time. Still hard as a rock, and uncomfortable. He sighed, shaking his head gently. As he did, a flash of white caught his eye. Serena had stepped forward, but he stepped back to examine this paper. It was a test, it seemed. Leo picked it up quietly, then sighed again. Not a good score...Piper was going to have a fit. He would keep quiet on this though, for now. No reason to upset Serena more than she already was. So he folded the paper and put it into his back pocket. Hopefully Piper would be a little more lenient today, with her daughter having broken a wrist.

It was somewhat surprising that she had sweets hidden away in her backpack, but he only chuckled to it. Of course she would, why not? Piper was a great cook, and he would sneak sweets and treats often. As long as it made her happy, he wouldn't take it away. Leo followed her quietly, observing the hospital. It was so hard for him not to leap into every patient's room and heal them all. Although they were humans, with no special powers, he could still feel their pain. He had never liked being in a hospital as a whitelighter, and it seemed to happen often, sadly. He took a deep breath, and tried his best to ignore the pain.

The doctor was quick in his work, gently but with ease, placing the girl's wrist into a cast. "Hot pink, I should have known," he smiled, brushing his fingertips across his daughter's hair. "It won't hurt much, the pain medication will make you feel kind of loopy though." The doctor looked at him with wide eyes, already the question forming on his lips. Leo smiled at him, "I have a medical background," he answered. Leo say next to them, out of their way, and bit his lip. The pain was growing.

[Serena Halliwell]

Serena soon began to feel the affects of the pain medication and soon had stopped crying all together. Her cries had soon been replaced with giggles and loopiness. Serena giggled, dropped the cinnamon roll on the floor and started to play with the doctor's hair as she slumped over, the stickiness from the sweet treat starting to get everywhere. Serena was silly enough without the pain medication, but this just made her stranger. "You're cute..." Serena said in a somewhat loopy voice. If Piper had yelled at her with Serena on the pain medication, it would be an amusing thing indeed. Serena had always been childish, among other things, and she hated to say it, but she actually liked her father more. At least he didn't yell at her and throw her out of the house for ten hours, or even have Grams as back-up.


Serena was more like her father than her mother anyway. She hated others being hurt and even if she did have powers, Serena would never harm a demon, she would rather find a way to turn them good. In a way she was naive, but she was more of a pacifist than anything. The only thing she seemed to inherit from Piper was the family's stubbornness. Serena was a lazy underachiever with no big goals except marriage. She was different from her sister Melinda. Melinda was shy and read entirely too much, she tried too hard in school, and to Serena she seemed like a nerd. Melinda went to her school for some odd reason, Serena guessed that Piper needed to spy on her at school to make sure she was doing something productive with her life and sent Melinda to do it. Serena was very outgoing, made friends very easily, and had lots of them to boot. She just had this charm that made it easy for people to like her. Serena did get scared very easily though, especially when demons attacked. She usually started crying and then hid somewhere safe. Still Serena had a good heart and wouldn't abandon someone in need.


Serena smiled as she noticed the hospital equipment and started to play with it. "Ooooh! Fun!" she said as she played with some of the knobs on the machines nearby. She really shouldn't have been playing with them, but she was having her silly moment, something her family would probably laugh at her for later.

[Leo Wyatt]

Leo felt a blush coming to his cheeks, watching his daughter behave childishly. Of course the pain medication was doing it, but there was also the real childish side of Serena; the medications were only amplifying that. The doctor tried his best to work, but Leo could tell he was also trying to hold back laughter. Leo patted the man's shoulder gently, giving him an earnest chuckle. It was really funny. Maybe Piper would see this, and laugh away the test grade. Then again, Piper wasn't too keen on laughable things, especially this. Shrugging, he just watched Serena giggle and wiggle like a toddler.

When she began to play with the machines, Leo brushed her hands away, like he would a small child. "Nono, Serena," he scolded, shaking his head, "don't play with those. Those are important things for doctors. They keep people healthy." He spoke slow, clear, hoping that through her loopiness she would still understand him. The doctor worked quicker, obviously not wanting the girl to play with things in the room. When it was finished, Leo thanked him politely and was given certain papers to bring home and sign. Insurance things, something Piper usually dealt with. "Come on, honey. Time to go home. Want to stop and get an ice cream?" he asked, picking up her book bag so she would not have to carry it.

[Serena Halliwell]

Serena giggled and looked at the doctor as he handed the papers to her father. She stood up and then fell over, obviously dizzy from the affects of the drugs. As she laid on the floor, giggling like a child, she heard ice cream and tried to get up quickly, but was having issues in that department. Serena eventually got herself up and started to walk towards the door, running right into it. It wasn't the first time, certainly wouldn't be the last. Serena was a klutz and definitely accident prone, it was that simple. Her family often wondered how she got herself hurt sometimes, and usually it was in the strangest ways. Once she broke her nose because she ran right into the grandfather clock, the one they had to repair almost every other day because of demon attacks.


"When did that door get there?" Serena asked in a giggly voice. That was really going to hurt when the medication wore off. Someone was going to have to keep an eye on her because she was going to end up wandering in the middle of the street with this pain medication. "Why does mommy hate me?" she asked her father. Still loopy from the pain medication. "She's such a doody head." Serena added as she continued to giggle, eventually brushing a lock of hair against her nose.