Charmed
Another Side, Another Story
V
Man Alive
(Part 1)
Piper comes into the kitchen with Phoebe on her heels attached to her shoulders.
Prue stands at the island drinking her coffee and reading the morning paper. She's already dressed and ready for work.
The sun has barely risen. Seeing Piper and Phoebe up this early is unusual.
Piper looks frazzled and tired. Her hair is all over her head. She glares at Prue as Phoebe pulls out a chair and puts her in it.
Phoebe looks like she just came from a sauna. She goes to the freezer and grabs an ice pack that she places on her forehead before she rejoins Piper.
Prue takes notice of Piper's cutting eyes before Piper glares at Phoebe.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Prue asks.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Phoebe asks, sitting in the chair in front of Piper.
Prue carries her coffee over to the table and places it on the table before she stands behind Phoebe holding onto Phoebe's chair.
"Between Phoebe's erotic nightmares," Piper tells Prue, "and Prue's wall-rocking rendezvous," she tells Phoebe, "I'm never going to get sleep in this house again."
"What?" Phoebe questions, getting a giant grin on her face as she turns around in her chair to read Prue's face.
Prue immediately looks away and takes a drink of her coffee in case she doesn't manage to hold her composure. Then, her mind goes to work. She turns back to Piper and looks to Phoebe.
"What do you mean by erotic nightmares?" Prue asks.
"Don't try to change the subject," Phoebe says. "You're getting actual action. I want details."
"That can wait," Prue says. "Are you okay? What's with the ice pack?"
"Tell her," Piper says. "Maybe she can help you put an end to them, so I can at least get a couple hours of sleep."
"I'm fine I'm just hot," Phoebe says, moving the ice pack from her forehead, to her neck, and finally to her chest.
"We're in the middle of a heat wave," Prue says. "Of course it's hot."
"Oh no that's not exactly what she means," Piper says, placing her arm on the table before she rest her forehead on it.
"I mean like hot, aroused," Phoebe says, fanning herself with her free hand. "I've been having this sex dream. Well, I've been having sex dreams plural. I've had sex dreams before, good ones, but these are freaky. I mean, they're...romantic. I mean, satin sheets, candles, soft music playing in the background."
"I think she gets the picture," Piper says into the table.
"It's a different guy every time," Phoebe says. "He tells me I'm the perfect woman. I'm the woman of his dreams. He loves me. Then, he rocks my world, knocks it out of the park. These guys bring their A-game. This one guy lifted my leg-" Prue raises her hand to stop her from continuing. "It feels real."
"These don't sound like nightmares," Prue says, "except for the people related to you who have to hear what gets you going."
"Wait for it," Piper says into the table again.
"It all feels real," Phoebe says, "even the part where I kill them."
"You kill them?" Prue questions.
"That's how the dreams end," Phoebe says. "Something's not right. I don't know if it's me or this heat wave."
"There's something with you," Piper says, lifting her head, "but it has nothing to do with your dreams. A dream is a metaphor. In this case, it's a metaphor for all the sex you want to have with Graham. It's killing you, and you're taking it out on all the guys that aren't Graham."
"Before these nightmares started," Phoebe says, "I had a dream that included me, Graham, and Skye." She briefly smiled to herself. "That was a nice dream." She pulls herself back. "Forget about that though. I want to hear about the wall rocking."
"I want to see the back of my eyelids," Piper says, letting her forehead fall back on her arm.
"I'm not giving you details about any wall rocking," Prue says, "but I wouldn't mind talking to you two about something else."
This immediately draws Piper's attention. She lifts her head to hear what Prue has to say. Phoebe doesn't try to push for details but instead waits to hear Prue out.
"I'm not used to having sex in the house," Prue says, trying to concentrate on her coffee, "but now that Andy doesn't have a place... Andy's always been good, but now? He's like a whole new man. I can't even..."
"Stay quiet," Piper says. "I know." Phoebe laughs. Prue shakes her head without looking at either of them.
"Don't be embarrassed," Phoebe says. "That's how you know it isn't just good but great."
"She's not embarrassed Phoebe," Piper says. "She's worried. Andy is a new man because he died and came back."
"I'm not complaining," Prue says. She raises her head. "Part of me wonders if he thinks this is all he can do for me now."
"We know that's not true," Phoebe says.
"We know but how could he," Prue says. "Part of me wonders if I can't know him anymore. Has he processed the fact that he can't go back to his old life? Will he eventually come down from this high?"
"Even if you didn't love the crap out of him," Piper says, "you couldn't know him completely. Men are hard to understand. I should know. I've fallen for a ghost man...a demon man...an angel man..."
"When you're tired," Phoebe says, "you get kind of loopy. Men aren't hard to understand. You just have to know how to read them, and you know how to read Andy, even if there's a new side to him."
On one hand, Prue felt like Piper was saying something their mom would say. Piper had a knack for reminding Prue of their mom. On the other hand, Prue felt like Phoebe was saying something Grams would say. Phoebe had a knack for reminding Prue of their Grams. This brought a brief smile to her face.
"My point is men are unpredictable," Piper says. "You can't get in their heads. You can't get in Andy's head."
"But what if we could?" Phoebe says and laughs. "Probably be nothing but trouble."
"I'm going to bed while I have the chance," Piper says. She gets up from the table and heads back for her room.
"I'm right behind you," Phoebe says, hanging off Piper's shoulders with one hand and holding the ice pack to her forehead with the other.
Prue watches them leave the kitchen before she sits with her cup of coffee in the chair Phoebe had occupied.
A moment later, Andy orb fades into the room with his own cup of coffee. "Can I join?" he asks and grins. He's dressed in a t-shirt and pajama pants. His hair has grown longer. His grin remains the same. He's handsome. In his eyes, Prue sees the Andy she fell in love with every time.
"Always," Prue says with a short smile.
Andy sits down with his cup of coffee in the chair Piper had occupied.
Andy can sense that something is bothering Prue. He can tell by the way she handles her coffee cup and glances at her coffee before her eyes meet his. He doesn't say anything about it. Prue didn't like to be pushed. In the past, he would push her. He didn't know if he could or should push her anymore. She had felt responsible for his death, probably still did, and all he wanted was for her to be so happy that she could forget. She would never forget.
But he's not the same Andy, Prue thinks to herself. Who is he now?
Opening Credits Roll
Prue – Shannen Doherty
Piper – Holly Marie Combs
Phoebe – And Alyssa Milano
Darryl – Dorian Gregory
Graham – Will Dorsey
Whitney – Nadia Vixamar
Theme Song: How Soon Is Now by Love Spit Love