Whatever It Takes
This is sorta A/U-ish… Grams and Patty are dead leaving Prue in charge of Piper and Phoebe… Phoebe is an Elite level gymnast in training for the Olympics(which would happen the year after this takes place…) another note… this takes place before that crappy age rule got changed so the age limit is still at 15 in the Olympic year… this is taking place around December so Olympic trials are still about 6/7 months away. Another note, anyone who you don't recognize is mine… the characterizations of teen Prue, Piper and Phoebe are my own creations, but the original concept of the three sisters aren't owned by me.
Prue – 19
Piper – 17
Phoebe – 14
Two voices echoed through the manor, and into the neighborhood in a shouting match between two girls. It had become quite the norm lately much to the dismay of the residents of the San Francisco street that was aligned by large Victorian masterpieces. The only other person suffering from the constant bickering was the middle sister in this family of three. Piper Halliwell knew that the only way to get her sisters to stop fighting with each other was for them to be in separate places, but had no idea how to accomplish that without somehow getting dragged into the middle of the mess herself. For once, however, she was not at home when the fight broke out and wouldn't have to worry about it until later when one of her sisters complained about the other. It was 3pm and Phoebe had gymnastics training to get to. She was on a tight schedule, which made Prue's tighter schedule seem even harder to keep in tact. Prue was in her first year of college at SFSU, and held down a part time job at a local bookstore. Piper was a senior in high school, and Phoebe, in the midst of training as an Elite Gymnast was a freshman taking classes for only three hours a day and being taught at home by Prue and Piper, that is… when they had time.
"Phoebe! Get down here now, c'mon! You're going to be late! I'm not paying for you to be late! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Prue shouted up the stairs. Although she was still a teenager herself, it felt like ever since Grams died, she'd grown up by 10 years at least. It didn't occur to her when she shouted it that her sister would have an easy comeback, "Stop being a stupid teenager and let's go!"
"You're a stupid teenager too Prudence!" Phoebe shouted down from her room. She had to find her new grips or she would be forced to buy a new pair and Prue certainly wouldn't hear of that; but no grips meant bad rips. As soon as she found them Phoebe stuffed them into the gym bag, flung open and slammed her door then raced down the stairs where she knew she'd find Prue fuming. "What? You're the one who wanted to go, go, go!"
Prue shot her left arm straight out, pointing at the front door. Her head was down so Phoebe couldn't see the anger in her eyes, but she knew that when Piper got the car from Prue after Prue dropped Phoebe off at gym, she was going to get an earful. A hop, skip and seatbelt later, they were on their way to the small gym that Phoebe had been training at since she was 7. Before Prue had the car fully stopped, Phoebe popped the door open and took off her seatbelt. The goal was to get out of the car as quickly and painlessly as possible; without a lecture if she had any luck. As luck would have it, Prue jammed on the brakes and Phoebe was flung onto the curb. That had been her punishment for being late and opening the door while they were still in motion. Looking down at her little sister, who she knew hadn't been hurt she simply said, "Don't do that. And be outside at 8 when Piper gets here."
"Yah whatever Prue." She mumbled sarcastically in only the way a 14 year old could. Walking into the gym felt like going home to Phoebe. She'd been through a lot of rough times in her life, especially in the recent months and gymnastics had always been there as the glue holding her life together. It was something she understood and could control, unlike the rest of her young life that seemed to be spiraling out of control. She quickly went to her locker and changed into one of her favorite leo's. It was white with little shimmering stars all over it that were made up primarily of red and blue sparkles. She always felt patriotic when she wore it.
While Phoebe began warming up and conditioning her body, Prue drove to the high school where she had to pick Piper up. It was an almost complex system. At 2pm Prue took off from her last class and picked Phoebe up, took her home and then to the gym. She then raced back to the school where Piper would be waiting to be picked up. The girls would switch places and Piper would drive Prue to work while she went home to do homework and study. On occasion she'd watch Phoebe at gymnastics or go out on a date, but typically there was not time for such things. At 8pm sharp Piper would pick Phoebe up from gym and then drive to the bookstore where Prue would be finishing up work at 8:30pm and the three would go home together. At times Prue wondered how Grams ever kept up with their schedule, not to mention paid for it.
"Hey Prue," Piper said calmly as she got into the driver's side of the car. She had been a little bit late so Prue had already switched sides. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the fiery anger burning in Prue's eyes, she knew something must have happened with Phoebe. "Aw Prue, what happened this time?"
"She's so completely irresponsible Piper! It's like she has no idea that anyone exists in the world besides herself! She's just such a… such a…" Prue growled unable to finish the sentence.
"Such a… 14 year old? Prue, you know we were just like her when we were young. Give her a break, and maybe she'll get better." Piper knew that wasn't a really realistic possibility, but she thought she'd throw it in the ring just incase Prue was in a hopeful mood. She knew it was doubtful, but they were nearly to the bookstore so Prue was too busy getting things ready to come up with a witty comeback. Piper slowly pulled away from the curb. She had a lot of homework she needed to get done, but she knew that it would wait. She wanted to see Mark and that was much more important then stupid Political Science homework. As soon as it was time to go pick up Phoebe, she knew they'd have to split, and she'd be racing to the gym, but all that really mattered was seeing him.
"All right Phoebe lets keep those toes pointed! Point! Point! Point!" her coach called out to her. She was performing on the uneven bars, her worst event. She'd worked her compulsory routines in the morning session and was now working her optional routine. For some reason she always seemed to get sloppy when it came to pointing her toes on her giant swings. Phoebe dismounted the bars with a scowl on her face. She didn't feel like doing bars anymore, but knew she had to if she had any chance of making it anywhere near an Olympic Team. After chalking up, she remounted and did a full routine. As soon as it was 8 o'clock Phoebe raced outside, she didn't want to be late for Piper picking her up, and she knew that Piper was almost always a few minutes early.
As soon as the three sisters' got settled in the car for the ride home, Phoebe who had moved to the back of the Jeep was asleep. Prue glanced back and mumbled to Piper, "She'd better get up and do her homework when we're home. She's been slacking lately."
Piper the ever concerned middle sister knew that Phoebe had worked hard during the day, and needed her rest. She wasn't about to argue with Prue and knew that Phoebe had been slacking off lately. While it was important that she follow her dream, she had to know that an education came first. Piper knew it was hard to explain that to a 14 year old, especially one who had spent most of her day pounding through routines in the gym, but she hoped it would at least sound better coming from her. "Let me tell her Prue, okay? You've had a hard day too and you don't need that kind of stress right now."
Prue agreed so as soon as they got home Phoebe was woken up and dragged half asleep into the manor. It was very dark out, and there was a storm coming. Prue hoped that this would mean rain. California never seemed to get enough rain, so while everyone from the mountain states to the East Coast was complaining about snow, they would be left to worry if there would be a drought come summer. As soon as Piper had assured her that Phoebe was doing her studies, Prue felt like she could finally relax and do something fun for a change. Putting her feet up on the coffee table and grabbing the remote from next to them was a stretch. It always amazed her that her baby sister could be so flexible when she felt like she was pulling a muscle just reaching her toes. There had to be a reason for it, and she wondered if she'd ever find out as she flipped on the TV. 'Cheers' was just beginning and she was glad she hadn't missed it. It had been one of her favorite shows for awhile, and while she didn't get to watch it all the time, it still made for some great TV.
After a few minutes Piper saw her older sister Prue snoring on the couch. She always wondered if Prue and Phoebe's tendencies to snore while sitting up on the couch meant that she did it too. Looking back into the kitchen she saw Phoebe with her face flat down on her math book, the pencil gingerly balancing between her fingers. She saw the small girl snoring lightly and her eyes were shut. The girl wasn't dreaming yet, but Piper couldn't help wonder what she would dream about. While Prue would no doubt be upset with Phoebe for not finishing her homework, Piper couldn't help her heart melting as she looked at the poor exhausted creature. Piper was so amazed at her sisters' ability to stay energized throughout the day, that when Phoebe fell asleep she was very hesitant to wake her. She knew that it was well deserved rest. Shaking Phoebes shoulder lightly, she watched as Phoebe made her way up the stairs, halfway in a dream. Piper sighed and closed up her text book and put it in her backpack for the next morning. Prue was a little bit more difficult to get into bed, so Piper sat down next to her and watched some TV while she thought about what to do. As she started to doze off, her mind wandered to the abstract. She began having train-of-thought dozes and suddenly was sitting upright, panic covering her face. She hadn't done her homework yet!
"Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! Why did I wait this long?" Piper mumbled to herself as she pulled out the book they were reading for class. It was about the countries political system and Piper knew that if she didn't force herself to stay awake she'd be in big trouble. An hour later Piper had finished the assigned reading and begun to do the short essay questions in the back of the book. It was 2am before she was finished and by then Prue had woken up again; the buzzing of the television didn't make for comfortable sleeping conditions. The two older sisters trudged up the stairs slowly, arm in arm. It would be another long day and they wouldn't get much sleep.
Unbeknownst to her older sisters, Phoebe lay awake in her bed. She knew she needed her sleep but couldn't turn her brain off. It felt like everything was happening all at once and Phoebe was panicking. She wondered if she really was good enough to make the Olympic Team for the United States and didn't know what she'd do if she didn't find herself in Barcelona a few months from the present. More then herself, Phoebe knew she was representing her family's time and effort, not to mention their money. It was a lot of pressure for such a young girl, but Phoebe knew it had to be worth it in the end. Closing her eyes tightly, Phoebe wondered how she'd feel in the morning, probably tired. There were no excuses in gymnastics and she knew she had to sleep. Trying to turn her inner monologue off made it that much louder and more present. Phoebe finally gave up and walked downstairs to the cold empty kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and stared inside. Phoebe knew she wasn't allowed to snack, she couldn't afford to gain weight, so after a short period of thought she closed the door and walked back upstairs to her room. A half hour later Phoebe was asleep dreaming through her gymnastics routines, something that would eventually catch up with her.
