A/N: this is the sequel to Blessed Be: The In Between.
Prue returned to the in between in a swirl of white lights. As she began to take shape she felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach that always accompanied magical transportation. Prue looked around and saw Melinda outside the kitchen window. She was outside on the patio with Jamison, the boy she had been dating.
Prue found herself staring at her daughter. She would always regret that she had left her sisters and wouldn't be there with them to experience the changes in their lives, but this had truly been the one gift she had taken from her death; an opportunity to have a life for herself. As she watched Mel and Jamie laughing, she felt her husband's arms pull her into him; he rested his chin on her head.
"How are they," he asked, not needing to be told who had summoned her.
"They're good. I mean, I only spoke to Phoebe but they're good. I miss them."
Cole kissed her cheek and ran a hand over her hair. "I know you do. One day we'll go back, though. We'll get another chance with them."
Prue turned in his arms to face him and stood on her toes to kiss him. "I know, but right now I have you and Melinda with me. I can't spend too much time worrying about them or else I'll miss what's right here in front of me."
The door to the kitchen opened, and Jamie and Mel walked through. "Are you going to be staying for dinner, Jamie?" Prue looked at the handsome young man and felt sorry for him; he had joined them in the in between when the cleaners had erased a case of exposure. He had lost his entire family.
"Sure, Mrs. Halliwell," Jamie said.
"We're gonna go watch a movie before then," Melinda said as she dragged her boyfriend from the room.
"In the living room," Cole bellowed after them. "No making out, either!"
Later that night, after Melinda and Cole had retired, Prue stayed up looking through photo albums of her life here. Her fingers traced the paper as she remembered past events and smiled. Photos of dance and piano recitals, gymnastic meets and school dances littered the pages. There was one of Melinda in a princess costume Prue had made for Melinda's first grade safe Halloween party.
And then there were the pictures of her and Cole; some holding Melinda as an infant or toddler, anniversaries, and candid shots taken over the time they had shared. Sooner or later that time would come to an end and they would move onto the afterlife. What would follow would be a complete surprise, and Prue realized that as much as she wanted to let go of the baggage from her past, she wasn't looking forward to losing Cole or Melinda.
Prudence Halliwell was afraid. She was afraid to lose the man she had come to trust above all else and the child she had raised as her own. What could the next life offer her that this life couldn't? Why should this ever have to end?
Time slipped by at an alarming rate in the in between. Years had passed since Prue had visited with Phoebe, though in the other reality it had really only been about two years.
Melinda was now 25 years old, and Prue was staring at her in wonderment over how stunning Mel looked. Today was the day. Cole was waiting in the entrance of the church, nervous and unprepared to give his daughter away…which was evident when he offered to help her run if she decided not to go through with it at the last moment.
Jamison was waiting just as eagerly as he talked to friends that he had made over the years and Melinda was the only level headed one at the moment; Prue was crying as she helped her daughter prepare for the long walk down the aisle.
The music started and Prue turned to her daughter, "Are you ready?"
Melinda turned away from the mirror and marched to the door of the crying room where they were getting ready. Flashing the same grin that Prue had made famous during her lifetime, Mel replied, "It's now or never."
Prue retired to her room with Cole. It seemed like just yesterday that her daughter had walked down the aisle and left to create her family with Jamison. In truth, that had happened years ago and now Prue and Cole were aging even faster than ever before in the in between. It was as though they were speeding down a hill and time had sped up to incredible measures.
Their heads were full of gray hairs, and new wrinkles were appearing daily. This was it; soon they would have played out their so called destinies before moving on to the afterlife. It was what Prue had been afraid of; what was moving on but a new kind of loss she would be faced with?
Cole wrapped his arms around Prue. Somehow he knew what was on her mind, and didn't know how to comfort her. "Everything will be okay," he said trying to soothe her. They both knew that it could happen at any moment now.
"How can you say that? We're going to lose everything we have," Prue cried.
"We were lucky to have this time together, and if we're lucky there's something equally as precious waiting for us when we cross over."
"Like what?"
"A chance to be with our loved ones; to make up for everything we didn't get to do the first time around. You're just scared," he said into her ear.
"I don't want to be alone," she finally said.
Cole held her tighter. "You'll never be alone, Prue."
They laid there until the fell asleep, taking comfort in the other's presence. As they closed their eyes and drifted off, they didn't feel anything as their destiny finally completed and they were finally free of the in between.
2009…
Phoebe fell against the hospital bed; sweat pooled on her forehead and she was finally free of the painful contractions she had been experiencing. She could feel Coop's presence at her side and her daughter's cries could be heard from the other side of the room where the nurse was examining her.
When her daughter was placed in her arms, she looked down at her daughter and placed a kiss on her forehead. "My little sweet girl, happy birthday Prudence Hart Halliwell," she said, proud of the beautiful little girl she and her husband had made.