A/N: Thanks for the reviews for chapter three. I'm glad you all agreed that what I proposed was entirely believable. ;)
This update is just tying up loose ends, before the fun can really begin. :-)
Oh, and Happy Easter to you all!
Prue woke up in a bedroom she didn't recognize. She was lying on her stomach, her face in the path of sun rays entering through an open window. She groaned as the brightness stung her eyes, and raised her head slightly, turning to rest on the other side of her face.
But it was too late. She was awake now, and wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. Prue had always felt a slight hint of envy towards those people who could sleep the entire morning away, even after being interrupted. All her life, she had been the type of person to wake up reasonably early in the morning; in reality, anything after 8am was considered a lie in, in her books.
Prue turned to lie on her back, yawning as her eyes adjusted to the light room. The slight breeze that came through the window brought a friendly fresh scent with it. There was an almost salty taste to it – suggesting an area close to the sea.
Prue thought back to the previous day. After having spoken to her mother, she remembered Patty 'orbing' Prue to the house she was currently in. In her exhausted state, Prue hadn't taken in all the details, just the ones that seemed the most necessary to know.
The house was back 'on Earth ground', and was used by the Elders for the recently deceased, when say, a person might be having trouble adjusting to 'Up There'. One of the most remote places in existence, her mother had said, no one would find you here. The perfect place to hide magical beings, Prue supposed.
The last thing Prue could remember was crashing onto the bed, desperate for sleep. She recalled her mother tucking her in, and stroking her hair as unconsciousness took hold.
Prue rubbed at her eyes, and blinked at her surroundings. There were no sentimental or personal belongings anywhere; truly stating the fact that this house was indeed, not a home.
Deciding it was about time to get up, Prue threw the covers off herself, and got out of bed. She took a moment to stretch her rested muscles. The aroma of fresh coffee beckoned her out of the bedroom. Her bare feet padded against the wooden floor of the hallway as she made her way to what she guessed would be the kitchen.
Andy was sitting at a table centrally placed in the room. He was holding a spoon, and was playing with the milk-sodden cereal in a bowl in front of him. Prue could tell he was lost in thought, and therefore most likely didn't hear her coming.
This is going to be awkward, she thought to herself. Prue hadn't seen either Andy or Grams after her secret was revealed. She stopped in the doorway, wondering what she could say.
Andy looked up, hearing her let out a small sigh. Their eyes met, creating only more tension than what was already between them. Andy was desperate to apologize to Prue, but at that instant he couldn't find his voice to say the words he'd been practicing in his head.
She was still as beautiful as ever, and it made him giddy with nerves to be in Prue's presence again. In all his life, he had never met anyone as beautiful and intelligently minded as she was. Just the pure sight of her took his breath away.
Prue broke eye contact with Andy, running a hand through her long hair. "Where's my mom?" She asked, hoping to break the uneasiness in the room.
With a finger pointed upwards, Andy replied, "'Up There'. She said she would be back soon though, with Grams." Their eyes met again, but this time Andy was the one to look away, turning back to his cereal.
Prue walked to the coffee machine and poured herself a mug full. She had a feeling caffeine would become a welcoming aspect to the day ahead of her.
Andy stood up from the table, his chair squealing against the floor noisily. "Prue, I owe you an apology." Turning towards her, he felt uncomfortable in how to stand, so placed a hand on the chair he had just been occupying.
Prue's beauty struck him again, as she stood there, leaning against the kitchen counter, mug between both hands, slowly being emptied of its contents. Her eyes appraised him carefully, and whilst someone else might feel the need to cower under such a gaze, he knew better than that. Prue was simply trying to gauge the intent of the person before her, if only to ready her defenses, in the possible need of them.
"I'm sorry for how I reacted yesterday," Andy started. "I had no right to act so selfishly. To be honest, I'm not so sure why I did. You needed me there, to support you, and I failed to do just that." He scratched his head, trying to remember the words he had planned to say earlier. "I guess, to the heart of it, it hurt me that you had to go through all of that on your own, that I couldn't help you with what you were having to deal with. I would have wanted to be there for you."
"Andy, you were there for me! If I hadn't have had you through those tough years, I doubt I would have been able to cope with it all. Just being able to lie in your arms, and to have you kiss away my worries, kept me sane. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to do it – to care for all of my sisters." Prue said it with such truth, that Andy could only accept it, although with a degree of difficulty.
Andy rolled his eyes upward for a moment, letting out a long, deep exhale.
"If I felt I could have told you, I would have. Unfortunately love and trust weren't the only things to think about." Andy looked back at Prue as she placed her mug on the counter. "Considering I wasn't even supposed to have known about Paige, I couldn't bear to think about what might have happened if I told someone else – if I told you."
Andy nodded, having already come to terms with the inevitability of the situation.
"Can you accept that there had been no other way to do it? That I had to keep you in the dark?"
"Of course," Andy replied. "Yesterday... I was just so desperate to be near you again, to hold you again, that I lost all reason and rationality." He shook his head. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but-"
"It doesn't sound ridiculous. You were blinded by love," Prue said, with a shrug of her shoulder.
"Even still though, I shouldn't have reacted like that. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. The one person I care about most, and I turn my back on her – it doesn't exactly say much about love." Andy's brow creased, and he closed his eyes, in guilt over his mistake. "I really am sorry, Prue."
Prue watched as Andy fought his inner demons. He had clearly been beating himself up over what he'd done. Whilst it was true that she could have done without his reaction the day before, it had inadvertently proved his love for her was still as strong as ever. At least she could be sure of that one thing right now, and what better gift was love?
She closed the gap between them, threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a strong hug. Prue felt his unexpectedness towards her actions, but nevertheless he wrapped his arms equally around her.
Andy let out another deep breath as a weight felt like it had been lifted off of his shoulders. He couldn't begin to describe how incredible it felt to have Prue in his arms again.
"You are a silly man," Prue whispered into his ear. Within all the relationships she had ever had, not one man had ever matched Andy. The way he looked at her, held her, and kissed her had always managed to make her feel like the most important person to have ever existed.
"Do you forgive me?" He breathed softly against her own ear. He then gently pulled her away, to see her reply face-to-face.
Prue's ice blue eyes matched Andy's placid blue ones. Locked in a loving moment, Prue simply responded, "yes." Andy then brushed a stray hair off her face, and brushed his lips against hers ever so softly. How long they had both been waiting to kiss one another again.
Andy made to pull away, but Prue urged him back, embracing him in for a more passionate kiss. It had been too long since Prue had felt the feeling of being completely and utterly loved, so she had it in mind to savor the moment as long as possible. That, and Andy was one hell of a good kisser.
Her skin tingled with fire as his hand at her lower back slipped under her shirt. His fingers stroked tenderly, sending warm shivers across the length her spine. How she missed this.
Neither Andy or Prue noticed the golden orbs of both Patty and Grams entering the kitchen. Grams, loudly cleared her voice, to try and gain their attention.
"Maybe we should leave them to it," Patty whispered.
However, at Grams' interruption, they pulled apart from one another, and Andy shot a quick look at Grams. Upon seeing a raised eyebrow, he turned back to Prue, and gave her a small smile. "She never did like us doing that."
"With good reason too," Grams retorted.
"Hmm, that never stopped us," Prue said. She gave him one last kiss, for added effect. Prue pulled out of Andy's embrace, to be able to face her mother and grandmother.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Patty asked, happy that Andy and Prue had managed to resolve the minor issue of the previous day.
Prue shrugged her shoulder. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Lost."
"That's expected, and entirely understandable. It will take a little while to get to grips with everything."
"When will I be able to see my sisters?" Prue asked earnestly. Seeing a look pass between Patty and Grams, she then asked, "will I be able to see them?" It hadn't exactly crossed Prue's mind that she wouldn't be able to. She could understand if it might take a bit of time, but to never see them again? Ever?
"Sweetheart, we can't be sure of anything right now." Patty gave her daughter a sad smile. "The Elders have said, that right now, it seems a little unlikely. They think that emotions would get in the way."
"Get in the way of what?"
"Defeating Shax for starters," Patty said.
"And accepting Paige into the Power of Three. If you were to see Piper and Phoebe now, they wouldn't welcome Paige into their lives like they need to. They would hold onto the idea that they could somehow get you back." Grams said, a little too honestly.
Prue's brow furrowed as she thought about the very real situation of literally being replaced, as a sister and a Charmed One. In no way did she hold anything against Paige, but being ousted from her place in the family did cause heartbreak. Paige deserved to know her sisters, but Prue had always hoped that would include her, not to be a product of her own death.
"This is the only way for all of them to be safe," Andy said softly. "With the Power of Three at play, Piper, Phoebe and Paige can equally have their powers to protect themselves, and each other, from warlocks and demons." Andy knew the best way to get Prue to accept the inevitability of her sisters was to show her the silver lining. First and foremost, she would be concerned about their safety, so it seemed only logical to draw on that.
Prue sighed. "They need to move on with their lives," she said more to herself than anyone else. "The longer they think about me, the longer they remain vulnerable to attacks. I can't let that happen to them..."
"You have to let them go," her mother said soothingly.
Prue breathed in a shaky breath. "I'm going to miss them."
Andy placed his arm around Prue, squeezing her against him as he kissed the top of her head. He knew what it meant to have to let the living continue their lives without you; it was just something you had to accept. He had had to do the same thing when he died, with Prue. It had hurt to think that she would have to move on without him, and find love in someone else, but in the end he had only wanted for her to find happiness.
"Enough of all this sadness already!" Grams exclaimed. "Not everything is doom and gloom!" Penny received a weird look from Patty she couldn't decipher. "What?"
Patty slightly nodded in Prue's direction, implying the need for Grams to say her apology. "Do that thing we discussed," she said lowly.
Penny gave her daughter an exasperated look. She did not apologize to anyone. Penny Halliwell was always right about everything; that was just the way things worked.
"Mother!" Patty said shortly. She flicked her eyes from Grams, to Prue, back to Grams.
Grams grunted. Then she looked at her granddaughter. Andy still had his arm around Prue, comforting her as she dealt with being without her sisters. The pain in her eyes was evident, and convinced Penny that she needed to do the right thing. "OK, alright already," she said to Patty's insistence.
"Prudence," Grams started with one of her well known smiles. Prue looked up upon hearing her name. "Care to accept my apology?" She asked sweetly. Well, as sweet as a forbidding dead witch with quite a personality could manage. To those who knew her, and her temper, sweetness did not come naturally to Penelope Halliwell.
Patty cleared her throat, not in anyway subtle. However, she'd had to deal with her mother's arrogance many a time, and subtlety never came into it.
Grams let out a sound similar to a growl. "Fine. Prudence, I apologize deeply for my attitude yesterday." She sounded like a troublesome little girl who had been told what to say. "I acted out of order, and should have thought before I spoke."
Prue glanced at Patty. "You're making Grams apologize?"
"Well she should!" Patty exclaimed.
Prue let out a small laugh. "Grams is possibly the most stubborn person in the world, there's no way she would apologize. That would be saying she was wrong." At the last sentence, Prue cocked her head at Grams. "Grams is never wrong, now is she?"
Grams exhaled an irritated breath. "You know exactly where to push my buttons," she said, squinting her eyes at Prue. "But nevertheless, I was... incorrect in how I behaved yesterday, and I'm sorry for that."
"Wow, did I just receive an apology from the one and only Penny Halliwell?!" Prue said in mock disbelief. "Can I have that in writing?"
"I still stand by what I said though, you shouldn't have done it behind my back," Grams raised a hand to falsely check her nails. She was still right at the end of the day, in her opinion. Of course she was.
Patty rolled her eyes. Typical Grams.
"You do what you have to do," Prue said heavily.
Grams sighed. Prue was right, she had done what she felt she had to do. The fact that it went against Grams' own actions wasn't the point. If there was one thing she had taught her granddaughters, it was to follow their instincts, and Prue had followed hers quite clearly. She couldn't argue about that.
Sensing defeat, Penny let her resolve disappear for just a moment. She hadn't wanted to hurt her granddaughter, and she was shamed that she had. "I'm sorry, Prudence. Truly, I am."
Prue smiled at her grandmother. She knew that Grams hadn't intended to be malevolent, and as such, her apology was a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness. She could accept that.
"So where do I go from here?" Prue asked. She too, had had enough of the emotional roller coaster they had all been riding.
"Well that's what we've come to discuss, dear," Grams said excitedly. "The Elders have-". Patty cut her off by loudly clearing her throat. "Oh right, you want to say it," Grams said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes mother, I do," Patty gave her mother a hard stare, then turned back to Prue. A genuine smile crept onto her face. "The Elders have granted that you have another chance, to live down here again, with Andy."
Grams beamed at Prue. "You two can have the normal life you've always wished for."
Prue stared at the both of them, mouth slightly agape. "Did I hear you correctly?"
"Yes you did," Andy insisted. He now smiled at her. "We can finally be together Prue, and start a life like the one we dreamed about during high school. We've got a second chance at life."
Grams watched Prue. She stood there, disbelief and confusion clearly running through her head. Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she'd just been told.
"Aren't you happy?" Patty asked slowly.
"I – I think I need to sit down," Prue slid out a chair and sat in front of the table. She placed her elbows on the tabletop roughly, holding her head in her hands.
Andy sat down next to her. "What's going through your mind?"
"That this is all a bit overwhelming." Prue raked her hands through her hair.
"I know it is," he said quietly. Prue dropped a hand to the table and so Andy placed his hand over it, squeezing gently.
"'They' see the sacrifices you both have made for the greater good, particularly for the greater good of the magical world. Both your lives were lost because you sacrificed yourselves for magic," Patty said.
"And the Elders want to give you something back for that. They agree that you both deserve to be given the chance to live again," Grams added.
Prue looked at Andy, into his handsome eyes; the eyes she'd fallen in love with as a child, and the eyes she had found so much comfort in, over the years. Of course she wanted to have a chance of living again, with him at her side; who wouldn't want that?
The concept was so surreal. She had wanted this for the longest of times, more than anything she'd ever wished for. She knew that he too, wanted this as much as she did.
Andy smiled at her, seeing her brain working away. She pulled herself to sit straighter and placed her other hand over his.
"I definitely want this," Prue said with confidence. "I am grateful for this, but... I just need some time first. I can't hop from one life into the next; I need time to get over my death, before I embrace a new life."
Patty, Andy and Grams all gave her similar smiles.
"Perfect answer," Grams said with a wink. "Well, I certainly know where the intelligence lies in this family."
"Now I'm more confused," Prue confessed. Giving her mother a puzzled look.
"Showing that you can't jump straight into a new life, is even more of a testament to why you deserve this so much. That you want to spend time dealing with your own grief, to then be able to move on, is exactly what the Elders needed to see." Seeing Prue still locked in confusion, Patty continued. "You've done the right thing, sweetheart, that's all you need to understand."
Prue's eyes wandered back to Andy's. "Do you get any of this?" He smiled at her question. With a hand at her back, he leaned in, and kissed her on the forehead. She was truly incredible, in his eyes.
"So much for meadows of heaven," Prue muttered with an emerging smirk.