Piper got a call from the office during sixth period that Phoebe had gotten into a fight and that Prue was going to be late picking her up.
Piper waited at her and Prue's normal pickup spot thinking of how badly she wanted to kill her younger sister. "How could she do a thing like this?" Piper asked herself. She stood for about five minutes before she couldn't help herself from starting her homework. By the time Prue had pulled up in front of the school, Piper had finished and had begun reading her copy of Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell for the thousandth time.
"So I hear Phoebe has once again soiled the Halliwell name with only her bare hands." Piper says as she climbs in the front seat.
"Sorry it took me so long Phoebe wouldn't let me out of the house, so I had to wait until she fell asleep."
"What, was she afraid the cops were going to come and take her away?" Piper was normally more concerned about her little sister, but right now she was jealous that Phoebe had everybody's attention and she once again was the nobody.
"Yes actually…she is." Surprise spread across Piper's face.
"Geez. Did send that girl to the hospital or something?"
"No it's just that she's afraid you guys will be taken away if they think that I can't put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads."
Piper had been thinking the same thing ever since Grams' funeral but she wouldn't dare admit it.
"They wouldn't take us…would they?"
Prue could hear the fear evident in Piper's voice. "Like I told Phoebe I will NEVER abandon you guys and no one will dare take you from me."
"Ok. Now let's get home before Phoebs wakes up and finds out you left her alone."
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As the girls climbed the steps to the Halliwell manor, they were astonished by the blood-curdling scream that emanated from inside. Before they could think of scenarios of what was happening, they were inside and bounding up the stairs to find their sister.
"Phoebe!…Phoebe, are you alright?" Prue repeated until she reached her sister's bedroom door.
She didn't bother knocking and burst through the door. What she saw next she had seen many times growing up, when Phoebe would wake from a nightmare. The youngest Halliwell was curled up into a ball in the corner of her room. She was covered in a cold sweat and shivering like crazy.
"Piper go and get a change of clothes and a blanket!" Piper who had never seen Phoebe in such a state, was frozen in time.
"Piper!…" Prue grabbed her by the shoulders and she immediately snapped out of it. "GO!"
Prue slowly approached her fragile sister. She had done this a thousand times and knew that if she scared her it would be next to impossible to calm her down.
"Phoebe? It's ok your safe." Prue tried to show Phoebe that she was here by reaching out and touching her arm.
Phoebe immediately tried to retreat further into the corner and smacked her head into the wall.
"Phoebe, you ok?" Prue wanted to comfort her sister but wasn't sure if her sister was all there.
Phoebe heard her name and looked at Prue like she had just walked into the room. "Prue!" Phoebe jumped into her older sister/mother figure's comforting lap and started crying franticly. Prue immediately began rocking her sister in an effort to calm her down. Prue could hear Phoebe's breathing slowing down as she fell asleep.