Chapter 4: Reckless Abandon

1976

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm," six year old Prue hums as she settles into bed and waits for her dad to come read her a story. Being home sick with a cold wasn't so bad, Prue thought. She got to skip school and hangout with her dad all day while he took care of her. Her sisters, Piper and Phoebe, were staying at her best friend Andy's house down the road so they wouldn't get exposed to her cold too.

"What's that you're singing?" Victor inquired as he sat on the side of the bed with one of Prue's favorite story books.

"Just a song that's stuck in my head," Prue answered as she sniffled through her stuffy nose.

Victor, not giving the song a second thought, began reading until his daughter was fast asleep.

A couple of hours passed by and Victor went back into Prue's bedroom to check on her. He was horrified to find the door open and the bed empty. He shouted her name throughout the house, but received no answer. He remembered hearing an ice cream truck stop outside just seconds prior to discovering his daughter was missing, and something in his gut told him to check that truck. His suspicions were confirmed when he walked over to the side of the vehicle and looked on helplessly as his eldest daughter got sucked into the ice cream truck as she was trying to save a little boy. Without hesitation, he opened the back door of the truck to find himself in a strange playground. He quickly spotted his daughter, grabbed her, and got out just as fast as they had gotten in.

As Victor and Prue began heading into the manor, a furious Penny tore into the driveway, having witnessed them appear from the back of the truck. "What happened?!" she demanded.

"Some crazy demonic playground was inside that ice cream truck. It sucked Prue in, and I got her out. This is why I want my girls to just be normal, Penny. It's too dangerous!," he shouted back at her.

"No. What's dangerous is leaving them alone with a mortal man who has no powers to protect his own daughters. At least with Patty and me, they are kept out of harm's way," she spat back.

"Excuse me?" Victor clearly angered over Penny's statement continued, "I just saved my daughter. Where were you?! Off practicing spells and mixing potions with your little coven, I'm sure."

Penny suppressed the urge to use her telekinesis to send Victor flying across the street. And to make matters worse, Penny and Victor were suddenly joined by two people orbing in a mix of bright blue lights. It was Patty and her white lighter, Sam, whom Victor loathed.

Victor laughed in disgust, "Well now, this is just perfect. What is he doing here?"

"Sam needed my help to save one of his charges from a warlock," Patty answered as she stepped away from Sam, and took in the scene around her. Both Penny and Victor were red with anger and little Prue was cowering by the front door staring at the ground as silent tears fell from her eyes. Patty's maternal instinct immediately kicked in at the sight of her little girl as she made her way by the front door and held her in a protective embrace. "What happened here?" she questioned, while keeping both arms wrapped around Prue.

Penny was the first to answer, telling her side of the story, "It seems your husband, wasn't watching his sick daughter closely enough to realize that she was heading out on the street where she got trapped in the ice cream truck. You know the one I'm talking about," Penny concluded for her daughter.

"Oh no," Patty exclaimed under her breath, as she subconsciously tightened her grip around her eldest daughter.

"Actually I did realize what was happening. That's how I managed to pull her out of that truck," Victor stated in defense while glaring at Penny. Then he focused his attention on his wife, "Patty, it's time you make a decision. I believe it would be in our daughters' best interests if we moved away from here, fall of the grid from the demonic underworld, and cut all of the magic out of our lives."

Sam, who had remained silent up until this point, decided to cut in at the thought of losing Patty, "Victor, please, the girls have to fulfill their destinies. Think of the consequences. Evil would have the upper hand."

"Spoken like a true white lighter," Victor retorted, "You stay out of this. Patty is my wife, and if you think-"

"No, Victor," Patty interrupted, "You can't ask me to leave my home, my mom, and you can't ask me to leave Sam. I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, but the truth is I fell in love with Sam. Neither one of us meant for it to happen, it just did."

Victor's face turns hard. He shows no emotion even though he feels like he's just been punched in the stomach. "I'll pack my stuff," he mutters. But before he can take his first step through the front door, Prue latches onto his leg and holds on for dear life, tears flowing uncontrollably down her face. "No Daddy! Don't go!" she begs. Victor has never seen his normally strong and determined first born child look so small and vulnerable, but he doesn't let that deter him. His mind is made up. He's done with all of the heartbreak, even if it means leaving his family behind. So he reaches down, grabs his daughter by the arms, and breaks his leg free from her death grip. As he makes his way into the house, Prue is inconsolable. Patty quietly asks Sam to get the white lighter dust in the hopes that it will ease her daughter's pain.

That evening, Prue wakes up in her bed after a terrible nightmare. Must've been from the cold, she concluded. How could she have known that the awful events that took place in her nightmare had been all too real? She's surprised to find that it's almost dark outside. Did I really sleep all day? She makes her way downstairs and stops in her tracks when she sees her dad standing by the front door with two large suitcases on either side of him. "Where are you going?" She asks. Her father never left on a business trip without telling her first.

Victor knelled down until he was at eye level with his little girl. "Prue, remember when Phoebe was born, remember what I told you?"

Prue nodded.

"Good. Never forget that. Now I have to go, and I don't know when you're going to see me again," Victor explained.

"Please don't leave me, dad," Prue whispered.

Victor had to stand up and turn his back on Prue so as not to let her see the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes. Without another word, he picked up his bags, and headed out the door to start his new life.

2 weeks later

Prue missed her father terribly, just like she had missed him every day since he walked out. But today was different. Today was the day of her piano recital. Her dad had never missed one, and she just knew today would be the day she finally got to see him again. She hurried up to get ready, picked out her favorite dress, and rushed her mom, grams, and sisters out the door.

At the concert hall, Prue waited behind the curtain to go on. As she walked out onto the stage, she scanned the crowd hoping to find that one face she so desperately wanted to see. But, sadly, that face was nowhere to be found, and Prue felt her heart sink. After taking her seat in front of the piano, she rested her fingers on the white keys, and waited. The background music began to softly play. Prue knew that was her cue to start playing, but she found her hands frozen over the keys. "If he doesn't care enough to be here, then why should I care enough to play?" Prue asked herself. Then she stood up, closed the piano, and walked away. She never played again.