Together Or Not At All

Prue curled up on the uncomfortable hospital chair. She pulled her knees close to her chest and tried to make herself as small as possible. Her cheeks were marked with black stains where her tears had mingled with her mascara. Red puffy eyes continued to produce tears, but they were no longer accompanied by sound. Her throat stung and burned from producing inhuman sounds. She wanted nothing more than for everything to just be a horrible nightmare. Everything inside her screamed for her to run away and hide, but she could not bring herself to move.

Across from her in one of those recline-able hospital beds lay her baby brother. Wires and tubes covered his body hooking him up to equipment she only vaguely recognized. The steady beep from the heart monitor was the only sound besides for her ragged breathing. Anakin's breaths were too shallow to make a sound. She forced herself to keep looking at her brother fearful that if she blinked for just a moment he would be gone.

Unlike her brothers who had reacted violently and were fueled with a burning anger at themselves and Anakin she felt only an icy coldness in her chest. He had been dead, not unconscious, dead. His spirit had almost completely moved on when by pure luck Wyatt had orbed back to the attic to pick up a potion. Prue shuddered at the thought of how different everything would be if Wyatt had been a moment later. No one had seen Wyatt after he drove Anakin to the hospital.

On the couch near the entrance to Anakin's room lay Chris. Prue assumed he had fallen asleep an hour or so ago because she had not heard a sound from him since just after the nurses had checked in on their last set of rounds. Their parents were somewhere calling family or at least that is what she assumed. She had been too distraught to really listen to what anyone told her. All she could focus on was the steady beep telling her Anakin was still alive.

The night had started out perfectly. She had convinced Matt Barrow, her boyfriend, to go on a double date with her parents. They had started dating a few months previous, and it was time for him to meet her family. Only she wanted to introduce him to them slowly, and her parents were going to be the most welcoming. They had gone to Halliwells. Matt and her dad hit it off over baseball, and her mother was impressed by Matt's knowledge on cuisine. He only further endeared himself to her with the amount of effort he put into getting to know her parents. Dinner was a huge success, until dessert.

Both she and her mother felt something was horribly wrong moments before her mom's cellphone began to ring. The pain in her chest only grew as she watched the color drain from her mother's face. Her mother lost it and started crying uncontrollably into her father's shoulder not even able to speak. She had never seen her mother loose it, and it scared her to her very core. Only the loss of someone in their family could do that to her mom. It only took a moment for her to come up with the likely person, and the whole world dropped out from beneath her feet.

She had not even bothered to say goodbye to Matt as she rushed out of the stuffy restaurant and into the cold night air. It was pouring and bitterly cold but she did not care. She ran as fast and as hard as she could to escape the truth. Blindly she continued running until she tripped on a crack in the pavement. Lying in the dirty puddle she started to cry. Only the sound that escaped her lips was not a cry it was an unnatural wail.

How could they have missed Anakin's call for help?

Who could have gotten to him?

What were they going to do now?

How could they survive this?

She remembered all too well how the loss of the other Anakin had ripped her family apart. Those wounds were still fresh even if they were able to ignore it most days. At least they were for her. Loosing the other Anakin had changed her forced her to become the witch she was today, the person she was. Now she was faced with loosing her Anakin, and she could not handle it.

She lay in that puddle until Chris found her. He had picked her up and orbed her back to the Manor. Somehow he had convinced her to take a warm shower and change into clean clothes. All she wanted to do was clinging to him until the nightmare passed. The fact that Anakin had not died but in hospital only registered when Chris had driven them to the hospital. The whole way there Chris had screamed, yelled, and used language she did not know he knew.

It was after visiting hours when they had arrived, but someone, she assumed her dad aided with memory dust, had convinced the staff to let them stay the night. Prue let out a soft sob. She had almost lost Anakin.

A nurse stepped into the darkened room. Prue watched as she crossed the room silently and checked a few of the instruments attached to Anakin. Then she walked around to the other side of the bed and bent down so that she was eye to eye with Prue.

"Do you want me to rustle up a cot for you?"

Prue jerked her head from side to side.

The nurse reached out and tried to comfort her, but Prue shrunk back. Biting her lip the nurse stood up again. "Well, it looks like whatever your brother took is finally worked its way of his system. The doctor will be back in a bit to do his own assessment, but he's over the worst of it for now."

Prue knew the nurse was trying to be helpful. "Thanks," she said croakily.

The nurse offered her a sad smile and left the room. The door barely closed when Chris stirred. He sat up and looked directly at her.

"You should get some sleep, Prue," he said softly.

Prue shook her head vigorously.

Chris walked over and crouched next to her. "Well, at least take the couch. For a bit."

Again she shook her head and felt another wave of emotions wash over her. She started to sob again unable to stop. Chris wrapped his arms around her and patted her back and she buried her head into his shoulder. Every breath felt impossible to take. She had nothing left to give.

"It's all going to be alright. He's still here. We're all still here," whispered Chris rubbing circles on her back.

She wanted to believe him. There was nothing she wanted more. Everything was going to be fine. Only he was crying too, she felt it. He would not be crying if he knew everything was going to be fine. No longer wanting to sit still she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tighter. She was never going to let go because letting go meant she would have to see the world again.

"We'll get him help," said Chris through deep breaths.

Prue did not respond and was surprised when someone did.

Wyatt coldly said, "He has us."

Chris kept his arm wrapped around Prue, but looked up at Wyatt. "Maybe we're not enough."

"We were for you," snapped Wyatt.

Prue felt Chris stiffen beneath her, but she only held onto him tighter.

"That is besides the point. He's lost someone."

"Yeah we all have at some point. You don't see me cutting my wrists open."

"WYATT!" Chris made to stand up, but Prue held him down. "We underestimated how much Lucien means to him. We should have been pushing for him to get help a long time ago, and you know it. You're not angry at him, Wy. You're pissed at yourself."

"Fuck off."

Chris gently unraveled himself from a protesting Prue. "I'll be right here."

"What?" asked Wyatt defensively.

Chris rose to his full height and stared at his older brother. "Has he ever told you if he gets glimpses of the other timeline?"

Wyatt hesitated. "No."

"Yeah me either. I don't think he's told anyone in the family, but there's no way he's kept it to himself. I know. Everything I felt with those nightmares. The fear, no—terror. The pain and helplessness of having mom die in my ar—arms." Chris's voice shook. "If I hadn't told you about it I would have exploded. So who would Anakin have told?"

Prue spoke up. "Luc."

Chris nodded. "Exactly. And now? Who can he talk to now?"

"Us," said Wyatt desperately.

Chris blinked away the tears. "I don't think he can. He wouldn't want to burden us. He's always been guarded with everyone."

"Not everyone." Wyatt slumped into the couch and rested his face in the palms of his hands. "Lucien. He told Lucien."

Chris agreed silently. "So how do we get him to open up to us?"

Prue let out a ragged breath. "He needs help. We all do."

Chris laughed hollowly. "I don't think a shirk will be able to help me or Wyatt's ego."

"Hey!"

Prue giggled. "He can't do this alone, or he'll try again."

"Mom won't like this," commented Wyatt.

Chris shrugged. "Too bad. If it's what he needs."

Wyatt grunted and stood back up. "I'll call Aunt Phoebe. She'll be able to convince Mom."

Prue watched Wyatt exit the room. "Anakin won't like it."

"Perhaps, but anything is better than ending back up here again. Or worse."

Chris watched as Prue undid herself and slipped off the chair.

"Bathroom."

Chris waited until Prue shut the door to the private bathroom before stepping up to Anakin's bed. He reached out and held one of his brother's hands. It was icy cold. He squeezed it and let the tears start to flow again. He stood there looked down at the still form of his baby brother until Prue returned.

"I've got to go. My group presents out research tomorrow."

Prue curled back up on the chair. "Can't they postpone it?"

Chris gulped. "No. Dr. Hinesburg is only there for a day. Call me when he wakes."

Prue nodded but was already slipping back into her melancholy. Her brothers had managed to lift it for a moment. Maybe they could make it, together.