Hi, so here is another chapter and I hope you all enjoy, this one is short and sweet so I hope you enjoy it.

Anything about Andy's father is my own.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Before And After

Chapter 17-Stronger Together

Andy and Prue contemplate their very different father experiences when Prue comes face to face with hers for the first time in years and Andy's shares his opinion on his life post retirement from the force. Oh and there is a demon looking deceptively innocent to boot.

Prue was now nearing five months pregnant.

It was official.

She had now become to big to hide the obvious.

"Your pregnant" Andy said when Prue bemoaned (and admittedly it was not for the first time either) that she had nothing to wear.

"Come on Prue what did you expect to happen? That the baby would just grow inwards and you'd be a size eight for the rest of your life"

"I wish there was a spell that did that" Prue said wistfully.

"Yeah cause that doesn't have personal gain written all over it" he muttered as he reached for his watch. Prue shot him a critical look.

"What's crawled up your backside. Isn't it usually the pregnant chick that's supposed to be the bitch?"

"My Dad's in town"

"Oh"

"Yeah."

"Look he was fine when you were in the hospital. I don't get what's changed now?"

"Because I retired, that's what's changed, because I'm living with a woman in sin and she's pregnant with my child and marriage is something that we both decided we didn't want right now? You've met my father Prue this is not going to be fun"

"You want me to come with you?"

"Nah. This is going to be short and sweet and I don't think that it's going to last too long. It's just coffee and believe me that's all I want to do."

"Well I suppose it would be good for the baby if there was at least one grandparent in it's life"

Andy didn't say anything. He had learnt a long time ago that he was not to press on the Victor button not just with Prue but with any of them. All three of them were livewires when it came to their father because all three of the sisters never really knew how they felt until the exact moment they were confronted with reality.

And there was Andy bobbing along like a little imploring duckling and hoping he didn't get killed by the resounding flashback.

"Anyway I hope the baby behaves today, I have an important photo shoot and I don't have time to deal with any more blue fire."

"Well if he listens to his mother he will do. Which reminds me we need to book another appointment, find out the sex and all that"

"Thought that was pretty obvious"

Andy sighed.

"Probably but I always like to try the human way as well as the witches way. So please Prue, have pity on the poor mortal and find a time where we can find out if we are having a boy or a girl?"

Pure sighed and rolled her eyes but there was no heat in it at all. She turned and bent and kissed him and Andy kissed her back and despite the fact that they were both running on a time constraint they still managed to make some time for each other before they got out the house.

Prue didn't go to her photo shoot.

Andy was late to meet his father.

But that was a story for another time.

"Dad"

"Andy"

They hugged and Andy would have liked to think that it was a warm hug but the reality was with his father he was never quite sure. The man had never been one for warmth but he had always had that love for his only son buried somewhere underneath. The problem was that James Trudeau was a cop until the day he died and Andy was a cop who had given it up.

"How are things? Prue still doing alright?"

"Yeah. And the baby is fine too"

"Good…you gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

It was phrased as a question but Andy had always known that it was not. His Dad wanted to know and while Prue would ring her sisters after the scan Andy was sure his Dad would patiently wait for his phone call and would damn well expect to be the first person that he spoke to.

"Yes sir, Prue thinks It's a boy. She says she's eating enough for a boy anyway…whatever that means"

"Good…another Trudeau boy. You know what that means…another cop"

Andy smiled and directed his attention to the coffee. Now was not the time to point out that there was more chances of pigs flying than his son becoming a normal, mortal cop. Of course pigs actually could fly at this point so that excuse was null and void but he didn't want to get into this.

Thank God he was not serving anymore. Had he had Daryl call him with an emergency there was a very good chance his Dad would tag along.

"So tell me about LA, Dad, you having any luck trying to temper down the drug trade down there?"

And that was all he needed. His father delighted with a topic that he could really sink his teeth into launched into story after story and Andy just had to go along and listen, make the right noises and hope no strange words like 'witchcraft' and 'demons' were spoken out loud. Or you know…in fact…appeared.

It wasn't that his father didn't love him. Andy knew that, it was just that the man loved the job, he'd been almost at retirement when his Mom had gotten sick and then had thrown himself back into the work to the point where there were days when Andy had never seen him or even heard from him. Prue and her grandmother had insisted nine times out of ten that he should come to dinner and that had led to sleepovers and then that had led to him being a teenager learning how to cook with Penny Halliwell.

Looking back he supposed it made sense that there were several odd things in her fridge. He had just thought she was an adventurous cooker but now he knew that there was another reason to have pigs feet in the fridge.

His Dad had always tried and like Andy had said many a time to both Pure and to his ex he knew the issue had not been love. It was just he knew that they were going to have very, very different fatherly styles.

The best part for him (at least listening to Daryl) was the going to the parents evenings and the school plays and the career days.

And he was looking so very, very excited for it.

Just as long as his son didn't blow up the classroom during show and tell.

And really, how many father's could say that?

"Andy son?"

"Sorry Dad, so you were saying that undercovers in school seem to be the best option—like 21 Jump Street?"

His Dad rolled his eyes.

"I have heard that joke so many times I could shoot the next person who tells me. No Andy not like 21 Jump Street—the undercover rookie program works like this…"

And Andy was just content to let him talk.

But while he was talking he thought he might order a sandwich.

Andy was taking a lot longer than he had intended to with his Dad. Prue had saved a bunch of kids realised that the kids were demons, and had vanquished them all in a day. Oh…and she had reconnected with Victor. Who was apparently staying in the city for the foreseeable future.

"I am really happy that you three are happy" he said softly. "I mean it Prue, your pregnancy…it's fantastic"

"Yeah" she said watching him. Perhaps it was the pregnancy that made her more sentimental but she found that she didn't hate the sight of him. Considering that had been her go-to emotional state whenever her father was even mentioned never mind seen in person she had to admit it was unnerving.

But watching him today, seeing him today in the role that he had left she had realised that there were two roles in his life. The one that had been a father and the one that had been the mortal spouse to a witch. She had seen Andy struggle with the twists and turns that came from being with her, from loving her and she had seen the struggle whenever he had tried to hide it. She had her sisters, Andy had Daryl and what it had been like for her father coming face to face with their Grams and her strong views about magic time and time again…she didn't want to imagine it.

The door opened and Victor was nearly shoved into the wall. Andy came through looking rather pleased and more than a little flushed.

"Morning sweetness!"

"It's afternoon. And my Dad is here"

Andy turned and raised an eyebrow. Clearly things had developed between him and his father if he was drunk midweek, mid-afternoon.

Oh dear.

"Your Dad ok?"

"Yeah. We didn't talk much, you know how he is. Gave me a run down on every crime stat in California and says the baby's gonna be a cop. Had to eat a pound of steak and drink a lot of beer to keep him happy but he's gone back to the hotel. He has a conference tonight and then he's gone"

"Aha. I suppose they had to force the stead down you didn't they?"

Andy shrugged.

"Hello Andy"

That was Victor.

For a second the two of them stood staring at each other as Victor stood with his hand out.

Then Andy took it.

"Hello…Victor. You err…you staying or…"

"No" Piper said with a small smile. "No we're just saying goodbye"

And suddenly Prue didn't care anymore.

She just knew what she had to do.

"I'm not saying goodbye."

And she wasn't. It was time that she take a step away from the past and a step towards the future.

And this…this one of the best ways forwards. Even she had to admit it.

"I'm saying a see you later"

Her Dad's face creased into that well worn grin that she had remembered (despite her best efforts) since childhood. Piper and Phoebe relaxed and Andy beamed though that might be the affect of all the beers and despite it she leaned into the hug that her Dad gave her.

Perhaps with a baby on the way this was the right time to forgive.

"So the kids were the demons?"

"Yeah. And they used ice cream to trick them"

"Jesus…that's scary"

They were getting ready for bed and Prue rubbed her face cream into her skin feeling the lavender sooth everything. Andy swung his legs under the covers and paused.

"Promise me our kid is not going to be like that?"

Prue laughed. "With us as parents? Come on. Our kid will be a force for good no matter what."

"And knowing us he'll fall in love with a girl down the street when he's six and that will be it."

"Or a boy"

Andy nodded. "Or a boy. You know…it wouldn't matter. In the great grand scheme that I have seen nothing matters other than the fact that he is whole and healthy"

"We don't even know he is a He yet"

"I know. But…but I think we should"

Prue rolled her eyes. She would never get why the human side of this was so important to Andy. It had been two years (nearly three) since she had found out that she was a witch and if she was being honest with herself she had not looked back on the life that she had lost when she had accepted her destiny. Had she lost Andy then things might have been different but since she had him she had always managed to keep away that little bit of gnawing regret that things could have been different.

"I have some free time next Friday if the doctor can fit us in"

"Thank you" Andy said with simple dignity coming to kiss her again. "Thank you Prue"

She giggled as he bent to kiss her neck and then down her shoulders and then she was sighing with pleasure and they carried on just the way they had this morning.

The very next Friday they learnt that the baby was a boy.

Andy was smug the whole way home.

Prue found she didn't care.

Why would she?

She was happy.

And there you are, next chapter will come sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-Andy comes face to face with a rival for Prue's affection as a flashback to High School is revealed. Meanwhile the sister's are devestated by a betrayal from one of their own.