Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or anything else you recognise. I only own the excellent story! Enjoy!
A/N Yeah, I no this has been done heaps before but I wanted to write one so shut up and read it. Thanks!
"Grams, when are we going to see mummy?" a four-year-old Piper demanded of her grandmother.
"Soon." Grams sounded old, tired, and strained. "Come on. Let's get you girls dressed." Balancing her two-year-old granddaughter on her hip, grams looked at Prue. "Prudence, could you help Piper? I have to see to Phoebe." The six-year-old nodded and escorted Piper to her room.
"We're going to see mummy today," Piper chattered excitedly as Prue helped her into a simple black dress. "I'm so excited. We haven't seen mummy for ages." Prue said nothing. She couldn't bring herself to explain to Piper, as Grams had explained to her, that mummy had gone to heaven and however much she wanted to come back, she couldn't.
"Prue, aren't you excited?" Piper demanded, finally noticing Prue's odd silence. She reached up and touched her sister's forehead. "You're not sick," she said seriously. "That's what mummy always does when I'm sick." Prue smiled down at her little sister.
"No, I'm not sick," she told her.
"Then what's wrong?" Piper persisted. Prue didn't answer. She was thinking of the last time her mother had asked her that same question, not so long ago. She looked down as she felt Piper's arms go around her. The little girl stood up on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Prue's cheek. "I love you," she told her. Prue smiled and hugged her sister back.
"I love you too," she whispered.
"Phoebe, please," Grams pleaded. "Settle down." Phoebe, sensing something was wrong from her grandmother, was fidgeting and she wouldn't let herself be dressed.
"Here." Grams hadn't noticed Prue come up behind her, Piper in tow. Prue took Phoebe out of her grandmother's arms and rocked her. Phoebe quietened and started gurgling happily. Grams watched as Prue quickly pull the dress over her head and got her dresses in record time.
Glancing at her watch, Grams nearly had a fit. "Girls, in the car quickly, we're going to be late." Ushering the girls out the door she took a last look at a picture of Patty standing with Grams and her three daughters. Tears pricked her eyes but she blinked them back and rushed to the car.
"In here," Grams said to the girls pointing to the church. They walked in and sat down. Prue stared at the ground as Piper looked around. Phoebe gurgled a little and Grams put a finger to her lips. "Shh honey. The service is starting." Piper looked around at all the people in the church.
"Prue, where's Mummy?" she whispered, after seeing her mother wasn't there. Prue pointed to the coffin.
"In there," she whispered back.
"Oh." Piper craned her neck for a better view. She was quiet for a minute. "Is she sleeping?" Piper asked her big sister interestedly.
"No." Prue decided that now would be as good a time as any other to tell her sister the truth. "Mummy's gone to heaven."
"Gone to heaven?" Piper was plainly confused. "When is she coming back?"
"She isn't. She can't," Prue tried to explain.
"Then can I go to heaven with Mummy?" Piper asked hopefully.
"No," Prue told her softly. "You have to stay here with us."
"But that means I won't see Mummy again," Piper said. Prue looked to the floor. "But Prue, that means I won't see Mummy again," Piper repeated, louder and more insistently this time. Prue took a deep breath and looked up into her sister's eyes.
"No," she said at last. "You won't see Mummy again. You can't. She's gone."
"NO!" Piper's shout was sudden and loud, causing the whole church to look at her. "Mummy can't be gone! She can't!" Piper leapt to her feet and ran through the church and out the doors. Prue jumped up and followed her.
Running out the doors, Prue looked around. Piper was nowhere in sight.
"Piper," Prue called, feeling panic rise. "Piper, where are you?" A tiny sob met her ears. Prue turned and began walking in the direction of the sound. Walking around a pole she saw her little sister sitting on the other side, leaning against it. Tears were running down Piper's cheeks and the eyes that met Prue's were frightened.
"Prue, why did Mummy leave?" Piper asked forlornly. "Is it because I'm a bad daughter?" It took Prue all of her strength not to cry at that moment. She sat down next to her sister and put an arm around her shoulders.
"No, sweety, Mummy loved you," she said once she trusted her voice to speak. "If she could be here right now, that's what she'd tell you. You were her little angel. She loved you with all her heart and if she could be here with us she'd be here as fast as she could." Tears glistened on Prue's face yet she made no attempt to wipe them away. Piper reached up and wiped one with her finger.
"And you too," she told Prue. "Mummy loved you too." This remark made Prue smile.
"Yes. She both of us very much. And Phoebe of course," she added as an afterthought. Piper smiled slightly. She rested her head on Prue's shoulder, feeling her big sister running her fingers through her hair.
"Oh, thank god," Grams said, walking up to them. She looked extremely relieved. "Come on now, back inside so we can finish the service." Piper looked at Prue.
"Would Mummy want us to feel sad?" she asked her. Prue looked at her grandmother. "Yes," she said, looking back to Piper. "But only for a little while. Then she'd want us to be happy again and to move on. Not to forget but to accept it." Piper didn't quite understand it all but she got the drift. She nodded seriously and followed her sister and grandmother back into the church.
Piper sat curled up on the big armchair in the living room. The last mourners had long since left but still she staying in the chair, as she had all afternoon. She had refused to eat, saying she wasn't hungry. Grams hadn't forced her, instead feeding Phoebe and taking a meal up to Prue. The oldest Halliwell sister had escaped upstairs as soon as they had got back from the funeral and hadn't been seen or heard since. Grams were calming down Phoebe, who had spent most of the afternoon crying. Grams was weary and her eyes were tired, so tired…
"Piper," Prue's voice was soft and void of any emotion. "You'll have to move sometime." Piper snuggled deeper into the chair and said nothing. Every night before she went to bed she and Patty would curl up together in the armchair and sometimes they would tell stories or Patty would do Piper's hair or they'd just enjoy being with the other. Patty called it 'thinks time'. Prue sighed. She sat down on the arm and started stroking Pipers hair.
"I know it's hard," she said. "I miss her too." Piper looked up in surprise. Prue never told Piper how she was feeling. "I wish," Prue voice trembled. "I wish I could have said goodbye," she whispered. Tears spilled over down her cheeks. She sniffed and pulled Piper into a hug. Piper hugged Prue back, not knowing what to do. Thinking of what Prue did when she was upset, Piper started rubbing her back and stroking her hair.
"S'ok, Prue," she said comfortingly. "Mummy knows you love her." Piper's own tears started mingling with Prue's and together they started crying hard for the mother they had lost so early.
Grams woke with a start. Moonlight shone on the clock showing that it was 9:30. Grams gasped. She had slept for hours. Where were the girls? Looking down, she found the answer to one question. Phoebe lay on the floor, her head resting on one arm and sucking her thumb. She was fast asleep. Grams smiled and carefully lifted her and placed her into her own bed. Then she went downstairs to look for the older sisters.
That one was too hard either. The two girls lay curled up together on the couch, their arms around each other. Grams was almost moved to tears by the sight of them. She decided to leave them there for the night. Covering them up with blankets she smiled down on them.
"Patty," she said out loud. "You have beautiful children." Then she switched off the light and went upstairs.