Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were huddled together on the hard airport benches, each lost in her own train of thought. They were waiting for their father to arrive with their newly-discovered sister.
"Does any of us know what the hell we're doing?" Piper asked suddenly.
"You mean, getting a little girl we don't even know anything about, aside from that she's our sister, to move in with us two weeks after we found out she exists?" Prue replied. "No. Not a clue."
"We haven't the slightest idea what we're getting into." Phoebe agreed.
Piper snorted. "Yeah. Neither does she."
"She is our sister," Prue reminded them.
"We've been out of her lives for the past thirteen years." Phoebe pointed out. "You just said it yourself, we haven't even had time to wrap our heads around the fact that she exists, or vice-versa. Who knows how we'll feel about each other when the dust settles?"
"She's our sister." Prue repeated. Ever since childhood, when their parents had both exited their lives due to divorce and death, Prue had been determined to keep what was left of the family together. Just because they hadn't known about Portia didn't make her an exception.
"What if she doesn't like us?" Piper asked, not knowing that at that moment Portia was comtemplating the same thing. "Being thirteen is hard enough, but having to deal with this, too? What if she ends up hating us for it?"
Prue shook her head. "We don't always get along, either. And as for the second part, about hating us, well... She'll learn to deal. We did."
"Oh my God, there she is." Piper whispered.
Across the terminal, Victor was walking toward them, holding Portia by the hand. The three women were instantly struck by how much she resembled each of them. She had a small, wiry frame like Piper's, and black hair like Prue's, which was a sharp contrast to her pale, porcelin-like skin. Her icy blue eyes also mirrored Prue, although their almond shape definately resembled Phoebe's. She looked like a painting the sisters had seen many times in the attic, a painting that had been handed down in the family since before even Melinda Warren's time.
Now, father and daughter were only a few feet away from the rest of the family. Prue made the first move, approaching her youngest sister and giving her a quick hug. Portia returned the embrace a bit unsurely.
"Hi, sweetheart." Prue greeted.
"Hi." Portia replied shyly.
There was an awkward pause, during which Leo and Cole appeared with the few bags that Portia had brought on the plane.
"Is this it?" Leo asked.
"Most of her things are at the house already." Piper reminded him.
"Did you bring anything, Dad?" Phoebe asked.
Victor shook his head. "It's a good thing I didn't. Our flight was delayed this morning; my plane leaves in about half an hour."
Another stretch of silence. The minutes ticked by, until it was time for Victor to leave.
Portia put her arms around him, hugging him good-bye.
"Don't worry, baby," he whispered in her ear. "You'll be okay with them, you'll see."
Portia nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She stepped back to let her sisters say good-bye.
Phoebe and Piper each gave Victor a hug. Prue didn't even look up as she said, quite coolly, a simple "Bye, Dad." With another nod to Portia, he walked away.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were left standing in the middle of the airport with the child, the sister they didn't know. Nobody really knew how to proceed.
"Maybe we should take this back to the manor," Cole suggested. Leo quickly agreed, and the men shimmered and orbed out, respectively.
Portia's eyes only registered mild suprise at the sight of Leo and Cole disappearing like that. In a daze, she allowed Prue to take her hand and lead her out to the parking lot.
The drive home was short, silent, and filled with tension. The last time the sisters had met, they'd been focusing entirely on a demon. Now, there was no demon, no evil force to distract them. Now, there was only a simple truth that they were only beginning to fathom. Portia was their sister. This hadn't truly begun to dawn on any of the four until now.
Portia was still in a stupor when they pulled up to the house. IN that moment, the gravity of their situation and the fact that this secret, now revealed, would change their lives in ways unimaginable, began to sink in with three simple words from Piper.
"Welcome home, sweetheart."
"Does any of us know what the hell we're doing?" Piper asked suddenly.
"You mean, getting a little girl we don't even know anything about, aside from that she's our sister, to move in with us two weeks after we found out she exists?" Prue replied. "No. Not a clue."
"We haven't the slightest idea what we're getting into." Phoebe agreed.
Piper snorted. "Yeah. Neither does she."
"She is our sister," Prue reminded them.
"We've been out of her lives for the past thirteen years." Phoebe pointed out. "You just said it yourself, we haven't even had time to wrap our heads around the fact that she exists, or vice-versa. Who knows how we'll feel about each other when the dust settles?"
"She's our sister." Prue repeated. Ever since childhood, when their parents had both exited their lives due to divorce and death, Prue had been determined to keep what was left of the family together. Just because they hadn't known about Portia didn't make her an exception.
"What if she doesn't like us?" Piper asked, not knowing that at that moment Portia was comtemplating the same thing. "Being thirteen is hard enough, but having to deal with this, too? What if she ends up hating us for it?"
Prue shook her head. "We don't always get along, either. And as for the second part, about hating us, well... She'll learn to deal. We did."
"Oh my God, there she is." Piper whispered.
Across the terminal, Victor was walking toward them, holding Portia by the hand. The three women were instantly struck by how much she resembled each of them. She had a small, wiry frame like Piper's, and black hair like Prue's, which was a sharp contrast to her pale, porcelin-like skin. Her icy blue eyes also mirrored Prue, although their almond shape definately resembled Phoebe's. She looked like a painting the sisters had seen many times in the attic, a painting that had been handed down in the family since before even Melinda Warren's time.
Now, father and daughter were only a few feet away from the rest of the family. Prue made the first move, approaching her youngest sister and giving her a quick hug. Portia returned the embrace a bit unsurely.
"Hi, sweetheart." Prue greeted.
"Hi." Portia replied shyly.
There was an awkward pause, during which Leo and Cole appeared with the few bags that Portia had brought on the plane.
"Is this it?" Leo asked.
"Most of her things are at the house already." Piper reminded him.
"Did you bring anything, Dad?" Phoebe asked.
Victor shook his head. "It's a good thing I didn't. Our flight was delayed this morning; my plane leaves in about half an hour."
Another stretch of silence. The minutes ticked by, until it was time for Victor to leave.
Portia put her arms around him, hugging him good-bye.
"Don't worry, baby," he whispered in her ear. "You'll be okay with them, you'll see."
Portia nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She stepped back to let her sisters say good-bye.
Phoebe and Piper each gave Victor a hug. Prue didn't even look up as she said, quite coolly, a simple "Bye, Dad." With another nod to Portia, he walked away.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were left standing in the middle of the airport with the child, the sister they didn't know. Nobody really knew how to proceed.
"Maybe we should take this back to the manor," Cole suggested. Leo quickly agreed, and the men shimmered and orbed out, respectively.
Portia's eyes only registered mild suprise at the sight of Leo and Cole disappearing like that. In a daze, she allowed Prue to take her hand and lead her out to the parking lot.
The drive home was short, silent, and filled with tension. The last time the sisters had met, they'd been focusing entirely on a demon. Now, there was no demon, no evil force to distract them. Now, there was only a simple truth that they were only beginning to fathom. Portia was their sister. This hadn't truly begun to dawn on any of the four until now.
Portia was still in a stupor when they pulled up to the house. IN that moment, the gravity of their situation and the fact that this secret, now revealed, would change their lives in ways unimaginable, began to sink in with three simple words from Piper.
"Welcome home, sweetheart."