Victor, Leo, and Cole called Piper and Phoebe into the parlor. The men stood in front of the couch, and the girls were standing across from them behind the coffee table. Neither group felt much like sitting.
"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Piper asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
Leo held up the pregnancy test. "Do either of you want to tell us who this belongs to?"
Piper and Phoebe exchanged shocked glances, each thinking it belonged to the other sister.
"Piper, you didn't tell me..." Phoebe trailed off, a bit hurt at the thought of her sister keeping something like this from her.
Piper looked baffled. "I don't know anything about it. You mean it isn't yours?"
Phoebe shook her head. "No, it's definately not mine."
"It has to belong to somebody," Cole pressed. "These kinds of things don't just pop up out of nowhere."
"Piper, are you sure it isn't yours?" Leo asked.
Piper balked. "Leo, I think I'd remember something like that."
"Phoebe?" Cole asked.
The same questioned garnered the same reaction from the younger Halliwell. "Cole, trust me, taking one of those isn't something you forget. Especially when it comes up positive."
"So then whose is it?" Victor asked.
Piper and Phoebe just shrugged, mystified.
"It's mine."
None of the five had noticed Prue, who'd been standing at the doorway and listening to the whole exchange. Now, she stepped forward, and repeated, "It's mine."
Her family let out a collective, though inaudible, gasp. None of them had even thought to ask her. The last guy she'd really been close to was Jack, and even he was more of a fling than anything constant. Between work and magic, she hadn't had a real boyfriend since Andy.
Piper and Phoebe stepped forward, putting their arms around her and leading her over to the loveseat, where they sat down, still hugging her. The guys sat down on the adjacent couch.
"How long have you known?" Victor asked gently.
"A little over three weeks," she replied. "I think I'm about five and a half weeks along."
"Why didn't you tell us, honey?" Piper asked.
Prue shrugged. "I don't know. I was just scared, and I guess I was really in shock. I thought that maybe if I dealt with it myself for a while, it would make telling you guys less scary. Or something. Anyway, it was stupid."
"You could have come to us, Prue," Phoebe told her.
Her sister nodded. "I know, Pheebs. I just... needed to sort things out first. I needed to let it sink in, and to figure out how I felt, and how I'm going to do this."
"And how do you feel?" asked Piper.
Prue gave her sister a nervous half-smile as she answered, "Absolutely terrified. Scared out of my mind. But at the same time, really happy."
Piper and Phoebe each leaned in and gave their sister a kiss on the cheek.
Leo, who was sitting on the end of the couch closest to the loveseat, reached over and put a hand on her knee. "You know we'll help you. All of us. We'll do everything we can, okay?"
Prue nodded, smiling at him the way she'd smiled at Piper. "Thanks, Leo, Daddy." She barely looked at Cole. Nobody noticed, nobody except him.
Phoebe coughed uncomfortably. "So, Prue, you, um, you haven't really had a steady boyfriend in a while, I mean, at least not anyone you were really serious with..."
"And you're wondering who the father is," Prue finished.
Phoebe nodded. "Kinda.. yeah."
Prue looked down, suddenly very interested in playing with her hands. "His name is Aarden," she said quietly. "I met him a little over a month ago, at P3. He was only in town for one weekend. I only slept with him once, but... God, how the hell could I have been so stupid? I'd known the guy for barely an hour. What the hell was I thinking?"
"You weren't thinking anything," Phoebe said. "You met a guy who seemed cool, and all sense of reason went out the window. Nobody knows that feeling better than me, right?"
That last question evoked a sharp look up from Cole. Phoebe sent him a look that clearly stated that this wasn't the time to talk about that.
"Honey, it doesn't make you a bad person," Piper insisted. "I mean, look at Phoebe."
This got a laugh out of Prue, and a scowl from Phoebe.
"Okay, maybe you're right," Prue conceded. "Phoebe is one of the best people I know, and... well... let's just say she doesn't always have the best taste in men." This time, she did glance over in Cole's direction. Again, he chose to ignore it.
"Of course they're right," Victor cut in. "You made a mistake, and now you're getting something amazing out of it. But honey, don't beat yourself up about it. That's the last thing you need right now."
Prue nodded slowly. "I know, I know. I just never thought I'd be doing this by myself, you know? I don't know if I can."
"Okay, first of all, you could do this by yourself if you had to," said Cole, speaking mainly to score points with Phoebe, and to make Prue hate him less, though he doubted that the latter was possible at this point. Regardless of that, he continued, "We all know you're strong enough. I mean, you practically raised Piper and Phoebe yourself, and that was when you were just a kid. You could do this."
"And second of all," Phoebe continued, shooting him an appreciative smile, "You don't have to. How many times do we have to tell you that we'll be here, every step of the way? We love you, and we're going to help you."
"And I love you guys, too," Prue replied. "I know you're all here for me, and I love you for it. I just always thought that when I had kids, their father would be someone I loved, or at least someone I'd known for more than one night." She stifled a yawn.
"Tired, honey?" Piper asked, pushing a loose strand of hair off Prue's face.
Prue nodded. "A little. I've just been exhausted the past few weeks, although I'm sure at least some of it was stress from hiding this from all of you."
"Well, you don't have to hide anything anymore," Victor told her. "Or ever again."
"I know, Daddy," Prue responded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But really, you don't have to worry about me. I'm happy about this, and I hope you all are too."
"Of course we are," Piper replied, smiling.
"Congratulations," Leo said, getting up to give her a brotherly kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks," she replied, again trying not to yawn.
"Okay, come on," Phoebe said, pulling Prue to her feet. "My first official act as Aunt Phoebe is to send you to bed. Right now. Go."
"I am so not going to let you guys order me around for the next eight months," Prue warned.
"Like that's going to stop us from trying?" Piper asked playfully.
"Prudence, listen to your sisters," Victor advised. "You don't have to go to sleep, but at least rest for a while, and clear your mind."
Prue was about to protest, but when she opened her mouth, she yawned a third time. Finally, she gave in and allowed her father to tuck her into bed. Piper and Leo followed them upstairs to make sure she was allright.
Phoebe and Cole were left in the parlor. Phoebe, excited at the prospect of becoming an aunt, didn't notice Cole's troubled expression.
"Isn't this so great?" she asked him. She couldn't stop grinning.
"Yeah, it's wonderful," Cole replied half-heartedly. He loved seeing Phoebe so thrilled, and he wanted to be happy for her sister, he really did, but something didn't feel right. Ever since Prue had mentioned Aarden, it had been bugging him. Something about the name just seemed so damn familiar...
"I have to go," he told her suddenly.
She looked up, surprised. "Where?"
He glanced down at the floor in answer. "There's just something I need to take care of."
She nodded slowly. "I suppose I can't stop you."
He put his hands on her arms, gently but firmly. "I love you. I just have to check something, and then I'll be right back."
With that, he let go of her and shimmered out.
"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Piper asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
Leo held up the pregnancy test. "Do either of you want to tell us who this belongs to?"
Piper and Phoebe exchanged shocked glances, each thinking it belonged to the other sister.
"Piper, you didn't tell me..." Phoebe trailed off, a bit hurt at the thought of her sister keeping something like this from her.
Piper looked baffled. "I don't know anything about it. You mean it isn't yours?"
Phoebe shook her head. "No, it's definately not mine."
"It has to belong to somebody," Cole pressed. "These kinds of things don't just pop up out of nowhere."
"Piper, are you sure it isn't yours?" Leo asked.
Piper balked. "Leo, I think I'd remember something like that."
"Phoebe?" Cole asked.
The same questioned garnered the same reaction from the younger Halliwell. "Cole, trust me, taking one of those isn't something you forget. Especially when it comes up positive."
"So then whose is it?" Victor asked.
Piper and Phoebe just shrugged, mystified.
"It's mine."
None of the five had noticed Prue, who'd been standing at the doorway and listening to the whole exchange. Now, she stepped forward, and repeated, "It's mine."
Her family let out a collective, though inaudible, gasp. None of them had even thought to ask her. The last guy she'd really been close to was Jack, and even he was more of a fling than anything constant. Between work and magic, she hadn't had a real boyfriend since Andy.
Piper and Phoebe stepped forward, putting their arms around her and leading her over to the loveseat, where they sat down, still hugging her. The guys sat down on the adjacent couch.
"How long have you known?" Victor asked gently.
"A little over three weeks," she replied. "I think I'm about five and a half weeks along."
"Why didn't you tell us, honey?" Piper asked.
Prue shrugged. "I don't know. I was just scared, and I guess I was really in shock. I thought that maybe if I dealt with it myself for a while, it would make telling you guys less scary. Or something. Anyway, it was stupid."
"You could have come to us, Prue," Phoebe told her.
Her sister nodded. "I know, Pheebs. I just... needed to sort things out first. I needed to let it sink in, and to figure out how I felt, and how I'm going to do this."
"And how do you feel?" asked Piper.
Prue gave her sister a nervous half-smile as she answered, "Absolutely terrified. Scared out of my mind. But at the same time, really happy."
Piper and Phoebe each leaned in and gave their sister a kiss on the cheek.
Leo, who was sitting on the end of the couch closest to the loveseat, reached over and put a hand on her knee. "You know we'll help you. All of us. We'll do everything we can, okay?"
Prue nodded, smiling at him the way she'd smiled at Piper. "Thanks, Leo, Daddy." She barely looked at Cole. Nobody noticed, nobody except him.
Phoebe coughed uncomfortably. "So, Prue, you, um, you haven't really had a steady boyfriend in a while, I mean, at least not anyone you were really serious with..."
"And you're wondering who the father is," Prue finished.
Phoebe nodded. "Kinda.. yeah."
Prue looked down, suddenly very interested in playing with her hands. "His name is Aarden," she said quietly. "I met him a little over a month ago, at P3. He was only in town for one weekend. I only slept with him once, but... God, how the hell could I have been so stupid? I'd known the guy for barely an hour. What the hell was I thinking?"
"You weren't thinking anything," Phoebe said. "You met a guy who seemed cool, and all sense of reason went out the window. Nobody knows that feeling better than me, right?"
That last question evoked a sharp look up from Cole. Phoebe sent him a look that clearly stated that this wasn't the time to talk about that.
"Honey, it doesn't make you a bad person," Piper insisted. "I mean, look at Phoebe."
This got a laugh out of Prue, and a scowl from Phoebe.
"Okay, maybe you're right," Prue conceded. "Phoebe is one of the best people I know, and... well... let's just say she doesn't always have the best taste in men." This time, she did glance over in Cole's direction. Again, he chose to ignore it.
"Of course they're right," Victor cut in. "You made a mistake, and now you're getting something amazing out of it. But honey, don't beat yourself up about it. That's the last thing you need right now."
Prue nodded slowly. "I know, I know. I just never thought I'd be doing this by myself, you know? I don't know if I can."
"Okay, first of all, you could do this by yourself if you had to," said Cole, speaking mainly to score points with Phoebe, and to make Prue hate him less, though he doubted that the latter was possible at this point. Regardless of that, he continued, "We all know you're strong enough. I mean, you practically raised Piper and Phoebe yourself, and that was when you were just a kid. You could do this."
"And second of all," Phoebe continued, shooting him an appreciative smile, "You don't have to. How many times do we have to tell you that we'll be here, every step of the way? We love you, and we're going to help you."
"And I love you guys, too," Prue replied. "I know you're all here for me, and I love you for it. I just always thought that when I had kids, their father would be someone I loved, or at least someone I'd known for more than one night." She stifled a yawn.
"Tired, honey?" Piper asked, pushing a loose strand of hair off Prue's face.
Prue nodded. "A little. I've just been exhausted the past few weeks, although I'm sure at least some of it was stress from hiding this from all of you."
"Well, you don't have to hide anything anymore," Victor told her. "Or ever again."
"I know, Daddy," Prue responded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But really, you don't have to worry about me. I'm happy about this, and I hope you all are too."
"Of course we are," Piper replied, smiling.
"Congratulations," Leo said, getting up to give her a brotherly kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks," she replied, again trying not to yawn.
"Okay, come on," Phoebe said, pulling Prue to her feet. "My first official act as Aunt Phoebe is to send you to bed. Right now. Go."
"I am so not going to let you guys order me around for the next eight months," Prue warned.
"Like that's going to stop us from trying?" Piper asked playfully.
"Prudence, listen to your sisters," Victor advised. "You don't have to go to sleep, but at least rest for a while, and clear your mind."
Prue was about to protest, but when she opened her mouth, she yawned a third time. Finally, she gave in and allowed her father to tuck her into bed. Piper and Leo followed them upstairs to make sure she was allright.
Phoebe and Cole were left in the parlor. Phoebe, excited at the prospect of becoming an aunt, didn't notice Cole's troubled expression.
"Isn't this so great?" she asked him. She couldn't stop grinning.
"Yeah, it's wonderful," Cole replied half-heartedly. He loved seeing Phoebe so thrilled, and he wanted to be happy for her sister, he really did, but something didn't feel right. Ever since Prue had mentioned Aarden, it had been bugging him. Something about the name just seemed so damn familiar...
"I have to go," he told her suddenly.
She looked up, surprised. "Where?"
He glanced down at the floor in answer. "There's just something I need to take care of."
She nodded slowly. "I suppose I can't stop you."
He put his hands on her arms, gently but firmly. "I love you. I just have to check something, and then I'll be right back."
With that, he let go of her and shimmered out.
