~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm never alone
I'm alone all the time
Are you at one
Or do you lie
We live in a wheel
Where everyone steals
But when we rise
It's like strawberry fields
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prue stood at the window, staring out at the water. It was beautiful; the sun wasn't quite ready to rise yet, but what little light there was bounced off the waves to create a soft, radiant glow.
Prue shivered, and then suddenly found two strong arms wrapping themselves around her. She leaned against Bane, careful of his wound.
"I thought you would have left by now." he said.
"You hid my keys." she pointed out. "And besides, I need you to help me look for something. I can't really remember where you threw some of my clothes."
Bane smiled, and held her tighter. They fell back into silence, and watched the sun come up.
-x-
"Where the hell is she?" Piper demanded.
"Okay, let's not panic." Phoebe said.
"How can we not panic?" Piper asked. Prue hadn't come home from work yesterday, and they'd just woken up to find that she hadn't returned during the night, either.
The doorbell rang, and Phoebe ran to answer it. "Darryl, thanks for coming." she said, ushering the cop inside.
"Of course." he said, bending down to give her a brotherly kiss on the cheek. "No problem."
"Darryl, hi." Piper greeted, coming down the hall.
"Hey, Piper." he returned, kissing her the same way he'd kissed Phoebe.
"What have you got so far?"
"Um, her boss said she left work around noon yesterday. Nobody's heard from her since, nobody's seen her car... nothing." Piper said desperately.
"This isn't like her. She's the responsible one, she'd never, ever take off like this if she had a choice." Phoebe added.
"I know." he said. "As soon as you called, I put an alert out. If she's not answering her phone, then there's not much we can do until somebody calls in with something."
The doorbell rang again. This time it was Dan. Piper threw her arms around him, seeking comfort.
"It'll be okay," he said, hugging her. "She's probably fine. Hey, baby, don't cry. We'll find her, I promise."
Piper nodded, wiping away the few tears that had started to spill over.
They all jumped when Darryl's cell phone rang. "Hello? ...Yes....and? ...it's possible... Do you know where? ...Well, that doesn't narrow it down much....allright, we'll try... Yeah, thanks...Okay, bye."
"Well?" Phoebe asked.
"Somebody found something." Darryl said. "Or at least, they might have. A prisoner escaped yesterday, Bane Jessup. There was a newspaper found in his cell from almost a year ago. It was open to the article about Andy's death. Prue's picture was at the top."
"Where is she?" Piper broke in.
"She might be somewhere around Bodega Bay." he replied. "Someone heard gunshots go off around there yesterday, around the time that Prue disappeared."
"Oh, God." Phoebe said. "Gunshots?"
"It's okay." Piper said, drawing strength from Dan. "We don't know that she's hurt, or that she's even there. Right now, let's go concentrate on getting to her."
Darryl took Piper and Phoebe in his squad car down to the bay. It didn't take them long to find the right house; some of the windows were shattered, and there was a bullet hole in the fence.
Darryl tried to make the girls stay behind, but they refused. The three of them approached the house cautiously, and Darryl kicked the door in.
Piper and Phoebe ran ahead, only to find their sister standing at the window, wrapped in the arms of a dark, handsome man.
"What are you guys doing here?" Prue asked, shocked.
"Same question!" Piper exclaimed. "Prue, we were worried sick."
"Sorry." she apologized, glaring at Bane. "Somebody stole my cell phone..."
Piper and Phoebe looked at each other and then back at the couple, unsure of what to think.
"Hey, aren't you that escaped convict I've been told about?" Darryl asked.
"Darryl, this is Bane. Bane, my friend Darryl Morris." Prue introduced. She went on to explain to her friend what Bane had said to her, ending with "Darryl, please, help him."
Darryl sighed. "I already called for backup. They'll be here any minute."
As usual, he gave into one of Prue's pleading looks.
"Just, go." he said. Prue grabbed Bane, who had her keys, and took him out to the car. Piper and Phoebe jumped into the backseat.
"Okay, now why don't you tell us the whole story?" Piper asked through gritted teeth.
"I told you everything he told me." Prue replied, backing the car out onto the road.
"And only what he told you." Phoebe shot back. "Prue, we were worried as hell, trying to figure out what happened to you. The least you can do is tell us why."
"We know why, Phoebe." Piper replied sullenly. "Didn't you see Prue's shirt tossed in the corner?"
Prue did a mental head-slap. So that's where it had landed. She'd looked all over for it, and finally just gave up and put on one of Bane's tee-shirts instead.
"It didn't happen like that." Bane protested. Piper glared at him.
"It didn't." Prue insisted. She told them how he jumped in her car, and made her drive him to the house, ending the tale with the heroic way he'd saved her and the bond it had created between them.
"So you almost got shot?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
"Almost." Prue conceded. "But I didn't. Bane did."
By now they'd reached the manor. Prue and Phoebe brought Bane up to the bathroom, to change the dressing and give his wound proper care. Piper stayed downstairs with Dan, cuddling on the couch.
"Hey, I told you she'd be okay." Dan said, stroking her cheek.
"I know." Piper said. "And thank you, for being here. But I just... I can't help worrying. I'm mean, she's upstairs with a man who could have killed her. Not only that, but she slept with him, for chrissakes! What the hell was she thinking?"
"Maybe, she was thinking that he saved her life, and that he wasn't such a bad guy." Dan guessed.
Piper bit her lip. "I wish I could think that, too. I know something happened between them, to make Prue really care about him, and I want to support her, but... I just don't trust him."
"Then trust me." Dan said. "Don't worry, baby. I know how important your sisters are to you. I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't hurt her, okay?"
Piper nodded, looking up at Dan. He was so wonderful, so good to her. Sighing contentedly, she buried her face in his shirt, wondering how she'd gotten this lucky.
****************
A/N: Next will probably be the last Prue/Bane chapter, so I'll try to make it good. After that, I'll start focusing on Paige more, and I'm also planning something big for Prue. I'm hoping to have a Leo/Piper chapter for chapter 50, because yeah.
~from the song "Glycerine" by Bush~
I'm never alone
I'm alone all the time
Are you at one
Or do you lie
We live in a wheel
Where everyone steals
But when we rise
It's like strawberry fields
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prue stood at the window, staring out at the water. It was beautiful; the sun wasn't quite ready to rise yet, but what little light there was bounced off the waves to create a soft, radiant glow.
Prue shivered, and then suddenly found two strong arms wrapping themselves around her. She leaned against Bane, careful of his wound.
"I thought you would have left by now." he said.
"You hid my keys." she pointed out. "And besides, I need you to help me look for something. I can't really remember where you threw some of my clothes."
Bane smiled, and held her tighter. They fell back into silence, and watched the sun come up.
-x-
"Where the hell is she?" Piper demanded.
"Okay, let's not panic." Phoebe said.
"How can we not panic?" Piper asked. Prue hadn't come home from work yesterday, and they'd just woken up to find that she hadn't returned during the night, either.
The doorbell rang, and Phoebe ran to answer it. "Darryl, thanks for coming." she said, ushering the cop inside.
"Of course." he said, bending down to give her a brotherly kiss on the cheek. "No problem."
"Darryl, hi." Piper greeted, coming down the hall.
"Hey, Piper." he returned, kissing her the same way he'd kissed Phoebe.
"What have you got so far?"
"Um, her boss said she left work around noon yesterday. Nobody's heard from her since, nobody's seen her car... nothing." Piper said desperately.
"This isn't like her. She's the responsible one, she'd never, ever take off like this if she had a choice." Phoebe added.
"I know." he said. "As soon as you called, I put an alert out. If she's not answering her phone, then there's not much we can do until somebody calls in with something."
The doorbell rang again. This time it was Dan. Piper threw her arms around him, seeking comfort.
"It'll be okay," he said, hugging her. "She's probably fine. Hey, baby, don't cry. We'll find her, I promise."
Piper nodded, wiping away the few tears that had started to spill over.
They all jumped when Darryl's cell phone rang. "Hello? ...Yes....and? ...it's possible... Do you know where? ...Well, that doesn't narrow it down much....allright, we'll try... Yeah, thanks...Okay, bye."
"Well?" Phoebe asked.
"Somebody found something." Darryl said. "Or at least, they might have. A prisoner escaped yesterday, Bane Jessup. There was a newspaper found in his cell from almost a year ago. It was open to the article about Andy's death. Prue's picture was at the top."
"Where is she?" Piper broke in.
"She might be somewhere around Bodega Bay." he replied. "Someone heard gunshots go off around there yesterday, around the time that Prue disappeared."
"Oh, God." Phoebe said. "Gunshots?"
"It's okay." Piper said, drawing strength from Dan. "We don't know that she's hurt, or that she's even there. Right now, let's go concentrate on getting to her."
Darryl took Piper and Phoebe in his squad car down to the bay. It didn't take them long to find the right house; some of the windows were shattered, and there was a bullet hole in the fence.
Darryl tried to make the girls stay behind, but they refused. The three of them approached the house cautiously, and Darryl kicked the door in.
Piper and Phoebe ran ahead, only to find their sister standing at the window, wrapped in the arms of a dark, handsome man.
"What are you guys doing here?" Prue asked, shocked.
"Same question!" Piper exclaimed. "Prue, we were worried sick."
"Sorry." she apologized, glaring at Bane. "Somebody stole my cell phone..."
Piper and Phoebe looked at each other and then back at the couple, unsure of what to think.
"Hey, aren't you that escaped convict I've been told about?" Darryl asked.
"Darryl, this is Bane. Bane, my friend Darryl Morris." Prue introduced. She went on to explain to her friend what Bane had said to her, ending with "Darryl, please, help him."
Darryl sighed. "I already called for backup. They'll be here any minute."
As usual, he gave into one of Prue's pleading looks.
"Just, go." he said. Prue grabbed Bane, who had her keys, and took him out to the car. Piper and Phoebe jumped into the backseat.
"Okay, now why don't you tell us the whole story?" Piper asked through gritted teeth.
"I told you everything he told me." Prue replied, backing the car out onto the road.
"And only what he told you." Phoebe shot back. "Prue, we were worried as hell, trying to figure out what happened to you. The least you can do is tell us why."
"We know why, Phoebe." Piper replied sullenly. "Didn't you see Prue's shirt tossed in the corner?"
Prue did a mental head-slap. So that's where it had landed. She'd looked all over for it, and finally just gave up and put on one of Bane's tee-shirts instead.
"It didn't happen like that." Bane protested. Piper glared at him.
"It didn't." Prue insisted. She told them how he jumped in her car, and made her drive him to the house, ending the tale with the heroic way he'd saved her and the bond it had created between them.
"So you almost got shot?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
"Almost." Prue conceded. "But I didn't. Bane did."
By now they'd reached the manor. Prue and Phoebe brought Bane up to the bathroom, to change the dressing and give his wound proper care. Piper stayed downstairs with Dan, cuddling on the couch.
"Hey, I told you she'd be okay." Dan said, stroking her cheek.
"I know." Piper said. "And thank you, for being here. But I just... I can't help worrying. I'm mean, she's upstairs with a man who could have killed her. Not only that, but she slept with him, for chrissakes! What the hell was she thinking?"
"Maybe, she was thinking that he saved her life, and that he wasn't such a bad guy." Dan guessed.
Piper bit her lip. "I wish I could think that, too. I know something happened between them, to make Prue really care about him, and I want to support her, but... I just don't trust him."
"Then trust me." Dan said. "Don't worry, baby. I know how important your sisters are to you. I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't hurt her, okay?"
Piper nodded, looking up at Dan. He was so wonderful, so good to her. Sighing contentedly, she buried her face in his shirt, wondering how she'd gotten this lucky.
****************
A/N: Next will probably be the last Prue/Bane chapter, so I'll try to make it good. After that, I'll start focusing on Paige more, and I'm also planning something big for Prue. I'm hoping to have a Leo/Piper chapter for chapter 50, because yeah.
~from the song "Glycerine" by Bush~