~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If a greater wave shall fall
It'll fall upon us all
In between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been two days since Piper and Leo's wedding. The manor was strangely silent as Prue sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning coffee and thinking quietly as she read the paper. She looked up as her sisters came in, and motioned for them to join her.
"Morning, sweetie," Paige said, yawning. "Anything new or exciting going on?"
Prue shrugged, putting the paper down. "I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was reading. Um, can I talk to you guys about something?"
Phoebe nodded, absently tucking her long, newly blonde hair behind her ear. "Of course, honey. What's up?"
Prue took a deep breath. "Well, you know there's going to be a lot of changes around here, what with Piper getting married and getting her own place with Leo and all, and I was wondering how you'd feel about one more change. Lately I've been thinking of quitting my job. I won't do it right away, because first we need to get used to Piper being gone and it being just the three of us and Ava. But eventually, once everything has settled down both emotionally and financially, I want to leave Buckland's."
Phoebe and Paige exchanged glances, both clearly shocked.
"Honey... why?" Paige asked. "I mean, if it's what you really want, then by all means, go for it, but I'd always thought you liked your job."
Prue snorted. "Yeah, I liked my job. I was practically married to my job. But it's tiring, you know? And the company's gone so far downhill since I first started, I just don't feel like it's worth it anymore. But listen, I don't want either of you to worry about anything. Paige, I don't want to put pressure on you and your job as the sole source of income, and Pheebs, I won't let you take a job and get distracted from school. I'll pick the time carefully so as to cause as little financial strain as possible, and if worse comes to worse and we need money, I'll go to Cauldwell and beg for my job back. I just really need to try something new right now."
Her sisters scooted their chairs closer to her, hugging her tightly. "Then we'll support you in any way we can," Phoebe promised.
"We don't want you to stay in a job you hate," Paige added. "When are you handing in your resignation?"
"Not anytime soon," Prue shrugged. "I told you, this is just something I'm thinking about doing in the maybe-not-so-distant future. But I need to make sure I'll be able to get a new job. This house has just gone down one paycheck, and I've got a daughter to think of. It's not like I can just decide to switch careers and stay unemployed indefinately."
Phoebe laughed. "Sweetie, you couldn't stay unemployed even before Ava was born, and when Piper still lived here and I worked temp jobs."
Prue rolled her eyes, while Paige looked at them both curiously.
"Honey, you know about that bad car accident I was in a few years ago, right?" Prue asked.
Paige nodded. "Piper told me when I asked her how she met Leo. She said you were in a coma and almost died. It must have been terrifying."
"Yeah, well, I don't remember much," Prue said. "But after I woke up, which was about a week after the accident, it took a while for me to re-learn how to walk, and even longer for me to heal enough physically and emoionally to go back to work. I had just quit my job a week before it happened, so in all I was unemployed for about six months. It... wasn't fun."
"It drove her crazy," Phoebe cut in. "She couldn't stand not having something to do, some kind of schedule. If it had gone on much longer, I swear she would have been the first recorded case of Death by Boredom." Prue smacked her, and Paige giggled.
"Okay, so I don't cope well without something to do outside of the house," Prue admitted. "That's not the point."
"Right," Paige agreed. "The point is that you need to do what's best for you. If you want to leave your job, then do it; it's not like we're going broke, here. And considering what you've both just told me, this isn't likely to be a long-term arrangement. You find another job soon enough."
"Hey, speaking of which, what is it you want to do now?" Phoebe asked.
"I want to be a photographer," Prue said slowly, biting her lip. "I know it's a really dicey profession, which is why I was hesitant to bring this up at all. I mean, for all I've just said about wanting to quit - and I meant every word - I still don't know that I definately will. It's really risky."
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, honey, it is risky. But I think it's just as risky to stay where you are and not even try it. I mean, this is something you've wanted to do since high school."
"You've wanted to be a photographer since high school?" Paige questioned. Prue nodded. "Well then honey, you've got to try," Paige said encouragingly. "It's not like you're doing this on a whim, like you woke up this morning and suddenly decided this is what you want to do. You've been dreaming about this since you were a kid."
Prue shrugged. "Yeah, well I guess we'll see what happens." She got up, hearing Aviva crying upstairs. "In the meantime, I've got my own kid to go take care of."
With that, Prue hurried up to the nursery. "Hey, you," she cooed once she got in the door. She rushed over to the crib, and picked up her distraught seven-month-old. "Oh, I know, you just want to be held. It's okay. I've got you." She started to gently rock the baby, who'd started to calm down the moment she was in her mother's arms. Prue paced around the nursery, as much from her own unrest as the baby's. "So what do you think I should do, hmm? Do you think I should stay at Buckland's? I mean, it's not like the job's changed much in the past year or so, it's just the people, and the policies. It used to be a reputable auction house, and now nobody cares about anything but the bottom line. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it means that I'll always be able to provide for you... But only at the expense of a few of my morals, and that was never the example I wanted to set for you."
She paused, then, unaware she was doing it, changed the direction she was walking in. "On the other hand, if I do quit, it'll throw everything off balance. Especially with the kind of career I want - honey, there are just no guarantees. Even if I get hired, which is a really big 'if', who knows if I'll make it? There's a lot of compition, and I'm just starting out, and the pay'll suck, and it'll be unstable at best, and there's always the overwhelmingly real possibility of failure. But I guess that goes for any dream, huh? Maybe that's why they stay dreams..." She sighed. "What do you think, 'Viva? Help me figure this out, sweet girl."
Prue stopped moving. She took one look into daughter's big, bright blue eyes, and suddenly she knew what she had to do.
****************
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was boring. It's leading up to something, I swear. If you wait around, you'll find out what. If you review, you'll find out faster. :) Also, as always, feel free to IM/e-mail me. I'm finally coming out of a long stretch of writer's block, and feedback like that tells me people really want to read what happens next, which motivates me to write more and faster.
~from the song "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling~
If a greater wave shall fall
It'll fall upon us all
In between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been two days since Piper and Leo's wedding. The manor was strangely silent as Prue sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning coffee and thinking quietly as she read the paper. She looked up as her sisters came in, and motioned for them to join her.
"Morning, sweetie," Paige said, yawning. "Anything new or exciting going on?"
Prue shrugged, putting the paper down. "I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was reading. Um, can I talk to you guys about something?"
Phoebe nodded, absently tucking her long, newly blonde hair behind her ear. "Of course, honey. What's up?"
Prue took a deep breath. "Well, you know there's going to be a lot of changes around here, what with Piper getting married and getting her own place with Leo and all, and I was wondering how you'd feel about one more change. Lately I've been thinking of quitting my job. I won't do it right away, because first we need to get used to Piper being gone and it being just the three of us and Ava. But eventually, once everything has settled down both emotionally and financially, I want to leave Buckland's."
Phoebe and Paige exchanged glances, both clearly shocked.
"Honey... why?" Paige asked. "I mean, if it's what you really want, then by all means, go for it, but I'd always thought you liked your job."
Prue snorted. "Yeah, I liked my job. I was practically married to my job. But it's tiring, you know? And the company's gone so far downhill since I first started, I just don't feel like it's worth it anymore. But listen, I don't want either of you to worry about anything. Paige, I don't want to put pressure on you and your job as the sole source of income, and Pheebs, I won't let you take a job and get distracted from school. I'll pick the time carefully so as to cause as little financial strain as possible, and if worse comes to worse and we need money, I'll go to Cauldwell and beg for my job back. I just really need to try something new right now."
Her sisters scooted their chairs closer to her, hugging her tightly. "Then we'll support you in any way we can," Phoebe promised.
"We don't want you to stay in a job you hate," Paige added. "When are you handing in your resignation?"
"Not anytime soon," Prue shrugged. "I told you, this is just something I'm thinking about doing in the maybe-not-so-distant future. But I need to make sure I'll be able to get a new job. This house has just gone down one paycheck, and I've got a daughter to think of. It's not like I can just decide to switch careers and stay unemployed indefinately."
Phoebe laughed. "Sweetie, you couldn't stay unemployed even before Ava was born, and when Piper still lived here and I worked temp jobs."
Prue rolled her eyes, while Paige looked at them both curiously.
"Honey, you know about that bad car accident I was in a few years ago, right?" Prue asked.
Paige nodded. "Piper told me when I asked her how she met Leo. She said you were in a coma and almost died. It must have been terrifying."
"Yeah, well, I don't remember much," Prue said. "But after I woke up, which was about a week after the accident, it took a while for me to re-learn how to walk, and even longer for me to heal enough physically and emoionally to go back to work. I had just quit my job a week before it happened, so in all I was unemployed for about six months. It... wasn't fun."
"It drove her crazy," Phoebe cut in. "She couldn't stand not having something to do, some kind of schedule. If it had gone on much longer, I swear she would have been the first recorded case of Death by Boredom." Prue smacked her, and Paige giggled.
"Okay, so I don't cope well without something to do outside of the house," Prue admitted. "That's not the point."
"Right," Paige agreed. "The point is that you need to do what's best for you. If you want to leave your job, then do it; it's not like we're going broke, here. And considering what you've both just told me, this isn't likely to be a long-term arrangement. You find another job soon enough."
"Hey, speaking of which, what is it you want to do now?" Phoebe asked.
"I want to be a photographer," Prue said slowly, biting her lip. "I know it's a really dicey profession, which is why I was hesitant to bring this up at all. I mean, for all I've just said about wanting to quit - and I meant every word - I still don't know that I definately will. It's really risky."
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, honey, it is risky. But I think it's just as risky to stay where you are and not even try it. I mean, this is something you've wanted to do since high school."
"You've wanted to be a photographer since high school?" Paige questioned. Prue nodded. "Well then honey, you've got to try," Paige said encouragingly. "It's not like you're doing this on a whim, like you woke up this morning and suddenly decided this is what you want to do. You've been dreaming about this since you were a kid."
Prue shrugged. "Yeah, well I guess we'll see what happens." She got up, hearing Aviva crying upstairs. "In the meantime, I've got my own kid to go take care of."
With that, Prue hurried up to the nursery. "Hey, you," she cooed once she got in the door. She rushed over to the crib, and picked up her distraught seven-month-old. "Oh, I know, you just want to be held. It's okay. I've got you." She started to gently rock the baby, who'd started to calm down the moment she was in her mother's arms. Prue paced around the nursery, as much from her own unrest as the baby's. "So what do you think I should do, hmm? Do you think I should stay at Buckland's? I mean, it's not like the job's changed much in the past year or so, it's just the people, and the policies. It used to be a reputable auction house, and now nobody cares about anything but the bottom line. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it means that I'll always be able to provide for you... But only at the expense of a few of my morals, and that was never the example I wanted to set for you."
She paused, then, unaware she was doing it, changed the direction she was walking in. "On the other hand, if I do quit, it'll throw everything off balance. Especially with the kind of career I want - honey, there are just no guarantees. Even if I get hired, which is a really big 'if', who knows if I'll make it? There's a lot of compition, and I'm just starting out, and the pay'll suck, and it'll be unstable at best, and there's always the overwhelmingly real possibility of failure. But I guess that goes for any dream, huh? Maybe that's why they stay dreams..." She sighed. "What do you think, 'Viva? Help me figure this out, sweet girl."
Prue stopped moving. She took one look into daughter's big, bright blue eyes, and suddenly she knew what she had to do.
****************
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was boring. It's leading up to something, I swear. If you wait around, you'll find out what. If you review, you'll find out faster. :) Also, as always, feel free to IM/e-mail me. I'm finally coming out of a long stretch of writer's block, and feedback like that tells me people really want to read what happens next, which motivates me to write more and faster.
~from the song "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling~