Sorry to all the Paige fans, this is a story with just the three sisters. But there'll be more with Paige soon, I promise. Til then, have this. Enjoy…
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
Prue 23
Piper 21
Phoebe 17
"Prueeeeee! Are you coming or what!" The voice of the youngest Halliwell was heard all over the manor.
"Phoebe you'll wake up the neighbours. Relax, you got time." Piper said as she placed the baggage on the floor in front of the front door
"Piper. What if Prue and I just won't get along? What if we kill each other?" Phoebe said with a serious face making Piper giggle.
"Oh come on. You know she's always that way with you because she loves you. It's not easy to raise someone, you know?"
"Raise? Piper I'm 17 I can watch out for myself."
"Haha Pheebs, that was a good one! Oh sweetie, you know yourself that is not true. And besides, even officially Prue's your guardian since Grams died."
"Oh yeah. I can't wait till I'm of age." She sat down on her baggage.
"Phoebe come on don't be that way. You need this trip as much as Prue does. It was a really good idea of her. And as far as I can remember you squealed in delight when you heard of it." Piper said chuckling as she remembered the youngest so happy.
"But that was because I didn't really think about it. This is Prue and me you're sending away alone."
"Don't worry so much. You'll be fine." Piper ruffled her little sister's hair. "And Leo and me finally get some quality time. Just us in the whole house.." A wide smile spread across her face. She needed the time alone with her boyfriend.
"Ohhh ewww I don't wanna know!" Both sisters laughed.
"Hey guys, ready to go?" Prue came walking down the stairs.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Piper said.
"Oh I just checked if we didn't forget anything. You got your passport, Pheebs?"
"Yep. Everything's ready."
Prue didn't know if this was the best idea but now everything was packed and their plane would take off in a couple of hours. She remembered what she had said two days before….
Flashback - - -
"Hey Pipe. Mmm I smell dinner." Prue said as she walked through the front door and placed her bag on the floor.
"Yep. You must be hungry. How was your day?" Piper said from the kitchen.
"Good actually. And I got something today but I wanna talk to you about it first. Is Phoebe home?"
"No she's at the library getting something for a paper of some sort she has to read at school."
"Okay that's good. I need to talk to you alone about this first." She entered the kitchen.
"What is it, Prue?" Piper asked a little concerned.
"Oh it's no big thing but let's sit down first." So they sat down at the kitchen table with Piper still in her apron and a wet towel in her hand.
"Okay. Today my boss told me that Bucklands is participating in some huge auction in a museum in Moscow. And they asked me to assist there." Prue said with a proud smile.
"WOW Prue that's awesome! You can go to Russia!" Piper said excitedly.
"I know. But listen. This is what I wanted to talk to you about. They said I was doing a really good job all the time and so they gave me these." She held up two tickets.
"Two? Means you and…you can take someone with you?" Piper asked surprised.
"Yep. But the problem is it's just one person. I would have loved to have you two come with me but I can't. And Andy is way too busy to leave SF for a whole week. So I…I was thinking..Piper don't get this wrong I love you to bits but.."
"Prue just say it. What?"
"Umm, don't fall off your chair now…I wanted to take Phoebe with me."
"You what? I can't believe you just said that." Piper was a little shocked but continued. "I can't imagine you going to a trip with her alone."
"That's just it, Pipe. We haven't done this in ages. I mean being just us two. We're constantly on each other's throats and without you we might have killed each other a long time ago. I think we just have to have a looong talk. It's hard and exhausting to go on like this, you know?"
"Yeah you're right. Maybe it's even quite a good idea."
"So you're not mad at me for not taking you?"
"Oh Prue! Don't be silly I'm way too busy to go anywhere, anyway. Aaand I already have some really good plans to make my days interesting." Piper grinned.
"Leo?" Prue grinned along. Piper then nodded and they both laughed. Prue was glad that Piper finally seemed to have found her man of her dreams. It was then they heard the front door slam shut.
"I'm home!" Phoebe called out.
"Kitchen Pheebs!" Piper called back.
"Hi!" Phoebe came rushing in the kitchen and sat down next to Piper on a chair.
"Hi. Had a good day?" Piper asked.
"Oh yeah. Just a bit long though. I could use some vacation."
"Then Prue has just the right thing for you." Piper said grinning and Phoebe looked confused at Prue.
"Piper! I wanted to tell this a little more discreetly."
"Prue what?" Phoebe urged on while she took a sip of the orange juice Piper had placed in front of her.
"Umm, Phoebe, do you wanna go to Russia with me?" At this, Phoebe spat out the juice in her mouth and began to choke.
"Oh gross! Pheebs!" Prue said as she wiped her face. Piper burst out laughing but she sat down next to the coughing Phoebe and began to pat her back, still tears of laughter in her eyes.
"You…you okay Pheebs?" She said though still laughing hysterically.
"And you call that…call that…dis…discreet, Prue?" she continued between laughter.
"Arrgh Piper! This is all your fault!" Prue said now also laughing.
"Prue what did you just ask me?" Phoebe was the only one not laughing.
"Okay Pheebs, listen. I got these tickets from Bucklands for an auction in Moscow. It's gonna take a week and one person of my choice can be there as well. So I was thinking about taking you with me." Phoebe was totally stunned but after a few seconds she began to smile widely like a child that has just been asked to go to Disneyland with Daddy.
"Oh Prue are you serious! I can go to Russia with you! That is sooo cool!" Phoebe squealed.
"So can I take that as a yes?" Prue smiled at her baby sister's happy face.
"YEAH!" But then Phoebe realized something and her face fell. "But I have school."
"Oh don't worry about that. We can report you sick." Prue replied.
"Really! Oh thank you Prue I love you!" Phoebe threw herself at her oldest sister.
"Whoa, easy there kiddo. I love you too." She laughed and then kissed Phoebe on the side of her head.
End flashback - - -
Now they were sitting in front of the glass door of the departure gate of San Francisco Intl.. It seemed so good at first but in the two days that had passed, the youngest and oldest were bickering over the littlest thingd so much they weren't sure anymore if they would survive this without their middle sister, their mediator.
"Flight Nr. 15468 San Francisco to Moscow…." They heard the announcer telling them the plane would take off in 50 minutes.
"Guess it's time for you. Better to have too much of it than too little." Piper said getting up.
"Oh Piper. I'm gonna miss you so much over the week." Prue said while hugging her little sis.
"Prue don't be silly it's just a week." Piper laughed.
"Yeah but still. Have fun with Leo and try not to destroy the house." Prue said with a laugh.
"Prue who do you think I am?" Piper smacked her big sister playfully.
"Sorry Pipe. Oh I love you so much."
"I love you, too. Take care of Phoebe and do me a favor don't kill her, please."
"I'll try my best. Take care." Prue kissed Piper on the cheek and broke the hug.
Phoebe was so unsure if this was the right thing. As they were kids, she never felt nervous of being alone with her oldest sister but somehow lately nothing seemed to work anymore between them. She saw Piper and Prue say their good byes to each other. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the closeness her older sisters shared. Since she knew them, they were the best friends on earth and sometimes she felt a little left out.
"Come here baby." Piper said as she stretched her arms out to her little sister. Phoebe stepped in the tight embrace and laid her head on Piper's shoulder.
"I don't wanna go Piper. I'm scared.." She whispered into Piper's ear.
"Aww baby, you'll be fine. Come on it's only a week." Piper whispered back, her hand on the back of Phoebe's head.
"But still…What if.."
"Phoebe you're okay. Prue and you, you love each other. Always think of it, Prue loves you, no matter what. You just have to talk a bit. Okay?" She said kissing Phoebe on the forehead.
"Okay." She said quietly looking down.
"Pheebs." Piper said and got her attention. "I love you. Make sure you behave there, ok?"
"Love you too Pipe. And I'm not a kid anymore, I think I know what's wrong and what's not." Phoebe said laughing as she kissed her sister good bye.
Prue and Phoebe were now waiting for the clock to reach boarding time. They still had half an hour left. There was an uneasy silence between the two. Phoebe stood up and broke it.
"I'll go look around in this place, ok?"
"No Phoebe stay here. As I know you you're gonna see something in some shop and forget the time. I can't afford it to miss my plane to work." Prue replied.
"Gosh Prue, why do you always think the worst of me?" Phoebe said already getting angry.
"Phoebe don't start. Piper's gone now for five minutes and you're already on my throat." Prue answered also with anger rising in her.
"I'm on your throat? Very funny, Prue. And what the hell gives you the right to pin me down to this stupid chair!" Her voice got louder.
"Phoebe! Get a grip on yourself now! We're not at home here." Prue hissed as she grabbed Phoebe's wrist tightly. "I have all rights young lady. Just for your information I'm your guardian and I'm responsible for everything you do."
"Let me go Prue! It's not like I was asked if I wanted to be your charge! Why can't you just leave me alone!" Now several people were already looking at the girls. Prue then stood up and pulled Phoebe by the wrist into the lady's bathroom. After checking that no one else was there, she turned Phoebe roughly towards her so their faces were only a few inches away from each other.
"Now listen good young lady! You behave yourself RIGHT NOW or I'll ground you for the next three months after we're home!" She shouted at her little sister.
"I don't care! You're not my mother Prue! Don't f.cking tell me what I have to do!" Phoebe regretted her stupid behaviour as soon as the words left her mouth. Next thing she knew was a loud slap and the horrible stinging in her left cheek. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Prue was a little surprised herself. Never before had she hit Phoebe. There were millions of times she would have loved to but she never actually did it. Sure she had spanked her a few times as a kid but she had never hit her in the face. But now Phoebe was just driving her insane with her bitchy mood. Now she saw Phoebe on the verge of tears and she instantly felt a pang of guilt inside. But she wouldn't show this to her little sister.
This was what she was scared of. Phoebe quickly wiped away her tears and silently left the room as Prue did likewise. Piper wasn't even gone for fifteen minutes and Prue had already smacked her. But it wasn't the fact that Prue did it for the first time that scared her. She was more scared of herself, what she was capable of saying to Prue and what she could force Prue to do with it. She was aware that Prue would never intentionally hurt her. It was herself she didn't have confidence in.
The rest of the waiting time they sat in silence again. Phoebe's cheek was turning red. She had never thought Prue had so much force in her arms. At least not in smacking someone.
'Oooww this burns like hell!' She thought rubbing her cheek but hid it from Prue. She would never admit that it hurt.
Suddenly they heard the stewardess calling that it was time to board. So they got up, got checked and went into the plane, not ready for the seven and a half hours flight at all.
Phoebe occupied the window seat as always when the girls were on a trip. She was still fascinated by the small houses and streets she would see after take off.
The girls didn't talk to each other now but as the plane slowly left the ground, Prue couldn't help but smile at the face the youngest had right now. She had never been one to hide her emotions and now was no different. The sparkle of fascination in her deep brown eyes was one thing everyone would notice in Phoebe. Prue loved it. She hoped that her baby sister would never in her life lose the innocence she had kept until now.
A couple of hours had passed. Prue was reading a magazine while some passengers were sleeping, some watching the board movie. She glanced over to Phoebe and chuckled as she saw her fast asleep. But she quickly realized she wasn't sleeping all too well due to the uncomfortable position she was in. She kept rolling to her side, then on her back and to her side again as her head found nothing to lean on. Prue was already surprised she didn't fall off of her seat completely. And now she was glad the other seat next to her wasn't occupied. For now she forgot the anger and the 'I'm not talking to you' pact she had with the youngest and shook her gently.
"Pheebs. Honey get up for a second. We'll swap places and you can lie on my lap, okay?" She whispered softly. "Come on, you'll be in pain afterwards if you stay like that. Let's lie down, hey?" Phoebe said nothing as she just rubbed her eyes and quietly obeyed. She stood up so Prue could sit on the window seat as she lay down stretched out on the other two seats with her head in Prue's lap. She was asleep again in less than a second.
After a while nearly every passenger was asleep. Prue and Phoebe were still in the same position as a stewardess approached them.
"Hi. Can I get you anything, Miss?" The young stewardess asked Prue in a whisper as she saw Phoebe curled up in a ball sleeping. She had to smile at the cute sight.
"No thank you. What are you smiling at?" Prue whispered smiling herself at the beautiful stewardess. She looked about her age and had long, blond hair and emerald eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry. It's just you remind me a lot of my sister and myself. She'll be 18 this month."
"Really? Phoebe's 17, too. She doesn't look like it but.."
"True. She looks a bit younger. But that's normal when they are sleeping like that." The stewardess said with an understanding smile. Prue smiled back and stretched her hand out.
"I'm Prue."
"I'm Jessica. Nice to meet you." Jessica shook Prue's hand.
"So you have a brake now?" Prue asked.
"Well yeah you could say so. Nearly everyone's sleeping. So I don't have much to do."
"And you don't have to sleep?"
"No, the other two are sleeping right now. We switch places in about an hour."
"I see. Oh you can sit down there if you want." Prue indicated to the seat where Phoebe's feet were half on.
"Oh no, thanks I don't want to wake her." Jessica replied.
"No no trust me, you won't wake her. She's sound asleep. And I'd appreciate the company."
"Okay if you say so.." Jessica sat down while Prue moved Phoebe's feet a bit. But somehow Phoebe stirred, put her feet back on Jessica's lap and kept on sleeping.
"Ohh sorry about that, Jessica. She's used to having two sisters around and apparently she thinks you're my other sister." Prue laughed a bit embarrassed.
"It's okay. She's quite the tired girl, huh?"
"Yeah we had a little bit of an argument earlier and she got quite upset so.." Prue didn't know why she was telling this to a complete stranger but somehow she liked the stewardess.
"Oh believe me, I know what you're talking about. My sister and I are constantly fighting, too. Since my parents died in a car accident I had to play the mom for her and somehow it just remained like that." Now Prue was really surprised.
"Omigod, same with me. I lost my parents early, too and since then I more or less raised her." She said while lovingly running a hand through Phoebe's slightly curly brown hair.
"Wow. Seems like we have a lot in common."
"You can say that aloud."
Suddenly, the plane started to shake violently waking all the passengers.
"What's going on!" Prue asked.
"I don't know. I'll check the cockpit. Fasten your seatbelts and put on the life jacket under your seat, quick!" Jessica stood up and rushed to the cockpit.
"Prue! What's happening!" A roughly awakened Phoebe asked.
"I don't know honey. But I'm sure it'll be okay. Put this on, sweetie." She said while putting the life jacket on Phoebe. She didn't really believe in her own words.
And indeed, the quake didn't stop. By the feelings of their stomachs the passengers could tell that they were falling down. The oxigen masks were already hanging down above their heads.
The stewardesses couldn't even take charge of the situation as the plane crashed down and nearly everyone lost consciousness.
A pain shot through her body as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt cold. But as she looked at her surroundings, she knew why. There was snow everywhere and icicles were hanging from the high tree branches she could see. But a big metal object drew her attention. It was a part of the plane. She remembered then what had happened and one thought shot through her mind: her sister. She got up as quickly as she could but as a horrible pain shot through her right ankle, she let out a scream sat back down.
"Great. I swear this is broken." She said wincing. But then she got up again and slowly limped towards the plane. As she looked inside of the still smoke-filled plane, she saw several clearly dead bodies of some passengers lying everywhere. She just prayed her sister was not one of them. She looked on and on, and in the last row of seats that still looked like seats, she spotted her. She rushed over her as fast as she could with her injured ankle.
"Phoebe! Phoebe you okay! Can you hear me!" Prue slapped her sister lightly on the cheek. She heard what seemed like music to her ears as her baby sister groaned and then coughed. Prue just fell to her knees and hugged her.
"Oh thank God you're alive!"
"Prue…? What…where are we..what happened..?" She asked weakly.
"Seems like our plane crashed down in the middle of Siberia. There's nothing but snow and trees out there. Phoebe are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Prue said while unbuckling Phoebe of the miracly still fastened seatbelt.
"My…everything, Prue." Phoebe said whining a little.
"No, I know you're hurting everywhere so am I but I mean does anything especially hurt?"
"Not really..no."
"Thank God. Can you get up, sweetie?" Prue said as she put her arm around Phoebe to help her get out of the seat. As she did so, Phoebe felt a sharp pain in her chest and winced.
"What? Where does it hurt honey?" Prue asked concern all over her face.
"It's okay..just a little…here.." She put a hand to her chest. Prue was even more concerned now. 'Man I hope she didn't brake her ribs or something.'
"Prue..are you..okay?" Phoebe asked somewhat out of breath.
"I think my ankle is broken not to mention the killer headache you must feel right know, too but other than that I'm fine." She said while hobbling outside with Phoebe.
Once outside and in the light Prue saw what Phoebe looked like. She had a nasty gash on her head, dried blood on the side of her face probably because of it, her clothes partly ripped and dirty and she looked pale. But then she looked down on herself and realized she didn't look much better. She had several cuts on different parts of her body but they didn't look too deep. She also realized that they weren't the only survivors. There were about ten or fifteen passengers gathering outside. Some looked okay but some looked horrible, blood-covered and weak. Among those people, Prue recognized a familiar face and let out a sigh of relief when she saw she seemed to be fine. She waved to her.
"Heeey Jessicaa! You okaaay!" She shouted.
"Pruuueee! Is that yooouu!" She heard Jessica shout back and then rush towards them.
"Oh God Prue! Am I glad you're okay!" Jessica said as she reached the two Halliwells.
"And I'm glad you are. Phoebe, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is Phoebe."
"Hi. Nice to meet you Phoebe." Jessica said shaking the youngest's hand.
"Nice to meet you, too, Jessica. Are you the…the stewardess?" She said though coughing a bit.
"Yeah I am. Are you okay?" She asked Phoebe who somehow reminded her of her own sister.
"Well my head hurts a bit and ..and my chest but..I'm okay." She still coughed.
"Honey I think you sat there in the smoke a little too long." Prue said rubbing Phoebe's back. "Jess, is there a doctor among the survivors? I think I broke my ankle and it'd be good if someone could look at this gash on her head." She said pointing at Phoebe's head. "And I'm sure there are a few people who need a doctor immediately." She said looking at some of the people around the place.
"I've already asked everyone that crossed my way but there isn't any doctor here." Jessica replied sighing. "But there are first aid kits and survival kits in the plane. Maybe we can find some."
"Good. Let's go then." Prue said. Jessica helped Prue walk to the crashed plane while Phoebe followed them. As she entered the cabin still full of smoke, she began to cough.
"Phoebe wait outside. You have to get the smoke out of your lungs and standing in the middle of it won't help you." Prue said turning around to her little sister.
"But.."
"No honey, go. I mean it. Go sit down outside and try to relax. We'll be done here soon." Prue answered cutting Phoebe off.
Phoebe then walked out of the plane and made her way to a nearby tree. She completely forgot about the argument Prue and her had earlier. But considering the circumstances that would be normal. She then realized that she was getting out of breath really quickly as she sat down. The pain in her chest started to get worse and her head hurt so she leaned back on the trunk and closed her eyes.
After about fifteen minutes Prue and Jessica came out of the plane, coughing a little because of the smoke that was there. They spotted Phoebe by the tree and approached her.
"Jessica, maybe you should go to the other passengers while I take care of Phoebe and myself." Prue told her new friend.
"Okay. I'll try to find more people who are in the condition to help us." She said and walked away. Prue turned to Phoebe. She didn't look good at all. She got increasingly pale and there was perspiration forming on her forhead. Prue crouched down next to her.
"Hey baby. You ok?"
"Prue..yeah I feel fine..my head hurts a bit.."
"Okay love. Come here for a sec." She pulled Phoebe to her and made her lean backwards on her chest. She then grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and a bandage and began to apply the liquid to Phoebe's wound on the head. Phoebe winced and tried to pull back but Prue held her in place. "Don't move sweetie. It's over soon. I have to do this you know? Otherwise it might get infected."
Phoebe didn't like the stinging on her temple but she loved being held like that by Prue. It seemed so long to her since she received this kind of attention the last time by her oldest sister. She leaned back as Prue put the bandage on her.
"There. All done." Prue said. 'I hope she doesn't have a concussion.' She tought. "Pheebs do you feel dizzy or nauseous or anything?" She asked still holding her sister.
"A little..but how did you know…?" 'Oh shit, that doesn't sound good.' Prue thought.
"Because you just hit your head, hun. You might have a concussion, so don't lie with your head down for a while, okay?" Phoebe just nodded. Prue then let go of her sister and tended to her own injuries. Phoebe felt disappointed as the warmth was gone way too quickly but she knew Prue had to take care of her own injuries so she said nothing.
After a while Jessica came running towards them.
"Hey guys. The locator beacon is activated. They're gonna find us in no time. The only thing we have to do is to survive one or two nights."
"That's great! But where are we supposed to stay? We'll freeze here outside." Prue said.
"I think by tonight the smoke in the plane will be gone so we can just sleep there. There are still lots of blankets, too."
"Oh perfect. Hear that, Pheebs? We can go home soon." Prue turned to Phoebe.
"Cool..I already….miss Piper…" She said in between coughs.
It was already dark outside as everyone, meaning every survivor sat in the plane. It was quite crowded since Jessica had found more people alive and it was only a part of the plane. Now there were about 20 people sitting there. They all occupied the seats and were discussing how to use the survivor kits the best way and what to do until help came. It was amazing that so many, so different people could stick together when it came to an emergency.
Phoebe sat in one of the seats leaning backwards against Prue's chest, their hands tangled in front of her stomach as Prue had her arms around her. She felt the pain in her chest rising but didn't say anything. 'I'm really not the only one who's hurting. At least I have my sister here.' She thought as she glanced over to several crying women. 'They must have lost their husbands…or families..God if I'd lost Prue…' She stopped herself from thinking about it and just concentrated on her older sister's heart beat that told her how alive Prue really was. And she concentrated on another sign that she was there. Her voice.
"We should be really careful with the use of water. I mean it could happen that they don't find us right away, right? No matter if they have already located us, everything's still possible so.." Prue talked to the room while absent-mindedly playing with Phoebe's fingers.
"Yes, definitely. And we should stay close, actually really close to each other while sleeping. The temperature is I don't know how how much under zero here and I don't want to risk freezing to death." A man said as he squeezed his wife closer to him.
"Speaking of, we should all get some sleep now. Our bodies really need to rest." A woman spoke from where Prue couldn't see her.
"You're right. Let's hope they really find us tomorrow." Jessica said who was sitting near Prue and Phoebe.
"You ok Phoebe?" Prue asked looking down to her sister.
"No. But you won't receive a 'yes' from no one here." Phoebe sounded a bit cranky.
"Yeah…you're right…get some sleep now hun." Prue replied quietly. Soon everyone was asleep, each helping to stay warm by holding at least one person close to the body.
"Piper! They located the plane! A rescue team is on it's way to Siberia." Leo said as he burst throough the living room door. Piper was still crying on the couch as the phone rang but now she looked up the first time with hope in her eyes.
"They are ok. You have to believe that." Leo said as he pulled his girlfriend close to him.
"Oh Leo. They have to be. I can't live without them. They're my everything."
"I know Piper, I know. You'll see them in no time, honey. Just believe."
"Prue must be so angry right now that she misses the auction. She's such a workaholic." Piper said half crying half laughing. "And Phoebe..she loves the snow. Now she gets to play with it….Oh God Leo she must be so scared!" Piper burst into tears again.
"Shhh honey, everything will be fine. Look, at least they are together. They're helping each other, I'm sure." He said as he caressed Piper's soft, long brown hair.
The passengers were awaken by loud yelling. Some of them sat up.
"Is the rescue party here now?" A man asked. But as they listened to what they were yelling, they knew it couldn't be the team.
"What are they saying?" A woman asked.
"I don't know, I don't understand a word." Another man replied. In another corner, Prue stirred.
"Aarrgh, what the heck is going on here..?" She groaned as she heard the noises.
"Prue. Prue look." She heard Phoebe's voice. She saw that Phoebe had already been awake and now she was looking out of a cracked window. Prue approached her.
"Pheebs. How're you feeling?"
"Fine. Look." She indicated out the window. She didn't have time now to tell Prue how she really felt. As yesterday, the pain in her chest was growing and she could feel that something wasn't right with her lungs. Not to mention the killer headache she had, but she was pretty sure everyone had it so she shrugged it off. Now she was looking at about ten strange men outside in the snow. Prue joined Phoebe in watching them.
'They don't look like help. And what language..oh Russian, how stupid am I..?.' Prue thought to herself but then she saw what the men were carrying as they now approached their part of the plane.
'Are those…shit they have guns…I hope they're not here to…' Prue's thoughts were cut off by Phoebe who was now looking at her with scared eyes.
"Prue who are they? They have guns. Are we gonna die now?"
"No honey, don't be scared. I won't let anything happen to you." Prue said though she knew she couldn't be sure of that. And it didn't help either that those men were now bursting into the plane. The passengers started to scream and panic, but the men kept yelling something in Russian. The first passenger who tried to run away in panic was silenced by a loud shot. His limp body fell to the ground and a puddle of blood started to form under him. Prue quickly cradeld Phoebe's head, covering her eyes and ears. She felt the girl shaking in her arms.
Prue looked around and found three passengers talking to the men but also saw the fear in their eyes. 'So we have russian survivors, too.' Then she saw the three passengers stand up slowly. One of them was shaking as he spoke up.
"I need your attention now. They say they want us to go with them. If we obey and try nothing, they say that they will let us live." He said with a slight accent. Some of the female passengers started crying but they got up and followed the gunmen outside, as did the male passengers who had lost all colour in their faces, some holding their terrified wives or girlfriends. Two even had babies which were bawling their lungs out.
Prue heard Phoebe starting to softly whimper.
"Shh baby you'll be ok. I'll protect you." Prue whispered holding her sister close. She then started her way out of the plane.
Outside, there were two trucks waiting. Roughly, the men pushed everyone inside, making sure the at least one of the russian passengers sat in one truck.
"Where are they taking us! Hey asshole! Where are you taking us?" A man shouted at one of the gunmen in the back of the military truck. In return, he was knocked unconscious by the back of the heavy gun. The woman next to him screamed and knelt down beside him. Probably his wife.
Prue looked around. She was looking for Jessica but it seemed that she was in the other truck. Then she looked down to her baby sister. She was getting extremely worried about her. Phoebe had been coughing nonstop for nearly twenty minutes now. She had tears streaming down her face, probably rather because of all the coughing than actually crying. She had nearly gotten sick once because she was coughing so hard. Prue just kept patting and stroking her back and whispered comforting noises to her. What she didn't see was the blood her little sister had coughed up as it covered her hands. It was hard to distinguish this kind of blood from that of new bleeding cuts.
The vehicle was moving about an hour. As it stopped, the passengers could see that they were brought into what seemed like a small siberian village. They were pushed inside a run down yet big house and were led to what seemed to be the basement. It was a concrete floor and it felt cold. Really cold.
Prue and Phoebe were about to go inside when one of the men suddenly stopped them. They couldn't understand the words as he talked to another man but they could make out that his name was Sergej. And the other was apparently called Pavel. Sergej was a tall, well-built, dark haired about 40 year-old man. He had a stubbly beard and his face had rather traits of an asian than a western Russian. Pavel was way smaller and thinner. He had blue eyes but they were clouded ones, full of coldness and cruelty. His really short, dark blond hairs were covered under the thick furry cap he had on. Now they were standing in front of the two sisters, watching them with ugly eyes and talking about something. Suddenly the one called Pavel grabbed Phoebe on the wrist and pulled her away from Prue.
"PHOEBE! Get your dirty hands off of her you bastard!" Prue tried to attack him but was stopped by Sergej who now had a strong grip on her. Prue could only watch as her screaming and coughing baby was slowly disappearing to another room.
"Give her back! Damit she is sick and injured! She needs medical attention! She needs her sister, she needs ME!" Prue kept screaming at Sergej's face but she was roughly pulled to another room as well.
Phoebe kept screaming for Prue but as she heard Prue's screaming getting lower and lower she knew it was useless. Pavel threw her roughly on the old bed. The room smelled disgusting like mold and sweat and was as cold as the basement seemed to be. She heard Pavel close the old wooden door, an evil grin on his dirty face. The only thing Phoebe felt now was fear.
Prue looked up to the tall man. She wanted nothing but kill him and run to Phoebe. But she was way too weak against a well-built, not to mention armed man. She looked away as he began to approach her as she knew what was about to come. She felt his weight on her as his foul breath that nearly made her puke touched her face. Her heart was beating so fast and so hard she thought he would hear it. A struggle was impossible due to the strong grip he hand on her as he held her down. With one hand, he held both her wrists above her head and the only thing she heard was the metallic sound of his belt opening. He pulled her pants down and sat on her. 'This is it.' She thought but then something unexpected happened. The door swung open with a loud noise as it hit the wall. Another tall man walked through the door and with force, he pulled Sergej off of Prue. Prue didn't realize what was happening as she had her eyes closed first but now she saw the tall man yelling at Sergej. Then he punched him once in the face and it seemed that Sergej apologized and quickly walked out. But then Prue felt a tight grip on her upper arm again as the man, apparently the leader, pulled her roughly out of the room and threw her into the basement.
"Prue! Oh my God are you okay!" Prue heard a familiar voice and looked up while she put her clothes back on again.
"Jessica.." Prue was shaking. Jessica quickly pulled her friend in her arms.
"Did they hurt you! What did they do to you? Are you alright!"
"Jess..I'm okay. My ankle hurts like hell and he just tried to rape me but..another one came in and stopped him." Suddenly she looked around the room. "Is Phoebe here!"
"No..at least I haven't seen her…sorry." Jessica looked down.
"Shit! Shit, they got her! They have my baby!" Prue slammed her fist on the cold concrete floor as tears of anger, frustration and fear streamed down her cheeks, landing next to her fist.
"Oh Prue!" Jessica just held Prue as she cried and grabbed her arm to stop her from hurting herself as she repeatedly tried to slam her fist on the hard floor.
Phoebe had never been so scared before. She thought her heart was on the verge of exploding. She felt the cold clammy hands slowly making their way to her breasts. Her pants and sweater were already pulled off of her and were now spread on the floor. She wasn't even aware of the strange feeling in her lungs and her aching throat as she continued coughing. But it didn't seem to bother Pavel much since he just pressed her down on the thin mattress and continued with his movements. Phoebe just kept thinking of her sisters and tried to block everything out that was now happening to her. Suddenly Pavel felt strong arms push him away from his new found toy and then a sharp pain on his cheek. Phoebe looked up with teary eyes to see a man shouting and beating the other as he pushed him out of the room. Through her blurry vision she saw him coming towards her. She tried to pull away but he was too fast as she felt a pain in her arm and was forced to stand up. He threw the clothes at her ant yelled something. She assumed he commanded her to put on her clothes as she obeyed. It cost her a lot to keep standing. As she was finished, again those rough arms dragged her down the hallway and down the steps to the basement.
Prue creid in Jessica's arms when suddenly she heard the basement door open. Despite the dim light that was coming from the little lightbulb on the ceiling she recognized just who it was. With lightning speed and biting away her pain in her ankle, she ran to the small figure that was now lying on the bottom of the steps.
"Phoebe! Oh God Phoebe!" Prue couldn't say anything as she just held the shaking girl as tight as she could and cried openly. After a few minutes she composed herself and looked at her baby,
"Phoebe are you okay? What did they do? Did they hurt you baby?" She asked as Jessica had earlier. Phoebe gave no answer. Prue got scared but first she gently helped Phoebe up and guided her to a corner of the room where she leant on a wall, her arm around her sisters shoulder. She looked deeply into Phoebe's eyes but she looked away.
"Phoebe. Sweetie look at me. Come on, it's okay just look into my eyes." She said softly as she took Phoebe's chin and made her look at her.
"Okay Phoebe, I know you don't want to remember it but..did they hurt you?..Did he.." Phoebe then violently shook her head no.
"No..he didn't." She said in a low voice. Prue let out a sigh of relief but then realized that Phoebe was way too quiet. She didn't want her to shut everything out, to hide inside a shell she might never come out.
"Phoebe. Look don't shut it out. You can't keep this inside sweetie." She then pulled her in her arms and pressed her head against her chest. "Come on I'm here now, you can let it out. I got you baby. You have to let it out honey, you have to cry." Prue talked into Phoebe's soft hair. It was then a sob escaped Phoebe as she finally let go and cried openly into her sister's chest.
"Yeah good girl…that's it, just let it out…just cry….big sis is here…it'll be alright, everything will be alright…" Prue kept rocking Phoebe and patting her back until she cried herself to sleep. She could nearly hear the other people's heart braking at the muffled but still loud sobs of the young girl. As everything quieted down again, Prue closed her eyes and gave in to the exhaustion of the day as sleep took over her.
The next morning Prue woke up to the screaming of the youngest. She immediately pulled Phoebe on her lap and started rocking her and cooing to her. Phoebe just kept sobbing in her sister's arms but then a coughing fit wracked her body again. She had been aware that she was coughing up blood. This time was no different. She felt the disgusting taste of her own blood in her mouth as she coughed into her sister's shoulder. Prue continued patting and rubbing her back until Phoebe's cough calmed down again. But this time she cleary felt her sweater getting wet. She gently pulled Phoebe back. Her sister had covered her mouth with her palm, she was still coughing a little. Her sweater was black anyway so Prue couldn't tell what had wet it but she somehow knew it couldn't be the tears. With a slightly shaking hand, she gripped the wet spot tight and let go of it again. The room wasn't really well illuminated but as she looked at her palm, she could now see the dark thick liquid on it. Her eyes shot to Phoebe and she quickly took hold of her baby sister's hand that covered her mouth.
"Phoebe. Let go. Now." Prue's voice was shaking a little. As Phoebe put away her hand, Prue's thoughts were confirmed and her heart skipped a beat. She had the same liquid around her mouth and as Prue told her to open her mouth, she coud make out the blood on her teeth as well.
"How long?" Was the only thing she asked.
"Since we were..on the…truck." She said weakly and still out of breath.
"Phoebe what were you thinking? Do you think this is something you can hide from me like that!" Prue's voice got louder than she wanted it to. Phoebe was crying again.
"Prue I'm s..sorry I didn't..didn't mean to hide it….I just c..couldn't tell you…w..worry you. I'm so..so sorry!" She buried her face into the crook of Prue's neck.
"Okay, okay shhh. Ssshh baby I got it...I'm sorry I yelled at you…You must be feeling so bad…Hey look I'm sorry, okay?.. I really didn't mean to yell...calm down baby, it's okay now…shh shh shhh..it'll be okay.." Prue said as she ran her hand up and down her sister's back. She didn't mean to make Phoebe cry again. It was just out of pure habit that she got angry though she should have been more careful with her after all what happened. But Phoebe somehow seemed to have lost it and now she was in the middle of a crying fit.
"Oh honey please stop..you're fine babes..just shhh. Come on I'm not mad at you. Calm down sweetheart." Prue then stopped rubbing Phoebe's back as she slowly slipped her hand under her little sister's sweater and started to gently run her nails up and down her spine. This always worked magic on her. Prue knew just what exactly to do to calm Phoebe. And this was something neither Grams nor Piper, not even her Mom knew it was the best way to calm her. And this time was no exception as she had Phoebe back to sleep in seconds. It was then she heard a gentle whisper from next to her.
"Wow, you're really good with her. I mean I was watching you the whole time now and I've never seen anyone handling his charge so well like you do." Prue saw Jessica talking to her.
"Oh, um, thank you. But say that again when we're fighting. It's WW3 I'm telling you."
"That I believe you. But you know what? That doesn't count. In hard situations like this people show their real character and don't try to hide their emotions too much. And no matter what she says to you when you're fighting, she needs you and she looks up to you. She loves you. And somehow I can see something more than just sisters share." Prue simled at this.
"Yeah I know Jess. She's more like my daughter than anything. I've been taking care of her since she was two years old. Even officially I'm her guardian." She whispered while stroking Phoebe's hair.
"Really? I'm sure she can't imagine a better guardian." Jessica smiled.
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that. She misses her mom a lot, you know?"
"So why do I get the feeling she sees you more as her mom than anything? Prue you said yourself that you've been taking care of her since she was a toddler. What else would she think?"
"I know but sometimes it's just really hard. I mean she's 17 and is still a hell of a rebell. It's already better than when she was like 15 but still..she pisses me off so much sometimes. I even hit her yesterday..I never did that before..I'm so scared that sometime it gets out of control…" Prue looked upset now.
"Prue. How many times do you think I slapped my sister? I mean slapped her across the face. It's mostly when she pisses me off and goes way too far with what she says, then I hit her, then she cries and afterwards I go apologize to her, she apologizes to me, we hug and kiss and everything's fine again. She still loves me and I still love her like no one else in the world. Phoebe knows you won't hurt her without reason. She knows she's safe with you, wherever you are. Like now, you know?"
"Wow Jess, it's really good to talk to someone in the same shoes. But I don't think I'll get accustomed to hitting her."
"No, no. Oh God no, don't get me wrong now. It's not like I'm constantly hitting her. I'd never do that. It's just sometimes you can't do anything else. And I have to add that Marie, my sister, hits me, too when she's really mad. But my point is that in the end she always comes back and apologizes. As I do, too."
"Wait your sister's called Marie? That's funny cause Phoebe's middle name is Marie, too."
"Wow cool, what a coincidence. Seems like we're not the only ones who have something in common, huh?" She laughed quietly. It was then Phoebe stirred in Prue's lap.
"Mmm..Pwue….?" She half opened her eyes
"Yeah honey, I'm here. You ok sweetie?" She pushed back a stray lock out of Phoebe's face.
"I'm cold…"
"Okay second honey." Prue was about to put her sweater off when Jessica stopped her.
"Wait Prue, here take my jacket. You've only got your swearter, it'll be way too cold to sit here in a t-shirt." Jessica then handed her her coat.
"I don't know how to thank you enough, Jessica." Prue said as she took the coat from her friend.
"Hey no problem. This reminds me a lot of taking care of my own sister." She replied as she watched Prue gently cover her baby sister with the coat and tighten her arms around her in order to keep her warm. Prue smiled at her and turned to Phoebe again.
"Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?" She whispered softly.
"No I'm ok…Prue?" Phoebe said still sleepy, her voice hoarse.
"Yeah baby?"
"I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier..the airport.." Phoebe murmured.
Prue tightened her hold and continued in her sweetest voice, "Hey it's completely fine now. And I'm sorry I hit you so hard. Your cheek ok?" She then kissed the spot she had hit Phoebe the day before.
"Now it is..Prue?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you." Phoebe said in the cutest voice Jessica and Prue had ever heard. A smile tugged on their lips.
"I love you, too honey. I hope you know just how much you mean to me. I couldn't live without you." Prue said thinking of Phoebe's injuries, what might be wrong with her lungs. But then she heard soft sniffes coming from her little sister.
"Hey what's wrong, sweetheart? Are you in pain?" she asked worriedly.
"No..but I'll never see you again..right?..I'm..I'm gonna die…" Prue was taken aback by this.
"No. No you're not gonna die. I won't let that happen. Never, hear me? Trust me you'll be fine…" Prue said more determined than ever.
"I wanna go home..I miss Piper.." She cried softly.
"Aww I know baby girl, I know. I miss her, too. But we'll be home soon, okay?"
"Promise?" Phoebe asked in her baby voice.
"Promise." Prue kissed her forehead. "Now go back to sleep." She whispered into Phoebe's hair.
"Prue..?"
"Yes?"
"Can you do that thing with your nails again..?"
"Sure I can, sweetie." Prue said smiling as she gently slipped her hand under the top and started the calming motion again. Phoebe was back asleep in an instant.
"Awww that was probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen in my life. Your sister's so adorable." Jessica said soon after.
"She is isn't she? As much as I'm sad that my parents are gone and I had to learn to take responsibility really early, I would never, ever in my life swap places with anybody." Prue smiled.
"What? Oh no. Thank you for calling." Leo hung up the phone with a pale face.
"What, Leo? What did they say?" A panicked Piper asked.
"They found the plane..but they didn't find any passenger..at least no one alive…"
Piper's eyes instantly filled with tears as she fell to her knees.
"NO! No that can't be! They just didn't look closely enough! It's a mistake!" She broke down completely as Leo rushed over to her and held her, gently rocking her until she fell asleep in his arms. He then picked her up and carried her to the couch.
'This is not possible. They can't be dead. I can sense them.' He shut his eyes, concentrated, opened them again to glance at Piper and then disappeared in blue lights.
He reappeared in blue lights next to a run down house. He immediately felt the cold wind and saw the snow up to his knees. Then he realized he was standing next to a little window as the snow was shoveled away there. There he saw them. His future charges. They were huddled up in the floor, the oldest holding the youngest. But then he saw another woman next to them. 'Oh God that is..' He looked at her more closely. He was right. It was his ex-charge. She was still a little girl when he was her whitelighter and she probably didn't remember any of her wiccan side but he would always recognize her. 'What are they doing here?' But his question was answered as he looked carefully into the downstairs window where he saw five men sitting there playing cards but what scared him were the guns leaning against their legs. He then disappeared again.
This was where he came from and he was standing in front of his 'bosses'.
"Please, you have to give me the permission to save them."
"You know exactly that we cannot do that, Leonardo. How will you explain it to them if you orb them back into their country?"
"I don't have to orb them. It would be enough if you just allowed me to tell the police or the rescue party where they are. Anonymous." An elder sighed. Leo continued. "The Charmed Ones are not supposed to die yet. This is not their destiny, you have to let me help them." He pleaded.
"Alright. You may help them but you are to take full responsibility for this action."
"I will." With that, he disappeared.
"Did we do the right thing?"
"Yes, certainly. Leonardo is a high skilled whitelighter. He will know what can be done and what cannot. I have full confindence in him."
"But this accident was destined. It was their destiny to be involved in it. The youngest and oldest's bond was becoming weaker and weaker. They needed a new bonding."
"That is true but it was not planned for them to be where they are now. The accident was under our control, but we cannot control what happened after it. Now they find themselves in a life-threatening situation. We cannot risk it yet. This would change destiny."
Leo silently orbed into the headquarters of the rescue party, which would be the headquarters of the Russian army that had sent some of their men to Siberia as a search troop. Luckily, there was nobody there yet. He left the note he had written on the desk and orbed out.
He reappeared in front of 'them'.
"So, have you finished your work?" An Elder asked.
"Yes. I left a note with the information that the passengers were captivated by terrorists. They will be forced to send their troops to them. If they know the captors are terrorists, the country will not risk both American and Russian to be killed by them. So even if it is an anonymous message, it is worth a try. I also left them the exact location. The captives will be freed in several hours." Leo explained. Receiving a nod of agreement by 'them', he made his way to Piper, his future charge, his treasure he fought so hard for to receive the permission to start a relationship with.
The third day had started in Siberia. Phoebe woke up still lying in Prue's arms. But she noticed that her sister was already awake and looked to a certain direction. As she followed her gaze, she saw that nearly everybody was awake. Prue looked expectantly to a corner where a little crowd was forming. In the middle of the crowd, she could barely notice the passenger she remembered as Russian. He was kneeling on the ground and had his ear close to the wall. But as she looked more closely, she saw what looked like a little shaft.
"Prue what's going on?" Phoebe asked.
"Shh. He's listening to what they are talking about." She whispered still looking towards the corner. As Phoebe wanted to say something she was stopped by several people's voices.
"So, did you hear what they were saying?" Voices of a few persons were heard. Phoebe saw the Russian sigh deeply. Then his mouth opened.
"I…I heard most of it.."
"Then what did they say?" A man asked.
"They… they are..terrorists. What they said…it sounded like a plan to negiciate with both the Russian and American government. They also said something about taking us further away from the crashed plane when their helicopter arrives. And it would be in about three days.. " He looked to the ground, not wanting anyone to see his scared eyes.
"Oh my God..So we..we'll never get out of here…" A young woman said on the verge of tears.
"Don't say that, we will! When they start to contact the governments, they will know we are in their hands..they will find us." Another voice said.
"Oh God Prue, what if we never.."
"Don't even say it Phoebe. We have to believe we'll get out of here. They can't leave injured people captivated for too long. Pheebs, we need to…" Prue jerked in mid sentence when she suddenly heard a loud bang. It came from upstairs. Next thing they heard was shouting and shots, finishing with another bang. Prue and the others saw what the last noise had been. The door of the basement had been kicked in and there was now an armed soldier standing in the doorway. Screams were still heard from upstairs. Phoebe never let go of Prue. It went all too fast as they first saw soldiers of the anti terror troops storming in and getting them out of the house. She could hardly believe it as she felt the cold but fresh air around her. She was outside. Safe. A new wave of panic hit her as she realized Prue wasn't around her but she then noticed that her sister was also being carried to the same medic's vehicles. The passengers were all taken care of their injuries until they reached the helicopters of the rescue party. Within a few hours flight, they found themselves in a hospital in Novosibirsk. Prue learned that Phoebe was in a really dangerous condition as a cracked rib caused her lung to be slightly injured. Therefore she constantly coughed blood. She also learned that if they had been without any medical care any longer, Phoebe might not have been this lucky. She herself was in a better condition. Apart from the broken ankle she new she had, she had a slight concussin and a few bruises and cuts. Prue and Phoebe didn't remember a lot of the days in that hospital since most of the time they were tranquillized and were sleeping a lot. But they knew that they would be moved to a hospital in San Francisco as soon as possible. For Prue there was the possibility to be moved to SFMH earlier but she refused to go until Phoebe was in a condition to be moved as well. It would take a while but the doctors promised that Phoebe would be fine again. Jessica was fine, too and she was moved to New York pretty quickly. Prue exchanged numbers with her, she didn't intend to let go of a new friend who she barely knew but at the same time had already shared so much with.
Once back in SF, Piper had stormed into SFMH and had greeded them with tight hugs and lots and lots of tears. The sisters were together again. The next few weeks they saw a lot about the accident on the news but names were not mentioned. There was still a long way to go until they were physically and emotionally fully recovered again.
One day Piper and Phoebe were in the living room huddled up on the couch. Prue was already out and the younger ones were sitting there in silence just enjoying the presence of each other, until Piper spoke.
"I'm so so glad you're here again." Piper said for the god knows how many time since her sisters came back.
"I know. I am, too. I still dream of it sometimes. It's getting better though." Phoebe quickly said as she saw the concern in her older sister's eyes. "But you know what, Piper?"
"What?"
"I…this might sound really weird but somewhere, in some corner of my mind I'm glad that it happened." Seeing the look of disbelief on Piper's face she went to explain. "You see, Piper, Prue and I…we..our relationship is kinda different now. Sure we still fight and she will still scold me and ground me and so on, but it's different than before. We got so much closer after… you know….and there is something..something that is there now that wasn't there before…Do I make sense?" She looked to her sister.
"Yeah. I know what you mean now. Prue and you, you share such a big thing now…I mean you'll never forget the experience you've made there."
"Yeah. Prue was…she was there for me the whole time. She never stopped protecting me for one second, Piper."
"I know that, you don't have to tell me." Piper laughed.
"I love her so much…I don't know what I'd do without her."
"And that I know, too. You have to tell Prue, not me." She laughed again.
"I already did. And I'll do it again and again." Phoebe smiled. "Actually, where's Leo?"
Piper's lips instantly formed to a smile as her sister mentioned her lover's name.
"He had to work out of town or something. But he'll be back this night."
"Oh. Have fun then." Phoebe grinned and in return received a playful punch on her arm.
Meanwhile 'up there'…
"You have done a good work, Leo. Your reward will be one week free of calls from both us and your charges. Enjoy the time. " A lady Elder said.
"Thank you, I will." Leo replied as he stepped back and orbed out.
Again he had been the one who had to fix everything after the Elders had screwed up, but he didn't care as long as the sisters were safe and fine. And indeed, the bond between the oldest and youngest had become stronger again. He had only done his work as a whitelighter for his future charges, the Charmed Ones.
End. Hope it was ok.