AN: Hey guys, I hope some of you are still reading this here story o' mine. I know it's been a while. Anyway, here's another chapter. Please R&R!
Upon hearing the girl's words, the sisters cast their eyes downward. None of them had thought about how to explain to Pandora that her mother was dead.
Pandora noticed the quick change in their demeanors at the mention of her mother, but she wasn't sure what to think of it. Maybe she just feels guilty for giving me up...she did come all this way just to meet me after eleven years.
Sensing that the sisters were uncomfortable with the topic, Leo tried to explain. "Um...Pandora, you see, your mom is..." Leo trailed off, at a loss for words, and looked to his charges for help.
Piper slowly looked up, and examined Pandora's features. At first glance she looked more like Andy than Prue...she had Andy's light brown hair and light blue eyes, although her hair was thick like Prue's had been. Her features more closely resembled Prue's, however, and especially her nose.
I'm the oldest sister now, Piper thought. It's my job to explain this to her. She took a deep breath and began speaking. "Pandora, your mother was Prudence Halliwell. Prue. Um...unfortunately, she uh...she died. About a year ago. I'm so sorry."
Pandora sat on the couch, wide-eyed, unsure of how to react. "Um...how did...how did she die?" she asked.
"She...she had been trying to protect someone who was...caught in a bad situation. Even now we're not sure what kind of situation. But...she was trying to protect him, and she was...she was killed in the crossfire, essentially," Piper answered slowly, trying to find the right words.
Pandora wasn't sure what to say, so she simply said "...Oh." She looked over at Leo, and after a few minutes said, "I take it you're not my father?"
Leo sadly shook his head, knowing that the topic of her father would only bring more bad news. Piper once again felt obligated as the older sister to explain about the girl's father. "Your father's name was Andy Trudeau. He—"
Pandora interrupted. "Did he...did he know about me?" Her eleven-year-old mind reason that sometimes guys left because their girlfriends were pregnant, and sometimes they left before they could find out. She knew sometimes a couple would stay together, but she didn't think that they'd give up a baby if they were together.
"Yes, he knew about you," she replied. "Prue and Andy knew each other since they were kids...they dated all through high school and college."
"So he...he left because my mom was pregnant and he didn't want to raise a child?"
"Oh, no, Pandora. It wasn't like that. Your father wanted to keep you, and your mom did too. But they were in college, and they didn't have much money. Our father was out of the picture, and our mother died when we were young. Our grandmother raised us, and Prue and Andy didn't think it was fair to ask her to raise another child. They thought you would be better off with a family that could provide for you."
"Then...where is he? My father, I mean," Pandora asked.
"Andy was a cop, one of the best in San Francisco. He was killed by a...suspect...about three years ago," Piper continued answering Pandora's questions while her sisters and husband listened.
Pandora was silent. Her mother reached down and smoothed the girl's hair. "Are you okay, Pandora?" She tried to refrain from using her daughter's childhood nickname.
Pandora nodded and thought, I never met my real parents, not really, so there's no reason to be upset that they're...dead. Right?
Paige smiled sadly at the girl, remembering what it was like to find her biological family and hear that her mother was dead and her father was, essentially, dead as well.
Piper spoke up again. She seemed to be doing all the talking, but Paige had never met the girl--or her mother--and Phoebe had been a teenager at the time, so neither felt it was their place to speak. "Um...do you want to see a picture?" When Pandora nodded, Piper smiled and began rifling through her purse. After a minute, she pulled out an old photograph. She looked down at it fondly. It was the only picture they had of Prue, Andy, and the girl, taken a few hours after she had been born. She pulled her eyes off of it and slowly handed it to Pandora.
Pandora gingerly grasped a corner of the picture and examined it. She's pretty, she thought, but I don't look much like her, except my nose. I look more like him...Andy, his name was. She thought for a few moments, rolling her parents' names over in her mind. Prudence Halliwell...Andy--Andrew--Trudeau. Hm. Sounds French. She made a mental note to ask about her nationality later. Pandora Winifred... "Um...was my last name Halliwell or Trudeau? Before Noakes, I mean," she asked, looking up at Piper.
"Halliwell," Piper answered quietly.
Just as quietly, Pandora repeated her. "Halliwell. Pandora Winifred Halliwell. Hm." She slowly, almost reluctantly, handed the photograph back to Piper.
"Would you like a copy of it?" Piper asked gently.
Pandora nodded, smiling. "Yes." Her father prodded her with his elbow, and she added, "If it's not too much trouble?"
Piper smiled back. "It's not. Um...we don't want to overstay our welcome. I think we should be going." Her sisters and husband nodded their agreement.
Everyone stood, and the Noakes family walked the Halliwells to the door. As Piper stepped outside, Pandora said, "If you guys want to come another time and talk some more...I'd like that."
Piper grinned happily. "I'd like that too," she said. She took a sheet of paper and pen from her purse and slowly scrawled their home phone number and address, and handed the paper to Mr. Noakes. "Call us anytime," she said. "It was very nice meeting you, Pandora, Mr. and Mrs. Noakes."
The adults echoed the sentiment, and Pandora said, "I'm glad you came. It was nice to meet you." Piper smiled at the girl, happy that she wanted to see them again. The Halliwells and the Noakeses exchanged goodbyes. The Halliwells walked back to their car and the Noakeses entered their house.
In the far corner of the large field, a few feet from a small pond, a lone duck sat watching the exchange with glowing red eyes.