A/N: It took me a long time to get happy with this chapter. I hate writing and feeling like what I'm writing is crap, so I didn't write for a few days. And then I started writing again and what I did manage to write was complete crap. This is an edited version of crap. It's kinda-crap.

Anyway, to my chapter six reviewers: shanfan, Dark Halliwell, charmedchick4eva, yinyinhoney, Ruthy, and warped24, thank you guys so much. Your reviews keep me going. Ya'll are awesome.

Chapter Seven: Secret's Out

•••••

Prue walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Piper sitting down, reading the newspaper and sipping coffee. "Morning." Prue said cheerfully.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Piper said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Prue asked as she poured herself a glass of coffee.

"The walls in this house aren't that thick, Prue. I heard you crying into the early hours of the morning." She said and turned to face her sister. Prue's gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. "I was going to stay the night with you, but your door was locked."

Piper studied Prue for a few moments. She was wearing a black, bulky sweater and an extensive amount of make-up. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Prue answered as she looked up and forced a smile.

"That wasn't that convincing, but I'll let it slide for now. One question though. What's with the sweater? It's the middle of summer. This is when you're supposed to wear all your skimpy clothes. And before you come up with some clever reply, let me remind you that you said those exact words to me less than two weeks ago."

"I'm cold." Prue said, attempting to put an end to the questioning.

"Yeah, uh-huh." Piper nodded as she stood up. She walked over to Prue and placed her hand on Prue's arm. Prue slightly winced as Piper's thumb rubbed over one of her cuts. "You know you can talk to me, right?" Prue nodded. "Anytime you need to talk, I'm here." She added as she pulled her sister into a hug.

Prue's eyes closed in pain as her sister's body pressed against her arm. She's worried. She doesn't need to worry about me. I don't deserve her help.

Phoebe stepped into the kitchen as Prue pulled away from Piper. Confusion and hurt flashed in Piper's eyes as Prue turned away from her.

"I've got to get to work." Prue said as she began to walk towards the doorway, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"I'm doing laundry today." Piper said to Prue's back.

"It's in my room." She answered as she slipped past Phoebe and left the kitchen. Phoebe's gaze followed her sister, until she was out of sight.

"Bye!" Piper called after her. She turned her attention towards a confused Phoebe. "I don't know." She said, answering the question she knew was about to come.

"A sweater?"

"She said she was cold."

•••••

Later that afternoon, Piper walked into Prue's bedroom and surveyed the mess. A large pile of used kleenex were sitting on the floor next to the bed. The blankets were hanging off the bottom of the bed, and the missing sheets were in a pile in the closet. Prue's clothes from yesterday were randomly scattered around the room. The lamp on the desk was knocked over and lying sideways on the floor. One pillow was lying in the middle of the bed, while the other one was lying next to the wall by the door.

Piper set down the large basket she was holding. She walked over to the pillow, picked it up and threw it on the bed. She then picked up Prue's clothes and threw them into her basket. She walked over to the closet and picked up the sheets and threw them next to her basket. She looked down and saw a plaid pair of boxer shorts laying where the sheets had just been. She picked them up by the waistband and pushed some hair out of her face to look at them.

Phoebe walked past Prue's bedroom and noticed Piper in the closet. She walked into the room and walked over to Piper. Piper looked at Phoebe and then looked back at the shorts. Phoebe looked at what she was holding and thought, those look a lot like...

"Gavin." Piper read off the leg of the shorts. Quickly she realized what she had said and looked up at Phoebe. Phoebe's eyes widened and they quickly began filling with tears.

Piper dropped the underwear and stood up. She wrapped her arms around her baby sister and Phoebe's cries deepened. As Piper attempted to soothe Phoebe, they both shared the same thought. How could she?