Part 3
"Piper? Phoebe?" Prue Halliwell's voice rang through the seemingly empty manor.

She laid her leather jacket and Coach purse on the foyer table before turning back to the front porch. She labored for two minutes with her luggage before giving into temptation. Furtively glancing up and down the street, Prue made hand a slight hand gesture and lifted her bags an inch into the air. They followed her into the house and she quickly shut the door behind herself.
Prue headed to the kitchen to make herself a cup of relaxing herbal tea before her sisters and guys got home. As she crossed the floor in front of the stairs, she paused. They were barely muffled voices and bumps coming from the second floor.

"Demon," she whispered.

Climbing the stairs with bated breath, Prue braced herself for a fight. At the landing, she stopped and listened, trying to determine which room the commotion was in.

'Piper's room,' she thought, tip toeing cat-like down the hall in the direction of her little sister's bedroom.

When she reached the door, she expected to see an ugly creature, perhaps with claws or horns, but what she actually found shocked her more than any demon ever could.

"Piper! Cole!" Prue screamed.

The couple quickly, but reluctantly, pulled from their embrace. The sight of her older sister in the doorway stunned Piper.

"Prue!" Piper called to her disgusted sister.

Prue just shook her head in disgust. "Put some clothes on. I'll be downstairs when you're dressed," she told them, her voice filled with contempt.

Piper quickly dressed and raced after her sister. She found Prue sitting on the parlor couch, pretending to be immersed in her magazine.

"Prue?" Piper ventured.

No response.

Piper got down on her knees. "Prue?" she pleaded.

Prue looked up from her magazine, but studiously avoided eye contact with Piper. Instead, she walked briskly into the kitchen for that tea she'd never gotten to have.

Piper followed close behind, pleading with her sister. "Prue, please, just let me explain. Prue! Please! At least look at me."

"No, Piper, I won't look at you," Prue finally answered, her voice cold enough to cause another Ice Age. "What you did is wrong. It's disgusting. Piper, it's cheating!"

"Don't you think I know that, Prue?" Piper asked desperately, her voice rising with every few words. "Don't you think I feel like a piece of shit? Like a dirty whore? Don't you get it?"

Prue whirled around to face her sister. The fierce look set upon her slightly freckled face was one Piper had seen time and time again, but never directed at herself. It made Piper feel even worse, if it was possible.

"Piper, don't you get it? This isn't all about you! There are other people's feelings involved here! Like Phoebe, you sister's, and Leo, your husband's! They're the ones that will be hurt the most when the two of you are found out!" Prue's head felt like it was about to explode with rage. Piper bit her lips to help stem the river of tears building up in her eyes. She continued in a low, warning voice. "And make no mistake, they will find out."

It was Piper's turn to be furious. "Are you threatening me, Prue? Miss High and Mighty? You think you're so much better than the rest of us, but I know better. I know you better."

Prue's mask of indifference faltered slightly, but she regained it quickly. "Don't go there, Piper. I'm warning you."

Prue's warning tone only sufficed to give Piper more steam. "What's wrong, Prue? Is Little Miss Perfect ashamed of her past? Well, too bad! Because I remember all about Johnny."

Prue reeled backward, as if she'd been slapped. "Piper, this is totally different!" she whispered.

"Oh, yeah? How?" Piper countered.

Prue recovered her composure slightly and roared back, "He wasn't Phoebe's boyfriend and I wasn't married!"

Cole chose that exact moment to shimmer into the kitchen alongside Piper. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and returned Prue's hatred fill stare. He's heard enough of the argument to know Prue wouldn't be ratting on them any time soon, which suited him just fine.

"Come on, Cole," Piper ordered him, turning her heel and leading him out of the room.

Cole was more than willing to follow.

They climbed the stairs up to Piper's bedroom. Piper stomped up the stairs and slammed her door. She wanted to be damned sure Prue knew exactly where they were going. What did it matter if Piper had no intention of doing what Prue thought she was going to do?

Once they were seated on the bed, Piper turned to Cole. Her soft hand gently caressed his worn face. "Cole," she began.

He cut her off. "I know. You need time to think. You're right, you do. You need to decide who you want, me or the whitelighter. I personally don't mind the danger of sneaking around, but I know this isn't how you want things to be."

Piper smiled at him as gratitude filled her like hot chocolate on a cold winter day. "Thank you." She gave him a hug and then he was gone.

After sitting on her bed for several minutes, trying to work up the courage to face her next big problem, Piper took deep breaths that were meant to be calming. They weren't.

Piper rose to her feet and locked herself in the bathroom. The directions on the box were simple enough, and it wasn't like she thought anything would come of it. She was just a few days late, that's all.

Twenty minutes later, she forced herself to finally look at the results of her home pregnancy test.