A/N: Hey guys, me back with another chap.
Hope you all enjoy.
27. Tired and the Restless.
Phoebe woke from a restless sleep once again and she turned away from Cole, who slept peacefully beside her, to glance at the clock on her beside cabinet.
Five am, she thought in annoyance. It had only been an hour and a half since she last awoke. Any other day, she would never see five am, unless she was coming in at that time.
She carefully climbed out of bed, hoping Cole wouldn't wake with her movement. Phoebe crept out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.
The free-spirited Halliwell decided to check on her sisters, to see if they were having any more luck with sleeping than she was. Phoebe quietly opened Paige's door and smiled as she noticed her younger sister wrapped in Glen's arms.
At least someone's getting some rest, she thought, continuing to Piper's room.
Looking inside, Phoebe could tell Piper hadn't had the same luck as Paige. Her covers were everywhere and her pillow was at the other end of the bed. Instead, she was now using Leo's chest to rest her head.
Phoebe smiled and was grateful Piper was now asleep, while closing the door again. Next stop. Prue, she thought.
She opened the bedroom door and peered in. Oh God, where's she gone? Phoebe sighed, seeing the empty bed. It also appeared Prue had had a restless night but that didn't really surprise her younger sister.
Pushing open the door further, Phoebe walked in and glanced over the room. It was then she noticed the huddled figure by the window and moved towards it. She smiled at the sight of Prue sleeping peacefully, although it was probably the most uncomfortable and weirdest place for her to sleep.
Phoebe knelt down and began to gently rock her oldest sister's shoulder. Even though she felt terrible for doing so, she also didn't want Prue to ache later on.
"Prue, honey." she whispered just loud enough for Prue to hear.
"What? What's going on?" Prue replied sleepily, rubbing her eyes, while being slightly disorientated from being woken.
"Sshh, nothing." Phoebe soothed, smiling at the reaction, "I thought you might prefer your bed."
"Phoebe?" the eldest asked, only now realising who had woken her.
Her sister laughed quietly, "Yeah."
"What time is it?" Prue yawned.
"Five am. How long have you been sat there?"
Prue was quiet for a little while, knowing she was going get an earful from her younger sister. "All night." she replied quietly, too tired to think of a better excuse. However at Phoebe's less than happy look, Prue continued. "I couldn't sleep."
"How long have you been asleep?" Phoebe interrogated.
"Maybe...two hours."
"Prue!"
"What are you doing up, anyway?" Prue countered.
Phoebe had to admit if she told the truth, it would sound hypocritical but nevertheless she went with it. "I couldn't sleep but…" she cut Prue off, as her sister went to interrupt. "…I've slept longer than two hours."
Prue glanced away sheepishly at that point.
"Come on, your getting in your bed." the younger Halliwell announced, pulling Prue to her feet then proceeding to the bed, where Prue got in with out much of a fight. Phoebe smiled and climbed in next to her.
"Your not going?" Prue asked in surprise.
"Nope, not until your asleep at least."
The oldest sister laughed at the childish treatment she was receiving and pulled the younger one closer. "Come on then."
Phoebe giggled softly, while cuddling up next to Prue. Neither spoke for a few minutes, both relaxing under the calmness of the house.
"Prue.."
"Hmm.." was the quiet reply.
"Thanks." Phoebe sighed, allowing her eyes to momentarily close.
"What for?"
"Just thanks." the original youngest yawned. Her vague answer only leaving Prue a little puzzled, however she pushed it aside and smiled.
"See your tired too." she responded to Phoebe's yawn.
"You both are."
Phoebe and Prue looked towards the door to find Piper leaning against the frame, grinning at the sight. If only they could act like this normally, instead of the arguing, Piper thought, although she had to admit the two got on a lot better now than before.
"You wanna join us." Prue offered, as Phoebe nodded her head enthusiastically.
Piper laughed but nevertheless she closed the door to and then moved round to the opposite side of the bed to Phoebe, as Prue moved up to give her some room. "I think we're to old for this." she chuckled, making herself comfortable.
"Never." Phoebe answered as if hurt by the suggestion.
"I think we're missing someone." Prue broke in, "Should we go get her?" she asked, not wanting to leave her baby sister out. It was difficult for Paige at the best of times but she didn't want her sister to ever feel that she didn't belong with them.
"I checked and she was sound asleep. Plus are you prepared for the black eye she'll give you when you try to wake her." Piper smirked, she also didn't want to leave Paige out but their youngest sister wasn't the calmest of people when woken up.
"You were asleep too, when I checked." Phoebe informed her older sister.
"I woke up when I heard the door close, thought maybe Prue had gone on oneof her wanders." Piper explained.
Prue smiled, "Well I didn't."
"Nope, you were just asleep by the window, if you can call two hours sleeping." Phoebe replied, followed by a yawn.
Thanks Pheebs, Prue thought as Piper looked towards her expecting answers. The oldest Halliwell was slightly surprised with the look of annoyance on her younger sister's face.
"I couldn't sleep…and before you start, look at who's room you have ended up in. I didn't do the wandering, you two did."
Piper's face softened as she yawned, again getting comfortable. "It used to be my room."
"I used to have to share with Piper." Phoebe added, finding it as a credible excuse. Another yawn escaped her mouth as her eyelids kept falling heavily.
"Fine…but stop the…." Prue yawned mid-sentence. "…yawning, it's catching." she finished.
"Sorry." both younger sisters laughed.
"Sleep." Prue instructed, watching as Phoebe tried to keep herself awake. The action only made her reminisce from when they were kids and Phoebe would insist she was old enough to stay up late. The funny thing was after they relented, Phoebe would fall fast asleep within ten minutes.
"Give it a couple of minutes and she'll be gone." Piper whispered, knowing what Prue was thinking as she had been thinking the same thing.
Prue turned her head towards Piper and smiled. "You okay?"
Piper smiled back. "I will be. You?"
"Yeah, I think we all will be." the oldest replied turning back to Phoebe to find she'd giving up on the fight with her eyelids. "If only I had a marker pen." she sniggered to Piper.
"Paige isn't the only one who can give black eyes you know…and I don't mean with a pen." the younger of the two mused, watching the glint in Prue's eye soften. That glint was always the catalyst to them getting in trouble when they were kids.
The only problem Piper found was that know Phoebe and Paige had a similar one, which had the same out come. She knew she had one too, Leo would always cringe when he saw it. It's a Halliwell thing, she thought, before looking back to Prue, who had finally succumbed to her own tiredness.
Piper smiled, then closed her eyes. We all will be okay, she thought, placing one hand on her stomach.
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Paige bolted up in bed and took a deep breath, as she recovered from the same dream she had been plagued with for the past month or so. She hadn't told any of her sisters she had been having the same reoccurring dream. All they would tell her was that there was nothing to worry about and wouldn't take it seriously.
She surveyed the room, grateful Glen was still peacefully asleep. Paige smiled at how adorable he looked, then turned her attention to the clock, which shone just above his head. Seven-thirty, I slept that long, she thought.
The youngest Halliwell got out of bed and left the room, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep any longer. Plus it's not that early, she told herself, deciding to make her way down to the kitchen. Fill up on caffeine before the day really starts, maybe I can even put Prue's amount to shame she mused, ...not likely.
Walking into the kitchen, Paige was surprised to see Piper sat at the table, deep in thought, while staring into the half filled glass of orange juice.
"Morning Pipe." Paige greeted semi-cheerfully.
Her sister jumped at the sudden sound and almost spilt the remainder of her juice on herself. "Paige, I didn't even realise you were there."
What is with her and Prue?Prue acted the same way the other night. Paige thought, grabbing for the coffee pot before sitting down next to Piper.
"Sorry." she replied sheepishly.
"Not your fault. Just jumpy." Piper smiled distractedly.
"You looked completely lost in there.." Paige gestured to Piper's head. "What's up?" she asked, takinga sip of her coffee.
"Nothing, thinking about the battle is all." the older sister half lied. She had also been debating whether she was making the right decision about going. At the moment she had two lots of instincts working over time. One set, wanting to protect the baby she now carried and the other telling her that she would be needed in this battle.
"It'll work out, Piper. We'll all be okay." Paige smiled, unaware that Prue had said the same thing. "Good always win in the long run."
Piper smiled at the optimistic reply, "I guess your right…..What are you doing up anyway?"
"Woke up." Paige answered with a shrug, "..decided to stay up. How'd you sleep?"
"The best I could. I came down about seven, so I didn't do too bad."
"What about our darling sisters?" the youngest asked with a grin.
"Fast asleep in Prue's room."
"Both of them?" she was surprised by the answer.
"Yeah, Phoebe went checking the rooms a couple of hours ago and found Prue by her window, asleep. I followed Pheebs and found her in there, so we stayed. We didn't get you 'cause you're a bit of a handful to wake." Piper smiled apologetically.
"I understand.." Paige smiled, even though it did kind of sting. "One of you may have got a punchin the mouth. SoPrue didn't sleep?" she questioned, wanting to change the topic.
"Very little. Bright side she is now." Piper replied, noticing the way Paige did feel left out. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.
Paige grinned and then got the similar glint Prue had in her eyes last night, that Piper had witnessed. "Well maybe next time we should use sleeping pills." she quipped, giving Piper a sly grin, to which Piper laughed at.
"Never drug me, Paige. It won't be pretty when I wake up." came Prue's stern and warning voice.
Paige was shocked and turned round, wondering why whenever she spoke about Prue, her sister would always turn up to hear the bad stuff.
"Prue your invisible again." Piper laughed, not only at Prue's lack of appearance but at Paige, who had a habit of getting caught with her foot in her mouth.
The eldest Halliwell then appeared in front of them and before the older two had a chance to say anything, Paige jumped in.
"Forget the drugs, it ain't pretty now." she joked, taking in Prue's lack of usual tidiness.
"Ouuu." Prue replied, glaring at the youngest before turning invisible again.
Paige kept spinning in her chair trying to find where her sister was. However the next thing she knew, she was on the kitchen floor with said sister pinning her down.
"Take it back." Prue laughed.
"Piper, help!" Paige squealed.
"Don't put me in the middle." Piper grinned, enjoying the situation.
"Take it back, Paige. I mean I still owe you for the tickling." the oldest threatened playfully.
"Piper please."
However the only response Paige received was more laughter. "Okay, okay. I take it back, you look nothing less than your perfect self, Prue." she cried out, giving up on getting Piper to help.
"That's sweet of you to say, Paige. You look perfect too." Prue replied, while standing up and ruffling her baby sisters hair.
She then continued to the coffee, as Paige picked herself up and glared at Piper, who was still sniggering. Prue came back and topped up Paige's cup. I'll have to let her off the hook now, I suppose, the half whitelighter thought, giving Prue a grateful smile.
Piper had calmed down by now and glanced to Prue, who sat down opposite. "What are you doing up?"
"Phoebe kicked me. Hard."
"Did she wake up?" Piper grinned, already knowing the answer.
"No, I have a bruised leg and she didn't even stir." Prue answered, slightly irritated but still finding it funny.
"You wanna sleep on the couch?" her pregnant sister asked, noticing the developing rings under Prue's eyes.
"Nah, I'm fine. Few more of these and I'll be like that energiser bunny." she grinned back, while pointing to the coffee she was drinking.
"Flat and lifeless but hyped up on caffeine." Paige quipped.
"Cute." Prue sarcastically replied.
Paige shrugged in response. "I try." she grinned.
"What was with the invisible thing anyway? Prue. Thought you had control over your power?" Piper cut in, worried that today, of all days, her sister's powers would go all 'wonky'.
Prue took a sip of her coffee before she answered. "I do…I guess I was thinking and it just kind of happened."
"What were you thinking about?" Paige questioned, curious as to what triggered the invisible Prue.
"A mixture of things." was the vague and slightly distant response.
"Like?" the youngest Halliwell prodded.
The oldest, however, was quiet for a moment or two before she placed a soft smile on her face. "To be honest, I kinda wanted to disappear. Like when you want the world to swallow you up whole."
"Glad I'm not the only one." Phoebe walked into the room. Heavy-eyed and sluggish, she fell onto an empty chair and rested her head on her folded arms, which shelaid on the table.
"Jackie Chan's up." Prue mocked, happy for the distraction. She stood and grabbed Phoebe some coffee and Piper some more juice.
At Phoebe's puzzled expression, Paige explained. "You kicked her in your sleep."
"Sorry Prue." Phoebe said sheepishly, taking the coffee she was offered.
"No major damage." Prue replied, pouring Piper's orange juice.
"Thank you." Piper smiled, although wanting the coffee everybody else seemed to be enjoying.
"Hey Pipe, what's with the juice?" Phoebe asked, noticing the lack of caffeine her sister was consuming.
Both Piper and Prue glanced at the other, trying to think quickly before Paige joined in. The youngest of the family was waiting patiently for the answer, but it wouldn't last long if they weren't quick with a response.
"Too much coffee will make me hyper, which would make me nervous." Piper lied, although it was still possible.
"I think it's a good idea. A less hyped up, neurotic Piper, the better." Prue approved, trying to cover up the actual reason.
"Thanks Prue." Piper sarcastically muttered, although Prue never noticed as she was trying to work out if their two other sisters bought the lie.
"I agree, you worry as it is." Paige supplied, while Phoebe nodded in agreement.
Piper glanced back to Prue, who was now staring off momentarily. She could tell the lies were weighing on her sister. They were on her as well, only she couldn't bring herself to tell everyone. Not now anyway…get through it and then tell them, she told herself.
"What are we going to do until…you know what?" Phoebe asked, snapping both older sisters out of their thoughts.
Prue glanced at each sister. "I'm not sure, although I kinda want to go somewhere quickly. I shouldn't be long though."
"Where?" Piper asked, wondering if it was the lake.
"Just….somewhere." Prue replied, standing up and heading for the shower.
"Where do you think she's going?" Phoebe looked to Piper for an answer.
"You got me."
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Prue walked through the quiet trees and bushes, taking her time. She hadn't returned to this place for a while now. It always felt as though half of it was missing.
To Prue though, half of it was missing, not the actual area but more of the atmosphere. However for some reason, she needed to return. She had decided last night, amongst the endless hours of thinking she found herself doing.
Carefully she sat down on the swing, which hang under a tree. Rocking it very slightly, she glanced over to the empty space next to her and unconsciously placed her hand there.
A/N: There you go. What you all think?
d; hey, your back,I was beginning to worry. Anyway glad you like it still.Oh andPractical Magic is a brilliant film. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are sisters and witches (never heard of that concept before) and basically the familyis cursed when it comes to love. Also Nicole Kidman character is rebellious and gets caught upwith the wrong type of guy. But if youcan check it out, you should,I personally love it.Also glad your back.
emelie; I have read the new chap for Brutal Fate and loved it, but it's being funny with the review so I will try again tomorrow. Sorry ;o)
Peanut; Krolan was actually there. I kinda didn't make it clear, 'cause I don't like writing that Elder's orb. It's a whitelighter thing. Sorry. Also I'm glad, you of all people, like Krolan. ;o)
To all other reviewers thank you very much. Really love them.
I'm considering opening a forumfor this type of ramble but I'm not sure yet. Depends if you guys would prefer that.
AlsoI forgot to mention, I'm writing a fic at the mo with three other writers (Hiem, hehe) It's called The Secrets of the Halliwell Sisterhood. I'd really appreciate you guys checking it out. Pen name the-power-of-four.
Okay, I've rambled enough, so I'm going to go. Bye.