Chapter 5: Just Harried Part 1
(Author's note: I'm actually not real happy with the way this episode turned out in writing, but I couldn't think of another way to do it. I decided to include it because it was an important episode to the series, even if it wasn't about Phoebe and/or Cole. I will do that with a couple of other episodes (include them because they are important to the series/season.))
One week later…
The mood in the manor was festive, excited, and quiet all at the same time. Prue and Phoebe were in the kitchen, cleaning. Piper was upstairs. Leo was off checking on another of his charges and Cole was presumably taking care of what bounty hunters he could so he would be free tomorrow. The Halliwell sisters, Leo, and their father had just finished a late dinner after a day of preparing for the wedding. The wedding that would be taking place tomorrow.
Everyone could hardly believe it.
"You know," Prue closed the fridge and smirked at Phoebe. "We're almost done. Why don't I take Dad home and you finish up here."
Phoebe made a face; she hated cleaning, but it was Prue's car. She and her dad had gotten into a minor fender bender earlier that week and both cars were in the shop. Ergo, she had no say in who took their father home and who finished up the cleaning.
"Sure," she sighed, knowing she had no choice in the matter.
Prue picked up her keys. "We can summon Grams when I come back and decorate for the wedding. Or do as much as we can at least," she rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, some of the decorative items they needed wouldn't be there until bright and early tomorrow morning, when the deliverymen chose to drop them off. Prue eyed her sister concernedly. Phoebe had been having rough bouts of nausea (whose idea had it been to call it morning sickness when it was round-the-clock sickness?) all day long. "Hey, are you sure you're okay to be doing this?" She'd finish the cleaning and decorating herself if Phoebe really wasn't feeling up to it. Prue hoped she was. She had just felt so tired this week.
Phoebe waved her off. Piper's cooking seemed to have done the trick. "I'm fine now."
Prue meant to say that was good; she just yawned as she and Victor departed.
As soon as they left, Phoebe rushed through the last of the cleaning. There was something she wanted to talk to Grams about, and she needed to do it without Prue there. They only had ten to fifteen minutes before she returned, so Phoebe hurriedly arranged the candles and stood back. Focusing hard on thoughts of her grandmother, she chanted,
"Hear these words, hear my cry,
Spirit from the other side,
Come to me, I summon thee,
Cross now the great divide."
From the swirl of bright gold and white lights, Penelope Halliwell appeared and smiled at her granddaughter. "Hello, sweetheart," she greeted warmly. "How are you doing?"
Well, she didn't beat around the bush; Grams never had. Phoebe figured she had to have gotten the news up there and smiled nervously. "Well, I'm a little nervous," she admitted.
Grams nodded. "That's normal of all expectant mothers."
At least Grams wasn't condemning or scolding her outright for getting knocked up by a half-demon; that had been one of Phoebe's many fears. "I'm not an ordinary mother," she reminded her. "I'm having a part-demon baby."
"The baby is also three-quarters witch," Grams sensibly reminded her.
Phoebe felt some of her anxiety begin to lessen ever-so-slightly at her grandmother's reassurance. However, she had to ask, "Why can I shimmer?"
"Well," Grams started, gesturing to a picture of Patty Halliwell that was sitting on the table. "Your mother also displayed some of yours and your sisters' powers when she was expecting you. Some powers that you don't even know you have yet."
Powers they didn't know they had yet? Phoebe was curious, but Grams did not elaborate. So she asked, "Why hasn't the baby displayed any witchy powers?"
"It took awhile for your active powers to develop," Grams explained. "Demon powers develop faster. And your baby has inherited powers from you as well."
"What did my baby inherit from me?" Phoebe wanted to know. If her baby had inherited her visions and levitation, that would explain why she hadn't noticed it.
But Grams just smiled secretively. "You have more than one power," she merely reminded her, "and they didn't all develop at the same time."
Phoebe mulled over her words. Yes, she and Prue had only recently developed their powers of levitation and astral projection. They hadn't known they'd had them before. Maybe there was more…? Phoebe smiled as she figured it out. Her baby had inherited a power she didn't yet have.
Knowing there was no point in asking Grams what that was, Phoebe moved on to her next question, the one that she feared the most: "What about my baby turning evil?"
Grams sighed. "That is a possibility," she admitted, but continued, "but your child has a lot of good in it, too." She smiled once again. "Congratulations, my dear."
Those words were like magic, and Phoebe felt herself glow. It was the first time anyone had told her that; heck, it was the first time anyone besides Cole had been truly happy for her since the pregnancy was discovered.
The moment was interrupted when Prue came home. She stopped short when she saw Grams' ghostly figure standing in front of them. "Hey, you started without me," Prue pouted, sounding mock-offended.
"We haven't, not really," Grams assured her.
"While I have a lot of energy now, I want to be able to get up in the morning so I started a little earlier," Phoebe fibbed. It was as good an excuse as any.
Tired as she was, Prue didn't question it. Instead, they merely began setting up the arch. Grams gave them a few laughs by asking if it was really the biggest arch they could find and reminded them that if "love is the quest, then marriage is the conquest." Apparently, weddings were not supposed to be romantic, at least not in her book. Prue flippantly remarked that one could always tell Grams' age by the number of rings on her fingers. Grams just wagged one of said fingers at her.
"Alright, wedding arch is done," Prue glanced at her never-ending to-do list. "The next thing on the to-do list is…" she yawned.
Phoebe watched her in concern. Prue had been tired, abnormally so, all week and this was really not the best time for it. So she finished, "…Sleep. You've been yawning all day."
"Try all week," Prue complained. "It's this recurring dream I keep having, it's keeping me awake."
Phoebe frowned. "Really? What's in the dream?"
"Well…" Prue thought back to her most recent dream. "There was this biker guy and he's kinda cute and kinda dangerous…" Unconsciously, she smiled.
"Sounds kinda yummy," Phoebe remarked.
Piper walked in at that moment, and was momentarily spellbound by the sight before her. The arch and the altar and Grams…wow.
"Piper, sweetie!" Grams greeted her. "What do you think?"
Piper stared at the magnificent sight before her. "It's-it's beautiful," she murmured.
"Yeah, and the best part is, it's finally happening," Phoebe put in.
"Flowers…and bows…and Grams…" Piper sighed, still looking around. "The only thing missing is…"
"Mom," Prue finished quietly. She'd been thinking about that, too.
The collective mood in the room fell momentarily. Piper started, "Grams, are you sure you can't do…?"
Grams shook her head. "I'm only here because you need a high priestess. They want me back by the witching hour tomorrow."
The sisters' shoulders sagged. It had been worth a try, at least. Phoebe held up the picture that had been sitting behind her. Quietly, she said, "I thought this could help."
It would, just…not enough.
Prue watched Piper closely. "You okay?"
Piper shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I just, I can't believe how close I came to sabotaging my own wedding."
Sabotaging the wedding? Phoebe rocked back in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Well, with the demons and the false starts and them," Piper nodded accusingly up at the ceiling, gesturing to the heavens where the Elders resided. She admitted, "I told myself if one more thing went wrong then it just maybe wasn't meant to be."
"Oh, darling, there's no need to think that way. I mean, you made it," Grams hastened to reassure her. Piper smiled.
"Yeah, and I will personally butt-kick any demon who tries to ruin it for you," Prue added. Her statement would have had more of an impact if she hadn't punctuated it with yet another yawn.
"Not if you're asleep, you won't." Phoebe shook her head. It was late, and they had a big day tomorrow. "Come on, I'm tucking you in."
It was a testament to how tired Prue really was that she didn't even try to argue with her.
XXX
On the morning of February 22, 2001, it was Phoebe Halliwell who woke up the earliest for a change. For a moment, she just laid there in her bed, basking in the knowledge of what today was. Even better, she did not feel any morning sickness whatsoever beyond some mild queasiness that would quickly be taken care of with breakfast. With that thought in mind, Phoebe fairly leapt out of bed and, after taking care of business in the bathroom, rushed downstairs to the kitchen.
Being that she was the only one up, the house was totally and completely quiet. Phoebe knew she wasn't the best cook in the world, but she was more than capable of making breakfast-in-bed for her soon-to-be wed sister. Phoebe giggled at her unspoken rhyme. Her happiness only increased she began to gather the necessary ingredients. For once, Phoebe did not feel weighted down by responsibilities as this was a positively joyful day. She had made a decision about her baby and talked to Grams about it; even the mild morning sickness couldn't get her down. Life seemed a lot better with less uncertainty. Phoebe was only a tiny bit sad because their mother wasn't there to share this day with them.
Phoebe shoved the thought aside. Once breakfast was done (and she had eaten her share of it), she carefully arranged Piper's share on a tray and brought it up the stairs to her sister. If Piper wasn't up yet, well, she would just have to take care of that. They had a lot to do today, and no time to waste.
As luck would have it, Piper was already up and giggling when Phoebe walked into the room. "Was that just giggling I heard?" the youngest Halliwell sister demanded as she walked in with the tray.
Piper grinned at her impishly, looking totally unlike her normally-serious self. She retorted, "Yes, I am guilty of giggling and I am guilty of being happier than any previous romance in my life!"
Well, of course she was! "Piper, it's your wedding day!" Phoebe exclaimed, hardly able to believe it herself.
Shyly, but smugly, Piper said, "I know."
Phoebe lunged at the bed. "Here comes a bridesmaid!" she yelled as she pounced. The two of them threw petals in the air, giggling and laughing like preschoolers on a playground.
Prue came in, and they immediately showered her with petals. "Prue, come play!"
"Hey," Prue protested, smiling, as she pulled petals out of her hair. She sat down on the bed and Phoebe noticed the exhausted look on her face.
"Uh-oh, another bad dream?" she guessed.
Prue nodded. "Yeah, I was still in that biker bar but this time I was attacked by a big galloot," she explained forgetting her audience.
Piper's heart stopped. "A galloot? What is that?" she demanded, fearful that all her bridal dreams were about to come crashing down. "You fought a demon in your sleep? If I'm gonna have to vanquish a demon in my wedding dress, just tell me, because if so, then—" Piper began to rant, her mood plummeting.
Prue stopped her in her tracks. "Ay!" she exclaimed to get her attention. "Alright, he was not a demon, he was just a big rude guy."
"And it was just in her dream," Phoebe added.
"Yeah, and the only thing I need to vanquish him is a potion called coffee," Prue finished. The door bell rang. "That must be the flowers. Um, okay, you just relax, no worrying."
Phoebe leapt off the bed. "And I will have a hot bubble bath waiting for you!" she promised. 'Nothing like a hot bath to prepare for one of the most important days in your life,' she thought as she ran into the bathroom. Prue called for her, asking for help in getting the wedding set up, and Phoebe eagerly obliged as soon as the bath was full. She was pleased to help; nothing could have made her happier than the fact that for once, they were going to have an awesome, normal (well, semi-normal because of Grams and the tiny size of the event) experience of a wedding. Sometimes it seemed like they would never get there because of the constant danger. Now Piper was getting married and Phoebe herself was having a baby with the man she loved. She knew there were still obstacles in their way like demons and bounty hunters and the Source (and telling Prue), but in her current cheerful mood, Phoebe felt like they could deal with all that and more. Right now, though, they just needed to focus on the present.
So Phoebe just brushed away her inexplicable anxiety as Prue smothered another yawn and Piper got ready to chase away her remaining worries with the promised bubble bath.
XXX
Several hours later, the oldest and the youngest Halliwell sisters had just about finished with the mountain of tasks that needed to be completed this day. Phoebe came down into the kitchen after rifling through the attic, prize in hand. She set it down on the table where Prue was scratching one thing after another off her to-do list.
"Check out what I found in the attic," Phoebe exulted.
Prue barely even glanced at it. "I hope it's something old 'cause we already have new, borrowed, and blue covered."
"Is Melinda Warren's blessing cup old enough?" Phoebe asked pointedly, fingering the ancient item in question.
Prue grinned. "That is very cool."
"Yeah, what could be better than to give Piper the actual cup that our favorite ancestor drank from at her wedding," Phoebe remarked. This cup had, in a way, witnessed the birth of their bloodline. It didn't even look three hundred years old. It would always hold a special place in their hearts.
Prue scanned her list, satisfied. "Alright, now I can check that off. Now all I need is help moving the buffet table."
Phoebe bit her lip. She wasn't sure how receptive Prue would be to her next suggestion, but… "Maybe we should wait until Cole gets here. He should be here any minute."
Prue turned around and stared at her. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, you knew he was coming to the wedding," Phoebe countered; she couldn't help being a little stung by Prue's tone.
"Yeah, to the wedding, Phoebe," Prue emphasized, suddenly irritated. The day had been going so well, too. "But the moments leading up to it belong to the family." Softening her tone just a little, Prue said, "And I'm sorry, okay, but Cole is not family."
Okay, that hurt. Unconsciously, Phoebe's hand moved towards her stomach. Cole was definitely part of her family, whether Prue liked it or not. She was about to say so before she remembered that she hadn't told Prue her decision yet. So Phoebe stayed silent.
The silence lasted all of half a second. Piper screamed, and her two sisters ran out of the kitchen, afraid of what they might find. They didn't have to be. Leo had arrived, and he was holding something long and white draped over his arm.
"It is bad luck to see the bride's dress before the wedding," Piper was scolding him as she hid behind the decorations on the stairwell.
"But you're not in your dress," Leo impishly reminded her.
Piper frowned. That was true. "The same rule applies to the bride's…curlers." She glared. "Go away." Piper ran back up the stairs.
After that, there was a small to-do over Leo's chosen wear for the day. He had brought his formal Whitelighter wear; Prue and Phoebe had rented him a tux. And it was the tux that the Whitelighter would be wearing; at least that aspect of a traditional wedding would remain.
"Anybody home?"
"Daddy!" Phoebe ran to give her father a hug as he came through the door.
"Hi, baby," Victor greeted his daughter delightedly. His greeting to Leo was decidedly less friendly, "Leo." The two men nodded civilly to each other, and Phoebe and Prue shivered as they felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees.
Prue cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I know that you have a lot of joy and laughter to share so I'll just take you down…" Without warning, the world tilted sideways as Prue was overcome by a dizzy spell. "Whoa."
"What's the matter?" Victor asked anxiously, his animosity towards Leo momentarily forgotten.
Prue quickly sat down on the stairs so she wouldn't fall down. "Ah, just, uh, a dizzy spell," she replied faintly, holding her head in her hands. "I've been getting them ever since those dreams began."
Leo tensed. "What dreams?"
"Oh, you know, those dreams," Prue started to explain and then she remembered. Piper's warning. So she lied, "Uh, you know it's nothing."
Phoebe, too, remembered Piper's words from the night before. For that reason alone, she went along with it. "Yeah, certainly nothing to worry about," she fibbed. "Okay, you two, follow me." To Prue, Phoebe ordered, "You just sit there and relax. I'll be right back." Prue nodded, unable to do anything else. Phoebe led the men to the basement. As they descended the stairs, she made sure to call down to them, "Get dressed and no fighting."
From the looks the two gave each other, Phoebe wouldn't bank on it. She sighed, leaving them to their own devices and hurried back to Prue, who was still sitting on the stairs. Apparently these bad dreams were turning out to be something more.
"Prue, okay, we've got everyone convinced that we have things under control," Phoebe announced, sitting down beside her big sister. "Now you have to convince me."
Prue shook her head weakly. "I can't do that."
Phoebe's heart sank. "Oh, no. What are you feeling?"
"Tired all the time," Prue moaned as a wave of exhaustion nearly overwhelmed her. "I mean, when I fall asleep, my dreams are so real, they don't allow me any rest. It's like I'm awake 24 hours a day."
Phoebe couldn't even begin to imagine how that felt. She smoothed Prue's hair back out of her eyes. "Is the dream sorcerer back?"
"I don't think so, but I'm not ruling anything out," Prue said grimly.
"Well, remember what Piper said. If one more thing goes wrong she was gonna call off this wedding," Phoebe warned. They had to be sure something was really wrong before they rang the warning bell.
"No, we can't let that happen," Prue decided. She just didn't know what to do.
But Phoebe did, at least temporarily. "Why don't you let me handle this almighty to-do list," she pried the list from her sister's grasp. "And you go upstairs and get some rest. Don't sleep," she warned, "just rest."
"Okay," Prue whispered.
Phoebe watched her make her way up the stairs. "You're relinquishing control to your little sister," she muttered in shock. "You must really be tired."
As Phoebe tackled the rest of the chores that needed to be done before the ceremony, her worry only grew. Prue was upstairs, suffering from God knows what. And she had no idea where Cole was; he was supposed to have been here by now. Had he been captured by bounty hunters? Hurt? Killed? Phoebe's head spun with the possibilities.
Once she had finished, Phoebe made her way back upstairs. The wedding was in an hour, and they had yet to get themselves ready. Her heart fell when she peeked into Prue's room and realized the older girl was asleep. Phoebe crossed the room soundlessly and gently shook her shoulder.
"Prue," she called softly. There was no response. Phoebe called her name louder. Still no response. Now even more worried than she had been before, Phoebe shook her sister roughly. Prue just moaned. She did not wake up, and Phoebe was terrified. Why wouldn't Prue wake up?
Several more shakes and shouts later, Prue still would not wake up. Phoebe was about to resort to slapping her, consequences be damned, when Prue's eyes abruptly flew open. Phoebe nearly wept in relief, but that relief was short-lived when she noticed the look in her sister's eyes. Prue was terrified. Without bothering to answer her sister's queries, Prue sat up and stared at her wrists.
"Oh no," she whispered.
And just like that, Phoebe knew something supernatural was going on. Still feeling quite out of sorts, Prue finally explained her dream. She explained that it felt like it wouldn't release her—Phoebe knew exactly what that felt like. Her visions tried to pull her in every time, and that only served to worry her more, not less. They wondered if someone was trying to pull them, or at least Prue, into an alternate dream world.
"Well, hopefully that person will be in the Book of Shadows, okay," Phoebe consoled her, leading her out of the room. "Come on."
They had barely taken two steps into the hall when another thought occurred to her. "Wait, should we tell Piper?" Phoebe hedged. They both remembered Piper's words from the night before, but the Power of Three might be necessary.
"No, I won't let this be the one thing that goes wrong today," Prue decided without hesitating. "I'll be okay as long as I stay awake, right? For Piper?"
"For Piper."
Of course, getting to the attic was not that easy. Prue and Phoebe were only feet from the stairs that led up to it when Piper emerged from her room. One look at her sisters told Piper all she needed to know. "Hold it right there. What's wrong?" she demanded.
Prue and Phoebe shared a frantic glance with each other. "Boy bands," Phoebe replied unthinkingly, "there's just too many of them, don't you think?"
Wow, that sounded weak even to her ears. 'Way to go, Phoebe,' Phoebe congratulated herself sarcastically.
Piper didn't buy it. "No. What's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing's wrong," Prue lied.
Unfortunately, Piper was not convinced. "I can see it in your faces. We've been demon-hunting for three years now; you're going to the attic, aren't you?"
A lightbulb went on in Phoebe's head. There was a way out of this. "Yes…" she sighed.
Prue elbowed her roughly. "Phoebe!"
Piper threw her hands up in the air. Of course she couldn't have an uneventful wedding day, why had she ever thought otherwise? "I knew it."
Prue stared at Phoebe like she had lost her mind. Phoebe shrugged. "What, Prue, she's on to us," she turned and faced Piper, schooling her expression into one of defeat. "Yes, Piper, we were heading to the attic," Phoebe admitted. "To find something old, something new…"
Phoebe looked at Prue meaningfully, and Prue quickly caught on. She finished, "Uh, something, something borrowed, something blue."
"Yes."
"Right." Prue tried to make herself sound sheepish. "We were gonna surprise you, but now you caught us." Inwardly, she cheered in relief. Piper had bought it. Prue continued, "I told you, you have nothing to worry about today, alright? It's going to be a demon-free day."
The timing of her statement was perfect. Cole Turner shimmered in beside Phoebe, and Phoebe smiled in relief. He was okay. He was even holding a wedding gift, much to her surprise.
"Hey!" Prue protested.
Cole looked at the assembled sisters. Apparently, he had shimmered into an awkward moment. Well, it wasn't as though awkward moments had ever bothered him before. As he always did, Cole took in the situation around him. Piper looked relieved, for some unexplained reason. But Prue and Phoebe did not; well, Phoebe did, but Cole could see the traces of worry in her face. In both of their faces. Something was going on, and they didn't want Piper to know about it. He decided to play along.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, although Cole didn't think he was, given their states of relative undress.
Piper gave Prue a look. "You were saying?"
"Near miss with a Zotar," Cole explained and Phoebe winced. The last thing that Piper needed was a reminder that an uninvited demon could crash her wedding at any time. At least he noticed her irritation and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Phoebe smiled again. "Almost spotted me. Oh, don't worry, I lost him. I think," he almost reassured her. Well, they had to give him points for trying.
XXX
With Cole's help, Phoebe finished the last chore on the to-do list: moving the buffet table into its assigned wedding spot. As they worked, she couldn't help but stare. Cole was wearing a tux, and he looked damn good in it. Phoebe didn't even care where he'd gotten it.
Cole looked up and smirked. "Like what you see?" He cocked an eyebrow suggestively.
Phoebe blushed and looked away. "No time," she muttered. But, oh yes, she did like what she saw. She like it a whole lot.
Cole nodded, smiling a little to himself. Then he abruptly changed the subject. "So what's wrong with Prue?"
Phoebe looked back at him again, startled. "How did you know?"
Cole just looked at her. 'He's a one-hundred-and-sixteen-year-old half-demon with super senses,' Phoebe belatedly remembered, 'So he's seen just about everything. Right.'
"Prue's been having bad dreams…" Phoebe explained the whole situation—what she knew of it, anyway—to Cole and looked at him expectantly. "Have you heard of anything like that?"
"I've heard of dream dimensions," Cole said matter-of-factly. "But not like how you're describing it. It could be a parallel world, though. I don't know." Phoebe deflated a little. So he didn't know. Drat.
"Maybe it's in the Book of Shadows," she reminded herself hopefully. To Cole, she said, "I'm gonna go check on Prue. Finish up here, will you?"
Cole nodded his assent and went back to repositioning the table. Phoebe had just turned the corner to go up to the attic when Prue met her at the base of the stairs. "Hey, did you find anything in the Book about your dreams?"
"Nothing," Prue replied tiredly.
Phoebe deflated once again. "What are we gonna do?" She checked her watch. "The wedding's in a half an hour."
Prue took a deep breath, gathering her strength, which was once again beginning to wane. "Get ready, get set, get through it for Piper," she stated.
"For Piper," Phoebe confirmed. The two sisters split into their separate rooms to get dressed. It was only when she slipped into her beautiful, watermelon-colored floor-length dress that Phoebe remembered the zipper. 'I should have asked for help,' she thought irritatedly as she struggled with the offending object.
"Let me," a soft voice soothed from behind her.
Phoebe was momentarily startled, and then relaxed as she felt Cole's hot, gentle hands work their way up her back. Being that he was a half-demon with fiery capabilities, Cole's body temperature was several degrees higher than that of a normal human. And, being that it was February in San Francisco, Phoebe loved it.
For a moment, the two lovers forgot about their worldly worries and basked in each other's presence. Both wished they had just a little bit more time before the wedding for 'other' activities. Phoebe looked down at her stomach and realized that, while it was still flat, she wouldn't be able to fit in this kind of dress much longer. The thought warmed her from the inside.
Cole, meanwhile, had finished zipping, but he didn't move away from his spot behind her. He wrapped his arms around her still-small middle, hands resting right over where he knew their baby was developing. "Have you told your sisters yet?" he asked softly.
Phoebe started to shake her head, and then realized that wasn't exactly true. "Everyone but Prue knows, I think," she replied just as softly. "Please don't tell her yet. Not until after the wedding, at least. We've got enough going on right now."
Cole wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but he respected Phoebe's judgment about her sisters. Knowing this was all the time they could have today, he backed off. Phoebe gave him another quick peck on the lips (wishing it could be longer) before she darted out to help her sisters. She and Prue went back to pretending that everything was fine. They laughed like sisters should as they helped each other and Piper with dressing and hair and make-up.
"Guys, can I have a little alone time?" Piper requested once they had finished with her veil. Prue and Phoebe nodded; every bride needed a little time to herself once everything was set and ready. Prue went out to wait in the hall while Phoebe went down to check on the men. Leo and Victor seemed to be getting along fairly well, to her astonishment; they must have come to some kind of understanding after she had banished them down to the basement. Darryl, unfortunately, still hadn't shown up and she wondered just where he was; it wasn't like him to be late. Phoebe left a message on his cell phone, praying that he would show up in the next ten minutes. If he didn't…oh well.
Phoebe made her way back upstairs and frowned when she heard voices coming from Piper's room. Sharing a concerned look, she and Prue walked in.
What they saw left them breathless.
Patricia Halliwell, the mother who had been dead for almost twenty-three years, smiled when her youngest and oldest daughters entered the room and stopped short at the sight of her.
"Mum," Phoebe spoke softly, shocked beyond the use of any other word but one. She had seen her mother before, of course; during her time travels and in that home movie her father had left for them three years earlier. But it was the first time she had seen her, alive, in this time period. Grams had said she couldn't do it. So how…?
"It's true," Piper nodded tearfully, "she's real. They sent her to us for today."
There was only one 'they' Piper could be talking about. Despite all her previous ill thoughts she had directed towards the Elders, Phoebe now found herself thanking them for this one day she would get to spend with her mother.
Patty looked at Prue, her eldest daughter, first. "Oh Prue," she sighed, "it's been so hard on you, unfair."
"Yeah…" Prue caught herself nodding. "No, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to make you proud," she choked out.
"You protected this family better than I could. I'm so proud of you," Patty reassured her, as they embraced for the first time in over two decades.
Phoebe stared at them, feeling irrationally hurt and left out. Although she knew, intellectually, that it wasn't true, she couldn't help but think that maybe her mother loved her less than her two older sisters. After all, they had never gotten to know each other the way Patty had with her older daughters.
Patty noticed her daughter's dejection and turned to her next. Her youngest daughter, Phoebe, the one she had never truly had the chance to know. And now, the same toddler she had left behind all those years ago would be the first to continue the Warren line with her own child in a few short months.
"And you, my baby, you feel it all, don't you?" Patty murmured tenderly. Phoebe's breath caught once again. Her mother did love her, she did, as everyone had always said she did. "I was never there to comfort you. I died before you even knew me."
"Some nights I just wanted you to hold me," Phoebe whispered thickly. Her eyes prickled with unshed tears.
Patty stepped up closer, about to do so now. "Your road's been the longest, Phoebe. But I was never worried about you." Phoebe looked at her, confused. Her mother explained, "You know why? Because I had a premonition the day you were born."
"You did?" Phoebe breathed.
"What did you see?" Piper questioned, still trying to hold back her own tears.
"Oh, I saw this," Patty smiled beatifically as she gestured to the scene before her. "I saw this moment, right now, my three daughters standing before me as beautiful young women and I knew that everything would be okay."
Phoebe choked, overcome with emotion. "What did you see next?"
Their mother opened her arms wide. "I held you," she answered, and all three of her daughters willingly stepped into the embrace. For a long moment, they just stood there, reveling in this contact and the fact that they would all be a complete family again, even if it was just for today.
Eventually, though, they had to pull apart. It was Prue, ever the responsible one, who reminded them of why they were all here. "We still have a wedding today. Piper, are you ready?"
Piper nodded, gathering herself and dabbing away at the few tears that had escaped her control. "I'm ready."
They gave her a moment longer to collect herself, and Prue and Phoebe made their way downstairs. Everyone else was already in place, with Grams standing (or floating?) behind the altar, and Leo and Victor in front of it. Cole stood off to the side, nearer to the entryway. He wasn't quite part of the family, yet, and it showed.
"Places, places, everyone!" Grams called. Phoebe made sure she was standing in the correct spot. As she looked around, she couldn't help thinking that everything felt more than a little surreal. This day wasn't going as perfectly as she would have liked, but she wanted this moment to be just that.
Naturally, said moment was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "Don't answer that," Prue muttered.
"Can somebody answer that?" Piper called from upstairs.
"Oooh!" Prue hissed as she and Phoebe went to follow their sister's wishes. As it turned out, Darryl Morris was standing on the other side of the door. And he didn't look happy. "Hey, you're late. Where were you?"
"Out saving your ass," Darryl informed her tersely. Phoebe's jaw dropped as he revealed that not only did the police have Prue's picture, but that she was wanted for murder.
Horrified, Phoebe exclaimed, "Oh my God, that was your dream!"
"They don't have your name yet but it's only a matter of time," the inspector warned. He hated to bring such awful news on what was supposed to be a joyful day, but he didn't have a choice.
From the other room, Grams called, "Girls!"
Prue thought fast. "Alright, let's just stay cool and we'll get downtown and straighten this out later. But we have to get through the wedding first, okay? For Piper."
"For Piper." Phoebe nodded. They looked at Darryl, who looked back at them in confusion. "You're supposed to say, 'for Piper,'" she explained.
Darryl agreed, reluctantly. "Alright, but it better be a quick wedding."
Although the other occupants of the manor didn't feel it, Phoebe thought the atmosphere in the room was not nearly as light as it had been when she walked back to her place. Cole saw the consternation in her face and the tension in her frame, but said nothing. Now wasn't the time for it.
The atmosphere lightened up a little with Victor's consternation over finding out that his ex-wife had temporarily come back from the dead. It lightened up considerably when the music started and Piper came down. For a moment, all Phoebe could do was stare at her sister in all her bridal glory. With the veil, the hair, the make-up, the jewelry, the dress, even the shoes…from head to toe, Piper looked perfect. Despite her anxiety, Phoebe smiled as Victor took his daughter's arm and led her to the altar.
"We did it," she whispered. "It's really happening."
She spoke too soon. Not two seconds after she spoke those words, did a horrendous crash echo from the entryway. The entire wedding party spun around and gasped as a man on a motorcycle rode into the room. Flowers, table pieces and glassware flew in every which direction; some smashed on the ground while others went flying into the air. The man stopped and called, "Prue!"
Prue gasped, "Oh, oh, oh no." Before Phoebe could catch her, she fainted dead away on the ground. Even more shocking, her astral self, dressed far more casually than her real self appeared right next to her fallen form and looked at the man as if he was her savior. "TJ!" she exclaimed, sounding anything but furious as she ran over to him. "You came!"
"Prue?" Shocked as she was, Phoebe was helpless to stop her and could only watch as her big sister climbed on the bike with her mystery man.
"Had to beat the cops," TJ explained—to Prue, not them. "I won't let them take you."
"Prue, what the hell is going on?" Piper demanded, eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
"Prue, you get your astral ass back here!" Phoebe screamed. It had no effect. Once again, she could only watch in horror as the bike roared to life and began a disastrous journey out of the manor. Up against several hundred pounds of metal and two determined riders, the cake table didn't stand a chance. Knocked off balance, it toppled to the ground, and the white wedding cake split into white, messy pieces as it splattered on the hardwood floor.
For a moment, all was silent. And then Piper began to fall apart. "Oh," she moaned, surveying the destroyed room and her destroyed wedding. "Oh…oh…oh…oh."
"Honey…" Phoebe started, unsure of what else to say.
Abruptly, Piper's mood changed from devastated to pissed off. "Alright," she hissed, ripping off the suddenly-offensive veil. "That's it! The wedding is off."
No! The wedding couldn't be off, not with all the blood, sweat and tears they'd put into it! Phoebe took a step towards her sister, accidentally stepping on the dress. It ripped.
"Phoebe!"
"Sorry, sorry," Phoebe hastily apologized. Piper stormed away, and Phoebe went after her, desperate to stop her before she did something they'd all regret. "Piper, Piper, wait, think about this."
Piper ignored her, and roughly shrugged into a light pink cardigan. Phoebe kept trying anyway. "Piper, Piper you cannot just leave."
Piper spun to face her, the distress clear on her face and in her voice. "Yes, I can. A demon, I could have handled, but my big sister ruining my wedding, I cannot handle that!" she shrieked.
Phoebe was not quite panicking, but she was very close. "Okay, just listen to me for a second. All we have to do is find a way…" Find a way? What was she saying? Why should someone have to 'find a way' on today of all days? Phoebe glanced at Cole, and wondered, 'Is that what we're doing with our baby?'
"No, no I don't want to 'find a way' to get married on my wedding day," Piper cried. "It's too hard, there must be a reason."
"Piper…" Leo tried.
It was to no avail. "Leo, I'm sorry, but this is just the final straw," Piper said, both decisively and defeatedly. A wounded look crossed Leo's face. "It's just not meant to be."
So, in the end, despite all their promises that everything would be okay, all Phoebe could do was watch as her devastated sister walked out of the house on the ruin of a day that was supposed to be her wedding day. Worse yet, she had no idea how to fix it.