Prue slowly walked down the stairs from the attic, where she was currently residing. After a few days of sleeping with Phoebe, she couldn't take the kicking anymore. She had switched with Paige and was now in the attic. And in truth she preferred it there. She had set up quite the little room for herself. She had found a bamboo screen to block off her little area, she had a nice firm air mattress and a little dresser she had found tucked away in a corner. She had privacy, a comfy bed and room for her clothes, what more could she want. And it was just as well that she liked it since she knew that she would be getting the third bedroom built, so she had the longest to wait.
She had just reached the bottom floor when she heard knocking at the door, so she turned and opened it, and stared in shock at the person standing on her doorstep.
"Bane?" Prue said shocked.
"Wow, Prue. Weird, you look amazing, but you don't look like you've aged a day…." Bane said sounding confused.
"Ya, I haven't, I'm dead" Prue said not knowing why she said that.
"Wow, you're an amazingly solid dead person" Bane said jokingly.
"Well I'm an angel" Prue said.
"Now that I believe" Bane replied grinning.
Prue grinned too, liking the flattery. And then said "so what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you of course" Bane said.
"Oh ya. I guess that would make sense, I'm just not used to that yet" Prue said.
"Used to what?" Bane asked.
"People coming to look for me" Prue answered.
"People don't come see you?" Bane asked.
"No, as I told you, up until recently people thought I was dead, well I mean I was, but now I'm back as an angel, but they all think that I was in a comma so now they are starting to come around again" Prue said quickly.
Bane stood still and gave her a very confused look and finally said "Run that one by me again?"
"Well like I said. I was dead" Prue said.
"Dead, as in actually dead?" Bane said.
"Yep, a demon finally got me" Prue said "But now I got brought back as a white lighter, a kind of guardian angel for witches."
"Ok, I kinda follow, what was that about a comma?" Bane asked.
"Oh, well my ex-brother in law messed with some stuff to make people think that I hadn't died just been in a coma" Prue answered.
"Wow, cool trick. Does he work for the government or something?" Bane asked.
Prue laughed and said "No, he's a lawyer."
"So he pulled some strings and forged some documents?" asked Bane.
"Actually he did some demonic mind trick or something, probably forged some documents too though" Prue replied.
"Demonic mind trick? I thought you said he was a lawyer?" Bane said sounding lost again.
"Oh he is, he's a lawyer and a demon" Prue stated.
"Talk about overkill" was Bane's comment.
"Hey now be nice" Prue said.
"So I noticed the house looks like its getting bigger" Bane commented.
"Ya well with my three sisters and their kids we needed more room" Prue said.
"Come again, three sisters. I know I've been gone awhile but not that long" Bane said.
"Ya, well I have a new sister" Prue said.
"I thought you said your mother had already died" Bane said.
Prue sighed and said "Ya, not that kind of new. Apparently after I passed on Phoebe and Piper found out about our mother having an illegitimate child with some lover and giving her up. And now the girl is living here too, it's a tragic event…"
Bane interrupted saying "That she was given up?"
"No, that she came back" Prue said.
"Oh, don't get along?" Bane asked.
"Hardly, Piper is trying to send us to family therapy" Prue snapped.
Bane cracked up "Ya, well your family probably needs it."
"Gee thanks" Prue quipped.
"Welcome" Bane said.
"So wait a second" Prue said. "Did you break out again?"
"Nope I'm free and clear. Finally out on parole!" Bane told her.
"That's great, and the first place you came was here?" Prue asked.
"Well not the first exactly. I had a few things to take care of first. But this was the first place I wanted to go. I want to get my life back together. And the last time I talked to you, you made me believe in dreaming again. So I thought you could be my muse" Bane said.
Prue smiled and opened the door up more. Bane walked in. He pulled Prue into his arms dipped her down and kissed her. She responded with interest.
"Well…" Prue said.
"Ya…" Bane replied "Look, I'm not totally sure where I go from here. All I've ever really known is a life in the shadows dealing with the darker side of things. But for you I want to change, sappy as that sounds. So I'm not sure what comes next, but I do know I'd like for whatever future I build from here on to have you in it."
"I think I might like that too" Prue said.
"Alright then, lets give it a try" Bane said.
"But you still need a plan of some sort" Prue told him.
"I guess so, I was kinda thinking I'd wing it or something" Bane told her.
"Well that all nice and good, but you need to worry about getting a job and finding somewhere to live" Prue said.
"Well money's no worry; I still have plenty of that. The government couldn't track all of it or prove where I got it, so it's still mine. And believe me with that I don't ever need to work again" Bane told her proudly.
Prue did not look pleased and finally said "Well its all dirty money, from various con's and such."
"Not all of it, some of it I even earned legitimately" Bane protested.
"It's still not something you should be proud of" Prue said.
"Well, maybe not, but it is what it is. And who knows with you as my inspiration, I may end up using it to set up some charity foundation" Bane told her.
Prue laughed at the idea but let it go only saying "Well if you have the money I guess a job is not the first priority, so that makes somewhere to stay number one."
"Well, that's already taken care of. If you're gonna come try to impress a girl, a place to live and such are kinda necessary. So first thing I did was get an apartment near here, actually within walking distance. Don't worry I'm not a stalker; it was by chance that it is this close. Actually I was hoping that maybe you'd want to move in with me" Bane said.
Prue looked surprised and finally responding with "Well I am impressed, but I can't…"
"Wait," Bane interrupted "before you go saying that you can't do it, and that it's moving to fast. And that all may be true, but Prue, with our lives every day's a gift and we don't know how many such gifts we will be given, sometimes you got to live for the moment and grab onto a dream before it gets away."
"If you would have let me finish you would know I was not planning on saying it was going too fast" Prue said.
"But you said no" Bane replied.
"True, but not for the reasons you think. I have to stay here. My sisters are my charges, I'm their guardian angel and I've been ordered to stay here and live at the manor. I'm kinda special case and I have very special restrictions, and one of them is that I live here, I'm sorry" Prue told him.
Bane looked surprised and then gave a slight smile and said "Well at least you're not turning me down over something I did."
"Ya, I am sorry, believe me. Currently, as you saw, we are in the middle of renovating, and until my room is done, and it will be the last done, I live on an air mattress in the attic. So I really wish that I could take you up on that, but I can't." Prue told him.
"Alright, I guess that really can't be helped. But you are allowed to like stay the night occasionally elsewhere, right?" Bane asked.
"Well it's never really come up yet, but I imagine I can" Prue told him.
"Good" was Bane's response.
"Anyway I can't wait till my family see's you around. Piper will glare disapprovingly at first, Phoebe will drool, and Paige will be furious. She already hates that I'm friends with Phoebe's demon ex, and an ex-convict will be no better in her opinion" Prue said with a grin.
"I take it Paige is the new sis? And what about your sis's demon ex?" Bane said.
"Yep Paige is the new one. And what do you mean what about Phoebe's demon ex, you sound jealous" Prue said.
"Should I be?" Bane asked.
"Oh hell no. I mean Cole is, well Cole. He'll never love anyone but Phoebe and he's not my type, we are just friends. We have an agreed upon mission to make Paige's life miserable" Prue told him.
Bane laughed and said "So he's in love with Phoebe?"
"Oh ya, always has been. They were married but she vanquished him, he came back to get her back and she vanquished him again, so now he's back again, still desperately in love with her but steering clear" Prue told him.
"Wow, quite the tale. You sure that after all that he still loves her?" Bane asked.
"Yep, amazingly. We don't talk about it much, it just depresses him, but he has confirmed to me that he still loves her. But that he now knows he'll never get her back" Prue said.
"That's sad" Bane said.
"I know. Phoebe is a fool, the man is her soul mate and loves her more than life itself, but she will always push him away, afraid of love" Prue said.
"Well I guess it's her choice" Bane replied.
"Ya, I just wish that he did not have to go through it all, I keep thinking one of these days he'll just give up and give in, but I hope not" Prue said.
"Well anyone who has been through that much and still is around will probably be alright" Bane said.
"Maybe, but he went through it all to get her back, everything he does is motivated by love for her" Prue said.
"Well that's just not healthy, so maybe its best he moves on with his life" Bane told her.
"Ya, I just hope he can" Prue said.
"Well enough of this depressing talk, let's talk about something more cheerful" Bane said.
"Oh really, I'm surprised you want to talk at all" Prue replied.
"Well now that you mention it, I think I have a better idea than talking" Bane said.
"Oh ya tell me about it" Prue said.
"I could show you better than I could tell you" Bane said. And that was the last thing either one said for a long time.
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Phoebe went straight to her room upon getting home, she did not want to run into Prue right now. It was amazing how many of the things that Prue had said to her had hurt her and shaken her up. Did Prue really think Cole was her soul mate? She really hoped not. That was the last things she needed right now. As if finding out that her eight year marriage was a sham was not enough, and to know she would have to raise her children alone. Now to find out that her vague hopes that, ok clearly Coop was not her soul mate so she just needed to keep looking, were totally wrong. This basically meant that she was destined to be alone.
Sometimes she thought that she was cursed. It was better to believe that than to think that maybe she just was not lovable. Why was the universe so intent on seeing her miserable, unhappy, and alone?
She really thought that this time was different. That this was it, that she finally found the real thing. And now looking back on all the memories, and knowing that it was all a fake, that none of it was real, it shattered her.
She looked around her bedroom, at all the familiar things so filled with memories. And wondered why she always seemed to end up coming back here. Or maybe she ought to wonder why she kept trying to leave; clearly she was meant to stay here, because every time that she got her heart broken and her world fell apart she ran back here. Maybe if she just stayed here she would be safe.
But who was she kidding, saying she was unlovable, it was not that she was unlovable, it was that she pushed love away. Prue was right, she sabotaged her own relationships to protect herself and all she ended up doing was hurting herself more.
Cole, the man that she once thought she would spend eternity with. The man she had actually let her self love. The man who shattered her, who ruined everything. He took away her ability to just get by without love and then he was gone and so was the love they once had.
And once again it was all her fault, that he left. And now he was back, but years too late. She could at least admit that Coop had helped her with one thing, to get over the bitterness that she had held on to so tightly since Cole left. Oddly that bitterness had been her way of holding on to Cole, the bitterness kept everyone away, allowing her to wait. Not that she had realized it, until it was gone. And now the person she got rid of that wall for was gone and in fact never existed in the first place, and the person who had put the wall in place was back. So where did that leave her?