A/N:

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Chapter 9

No more easy way

Piper opened her weary eyes and could see something scurrying on the ground next to her. It was a crawdad with something in its claws that looked like sausage. The morning light created spots on the ground that the little critter would pass through them and back into the shadows of the trees. She reached down with her good hand and grabbed it by its tail as Phoebe was limping back from gathering water. She stopped when she saw Piper in wonderment at what the crustacean had between his pincers.

"Piper what is that?" Phoebe asks while putting the cup of water on the fire.

"It has my finger," Piper replied as though it was commonplace. Phoebe walked over to her trying not to vomit and took the crawdad out of her hand and tossed it to the side.

"Ok we'll just pretend we did not see that," Phoebe said and patted her on top of the head as Paige shot up from her sleep breathing rapidly. "Paige are you ok?"

"I'm not in mud," Paige said while looking at her surroundings.

"Yeah honey your not in mud," Phoebe said and Prue also began to rise.

Paige looked over at Piper who was still half asleep. "I will never get a mud bath again," she said.

"Crawdad had my finger," Piper said and for some reason began to giggle.

"That sounds like a start of a really bad joke," Paige said and began to stretch her body.

"I'm hoping this whole place is going to be a really bad joke soon," Prue said as she looked at Piper's hand that was missing a digit. "You ok?"

"It hurts like hell and now I can't pick my nose properly, but other than that I'm peachy," Piper replied while trying to get more comfortable.

"Do you think you guys could walk a little today?" Prue asks.

"Yeah but can we avoid water?" Paige replied.

"Definitely," Prue answered as she got up to get some water for them. Phoebe took a seat to let her leg rest for a moment.

They all drink the water that was finally boiled and ready for consumption as spots on the ground between light and dark created by the sun gave them brief moments shade and then brief moments of heat. They moved slow as their energy was low do to the lack of calories and injuries. Phoebe took what she could from the medical pack and Prue covered the many cuts on her arms that she could. Piper's hand was wrapped with fresh cloth but the pain would come in spurts. It felt like someone took a pair of pliers and squeezed your finger until it just snapped off. At times she felt like she was going to vomit and had to stop and swallowed hard. Paige was starting to come back to reality but anytime she saw a mud puddle she would avoid it like a poisonous snake. They came to a opening that revealed a river and decided to take a break before attempting the dark water crossing. Prue helped Piper sit and leaned her against a tree as the others did the same. They did not say much as they were trying to get their breath back from a long walk.

"This is bull shit," Phoebe's angry voice broke the silence.

"What?" Piper asks.

"All of this, I mean are we stupid or something because apparently we did not learn the lesson the first time," Phoebe replied.

"Phoebe," Prue said as her sister was about to go into a rant.

"No Prue lets face it we are not as close as we used to be," Phoebe continued before her oldest sister could cut her off.

"Yeah we all have families and lives, you can't believe that all us can fit under one roof," Piper jumped in.

"No but we can talk more then once a week," Phoebe said.

"We do talk more then that," Paige added.

"Only when there's a demon attack. Ok when the fire started we all ran in different directions it's like for a brief moment it was fend for yourself," Phoebe said with her hands on her hips.

"That's because there was a lot of fire and if we would've taken the time to try to join up we all would have been dead," Prue said in defense of her actions.

"We almost were anyway, Paige was stuck in mud for two days, Piper had to cut off her finger I had to fight a Python and almost lost," Phoebe said trying to fight back tears.

"We found each other and that's all that matters," Piper said while looking down at her hand and recalled the red beacon and how close she was to touching it.

Phoebe shook her head side to side as her family kept defending their actions or lack thereof. "You don't get it, maybe we have drifted too far apart and its not fixable. We always take the easy way out we looked for the white beacon instead of finding civilization and letting them determine whether or not we are ready to go home," Phoebe said and turned away from them.

In some ways she was right they always went for the Beacon maybe they were not ready to hear the truth, maybe they were just too far apart. "So what they will keep us from our families in till we get along, Phoebe they can't do that and its not like I don't love you guys, because I do and I would give my life for any if you and I know you all would do the same," Paige said and Piper bit her lower lip as shame filled her.

"I almost touched the red beacon," Piper said as tears began to flow.

"What?" Prue asks.

"I saw it and I almost left you guys here," Piper replied while lowering her head.

"Piper you just lost your finger so I'm sure you were not thinking clearly," Prue said as the news was unsettling as this was something she never would expect from Piper.

"No I was clear, I was done I was selfish," Piper said and used her good hand to wipe her dirt covered face.

"I think if anyone would have came across it before you, they would then same," Paige said in hopes to ease the pain she could see in her sisters face.

"Not everyone, I would have never touched it. The thought of leaving you guys here alone, I couldn't do it." Phoebe said and made no attempts to sooth anyone.

"Bull shit Phoebe any of us would have done it," Prue said while getting angrier by the moment.

"You?" Phoebe asks her oldest sister who has sacrificed so much for them in the past.

"Yes even me," Prue replied but she could not help but feel it was a lie.

"Trust me if I would've known I was going to be stuck in mud I would have pushed it repeatedly," Paige said but no one laughed at the attempted joke.

"So what Phoebe, what the hell do you Mrs. perfect want to do?" Prue asks and was now standing face-to-face with her baby sister.

"Prue stop," Piper said as she hated conflict especially between her sisters.

"No Piper your not going to break this fight up, well Phoebe you lead," Prue said and went back to the tree she was leaning against earlier.

"Is that what you think, that I want to be leader oh no you will never relinquish that Prue," Phoebe said snidely.

"It's all yours, so what do we do?" Prue asks as she tried to keep from punching her.

Phoebe hesitated for a moment and decided that they could not sit there forever," we find civilization let them decide we don't take the easy way out," she replied and Prue shook her head slightly.

"Piper is hurt and so are you, we need to get home so both of you can get healed and Paige can get some therapy," Prue's voice was harder than usual as she began to peel off the bark of the tree behind her, to give something for her hands to do besides lash out.

"Don't use me as a excuse for anything Prue, ok I lost a finger, I will live," Piper said.

"Yeah same here and I don't need therapy, I just need a very long hot shower and a massage," Paige said as she too felt that Prue was using them as a excuse to get out quickly.

Prue could not help but snorts slightly as she felt like they were going to regret not going to the Beacon. "Fine we do it your way, but don't ask me for anything, don't ask how to do something or how to find something, you want to lead then its all yours," Prue said and walked towards the water to sit on a rock.

"Is that why you haven't come to my dinner invites?" Piper asks Phoebe out of the blue.

"What?" Phoebe asks.

"Because of what happened," Piper replied and Prue turned around to face the others as her interest was piqued.

"Now you're going to bring this up now," Phoebe asks.

"I told you I was sorry," Piper said while her lips quivered.

"Actually no you didn't but this family is good at keeping secrets," Phoebe said as her face hardened as she looked at Piper.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Prue asks as she got up from the rock and went back over to them.

"Its nothing," Phoebe replied.

"No Phoebe they need to know," Piper said as she could no longer keep the secret.

"You right we apparently haven't learned our lesson about secrets," Paige added as she hated them.

Piper took in a deep breath while holding her injured hand trying to keep what little was left of her stomach contained. "Leo and I had a epic fight, I thought he was cheating on me with a teacher at magic school. I could smell perfume on him and he was coming home late. When I used a potion to verify my fears, I saw him holding a wamen," Piper said as everyone else was in slight shock except for Phoebe who knew how this story ended. "Before anyone says anything, I know now it was not true, he was comforting her after she lost her father, he just was so used to being a whitelighter that he kept it in confidence," she continued as Phoebe began to cry.

"What does this have to do with Phoebe?" Paige asks.

"I went to the restaurant and got very drunk when Coop came to check on me, I was hurt and angry so to make a very bad story short, I came on to him. I did it out of revenge and when Leo sent Phoebe to check on me because I was not answering my phone, she saw me trying to kiss him," she said and slid down the tree and began to cry," I'm so sorry Phoebe."

"Piper I know why, I mean after everything was explained but it hurt like hell to think that I was about to lose the man I loved, to a sister. It was a huge betrayal of trust, but its over and yes that is why I didn't come to your invitations, I couldn't see you, I could barely look at you." Phoebe said and turned to face her.

"Oh god does Leo know?" Prue asks.

"No I don't have the courage to tell him. Things are better between us now and I know we fight but I always take it to the extreme," Piper replied and used the bottom of her shirt to wipe her face and leaned her head back on the rough bark of the tree.

No one said much of anything as they took in the big secret between two sisters.

"That's why there's been so much tension between you two lately," Prue said.

"Yeah you could say that," Phoebe said and walked over to Piper. She looked into her dark eyes and could see the classiness that tears cause like a glass overflowing with water. "Piper I will forgive you and I do love you so much, but you need to forgive yourself ok," she said and hugged her. Piper rested her head on Phoebe's shoulder and enjoy the embrace from her as she has not had it in over six months.

"Ok guys it seems we do have a lot of issues to work out," Paige said and they all nodded in agreement.

Phoebe relinquished her hold and put her hand to her face and wiped away some of the tears that escaped. "Right, so we follow the river downstream and we should eventually run into civilization. We can work our issues along the way," she said and gave one last look to Prue as she began to walk with the others behind her.

To be continued...