Heaven's Mistaken Gift
by: Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell
Co-written by: That70sShoLova
Chapter 2: Rejected
Two Months Later
"Prue, go wake up your sister." Grams ordered while making breakfast.
"I don't know why you even bother anymore." Prue muttered. She climbed up the stairs thinking about what the principle left on their answering machine the other day. Phoebe's grades were low, extremely low, and if she didn't start getting to school she'd be suspended.
She knocked on the door, "Pheebs, get up." She opened the door and walked over to her younger sister's bed. "Come on, Phoebe." She pulled off the covers and smacked her sister's bare arm. "Up."
Phoebe's eyes opened groggily. She looked at Prue, glared, turned around, and pulled the covers over her head. "Go away!"
Prue rolled her eyes and hit Phoebe's quilt covered head. "You have school." She walked out of the room and closed the door.
Penny looked at her expectantly. She set a plate of eggs in front of Piper. "Well?"
"I tried," Prue said and sat down next to her little sister.
A couple minutes later Phoebe walked down stairs in a tight black skirt with an equally as tight red tank top and her leather jacket. "Talking about me?"
Grams smiled, "When are we not?"
Phoebe sat down across from her two sisters and looked at the plate. Her eggs were over easy, and glistened with the grease from being cooked in the same pan as the bacon. The toast sat on the side and Phoebe took a piece and poked the yolk. She smiled as it gushed down the egg like a volcano and took a bite of it.
Her smile suddenly turned to a frown as the grease unsettled her stomach. She got up pushing back her chair and ran to the nearest bathroom with a hand covering her mouth. She knelt on the cold linoleum and ducked her head in the toilet bowl puking from not only that tiny bite, but just the smell of it.
Her sisters and grandmother rushed in. Grams, sitting beside her while her sisters stood in the threshold.
"Phoebe, darling, are you okay?" Penny asked while petting Phoebe's hair. "Sweetheart?"
She lifted her head up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I don't feel so—" she was cut off by turning back around and vomiting.
A while later, Phoebe laid in her bed with a trashcan next to her and a damp washcloth on her head. She leaned over and picked up the bucket, feeling as if she had to puke, but nothing to puke.
She got up on wobbly legs and ended up falling. She crawled to the bathroom and opened the sink cabinet pushing past the pregnancy tests (just in case) and grabbing a tampon. Ripping open the package, she paused.
Suddenly feeling stronger, she ran to her room and flipped to the last time she had her period.
It was over two months ago...
She walked back to her bathroom and grabbed a pregnancy test. She sat on the toilet and peed on the stick and sat there glaring at the stick, willing it not to be positive.
Phoebe had sat there for an hour, when suddenly, the white circle faded to a pink plus sign.
Positive.
"P-p-positive?" she whispered. No, just-just no! Th-there had to be a mistake! An error . . . a-a...
A knock came from the door. "Phoebe?" Prue called. "Are you alright?"
She wiped her eyes and prayed that her voice wouldn't show fear. "Yeah."
"Oh, well, I'm going out. Do you need anything?"
Yeah, she thought, an easy way out. Something that doesn't involve murder which I'm sure is what you or Grams will do to me once you find out. "Uh, maybe some crackers and Ginger Ale for my stomach," she answered.
"Anything else?" she asked as she heard her sister retch with her head over the toilet. "Phoebe, are you sure you don't want me to help you? You seem pretty sick."
Phoebe pulled back, sitting down as she wiped her mouth. "No, I'm okay." She sat against the door. "I'm sure it's just a bug or…something."
She sighed. "Alright." She walked away but came back suddenly. "Oh, and Pheebs?"
"Yeah?" she asked softly.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Yeah, I know." She chuckled quietly to herself, yeah, anything but this.
She heard the leaving steps of her sister and sighed in relief of dodging that bullet. It was only in due time though, when another bullet was shot and she might not just miss it the next time.
A week later, Phoebe went back to school, knowing she couldn't stay home all of the time because she was sick. Usually, she couldn't care less if she missed school, she preferred it actually.
But now, now she was having a baby! She needed an education for its sake.
Once school was over, she walked into the kitchen where her older siblings and grandmother sat.
"G-Grams?" Phoebe asked hesitantly.
"Yes, darling?"
She walked over to the table and sat down. "Grams, something bad — well not bad, but scary— happened."
Penny looked up from her tea and glared at her granddaughter, sighing. "What did you do now Phoebe?"
Phoebe gulped and hung her head in her hands. "I-I'm pregnant," she whispered. The words seemingly close to 'you have permission to kick my ass' in her mind.
Piper gasped and looked at her younger sister. "Phoebe, really?" she nodded nervously. Piper hopped up and hugged her sister. "Oh, Phoebe."
Prue glared. "Fuck, Phoebe!" she cursed angrily. "You promised! You promised me you'd be careful and now look what you did! You went and got knocked up!"
Phoebe cried. "I was drunk. I barely knew what was happening!"
"Oh and that makes it so much better!" she growled.
Penny held her hand up. "Girls, leave. Let me talk to Phoebe alone."
Prue glared and Piper kissed Phoebe's forehead before they both left.
"Phoebe," Penny said in disappointment. "You have done so many wrong things in your life. I tried to fix them as best as I could, but I can't fix this, Phoebe." She sighed. "I can't help you with this."
"Grams—"
"I want you to get an abortion," Penny declared. Her granddaughter was a Charmed One and she would be ready for that some day, but now she wasn't ready for this. Even if she didn't have powers brewing inside of her she wouldn't be ready. "You're not responsible enough to have a child."
"No! I can't!" Phoebe protested. "This is my baby. My and Jared's baby."
Penny sighed. "You either get an abortion or leave."
Phoebe looked at her, not breaking her gaze. "Kill my baby, or you disown me?"
Penny looked away and nodded.
She shoved pass her grandmother only to run into Piper.
Piper looked at her younger sister. She was so strong. Piper put her hand on her shoulder before hugging her. "Everything will be okay, Phoebe, I promise."
"H-how?" she cried. "How can this ever be okay?"
She hugged her tighter. "Where there's a will—"
"The way won't be here," Grams said. "Phoebe, you know my take on this," she sighed, "but, inevitably, it's your life and your choice." With that she left the room.
"Have you told him yet?" Piper asked as they walked up to Phoebe's room, finding Prue lying on her bed.
"What are you doing here, Prue? Come to lecture me more about how badly I fucked up?" Phoebe bit as Prue sat up.
Phoebe sat on her bed with Prue and Piper on either side of her.
Sighing, Prue pulled Phoebe to her. "No, I think you've had enough of a lecture for today," she said hugging her. "He needs to know, but, you should know, it probably won't go well."
Phoebe nodded, wiping her eyes. "I know."
Phoebe dug her cell phone out of her pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she pressed his name. The phone began to ring.
It rang five times before he picked up. "Phoebe."
"Yeah, uh hi. Listen, we need to talk."
He sighed. "I'm kinda in the middle of something. Can it wait?"
"No."
He sighed. "Can you meet me somewhere in two hours?"
"Where?"
"School parking lot, okay?"
She looked to Piper, who nodded. Prue, who had been silent throughout the conversation, whispered into her ear.
She looked at Prue, but she nodded.
"I'm bringing my sisters too. Is that okay?"
Wow, this must be it, he thought. "That's fine."
"Okay, see you then."
"I love you."
"I—thanks." She pushed END on her cell. She turned to Prue. "I thought you'd be more pissed at me not keeping a promise."
She sighed. "Since when have you ever kept a real promise to me?"
Phoebe looked lost in thought.
"See? And you did say you were drunk. Can't argue with that now."
"So you're against this then?" Piper asked.
"Against what?" Prue asked.
"You mean you didn't hear the ultimatum?"
Prue shook her head.
Tears spilled down her baby sister's cheeks. "Abortion or disownment. Prue, please say you won't disown me! Please!" she cried into her shoulder.
Prue was still shocked. She stood up, pushing Phoebe into Piper's arms. "I'll think about it."
Phoebe looked up. "Really? You promise?"
Prue wiped her sister's eyes. "Yeah, Pheebs, I do. But now I've got a few things to take care of, then we'll meet him, okay?"
Phoebe stood up, hugging Prue tightly. "Thank you!"
She smiled, hugging her back and stepping away. "At least I'm giving you a chance. Now, stay with Piper until I get back, okay?"
She nodded.
Prue walked out of the room.
Phoebe sat on her bed and she rubbed her stomach. This beautiful little being in her body, right now, couldn't be very big. Phoebe hoped it was a girl. She'd always wanted a little girl. She would name her something like Miranda or Mindy, break away from the 'p' tradition.
Piper sat beside her combing Phoebe's hair with her fingers. Phoebe was so young, only 16, almost 17, but yet she just might be the strongest of them all. Here she was a child, and ready to make a commitment of having her own child.
"You'll be a great mother," Piper smiled.
"Really? You think so?" Phoebe questioned.
"I'm as sure as the sky is blue."
Phoebe sighed. "If only I could have that much faith in me."
Later on, Phoebe and her older sisters stood in the school parking lot, waiting for Jared to come. Finally, that beaten up piece of crap rolled into the parking lot. Jared parked near the soon-to-be Charmed Ones and got out of the car, Cole soon following.
Jared had convinced him that if they wanted to pull off this charade they would have to act as if they didn't have a clue of what was happening.
"Hey, baby," Jared greeted her with a kiss. "What's so important?"
Cole stood in the back observing silently and then smiled at the sisters. "Hello, ladies."
Phoebe smiled. "Cole. Er, Jared, I-I found out something very...very interesting..."
Jared tilted his head, completely innocent. "What happened, Phoebs?"
She grabbed her sisters hands, looked at the gravel and finally at Jared, "I'm pregnant."
He stared at her a moment. Playing a human was so simple, like right now for example, he'll gasp, deny, and then accept. "You're lying."
She glared at him. "Why would I lie about something like this?"
"I-I need to think about th-this." He stuttered.
Cole watched, an amused smile playing at his lips. He then straightened his expression and guided his friend to a nearby bench.
"Take it easy, Jared. We wouldn't want the daddy to go into shock now would we?"
He glared. "Shut up."
Phoebe walked over to Jared. "My grandmother wants me to get an abortion."
Jared's eyes widened. "No!"
"That's what I said. I refused to kill our baby," she paused, "so she wants me to leave."
"N-no. You can't have nowhere to go." Jared shook his head. He grabbed hold of her wrists. "You'll stay with me. We'll make this work."
Her eyes widened and Piper and Prue had to each grab an arm to keep her from falling down. She was shaking. She'd never thought he'd ask this! It was an option, but why did it seem like a last resort?
A bad choice . . .
"Can—can I talk about this with my sisters fi—first?" she stuttered out.
He nodded.
"Take all the time you need," Cole agreed. "Don't rush into this. Go back home and think about this."
Jared stood up. "He's right, Phoebe. Give me your answer in a week. By then, I'll have space cleared out."
"Space, cleared out?" Prue asked. "How old are you?"
"Nineteen," he answered earnestly.
Prue's eyes narrowed.
"Look Prue, I want to take responsibility for my actions. I know I don't have the best track record with girlfriends, believe me, but I want to make this right."
Prue sighed. "Well Piper, what do you think?"
She looked among the three of them. Phoebe really did seem to love him. If anything, the fact that she even wanted to keep the baby proved that. She glared at him a moment before her eyes took a softer route. "I don't think it's the best idea, I'll admit—"
"Hey! I thought you said—"
She held up her hand. "You didn't let me finish, Pheebs. But I would rather you kept the kid while having a roof over your head than be out in the street."
Prue thought a moment. There was wisdom in what her younger sister had said, though it would be so much easier if she didn't have to. Not that she'd agree on termination unless either Phoebe or the baby was in life-threatening danger.
She smiled. Finally, something she remembered from writing that term paper. And agreed upon.
"Does this mean you agree with her, Prue?" Phoebe asked.
Eyes solemn, she nodded. "Yes, but still it isn't the best choice."
She wrapped an arm around him. "It's the only choice I have, Prue. I'm not going to kill it."
"I know."
Piper grabbed Phoebe's hand. "Come on, let's go home. We've got some major packing to do."
Phoebe smiled, though her eyes were still serious. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't have to move in."
Brushing his hand across her cheek, he kissed her. "Yes Phoebe, I'm sure. It's our life, our kid."
Cole walked up behind him. "Guess I'll have to move my stuff out then, won't I?"
"Oh no, you—you don't have to do that!" Phoebe protested. "Stay."
"Yeah, really. You're like the brother I never had." He faced him. "The house is two stories anyway. Phoebe and I will take the upstairs. You can have the downstairs."
Cole shrugged. "Well, okay, if you're sure."
They both nodded. Phoebe kissed Jared again and walked over to her sisters. Then they went back home.
Phoebe had a feeling she'd never hear the end of it from Grams, but she didn't care.
Jared turned to Cole smiling. "That was perfect!" He laughed. "Even her sisters believe it!"
Cole looked somewhat uneasy. He knew Phoebe was naive, but her sisters—especially Prue—wouldn't be fooled for very long. "Good, because something tells me that her sisters are gonna throw a wrench into everything."
Jared sighed. "What do you expect from the Charmed Ones?"
Author's note: So what do you think? What'll happen next?
Reviews are much appreciated. Please?
Thanks to my co-writer: That70sShowLova! You're the sweetest!
Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell & That70sShowLova