Prue walked solemnly into her bedroom, smiling tearfully when she saw her daughter's sleeping form. She was cuddled up under the covers, her cheeks slightly red from the pressure against the pillows, her hair disheveled and the stuffed killer whale tucked under her arms. She took slow, almost broken steps towards the bed, and sat on its edge. One of her arms wrapped around her waist, the other one pressed to her mouth as she tried hard to stifle her sobs.
Andy was the only man she had ever truly loved, the one man who had been there for her through many things. Yes, he had left after high school, but she was supposed to go with him. She wasn't expecting him to give up on his dream, just because she gave up on hers, or more like was forced to. She had tried to feel that way for another man, but couldn't. From the second Andie was born she had dreaded the day she was going to ask about her father, and now she realized that the wound left in her heart by his death never healed. It had just gotten numb.
Seeing him, being with him, holding him, kissing him, being in his arms and making love to him, and then losing him once more didn't just reopen old wounds, it created new ones. She was glad to be back, after all, that saved Chris from vanishing once and for all, and her baby wasn't going to lose her once more. But on the other hand, she lost the love of her life, and father of her child once more, and it hurt her even more this time.
She slowly got into bed next to her daughter, and tried to summon sleep, only for memories to flood her mind. She remembered them as kids running around the manor, as teenagers sneaking past Grams to make out, their first kiss, their first time, their special spot, their goodbye, meeting again at the hospital, their second first date…and many more flashed before her eyes, as the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.
After a few minutes of trying to sleep, she eventually gave up on it and got back up. She put the pillows back around Andie, and made sure that the little girl was all covered up, before she tiptoed out of the room.
She listened for any sounds coming from any of her sisters' rooms, and when she heard none, she continued her tiptoeing towards the stairs, and made her way to the first floor. Just as she rounded the corner on the stairs, the sounds of sniffling reached her ears, and it grew louder the closer she got to the first floor. By the time she cleared the last step, it was obvious that it was coming from the TV room, so she quietly made her way towards it, careful not to let whoever it was know that she was coming their way.
Her heart shattered when she saw Chris's curled form on the couch, his shoulders shaking with his muffled sobs, as he hugged himself. She picked up her pace, but seeing as how she was barefooted, and wearing socks, her footsteps were muffled, as well as by the carpeting. He had his back turned towards her, so he didn't see her coming, nor did he see her falling to her knees. He whipped around when she put a hand on his shoulder.
A soft gasp escaped her lips when his broken green eyes, met her grey-blue ones. They were red from the crying, and the tears were constantly pooling into them before they streamed down his cheeks, only to be replaced by new ones. His breath was coming out in short, shuddered and shallow gasps, his lip and entire body quivering with each sob.
"Oh baby" she exclaimed sadly, as she used her other hand to caress his cheeks.
"Mommy" he whimpered, before rolling over and burying his face into her neck. His arms wrapped around her torso, and hers wrapped around his shaking shoulders, as she guided him into a sitting position, and sat next to him, happily welcoming him when he curled up against her body.
"Shhhhhh" she shushed gently, "I'm here baby, I'm not going anywhere" she soothed.
"I'm so sorry" he hiccupped, his fingers clawing at the back of her tank top, as he tried to curl up even more against her, almost as if he wanted to hide within her arms.
She kissed the top of his head, "you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for" she assured him, her mouth still pressed into his hair.
"We argued that morning before I left for school, and I told you that I wished you would just leave me alone" he sobbed, "and…" he couldn't finish the sentence, as he gasped for air.
"Chris, whatever happened to me that day was not your fault, it wasn't because of something that you wished for" she stated firmly, but gently.
The confidence in her voice, the warmth, the love made Chris's heart ache even more, and his sobs became wails, "I love you, Mom" he cried, "I really do, I was just scared of losing you again" he confessed, and she knew that he wasn't finished, so she silently let him get it all off his chest, "but when I thought I lost you today, I realized that I wanted nothing more than to be in your arms again" he finished through his tears, and she smiled tearfully into his hair as she tightened her arms around him.
"I love you too baby, and you won't lose me anytime soon" she vowed, "and maybe if we know when it'll happen, we can figure out a way to stop it" she suggested, and he nodded against her chest.
"But we don't have to talk about it tonight" she said before he could say anything, "it's been a long night" she added, and he only sniffled in response.
The next morning, Prue found herself in the bathroom trying to cover up the dark circles beneath her eyes. After a few minutes of meticulous applying of make-up, and still looking like she hadn't slept in ages, she gave herself one last look in the mirror, and decided that this was as good as it gets. She huffed one last time at her reflection, before she left the bathroom, and made her way downstairs.
It was still early in the morning, so she wasn't expecting any of her sisters to be up, especially that it was a Sunday, let alone the kids. However, she was surprised when she saw not one, but all three of her sisters awake and sitting at the kitchen table, seemingly in the midst of a heated whispered discussion.
Paige, who was the only one facing her, looked up at the sound of her footsteps, "Morning" she greeted in surprise, with an underlying tone of sympathy, to which Prue smiled.
"Morning sweetie" she said affectionately, as she walked into the kitchen.
"Why are you up this early?" Piper inquired, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just didn't sleep much" she replied, to which all three snorted.
"Join the club" Phoebe quipped, "Coffee's in the pot" she remarked.
"Well, I know what has been keeping me up, what was it with you three?" Prue asked, as she took a seat opposite Phoebe.
"I guess after last night, we were all on edge" Paige responded, and Prue nodded.
"I'm fine" she informed them, and they all smiled sympathetically at her.
"Prue" Piper started, "we know you saw Andy last night in that alternate dimension" she declared, and Prue raised an eyebrow in confusion and shock alike.
"Chris told us" Phoebe chimed in, "when he was fading away" she added, and Prue nodded in understanding.
"Speaking of Chris" Piper exclaimed, "I was checking on Wyatt when I woke up, and didn't find Chris" she said, "did he leave this early?" she asked, and Prue beamed at her. Seeing as Paige had taken Grams's old room, and Piper had turned the sowing room into a nursery, they had set up the pull-out couch for Chris in the nursery with Wyatt.
"No" she shook her head, "he's asleep in my room" she said, and they all looked at her expectantly, "he slept in my arms last night" she informed them, and they all beamed happily at her, "he was pretty shaken up by what happened" she informed them, and they all nodded affirmingly at her
"Well, that makes what we have to tell you a bit easier" Paige remarked, "I think" she said as an afterthought.
"This sounds bad" Prue said.
"NO, no, no,nnno" Piper was quick to object, "It's not bad" she assured.
"Somehow, this sounds worse" she interjected, and all three sisters traded looks.
"Well, it'll all depend on how you look at it" Phoebe offered.
"Why don't you guys just tell me what's going on?" Prue suggested, and both Phoebe and Paige looked at Piper.
"Well, we…uh…we know what happened between you and Andy last night" Piper declared, and Prue's mouth fell open.
"W…wh…"she chuckled, "what are you talking about?" she asked nervously.
"You know, that you two….."Phoebe made hand gestures in the air, which confirmed Prue's suspicions.
"H….ho…how can you know something like this?" she stammered.
"Because of Chris" Paige answered.
"Chris?" Prue repeated, not sure how he could know something like this.
"Yeah" Piper said, "you see, he wouldn't be here if it hadn't happened" she alluded, but all Prue did was continue to stare at her, dumbfounded.
"Didn't you see him fading back into view when we got you back?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, but that was because I was back in this world, not because I had sex with Andy" she shrieked.
"I'm afraid it was" Piper said, "when he woke us up, he told us that today was his conception date and that Andy was his father" she elaborated, "so when he came back after your return, we realized that you two must've….." she trailed off, knowing that they don't really need her to finish that sentence.
"How could this happen?" Prue whispered in shock, and noticing the incredulous looks her sisters gave her, "I know how this could happen, but….Andy's dead" she stated, "I mean he said that he was alive in that dimension, but I didn't think that included having babies" she ranted.
"Well, that does explain how the fireball that Wyatt sent his way passed through him" Piper commented, and Prue nodded in agreement.
"Some of his powers are because Andy was technically a ghost" Phoebe pointed out, and Prue dropped her head into her hands.
"I'm pregnant" she whispered.
Paige opened her mouth to say something, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head towards the kitchen door, "Prue" she called, still not taking her eyes off the person standing there.
Prue lifted her head, and followed Paige's line of sight, as did Piper and Phoebe.
"Chris" Prue exclaimed, and he smiled at her.
"I'm sorry" he said dejectedly, and she furrowed her eyes, as she abandoned her seat and moved around the table to get to him, "for not telling you sooner, I had no idea how to" he elaborated and she smiled reassuringly at him.
"It's okay sweetie, I understand. I'm just glad I was finally able to create you, so that I can stop worrying about that" she told him, and he smiled at her, before moving to hug her.
"I'm sorry in advance for all the pregnancy stuff" he mumbled into her hair, and she laughed tearfully.
"Don't sweat it baby" she said lovingly, as she kissed his temple.