Prue sat in the very uncomfortable chair in the waiting room, fidgeting with her hand, and sighed in frustration and nervousness alike, for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She rubbed her face, before she ran her hand in her hair nervously. She did not know why she was so nervous all of a sudden, she had done this before.
She had gone to the doctor on her own before, and did not get to hold Andy's hand as she saw her tiny fetus. He was not there as she listened to the heartbeat, he was not there when the baby kicked for the first time, he was not there when she went into labor.
So why was this time any different? Why was she so nervous this time around? Why did she feel like running?
She leaned her head to rest on the wall behind her, as many memories swam before her eyes.
"Piper, Phoebe," she called, as she entered the manor.
The sound of pounding feet sounded from the floor above, as well as the clicking of heels coming from the sunroom.
"Oh thank God, Prue," Piper exclaimed in relief, "you scared us half to death," she reprimanded, as she pulled her into a hug.
"Where were you?" Phoebe demanded once she made it to the first floor, and joined the hug.
"We tried your cell a bunch of times, and your office said you left after lunch, and took the rest of the day off," Piper recounted, "where have you been?" she asked once more.
Prue sighed as she looked at the two very worried faces of her sister, before she took their hands into hers, and walked them to the living room.
"I had an appointment with the OB," she declared, once they were seated.
Phoebe, who was sitting next to her, traded a look with Piper, who had opted to sit on the table facing her sisters.
"Why didn't you tell us? We would've gone with you," Phoebe stated softly.
"I knew you guys would've, but….um…." she stammered, not knowing how to phrase her jumbled thoughts.
"Prue, you didn't get an abortion, did you?" Piper wondered in horror.
"What?!" Prue exclaimed, offended, "of course not, I know I was scared before, but the mere thought of it scared me to no end. I was just….I always pictured myself getting my first sonogram with Andy by my side, so I wasn't sure that I would've actually done it," she explained, "that's why I didn't tell either of you," she finished softly.
"Prue, honey," Phoebe started, "I know that the situation is far from ideal, and that it is not how any woman ever envisioned her first experience with pregnancy is going to be like, but you don't have to do it on your own. We're here for you, and we want to help you through it, the sonograms, the baby shopping, converting Gram's sowing room into a nursery, the whole shebang," she continued, rubbing soothing circles on Prue's back.
"She's right, Prue, we're your sisters, and this baby is a part of us too. We want to be there for you, we want to be there for her," Piper confirmed Phoebe's words.
"Thanks you guys, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and I was just…." She trailed off, not sure how to describe how she feels, for she was not sure she can label it herself.
"It's alright, sweetie, we know," Piper soothed.
"Can we see the baby's first picture?" Phoebe asked.
Prue wordlessly pulled out the sonogram from her purse, and handed it to her. Both sisters could not help but laugh at Phoebe's squeals, and cooing.
"You are going to drive this kid insane," Piper teased.
And she did, she always cooed, and played with the infant. And Prue would often wake up to Andie's cries in the middle of the night, only to find that Phoebe had beat her to the nursery, and had already picked up the screaming infant. And unless Andie needed to be fed, she would calm down as soon as Phoebe picked her up. She was great with her, and Prue had to admit that she did help her a lot, and that she wouldn't have been able to do it without both her sisters.
And according to Piper, said attachment grew after Prue's alleged death. She told Prue that she often found Phoebe asleep next to Andie in Prue's old room, or would find her sitting by the bed watching the child sleep. Which was why when Andie refused to go near Phoebe after the whole Queen of the Underworld fiasco, it had really hurt Phoebe. It wasn't just about the fact that she knew Prue would've had the same reaction, but also because she knew how much the baby had once loved her.
Piper also told her that she was just as crazy when she had gotten pregnant with Wyatt, but of course not as attached, since Phoebe had gone from the Aunt to the parent in Andie's life after Prue's death. Which was why Prue had sat down Phoebe, and told her that she did not want her to change her relationship with Andie, that she did not want to change how she did things with her, just because she was back.
She sighed, and closed her eyes, as yet another memory flashed before her eyes.
It was a quiet afternoon, and the magazine had given her the rest of the day off, to work on planning some major photo-shoot. And so, she found herself lounging on the couch in the living room, a pile of magazines and books sprawled across her legs, and on the coffee table, which also housed a rather large jar of ice tea.
She was flipping through the magazines, trying to pick a location for the shoot, and often tagged some pages to refer back to them later.
She looked up at the sound of the door opening, "Prue," she heard Phoebe call.
"In here," she called back, smiling at the sight of her book-clad younger sister, "I like this look on you," she quipped, grinning ruefully at Phoebe's groan.
"I don't regret going back to college, but I do not like carrying books all around," she groaned, as she threw the books onto the love chair, before plopping down next to Prue on the couch.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, looking at the magazine that Prue was currently browsing through.
"I'm trying to find a location for the next shoot," she replied, frustration evident in her voice, "and failing" she huffed.
"Well, this place is no good," Phoebe stated matter of factly.
Prue quirked up an eyebrow, "and why is that Miss Pheebs?"
"Because it is not safe, what if you slip, or trip or something," she exclaimed, as if it was obvious.
"Sweetie, I'm pregnant, not made of glass," Prue pointed out.
"Same thing," Phoebe mumble, "speaking of pregnant," she added, as she moved closer to Prue's barely visible baby bump, and placed one hand on top of it, "hi baby, I'm sorry I ignored you when I came in, but it appears Mommy thinks she can still be the daredevil that she normally is with you on board. She did not get the memo that if she messes with you, she has to deal with me," she cooed in her most adorable baby voice.
Prue was laughing at her sister's behavior, "you would think that I would've gotten used to you acting like this, but…OH" her sentence was interrupted by something that she had never felt before. And it looked like Phoebe felt it as well, for she jumped slightly, and was now staring in shock at Prue's stomach.
"Did the baby just…." She trailed off, her wide eyes finding her sister's tear-filled ones.
"She just kicked," Prue beamed tearfully.
Prue chuckled to herself as she remembered Phoebe's squeals, and how she kept trying to get the baby to kick again, to which the baby happily complied. Neither seemed to mind that Prue was also being kicked in the process.
The last memory in the flashback movie playing in her head, was the day of Andie's birth. It was the same day when Phoebe's past life decided to warn her about the curse placed on her soul, but Prue and Piper's past lives. She had started getting contractions at the nursing home, where Phoebe had gone to the past, and her past life was now inside her body, and running around with Anton, but she thought that they were only Braxton-Hicks contractions. She had been getting them every now and again lately, especially when they were hunting a demon. Which was normal according to Leo, since stress increases the likelihood of their occurrence. He also said that it was her body's way of telling her to take it easy, and get some rest. So she did not give the uncomfortable sensation a second thought that day, and even hid it from Piper and Leo, so they don't try and keep her on the sidelines while they try to reunite Phoebe with her body.
It wasn't until her water broke, just as they got Phoebe back, did it finally hit her that she was in labor. That this was the real deal, not nature's way of preparing your body.
"Prue, Piper," Phoebe barely managed to whisper, as she struggled to breathe.
"Ok, it's her. Put it back on, fast" Piper ordered Prue, who wasted no time in placing the amulet around Phoebe's neck, and watched in relief how it glowed red, before Phoebe's face returned to its natural color.
"Thanks you guys," she had gasped, "for saving my life," she continued, "all of them," she added lightly, earning a smile from both of them.
But before they could answer her, Prue's gasp put a halt to their happy reunion.
"OH!" she exclaimed in pain.
Both Phoebe and Piper jumped, Phoebe into a sitting position, and Piper turned towards Prue. Both saw the water that had painted the carpet and Phoebe's pant leg a darker shade.
"Oh my God," Prue gasped.
"Your water…"Piper started.
"Your water broke," Phoebe yelled the end of Piper's sentence, snapping all of them from the shocked state that they were in, and springing them all into action.
"I'll get the bag," Phoebe exclaimed, as she sprang to her feet and raced in the direction where they kept the prepared overnight bag for Prue's delivery.
"I'll get the car," Piper chimed in, "Leo, you get Prue," she ordered, as she helped her sister to her feet, and waited for Leo to take over from her.
"There isn't enough time, I won't make it to the hospital," Prue grunted between contractions.
"What? Prue your water just broke, and the contractions just started," Piper exclaimed in a panic.
"No they didn't just start, they started at the nursing home, I just didn't tell you," she managed to say between gritted teeth.
"Let's get her to the room, and see what we are dealing with," Leo suggested.
"You were a doctor once, can you deliver a baby?" Phoebe asked as she joined them once more.
"Yeah, I think I can," he replied, as he helped Prue up the stairs.
Prue's screams kept getting louder and closer together, each contraction lasting longer than the one before. They had barely managed to get her into bed, before Leo knelt down between her legs.
"Damn Prue, you're crowning," he exclaimed.
"What?!" Piper screamed, as she placed herself behind Prue, so she can lean on her.
"I need you and Phoebe to help her pull her legs up, and I will get the baby out," he ordered, and the sisters wordlessly followed his instructions.
After a few moments of screaming, mixed in with Leo's voice telling Prue to push, and Piper and Phoebe's encouragements, the baby was finally out. Prue gasped in relief, as she fell back against Piper, while Phoebe rushed over to Leo to help him cut the cord, and wrap the baby. The baby's cries were filling the room, mixed in with Prue's happy, and exhausted laughs.
"Is she okay?" Piper asked tearfully.
"She's perfect," Leo commented, as he moved around the bed to hand the tiny bundle to her waiting mother.
Prue smiled as she remembered the feel of holding Andie for the first time, the inexplicable love, joy and pride she felt when she opened her beautiful blue eyes and looked up at her.
They called the paramedics over to the house, and they declared that the baby was perfectly healthy, and does not need to go to a hospital, and that mother and child are only in need of rest.
She looked down at her still flat stomach, laying one hand over it, and softly rubbed circles on it. She looked up at the sound of approaching feet, and smiled softly, tears pricking her eyes, at the sight that greeted her.
Piper, Phoebe and Paige all rushed in her direction. Piper and Phoebe sat on each side, and Paige crouched down in front of her.
"Thanks for coming," she said tearfully, looking each of them in the eye.
"Anytime," was all Piper said.
So I know that most of you would like to have my head on a platter, and I am truly sorry for the almost two months wait.
If you guys have lost interest in the story, let me know and I will take it down, since I personally hate it when authors don't finish a story, and just leaves it there.
Let me know what you all think, and I will do my best to update again this week, since the next chapter is almost finished.