A/N: This is a little sisterly bonding blurb before the big resolution next chapter. And Dominus Trinus, you're absolutely right about the crystal cage!

Chapter Five

Phoebe and I stood with our heads down in the hallway outside Prue's hospital room. Across from us, Grams had her arms crossed, as silent and still as a statue. That probably meant that we were in such big trouble that she hadn't figured out how to punish us yet. I gulped.

"I cannot believe how irresponsible you girls were!" she bellowed finally.

"It was Prue's idea to climb the tree," Phoebe tried hopelessly.

"I don't care whose idea it was!" Grams shouted in response. "At least one of you should have been responsible enough to realize how dangerous it was! Your sister is lucky she only has a broken arm. She could have died falling out of that old, dead thing! I should've had it ripped out years ago..." Grams muttered to herself. "If Mr. Wyatt hadn't been there to help you..."

"Who's Mr. Wyatt?" I asked.

"He's a handyman I hired to look into the attic," Grams said. "I thought maybe if we could get it opened, you girls would stop worrying about what was up there. Those noises you heard today were probably him working."

"But I heard screaming!" I argued.

"Maybe he hurt himself," Grams suggested. "But your sister hurt herself a lot more because you couldn't leave it alone."

I wondered to myself why Grams wouldn't have just told us that she had a handyman coming over. If we'd known he had been upstairs, we probably wouldn't have gotten so scared. We were just trying to protect ourselves. And for Prue, the "responsible" one, to want to climb a tree, it meant that even she felt like we were in danger. Grams was angry enough at us already though that I didn't bring it up.

"You girls need to stop this now, before anyone else hurts themselves," she ordered. "You understand me?"

"Yes, Grams," I said, nodding.

"The three of you are grounded until I say otherwise."

"Aw, really?" Phoebe complained.

"With the danger you put yourselves into, you're lucky that's all you're getting," Grams shot back.

"Can we go see Prue now?" I asked after some silence.

"You may," Grams replied.

Phoebe and I burst through the door to greet our sister, interrupting her from eating hospital Jell-O and watching MTV.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" I said, rushing to her bed and hugging her. I felt Phoebe smush her way onto the bed behind me to join the hug too.

"Well then don't choke me!" Prue complained. We stood up again.

"I'm gonna sign your cast!" Phoebe announced, looking for a marker.

"Sorry you won't get to do cheerleading," I offered as Phoebe began drawing designs on the white plaster.

Prue shrugged. "There's always next semester," she said, even though I could tell she was disappointed.

"Prue!" we heard a voice say from the door. We turned to see Andy standing there. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Prue gave a wide smile, and then blushed when she realized how much she was grinning. "Andy, hi," she said again. It seemed like that was the only thing she could get out when she was around him nowadays. "I'm fine," she reassured him. "Now that it's over with, it was actually pretty cool."

Andy laughed. "I bet. Everyone's gonna be talking about you in school tomorrow." He walked over and looked at Prue's arm. "I see someone beat me at signing your cast first," he commented. Phoebe put on an innocent face and pretended to watch the TV.

Andy took the sharpie Phoebe had left on the bedsheets and began to write on Prue's cast. "I'm really glad you're okay," he admitted.

"Thanks," Prue replied, her wide smile coming back.

"Tell you what, once you get out of here, I'll take you to get the biggest ice cream sundae you can imagine," Andy offered. "You've earned it."

Prue's eyes widened, as if she didn't really believe what was happening. "Sounds great," she finally managed to reply.

Andy smiled. "Then it's a date."

Phoebe and I spun our heads around to look at each other. Phoebe pushed her lips together to make kissy faces again, but when I glared at her, she stopped.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later," Andy said as he walked back towards the door. "Get well soon, Prue."

As soon as the door shut again, Phoebe and I jumped onto Prue's bed.

"Did Andy just ask you OUT?" I asked eagerly.

"I... I'm not sure," Prue said, her cheeks now thoroughly red.

"He totally did," Phoebe said.

Prue laughed. "Okay, he did." She was smiling wider than I'd seen in a long time, and something told me that her disappointment about not making the cheerleading squad had been completely forgotten about.

"You guys..." she started to say, "I'm sorry I've been kinda mean to you lately. And that I didn't believe you about the attic."

"We're sorry you fell out of a tree because of us," Phoebe replied.

Prue laughed. "Well, falling out of that tree just got me a date with Andy," she realized, "so... thanks."

"Oh, in that case, I'll make you fall out of a tree any time!" Phoebe grinned. She made a motion to push Prue off the edge of her hospital bed.

"Phoebe!" Prue protested. "Don't break my other arm!"