A/N: Okay everyone, I know I need to do some Major updating and my next update will be The Unexpected Power of the Future Power of Three, but as for when I have no idea. So until then here's a one-shot for you.
I hope you enjoy it.
Importance of Family
By: Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell
His question surprised her.
"Mom," Chris said walking into the kitchen.
"Yes, Chris?" Piper asked turning around. "Oh Chris, the cuffs of your jeans!" She pointed out in a motherly tone. He dropped his backpack on the floor and rolled them higher.
"Sorry, I guess I was in a rush when I left." He said walking over.
"Did you need something?" She asked. She could see how uneasy he was. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah...well, no, well...I don't know. I've been thinking."
"Oh, about what?" He wasn't sure how to phrase it. Whenever he or Wyatt brought her up, it just caused his mom and Aunt Phoebe to get such sad looks on their faces. He knew this would be hard for her, but he really wanted to know.
"Well, you always tell us stories of how it was before we were born, so..." He stopped in mid-sentence.
"So?" She thought she knew where this was going, but she wasn't absolutely sure, so she pressed on.
"So how come we never hear stories of Aunt Prue?" Chris asked. Piper stopped drying dishes, putting the towel beside the sink, and the plate in the cupboard.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked as she sat down at the dining room table, motioning for him to follow.
"You always tell me and Wyatt that we'll follow in your footsteps one day, but how can we if we don't know about it...about who she was?" Chris asked. Piper looked him in the eye and saw that he wasn't upset...he was curious.
"I guess we just didn't have a reason to..." She said trying to come up with something, anything that would stop these questions. When he was little and he would ask all she'd have to say was that she died trying to save everyone and he'd accept that answer as good enough. But he wasn't that same little boy anymore, as much as she wished he was every now and then, he was growing up and wanted the truth.
"Until now?" He asked. She nodded.
He noticed her eyes...they held so much pain from seeing so much over the years. That look was one of being worn out. Tired of fighting demon after demon, usually it was anyway. The pain that was there now seemed almost fresh, like it just happened days ago, when it was years.
"Yes, I guess some day one of you was bound to ask these questions...I just...I didn't think it would be now." Piper told him as her voice became softer.
"Mom, if this is too hard for you a can-"
"No, it's okay Chris really. Ask away. What do you want to know?" She asked, trying to sound more confident and stable than she was. The questions that she'd end up answering, she knew, wouldn't be easy. Simple yes, but easy to say no.
He had so many questions, but wasn't sure where to start.
"She had telekinesis, like I do, right?" He asked with a little difficulty. Piper nodded.
Chris found it hard to believe that he was having trouble asking these questions about his aunt. When he was little, questions about 'Auntie Prue' seemed to come so much easier. Perhaps it was because he knew now what he didn't then...how she lost her life, not to mention how difficult it was on his mom and aunt.
"Chris, if you're worried about me not answering your questions don't be. I know you want to know about her. You were always the one who asked about her...way more than Wyatt did. Then again, it could be because you have her main power. You wanted to know where, or rather who, you inherited it from, right?" She asked. He nodded. Sometimes she dreaded her sons asking these questions to her, but now, for some unknown reason, the responses seemed to just roll of her tongue, almost as if Prue was standing behind her giving her the information herself.
"Okay, well I know that wasn't her only power, so what other power or powers did she have? Will I have them someday too?" He asked almost eagerly.
"How do you know she didn't just have the one power?" Piper asked rhetorically. She laughed as he rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Mom. If she only had one power, then why do you, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige, even Wyatt and I have more than one?"
"That's very good reasoning. Yes, she did have one other power...Astral Projection." Chris looked confused. "Go get the Book of Shadows, I think there's a definition in there somewhere."
He nodded Orbing up to the attic. He walked over to the heirloom, took it in his arms, and Orbed back down to his mom.
"This thing just keeps getting heavier." The teen complained as he set it on the table taking a seat next to her.
"It's to our benefit when it does though, Chris, you know that. With each new demon an entry is made about it and the spell, potion, or both that vanquishes it is added too." Piper told him, flipping pages.
"But if it's vanquished," Chris commented. "doesn't that mean it's gone for good?"
Piper turned back to the page she just flipped. "Normally, yes, but read what this says..."
"Abraxas? What or who is it?" He asked.
"A year after we became witches, the Book of Shadows was stolen and-"
"Wait, we-who we?" He asked.
"Prue, Phoebe and me." She confirmed, he nodded and she continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, the Book of Shadows was stolen by this demon. He was in an alternate plane and read the vanquishing spells backwards...and because he did can you guess what happened?"
"Let's see, if the spells were to get rid of them, then...if they were read the opposite way, that would cause them to be...unvanquished?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yes, and some of them, like a guy I used to know don't ask it's a long story, were becoming immune to our powers."
"So, did you have to vanquish them all over again?" He asked intrigued.
"Not all of them...a couple, but eventually we did get the Book of Shadows back in our possession." She remembered that day more vividly than she liked to admit. It was about two months since Andy died and Prue said he died because of her...
"...which is why she hesitated." Piper said in an almost inaudible whisper.
"Why who hesitated, Mom?" Chris asked. She jumped slightly, realizing she got caught in the memory.
"Nothing Chris, don't worry about it. It's not necessarily important now." She answered. Piper knew it had been important then, but she didn't want him thinking it was his aunt's fault they couldn't get the Book of Shadows back sooner. 'It wasn't her fault or ours that he died...she just needed time to come to terms with it, we all did.' She thought. "Did you find a definition yet?"
"Definition of what?" He asked.
She laughed. He got sidetracked quite easily. "The definition of Astral Projection, did you find it?"
"Oh yeah, it's right here. To move yourself in your mind as your body stays in one place. Astral forms can go anywhere their physical bodies can go. They should not be moved while they are in this state because if they are, and their concentration is broken...they may never return to their physical body." He finished in a soft voice.
"To answer your question, no I don't know if you'll get that power or not."
"I hope I do though. It sounds pretty cool." He said to her. Piper stood up and walked over to get her coat. "Where are you going?"
"Put the Book of Shadowsback in the attic and get your jacket. There's somewhere I want to take you." She told him, grabbing her purse from the end table and car keys from the hook. He nodded Orbing out. He Orbed back in moments later with a light jacket on.
"Where are we going?" Chris asked as they got in the car.
"Someplace I haven't been in a while." Is all she said.
Chris thought it seemed like they would never stop, but just as soon as he thought that, Piper stopped and got out. Chris did the same. It took him a little while before he realized where they were: the cemetery. He looked back over at his mom, but she was on one path and he practically had to run in order to catch up.
"Mom!" He yelled, trying to catch her. "Mom, wait up!" It was useless. She was too far ahead of him.
Quickly checking to make sure he wouldn't be seen, he Orbed to right in front of her, which of course, caused a collision.
"Chris! You know you shouldn't use magic in public!" She yelled. "What if someone saw you?" She asked heated as she rose from the ground.
"Mom, I double checked beforehand. No one was within five miles of me, okay? I made sure." Chris said standing. Normally, she'd give him a huge lecture, but today just wasn't a day for that. "Mom, are you okay?" He asked seeing the sadness in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Come with me." She told him, completely ignoring his concern, grabbing his hand, and walking to the far end to the graves.
She didn't stop walking until she reached the far end. From the time they arrived, the wind had picked up considerably. When they reached the far end, her hand fell loosely to her side, and she dropped to her knees, the loose hair that fell from a low pony tail being blown in her face. Chris was a little confused until he saw where they were. His mom had dropped in front of her big sister's grave.
"Chris, you noticed the look in my eyes when you asked questions, right?" He nodded, dropping beside her.
She took his hand and he realized she was shaking. 'No, she's not just shaking.' He thought. 'She's breaking down. I've never seen her like this before. She's so upset. Wait, I wonder, could it really be today?' He was trying to picture a calendar in his mind. His mom always marked the anniversary of that day. Not because she was trying to remember pain, but because she was trying to remember when she had to have the strength to be the oldest...the leader.
Shakily, Piper took her hand off his and made to trace her older sister's name with her fingertips. Before her hand reached the cold stone; however, it started to drop down again, as if the simple action took too much strength. Chris turned his head toward her seeing the streams of tears falling from her eyes as he reached up to try and wipe them away. She turned to look at him. Gently, her took her hand in his and traced the letters of his aunt's first name.
"I-I just miss her so much..." She told him as her voice shook slightly.
"So do I." A voice spoke behind her. Chris let go of his mom's hand, knowing the voice behind him as well as she did. She turned around to meet Phoebe's tear-stained face.
"When did you get here?" Piper asked as her sister on the opposite side of her.
"Just now."
"But I don't see your car - how did you get here?" Piper asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and laying her head on Phoebe's shoulder. Wyatt walked over and sat on the other side of Chris.
"She called." He said simply. "Come on, Chris. Let's leave them alone for a little while."
"Okay, but first can you come over here a minute?" Chris said.
"Uh - okay..." Wyatt said, not quite sure what his little brother was getting at.
"Mom," Chris said. Piper lifted her head.
"Hm?" She questioned. Chris looked over at Wyatt and nodded.
"We love you." They both said hugging her.
"Hey!" Phoebe said in a somewhat playful tone.
"Don't worry, Aunt Phoebe." Chris said as they both broke the embrace with Piper.
"Yeah, we love you too." Wyatt said as all four of them hugged.
"Boys, can you give us a little while?" Phoebe asked as they let go.
"Sure, we'll be at home." Chris said as he and Wyatt stood up, quickly looked around, and Orbed home.
They reformed in the living room, finding Leo at the dining room table, correcting papers.
"Boys, where's your mother?" He asked.
"She and Aunt Phoebe are at the cemetery." Wyatt answered walking upstairs.
"Yeah, they're remembering Aunt Prue." Chris said following him. 'That's right today is the exact day. I hope they're okay alone. Oh well, as long as they're together, I'm sure they'll be okay. Oh, that reminds me.'He thought, dropping his paper and pen on the table and Orbing out.
The wind blew harder as the sky began to darken, yet there they sat. Almost like they knew Prue was there...like they could communicate better with her there than anywhere else. Against her back, Piper felt her younger sister shiver from the gust of wind that had just passed over. She sat up, realizing that Phoebe wasn't wearing a coat.
"Phoebe, don't you have a jacket?" Piper asked.
"N - No, n - not with m - me." She said shivering. Piper slipped off her coat and got behind Phoebe, placing the jacket over her shoulders and Piper's arms around her.
"Th - thanks." Phoebe told her.
"No problem." She told her. "Do you think she misses us, Phoebe?"
"Who Prue?" She asked. Piper nodded. "Yeah, Piper, I bet she does."
"When she died, I didn't think I had the strength to be the oldest...but as time went on, it got easier to do, especially with you right there with me."
"Yeah." Phoebe told her. "Hey, what do you say we get out of here? I mean, I'm all for remembering Prue, but I think it's going to rain and I don't want to be stuck with a cold for a week."
"Yeah, let's go." Piper said standing, then helping Phoebe up.
"We love you Prue." They said as they walked back to Piper's car.
"So Chris," Wyatt asked as they walked into their room. "Why were you and Mom out there?"
"I've been really curious about Aunt Prue so I was asking questions..." He said, throwing his jacket on a nearby chair as he sat on the edge of his bed.
"Such as?" Wyatt asked, sitting beside him.. It wasn't that Wyatt didn't want to know about his aunt, he just knew how hard it was for them to talk about her, so he never brought her up if he could avoid it.
"I guess...her powers mainly. I would've asked more, but Mom asked me to get my coat and we ended up there." Chris said as he heard the door close.
"Mom's back." Chris said. Wyatt rolled his eyes. "What?"
"Leave it to you to state the obvious." Wyatt replied standing.
"Pheebs, you could've gone back to work, you know." Piper told her as Phoebe handed her jacket to her to hang in the closet.
"How was I supposed to get home? My car's in the shop remember? You gave me a ride this morning." Phoebe said as they walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Well, your car wouldn't be in the shop if you hadn't run that red light and crashed into that pole. Really Pheebs. Is a guy worth that much?" Piper asked.
"If you would've been with me, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Looked that good, huh?" Piper asked.
"Hey, who are you to be judging me? You're married to an angel remember?" Phoebe said laughing.
"Yeah, you're right. You still shouldn't be doing that while you're driving though."
"I know, I know. I'll probably never learn, unfortunately. I mean, I hope I do, but so far it doesn't seem likely." Phoebe said.
"Are we interrupting?" Wyatt asked as he and Chris came downstairs.
"Oh no, you're fine." Piper said.
"Mom, I'm sorry about-" Chris started to say.
"Don't be. There's no reason. We should've said something before this." Piper said.
"I still don't get it though." Wyatt said.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, what is Astral Projection? How does it work?"
"That's a good question. The Book of Shadows only explains it so much. I wish I knew what it looked like." Chris said.
"Well," Said a voice familiar to only two people in the room. "if you're that curious, I guess I'll just have to show you then, won't I?"
"Don't mess with us...we're not in a good mood!" Piper said standing, Phoebe immediately following. White lights formed in the middle of the room.
"If - if this is some kind of - of joke, I swear I'll..." Phoebe couldn't even finish her sentence as Prue formed in the middle of the room.
"You'll do what Pheebs, beat me up? Kinda hard to hurt a dead person, isn't it?" Prue asked.
"P-Piper, do you see her too? A-am I dreaming?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, if you are, all four of us are having the exact same dream." Chris said.
"But how?" Piper asked.
"Leo, he thought you two could use this. And-" She turned toward Chris. "You've had questions about me, so 'They' figured this was as good a time as any. This seems strange though."
"What does?" Wyatt asked.
"It's just that all of us thought the Charmed Ones would be continued by girls."
"Yeah, so did we." Phoebe said as Prue walked closer.
"It's okay though. They're good boys." Piper said.
Prue was now so close that her sisters could put their arms out and touch her, but they were reluctant.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Prue asked as she spotted tears forming in her sisters' eyes.
"We - we just don't want this to be a dream. Prue ever since that happened, Piper and I would dream about what it would be like if all four of us were together and..." Phoebe said.
"It's okay, Phoebe, I understand. But I am real, I'm not a dream, I promise." Prue said, reaching out and grabbing her sister's wrist.
"Piper..." Phoebe said. Piper then grabbed Prue's other hand, realizing that this was real at least right now.
"Paige!" Piper called.
"Yeah, what is it?" Paige asked walking downstairs, but stopping dead in her tracks. "Is that who I think it is?"
"Yes, Paige. This is our older sister Prue." Phoebe answered.
"Hello Paige, it's nice to finally meet you." Prue said as Paige walked over.
"Yeah, uh - nice to meet you too." She said. "Why are you here?"
"Chris was asking about me, so I figured I'd show him a power that I had." Prue said.
All three younger sisters were in shock almost. They never expected anything like this. Piper and Phoebe were happy to see her, of course, but since Paige came into their lives and reconstituted the Power of Three they hadn't really thought about Prue as much. Although, they both knew that Prue would expect that, after all, she wasn't there anymore. In a way, they felt bad for it.
"Okay Chris," Prue asked. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah." He replied.
"Okay." Prue said as she stood as still as a statue and somehow reformed behind him.
"Where did she-"
Chris felt someone tap him on the shoulder and jumped three feet in the air which caused his mom, aunts and brother laugh. He turned around to see his Aunt Prue staring at him.
"But I thought the projection wasn't solid..."
"It wasn't at first," Prue told him as she stepped back into her own body. "I had to develop it for a while." She said walking back over to her sisters. "What's wrong?"
"We just haven't really thought about you much because it hurts." Phoebe said.
"Yeah and when Chris stated asking about you today part of me didn't want to answer." Piper told her.
"No, don't feel bad because you've moved on with your lives, guys. I'm happy for you. Just because you don't talk about me much doesn't mean that you don't remember me or love me, I know that." Prue said hugging them. Both Piper and Phoebe felt like they never wanted that moment to end, but they both knew that their lives couldn't be how they wanted them to be so they broke away.
"Paige," Prue said as she stepped next to her. "Don't ever think that you're replacing me, okay? Or that you have to be like me. Just be you and everyone will love you for it." Prue said hugging her.
"And as for you two," Prue said turning around. "Your mother and aunts are much wiser than you when it comes to many things, magic being one of the most important, you'd do well to follow in their footsteps one day. Just don't try to go about that too soon. Enjoy being young while you can." Prue heard a jingle as Wyatt and Chris walked over to hug her. "Well, I guess that's my cue."
"We love you." All of them chimed at once.
"I love you too. Blessed be." She told them disappearing in white lights. All of them stood in silence for about five minutes.
"So Chris, have anymore questions?" Piper asked.
"No, not about her, but when can we eat?" Chris asked. Piper rolled her eyes.
"Ah, come on, Piper. He's a growing boy. I'm sure they'll both be turning heads soon enough." Phoebe commented.
"Don't even think it, Pheebs." Piper said.
"Think what?" She asked innocently, as they walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, never mind." Piper said.
"What were you guys talking about?" Paige asked.
"Well, if you really want to know..." Phoebe started as Wyatt and Chris Orbed upstairs.
"I'll call for you." Piper said.
"Okay." They both said.
It was at that moment Piper realized something she should've known all along. The bond all of them shared was forever. Even when they were gone people would remember what they did. They should remember Prue for who she was not how or why she died. And that was how it would be from now on.
The End
A/N: So what do you think? Please R&R.
I hope everyone has a good day or night and I'll 'see' you next update.
Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell