Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.

When You Least Expect It
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

Phoebe wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, Piper. No matter how you move that thing, it still looks like a four legged blob.”
“Well it’s supposed to look like a donkey.”
“Why? It’s Halloween. A four legged blob fits in better than some stupid old donkey. Besides, the kids aren’t going to care what it is as long as they get to whack it with a stick and grab a bunch of candy.”
Piper narrowed her eyes. “Phoebe!”
“All right, all right.” Phoebe sighed. “Try a little to the left.”

Piper started to follow her sister’s directions when the phone rang, making her jump. She somehow managed to keep her grip on the string she was using to maneuver the pinata. “Who would be calling this late?”

“Only one way to find out.” Phoebe walked over to the bar and picked up the cordless. “Hello?” Her face instantly lit up. “Hey yourself.” Her smiled faded. “What? What happened?!”

Piper forgot all about the pinata as she rushed over to the bar. “What what?” She searched Phoebe’s face for answers. “What happened to who?”

Phoebe waved her off. “So what does that mean?”
“It means you better tell me who’s on the phone!” Piper growled.

“Shhh!” Phoebe frowned at her. “I’m trying to hear what….” Her voice trailed off when she saw the ‘you’re about to get your ass kicked’ look on her sister’s face. “OK, sweetie, I’m gonna have to let you talk to Piper now.” She quickly relinquished the phone. “I’ll just go finish with the donkey.”

Piper waited until her sister had started back across the room to lift the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hi, Pipe. Did I hear Pheebs say something about a donkey?”

Piper’s heart started hammering when she heard the voice on the other end of the line. “Rion? What’s going on? Phoebe said something about something happening. Are you and Prue all right?”

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

The quickness of Rion’s answer made Piper relax a little.

“We’re both pretty hosed right now, but we’re all right.”

“Hosed?” Piper frowned.
“Pissed, Piper.” Phoebe spoke up. “Hosed is Rion’s way of saying she’s pissed.” She rolled her eyes when she saw the look Piper was giving her. “What? I can’t help it if I can hear you.” She mumbled, “Get a bigger club” as she went back to straightening the pinata.

Piper returned her attention to the phone. “So why are you mad? Did you get stuck in traffic or something?”

“More like we haven’t left yet.”

“What?!” Piper frowned.

“They had a pipe burst last night. Made a major mess of several of the rooms, including the ballroom and main entrance. They were still cleaning it up when we got here this morning.”

“Then why didn’t you just start home?”

“Because the owners paid a LOT of money to get this spread in the magazine so the boss man said to tough it out. Prue did some outside shots and the rest of the place while I did what I could to help with the cleanup. By the time everything was said and done it was too late to start home. The owners felt really bad so they fixed us up with a room for the night.”

Piper looked shocked. “You actually got to meet them?”

“Of course. They had to be in the pics. They’ll sell the place even more than the location.”

Sometimes Piper thought she was in the wrong business. Sure she had met more than her fair share of celebrities and singers, but it was usually for five seconds before they took the stage at the club. Prue, on the other hand, got to meet even more interesting people in much more intimate settings. Like tonight. Prue got to sit down to a meal with Corey Southland, the most sought after director in Hollywood and his bombshell of a wife, Trina. And not in some busy restaurant either. In the comfort of their recently finished, yet to open resort on the edge of Sequoia National Park. And Rion was the lucky duck who got to tag along for the ride.

“You’re doing the star struck thing, aren’t you?”

“Guilty.” Piper couldn’t help but grin. “Sorry. Just kind of wishing I was with you.”

“Don’t.”

Piper’s grin disappeared when she heard her sister’s tone. “What’s the matter?”

“You mean besides the mess we stumbled into this morning? Let’s see…. The Southlands thought it would be nice to fix us a midnight snack. But Mr. Southland was too busy staring at Prue’s boobs to enjoy much of anything else. Not that Mrs. Southland noticed because she was too busy flirting with yours truly.”

“Get out!” Piper’s mouth fell open.

“Seriously. It appears the tabloids weren’t lying about their ‘open relationship.’ At least Prue and I are sharing a room tonight. Maybe that will keep one or both of them from sneaking in in the middle of the night.”

“So things are going better with Prue?” Piper flinched when her sister didn’t answer right away. “Rion.”

“If you count her calling dibs on the shower when we got to our room, she’s talking to me again.”

Piper sighed. They had all been trying really hard to keep things on an even keel since they got back from Canada, but they each had their days. One of Prue’s had been yesterday. She capped off a day of avoiding everyone by practically biting Rion and Phoebe’s heads off for whispering.

“I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“Not like it’s your fault. But I can’t take it anymore, Piper. I’m making her talk to me tonight.”

“Rion, maybe you should wait until you get home. You know, have some backup.”

“You can’t be the buffer between the rest of us forever. We need to talk things out.”

“I know, but….”

“Don’t worry. I know how to handle her. We’ll both be home in plenty of time for the party tomorrow night.”

“You better be! This whole thing was your and Phoebe’s idea.” Piper meant what she was saying. They were transforming the club into a veritable kid’s play land because her little sisters thought it would be cool to throw a Halloween party for the kids at the shelter where they volunteered.

“No worries, sis. You know I would never miss the chance to see the midgets in costume.”

Piper smiled. “I would hope not.”

“Look, I better go. Prue just turned off the shower. Wouldn’t want her thinking I’m talking about her behind her back again.”

“Rion….”

“I know, I know. Tread lightly. I gotta go.”

Piper wished she could wrap her arms around her little sister. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“I love her too!” Phoebe’s voice carried across the room.

“Tell Pheebs I love her too. See you both tomorrow.”

“Bye.” Piper held the phone close to her chest for a minute after hanging up.

“I did the best I could with that damned thing. Next time I say we forget being quaint and just buy one at Wally World.” Phoebe frowned when she saw the faraway look in her sister’s eyes. “I everything all right?”

“I hope so, Pheebs.” Piper sighed. “I really hope so.”


Rion sighed as she closed the cell phone in her hand. Part of her wished Piper was there to help her with what she was about to do. The middle Halliwell’s presence was something she had always drawn strength from. But her more stubborn side was quick to remind her that she couldn’t have someone holding her hand her whole life. She was a grown woman for crying out loud. What was the world coming to when she couldn’t have a conversation with her big sister without a mediator?

Prue’s anger from the night before was almost enough to make her rethink that last bit. She and Phoebe had come over for a movie night. Everything was fine until she and Pheebs came back from the kitchen with popcorn and sodas, whispering about something inconsequential so they wouldn’t interrupt the movie that was already playing. Prue wasted no time in screaming her head off, telling them secrets had already caused enough trouble in their family. She even went so far as to say the two of them couldn’t be trusted to live alone together before storming upstairs to her room. She had slept on the couch to make sure her big sister didn’t leave without her that morning. But Prue had been all business when she came downstairs. Rion knew it wasn’t because she felt bad for what she had said, but because this was an important business trip for her.

And that’s exactly how Prue had treated her all day. Like the assistant she was supposed to be. Under normal circumstances she would have given her sister a hard time for what she was doing. But whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was just as mad at Prue as Prue had been at her and Phoebe. That’s why they needed to talk. They could both hold a grudge for a long time and that’s not how it should be. Not between sisters.

Her breath caught in her throat as the bathroom door opened and Prue stepped into the room.

“Shower’s open.”
“I think I’ll pass.” Rion tried to sound as normal as possible. “Wouldn’t want to cause another pipe burst or anything.”
Prue chuckled. “True.”

Rion swallowed hard. She could beat around the bush or she could get down to the nitty gritty. And beating around the bush had never been one of her strong suits. “Prue, we need to talk.”

“Talk?” Prue’s tone was nonchalant as she draped her clothes over the back of a chair having changed into a robe the Southlands provided. “About what?”
“Last night.” Rion shrugged. “Today.”
Prue finally turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the rabid dog routine you pulled last night. Remember?” Rion got up off the bed and started pacing. “You totally reamed me and Phoebe for no reason. Then you stormed up to your room and came down this morning like nothing had happened. Barely said goodbye to Piper. Didn’t say anything to Phoebe. And you’ve hardly said anything to me all day.” She raised one eyebrow. “Ringing any bells?”

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” Prue shook her head.
“When I’m like what? Tell me, Prue. How am I being?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say!”
“Well that’s just great because I don’t know what I want you to say either!”

Rion closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. “Know what? Forget it.” She shook her head. “It’s late, we’re both tired and all we’re going to do is keep butting heads. So forget I said anything.” She flopped back down on the bed. “Good night.”

Prue opened her mouth to respond, but no words would form on her tongue. All she could do was watch as Rion turned on her side away from her. Her heart told her to crawl into bed next to her sister and just hold her, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate anymore than her tongue had. She sank down in the chair next to the one holding her clothes.

The view called to her through the gossamer body of the curtains. It was so beautiful here. So quiet and tranquil and perfect, surrounded by nothing but trees and what seemed like the very heart of mother nature. But it wouldn’t last for long. Pretty soon there would be paved parking lots and too many people and the litter they were bound to leave behind. Perfect never lasted long.

She sighed as she turned away from the window, her attention going back to Rion. She could tell from the steadiness of her sister’s breathing that she was asleep already. That was probably for the best. The silence between them all day had been deafening. And Prue had no one to blame but herself.

She had been wrong the night before. Rion was right, she had been way over the top. But she was feeling a little emotional and got more than a little insecure when she saw her sisters whispering. It wasn’t like Rion and Phoebe didn’t have a track record of keeping things from their sisters. But they had been really open with her and Piper ever since their trip to Canada. Even that didn’t give her the strength to apologize. Instead she got mad at herself for going off the deep end and took it out on her sisters. Then she went to her room and stewed and ended up mad at the world. It was a vicious cycle she had followed more than a few other times in her life. When she was in emotional turmoil and kept it bottle up inside.

Rion mumbled something in her sleep, drawing Prue’s attention back to the bed for a second. But it didn’t take her long to fall back into the abyss of her thoughts. After all, what big sister wouldn’t be a wreck after finding out their little sister had been raped?

Just thinking the word left a bad taste in her mouth. A nasty sound for such a vile act. Hearing that it had happened to a complete stranger on the news was bad enough. Knowing that it had happened to her sister was heartbreaking. How was she supposed to handle something like that? She was the oldest. It was her job to….

Rion gasped this time, her brow furrowing for a split second before she started thrashing around, a look of absolute terror on her face. Prue hurried over to the bed.

“Rion?” She put her hand on her sister’s side. “Wake up.”

Rion took a swing at her, making her move quick to avoid being hit. Her feet got tangled and she ended up in a heap next to the bed. She had just made it back to her feet when Rion stopped moving.

“Rion?” Prue sat down on the edge of the bed. “Wake up, sweetie.” Her breath caught in her throat when she saw how pale her sister was. “Rion?!” She took her by the shoulders, giving her a not so gentle shake. “Wake up!!”

Rion shot upward, gasping for air. Prue pulled her into a hug, keeping a tight grip when her sister tried to pull away from her. “Shhh, it’s me. I’ve got you.”

“P…. Prue?” Rion stopped struggling and leaned heavily against her sister.
“Yes, baby. It’s me.”
“He…. He’s not here, right? It was…. It was just a dream?”

Prue’s heart shattered, knowing all too well what ‘he’ her sister was referring to. “No, he’s not. He can’t hurt you ever again.” She rocked her sister. “I won’t let him.”

They sat like that for a while, Rion letting herself be held and Prue glad to have her sister in her arms.

“You didn’t LET him get me, you know.” Rion’s voice was quiet as she looked up at her sister. “It just happened.”

“But it shouldn’t have.” Tears filled Prue’s eyes as she looked at her little sister.
“Stop feeling guilty, Prue.” Rion wiped at a tear before it had a chance to meander down her sister’s cheek. “Please.” Her own eyes were full of pain. “I know you think it’s your responsibility to keep the rest of us safe because you’re the oldest. And you do a damn fine job of it. But you can’t be with each of us 24/7. You have your own life to live. Your own family to worry about.”
“I know.” Prue tried to swallow some of her tears. “It’s just….”

Rion put one finger against her sister’s lips to silence her. “Don’t. Beating yourself up over this isn’t helping anyone. I’ll heal in time, Prue. But I can’t do it without you and Piper and Phoebe. You three are my rock. My best friends, therapists and ass kicking partners all rolled into one.” She licked her lips. “I need all three of you.”

“Don’t you see, Rion? I feel the same way. You and Piper and Pheebs are my whole world. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the three of you. And when one of you hurts, I hurt. It’s all part of being a sister. But this time it’s so much worse because I can’t do anything to make you feel better. I can’t kick someone’s ass or spout words of wisdom or say I know just how you feel because I’ve never been through something like this.” She clinched her jaw. “It’s so damn frustrating!”

“Prue, I don’t need you to beat someone up or give me words of wisdom. And I’m damned glad you’ve never been through something like this.” Rion squeezed her sister’s hand. “All I need is for you to be here for me. Just like this.”

The corner of Prue’s mouth turned up in an attempt at a grin. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Rion hesitated. “But I need you to do something else for me too.”
Prue nodded. “Name it.”
“I need you to talk to me, Prue. Really talk to me. And I don’t mean holding back some things while telling me others. Because it’s like you said, when you hurt I hurt. We all need to heal and we can’t do that if we don’t tell each other what’s going on. If we do, there are bound to be repeat performances of last night.”
“No there won’t be.” Prue was quick to answer. “I promise.”
“I know.” Rion agreed. “Because we’re going to start right now.”
“What?”

Rion pushed away from her sister and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. “Right now. Talk to me. Tell me what got you so pissed off last night.”
“Rion.” Prue gave her a look.
“Don’t even try it.” Rion gave her a look of her own.

“I was being stupid.” Prue tucked her hair behind her ear. “I saw you and Phoebe whispering and I instantly thought you were keeping something from me.”
Rion furrowed her brow. “Why?”
“I don’t know.” Prue shook her head. “It just seems like you’ve been spending a lot of time with Phoebe. And I know you go to Piper when you’re upset. I guess….” She shrugged. “I guess I was feeling left out. I mean, they both knew about the underworld before I did.”

“We’ve been over this before.” Rion gripped her sister’s hand again. “Piper and Phoebe did know, but not because I picked them over you. I would never intentionally leave you out of anything. And you’re the one that’s been busy since we got back. Extra photo shoots, Little P had that cold, helping Seth out at the clinic. If I didn’t know better, I would say you were avoiding me.”
“Rion….”
“Truth be told, that’s why I asked to come on this shoot with you. I thought maybe if you had to spend some time alone with me you would finally break down and tell me what’s been eating at you.” Rion rolled her eyes. “A crappy day and one lousy nightmare later you finally did.”

Prue squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
“No worries.” Rion grinned. “I know it’s your way of dealing. But if you shut me out again, I’m gonna have to kick your ass.”

Prue pulled her sister into another hug, keeping a tight grip on her as if she was afraid she would slip away if she let go.

“Oh, there is ONE more thing.”
Prue frowned. “More?”
“Yep.” Rion nodded. “You have to get me home in time for that party tomorrow or Piper will kick both our asses.”
Prue smiled. “Can do, sis. Now let’s try to get some sleep.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Rion scooted over, giving Prue more than enough room to stretch out next to her but still hold on to her at the same time. Prue’s smile stayed in place when she felt Rion’s arms circle around her waist. In no time at all they were both out cold, safe in the love of the other.
“So long. Farwell” Rion sang as she made her way to the car. “Auf weidersehen. Adieu.”

“Rion!” Prue shot her a look.
“What?” Rion tried to sound innocent. “It’s not like they can hear me.” She waved at the Southlands, grinning when they waved back enthusiastically. “See.”
“Still, you need to behave.”
“I will.” Rion waved again before climbing into the passenger side of the car. “Just as soon as we get this show on the road.”
“We’re going. We’re going.”

Prue rolled her eyes as she gave the Southlands yet another wave and slid into the car. “They’re just trying to be good hosts.”
“More like trying to hold us hostage.” Rion frowned. “Do you have any idea what time it is? We should have been on the road a couple of hours ago.”
“I know.” Prue sighed as she started the car. “But we couldn’t turn them down when they offered us breakfast.”
“I agree. But you could have said no when Corey offered you another grand tour without the mess from yesterday.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Prue waved her off.
“Yeah me all you want.” Rion crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. “You promised we’d make it home in time for the party. We would have been pushing it if we had left on time.”

Prue glanced at her little sister before returning her attention to the road. The party at the club meant more to her than Prue had realized. But why shouldn’t it? She and Phoebe volunteered at the shelter all the time. Them walking in reminded her of the TV show Cheers. All the kids called their names as soon as they strolled through the door.

“I’m sorry.”

Prue frowned. “What?”
“I said I’m sorry.” Rion turned to look at her sister. “It’s not your fault we got a late start.” She shrugged. “Besides, we can still get home in time to make a fashionably late entrance.”
Prue couldn’t help but grin. “You know, sometimes you amaze me.”
Rion looked confused. “Apologies amaze you?”
“No.” Prue shook her head. “You amaze me. Something like this used to make you so mad you wouldn’t talk to someone for hours. But today you just shook it off like it’s no big deal.”
“That’s because it’s not.” Rion frowned. “I mean the party is definitely a big deal for the kids, and I really want to be there for it. But there’s not a damn thing I can do about us getting stuck here last night or what happened this morning.”
“I‘m picking up a major ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ vibe.”
Rion smiled. “You know me too well.”

Prue chuckled, relieved that things were back to normal between them. The tension of yesterday seemed like a thing of the past. At least until she caught sight of what was in the road before them.

“What the….” She hit the brakes, gliding to a stop beside the police car parked crossway over the road.
“What’s that doing there?” Rion stared at the car.
“I have no idea.” Prue unbuckled her seat belt. “But I’m going to find out.”

The deputy leaning against the car stood up when he saw them getting out. “Morning, ladies.” He smiled as he undressed them both with his eyes.

Prue glared at him, instinctively putting herself between him and her sister. “What’s going on?”
“Bad wreck on the highway.” The deputy gestured over his shoulder at the blocked off ramp. “Tanker truck carrying some kind of chemicals tangled with an SUV. Traffic’s backed up for miles. Highway department finally told us to shut it down for a little while.”
“How long is a little while?” Rion spoke from her position behind her sister.
“Well, we just put the roadblocks up about ten minutes ago. Wreck still has to be cleared and the hazmat team will need to check out those chemicals. You’re probably looking at at least three to four hours.”

Prue closed her eyes. “Is there a detour?”
“Afraid not.” The deputy shrugged. “Guess you’re stuck here for a while longer. There’s a diner about a mile back the way you came. Cozy little place. They’ll take good care of you until the road reopens.”

Prue clinched her jaw as the deputy turned away from them and said something into the radio mike attached to his lapel. She started toward him but Rion grabbed her arm.

“Come on, Prue.”
“He can’t just blow us off like that.”
“He can and he did.” Rion tightened her grip when Prue started toward him again. “If you want to end up in handcuffs I’ll lend mine to Seth.” She grinned when she caught the look her sister was giving her. “Come on, let’s check out that diner.”
“But….”
“We’ll call Piper and Phoebe and explain what’s going on.”

Prue sighed as they got back in the car. “If we hadn’t stayed at the resort….”
“With our family’s track record we would have ended up having front row seats for that wreck. It’s not going to kill us to wait it out. And Piper and Phoebe can take lots of pictures and use the camcorder.”
“Rion….”
“Let’s just go.”

Prue started the car, heartsick over the defeat she heard in her sister’s voice. Whoever had coined the phrase when it rains it pours had known what they were talking about. First the fiasco at the resort and now this. It was almost as if they weren’t meant to get home.

She quickly shoved the thought away. Now was neither the time nor the place to start tempting fate.

“Prue.”
“Yeah?”
“Right turn, Clyde.”

The tires squealed as Prue whipped the car into the diner’s parking lot. She could feel the flush on her cheeks as she looked at her sister sheepishly. “Sorry. Guess I was lost in thought.”

“It happens.” Rion climbed out of the car again, shutting the door as she looked at the diner.
Prue wrinkled her nose. “Piper would have a fit if she knew we were going to a greasy spoon like this.”
“Watch it, I used to work at a greasy spoon, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”

Prue reached for her sister’s hand as she came around the car. They got more than a few strange looks when they walked into the diner hand in hand. Especially from a burly man in a baseball cap at the table just inside the door.

“I’m, uh….” Rion met the guy’s gaze for a moment. “I’m going to the little girl’s room.”
Prue nodded. “I’ll get us a table.” She waited until she was sure her sister made it to the restroom safely to turn her attention to the waitress behind the counter. “Excuse me.”

The woman cracked her gum as she looked up. “Yeah?”
“We just found out the highway is closed and I was wondering if maybe you knew of a back way to get around.” Prue looked in the direction Rion had gone. “I promised my sister I’d have her back to San Francisco for something important tonight.”

“You could always take 36.”

Prue turned when she heard the voice behind her. The burly man was looking at her over a cup of coffee.

“It’s about an hour south of here, but it would probably be faster than waiting for the highway to reopen.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Another man spoke up from his seat at the counter. “They could use the old logging road and get back on the highway just outside of Creeley.”

Prue couldn’t help but admire his good looks as he turned to face her. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than her with brown eyes to match his sandy hair.

“That logging road….”
“Is perfectly safe as long as you have a decent car.” Prince Charming smiled as he interrupted the man at the table. “And I assume yours is decent from the way you pulled into the parking lot.”

Prue blushed again. “Yes.”
“Frank Philips.”
Prue shook his proffered hand. “Prue Halliwell.”

“Hey.” Rion gave Frank a look as she joined them. “Who’s the guy holding your hand?”
“This is Frank.” Prue gestured toward him as she pulled her hand away. “He’s just giving me directions on how to get around the closure.”
Rion frowned. “But the deputy told us there wasn’t another way around.”
“Yes, well, the police around here leave a lot to be desired.” Frank offered Rion his hand too, drawing it back when he saw the look of mistrust in her eyes. “You know, I can do one better for you. I’ll show you the way to Creeley.”

“That….” Prue looked shocked. “That’s really not necessary. Just point us in the right direction. I’m sure we can find our way.”
“Nonsense.” Frank stood, throwing some cash on the counter. “I’ll be more than happy to show you. Besides, it gives me something to do besides sit here and gossip with Eurlene.” He winked at the waitress. “And I live in Creeley, so it’s not like I’m going out of my way or anything.”
“Well all right then.” Prue smiled. “Thank you.”
Frank returned her smile. “Don’t mention it.”

Rion watched as her sister started out of the diner with Frank. She jumped when she felt a hand on her arm. The burly man was looking up at her.

“Be careful, girl.” He nodded toward the closing door. “Frank’s a real piece of work.”

Rion pulled her arm away and hurried after her sister, wondering just what the man meant when he said a real piece of work.
“Grrr!” Piper growled as she paced in front of the couch. She pulled the cordless away from her ear, staring at it for a moment before slamming it down on the coffee table.

Tricia looked up from the book in her lap. “Bad?”
“Yes, sweetie.” Piper nodded. “Very bad.”

“What’s very bad?” Phoebe walked into the room, Melinda balanced on her hip.

“That!” Piper pointed at the phone. “If I hear that stupid guy tell me the party I am trying to reach is out of the calling area again I’m going to pull him through the phone and….”
“Whoa!” Phoebe raised her voice to drown out what her sister was saying. “Little ears.”

Piper looked from her daughter to Tricia and back again. “Sorry.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m just a little frustrated.”
“Why?” Phoebe sat down in a chair, giving Tricia a smile as she got Melinda situated on her lap.
“Did you just ask me why?!” Piper looked at her in disbelief.
“I mean, come on.” Phoebe spoke up again before her sister could. “So what if we have about one hundred kids coming to the club in less than four hours for a party we’ve been planning for almost a year and we’re two co-conspirators short?”

“Exactly!” Piper threw herself down on the couch next to Tricia. “We planned this thing as a family. That means we should all be here. ALL of us. Not off taking pictures of some stupid ass….”
“Hey!!” Phoebe gestured toward the girls. “Must I remind you of the little ears again?”

Piper looked at Tricia, who was staring at her intently. “Do you listen to everything your Aunt Piper says?”
Tricia nodded. “Wuv An Pooper.”
“And I love you.” Piper pulled her niece into her lap, looking at Phoebe over the little girl’s head. “That doesn’t change the fact that two you know whos aren’t here.”

Phoebe nodded, knowing all too well why Piper wasn’t saying their sisters names. Tricia had just calmed down after a major ‘I want my Mommy and if I can’t have her, I want my favorite aunt’ episode.

“I know, but I don’t think we should be going off the deep end. Everything is ready at the club. And we’ve got the guys to help us out.”
“It’s not even that they’re not going to be here in time for the party anymore.” Piper swallowed hard. “What if something happened? What if that’s why we can’t get a hold of them?”

“Oh, sweetie.” Phoebe scooted forward in the chair so she could reach for her sister’s hand. “You know we can’t think like that every time we’re apart.”
“I know, but….”
“You know what will happen, don’t you? They’ll come cruising in in the middle of the party, full of apologies.” Phoebe squeezed her sister’s hand. “I say we make them handle the clean up all by themselves as punishment for abandoning us.”

Piper grinned. “That sounds fair.”
“Of course it does.” Phoebe grinned.

“Damned ting!” They both looked shocked when they heard Tricia’s words. She smiled at them as she pointed at the phone. “Damned ting!”

“Well….” Phoebe raised her eyebrows. “I think it’s safe to say she really DOES listen to everything you say.”

The sound of laughter filled the Manor.

*************

“I knew I should have used the pay phone at the diner. This thing is useless.” Rion frowned at her cell phone. “I can’t get any signal at all.”
“Me either.” Prue glanced at own cell where it rested in the console between the seats. “Maybe one of use will have one when we get to Creeley.”
“Maybe.” Rion tossed hers in the back seat. “Wanna play I Spy?”

Prue looked around them. “All I spy are trees.”
“And you just ruined the game.” Rion tried to sound exasperated but couldn’t stop herself from grinning. “Shall we try the radio?”

They both flinched as a burst of static filled the car. Rion quickly turned the volume down before hitting the seek button. It returned to the same static in record time.

“Ouch!” Rion hissed as her arm bounced off the passenger side door. “Let’s take the logging road.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she tried to rub the pain out of her elbow. “This was a GREAT idea.”

Prue smirked. “It could have been worse.”
Rion furrowed her brow. “How?”
“We could be in the Miata.”
“Yeah riiight. Like THAT would have happened.”

“True.” Prue tightened her grip on the steering wheel as they hit another bump. “We would have bottomed out a long time ago. As it is I’m going to have to have my shocks checked.”
“More like replaced.” Rion put her hand on the dash to brace herself. “Wanna know what this reminds me of?”
“Probably.” Prue risked a glance at her sister. “But I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”
“It reminds me of the road we took to get to that cabin. The one the Elders sent us to that time. You remember.”

“Remember?” Prue scoffed. “How could I forget? We both almost dies.” Just thinking about their ill fated camping trip sent a chill down her spine. That was the first of way too many times they had almost lost Rion. “Change the subject.”

Rion broke into the Twilight Zone theme.

Prue sighed. “Cut it out.”
“You are now entering….” Rion quirked an eyebrow. “The Pothole Zone.”

Prue was trying to think of a snappy comeback when she realized the car hadn’t been jostled in at least thirty seconds. A triumphant smile spread across her face when she saw the smoothness of the road ahead of them.

“Ha!” She nodded as she sped up. “Look at that. Smooth sailing.”

“Maybe.” Rion shrugged. “But we’re still out in the middle of nowhere following some guy we don’t know. Sounds like the prefect setting for a bad b-movie.”
Prue rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”

“Seriously.” Rion turned in her seat to look at her sister. “Think about it. How many movies have we watched where something exactly like this happens? Circumstances take a group of people, normally horny teenagers but not always, out in the boonies where they steadily start to get picked off one by one. Frank fits right in as the too good to be true good samaritan who turns out to be an ax wielding maniac.”
Prue clinched her jaw. “That’s enough.”

“Speaking of which….” Rion frowned. “Where did he go?”
Prue frowned too when she saw their guide was nowhere in sight. “I have no idea.” She looked at Rion as they started up a hill. “Does his turning into Speed Racer fit into your plot?”
“Of course. How else can he get far enough ahead of us to….” Rion’s eyes suddenly went wide. “Watch out!!”

Prue’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Frank standing beside his car, waving his arms. His car that was in the middle of the road. The one she wouldn’t be able to avoid hitting no matter how hard she tried. A voice in the back of her head told her to swerve, but the road was too narrow to get around the car. And there was nothing but trees on either side of them. She was scrambling for an answer when Rion made it for her.

Her little sister reached over and pulled the wheel to the right. She tried to pull the car back onto the road, but it was no use. All she could do was put both feet on the brake and hope they didn’t hit anything too hard as the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass filled her senses.

Prue kept her eyes closed for a moment after the car came to stop, afraid of what she might if she opened them. As far as she could tell she was all right. Her left shoulder ached like hell from the seat belt holding her in place, but so far nothing else hurt. An unpleasant hissing sound coming from the general direction of the engine told her that the car wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. But it was the fact that she hadn’t heard so much as a peep from Rion that terrified her.

“Ugh.”

Prue’s eyes flew open when she heard the groan next to her. “Rion?” She fumbled with her seat belt until it came undone. “Rion?!”
“Shhh.” Rion frowned. “Not so loud.”
Prue put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“I….” Rion’s frown deepened. “I think so.” She blinked her eyes open, looking up at her sister. “How about you?”
“I’m fine.” Prue looked her sister over, relieved to see there was no blood anywhere. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
“If you count getting thrown around like a rag doll as all right, I’m fine.” Rion winced as she reached for her seat belt.
“Here, let me get that.” Prue was quick to help her sister.

“Are you two all right?”

They both jumped when they heard the unfamiliar voice. Frank peered through the driver’s side door at them.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He stepped back as Prue opened her door. “But are you all right?”

“We’ll live.” Prue got out of the car, pulling Rion with her.
“I don’t think the same can be said for our ride.” Rion inspected the crumpled front end of the car. “Sorry Prue.”
“For what?”
“Cutting the wheel like that. But I thought you would rather take on a tree than take out poor Frank.”

“I’m the one who should be apologizing.” Frank watched them guiltily. “It was my car that broke down in the middle of the road.”

“Yeah.” Rion frowned as Prue gave her another once over. “What happened there anyway?” She hissed as her sister touched the right side of her head. “Ouch!”
“You’ve got a nasty bump.” Prue sounded concerned for her sister as she moved in for a closer look.
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Rion pulled away from her sister. “Really, Prue. I’m fine.” She turned her attention to Frank. “So, what gives with your car?”

“I’m not sure.” Frank shrugged. “It just died on me.”

“So quick that you couldn’t get off the road?”
“Rion!” Prue gave her sister a look.
“What?” Rion gave her a look of her own. “It was an innocent enough question. He could have pulled to one side or the other so we could get around. It’s not like we would have blown past him without stopping to see what was going on.”

“Like I said.” Frank spoke up before Prue could say anything else. “It just died on me. I didn’t get a chance to do much of anything.”

“Well we better see if we can figure it out.” Rion sighed. “Otherwise we’re going to be stranded out here.”

“NO!” Frank grabbed her arm as she started toward his car.

Rion barely had a chance to look at his hand before Prue knocked it away.

“What are you doing?” The eldest Halliwell’s eyes flashed as she glared at Frank.

“I’m sorry. It’s just….” Frank shook his head. “It won’t do any good to look at it. Unless of course you’re some kind of mechanic. Last time I had to have it towed.”

Rion furrowed her brow. “This has happened before?” She raised her hand to keep him from answering. “Never mind. I really don’t want to know.”

“So what are we supposed to do now?” Prue took in their surroundings. “I’m thinking there’s not a gas station within walking distance.”
“No, but there’s a cabin.” Frank tried to sound hopeful. “About half a mile back the way we came. The owner has a short wave radio we could use to call for help.”

“Then let’s get going.” Rion started in the direction Frank had indicated. “The sooner we get there, the sooner someone can come get us.”
This time it was Prue who gripped her sister’s arm. “I think we should stay with the cars.”
Rion frowned. “What? Why? I don‘t think we have to worry about someone else coming alone to wreck into one of the cars or steal out stuff.”
“You could have a concussion, Rion.” Prue spoke quickly to keep her sister from launching a protest. “I don’t think you need to be traipsing around looking for a cabin. Frank can go.”

Frank frowned too. “I think you should come with me.”
Prue turned to look at him. “And I think we should stay here. My husband is a doctor and….”

“I don’t give a shit if you’re husband is God himself.” Frank’s voice was suddenly menacing. “You’re coming with me.”

“Hey!” Rion frowned at him. “That’s my sister you’re talking to! If she says we’re staying with the cars, then we’re staying with the cars!”

“I’m afraid not.” Frank pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants. He didn’t waste any time waving it in the sisters direction. “Let’s get going!”
Prue froze, mesmerized by the way the sunlight played along the nickel plated barrel of the gun. Her thoughts instantly turned to the seemingly countless other times someone had drawn a gun on her or her sisters. Ms. Hellfire. Matthew Tate. Abby. Thinking the woman’s name drew her eyes to her little sister.

“Whoa.”

The sound of Rion’s voice broke the silence that had enveloped them as she stepped protectively in front of her sister.

“What are you doing with that thing, Frank?”
“Getting a little of the respect I deserve.” Frank glared at her. “Now shut up and let’s get a move on.”

“Prue?” Rion locked eyes with her sisters. “Do you got this or what?”

Prue mentally kicked herself. Here she was, one of the most powerful witches ever known to man and her little sister was having to remind her of her powers.

“Yeah.” Prue squared her shoulder, returning Frank’s glare. “I’ve definitely got this.” She flung her hand toward him confidently, expecting her telekinesis to take over. When it didn’t she frowned and tried again, getting the same result.

“What the hell?” Frank frowned at her. “Are you having some kind of fit or something?” He grabbed Rion by the arm, shoving her toward her sister. “Make her stop that and let’s get going!!”

“All right! Geez!” Rion made a show of putting her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Just be careful where you’re pointing that thing.”

“Whatever.” Frank used the gun to point out the way he wanted her to go and fell into step a good five paces behind them.

“What happened?” Rion whispered the question.
“I have no idea.” Prue was still stunned. “It just didn’t work.”
“Maybe he has a natural immunity to your powers or something.” Rion felt her sister looking at her. “What?”
“Natural immunity?”
“It’s something Phoebe and I read about at the Wicca store. There’s a belief that some people have a tolerance to magical powers. An immunity they’re born with.”
Prue frowned. “And you think we just happened to run into one of these people way out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Maybe, but there’s only one way to find out.” Rion nodded toward a tree branch a few yards in front of them. “Give it a whirl.”

Prue made another waving motion with her hand, being sure to keep it in front of her body so Frank wouldn’t see what she was doing. The branch didn’t move.

“Damn it!”
Rion tightened her grip on her sister. “Relax and concentrate.”

Prue took a deep breath and tried again, but nothing happened. She clinched her jaw and narrowed her eyes, thinkin