"Man Pheebs, it's good to have you back," the boy was laughing, completely unaware of what was going on in the house.
Prue's jaw tensed and Piper only looked more nervous.
Sam, though, immediately grinned, and ran towards where Phoebe and Dean had come in. "Phoebe!" he blurted, running up and hugging her.
The ex-New Yorker grinned, and dropped the duffle bag over her shoulder to wrap her arms right around the boy. "Sam! Oh, jeez, how many inches have you grown since I left?"
"Damn kid's been growing like a weed," Dean laughed, before looking up, and letting the smile fall from his face as Prue's icy gaze passed him.
Piper smiled as brightly as she could, stepping from around Prue to greet her little sister, and give her a hug as Sam let go. "Phoebe, welcome home," she said, looking back at Prue. "It's so good to see you, isn't it, Prue?"
"I'm speechless," responded the eldest sister. Phoebe caught her eye, and the bright smile on her face dimmed just a bit.
Within a few moments, silence had fallen upon the cousins, and Dean was looking between the estranged sisters warily. "Ah…Piper! I'm starving. Haven't eaten since lunch, you think maybe…"
Piper looked at him like he was nuts for a few moments before catching on. He wanted out of the conversation and quick. "Right!" she blurted, feeling the same issue. "Ah-let's see what's in the kitchen."
They hurried out of the room, Dean catching Sam by the shoulder, and quickly shutting the door behind them as they knew that Phoebe and Prue were about to have some kind of show down they did not want to see.
Piper sighed a little, looking over at her cousins as they glanced nervously at each other.
"You didn't tell her?" Dean asked as if it were all her fault.
"I didn't tell her?!" Piper responded, her voice as quiet as it could be while she was defending herself. "Why was it my job?"
"Because you're actually her sister," Dean pointed out. "C'mon Piper…"
"Dean, it isn't Piper's fault," sighed Sam. "We all knew this was going to happen. You already moved all your stuff into the basement because we knew Phoebe was coming back."
Piper sighed, pressing her ear to the door, making a face when she heard Prue flatly say that she was still furious with her. Dean looked at her curiously. "What's going on in there?"
She cringed and looked back at him. "Not good, but they aren't yelling yet…" she muttered.
Sam crept over to join her, pressing his ear to the door too. Honestly, private conversations were not to be expected in the manor. He almost recoiled immediately though when he heard the name "Roger" and Piper's eyes widened.
Just the expressions on their faces made Dean's eyes widen. "What? What's going on?" he questioned, taking a few steps closer, only for Piper to push Sam back a few steps so she could burst through the door and intervene before Prue started screaming like the last time this had happened.
"Hey!" she said in false cheer. "You know, now that we're all together, why don't I make a fabulous reunion dinner?"
Sam froze in the doorway, Dean mere steps behind him. Prue just narrowed her eyes at Phoebe. The latter's expression just looked disappointed.
"I'm not hungry," Prue sighed before walking off.
Phoebe didn't look after her as she picked up her bag and walked towards the stairs. "I ate on the bus."
The middle sister pursed her lips sadly, and looked towards the boys as they looked after their cousins, and slowly crept into the room. They heard doors slam, and Dean grimaced.
"I guess we'll try the group hug later," he sighed. Piper just looked at him before walking back to the kitchen with the boys in tow.
(-:-)
Less than half an hour later, Phoebe strolled around her room unpacking as she stared at the TV. She had hoped that the reception she got would have been less frosty, but really she hadn't expected any more than what she got. Prue had been furious with her for months for 'trying to steal' her ex-fiancé. She hadn't of course, but Prue had always been happy to see the dark-side of her sister instead of the truth.
She turned to the news station she was watching as the reporter on channel 3 talked about a fatal stabbing that had occurred at an apartment complex downtown. Almost expectedly, there was a courtesy knock on the door before the three members of her family that actually had been happy to see her walked through. Dean was first, smiling at his cousin before Sam pushed back to go and hop onto the bed. Piper brought up the rear, carrying a tray of grilled cheese sandwiches and glasses of tea.
"Hey," greeted Dean with his usual big grin.
"Hey," responded Phoebe before looking at her sister with a thankful smile as she rolled onto the bed next to Sam. "Oh thank god, I am starving."
Dean plopped down on the side of the bed as Piper carefully set down the tray. "We know," she said, before she noticed Dean was making a face at the TV. She turned around to look, and smiled at the face on screen. "Hey. That's my boyfriend, Jeremy…What happened?"
Phoebe giggled a little, reaching over to the tray at the same time Sam did. "Some woman got whacked," she responded.
Piper crinkled her nose, but it was Dean that spoke around the sandwich in his mouth to say, "Whacked? You've been in New York too long…"
Phoebe sighed, looking at her nails. "I'm beginning to think I should've stayed…"
"Phoebe," Sam blurted, swallowing his sandwich quickly. "Don't say that. We're all happy to see you."
"But Prue isn't," Phoebe said, looking at him, then Dean and her sister. "Why didn't you tell her I was coming back?"
Piper looked at her pointedly. "Oh no. It was not our job. You should've been the one to do it and you know it."
Dean shrugged a little, managing to swallow his food before speaking this time. "'Sides, she would've changed the locks if she knew," he said with a smile.