Title: February 28
Summary: Phoebe hated the way her grandmother shipped them out of the house every February 28, as if none of them remembered the significance of that date.
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: Not mine. The characters were created by Connie Burge and then hijacked by Brad Kern. I’ll put them back when I’m done.
Author's Note: One of my friends wanted a mini-golf story. This is what I did with that small challenge. Prue and Andy are 16, Piper is 13, and Phoebe is 11.

“Phoebe Halliwell, you are far too old to be cheating at mini-golf,” Prue Halliwell scolded. “Put your ball back where it was.”

Eleven-year-old Phoebe pouted at her eldest sister, but she pushed her ball back the few feet she’d moved it without any further argument. After all, she’d only moved it in the first place to see if Prue would even notice. She was too wrapped up in Andy Trudeau to notice much of anything else.

Phoebe watched in mild disgust as Andy wrapped his arms around Prue, fixing the placement of her hands on the club as she went to take her shot. He whispered something into her ear, which caused her to giggle and lift her foot to gently kick the inside of his sneaker. Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Get a room!”

She happened to yell that just as Prue went to take her shot, causing her sister to miss the ball entirely and costing her a stroke. “Phoebe! Stop being a brat!”

“Stop with the PDA and I’ll stop being a brat.” Just as Phoebe expected, Prue whirled around and shot her a cold glare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Piper bite her lip out of worry. Phoebe sighed; for a thirteen-year-old, Piper could be so sensitive.

Andy, not wanting to contribute further to the trouble between the two Halliwells, backed away and stood next to Piper behind the green. “Take the shot over, Prue. No big deal.”

Prue held the glare on Phoebe for another second or two before turning around and getting set to redo the shot. After mentally lining up the ball and the hole, she brought the club down and gave it a good thwack. It turned out to be too hard of a thwack. The ball sailed over the hole, bounced on the edge of the cup, and flew off to the side, ending up nestled in the corner of the green. Phoebe tried to hold back her snicker, but Prue heard it anyway. “Damn it, Phoebe!”

“What’d I do?” she asked. “I didn’t mess that shot up!”

“Just … keep quiet for two minutes. Can you do that, or is it too much to ask?”

“Two minutes is an awfully long time for--” She stopped abruptly when Piper elbowed her hard in the ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Not today, Phoebe,” Piper whispered, twirling her club against the cement. “Please don’t do this today.”

Phoebe sighed but decided to back off anyway. She hated the way her grandmother shipped them out of the house every February 28, as if none of them remembered the significance of that date. They were all aware, and it showed in different ways: Phoebe’s bratty behavior, Piper’s timid silence, Prue’s irritability. No matter how busy her grandmother tried to keep them, none of them could forget the fact that February 28 was the date of their mother’s death.

Phoebe watched with a bored expression as Andy took his shot and proceeded to work the ricochet off the bricked edge of the green to his advantage. The ball bounced off the brick and rolled straight into the hole. “Yes!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. “Hole-in-one!”

“What else is new?” Phoebe muttered under her breath as Piper marked his score down on the card. Piper shot her a glare that was equal parts warning and pleading with her to keep quiet. Phoebe softened under Piper’s gaze and sighed. “I’ll shut up,” she whispered to her sister.

Prue tried her hardest to ignore her baby sister. On some level, she knew Phoebe didn’t mean to be a pest. And Prue didn’t really mean to be so short with her. They were both just dealing with the significance of the day in the only way they knew. As Piper took her shot, Prue walked over to the corner where her ball had settled and took a deep breath. Not here, not now. She was not going to break down on the fourth hole, in front of her sisters. They didn’t need to see that, and she had to remain strong for them.

Piper’s ball landed five inches from the hole. She looked to Prue, who gave her a nod, telling her to hit it in so it wouldn’t get knocked further away. “That’s a two!” Piper exclaimed, marking her score down on the card next to Andy’s.

Prue smiled at Piper’s excitement and at the high-five Andy gave her. As Phoebe went to take her shot, Prue’s eyes suddenly started welling with tears. “I need to get a drink,” she managed to get out before she ran off, hoping that her sisters wouldn’t see what was wrong.

Prue slipped two quarters into the vending machine and waited for a can of soda to drop down into the tray. As she was bending down to retrieve the soda, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with Andy, who just gave her a knowing smile. “I can’t deal with her today,” Prue mumbled, pulling away from Andy and sitting down at the small picnic table. She turned in the seat and glanced over at her sisters, who, knowing that Prue wouldn’t want them watching her, had decided to retake their shots.

“She’s just … dealing with it,” Andy said softly.

“I know she is.” Prue sighed, absentmindedly running her fingers up and down the soda can. “I don’t mean to be yelling at her, but she’s just driving me crazy!”

“And your temper’s a lot shorter today than it usually is,” Andy gently argued. “You’re all dealing with it in your own ways.” He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She turned a little in the seat and leaned back against him, smiling slightly as he began running his fingers through her dark hair. “You know what we should do?”

“What?”

“Go back and finish the game with your sisters, take them home, and then I’ll take you out for burgers.”

Prue faced Andy, smiling up at him. “My favorite.”

“Well, I’ve only known you for sixteen years,” he joked. “If I don’t know your comfort food by now, I have no business being your boyfriend.”

She giggled and leaned back against him again, taking a sip of her soda. After a minute, she stood up, gave Andy a quick peck on the cheek, and headed back to the green. “Come on,” she called to her sisters, “I can still hand Andy’s ass to him on a silver platter if I try hard enough.”

Piper laughed, relieved that Prue wasn’t as upset anymore. “I don’t know, Prue. He’s gotten a hole-in-one on the past three holes, and you’re over par on all of them.”

“I’m mounting a comeback.” Prue walked over to her ball, which was still nestled in the corner of the green, lined up her shot and swung. The ball landed in the cup; Prue pumped her fist in the air. “That’s two, baby.”

Piper laughed and marked Prue’s score. As the foursome went towards the fifth hole, Prue grabbed Phoebe’s hand and slowed her down a little. “Phoebe, wait.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes and prepared to get scolded. She was thoroughly surprised when Prue leaned in and whispered in her ear conspiratorially. “I think the two of us can take the two of them. You help me beat them and I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

Phoebe pulled away and looked her sister in the eye, trying to determine if she had lost her mind. She couldn’t believe Prue thought that she’d agree to that after Prue had spent the past four holes yelling at her. All the apology she needed was in Prue’s eyes. She smiled and slipped her hand into Prue’s. “Deal.”

Prue returned her sister’s smile, happy that she had deciphered her silent message. She turned her attention to Andy and Piper. “All right, there’s been a change. It’s Phoebe and me against the two of you. And we’re going to kick your asses.”

“Bring it on, Halliwells,” Andy said, grinning.

Phoebe laughed. For a day that had started out horribly, she knew she was going to have quite a bit of fun. As Andy set up to take his shot, she faked a cough, breaking his concentration. His ball skittered halfway down the green and stopped abruptly. Prue gave her a surreptitious high-five and went to take her shot. Phoebe beamed and silently thanked her grandmother for forcing them to get out of the Manor for the day.