Halliwell Manor
Parker Halliwell was standing in the middle of the foyer of the San Franciscan Victorian manor house she had called home for twenty-three years. She was standing next to a ladder placed below the chandelier, looking at the top of the steps at her eldest sister – yes, she had more than one – Prue as she fiddled with the lights above their heads.
The house was quiet, aside from the noises of frustration Prue made every few minutes and the vicious storm raging outside.
"Remind me again why we have to do this ourselves? Isn't this what electricians are for?" Parker asked.
Prue sighed in what was obviously annoyance. "Because I can't leave the museum before six o'clock, you know this, Parker."
"Sorry," Parker said. "I was just curious why we are forced to do manual labor when we don't necessarily have to."
Prue raised in eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean 'we'?"
"Hey now!" Just as Parker was preparing a comeback, the front door opened and in walked the third Halliwell sister, Piper. Yeah, there's a bit of a theme in this family, Parker thought.
Once Piper was inside the house, she hung up her coat and placed her umbrella in the stand next to the door. A moment later, she could be heard calling out, "Prue? Parker?"
"We're in here! We're working on the chandelier!" Parker cried out.
"Well, I am, at least," Prue huffed.
Parker gladly picked up the disagreement from moments earlier. "Hey, I'm helping."
Prue raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "How?"
"I'm offering constructive criticism," Parker replied.
Prue rolled her eyes, and continued her work with the chandelier.
"Sorry I'm late," Piper said as she walked over to her sisters.
"Well, what else is new?" Prue retorts. Parker, finding this comment rude, hit Prue on the leg.
Prue ignored Parker and continued talking to her younger sister. "Piper, I would've been here myself to meet the electrician, but you know I can't leave the museum until six. I didn't even have time to change."
She indeed did not; she was still wearing the grey dress she's left for work in that morning.
"Why couldn't Parker meet him?" Piper asked. She wasn't trying to stir up trouble, just curious. The youngest Halliwell didn't have inflexible hours like Prue did.
"I had parent-teacher conferences today; no way could I leave early." Parker defended. She loved being a teacher, but she utterly despised that particular part of the job.
"I just, I didn't realize how long I was in China Town." Piper explained. "Did Jeremy call?" she asks, referring to her long-time boyfriend.
"No, but he had some roses and a package delivered." Prue told her.
"What were you doing in China Town?" Parker asked her. "I thought your interview was in North Beach."
The sisters all walked into the dining room together, so they could see what Jeremy had sent Piper.
"I was, but I went to Young Lee Market after my interview to get the ingredients for my audition recipe tomorrow." Piper explained.
The other two girls realized what that meant.
"So, that Wolfgang-punk knock-off didn't hire you then?" Prue asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Piper said, unwrapping her package. "But this may just get me the job." She held up a bottle of wine, so her sisters could see.
"Jeremy sent you port?" Prue asked.
Piper nodded. "The ultimate ingredient for my recipe."
"What a nice boyfriend," Parker said approvingly.
"Mm-hmm." Piper affirmed. She spotted something lying on the dining room table. "Oh, my God, I don't believe it. Tell me that's not our old spirit board."
"Yeah, I found it in the basement," Parker said excitedly. She hadn't seen the board since she was a child.
"While she was supposed to helping me look for the circuit tester," Prue said pointedly at Parker. The youngest sister just rolled her eyes.
Piper flipped the board over and began reading the inscription on the back. "'To my four beautiful girls. May this give you the light to find the shadows. The power of four, forevermore. Love, Mom.' We never did figure out what this inscription meant." she mused.
"Maybe if Mom hadn't been so cryptic..." Parker hated riddles.
"Well, maybe we should send it to Phoebe," Prue suggested, starting to walk out of the dining room. "That girl is so in the dark, maybe a little light will help."
Piper frowned. "You're always so hard on her."
Prue stopped and turned back. "Piper, the girl has no vision, no sense of the future."
"I really think Phoebe's coming around." Piper said.
"Well, as long as she doesn't come around here, I guess that's good news." Prue said before leaving.
After a moment's silence, Parker spoke up. "You really need to tell her. And soon."
"Why is it my responsibility to tell her?" Piper asked.
"Because you're the second oldest. I'm just the baby sister." Parker said, giving Piper her most innocent look.
Piper rolled her eyes and grit her teeth in exasperation. She turns and heads into the kitchen, as Parker follows.
No once notices the pointer moving on the spirit board.
~ PO4 ~
Sometimes Parker was glad she wasn't the oldest; it meant she didn't have to worry as much about these kinds of things. She was standing two or so feet away from Prue, who was busy fiddling with the circuit tester.
After several minutes of work, Prue slammed the door of the circuit tester closed. "I don't get it," she ranted. "I have tried everything, there's no reason why the chandelier should not be working."
Piper walked over to her sisters, her anxiety clear in her eyes. She addressed Prue, rying to get the words out as quickly as possible. "You know how we've been talking about what to do with the spare room? I think you're right, we do need a roommate."
"Really? And what made you change your mind all of a sudden?" The sarcasm was dripping from Parker's voice.
Prue looked between her sisters for a few seconds, but it soon became clear that Parker wasn't going to explain any further and Piper wouldn't be giving her any answers either. "We can rent the room at a reduced rate in exchange for some help around the house," she suggested, walking into the kitchen to put away some things in one of the drawer.
"Phoebe's good with a wrench," Piper said nervously, following her while trying to gently ease into this subject.
"Phoebe lives in New York," Prue pointed out, turning around.
Parker choose this moment to help out. "Not anymore," she said in a sing-song voice.
"What?" Prue said, hoping she had merely misheard, because it wasn't possible.
Piper glared at Parker, who smiled sweetly in hopes her sister wouldn't stay mad at her for too long. She knew Piper just needed a bit of a push. More of a nudge, really.
Piper turned back to face Prue, who impatiently waiting for an answer. "Phoebe left New York, she's moving back in with us."
"You have got to be kidding," Prue said. She hurriedly left the kitchen.
"Well, I could hardly say no. It's her house, too. Grams left it to all of us." Piper defended, following after her.
Parker followed her sisters into the foyer, where Prue and Piper stopped for their face-off.
"Yeah, months ago and we haven't seen or spoken to her since," Prue replied.
"Well, you haven't spoken to her," Piper pointed out.
"No, I haven't," Prue agreed. "Look, maybe you've forgotten why I'm still mad at her."
"And I thought with Phoebe gone, there wouldn't be any more fighting. Silly me." Parker muttered to herself.
Piper carried on as if Parker hadn't spoken. "Of course not, but she had nowhere else to go. She lost her job, she's in debt.
"And this is news?! How long have you know about this anyway?" Prue demanded.
"A couple of days. Maybe a week... or two," Piper admitted.
"How about you, Parker?" Prue asked.
"Just a few days, I swear." Parker wouldn't dare lie to her eldest sister. After all, hell hath no fury like Prue scorned.
"Thanks for sharing, sisters," Prue said. "When does she arrive?"
At that exact moment the front door sprang open, and Phoebe walked inside.
"Surprise!" Phoebe called out. "I found the hide-a-key,"
Parker ran over to her sister excitedly. Phoebe and Parker were closest in age and Parker had missed her terribly. "Phoebe!" she yelled, hugging her sister tightly.
"Hey, Parks," Phoebe said, returning the hug.
Piper took this moment to walk over to Phoebe and say awkwardly, "Phoebe, welcome home."
"Hello, Piper," Phoebe said, hugging her sister.
"It's so good to see you," Piper said, turning around to face Prue. "Isn't it, Prue?"
"I'm speechless," was Prue's reply.
In the silence that followed, a car horn beeped from outside.
Phoebe spoke up. "Oops, I forgot about the cab."
"I'll get it," Piper volunteered. She grabbed a purse and headed for the door.
"Piper, that's my purse!" Prue called after her.
Piper waved at her and continued out the door.
"Thanks. I'll pay you back." Phoebe promised.
The sisters stood in awkward silence for a few seconds, until Parker said, "I'll go see what's taking her so long." Parker practically ran outside, leaving Prue and Phoebe alone for the first time in months.
Prue noticed Phoebe's solitary bag. "Is that all that you brought?"
"That's all that I own. That and a bike," Phoebe explained. "Look, I know that you don't want me here – "
"We're not selling Grams' house," Prue broke in.
"Is that why you think I came back?" Phoebe asked, hurt.
Prue ignored her question and continued, "Look, the only reason Piper and I gave up our apartment and moved back in here with Parker is because this house has been in our family for generations."
"No history lesson needed. I grew up here, too." Phoebe reminded her. "So can we talk about what's really bothering you?"
"No, I'm still furious with you," Prue said in a calm tone.
Phoebe nodded. "So you'd rather have a tense reunion filled with boring chit chat and unimportant small talk.
"No, but otherwise we won't have anything to talk about." Prue said.
Phoebe took a moment, deciding how to say what she felt needed to be said. "I never touched Roger."
"Whoa," Prue said, disbelieving that Phoebe had the nerve to mention that not even five minutes after she got there.
"I know you think otherwise because that's what that Armani-wearing, chardonnay-slugging trust-funder told you, but – "
Piper and Parker's reentrance to the house cut Phoebe off.
"Hey, I have a great idea," Piper announced. "Why don't I make a fabulous reunion dinner?"
"Sounds good to me. What do you say, sisters?" Parker asked, knowing it probably wouldn't work, but still trying to get her two headstrong sisters into the same room again.
"I'm not hungry," Prue said, walking toward the kitchen.
"I ate on the bus," Phoebe said, taking off up the stairs.
Piper sighed. "Okay, we'll try the group hug later!" she shouted to no one in particular.
Parker hugs Piper comfortingly. She knows how it is.
~ PO4 ~
Halliwell Manor – Kitchen
Prue is sitting at the table, eating dinner when Parker walks in.
"I thought you said you weren't hungry," she greeted.
Prue looks up and sees her sister. She sighs. "Parker, give me a break. I just… I can't talk to her right now."
"Why?" Parker asked, joining her sister at the table. "Because she supposedly had a thing with Roger? Come on, Prue. You know Phoebe better than that. There's no way she'd even think about trying to steal your boyfriend, especially while you were engaged. She didn't even like the guy."
"Yeah, well, Phoebe's lied before," Prue pointed out.
Parker shook her head. "Not about something like this. And she never would."
Prue let out a sigh. Parker looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "Please just talk to her. I'm not saying have a big heart to heart right away. Just try to be civil? Pretty please? Come on, Prue. It's hard enough to have three sisters living under one roof. Add in a fourth, especially when that fourth is Phoebe, and if we can't get along for the most part… we're all doomed.
Prue smiles at her sister's efforts. "I'll think about it,"
"Thank you," Parker says, sighing with relief.
~ PO4 ~
Halliwell Manor – Conservatory
Piper, Phoebe and Parker were seated at the table, playing with the spirit board, just they did when they were children.
"I'm glad to hear that you and Jeremy are still together," Phoebe remarked to Piper. "Where did you meet him, anyway?"
Parker gave a short laugh at her sister's expense. "I love this story,"
Piper elbowed her baby sister in the ribs and then answered Phoebe. "We met in the hospital cafeteria the day Grams was admitted. He was covering a story and I was bawling over a bagel. So he handed me a napkin."
"How romantic," Phoebe said, struggling to hide her amusement.
"As a matter of fact it was. The napkin had his phone number in it," Piper said, causing Phoebe and Parker to laugh. "Stop pushing the pointer," she scolded Phoebe.
"I'm not touching it," Phoebe insisted.
"You used to always push the pointer," Piper reminded her. She grabbed an empty bowl sitting in front of them and stood up, asking her sisters, "More popcorn?"
"Please," Parker said.
Piper headed into the kitchen to make the popcorn.
Phoebe called out to her, "Hey, I forgot your question,"
Piper didn't turn around as she answered, "I asked if Prue would have sex with anyone other than herself this year."
"Ew!" Parker exclaimed.
"That's disgusting!" Phoebe called to Piper. Then, as her fingers stayed on the pointer, she said to herself, "Please say yes,"
"Phoebe!" Parker slaps Phoebe on the arm. "You're horrible,"
Phoebe just laughed as Parker got up and followed after Piper to the kitchen.
Suddenly, the pointer quickly slid to the letter "A" by itself.
"Piper, Parker…" Phoebe says, in shock. The pointer shoots over to the letter 'T.' "Parker, Piper, get in here!" Phoebe yelled.
The girls came running back into the conservatory.
"What?" Piper asked worriedly.
Prue raced into the room, too, curious about the commotion her sisters were making. "What did you guys do now?"
Piper looked at her, confused. "Me? I didn't do anything."
Phoebe rushed to explain. "The pointer on the spirit board. It moved on its own." Her sisters looked at her with dubious expressions. "I'm serious. It spelled A, T."
"Did you push it?" Parker asked, though it wasn't really a question.
"No," Phoebe said adamantly.
"You used to always push the pointer," Prue pointed out.
"My fingers were barely touching it. Look," Phoebe placed her fingers back on the pointer, waiting for it to happen again.
But nothing happened. Prue and Piper started to leave, though Parker stood still, staring intently at the board. Once again, the pointer started to move of its own accord.
"Whoa!" Parker cried in surprise.
The pointer moved to the bottom of the board, then back to the letter 'T.'
"Ah!" Phoebe shouts. "It did it again! It moved!"
Prue and Piper turn back and look at the board.
"It's still on the letter 'T,'" Prue said, as if she was surrounded by ignorant children.
Phoebe refused to relent, though. "I swear it moved."
"She's not lying, Prue. I saw it, too." Parker insisted.
This does not seem to faze Prue. "When the two of you team up, you can be insufferable."
Prue managed to leave the room this time. Once she did, though, the pointer moved again, though no one's fingers were anywhere near the board. This time, Piper saw it, too. Her eyes widened.
"There," Phoebe said, standing. "Look. You saw that, right?"
"I think so, yeah," Piper murmured, still unsure.
"I told you I wasn't touching it,"
The pointer moved once again.
Sure of herself this time, Piper called out to her older sister, "Prue, can you come in here for a sec?"
Prue came back into the room, clearly exasperated with this game. "Now what?"
Phoebe grabbed an envelope and pen from the table and began writing down the letters the spirit board gave them. "I think it's trying to tell us something," she said as she held up the envelope, revealing the message. "Attic."
With a loud clap of thunder, the girls were enveloped in darkness.
~ PO4 ~
Halliwell Manor – Foyer
Piper walked through the doorway and into the foyer, closely followed by Prue.
"Don't you think you're overreacting? We're perfectly safe here." Prue says, trying to placate her sister.
This doesn't help Piper, who is in full panic mode. "Don't say that. In horror movies, the person who says that is always the next to die."
Prue tried once again to reason with Piper. "It is pouring rain. There's a psycho on the loose. Jeremy's not even home."
"Well, I'll-I'll-I'll wait in the cab until he gets home," Piper decided.
"That'll be cheap,"
"Prue, I saw that pointer move!" Piper shouted. "And Parker saw it, too, so don't say I'm crazy."
"No, look, what you saw was Phoebe's fingers pushing the pointer," Prue said gently. "There's nothing in the attic, she's playing a joke on us."
Prue's explanation was logical, and it certainly was something Phoebe would do, but Piper wasn't buying into it. "We don't know that. We've lived in this house for months and we've never been able to get that attic door open." Piper grabbed the phone and held it to her ear. "Great, now the phone doesn't work,"
"Yeah, the power's out," Prue told her, as if it should have been obvious. And maybe it should've been, but panic usually offsets logic. "Look, go with me to the basement."
"What?'
"I need you to hold the flashlight while I check out the main circuit box," Prue explained.
Piper spotted Phoebe and Parker coming round the corner and heading for the staircase. She immediately said, loud enough for all three of her sisters to hear, "Phoebe will go with you to the basement, won't you Phoebe? Or Parker?"
"Nope, we're going to the attic," Phoebe said.
"No, you're not," Prue told her sternly. "We already agreed."
"I am not waiting for some handyman to check out the attic and I'm certainly not waiting until tomorrow," Phoebe disagreed. "We're going now."
"Definitely," Parker agreed. "This is like something out of a slasher flick."
Phoebe and Parker made their way upstairs as Prue, exasperated, turned and headed for the basement.
Piper stood still, wrestling with herself. Finally, she groaned and shouted, "Prue, wait!" as she ran after her sister.
Halliwell Manor – Staircase
The two youngest Halliwells were standing in front of the attic door at the top of the stairwell. Parker pulls on the door handle, hoping it might give. But no such luck, the door remains locked. She sighs, disappointed, and starts to walk back down the stairs. She doesn't get very far, when she hears a creaking sound. She turns back around and sees the attic door swing open.
She looks at Phoebe questioningly, but she just shrugs.
The girls walk through the door and take in their surroundings; neither of them have ever been in the attic, their grams had sealed it off when they were little. Phoebe shines a flashlight around the room. She spots a trunk at the far end of the room and she and Parker walk over to it curiously. Phoebe hands the flashlight to Parker as she opens the trunk and peers inside. She reaches inside and picks up a thick, old-looking book. She blows the dust off of it so she can read the title.
"What's that?" Parker asked.
Instead of answering, Phoebe opened the book as she sat down on the trunk. "The Book of Shadows," Phoebe reads. She turns the page and starts reading. "'Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night. The oldest of gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought."
Halliwell Manor – Foyer
Prue and Piper stand at the foot of the staircase, looking up the steps.
"Phoebe! Parker!" Prue calls. "They should be back by now," she says to Piper.
Piper can tell what Prue is thinking, so she tells her, "You go first,"
Prue starts up the stairs, flashlight in hand. Piper follows her reluctantly.
Halliwell Manor – Attic
Phoebe is still reading from the Book of Shadows. "In this night and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power. Bring your powers to we sisters four, we want the power… give us the power,"
Halliwell Manor – Living Room
A bright, bluish light shines from the chandelier.
On a nearby table lies a picture of the girls: Prue is standing in the middle, Piper is in the back, Parker is on the left and Phoebe stands off to the far right. Suddenly, Parker magically slides up next to Prue and Piper comes up between Parker and Prue, while Phoebe moves right next to Prue.
Halliwell Manor – Attic
Prue and Piper enter the attic and notice Phoebe and Parker huddled together, looking at a book.
"What are you doing?" Prue demands.
Phoebe and Parker's heads snap upwards, as if they have something to hide.
Phoebe's the one to answer. "Uh… reading. An incantation,"
"It was in this Book of Shadows," Parker says quickly. "We found it in this trunk."
"How did you get in here?" Piper asks.
"The door opened," Phoebe told her.
Piper suddenly caught on to something Phoebe said. "Wait a minute, an incantation? What kind of incantation?"
"It said something about there being four essentials of magic. Uh, timing, feeling, energy, and phases of the moon. If we were ever gonna do this, now – midnight on a full moon – is the perfect time." Phoebe explained, sounding excited.
"This? Do what?" Piper asked, wishing she could get a straight answer.
Phoebe replies meekly, "Receive our powers,"
"What powers? Wait, our powers? You included me in this?" Piper asks/shouts.
"No, she included all of us," Prue told Piper, having been silently reading the same page Phoebe had. "'Bring your powers to we sisters four.' It's a book of witchcraft," she said, shutting the book.
"Let me see that," Piper says, taking the book from Prue.
Halliwell Manor – Staircase
All four sisters made their way down the stairs in silence. Until Prue said to Phoebe, "Spirit boards, books of witchcraft. It figures all this freaky stuff started when you arrived."
"Hey, I wasn't the one who found the spirit board," Phoebe defended.
"But it wasn't my fingers sliding around on the pointer," Prue countered.
"It doesn't matter," Piper spoke up, mediating her sisters once again. "Because nothing happened. Right, Phoebe, when you did the incantation?"
"Well, my head spun around and I vomited split pea soup," Phoebe spat. "How should I know?"
"Everything looks the same," Parker observed.
Phoebe's disappointment was obvious. "You're right,"
"But the house still needs work," Prue said.
"Everything feels the same, so nothing's changed, right?" Piper said, nervousness creeping into her voice.
~ PO4 ~
Later that night, from the safety of her bedroom, Parker lay on her bed reading a book. Well, trying to anyway. After the "witchy" events of the evening, she couldn't get her mind to settle.
She shut her book and set it on her bedside table, sighing in frustration. She ran a hand through her hair, angrily. Get a grip, Parker. There's no such thing as magic.
Parker stood and moved to her window. Maybe a little stargazing would help clear her mind; that's what she had done whenever she got upset about anything ever since she was a child. She would sneak out of the Manor and lay outside on the lawn, staring up at the sky. Sometimes she'd even fallen asleep like that.
Damn, no stars out tonight, she thought despairingly. She was about to close her window, when something in the street below caught her eye. She leaned forward, trying to get a closer look. It kind of looked like a figure and it was... staring right at the Manor! She squinted at the figure and tried to get a better look. Yes, it was a man and now he was... walking away.
Parker slammed her window shut and crawled under her covers, pulling the blanket up tight to her chin, as if the thin fabric could protect her from any dangers. She buried her head underneath the pillows, casting the incident from her mind. It was just a coincidence, she tried to convince herself. After everything that happened earlier tonight of course I'd be a little on edge. It was nothing.