Disclaimer: Neither Jordan nor I own Charmed.

A/N: Me: So we decided to branch out from Supernatural fanfics.

Jordan: Yes. Introducing our first CHARMED fic!

Me: We have a lot of it planned already, actually. XD So yeah. Stay tuned, I swear there'll be actual canon characters showing up in a little bit.

Jordan: And don't forget to review and let us know what you think!

Me: And as a totally awesome random bonus-type thing… read this chapter (and all future chapters) with pics as illustrations on the site we just made – freewebs dot com slash spnctfans – to which there is a real link in my profile. Since FF docs are jerks and won't let you use links.

Chapter One – Getting Settled

San Francisco sure was sunny, Lyn had to give it that. But she still felt a twinge of homesickness as she looked out the window of the landing 747 at the bright landscape. Where were the woods and the creeks and the hills?

The seventeen-year-old Lyndotia Elumo wasn't one of those girls who had always dreamed of going to California and making it big in movies or anything. She had been perfectly happy at home, in Pierce, Tennessee – a small town right smack dab between Nashville and Chattanooga. She had had friends, a boyfriend, a part-time job; and after having skipped two grades, she was even in her freshman year of college. Her father managed a construction company, which was big money for their small town; and their mother cleaned the local church on Mondays and Thursdays. And though she was often at odds with her fourteen-year-old sister, Jordan, they were also the best friends in the world.

But that had been two weeks ago – a very long two weeks. Since then, everything had come crashing down. But no, Lyn had promised herself she wouldn't think of that…

As the flight attendant's voice reminded everyone to put up their trays and make sure their seat belts were secure, Lyn swallowed back a lump in her throat and looked over at the seat next to her. Jordan, a younger girl with wavy, dark brown hair like Lyn's, was lying back with headphones in her ears, singing along to a Led Zeppelin song under her breath. Lyn tugged one of the ear buds away and asked, "You ready?"

Jordan sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." She pushed her tray up and fastened it before turning off her walkman and stuffing it in her carry-on bag, under the seat.

"God, I hate planes," she said to her sister, voice laced with fear as the airplane made its descent. And she did. The only time she'd ever been on a plane before had been when she was a toddler. All she could remember of it was the rougher-than-usual turbulence and her parents and sister trying to comfort her as she screamed and screamed.

"I know," Lyn said in a pretty feeble attempt at comfort, squeezing Jordan's hand reassuringly. "But we're almost there. And then what should be the worst part will be over."

Lyn was attempting to joke, but as she met her sister's gaze, the green-with-black flecks of Lyn's eyes contrasting with the brown-with-gold flecks of Jordan's, it was plain to see that she was pretty much serious. Lyn hadn't exactly been happy with coming out here. She had thought that she had at least deserved some remnant of normalcy left to her after everything that had happened, but apparently that wasn't to be, either.

Jordan was gripping Lyn's hand and squeezing her eyes shut as the plane landed, the tires skidding across the hot runway as it gradually decreased speed. She breathed a sigh of relief and released her sister's hand when the plane finally reached the terminal. The fasten seatbelts light clicked off and a voice came over the loudspeaker: "Thank you for flying United International Airways. I hope you have enjoyed your flight and that you have a pleasant trip in sunny San Francisco."

"Okay… let's get out of this joint," Jordan said with a smirk. Thankfully, they had first class seats because, apparently, their aunt was freakishly rich. Who knew?

"This should be fun," Lyn muttered darkly as she and Jordan stood. "Trying to find Mom's sister in an airport the size of Pierce. What could possibly go wrong with this plan?"

Surprisingly, though, it wasn't so hard to locate Elizabeth Bern. Not only was she dressed in a shirt so bright that it was a wonder it hadn't blinded the pilots, she had bright, reddish brown hair (which Lyn knew for a fact was dyed, because her mother had often laughed about that); had ice blue eyes exactly like the girls' mother, Crystal; was nearly five ten and wearing four-inch heels; and was waving a bright red bag roughly the size of Jordan's backpack in the air while calling to them from twenty yards away.

Jordan's eyebrows shot up as she looked over at Lyn. "That's our aunt!? She's… bright… and… heeled… and tall!" She slung her backpack over her shoulder and looked back to their aunt.

"Yes, that would be our dear Aunt Elizabeth," Lyn said, sounding a little shocked, herself. "Mom said she was eccentric. I guess she wasn't kidding. I feel… very underdressed, right now," she said with a rather forced chuckle, looking down at her old jeans and the Def Leppard tour shirt that had been her mother's.

"She sure is," Jordan agreed, her eyes wide as she stared at their aunt, who was still mercilessly beckoning them. "Well… let's go… before she pulls a muscle."

She started walking, Lyn right beside her.

"Oh, you two!" Elizabeth squealed as Jordan and Lyn came closer, slipping her handbag over her arm and hugging Lyn tightly. "Lyndotia! I haven't seen you since you were such a little girl!"

"It – it's Lyn," she managed to choke out, looking very uncomfortable – partially because she was being hugged by a woman she hadn't seen in fifteen years, but mostly because she could hardly breathe for the strength of her aunt's grip.

"And Jordan!" Elizabeth went on as if she hadn't heard Lyn at all, releasing the older girl and pulling Jordan into a bone-crushing hug. "Your mom sent me so many pictures of you two!"

"Hi – Aunt – Eliza – beth," Jordan coughed out.

"Oh, call me Lizzie, dear!" the older woman said brightly as she finally released her niece. Then her face became more serious – or as serious as it could get, considering what she was wearing – as she said quietly, "I'm so sorry about your parents, girls. But Cryssie always loved it here, I'm sure you two will, too."

Lyn's smile faded into an emotionless mask, and her green eyes shifted to the left, avoiding her aunt's gaze. "Yeah, I'm sure," she murmured quietly.

Jordan swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thanks… Aunt – Lizzie… Can we go home, please? I've got jetlag, and I'm sure Lyn does, too…"

Lyn just nodded in agreement, and Lizzie nodded, too, as if to say she understood. "All right, then – let's go wait for your luggage, shall we? Then you can follow me to the car. And don't get separated! I'd have a devil of a time finding you in this crowd…"

We'd be able to find you perfectly fine, Lyn thought darkly as she followed her aunt toward luggage claim. A voice in the back of her head berated her, then, for taking her feelings out on her aunt. Lizzie had been amazingly generous to invite two nieces she barely even knew existed to live with her in San Francisco. It wasn't her fault, everything that had happened… not that that made it any more bearable.

"Wow…" That was all Jordan could say as she stepped out of her aunt's Lincoln Towncar and looked up at the huge house in front of her. It stood tall at three floors, had a round driveway and was surrounded by plants which all looked very well-kept, and an amazingly shiny chandelier that glowed through the front window above the door.

The blank expression that Lyn had been wearing since the mention of her parents had suddenly switched to one of pure shock. Her eyes were wide as she drawled, "What in the name of Gene and Roy!? Aunt Lizzie, you – you live here!?"

Lizzie chuckled, but looked surprised, anyway. "Cryssie really never told you? About anyth – any of this?"

"Definitely NOT! Wow… Hey, Lyn, where's your car!?" Jordan asked, turning around to face her sister.

"Good question," Lyn said quietly, slipping back into passive mode. A few weeks ago, she might have made some joke about 'Dude, where's my car?' – but that part of her personality seemed to have buried with her parents. "Aunt Lizzie? Did my car come yet?"

"Oh, yes, that!" Lizzie said, suddenly beaming again. "Wait till I show you – come, come, follow me!"

Jordan looked to Lyn and then to Lizzie. "Whatevs…" She grabbed Lyn's hand and dragged her after their aunt.

"Where are we going?" Lyn asked, trying not to grimace as Jordan nearly yanked her shoulder out of socket and then she nearly tripped.

"To the garage," Lizzie announced without turning around. "It's not far – I know you'll love it!"

"Love what, exactly?" Lyn asked suspiciously.

"You'll see!" was all Lizzie would say.

Jordan grinned. "Ooh… intrigue," she said in a voice that only Lyn could hear.

"Here we are!" Lizzie announced, tapping in a passcode the numeric lock of the double doors she had just stopped in front of. She was then able to pull them open, but inside the building was dark. She stepped inside, as Jordan and Lyn lingered tentatively on the doorstep, and then… the lights came on. A whole, long row of them at once, illuminating a garage that was roughly the size of most parking garages. It was mostly empty, but there at the front of the floor was Lyn's 1995 purple Grand Am – and right behind that, a bright blue BMW convertible. Lyn was happy to see her car, not noticing anything else, but Jordan gaped at the BMW.

"Holy… crap." Jordan stared, wide-eyed, at the car, and then smacked Lyn's arm.

"What?" Lyn demanded before following Jordan's gaze to the other car. Then her eyes went round as silver dollars, too. "Whoa. Nice car, Aunt Lizzie."

Lizzie's face looked ten years younger as she practically danced on the spot and grinned broadly. "I'm glad you like it – I bought it for you!"

Lyn went from awe to disbelief in two seconds flat. "For – are you serious!?"

Jordan squealed and practically skipped up to the BMW, running her hand along the side and jumping in. She landed in the driver's seat and grinned up at Lyn and Lizzie.

"Of course I'm serious!" Lizzie said, squeezing Lyn in a quick hug. "Cryssie told me you always wanted a blue car – do you like it!?"

"It – Aunt Lizzie – I can't let you buy me a car like this! It's too much!" Lyn half gasped, still gazing at the car as if she had never seen anything quite like it.

"Oh, come on, Lyn! It's a present! Accept it! Please!" Jordan started literally begging Lyn, secretly crossing her fingers.

"But I have a car," Lyn objected feebly. "And it – I mean, this car, Aunt Lizzie –"

"It's a welcome to San Francisco present," Lizzie finished for her. "I know you like it, I can see it in your eyes. I bought it for you, it's already paid for, you might as well take it."

Jordan looked expectantly at her sister. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, she thought to herself.

Lyn looked from the car to Jordan to Lizzie, and she knew she was already defeated. She felt rather like she had the time her boyfriend's aunt had tried to give her a gold bracelet – but neither Lizzie or Jordan would be discouraged that easily, and she knew that.

She bit back a sigh, relaxed the crease between her brows, and said slowly, "All right…"

Lizzie was suddenly grinning so broadly that she looked like the Cheshire cat, and she threw her arms around Lyn before stepping back and bouncing on the spot, hands clenched together like she was trying very hard not to clap.

"Yes!" Jordan yelled, grinning and resting her hands on the steering wheel. "In two years, I am so driving this baby!"

"Yeah, right," Lyn said, letting out a scoff that was supposed to be a chuckle. Somehow she couldn't manage to laugh properly, any more. "I won't let you drive my old car. Why in heaven's name would I let you touch one that costs more than my life is worth?"

"Oh, don't say that," Lizzie said, cringing as if the simple statement were horrible. Then she winked at Jordan and said, "Don't worry. When you turn sixteen, I'll buy you your own car."

Jordan's eyes went wide and she stuck her tongue out at Lyn. Her retort wasn't even out of her mouth before they were interrupted by a doorbell. She blinked at Lizzie. "You… have a doorbell in your garage?"

Lizzie laughed. "Why, there's a speaker in every room, of course. How would we know that there was someone at the door if there wasn't one?"

"This place is about the size of your average museum," Lyn agreed, looking around the huge garage.

"Riiight… So. Are we gonna answer it?" Jordan asked, getting out of the car and starting towards the front door. Once there, she stood stock still as she came face-to-face with a living, breathing Adonis.

Lyn trailed behind Jordan and appeared at her side a second later, and even she froze as she caught sight of the guy in the doorway. He stood at least 6'3", his eyes a light blue, his hair brown and his body muscular. The kind of muscles you can only get from physical labor.

"Um… hi?" Jordan managed to squeak out.

"Oh, hello, dear," Lizzie said to the dark-haired guy in that same perfectly happy voice, making Lyn jump because the voice came from right behind her ear and she hadn't heard her aunt approach. "I'm glad to see you're on time. That's good, it proves that the agency was right and you're responsible, even though you are young."

Lyn blinked and looked from the gorgeous guy in the doorway to Lizzie, confused. Lizzie caught the look on her face and laughed. She seemed to do a lot of that. "Oh, right, girls – this young gentleman would be the new gardener – I'm sorry, dear, I forget your name – and these two young ladies are my nieces – the taller one is Lyn, and the one who is forgetting her manners and staring is Jordan."

Lyn's lip twitched into a sort of half smirk at that, and she shot Jordan a sideways look. Ordinarily, she probably would have laughed and maybe poked her sister in the side and made some sort of comment, but these days a half smirk was actually a pretty enthusiastic emotion for her.

"Hey… uh, I'm here to garden? You called me?" he said, looking from Jordan to Lyn and then to Lizzie.

"Yes, poor Anthony's wife came down with some sort of rare cancer and he left to take her to a specialist in Chicago yesterday," Lizzie said, her voice still a little too cheerful for such a subject. "If you could start with those azaleas over there…"

That was when Lyn tuned out, gaze shifting out of focus as she thought of Lizzie and the blue BMW – she still couldn't quite seem to think of it as her car – and how very different things would be here. I don't want everything to change, she thought sadly, unconsciously crossing her arms and wrapping her long hands around her upper arms protectively. I just want to go back to two weeks ago…

"Lyndotia?"

Someone saying her name brought out of her reverie. She blinked and her gaze focused before locking on Lizzie right before a crease appeared between her eyebrows. "Please don't call me that," she said and, miraculously, she kept her exasperation out of her voice.

"I was just asking if you were cold, dear," Lizzie explained slowly, looking at the way the seventeen-year-old had crossed her arms. Obviously, she read it to mean Lyn had felt a chill. Yeah, sure; but not the kind she was thinking of.

"I'm fine," Lyn answered shortly, uncrossing her arms, but when they fell to her sides, her fists were clenched. "Just… thinking, is all."

"Will do, ma'am," the gardener said suddenly, as if no time at all had passed between his receiving instructions from Lizzie and what he was saying now. And with that, he grabbed his bucket full of gardening tools and went over to the aforementioned azaleas. Jordan noticed Lyn's quickly changing emotions and said, "Aunt Lizzie, do you mind if me and Lyn go upstairs for a nap? I can tell she's tired, and I know I sure am."

Unbeknownst to the two girls, the gardener was listening in on their conversation with curiosity.

"Yes, all right, dear," Lizzie said, and there was just the tiniest hint in her eyes that she knew neither of them was really all that tired. "The third floor is all yours – there's a bedroom to your right and one to your left when you reach the top of the stairs. I suppose you two will want to pick which is yours when you get there. I'll just excuse myself to the kitchen, I could use something to keep my blood sugar from dropping any more…"

When she was safely out of earshot, Lyn sighed and looked sideways at Jordan. "I suppose you're gonna tell me to stop repressing before I kill somebody or some sort of bull like that, aren't you?"

"Screw that crap… Repress all you want, just don't take it out on Lizzie. She took us in, Lyn. She didn't need to, but she did, and she wanted to. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way you're treating her. I mean, hell, she bought you a BMW, for God's sake! I'm not saying forget about Mom and Dad, just accept Lizzie, too. Okay?" she asked as they made their way up the steps to the third floor.

"I didn't need her to," Lyn said quietly, her eyes darkening slightly with her emotions; but, then again, they were always dark, these days. They hadn't been bright with life or pale with trepidation or fiery with anger or resolve for weeks; always dark, only dark. "Maybe I'm just seventeen, but I've already done a year of college, for heaven's sake. I could've filed to be legally recognized as an adult. I could've gotten a job, they would've hired me at Dad's company and probably paid me more than most of the men who work there. And then we could have stayed home and I'd still have my own car and Mark and Ella and Kate…"

She swallowed hard. Her throat was starting to feel raw from this constant pushing back of the burning and constricting, but it just wasn't fair; and even though she knew in her heart that Lizzie was indeed doing what was best for herself and Jordan… she couldn't understand how it was fair or right that she should lose everything she had left, too.

"Lyn, I can see where this is going. Let's not fight, okay? We've already lost so much, and I don't wanna lose you, too. Let's find our rooms… Oh, dear God!" she exclaimed quietly as she looked around at the hugeness of the third floor. She noticed both their suitcases sitting in the middle of what seemed to be the biggest room of this floor as well as the only semblance of a hall, complete with a big-screen TV, cough, and mini-fridge. "Nice…"

Next, Jordan walked into the nearest room, the one on the right, and what she saw almost knocked her off her feet. Literally. A chandelier hung over a four-poster canopy bed; two dressers and a full-length mirror made up the room, along with a vanity and closet. The theme of the room seemed to be purple of all shades. "Hey, Lyn – purple room!" She knew that Lyn loved purple and would be all over this room.

Lyn walked in and her eyebrows shot up high. Her gaze moved efficiently from the ceiling down, taking it all in. It was actually pretty amusing, and it was cool. But she could only manage a faint smile as she murmured, "What do you wanna bet Lizzie had this all done because Mom told her my favorite color…?"

Jordan grinned. "Let's hope my room's blue, then."

She ran back to the room which lay across the main room and, upon entering it, yelled, "Yes! Score!" She returned to the living room and grabbed her multicolored bags, pulling them into the room, and managing to bring them all in after two trips. She finally looked around, taking in the entirety of the room. The walls were painted a light baby blue and the carpet was white, as well as the furniture. She, too, had a closet, and three dressers instead of Lyn's two, a vanity, and a full-length mirror. The whole shebang was topped off with a chandelier just like the one in Lyn's room.

Lyn's smile twitched at Jordan's enthusiasm as she followed her sister into the other room. "Look at that, she even knew you had more clothes. Have fun getting all those situated." And she actually nudged the elated Jordan in the side with her elbow before returning to the main room. Jordan grinned as she watched Lyn somehow grasp the straps of all four of her neatly matched, dark purple suitcases and haul them into the other room. Yeah, Lyn would take some adjusting time, but she would be okay.

But, at the moment, they just both needed a nap.

Everything was dark. It wasn't complete darkness, by any means; there was moonlight streaming through small gaps in the curtains of the room. It was then that Lyn realized that the light was coming from the wrong direction. She was in Jordan's room? How odd, she distinctly remembered giving in to her lethargy around seven o'clock and lying down on the bed in her new purple room… She hadn't been sleepwalking again, had she!?

It was when she tried to turn around that she realized she wasn't sleepwalking at all. She was dreaming. Well, for a dream, it wasn't bad. At least no one had died… yet. That thought was far from comforting, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. Why was she dreaming about Jordan's room, though? She had only ever seen it once; she had barely even recognized it, at first.

Then lightning forked across the sky and there was a loud crack, sounding very close by, followed by a dull thud that Lyn distinctly recognized as a tree falling; she had heard it often in the woods behind her house in Pierce. At that moment, one of the curtains shivered a the breeze, and Lyn's attention was drawn to it – or, more specifically, to what was on the other side of it. There was someone outside the window, a man with short hair and an expression that made Lyn certain he could have no good intentions. But how could he be outside the window, anyway!? They were on the third floor!

As he began to climb through the window, Lyn tried to yell, to warn Jordan to wake up, but as usual in dreams when you're scared, she couldn't seem to find her throat, much less make her voice work. There was a snarl-like expression on the man's face as he finally stood upright inside the room. There was another flash of lightning, and another loud crack a little further in the distance, but no falling tree this time; and Lyn was confused suddenly. She had never seen this man before, so how could she be dreaming about him? This was making less and less sense all the time…

And she knew she had definitely been watching too many bad scifi movies when the man held up his hand and a ball of flame suddenly appeared in his palm. Yet a thrill of very real fear gripped her as the faint hissing sound made Jordan shift; apparently she wasn't as deeply asleep as Lyn had thought. The fourteen-year-old in the bed opened her eyes and they went wide as she caught sight of the strange man in her room.

"W-who are you!?" Jordan demanded in a fierce whisper.

"What does that matter, witch?" the man growled in a gravelly voice that made Lyn's blood run cold. "You're about to die."

Jordan opened her mouth, and Lyn knew she was going to scream, but the man was faster. He suddenly threw his hand forward, and there was an indescribable swooshing sound as the ball of fire in his palm shot forward. The horrible blasting sound as it came into contact with Jordan's chest, though, was definitely something that would stick in Lyn's head no matter how hard she tried to get it out. And that look, the look on Jordan's face as her voice died in her throat and the light left her eyes and she fell backward onto her pillow, eyes glassy and staring…

Lyn sat straight up in bed with a gasp, her eyes snapping open in fear and anguish… and found the glow of the late afternoon sun dancing through the windows of her new purple room. It wasn't even night, and of course random men didn't climb into third story windows, conjure fireballs out of nowhere, and kill people with them. It was ludicrous, and the more she sat there, the more she rationalized. But yet she couldn't shake the fear.

Heaving a sigh, Lyn closed her eyes for a moment and then got up. She was overreacting to a silly dream; it was obviously nothing. However, her gaze flickered automatically to the window – and for one heart-stopping second, she was almost certain that she saw something there. Probably she was just jumpy, but she almost ran to the window, anyway. She didn't know what she had expected to see, but she was definitely relieved when there was no one in sight – well, except for the gardener from earlier, who was digging around in a flower bed three stories below.

Slightly annoyed at herself for still feeling so freaked over a simple dream, Lyn glanced at her the time readout on her cell phone – which was purple, like her room, with a mirrored face that hid a backlit screen behind it. Eight thirty-four. She had slept for an hour and a half!? Oh, great, now she would never get to sleep tonight…

Lyn had to give Jordan one thing – she could sleep any time she wanted. Usually quite a bit more than Lyn wanted her to. This was only proven when Lyn padded barefoot through the living room to peek into her sister's room and found Jordan sprawled out with a pillow over her head to block out the light, probably because she had been too lazy to get up and close the curtains. She was quite obviously still asleep. Lyn debated waking her up – just to hear her voice more than anything, though she rationalized that she should probably not let her sleep now or she would never get her internal clock set properly again – but walked back into the third floor living room.

Another thing that Lizzie had seemed to know ahead of time was that Lyn had a strong love for caffeine, and had taken the liberty of stocking the mini fridge with a good supply of sweet tea, the likes of which one had to brew oneself out in California because the people out here didn't drink it like that. Lyn was grateful for that, especially now, because she felt like she could use some caffeine; it might calm her down a little.

After getting a drink and finding that she had no desire at all to turn on the huge TV, Lyn reluctantly returned to her room. There wasn't anything else she wanted to do, anyway. Tomorrow, she would unpack her things and send emails to her friends, to let them know she had arrived all right and she missed them horribly. Of course, she probably wouldn't add 'horribly,' but it was true.

For the moment, Lyn settled on opening the huge suitcase that was full of books – her lifeline, a lot of times like now when she couldn't make her mind settle down. She didn't pay much attention to what she was picking up, because she had only brought books she liked; just pulled one out and sat down cross-legged in the middle of her new bed, holding the hardback volume in her lap, and began to read.

If she hadn't been so preoccupied, she might have noticed a familiar set of blue eyes peering over the windowsill, brows furrowed with an unreadable expression.