It was an unseasonably warm Monday in early March. Phoebe Halliwell was sitting on the top step of the porch of her grandmother's house, absently sipping coffee from a small travel thermos. Although the morning sun warmed her agreeably, she shivered slightly and zipped up her light jacket a little tighter. Today was the first day of her new job - and effectively, her new life - as an officially authorized demon hunter with the San Francisco police force. Although this was a situation that Phoebe herself had sought out and actively pursued, now that she was about to begin the process in earnest, she felt a definite sense of trepidation - a giddy churn in her stomach reminding her that after today, nothing would ever be the same again.

It had barely been two weeks since Phoebe, along with her sisters Paige and Piper, had vanquished their first demon, and the experience had been a life-altering event for all of them. The demon of the lake had been directly responsible for the deaths of Phoebe's mother and oldest sister. But the vanquish had been far more than a simple act of vengeance. It was also the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy - one that declared Phoebe and her sisters were the culmination of a generations-long family line of witches, the so-called "Charmed Ones", the protectors of the innocent.

As a fledgling witch, Phoebe was only just dimly beginning to grasp the extent of the powers and abilities she now possessed. She also now had a palpable sense of the forces of darkness that existed in the wider world of magic, and she realized with a shudder just how close she had come to succumbing to those darker forces.

Before returning to San Francisco after a long absence, Phoebe had spent a little over two years in New York; and during that time, she had made the acquaintance of a man who, she was now reasonably certain, was a demon.

Acquaintance. Phoebe smiled grimly at the word. That description was simply dishonest. Although Phoebe wanted very much for it to be otherwise, the relationship she'd had with this man was far more intimate - and destructive - than she was comfortable remembering. And with it, she had the sinking feeling that she was hardly immune to the seduction of evil even now. She sighed heavily, remembering how much she had enjoyed learning how to be cruel under this man's tutelage - and such desires appealed to her still. Although the prophecy of the Charmed Ones declared that she was to be a force for good, she had to admit to herself, she was not a good person. But did that mean she never could be? Or could she somehow manage to do acts of goodness, while still having evil desires?

Phoebe had yet to be entirely candid about these experiences with her sisters. She balked, time and again, at admitting the full truth of her circumstances to them. She could barely admit what had happened, even to herself. But Phoebe knew, deep in her heart, that all was not right, and she could not hedge her bets forever. Sooner or later, irrevocably, she would have to choose - good or evil. She wondered almost idly if she was strong enough to choose good.

As Phoebe shifted restlessly on the porch, her troubled thoughts churning through her mind, Phoebe's baby sister, ebony haired Paige Matthews, stepped out onto the porch, closing the door gently behind her. With a knowing grin, Paige settled herself on the top step beside her sister.

"Nervous?" She asked.

Phoebe gave her sister a rueful smile. "A little," she admitted.

"You're gonna do fine," Paige declared emphatically.

"I hope so."

"I know so," Paige assured her, impulsively leaning over and giving her sister a tight, bone-crushing hug. "This is so exciting!" She exclaimed. "We're both starting new jobs today. I can't wait!"

"You can't wait to go to work?" Phoebe wasn't sure she'd heard right.

"Phoebe, all my life I've wanted to be a social worker! Now I'm getting my first real chance, and I'm so stoked I think I could explode!"

"Yeah, don't do that. It could be messy," Phoebe quipped.

"Come on. You're excited about your new job, too." Paige gave her sister a quiet, knowing smile. "You've wanted the opportunity to do something good for a long time. Now you can."

Startled, Phoebe looked at her baby sister. Was Paige reading her thoughts? Again?

"You are a good person, Phoebe," Paige declared solemnly. "I know you don't think so but you are. This will give you a chance to prove it to yourself. And you are gonna have a blast today," she added excitedly. "Learning how to be a cop! Seriously cool!"

In spite of herself, Phoebe could only grin helplessly at her sister's exuberance. "Okay," she relented. "Yes, I'm excited. But this isn't just about me becoming a police officer. It's a chance to help Darryl close out some of his cold cases involving demons that he's had backlogged for years. Also a chance for me to balance the scales in favor of the good guys. At least a little."

"Darryl's picking you up this morning?"

"Yeah, he should be here any minute."

"That's really nice of him."

Phoebe shrugged. "He's just trying to protect his investment," she demurred.

"I think you can give him a little more credit than that," Paige remonstrated gently, and then decided to change the subject. "We're still going car shopping this weekend?"

"Now, that I can't wait for," Phoebe laughed. "I really need my own set of wheels."

"Okay, then." Paige gave Phoebe one last squeeze, and stood up. "And I expect a full report on your first day tonight - including, ranking all the boys in your class by how hot they are."

Phoebe couldn't help laughing at Paige's comment. "Okay, okay," she promised. "I'll give you the complete run-down." She made a face. "I can't promise any of 'em will be cute, though."

"You'll meet a couple with potential," Paige grinned, and Phoebe wondered if her sister had had a premonition regarding her experiences. Try as she might, Phoebe couldn't wrap her head around Paige's particular gifts. Seeing the future? How was that even possible? Did that imply all future events were as fixed as events in the past? Even thinking about it gave Phoebe a headache. But Paige distracted her with an effusive peck on the cheek.

"Okay, gotta go," she declared breathlessly. "Don't want to be late on my first day! See you tonight! I love you!"

And with that, she scampered down the steps, and nearly sprinted to the driveway, where her tiny lime green Volkswagen Beetle was waiting patiently for her. As Paige clambered into her car, a nondescript sedan belonging to Darryl Morris pulled up alongside the curb. Paige gave him a friendly wave before stepping inside the car and closing the door.

With relief, Phoebe stood up and made her way down the steep steps to street level.

"Thanks for picking me up," she said, as she slid into the passenger seat. "I won't have my own car for at least another week yet."

"It's not a problem, Phoebe." Darryl Morris smiled at her. "Ready for your first day as a recruit?"

"As ready as I'm going to be."

While Phoebe buckled herself into her seat, Paige gave them both another wave as she eased her car out onto the quiet street, and then disappeared down the steep hill.

Darryl shook his head. "Your sister's really something, isn't she?"

"I'm beginning to think she really is magic," Phoebe agreed. The force of her sister's hugs had made most of the dull ache in her heart melt away.

Darryl made a cautious check in his rear view mirror before pulling the car away from the curb. Once out on the street, he glanced over at Phoebe.

"I'd like to ask you a kind of personal question," he said awkwardly.

Phoebe shrugged. "Sure."

"Is Leo dating your sister Piper?"

Phoebe made a slight moue of bemusement; that was certainly not the question she'd expected. But she saw no reason not to answer truthfully.

"They've gone out together a couple of times," she replied. "Day trip to Chinatown last week, dinner the other night."

"Do you think they're getting serious?"

Phoebe frowned in puzzlement. "I don't know. Too early to say, I guess. They do seem to like each other. Why?" She hesitated. "Is it a problem?"

Darryl sighed, and then decided to let the matter drop. "Not with me," he declared flatly.

They traveled a few blocks in silence, letting their thoughts wander where they would.

"I wanted to thank you," Phoebe offered, after a moment's hesitation.

"Thank me?"

"For taking a chance on me like this. I'm guessing your recommendation didn't come without pulling some strings."

Darryl digested that comment slowly before responding. "Look," he said finally, "I want to be completely transparent with you. I had a discussion with my captain before asking you to join the force. For the record, I didn't make any references to witches or magic."

Phoebe frowned. "Then what did you tell him?"

"Simply that I thought you could help us with some of our unsolved cases."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"And he was willing to accept that? With no other explanation?"

Darryl smiled grimly. "My captain wants to see these cases cleared up as badly as I do. He trusts my judgment. If I tell him you can help, he'll take that at face value. I'm sure he suspects you're not just a regular recruit. But he won't say anything…"

"As long as I don't screw up," Phoebe finished the thought for him.

"Exactly. So be warned. Your drill instructor doesn't know you're anything special, and he's gonna do his very best to make your life miserable."

"Understood."

"It's not easy to be a cop, Phoebe. Hell. I'd say that two-thirds of our recruits wash out in the first two weeks."

"I won't," Phoebe declared.

Darryl regarded the young witch with a wary eye. "I hope you don't," he answered tersely. "Frankly, we need you, Phoebe. I need you. And especially, I need you on the 'inside' to make this work. I'll help you in any way I can," Darryl promised.

"I need all the help I can get," Phoebe declared, with uncharacteristic humility.

"I think the best thing to do is for the two of us to have a debrief every night."

"Debrief?"

"Think of it as part of your mentoring program. I can help prepare you for what to expect. I doubt it will make your classes go any more smoothly, but…"

"Hey, any prep I can get will help," Phoebe declared gratefully. "I don't expect this to be easy."

"Nothing worth doing ever is," Darryl nodded solemnly.

Piper Halliwell was finishing her coffee in the kitchen. She idly ran her fingertips along the outside of her heavy ceramic mug, pursing her lips, debating silently whether or not to call aloud for Leo Wyatt. On the morning when Leo had revealed to Piper the White Lighters' ability to "orb", he had told her that she could call out his name, aloud, at any time - and he would appear a few moments later - as if out of thin air.

"Like magic," Piper murmured aloud.

Traveling by orbing was certainly disorienting - Piper had now experienced this twice, although she could hardly object, as it meant she could be held tightly in Leo's muscular arms. Piper had decided almost immediately that she liked that - a lot - and had subsequently spent a fair amount of time considering how best to make sure it happened again.

There really didn't seem to be any reason it couldn't happen on a regular basis. Piper liked Leo, she now trusted him completely, and he in turn had expressed an interest in her that was more than casual. And after the last two years of caregiving for her slowly dying grandmother, Piper felt a longing - almost an ache - to couple with this beautiful young man, to spend her time celebrating life rather than mourning death. Piper was almost certain that if she simply asked him, Leo would happily spend the night with her. There were risks to such requests, of course; there always were. But Piper was young, and of late had spent far too much time alone. Her desires were bordering on hunger, and as much as anything, she wanted to sate them before she became unhealthily obsessed.

Making a decision, Piper laid her wandering hand flat on the kitchen table. She hesitated a moment before calling out; this seemed utterly ridiculous. Still…

"Leo?"

No good; her voice was too soft, too tremulous. However Leo was intending to perceive her call, he surely wouldn't have heard that. Piper took in a deep breath, and called out again.

"Leo!"

That was better; a more natural call that probably carried through most of the house. A moment later, Piper thought she felt the faintest of breezes - and then her mouth fell open in astonishment as a diffuse cloud of white light appeared not more than five feet away from her, and from that radiance stepped Leo Wyatt.

"Oh, my God," Piper murmured. "You really did hear me."

"I really did," Leo grinned. "Good morning, Piper."

Leo was dressed as Piper had often seen him dressed - flannel work shirt, jeans, boots. She absently bit her lip, trying to suppress the urge to leap up and literally bite him. She found herself calculating how much time it might take to strip all the clothing off him.

Leo seemed to sense that this morning's summons was more of a personal nature than a professional one. He smiled at her with such warmth, such longing, it was like bathing in sunlight.

"I'm guessing this isn't a house repair call," he ventured.

"Ahh… no. No, it's not," Piper admitted sheepishly.

"And no magical emergency?"

"No…"

Leo seemed to take no offense. He made a vague gesture in the direction of the coffee pot. "In that case, may I…?"

"Help yourself."

Leo stepped over the counter, grabbed an empty mug and carefully poured a small amount of the bitter black liquid into it. He settled in at the table across from Piper.

"So, what's on your mind?"

"Well…" Piper found her natural shyness rushing up again, inhibiting her. But she was determined not to let the opportunity pass. "My sisters are both at work - they're starting their new jobs today."

"That's great."

"And I don't have to be on shift at the restaurant until two this afternoon… and… and I was wondering…" Piper was suddenly aware that her heart was pounding in her chest, pounding so hard it made her distinctly giddy. "Oh, hell," she sighed. "I wanted to know if you might… that is… I… could we… Leo, I was wondering if I could rip all your clothes off."

Piper almost winced as she spoke; that was certainly what she intended to say, but very much NOT the way she intended to say it.

Leo put down his mug, his eyes wide in delighted surprise.

"Uhh… wow," he said, momentarily speechless.

Piper wondered if it was possible to die from sheer embarrassment. "Leo, I…"

"I'd love to," he said simply.

"You would." Piper could barely believe her ears.

"Yes. I would."

"Oh. Okay. You're … you're free right now?"

"I'm free," Leo assured her.

"Great." Inwardly, Piper was writhing at her own awkwardness; she should have been able to handle this conversation far more adeptly. She had rehearsed a half-dozen different means of broaching the topic, but every one of them had now completely evaporated from her brain. She had envisaged a long, intimate talk taking place between them before anything else actually happened. But sometimes, she reflected, the conversation didn't really matter.

"Leo, I'm so sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to say that. At least, not the way I said it. I really do want to spend the morning with you. I'm just … really nervous."

Leo's smile turned sympathetic. "It's okay. So am I," he confessed. The smile turned radiant again. "That was the sweetest invitation I've had in a very long time."

"It was?" Piper's giddiness was returning in full force.

"It was beautiful," he assured her. "You are beautiful." Leo stood up and held out his hand to her. "Let's go upstairs," he suggested.

"That… sounds good." Piper stood up slowly, not entirely certain her knees wouldn't buckle underneath her. She slipped her smaller hand inside his, and he pulled her close.

"Actually, we don't need to bother with the stairs," he said softly, and as he leaned in to kiss her, the young couple vanished from the kitchen in a faint glow of white lights.

The lawyer's office was opulent, although in a rather severe, imposing manner. The mahogany desk took up most of the space in the room, and the bookshelves lining the wall made the space seem smaller than it actually was. One wall consisted of a single paned window that showed an impressive view of the Manhattan skyline, but the lawyer seemed utterly unaware of it. Dressed in a dark suit, he sat at the desk, his back to the window, irritably flipping through a large sheaf of papers. He might have been considered handsome, except for the fact that his heavy-lidded eyes seemed to be constantly suppressing a cold, reptilian rage. Although he was seated, his whole body language suggested someone who intended to threaten someone, anyone, just for the sake of threat itself. A young intern peeked his head around the door.

"I said I wasn't to be disturbed," the lawyer grunted, without looking up.

"Sir…" the young man's tremulous voice barely carried across the floor. "We've found her."

The hand paused in mid-air, and the eyes flickered upward. "Show me."

The intern hurried into the room, and handed over a large photograph on laminated paper. The lawyer took the picture, and held it close for inspection.

"Get out."

The intern turned and nearly ran out of the room. A sly, humorless smile slowly snaked across the lawyer's face; it was a decidedly ugly expression, betraying an equally ugly intent.

"Well, well, well," he murmured in satisfaction.

The photograph showed three attractive young women, as well as a young man, laughing together as they were loading boxes into the back of a moving van. The lawyer's index finger slowly traced a circle around one young woman's face.

"So, you think moving back home with your sisters is going to save you," he muttered darkly. "But they can't save you. No one can save you."

Cole Turner slowly rose to his feet, his smile turning wickedly triumphant. "You belong to me, Phoebe Halliwell," he addressed the face in the photograph. "And there is no place in heaven or earth where you can hide yourself from me."