Rinse

Spoilers: Season five, up to "Cat House."

Disclaimer: Any characters you may recognize from the WB's "Charmed" don't belong to me; they were created by Connie Burge and belong to Charmed Productions. I have no money, so please don't sue me.

Notes: Rated PG-13 for language that will occur in later chapters. The title of this story came from the song "Rinse" by Vanessa Carlton, on her "Be Not Nobody" CD. I was listening to that CD while working on this, and thought the lyrics to it really fit Phoebe. You can find them at
Paige took one last peek at the happy couple embracing on the couch before scooting back out of the room. "I think three sisters is a crowd," she whispered. "Want to raid the fridge with me? I don't think that they'll be joining us anytime soon."

Phoebe stifled a yawn. "Actually, I'm beat. I'm going to head up to bed early."

"Oh!" Her younger sister nodded knowingly. "I get it. You want to be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for your date with Jason tomorrow," she teased, then laughed when a blush spread across Phoebe's face. "I'm kidding. See you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams." With a last smile for her sister, she headed up the stairs, fully intending to put on her pajamas and go to bed. Paige had been partially right; she did was to look nice tomorrow. Jason was....well, Jason. She wanted it to work out, she really did. After so long, it finalyl felt like her life was back on track; like the door was closed to her past.

Then something caught her eye. A piece of paper was laying on the floor just outside of Piper and Leo's closed door. She picked it up, frowning as she recognized Piper's familiar handwriting. It looked like a rught draft of a spell, but for what?

"Let the truth be told," she murmured, "let our lives unfold, so we can relive our memories and stop being enemies."

Suddenly, the hallway around her seemed to spin. She frantically dropped the paper and tried to grab onto something, anything, that would keep her in one place. I just never learn, do I?! was her last thought before she found herself standing in front of the Manor, drenched in rain. What was this, a time loop?

"Long time no see."

She jumped and spun around when she heard the familiar voice, unable to believe who was standing there in the rain. "You've got to be kidding me."